I continue to be a little confused by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow’s book, The Grand Design. Following from their work in this book Stephen Hawking uses their theories to explain why it’s possible for the universe to have begun spontaneously, created from nothing. From this basis Hawking postulates that being able to use the […]
Category: Spirituality
What is the image of God?
In his book, We Make The Road By Walking, Brian McLaren writes… An image is a small imitation or echo, like a reflection in a mirror. So if we bear the image of God, then like God, we experience life through relationships. Like God, we experience love through our complementary differences. Like God, we notice […]
5 Phrases I Think Christians Shouldn’t Say
Originally posted on Reluctant Xtian:
Sometimes I curse. I don’t pepper my language liberally with curse words like people might pepper a house salad, but sometimes I curse. It surprises people to hear that pastors sometimes curse. But really, that’s all I can do sometimes. When you see terrible tragedy where you have absolutely no…
Radical Inclusion Should Not Be Radical
In my most recent two posts I presented some snippets of ideas from Brian McLaren’s book The Secret Message of Jesus. Those posts dealt with a touchy topic. That is, considering the possibility that there may be limits to inclusion. Now, I would like to challenge you to consider the extensiveness of radical inclusion that […]
If the kingdom of God were a symphony…
If the kingdom of God were a symphony, it would welcome anyone who had a desire to learn to play music — from tuba players to piccolo players, from violinists to percussionists. It would accept beginners and master musicians, wisely pairing up the novices with mentors who could help them learn. But it could not […]
The Danger of Blind Inclusion
I heard it said recently that as a community of believers in the way of Jesus we should be prepared and willing to accept and include anyone into the community. However, I think it’s important and essential that our inclusion not be blind. This is often a difficult distinction which serves to illustrate the radically […]
Active Peacemaking
In reference and response to recent events reported in the media… Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal… We will not build a peaceful world by following a negative path. It is not enough to say “we must not wage war”. It […]
Joy is not the same as happiness
From Adam Hamilton’s The Journey Joy, unlike happiness, can come to us independent of our circumstances. It comes not from changing our circumstances but from viewing them through the eyes of faith Joy is a choice we make when we look at our present circumstances through the eyes of faith, trusting that God is at […]
Seasons (of life)
It’s been too long since I’ve posted. I know that. Like everyone else, I get caught up in daily life. What some would call the “reality” of daily life. What I think of as the non-real. But those thoughts are for another day. Today my thoughts turn toward life and it’s seasons. I’m really not […]
The Paradox of Our Age …
We have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider freeways but narrower viewpoints; we spend more but have less; we buy more but enjoy it less; we have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, yet less time; we have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge but less judgement; more experts, yet more problems; we […]
the Verity Paradox 