A Life Etched into the Mountains
“Can you tell me what kind it is?” A rock, thrust in my face by my keen-eyed daughter, looked like the kind of shale we’d been examining for the better part of an hour. The …
Religion
The Person My Mother Thinks I Am
My mother is fond of telling me, “Scot you’re David!” The David she has in mind is the biblical one. And when she conflates me and King David, I’m positive she is thinking of the …
A Call for Christians: Challenge Hell’s Native Tongue by Telling the Truth About American History
In my 7th-grade history class, I was taught that American slaves were treated well by their masters and that most of them preferred life on the plantation to freedom. This obvious lie was among several …
White Jesus: Is it a Symbol of the Church’s Hate That Needs to be Toppled?
As an Artist, Arts & Religion Scholar, Christian, and Hispanic who has been vocal about racial issues, I received messages and comments from friends when Shaun King’s tweeted a few years ago, arguing that statues …
Authority: Why I Have Faith in the Bible’s Authority
I posted a simple thought about scriptural authority on Facebook the other day: “I believe in the authority of scripture. What I question is the authority of your interpretation.” This is a thought I’ve had …
Why I’m Not Tempted to Apostate
I hope this title is appreciated and that the article is appreciated at least half as much as the title. I enjoy approaching serious subjects with a casual, Kermit the Frog tea sip before I …
What’s in a Term: What is a Christian?
“What is a Christian?” I feel that I could have confidently answered this question just a few years ago with an orthodox list that outlined the historical Christian faith. I would have adequately provided Scriptural …
What Can the Battle of Jericho Teach Us?
Recently, I had the opportunity to lead a Bible study with a group of college students on Indigenous Peoples Day. That day seemed to be an excellent day to study Joshua 6 – the taking …
A God Big Enough for Bacteria
The railway forest is changing with the seasons. I recently took a walk through it, now that the bugs have died down enough that I probably won’t get West Nile Virus. Most of the forest …
Eastern Christianity: A Journey
The following is a talk that my departed grandmother invited me to give for her Sunday School class at First United Methodist Shreveport which, due to some confusion, was given in its entirety to the …