Card Talk
Ben Christian
The Angel of Death (Hezekiah 3:18): A ...

It’s now time to address that scythe wielding, six winged, cherub whose coming heralds fear in the heart of humanity [read that reference again] . . .

The Angel of Death (Hezekiah 3:18): A Misunderstood and Theologically Vital Non-Entity
Card Talk
Ben Christian
Peter's need for Ritalin (Mark 9:5-6) OR What ...

"Peter didn't know what the Hell he was talking about. He had no idea what the mountain-top experience really represented...Moses & Elijah represented encouragement and a reminder to be attentive to faithfulness, because dark days are coming..."

Peter's need for Ritalin (Mark 9:5-6) OR What we can learn from The Transfiguration and Other Mountain-Top Experiences
Creed Card Talk
Ben Christian
“Although Surprising to Most, the Kingdom of ...

 . . . one year we’ll defend our belief in an incarnation timed for Sukkoth as there is no way Jesus was born in December, and we’ll write the Card Talk about how the wise men did not show up until He was three years old. Eventually we’ll even address the fact that the little drummer boy was actually a drunk Roman solider looking for his estranged wife (okay, we just made that last one up) . . .

“Although Surprising to Most, the Kingdom of Heaven is really like___________”
Other, Card Talk
Ben Christian
O Come, O Come Emmanuel (Isaiah 7:14) [An ...

Sadly, this Advent Card Talk is applicable every year...

O Come, O Come Emmanuel (Isaiah 7:14) [An Advent Card Talk]
Card Talk
Ben Christian
Jesus looking for a fight (Mark 11:11) -The Two ...

In discussing how fast "faith can move mountains," Matthew cuts Mark's three-day story in half. He speeds up the pace, chronologically and theologically. 

Jesus looking for a fight (Mark 11:11) -The Two Palm Sundays

Setting shit on fire to get attention (2 Samuel 14:28-33): An Apology in Defense of Absalom

Setting shit on fire to get attention (2 Samuel 14:28-33): An Apology in Defense of Absalom

Absalom knew that lighting shit on fire is appropriate when attempting to catch the attention of an unjust system. Thus, Amnon, King David, and their "boys will be boys" bullshit attitude, got exactly what they deserved.

Breaking your enemy's teeth, dissolving them like snail slime, aborting them like fetuses, & washing your feet in their blood. On Biblical Schadenfreude [A four for one Card Talk on Psalm 58 ]

Breaking your enemy's teeth, dissolving them like snail slime, aborting them like fetuses, & washing your feet in their blood. On Biblical Schadenfreude [A four for one Card Talk on Psalm 58 ]

Schadenfreude:  "enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others." Sometimes God wants to kick your enemies in the face on your behalf.

Lusting After Lovers with Donkey Genitals and Horse Emission (Ezekiel 23:20) and Ezekiel’s Obsession with Pornographic Metaphors

Lusting After Lovers with Donkey Genitals and Horse Emission (Ezekiel 23:20) and Ezekiel’s Obsession with Pornographic Metaphors

Perhaps we should remember the women in the room when Ezekiel first uttered these words. They had been forcibly marched from their homes. They had watched their families die. Some had been raped by the Babylonians. How did they feel? Perhaps we should remember the women who read these texts today, the women in our churches and homes, whose current situations are not too dissimilar to the women in exile by the rivers of Babylon. They have enough reasons to weep.

Unbridled Horniness (Most of Song of Solomon) [A Guest Card Talk]

Unbridled Horniness (Most of Song of Solomon) [A Guest Card Talk]

“What the Bible is rather silent on is sexual relationships between two unmarried but committed and consenting people.  Except in Song of Solomon. Here, we have a love story in its many facets.  There is no judgement and no condemnation. And no guarantee of marriage.  And we don’t know what to do with it. And that’s a tragedy.”

“Following God’s commands not being that difficult” (Deuteronomy 30:11-14)

“Following God’s commands not being that difficult” (Deuteronomy 30:11-14)

Perhaps holiness is the hardest thing there is. Not because we don't know how we should or should not act. Or because we need someone to explain right and wrong. Or because we need someone to bring us a set of divine revelations to act like decent human beings. But because we simply make excuses.

Jesus writing something in the sand (probably what type of an asshole you are)- John 8:1-11

Jesus writing something in the sand (probably what type of an asshole you are)- John 8:1-11

While the woman had sinned, the goal of the religious leaders was not in the interest of community holiness, redeeming the woman, healing a broken family, or mending broken relationships. She was a pawn. Jesus knew all this and responded accordingly.

Turning Fine Gold and Silver Jewelry into Gilded Dildos (Ezekiel 16:17) Or the Trouble with Prudish Translations

Turning Fine Gold and Silver Jewelry into Gilded Dildos (Ezekiel 16:17) Or the Trouble with Prudish Translations

Ezekiel (misogynistically) took the metaphor of Jerusalem as an unfaithful wife to the extreme. For Zeke, Jerusalem's dalliances with other nations was like her measuring her lover's dick, taking the gifts her husband gave her, making dildos out of them, and then cumming to that instead of the man in bed with her.