A prayer for those serving those who are suffering and displaced due to hurricane Sandy: Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son came not to be served but to serve: Bless all who, following in his steps, give themselves to the service of others; that with wisdom, patience, and courage, they may minister in his Name to the suffering, the friendless, and the needy; for the love of him who laid down his life for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you... Read more
One of the passages that comes into play in the discussion of modern science and the Christian faith is Romans 8, especially verses 19-22. Certainly Romans 8 provides another reflection on Genesis 3 and the consequence of the Fall. Or so many think. In Genesis 3 we read: To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because... Read more
The spiritual formation movement, at times (not always), seems to suggest if you practice the disciplines you will be spiritually formed. That tendency has then been picked up by churches to create “programs” for each discipline with the hope that by providing the program the church will foster spiritual formation. And sometimes this happens. But Andy Stanley challenges this approach. Part 3 of his book Deep & Wide examines this topic and he calls it “Rethinking Spiritual Formation.” If Andy is... Read more
At the tomb of the unknown soldier: Yes, we knew before posting this that the image was taken in September, that it was not from the winds of Sandy, but we posted it because it is like what was going on during Sandy. Read more
From AP: To be clear, polls show that President Barack Obama remains the favorite among 18- to 29-year-old registered voters, as he was in 2008. No one thinks the majority of young voters will support Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, in the Nov. 6 election. But the polls also hint at a “schism” between those who weren’t old enough to vote in 2008 and their older twentysomething counterparts, says John Della Volpe, the polling director at Harvard University’s Institute of... Read more
This series, on arguments for God, is by Jeff Cook (info at the bottom). His argument today is about beauty — does beauty point us to God? Does it you? How so? Deep Beauty There are sunrises. There is the music of Bach, John Coltrane, and Sigur Ros. There are the hands of an infant. Therefore, there must be a God. You either see this or you don’t. When I presented this Top Ten list to my Philosophy of Religion class, this... Read more
“Darwinism subverts religious belief in a supremely wise and loving Creator who has providentially planned life on earth … [and may be taken to be] a bungling, or a chillingly indifferent, god.” These are the words of Philip Kitcher as quoted by Jeff Astley in his fine exploratory essay on evolution and evil in the book Reading Genesis after Darwin. The cosmos, then, becomes evidence against a good God. The issue is not quite as stark when it comes to personal... Read more
This piece by Dan Gilgoff, in some ways sharpens a recent post of mine where I said the President’s theology/faith was more along the line of an African American liberation theology. Gilgoff and those he interviews are suggesting his faith is becoming more evangelical and personal. Welcome to the intense, out-of-the-box and widely misunderstood religious life of President Barack Obama. Though he famously left his controversial pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the year he was elected to the presidency, a... Read more
This is from Journey Church in San Diego and from Paraclete Press, but I wanted to repost this because I like them so much: And this older DVD promo: Read more
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Read more
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