We recommend The Salt Collective writer Lawrence Richardson's new memoir I Know What Heaven Looks Like.

All posts by Nathan Roberts

About Nathan Roberts

Nathan Roberts is the co-founder and U.S. director of Daylight Center and School in Kenya. Nathan Roberts is a pastor who speaks and leads workshops on healthy dialogue between progressive and conservatives Christians, sustainable models of development in Africa, honest storytelling and online ministry, and how churches and non-profits can foster authentic dialogue around race and privilege. He prefers to speak alongside people of color and has a great list of speakers he can speak with in a dialogue format. His new book Deserted: Retelling Bible Stories Without an Angry God is available now as a audiobook, e-book, and in print. Nathan and his tattoo artist wife Emilie Robinson live in Minneapolis, Minnesota. View all posts by Nathan Roberts →

Leviticus, Social Distancing, & The Plague: A Short Story
by Nathan Roberts

This story is a fictional re-imagining of a heroic doctor who wrote the rules in the Biblical book of Leviticus. Public health, disease transmission, social distancing, and community health were questions they really did wrestled with in the Hebrew Bible. Leviticus 14:8–9 “The person to be cleansed must wash their clothes, shave off all their … Continue reading Leviticus, Social Distancing, & The Plague: A Short Story →

Why White Evangelicals Are Uniquely Susceptible to Personality Cults
by Nathan Roberts

For many progressives, it is tempting to dismiss white Evangelicals as racist, homophobic, and selfish hypocrites. And some of them are. But I must always remind myself that they were trained to be that way. They were trained by their white Evangelical religious leaders who have three major goals. Protect their church from outside threats … Continue reading Why White Evangelicals Are Uniquely Susceptible to Personality Cults →

The Burning Bush & the Hebrew Uprising: Short Story
by Nathan Roberts

This story is a reimagining of the Moses’ famous Burning Bush experience. Having escaped to a far flung village outside Egypt, Moses reluctantly decides to return to Egypt to help free the enslaved Hebrew people. It’s my hope that this reimagining of the Exodus story reminds us that uprisings against injustice are as old as … Continue reading The Burning Bush & the Hebrew Uprising: Short Story →

Why White Racist Bullies Become Minneapolis Police Officers
by Nathan Roberts

Note: I am a white pastor protesting in Minneapolis and I am speaking from my own experience and not on behalf of Black Lives Matter or the Black community in Minneapolis. This article is for white people to better understand this situation. If you are a white person, do not ask your black friends to … Continue reading Why White Racist Bullies Become Minneapolis Police Officers →

Why I re-wrote the Bible Without God in the Story
by Nathan Roberts

I re-wrote the earliest stories of the Bible…but without God in them. Now before you light your torches, brandish your swords, set your Twitter thumbs to cancel. Please, just let me explain. The beginning of the Bible is a tough look for the ancient Israelite God Yahweh. Like a dysfunctional father who wasn’t prepared to … Continue reading Why I re-wrote the Bible Without God in the Story →

Consider the Women in the Bible as Seeds of an Ancient Feminism
by Nathan Roberts

Nathan Roberts’ review Consider the Women: A Provocative Guide to Three Matriarchs of the Bible by Debbie Blue is available now. Full disclosure: I was ready to give up on the Bible when I met Debbie Blue. But she taught me to read scripture again. She grew up Evangelical, and like so many of us, … Continue reading Consider the Women in the Bible as Seeds of an Ancient Feminism →