Bleak, concrete, steel Abandoned warehouses Boarded up, narrow alleys Strewn with trash Soulless highway overpasses Onramps, offramps, no exit Homeless derelict Rundown strip club Sad, addicted, victims Pretend smiles, soulless, empty Bodies without spirits Locked in a hell of guilt, Self-loathing, unworthy Dark world suicide, death Broken relationships Sinners and fools Spiraling, spiraling Soulless, lacking Energy, eros, life Awakening out of shadows She can lead the wa

What does it mean to be human? In what sense are humans unique? We are not unique biologically. We humans share approximately 98.8% of our DNA with chimpanzees and bonobos, our closest living relatives. We are not unique because we think, reason, or communicate. Historically, that question has been answered in ways that have required continuous revision. To be human, we thought, meant that we use tools. So do crows. To be human meant we have speech to communicate with one a

We seem to find Jesus all over the place if we are looking. Scripture is a unified story leading to Jesus. He is on every page of the Bible. We hear him on the breeze, smell his fragrance in the flowers, observe him in the birds and fishes and on beaches and prairies. In the bright eyes of the curious child, the soft touch of lovers, the soaring notes of an orchestra in full flight, there he is. There he is disguised distressingly as a beggar, an immigrant, a migrant work

The Wounded Healer: When Suffering Becomes Redemptive Lawrence R. Taylor, M.Div., Ph.D. “Only the wounded physician heals.” – Carl Jung[1] Unlike some of his less desirable kin, Chiron the wise centaur of Greek mythology , was civilized, learned, and associated with medicine, music, prophecy, and education. He became teacher to several Greek heroes, including Achilles and Asclepius, the great physician. Ah, but poor Chiron was accidentally wounded by one of Heracles' arrows,

Are we blank slates at birth shaped by family, faith community, culture, and environment? Are we born hopelessly sinful, totally depraved? Or fundamentally good? Do our genes predetermine who we are? The term Tabula rasa, or “blank slate theory,” derives from John Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690). He argued that we are not born with innate ideas, but that knowledge comes through experience. We are born without knowledge. We acquire it through our envir

Religion can be helpful, fulfilling, and beautiful when it promotes kindness, compassion, and spiritual growth. Helpful religion encourages human flourishing, community, understanding, tolerance, and good works. Most faith communities are doing exactly that. People love and care for one another, offer practical help and support to their neighbors, take bold stands for justice, are life-affirming and hospitable. Throughout history, followers of Jesus nursed plague victims when

A handsome lad with Exceptionally long beak Ruffled tufts of dark royal blue Starched white parson’s collar and chasuble Stole of browns and yellows He sits on a branch and waits He knows not to push the process A sudden dart, flutter, ascension, dive He that first ascended did also descend To the lower most parts of the murky lake Shot like Eros’ arrow… flash…gone Primordial god plunging into the dark Chaos of unconscious memories where Krakens of trauma lurk Up and up,

Every human being lives from a worldview, whether consciously or unconsciously. Few of us ever stop to ask what ours actually is. We inherit assumptions about God, ourselves, other people, truth, politics, money, morality, and purpose long before we are capable of examining them. One of the essential tasks of adulthood is becoming conscious of that worldview, testing it honestly, and allowing it to be transformed toward truth, compassion, and human flourishing. Everyone has a

It was all quite sterile and white when he was born. Gowns, masks, gloves, lights, walls, shiny instruments. Poking, prodding, pronounced healthy. Bottles and rubber nipples, formula. No breast for you, kid. Slowly the soul sank. Awkward arms, held far from the body. Home, only two needs on the strict schedule – Diaper or feeding time Carefully regulated. Cry until then. You’re on your own, kid. Slowly the soul sank. Crib in a dark room, Sleeping bag tethered Can’t si

For five centuries the Kingdom of Kerma flourished in peace. The Nile faithfully overflowed its banks, leaving behind rich soil in which an abundance of crops thrived. The gods, if not gentle, were calm, satiated, apparently, with the daily sacrifices of meat and vegetables. There was little interaction with, or even knowledge of, empires beyond the sea to the east until a bedraggled herald was taken into custody. Emaciated, starving, sunburnt, he had collapsed on some sort

The purpose of the Bible is to lead us to Jesus, not so we can go to heaven when we die, but so we can learn to be fully human and fully alive, connected with the Source of ultimate love, the ground of being.¹ The Bible is wisdom literature. Some of it is specifically in the wisdom genre, but all of it, whether historical, poetic, apocalyptic, prophetic, or personal communication, contains wisdom to apply in our lives. Some of us were mistakenly taught that simply flattening

The horrific idea that a good and loving God would consign people to never-ending conscious torture has led many to either embrace a form of Epicureanism, which speculates that there is no life beyond this life (when you’re dead, you’re dead; game over), or a form of universalism that assumes God will simply shrug and let everyone off the hook for everything. (“God will forgive me; that’s his job.” – Heinrich Heine [1797–1856]) The doctrine of eternal conscious torment has ca

We didn’t make much of Lent when I was growing up. We were kinda-sorta Methodist. The lower working-class neighborhood we lived in was predominately Roman Catholic. I remember my neighborhood friends discussing what they could give up for Lent with the least amount of pain. (Bubble gum, but not Juicy Fruit.) I came to faith in the Jesus Movement, which was all about praise and worship and expectation of the second coming, which was nice, but, again, no mention of Lent. I was

Language is never static. Conversely, it evolves, develops, and takes on varying nuances and meanings. Cases in point: The Hebrew scriptures were written over a long period of history from nomadic tribal conflicts through vast powerful empires. The Christian scriptures were written during the dominance of the Roman Empire with its despotic emperors and brutal military. Most early followers of Jesus were poor, lower-class, or enslaved. As a result, the Bible refers to God as F

Wednesday, February 11, 2026, will be my 75 th birthday and the 40 th anniversary of my son Elliott’s suicide. He would be 55-years-old. Valentine’s Day will mark the 40 th anniversary of his burial in Memorial Gardens, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Everything changed forty years ago. A weak genetic link snapped. Depression descended like a thick wet quilt. Sorrow erupted from some unconscious crypt and washed over me time and again like relentless brutal surf and murderous

There are introverts who aren’t empathetic and there are extroverts who are, but for now, let’s talk about those folks who are both introverted and empathetic. The combination is often misunderstood, but actually quite lovely. Personality research uses different terms, but many people recognize themselves in these patterns of needing solitude and feeling others’ emotions deeply. Introverts Introverts draw their energy from silence, solitude, and alone time, whereas extroverts

People often say, “Let God be God.” I never understood that. Of course, God is God. No one needs to let God be who God is. But I think what people meant might be more along the lines of advice my spiritual director gave me when he said, “Let God do what only God can do.” In other words, stop trying to do what only God can do. Get out of the way. For example: I cannot form myself into the image of Christ. I can make myself available, tell God of my desire, pray scripture, and

Why is There Evil? Recently in Cincinnati where I live, a sweet, vibrant, smart 11-year-old girl full of life and potential and part of a large loving family was gunned down in a playground by a drive-by shooter. As our Bible study group joined with many others grieving, the question was raised, “Why? Why, Lord? I don’t get it. I don’t understand. How could anyone do such a thing?” We try to explain evil in terms of freewill. God created us with freewill. The person (still at

Lawrence R. Taylor, PhD There is a crack in everything; that’s how the light gets in. —Leonard Cohen, “Anthem” It is quite possible to live our lives sailing on the surface of the sea, unaware of the splendid, awe-inspiring, mysterious depths. We enter the world laden with the blessings and baggage of family, clan, and culture. As we grow, we naturally take on the expectations of the people and institutions around us. We develop personae . We must. Personae are m

There is always more to learn, more to discover. Each discovery opens up a thousand more yet to come. The more I know, the more I realize how much I do not know. God is infinite. God’s love is infinite. God’s heart is infinite. When I was a young pastor in rural Minnesota, an elderly congregant expressed his fear that heaven might be rather boring. What are we going to do? Sit on a cloud playing a harp? Be locked in an eternal church service? Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335–394 CE)