I wrote this as an attempt to flesh out some of my experience to the drama that unfolded with my most recent series of posts. I’m fascinated at how important we’ve made “beliefs” in our lives. It’s as if we think our salvation lies in what we think in our heads or the words that […]
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From
I’m wrestling with the idea of the ramifications of my recent post. I admit that I am a blatant and careless at times and get quite a bit of pleasure at watching the ruptures of empty ideology, but the last thing I actually want to do is cause hurt or more pain in the world.
My post There Are More Ways To God Than Jesus has gained some attention. As usual, these are contentious issues that bring up a lot of the things that we hold onto and calls them into question. One of the things that has come up a lot is this accusation that I do not believe
One of the signs of a dying belief system is the self-affirming rigidity and exclusion that it promotes. A deeply held belief in evangelical Christianity is that “Jesus is the only way to God and heaven.” A statement like this is attempting to deny all other attempts and paths to God. Classic arguments for this way
I have realized that I have gone through much of my life not being a safe person for many people. I remember the first time I realized this about myself. I had family visiting from out of town. It was my first year of university. I would only see this family every few years. I
Just before Christmas, a few women took it upon themselves to shut down Line 9 as an act of resistance against the corporations persistence to overlook their responsibilities towards the land and people they have agreements with. The three women shut down the pipeline’s manual hand wheel and bike locked their necks to the valve.
Upon visiting some friends in Guatemala City at a B&B they are running, this question rang relevant again. Sitting on the rooftop of a city with some of the highest murder rates in the world per capita, and hearing stories of all the horrible things that have happened within eyesight of that rooftop, really puts
Last night I found myself in a fascinating conversation with friends about the differences between us. It started when they were explaining the romantic notion of a book/story like Into the Wild, or Johnny Cash. Two of them were trying to explain to me the attraction to such a story. That there was some sort
The last year has been an exploration of vulnerability for me that has competely altered the way I have understood myself and my relationship to others. From our Men’s Vulnerability Group, understanding myself and what vulnerability means for me and the balancing act of how this works practically all of these things have established a new foundation
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the idea of why we share convictions. With my evangelical background, it is very natural for me to want to tell everyone the things that I am convicted about. I’ve been questioning that natural feeling as of late. Take a vegetarian for example. Why do I know who is a
My language has evolved significantly. I find myself being unwilling to use words that were common to me because of the connotations that I have become aware of. So much of life is language and as I understand more, I find myself less and less comfortable with specific ideas that we have coined phrases for.
I like to debate. The practice of rhetoric and logic is something that I value highly and it’s something I want to continue to grow my skills in. Naturally, especially these days, the spectrum of participants is wide. Because of sites like Facebook, what was once saved for Mars Hill (the literal place in Athens
My life is like a scavenger hunt. I’m constantly searching and trying to understand the world and my place in it. I’m pulled into mystery and beauty as I work my way through different realizations and epiphanies that are clues for what is next. David Dark for me is like someone who is ahead of
This is a topic that has been bubbling back up among some of my friends lately. As I mentioned a few days ago, there is an abandoning of the common practices and beliefs of some of my friends, and it’s resulting in an abandonment of the Christian label. I am taking a different approach. I’ve
There was complaints about Mike Bradley (Sarnia’s mayor) conduct from the staff he works with. An integrity commissioner was hired for approx $60,000. The report was not very becoming of the mayor and it recommended docking pay. Mayor Mike then publishes a letter. Here he states that the integrity commissioner’s report was unfair, unnecessary and unhelpful.
Photo Credit: Ziggy Marley Album Cover When you look at western society (especially white, middle class society), what are the things that people have ‘given themselves to’ that as a result infuses their life with meaning? I see three primary ones: religion/faith, jobs/careers and family. Some of us are invested in all three at once, some
The more you think about it, black and white dichotomies of who we believe ourselves to be, or who we believe others to be, make no sense. We are all familiar with the ‘why’ exercise; that when you ask why something is the case long enough to each answer that you eventually end in an
The Enneagram test is a personality test of sorts that is much more exhaustive I have found than the Myers Briggs. The descriptions are based on spectrum that also help understand health and unhealthy rhythms that folks get caught in based on their personality. Richard Rohr recently tackled the nine personality types but from a perspective of spirituality
I’ve been toying with nihilism quite a bit as of late. Ecclesiastes’ author has become my friend. I start with everything is meaningless and then build from there my own sets of meaning that I hold to by faith. This can be freeing, but at the same time isolating. What is more lonely than only