All tagged humility
When I was in the seventh grade I was bullied by a bigger, taller eighth grader. What'd I learn? What do psychologists tell us about the mindset, the neediness, of bullies? What do most insightful websites say to do regarding bullies? What does that mean for Christian life and faith? Come laugh and think with me.
Trinitarian reality is not some esoteric doctrine, it has implications for both public and private life. Herein I give some examples of how the character of God—an eternal unity in diversity—is the ethical foundation for our own lives, for society. I also take a few moments to talk about the meaning of the public presence of the Church and why that matters. Come think and laugh with me.
Creation echoes and mirrors God's own self. How is that so? I work through dynamics like finding meaning, reality versus thin copies, community, patterns, ecology, unity, diversity, and beauty. Building from the theological concept of panentheism I show what a mystery, a beautiful mystery, everything in life is. Nothing is eliminated by virtue of its group or species. So amazing!
We can learn through different mediums. Herein we examine two preeminent paintings from history: Luca Signorelli's "Anti-Christ" and Andrei Rublev's "Trinity." What insights do these two geniuses show us about human nature, about reality, about our mysterious God? Furthermore, what do these two painters, each of whom lived over 500 years ago, tell us about our current national crisis?
We sentimentalize baby Jesus' birth. But what if his coming actually suggested important values, approaches, and attitudes for our own Christian mission? What might we learn from how he entered space and time? (This is a 6 minute quick hitter.)
Advent celebrates Jesus' coming to earth and his incarnation. There are specific themes that spill out of the Bethlehem portion of the story: lowliness, kingship, motherhood, flesh, beauty, prophecy, and just plain old weirdness! Let's go deeper into the Christmas mystery.
I've never met somebody who relished in uncertainty. Ambiguity is hard on us, sometimes it is hard on our faith. In this episode will I celebrate ambiguity? Nope. But I will point out some of the positive dimensions that the space, distance, and freedom which all come from ambiguity make possible in our lives. I also talk about the olfactory wonders of walking my dog, Bindi!
What does Jesus' entrance into reality say about him, about God? What was that entrance like? Why would God choose to hide his majesty? What does it mean to say God is a gentleman?
Per Buddha and Jesus, respectively, what is the central problem confronting humanity? How do each of them perceive reality? What did each of them teach we should do to solve our problems? How alike are they? And, instead of demonizing other religions, why do I respect other religions? And if they were in a UFC fight who would win, Jesus or Buddha?!
What is the philosophy of religious pluralism? And what then is universalism? Is it true that "all religions are different paths that lead to the same mountain top called God"? What happens when we bring just a smidgeon of logic to bear on things? What happens when we bring a smidgeon of Jesus to things?
What makes one a Christian? Good works? Being nice? Humility? Love? What is the core, the center, of the Christian life? Today there are all manner of pretender answers to that question. Come and think deeply with me about your identity in the Lord.
Why am I a Christian? Just why do I believe? This is the first half of a two-part delineation of why I embrace the Christian worldview. I speak variously to spiritual, existential, and philosophical issues that are profound for me. To that end I describe an automobile accident I was in, why and that beauty is so gripping to me, and what the Bible has to say about human nature.
