We Only Have This Moment, So This Is Where We Should Live and Find Joy

(OPINION) Here’s another transition I’m having a hard time with: The small rural church I lead seems to be struggling in a way I’ve never seen in 40-some years of ministry. And I thought I’d seen it all by now.

Reaction to Leslie Van Houten’s Parole Shows How Unforgiving We’ve Become

(OPINION) This isn’t a column about Leslie Van Houten. This is a column about the often competing virtues of justice versus mercy. But the news event that started me thinking (again) about those dueling impulses was the recent announcement that Van Houten, a former member of Charles Manson’s “family,” will soon be paroled from prison.

The Bible’s Most Frequently Repeated Commandment Isn’t What You Think

(OPINION) If I asked you to name the most repeated commandment in the whole Bible, you might offer up any one of various scriptural admonitions: Love the Lord with all your heart. Love your neighbor as yourself. Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you. Thou shalt not kill. But the real answer might surprise you.

OpinionPaul PratherJuly 24, 2023Paul Prather, Fear, N.T. Wright, Bible, Bible scholarship, Chrsitianity, HopeComment

Faith Isn’t Easy — It’s Often More About Uncertainty Than Certainty

(OPINION) Faith isn’t necessarily easy. It’s work. If it does come easily, it’s possibly not real faith but only self-delusion or vapidity masquerading as faith. I’ve been considering this again in light of developments in my family and my personal journey.

OpinionPaul PratherJuly 21, 2023Paul Prather, Faith, Uncertainty, Doubt, Christianity, Knowledge, Paul Tillich, Anne lamott, UnbeliefComment

Woman Who Leads Expelled SBC Church Is A Diehard Conservative

(OPINION) Lost amid the news of Southern Baptist Convention’s disfellowshipping of Saddleback Church was that of a much smaller Kentucky church — Louisville’s Fern Creek Baptist, with a Sunday attendance of 150, where the Rev. Linda Barnes Popham has served as lead pastor for 30 years..

Some Don’t Like Thinking Of God As Their Heavenly Father

(OPINION) I think the main problem with Christianity specifically and the whole world generally is that many people seem not to ever have comprehended how radically and unconditionally they are loved by the Lord. Musing afterward on my conversations with a young woman, it struck me we’d both arrived at our different images of God from our differing experiences with our earthly fathers.

OpinionPaul PratherJuly 11, 2023Paul Prather, Christianity, God the Father, Holy Spirit, Christian families, Father figureComment

Two Documentaries Portray Religious Groups Capitalizing On Fear And Shame

(OPINION) Two recent documentary series offer distressing portraits of Christian organizations that, although unrelated, appear eerily similar. Both movements gained prominence in part by instilling fear and shame in their members. Both have reaped abuse, scandal and decline.

Kentucky Methodists Are Dividing — And Division Is An Age-Old Tradition In Itself

(OPINION) I hate to see Christian groups, whether large or small, break up. But they do. Regularly. It seems fitting to put this development into some historical perspective. Church splits aren’t the exception; they’re the rule. The history of Christianity sometimes seems to be one division after another, endlessly, each split as agonizing for those involved as the previous ones were for earlier generations.

The World May Be Filled With Ordinary Mystics

(OPINION) When I started reading about mystics, I tended to think of them as rare and Roman Catholic (or at least traditionally religious) and long since dead. But what if mysticism isn’t confined to a handful of holy men and women living in monasteries and chanting the Psalms?

A Modest Alternative To Posting The Ten Commandments In Public Schools

(OPINION) There’s no evidence that hanging the Ten Commandments on school walls curbs rowdy youthful hormones. As a tool for improving schoolkids’ behavior, that’s a zero. If you absolutely felt compelled to post something Christian, why wouldn’t you post something straight from the lips of Jesus himself?

New Survey Of Religion In America Shows Churches In Decline

(OPINION) An extensive new survey by the Public Religion Research Institute finds that only 16% of Americans say religion is the most important thing in their lives. But what could 50 million gracious, merciful disciples do for this country today, if they really got focused on loving their neighbors and making peace and preaching good news instead of gloom and despair?

‘Jesus Revolution’ And A Related Documentary Show Faith’s Complications

(OPINION) Lonnie Frisbee may have been largely airbrushed out of the Jesus movement history by some of his former colleagues because his personal story was inconvenient. On separate occasions, Frisbee was fired by Chuck Smith and John Wimber, and afterward was regarded as an outcast by the movement he’d largely started.

A Disastrous Hike Proves I Was Created For The Indoors

(OPINION) I hate the outdoors. There, I said it. Sling all the mud my way you want, you hikers, rock climbers and campers. Your mud will not stick to me, because I’ll be happily ensconced behind the brick walls of my climate-controlled, preternaturally comfortable house, binging on Netflix shows and living my own best life.

OpinionPaul PratherMay 17, 2023Paul Prather, Hiking, Exercise, OutdoorsComment

Prayer Is A Great (And Complicated And Often Uncertain) Thing

(OPINION) As Christians, we’re told to make our petitions known to God. That is, we’re to pray for ourselves and others, and to do so specifically. We can ask for wisdom, or healing, or financial relief, or the protection of our children and friends, or for a thousand other things. There’s nothing wrong with that and nothing selfish about it.

OpinionPaul PratherMay 9, 2023Paul Prather, Prayer, Christianity, Faith, Healing, Answered prayer, MiraclesComment

Our Sacred Documents Read Us As Surely As We Read Them

(OPINION) When learning to read and interpret literature effectively, a reader should keep in mind that often the novel you’re reading reads you as surely as you’re reading it. This insight useful for interpreting anything, from “The Sound and the Fury” to the U.S. Constitution, the latest news flash or the latest political screed — and the Bible.

A Reflection On How Easter Shows Us A Path Back To The Garden, To A Better Way Of Being Human

(OPINION) The Easter story as John tells it basically sets the world on its head. It defies expectations. Jesus is a sovereign who — unlike Caesar or any other ruler — doesn’t lord it over his subjects, but instead suffers every vile indignity they suffer: pain, disappointment, humiliation, death.

Opinion, Christianity, HistoryPaul PratherApril 16, 2023Paul Prather, Easter, Holy Week, Gospel, Creation, Crucifiction, Jesus, Resurrection, Christianity, N.T. WrightComment

A New Book Tells The Story Of The Other Merton — Thomas’ Brother

(REVIEW) Few if any 20th century Roman Catholics had a greater impact on Christian spirituality than Thomas Merton, the iconic Trappist monk, mystic and ecumenist. What’s lesser known is the remarkable life of his brother, John Paul, who was almost four years his junior — the subject of “Remembering the Forgotten Merton” William J. Meegan.

‘He Gets Us’ — But Do We ‘Get’ Those Ads?

(OPINION) The least remarkable thing about the “He Gets Us” campaign — at least the most tiresome thing — is the knee-jerk reactions from both extremes of the political-religious divide. Both sides have found much to hate.

Learning To Let Go Of The Struggles And Embrace The Mysteries

(OPINION) Firmly in senior citizen territory now, I find myself unattached to nearly all the things I thought were important when I was young. As I’ve said before, and as countless others have said before me, getting old seems to be mainly about letting go, about learning — slowly and unsteadily — to hold all things lightly.

Three Thoughts About The Recent Revival At Asbury University

(OPINION) A headline in The New York Times dubbed it a “‘Woodstock’ for Christians,” the Woodstock reference being a quote from a Minnesota evangelist. Now that we’ve gotten a bit of distance from the immediate spiritual fervor, I thought I’d share a few further thoughts about what happened at Asbury University’s revival.

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