Author Archives: Chaplainmike

When All Else Fails

In today’s pluralist, spiritual-but-not-religious world, it’s worth asking:  Why Christianity?  A lot of people are asking that question these days, if not in words then in actions.  You know the statistics:  falling church membership, those who still attend not accepting the tenets of the historical faith, even growing atheism.  More people are content with aContinue reading “When All Else Fails”

Monday with Michael Spencer: Silence in Worship

  Monday with Michael Spencer: October 7, 2019 Silence in Worship Silence has been banished from most contemporary worship as if it were an outright evil, yet what modern worship consumer is not likely to come back from a monastic retreat saying “I loved the silence?” The Protestant liturgy has no tradition of silence, butContinue reading “Monday with Michael Spencer: Silence in Worship”

Saturday Brunch, October 5, 2019

Hi, friends. Welcome to the weekend. Hungry for some brunch? Non-crying section, please? Every traveler has their pet peeves, but crying babies make the list for almost every plane passenger. Now Japan Airlines has revealed a new tool that lets you dodge infants when you book your seat.”Passengers traveling with children between 8 days andContinue reading “Saturday Brunch, October 5, 2019”

Walking the Labyrinth, part 2, by Randy Thompson

(The first part was posted Tuesday) Walking a labyrinth is a microcosm of life lived as a disciple of Jesus, a recapitulation of the Christian life as walked between hedges. It is an exercise in faith, trusting that the labyrinth’s designer has seen to it that the obscured pathway through the hedges will indeed arriveContinue reading “Walking the Labyrinth, part 2, by Randy Thompson”

Has Science Disproved Christianity?

Has Science Disproved Christianity? In her review of Rebecca McLaughlin’s new book Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion, Jesus Creed regular contributor, RJS, discusses the question, “Hasn’t Science Disproved Christianity?”  Of course, RJS’ answer is a hard no.  She lays out her argument based on the fact that science has never,Continue reading “Has Science Disproved Christianity?”

Dispatch from the Bernese-Oberland: October 2, 2019

Dispatch from the Bernese-Oberland: October 2, 2019 I hadn’t anticipated crying. But when our small train pulled out and headed toward Mürren, the stupefying vista that opened up in front of us literally took my breath so that I could not speak. The tears welled up and I was rendered incapable of expression. We hadContinue reading “Dispatch from the Bernese-Oberland: October 2, 2019”

Walking a Labyrinth to Get to a Labyrinth, part 1 by Randy Thompson

Until recently, labyrinths weren’t for me. From what I could make out, they were for people seeking that emotional warming oven known as “spirituality,” which may indeed warm but too often only leaves one half-baked.  For the life of me, I couldn’t see the point of labyrinths and certainly couldn’t imagine myself ever walking throughContinue reading “Walking a Labyrinth to Get to a Labyrinth, part 1 by Randy Thompson”

Monday with Michael Spencer: The Red Wheelbarrow Debate

  Monday with Michael Spencer: September 30, 2019 The Red Wheelbarrow Debate   so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens. William Carlos Williams, “The Red Wheelbarrow”   And so once again, my AP English IV class begins its two-quarter study of poetry. I love this partContinue reading “Monday with Michael Spencer: The Red Wheelbarrow Debate”