Thoughts, stories, and quotes on faith, the Bible, and justice.https://camelsandneedles.com/https://camelsandneedles.com/pete-enns/https://camelsandneedles.com/pete-enns/“It's always a bad move to invent a Jesus who agrees with us rather than challenges us.” — Pete EnnsSat, 30 Nov 2019 14:28:10 GMTQuoteshttps://camelsandneedles.com/black-theology-and-black-power/https://camelsandneedles.com/black-theology-and-black-power/I only made it two pages into James Cone’s 1969 book, Black Theology and Black Power, before I knew I needed to buckle up and take this one slow. He spoke with the words of John the Baptist and gave context to the concept of oppression I had never seen before. His basic message is that Jesus is black and…Fri, 29 Nov 2019 22:36:46 GMTThoughtshttps://camelsandneedles.com/if-we-can-use-the-bible-to-support-slavery/https://camelsandneedles.com/if-we-can-use-the-bible-to-support-slavery/While watching the movie Harriet last week, I was emotionally moved many times at how Harriet Tubman’s faith led her to do incredibly heroic acts because she knew it was the right thing. But the most haunting part of the movie for me was how strongly the Bible was used to support slavery. White, land-owning people leaned hard on the…Wed, 20 Nov 2019 01:02:00 GMTThoughtshttps://camelsandneedles.com/the-centurion/https://camelsandneedles.com/the-centurion/To oppress someone is to have your boot on their neck. In the Bible, the Jews spent most of their time under the neck of other people’s boots. There were some golden years when they got to wear the size 12s, but they messed that up and spent the next several hundred years getting very familiar with different types of…Fri, 15 Nov 2019 23:25:37 GMTStorieshttps://camelsandneedles.com/jared-byas/https://camelsandneedles.com/jared-byas/“All theology has an adjective.” — Jared ByasSat, 09 Nov 2019 11:35:12 GMTQuoteshttps://camelsandneedles.com/a-reconstructed-view-of-the-bible/https://camelsandneedles.com/a-reconstructed-view-of-the-bible/I grew up worshipping the Bible. The Bible was the main source of truth–God’s instruction book for life. Perhaps more than anything else, being a Christian meant believing the Bible. And if you believed the Bible, you had to believe the whole Bible. Everything in the Bible happened exactly as it said it did. We believed in the Genesis creation…Fri, 08 Nov 2019 07:05:18 GMTThoughtshttps://camelsandneedles.com/esther-saviors-and-rajnikanth/https://camelsandneedles.com/esther-saviors-and-rajnikanth/Our congregation recently went through the book of Esther. To start the series, the preacher told us that Esther is one of the most favorite books of the Jews after the Torah. Although I don’t know many Jewish people to confirm this with, it didn’t take long to figure out why. In the story, the Jewish people are stuck with…Thu, 07 Nov 2019 15:30:11 GMTThoughtshttps://camelsandneedles.com/kurt-willems/https://camelsandneedles.com/kurt-willems/“Empire creates the façade of peace and security, all the while perpetuating suffering for other parts of the world.” — Kurt WillemsWed, 06 Nov 2019 23:30:36 GMTQuoteshttps://camelsandneedles.com/i-dont-believe-anymore/https://camelsandneedles.com/i-dont-believe-anymore/Dear white churches, I’ve been with you for decades. I never missed a service on Sunday. I came during the week and volunteered my time. I gave up on other dreams so that I could serve you better. I publicly identified myself with you. I wore your t-shirts. I learned and performed your music. I attended your conferences. I stood…Tue, 05 Nov 2019 11:29:19 GMTThoughtshttps://camelsandneedles.com/james-cone/https://camelsandneedles.com/james-cone/“The American white man has always had an easy conscience.” — James ConeMon, 04 Nov 2019 11:00:43 GMTQuoteshttps://camelsandneedles.com/looking-out-for-john-the-baptist/https://camelsandneedles.com/looking-out-for-john-the-baptist/No other biblical figure inspires me as much as John the Baptist. He stands on the fringe of religious society. He speaks to the insiders from the outside. He’s not afraid to tell it straight to the people in power. He does weird things. He says we’d better change or there’ll be hell to pay. He’s an iconoclast. But instead…Sun, 03 Nov 2019 11:21:04 GMTThoughtshttps://camelsandneedles.com/i-tried-to-love-dandelions/https://camelsandneedles.com/i-tried-to-love-dandelions/I bought a house with a great yard–our first home and our first yard. I like to consider myself ecologically-minded; I like things natural, even unkempt is ok for me. I can’t deny that I love the look of a perfectly green lawn, but I also know the chemicals and cost required to get there, and it doesn’t seem worth…Sat, 02 Nov 2019 14:47:44 GMTThoughtshttps://camelsandneedles.com/teaching-the-bible-to-kids/https://camelsandneedles.com/teaching-the-bible-to-kids/When I volunteered to teach my son’s elementary Sunday School class, I received login details to an online service from a large Christian publisher. When you log in, you can see videos, songs, and a full lesson plan produced by this company. The lesson I was to teach was on The Widow’s Mite–a fantastic story. In short (and it is…Fri, 01 Nov 2019 15:08:53 GMTThoughtshttps://camelsandneedles.com/desmond-tutu/https://camelsandneedles.com/desmond-tutu/“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” — Desmond TutuThu, 31 Oct 2019 10:23:26 GMTQuoteshttps://camelsandneedles.com/john/https://camelsandneedles.com/john/Interview Recording 059 Subjects: Berenice (wife of Simeon) & Joanna (wife of Matthias) [start recording] Ok, let’s start at the beginning. How old was Zechariah when this all happened? “Oh God, what were they, like 60 when he was born?” “He was something like 65, she was 55. Or 56, I can’t remember.” “Anyway, it was such a shame. Good…Mon, 07 Oct 2019 11:24:00 GMTStorieshttps://camelsandneedles.com/job/https://camelsandneedles.com/job/We aren’t very good at handling poetry in the church; most of the good stuff goes way over our heads. We look at Song of Solomon and try to squeeze it into a Bible study about a good marriage. If King Solomon put on a Marriage Retreat weekend, it would be the laughed out of town. Who is he to…Wed, 07 Aug 2019 11:36:00 GMTStories