2016-03-24T21:45:06-04:00

She said “yes” so the God Man could say “yes.” The mother modeled the behavior for the Son . . . who was God, but also man. Today for Western Christians is odd, because two great holy days happen at once. Today marks the moment when Mary heard the voice of Gabriel who said: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be borne will be called... Read more

2016-03-28T13:34:24-04:00

I was once told that some Victorian somewhere thought it improper to put a book by Austen on a shelf next to a book by Dickens. Male and female jackets brushing in the night might shock the children. Maybe this weirdness happened, though I knew aged Victorians in West Virginia and they were healthy, salty, old souls that seemed very unlikely to worry about the mating rituals of books. After all they read the King James every day . .... Read more

2016-03-22T22:34:32-04:00

“You really like this,” my wife would say about some food I really did not like. “No,” I would reply. Persuasion, and her beauty, can work on many topics, but I am the world’s greatest expert on what I like. My likes can change over time, years of her effort have made cooked carrots palatable, but this process isn’t sudden. How do you feel? If you don’t know, only God does. I also know what I mean . . .though... Read more

2016-03-21T23:24:49-04:00

God loves to teach His people because He wants us to become adults. We cannot become His peers, but when God came down and became a human, He made it possible for us to become His friends. God has all power and could make us just and good, but then we would cease to be persons.  He allows us to choose. He makes our growth slow, because this slow change allows us to maintain our personality. We are not “zapped,” but born... Read more

2016-03-21T00:31:46-04:00

I love Jesus. Why? When I am loving Jesus best, my life agrees with the universe. This is an odd thing to say, but it is true. God the Son is the Divine Word that creates the World by His Will. There is a logic, an order that girds everything, that makes science and hope possible. Science because we can think God’s thoughts after Him. Hope because God will make all things sensible in time. It is a complex cosmos... Read more

2016-03-28T21:44:20-04:00

  I haven’t been a big fan of Donald J. Trump’s White House run. At one point I had been negative enough that I wrote “Ten Nice Things” about the man, since few people deserve unremitting condemnation.  Let me leave aside the many things to which I have objected in the solutions Trump proposes to get to what I think he sees that is true. I have a good many friends (and I hope they remain friends) who are supporting... Read more

2016-03-19T10:51:10-04:00

Ever wonder if anyone cares more about education than the business of education? After thirty years of teaching, I can promise that most teachers do. Few teachers work for the money in elementary, junior high, or college. Most are dedicated and work harder than their contract demands. Teachers and professors face administration that grows bigger every year and has a form for every problem, but no idea how to solve any problem. Students are reduced to “units” or “data points.” Even... Read more

2016-03-17T16:44:36-04:00

When I was a boy, there were few things I dreaded more than “jelly disease” with the related plague “syrup disease.” Once you get even a drop of jelly on your person, this drop will spread and nothing will stop it. You try to wipe off the jam, but it spreads. There is no limit to the ability of jelly to spread. One drop of jelly could cover the entire world if not put in check. And stopping the jelly... Read more

2016-03-16T19:33:15-04:00

Things are going badly for traditional Christians in the present Presidential race. They are going so poorly, and the state of the nation is so disappointing, that it is tempting to quit. This would be wrong. It would be wrong because quitting keeps us from learning. As the Red Cap movement marches forward, I need to ask: “Why is this possible?” Even failed politics, and a system that makes Clinton and Trump the front runners, teaches something. We cannot hide:... Read more

2016-03-15T22:40:09-04:00

Donald J. Trump is the weakest front runner in my lifetime. Tonight will determine if that status sticks or if he moves into a stronger or weaker position. Trump is a fixture of the media like Tony Campolo was at Evangelical chapels in the last decade. He is the guy you can pretend to hate while cashing the checks the attention brings. Each of the “final four” Republicans reminds all sensible people of original Star Trek characters: Donald Trump is... Read more

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