Black Lives Matter

It hardly needs to be said that race is a big issue in America. It has been for a long time. At America’s constitutional convention in 1787, the representatives argued over the status of slaves. Our nation fought a Civil War over the issue of slavery. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a movement that sought grater racial justice and ended the Jim Crow era. The issues were so volatile that he was assassinated. The race issue is woven into the fabric of our society. Events like the killing of George Floyd bring it rushing back to the fore.

I’m no expert on the race issue. However, I try to process what’s going on. Like many, I’ve struggled to put together what seems clear and easy to some. This discussion, like most political issues, is complicated by the fact that advocates of a need for change have views with which I disagree and advocates of the status quo say some things with which I agree. Extremists easily dominate the discussion. Polarities are easier for the mind to process than nuance. Continue reading “Black Lives Matter”

7 Lessons from the Vikings I Want to Remember & Implement

I’ve nearly completed the History Channel’s Vikings series. I’ve also done some additional study on the Vikings, including listening to a history of the Vikings by Lars Brownworth.

One thing is clear: there are many things about the Vikings you do not want to imitate. Many of the scenes in Vikings are hard to watch. Their morality is clearly lacking in many areas. They can rightly be accused of toxic masculinity. They worship false gods in sometimes awful ways.

All that said, the Vikings were not without virtues. In a culture that is highly sensitive to toxic masculinity, we may miss some of what we might call “the masculine virtues.” It’s rather striking to see some of the things that they do that are rooted in this “masculine” culture because they are somewhat rare in our own culture. These are things I want to remember and imitate. Continue reading “7 Lessons from the Vikings I Want to Remember & Implement”

What We Believe About Jesus

Here is a brief catechism on what we believe about who Jesus Christ is. It explains what we believe and the basis of believing that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God in two distinct natures, God and man. Note: there is more to the catechism. I’m beginning this with Question #7.

7. Who is Jesus Christ? He is the eternal Son of God.

8. Why do we believe that Jesus is the one, true God? Because the Bible teaches that and calls Him that. “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever” (Ps. 45:6). “This is the name by which He shall be called, Yahweh (the proper name for God) our righteousness” (Jer. 23:6). “My Lord and my God” (Jn. 20:28)! “Christ, who is over all, the eternally blessed God” (Rom. 9:5). “Our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Tit. 2:13). “He is the true God and eternal life” (1 Jn. 5:20). Continue reading “What We Believe About Jesus”

Work on Your Marriage at Home

Marriages regularly fail.

At the same time, most people who are getting married think that their marriage is the exception. They don’t see a big threat. Even those who are in higher risk groups for divorce don’t think that their marriage is a high risk marriage.

If we are going to avoid failing, we have to recognize that it could happen. We have to believe the threat in order to avoid it.

On the other side, there are many marriages that do not end in divorce that are not going well or are on life support. The husband and wife are essentially roommates.

How do we move past these threats to flourishing marriages? We have to work at it. It won’t change overnight, but it can happen with time and effort.

Here are a few things that you can study and talk about at home that I believe will help you move toward a flourishing marriage.

I organize this material into three sections: awareness, negotiation, and marriage virtues. The first section includes some exercises you can do to help you come to more awareness about who each of you are and where you come from. The second section includes the main questions that have to be negotiated as a couple comes together. The third section is instruction on how to become better marriage partners through trust, love, and respect. Continue reading “Work on Your Marriage at Home”

Wisdom from Niebuhr: The Greatness and the Weakness of Human Beings

Note: this is a part of a series on the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. You can find an outline of the series with links to the articles here.

Human beings are limited and even sinful. Niebuhr spoke eloquently to these limits. However, Niebuhr also constantly reminds us of the goodness of human beings and their amazing created potential as created by God.

The Transcendent Freedom of the Human Being
Niebuhr did not believe that human beings were “timeless” creatures. Humans are ethnic and family beings. The determinists have recognized these factors and explained them well, but they overplayed their hand. Humans are also capable of transcending their own time and place.

The self is a creature, but it is also creator. It has freedom to act differently than it has before. Compare this to the animals. They always form the same culture. There is no ability to transcend their nature and look beyond it. Continue reading “Wisdom from Niebuhr: The Greatness and the Weakness of Human Beings”