Jesus was traveling with his core disciples to Jerusalem for the final time. As was his practice, he traveled through Samaria rather than avoiding it. Having to stay overnight in that region, he sent a couple of His disciples ahead to prepare a place for them to stay. As these two arrived at the village …
Month: November 2018
Therapeutic Use of Self
I have been reading "The Therapeutic Use of Self: Counseling Practice, Research and Supervision" by Val Wosket. So far it has been an interesting read. It is more for psychotherapy, but I felt that it was useful also for chaplaincy and pastoral counseling. Therefore, I wrote an article that was posted on the CPSP-Philippines website. …
More Rules of Dialogue
I had asked my students to create their own rules of interreligious dialogue (IRD). They were allowed to research and borrow from others, but the end result and explanation should be their own. I was quite pleased with the results. Here are a few of the lists (minus the explanations): 1. Converse Despite the Differences …
A Holy and Wholly Translatable Bible
I have written a bit on whether the Bible is translatable. This is important to me being involved in missions where I teach people whose heart languages are quite diverse. Few have English as their heart language, and none have 6th century BC Hebrew, 3rd century BC Aramaic, or 1st century AD Koine Greek. We …
Interreligious Listening at the Mosque
Each year in my Dialogue with Asian Relgions class, I have my students visit a local mosque. I also have them visit the Sikh temple and the Budhist temple. And sometimes other places are visited. The Sikh temple has been the favorite so far. But I especially want them to visit the mosque and the …
Isaac and the Akedah
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” -Genesis 22:1-2 The Talmudic rabbis were …
Two Missions Quotes from Miriam Adeney
"In the richer Gulf countries the grunt work is done by foreigners. Sometimes 80 percent of the labor force comes from outside. The Philippine economy is set up to facilitate overseas employment. Without enough jobs at home, there is a push to work in richer countries and send back foreign exchange. Many Filipino university graduates …
What Makes the Holy Bible Holy?
So it started with a shared media content thing on FB. Some preacher was arguing that we should not simply go to church with a Bible app on our cellphones. We should bring our (paper) Bibles because, "It is called 'The Holy Bible' not 'The Holy Cellphone.'" I am sure there is a great name …
Rizpah– A Short Reflection
She stayed when others ran away. She stayed while others mocked and derided. She stayed while others (filled with shame perhaps?) stayed on the periphery and then snuck off. A man hung above her... and he was not alone. Her son did no wrong. He died because of the sins of others. He died because …
The Question of Prisoner #109104
For fun, I guess, I Googled "Prisoner 109104." Somehow the first word, 'prisoner' was ignored and the focus was on the number. The various iterations came up with the top search results being that earlier this year the the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans by the score of 109 to 104. I …