Morgan Guyton
Patheos
New Orleans, LA, United States
Contact Morgan
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Morgan:
Rachel Held Evans and the Democratization of Theology
I was motivated to start this blog after I discovered Rachel Held Evans in 2011 through her blog series "rally to restore unity," which she posted in response to the backlash against Rob Bell's Love Wins. I was such a fanboy of hers for so long. I almost fainted when I discovered that she was going to be speaking at → Read More
The Evangelism of a Thousand Clergy Trials
I denied Christ, just like Simon Peter when the cock crowed. It was a couple of years ago. A lesbian couple who were active in a progressive, inclusive post-evangelical church pastored by a good friend had told their pastor they wanted to do a destination wedding in New Orleans and they wanted the names of trusted → Read More
Can Abortion Be Morally Complex?
The pro-life movement is all over social media up in arms over the new New York law allowing for abortions to occur in limited circumstances after 24 weeks of gestation. The New York law previously had said that abortions can happen after 24 weeks if the mother and baby will both die otherwise. Now the New York law → Read More
Our Sin Is Not A Zero Sum Game
I sinned. I reacted impulsively and opportunistically to the Covington Catholic drama with my hot take on how disrespect for other cultures is rooted in an understanding of truth as the exclusive purview of Christianity. It was also a sin for the Covington Catholic kids to make fake tomahawk chops and chant "Heyah! → Read More
Why Does Holiness Matter?
Holiness is one of the most important and controversial aspects of John Wesley's 300 year old movement that United Methodism is a part of. I think it would be fair and accurate to say that conservative United Methodists cannot accept the legitimacy of gay marriage because of their understanding of holiness. I would → Read More
Jesus is God’s Rebellion Against Humanity
Jesus is God's rebellion against humanity. That statement is as offensive as the real Christmas was before the privileged elites of the world turned it into a lawn decoration and cute children's pageant. How can God be a rebel? God's in charge (like we're in charge). Our God is a God of order (who endorses the way → Read More
Can ICE and Immigrants Worship Together?
Yesterday my friend and mentor Brian Zahnd got a lot of flak for tweeting about his church having both ICE agents and undocumented immigrants in its pews. The same day, dozens of members of the CityWell church in my hometown of Durham, NC were arrested for blocking an ICE van when ICE agents captured a church member → Read More
A White Man Reflects On Serena Williams
Tennis has always been an aristocrats' game. It's like golf. You take your prospective business clients to play tennis at the country club when you need to close a deal. If you've really made it to the top, your backyard will have a tennis court in addition to a swimming pool. I grew up in the white aristocrat world → Read More
No, You Can’t Blame Pope Francis For This
It's getting hard to keep quiet about the cynical gamesmanship going on amidst the far-right cardinals in the latest iteration of the Roman Catholic sex abuse scandal. As a survivor of church-based sexual trauma, my blood has boiled to see the anti-Francis conservatives trying to leverage a scandal in which all of → Read More
Good Biblical Words: Truth (John 1:5)
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not seize it. John 1:5 This verse is one of the most important metaphors in the Bible for describing the nature of truth. Truth is like light. It does not coerce anyone to take its point of view; it simply exposes what is real. Jesus … → Read More
Civility Is The Opposite of Taking Up Your Cross
It’s an ancient image from July 2016, in a different age before Donald Trump was president. But two years later, I still can’t find a better representation of what it looks like to take up your cross and follow Jesus, which is literally what Ieshia Evans said she understood herself to be doing in her … → Read More
How Should White People Handle White Tears?
White feelings can be dangerous for people of color. When a white police officer feels scared and overwhelmed by a black person, he becomes lethally unsafe. When a white woman gets weepy after a confrontation with a person of color, the patriarchal chivalric response is to defend the white woman’s honor, which in the past, … → Read More
Accepting Carolyn Moore’s Invitation to Higher Conversation
Carolyn Moore is probably my favorite conservative United Methodist leader. What I see in her is a genuine thirst for Christ that is absent of the scorn that I encounter too often on the other side (and probably exhibit too often myself). Carolyn put out a challenge for us to have a better, more Spirit-seeking … → Read More
Has Patriotism Secularized White Christianity?
Today, the NFL announced that NFL teams will be fined if their players kneel for the National Anthem. It got me thinking about the way the National Anthem has become the most important religious ceremony in our culture. It’s definitely more important than communion. How many churchgoers this fall will start checking their watches during … → Read More
No, The Bible Does Not Condemn Domestic Violence
For those of you who have been following the drama around fundamentalist seminary president Paige Patterson’s counsel to women to stay in abusive marriages rather than divorce, I’m about to say something shocking. Paige Patterson is right. The Bible condemns divorce except in cases of adultery and a very specific form of abandonment; it does … → Read More
Is Jesus on the Psych Ward?
I have the pleasure of sharing a great conversation I had with my good friend David Finnegan-Hosey about mental health, faith, and his new book Christ on the Psych Ward. Definitely check out his book! He’s got a powerful story. MG: Maybe start off by telling me what happened in your life that allowed you … → Read More
Is Hell the Reason to Love Jesus?
Tim Keller wrote two books Prodigal God and Generous Justice that really shaped me and which I quoted extensively in my own book. Like me, he takes risks on Twitter to try to provoke people. Unlike me, he doesn’t get mostly ignored since he has a huge platform. His recent tweet about hell justified a clever … → Read More
Control: The Greatest Temptation of Satan
One of my favorite songs by the dark industrial synthpop band VNV Nation is “Control” from the album Automatic. When I got to see them live in New Orleans this fall, I screamed out several dozen times with everyone else in the room “I WANT CONTROL!” It was cathartic because the most infuriating thing about … → Read More
Why I’m Not Freaking Out About the Methodist Apocalypse
In 2019, United Methodism will experience an apocalypse. Representatives from all over the world will meet to decide once and for all how to move forward as a denomination in our endless, life-sucking debate about the validity of queer identity. Apparently there are two options being put forward. One is for the United Methodist Book … → Read More
Hoda Katebi: What Speaking the Truth in Love Looks Like
If you have not yet seen the interview with Iranian-American blogger Hoda Katebi on Chicago’s WGN that’s been making rounds on social media, you need to take a few minutes to check it out. It’s incredible. I’ve never heard anybody unpack complex sociopolitical analysis so quickly and graciously in a hostile interview environment. Apparently, WGN … → Read More