Blessed is Muhammad Musri

Who knows how this insane story will have unfolded further by the time you read this. The media-inspired international crisis that has put us on the edge of who-knows-what took a turn for the better yesterday when the Florida pastor with his tiny congregation and sign board on a country road outside Gainesville said he probably won’t go through with his planned Quran burning on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks.  Continue reading →

Jesus, The Weather Channel and Our Addiction to Disaster
 
As I entered the hospital room yesterday afternoon, the patient greeted me and then turned back to watching the television. Though she had some medical concerns that were serious enough to warrant a stay in the hospital, she was much more concerned about Hurricane Earl and the damage he might do as he lumbered towards the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Continue reading →

Luddites of the World Unite
 
I had learned about the Luddites when I studied history for my undergraduate degree, but I had forgotten all about them until our son-in-law proclaimed himself to be one. Webster defines a Luddite as “one of a group of early 19th century English workmen destroying laborsaving machinery as a protest; broadly: one who is opposed to especially technological change.” The Wikipedia article seems pretty accurate to me. Ryan is a Luddite in the broad sense of the word and a very good one, at that. He prefers hand tools to power tools, home-made to store-bought, and, if he has to have one, a car with a manual transmission and crank windows. I’m proud to have a Luddite of Ryan’s sort in our family.  Continue reading →

Vampires, Goats and the Death of the Church

You may have seen the headlines earlier in the month. Anne Rice, the novelist, says that she has quit Christianity. She announced her resignation in the regular way; she posted it on Facebook, the Wittenberg Chapel Door of our day. 
 
Anne Rice became famous as the author of Interview With A Vampire and all its sequels. Then in 1998 she gave up the creepy in a return to the Catholicism of her childhood. She continued to write, this time a new series called Christ the Lord, well received historical fiction based on the life of Jesus. The church, ever loving celebrity converts, embraced her completely. Continue reading →

The Messages We Send

I am writing from Michigan where I am getting to know grandson Caleb up close and personal.  He is, of course, the most remarkable child ever born, though I may be a bit biased in my assessment.  Becky and I will be in worship on Sunday to explain our reasons for thinking so highly of our grandson if you’d like to hear them.

But enough of that. Continue reading →