Inappropriate Conversations

Whether a happily married Christian should attend a Pride event with gay friends and allies?

Time as a concept is, once again, the stumbling block for many people -- including Christians -- on the relationship between sinfulness and the nature of evil and pain. An inadequate understanding of words like logos, chronos, and kairos doesn't help. The unwillingness of outspoken Christians to read the book of nature as reverently as the book of scripture is, perhaps, the biggest problem of all.Different Drummer: Sandy Owen"The Sparkle" from Montage by Sandy Owen: Ensemble

Time as a concept is, once again, the stumbling block for many people -- including Christians -- on the relationship between sinfulness and the nature of evil and pain. An inadequate understanding of words like logos, chronos, and kairos doesn't help. The unwillingness of outspoken Christians to read the book of nature as reverently as the book of scripture is, perhaps, the biggest problem of all.Different Drummer: Sandy Owen"The Sparkle" from Montage by Sandy Owen: Ensemble

Perhaps on some level American politics has always had its share of game strategy. Maybe it's a myth that our so-called "founding fathers" set aside their own interests to form a new nation, and maybe all the key elements of the U.S. Constitution really just came from one influential leader trying to trick or embarrass a political enemy and that's the only way we actually have a freedom to assemble, for example. Seems unlikely, Even if such claims were true, we still have a major issue today with the poor quality of game being played. Different Drummer: Dwight Eisenhower

Perhaps on some level American politics has always had its share of game strategy. Maybe it's a myth that our so-called "founding fathers" set aside their own interests to form a new nation, and maybe all the key elements of the U.S. Constitution really just came from one influential leader trying to trick or embarrass a political enemy and that's the only way we actually have a freedom to assemble, for example. Seems unlikely, Even if such claims were true, we still have a major issue today with the poor quality of game being played. Different Drummer: Dwight Eisenhower

Whether a sense of patriotism invalidates the separation of church and state or similar founding principles in the United States of America?"O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee" (Washington Gladden, H. Percy Smith)

Whether a sense of patriotism invalidates the separation of church and state or similar founding principles in the United States of America?"O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee" (Washington Gladden, H. Percy Smith)

Strident Christian views about homosexuality have compromised any defense of infallibility, causing some to question the existence of God. Certainly there is justification for denying the validity of their anti-LGBTQ worldview. After all, in less than a decade “religious right” speakers presuming to represent Christianity have moved from there is no such thing as sexual orientation to homosexuality is just a choice to maybe it isn’t a choice but there can’t be anything inherent to it to if it is inherent in some way it still cannot possibly by “natural” to either way it’s just a behavior that represents a rebellion against God to those people can attend church but they can never be members of our congregation to perhaps they can join us in Christian fellowship but only if they take a vow of involuntary celibacy to perhaps it is inevitable that some of them will live together but we don’t want to know what that intimacy entails to God can forgive all sins but not the sin of those people wanting to get married. Frankly, it is dizzying how many times a perfect and never-changing God has put a completely different idea, or strategy, into the mouths of those who purport to speak on behalf of deity. This Inappropriate Conversation is going to give the soapbox to a totally different group, gay Christians. "Why worship a God of love if doing so means denying the possibility of experiencing love?" (N.T., Australia). What do we do if some Christians don’t want LGBTQ people worshiping God in the first place? Where do we find either the Great Commission or the Great Commandments in that Christian worldview? Perhaps, the Spirit of the living God is pointing us in a different direction. We should listen.Different Drummer: John Shore

Strident Christian views about homosexuality have compromised any defense of infallibility, causing some to question the existence of God. Certainly there is justification for denying the validity of their anti-LGBTQ worldview. After all, in less than a decade “religious right” speakers presuming to represent Christianity have moved from there is no such thing as sexual orientation to homosexuality is just a choice to maybe it isn’t a choice but there can’t be anything inherent to it to if it is inherent in some way it still cannot possibly by “natural” to either way it’s just a behavior that represents a rebellion against God to those people can attend church but they can never be members of our congregation to perhaps they can join us in Christian fellowship but only if they take a vow of involuntary celibacy to perhaps it is inevitable that some of them will live together but we don’t want to know what that intimacy entails to God can forgive all sins but not the sin of those people wanting to get married. Frankly, it is dizzying how many times a perfect and never-changing God has put a completely different idea, or strategy, into the mouths of those who purport to speak on behalf of deity. This Inappropriate Conversation is going to give the soapbox to a totally different group, gay Christians. "Why worship a God of love if doing so means denying the possibility of experiencing love?" (N.T., Australia). What do we do if some Christians don’t want LGBTQ people worshiping God in the first place? Where do we find either the Great Commission or the Great Commandments in that Christian worldview? Perhaps, the Spirit of the living God is pointing us in a different direction. We should listen.Different Drummer: John Shore

On June 22, 1633,  Galileo was sentenced by the Roman Inquisition for being "vehemently suspect of heresy." He had told the truth, that the earth revolved around the sun according to astronomical evidence, but he was forced to recant that truth. There is a great deal of scientific knowledge we either would not have today, or would have obtained in very different ways, if Galileo had chosen a different course, if he had been "silenced" by more violent means. Speaking truth to power, as the saying goes, is rarely as clear as it sounds. Sometimes it doesn't require formal speech at all. A simple smartphone video can have the same impact today. Different Drummer: Galileo Galilei

On June 22, 1633,  Galileo was sentenced by the Roman Inquisition for being "vehemently suspect of heresy." He had told the truth, that the earth revolved around the sun according to astronomical evidence, but he was forced to recant that truth. There is a great deal of scientific knowledge we either would not have today, or would have obtained in very different ways, if Galileo had chosen a different course, if he had been "silenced" by more violent means. Speaking truth to power, as the saying goes, is rarely as clear as it sounds. Sometimes it doesn't require formal speech at all. A simple smartphone video can have the same impact today. Different Drummer: Galileo Galilei

Whether sanctuary means the same thing today as the center of Christian worship has in the past?

Whether sanctuary means the same thing today as the center of Christian worship has in the past?

Most music fans these days are very comfortable with just one song from an artist. I'm not. I tend to be a collector, almost an archivist. For that reason, I was very surprised at the number of "one song only" artists there are on my MP3 player, although I was not surprised at how deeply I love those lonely songs.Different Drummer: Joseph Haydn

Most music fans these days are very comfortable with just one song from an artist. I'm not. I tend to be a collector, almost an archivist. For that reason, I was very surprised at the number of "one song only" artists there are on my MP3 player, although I was not surprised at how deeply I love those lonely songs.Different Drummer: Joseph Haydn