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Category Archives: love your enemies
Belief in Angry God is Perhaps the Most Damaging, Misguided Christian Belief of All
What is more central to our religious experience than our relationship with God? But some believers understand their relationships with God much differently than others do. Most of us believe God loves us and cares about us. We even talk … Continue reading
Posted in alienation, fear, hell, Jesus, legalism, love, love your enemies, Old Testament, The Father
Tagged angry God, Deuteronomy 28, harmful beliefs, Hebrews 10, Matthew 5, sermon on the mount
44 Comments
We Often Create God in Our Own Image: Angry God Part 2
Last time we talked about how thinking God to be angry, violent, and vindictive, based on Old Testament stories like the flood and the genocide of the Canaanites, can cause us to be angry, violent, and vindictive too in imitation … Continue reading
Posted in fear, God, hate, Jesus, love your enemies
Tagged Amalekites, angry God, Canaanites
60 Comments
11 Ways to Avoid Wasting Time in Useless Religious Arguments
At the beginning of a new year many people draw up a list of New Year’s resolutions or at least consider how to make the year better in some way. My suggestion for this year is to waste less time … Continue reading
Posted in inerrancy, love your enemies
Tagged Dialog, Religious Arguments, Religious Discussion, Useless Discussion
35 Comments
3 Misguided Claims of Attacks on Christmas
There is a tendency among some Christians to believe that people in the United States regularly attack and persecute Christians, and these claims intensify during Christmas season. Even an innocent design on a Starbucks coffee cup can lead to mass … Continue reading
Posted in love your enemies, persecution
Tagged Christmas, Courthouse Nativity Scenes, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Xmas
35 Comments
Is It Appropriate for Believers to Use Violence to Advance Justice?
I don’t talk about partisan politics on this blog, and I am not part of any political party. However, sometimes I do mention that the kingdom of God, by its very nature, is somewhat subversive to any government because it … Continue reading
Posted in Jesus, love your enemies
Tagged Amos 2, Antifa, cleansing of the temple, Isaiah 1, Isaiah 58, Isaiah 61, Jesus and violence, justice, nonviolence, politics
54 Comments
3 Reasons Why Loving Others is Not All There Is to Following Jesus
In recent years the idea that loving others is the essence of following Jesus has exploded. And this is a good thing! It runs counter to the view that following Jesus means embracing harmful beliefs like angry god, inerrancy, legalism, … Continue reading
Posted in behavior, Jesus, Kingdom of God, love, love your enemies, the Good News
Tagged Luke 6, Matthew 28
62 Comments
A Surprising and Significant Twist in the Good Samaritan Story Most People Never Notice
When Jesus told an inquirer that if he would ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ he … Continue reading
Posted in Jesus, love, love your enemies
Tagged Luke 10, parable, The Good Samaritan, Who is my neighbor?
39 Comments
48 Short, Specific Suggestions on Loving Others as We Love Ourselves
In my previous post, I talked about Loving Others in 2017, which provides the general background for today’s post, and if you have not read it (or wish to reread it) you can click the link above. Today’s post is … Continue reading
Posted in behavior, God, love, love your enemies, suffering
Tagged loving others, loving ourselves
22 Comments
Loving Others with Empathy, Compassion, and Care this Year
A prominent part of Jesus’ message is that we should love others as we love ourselves. Sometimes, though, it is unclear how this plays out in practical terms. What does it even mean to love others as we love ourselves? … Continue reading
Posted in alienation, behavior, love, love your enemies
Tagged care, compassion, empathy, helping the needy, loving others, loving ourselves, unconditional love
28 Comments
Jesus’ Final Act of Anti-Violence—Crucifixion
For the past several posts we examined passages in the gospels to determine whether Jesus is violent (see the links just below this article). The purpose of this survey was to answer both believers and unbelievers who claim that Jesus … Continue reading
Posted in behavior, hate, Jesus, Kingdom of God, love, love your enemies
Tagged Father forgive them, John 18, Luke 23, Matthew 26, violence, violent jesus
43 Comments
How Does Identifying with the Kingdom of God Affect Our Political Participation?
This is not a partisan political article; it promotes no political party and no candidate at any level. Rather it raises the question of how our being part of the kingdom of God influences our voting and political participation and … Continue reading
Posted in Kingdom of God, love your enemies
Tagged Jesus and politics, politics, two kingdoms, voting
34 Comments
3 Possible Reasons Jesus Told His Followers to Carry Swords
Whenever we talk of Jesus being nonviolent there are always those who protest that Jesus was indeed violent. Often they embrace violence and use Jesus for justification. We have discussed other inadequate ‘proofs’ of Jesus’ ‘violent’ side, such as his cleansing … Continue reading
Posted in Jesus, Kingdom of God, love your enemies
Tagged Christian violence, Jesus and violence, John 18, Luke 22, Mark 6, Matthew 5
51 Comments
Does the Cleansing of the Temple Show Jesus’ Violence? – I Don’t Think So
In this series we ask whether Jesus was sometimes judgmental, threatening, or violent. Those who say he was violent usually point first to the cleansing of the temple. Mark tells the story, which comes just after the triumphant entry into Jerusalem. … Continue reading
Posted in behavior, Jesus, love your enemies
Tagged cleansing of the temple, Jesus and violence, John 2, Mark 11, temple
30 Comments
Does Jesus Demonstrate Threats and Violence?
Opinion is sharply divided among some believers on whether Jesus consistently promoted acceptance, peace, and love toward others or whether he sometimes demonstrated judgment, threats, and violence. This leads some to consistently support peace, love, and compassion while others accept … Continue reading
Are ‘Sins’ Primarily Sins against God or against Other People?
Some believers think all sins are primarily sins against God. Stephen Witmer makes that very statement: All sin is primarily sin against God. Where sin is understood as merely a moral concept rather than mainly a religious one, where it … Continue reading
Posted in alienation, behavior, God, Jesus, legalism, love, love your enemies, sin, sinners, The Father
Tagged Matthew 5
43 Comments
The Best Blog Posts I Read in November-December
Here is a list of some of the best blog posts I read in November-October that pertain to the themes of Jesus without Baggage. I hope you find a few articles here that are interesting and useful to you. Have a … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, creationism, evolution, favorite blogs, gays, inerrancy, legalism, love, love your enemies, sin
4 Comments
Israeli And Palestinian Teens Sing About ‘Home’ Together
The Palestinian and Israeli members of the YMCA Jerusalem Youth Chorus both call the ancient city of Jerusalem their home. Despite the decades of conflict that divide their communities, the teen singers are forming strong bonds and actively working toward … Continue reading
Posted in dispensationalism, favorite blogs, love your enemies
Tagged Israelis, Jerusalem, Palestinians
5 Comments
A Hiatus Notice and Christian Evolution’s Post on My Favorite Topic
A Hiatus Notice I want to share with my regular readers that I am taking a hiatus from posting original material for the next few weeks in order to focus on other important business. However, I will monitor comments and … Continue reading
A Response to the Death of Gay-hating Westboro Church Leader Fred Phelps
A few days ago, I read that Pastor Fred Phelps was on his deathbed. ‘Oh boy’, I thought, ‘I had better be thinking about what to say when people react to his death with cheers and celebration.’ Such a response … Continue reading
Posted in behavior, gays, God, hate, love your enemies, The Father
Tagged Fred Phelps, George Takei, God Hates Fags, Schadenfreude, Westboro Baptist Church
11 Comments
Jesus Without Baggage 