Verba Sparsa
Psalm 40 and the Normal Christian Life
What if we try reading Psalm 40 as a boilerplate description of the life of the follower of the Lord?
WSJ Down the Rabbit Hole
Daniel Henninger’s Wonderland column in the Wall Street Journal is aptly named. A scan of his recent columns shows that he’s so far down the rabbit hole he may never reemerge. Or maybe he’ll emerge as a high priest or grand dragon or whatever QAnon decides to call its clergy when it get around toContinue reading “WSJ Down the Rabbit Hole”
Dumpster Fire
Random memories, or maybe not so random. Maybe it’s all the talk about dumpster fires. A metaphor I don’t think I ever heard before 2016, but now it’s all we can say. We just walk around dazed, glazed, and when we bump into each other we say, “What a dumpster fire.” Back when I wasContinue reading “Dumpster Fire”
The tragedy of fractional-issue politics
And the devil, taking her up into a high mountain, showed her one more Supreme Court justice . . . On The Daily (NYT podcast), one of the best interviewers out there talks with the president of The Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion organization. At the link you can either listen to the podcastContinue reading “The tragedy of fractional-issue politics”
Prayers for an election season (part 2 of 7)
Previously I suggested that the Penitential Psalms might be a good set of prayers for this election season. Why? Not sure I know. Maybe it’s something to discover. I’m quoting these psalms from the NRSV. The titles given by the NRSV translators are their own, not part of the text they received. But they areContinue reading “Prayers for an election season (part 2 of 7)”
Prayers for an election season (part 1 of 7)
Here in West Michigan (does this happen other places?) quite a few people are putting out signs like this instead of (or together with) conventional campaign signs. I like this one: “try praying.” The sign says “trypraying.org.” I know nothing about the org and so can say nothing about it, for good or for ill.Continue reading “Prayers for an election season (part 1 of 7)”
A note of appreciation to Heather Cox Richardson
My Facebook friends who pay any attention at all will to my posts know that I repost every single instalment of Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American. I believe that if the United States survives its current crisis as a functioning democracy, her letters will be anthologized and read and re-read for as manyContinue reading “A note of appreciation to Heather Cox Richardson”
“Trust in the Lord” as a political slogan
While out bicycling this afternoon I saw a yard sign—the same size and format as a campaign sign for a political candidate—that said “Trust in the Lord.” So . . . was it a political sign or a religious sign? Clearly it’s a political sign, or a counter to political signs. Signs of this size,Continue reading ““Trust in the Lord” as a political slogan”
Naming racists and racism
Two things that are not helpful: If you sense racist elements in my speech or actions and react by calling me a racist, that doesn’t help. If you sense some racist elements in my speech or behavior, and try to clue me in to what I’m missing, and I respond with, “You’re calling me aContinue reading “Naming racists and racism”
The wicked, God, and me (Psalm 5, day 1)
Psalm 5 sounds perennial themes. These themes recur throughout the Psalter, throughout the Bible, and throughout the life of the person who would follow God and live righteously: wicked people, God, and oneself. What happens if we try to take this psalm as a paradigm, a model, of how to relate these three constants? TheContinue reading “The wicked, God, and me (Psalm 5, day 1)”
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