This week I was researching a topic for work when I discovered an interesting tidbit of church history. Apparently, birthdays used to be a big deal for Christians, and not in a good way. Early in the church’s history, birthday celebrations–particularly those of emperors or kings–were associated with pagan culture and were consequently condemned. For instance, early church theologian Origen …
A Good Word from C.S. Lewis
This week I rediscovered a theological gem that I had almost forgotten. I read it for the first time when I was in college, and back then it revolutionized the way I understood God. In fact, it has inspired and delighted me to almost the same effect this second time around. The passage to which I am referring appears in …
Beware of the Overstatement
Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. -C.S. Lewis When I first began blogging, I frequently caved to the temptation of using hype to attract readers. In fact, I still struggle with this form of manipulation. Not …
Experiencing God
About five years ago my pastor and I sat down to dinner with a young man who had questions about the Christian faith. I had been conversing with the man via e-mail, so my pastor decided to join us for a face-to-face chat. Our curious conversation partner was extremely bright and had a lot of great questions, but after an …
A Congressman, a Scandal, and What It Means for Christians
This week the media has been aflutter with stories about New York Representative Anthony Weiner and his extra-marital infidelities. His case is particularly unique because the infidelities were not explicitly physical. His actions were limited to the cyber world, which relegates them to a rather blurry realm. The scandal raises questions about what actually constitutes cheating, and what exactly Weiner …
Imagination is Everything
Last week I was deeply saddened to hear of the death of my former professor, Reynolds Price. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Price and his literary contributions, he was a great Southern writer who taught English at Duke for over 50 years. Before establishing himself as a writer of vivid novels and poems, he studied at Oxford …
Dead to the Law
Upon the recommendation of many different sources that I respect, I recently started reading the devotional book Comforts from the Cross by Elyse Fitzpatrick. I’m only a few days in but so far I have enjoyed it! It’s packed with truth and Fitzpatrick has a real gift for re-framing old ideas in new, insightful ways. In fact, I want to …
Ghost Adventures
In honor of the holiday weekend I thought I would write a Halloween themed post. And I could think of no better way to kick it off than with a picture of my dog in her Halloween costume! We don’t normally dress her up, but the town where I live had a massive pumpkin festival in which we competed to …
Resurrection Without the Pepperoni
A couple weeks ago my dog had to undergo minor surgery to have her teeth cleaned. The vet had to put her under anesthesia to clean the plaque off her teeth and pull a few teeth that were infected. I know I KNOW–I sound like one of THOSE dog people. But seriously, my fear of being that stereotype is why …
What Suffering is NOT
This week as I have reflected on the nature of suffering, there is one final thing I’d like to add. In my lesson Wednesday I mentioned the plethora of bad teaching on suffering. Throughout the history of mankind, theologians and philosophers alike have struggled to find meaning and purposeful reflection on this very difficult topic, so it’s no wonder that …