Category: Uncategorized

  • Slavery in the Bible

    Slavery in the Bible

    If you’re interested in what the Bible teaches about slavery, here’s one of my entries from The Bible Explainer. I go on to the New Testament as well, but this may whet your appetite to read more. What does the Old Testament teach about slavery? Slavery was a fact of life in the ancient world.…

  • The Bible Explainer

    The Bible Explainer

    Looking for a good book for Christmas or the long winter ahead? I just published The Bible Explainer, 460 pages of illustrated answers to 250 questions most often asked about the Bible. Its paintings and photographs make this an attractive book to leave on a coffee table. You can read a question or two when…

  • Can You Enjoy Creation Too Much?

    Can You Enjoy Creation Too Much?

    Last month I was speaking to a seminary faculty about the themes in Becoming Worldly Saints when a professor shared that he had pondered the pleasures of creation on his walk into work that morning. He had thanked God for the rising sun, the singing birds, but then wondered whether he might be enjoying God’s…

  • A Parable

    A Parable

    Faith and Christian were teenagers when their parents split in an acrimonious divorce. Their father had been cheating on their mother for years, and made no effort to hide it. He often bragged about it in public, and in the most inappropriate ways. He openly mocked others who were different, whether by race, gender, or…

  • misunderstood

    misunderstood

    This latest entry for Our Daily Journey was inspired by a line in a student’s paper. This isn’t due for another month, so if you see something, say something. Thanks! It hurts to be misunderstood, especially when we are trying our best to love. We go the extra mile to help, and our coworker suspects…

  • technology & talk

    technology & talk

    I just finished Sherry Turkle’s book, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age. It is a bit repetitive and longer than it needs to be, but it also makes many interesting points about the influence of computers and smart phones on us and our culture. Turkle’s main point is that constantly being…

  • doing good in an evil world

    doing good in an evil world

    Here is my latest entry for Our Daily Journey, perhaps inspired by recent events. Let me know if you see something that needs changed. Special thanks to Brenda DeVries whose conversation pointed me in this direction. Read Mark 12:35-44 “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who…

  • Dead or Branson?

    Dead or Branson?

    Let’s take a break from arguing about which presidential candidate is more likely to destroy our nation more slowly (at this point we’re merely discussing speed, not destination) and play the game that no one is talking about yet. Below is a list of entertainers that you haven’t heard from in a while. Is it…

  • the new unmasking

    the new unmasking

    The political conventions are over—the Democrats gave it their best shot and Donald Trump screamed at the world. The highlight of the Republican convention for many was calling back Chachi from what I presume was a stage in Branson, Missouri. By the way, if you have some down time this summer, a fun game to…

  • how to win this election

    how to win this election

    Either Trump or Hillary will win in a landslide if they have the courage to do one simple thing: disappear. Stop talking, tweeting, and teleprompting. Stay off radio, television, and the Internet. Don’t appear in public until after the election. Let the other person have all the attention, and there is no way you will…