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.
Generational Feuds: The Frosts & The Coates
The Frosts and the Coates started a feud with one another because they fought on different sides of the Civil War. The war ended, but their feud didn’t. It became a curse.
History & Transmission of the Bible
The history of translation and transmission of the Bible was complex, contentious, and sometimes violent.
The War to End All Wars: World War I
They called it “the war to end all wars,” but even before it ended, a British politician remarked: “This war, like the next war, is a war to end [all] war.”
A Martyr to End Slavery: Rev. Elijah Parish Lovejoy
Elijah Parish Lovejoy was a minister and journalist who felt called to fight slavery. He refused to stop speaking out, to stop writing, to give up his cause. He was murdered by a pro-slavery mob.
The Stories We Tell about our Enemies
A West African proverb: until the lion tells the story, the hunter will always be the hero. Hearing the stories, the understandings, the circumstances of those we disagree with is the path to peace along the way of Christ.
The Impact of the Title “King of the Jews” on Herod the Great & Caesar Augustus
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.
Adam & Eve Wonder: Is the Night Endless?
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?
Christmas without Advent? A Bride who Won’t Stop Wearing her Dress
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.
Standing Amid the Ruins of a Concentration Camp
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.