Category: Institutions
In His Right Mind
Reading the Bible Amid the Culture Wars A lot of questions could preoccupy us as we think about reading scripture. The whole idea of demons and devils is unsettling, disturbing. But we can get sidetracked onto a lot of other questions. We could ask the scientific question, “Are demons real and how would they go into pigs? Or were the pigs disturbed by the commotion?” We could ask a psychological question, “Is this just a description of mental illness?” which is our own modern preoccupation. Or the moral question, “Hey, what about the destruction of that property? Someone owned those … Continue reading In His Right Mind
AI, Social Media and the Future of Us
Chris Hayes, The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became theWorld’s Most Endangered Resource. Penguin Random House, 2025 and Nicholas Carr, Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart, W. W. Norton & Company, 2024. The latest issue of Christian Ethics Today has come out. I wrote an extensive twin review in the issue about these two excellent books that are well worth your time. A couple of short quotes from the review. Chris Hayes is the well known host of MSNBCs All In. From Hayes’ book: Nicholas Carr has written another book that profoundly shaped my understanding of the current technological … Continue reading AI, Social Media and the Future of Us
Taking Care of Our Own
A friend mentioned to me recently that an out of state visitor saw our Alabama state motto, WE DARE TO DEFEND OUR RIGHTS on a sign and asked if it had been put there as a prank. No, he was told, that is really our motto. If you have lived here for a long time, you understand that we resist when others challenge us, no matter how well intentioned. Determination can help us in life, but it can work against you as life changes. I’d like to add another one: WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN. Two friends and I … Continue reading Taking Care of Our Own
Sticky post
Your Bag of Wedges: A Commencement Address
I was invited by President Beck Taylor to give the afternoon Commencement Address for Samford University’s winter graduation on Saturday, December 18, 2021 2 p.m. This is my text.. This reflection was originally part of a sermon that appears in my forthcoming book, Shadow Prayers. it will be out soon through Mossy Creek Press. Congratulations, graduates! What an accomplishment! We are proud of you today and you should be, too. Let me share the three measures of maturity that I gave my three daughters years ago: You’re out of the house, out of school and out of my money. My … Continue reading Your Bag of Wedges: A Commencement Address
The Flatpickin' Pilgrim's Progress 