Hometown News

Scott Elliott
This Week | Archive

July 23, 2010
God loves you and everyone else - and there is nothing you can do about it - There is a sweet saying going around that reads "God loves you, and there is nothing you can do about it." While true, the saying leaves off a very important half the equation. See, the easy part is to acknowledge God loves you. The hard part is getting your head around the fact God loves everyone else as well. That's the truth we don't want to h... Full Story

July 16, 2010
God loves you and everyone else - and there is nothing you can do about it - There is a sweet saying going around that reads "God loves you, and there is nothing you can do about it." While true, the saying leaves off a very important half the equation. See, the easy part is to acknowledge God loves you. The hard part is getting your head around the fact God loves everyone else as well. That's the truth we don't want to h... Full Story

July 2, 2010
God's Love Has No Strings Attached - Scripture makes it clear that God is love and that God loves all humans. The Old Testament refers to God's love for us as steadfast love that lasts forever. This matches up nicely with Paul's assertion in the New Testament that nothing can separate us from God's love. Indeed, in the Gospels Jesus tells us in t... Full Story

June 25, 2010
God's love has no strings attached - Scripture makes it clear that God is love and that God loves all humans. The Old Testament refers to God's love for us as steadfast love that lasts forever. This matches up nicely with Paul's assertion in the New Testament that nothing can separate us from God's love. Indeed, in the Gospels Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount to love like G... Full Story

May 14, 2010
Conserving the early church's treatment of women as equals - It often comes as a surprise to modern Christians that the Apostle Paul stood in the tradition of Jesus' egalitarian community where all, including women, were treated equally. As proof, theologian Elisabeth Schssler Fiorenza, in her landmark book "In Memory of Her," points to Paul's words in Galatians 3:28: "There is no longer . . . male and fem... Full Story

March 12, 2010
Reflecting on the beauty of life, sharing with loved ones - I recently had emergency gall bladder surgery. Things seemed to go as good as could be expected. I was released, but when I got home I took medication that caused my arms and chest to violently shake. I was rushed to the hospital and a drug was given to me in the emergency room that slowly stopped the shaking. In the process, I could also feel my... Full Story

February 19, 2010
Church is about love, love, love - The love Christians are supposed to strive for in church is the kind of love Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13: Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things,... Full Story

January 15, 2010
God's image is in women and men - Although many Christians insist that God is male, and Christians must believe God is male, I do not understand why it matters, and I certainly do not personally believe it is necessary to the faith. To be sure the Bible - written by men in patriarchal cultures - does suggest male images of God, but it also suggests female images of God. Indeed Go... Full Story

December 18, 2009
Still called at Christmas to help God's children - Have you noticed how our senses are stimulated during Christmas, storing up memories that we recall during the rest of the year? We grab a pine tree in July and the pungent smell of evergreen brings up thoughts of Christmas. The taste of peppermint all year long is like that, too. Even little lights in restaurants bring to mind Christmas lights i... Full Story

November 20, 2009
Christmas proves we can do God's will on earth - I know that many folks don't like Christmas's early arrival in stores, but I love it. When the first hints of the season arrive in the summer at hobby and craft stores, I am mindful of the solid grasp Christmas has on our culture and how much I want to sense and feel the Christmas Spirit again. While summer is waning and fall just about to begin,... Full Story

October 23, 2009
God uses the persuasive power of love - I often tell folks it is OK to conclude God isn't all powerful. This can be hard for some to fathom. We want God to be able to override bad things in life. We want to be able to hope for instant resolution of trouble. But if God is love and all powerful, then shouldn't God swoop in and instantly resolve suffering, end calamity and prevent things ... Full Story

August 28, 2009
Choose to love - God does not grade human beings by the religions we choose, but by the way we choose to love. That is to say, no one's condemned for failure to believe this religious tenet or that, but rather for failure to love this person or that. Biblical warrant for this heretical-sounding notion can be found in Jesus' story of "The Goats and the Sheep" (Ma... Full Story

July 31, 2009
Spiritual play - As this goes to press our church will be finishing up a two-week run of its stage production of "Alice in Wonderland." There is nothing particularly "religious" about "Alice in Wonderland" itself, but being involved with this play has certainly been a spiritual experience for the church and the cast and crew. Putting on this play began with the ... Full Story

June 19, 2009
We're the master of how much of God we let in - In my denomination, ministers have to earn a master's degree in divinity. The name "masters of divinity" is ironic since there's no chance of ever actually mastering the divine. Seminary is more than a little humbling in that regard, because the more God is considered, the more mysterious God gets. In seminary terms, this "beyondness" of God is c... Full Story

May 8, 2009
Spirituality is all about love - Recently, someone in church referred to me as the "Woo-Woo King." I looked "woo-woo" up and found more than 20 definitions. Woo-woo can mean anything from the sound of a whistle, to a drink, to being stupid, to being great. Notwithstanding these other meanings, I know "woo-woo" as a West Coast term for matters relating to spirituality. The person... Full Story

April 10, 2009
Easter is about love - One of the miracles often overlooked at Easter is that neither Jesus nor God responded with violence to the savagery inflicted on Jesus by Rome and its stooges. Rather, the divine responses were victories through non-violence. If God and Jesus had the power to call in ... Full Story

February 20, 2009
Sharing views of God can teach us about God - Christianity is not the only way to view God. Picture a mountain. Let's call it Mount Faith. From its top, you can peer in one direction forever. It's not easy to get up the mountain, but it can be done through various paths leading to different places atop the mountain. In fact, up on the mountain's ... Full Story

January 23, 2009
Religion, science do not necessarily always disagree - There have been media reports over the years about some church leaders opposing science. One gets the impression from these reports that, in order to be a good Christian, you have to believe science conflicts with Christianity. This is simply not the case. First of all, science, like religion, pursues truth. How can that ever be bad? Science seek... Full Story

December 19, 2008
Always present in Christmas - Look out this time of year for Grinches complaining that Christ has been taken out of Christmas. In my view, such complaints are not only bad theology, but a lot of humbug. The Christ I know and experience is not some fleck of fluff that can be picked out of our lives, let alone the holiday season. Christ is the powerful spark of God within us. C... Full Story

December 5, 2008
Advent marks the holidays - By Scott Elliott Advent has begun! Twinkling Christmas lights, tasty treats and fragrant evergreen fill our senses. The faces of children glow with delight at the sight of Santa at malls, toys on shelves and the glitter of the season. Even adults have begun to smile a bit more, our hearts warmed not by a toasty fire or the Florida sun, but the ... Full Story

November 14, 2008
Lighting a candle - Most mornings I light a candle for morning prayer. The candle serves as a focal point during this meditative time, but it is also a symbol of God's closeness. Or, as we put it in our church meetings, the lit candle reminds us of God's eternal presence. In seminary, the candle I lit during morning prayer stood by a mirror and, over time, I came to... Full Story

October 31, 2008
Pastor sounds off on Amendment 2 - It seems to surprise folks that a pastor would oppose Amendment 2, but I do. Here is how Amendment 2 reads: "Inasmuch as a marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized." Amendment 2 violates Jesus' ... Full Story

Join our Mailing List:

Crossword Puzzle:

Click here for this week's crossword puzzle

Archives Calendar:

Search Stories:

Order Photos