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Purpose, Fulfillment, Discontent

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  Purpose In the Face of Her Purpose I was on a crowded train to Salem so that I could catch July 4th fireworks when a young Asian woman who caught my eye immediately got on at one of the stops and sat in the seat right next to mine. Not wanting to miss any chance with her, I struck up a conversation with the woman and learned she was a grad student in psychology. After briefly discussing her studies and what she specialized in, she told me she was going to Boston for her internship program. Before I knew what interns are put through, I was mystified that she was being made to work on a significant federal holiday. I casually (hopefully not creepily) invited her to ditch her responsibilities and join my friends and I to catch the fireworks. She politely declined, and I felt my chances with her evaporate into thin air. I got off at my stop in Salem, hiked over to the waterfront to sit with my friends on the waterfront lawn, and thought about the beautiful woman I’d met on the ...
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Who Will Save Us Now?

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Who Will Save Us Now? I'm writing this a few days after President Joe Biden gave a speech in Pennsylvania about how the next midterm election is about fighting for the "soul of America." For however long, it seems that those of us who reside in the United States have been fighting that war. It was once religious and spiritual, but now it is mainly political, with religion and spirituality being hostage to politics which are suffering from Stockholm syndrome. This battle or war over the soul of America has ramped up dramatically since the nation has experienced a decline in traditional Western values. As the US has adopted much more progressive ideals by societal elites, many have lamented the breakdown of modernity and what it supports. On the other hand, we have also seen those who despise postmodernism and progressive advocates fight fire with fire and skew increasingly right as progressives skew increasingly to the left. This has seen both sides fall into a self-cannib...
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No Spare Tire: The Camp Leader and the Cudgel

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The Camp Leader and the Cudgel Introduction If you've read any of these posts, you'll know that I've been inspired by a dream to discuss issues around reading the Bible. So far, each post has addressed some surface-level roadblocks when picking up God's word. This post will not be like the previous ones. It will be more of a theological reflection on how the big C church uses the Bible. So, if theology is not your thing, please feel free to tune out, but if you're interested and are daring to read anyway, hang on to your butt because we're going for a ride! The Nebulous Nature of Dreams The truth is, none of the entries I've written so far have really accomplished what I've tried to set out to communicate. They are, after all, based on a dream. We like to say our dreams could be sharing a more profound message, but in the end, they could just be plain old dreams. After I initially awoke from it, my first sense was that it wasn't directed at new Chris...
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No Spare Tire: The Wise Old Sage

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The Wise Old Sage In case you haven't read any of the first two posts, I have been pondering over a dream about the Bible being called a spare tire. The first post concluded with the analogy that reading Scripture is like wrestling with it because it can be hard to come to terms with. The second post dove more deeply into that theme, suggesting that the violence of the Old Testament and the failures of humanity operated as a mirror being held up to us that simply reflects the realities of human existence, and we don't like that. Now, though, I'd like to recognize another facet of why we sometimes avoid the Bible; it was written two thousand years ago. I've seen the criticism in online interactions that we don't need to pay attention to what the Bible says because it's 2000+ years old. I haven't seen Christians say it as much, but at one time in my life, I have felt that way, and I know I'm not alone. Even though people quote 2 Timothy 3:16 to affirm th...
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No Spare Tire: The Mirror

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The Mirror In the last post, which you can read here , I discussed having a dream about why Christians might treat the Bible like a spare tire. I concluded with one idea that the content can be challenging to read and come to terms with, but through a lifetime of wrestling with Scripture, God will bless us for our struggle. I'd like to continue with the same theme today but in a different way.  Aside from what critics of the Bible might interpret as divinely ordained violence, the Bible is just plain violent in many places, even in the New Testament, with the persecution of the Church. In fact, many who oppose Christianity being presented within the public school system have highlighted specific examples of biblical passages that might catch young readers off guard. The latest attempt, albeit tongue-in-cheek, came from a Florida man who opposed the Florida government removing books with questionable content, suggesting the new state standards were inconsistent. Even so, his commen...
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