Category: Faith

Jonah and the Pumpkins

761 B.C. Gath-hepher, Lower Galilee. A dry wind envelopes a tousle-haired man mumbling to himself as he digs his staff into the ground to vault a stray boulder. “Crazy,” he says. “No way. I did not just hear that. Over my dead body.” He races on through the night, fleeing as if he were invisible […]

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Suicide

So give me something to believe ‘Cause I am living just to breathe… –Believe, The Bravery There is a stark white space in which people sometimes find themselves in the still hours of the early morning. Its ashen walls are the accumulated debris of life’s challenges and tragedies. Its heavy ceiling has settled into place […]

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Live to Forgive

Could you forgive and love the man who murdered your mom? This is the question posed to visitors upon arrival at http://livetoforgivemovie.com/, the official site of the new Live to Forgive movie. Dean Smith was 12 when his mother was murdered by his stepfather in Enumclaw, Washington. Haunted by this sudden and violent loss, Dean’s […]

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Today’s Quote

I am grateful for Shinto, for Buddhism and for Confucianism. I owe much to these faiths. Yet these three faiths utterly failed to minister to my heart’s deepest needs. I was a pilgrim journeying upon a long road that had no turning. I was weary, I was footsore. I wandered through a dark and dismal […]

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Are You a Lost Cause?

Do you ever feel like a lost cause? When we consider the totality of our selfishness, our patterns of wrong choices, our use of our gifts and talents for the wrong reasons, it’s easy to feel like God could never use us or forgive us. Perhaps you have conflict hidden deep inside, or you find […]

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The Rapture– Really?!

Great. Another opportunity for Christians to be portrayed as lunatic nut jobs obsessed with the damnation of others. Today, May 21st, 2011, is said to be the day of the Rapture by Harold Camping, a Christian radio broadcaster. Some people are taking this so seriously that they are packed and ready to go on the […]

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Snyder v. Phelps, Part 1

Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled– seemingly– in favor of the Westboro Baptist bigots. Judging from the explosion of comments and coverage on the web, Americans from all walks of life are shocked and outraged over the ruling. But does our Constitution allow any other outcome? Given the modern “fast food” approach to news in […]

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Snyder v. Phelps, Part 2

Now to take on Westboro Baptist Church and its infamous founder, Fred Phelps (I know that friends just heard my literary shotgun racking knowing I take after the fiery Protestant preacher branch of the family tree). I must preface my remarks by saying that I believe God is who He says He is as stated […]

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