FOR A WHOLE LOT of years, I’ve enjoyed what American poet John Godfrey Saxe (1816–1887) wrote about an old fable from the country of India. He called it “The Blind Men and the Elephant.”
In my book, nothing is a better caution against becoming too opinionated, too dogmatic, too utterly certain of one’s own inerrant [...]
Archive for February, 2008
29 Feb
The Blind Men and the Elephant
29 Feb
On Leap Day—2008
SO HOW ARE YOU PLANNING to use your extra day today? Remember, you’re not going to get another bonus February 29 till 2012. So use it wisely, all ye who constantly bray that “If only I had an extra 24 hours…”
Yes, 2008 has 366 days—not 365. And today is the extra one. So stop the [...]
28 Feb
Truth Is Like a Camcorder
I ALREADY HAVE A PRETTY DECENT digital camera. Having about half a dozen of the planet’s most irresistible grandkids in my downline, I jolly well better have!
Now, some people have technophobia—a fear of all things hi-tech and gadget-like. I’m one of many plagued with the opposite: technophilia—which I define as a strong enthusiasm for technology, [...]
26 Feb
Grass Is Greener on the. . . ?
IF THERE’S ONE WORD linked with the 2008 presidential campaign, it’s likely to be change. But it’s not just in politics that, as Bob Dylan once sang: “The Times, They Are a-Changin’.”
A newly released report from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life underscores the great degree of change taking place in Christian churches [...]
21 Feb
Oprah Drinks the New Age Kool-Aid
SHE’S A PHENOMENON. The wealthiest woman in entertainment. Her name is known world-wide. When she picks an entry for her Book Club, it rockets to the top of best seller lists. If she mentions a product on her show, it’s quickly out of stock in the stores. And it’s safe to say that her endorsement [...]
19 Feb
I Hope…
IT WAS FUN BEING YOUNG. Full of zeal and idealism and energy. Ready to plunge into life and apply all those years of learning: grade school, high school, college, grad school. Ready to chase dreams and make them happen. Ready to do something important if not amazing.
But growing older also has its satisfactions. Experience. Perspective. [...]
15 Feb
Why Andy Won’t Eat Watermelon
EVERY DAY THAT PASSES, the media brings its drumbeat of bad news—of sad, tragic, heartbreaking, horrifying news. Abused children, genocide, suicide bombings, campus shootings, torture, starvation, and more.
With all this pain, suffering, and violence, isn’t it a reasonable question to ask why God seems to be delaying on the Second Coming of Jesus? If He’s [...]
12 Feb
Am I Too Sinful and “Bad” for God to Save?
I’M OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER the old Alka-Seltzer commercials: “Plop, plop…fizz, fizz…oh, what a relief it is!”
The good news of the Gospel is relief in bold-face, all-caps, full-color, digital surround-sound. But I’m convinced that some of us experience only part of the relief to which the Gospel entitles us.
We have it down pretty well that [...]
10 Feb
Ziggy and the Sunrise
OR MAYBE IT’S THE sunset. At any rate, this is a favorite cartoon of mine—and reminds me that I too can applaud and praise and show my enthusiastic appreciation to God for the beauty and blessings He constantly brings into my life.
