Category: Spirituality

Paulianity, Part 5 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18 As is recorded in the book of Acts, Peter served as the de facto leader of the early followers of Jesus after the crucifixion. … Continue reading Paulianity, Part 5

Paulianity, Part 4 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you marry, you do not sin…Yet those who marry will experience distress in this life, and I would spare you that. 1 Corinthians 7:27-28 The “books” of … Continue reading Paulianity, Part 4

Paulianity, Part 3 For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from … Continue reading Paulianity, Part 3

Paulianity, Part 2 But Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house,; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison. Acts 8:3 Before I continue this series about the teachings of the apostle Paul, I wish to issue a clarification from last week’s Life Note. I stated my belief that … Continue reading Paulianity, Part 2

Paulianity Paul an apostle – sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead – and all members of God’s family who are with me… Galatians 1:1-2a The apostle Paul wrote many of the books of the New Testament. An important … Continue reading Paulianity

Good vs Bad, Part 4 There are not sacred and profane things, places, and moments. There are only sacred and desecrated things, places, and moments – and it is we alone who desecrate them by our lack of insight and reverence. Fr. Richard Rohr[1] In my early adulthood I worked as a landscape designer. I … Continue reading Good vs Bad, Part 4

Good vs Bad, Part 3 Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh… Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Luke 6:21b, 25b One of the defining differences between churchianity and Christianity has to do with how concretely good and bad are defined. Some churches and religious … Continue reading Good vs Bad, Part 3

Good vs Bad, Part 2 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 Last week I suggested we have an inaccurate understanding of good and bad. Specifically, we limit the full nature of what is good by condemning certain things … Continue reading Good vs Bad, Part 2

Good vs Bad You’d better watch out, you’d better not cry, You’d better not shout I’m telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town.[1] Many of us developed an image of God based more on Santa Claus than on anything biblical. That image, born in childhood and perpetuated by many churches, persists long beyond … Continue reading Good vs bad

Questions vs Answers, Part 2 “You insist on explaining everything as if the whole world were composed of things that can be explained…Has it ever occurred to you that only a few things in this world can be explained your way?” Don Juan Matus[1] Our desire for clear-cut answers to deep and difficult questions, and … Continue reading Questions vs Answers, Part 2