Chaplainmike

In the land of birth and death

In one of our hospitals where I visit patients who need inpatient hospice care, many of those folks go to rooms on a certain floor, where the oncology unit is. The placement of this unit has always been interesting to me. When you take the elevator up to that floor, the doors open and you areContinue reading “In the land of birth and death”

Relational God, relational creation

For your contemplation today, here is more from Terence Fretheim on the “fundamental relational character” of God and the creation. • • • A basic claim I wish to make about the Old Testament understanding of creation is that it has a fundamental relational character. …Crucial in thinking through biblical texts regarding creation is theContinue reading “Relational God, relational creation”

Site Update: Conversations in the Great Hall

This morning, we introduce our new Internet Monk banner. We’ve been having a little trouble with the code the past day or two, so I’ve included the art in today’s post while we work on it. The banner at the top of the post will appear during the daytime hours and the one at the end willContinue reading “Site Update: Conversations in the Great Hall”

Lisa Dye: Jump!

My God my bright abyss into which all my longing will not go once more I come to the edge of all I know and believing nothing believe in this. • Christian Wiman I am afraid to jump. When I was a little girl, my big extended family of grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins metContinue reading “Lisa Dye: Jump!”

Another Look: Our Relational God

In the Western Church, yesterday was Trinity Sunday, the day that bridges the two main divisions of the Church Year. We have been walking through the life of Jesus from Advent to Pentecost since last November. Now, we begin the days of “Ordinary Time,” when we live out the faith daily as Christ’s church, embraced by the GoodContinue reading “Another Look: Our Relational God”

Sundays with Michael Spencer: May 31, 2015

From June 2006, edited. Entertainment. Entertainment is an idolatry that has become so much a part of evangelicalism that you almost can’t talk about it. Unlike “God and Country” patriotism, which is something you can point at and say “There it is. Let’s discuss it,” entertainment has become part of everything evangelicals do.

Saturday Ramblings, May 30, 2015

Hello, friends, and welcome to the weekend. Ready to Ramble? Hey, did you know Jim Bakker is still around. Remember Jim? You know, Tammy Faye, Jessica Hahn, and the air-conditioned doghouse? Yeah, that guy. Apparently he’s pastoring some mega-church [because a lot of us Christians are morons] and, of course, has a TV show. YouContinue reading “Saturday Ramblings, May 30, 2015”

Religious Switching 2.0 – Analysis

As promised, my commentary on the Pew Forum’s Religious Landscape Study. Prepare the skewers! Overview. If you run a business, you are concerned with cash flow. If the money coming in to your business is less than the money going out of your business for an extended period of time you are going to beContinue reading “Religious Switching 2.0 – Analysis”

The God who continues his creative work

I finally ordered a book I’ve wanted to read for a long time, Terence Fretheim’s God and World in the Old Testament: A Relational Theology of Creation. I started it last night and am already finding rich material for contemplation.

Natural Law and Sexual Morality

Any sexual act other than one man and one woman engaging in the type of intercourse inherently capable of procreation is an unnatural sexual act. • Ronald L. Conte Jr. “May the Marriage Bed Be Immaculate” • • • In light of the Irish vote to legalize same-sex marriage, a decision that has its CatholicContinue reading “Natural Law and Sexual Morality”