I roll my eyes every time I hear sermons that preach about “You shouldn’t trust your feelings!” These people seem to forget that God gives us feelings for a reason. Sure, you can’t let feelings alone dictate your every decision, but you also can’t live without feelings. Jesus feels too. The One with the capability to raise Lazarus from the dead wept when he was moved by the ones mourned for Lazarus. His tears were driven purely by feeling. Logically, there was no rational reason for him to weep when he knew how the story would go. Jesus was amazed by the faith of a Gentile woman. Jesus shouldn’t have been amazed by the woman, since he knew about what’s in a person’s heart before they even expressed it. Jesus could have gone into the temple to reason with the money changers and animal vendors, but instead, he flipped the tables and waved a whip, demonstrating what seems to be “anger.” How dare Jesus let his feelings guide his actions! In Acts 16, it records that when Paul and...
Since 2016, I’ve watched a tragedy unfold. Many conservative Christians have drifted from a faith based on Christ into a political ideology, and now, into a deep delusion. It has detached them from reality and, ironically, pushed them further away from the very values they claim to protect. I understand why it’s hard to break free. When you invest your entire identity into a movement, admitting that movement has become hideous feels like a betrayal of yourself. It feels like admitting you were wrong for years. That is a painful thing to face. But that pain has created a vicious cycle. I see friends who, rather than facing the truth, have decided to go half-blind. They focus only on the policies they like while ignoring the gross injustice, cruelty, and violence being committed by the leaders they champion. They are terrified that if they admit this "Christian" political project is a fraud, they will look foolish. But we need to face a cold reality: Is saving face and pr...