Today I got a call asking my opinion about a missionary using the term "Isa al Masih." The official concern relayed to me was that the missionary was using the Arabic term for Jesus Christ. The issue was not that the term is Arabic, but rather that Isa al Masih is a term that ties …
Month: June 2020
Social Media and Toxic (Non-)Dialogue
A few weeks ago I decided to leave Facebook... mostly. I still have a few activities that require me to pop in there for at least brief moments. However, I am pretty sure that my time there will continue to decline and not return to its past. It started in a minor way. A friend …
Jonadab, the Good Father
This is, with modest changes, the sermon I preached for our online quarantine church here for Father's Day. Good morning. Happy Father's Day. Please open your Bibles to Jeremiah 35. We don't read Jeremiah very often and it is not used in sermons a lot. Yet it is actually the biggest book in the Bible. …
The Poisoned Paradise Theory of Communication
Yesterday, I removed the Facebook App from my cellphone. Life feels good. But it got me to wonder how it got to that place. I have a bit of a theory. I am sure there is a better name for it, but I will call it “The Poisoned Paradise Theory of Communication.” The name comes …
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Looking For Opportunities to Change My Mind
Vignette #1. Today, I was looking at Facebook again. There were a lot of notes talking about how the WHO (World Health Organization) has changed their view yet again about some aspect of COVID-19 response. Tied to this is the implication that WHO is untrustworthy, and because it is untrustworthy... well, it should be defunded …
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That Nagging Racism Problem
A friend of mine (who is not American, but who has lived in the US before) asked the following question on FB: Aside from prayer, what is your specific solution or concrete and actual suggestions to end the racial problem in the US? It is hard to give specific, concrete and actual "anything" on FB …