We tend to think of integrity as a quality that feels really good to possess and manifest. We think of, say, Batman — hands on hips, chest out, cape flowing magnificently behind him — standing triumphantly over one of his conquered enemies, and we imagine he’s just glowing from the inside, from having just accomplished something wonderful. And he has done something wonderful. And of course he knows that he has. But the feeling that Batman gets at the moment... Read more
Below is an interview done with me by ChristianBook.com upon the publication of I’m OK. Christianbook.com: What’s the main message of “I’m OK–You’re Not: The Message We’re Sending Nonbelievers and Why We Should Stop”? John Shore: It’s that endeavoring to fulfill the Great Commission with people who haven’t first asked to hear about Christ necessarily means violating Jesus’ Great Commandment to us to love our neighbors. I’m saying that in terms of practical applications, the Great Commission and the Great... Read more
There's just no way, "I love you; now completely change" is a good message to send. Read more
Young Benny Horton sat in the cavernous living room of a luxurious high-rise apartment on a round, backless white couch with a giant white button in its middle. It was 1959. Men wore hats. Women had big hair. People wore sunglasses, and smiled a lot. In the room with Benny was Benny’s mom, Mom. She wore a long, flowing purple gown, with a string of gold pearls draped about her neck. She stood coolly gazing at the city below... Read more
Hey, guys. Hey, I very much want to thank those of you who sent me such love via your very kind notes around my recent post, Father’s Day is Coming; My Father’s Night is Here. Thank you! I live a pretty shut-in type life, actually, so these Across the Cyberspace Universe transmissions of affection are really, well, affecting. Relative to this business about my dad, though, I thought I might take a moment to … bore you even further about it. (more…) Read more
In response to yesterday’s Father’s Day is Coming; My Father’s Night is Here, I’ve been getting some of the kindest emails and comments ever. So I definitely appreciate that. I don’t know if this is the sort of thing you guys would be interested in, but about three years ago on this blog I published a short story type … thing, that I wrote maybe twenty years ago now, when I was going through this great stage of … trying... Read more
My father takes some thirty different medications, relating mainly to his bad heart. Both his mottled, discolored skin and his blood are so thin that when he wakes in the morning he is sure to find blood stains everywhere on his sheets. He is intermittently incontinent. His feet and calves are prone to swelling to hideous proportions. He loses his balance and falls to the floor four or five times a day. His diet consists almost exclusively of canned fruit... Read more
When I saw my wife for the first time, I leaned against a wall for support. She had just turned in my direction after stepping off the elevator at the far end of the otherwise unoccupied dorm floor hallway in which I was standing like the Scarecrow with dropsy. I was twenty years old, and drunk. It was 1979. I had come to San Francisco State University after a year of working the graveyard shift at the Wrigley’s Gum Factory in Santa Cruz,... Read more
Here are some of the main stars, if you will, of the Old Testament, in order of their appearance in that truly awesome book. God Created the universe. Quite famous. Is watching you right now. Back in the day, chose to reveal and very much involve himself in the life of the Israelites. Being people — which is to say, being extremely independent and stubborn — they tended to have real mixed feelings about that. Adam Name is Hebrew word... Read more
Pursuant to yesterday’s “JesusDressUp.com: Harmless Hilarity, or Offensive Blasphemy?“: First off, excellent comments, you guys! Sheer awesomnimityness. If I was just starting this blog, I would pay you guys to make me look so good with your perfectly parsed and patently perspicacious pontifications. But, in Internet years, this blog is already forty-seven years old. So I’m afraid I can’t help you. Sorry. As to what we humble, earth-bound mortals should think of JesusDressUp.com? I dunno. But I’ll tell you what I... Read more
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