Jesus is the Model Human The Scriptures and the universal Church declare: the eternal Son, “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God,”1 became a human in an event known as the incarnation.2 The fourth Evangelist calls him the divine Word who “became flesh and dwelt among us” as the man, Jesus,3 […]

In the 2020 NBA Bubble, reporter Taylor Rooks asked Orlando Magic forward and ordained minister1 Jonathan Isaac why he chose not to participate in the league-wide silent protest of kneeling and donning shirts bearing the words “BLACK LIVES MATTER” before the start of games.  In Isaac’s response, he cited his Christian faith. Rooks inquired: “Can […]

For more than three millennia, the people of God have used the Scriptures to teach, correct, and encourage one another. This is a vital practice of the redeemed community, and the Scriptures themselves bear witness to this model of Biblical exhortation.1 However, when one professing believer tries to impart Scriptural wisdom to another, it is […]

There is a commonly-held belief among human beings that their righteous goals can and should be achieved by violence and brute force. This lie has been referred to as the myth of redemptive violence,1 and is culturally reinforced by countless depictions in movies, television, and school history classes. Not only have we moderns been taken captive by […]

Jesus as a Model of Speaking and Living the Truth As we live through this era of fake news, conspiracy theories, and misinformation,1 it is important we all ask the same question Pontius Pilate asks Jesus shortly before sentencing Him to die: “What is truth?”2 Defining Truth and Lies Merriam-Webster defines truth as, “the body […]

One of the basic social structures in the life of a human being is their family.1 Though there is much talk in the contemporary Western world about the collapse of the family2—and though many have complicated, strained, and even adversarial relationships with their kin—the family is still one of the strongest social institutions today.  Even […]

Light and Darkness Imagery in The Raven Among the many famous works of the nineteenth-century American writer Edgar Allen Poe, perhaps none is more well-known, analyzed, or celebrated than his 1845 piece of narrative poetry, The Raven. The poem tells the story of a nameless narrator lamenting the loss of his lover, a woman named […]

Contemporary Western culture is marked by a keen awareness of morality. We oppose all forms of injustice. We march in the streets in the name of ending racism. We protest oppressors and expose evildoers. The mood of public discourse in the West has revealed an inescapable truth: an innate sense of morality lies deep within […]

Take ten slow, deep breaths Invitation  Holy Spirit, I welcome you. Help me become aware of your Presence. And as I reflect on the events of the day,  I ask for clarity and understanding Of how you were at work today. Thanksgiving What am I especially grateful for in the past day?  Petition  O God, […]