The Theologian's Table

  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 ...

    What is faith? What is this concept that the media mostly gets wrong, or Christians sometimes get confused or at least confused? Heck, even some pastors get it wrong. Is there a clear definition for it in the Christian life?      Recently, I woke up in the morning, and the first thing that popped into my head was The Goonies. It wasn't a slow process but a thought that sprung me awake like a lightning bolt to my consciousness: THE GOONIES! It occurred to me that Christians could probably learn a thing, or seven, from the classic 80's flick, especially about faith. So, I will relate this film to our walk in faith and make some arguments about what faith really is and means. Once again, like in my recent posts, I ask you to keep an open mind and open heart to what is going to be said in this entry. The Goonies? Da fudge is that?      Hopefully, everyone has seen or at least heard of the Goonies, but in case you've been living under a ro...

http://mbsdailydrawing.blogspot.com/       As some of you may know I decided about a year ago that I  wanted to go to school so I could become a pastor. One of the requirements is to have read the Bible completely at least once. Admittedly I have not done that, so over the past year I have skipped around to different books in the Bible and read them. For my 31st birthday my wife got me a life applications study Bible and with it I decided to study the New Testament books in order. I have since devoured the book of Matthew and would like to share a taste of what I have learned. I'd like to ask you to please keep an open mind and an open heart to what I have to say, thank you. Common Misconceptions      When some people think of the four Gospels they are confused on why there needs to be 4 different books about the same events. In reality they portray Jesus using different themes such as Matthew trying to prove that Jesus is King/Messiah to th...