Looking Ahead to Yom Kippur & Sukkot The Bible clearly tells Christians how to treat their neighbors in several verses. Leviticus 19:18 in the Old Testament says, “You shall love thy neighbor as yourself.” In the New Testament, Christ says we should love God above all else, and the second command is, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 1 John 4:20 adds, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his neighbor, he is a liar; for he who... Read more
Methodists have reached a crossroads in 2023, as many conservative churches have left the United Methodist Church (UMC) to create a new, more conservative denomination called the Global Methodist Church. But this isn’t the only time the church has split. Keep in mind that the current divide affects millions of people, as the United Methodist denomination has 12 million members worldwide and is the second largest denomination in the U.S. Also keep in mind that Methodists have a history of... Read more
Ahhhh….classical music….People tend to love it or hate it, and I love it. Since September is Classical Music Month, I decided there’s no better time to write about three great pieces of classical Christian music and the composers who wrote them. Those pieces are Johann Sebastian Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion”: Click here for the Netherlands Bach Society’s performance; Frideric Handel’s “Messiah”: Listen to the Royal Choral Society perform the “Hallelujah Chorus,” which reportedly brought a king to his feet, here; And finally,... Read more
Can faith change a person for the better? I’m convinced it can, and I need look only as far as my one-time husband for proof. Faith has changed the lives of countless Christians in the last 2,000 years, including a man I once knew. We met in college, and I thought he was funny, interesting and intelligent, as well as good looking. We were both products of deeply religious middle-class families and shared many of the same interests and values... Read more
They Can & Here’s How Their ashes rest in an urn in my bedroom. My sister. My nephew…. He shot himself to death on Memorial Day 2017, and she followed suit on July 27. He was 42. She was 63. I try to put thoughts about them behind me. At times, it’s quite painful, but at others, I feel nothing. However, I can’t help but think about them right now. September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and this Sunday,... Read more
The college football season is underway, as is high school football, and the pro season will kick off Sept. 7. This season, as with any season, you may expect some NFL players and coaches to talk about their Christian faith, wear crosses or say quick prayers of thanks after big plays. They make Christianity an important part of their identities. On the flip side, atheists or agnostics in the NFL tend to remain quiet about their beliefs. All that said, what... Read more
A Triangle of Biblical Proportions, Murderous Intentions & A Tangled Tale of Love As a cradle Christian, I grew up hearing stories about family conflicts in the Bible. Deception and a determination to ignore God’s will often led to family conflict and even tragedy, especially in the lives of Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, and Rachel and Leah. The Bible describes a trail of sin that winds its way through Abraham’s family from one generation to the next. We... Read more
I don’t have a dog in this fight, but… There’s an old Southern saying that perfectly describes my position on this question about the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC): I don’t have a dog in this fight. I have faithfully attended the United Methodist Church since leaving the Baptist church during college and think it’s up to Baptists to answer the question for themselves. But as an outsider who doesn’t have a dog in the fight, I would like to see... Read more
What Modern Culture, History & the Bible Reveal about God’s Messengers While angels come in all shapes, sizes and temperaments in popular culture, many take the form of humans. Down through history, we have had everything from beautifully painted angels by Renaissance masters to cute cherubs on greeting cards. But what does the Bible say? Are angels real? Or are they simply literary images that biblical writers used to make a point? The Bible has quite a bit to say... Read more
How Christians Are Following God’s Call All too often, we hear stories about contemptable people behaving in contemptable ways. Many of them, unfortunately, are Christians. But I’m here to tell you that Christianity and humanitarianism can go hand in hand, and many times they do. The famous examples include athletes, actors and actresses, and singers, but my favorite story concerns twin sisters whose soup kitchen has fed thousands of hungry people in my own community since 1986. Following are my... Read more
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