Bible, theology, culture, etc.
There is a “bikini barista” coffee hut down the street from my church. I pass it daily on my way into the office. It is next to a main road, easily visible by all, yet always has cars (pick-up trucks, to be precise) in the drive-thru. Sometimes I wonder what would compel a girl to … Continue reading Sex Is About a Face, Not a Body
Utopian Sex Each new mornNew widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrowsStrike heaven on the face1 What if they didn’t? Imagine a new morn where… No cries from abused children drift up.No soldiers bleed into the black soil.No sewer waste or plastic rings that strangle sea turtles float in the streams.No parents telling their kids … Continue reading The End of Sex
In a letter to an editor, J.R.R. Tolkien explained that while there are similarities one can draw between the gospels and his work, his work was far more limited in its scope: The Incarnation of God is an infinitely greater thing than anything I would dare to write. Here I am only concerned with Death as … Continue reading Reject Despair; Embrace Folly
Augustine’s Confessions detail approximately a 15-year-long struggle with God. His journey wanders through Manicheism, skepticism, and neoplatonism, before seriously considering the Christianity his mother taught him at a young age. After meeting regularly with the bishop, Ambrose, and attending church, Augustine’s intellectual arguments against Christianity (and the Bible) fade. He becomes compelled by the beauty and truth of … Continue reading The Habits of a Reluctant Convert
This is a review of a television show with a TV-MA rating because of profanity. Many Christians may feel like they ought not to watch media like this. Please abide by your conscience. If you aren’t sure about what content is permissible to consume, you can read this guide I wrote up, or this one from Brett McCracken. A … Continue reading The Work Is Mysterious and Important
This article is the second installment. Here is the first. Recap: Living in a democracy during an election means that all of us play some part in election process—even if we vote third party—all of us cast a vote, which means all of us must be prepared to make compromises. How do we know which compromises to make? We … Continue reading Voting in 2024 (Pt. 2)
Casting Votes You may hate that we have a two-party system in America. You may despise the two candidates—most Americans do. But the reality is that come November, either the Republican candidate (Trump) or the Democratic candidate (Harris) will be made president. George Washington is the only president who became (and remained) president with no … Continue reading Voting in 2024
Sometimes, when we read the Bible or study theology, we are left confused. I’ve found that being able to categorize the specific type of problem helps bring some clarity on the best way to approach it, and to triage its level of importance. Exegetical Problems Think of a part of the Bible that is hard to understand. … Continue reading What’s Your Problem?
In Jerry Sittser’s painful memoir, A Grace Disguised, he recounts how suffering can grow your soul. And his words carry a certain heft because he writes from overwhelming firsthand experience. A drunk-driver killed his wife, his mother, and his four-year-old daughter in one tragic accident. The book is an expansive meditation on his own grief, and how … Continue reading You Aren’t Your Feelings
The church is not a building but a people—but the church is a people who must gather. Thus, for a church to exist, it must have a location to gather in. And since meeting outdoors limits the gathering (weather, sound, distractions, etc.), this usually means some kind of building. More pragmatically, as many young church plants can … Continue reading 12 Brief Thoughts on Church Buildings
Marc Sims 