Orlando and a Call to Creativity

We have to do something. If all we do is square off in our respective corners—Christian/Muslim, gay/straight, gun control/right-to-bear-arms, Democrat/Republican—then all that will happen is we’ll shout at and past each other, no one will win, everyone will lose, and it will happen again. After a while...

The Cross as the Response to Evil

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” “Learn war.”  That’s an interesting phrase.  Seems we have, all of us. When I was little I just assumed that we would always be at war. ...

What Does It Mean to Be A Peacemaker?

The key to understanding the 8th Beatitude—”Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”—is to work backwards. What does it mean to be called “sons of God”? As much as I agree with inclusive language translations, this is one instance when translators need to keep to the strict...

Fighting Christians

There was a lot of fighting going on when Jesus was alive. Not war, necessarily, although it was always bubbling just under the surface crust, ready to erupt at any time. The absence of war, however, doesn’t mean that there wasn’t other kinds of fighting going on. It is common to talk about 1st century...