Psychologists have long known that we cannot truly love what we fear. As I John says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” Love involves trust. Fear is based on mistrust, suspicion, and foreboding. Love and trust are integral parts of a healthy, growing, and honest relationship. Fear and mistrust are indicative of an unhealthy, unreliable, and toxic relationship. Fear and mistrust are characteristics found in all sick religion. Continue reading
So many people assume religion is what we believe about God. The primary assumption of the religious is that there is a God and they know something about that God. Theology is man’s systematic beliefs about God. (I purposely used “man” because with a few exceptions, women have not been… Continue reading
Recently Susan and I purchased the Blue-ray format of the tv series Roots. This monumental television event was based on Alex Haley’s bestseller by the same name. One of the extras on the Blue-ray format featured interviews with the actors in the series. Each actor shared her or his perspective… Continue reading
The king was dead. For over 40 years Uzziah had ruled Judah, and those years had been an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity for the Kingdom. In a land where the average life span was around 40 years, very few people could remember a time when Uzziah was not… Continue reading
Before the beginning of recorded history, humankind has enjoyed a special relationship with playful and highly intelligent animals called Dolphins. There are incredible stories regarding their sensitivity to humans in distress at sea. It would appear that we have only just begun to understand the mystery and value of these… Continue reading
(This article is written for college students who may be struggling with issues of faith as they are confronted with the “stretchings” of higher education.) It still sends chills down my spine when I think about that moment of revelation fifty years ago. I was on my way to one… Continue reading
When I was a pastor I was often asked what I thought about “near-death experiences” (NDEs). We have all heard of these, and some of you may have even had such an experience. The media has certainly capitalized on this phenomenon, and many trees have been sacrificed to print books… Continue reading
