It’s time for my annual Year in Review (of books), which is not technically over yet – there are a few books I hope to finish before January 1st rolls in. You can often infer a lot about how a year went based on some of my favorite titles, which means I must start with… Continue reading A year in review (of books): 2017
Two years ago at this time, I had my father-daughter dance five months before my actual wedding. I tried on my dress in the Catan’s Bridal suite, gathered my un-hemmed skirt, and shuffled over to Dad’s wheelchair to ask him to dance with me. Mom played Pachelbel Canon on her iphone while we “danced” as… Continue reading When grief and Bible study collide
After so many years of church and church authorities providing the answers to all of life’s questions, within an environment that condemns voicing doubts regarding matters of faith, the person who leaves often feels psychologically and mentally stunted, and incapable of making life decisions. In a very real way, they must re-create their identities from… Continue reading My own brush with Religious Trauma Syndrome
I stumbled across this blog post yesterday: When People Change Religions, Logic and Reason Aren’t Always in the Picture, inspired by Susan Jacoby’s new book, Strange Gods: a secular history of conversion. Jacoby writes: People generally think about conversion only in terms of a spiritual journey, when in fact, there are a lot of secular… Continue reading The reasons for religious conversion
If you couldn’t tell from previous posts, I’m in the grueling process of rethinking my theology. I’ve learned that there are some life events that are meant to shape your faith, and others that reshape it. This is one of those reshaping times. If the average person lives roughly 70 or 80 years, I suspect… Continue reading Unworthy, not worthless
During my one-year stint as a counseling major at seminary, I’ll never forget the first day of my last semester. The professor asked the class to stand up, and if you believed it was a sin to have depression, move to the left side of the classroom. If you believed it wasn’t a sin, move… Continue reading No, I’m not calling Jesus a liar: Christians and responses to depression
