One of the best teachers I’ve ever had likes to say, “Something is not true because it’s in the Bible. It’s in the Bible because it’s true. My first impulse was to reject the idea. It seemed like a subtle insult to the best measure of truth we have. After all, I thought, in my […]
For the last couple of days, we’ve had a healthy, though difficult, discussion about whether forgiveness is meant to be conditional or unconditional. Not surprisingly, along the way, we’ve agreed and disagreed. There are good reasons for the push and pull of our conversation. Sometimes the Bible, itself, calls for forgiveness based on a change […]
There are ideas in yesterday’s conversation that make a lot of sense to me. It seems to me that it is consistent with the Bible to say that: 1. Bitterness is not an acceptable option for followers of Christ. 2. A desire to get even is also not a Christ-like option. 3. Our Lord gives […]
Yesterday, National Public Radio’s All Things Considered recognized the 45th anniversary of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. It was on Sunday morning, September 15, 1963 that Christopher McNair and his wife Maxine lost their 11 year old daughter, Denise, in the blast that also took the lives of three […]
Envy is not always bad. But it can be evil. In the best sense it’s a desire for the good qualities we see in others. In the worst sense it’s a desire to see others deprived of their joy. Reference.com says, “Aristotle in Rhetoric defined envy “as the pain caused by the good fortune of […]
Someone has said, “Wise are those who look at others with the same generosity they offer themselves, and, at themselves, with the same critical eye they have for others.” Such advice is difficult to disagree with because it amounts to treating others the way we’d want to be treated. But just because the “golden rule” […]
Most of us remember where we were when we first heard that a commercial airliner had crashed into one of the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center. Today we reflect, as best we can, on the immeasurable pain of those who lost one of the 2751 victims from 90 countries. We remember the […]
Today is the day that science news services have been anticipating. For months they’ve been describing the excitement and fear surrounding the firing up of the world’s largest atom smasher– in yet another effort to unlock the secrets of the universe. 10,000 scientists are involved in the 10 billion dollar, 17 mile underground particle generator […]
I remember hearing my dad read this poem. He thought enough of it to have it framed on his office wall. Over the years, I’ve realized that it’s part of a legacy for which I’m deeply grateful. It was written by a 19th century Scottish minister. Certainly not high brow stuff. But seems to me […]
The longest Psalm in the Bible has 176 verses. Over and over, and in so many ways, this song celebrates the words, principles, and laws of God. Interestingly, 119 is a lot like Psalm 1 and 19, but much longer. The first two verses of Psalm 119 give a taste of the sustained, repetitive praise […]
