Paul made a lot of sin lists. You know, lists of sins. If you’re a preacher or teacher, you’ve probably used Paul’s sin lists a few times as the raw material for a talk or sermon. You’ve walked through the list, one sin at a time and said a little something about each one. ItContinue reading “Sundays with Michael Spencer: June 28, 2015”
Category Archives: Exploration of the Self
Merton on Humility
Lord, You have taught us to love humility, but we have not learned. We have learned only to love the outward surface of it — the humility that makes a person charming and attractive. We sometimes pause to think about these qualities, and we often pretend that we possess them, and that we have gainedContinue reading “Merton on Humility”
Sundays with Michael Spencer: January 4, 2015
Note from CM: 2015 will mark five years since the death of Michael Spencer, the Internet Monk. Throughout the year, we will feature special remembrances to honor his memory and contributions. One of the ways we will do that is to give Michael his say every Sunday. We continue today, with a post that wasContinue reading “Sundays with Michael Spencer: January 4, 2015”
A shepherd’s ambiguous apologetic
I confess. I have no apologetic. There is no defending God. There is no proving his way is right. To do so would require that I understand God, that I can substantiate the claims of truth my faith calls me to hold. I can explain what I believe well enough. I can demonstrate to aContinue reading “A shepherd’s ambiguous apologetic”
The Wisdom of Christian Piatt
Now, here’s an honest man. I’m thankful someone finally had enough guts to say what Christian Piatt says in his post, “Five Reasons Progressive Christians Secretly Love Mark Driscoll.” Without giving any kind of a pass whatsoever to Driscoll or suggesting that he and the celebrity pastor of Mars Hill have anything in common withContinue reading “The Wisdom of Christian Piatt”
iMonk Classic: Icebergs, Onions and Why You’re Not As Simple As You Think
From April 24, 2008. “My theology is simply what I read in the Bible.” Sure it is. “What I believe and practice is simply what the Bible teaches and nothing else.” Of course. What else could be simpler? I’m sure several of you won’t be surprised at all to learn that I meet with aContinue reading “iMonk Classic: Icebergs, Onions and Why You’re Not As Simple As You Think”
Anger, Wrath and Sloth
Wanting to punch people in the nose is probably not a good attitude with which to go around. I’m fairly sure it’s also not a particularly Christian attitude, not if I take the “Turn the other cheek” bit seriously. I’ve been angry lately. I’ve been angry for a while, in fact, and I notice I’mContinue reading “Anger, Wrath and Sloth”
Individuality And Personhood
A friend of mine, a cinephile, a lover of the cinema in the very best sense of that phrase, commented to me once about what he saw as a difference between the films of the 40s and the 50s and those made ‘Oh, after about 1978’. The characters in the earlier films had neuroses, whereasContinue reading “Individuality And Personhood”
A Rich World of Life and Stories and Friends and Imagination
They say you can’t go home again, and they’re right. But you can visit, and sometimes that’s enough. Last weekend, I went back to Galesburg, Illinois for the first time in over forty years. Our family lived there from the time I was a baby until I completed fourth grade. We lived in three differentContinue reading “A Rich World of Life and Stories and Friends and Imagination”
Moving
I received an invitation today. Friends from my eighth grade class at school are planning the next reunion and get-together. That’s right, my eighth grade class. I moved to the Chicago suburbs during the years we used to call “Jr. High.” Now, it’s “Middle School.” My folks built a brand new house in a newContinue reading “Moving”
The Internet Monk Archives 