Christmas Thoughts about Jesus’ Coming

If asked why Jesus became fully human and came to earth, I think most Christians would answer, “To die for our sins.”  That’s certainly true, but when you think about it, He must also have come to do some teaching. At a minimum, people had to be told of His sacrifice and what they had … [Read more…]

David Wilkie, “Coffee with Jesus”

This is a collection of a hundred or so pages’ worth of the comic strip of that name, which is a mashup of sixties advertising clip art with Jesus setting straight various average Joe and Jo Anne types.  It’s okay:  The first time you read the strip, it’s novel and funny, and some of the … [Read more…]

Another Way of Using Pascal’s Wager

One way to use Pascal’s Wager (the way I use it here) is to have four quadrants — what happens if you believe and God exists, what happens if you believe and He doesn’t exist, what happens if you don’t believe and He does exist, and what happens if you don’t believe and He doesn’t … [Read more…]

Confucius, “The Analects”

Let’s cut to the chase:  In this collection of hundreds of mostly short, fairly pithy sayings, there is no doubt about the best one.  It’s number 43 in book XIV:  “Yuan Jang sat waiting with his legs spread wide.  The Master said, ‘To be neither modest nor deferential when young, to have passed on nothing … [Read more…]

Notes on Isaiah

The prophet Isaiah was considered “the greatest Old Testament prophet,” says my NIV study Bible, and he’s quoted “at least 50 times in the New Testament.” Isaiah was a prophet under five kings, and he talked about both the northern kingdom (Israel) and southern kingdom (Judah), while the other major prophets are predicting the fall of … [Read more…]