Christian Spirituality

How can I believe in God, when so many innocent people suffer?

May
14
2013

light-end-tunnel

The question people most often ask me is, “How can I believe in God, when so many innocent people suffer?” Those who ask it typically want to believe in God, but feel that the fact of innocents suffering leaves them no choice but to remain in their skepticism.

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Burning of the Resentments, Easter Vigil 2013

Mar
31
2013

5

The one hundred and fifty or so resentments sent me in response to my post Send Your Resentments Up in Smoke were last night consumed in the flames of the Easter Vigil service held at Trinity Episcopal Church in Escondido, CA. It was a beautiful and deeply moving ceremony. Below are some pictures of it taken by [...]

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Send your resentments up in smoke for Easter 2013

Mar
27
2013

aaGot-Resentments

[UPDATE: It's done. Pictures are up.] Last year for Easter over two hundred people sent me resentments that they were carrying and desired to be rid of. I prayed over each and every one of those resentments, and then brought them to a church, where, on the dawn of Easter morning, they were burned to [...]

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The Full Monte!

Mar
14
2013

dumbfounded

As part of his ongoing responses to yesterday’s post (Pastor Marc Monte: Satan called. Loves your work), this morning pastor Monte continued to press his case that victims of abuse should simply “radically forgive” by posting these two tweets:

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The one sin God cannot forgive

Feb
27
2013

openjail

Dear John: Is there any sin so bad that God, through Jesus Christ, cannot forgive it?

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My new John’s Prayer for the Week and John’s Monthly Newsletter

Feb
22
2013

11prayerofweek

This week I launched two newsletters. You can sign up for either/both of them here.  John’s Prayer for the Week, sent out every Sunday (or Monday, depending on how my weekend went) morning, is intended to put us in a good mindset to start the new week. In John’s Monthly Newsletter, I’ll catch readers up on personal [...]

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Posts by Theme

Dear John

How Can God Allow Child Abuse?

Nov
26
2011

fist

Within a letter I recently received a reader asked a question I thought worth answering. She wrote: If I were in the room with a man abusing a child, and I could do something to stop him, I would be morally obligated to do what I could, right? So, according to my upbringing, God is [...]

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Christian Issues

The fundamentally toxic Christianity

Sep
11
2012

And-Jesus-Wept

Everything that’s wrong with Christianity in one nutshell.

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Relationships

What does a woman mean when she says “I need space”?

Oct
18
2012

backoff

Dear John, A good friend of mine suggested I contact you. I am now at the end of a five-year relationship and I am feeling lost as to what happened. We have had no fights, no disagreements, no infidelity. Just all of a sudden, it is over. I came home yesterday to a “Dear John” [...]

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Christian Spirituality

Joseph and Pregnant Mary at the Inn

Dec
09
2012

trough

Joseph: How do you feel, Mary? Mary: Pregnant. Very pregnant. Joseph: Are you comfortable? Do you have enough hay? Mary: I do, thank you. And thanks for doing such a thorough job cleaning that feeding trough. I can’t believe our baby’s first crib will be a feeding trough. Joseph: No, no: it’s not a feeding [...]

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Humor

Top 10 Things I WON’T Say To Rob Bell During Our Lunch Today

Apr
18
2012

Rob-Bell

Later today I’ll be having lunch with former mega-church founder and leader, best-selling author and soon-to-be huge television star Rob Bell. While of course security concerns prohibit me from revealing the location of what Rob has called our “epic lunch,” two words should be enough for you to grasp the magnitude of this groundbreaking summit: [...]

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Personal

“Your laughter is interfering with my degrading shame”

Jan
28
2013

dadmeblog1

If I had a thousand years and spoke as many languages I couldn’t begin to express my gratefulness for the messages of condolences so many of you sent me after learning that my father died. I feel my father read and was moved by them all. Each and every one of those messages also somehow [...]

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