The Rule Book is the appeal of many denominations today. It may be the canon of church law, the United Methodist book of Discipline, or even the laws of the Bible. Whatever the case, the rule book is what most Christian leaders refer to in some way or other. I suppose such appeals are necessary to provide a “framework” for our activities in the church. Mostly, however, the rule book becomes the way we hamstring the work. The rules can... Read more

The Christian in the United States does not do repentance anymore. The Church no longer expects it. Denominations no longer require it. The commission of the Church to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins to the world is lost in the shuffle to grab as many members as we can. Evil triumphs in the churches because we refuse to confront sin and demand repentance. Congregations are broken because Christians now think that someone who wrongs them is supposed to be... Read more

TAKING IT ALL IN Read more

It may surprise some readers to think that sin is rooted in fear. Did not the blessed apostle St. Paul himself say that pride goes before a fall? True enough. I maintain that pride and fear work together. Perhaps fear is ultimately the source of pride. Ask yourself. How afraid am I that someone may find out something about me I am keeping secret? I know in this day of “status updates” and twitter “feeding” we can not believe anything... Read more

Prayer is a deadly menace to society.  Therefore Western Society has opted to regulate its’ use and practice. While there are some who wish to ban it completely, most of us know that such prohibition usually leads to an increased usage of any thing made illicit by the law. So many people who wish to have prayer regulated argue for its’ use in social contexts and cite health reasons for keeping it available. The argument for banning prayer is that... Read more

C.S. Lewis’ demonic instructor Screwtape discusses how the minions of hell kept human history in constant flux. “In cruel ages we make liberalism the prime bogie” he tells his nephew Wormwood. Lewis was definitely on to something here. The recent outrages committed in the name of righteousness and “teaching bums a lesson” in Utah serve to prove the point. A school lunch account is an amazing thing in our day. A student’s family puts money into the account. When the... Read more

I decided to return to this blog and bring it back to function. My Philosophers Club blog is still under construction. It will be for those who want to wrestle with the philosophic issues that help us define human life and civilization. In other words, it is for nerds who love words. This blog will be primarily a religious blog for theological musings, devotional thoughts, and religious news commentary. This explains the differences in terms as vague as I can... Read more

Pope Francis has two firsts to his claims. He is the first member of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) and the first to name himself Francis a name he shares with the founder of the Order of the Friars Minor (the Franciscans). He is not however the first Pope to criticize the tyranny of moneyed interests in the capitalist order. Other Popes have done so in the past. One was even referred to as “the worker’s Pope.” The papacy... Read more

God is not the name of God. Christian practice has adopted the word god to refer to the only divine being, we acknowledge. Yet, God is not the name of God. We confront this issue when we see someone referring to the Being we believe in with the lower case “g” for god. Yet, we must acknowledge that Biblically speaking God has a name we do not pronounce. Why? Because we don’t know how. Moses asks God his name so... Read more

I once had a doctor who notified me when his staff was to receive their annual flu shots. I was to come in a receive one then too. Why notify me? My doctor was a religious man who while not a member of my church or denomination called all his clergy patients in to get a free flu shot. Why? He said, “I consider you a health care professional. You visit patients in the hospitals and that makes you more at risk. You are needed... Read more