WSJ Down the Rabbit Hole (10/2/2020). Rebutting a ridiculous opinion column in the Wall Street Journal regarding the first Trump-Biden debate.
Dumpster Fire (10/1/2020). I remember my elementary school janitors and reflect on literal and figurative dumpster fires.
September 2020
The tragedy of fractional-issue politics (9/24/2020). And the devil, taking her up into a high mountain, showed her one more Supreme Court justice. . . . (Thoughts on an interview with an anti-abortion activist.)
A note of appreciation to Heather Cox Richardson (9/7/2020). Her Letters from an American will stand as a record of these days, regardless of how our political mess turns out. Yesterday’s letter struck me as taking an ominous turn.
Naming racists and racism (9/5/2020). We should not call a person whose soul is tainted by racism (which includes all of us) a racist—no more than we call a person who has a physical disability a cripple—unless we have given up on them and want them to give up on themselves.
The wicked, God, and me (Psalm 5, day 1) (9/3/2020). Psalm 5 encourages us to focus first on God but not to ignore or condone the wicked deeds of wicked people.
Scriptures for the day (8/21/2020) . Recalling some scripture passages that seemed appropriate to the day.
My American reflections on the news from Belarus (8/20/2020). It’s good to listen to news from abroad because foreign places and peoples matter. But it’s also good to let news from abroad jolt us into seeing our own domestic situation more clearly.
Faith, Fanaticism, and Trumpism (8/18/2020). Either I don’t know the difference between faith and fanaticism or some of my friends don’t.
Striking a pose: Psalm 18 and positional righteousness (8/8/2020). What has gone wrong with certain American Christian traditions that what we believe and do diverges so starkly from the ways of the one we claim to follow?
What to do about disagreements between Christians? (7/20/2020). Trusting God and each other could move us from anxiety and anger to joy and freedom in our relationships with other Christians with whom we have disagreements.
Ngram Viewer and the human condition (7/16/2020). Does common usage make it right? “It” being spelling, word choice, grammar. And how does language relate to morals?
Two pathologies of loyalty (7/15/2020). Excessive or distorted loyalty to a principle is curable. Not so sure about excessive loyalty to an undeserving person.
America, be what you are! (7/8/2020). How the Apostle Paul teaches us that to be a patriot you don’t have to pretend that America is and always has been nothing but wonderful.
God gets refractory, haughty brought down (7/8/2020). Does God show himself to be refractory or make himself seem tortuous? (And does that mean I don’t always have to talk nice about major a**h****s?)
The year of f/u (7/7/2020). Do we want to be brought together, or do we prefer to be driven further apart? Do we aspire to speak truth in love? Or do we prefer the way of f/u?
Psalm 119 now! (6/27/2020). The light on the path is good for one more step.
Hey, Psalm 119! (6/26/2020). How can two people look at the same thing and see completely different things. What are we doing when we think we are knowing?
Going to heaven? Why the heck not? (6/22/2020). I can’t fathom why some people out there seem so urgently compelled to spread the good news that nobody is going to heaven.
Procopius of–Gaza!? (6/20/2020). The places where Christian life and learning thrive in one moment can become desolate in another.
On eating Aunt Jemima syrup sacrificed to idols (6/19/2020). Paul was willing to give up meat for the rest of his life to avoid causing offense to a brother or sister, and you can’t give up the denatured black mammy on your syrup bottle?
Peace, peace: Nice prophets and slight healing (5/26/2020). Sassey Christian leaders who offer lame platitudes to the people instead of firm rebukes to sick leaders get no support from Jeremiah–or Jesus.
STEM and the humanities (5/23/2020). People who know math, science, and technology can really suck at reading texts and detecting moral charlatans.
Masking the image of God (5/22/2020). What dishonors the image of God? Covering the face with personal protective gear or filling the air with insults, slanders, and lies?
In memoriam: Vinson Synan (3/18/2020). An EerdWord post marking the death of an Eerdmans author who once served a church in my home town.
Older
Truthfulness and the Word (Christmas 2018)(12/24/2018). To honor the incarnation of the Word that was in the beginning is to align our words and deeds with him in truthful speech that is congruent with grace-filled action.
Can I trust you? (Greg Sterling) (5/21/2018). Psalm 15 gives a divinity school dean a basis upon which to charge graduates to uncompromising integrity and truthfulness in a society where both are scarce.
In memorian: Gabe Fackre (2/9/2018). An EerdWord post marking the death of an Eerdmans author who was also one of my teachers.
Streets and statues, truth and reconciliation (5/21/2017). New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu’s exemplary speech on Confederate statues prompts me to reflect on growing up in territory soaked in Civil War memories.
Faithful stewardship? (3/4/2017) How Christians can support trashing the environment and gutting environmental protection is beyond me.
Politics in church? (1/14/2017) A Christian who wants to keep God out of politics is probably about as thoroughly converted as a Christian who want to keep God out of his wallet.
Tu quoque, yer mom!, and the way forward (12/30/2016). We are going to have to get a lot less stupid with regard to how we argue if we are ever to dig our way out of this mess.
Hard questions, correct answers, and pastoral wisdom (12/28/2016). Pastors who give rote doctrinal answers when pastoral wisdom is needed, and parishioners who demand that they do just that, do not serve the gospel well.
My strangely unedifying Facebook posts (12/16/2020). On building up and tearing down: my apologia for denouncing Trump as a necessary, godly, and biblical thing for a Christian pastor, teacher, or disciple to do.
God bless America? (6/25/2016). In what sense a Christian should and should not say “God Bless America.”
Uncertainty about the book (9/4/2012) Drawing on Doron Mendels’s description of the “media revolution” launched by Eusebius of Caesarea to reflect on the potential of Christian publishing today.
Jesus comes down the mountain (2/7/2010) Jesus walks down off the mountain of lawgiving to offer forgiveness and healing. What are we to make of that?
