Category Archives: Religion

Holy Snugglebunnies (or) Sab-, part III

Originally published in The Window, October 30 2006. Sab- (or) Holy Snugglebunnies, part III Richard M. Wright (Warning: This article contains mature content.) (The Sab- is going somewhere. Trust me.) There is a theological theme that has been… Play. Many … Continue reading

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Holy Play (or) Sa-, part II

Originally published in The Window (October 23, 2006) Sa- (or) Holy Play, part II Richard M. Wright (The Sa- is going somewhere. Trust me.) There is a theme – a theological theme that requires a change in how we live … Continue reading

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The psychology of evil and the confluence of sin and death, part II

“Left alone [Melkor/Morgoth] could only have gone raging on till all was levelled again into a formless chaos” – J. R. R. Tolkien (Morgoth’s Ring, 396) “The spirit in revolt consequently acquires a hatred of being, a frenzy to destroy, … Continue reading

Posted in Abortion, Economics, Islam, Issues, Logic and Reason, News, Politics, Religion, Society and Culture, Theology | 2 Comments

The psychology of evil and the confluence of sin and death (or) The orthodox theology of Tolkien, part I

I have never entirely understood the connection(?) between sin and death. Let me confess that I am not much of a Satanologist. What do I mean by that? That in my understanding and teaching of the Christian faith do not … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Hebrew Bible, Judaism, Literature, Orthodoxy, Theology | 1 Comment

Late Lent and Pascha and unexpected variations in liturgical calendar

Since seminary have used the lectionary and followed the Christian liturgical calendar. The two are related but distinct. Theoretically one can observe the liturgical calendar without following the lectionary. In fact back in 2000(?) when Keith Putt led University Baptist … Continue reading

Posted in Baptists, Christian Practice, Orthodoxy, Worship and Liturgy | Comments Off

A few rejoinders to recent On Faith articles on sex and marriage in the Bible

Jennifer Wright Knust is a professor of New Testament and Christian origins at Boston University. She has attracted some attention lately for her series of articles on sexuality and marriage in the Bible. These have appeared in the “On Faith” … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Christian Practice, Hebrew Bible, Judaism, New Testament, Sexuality, Song of Songs | 8 Comments

Alas – less not more freedom for Christians in China?

One of the three goals for my journey through China back in May-June was to observe directly what is happening with the Christian church in the People’s Republic of China. I visited both registered churches and house churches. And had … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, Internationals, Missiology, News, Religion, Travel | 3 Comments

President Obama’s exceptional speech in Tucson

I admit not looking forward to hearing/reading the President’s speech at the memorial service in Arizona. Ace of Spades HQ had mixed reactions. My excellent friend Jonathan called it the “best speech of his life”. So grit my teeth and … Continue reading

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NFL player Troy Polamalu and liturgy of the heart

The excellent Opinionated Catholic – your one stop portal for Catholic and Football news – recently had an interesting post about Pittsburgh Steelers player Troy Polamalu and his Orthodox Christian faith. I wanted to follow up by focusing on a … Continue reading

Posted in Christian Practice, Orthodoxy, Sports, Theology, Worship and Liturgy | 1 Comment

Academia recognizes complexity of evangelicalism

Interesting article at Chronicle of Higher Education by Timothy Beal entitled “Among the Evangelicals”. Yet as soon as evangelicalism becomes a subject, it splinters and splits. Indeed, taken together, recent studies by more-or-less outsiders show there is no such thing … Continue reading

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