Writing historically accurate novels is a lot of work, a lot of research, a lot of painstaking attention to detail. Writing seven such novels in a period of a bit over a decade or so means you must not have another life. C.J. Sansom lives in Sussex and writes massive historical novels (beginning with Dissolution which came out in about 2004 in the U.S.) about a very interesting period in English history— the mid-16th century when Henry the VIII was... Read more

Some dragons just refuse to become extinct. One of those is that furry giant green dragon– Pete’s Dragon. If this story sounds rather familiar to you older readers, well you are right. This was already a Disney film in 1977,based on a Hollywood script. Originally set in the early 20th century in Maine (though filmed in California) this movie featured various pop songs by Helen Reddy and others. This version of the film is different in various respects, not the... Read more

Samuel Terrien, reflecting on Ps. 95, shares some of his own wisdom on the problem of evil: “It has been said for a long time, and rightly, that the problem of evil is the creation of monotheism. A positivist humanist looks at natural or biological mysteries but does not try to find any transcendental cause. A polytheist will speak mythologically of a fight between gods or goddesses and let his inquiries end there. A pantheist will enter into the vast... Read more

I dream of a better America that lives by faith not fear. I dream of a better America that becomes less polluted each year. I dream of better America that does not listen to lies. I dream of a better America that I can look right in the eyes. I dream of a better America that is not crude, or rude, or lewd. I dream of a better America from which honesty and integrity exude. I dream of a better... Read more

Here is an nice post courtesy of my friend Timothy George, about another friend of mine from Anderson School of Theology in Ind., James Earl Massey……. James Earl Massey: Steward of the Story by Timothy George July 25, 2016 I first heard the voice of James Earl Massey when I was a theological student at Harvard Divinity School and he was the stated preacher for the Christian Brotherhood Hour, a weekly international broadcast sponsored by the Church of God (Anderson,... Read more

All sin is properly speaking against God, even if it is committed with or against another human being. Nevertheless, as James Mays stresses, sin always has social implications—“the notion that a person could sin without injuring others is inconceivable in the Old Testament. The Old Testament knows of hidden sins and unintended sins but not of private sins that neither concern nor affect others….apart from God’s relation to all human acts, there would be no sin. Sin is essentially a... Read more

PART ONE Heaven heaved And God came down, Riding on the wind. The mountains trembled The earth it quaked The trees began to bend. Fire and ice Thunder and lightning Accompanied the condescension Who could stand Against such forces Who had comprehension? In anger fierce His nostrils flared Color suffused his face The God of all creation Came to show he cared. PART TWO He rescued me from chaos waters, He plucked me from the sea He put my feet... Read more

I am currently working on a book on the Psalms and their uses in the NT. The Psalms can certainly prompt some deep reflection, and one such psalm is Ps. 34, which reads as follows—- 1 I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. 2 I will glory in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought... Read more

Jaroslav Pelikan was perhaps the greatest church historian of the second half of the twentieth century. His body of work speaks for itself. For a good deal of his life he was a Lutheran but eventually he joined the Orthodox Church. Here is an interesting reflection of his about Christian tradition (including of course Protestant traditions, though many Protestants seem to be oblivious to the fact that they have traditions and not just the Bible). “Tradition is the living faith... Read more

It is one of the great mysteries of rock and roll history as to why it took until 2016 to put Chicago in the rock and roll hall of fame. They should’ve been in on the basis of their first two double albums if nothing else. It just makes no sense. There must have been a huge amount of blow back because of all those power ballads in the 80s, which were different than the early records. And somehow they... Read more