March 21, 2008

Before Easter comes...

Before Easter could come, Christ had to suffer with the crushing burden of our sin.

February 26, 2008

It's all in your head

Why do we believe in God? Could it be that faith is just an evolutionary hat trick?

February 2, 2008

Mark Daniels on Character and Hope-shifting

Mark Daniels comments on presidential character and shifting hopes.

January 15, 2008

Jambalaya Joy

We Americans are a bit uptight about our emotions. Take joy, for example. We compress it and dehydrate it into a dry little morsel that couldn't possibly offend the neighbors, or make us look silly. Except at football games. But joy, God's joy, inevitably breaks our chains.

January 3, 2008

Turks and Pizza

Thousands of Meskhetian Turks are coming to America, looking for a future, a fresh start. Will they find it here?

December 20, 2007

It was like that

The most awesome feat of human exploration began in Bethlehem.

December 19, 2007

Questions of balance

What does it mean to live life in balance?

December 18, 2007

Thoughts on the Glory of the Lord

Ben Witherington talks about the meaning of the prophecy from Isaiah 40:5, "Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people shall see it together."

December 14, 2007

Who's in charge?

The dilemma for Christian political candidates is, where should their loyalties lie?

December 6, 2007

Michelangelo and risk-taking

God has not made us all equal, but he has given every one of us a unique set of abilities and opportunities. We get to choose whether to use those things boldly, or timidly.

November 21, 2007

Giving thanks for the mundane

Thank God for all of His blessings, both remarkable and mundane.

The world has changed

Researchers discover a way to turn ordinary human skin cells into embryonic-like stem cells.

November 10, 2007

IVF and the ethical dilemmas of infertility

Childless couples are turning to in vitro fertilization (IVF) to conceive children. The Christian church highly values life, family, and children, but has ethical concerns about IVF. Is the church merely stuck in the past, or is there reason to be worried?

August 16, 2007

A rose by any other name...?

If Jews, Christians and Muslims all worship the same God, why not call him by the same name?

July 12, 2007

Sinéad's Theology

Sinéad O'Connor's newest album, Theology, was inspired by her search for the real heart of God in the books of the Old Testament prophets.

July 11, 2007

Monsoon

As we unwrap the secrets of our genes and disassemble the atom, our lives are as dependent on the summer rains as at any time in human history.
posted by Charlie at July 11, 2007 2:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 2, 2007

Healing hearts

Sometimes the church erroneously gives the impression that God only cares about our souls. He does, but He also wants to know where we hurt.
posted by Charlie at June 2, 2007 3:53 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

April 19, 2007

Uncomfortable with Evil

This scientific age sees all deviancy as a puzzle to be solved through the application of rationalism. Sometimes there's a better spiritual explanation — Evil.

April 16, 2007

Virginia Tech and suffering

In the wake of the horrible tragedy at Virginia Tech, some good words on suffering and evil.

April 15, 2007

Running with my eyes closed

Sometimes we miss God in the ordinary ebb and flow of life because the Ipod is turned up and we just can't hear a thing.

April 8, 2007

He is risen!

It began very early on a Sunday morning, when grief turned to joy.
posted by Charlie at April 8, 2007 5:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 30, 2007

Chocolate bunnies, and Jesus, too!

A 6-foot chocolate Jesus on a cross causes a meltdown at a New York art gallery.

March 29, 2007

Spiritual schizophrenia

Listen to your inner voice for spiritual guidance and you'll hear a strangely familiar echo.

March 26, 2007

Hope and optimism

Some see political calculation in John and Elizabeth Edwards' decision to continue his run for the presidency despite his wife's cancer. I see faith.

March 2, 2007

Street faith

Faith takes to the streets in southern Mexico.
posted by Charlie at March 2, 2007 9:33 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

February 6, 2007

Wave phrases

Catez Stevens discovers what it means to have only six letters in your vocabulary.

January 14, 2007

Martin Luther King Day

In honor of Martin Luther King, some excerpts from his "Letter from Birmingham Jail."

January 1, 2007

Optimism

Happy 2007!

December 13, 2006

No Batteries Required

Mark Daniels is opening a meditation on spiritual gifts each day during Advent.

November 8, 2006

Political Tremors

Political upheavals pale in comparison to the steady transformation of the earth.

November 6, 2006

Does Evangelicalism foster dishonesty about sin?

Scot McKnight of Jesus Creed suggests there is an evangelical environment that fosters dishonesty about sin.

November 1, 2006

Michael, Milly and Parkinson's Disease

I suspect Michael Fox has thought a lot about God since he first received his diagnosis. Perhaps he has even wondered, as many have in his place, how a good and loving Father could allow his children to suffer so terribly.

September 29, 2006

Passion under the stars

Flamenco is joyous music, but bittersweet — joy in the midst of a life filled with sorrow and uncertainty. Music connected to the passionate heart of God.

September 24, 2006

Bob and Madonna: Uncensored

Bob the Tomato gagged; Madonna crucified. Viewer discretion advised.

September 19, 2006

One of these things is not like the others...

Pope Benedict is being criticized for doing exactly what religious leaders are supposed to do: pointing out how Christianity is different from religions X, Y and Z.

September 11, 2006

9/11: Lessons unlearned

The most vital post-9/11 task in America today is to rebuild our national unity against an enemy who would deny us freedom.

August 25, 2006

In the woods

Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise before the Lord!

July 7, 2006

Spiritual Narratives

We all have a spiritual narrative that guides our actions and frames our understanding of life's events.
posted by Charlie at July 7, 2006 8:47 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

June 21, 2006

They Call Me Trinity

Presbyterians look for "fresh" ways to think about the Trinity.

May 8, 2006

A beginning and an end

Christ has made possible the beginning, and the end, and every nanosecond of our passage in between.
posted by Charlie at May 8, 2006 10:30 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 17, 2006

Easter People

Christians are by nature an Easter people...

April 13, 2006

An Easter Dialogue

An Easter conversation between a skeptic and a believer.

February 3, 2006

Bono Addresses the National Prayer Breakfast

"Look at what happened in South East Asia with the Tsunami. 150,000 lives lost... In Africa, 150,000 lives are lost every month. A tsunami every month." Bono in his address to the National Prayer Breakfast

February 1, 2006

A Hopeful Society

President Bush's State of the Union address called us to become "a hopeful society." How do we encourage the growth of hope?

January 11, 2006

God in the Dock

In human history, there have been many who have made extraordinary claims about themselves, but none that are quite as extravagant as the claims of Jesus Christ.

December 31, 2005

In Retrospect

We are largely unaware of the passage of time, until we glance backwards.

December 27, 2005

Christmas, Inc.

"Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty..."

December 24, 2005

Losing Anxiety in a Time of Awe

Catez reflects on how her growing understanding of the Christ in the manger has transformed Christmas.

November 22, 2005

November 22

We convince ourselves that mere houses of cards are concrete fortresses. And then a puff of wind collapses it all, and we are stunned.

October 26, 2005

Upsidedown success

How do you define success? And more to the point for Christians, how does God define success?

October 17, 2005

Mark Daniels: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

There is no such thing as instant discipleship. Mark Daniels reflects on 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 and the importance of a daily habit of reading the Bible and prayer.

June 8, 2005

Faking Church, Faking Faith

Paula at Listen In has written a review of an interesting book: Faking Church: the Subtle Defection by Dan Schaeffer. Faking Church ties in well with some of the thinking behind my recent post, The Great Pretenders. No one wants...
posted by Charlie at June 8, 2005 10:58 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

May 16, 2005

Frog-stranglers

"My Word is like the rain..."
posted by Charlie at May 16, 2005 8:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 13, 2005

The 65th Christian Carnival

The 65th Christian Carnival as hosted at AnotherThink.

April 4, 2005

A Christian Perspective on Suffering

Victoria and Brynleigh Smith, conjoined twins, can teach us about the nature of compassion in the midst of suffering.
posted by Charlie at April 4, 2005 8:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 2, 2005

Against Dualism: Body and Soul

What is the human soul?
posted by Charlie at April 2, 2005 2:33 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 25, 2005

A Very Good Friday

That was Good Friday. A day of blood, tears, bewilderment, and the loss of all hope. A dark day with just a glimmer of light: a Son who never lost faith in the love of his Father, even while suffering and dying for crimes he did not commit.
posted by Charlie at March 25, 2005 11:27 AM | Comments (1)

March 1, 2005

Academy of Excellence

Life is a race. Train hard. Run hard. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.
posted by Charlie at March 1, 2005 8:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 28, 2005

Mistaken for gods

It can be so easy, so tempting, to take credit for things we haven't done.

January 21, 2005

In a Direction Set by Liberty

The One Big Thing that lies at the heart of America is a notion of a set of universal human rights founded on the cornerstone of Liberty.
posted by Charlie at January 21, 2005 8:33 AM | Comments (0)

December 25, 2004

Merry Christmas!

Lo, how a rose e'er blooming from tender stem hath sprung! Of Jesse's lineage coming as men of old have sung. It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter, when half-gone was the night. Isaiah 'twas foretold it,...

December 9, 2004

Exmas and Crissmas

While some Christians lament the marketing of Xmas and the removal of Christian songs and symbols from public places, I happen to believe it's a good thing that Xmas and Christmas are finally separate from each other in the public square.

December 5, 2004

The God Who Morphed

It may seem weird to think of a God who morphed himself into a human. It may seem undignified... but this is Jesus Christ.

November 25, 2004

Thanksgiving and Gratitude

Thanksgiving is an unusual holiday—a celebration of an attitude, not a person or an event. What are you grateful for?

November 8, 2004

Overcoming Temptation

Link to a very good post on temptation by La Shawn Barber.

November 2, 2004

Worlds of Difference

The word of God is a powerful agent for change in culture, whether we like it or not.

October 25, 2004

Forgiveness

The best kept secret in all the world is that forgiveness changes things. That forgiveness is transformational. So begins a very excellent post by Bob at Mr. Standfast. A must-read....

All creatures great and small...

In our encounters with children and animals needing our kindness and compassion, we also may encounter God.