Blog
What does it mean to you to be a son or daughter of God?
April 18, 2015
God is our Father—just think of it! Fortunately, when we do that, we are not thinking, just realizing, delighting, being. Being a son or daughter. We understand the Father through relating in the ways that are appropriate to who he is. Our Father loves us all. We learn about God by learning to love his children as our family. Father implies personal, implies loving, implies close—as the Qur’an says, “closer than your jugular vein.”… Read More
How much may brotherhood require?
April 11, 2015
After going forth to bless a brother and coming home with my tail between my legs, I realized that I failed to prepare myself in the power and momentum of faith. The duties of brotherhood may rise unpredictably, and our inner obstacles to faithfulness may rise higher and more quickly. How often do we walk with persons whose needs are great and likely to become much greater? Philosopher Emmanuel Levinas described all human beings as… Read More
“Father, you love them through me.”
April 4, 2015
Some very young children are in serious danger because they do not receive the love they need in order to stay alive. At Children’s Hospital Oakland (California), Susan Shupp had a job caring for these children. Her assignment was to love them: to hold them, and talk to them and sing to them and play with them, giving them the affection and care for which they are starving. Susan would spend forty-five minutes… Read More
Paul’s urban strategy and my move to one post per week (Saturdays)
April 1, 2015
I’m only going to be posting once a week starting this Saturday. My excuse? Paul’s urban strategy: the apostle spent most of his time as an evangelist in the major cities from which his new gospel could spread most widely. Before I explain my decision, I’d like to share some notes and quotes from Michael Green’s outstanding book, Evangelism in the Early Church, whose cover graces this post. Given the many factors that facilitate the… Read More
Let’s convert a centurion by the way we die.
March 28, 2015
A few times during my childhood I had a dream of having fallen over a cliff and hanging by my right hand to a small shrub to keep myself from plunging into the abyss below. Another man who had also fallen over the precipice was holding on for dear life to my left hand. Finally, in extreme exhaustion, I let go of the man holding onto me. Waking up, I felt horribly guilty. Finally, I… Read More
Is Anger Implicitly Murderous? What Happens When Love Floods In?
March 25, 2015
Jesus warned against lust, adulterous emotion, as the inner equivalent of adultery, which violates the truth and high reality of marriage and family as understood on high. He warned against anger as he deepened the commandment forbidding murder, which violates the truth of the brotherhood of man, each person created in the image of God, each person infinitely loved, each person invited into the way of life. Anger, as a brief, instinctive, immediate emotional reaction… Read More
The dangers of philosophy
March 21, 2015
One of the aims of this weblog is to help people become aware of philosophy and its benefits, especially the benefits of having a philosophy of living, especially a religious philosophy, especially one centered on truth, beauty, and goodness. But there are dangers of philosophy, too. Here are some of them. Bad philosophy can lead people into serious blunders. In my own case, I have seen this during my infatuation with Nietzsche. I lost my… Read More
What philosophy has done for me–and I with it!
March 18, 2015
My passion for philosophy germinated during high school, when I was on the debate team and began to think about political issues. Then in college I took courses in ethics and logic, and learned how to analyze arguments and how to reduce professors to silence with a few questions asking what they meant by key words they would use. The results of my interactions taught me to use my new critical power sparingly, and I… Read More
A philosophy of living. Why?
March 11, 2015
A friend of mine went to the tenth reunion of his high school class, and in response to the standard question, “What have you been doing since high school?” the good-looking gymnast answered, “I’ve created a philosophy of living.” People were impressed. When you think of the effort many organizations go through to form their statements of vision and values, or wonder how many person-hours have been invested in committee meetings to create this or… Read More