Poor Dumbo. And the elephant isn’t looking all that great, either. Here are the five main reasons for which I found the movie Eat Pray Love unbelievably unwatchable: 1. The Julia Roberts character is so shallow you couldn’t drown a cat in it. First Liz (Julia Roberts) divorces her husband (Billy Crudup), for virtually no reason beyond that he’s a little uncomfortable holding babies and hasn’t yet found his professional calling. (Though, given how and where the couple live, they’re... Read more
The Holy Spirit is God–fully God, not any sort of partial, almost God sort of thing–that any believer in Christ understands resides within him or her. It’s the means by which God maintains an immediate, unfathomably intimate relationship with those who understand His presence within them as being complete and of the same substance as the other two aspects of the divine Holy Trinity: God the Father, and God the Son. (more…) Read more
Being close to God is something to be grateful for, not proud of. Read more
I believe that my beliefs about the qualities and nature of God are absolutely, 100% correct. I just don’t think that what I think about God is correct. I know that it is. I know it with everything in my being. True knowledge of the true God is a crucible consuming all but what it creates: awe, gratitude, and unshakeable conviction. Elemental logic dictates that being as perfectly right about God as I am means that everyone who persists in... Read more
Lately I seem to have become Answer Guy. Which is cool, of course. More than cool; it’s an honor that people write me with the stuff they do. I appreciate those of you who follow my blog sort of tracking me while I answer this stuff (and of course via the comments helping out with your own input). When I fired up my computer this morning, I found waiting for me the email below. I think you’ll agree it’s hardly... Read more
Today at lunch I asked Pastor Bob, “If you could say any one thing about Islam or Muslims to American Christians, or to Americans generally, what would it be?” As he started talking, I started taking notes. This is what he said. Read more
It’s not enough that here in San Diego we have miles upon miles of some of the most beautiful beaches and coastal lands in the world, along with weather so perfect I’m already preparing to be disappointed by the climate in heaven. “Pffft,” I’ll say as I stroll through the Pearly Gates. “You call this weather? Have you ever been to La Jolla?” “Get out,” Saint Peter will say. “I knew letting you in here was a mistake. Out. Forget... Read more
My wife Cat and I got married twenty-nine years ago today. We got married on a Sunday. But today is Monday. Can you imagine getting married on a Monday? What a total way to tell the world that you expect your marriage to be something you just drag your butt out of bed every morning to do. Something for which you must at least show up. Something that you know is just the first of what seems like an infinite... Read more
Yesterday, in “I Dare You To Stay Awake Reading This,” I mentioned my plans to go grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s. I was trying to be boring. But instead of thinking it was boring, some of you expressed an interest in knowing what I bought there. Maybe I’ve been doing this blog thing all wrong. Maybe I should try out a period of being like George Costanza in that one episode, where he decided to do the opposite of everything his... Read more
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Has a Cockroach Skittered Into This, My Online Home?
Hey, quick note. Sometimes I get too busy to monitor with proper asssiduousness the myriad comment threads simultaneously happening here on my blog. In some very real ways I count on my readers/commentators to keep things here reasonable, and at least reasonably polite. I’ve seen what happens when people show up here who are, shall we say, less than entirely sociable: you guys surround that person, move in, and through gentle reason and disarming charm persuade him or her to... Read more