Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
The biblical writers believed in a flat earth. It was the stationary foundation of their world view. Under the flat earth was Sheol, the place of the dead. The sky was the domed firmament that held back water. Above it all was heaven. This sounds so, well, ancient. Good science at the time, but bad …
Very early in the morning on the first day of the week, the women went to the tomb, bringing the fragrant spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away. –Luke 24:1-2 I was honored to know a college student, Jill, who had lived all her life fighting cystic fibrosis. One Thanksgiving, though, her struggle …
Job 42:9-17 Job’s sufferings end when God appears in a whirlwind and has a heart-to-soul conversation with him. What’s VERY interesting, though, is what happens afterwards. In the above verses, three things leap off the page. Job prays for his friends. His friends haven’t exactly been friendly to him. They’ve held to the fantasy, “You’re …
As I was doing research for Addressing Atheism, I connected with Hemant Mehta. He runs the Friendly Atheist blogsite. He’s also the author of several books, one of which is the delightful I Sold My Soul on Ebay. Hemant reviewed a rough draft of my book from the atheistic perspective. He was generous with his …
Job 23:1-9; Job 23:16-17 Job is an amazingly contemporary book. The words of an anonymous Hebrew writer living in a confusing, painful time give voice to our spirits today. Lingering with the passages above, you can find three things to remember when you are facing a grueling situation that may appear utterly hopeless. Be honest. …
Ephesians 3:1-7 The world continues spinning because of competition. You have winners and losers. The winners reap the harvest of success, while the losers look at the celebration from the visitors’ dugout. Before his conversion, the apostle Paul had lived his life in relentless competition. He wanted to prove how his way of living, being …
In November, 2018, I dialogued with Hemant Mehta, who runs the blog site, The Friendly Atheist. It was a delightful conversation that showed that two people who disagreed with each other could nonetheless do so in a respectful manner that facilitated a greater understanding of both sides. Especially interesting were Hemant’s reflections on why many …
Acts 8:9-25 Superstitions are irrationally ground into the human psyche. Something bad once happened when you walked under a ladder. So, to determine your fate, don’t walk under ladders. Magic is the next step up. It’s the illusion that you can control things in a mystical way. Simon the Great was a magician who gave …
2 Corinthians 5:16-20 This disclaimer, tagged at the end of an investment opportunity, usually means that just because something good happened in the past, it doesn’t guarantee it will happen in the future. But there’s another way to look at it. As a college student, I was once caught in an horrific ice storm/blizzard. Wind-driven …
When a picture circulated of comedian Ellen DeGeneres sitting with former President George W. Bush during a Dallas Cowboys football game, it raised some eyebrows and questions. As Ellen said, in a USA Today story, people asked themselves, “Why is this gay Hollywood liberal sitting next to a conservative Republican president?” The implication seemed to …