Recently I gave a presentation on the importance of thinking clearly and believing responsibly. I find that modern people have a problem doing this, particularly in the spiritual realm. One of my favorite authors is Dr. Paul Vitz, a psychologist who teaches at NYU. He was an atheist until his late thirties and today is […] Read more
In last week’s message I addressed the issue of biblical authority, which I believe is terribly understated in today’s world. Modern people wonder why they should believe in the authority of an ancient book which to them has no relevance in today’s world. According to the Judeo-Christian faith, God has chosen to reveal himself primarily […] Read more
According to recent analysis of U.S. government data, fentanyl overdoses in 2020 became the number one cause of death among U.S. adults between the ages of 18 to 45. It now surpasses automobile accidents, cancer, suicide and Covid 19 deaths. Government officials have declared the opioid overdose epidemic to be a national emergency. I remember a conversation I had with a gentleman several years ago, whose son struggled with drug addiction. I asked him, “Why do you think young people... Read more
Several years ago I had lunch with a psychiatrist and we spent some time talking about the issue of depression. He made it clear that clinical depression is a very complicated mental health issue and there are no easy solutions. He also recognized from his work there is a great deal of general unhappiness in this life. What is so troubling is that the rate of depression in the Western World has exploded. As Greg Easterbrook has written in his... Read more
This blog is going to be a little different. Not too long ago I read David Brook’s book, The Second Mountain. A section of the book was on marriage and I thought it was exceptional. In this blog I will share several nuggets of wisdom from the marriage section in Brook’s book. This first one really touched my soul. I will probably share it at my children’s after-rehearsal dinners, when that time comes. One tree or two? In his novel Captain... Read more
After writing my recent blog called “The Loneliness Epidemic ” a friend sent me a sketch from “Saturday Night Live.” The sketch refers to studies concluding that males in America are increasingly friendless. In the sketch a young woman, frustrated by her boyfriend’s inability to open up to anyone else, takes him by the hand and leads him to a “man park” (like the dog version) where, after a shy start, he finds fellow males to make friends with. Some viewers disliked the... Read more
I recently read of an interesting encounter that author Paul David Tripp had with a 28-year-old man on a bus ride. During the course of the conversation, Tripp learned that the man was a professing atheist. They had a lengthy conversation and Tripp came away with several observations. First was the surety with which the young man spoke. At 28 years old, he was convinced that he had it all figured out. He had not been a philosophy major, and he had... Read more
This is a story about a man named Robert who lives in San Francisco and owns a thriving technology business. His company also has a large office in New York. Robert has to regularly travel across the country as he tries to spend equal time in both cities. He doesn’t mind, as he is married to his work. “I will have time for a family sometime later in life,” Robert reasons. Early one Sunday morning he is boarding a flight... Read more
Behavioral scientist Susan Mettes has written an interesting book titled, The Loneliness Epidemic. The subtitle is, Why So Many of Us Feel Alone. Much of the data that is highlighted in the book comes from new research by the Barna Group. “In [this] academic research, loneliness is the distress someone feels when their social connections don’t meet their need for emotional intimacy,” Mettes explains. “It’s lack, it’s disappointment, it’s something we are conscious of, even when we don’t call it loneliness. Loneliness is... Read more
It is almost mind-boggling how Christianity and the church survived the first two hundred years after Christ’s departure. The powerful Roman Empire ruled the ancient world and over time they saw Christianity as Rome’s great enemy. They set out to eradicate Christianity from the face of the earth. Not only did they fail to do this, but Christianity eventually thrived and became the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Roman gods were forgotten. How do you explain this? Clearly... Read more
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