A friend of this blog sent me a YouTube link to a brief argument against those who consider themselves more moral than atheists. The thoughts that followed went something like this: Religious people often claim that atheists have no morals because they have no moral guide. It went on to say, for instance, if you’re […]
In a recent post we revisited the thought that it’s hard to find many clear prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament–at least in the form that we might expect to find a predictive prophecy. Few of the prophecies we cite are as plain in their context as the vision of Micah who foresaw that […]
A bumper sticker says, “Wise men still seek him”. But why? Am having a hard time recalling anyone who claims to have relentlessly pursued the hopes and fears of all the years— until the equivalent of a guiding star finally settled over the sound of God crying in a manger. Some of our personal stories […]
No one can doubt the evil that coldly takes the life of another– let alone a little child or many. But would we be missing something to leave the impression that evil happens apart from the human experience that is common to all of us– whether awakened by rejection, fear, hopelessness, rage, abuse, neglect, mental […]
The Newtown, Connecticut, killing of 20 children and 6 adults once again raises mind-numbing questions. As is the case of any premature death, or tragic loss, there are no adequate answers for the grief and anger that follow. No attribution of mental illness, social pathology, cultural storming, demonizing, or finger-pointing can begin to fill the […]
Am thinking there may be questions lingering in our minds after considering that evil sinners are seen as “righteous” in God’s eyes if they are ‘in Christ’…and that such people are to be considered well off and to be envied– not because they “have it all together”– but because they have seen their deep spiritual […]
In out last post and conversation we saw together that when God calls someone “righteous” it is easy for us to mishear what is being said. By our ear, it may sound as if God is putting his stamp of approval on that person’s moral and ethical character. In fact, at the moment of being […]
A slang dictionary shows how the word “righteous” has often been used by young people to express their enthusiasm for something that meets with their approval. To some of us, using the word that way might sound irreverent. But the slang usage of “righteous” might actually do a better job of communicating the breadth of […]
We’ve been thinking about the unfolding drama that gives meaning to every word in the Bible, and that, in turn, every word, subplot and supporting person (i.e. Caesar Augustus and Pilate) helps to tell the story… from many different perspectives. Something similar is true of our lives. Every word we speak, every purpose we pursue, […]
The four Gospels offer eye-witness accounts that vary in ways that are often difficult to reconcile. The Bible’s critics cite these apparent discrepancies as reason to question the Bible’s reliability. The other side of the coin, however, is that these reporting differences reflect a lack of cover-up by an early Christian community. Rather than suggesting […]
