A Western Dark Age?

I was very concerned reading an article on The Upheaval by N. S. Lyons called “There Is No Liberal West.” Lyons holds that no Western country is any longer committed to principles of liberalism. He summarizes these principles as follows: that individuals possess universal and inalienable natural rights; that “liberty of conscience is every man’s…

10 Guidelines for Prayer in these COVID-19 Times, by Dr. Peter Bellini

The following originally appeared on Facebook and is reproduced here in several different languages with the author’s permission.  1. PEACE- Pray against spirits of division, suspicion, anxiety, panic, and fear that grip our communities. 2. LEADERSHIP- Pray for wisdom, truth, direction, compassion, and strength for all leaders (political, medical, economic, ecclesial, etc) in authority. 3. PROTECTION-…

Reading Scripture: Skepticism, Suspicion, and Trust

Last semester I taught a class called Wesleyan Biblical Interpretation. We read a considerable number of Wesley’s writings along with a couple of secondary texts. Rereading these primary and secondary sources led me to ponder anew the vast differences between the way in which Wesley read the Bible and the critical stances that emerged during…

“Who Do You Love?” A Meditation on the Trinity

This is a sermon I delivered at Sugar Land First UMC on Trinity Sunday, June 16, 2019. Many thanks to Rev. Martin Nicholas for the invitation. A long time ago I taught in a community college. One of the courses I taught was Major World Religions. One day I was giving a final exam–back in days…

On the Virginal Conception and Birth of Christ (Advent, Christmas, and the Miraculous, Part 2)

There are some Christian beliefs that through the centuries the Church has left broadly open for debate. For example, there is no single canonical doctrine of atonement. Rather, Christians through the centuries have affirmed that while Christ did atone for our sins, we have a range of options for understanding this truth. We have remained…

On Sin in the Church

The recent Roman Catholic sexual abuse scandal brings to mind a question I have heard many people ask over the years: If Christians believe what they claim to believe, why do all of these scandals keep taking place? The Church and Moral Failings To be perfectly clear, Roman Catholics certainly aren’t the only Christians who…