Pastor Ian Kirk

Go learn what this means: “Love God’s entire creation…” (from Dostoevsky’s Elder Zosima)

#dostoevsky
#theBrosK

“Christians will approach politics best when we do not think of politics first.” — @michaelrwear.bsky.social

Just reading the review was helpful in articulating what I've been trying to put into words. #Left ≠ #Woke is now another #book that needs reading.

As it always should have been. However, as slick as that might appear to be on the surface, the ramifications are far larger than I think he realizes. I'm still for it.

10 Church Diseases that Might be Afflicting Your Church Here are ten diseases I see as I consult with unhealthy churches around the country: Community Disconnect Disease. Churches with this disease do not know their community. Often, church members driv…

Chuck Lawless on 10 Church Diseases that Might be Afflicting Your Church chucklawless.com/2025/01/10-c...

“We wear ‘busy’ like a badge to indicate our worth, when the reality is it’s a chain that is keeping us enslaved.”

—Heather Nelson, “Creating Space for Soul Refreshment

For those who are anxious this day, may the peace of God be with you. For those claim victory this day, may the humility of God be with you. For all of us, my the grace and mercy of God be with us, as we figure out how to move forward. May the wisdom and love of God help us pursue unity. Amen.

Me, too! Thanks for this!

You've made a series of great points. I even agree that Christianity has been on a pedestal and that there are subjects where religion is best not brought in, though the lines are probably different for us.

New Nomads: Digital, Physical, and Both. I wonder, how (not if) the church building, and our concept of church community, has become an albatross. Are we weighed down? Are we unable to move, adjust, go, because we are weighed down?

Nomads have always been around. Digital nomads are a not-so new type that we need to welcome and even celebrate.

How Christian Nationalists Stretch the Truth Things aren't always as they seem

How Christian Nationalists Stretch the Truth
open.substack.com/pub/warrenth...

Today we honor what would’ve been Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 96th birthday. 🖤 Dr. King was revolutionary who fought for justice, equality, and love when the world needed it most. His fight isn’t over—it's on us to keep pushing, keep resisting, and keep his dream alive.

Exclusive: Bluesky is getting its own photo-sharing app, Flashes More good news for those looking to exit Meta's social app ecosystem in favor of a more open alternative: An independent developer is building a

Some good news for the visually-oriented social media people amongst us!

though I'm not arguing, particularly, the right or wrong of that. The public spaces are where atheists and non-atheists need to coexist. We won't always agree (the non-atheists don't all agree). We cannot exclude each other in that way.

Perhaps I should have tried a different starting point with my first post, which was a reply. When it comes the public square, why should atheism be allowed to removed religion? That seemed to be the thrust of the OP. This puts atheism in the power position that religions hold to some degree…

I'm sorry if anyone thought that I presumed all atheists have the same journey. They do not. Just as all theists do not have the same journey.

I don't like Venn diagrams :) They oversimply and often distort the views they supposedly represent. I generally find them more meme-worthy than actual conveyors of truth. This comes from my many years in procurement and manufacturing.

Respectfully, atheism is a belief structure. You believe that there is no God (or gods). If belief structure as a phrase is too related to religion for you (which I can understand), then worldview works, too (I have my struggles with worldview, hence my use of belief structure).

No, babies are not born atheists. They have no belief structure at all. There is cultural training of babies. This would occur even if the entire culture was 100% atheist.

That's what I mean

A lack of belief in something does shape your worldview. It may be small. Each thing we believe or don't believe is both part of our worldview and shapes the living out of our worldview.

It is not just you that needs to ask the question. Those of us with religious beliefs also need to ask such questions, too.

Atheism, I concur, does not worship, per se. However, it is a core worldview that shapes and forms a person from the inside out. It bases its beliefs upon certain data points; many of which are actually the same as many religions. Perhaps "belief framework" is a better way of phrasing it.

#Atheism is no less and nor more than a #religion than what you are categorizing as religion. Religion (regardless of your thoughts about it) will never disappear. The question truly is, how we all can work together?
#christian #atheist

It is an extraordinary claim. I would never deny it is extraordinary. It is a claim of faith. It does go against so-called common sense (not sure that exists more than a concept, really), and that should be okay.