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Michelle L. Torigian

~ God Goes Pop Culture

Michelle L. Torigian

Tag Archives: Progressive Christianty

A Coffee Day Prayer

29 Thursday Sep 2022

Posted by mictori in Life, National Day Prayers, Prayers

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coffee, Coffee Day, Coffee Prayer, cold brew, God, latte, National Coffee Day, National Coffee Day Prayer, Prayer, Prayers, Progressive Christianty

Bright God of the Dawn,

For the first awakened breath we take for this day, we celebrate with you. We pull ourselves out of our slumbers to see where our adventures with you will go.

But first, coffee.

We give much gratitude for the beans that you have produced to give us an elixir of awakeness.

For the smooth (or bitter) tastes that cross our taste buds, we give you gratitude. For the many ways that we can enjoy the fruit of your creation, we give you thanks. For the second and third winds these beverages bring our way, we share our appreciation with you, Holy One.

With our mugs and recycle-able paper cups, we toast our ritual of dawn with you, God of alertness and light.

Amen.

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A Prayer for International Women’s Day

08 Tuesday Mar 2022

Posted by mictori in Current Events, Pop, Social Justice

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International Women's Day, Prayer, Prayers, prayers for women, progressive Christianity, Progressive Christianty, women, Women's Equality, Women's Rights

Mother God-

As the sun breaks the bounds of the horizon, we celebrate the limitations broken by women in our world.

From work in humanities to the hours spent researching in labs, we honor the gifts of women throughout this world. May they continue to see wisdom and knowledge that comes from you.

We celebrate and bless women’s agency – especially regarding health care and careers. May they work with you to discover the best path for their own lives.

We continue to work for equal pay and health care for women. Continue to transform our hearts to see women as beams of strength and courage.

Bless the ones who are mothers and those who mother. Heal the hearts of the ones who hurt from not yet being a mom. Bless all older and younger and middle age. Bless transgender women and the ones who love women. May they live into your calling – even when that means both career and motherhood, and may we as a world honor and create roads for their sacred paths.

The possibilities of their work are endless, God of Love. Clear paths and open the souls in our world so that your light can be seen beaming from them.

Amen.

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We Have a Sex Problem, Christianity

29 Friday May 2015

Posted by mictori in Church Life, Life, Pop, Pop Culture, Religion, Television

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19 Kids and Counting, Christianity, Duggars, Grace, Josh Duggar, molestation, premarital sex, Progressive Christianty, rape, sex, sexual abuse, shame

 

Christianity has a sex problem.

When it comes to physically intimate acts, by reputation Christians are known to disallow any acts between anyone except a married heterosexual couple.  Those who are single, co-habitating, and any LGBT person must remain completely and totally chaste.  Many intimate acts, including kissing (in some religious sects), are absolutely wrong in premarital relationships.

So when we hear stories of a fundamentalist Christian teen who molests multiple minor girls, we notice mixed reactions.  Some believe it’s like all other sexual sins – no more or less sinful.  Others name the acts of molestation as a more heinous crime.

The problem comes down to whether we see sex outside of marriage as breaking a legal code or something that has the potential of being a healthy act.  More conserving Christians will note that all sexual acts outside of heterosexual marriage are sinful.  They may even imply that ALL sexual acts not in the confines of marriage are equally sinful.  And they may even mention that everyone is an equal opportunity sinner.

Like many other progressive Christians, I personally don’t think that all sexual acts outside of marriage are considered sinful. Yes, this is absolutely contradictory to what the loudest people in Christianity believe.  But after placing Scripture in conversation with reason, tradition, experience together, I see that sometimes, there are no definite answers to whether someone should engage in sex outside of marriage.  Instead, there are many questions that arise: Is the situation healthy and safe?  Do both people respect one another?  Is anyone being hurt by this encounter?

For a moment, let’s put aside our differences. For those who still may believe that intimacy should not be outside of marriage, we must come together to considered one factor: some sexual acts are more devastating and painful, thus making them more sinful.  And the reason is the lack of consent.

Two consenting people having sex may just be two consenting people having sex. It’s a potentially healthy expression of the way two people like/respect/admire/love one another.  Not everyone will feel it is right to engage in premarital sex before marriage.  People who wait shouldn’t be called names and shamed – just like people who engage in sex before marriage should not be shamed.  Individual choice should be respected – as long as people are being healthy and safe.  We must respect that some people will engage in sex outside of marriage and others will not, and we must be as loving as possible to someone no matter which they choose.

But here’s when we get into a problem.  There is a HUGE difference in how we see God in relation to our sex lives.  Some will see God’s presence and blessing in an intimate consensual relationship prior to marriage.  Others will see God’s condemnation.  Some will pray to God to bless their sexual union.  Others believe God wants nothing to do with our sex lives – especially outside of marriage.

No matter which side of the conversation we fall, most of us can probably agree that sometimes there’s sin involved in sex – especially when one person is using the other, levying their power over their partner, or manipulating another person into sexual acts.  When we hear stories of rape, sexual assault, molestation, drugging a person to have sex, taking advantage of a drunk or drugged person, and touching someone inappropriately, we are listening to non-consensual sexual encounters.  Because these acts damage the relationship between God, neighbor and self, sexual abuse is, undoubtedly, sin.  Additionally some sexual encounters within an unhealthy marriage are sinful as well, notably when one spouse requires the other to become intimate.

I’m extremely tired of hearing “all sin is equal sin.”  No, that’s not the case.  When two people are expressing love or respect to one another, that is not damaging to God and neighbor like when one person is levying power over another person.  These two acts are not even in the same ball park.  I may sound like I’m judging, but when you hear the pain that comes from many women’s experience with sexual abuse, it’s time to change the system.

Just because Deuteronomy 22:38-39 says that a man can rape a woman (as long as he marries her) does not mean he should treat the woman like an object.  Additionally, just because Lot offered his daughters to be raped while they still lived in Sodom doesn’t mean we can look the other way when women’s bodies are used as commodities.  Likewise, it wasn’t right when they had non-consensual sex with their father to get pregnant.  And it wasn’t ethical when King Xerxes banished Vashti when she refused to be objectified.

Just because the epistles mention that women must submit their lives to their husbands (1 Peter 3, 1 Corinthians 7:4) does not mean men have the right to rape their wives.

We must thoroughly research scriptures which require a woman to have sex with her husband each night or when she isn’t in the mood.  If anyone is manipulating their spouse or partner into sex, it isn’t consensual.  When webpages exist that are dedicated to making sure women are required to have sex with their husbands each time he wants it (because it’s God’s will), then we have a sex problem, Christianity.  When people are considered bad when they have sex prior to marriage and then bad when they don’t have sex after marriage, then we have a sex problem, Christianity.  When your sex rules don’t include Leviticus 18:19 but absolutely must include Leviticus 18:22, then we have a sex problem Christianity.  When Christian groups have materials that blame women for being molested and raped based on how they are acting or what they are wearing, then we have a sex problem, Christianity.

When we don’t look at the bigger picture with the Duggars’ situation, we have a problem with sex, Christianity.  Josh was 14 when he sexually abused minor females.  And Jim-Bob decides to swiftly and silently sweep the situation under the rug.  But did anyone ask how these women are?  Do any of the statements given mention the pain, shame, and humiliation that the women experienced?  Did anyone ask if Josh was abused at some point?  (Many abusers have been abused in the past.)  Does anyone wonder if Josh has experienced the help he needs so that he’s not putting other people at risk?  This isn’t just about judging or forgiveness.  It’s stopping unhealthy patterns so that the cycle of abuse stops.  It’s making sure that those who have been hurt can find new life.

Undoubtedly, God will forgive Josh – just like God will forgive all of us.  That’s what unconditional grace is about.  But this doesn’t mean that his actions are far from gone in the lives of five females.  This doesn’t mean that they are ready to forgive him.  This isn’t the time for us to rush to forgiveness.  This is time for us to understand what healthy sexuality is, find ways to have conversations so that more 14 year old children don’t feel compelled to abuse their sibling, and stop parents from sweeping the problem under the rug.  This is time for us to extend our hand of grace to these five girls so that they won’t feel the shame that they probably carry in their hearts.

Christianity, let’s look at what sex, consent, and sin mean.  It’s time for us to change the language of appropriate sex from “good” and “bad” to “unhealthy,” “healthy,” and “consensual.”  God’s ready for our conversation.  Are we?

 The current version of this post has been edited from the original.

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Advent Prayer 13 – Prayers in Fresh Grief

16 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by mictori in Current Events, Holidays, Life, Pop, Pop Culture, Religion

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Advent, advent prayer, Blue Christmas, Christmas, death, depression, Depression during holidays, grief, grief at Christmas, grieving, loss of loved one, occupy advent, praying advent, Progressive Christianty

imageCreator of the morning moon,
Painter of the cloudy evening sky,
In this season of abundant nighttimes
And shadows that extend for miles
Our hearts are painted with ash.

We wail in the corners of the world
Wondering when the Merry will come with Christmas,
When the sparkles will return,
And when the light will reappear.
The wound is fresh.
It extends beyond the bone
To the depths of the soul.

Why did it just happen
In this brightened season of hope
When plastic joy is glued to every surface
And smiles are permanently affixed to faces?

Why must we face this Christmas
When we’ve just been cheated?
Why must we be reminded
At every meal we would have eaten with him
And when holding the gift we just bought her?

Why is our future crushed
By the current song on the radio
Or the hymn sung at church?

God, we don’t know how we’ll make it through this hour
Let alone candlelight worship,
Christmas morning expected bliss
Or New Year’s countdowns.

So let us find that sacred spot
Where tears flow freely,
Where weeping and gnashing of teeth are welcomed,
And where we can wear sack cloths,
Or flannel clothes
Or sweats
Or his old t-shirt
And spill our souls to you, God.

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Advent Prayer 12 – Lament of the Busy

15 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by mictori in Current Events, Holidays, Life, Pop, Pop Culture, Religion

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Advent, advent prayer, Advent prayers, busy, Lament of the Busy, occupy advent, prayer for the busy, praying advent, Progressive Christianty

8328024253_6b187a2c31_zGod I’m swimming in Christmas prep!
The cards aren’t ready to send-
Half are addressed
And maybe a few names are scribbled within the cards.
Shopping.  Wow.  I’m not even close to be finished.
A few more gifts to buy for the family
And for my love.
Don’t forget about the lunch next week
And dinner Wednesday night
And a couple of other holiday parties.
I signed up to volunteer this Thursday…
And Saturday…
And next Monday.

Wait… the tree.
The tree isn’t even up
Let alone the lights
And the ornaments
And the rest of the household Christmas decorations.

Then there’s the wrapping
And the cookies
And the caroling
Besides the everyday work
Around the house and the office.

Stop.  Breathe.

Ok.  In my preparation
I’m forgetting to prepare myself
To open my heart in new ways
And to be silent and still.

Instead, I keep moving-
Falling into the busy trap-
Being less intentional,
Less relational
And more cynical.

Open me, God
To the freshness of the day
To the love in front of me
And the presentness of this moment.  Amen.

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Advent Prayer 11 – A Blessing for the Sunday Morning Brunchers

14 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by mictori in Pop

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Advent, advent prayer, Advent prayers, dones, Nones, occupy advent, prayer for Sunday brunch, Progressive Christianty, spiritual but not religious, Sunday morning

imageMay the God of creation surround you with fellowship this hour,
May the Christ of merriment bring laughter to your day,
May the Spirit of sustenance refresh you for the week.

May you see the Divine-
however you see Her or Him-
surrounding you in the lines to order,
the banquet or buffet,
the smiles across tables,
the serious reflections,
and discussions for justice.

May you grow in mind and spirit
As you ponder life’s major issues –
In the chaos of heated discussions
And the laments of everyday life.

Whether stillness or noise awakens you this morning,
Whether you find the Holy in the ordinary or in the sanctuary,
Be well.

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Advent Prayer Day 9 – For the Reproductive Losses

09 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by mictori in Church Life, Life, Pop, Religion

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Advent, advent prayer, Advent prayers, miscarriage, Progressive Christianty, reproductive loss, stillbirth

God, I don’t know what to say
To the couple who can’t have a baby
Even though they’ve been trying for four years.
I don’t know how to comfort the friend
Who had one, or three, or five miscarriages.
I don’t know how to support my loved ones
Whose adoption fell through.

How to I approach the friend
Who gave birth to a stillborn child,
Who felt the child move kick?
What words will bring her a sense of comfort
And give strength to her partner?

These losses mount up, God.
They are losses I’ve never experienced
But the pain radiates from their eyes
And I have a sense that they’ll be in pain
Even though they laugh.
Even when they seem fine.
Even after they’ve stopped talking about it.

Telling them that their child is “better off”
Or “there’s a reason”
Or “God needed another angel”
Will absolutely tear their souls.

There are no words that will cover their pain
But by just being there-
Even in silence and words unspoken-
May bring the daybreak of peace.

Help us be your presence to women and men
Facing the empty wombs of life.

image

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The Frightful Mask of Prejudice on Halloween

25 Saturday Oct 2014

Posted by mictori in Current Events, Holidays, Life, Pop, Pop Culture, Religion

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

classism, exclusion, Halloween, Jesus, Luke 14, Luke 18, Mark 7, privilege, Progressive Christianty, racism, radical hospitality, welcoming

skeleton

“He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.  But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.  And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’”

Luke 14:12-14

Recently, I read a letter to Dear Prudence where the writer was complaining about giving candy to children from outside of their community.  The writer notes that the children are “clearly not from this neighborhood,” obviously referring to their skin color or the condition of their parent’s vehicles.  The attitude of the writer is one where he or she doesn’t want to be a social service agency and be a source of help for those less fortunate.

The attitude of exclusion doesn’t stop with the richest neighborhoods.  This story almost seems unreal until we read the comment section of the article or hear stories from our own communities where widespread exclusion is confirmed.

There is a middle-class neighborhood in the greater St. Louis area who is concerned with outsiders coming into the neighborhood to trick-or-treat.  In an online conversation, they plan how to stop people from coming inside the neighborhood.  Some will stand watch at the entrance to the subdivision as they don’t want minivans full of children coming to take their children’s candy.  One man commented on how he would take watch leading me to wonder if his biases would cause further pain and suffering on the “aliens in the land.”

People in this town often murmur in voices of concern about minorities “coming up the hill” to live in their neighborhoods.  Only miles away from this subdivision are communities of underprivileged people of color.  Some have reputations of being dangerous communities.  Often, families who live in apartment complexes do not have the opportunity to trick-or-treat, so they are forced to travel somewhere in order for their children to have the full childhood experience.

Which makes me wonder: who deserves our candy?  Who deserves safe neighborhoods to experience a happy childhood?

Is it the children we know?  Is it the children whose parents earn about as much as we do?  Is it the children whose skin looks similar to ours?  Is it the children who were born to families who could afford to purchase homes over $100,000?

People often say that Halloween is a holiday of the devil.  Frankly, I don’t believe that it’s for the reasons they think.  The Christ-like attitude of hospitality now is obliterated by attitudes of serve only those who are like me.

Luke 14:12-14 reminds us that our call is to invite those who are different.  It is not just an invitation but a mandate from Jesus the Christ to invite those who we wouldn’t normally include.  It’s stepping out in faith to interact with people whose lives are radically different from ours.

There was a time when Jesus himself felt the urge to deny a child well-being.  In Mark 7, Jesus is out of his element in Tyre, and a Syrophoenecian woman in the land asks him to heal her child of an unclean spirit.  He initially tells her that healing is for those who look and act like him.  But she challenges him, and Jesus changes his mind.  In this transformative experience for Jesus, he opens his mind to someone different, and the lives of Jesus, the woman and her child are blessed by the encounter.

Furthermore, Luke 18 notes that Jesus said “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them”.  He didn’t say “Let the children who look like me come to me.”  He didn’t request that these children have a certain economic background, and he didn’t exclude children of sinners and tax collectors.

On Halloween we have the opportunity to interact with the Christ in our midst as we extend radical hospitality to our neighbors and strangers.  Will Christ be allowed into our neighborhoods this Halloween?

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On Being an “Acts” Church

16 Monday Jun 2014

Posted by mictori in Church Life, Current Events, Life, Pop, Religion

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Acts 2, Anne Hutchinson, Arius, Augustine, Council of Nicea, diversity, Holy Spirit, languages, Pelagius, Pentecost, Progressive Christianty, Roger Williams, Salem Witch Trials, stained-glass, tower of Babel, Trinity, unity, varying beliefs

By GFreihalter (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

 

 

This sermon was delivered on June 15, 2014 at St. Paul United Church of Christ, Old Blue Rock Road, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Has there ever been a unified Christianity?  This was one of the questions I was to answer on my Church History midterm in seminary.  From the surface view it looks as if there is and always has been one unified Christian thought.

But then we see the workings of the early church as seen in Acts (which I will discuss more in a minute).  We see the way people were tossed aside as heretics throughout the centuries – like Arius and his followers at the council of Nicea.  Or how about Augustine and Pelagius or Augustine and the Manichaeans.  Or Luther and the Catholic church.

Even in the early days of this country, people were not unified in their Christian thinking.  Those who came to the Massachusetts area did so to escape religion persecution in their homeland, but then imposed their belief on others – leading to some ugly moments like the Salem Witch Trials.  When people didn’t follow their religious formula, they were banished to states like Rhode Island – like Anne Hutchinson or Roger Williams.  By the way, those back in Massachusetts who disagreed with Anne Hutchinson said some pretty mean things about her and gloated when she later miscarried and then was slaughtered.

It often feels like someone has to be right and someone wrong.  So, my question is this: whose version of Christianity is right and whose is wrong?  Could it be that, as long as we could love one another and treat one another with respect, that we could ALL be right and and ALL be wrong?

Sitting in adult Sunday school and other Christian education classes, two confirmation classes and various informal conversations with congregants of this church, I have seen the great span of your convictions and beliefs.  And it is truly refreshing to see how each of you are serious of your faith journeys even though they each seem so different.

God, the Christ and the Holy Spirit are in one way or form parts of your faiths.  You hold your beliefs with such sacredness, and yet, you see it from your own angles.  The church means different things to you.  Salvation takes different approaches.  All of these beliefs spread into other parts of your life and lead to different beliefs on politics, parenting, family structures and more.

And that’s how I see the early church, the Jesus Movement, in the book of Acts.

Lately I feel like I’ve been drawn to reading the book of Acts.  Acts was written by the writers of Luke, so it’s basically Luke volume two as the two books together are known in the theological community as Luke-Acts.  It reflected a time when the disciples were trying to figure it all out after the earthly ministry of Jesus.  The Holy Spirit helped to give them the strength and courage they needed to be the leaders they needed to be in the early church.  But there were differences in the early believers.  There were the Jewish believers who thought that their traditions and law were necessary in this new figuration of faith – and this included dietary laws and necessary circumcision on the males.  But then the Gentiles came in – and the Gentiles did not have this same faith background or the same traditions.  So dietary laws and circumcision were not on their radars as they embraced this new faith.  There were challenges in reconciling these major differences.

And yet, even in their difficulties to reconcile the differences, they journeyed together in this Jesus Movement.

The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary on the book of Acts states:

“Acts was written to consolidate disparate (or dissimilar) faith communions.  Luke’s irenic spirit (a spirit that reconciles different beliefs in peace) is no doubt an idealized feature of his theological vision.  At the same time, his ecumenicity (or yearning for unity) is never divorced from the hard pragmatics of the first church’s mission of the world.  A religious movement that lacks solidarity within its diverse membership will be ineffective in advancing its claim.”

Languages and traditions are the differences in Acts 2.  Remember the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11)?  As they tried to build a tower as high as heaven, God scattered them with a variety of languages.  Acts 2 is what I believe is the other bookend of that story.  They have different languages, different experiences and different ways of acting out their faith, and here the Holy Spirit comes along and helps them understand one another even with their differing words and traditions.  The Holy Spirit opens them up to comprehend what others are saying and how they express themselves.

And that’s what we need for the Holy Spirit to do with us and with our society today.

Is it bad that we think or believe differently than one another?  Our society makes us feel like we should live in an “us versus them” world.  There are two primary political parties – both who rarely want to talk with one another, a situation that is becoming toxic for our country. It’s becoming dangerous because people see that sentiment of leadership not working together, and those in our country on every level feel like they don’t need to as well.  People of various Christian traditions won’t often dialogue with people who profess a different set of beliefs because they feel they hold the only “truth.”  We feel that there needs to be a winner and a loser in each situation.  But what if we don’t need a winner and loser?  What if God is so much bigger than this – that God can hold paradoxes?  What if both sides could be right – as long as both sides are loving to God, neighbor and self?  Could we live in that wilderness space of grayness and  uncertainty?  Might we ask how God is working with us in that space of ambiguity?

Here’s the one thing we rarely speak of in our churches or from our pulpits: no two people think or believe alike.  We go about our days believing every Christian has or should have a clone belief structure.  We don’t validate is that there is a diversity of Christian beliefs.  Each person is influenced by life experience in such unique ways that they experience the Divine – the Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit in their own context.

Chances are, the person sitting next to you will have a belief or two different than you.  Frankly, I don’t think Christianity and the Church acknowledges or encourages this enough.  Maybe people don’t think anyone will accept them for naming an unconventional belief.  So we keep quiet about this instead of being our authentic selves.

It’s what I like to call the Stained-Glass Elephant in the Sanctuary.  I’ll explain that a little further.  It’s an elephant in the room – something we don’t talk about.  And congregations are like a stained glass window.  Each person within the congregation is a different sliver of tinted glass.  When the light of Christ shines through the multi-color window, a beautiful array of color falls upon the carpet and pews of the sanctuary… and in our communities.

If all the colors in the window were alike, the beauty would not be so great.

So let’s embrace the idea of an Acts church, a stained glass church – a church filled with a variety of beliefs and traditions, a church that has members who speak a variety of unique perspectives, a church that pulls the Holy Spirit into its life process so that we can understand one another for where we are at.  In being this Acts church, we will embrace the differences between us and come together in sharing the good news of God’s love and grace with everyone around us.  Amen.

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HuffPost Religion Article: Jesus, Healing and Grace-Filled Gray Areas

29 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by mictori in Life, Pop, Pop Culture, Religion, Television

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Alzheimer's, Alzheimer's Disease, Christianity, Dravet Syndrome, Epilepsy, Grace, Healing, Huffington Post, Huffington Post Religion, Jesus, Luke 13, Luke 13:10-17, Medical Ethics, Medical Marijuana, parkinson's, Parkinson's Disease, Physician-Assisted Suicide, Progressive Christianty, Religion And Health, Religion News

HuffPost Religion Article: Jesus, Healing and Grace-Filled Gray Areas

Here’s my latest article on the Huffington Post Religion Page

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Recent Posts

  • A Prayer of Gratitude for Nostalgia
  • A Mid-Winter’s Prayer
  • A Blessing on the Last Days of Christmas
  • A Prayer When Delighting in Hope
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