Category: Culture
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Wrestling with God
One of the most interesting stories in the Old Testament is found in Genesis 32. There we hear the story of Jacob wrestling with God. Or is it the story of Jacob wrestling with an angel? Jacob had to face his brother Esau the next day. His anxiety comes through even in that ancient account.…
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An Illegal Christmas
The great advantage to thinking about God in legal terms, is that nothing has to change. If what happens between us and God is entirely external, a matter of arranging things such as the avoidance of eternal punishment or the enjoyment of eternal reward, then the world can go on as it is. In the…
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Beyond Death’s Door
“Grandpa, will you die?” The quiet spoken question from the backseat of my car came from my then four-year-old grandson. I knew it was an important moment. “Yes, I will. Everyone grows old and dies.” I added, “But then I will be with Jesus in heaven and I will pray for you all the time.”…
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Begotten of the Father
No revelation is more central to the Christian faith than God as Father. Some might immediately respond that the Trinity should be seen as the central revelation. But, in Orthodox understanding, the Trinity has its source (πηγή) in the Father. We should understand this not only as a matter of Trinitarian thought, but as the…
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Like A Refugee
It was June 13, 1940. A young Vladimir Lossky (later to be author of The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church) was making his way on foot with the crowds from Paris who were fleeing from a victorious, invading German army. The invasion was sudden, surprising, and completely overwhelming in its success. The entire operation took no…
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An Audience of None
In the 1980’s sci-fi comedy, Short Circuit, a charming military robot character, “Number 5,” is awakened into consciousness by a lightning strike. He fears going back to his military keepers where he will be re-programmed. And so, with help from human friends, he begins his touching effort to stay free. His famous line, repeated often,…
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What To Do When God Is Everywhere
If there is no such thing as “secularism” (see my previous article), then how are we to live? If God is “everywhere present and filling all things,” how are we to spend our time in the day? It is possible to be distracted by such questions, to wonder whether Christians need to construct an alternative…
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There Is No Such Thing As Secular
Just so that we can be clear: there is no such thing as a secular world. By that, I mean that there is no such thing as the world-apart-from-God, a world without God, or a world existing in a “neutral zone.” The good God who created the heavens and the earth, sustains all things in…
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A Good Life Versus The Good Life
One way to contrast modern sensibilities with Christian sensibilities is to describe the difference between “the good life” and “a good life.” “The good life” is an advertising theme, a photoshoot of the American Dream where all obstacles are overcome through the miracles of technology, market forces, and unfettered freedom. “A good life” is an…
It looks like Father and I posted at nearly the same time. I like his response better. 😊