Tag Archives: St. Paul

It’s Time to Get Out of Line

Posted on June 9, 2018 by salooper57

By Martin Lewison from The Hague, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands – Cedar Point and Oberlin’s CommencementUploaded by Themeparkgc, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26787830 The church I attended as a teen had a gold-colored carpet, cream-colored walls, and a dark-stained wood trim. In … Continue reading →

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The Only Way Out Is Up

Posted on March 10, 2018 by salooper57

When Richard Spencer, the Alt-Right leader and social firebrand, came to Michigan State University this week, four police officers suffered minor injuries and twenty-five people were arrested. According to The Chicago Tribune, only 150 tickets were issued to the event, … Continue reading →

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A Simply Divine Game of Hide and Seek

Posted on September 23, 2017 by salooper57

If God exists, why has no one ever proved it to the satisfaction of all? Of course, most people have not needed proof – the vast majority have always believed in a God or gods. But if God really exists, … Continue reading →

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The Number One Rule in Great Story-Writing

Posted on May 13, 2017 by salooper57

A great storyteller can bring a character to life, metaphorically speaking. There’s no one who does it better than the novelist and poet Wendell Berry. His Port William “membership” is replete with memorable characters, and his Burley Coulter is one … Continue reading →

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Acquire Inward Peace, Change the World

Posted on April 22, 2017 by salooper57

Before “Wayne’s World” was a movie with Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, it was a Saturday Night Live comedy staple. The sketches were frequently based on some daydream fantasy of the stars – things that did not, and perhaps could … Continue reading →

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Why Do People Fast During Lent?

Posted on March 12, 2017 by salooper57

The students in our church have begun what they’re calling “Fast Week.” It has nothing to do with how fast they drive their cars or how quickly they can get what they want. Quite the contrary: it’s about their willingness … Continue reading →

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“Red Letter Christianity” and the Bible

Posted on December 10, 2016 by salooper57

Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne recently published an op-ed piece in the New York Times titled, “The Evangelicalism of Old White Men Is Dead.” They write that evangelicalism (or at least its reputation) is a “casualty” of the recent presidential … Continue reading →

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Confessing Jesus Is a Revolutionary Thing to Do

Posted on November 12, 2016 by salooper57

A paradigm is a mental model about how things are or how they work. Until recently (in historical terms), almost all humans held a mental model in which the earth was the center of the cosmos and around it the … Continue reading →

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Peacemakers Can Change the Calculus of Violence

Posted on September 3, 2016 by salooper57

This article is not meant to be controversial, though it does address a controversial topic: guns, mass shootings, the gun lobby and the anti-gun lobby. I offer no solution to the current debates over gun legislation and am not even … Continue reading →

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The Importance of Staying Limber

Posted on April 30, 2016 by salooper57

In Christian circles there is a high degree of suspicion towards people whose beliefs are constantly changing. We applaud Luther for his “Here I stand; I can do no other” attitude but we deplore Bunyan’s Mr. Pliable. Luther stands strong … Continue reading →

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