Some people may think that mere education will solve this problem. I am not among those, and I am an educator. The problem is not mere ignorance. The problem is sin. Read more

Dale Chihuly (born 1941) is what is called a glass sculptor. His life has been as colorful as his art, in various ways. Born and raised in the Pacific northwest (he now is based in Tacoma) he began pursuing a degree in interior design, but he dropped out and went to Florence to study art in 1962. He returned to school and finished an interior design degree at the U. of Washington in 1965. That same year he began experimenting... Read more

There has been much recent chatter among some scholars that various Synoptic Gospels might be from the second century A.D., even the late second century and even reflect a knowledge of Marcion, who, it will be remembered only favored Luke’s Gospel and some of Paul’s letters. Against such ideas is the evidence that Luke’s Gospel is well known in the churches Justin Martyr participated in. Here is a helpful recent post by my friend Larry Hurtado, dealing with the relevant... Read more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqE3wdY2Tco I am on record as not being all that much of a Tom Cruise fan. As an actor in the past, he has been just fair, and as for his Scientology fetish, let’s not go there. But ‘American Made’ is different. First of all, unlike all the Missions’ Impossible, this is a story about events that actually happened, involving a former TWA pilot who was recruited to work for the CIA in the late 70s and early 80s, and... Read more

Sometimes coincidences are not just coincidences. So I’m busy reading the latest issue of BAR (Biblical Archaeology Review) a magazine I regularly write for. I’m reading the fascinating article about what happened to the menorah and other sacred articles taken by Titus out of the Temple in Jerusalem and carted off to Rome in A.D. 70. It is an amazing story, and not quite 500 years later, it seems to bring us back to Jerusalem. More on this in a... Read more

Why do we doubt the Gospel of Thomas? Read more

PLACE ‘You can never go home again’—- Thomas Wolfe, Asheville, N.C. Place Indelible image Imprinted on your brain Place Where you came from In dreams, it still remains Place Bricks and mortar, Asphalt and sewer drains Place Trees and houses Unending and insane. —- Place Friends and neighbors But they’re no longer home Place The too familiar That makes you want to roam Place A sanctuary Without a church’s dome —- Place Where you once grew up But time has... Read more

I’ve read a lot of rock n’ roll magazines (Rolling Stone should have given me an honorary lifetime subscription years ago. I’ve helped keep them in business), and I’ve read more than a few rock biographies (e.g. the four for CSNY) and for the most part you hear narcissistic tales of the sordid and the splendid, of artistry and angst, of fame, and fortune… and wrack and ruin too. The biography of Bruce Springsteen is something out of the ordinary... Read more

Wrest a Spell Eye halve a spelling chequer It came with my pea sea It plainly marques four my revue Miss steaks eye kin knot sea. Eye strike a key and type a word And weight four it two say Weather eye am wrong oar write It shows me strait a weigh. As soon as a mist ache is maid It nose bee fore two long And eye can put the error rite Its rare lea ever wrong. Eye have... Read more

Saw this picture at the Arts and Crafts Center in Berea. Do you believe in angels? I do. How about do you believe in guardian angels? Certainly, many early Jews did (though not the Sadducees, which may be one reason they were so sad, you see). What they seem to have believed is that there were guardian angels of God’s people as a collective entity– Michael being the chief one responsible and in charge. Mostly, angels in the NT seem... Read more