Tamar and Being Caught in Adultery

There is a story in the Bible about a woman who is caught having illicit sexual relations outside of marriage. The charge is undeniable, the guilt unquestionable, and the penalty indisputable: death. And thus she is condemned. But in an odd and surprising twist, her accuser and the man with whom the...

Grace Unbalanced

Something interesting happens whenever I talk about grace, forgiveness, and acceptance. People push back. As much as we like those things, as much as we need those things, as much as we realize that they are central to our faith as Christians, we seem to want to qualify them. To put an asterisk by them....

Let God Be Judge

There are things that make us human, and there are things that make God God. If God wants to become human, you end up with Jesus. And that’s a good thing. When humans want to become gods, we become less than human. The evil that is done in this world is not caused by some dark, shadowy figure; it’s caused...

Jesus, Zacchaeus & Christian Cake-Bakers

Apparently there are some Christians who believe that if they bake a cake for a gay marriage that this constitutes an endorsement of the event, and that being forced to do so is a violation of their religious freedom. People of all backgrounds and persuasions have been weighing in, with Christians in...

Love, Grace, and Reproof

Whenever I write or speak about grace, forgiveness, and the dangers of judgmentalism I invariably get some pushback from some who think that I’m going easy on sin. Some of this is from people who seem to genuinely feel that grace itself is too easy on sin. I think this reflects a fundamental...

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