Being a better spouse
Tuesday, 17 May 2005
Have you ever noticed the abundance of pop psychology books and self-help tomes on marriage that all seem to focus on getting what you want from marriage rather than supplying what your spouse wants and needs? Does it never occur to these people that the human soul is most satisfied when it is serving others,
- Published in Commentary
Sitting on the fence
Friday, 22 April 2005
As a dyed-in-the-wool, red-blooded conservative, I have always valued decisiveness and conviction. When I vote for a politician, I want a politician in office who agrees with my policy, holds most of my opinions, and will do in office what I elected him to do. After all, I figure, I hired him, so I have
- Published in Commentary
Adoption: pure and faultless religion
Wednesday, 20 April 2005
Since my wife and I adopted two beautiful girls several years ago into our family, I know something about being an adoptive parent. As a Christian, I know something about being an adopted child. Put the two together, and I know something about love. What does that have to do with pure and faultless religion?
- Published in Adoption, Commentary
Moving the ball upfield
Thursday, 14 April 2005
I’m not a big sports fan, but as Paul was fond of using analogies from the popular sports of his day, so it might be helpful for us to use them as well. Let me suggest that if our individual Christianity is a lot like running a race, I think our Christian relationships are a
- Published in Commentary
Loveless unity? Impossible.
Saturday, 09 April 2005
Think about the fact that it is possible to have loveless agreement on the hotbutton doctrinal issues of the day, but it is impossible to have loveless unity. Sure, it’s easier to love someone I agree with. But while I can fail to love a person I agree with, I cannot fail to love a
- Published in Commentary
The semantics of immersion
Thursday, 07 April 2005
Some good conversation has come up lately about baptism. For the sake of clarity, I’m simply going to refer to it as immersion, because that is what the word meant to the first century believers. Why it has been transliterated in most Bibles rather than translated into English, I don’t know. But the meaning of
- Published in Commentary
Profound subtleties
Wednesday, 06 April 2005
Are our sins washed away when we’re added to the right body, or are we added to the right body when our sins are washed away? Do we meet together for the purpose of taking the Lord’s supper, or is edifying one another by remembering and proclaiming Jesus’ death the goal for our gathering? Do
- Published in Commentary
The blame game
Tuesday, 05 April 2005
One thing I’ve been thinking about is where the blame lies for the current state of factionalism in Christianity. As a parent, I don’t tolerate my children blaming someone else for their own unloving actions. “He started it,” I hear. When I follow up on the story, I usually find out a little more than
- Published in Commentary
Tsunamis and the God of the gap
Wednesday, 30 March 2005
After yesterday’s earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, I read an article quoting a scientist who stated that there was a 100% chance of a tsunami in the region: “My personal view is that a tsunami has a 100 percent chance of happening,” US Geological Survey earthquake expert Kerry Sieh told journalists in Los Angeles.
- Published in Commentary
Denominational echo chambers