Religion makes demands on us in worship. Worship is not an easy thing. To sit and criticize while the minister pours out his own soul, to look on at the choir as you would at an opera chorus, to pass judgment on the service as you would on a play, that is not worship! To come to Church to see your friends and eager to gossip, that is not worship. When men worship, they not only fall on their knees,... Read more

In discussing the original Tabernacle referred to in Exodus, the Methodist minister Fred Barrett, CK. Barrett’s father, said the following: “But we shall greatly err, and to our own impoverishment, if we fail to see here the eternal behind the ephemeral, the essential behind the transient, and the spirit behind the form. Here at least is the first intimation that God will in very deed dwell with men and find His rest in the sanctuaries they consecrate to Him. He... Read more

Some of us are mystics and some are practical men and women, some put the emphasis on prayer and worship, others are philanthropic and social services, some love to be up and doing and others love to stand and wait, some of us are of a choleric temperament, some phlegmatic, some sanguine, some of us are bright and gay and others somber and sad. And God is the God of all because He is the God of each. There is... Read more

In the most recent issue of the JBL Journal (vol. 136. no 2, pp. 381-303) Armin D. Baum offers us an article entitled “Content and Form: Authorship Attribution and Pseudonymity in Ancient Speeches, Letters, Lectures, and Translations–a Rejoinder to Bart Ehrman”. The article is in general agreement with Ehrman (as I am) that there was no such things as ‘harmless’ pseudepigraphy, that is a using of someone else’s name without an attempt to deceive some audience. There are exceptions to... Read more

Thanks to Mark F. and Sparrow cartoons for this and other cartoons that appear on this blog. Read more

The challenge of sequels is of course trying to do or say something fresh, so that it’s not just a rerun. To that end, Despicable Me 3 trots out: 1) a twin brother for Gru; 2) a ‘unicorn’ for Agnes; 3) a new villain named Benjamin Bratt though he’s so 80s, totally retro (complete with mullet, M.C. Hammer shoulder pads, and lots of 80s music, cue Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’, etc.). At 90 minutes it should be short enough to keep... Read more

There are many reasons to read John Grisham novels not the least of which is to figure out why so many Americans do read him in an age of non-reading! Of course some of his novels are much better than others. When you are as prolific as John, this is bound to be the case. All of them are readable (yes I’ve read all of them except some of the children’s books), some of them are real page turners, some... Read more

Courtesy of Mark F. Read more

 Read more

Courtesy of my friend Mark F. Read more