The Revolution Will Not Serve Budweiser

This poem is dedicated to my friend Rob Zifchak who is currently 14 months sober and going strong.  Rob, your strength to stay clean inspires me to keep true to my self.  Thanks for your friendship.   Well, hello attractive … Continue reading →

My Response to the Death of Osama bin Laden

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Oftentimes, as Christians, we take for granted that we know right out what it means to be “saved”. Since we know without a doubt what it means, we never question the genesis of that phrase. We assert that all people … Continue reading →

Resurrecting Paul Part 3: Don’t Do As the Romans Do

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The Apostle Paul lived in the Roman Empire. In the Roman Empire, a hierarchy existed between Rome and the nations. In English Bibles, the Greek word for “nations” is almost always translated as “Gentiles”. This enforces a hierarchy between Judean … Continue reading →

Resurrecting Paul Part 2: Saul the Pharisee

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The Apostle Paul lived in the Roman Empire. I must repeat this as often as I can. Rome spread the imperial ideology that it and it alone had the right to rule, that the Romans were, should be, and always … Continue reading →

Good Friday, Friend! I Was Arrested. How About Yourself?

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Today, my friends Sue Ferguson Johnson and Wes Howard-Brook led a group of several dozen folks downtown to the federal building stationed in Seattle. We proclaimed the Passion Narrative from John’s Gospel in celebration of Good Friday. On the ground … Continue reading →

Multinationals, Free Trade, Neo-liberalism, and Globalization: A Primer

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One of the ways people in the U.S. become anesthetized to the suffering of the very poor in both their own backyards and abroad is through the mass of cheap goods provided to them through gigantic corporations who span the … Continue reading →

From Blog to Sermon: The Politics of the Resurrection Part 8: Resurrection Now!

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If this whole argument, from start to finish, has not made my point abundantly clear, let me attempt to summarize. Based on the social context of the day, crucified leaders were failed leaders. Rome killed people for political agitation or … Continue reading →

From Blog to Sermon: The Politics of the Resurrection Part 7: Blam!

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The Roman empire killed Jesus on a cross. We must assume he was killed as a political agitator since that is why people were crucified in 1st century Palestine. The idea of resurrection derived, in the Jewish context, when foreign … Continue reading →

From Blog to Sermon: The Politics of the Resurrection Part 6: Matthew’s Gospel and Jesus’ Apocalypse

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At this point, I want to introduce several massive questions that drove me to write this whole series: If Jesus and his disciples were a Jewish movement similar to other Jewish movements of their day, why did they, unlike the … Continue reading →

From Blog to Sermon: The Politics of the Resurrection Part 5: Jesus the Messiah?

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Ultimately, Jesus never died for our sins. Jesus died for causing the religious and political authorities to feel seriously threatened by his activity. To say otherwise is to say that people do not act with any reasonable purposes or motivations. … Continue reading →