Christians who do not think that their mission as Christians entails social and political work have not read the Bible, or have read it strangely. Psalm 146, one of the great psalms of praise that conclude the Psalter begins with “Praise Yah!” It ends with “Praise Yah!” (“Yah” being a shorter form of the divineContinue reading “What the Lord does”
Monthly Archives: July 2020
Our national Sankofa journey
One of the opportunities offered by the the Evangelical Covenant Church (and some other churches) is Sankofa. As the linked page explains, “Sankofa” is an African word that means going back to retrieve something. In the ECC, Sankofa is implemented as a bus tour into the American South. You are paired with a fellow travelerContinue reading “Our national Sankofa journey”
How to read the Bible
The prophet who wrote the apocalypse (revelation) that became the last book in our Christian Bible opened it with a blessing and closed it with a curse. Today I am reading the opening blessing as a word about how to read the Bible in general as Scripture. One way of reading the Bible would beContinue reading “How to read the Bible”
From generation to generation: Comments on Mary Trump’s story of how the Trump family produced Donald
[I have not posted for several days because my reading-writing time was occupied with reading and thinking about this book. Here are some thoughts.] As I read Mary Trump’s Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, I kept thinking of the phrase “from generation to generation.” Her bookContinue reading “From generation to generation: Comments on Mary Trump’s story of how the Trump family produced Donald”
Let the reader understand; or, Take heed to your(my)selves(self)
Most of the little essays that I write here are responses to something I have read. That normally means one of three things: a book I am reading, or something from the news, or something from the Bible. As for that first category: I’m never just reading one book. I usually have at least aContinue reading “Let the reader understand; or, Take heed to your(my)selves(self)”
Think on these things
I took yesterday afternoon and evening off. My wife and I reconnected with old college friends of hers, more recent friends of mine. We spent hours talking. We were with them on a Chris-Craft boat that has been in his family since his grandfather bought in the year when he was three years old (=Continue reading “Think on these things”
What you can do with an English major; or, How to be a pro bono counterintelligence operative
What can you do with an English major? I’m gonna tell ya. Well, I should confess: I’m not a real English major. But I hereby confer an honorary English major upon myself, on account of Mrs. MacMeans and Mrs. Stallard and Miss Mann and Mrs. Garrett and others did such a smash-up job of teachingContinue reading “What you can do with an English major; or, How to be a pro bono counterintelligence operative”
What to do about disagreements between Christians?
“If anyone thinks otherwise” (a phrase from Philippians 3:15) . . . what then? What to do about disagreements? A lot depends on whether or not there is a context of mutual trust and affection. Within the New Testament, if you were to read Paul’s letter to the Galatians side-by-side with Paul’s letter to theContinue reading “What to do about disagreements between Christians?”
The stable genius who harnessed the power of nuclear fission
For four years I have lived in bafflement.How can so many of us have suddenly taken leave of our senses and dived or fallen so deep into delusion?No answer yet.But—here’s the flash—what if the question was wrong? Over the last four years I reckon I have devoured thousands of news articles and analytical essays, read perhaps dozens ofContinue reading “The stable genius who harnessed the power of nuclear fission”
John McWhorter’s hatchet job on Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility
I recently read Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility. Then today I saw a review in the July 15 Atlantic. It is titled “The Dehumanizing Condescension of White Fragility.” Its author is John McWhorter, a professor at Columbia University and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. As a Black man, MacWhorter is not the intended reader ofContinue reading “John McWhorter’s hatchet job on Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility”
Verba Sparsa 