The gloves are off, at least in the left leaning media, as we now hear the Trump base regularly being referred to as a "cult." That's strong language that should not be used lightly but does the "shoe fit?" This message asks us to consider the diagnostic criteria for identifying any movement as a cult and to apply these criteria to ourselves.

Most progressive church goers have been exposed to academic criticism of the New Testament, especially as concerns the nature of the historical Jesus. After all, the Jesus Seminar has been around for 40 years, giving us those wonderful books by Marcus Borg, John Shelby Spong, Karen Armstrong, and Jon Dominic Crossan. Still, I have marveled at how church members can leave a brilliant lecture about the historical Jesus and in minutes, default to a kind of 4th century creedal set of beliefs about Jesus. This message attempts to challenge us to critically interrogate the image of Jesus we carry around in our heads.