The third in our Lenten devotional series. Temptation. It sneaks up on you. It whispers, is this really such a bad idea? I'll just tell them I was late because I got an important phone call’I'll just tell them I read the whole thing’I'll just tell them I've had some experience with that’ And if, when we consider telling a half-truth, little white lies, something other than the whole truth, we hear a voice saying to us something like: is a small lie really such a big deal? If we heed that voice rather than … [Read more...] about Temptation: The Little Lie
temptation
Book Review: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis. New York, NY: Macmillan, 1962 (Link is to current edition). Summary: The classic collection of letters between a senior demon and junior tempter charged with undermining the new found faith of his “patient.” … [Read more...] about Book Review: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
To Will One Thing; A Lenten Reflection on Matthew 4:1-11
Soren Kierkegaard famously said, "purity of heart is to will one thing." To center back on our call to will one thing, namely the will of God, is the chief purpose of Lent. This week's gospel reading comes from Matthew 4:1-11. It's the scene of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. The Liar and Destroyer tempts Jesus, beckoning him to use God's power to turn stones to bread, to use God's power to call the angels to his aid, and he offers him the authority over all the kingdoms of the world, if only Jesus would will … [Read more...] about To Will One Thing; A Lenten Reflection on Matthew 4:1-11
Fame, Glory and the Struggle of a Christian Academic
As a student in the secular academy -- wait. No. If Plato was right (and I think he was spot on here), then whether a student of the secular academy or a fireman or a pastor, I am lured by ever-glistening immortal fame. Every one of us, no matter what he does, is longing for the endless fame, the incomparable glory that is theirs, and the nobler he is, the greater his ambition, because he is in love with the eternal. Symposium 208d: And did you know, the sweet singing of Homer's sirens was not dangerous for its … [Read more...] about Fame, Glory and the Struggle of a Christian Academic