The Power of Darkness

***Note: it’s likely important for me to emphasize the limits of my anger to adult interpersonal relationships and the limits of my actions to verbal comments therein. That is the full extent of my thoughts and actions, and everything written here is only understood within this context, and nothing more*** I’ve been airing some of […]

Suffering, reconsidered

Two posts ago we discussed evil, pain and suffering. I suggested that evil may be most properly understood not as a “thing” in itself but as the absence of good; the absence of God. As such God would not have technically created evil, as it is a thing that exists as a consequence of His […]

Evil and pain

I’ve shared how I’ve been wrestling with God for a while, because I’ve realized that deep within me (below my conscious self) I have blamed Him for all that is wrong in the world and specifically all that is wrong with me. Of course that’s so common as to be laughable: swing a stick in […]

Why am I orthodox?

I’ve mentioned in the past that I am an orthodox Christian, but I’ve neglected to explain why. What do I mean by “orthodox Christian”? Theologically I mean the vision of Christianity as explained in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds from the Fourth Century C.E.: the statements of belief that Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and […]

My broken sex

I don’t think “obsessed” is a strong enough word to describe our cultural relationship with sex. We worship it. And I am as guilty as anyone (contributing to the struggle I’m having with my tone as I write this). We bow down at the feet of sex: to have mind-numbing, toe-curling sex however and as […]

The wrong side of history?

Why do we find society’s narrative of morality, meaning, and human identity compelling? I think there are two primary reasons. The first is that it encourages one of our basest temptations – selfishness, which speaks to us in a deep way. If you doubt this is the core of the narrative, think of what so […]

Christianity in brief, Part III

How does the cross make one a Christian? Just as the Jewish priests had to use the blood of sacrificed animals in order to be ritually pure, one has to use the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Submitting to Christ means following His teaching and His commands, and that requires the participation of an […]