Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Abram was ready to sacrifice his wife to the lusts of powerful men to save his own skin. Jacob gained his brother’s birthright by dubious means, and with his mother’s connivance. David had way too many wives. These were the kind of people God used to accomplish His plans here … Continue reading God loves messed up people
Christianity
Wringing our hands doesn’t help
It is possible that the contemplation of cruelty will not make us humane but cruel; that the reiteration of the badness of our spiritual condition will make us consent to it. -Lionel Trilling Let's apply Trilling's observation to ourselves as Christians, on a personal level, or as a family, a congregation, or even on a … Continue reading Wringing our hands doesn’t help
The Principal Errors of Pietism
Pietism, with a capital P, refers to a movement that began within the Lutheran Church around the year 1600. The Pietists emphasized the new birth, the inward spiritual life of the heart and a pure moral life. There were earlier threads of pietism, but this was the beginning of a distinctive and dynamic movement. The … Continue reading The Principal Errors of Pietism
Discipleship
The messengers of Jesus will be hated to the end of time. They will be blamed for all the division which rend cities and homes. Jesus and his disciples will be condemned on all sides for undermining family life, and for leading the nation astray; they will be called crazy fanatics and disturbers of the … Continue reading Discipleship
Why I do not read the King James Bible
I read the Authorized Version instead, of which Cambridge University Press is the main publisher. The text is identical to that in Bibles that are called the King James Version, except that the AV maintains the alternate marginal readings that were placed there by the translators 400 years ago. I suppose that if we would … Continue reading Why I do not read the King James Bible
Self-surrender
The story of Joseph is one of the most thrilling in the Bible. A misunderstood boy is rejected by his brothers, sold into slavery. Then he is falsely accused, put into prison and forgotten. Someone promises to help him, but he too forgets as soon as he is out of prison. Yet in the end … Continue reading Self-surrender
Sometimes a light surprises
Sometimes a light surprises The Christian while he sings; It is the Lord who rises With healing in His wings: When comforts are declining, He grants the soul again A season of clear shining, To clear it after rain. In holy contemplation, We sweetly then pursue The theme of God's salvation, And find it ever … Continue reading Sometimes a light surprises
Prairie fire!
Just before supper time today my wife smelled smoke. We went outside and saw the fire behind the buildings of our neighbour. Our son-in-law was the first to see it while going home for supper. He turned around to get the fire engine from the village six miles away, sending out the alert to other … Continue reading Prairie fire!
Be a Christian, not a chameleon
Some members of the early church wanted Gentile converts to be chameleons. They thought that circumcising Gentile Christians would make them appear to be converts to the Jewish religion. Some Jewish Christians thought this would spare them from persecution by other Jews for associating with Gentiles. Such people among the Jewish believers were the true chameleons, … Continue reading Be a Christian, not a chameleon
Facing up to the bull
One year in my late teens I spent several months working for farmers. I drove the truck for one during harvest. Then I spent a month on a cattle farm, putting up hay, fixing fences, things like that. The fences were in bad shape. The first day, the big Hereford bull walked through the fence … Continue reading Facing up to the bull
