http://freelancetheology.com don't just ask google - email your question today! Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:22:03 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Question 164, from Tessa, UK I work with for a fair trade organisation. A lot of my customers are not permitted by their churches to hold fair trade stalls on Sundays, which is frustrating for both activists and supporters. Our official view is that Jesus' anger at the trading that took ... http://freelancetheology.com/2010/07/04/fair-trade-stalls-in-church-and-trading-on-sundays/ Question 163 from Elizabeth, Canada I recently went on vacation to the U.S. and was just blown away by the "Christian" right wing movement that seems to be rampant. I had no problem using my dusty memories from bible college to defend my "socialist" ideas of health care, but drew ... http://freelancetheology.com/2010/07/04/making-the-case-for-christian-environmentalism/ This article is based on a talk given by Jon the freelance theologian in June 2010. It is best read in conjunction with the article on evil, posted on freelance theology in February 2010. The talk began with a rough “timeline” of what is often taught in churches about satan. ... http://freelancetheology.com/2010/06/05/understanding-and-rejecting-satan-%e2%80%93-some-ideas-to-consider/ Question 162, from Paul, United Kingdom Is it possible to think of God as having a gender? This is an interesting question because most Christians, and most Christian writers, automatically use the personal pronouns ‘He’ or ‘Him’ to describe God. This is partly due to the limitations of human language, and also ... http://freelancetheology.com/2010/05/02/the-gender-of-god/ This is a short teaching session Jon the freelance theologian was asked to do on the subject of evil. Instead of addressing the standard ‘Problem of Evil’ as classically stated, this was a study of some theological ideas about the absolute origin of evil in a world created that Christian ... http://freelancetheology.com/2010/02/19/origins-of-evil/ Question 161, from Patricia What are the things that those who believe in Kenosis actually believe in? Do they believe that Jesus had a “veil” that concealed his divine powers while his incarnation on earth or do they believe that he actually “emptied himself” of all divine powers? ‘Kenosis’ is a term ... http://freelancetheology.com/2010/02/18/279kenosis/ Question 160, from Huw, United Kingdom Is there only one 'true' religion? The points of view about whether Christianity is ‘true’ in comparison to ‘truth’ found in other religions can be thought of as a spectrum. This ranges from those who would insist that Christianity is exclusively true and all other ... http://freelancetheology.com/2010/01/10/272true_religion/ Question 159, from Helen P, United Kingdom Christmas cards and nativity scenes depict Mary and Joseph being turned away from Inn and seeking sanctuary in a stable, but I was told that Mary and Joseph stayed with 'family' and were downstairs with the animals which was quite normal for that time. ... http://freelancetheology.com/2009/12/20/was-jesus-born-in-a-stable-or-not/ Question 158, from Tim, United Kingdom Tim wrote a very long question regarding the discrepancies between the genealogies listed for Jesus in both Matthew and Luke. Here's a summary of his questions: Why do the genealogies between David and Jesus differ so much? Why are there only 12 (or 13 if you count ... http://freelancetheology.com/2009/12/20/discrepencies-in-the-genealogies-of-jesus/ Question 157, from Samantha Why do Christians have Christmas tree baubles when I've heard that they derive from “witch balls”? Several pre-Christian traditions were reinvented, or ‘Christianised’ as Christmas was established. The date of Christmas was established as the 25 December, partly to supersede the Roman festival of Saturnalia1. And it is ... http://freelancetheology.com/2009/12/13/christmasdecorations/