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Sorrow Like My Sorrow – Lamentations 1:12
Can we really understand the suffering of another person or they ours?
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What Is Biblical Literacy?
We complain about it, write about it, claim it’s important or even critical, design programs to create it, but what is it? I don’t mean that none of us know what we mean when we say “biblically literate” or “biblically illiterate,” but do we all mean the same thing? I don’t think we do, and…
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Fences: Mending or Rending
The following is a sermon I presented at the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Pensacola on September 11,2005 and originally posted here on September 13, 2005. I’m reposting it because when I went to look for it, I found that the original post had somehow been truncated, and also because there is a one word at a…
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Experiencing the (Baptism of the) Holy Spirit
This is a topic where I tend to make just about everyone uncomfortable. Long time readers may recall a previous discussion of speaking in tongues, and my own experience of it. Those who expect me to be intellectually oriented and rational are uncomfortable with mystical experiences, and many who are comfortable with the mystical experiences…
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As Everyone Trades Scripts
I commented on Monday that there was no possibility I’d be happy with the result after election day. (Considering my previous post on probability, perhaps I should have said <0.1%!) I can now tell you that I’m approximately as unhappy as I expected to be. My unhappiness will probably have dissipated to ordinary levels by…
Vocabulary Word of the Day: Probability
I know headline writers need their splashy headlines, but as the media is filled with word of a stunning upset, we should remember the number of times that one candidate or the other was “destroyed” or “finished,” or the election was declared “over.” A poll takes a snapshot of part of the electorate which is…
I Blame Us
It’s election day here in the United States, and though I will shortly head to my polling place and cast my vote, I’m not going to say who it is in any of the races. What I would like to call for is moderation, in the sense I define it when talking about religion. I…
Tech Fun: Old and New Meet
Some of you may not be aware that I blog a few tech subjects, sometimes related to my IT work and sometimes not, on hneufeld.com. I thought I recent post would be of broader interest. It shows old technology meeting new – Past Meets Present: Command Line Twitter Clients on Linux. How many of you remember…
The Cubs!
In 1999 the Chicago Cubs drafted my stepson John Webb. He would go on to a lot of AA and AAA ball, and would spend some time in the majors with the Tampa Bay Rays. Now he teaches youngsters how to play and parents how not to behave as fans of their young players. So…
Perspectives on Paul: Date and Authorship of the Epistles
I will review how date and authorship is determined (or not) and how that relates to the way we will answer the question of Paul’s gospel.
Dating Biblical Books
I will be dealing frequently with issues of date and authorship while discussing Paul. The reason for this is that there is a considerable variation in what books scholars believe that Paul wrote, so while giving perspectives, I need to deal with the differences in the books attributed to Paul and what picture emerges of…
The Daily Show Explains ACA Price Hikes
Sometimes you need to go to comedy to get some clarity! I’m not sure the embed below will work (checking on it), but you can use the link.
Perspectives on Paul: Paul’s Gospel or Another Gospel IV
Continuing … !
I’d Like to See an End to Christian Politics
When I first set out to join a United Methodist congregation, I asked the pastor for definitive information on United Methodist beliefs. With much trepidation, he provided me with a United Methodist Discipline. I read the first hundred or so pages, not being too interested in the details of the church’s committee structures, including the…
Replace Strategic Voting with Strategic Living
I’m not a fan of strategic voting. It seems to me that various arguments, such as voting in the other party’s primary, splitting one’s vote for president and for down-ballot candidates (an effort to guarantee divided government), or the ubiquitous “lesser of two evils” arguments generally amount to one thing: An attempt to persuade someone…
Please Remember: The Election is about More than the Presidency
I’ve read recent stories that speculate that Donald Trump’s problems may depress Republican turnout and make a problem for down-ticket candidates. On the other hand, I’ve read that lack of enthusiasm for Clinton may depress Democratic turnout and be bad for the chances of down-tick Democrats. These things disturb me in a completely non-partisan way….
Paul’s Gospel vs. Another Gospel III
This is the unintentional third part of my discussion of this topic. Last week I talked a bit more about the initial statement of the gospel in Galatians and then began looking at how Paul talked about the gospel elsewhere, first in 2 Corinthians 5 and the ministry of reconciliation. I’ll be moving from there…
Sunday School: Thinking about Sacrifices
I’m preparing to teach tomorrow, and the main text is Hebrews 4:14-5:10. The quarterly is kind enough to stop just before the author tells his readers/hearers that the topic is difficult and they’re not very bright! Nonetheless, the idea of priesthood brings up the idea of “sacrifice” and “sacrifices,” and these are two concepts that…
Paul’s Gospel or Another Gospel, Part 2
This is the unintended second part of last week’s discussion, since I didn’t even come close to completing the material. We’ll be launching from Galatians 5:6-9, but I had already discussed the content of those verses. Now we’ll be looking through Paul’s letters, including those attributed to him, but disputed by scholars, looking for the…
Faith Made Active through Love
What groups of people do you think it’s alright to look down on? Because in Christ neither circumcision or uncircumcision matters any more, but instead faith made active through love. – Galatians 5:6 Which, in turn, reminds me of: Thus faith, if it has no works, is dead by itself. – James 2:17 It is…
Underlying Principles for Christian Education and Discipleship
… and with that pretentious title. Actually, last night I talked on the Energion Tuesday Night Hangout (I’ll embed the video at the end as well) about Christian education and how one might go about choosing curriculum. My sister, Betty Rae, asked me a question via e-mail this morning, and I thought it was so…
In Which I Agree with Jim West. Vigorously.
Here. Read this! Hard to choose a line to quote, but … Conformed people can achieve nothing. Transformed people can be the instruments of God and hence the instruments of change. Go read the rest. Unlike me, Jim is quite succinct.
Reading Stories: Jonah, Ruth, and Esther
I just posted my interview with Bruce Epperly about his new book Jonah: When God Changes on the Energion Discussion Network. I’m going to embed it here as well. I want to call attention to it along with Bruce’s next most recent (!) book Ruth & Esther: Women of Agency and Adventure. Sometimes we get…
We Need to Quit Blaming the Media, Politicians, or the Infernal Them
I call this group of (people | entities | circumstances) the infernal “they” or “them.” They are the people who cause all the problems. They have no moral compass. They are disruptive. They lie. They are apostates, perverts, stupid, deplorable, weak, losers, socialists, libertines (sometimes intended to include libertarians!). Disgusting, all of them. They are…
Remembering Dad – 10 Years Later
Ten years ago my father passed away. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was asked to provide the eulogy. I rarely use a prepared text when preaching but in this case I thought that my emotions might interfere so I did. I wanted to post it today in honor of dad 10 years after his homegoing,…
Perspectives on Paul: Paul’s Gospel or Another Gospel
I don’t expect to finish this topic, but I’ll make a stab at getting started. I have added my interview with Dr. Herold Weiss to the resource page. Here’s the viewer embed for tonight: And here’s my interview with Dr. Herold Weiss:
Resources for Progressive Preaching: Pastor2Pew
One of the least accurate characterizations I hear about progressive Christians is that they don’t care about the Bible. Now it’s hard to get a single image of the average or perfect progressive Christian, so generalizations are hard to make, but let me note that the generalization that progressive Christians in general disrespect the Bible,…
Perspectives on Paul: Another Gospel
Well, I’ll be starting from the word “church” and going forward to “gospel.” With only a half hour, I’m not sure how far we’ll get. Scripture is still Galatians 1:1-10, and you can add the first chapter of Herold Weiss’s book Meditations on the Letters of Paul, “My Gospel.” I’ll start at 7:00 pm central…