⊆ Yesterday, two fights broke out in Congress in the United States. One was when ex-Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, assaulted another congressman by elbowing him in the kidneys. The other incident happened in the U.S. Senate when Markwane Mullin challenged a Teamsters union representative, Sean O’Brien, to throw down in the Senate hearing. He said: “If you want you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults. We can finish it here.” At first, I... Read more
If we are fortunate, occasionally, we have situations in our lives that provide moments of clarity. I was minimally participating in an online discussion about abuse survivors and a situation that triggered them and caused them more pain. Many of the women in the group were trying to explain why this was troubling to people who have suffered abuse. But many of the men were making excuses and trying to minimize the event and the understanding of the trauma survivors.... Read more
As some of you may know, my beliefs and affiliations have changed greatly over the past seven or eight years. I am sure that some assume that this was what I wanted and that I was chasing some dream or some kind of secret desire that I had. But nothing could be further from the truth. When I was a conservative evangelical Republican, I was perfectly happy being those things. I was making lots of money, I had a reasonable... Read more
Even though I have moved beyond Christianity and have doubts about God, especially as expressed in the Desert Religions (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity), I still am fascinated with Jesus. Don’t get me wrong, I do not believe that he was perfect or even that our accounts of him are 100% accurate, but I can find virtue in some of his teachings and way of life. One of the ways that people describe Jesus is to use the term, King. From... Read more
Laura and I have deemed our deconstruction journey as a journey in the desert. We like the desert metaphor because although it seems barren at times and lonely, it is also full of life and nourishment if you look closely enough. We have met some beautiful friends, helped people in their journey, and evolved as we learned about presence and authenticity. With most things in life, I think it is helpful to take inventory at occasional waypoints. There are always... Read more
AI-Generated (I was just curious what it would say). Why Religion Can Be Harmful generated by Karl Forehand Religion has always been essential to human civilization, shaping worldviews, morals, and behaviors for billions of people worldwide. However, despite the many positive aspects of religion, there are also instances where it has been the source of harm and suffering. Here are some ways that religion can be harmful to individuals and society as a whole. Firstly, religion can create divisiveness and... Read more
My deconstruction started with a simple thought that God could handle my questions and it was OK to ask. I did not start with a presupposition; I just started to notice the obvious and kept asking questions. I MADE SOME AMAZING DISCOVERIES when I discovered that a compassionate, loving father would not withhold relevant, important information from me. It is important to understand that what I discovered was often painful and hard to transition through, but I believe it was... Read more
I remember vividly that day! It was a Saturday afternoon in Nebraska, and it had snowed all day the day before. The church parking lot had over a foot of snow because of drifting and the location of this smaller parking lot. Jim and I were young deacons, and per the pastor’s request, we were trying to solve the dilemma of what to do with all the snow before tomorrow’s service. Our church didn’t prearrange this “pushing of the snow,”... Read more
People always ask me, “OK, so we know what you are against, but what are you for? I know what they mean by this. They want me to say what my beliefs are or what denomination I belong to so they can give me their preprogrammed objections to those beliefs or my organization. This type of discussion will never be a real conversation. It will only be an us versus them argument that never ends. Those who agree with me... Read more
Several years ago, after spending about 20 years in organized religion as a pastor, I experienced something very real and traumatic when everything that I had stuffed down for 20 years came to the surface. A friend of mine describes it as a beach ball I could no longer keep underwater. It came to the surface in a dramatic way, and I knew that I had to face it instead of ignoring it once again. Eugene Gendlin said, “What is... Read more
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