by John D. Pierce | Aug 24, 2021 | Opinion
Why are Jesus’ beatitudes — widely considered the essence of his teachings — so absent from what is often called Christianity today? The values, priorities and character traits Jesus calls for in what’s known as the Sermon on the Mount don’t align well with much of...
by John D. Pierce | Aug 17, 2021 | Opinion
My public school and religious education were taught through the lens of “American exceptionalism.” We were not only blessed, we learned; we were also special, which translated to privileged. I don’t recall learning about the Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny...
by John D. Pierce | Aug 10, 2021 | Opinion
The word “vaccinated” appears so often now that the shorthand spelling “vaxxed” is widely used. However, spellcheck wants to make it into the word “vexed.” That got me to thinking about how getting vaxxed just as soon as possible was an eager and strategic effort for...
by John D. Pierce | Aug 3, 2021 | Opinion
The complimentary hotel breakfast featured good coffee, fluffy scrambled eggs and a rarity — rightly textured and properly seasoned grits. And, despite persistent rains, a skyline view was making an early morning appearance. Yet, one of the two televisions was tuned...
by John D. Pierce | Jul 27, 2021 | Opinion
Revivalism impacted the religious upbringing and inherited faith of many of us in ways we likely didn’t realize. The doctrine, terminology and formulated methods of emotion-driven evangelical evangelism grew out of this frontier phenomenon. Ultimately, the seasonal,...
