A pilot couldn’t fit his tea into the cupholder, so he set it on the center console. When the plane hit turbulence, the drink spilled onto the control panel, shutting off an engine. The flight was diverted and landed safely, but when it happened again to a crew from a different airline two months later,Continue reading “Little Foxes”
Category Archives: Reference
The Dawn of Uncivilzation
(I recommend reading this perspective in more than one setting. I fear that the author might be tragically right. Your reflections are welcome but study it a day or two before submitting. Thank You.) In the fall of 1992, I was a junior at Middlebury College, and I took a seminar on American foreign policy.Continue reading “The Dawn of Uncivilzation”
Your Spiritual Discipline for Today
These “wise men” who visited Jesus raise a number of questions for us. To begin with they would never have been permitted to worship God in the Temple. They wereGentiles, and their occupation of divination was forbidden in the Hebrew law. Yet, they are among the first worshippers of Jesus. Then, there is the curiousContinue reading “Your Spiritual Discipline for Today”
A Poem of More Than Romance
I have often expressed my fascination with nineteenth century religious poetry. In a time when there were few means through which strangers could engage with one another, poetry periodicals would often print a poem in one issue, then responses or rebuttals in future editions. I found just such a situation with a poem titled “AContinue reading “A Poem of More Than Romance”
Identity Theft with a Twist
Earlier this week I opened my email to find a message from Wells Fargo thanking me for my online application for a new checking and savings account. Another message soon followed saying my application had been accepted. Flattered as I was, the problem is I, nor my wife, had applied for an account with WellsContinue reading “Identity Theft with a Twist”
Shot or Not to Be Shot
About 3,000 Los Angeles Police Department employees are citing religious objections to try to get out of the required COVID-19 vaccination. In Washington state, hundreds of state workers are seeking similar exemptions. And an Arkansas hospital has been swamped with so many such requests from employees that it is apparently calling their bluff. Religious objections,Continue reading “Shot or Not to Be Shot”
A Prostitute’s Honor
As the people of Israel prepared to enter and settle in the PromisedLand, Joshua sent two spies out to get information about the largefortified cities that would resist them. In Jericho the spies wereassisted by a prostitute named Rahab. Some scholars have notedthat her clientel must have been officials and nobles from theking’s court, becauseContinue reading “A Prostitute’s Honor”
A Quick History’s View of What It Is to Be a Human Being
In our day, most attempts to understand what it means to be human do not begin with Scripture but rather proceed from a worldly perspective. The most common definition for a human being—or for what it means to be human—is the scientific name Homo sapiens, meaning “wise man.” This term, in distinguishing man from allContinue reading “A Quick History’s View of What It Is to Be a Human Being”
Must They Suffer
It seems like I have been around a lot of death lately. Some people have died far too young. Others have died after lingering on seemingly far too long. While I absolutely know and trust that God is sovereign over death, His timing sometimes seems suspect. I have been asked a few times recently whyContinue reading “Must They Suffer”
Good News for a Weary Generation
As you’re trying to make sense of what’s happening in our culture and how we should respond as Christians, I highly recommend Thaddeus Williams’s Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth: 12 Questions Christians Should Ask About Social Justice. In the book, Williams contrasts biblical ideas of justice, which he calls “Social Justice A,” with the currentContinue reading “Good News for a Weary Generation”
Intentional Faith 