The accumulation of wealth is exalted as a virtue. But wealth is meant to be shared, to foster fraternity. #PopularMovements

So says the rapist.

I was looking at the water, all right– looking at it, smelling it, tasting it, lost in gleeful admiration of the miracle of the water. So were my siblings. So were my bad cousins. We were all frolicking, fully clothed, in the waves. patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…

“SHINE,  JESUS, SHINE! FILL THIS LAND WITH THE FATHER’S GLORY! FLOW, RIVER, FLOW! SET OUR HEARTS ON FIRE!” ` Adrienne rescued the guinea pig from the cacophony and ran away with her, giggling. What a horrible song. patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…

Back then I didn’t see anything strange about being suspicious of a couple with only three children. It was ubiquitous in our social circle to admire people who conceived often, console people who couldn’t conceive, and hate people who wouldn’t conceive. patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…

Once the abuse is found out, the cognitive dissonance isn’t just felt by the victim; it rockets through the community. And the community will often find it a lot easier to scapegoat the victim than to turn against the leader they believe to be a saint. patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…

I made you these flowers. “Are you angry that I can’t go to confession because of the PTSD? Are you going to send me to hell? The real one, I mean?” I made you these flowers. Deeper than I Know - patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…

Shivering in my thin sweater, I felt perfectly happy. I wasn’t afraid and I wasn’t guilty, just happy. I remembered again that terrible truth that I’ve decided must absolutely be real: if God is a god of justice, then things that hurt no one are not sins. patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…

Resurrection is a part of nature. One of the meanings of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ is that God became a part of nature so that Nature could be taken up into God. The God of Crows and Eagles - patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…

There was the anxiety again. It welled up steadily, as if I was in great danger, even though nothing was wrong. I found myself praying under my breath, begging Jesus and the Virgin Mary not to hurt me. Theology of the Trillium - patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…

We, on the other hand, were the right kind of people. We followed every law that God handed down. We knew exactly how we were to  behave and followed all the rules. A Pagan in the Crick - patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…

I am going to hell, so I might as well sing “alleluia” during Lent. I stuck my hand in the font at the bottom of the waterfall. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. And my hand, too, was stained red. Vidi Aquam, I Saw Water - patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…

I snuck into that chapel on the first floor– cautious, peeking around the corner as if I’d find that dark confessional waiting for me, but there was only Jesus in a different box, a gold one. A Different Mercy - patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…

I think the chicanery of  deliverance prayer is a very good example why I keep referring to the Charismatic Renewal as a cult, despite the fact that it doesn’t have a single powerful leader that everybody answers to. A Word On Deliverance Prayer - patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…

Gustate et videte quoniam suavis est Dominus; beatus vir qui sperat in eo. O taste, and see, how gracious the Lord is: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Do I trust in Him? Not in the way that I used to. patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…

I would also like Him with me, down on the dry grass, sitting on that bench, understanding. Empathizing. Dwelling in pain with me and making it right. I’m not sure that He was, but  I hope so. If hope does not disappoint, He was there. patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…

The grief twisted the knife, punishing me for my contentment. I’m not supposed to be Appalachian. I’m supposed to be traumatized to have to live here. I’m supposed to leave this place in triumph and have a normal, quiet, Leave-it-to-Beaver life. patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…

🤷‍♀️

I’ve seen people who I’d not expected to speak up, including a great many pastors of all denominations, denounce the lies, and I’m glad. I’ve had some very strange people on the right-wing side of things referring to me as a “elite”... patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…

Once you come back from pruning your tomatoes, here’s another thing I want you to do: register to vote. Or, if you are pretty sure you’re already registered, check your registration at least once, because names sometimes disappear from the rolls. patheos.com/blogs/steelmag…