Category Archives: Faith and life

The dark turn of Psalm 106

Psalms 95 through 101 utter the praise of the Lord in an unobstructed way. The Psalmist focuses on the Lord’s mighty acts of deliverance on behalf of his people, and joy wells up and overflows as the natural response to the goodness of God. Psalm 102 drops down into a place of suffering and distress,Continue reading “The dark turn of Psalm 106”

Psalm 104: Introduction

What do we mean when we call the Scriptures divine revelation? Many things. One thing we mean: Scripture is text that expresses and inculcates a way of seeing everything (i.e., our lived world, everything that we are to some extent capable of seeing). It is transcendent-truthful vision: “Transcendent” meaning that it shows more deeply thanContinue reading “Psalm 104: Introduction”

Psalm 95 and discipleship failure: An invitation and a warning

O come, let us sing unto the LORD:let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving,and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.For the LORD is a great God,and a great King above all gods.In his hand are the deep places of the earth:theContinue reading “Psalm 95 and discipleship failure: An invitation and a warning”

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)”

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)”

Persuasion does not work; love anyway

Here’s a news item: file, according to your own preferred system and nomenclature, under “sociology of knowledge” or “mass delusion” or “our epistemological maelstrom” or (for the Harry Frankfurt fans) “bullshit”: Eighty-one percent of respondents who never watched Fox, and 76 percent of respondents who never listened to conservative talk radio, said the government shouldContinue reading “Persuasion does not work; love anyway”

The tragic irony (possibly?) of white American evangelical Christianity

Everything that Jesus ever said was true, but not everyone who heard was able to grasp his meaning. Those in his environment who were most certain that they and not others possessed religious and spiritual truth—faithful disciples though they might believe themselves to be, and might to all appearances have been, of the same greatContinue reading “The tragic irony (possibly?) of white American evangelical Christianity”

How to love our atheist (in a sense) neighbors?

Good people can believe outrageously false things. For example, a certain good man was able to believe, earlier this week, that: COVID-19 should in public policy be treated like a flu epidemic. The closings aimed at controlling the pandemic hit small businesses unnecessarily hard because politicians and the media hate small businesses and want themContinue reading “How to love our atheist (in a sense) neighbors?”