I said last week that Paul can be wrong—as he is in saying women should be quiet in church. This is one response I got:

I have a problem with that. If the Bible is the Word of God, you can’t say the words God gave Paul to speak are wrong. If Paul is wrong, what else in the Bible may be wrong?
(Name)

   That takes a lot of answering. The Bible is not the Word of God. Jesus is—the “Word made flesh,” John tells us.
   And God inspired Paul, but God did not take away Paul’s freedom to think and speak on his own.
   And something is never true just because it is in the Bible. The world is not flat with “four corners,” as the Bible indicates.
   And God did not tell the Hebrew people to slay the Amalekites—men, women, and babes in arms.
   The Bible says it, but it’s not true. That is against God’s nature.
   We know something is true when the evidence shows it to be true.
   I know the teachings of Jesus are right because our lived experience proves them to be right. And the God we meet in personal religious experience is the God we know through the teachings of Jesus.
   The fellow whose note I printed lives on dangerous ground. A person cannot believe God pushed for the slaying of the Amalekites and believe Jesus.
   Jesus said God loves all people–even his enemies. He said God is “kind to the wicked.”
   Biblical inerrantists do not believe the teachings of Jesus. That’s where the problem lies.
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   We just had a $16,000 plumbing break at St. M. If you would like to help fund Friday’s Word during our “crunch,” go to “Give” on our website.
Blessings

A Nice Note

Dear Reverend, I always enjoy/get sad/find humor/start to despair/regain some hope/always rejoice at your simple and profound wisdom.
In short, thank you. One of these days I might come join you for a service or a study. I know I would enjoy either. Stay strong in body and spirit.
Tony —

The Way It Works

   Tony has probably read Friday’s Word for years. Then he begins to think about giving us a visit. And I expect he will. This is the way it works at St. Matthew.
   We need to be glad about this—because this is the only reason St. Matthew exists (while many once-strong strong Eastside churches are closed).
   Churches can no longer survive by reaching the neighborhood around the church.
   I saw a report on a once-strong church trying to hold things together with an attendance of 20 on Sundays. They could not make it. And the closing of that church was particularly sad, because they maintained a soup-kitchen that fed a hundred people during the week.
   And the more progressive a church is, the wider the net it needs to throw. A couple visited from down the street recently. The gay issue was addressed during the service. I knew they would not be back. St. Matthew is a lovely and loving place. But we are a shock to some people who just wander in our door.
   Friday’s Word still works. (Our three newest members found us through it.) And we better be glad it works. There is no substitute.
Someday, when I am gone, Mary will have to write once a week in a little box in the paper.

Pentecost Sunday

It’s a big day—on a holiday weekend. Come to church before you go visit Aunt Sally. And wear something red. We’re going to have a rousing time of it. Sermon: God Does Stuff. (Acts 2:1-12)