Dallas Willard on Worldview

I’m a big fan of the writing of Dallas Willard. His recent book, Knowing Christ Today (which is quite different from his previous writings focused on spiritual formation) deals with themes of knowledge, truth, and worldview. Willard’s combined vocation as a Southern Baptist pastor and professor of philosophy at the University of Southern California enables him [...]

Sabbatical Reflections on Wisdom: The Perfect Light (Part 2 of 3)

In addition to being the greatest teacher of the masses, he also discipled the few. He “hung out” with the twelve disciples for three years, eating with them, praying and worshipping with them, modeling the life of the kingdom of God for them, walking with them, and answering their questions. His discipleship was a life-on-life [...]

Sabbatical Reflections on Wisdom: The Perfect Light (Part 1 of 3)

The sages from the East spent months, perhaps a year or two, traveling great distances following the star until they found the Perfect Light – Wisdom himself. The Christ child was wisdom incarnate.
The baby that the wise men discovered, while being God, was every bit a human child. Like other children, he would nurse, cry, [...]

Reclaiming the Dignity of Women in Building Healthy Cultures

The Stoning of Soraya M has now been released, and while I haven’t seen it yet, it has already impressed me for several reasons. It stars Jim Caviezel, the actor who played Jesus in The Passion of The Christ.  Caviezel is a devoted Catholic and a courageous actor who boldly integrates his Christian faith with [...]

Sabbatical Reflections: Sehnsucht (Part 2 of 2)

So, what prevents us from pursuing and finding this great Joy?
The apostle Paul provides a clue when he writes about what theologians call general revelation. In his letter to the Christians in Rome he says (Romans 1: 18- 25, The Message):
18 But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying [...]

Sabbatical Reflections: Sehnsucht (Part 1 of 2)

It was Saint Augustine of Hippo who prayed: “O Lord, thou hast made us for thyself, and our hearts are restless until we rest in Thee.” [1]
How often has this been the cry of my heart! That prayer has been foundationally answered in my life by the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ. However, there [...]

Sabbatical Reflections #2: “Retirement”

The word “retirement,” like the word “divorce,” has never been part of my vocabulary. My sense has been that if we are in the King’s service–if the backdrop of our lives is the coming of the kingdom of God–then retirement is simply not a Christian concept. We can speak of a change of assignment, [...]

Equality

I was impressed by how well this article articulates some of the root issues in the discussion of life in regard to our current presidential administration.
Professor Kmiec and I share common ground in the belief that every member of the human family—irrespective of race, class, and ethnicity, but also irrespective of age, size, location, stage of [...]

Sabbatical Reflections # 1

We live in a space and time universe. In any season of life we occupy both space, the place where we are standing, and time, the second on the watch, the moment in time. In my life, it has been far easier to occupy space than to occupy time.
I have been collecting a number of [...]

John Calvin, Sound Economy, and a Development Ethic

Check out Catherine Hornby’s fine article Moral Rebound Finds Dutch Exploring Calvin online at REUTERS UK. With the emergence of the Global Economic Crisis, the Dutch are looking at their Protestant roots for answers.
It would behoove Christians anywhere in the world who are concerned about the economic crisis to read this article. It points to [...]