Unlike many would-be messiahs who took up arms to evict the Romans, only to be crucified for their efforts, Jesus proposed and lived a path of peace and love.

I believe neither that Hades exists nor that anyone would be sent there even if it did. But as a critique of the manner in which wealth neglects the poor, this is pretty powerful.

Following his life in Nazareth that possibly included day trips to Sepphoris looking for work, the next training ground for Jesus was a brief time with this same John the Baptist in the wilderness, hearing again that injustice is not the way of the Lord.

Acid speech breeds violent acts
As does use of hurtful names.

So who is right? Did Jesus live and move in a society that was doing alright economically, or one mired in poverty? Or does the question not really matter?

Join Caleb and Mark as they enjoy a themed drink (or two) and bring their high-octane progressive Christian perspectives in consideration of a modern fairytale involving life, love, and loss, the 2022 movie “Three Thousand Years of Longing.”

Money, wealth, financial power, economic power, call it what you will, extreme wealth disparity destroys societies from within, eating away at the bond between people and the fabric of society.

The book series provides solid arguments for inclusion of LGBTQ+ Christians in the world’s religious denominations. This book also examines the continuing exodus for those in the LGBTQ+ community and others who have no interest in being included in today’s mainstream churches.

In this Book II of the series, Day explores the impacts of critical historical Biblical interpretation and suggests LGBTQ people have been asking the wrong questions about the Bible.

As the years moved along, this answer seemed less and less adequate in the face of undeserved suffering in the world, the epitome of which is the baby born into the world, experiences extreme pain, and dies after one day.

Fifty years ago, one prominent topic of conversation in the churches was the ecumenical movement, trying to determine what the various bodies had in common.

It is not so much my thinking that has changed over the last fifty years, as the attitude I bring to that thinking.

If you ask this question, the most likely answer you will get, is that a Christian is a person who accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior, this being the most likely answer both fifty years ago and also today.

The question Who is Jesus? is perhaps the most complex issue in Christian theology, embracing, as it does, three interrelated sub-questions: who was he in his person, what did he do, and how does that impact us today?

Answering this question is both easy and difficult. The easy part is differentiating sin against God from plain old immorality, as well as from crime against society.

Fifty years ago the Christian understanding of human nature fell into two camps. The fundamentalist approach placed humanity at the apex of an unchanging universe.

Creation and the health and activity of God go together.

Even fifty years ago, whatever creation means, it does not mean that in seven days God brought the universe into being out of nothing.