Category: humanity

America, Calling, Christianity, Ethics, First Amendment, humanity, Interfaith Dialogue, Jesus, Love, reconciliation, spirituality, Story3 Comments

This One Thing

Gary Furr

I seek to love my neighbor as myself. That would seem obvious for a preacher of the teachings of Jesus, but maybe we need to say it again. Love one another. And I don’t remember any additions to the command. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It’s hard enough without trying to add a lot of fine print. Love your child, your grandchildren, your neighbor you don’t agree with. Love them, gay, straight, trans, prisoner, judge, immigrant and the DAR lady. Love them, Trumper, Liberal, and none of the above. Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, Rotarians, Knights of Columbus, or atheists. … Continue reading This One Thing

America, Bill of Rights, Christian Nationalism, Christianity, Citizenship, Constitution, Culture, First Amendment, Fundamentalism, humanity, Interfaith Dialogue, Jesus, Politics, Politics, reconciliation, Story, Theology, violence, war, worldview

Our Muslim Girls

Gary Furr

My wife was the head resident of a girls dormitory when I was in Seminary at Campbell University in North Carolina. I would commute every day to Southeastern Baptist Seminary, 100 miles round trip, for the three years as I was getting my Master’s degree. It was a godsend, because we got a one bedroom apartment with a windowless storage room that we converted into a small bedroom for our daughter, and a few years later, our second daughter was born and shared it with her. I’m sorry we lived there, though. After living with a dorm full of undergraduate … Continue reading Our Muslim Girls

Bible, Christianity, humanity, Jesus, Love, Selfishness, spirituality, Teachings, Theology and Life

Love One Another– part 2

Gary Furr

So today, let’s pick up where we were last time. In the New Testament, there are two injunctions. As I mentioned previously, we are to love God and love our neighbor. Romans 13.8 states, let no debt remain outstanding except the outstanding debt to love one another for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. But what about self-love? We’ve become bogged down in modern life by being sure that we love ourselves enough and have subtly reversed the emphasis of this commandment. Many people struggle with finding a sense of purpose and worth. The modern secular profession of counseling … Continue reading Love One Another– part 2

Books, change, Christianity, Citizenship, Culture, Ethics, humanity, Institutions, Modern Life, Politics, REVIEWS--Books, Movies, Music, social media, Story, Technology, Theology

AI, Social Media and the Future of Us

Gary Furr

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

ancestors, Christianity, Culture, Family, Family, fear, history, humanity, racism, spirituality

Ancestors

Gary Furr

I made the mistake of getting interested in my ancestors several years ago. Genealogical research is when you set off in the most hopeful of frames, just knowing we will discover Dukes, Earls, celebrities, inventors, Queens and famous artists in our personal tree. More likely you will find ordinary people who farmed, had children and never moved. Or worse, horse thieves and other people running from debtors prison or an ex-wife and children. It’s like a fellow who was looking into his heritage, but he wasn’t very encouraged by what he found. He wrote a friend and said, “It’s not … Continue reading Ancestors