Gregg Ten Elshof has done it again. He has written an especially helpful and deeply insightful book proposing that we would do well not to dismiss shame altogether. This book is highly accessible, deserves wide attention, and would make an outstanding resource for group discussion. For Shame: Rediscovering the VirtuesRead More
Short answer: Yes. However, and this may seem obvious and come as no surprise, it seems to me that for those who affirm and embrace Christianity, there is some measure of obligation to grow or mature in the faith. Consider how the image of “infant” or “children” is used inRead More
“I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king.” On several occasions IRead More
Craig A. Boyd & Kevin Timpe have provided an outstanding introduction to The Virtues in Oxford’s “Very Short Introductions” series. As with the other volumes, The Virtues is an excellent offering. It is clear and uncomplicated, thorough and inclusive in approach, and helpfully outlined and organized throughout. Chapter 1 sets theRead More
The story of Jane Marczewski (aka Nightbirde) is special because it portrays a person who is experiencing immense tragedy on a scale many of us have not known. What makes it special is that she is managing her tragedy in ways not only remarkable but inspirational. Her response is simply,Read More
Tish Harrison Warren offers important insight into what appears to be an inescapable predicament. Here’s the issue: In the throes of real pain and genuine suffering, we struggle to make sense out of the goodness of God (assuming there is some sense to be made under such pressure). This predicament favors no one and applies to everyone, whether …Read More
In his classic Confessions (Book X), Augustine prays, “Give what Thou commandest, and command what Thou willest.”
Some say that God never demands more than we can handle, but is this true? You may say,
“Of course it’s true! After all, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:13: ‘No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to us all. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.’”
But note: the text does not say God give will never give us more than we are able to handle. It says he does not give us more than we can handle ON OUR OWN. How else will our need for God manifest unless we are at our wits end?
My experience has shown me time and again that …Read More
The most well-known prayer of all, the Lord’s Prayer (from Matthew 6:9-13), has been such an inspiration to me over the years. As I pray through it each day, I’ve finally written down some reflections and decided to compile them here. Nothing technical or complicated. Just a few thoughts andRead More
When John W. Cooper’s Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting: Biblical Anthropology and the Monism-Dualism Debate came out I was not only intrigued but sold on his views of what it means to be an integrated human, body and soul. Much later J. P. Moreland’s The Soul: How We Know It’sRead More
As hard as it is to accept, I propose that my cognitive and moral equipment is handicapped and my interpretive skills are inadequate when it comes to making sense out of evil and suffering. True “we know in part” (1 Cor 13:9), but the pain of not knowing why GodRead More
I’m almost finished with Eleonore Stump‘s most excellent Wandering in Darkness: Narrative and the Problem of Suffering. As thoughtful as it is thorough, she takes the characters of Job, Abraham, Sampson, and Mary of Bethany from the biblical narratives and shows that the benefits received because of suffering are greater than theRead More
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