Bible, theology, culture, etc.
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
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 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)
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
A traveller walking through the desert suddenly finds himself encountering a raging beast. In a panic, the traveller leaps into a nearby dried-up well to hide. He hangs onto a small bush that grows out of the crevice till the coast is clear. He is safe, for now. But, to his horror, the man hears … Continue reading Leo Tolstoy: A Modern Ecclesiastes
https://youtu.be/DBDTj76dRBw In Angela Duckworth’s book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, the professor of psychology and MacArthur Fellow argues that hard work and doggedness, in contrast with raw talent, plays a vastly more important role in being successful in life. We tend to assume that successful people are born with innate abilities that average people lack—which … Continue reading A Servant to All (1 Cor 9:19-27)
https://youtu.be/wJn6TLY0n14 True maturity is revealed in the presence of immaturity. If dad sees his child beginning to throw a temper tantrum because she is losing the board game, he condescends to her level, explains how the board game works, reminds her of what good sportsmanship looks like, and encourages her. He probably will hold himself … Continue reading A Model of Maturity (1 Cor 9:1-23)
https://youtu.be/ZO5gJKpMmCE 1 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. 4 Therefore, … Continue reading Love Builds Up (1 Cor 8:1-13)
https://youtu.be/6ATYFdo3npo So, here we are, on the cusp of a New Year. We can look back over the last year and kind of evaluate how it went. Did you spend 2023 how you hoped you would? If not, then now is the time to look ahead to the next year. What do you want 2024 … Continue reading Christ Above All (1 Cor 8:6)
Marc Sims 