Category Archives: Christianity

Dignity is not the result of circumstances

Posted on September 19, 2015 by salooper57

Whenever I faced a challenge as a boy, my leatherneck dad would say to me: “You can do this standing on your head.” It didn’t matter what “this” happened to be – football tryouts, trigonometry, passing a driver’s test – … Continue reading →

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A rose by any other name

Posted on August 29, 2015 by salooper57

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Those are of course Juliet’s lines in Act II of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. If only Romeo’s last name were something other … Continue reading →

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Be careful not to stare into the wrong eyes

Posted on August 8, 2015 by salooper57

I was in the Istanbul airport this summer, standing at Passport Control, while a uniformed officer went through my papers. He was scowling. He looked at my passport picture, then at me, then back at my papers. I couldn’t tell … Continue reading →

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It’s up to us to change the political climate

Posted on August 1, 2015 by salooper57

It feels like we’re standing on the shoreline, watching a storm building in the west. Another general election is on the horizon, the rhetoric is heating up, and accusations are beginning to fall like thunderbolts on the talk shows and … Continue reading →

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We were made that way

Posted on July 25, 2015 by salooper57

Lady Gaga sings about Mary Magdalene, the friend and disciple of Jesus. Katy Perry refers to the biblical hero Esther and writes about being called and chosen. The Clash refers to the floods of God, the walls of Jericho and … Continue reading →

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Discontent is a two-edged sword

Posted on July 18, 2015 by salooper57

Each year the Gallup organization polls people from 120 countries around the world to find out if they are satisfied with the freedom they have to choose what to do with their lives. In 2006, the U.S. ranked as one … Continue reading →

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How to pray in times like these

Posted on July 3, 2015 by salooper57

In the light of recent events in the news – the ISIS threat, the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, the continuing erosion of religious freedom, and the slaughter of nine Christians at a Bible study in a South Carolina … Continue reading →

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Christianity’s Answer to America’s Identity Crisis

Posted on June 27, 2015 by salooper57

America is going through an identity crisis. The “live for today” approach to life – or, more precisely, the “live for how I feel today” approach to life – has disconnected us from our past and from our roots. The … Continue reading →

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Why I’m Still an Evangelical

Posted on June 6, 2015 by salooper57

In 1987, the controversial Catholic priest Hans Kung famously published a book titled, “Why I am Still a Christian.” For some reason that book, which I read many years ago, came back to my mind recently, and started me thinking … Continue reading →

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From what area code does this call originate?

Posted on May 30, 2015 by salooper57

Kym Ackerman left her dental appointment in Flagstaff, Arizona with a numinous feeling of wonder. On an X-ray of her left-side molars, she had just seen the image of Jesus. According to The Huffington Post, Ackerman explained that her mother … Continue reading →

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