Religion

Growing up in an apocalyptic cult is a lot like being Gen Z — I grew up in a religious cult that taught us the end of the world was nigh. As a child, I believed I’d never have time to finish high school, marry, or have children of my own. For the first fifteen years of my life, we were always just a…

People living in ancient times had very little understanding of science, as the Scientific Revolution hadn’t occurred yet (it began approximately fifteen-hundred years after the New Testament was written, and thousands of years after the Old Testament). They had a tendency to explain natural phenomena as events orchestrated by God(s)…

When gentle Jesus lost it — We don’t tend to think of Jesus as an angry guy. After all, he was the preeminent teacher of love, grace, and compassion. Jesus brought us radical and counter-cultural ideas about forgiving and loving our enemies and “turning the other cheek” instead of taking revenge on others who harm us. …

The British singer Maya Arulpragasam, known as M.I.A., a Tamil who was raised Hindu in Sri Lanka, reports that in 2017 she converted to Christianity after having a vision of Jesus. She now calls herself ‘born again’. In an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, she says: “It was…

Is your Church equipped to welcome those with disabilities in, is there even access? For many, the answer may be no, but I’m not only talking about Physical access, with ramps, hearing devices, or whatever else maybe needed, I’m talking about a welcoming environment in general. Are those with disabilities…

There is a reality that few seem to fully understand: We cannot “End Mass Shootings.” We might be able to reduce their numbers, but until human beings evolve past our worst impulses, people are going to die in all manner of violent events. — Let’s just get the unpopular concept out of the way so that those who disagree can stop reading right now: Making it more difficult to obtain firearms will not prevent all mass shootings in schools. The idea that banning handguns and/or assault rifles will solve our issues with violence isn’t…

A short story — This piece was inspired by a prompt for The Top Ten Stories by Timothy J. Sabo and is part of a series of fictional pieces which aims to explore some current social issues. This one focuses on the prompt: “Distorted Christianity.” “What the hell just happened?” asked Tom, as a…

7 students, one teacher, and a deadly ritual to release demons. What happened? — In June 2012, Danielle Harkins, a teacher at a community center, terrorized the locals of Florida after she allegedly cut and burned her students while performing an occult…