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Monthly Archives: May 2009
Animal Morals
Richard Gray summarizes the case for a moral sense in animals, offering evidence from wolves, coyotes, monkeys, rodents, bats and whales. Here is a sample suggesting moral empathy in elephants: Elephants are intensely sociable and emotional animals. Research by Iain … Continue reading
Eugene Peterson and the Church On Pentecost Highway
Pentecost Highway winds north out of Adrian Township up to Sand Lake. It’s the second best name for a road I’ve ever encountered. The best is Lonesome Polecat Lane in Washoe Valley, Nevada, but Pentecost Highway is charming in its … Continue reading
Grilling On Memorial Day
We bought a gas grill yesterday at ACO Hardware and spent four hours today assembling it. (Tip: put grill together before the day it’s needed.) In the instructions we kept coming across statements like this: WARNING: FAILURE TO FOLLOW DIRECTIONS … Continue reading
Posted in Daily Life
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Angels and Demons
The new Angels & Demons film presents a lot of improbabilities to swallow, mainly in how infallible Robert Langdon is at deciphering symbols. And it’s too formulaic that the male protagonist always hooks up with the female scientist, who is … Continue reading
Posted in Movies & TV
2 Comments
Christ Was Blessing Me, and I Didn’t Know It
Wednesday my soul was unraveling like a ball of yarn on the floor. The strings were all loose, and I couldn’t gather them together again. Two funerals coming up, a sermon percolating through my mind, parishioners to visit in the … Continue reading
Posted in Christ, Spiritual Life
3 Comments
The Other Torture Issue
Evangelicals are on the defensive because surveys show they are more likely than mainline Christians to support government use of torture — abusive interrogation techniques used on prisoners. (Although evangelical leaders and the magazine Christianity Today are on record opposing … Continue reading
Posted in Current Events
4 Comments
The Most Comfortable Bed I’ve Ever Slept On
We bought a new bed from a dear friend at Martin’s Home Center in Tecumseh. Our old bed had reached the end of its life. Two men delivered our new Sealy ‘memory foam’ bed Saturday. It’s so comfortable. It feels … Continue reading
Posted in Daily Life
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The Elephant Holds Up the World
James Sire’s book Naming the Elephant is a study in the concept of worldviews. The title comes from the proverbial image of an elephant holding up the world. Sire defines a worldview in this way: A worldview is a commitment, … Continue reading
All Distinctions Void
A hymn for Sunday ends with this verse: Love, like death, hath all destroyed, rendered all distinctions void; names and sects and parties fall; thou, O Christ, art all in all! This comes from Charles Wesley’s Christ, From Whom All … Continue reading
Posted in Church
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Ugly Buildings
This post by Ann Althouse introduced me to ‘Brutalist Architecture,’ the concrete, boxy style of building popular in the 60s and 70s. Brutalism – that’s a catchy name. Now I have a term to describe our local courthouse: Courthouse viewed … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Culture
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Looking For Silence
My mother had surgery Monday at the University of Toledo Medical Center. (Known to locals by its old acronym MCO, Medical College of Ohio.) I said goodbye to her in the pre-op area at 9 a.m. and returned to that … Continue reading
Posted in Health, Spiritual Practices
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Narnia Magic
Jordan Davis reflects on the appeal of Narnia: What holds the story together is Lewis, or rather, the benevolent, attentive, encouraging narrator and his occasional presence in the story disguised as a professor, a dwarf, a badger, a lion. His … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Children
8 Comments
Two Stars for Star Trek
Star Trek tugs at my memories. I’m a ten-year-old boy watching reruns of the original series on a black and white TV in my bedroom. I’m a seminary student watching The Next Generation in the basement of Alexander Hall. The … Continue reading
Posted in Movies & TV
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You Will Weep and Know Why
“We don’t see a lot of cats born in 1993,” said the woman at the clinic as she spread out a pale green blanket for Kelsey to lie on. It was her last trip to the vet. I seldom cry … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Emotions
6 Comments
Walk the Labyrinth
Labyrinths appeal to the sort of people who find labyrinths appealing. This one takes 244 steps to reach the center. I walk around in circles in what seems a random and aimless way, constantly changing direction, but the path itself … Continue reading
Posted in Spiritual Life
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Why I Am a Literalist
I don’t believe Adam and Eve were flesh and blood people who lived in a garden and talked to snakes. I don’t believe Jonah was swallowed by a great fish. These are stories of faith that need not be literally … Continue reading
Posted in Jesus
20 Comments
Financial Peace
Sunday we finished Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. We met for 13 weeks, watching videos in the sanctuary and moving into two classrooms for small group discussions. In his Tennessee drawl, Ramsey taught us how to ‘beat debt’ and build … Continue reading
Posted in Money
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I Don’t Finish Books
I abandon books. I start one with enthusiasm, but soon the novelty wears off, and another seizes my attention. Like a child enchanted by a new toy, I drop the old one. The promise of a new book stirs my … Continue reading
Posted in Books
4 Comments
Politics and Pulpits
Tim Ives flamed out. A dedicated pacifist, he preached against guns, war and violence, but in a post 9/11 world he found himself more and more at odds with his congregation in Chappaqua, New York. Conflict and confrontation ensued. He grew … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
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