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.
Today’s American evangelical church is in deep danger, and doesn’t realize it. She thinks she is sitting astride the throne of power, finally able to impose her will on her society. But in reality, she’s sitting astride a filthy beast that is already turning to devour her, at the very command of God.
A Seat on the Beast Read More »
What if the thing Christians call “hell” was effectively just a welding torch, designed to join us all into one? What if we could become one, without all that heat and fire and pain? Let’s talk about becoming one, and how it relates to something the aerospace industry calls “cold welding” or “vacuum welding.”
Being Welded Together Read More »
American Christians could feed the poor if individual families stepped up, instead of leaving it to the government – or to their institutional churches.
Be the Church. Feed the poor. Read More »
Are there such things as demons? Are the principalities and powers mentioned in the Bible real, individual, entities with independent awareness and volition?
On the Reality of Demons Read More »
“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” is our privilege to bring into existence. We can incarnate the Divine to those around us, instead of waiting for Jesus to come back someday in the future.
Incarnating the Divine Read More »
Life and death are impossible to separate. And inevitably, life itself springs from death. It doesn’t ease the pain of loss, but we can take comfort in the rebirth inherent in the process of life.
The MAGA propaganda machine is powerful and dangerous. More than anything I’ve seen in my lifetime, I’ve watched it successfully weaponize the human soul, taking the worst primal human emotions and using them to wound and even kill our neighbors and fellow citizens and the most vulnerable among us.
Weaponizing the Human Soul Read More »
I believe two things that may seem contradictory: John MacArthur is in hell today. And he will also spend eternity in heaven.
The Eternal Fate of John MacArthur Read More »
How dangerous a thing it is to claim a mantle of being God’s chosen people living on God’s promised land, and not scrupulously following God’s laws! The land itself will spew them out.
And yet, that’s exactly what a massive number of American evangelical Christians are doing – even as they celebrate the horrible injustices being carried out by their government, violating the single most emphasized commandment in the Bible.
On Dangerous Ground Read More »
In 2022, I realized that as an anti-gay conservative, I had been incredibly wrong about gay and queer people and their acceptability to God. So I publicly and clearly repented. This Pride Month, I’d like to spend a few minutes retelling and expanding on some of my history that led to that decision.
Reaffirming in 2025 Read More »
