Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
On Friday I read a news release by HealthDay News that cited a study of American college students over the past three decades. It found less empathy among students today than in the recent past. “We found the biggest drop in empathy after the year 2000,” co-author Sara Konrath, a researcher at the University of …
Read More Looking for CompassionYesterday I watched a miracle take place. It was God’s work of taking two people and making them one. The wedding was one part of the event. The consummation of the marriage, in the privacy of the honeymoon suite, will have followed. Then in the communion of life that will unfold in days and years …
Read More A WeddingYears ago I read a thought-provoking article by Heiko Oberman: “Calvin’s Critique of Calvinism” [in The Dawn of the Reformation, ch. 11, see p. 265]. There he noted Lucien Richard’s The Spirituality of John Calvin that demonstrated that Calvin turned from a spirituality of devotio (spiritual devotion) to a spirituality of pietas (spiritual piety). Devotio …
Read More Two TraditionsLast week I wrote of the importance of the Word. This week we take up prayer—the spontaneous complement to Bible reading. As I noted once before, the two go together. God offers his heart in the Scriptures and we share our hearts, in return, through our prayers. As in any conversation each party must have …
Read More PrayerSometimes we hear reports of what others say about us. That happened a few years ago when a friend passed along what a noted ministry leader said about me: “The trouble with Ron is that he always rides the same pony.” What was the pony? “He’s fixated on Bible reading.” My response? Wow! Please put …
Read More The WordI’m told that the best way to have a useful conversation with those who hold different convictions is to step into their shoes—to view the world as they do. So it’s time for me to try on a Stoic view of faith. Here are some insights I’ve taken from the exercise. But first I need …
Read More Three Advantages of StoicismI’m listening to God right now. He’s using the voice of a BBC newsman telling us that an Iceland volcano is still disrupting airline flights throughout Europe. The map on the television shows that Estonia, where I’ve been speaking, is right at the center of the ash cloud. So my scheduled flight to London today …
Read More Listening to GodHow, as a believer, am I to relate to “the law” in Scriptures? The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully” [1 Timothy 1:5]. There was, it seems, some sort of law-abuse going on in Ephesus where Timothy was a pastoral leader. Yet to say …
Read More A Lawful Use of the LawLet me ask a question: do we think and learn by collecting and affirming every idea we’ve ever heard, so that all we’ve heard grows into a single collection of “truth”? Or do we try to sort out the things that are true from the things that aren’t true? If for instance, someone tells us, …
Read More A Clear View of ChristThis entry is more technical, more historical, and longer than usual: be warned and be patient, please. I also think it’s important. As my elementary teacher used to say, “Put on your thinking caps!” After recently stepping away from my years as a theology educator I’m starting to see some academic blind spots we tend to …
Read More Getting God Right