Author Archives: salooper57

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About salooper57

Husband, father, pastor, follower. I am a disciple of Jesus, learning how to do life from him. I read, write, walk, play a little guitar, enjoy my family.

Raise a Cup of Bile to Our Enemy

Posted on March 4, 2017 by salooper57

A recent study suggests that people bond more securely over shared dislikes than over mutual enthusiasms. Spouses will apparently attach more closely over a common hatred for hip-hop than over a shared love for Mozart. It’s the old, “The enemy … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Church, In the News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Reading the Bible Through Red, White, and Blue Lenses

Posted on February 25, 2017 by salooper57

There is no reference to America in the Bible, though some prophecy buffs have tried hard to find one. I tried too, when I was a young Christian. Surely, I thought, the United States of America, the most powerful country … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Books, Christianity, Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Dance That Must Be Learned

Posted on February 18, 2017 by salooper57

St. Paul wrote that God “comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” “That’s nice,” I say, but not with much enthusiasm, because deep … Continue reading →

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Living with Courage, Dying with Dignity

Posted on February 11, 2017 by salooper57

What does it take to die with dignity? If one looks at the website of the “Death with Dignity National Center” and “Death with Dignity Political Fund,” one will assume that a death with dignity involves certain standard components, among … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, In the News, Lifestyle, Peace with God | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Awash

Posted on February 4, 2017 by salooper57

I once asked a retired public school teacher friend what was the biggest change during his thirty years of teaching, from the sixties to the nineties. Without even taking time to reflect he answered: “The language people use – both … Continue reading →

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Should the Church Support a Political Party?

Posted on January 28, 2017 by salooper57

America is more sharply divided than it has been in my lifetime, and it is not just a political divide. It is an ideological one, and it has led to an almost compulsive distrust. Few on either side show respect … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, In the News, Lifestyle | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Faith, and the Complexities of Being Human

Posted on January 21, 2017 by salooper57

According to the Pew Research Center, while “the vast majority of Americans still believe in God … there are strong signs that many are less certain about this belief than in years past.” Pew’s research is dependent upon what is … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Faith, In the News, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Gap Between the Self We Imagine and the Self We Are

Posted on January 19, 2017 by salooper57

There is more to any person than he or she realizes. As C. S. Lewis put it in the sermon he titled, “The Weight of Glory”: “You have never talked to a mere mortal…it is immortals whom we joke with, … Continue reading →

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Holy Communion

Posted on January 10, 2017 by salooper57

What happens at the Communion Table is rich and full of mystery. As people try to sort through the various explanations – Transubstantiation, Consubstantiation, Real Presence, Zwingli Memorialism, and more – they sometimes miss a simple but powerful truth: the … Continue reading →

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Life Is the Result of a Long Choosing

Posted on January 7, 2017 by salooper57

It used to be common to hear a new convert described as someone who had “got religion.” Occasionally one hears that phrase still. It makes religion sound like a disease. One gets religion like one gets a cold or a … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Faith, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments