During the summer I turned 10 years old, I was on top of the world. I played lots of softball. I was even asked to be the starting pitcher in my league’s All-Star Game. Our family took a memorable road trip. It culminated in a visit to Mammoth Cave, which launched my lifelong love of spelunking. As a kid who… Read more »
Christians go to war with each other over the dumbest things. Church consultant Thom Rainier has seen it all. There are the usual hot button issues, such as disagreements over the ideal temperature in the sanctuary, the right color of carpeting, and the most God-honoring order of worship. Then there are the issues that defy imagination. One congregation fought over… Read more »
A prayer for the first day of this new year: My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am… Read more »
Bertrand Russell, the celebrated 20th century British philosopher, wasn’t shy about his atheism. As he looked across the cosmos, he doubted the existence of a transcendent Being. In his book Why I Am Not a Christian, Russell didn’t pretend that such a conviction provided humanity with any grounds for a feel-good assurance that life has ultimate meaning: That Man is… Read more »
You would expect Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers to make public appearances wearing a cap with the team’s iconic horseshoe. But more often than not, the veteran slinger – who is about to finish his 17th season in the NFL – wears a cap that displays two Latin words: Nunc Coepi. That hat “tends to be on my head most… Read more »
Geodes are the Forrest Gumps of geology. Remember what Forrest’s mother always told him? “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.” Geodes are ordinary-looking rocks that conceal extraordinary treasures. In some locales they’re known as potato rocks because of their resemblance to Idaho spuds. But when cracked open they reveal a fairyland… Read more »
The Creation of Adam is the centerpiece of one of the world’s most famous paintings. More than 500 years ago the Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo covered the ceiling of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel with a sweeping artistic vision of Bible history. Everything seems to swirl around the moment that God reaches out toward the newly created Adam. It took four… Read more »
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the… Read more »
Christmas carols are a bit like chili. There’s more than one great recipe out there. And surprising combinations can sometimes bring the best results. Angels We Have Heard on High is an excellent example. The tune is French. The most familiar verses, penned by James Chadwick in 1862, are English. The refrain (Gloria in excelsis Deo, or “Glory to God… Read more »
2020 has been a dumpster fire. This week an Indianapolis resident hauled a dumpster into his front yard and invited his neighbors to record their feelings about the current calendar year. Some scrawled “good riddance.” Others recorded jokes, jingles, and borderline poetry. At least one resorted to expletives. In a few days the dumpster’s trashy contents will be ceremonially torched… Read more »