Tag Archives: G. K. Chesterton

The Secret of Gratitude: Receiving Life as a Gift

Posted on November 27, 2021 by salooper57

G. K. Chesterton wrote, half in jest: “The worst moment for an atheist is when he is really thankful and has no one to thank.” Never having been an atheist, I cannot know whether this is true, but I find it doubtful. I do know, however, that it is a bad moment when a believer who does have someone to thank is not thankful. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Easter: So Much Bigger Than You Think

Posted on April 3, 2021 by salooper57

At Easter, Christians commemorate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and celebrate what his rising means for people and for the world. Too often, though, this vast hope has been so closely cropped that the only thing left is an expectation of a soulish celestial existence following death.

This is far too narrow a view, which is theologically unsupported and biblically unsound. Resurrection is not just about getting into heaven. It is the pivotal event in God’s plan to save creation. It is not simply a way for humans to live again after they die, but to live for the first time as God intended: joyously, vigorously, lovingly, justly, unendingly.

In the Bible, resurrection is viewed as the doorway into the age to come. Most people in first century Israel assumed this to be true. What surprised them was the Christian claim that the resurrection had already begun in Jesus. Their astonishing news was not just that people go on living after they die – most everyone in the first century already believed that – but that the new age had arrived when Jesus rose from the dead. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Holy Week, Theology | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

It’s Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be

Posted on September 9, 2017 by salooper57

Orthodox Christianity has, at least from the time of Augustine, upheld the doctrine of original sin. According to the church, the first man’s rebellion against his creator left all humanity guilty before God and damaged in their nature. When Adam … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, In the News, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 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

Back to the present: how future Americans will see us

Posted on September 5, 2015 by salooper57

When reading European authors from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, one frequently runs across descriptions of America and Americans. Americans are either burly, uncultured, do-it-yourselfers or rich, ambitious, self-made men. As a nation America is emotional and reckless, … Continue reading →

Posted in In the News, Lifestyle, Spiritual life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Only Place to Start

Posted on October 4, 2014 by salooper57

Some people won’t do anything until they figure out everything. If they can’t do it perfectly, they can’t – or won’t – do it at all. And so of course they do nothing. Just try telling them what the English … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Lifestyle, Spiritual life | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

There are no ordinary people

Posted on September 13, 2014 by salooper57

It is common now – among intellectuals and even among government agencies – to deny humans a nature and regard the characteristics once attributed to human nature as merely “social constructs.” Gender, for example, is now viewed by many as … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Faith, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment