Prostitution is a dehumanizing path into which most in the trade are deceived or coerced. Selling one’s body for survival is for the desperate, the last resort for the victims of bone-crushing poverty and social marginalization. She is simply human “merchandise” to the heartless broker and the soulless buyer. There’s no way to put a …
Befriending The Banished
“I used to think that to be Christlike meant to be alienated and put off by the sin of others. But it’s quite the opposite. Refusing to be alienated and put of by the sin of others is what allows me to be Christlike.” Brant Hansen “If you owned a Rembrandt covered in mud, you …
It’s the Rope That Saves
As I read it, the rope Rahab draped out her window and used to scale down Jericho’s wall was the very same red rope that the scouts put to use for their escape some days before. The rope was meant for both Jewish scouts and pagan prostitutes; for insiders and outsiders. As the scouts were …
Rahab’s Redemptive Red Rope
“Sharing faith is not like teaching a class on the fundamentals. It’s more like riding on a train with our hand out to give people running alongside a chance to come aboard.” It would be a stretch to claim that the scouts fully understood that the red rope signified Rahab’s salvation from judgment. But being …
Signposts or Stumbling Blocks?
Our motives for sharing faith should never be to appease God, impress Christians, or oppress non-christians. “Don’t be,” says Brian McLaren, “the ecclesiastical counterpart of a mealtime telemarketer or email spammer barraging people with unwanted messages.” We’re supposed to be signposts that point people toward Jesus not stumbling blocks that trip them up on their …
