Philip Gulley-3.24.07-We've been talking about the two types of Christianity. The first Christianity was the one many of us grew up with. It was based on the belief that we are born into sin and deserving of hell. It often relegated women and minorities to the back pews. It customarily rejected the advances and insights of science, and gave the Bible, the church hierarchy, the priest or preacher, divine authority, tolerating no dissent. It aligned itself with those holding political power, usually the wealthy, which meant it seldom had a good word to say to the poor. It was the religion of empires, theocracies, and kingdoms, the religion of the status quo. Though I speak of it in the past tense, it is still very much alive, still very much with us, still continues to exert much power.

Jim Mulholland-3.11.07-Years ago, when Nicole and Zachary were young, they came rushing into the house on a sunny Saturday afternoon to announce they'd washed our car.  Ordinarily, like any parent, I would have been pleased that my children had done a chore without being asked.  That is a rare event.  Unfortunately, on this occasion, I was immediately worried.  They hadn't asked me for a hose, or a bucket, or a rag, or soap.  So, instead of thanking them, I rushed outside to check on the car.

Philip Gulley-3.4.07-    Have you ever met someone who sees sin in every thing and every one? I was in Columbus last week giving a talk, and was speaking with a friend who'd grown up in the Nazarene tradition.  His grandparents and parents are religiously rigid, which has been somewhat awkward, because he's become more open as he's aged.  But he's a very amiable man and can laugh about it.  He told me about growing up never being able to do anything or go anywhere because his parents thought everything was a sin, that Satan was lurking just outside their door ready to lead them away from Jesus and send them to hell.  When he was a teenager, the movie theater in his little town showed an R-rated movie, which he wanted to go see with his friends.  He asked his parents if he could go, and they said certainly not.  Then he told them R stood for "religious" and they let him go.

Jim Mulholland-2.25.07-When I was a teenager, I loved the scriptures where Jesus demanded all or nothing. "Come and follow me."  "Let the dead bury the dead." "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me."  "No one who puts their hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God."