THE PROBLEM OF PESTILENCE

The following comments are in response to segments of THE MIND OF THE MAKER by Dorothy Sayers, a contemporary of C.S Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein.  Sayers was widely known as a mystery writer, but her cultural commentary addresses timeless truths about the human creative processes where she clearly articulates the issues surrounding problems and solutions. …

THE LASTING LEGACY OF ENCOURAGEMENT

“Be strong and of good courage, Be not frightened nor dismayed For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9 In 1981 my young family of five arrived in Dallas, TX from the Midwest in the aftermath of being enveloped in a cult for eight years.  My wife and I…

WHO’S YOUR DADDY?

Text:  John 8:37-47 BACKGROUND:  Jesus had just saved the woman from being stoned to death who was caught in the act of adultery.  Then, He was being challenged by the Pharisees regarding His identity while He was teaching in the temple.  Jesus made an incredible assertion that He only spoke to the world those things…

MY APOLOGIES

“My apologies” in modern vernacular is taken to mean, “I’m sorry.”  It implies a request for forgiveness.  In classical times, an apologia was a verbal defense, a well-reasoned reply that presented evidence that was supplied by compelling proof.  Socrates made such an apologia at his trial before the Athenians where he demonstrated the essential rationality…

BEFORE TIME BEGAN

In the beginning was the Word.  The Word was before the beginning.  The beginning of what?  Simply put – the beginning of time.  When did time begin?  Has there always been time?  What is the measurement of time in deep space?  Is it still measured by the rotations of the earth as it revolves around…

DELIVER US FROM EVIL

“And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of an…

PHINEHAS FAITH

“Then stood up Phinehas, and wrought judgment, and so the plague was stayed.  And that was counted unto him for righteousness, Unto all generations forever (Psalms 106:30-31).” The Back Story This brief account in Psalms comes from Numbers 25 where the children of Israel are being confronted with local Canaanite deities that appeal to their sensual…

MIND THE KIDNEYS

When I was in 8th grade we learned that I had only one fully functioning kidney.  The left kidney was under-developed and would be unable to support my life system if I ended up losing the other kidney.  This led to consequences that seemed unfair since I was very much looking forward to playing football…

THE CONVERSION OF THE PROPHET NEBUCHADNEZZAR

Editorial Note:  Due to the summarization of contents in this short article, it will be incumbent on the reader to refer to the biblical citations in order to have a fuller understanding of the details of the story.  Additionally, it may assist the reader to be familiar with the Deuteronomy 32 worldview (Heiser). In the first…

MYSTERIO CHRISTI

Latin, I think, for the “Mystery of Christ”.  For the English speaker, doesn’t it just sound more mysterious in Latin?  My understanding is that even St. Augustine did not speak Hebrew, yet he commented on the scriptures in his writings written in Latin.  In fact, he seemed to pull all kinds of scriptures together to…