• An Impostor Jesus,  Exposing Legalism

    Rediscovering Jesus – Rediscovering the Bible (Part 2)

    Fresh out of homeschooled high school, and because our cultic group rejected traditional higher education, I was pursuing some online college-like classes through Bill Gothard’s Institute. The stress of assignments, deadlines, and a demanding English teacher was hard enough. But, the impossible task ahead of me put me over the edge. Two of my classes asked me to go point by point through the Basic and Advanced Seminars and use the Bible to prove them true. At first, I genuinely tried to complete the assignments, but I struggled to find verses that actually matched the things Gothard claimed. Eventually, as deadlines loomed and tasks piled up, I grabbed our trusty…

  • God Ponderings,  Things We Don't Talk About

    But God is Not a Vending Machine…

    Reblogged with a few tweeks from last year because I needed to hear this again! It’s easy to say that we believe God is all-powerful and that He has the ability to intervene on our behalf. But what about when He doesn’t? When a young couple, serving on the mission field, looses their healthy, newborn son to unforeseen complications, after two previous miscarriages… When a wonderful, loving pastor’s wife suddenly dies… When a family battling cancer with their teenage son finds out their second son also has cancer… Really, God? If you are really in control and absolutely powerful, why would these things happen? If we are honest, we will admit…