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Bruce Maples

My Dad versus Liz Trotta

My dad was a journalist. He was a number of other things as well: son of a preacher, high-school boxer, WWII volunteer, medic during the war, concentration camp liberator. Journalism student at U of Missouri. Reporter, columnist, editor. But above all, he was a journalist -- a "newspaperman," as he

The Incarnation -- A Fake-Out?

We're working through Brian McClaren's book Everything Must Change at church on Sunday nights, and it's been a good study of a challenging book. (There are still some weeks to go -- come join us.) Today's section contained a point that really helped crystalize a thought for me, and challenged me as

Faith Versus Belief

I've started re-reading the book Stages of Faith (Amazon link [http://www.amazon.com/Stages-Faith-Psychology-Human-Development/dp/0060628669/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204508162&sr=8-1]) by Fowler. It's an important book, and I'm sure I'll post some more on it as I work my way through it.

The Question of Utility

I've been reading an interesting book (if you're a policy wonk like me) called The Utility of Force [http://www.amazon.com/Utility-Force-Rupert-Smith/dp/0713998369]. It's by a British general and military historian who explores the changing ability of military force to be useful politically, or as t

I'm Getting Tired of ... Religion

You know, I'm really getting tired of religion. I don't mean spirituality, necessarily, and I certainly don't mean the practice of Christlikeness. But I surely do mean the earthly-focused, useless, institutional, powerless, unexamined fabric of delusions and rituals that pass for Christianity in man

Two Sunday Morning Blessings

Some of my friends and readers know that one of my lives is that of a musician. It's interesting how compartmentalized our lives are; many of my co-workers have no idea of this part of me, or of my long history in making and directing music. (And

My Tribute to Molly Ivins

(Posted at the Texas Observer, her "home" paper) I envy all you people in Texas. No, really, I do. You got to know Molly for many years, while I only discovered her when I read "Shrub" for the first time in 2000. It's funny

Have a Very Merry, Horribly Conflicted Christmas

(Cross-posted at DailyKos and at Street Prophets) I have always loved Christmas: the decorations, the special services at church, the parties, the time off. When I was young, the gifts were part of the attraction, but over time getting gifts has become much less important than giving them. One

Pastor Speaks Out on Walmart

(cross-posted at Daily Kos) Our church, and our pastor, are serious about two things: inviting people into the love and acceptance of God, and confronting injustice as the opportunity presents itself. So when Dr. Joseph Phelps of Highland Baptist in Louisville was contacted by the WakeUpWalmart folks and asked

Who Would Jesus Torture?

Our pastor, Joe Phelps, passed along an essay he did for Ethics Daily (link at the right). I cross-posted it on dailyKos here. Please go give it a read -- it's very good. Labels: Christianity, Jesus, non-violence, torture