Author: rick

Advent 1a: you know nothing

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Advent / Jesus / Lectionary / Year A

No, if we know anything these days, it’s that we know so very little. Our confidence can wither in moments, and everything that we once thought was “up” will be found to be “upside down.” For the pundits and the pollsters try and lull us to sleep with their braggadocio. They hypnotize us with their numbers, and plans, and historical perspectives. They have their canon laws, their proof texts, and their little prayers that we […]

Putting Away Childish Things

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Religion / Theology

I listened to Rob Bell’s interview of Peter Rollins on God once while taking a walk on the beach. And then I listened to it almost twenty times more. It’s THAT good. And, it got me thinking. So, the above video is a short summary of Pete’s work, and then some thoughts of my own which build on top of that.

2,000 years later and I’ve finally figured out the Lord’s Prayer! (maybe) (ok, not really)

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Jesus / Lectionary / New Testament / Prayer / Year C

In the Gospel of Luke the disciples ask Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray,” and Jesus gives them a shorter-than-we’re-used-to version of the Lord’s Prayer. There’s a jillion sermons and books and journal articles and videos and blog posts about the content of the Lord’s Prayer, how important it is, how similar it is to other ancient Jewish prayers of Jesus’ day, etc. But, here’s the thing… I think we might just possibly be barking […]

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book review / Religion / Science

I’m on sabbatical right now, and one of the books I’ve read is How God Changes Your Brain by Andrew Newborn, MD and Mark Robert Waldman. Reading it was a paradigm-shifting experience. And, it was so good that I immediately bought their new book How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain! This is my third short video on this book, and this video is summary of their findings on anger.

Summary: What Does God Look Like?

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book review / Religion / Science

I’m on sabbatical right now, and one of the books I’ve read is How God Changes Your Brain by Andrew Newborn, MD and Mark Robert Waldman. Reading it was a paradigm-shifting experience. And, it was so good that I immediately bought their new book How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain! This is my second short video on this book, and this video is summary of chapter five. Look for subsequent short videos on aspects of this important work.

Introduction: How God Changes Your Brain

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book review / Religion / Science

I’m on sabbatical right now, and one of the books I’ve read is How God Changes Your Brain by Andrew Newborn, MD and Mark Robert Waldman. Reading it was a paradigm-shifting experience. And, it was so good that I immediately bought their new book How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain! Check out my short video intro to the book, and look for subsequent short videos on aspects of this important work.

psalm 137: scraping the sides of the human condition

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Babylon / Captivity / Current Affairs / Hope / Old Testament / Psalm / Theology

I’m on sabbatical right now, and my “main” project is about creating a robust spirituality of hope. Below is small piece of this project, which is still very much in process.  By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept. When the Hebrew Bible wants to deal with pain, it turns to poetry. Psalm 137 is one of those poems that scrapes the emotion off the sides of the human condition. It starts with […]