Category Archives: Worldview and Culture

Evangelicalism Commandeered: A Cause for Concern

Posted on November 13, 2021 by salooper57

17 percent of American Muslims who attend mosque at least once a week now identify as Evangelicals. Despite the Evangelical label, they would not say the Bible is authoritative on all matters of faith and practice, nor would they insist on a decision for Christ.

he fact that so many American Muslims are now identifying as Evangelical is not the only surprise. The number of Catholics who identify as Evangelical has more than doubled in the past decade. Continue reading →

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Mission Trips? Go For Those Who Stay

Posted on October 20, 2021 by salooper57

I am just back from the Baja Peninsula. Not Cabo, or Mazatlán, or Acapulco, but Tijuana. We did not go to soak up the sun on a stretch of white sand beach or to get in a few rounds of … Continue reading →

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Self-Deception: Following Your Own Echo

Posted on October 16, 2021 by salooper57

Years ago, I jumped in my Olds Delta 88, turned on the radio, and took off for town. There was a preacher on the radio who, before I got around to changing the station, said something that caught my attention. … Continue reading →

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Re-Story Your Life

Posted on October 9, 2021 by salooper57

The way we humans think – that we think at all – is a marvelous thing. There are, of course, different parts of the brain – the mind’s amazing instrument – which perform different functions in the collection, storage, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Spiritual life, Worldview and Culture | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Do Not Judge Me by the Enemies I Have Made

Posted on September 25, 2021 by salooper57

Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously said, “I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.” He may have drawn on the Arabian adage, “Judge a man by the reputation of his enemies.” It seems people have long defined … Continue reading →

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Everyone (Else) Has a Problem with Entitlement

Posted on September 4, 2021 by salooper57

Americans have a problem with feeling entitled. Almost anyone you ask will tell you. But they’ll tell you it is some other group that feels entitled. White people think that black people feel entitled because they are black. Black people … Continue reading →

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What Does God Think of You?

Posted on August 31, 2021 by salooper57

Louie Zamperini was a Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps in the Second World War, serving as a bombardier when his plane was badly damaged by Japanese anti-aircraft fire. The plane made it back to base but was no longer … Continue reading →

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Life on Earth: Comedy or Tragedy?

Posted on June 12, 2021 by salooper57

We owe the words “comedy” and “tragedy” to the ancient Greeks, whose stage plays in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. gave rise to the terms. A hundred years of films and about 80 years of commercial television have left us thinking that comedies are comic and tragedies are sad. The Greeks were more nuanced.

Tragedy may contain humorous moments and funny characters, but what makes a tragedy tragic is that it ends badly. The hero fails, the aspiration goes unfulfilled, night falls. Continue reading →

Posted in Theology, Worldview and Culture | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Convergence

Posted on June 7, 2021 by salooper57

God is working in our lives and world, but we are liable to miss it because we are expecting something else: something obvious, something “religious,” something extraordinary. But in Samuel we learn that God works through the mundane events of life, its pleasures and its pains. Continue reading →

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Feeling Misunderstood? You’re Not Alone

Posted on May 15, 2021 by salooper57

According to a Pew Research Center survey from 2020, nearly 6 out of 10 Americans feel misunderstood. This figure holds across racial and ethnic lines, with 58 percent of black, 55 percent of Hispanic, and 61 percent of white Americans … Continue reading →

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