Some ideas are so pivotal that they can and do lead to paradigm shifts, fundamental changes of perspective that give rise to entirely new questions and new answers. It is like the difference between standing with your back to the Grand Canyon and turning around to face it. Once you turn, everything changes in an […]
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Weiss, Bari. How to Fight Anti-Semitism. New York: Crown, 2019. Bari Weiss is an opinion writer for the New York Times who formerly wrote for the Wall Street Journal and for Tablet, the online magazine of Jewish politics and culture. Politically left of center, she is a committed Zionist and proud Jew, with roots in Pittsburgh, […]
This morning I preached a great sermon. I preached one as good or better last week. And I have done a lot of them in the past six months. But increasingly, I am not satisfied. Telling you why this is so is important not just to me but to you. So give a listen. By […]
Yesterday, as dusk approached, I went for a walk with God in the fading California sunshine. We talked about one of his oldest friends: Abraham, whom the Bible calls “the father of us all,” not genetically mind you, but spiritually. Those of us who follow the call of the God of Abraham will find ourselves […]
A question for you. Do you know anyone who believes our country is becoming more unified? Neither do I! And we’re not alone! At the time of the 2018 mid-term elections, three out of four voters polled reported our country is becoming more divided (see https://edition.cnn.com/2018/11/13/politics/2018-exit-polls/index.html). And this year, a Pew Center study reported […]
"Listen to me, you pursuers of justice, you who seek ADONAI: consider the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were dug. Consider Avraham your father and Sarah, who gave birth to you; in that I called him when he was only one person, then blessed him and made him many. For […]
Recently I did what I do every Wednesday night: I taught a Bible Study, this one, on passages from Luke 7-10. This morning as I woke up, I realized that not only do two of those passage have interesting applications to how we regard and treat those with whom we differ, they also have direct […]
Last Passover I began a series responding to five questions imbedded in a readers response to a video I had posted. You may see that video here: The five questions were as follows. My Apparent Prioritization of Outreach - That was really interesting. Can you unpack for me why you think Messianic Judaism is by […]
For lots of folks, avoiding problems is their main coping strategy. In fact, for many, life is all about avoidance: avoiding certain people, avoding certain subjects, avoiding thinking about how things are going, avoiding thinking of family issues. You name it, and we avoid it. But is this a good way to maneuver through life? […]
I have spent most of my life depressed to one degree or another. As a shrink said to me when we began talking decades ago, he found that the most predominant thing about me was a pervasive sense of dread. Yuck. Well, the battle continues. Like a persistent rash or limp, I live with depression […]
