Category Archives: Christianity

Finding a Place to Stand in the Culture War

Posted on September 9, 2023 by salooper57

The culture war has left little space to stand, but there remains the higher ground of Jesus’s lordship and biblical teaching. Those who stand here must refuse to allow cultural battles to force them to retreat or to move them to antipathy for those with whom they disagree.   Continue reading →

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Vital Attraction (Titus 2:9-10)

Posted on September 3, 2023 by salooper57

In Leviticus 19:2, God says to his people, “Be holy for I, the LORD your God, am holy.” More than one famous Bible scholar has pointed out this could be translated, “Be different for I, the LORD your God, am different.” Continue reading →

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Lighter or Darker: You Are the Switch

Posted on August 19, 2023 by salooper57

Poets and novelists have always made symbolic use of light and darkness, with light representing good and darkness representing evil. It could be argued that Shakespeare reverses this in Romeo and Juliet, but clearly the Bard relied on those traditional … Continue reading →

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Yours, Mine, or Ours: Morality in the 21st Century

Posted on August 12, 2023 by salooper57

Western cultures are undergoing a shift in moral priorities…The resulting moral earthquake has fractured the social landscape and left us standing on disparate tracks of moral ground. Continue reading →

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How to Get Caught Up (1 Thess. 4:13-18)

Posted on August 6, 2023 by salooper57

Writers have used lots of ink and preachers have spoken millions of words to talk about “the rapture.” This is the passage behind all that teaching. Paul did not write this to satisfy people’s curiosity about what will happen in the future, but to encourage people in the present. Continue reading →

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Chatbots: Coming to a Pulpit Near You?

Posted on July 15, 2023 by salooper57

In June, hundreds of people attended a service at St. Paul’s Church in Fuerth, Germany. Curiosity was high as people joined in a worship time planned almost entirely by artificial intelligence. Four young-looking avatars, two females and two males, directed … Continue reading →

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A Life-Changing Principle for a Better World

Posted on July 8, 2023 by salooper57

The Golden Rule is not a moral instruction that can be followed thoughtlessly or, in most cases, acted on spontaneously. To follow the Rule, I need to put myself in someone else’s shoes and this requires thought, intelligence, and imagination. Continue reading →

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First Stone in an Avalanche

Posted on June 13, 2023 by salooper57

Easter celebrations frequently focus on the fact that we will continue to live after we die. As true as that is, it’s important to realize that most people believed that before Jesus rose from the dead. They believed that humans … Continue reading →

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A Brief History of Progress: Are We There Yet?

Posted on June 3, 2023 by salooper57

In 1788, Benjamin Franklin wrote to a friend: “I have sometimes wished it had been my destiny to be born two or three centuries hence. For invention and improvement are prolific, and beget more of their kind. The present progress … Continue reading →

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The Progress of History and the History of Progress

Posted on June 2, 2023 by salooper57

Some ideas influence our actions and emotions, and we are not even aware of it. The powerful idea of progress is one. Christians don’t reject the idea of progress, but they understand it differently than does the prevailing culture. This … Continue reading →

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