Since love lies at the foundation of life, all humans possess the capacity to love, but love itself is learned. We’re born able to breathe, not love. Love is developed as we learn to be less important and self-involved. This is not easy for us, since being self-important and self-involved is the frame of mind... Continue Reading →
Awe: The Key to Wisdom
“The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of God brings understanding..” Proverbs 9: 10 When I was in my early teens, I remember standing outside on a summer night and looking up at the stars. The sky was crystal-clear, without any clouds, and the Milky Way seemed extra bright, points of... Continue Reading →
The Mystery of Evil
It is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil comes. -Jesus One of the great mysteries in the Bible is the existence of evil. Why is there evil in creation and why do people do evil things? Why does injustice seem built into the fabric of the world? For Christians, who believe that... Continue Reading →
Love’s Opposite
There is no fear in love. – 1 John 4: 18 We underestimate the importance of fear. In the positive sense, fear can protect us from harm and catastrophe. Positive fear is what prevents us from driving drunk or shooting people we dislike. It’s the type of fear that was missing the night my teenaged... Continue Reading →
Doomed
“Do you think humanity is doomed?” – Kate, Singapore“Yes.” – Nick Cave, Melbourne[i] There are days I agree with Mr. Cave. He’s an astute observer of the human species, whose closest primate relatives are the sociopaths known as chimpanzees. According to ethnobiologist Melvin Konner, if chimpanzees had invented hand grenades there wouldn’t be any more... Continue Reading →
Looking In From The Outside
“We have gone from being within religion to being outside it.” - Marcel Gauchet[1] When I was in college, I took a course on the Old Testament. For the final exam, the professor asked us to explain the evolving perceptions of God through 2,000 years of Hebrew history. The question was challenging because those perceptions... Continue Reading →
Patience
Love is patient. – Paul the Apostle Patience— (n) the capacity to endure delay and distress without becoming angry, or any of the euphemisms we commonly employ to pretend we aren’t angry, such as frustrated, irritated, and annoyed. “Standing in line at a register behind someone fumbling for eighteen cents in exact change, I was... Continue Reading →
Appreciate The Wonder
Every now and then, as I’m sitting on my deck, I find myself marveling at the wonderful strangeness that surrounds me. Trees sprout from the mountain slopes like alien fungus. Four-legged creatures graze on a hillside field, and feathered ones flit to a feeder. An invisible breeze wafts down the cove. It’s amazing to think... Continue Reading →
Seasonally Speaking
For everything there is a season and a time for everything under heaven. - Ecclesiastes 3:1 My back has gotten cranky. It’s stiff when I get up in the morning and doesn’t like me to slouch, which is my favorite position. That’s all I’m going to say about it, since I promised myself I wouldn’t... Continue Reading →
Relatively Important Stuff
I thought about all that I achieved, and all the work put into its achievement. What vanity it all was, what chasing after the wind! There is nothing to be gained under the sun. - Ecclesiastes 2:11 Lesson: In the large scheme of things, nothing we do matters very much. Importance is a matter of... Continue Reading →