Letters From Timothy

With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.

-Ephesians 6:18

Most people pray on their knees, with their hands clasped or pressed together, with their eyes closed. At least, this is the “traditional” form of prayer that one may imagine when one thinks of the word “prayer.” The kneeling is supposed show reverence, the clasped hands are supposed to show commitment and desire, and the closed eyes are supposed to shut out the outside world and focus your attention on God. The last part is the one I have the most trouble with. (more…)

This is a long and confusingly-worded gospel reading, but I cannot help but feel that it contains important theological insight. I will attempt to divine what I can from it in this letter. (more…)

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

-Matthew 7:21

I think most people with religious beliefs have a crisis of faith at some point in their lives. I know I did. I think that one of the reasons that atheists and agnostics are so feared and mistrusted by religious people today is because they represent a struggle that they have tried so hard to win in their hearts. But this fear and mistrust creates a widening gap between the faithful and the faithless, and the end result is a sort of cultural war.

(more…)

I’m sorry I haven’t written to you in a long time! I’ve been very busy. Fortunately, I think my letters will now resume their regular schedule.

This gospel is short and sweet. Jesus here seems to be trying to fit in some parting words to his disciples, a final piece of advice before he dies. Jesus has a very simple statement: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” It’s like a husband or wife telling their spouse that if they love them, they will be faithful to them. What are Jesus’s commandments? Funny you should ask:

(more…)

John 9:1-41 is one of the longest and most interesting readings in the entire Gospels. Unlike many other passages in the Gospels, John 9:1-41 is nearly a complete story in and of itself. There are far too many things in this story for me to analyze at once, so I shall have to select the parts with the most personal interest.

(more…)

I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you.

-John 13:15

“Evangelism” is a word that is very prominent in today’s Christian discourse. “Evangelists” are growing in numbers and “Evangelical” movements are multiplying. But what is evangelism, really? The simple answer that you would get, if you asked nearly any Christian today, is that “evangelism” is spreading the Gospels and, more importantly, converting others to Christianity. Personally, I don’t believe that this is a good definition of evangelism. For me, evangelism means living the word of God. Perhaps because of my different definition of evangelism, I similarly disapprove of the works of modern “evangelists.”

(more…)

Commonly titled “The Transfiguration of Jesus,” Matthew 17-9 describes one of Jesus’ many famous miracles. At the top of the mountain, not only do his clothes shine with a bright white light, but he is joined by Moses and Elijah, as if to very clearly drive the point home to his Jewish friends: “I’m the real deal.” Alternatively, you can picture Jesus saying “Oh these guys? These are Moses and Elijah. You know, your most revered prophets. We were just catching up.” The entire scene is crammed with obvious references to the divine, just to make sure the disciples and the reader absolutely know that Jesus is really supposed to be the Son of God.

(more…)

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

-Romans 10:12

A popular challenge to Christianity and, really, any organized religion is as follows: if there’s only one true God, why are there so many religions? Which religion is the “right” religion? It would indeed seem like the existence of multiple major religions, many of which claiming to be the one “true” religion, would weaken the case for a single, unifying God. But fortunately, this problem is not insurmountable, if you keep an open mind and an open heart.

(more…)

The temptation of Jesus has always been one of the most fascinating stories in the Gospels to me. Instead of the very real-feeling, almost historical accounts of Jesus’ birth and deeds, the temptation of Jesus has a more fable-like feel to it. The story is brief and not particularly descriptive, and illustrates clear moral lessons. The” forty days and forty nights” are obviously Biblically significant and call to mind the time Moses spent on Mount Sinai. Actually, the story supposedly is more analogous to the wandering of Israel in the desert and Canaan. Jesus’ success in resisting temptation is contrasted with Israel’s failure, perhaps to demonstrate that Jesus is the fulfillment of, or replacement for, Israel. This analysis doesn’t interest me nearly as much as Jesus’ responses to each of the temptations do. (more…)

It is not good for the man to be alone.

-Genesis 18

In 21^st century America, it is sad for me say that there are still human rights issues to be dealt with. But there are, and one of the most prominent in our era is the issue of Homosexuality. Homosexuality has become the “evil” enemy of choice for Fundamentalism. The reason for this is that homosexuality is explicitly forbidden in the Old Testament (Lev. 18:22, Lev. 20:13) and apparently condemned in the New Testament (Romans 1:26-27). But the amount of attention focused on homosexuality by modern fundamentalism seems very disproportionate to the amount of attention focused on homosexuality by the Bible itself. The three passages that I indicated are, arguably, the sole references to homosexuality in the Bible. Jesus himself never spoke a single word on it. Compare this with innumerable references throughout the Bible, including by Jesus, to greed, hatred, and dishonesty. Why, then, are homosexuals so demonized today?

(more…)