To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. It’s no surprise that author and pastor Tim Keller, who spent decades leading a congregation in Manhattan, often heard the question, “Does God really exist?” But in his conversations with New Yorkers he heard another question even more frequently: “If God is a God of love, why can’t he just forgive everybody?” The Christian… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. Last summer, the world of entertainment lost a pioneer. Nichelle Nichols, who died in July at the age of 89, was one of the original cast members of NBC’s Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry’s prime time outer space adventure series. What amazed viewers were the officers on the bridge of the starship Enterprise. Aside from… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. For the price of a $2 ticket, you can indulge in the ultimate financial fantasy. Tonight’s Mega Millions jackpot drawing is expected to exceed $1.35 billion, the second-largest prize ever. After taxes, a solo winner (if he or she requests the lump sum payout) would somehow have to figure out how to spend… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. On April 11, 2009, Susan Boyle appeared as contestant #43212 on Britain’s Got Talent. Expectations were low. She was a frumpy-looking, 47-year-old single woman from Scotland who had grown up with eight siblings and admitted she had never been kissed – not exactly the kind of person likely to give Taylor Swift a run… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. “Metaphysics” is such a cool word. It connotes a journey into life’s most interesting and important questions: What is the nature of reality, and why is there anything here at all? When we consider the origin of the word, however, it’s hard not to laugh. Literary editors who were trying to organize the texts… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa displays the most beguiling smile in the history of painting. For that matter, hers may be the most famous smile in human history. Period. Mysteries abound. No one knows with certainty the identity of the young Italian woman who sat for Leonardo sometime between 1503 and 1506. Nor can… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. If you’re looking for drama and emotion, you wouldn’t normally hang out at a convention of Bible scholars. But the meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature at San Antonio in 2016 produced a moment that those in attendance are likely to remember for a long time. Richard Hays, one of the world’s leading… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. “I think this is the neatest gift you have ever given me.” My wife spoke those words to me about 25 years ago on Christmas Day. While every husband yearns to hear such praise, what Mary Sue had just unwrapped was a 16-inch blade Stihl chainsaw. She was beaming. Mary Sue grew up loving tools. … Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. When most people think of Mary Poppins, they smile. They picture the warm-hearted and charming Julie Andrews starring in the Disney adaptation of P.L. Travers’ famous children’s book. The English nanny, who is “practically perfect in every way,” is blessed with a magic compass, bottomless bag, and an umbrella that allows… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” according to the old adage. If that’s so, it’s difficult to calculate how many words it would take to express the worth of one of the most extraordinary pictures in human history. It’s called the Hubble Deep Field image. It’s actually a combination of hundreds of separate… Read more »
