Reading Time: 11 minutes While I’ve considered myself an atheist for nearly a decade now, sometimes I go back to church again just to remind myself of why I left it all behind in the first place. The experience rarely disappoints. The past two free weekends I decided to visit a church I had never been to before—even though […]
church
Posted inCulture, Politics, Religion
Why the Church Keeps Falling for “Bad Information”
Reading Time: 11 minutes A few years back I had the pleasure of thinking-out-loud-together with Phil Vischer, co-creator of VeggieTales and voice of Bob the Tomato, and despite the passing of time our conversation has lingered in the back of my mind, simmering and percolating at various moments when I’ve been free to chew on it. A couple of […]
Posted inLGBTQ News, Religion, Sex & Gender
Lies the Church Told Us About Sex
Reading Time: 16 minutes Growing up in church, you hear an awful lot of things about sex that just aren’t true. Of course, the same can be said about growing up anywhere. Surely there are no purveyors of misinformation more prolific than a gaggle of middle school boys. But the church has a vested interest in controlling the narratives […]
Posted inReligion
Why Christians Don’t Like Sharing Their Faith
Reading Time: 9 minutes A few weeks ago I attended my family’s church because my oldest was being recognized among the seniors graduating from high school (yes, I’m old enough for such things). Attending the church of my youth is always interesting and entertaining, and most likely in all the wrong ways if what they’re hoping is that I’ll […]
Posted inReligion
Dear Church, You’re Weird
Reading Time: 6 minutes First of all, church, you need to know that the way you talk about Jesus is super creepy. And yes, I know that will offend some of you
Posted inCulture, Parenting & Family, Psychology, Religion, Sex & Gender, The Secular
Sexualizing Everything Doesn’t Prepare Children for Healthy Relationships
Reading Time: 5 minutes Sex, for me, has never been an easy thing to talk about openly. And I place the blame for this deficiency squarely upon the shoulders of my fundamentalist Christian upbringing. I am hoping that this post will serve as an educational experience for those who don’t understand first-hand how religion poisons the well of sexuality. Perhaps this […]
Posted inReligion, Sex & Gender
Bearing False Witness…Against Yourself
Reading Time: 3 minutes If you grew up in the Christian church, you probably have heard people speak of “testifying about” what God has done in their lives. Other times they speak of “sharing their testimony” or “sharing their story” of how Jesus changed or healed them. Most of us are probably at least somewhat familiar with the general template for […]
Posted inLGBTQ News, Religion
Jesus, Friend of Sinners…Except Not You
Reading Time: 4 minutes I really liked Craig and his wife, Sofia*. They were weird, and I was 13. It was perfect. This odd couple had been involved with my small church for a few months as volunteers. They helped with the youth group (which mostly consisted of me and my brother). Sofia was severely obese, very sweet, and […]
Posted inReligion
The most fantastically failed prayer in history
Reading Time: 7 minutes Defenders of the Christian faith can’t stop moving discussions about their religion from objective matters to subjective ones, from measurable things to the immeasurable, and from quantifiable subjects to those which are completely nebulous—or more to the point, unfalsifiable. This is a telling compulsion, and every time it happens it reminds me why I eventually lost […]
Posted inGeneral, Religion, The Secular
How to Love an Atheist (If You’re Very Religious)
Reading Time: 8 minutes A friend of mine who is an Evangelical Christian noted that on more than one occasion I’ve called them out for failing to adequately show love to those of us who have left their ranks. In my review of God’s Not Dead, I criticize the film’s creators as well as its adoring fans for so […]