Given the opportunity, I would have asked Simone de Beauvoir many questions, the first being: Did you ever stop to consider that your Roman Catholic upbringing might have negatively influenced your reading of Genesis, and other books of the Bible? The second question (depending on her answer to the first): Have you ever made a … Read more
“If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.” The Zen Buddhist koan is not an endorsement of murder, of course. Buddhists aren’t suppose to harm any living thing, not in according to traditional teachings anyway. The meaning (as I understand it) is simple and can have broad application, far beyond Buddhism: Don’t let … Read more
Utterly fascinated by Dr. John Sanford’s recent lecture at the NIH: Genetic Entropy: Can Gnome Degradation be Stopped? In the lecture, Sanford explains his study of the amassing gnome data which offers mathematical evidence against the plausibility of the evolution of humans. Against human evolution? How can that be? Well, let’s be honest, Darwin (and … Read more
Discovering Biblical Equality: Complementarity without Hierarchy, edited by one of my favorite New Testament scholars, Gordon D. Fee. Read it. It just might answer some questions about those often abused, misused and wrongly applied “submission” and “silence” texts that don’t seem to fit other biblical accounts of female leadership (e.g. Deborah & Junia), the public … Read more
None of us come to a conversation clean. By clean I mean we don’t listen without making assumptions. Most forms of personal communication rely heavily on assumptions. They are those unspoken thoughts and ideas that are “between the lines.” Assumptions ease and expedite communication, if they are right. But if an assumption is wrong, then … Read more
As a fourth generation Cubs fan, raised to hope for a better next year, I thought I would never see the Wrigley Field marquee ablaze with the words: “World Series Champions”. All my life, all my father’s life, and all my grandmother’s life, the Cubs have lost. It was just the way it was. Last night that changed. If you’re … Read more
Pop culture is replete with characterizations of Christians as being sour, dull, and way too serious about life. As a Christian, it’s easy to dismiss these characterizations as being unfair. But, that lets us off the hook too easily. And, well, it’s just a sour, dull and way too serious answer to the often hilarious characterizations … Read more
Dietrich Bonhoeffer made mistakes, but he understood the value of grace and repentance. When Hitler began to demand allegiance from pastors in Germany, Bonhoeffer fled to the United States. Not long after his arrival, he realized his wrong decision and returned to Germany to participate in efforts to overthrow the evils of Nazism. Six years later, Bonhoeffer was … Read more
Whether in the mind or the heart or in reality, hell is not a place that anyone wants to be. But people go there. By the busloads. Every moment. And no one, not even God, is sending them to hell. Hell is “the greatest monument to human freedom,” C.S. Lewis says. The occupants of hell … Read more
When we were kids, my parents would take us to church. And when it came time for the deacons to pass the offering plate down our pew, my mom would open her purse and put a quarter in our hands. It was for us to drop it in the plate. It was a simple lesson, … Read more