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Nate Pyle's Blog, page 4
August 12, 2015
Introducing the Book: Man Enough
I first thought about writing a book when I was in high school. My parents had just bought our second computer, this one equipped with the newest space-age technology, a CD-rom. In multiple trips I carried the old computer, with its lightning fast 486 DX processor that topped out at a whopping 33 MHz of computing power, up the stairs and put it on my desk; the whole desk because the stinking thingwaslarger than a dorm room refrigerator – and heavier. But I was going to write. I remember the f...
July 28, 2015
When Tissue is a Person: How Thomas Gray Helped Me Think About Planned Parenthood
His name is Thomas Gray.
Thomaswas born with a birth defect, anencephaly, that caused parts of his brain to not form. Born to Sarah and Ross Gray, Thomas lived for six days before he died. Because the condition was discovered during the pregnancy, Ross and Sarah had prepared for his short life and made arrangement for hisorgans to be donated.
I heard about Thomas while listening to the Radiolab podcast “Gray’s Donation.” Two years after Thomas’ death, Sarah Gray began wondering what happened...
July 23, 2015
Outrage: the Social Pressure of Social Media
A shift has happened in social media. Everyone who spends time online has noticed it. A few openly talking about it. Scot McKnight calls it “crowdpounding.” An odd name, but descriptive enough to convey his thought.Regardless of what you think of the name, the idea is what meaning have observed: social media hasn’t been very social. Or civil. It’s become the peepshow to fulfill our lustful desires to be right and make others wrong. Some have rightly called the desire for the cheap thrill of...
June 26, 2015
Why I Don’t Fear the Supreme Court Decision
Last night my wife and I got away for our eleventh anniversary. We’re in Michigan on vacation with family, so we slipped away for the night, got a hotel downtown Grand Rapids, and took to the city. We ate fresh seafood, drank good wine, and simply enjoyed our relationship. Eleven years with each other; eleven years of being known; eleven years of commitment and fidelity; eleven years. It’s been good.
No. It’s been great.
Today the Supreme Court announced its decision inObergefell v. Hodgesde...
June 24, 2015
Removing the Flag is a Start, But it Won’t Kill the Monster
To be clear, the confederate flag should come down. In the wake of the shootings in Charleston that killed nine, it is absolutely horrific to think that both the American flag and the South Carolina state flag were lowered to half mast while the Confederate flag that flies above the State House flew proudly; as if it had no reason to mourn, no reason not to be seen, no reason for shame.
The flag that led thousands in battle as they foughtto continue slavery, that became a symbol for those wh...
June 3, 2015
The Real Issue With Men and Porn
Guys, can we talk?
It’s hard out there for us Y chromosome carriers, isn’t it? Sex abuse scandalsare once again forcing conversations about sex to the front and center. Being forcedto talk about problems surrounding sex isn’t high on the list of things we enjoy. I mean, we like sex. But we have a really, really conflicted relationship with sex which means that despite our love of sex, talking about sex makes us uncomfortable. To be more specific,conversationsthat involve actual women and fee...
May 14, 2015
The Pew Study and Being Driven to Drink
So the Pew Study came out. It said Christianity in America, as a whole, is shrinking. Excuse me while I try to find my surprised face as I seem to have misplaced it for this supposedly shocking revelation.
This isn’t news. Confirmation of our suspicions, further evidence of a trend, sure. But news? Nope. And yet, people are up in arms about it. As one of my friends said, “SO MUCH PEARL CLUTCHING.” Both Progressive and Conservative Christianity have published responses to the poll. It seems t...
May 12, 2015
Persecution or Clanging Cymbal?
Photo: Lenny Hirsch
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” -Matthew 5:11Persecution can be a twisted badge of pride. Rather than being a comfort to one facing systemic, targeted hostility, the verse quoted above has become certification that one is a true believer. Sincewe in America don’t face the obvious persecution of so many Christian brothers and sisters around the world we have to go looking for it. And becaus...
March 31, 2015
Outrage Over RFRA Might Be A Fear Of Christians
Nate Chute – Reuters
Last week Indiana found itself at the center of the news cyclefor all the wrong reasons. With Gov. Pence’s signing of theReligious Freedom Restoration Actour nation once again found itself taking sidesin the debate over LGBTQ rights.
Honestly, I’m torn over this issue. I understand that the Indiana bill was fashioned after the 1993 bill that was signed into federal law by Bill Clinton. I know that 19 other states have RFRA legislation. And, as a pastor, I support religio...
March 24, 2015
Safe Space May Be Hurting Us
This morning I read a fascinating article in the New York Times criticizing the idea of “safe space.” These days we hear a lot of talk about wanting to create space where people feel safe to be themselves. Even in the church, this idea of creating a place that is safe for people to be authentic with their sins, their fears, and their doubts; a place where they can bring them out of the darkness and into the light so those deep down secrets loose their power; a place where judgement is withho...
