Welcome to Crucible of Thought! I'm Brandon, and I was a member of conservative evangelical congregations for 45 years. This blog is about things that I've learned since 2020, as I've been undergoing a process of "deprogramming," "deconstruction," "reconstruction"... pick whatever term you want, but basically a process carefully examining many different aspects of my social, political, and religious beliefs to see what really actually aligns with the Bible and specifically the teachings of Jesus, more than what aligns with the host of dogmatic statements I inherited in years of church training. I'm not trying to persuade anyone: I'm sharing my process, in the hopes that it inspires and enlightens others. I welcome you to join me as we move forward in our faith together.A Brief History Lesson
This is a very succinct recounting of the history of Hitler’s rise to power. It’s worth seeing the sharp parallels with what is happening in 2025 in America.
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A Thousand Points of Light
That George H.W. Bush phrase, “A Thousand Points of Light?” from his inaugural speech in 1989 was deeply inspirational to me. That phrase, today, has captured my thoughts again, but perhaps in an unexpected way. And it shows how far we’ve fallen from those days that I remember. How can I be a point of light today?
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Uniformity Is Not Unity: How Our Differences Make Us Stronger
Unity, not uniformity, is necessary for a good and strong nation. Focusing on uniformity is dangerously false. Not only is it not biblical, it also makes us weaker.
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Laying Down My Arms
Everything is a battle lately, both politics and religion, and this keeps us focused on everyone else being our enemy, not our neighbor or fellow believer. I’m choosing to lay down my arms, and stop this cycle of violence which prevents us from moving forward together.
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Fool’s Gold for Jesus
Over my evangelical lifetime, I’ve experienced a number of occasions where we chased after some manifestation we thought was of God, but probably was not. It’s too easy to get busy worshiping this kind of experience, instead of God.
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Fits and Starts – Our Imagined Progress Towards the Kingdom
Jesus very clearly said His Kingdom was not of this world. We need to stop trying to change His mind about that.
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Stop Using Romans 13 as a Bludgeon
Too often, Romans 13:1-2 is used as a bludgeon to coerce people into meekly giving in to the current political regime and gaslighting their appropriate Spirit-led responses to the politics du jour. I’ve grown up enough to recognize it as outright spiritual abuse. And I’ve never heard it preached anytime other than during trying political seasons. That needs to stop.
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Can A Christian Vote For A Democratic Presidential Candidate?
For the first time in my life, after almost 40 years voting 100% Republican, I voted as a Christian for a Democrat this year. Is that even possible? After four intensive years of rethinking my doctrines and politics, I have concluded that my former right-wing positions on abortion, LGBTQ, racism, 2A, welfare, climate, immigration, and Christian Nationalism were WRONG. I take some time to explain exactly why I reached these conclusions.
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Bypass the Algorithm: How to Unplug from The Matrix
We’re all being played by The Algorithm, every day, in almost every place we get our news. Here are some tips to take back some control.
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Saying Goodbye to a Thanos Theology
Are we humans about to be bailed out of this mess of a world, or is our responsibility to fix it? I used to think Jesus would fix it instantly. But lately, I’ve concluded God gave us the authority and the power to redeem the earth ourselves, and we’re in it for the long haul.
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