It was good to hear from the official agnostic poster of this humble site…Shawn from Ohio. Shawn and I don’t agree on much of anything (except for our love of the Ohio State University and the need for civil discourse) but we do agree completely on a point he made in a recent post. Mind what people do, not only what they say, for deeds will show their true selves. Amen. No offense meant, Shawn. Christian thinker and writer Brennan Manning has a quote made famous by the group DC Talk… “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and get on with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” The search for authentic Christians reminded me of one of my favorite ancient characters, the philosopher Diogenes of Sinope. Born in Turkey about 400 years before Christ, he was a student of Antisthenes
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Periodically we warm-up a vacuum sealed leftover when time does not allow a fresh entree. Hope you enjoy this look back at one of the odd quirks of a Founding Father and how it relates to you and me – Blessings, Dave Thomas Jefferson is an enigma for many. An article by Bruce Tomoso in the Dallas Morning News noted that his enemies accused him of being an atheist and yet he started the statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom with the phrase, “Almighty God hath created the mind free.” But he certainly would not have been invited to speak at an evangelical conference to share his beliefs that most clergymen are “soothsayers and necromancers.” You likely have a bigger brain than I do but I will confess that I had to look up necromancers. It literally means one who interrogates the dead. Okay. Not sure what church Jefferson was frequenting but clearly he had some issues with clergy and he believed that most of
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Leo Durocher allegedly said that “nice guys finish last”. When you look at the most successful coaches of recent years you would not generally use “nice” as the first descriptive word. Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy is one of the nicest, most admired men in professional sports. He has the respect of his team and those who follow the sport. One year ago he dealt with the tragic death of his son James with dignity and strength. Last Sunday he coached his team to a win in the Super Bowl. And now he has created controversy with this statement made to CBS sportscaster Jim Nantz after the game. Jim Nantz of CBS Sports: This is one of those moments, Tony, where there is also social significance in this victory, and to have your hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Tell me what this means to you right now. Tony Dungy: I’ll tell you what. I’m proud to be representing African-American coaches, to
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Last week I was spending a few minutes at Baton Rouge Airport before heading home. The airport is designed with a large central glass dome and some trees in the middle of the atrium. The early morning rush was over and the airport was surprisingly quiet. I heard something that caught my attention. Chirping. Not some bozo on a cell phone. Actual bird chirping. I looked up and saw what looked like a couple of sparrows flitting about near the top of the atrium. Somehow these wild birds had found their way inside the airport terminal. I watched them for awhile and I thought about how cold it was outside that day. I reflected on how “lucky” those birds were to be in a climate controlled atrium and not have to brave the elements. They could forage amongst the left over food of the travelers. What a life! And then it hit me. That is how I tend to live my Christian life. Seeking comfort over
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Regular readers of these humble ramblings know that if I use all caps this is serious stuff. Most of the feedback I get at this site is incredibly thoughtful, graceful, and kind. Some of the feedback makes me sigh deeply and wonder how they could possibly get that interpretation from what I wrote? Sometimes the legalistic spiritual hall monitors will drop by to make sure I parsed a verb correctly and then they will dump a little deposit of condescension or judgment. A few try to use this site for their personal agenda without regard to the actual point of the post. Those responders find themselves in the cyber trash can. Last week I received some feedback that made me sad, anxious, and a little frightened. And that is why I felt compelled to write this warning. I had written a blog called “Do It Anyway”. The gist of the article was that we too often take the safe route and don’t take the risks
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I understand the importance of copyright protection. I have written two books and I would not want my hard work to be pirated for someone else’s personal gain. Especially since I have gotten little personal gain from them myself. I get the reasoning for copyright laws. But what is happening with the famous professional football league and their game that cannot be mentioned by mortals is ridiculous. This week the 500 pound gorilla landed on a Baptist church in Indianapolis. Here is the story from the Indianapolis Star. “The NFL is telling Fall Creek Baptist Church in Indianapolis that the church’s plans to use a wall projector to show the game at a party for church members and guests would violate copyright laws. NFL officials spotted a promotion of Fall Creek’s “Super Bowl Bash” on the church Web site last week and sent pastor John D. Newland a letter — via FedEx overnight — demanding the party be canceled.Initially, the
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I rarely get spiritual inspiration from horse eulogies. I suspect that does not make me unique. But I was moved by a comment in a story about Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro after he was euthanized last week. I admit that I got emotionally involved with the fight that Barbaro made for his life. From the heart wrenching injury to the hopeful progress I followed the story faithfully. Last week it became apparent that the battle was lost. The comment that moved me came from co-owner Gretchen Jackson as she talked about the loss of Barbaro. “Grief is the price we all pay for love.” That is a gut level truth. There is a price to pay for love and there is a risk. You can get hurt. You can lose the love of your life. People (and animals) die. But isn’t it better to love and experience grief and hurt than to retreat to a safe emotional bunker of isolation? I
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