Grace and Truth Together
“…But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20) Imagine, an elderly, respected man, a pillar of the community, tucking his long robes in his belt and running to welcome his son […]
Truth about Truth
“They [the deceived] perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved…and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:10, 12) When Jesus walked the earth, John tells us he was full of “grace and truth” (John 1:14). We’ve been […]
Grace and Truth
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) John’s introductory comments to his gospel are meant to shock his readers. The Creator of human flesh became human flesh and dwelt among us. The […]
Shadows on the Wall
“David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam….” (1 Samuel 22:1) When I saw this, I was reminded of another famous cave I read about in a philosophy class. Maybe you’ve heard of it: Plato’s “Cave Allegory.” In his book Republic, Plato told a story of an imaginary group of people who had […]
Leaving the Lies Behind
“I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me. Save me, O Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.” (Psalm 120:1–2) Psalm 120 isn’t the happiest of psalms. The psalmist begins in “distress.” The psalm ends with the word “war.” But happy or not, it is honest…and quite relevant. We’re surrounded […]
Who is Jesus?
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”” (Matthew 16:13) Who is Jesus? This is a question that has been asked for two centuries. Who is he? He’s the most controversial person in history. And everyone seems to have an opinion […]
The Bible: The Only Source of Certain Truth (2 Peter 1:16 – 2:2)
You can believe the Bible not because it makes sense (though it usually does) but because God wrote it. And he bypassed the natural misunderstandings, biases, and agendas of its human authors because they didn’t write it of their own accord or by their own ability: “Instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Living (the) Truth
“He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.” (James 1:18, NLT) God’s “true word!” Man o’ man, is truth hard to come by these days!? Everyone seems to have an agenda – from marketing companies to politicians to universities to […]
St. Thomas on Facebook Fights
Do you sometimes watch the fights back and forth on social media? Do you participate? Why do we care what others say or think? Why does it bug us that their opinions are different from ours? Why do we feel the need to get involved and say our piece? In last week’s Catalyst, I quoted […]
Fake News and Alternative Facts
I hear so much talk these days about “Fake News” and Orwell’s “alternative facts.” How many times have we seen untruths foisted upon us? What do we believe? Who do we believe? Pondering these questions, I was reminded of the following prayer from the 15th century German monk, Thomas a’ Kempis. May the Lord give […]
Offended!
This last year I noticed an interesting paradox in our society. First, our culture has a continuing love-affair with fame. It seems folks will do or say almost anything to be noticed by others. But in 2016, the pursuit of popularity ran headlong into another emerging trend in our society: we are offended easily and, […]
Understanding Postmodernism
Adults have always had difficulties relating to young people. “Dad, you just don’t get it,” was a phrase often heard coming from my two brothers and me. But now, it seems the divide is even greater. It’s not just immaturity or youthful exuberance we old farts don’t get – there’s really a gap in understanding. […]
