Domestic Violence as Idolatry
The ancient gods blamed humanity for their own failings and problems. If humanity didn’t soothe them, they were struck down. Abusers treat their victims the same way.
The ancient gods blamed humanity for their own failings and problems. If humanity didn’t soothe them, they were struck down. Abusers treat their victims the same way.
When I was a baby, I was convinced that my parents were going to leave me behind when we moved away.
16th century missionaries to China Ruggieri & Ricci learned Chinese, wore Chinese robes, and did not insist that western cultural values were a part of learning the Gospel.
Nazi resister Dietrich Bonhoeffer spent his final days in concentration camps, questioning how others saw hopefulness in him where he saw restlessness and weariness.
Only gentiles called Jesus “King of the Jews.” The Herods and the Caesars claimed many titles for themselves, but they perpetually felt their power threatened.
In the far north, they have days of all night and all day. Maybe Adam & Eve were afraid the first time they saw the sun go down. Would it ever return?
Trying to celebrate Christmas every day of Advent is like a bride who’s so excited about her wedding that she wears her dress every day for weeks before the ceremony.
Christian Nationalism means one group’s notion of Christianity holds power regardless of what the majority want. It can even mean a dictatorship.
Visiting a concentration camp means feeling the suffering that calls out from the ground. It means remembering that so many Christians chose to wait passively and that we must make different choices.
In the late 18th-early 19th centuries, Seraphim of Sarov fasted, prayed, and meditated for decades. He became a miracle worker, a source of peace, and a friend of bears.