By Chaplain Mike OK, I’ve had it. I feel a rant coming on. I’ve been commenting at a couple of sites that are known for their strong opinions (to say the least). These sites have grown louder and more shrill in recent days, shouting alarmist warnings about the faith/science debate, particularly with regard to sitesContinue reading “Boot Camp Blather”
Author Archives: Chaplainmike
The Good Land
Only recently did I discover that the monastic vows of Saint Benedict included the vow of stability: poverty, chastity, obedience, and stability — staying in one place. There is a virtue to staying where you are. There is a virtue to being where you are. Too many of us are never where we are. WeContinue reading “The Good Land”
Raspberry Wars, Part Two: Kindness
“I love mankind; it’s people I can’t stand.†– Charles Schultz I stood at the gate of my raspberry garden admiring the beauty of the place. I’d been working diligently there for months and it showed. The plants were green and well watered, the ground uncluttered, the perimeters trim and the berries a deep magenta.Continue reading “Raspberry Wars, Part Two: Kindness”
Seven, and It’s Summer
By Chaplain Mike In the wake of last night’s baseball All-Star game, this simple reminiscence. It was one of those perfect summer mornings. I was seven years old, a child in the great Midwest, looking forward to another fine day of riding my bike, playing ball, climbing the old weeping willow in our back yard,Continue reading “Seven, and It’s Summer”
Help! For Help?
Editor’s note: The following comment was recently posted to an essay we ran called Those Who Dance Are Considered To Be Insane By Those Who Cannot Hear The Music. Here is what Help? wrote: I wish I knew God like you do….Could hear His voice. I feel like an Israelite, sitting in the camp, waitingContinue reading “Help! For Help?”
iMonk Classic: The Sanity Verses
Classic iMonk Post by Michael Spencer From July 16, 2005 Sometimes, I don’t need inspiration. What I need is just my sanity. I don’t need verses that tell me I’m about to see a miracle. I need something that says God wants me to make it to tomorrow, and I’ll still be useful. Sometimes IContinue reading “iMonk Classic: The Sanity Verses”
Stanley and Screwtape
By Guest Blogger, Andy Zehner Andy is Damaris Zehner’s (very talented) husband. The notion that Socialism is the greatest threat facing Christianity was rightly shouted down on iMonk.(1) But why was that particular claim put forward in the first place? Why are Charles Stanley and the people who follow him especially concerned about a policyContinue reading “Stanley and Screwtape”
IM Film Review: Into Great Silence
It is a pity that the world has lost all sense of God. • Carthusian Monk, “Into Great Silence” Into Great Silence is not a film one watches, it is an experience into which one enters. It is an immersion in the contemplative life. It is seasons passing, the sound of snow falling, the buzzing of flies.Continue reading “IM Film Review: Into Great Silence”
Those Who Dance Are Considered To Be Insane By Those Who Can’t Hear The Music
And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. (1 Samuel 3:1, ESV) For so many of my almost 37 years following the Lord, there has been no frequent vision, at least not for me. My “words from the Lord” have come through sermons and books I read.Continue reading “Those Who Dance Are Considered To Be Insane By Those Who Can’t Hear The Music”
Sunday’s Gospel: Sometimes the Samaritans Shame Us
By Chaplain Mike Seventh Sunday after Pentecost Lectionary Readings • Deuteronomy 30:9-14 • Psalm 25:1-10 • Colossians 1:1-14 • Luke 10:25-37 Today’s Gospel We can get tripped up by the most familiar passages of Scripture. We just assume their meaning because they are more a part of atmosphere we breathe than texts we have carefullyContinue reading “Sunday’s Gospel: Sometimes the Samaritans Shame Us”
The Internet Monk Archives 