notes on christianity, belief, and art
In Fury’s opening scene, Brad Pitt stabs a German officer in the eye. This act of brutality makes two important statements about David Ayer’s new film. First, Fury isn’t for the squeamish—those uncomfortable with such displays of brutality should probably sit this one out. Second, Fury won’t be a glossy, glorified homage to the “greatest generation”…READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE.
My son Weston
This Sunday is my first Father’s Day. It’s difficult to believe Weston will be a year old next month. Pretty soon he’ll be able to bring me the television remote and mow the lawn when I need to rest up for dinner. I think I’ll teach him how to bake cookies too. You never know when you’ll need a skill like baking cookies. Oh wait, yes I do. Every single day. Continue Reading…
Fasting never came easy for me. I couldn’t quite grab the concept. At twelve, I remember staring at my friend’s bubbly, swirling cup of Coca-Cola, wondering why I decided to give up soda for an entire month. At fourteen, I almost passed out during a fast. At fifteen, I was done. Pass the cookies before someone gets hurt. Continue Reading…
If I were to make a list of what I thought were the top ten barriers keeping the unchurched from considering Christianity, politics would be a frontrunner. I know what you’re thinking. “Yeah! Politics is the problem! At dawn we ride on the capitol!” Maybe I should clarify.
I would contend that certain political views and the expression of those views by Christians, have discouraged outsiders from investigating the faith. At one time or another, many Christians—including myself—have turned political ideology into the Great Wall of China. We stand at the top making individuals scale the bricks before they can ever hope to be converted. Continue Reading…
I like to think of the Bible as a large puzzle. In some ways, a Star Wars puzzle featuring all the monumental scenes from the franchise. There’s Obi-Wan confronting Vader, Han shooting first in the Mos Eisley Cantina. I could go on and on, but you get the point. Continue Reading…
Have you found the key to becoming wealthy? I heard it from a preacher not too long ago. He quoted Proverbs 11:24:
One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want (ESV).
If you genuinely desire to be rich, you have to give. Oversized houses, tricked-out cars, a pool filled with pudding. Those can all be yours for one easy donation of $19.99.
And a few swipes of your MasterCard. Click here to read more…
I like to compare the Christian faith to a train. The first step, obviously, is to get on board. You have to first decide if you believe the main tenets of the faith, namely Jesus’ death and resurrection. Then comes the fun part, choosing which section and seat you’re going to take. Continue Reading…
God so loved the world that he made up his mind to damn a large majority of the human race. – Robert G. Ingersoll
If God is as loving as Christians make him out to be, why does he send people to Hell? Isn’t eternal punishment inconsistent with his moral character? Continue Reading…
There are some pastors who enjoy talking about Hell. They preach about it with an almost frightening ferocity. They scream it. They growl it. They foam at the mouth when they say it. That last part might just be my imagination.
I personally don’t like talking about Hell very much. Continue Reading…
I ran across a word in the Old Testament that I had no idea even existed. In all honesty, it’s got to be a pretty lonely word. I mean, if words are ever lonely. Do you think they get all sad when other words don’t pick them to be on their team in a sentence? “Okay ‘forte,’ we need another word for ‘niche’ because we already used him in this paragraph already.” Continue Reading…
