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	<title>The Thoughtful Pastor</title>
	<atom:link href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/</link>
	<description>A pastor ponders life, death, hope, despair, theology and the nature of God</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2026 17:43:47 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Let Me Tell You About &#8220;My&#8221; God</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/08/17/let-me-tell-you-my-god/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/08/17/let-me-tell-you-my-god/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Christy Thomas]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2026 16:35:14 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bible]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christianity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[same-sex marriage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sanctuary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[schism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[schooling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SCOTUS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[secrecy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[separation of church and state]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sexism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sexuality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA["my" god]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Exodus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[idolatry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moses]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://admin.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/?p=8839</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[The worst of the human condition demands, “If You really love me, You will prove Your love by becoming a shiny little metal God whom I control and who gives me whatever I want, especially comfort, with no need to change, to mature, to look carefully at myself and what I am doing.”

In other words, God has now become “my" god, one we can boldly claim ownership over by a slogan slapped on our backs.]]></description>
		
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			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Displaying The Ten Commandments? Then Live By Them</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/07/13/display-ten-commandments-live-by-them/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/07/13/display-ten-commandments-live-by-them/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Christy Thomas]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2026 23:28:01 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bible]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christianity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[same-sex marriage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sanctuary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[schism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[schooling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SCOTUS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[secrecy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[separation of church and state]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sexism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sexuality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[democrats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hypocrites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ten Commandments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Texas legislators]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trump]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://admin.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/?p=8397</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[So, to all you Republican lawmakers, tell us how you plan to live by those commandments you so want displayed? How will you love those who hate you? How will you love God with everything you’ve got?

I encourage all to contact their local Republican state lawmaker and respectfully ask them their plans to model “Love God and love neighbor” for all Texans, and especially for all schoolchildren. Remind them that it means loving their enemies—and not telling lies about others, particularly Democrats.

Personally, I don’t have a real problem with the displays—after a few weeks, no one will even notice they are there.

But folks, if you're gonna preach it, you’d better learn to live by it. I don’t see that happening. Again, at least the Democrats are not hypocrites.]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/07/13/display-ten-commandments-live-by-them/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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		<item>
		<title>Never Be The First To Stop Applauding</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/06/29/never-first-stop-applauding/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/06/29/never-first-stop-applauding/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Christy Thomas]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Jun 2026 15:50:41 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Christianity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sexual predator]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stalin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trump]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://admin.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/?p=9608</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I admit it is beyond my comprehension that even Mr. Trump’s admirers cannot see how dangerous his increasing paranoia and need for unending adulation are. Those who appear unable to acknowledge inconvenient facts AND seem to need, at all times, to be surrounded by never-disagreeing sycophants (especially rich ones who pour money into family pockets) need external limits placed around them.]]></description>
		
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		<item>
		<title>The Hubris Of Sending People To Hell</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/06/24/hubris-sending-people-hell/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/06/24/hubris-sending-people-hell/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Christy Thomas]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2026 15:04:05 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[accountability]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bible]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christianity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[evil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[same-sex marriage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sanctuary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[schism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[schooling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SCOTUS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[secrecy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[separation of church and state]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sexism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sexuality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dan Patrick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[James Talarico]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Texas politics]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/?p=3280</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Yet in Mr. Patrick’s theological world, Mr. Talarico is going to hell, while we must assume that the Republican and totally ethically and morally challenged Ken Paxton, Mr. Talarico’s opponent in the Senate race, is going to heaven. I trust that is true because Paxton is also a Baptist, a [apparently former] member of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, TX.

This being the case, somewhere along the line, Mr. Paxton said the words, “Jesus, I accept you as my Lord and Savior.”

And there is my problem, and here I admit I line up with Talarico. The only people Jesus condemns in the Gospels are those who treat others in exactly the way they themselves don’t want to be treated.]]></description>
		
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			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Frisco Firestorm: Shades Of Nazi Germany</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/06/20/frisco-firestorm-shades-nazi-germany/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/06/20/frisco-firestorm-shades-nazi-germany/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Christy Thomas]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Jun 2026 21:58:42 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Christianity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Muslim]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[19th Amendment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Frisco TX]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Project 2025]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sharia Law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trump]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/?p=4833</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[They are making up the straw man of “Sharia” law being imposed upon Frisco in the very near future and using that made-up idea to strike fear into the hearts of the gullible, the insecure, the frightened and those ignorant of history to justify their hatred. I have lived in Frisco, TX for eleven years [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
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			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
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		<item>
		<title>ChatGPT To Me: &#8220;Go To Church&#8221;</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/06/06/chatgpt-to-me-go-to-church/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/06/06/chatgpt-to-me-go-to-church/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Christy Thomas]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 06 Jun 2026 17:12:29 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deconstruction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[faith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[longform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ChatGPT]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nicky Imber]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://admin.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/?p=8993</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Use AI as a supplement, not a substitute.

Let it help you think, write, research, remember, organize, and even process emotions. But when you are celebrating, grieving, falling in love, wrestling with forgiveness, facing illness, or searching for meaning, make sure there are actual human beings in the room.]]></description>
		
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		<title>More Abortion Nonsense: A Better Solution</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/06/01/more-abortion-nonsense-better-solution/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/06/01/more-abortion-nonsense-better-solution/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Christy Thomas]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:24:48 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[abortion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[abortion; science; North Carolina Legislature]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/?p=2918</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[How about it, guys? You want to outlaw abortions? Go after yourselves, not after women. Face it: without women and our willingness to sacrifice our long-term health and life to bear children, there is no human future.

Even better: recognize that if you men think you have the right to legislate women's reproductive process, then you must also recognize women's right to legislate your reproductive process.]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/06/01/more-abortion-nonsense-better-solution/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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		<item>
		<title>The Olive Tree Solution</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/05/13/ultimately-it-comes-down-to-this-for-the-olive-tree-to-offer-robust-production-the-gardener-must-engage-in-radical-trimming/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/05/13/ultimately-it-comes-down-to-this-for-the-olive-tree-to-offer-robust-production-the-gardener-must-engage-in-radical-trimming/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Christy Thomas]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 10:23:28 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Olive tree]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pruning]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/?p=5624</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I read the US news these days from a European perspective. I hear people speak of Donald Trump with true, appalled derision and with a greater awareness of the world-wide damage he has caused. I come more and more to the conclusion that the US as a democratic nation no longer exists: it is now completely taken over by irredeemable kleptocracy and utter ineptness, run by those who now obediently bow to the Golden Trump instead of the biblical Golden Calf, both degraded substitutes for the Holy God.]]></description>
		
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		<title>I Was A Tradwife: It Nearly Killed Me</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/04/24/i-was-trad-wife-nearly-killed-me/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/04/24/i-was-trad-wife-nearly-killed-me/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Christy Thomas]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:32:35 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Bible]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christianity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[church as garden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[same-sex marriage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sanctuary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[schism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[schooling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SCOTUS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[secrecy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[separation of church and state]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sexism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sexuality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gender roles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trad wife]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/?p=3291</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Can you see why being a tradwife might indeed be a death sentence to a highly intelligent, biblically literate woman who was, in her early middle age, starting to question every single thing that had been handed down as “this is the Word of the Lord?”

But question it I did. And the deeper my theological studies went, the greater my questions became—and the more condemnation was heaped upon the hapless male who was supposed to be keeping me under control.]]></description>
		
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		<title>Money Can&#8217;t Buy Me Love . . . Or Class</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/04/16/money-cant-buy-love-class/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2026/04/16/money-cant-buy-love-class/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Christy Thomas]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 17:34:27 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Christianity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[class]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[entitlement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HOA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[neighbors]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://admin.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/?p=9475</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Yep, money can’t buy us class . . . or peace . . . or even agreement over aging trees and eroding beaches, all of which are part of living in a world where everything changes, everything ages, and disruptive new births are essential for continuing life and health.

One of my moments of sadness over the state of humanity. We’ve reduced ourselves to slogging through the stench of mud-slinging, crass, classless, expletive-laden tirades, starting at the top and permeating every aspect of society.

Folks, we can be better than this. And it can start with us.]]></description>
		
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