Live Not by Lies
Reading Time: 3 minutesWhat does it mean to “live not by lies?” People will soon either come to find out, or they will live by lies.
The Soul-Shattering Sound of Silence
Reading Time: 2 minutesIt is hard to be thankful for pain when you consider all the moments you got to hold you kid and listen to her floating laugh echoing in the halls, which now ring only with the high-pitched, tinny whine that your ears pick up when there is only silence. It’s hard to be thankful for the times your mom cooked you your favorite dinner as you stand in the kitchen, now empty forever, helping load boxes of items you have to do, well, something with. It’s hard to be thankful for the pain as you tell your best friend and confidant, “I finally got rid of his toothbrush today. I guess this makes it real.”
Ancient Writings: Has Christianity Changed Views on Baptism Over Time?
Reading Time: 14 minutesAlthough I’d known the various views on immersion that churches today tend to hold, I was curious about what Christians closer to the time of Jesus thought. In this post I explore a number of their early writings, and then offer my own conclusions.
What Saves Man? A List, But Not a Checklist
Reading Time: 2 minutesSaved by faith alone? A little more? What’s the answer?
Should You Behead Those Who Insult You?
Reading Time: 2 minutesIn the past I’ve run into unexpected cruddy behavior and found myself asking, “What in the world do I do now, and how can I make it as painful for them as possible?”
It Is Possible to Commit No Mistakes and Still Lose
Reading Time: < 1 minute“I will come again and conquer you, because as a mountain you can’t grow, but as a human, I can.”
I Wish It Need Not Have Happened in My Time, Yet I Spoke
Reading Time: 3 minutesHumans have an amazing ability to adapt to bad situations. Our minds can take terrible circumstances and slowly normalize them, leading us to cope and even find happiness when things are rough. But there is a flipside: this same ability allows us to become desensitized to evil. Vile acts simply become a new normal over time.
A Sufficiency of Friends
Reading Time: 2 minutesLook at that picture. It’s funny, and for me, it’s almost entirely true. I like having maybe one close friend/girlfriend and then one other friend besides that. It makes my life simple. As a rule, I am an introvert and not that adept at understanding my own feelings and navigating relationships…
The Madness of Crowds: Give Us Barabbas
Reading Time: 2 minutesIn a prayer with me last night, a little kid requested, “God, please make bad people into good people so that they can be our friends.”
Go Set a Watchman: Speaking Up in the Face of Evil
Reading Time: 2 minutesYou must never upset anyone. You must avoid confrontation at all costs. You must be quiet in the face of an intolerant minority, that they not be offended. Instead of acting like men and being strong, you most nobly ponder, “What is a man? Is there a difference even between men and women? It seems messy and hard to tell.”
The Lord’s Supper: Sunday, or Any Day?
Reading Time: 6 minutesThis post seeks to view two different sides of a common debate over whether or not the Lord’s Supper can be taken on Sunday only, or rather at any time. I will probably add to it significantly in the coming months, but for now I present this very spartan framework.
Is Giving on Sunday Commanded of Christians?
Reading Time: 3 minutesMany people have probably grown up hearing, “And that concludes the Lord’s Supper. Now we are give back of ourselves financially, as we are commanded to do upon the first day of the week.”
Is that correct?
A Timeline of Giving in the New Testament
Reading Time: 5 minutesThis post features a timeline that assesses how giving looked and progressed in the New Testament church. I hope you found it as helpful as I did.
The 7 Stages of All Great Nations: End-Stage Guilt
Reading Time: 10 minutesKings and nations share one thing in common: they rise to power, and then they die. In this post I examine the 7 stages of all great nations, the deadliness of decadence and the self-loathing it leads to, as well as what Christians need to do.
The Consistent Ethics of Auschwitz: Creating Purpose for Your Life
Reading Time: 4 minutesFar from being contemptuous of ethics, the perpetrators acted in strict conformity with an ethic which held that, however difficult and unpleasant the task might have been, mass extermination of the Jews and Gypsies was entirely justified.
Resolving Conflicts, a Rough Draft of Good Ideas
Reading Time: 8 minutesMany of the following ideas are sourced from “How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide” as well as the Bible.
Marriage Has to Be About More Than Happiness
Reading Time: 2 minutesIf marriage is just based on happiness (s/he makes me happy/money is good/what a hottie), it’s easily threatened.
What About Your Terrible Future
Reading Time: 3 minutesOn atheism, there are not actually various possible futures. That is to say, there is actually only one future that is ever possible. And there is little difference between you and a rock.
In Their Greed They Will Exploit You with False Words
Reading Time: 2 minutesPeople will always find ways to extract money from others by telling them what they’d like to hear. For many, the “health, wealth, and happiness” message is very appealing.
Improving Your Relationship with God
Reading Time: 7 minutesImagine being married and not really knowing your spouse at all—in fact, imagine if the only thing you knew about your spouse was what others told you about them. Would that be healthy?
Three Looks at the Trinity
Reading Time: 5 minutesThree different thoughts on the Trinity and God, from three different angles.
An Area I Need to Work On: My Dope Addiction
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe sweet, addicting dopamine drip of performative moralizing is a hard habit to kick, and one that I need to work on. Here’s why.
How to Change the World
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAlthough “bringing people to Christ” sounds great, it is much better and more challenging to bring Christ (in us) to people.
Assault vs Leadership
Reading Time: < 1 minuteYou don’t lead by hitting people over the head—that’s assault, not leadership.
Love and Respect
Reading Time: 2 minutes“I just want to be loved and valued. I want to be number one in his life. Unconditional love…that’s what I want.” We understand this. She needs his love. She needs love when she’s firing on all cylinders, and she needs it even more when she’s worn down—the kids are going full-barbarian, the water heater’s out, and the stir-fry dinner just got complicated by a lack of rice. “I need…