“Yet I wonder if there was ever a time when true spiritual worship was at a lower ebb. To great sections of the church the art of worship has been lost entirely, and in its place has come that strange and foreign thing called the ‘program.’ This word has been borrowed from the stage and applied with sad wisdom to the type of public service which now passes for worship among us.” Laments like that are commonplace among contemporary observers of the church scene. What makes this quotation so … [Read more...] about The Sacrament of Living
Christianity
Faith and Uncertainty
There is something about the human mind that does not like uncertainty; a mystery leaves a hole in the psyche that simply must be filled. This is a rather good thing for the survival of the species. If you heard a strange growl behind you and you didn’t wonder what was causing it, you might not be around to generate offspring. That doesn’t explain, though, why we like to know what happened in a bit of fiction. Consider Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw.” The story is Henry James looking … [Read more...] about Faith and Uncertainty
Equal Rights
It is easy to imagine Friedrich Nietzsche sitting in his study, writing away, merrily imagining the look of horror which will cross the faces of his readers when they come across the line he just penned. He obviously liked to shock people; the bigger the shock, the happier he was. But, alas, unlike his contemporary creator of scandalous bon mots, Oscar Wilde, Nietzsche was not popular in the salons of the day. People never knew what the guy was mumbling about over there in the … [Read more...] about Equal Rights
Hipster Church
Why Would Anyone Go To Church? The very way that question is framed suggests there is something odd about church. Even odder are the people who go to church.Kevin Makins wrestled with this question and then wrote a book with that title. His answer? Well, that will take a bit to explain. At first glance it would be very easy to dismiss this book. (Don’t worry, there is a second glance below.) Millennial hipster decides that the church of his childhood is boring and decides to start a Cool … [Read more...] about Hipster Church
The Dark Night Returns
“I call, I cling, I want ... and there is no One to answer ... no One on Whom I can cling ... no, No One. Alone ... Where is my Faith ... even deep down right in there is nothing, but emptiness & darkness ... My God ... how painful is this unknown pain ... I have no Faith ... I dare not utter the words & thoughts that crowd in my heart ... & make me suffer untold agony.” “So many unanswered questions live within me afraid to uncover them ... because of the blasphemy ... If there … [Read more...] about The Dark Night Returns
How Long?
O LORD, how long shall I cry for … [Read more...] about How Long?