Hebrews 13:2 offers a plea for hospitality that is very well-known among Christians, one that is meant to motivate to action with a reminder that you may, in fact, be entertaining angels: “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Thus, […]
hospitality
Christian Apologists Talking Badly About Secular People
In this video, I take a look at three Christian apologists talking badly about secular people. ?
Should You Sign a Card for a Gay Marriage? The Conservative Christian’s Dilemma
A conservative Christian told me he was invited to sign the card for a newly married gay couple in his office. He avoided doing so because he doesn’t believe in gay marriage. I suggested just signing “Best wishes!” because Christians are called to wish the best to everyone. He was worried that this would be […]
Should a Christian use the Name and Preferred Pronouns of a Trans-Gender Person?
Five years ago, I delivered a plenary address titled “What Would Jesus Say to Caitlyn Jenner?” According to many Christians, the first thing he’d say is “Hiya, Bruce!” For example, Robert Gagnon defends the view that using the preferred pronouns and name for a transgender person constitutes blasphemy against God: by referring to Jenner as […]
Prayer, Hypocrisy, and Hospitality: A Response to Stephanie Borowicz
This week, the first Muslim woman ever was sworn into the Pennsylvania State Legislature. The Christian politician who prayed to open the session, Stephanie Borowicz, made a point of using the name “Jesus” no less than 13 times in her prayer. (To make matters worse, Borowicz’s prayer was a rambling mess of theological confusion which […]
In apologetics, the ability to debate is good, but the ability to listen is better
My exposure to apologetics began in the late 1980s when I was still in high school. That first wave came by way of Josh McDowell, John Warwick Montgomery, and Norman Geisler and focused on many of the occupations of Christian fundamentalism including the defense of a six-thousand year old earth and a global flood. On the […]
Transgender Hospitality: A Response to James Anderson
This article is a response to James Anderson’s article “You Will Be Made to Lie.” I will assume the reader is familiar with Anderson’s article. And if you’re short on time, don’t worry: it should only take a couple minutes to read Anderson’s pithy article (literally, two minutes, tops). Now for my response. And it would be […]
Hospitality is a Two-Way Street: Gender Pronouns and Welcome of the Other
In her article “I am the parent of a non-binary child,” Susan Knoppow describes how her child Miriam decided in high school that she was non-binary (qua gender). In other words, “she” was no longer conforming to the male/female he/she gender binary. At this point, Miriam requested that when people refer to Miriam with third-person pronouns, they […]
Sorry, this pew is paid for
The other day while I was reading up on the historic practice of parishoners renting or buying private pews in churches, I happened upon this fascinating article: “Sacred Mysteries: Renting the Best Seats in Church.” When I lived in England I visited a church which still had some old pews with locked gates that had been […]
Atheist as Neighbor Chapel Talk
I delivered this talk at Taylor Seminary’s chapel on October 29th, 2015 in recognition of Reformation Day (October 31st), a time when Protestant Christians recall, among other things, that the church is always in need of reformation. My specific focus, based on my book Is the Atheist My Neighbor?, was to look at the inhospitable […]
Atheism and Christian Hospitality: A conversation with Father Ron
Yesterday evening I appeared on the radio show Amplify with Father Ron Lengwin (on NewsRadio 1020 KDKA in Pittsburgh) to talk about Is the Atheist My Neighbor? This is my second time on Father Ron’s show, and I really enjoyed the interview / conversation. Father Ron has an affable, easy-going style and asked good questions based on a […]
Randal talks atheism on “The Ride Home with John and Kathy”
On July 17th I appeared on “The Ride Home with John and Kathy“, a popular drive-time radio show in Pittsburgh. The topic, as you might have guessed, was my new book Is the Atheist My Neighbor. It’s a well-paced interview which covers a lot of ground in a comparatively brief 12 minutes. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/extras-tentativeapologist/Randal+talks+atheism+with+John+and+Kathy.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | […]
The Parable of the Good Atheist
Is the Atheist My Neighbor? Support the Book and Change the Conversation
Do atheists hate God? Many Christians seem to think so. For the last three centuries Christians have widely assumed that atheism is always a result of a rebellious, sinful rejection of God. According to this view, at some level atheists really do know there is a God, but they sinfully suppress this knowledge because they […]
