There is a belief prevalent among many religious folk that “things” are evil, that the world and the flesh are devilish, that our appetites wage war against our spirit and must be extinguished. These convictions find root in Manichaeism and, in due season, can blossom into asceticism — either that or a major guilt trip. [...]
Back in high school, a C+ would’ve been swell. But when that grade comes from a literary agent, and it’s regarding my first novel, that’s different. Actually, it was only three sample chapters, but it still leaves a mark. Lisa called me at work, tore open the letter and read, While your project exhibits merit [...]
Here comes a Baptist, here comes a Jew There goes a Mormon and a Muslim too I see a Buddist and a Hindu I see a Catholic and I see you We’re all god’s children We’re all god’s children We’re all god’s children Why can’t we be One big happy family From Alan Jackson’s, We’re [...]
The deckhands yell, “Dodo!” It’s short for Dorado, which is also called Mahi Mahi. It’s one of the premiere sportsfish and with the water warming, we were hoping we’d hit some. And last week, we did. It was a two day trip out of San Diego into Mexican waters. When we pulled into dock late [...]
I really wanted to like M. Night Shyamalan’s new movie, Lady in the Water. Monday afternoon Lisa suggested, last-minute-like, we catch a flick. Getting me to the show is a chore, not because I don’t like movies, but because I believe so few of them are worth the money. I knew Shyamalan’s film was out [...]
They are “The Seven Samurai of the Intellectual Universe.” No, I’m not talking about Ms. White’s dwarves. Dopey, Grumpy and Doc have nothing on The Thinklings. When it comes to group blogs, Thinklings is near the top of my totem. With probing posts like Is Being Mr. Rogers Bad?, What’s Wrong with “Jesus Is My [...]
I’ve been blogging for a year and, among other things, the experience has inflamed a nagging question: Why do women read more than men? Of course, there are many variables to the query. After all, men do read. Things like Maxim, the Wall Street Journal and Sports Illustrated are predominantly aimed at and consumed by [...]
So last week I met my son, Chris, at Cal State San Bernardino, the university he attends. There we met with Tim Usher. Mr. Usher is a physics professor, specializing in Ferroelectrics and Piezoelectric research (I’m copying this from the CSUSB brochure because I have no idea what the terms mean). Why were we meeting [...]
The biggest problem facing the Christian cynic is reconciling the spirit of Scripture with their negative, pessimistic outlook. No doubt, there is plenty for us to rail about in this life. The Bible adds fuel to the cynic’s fire by making numerous gloomy (albeit accurate) assertions about the world and those who live in it. [...]
A collision was inevitable. On the the one hand, my propensity toward skepticism compounded by a bittersweet departure from the ministry, left me sensitized to every spiritual hiccup in the Body of Christ. And, as you know, there’s no shortage of buffoons, charlatains, hypocrites and buzzards in the Church. What with a world gone haywire, [...]
