Faith Bogdan
Live Well. Loved by God
Religions
I Once Lived Inside a Christian Bubble
October 10, 2018
I remember when I first realized I lived in the “Christian Bubble”—that insular, sterile place where everyone was just like me. I was already in my thirties, and a friend had recommended I read Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz; I … Continue reading
The Not-So-Hip “Atheists for Jesus”
July 9, 2018
The other day I saw a man wearing a T-shirt that read, “Atheists for Jesus.” I was intrigued and considered asking him to tell me more. Did it mean he was a former atheist who has come to realize salvation … Continue reading
My Name is Faith and My Middle Name is Reason
August 1, 2016
I am currently reading Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, an expose of the ongoing atrocities committed by men of the FLDS (Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints) toward the women and children under their rule. It is a harrowing look … Continue reading
My Big Fat Church Renovation Project (On Accepting the “Unfinished”)
October 21, 2015
They say you should be sitting down when receiving certain kinds of news, but when the email arrived I took a walk to the big oak tree by the red barn and sat under it’s thinning autumn shade, and squeaked … Continue reading
Did Jesus Go to Church?
August 5, 2015
If there was ever someone who should have stayed home from church, it was Jesus. No one else so vehemently opposed the religious system of His day, with its burdensome laws and leaders. If anyone should have left the local … Continue reading
My “Pro-Gay” Friend Made a Floral Arrangement for My Church
April 10, 2015
See that gorgeous floral centerpiece on the platform of my church? My friend made it. My friend who attends gay pride parades and keeps peace vigils, who paints pictures of bare-breasted women and lights a yule log during the holidays. … Continue reading
My Young-Earth Creationist Beat up Your Old-Earth Evolutionist (and Other Things Christians Like to Say)
October 28, 2014
Yesterday after school my young daughter burst into the kitchen and announced, with all the alarm of a good little evangelical, “Mom! My teacher says the earth is two billion years old!” I sighed and felt an old unrest creep … Continue reading
The Proper Way to “Have a Good Cry”
September 11, 2014
Last night I went to our church’s midweek meeting where I teach the kids while the adults hold a Bible study. I love this opportunity to introduce God to some children for the first time, and wouldn’t trade it … Continue reading
Give Yourself a Proper Burial
April 18, 2014
(This post was first published at my old website last year.) Recently my youngest daughter attempted to germinate a dry bean from the kitchen cupboard. She placed it with a wet napkin in a baggie and left it … Continue reading
What I’d Want You to Know if I Died Today
February 4, 2014
When plane passengers experience strong wind turbulence, they do what comes naturally. Some pray, some panic. Some grab barf bags. I grab my laptop and start typing my will. At least, that’s what I did on a flight a few … Continue reading