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The Outrageous Nature of God’s Grace
The contemporary cultural climate in the global north (as well throughout the majority world) has called for a long-overdue, renewed interest in the notion of "equity." After all, there is a legitimate concern for promoting fairness and justice, along with integrity and respect, among all people, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic status (a point made recently by Professors Darrell Bock and Ramesh Richard in an opinion piece at the Washington Post religion blog). On the one hand, it is important to champion the cause of people being treated unfairly. On the other hand, we can quickly find ourselves consumed with comparing our lives to others. In turn, Satan…
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In a Culture of Never Enough, a Culture at War, “Learning” Real Contentment
Contentment and I have a troubled history. Many reasons: physical limitations, a vivid imagination, a propensity to live in the future… In addition, our culture of More and Better torches our desires with the gasoline of glossy mags, dark theaters, Facebook vacation pictures, clothes we’ll never need for a life we’ll never live… Election year aggravates our struggles. Each side is spending billions to cast their vision of the better life we’ll live once they are elected. Between now and November we will be subjected to an endless parade of speeches, promises, ads, polls and robocalls designed to inflate our expectations so we will vote for change. It’s all…
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A Date Which Will Live in Infamy
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). The word “infamy” is defined by Dictionary.com as “extremely bad reputation, public reproach, or strong condemnation as the result of a shameful, criminal, or outrageous act”. Thus one year ago today, June 26th, 2015, the day the Supreme Court of the United States declared that homosexuals had a Constitutional right to marry, is a date of infamy. The Court based their decision upon… well… upon philosophic talk that was devoid of wisdom. After all, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7, NIV 1984). The word “fools” describes…
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Lessons from Francis I
As a non-Catholic follower of Christ, I am intrigued by Pope Francis. He seems to have little interest in the trappings of power and wealth that have characterized his position for centuries. A Pope carrying his own suitcase seems out of place. The Vicar of Rome beginning his tenure by asking for prayer for himself is abnormal. The leader of the Catholic Church wearing simple garments looks out of place. He reminds me more of Mother Theresa than any of the previous Popes I have observed. I wonder how a man who lives simply and humbly will change the character of the papacy, not only during his time as Pope…
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Judge Shows: Spiritual Reality TV
I’ve been listening to a lot of TV lately. I’m a calligrapher, and November/December is my busy season. I look for the kind of shows that don’t need to be watched because I’m focused on my hand lettering. So I’ve been listening to quite a few of the courtroom shows: Judge Judy, Judge Alex, Judge Marilyn, Judge Lynn, Judge Joe, and the others. Lessons to be learned from judge shows: • Some people don’t know how to communicate without interrupting and talking over each other where neither can hear what the other is saying. • When people roll their eyes and spit out contempt for each other, it’s okay. •…
