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.

The most daring and imaginative artist ever

Posted on May 2, 2015 by salooper57

Creation is a work of art, and as with any work of art, as we immerse ourselves in it, we learn something about ourselves. But we also learn something about the Artist. We learn that he is creative. He is, … Continue reading →

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Don’t carry invasive beliefs into church

Posted on April 25, 2015 by salooper57

There are boot brushes at the trailheads to several of our favorite places to hike, with signs instructing hikers to clean their boots. Most people want to clean their boots after hiking, not before. But these trailheads lead into nature … Continue reading →

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Tomorrow may be too late

Posted on April 18, 2015 by salooper57

In all the class pictures that my mother kept and stored, from kindergarten on, I can find the same towheaded boy. His name was David. He was my sometimes friend and sometimes adversary. David was in nearly every class I … Continue reading →

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A difficult truth to face

Posted on April 11, 2015 by salooper57

Many years ago, an acquaintance approached me and said, “Hey, I hear you’re having a baby!” And I said something like, “That’s good to know. I hadn’t heard that.” Now having children is really good news. I have three and … Continue reading →

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Questions at the heart of the gospel

Posted on April 4, 2015 by salooper57

In the four Gospel accounts of the life and death of Jesus, no one ever used the word “resurrection” to describe Jesus’s return from death, neither the ancient writers nor the people whose words and actions they reported. This surprised … Continue reading →

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Don’t shrink-wrap the truth

Posted on March 28, 2015 by salooper57

I suspect that if any of the “new atheists” were to describe to me the God they don’t believe in, I would congratulate them for not believing and explain that I don’t believe in that God either. The God they … Continue reading →

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Who gets to say what is right and what is wrong?

Posted on March 21, 2015 by salooper57

Who gets to say what is right and what is wrong? Is there such a thing? And if there is, on what basis can anyone claim the moral authority to judge it? Those questions underlie a recent and very public … Continue reading →

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Fascinating: the role of emotions in human life

Posted on March 14, 2015 by salooper57

Would Captain Kirk skip out on Mr. Spock’s funeral? Not on your life. So when William Shatner, who played Kirk in the Star Trek franchise’s television show and movies, missed Spock actor Leonard Nimoy’s funeral, people were outraged. No, Kirk … Continue reading →

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One place even God will not go

Posted on March 7, 2015 by salooper57

In “Burnt Norton,” the first poem in T. S. Eliot’s celebrated Four Quartets, the renowned poet writes, “…human kind cannot bear very much reality.” Eliot seems to have been thinking specifically of the deep-seated reluctance to face the end to … Continue reading →

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The boot is now on the other foot

Posted on February 28, 2015 by salooper57

During the 1990s, a person couldn’t turn around without bumping into the word “tolerance.” Tolerance was everywhere: tolerance for people’s sexual orientation, tolerance for people’s religious beliefs (or lack thereof), and tolerance for people’s choices regarding career and family, to … Continue reading →

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