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The only way to get oil from olives is pressure and time. Don't give up.

Thinking Differently about Matter and Spirit

A line is not fully distinct from a point. It is more than a point but still includes all that is a point. A point has neither height nor width. A line has width. A square is not fully distinct from a line but it is nevertheless more than a line. A square exists in a two dimensional reality made up of an infinite ...

Where do we find comfort?

When facing loss and calamity, many take comfort in the thought of God’s sovereignty. “God is in control,” and they find solace in the midst of pain with the thought that God has some greater purpose. I can certainly understand this pain, and this way of thinking about loss. I’ve experienced it myself. The ...

Physical or Spiritual? Yes.

One of the ways in which it is often necessary for us from the West to think differently is in how we think about matter. Since the Enlightenment, western thinking has become more and more materialistic. This doesn’t refer to an emphasis or reliance on money (though that is also true!) but rather a view of ...

Worship: He is other; He is near.

“God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen.” That’s the first prayer I remember learning as a small child. It’s short (as prayers before meals should be). It rhymes. It’s really quite a good little prayer. The thing I like best about it is that it communicates ...

Flatland

I want to recommend a book – Flatland by Edwin Abbott. In this book, a two dimensional character (a square) has a dream and in the dream he visits a one dimensional world called Lineland. There he tries to describe a two dimensional reality to inhabitants of the one dimensional reality, which is no easy ...

Healing Brokenness and Firing Aristotle: Part Two

As if the difficulties outlined in my previous post aren’t enough, it gets even more complicated. Messed up theological constructs prop up human brokenness and the two work together to hinder growth and faith. I’ve discovered a major incongruence in my theological understanding of God. It is necessary to hold two ...

Healing Brokenness and Firing Aristotle: Part One

I was sitting in church one day a few years ago, minding my own business, when God spoke to me. Not directly mind you. He does that too sometimes, but that’s not what I’m referring to here. Jimmy Evans was preaching as a guest at my church, talking to us about our past. He pointed out we’re always wanting to ...