What gender is God? Although I’m not sure how important the answer is in the overall scheme of things, it is nonetheless often debated and speculated. Here is a smattering of responses to this query: Although I refer to God in the masculine, it is more out of convention and for ease of communication. In […]
It’s interesting that we tend to equate writing prolificacy with profundity. After these three, the reminding New Testament authors, especially those of shorter letters, fade into obscurity and are barely noticed by most readers of the Bible. Such is the case of Peter, whose two short letters comprise but 2.5 percent of New Testament content. […]
When I went to my bank last week, there was a commotion at the car wash next door. A number of trucks were parked haphazardly around the building and a couple of fire trucks were along side. The folks at the bank confirmed there had been a fire. Apparently, someone had carelessly flung a cigarette. […]
To Heal and to Save Jesus came to heal and to save; that was his mission and his purpose. At that time, the people largely accepted Jesus’ healing ministry, but not so much his saving ministry. Today, it is the opposite, with his followers accepting his saving ministry, but not so much his healing ministry. […]
Moses gave a curious command: “Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” This seems to be an excessive response when one is wronged, but given the culture of that day, it was actually a move towards moderation. For example, when Jacob’s daughter Dinah was […]
Reviewed by Peter DeHaan The Devil’s Arithmetic, based on a book by the same name, focuses on narcissist American teenager, Hanna Stern (Kirsten Dunst). Although Hanna dismisses her Jewish heritage, she is compelled to attend her family’s Seder celebration. In the midst of her reluctant participation, she is translated to Nazi occupied Poland, circa 1941. […]
I have long maintained—and increasingly so—that my body does not comply with the “normal” 24-hour sleep cycle. Among the random press releases, I received today is confirmation that sleep cycle deviations can occur and that one enzyme may be the central culprit. Although I find this only semi-comprehensible, I nonetheless find it interesting: Central Gears […]
After my Friday blog about our local drought, I was in for a pleasant surprise. The light mist that evening resulted in two-tenths of an inch of rain overnight, which was quite substantial given the scant precipitation the prior six weeks. However, Saturday morning brought a deluge of another 1.6 inches in a couple of […]
In the last six weeks, we’ve only received about three-quarters of an inch of rain. That is about one-tenth of what we would normally enjoy this time of year. The crops are suffering and the lawns don’t look so good either. That means I’ve been doing a lot of sprinkling, dragging hoses around my yard on […]
Two weeks ago, we (my bride and I) helped children Dan and Kelli move from their apartment to their house. They moved a couple carloads the night before and I rented a truck, first to move their items from our house and then to move the furniture from their apartment. Kelli’s family brought a truckload […]