Before sitting down to write this column, I arranged five items on my desk: a Bible, a concordance, my laptop computer, a cup of coffee and a cookie. Once settled into a chair, I prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide me to choose the Scriptures and the words He wanted me to use. Immediately afterward, I went right to work—on the cookie and the coffee. As I did, a line in the middle of the cover of the concordance caught my…
Little children it seems, are fascinated by tales of an age-old struggle of good and evil, by mythical creatures, mad scientists, villains and heroes—especially heroes. Kids love the idea of a champion, someone strong, reliable and good, who always comes to the rescue in the nick of time, routs the bad guys and triumphs in the end. If the wicked wizards resort to magic, no worries! Our hero just happens to have supernatural abilities that trump them every time. You would…
“May I help you?” asked the officer behind the desk, in a bored but polite tone. “I hope so,” answered the man standing before him. “I’d like to report a missing person.” “Name?” “Bill. Bill Jones.” “How long has Mr. Jones been missing?” asked the policeman. “Oh, sorry officer. That’s my name. I’m Bill, er, William. William Jones. It’s my boss who’s missing.” “What’s your boss’ name, Mr. Jones?” “You’ll find it right there on the form. I started filling it out while I was waiting, but didn’t…
I admit that I am not a huge fan of the Gospel of John. As eyewitness accounts go, his is among the strangest. Some commentators say that John’s command of Greek (the language of the New Testament) is fairly basic, his vocabulary, grammar and syntax unimpressive. This is hardly a shock, since John was a fisherman by trade, who, along with his brother James, learned the family business from dear old dad. John was also the youngest of the twelve apostles. His telling of Jesus’…
The Bible book of Acts tells the story of a man in his forties who had been crippled from birth. He was being carried to a place of prayer, when he saw two of Jesus’ disciples, Peter and John. The crippled man begged them for something small and temporary. He asked them for money. But as He so often does, God had a much better gift in mind for this disabled man—faith to be saved and, healing for his body. “Then Peter said, Silver…
You are hereby invited to participate in an informal and unscientific survey. Please raise your hand if you: Think that the world is getting noticeably better with each passing day. Believe that those in authority have everything under control. Feel that the world is growing steadily safer and less violent. Sense that mental health, sound judgment, and common sense are surging. Perceive that humanity is becoming more decent and virtuous all the time. Find that it’s easier and easier to trust…
The Christian faith is unique in the way that it permits its deity to be portrayed. No tales told of other gods are anything like the picture painted of Christianity’s central figure, Jesus Christ. To say that this portrait is very strange and oddly unflattering is to engage in understatement of the worst kind. Moreover, Christians—and even Christ, himself—have a most peculiar way of enticing others to embrace the faith as their own. To illustrate the point, here is a selective synopsis of Christ’s résumé. Although…