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Quote
It is always crucial to remember that our beliefs are formed not only through reason and argument but also through social conditioning. -
Quote
I do not put much stock in "believing in God." The grammar of "belief" invites a far too rationalistic account of what it means to be a Christian. "Belief" implies propos... -
illustration
Disbelieving Anything
There may have been a time when people found it easy to believe anything. But we are finding it vastly easier to disbelieve anything. Both processes save the human mind from the disgusting duty of dis... -
Quote
One needs to be right before getting righteous. -
Quote
“I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.” -
Quote
Creeds must disagree: it is the whole fun of the thing. If I think the universe is triangular, and you think it is square, there cannot be room for two universes. We may argue politely, we may argue h... -
illustration
The Cave
The Cave One of the most famous passages in Plato's Republic is his "Allegory of the Cave," which is found at the beginning of book seven . Socrates imagines the human condition al... -
liturgy
Abba – Father: Because of Your love and
Abba – Father: Because of Your love and strength, we trust You … believing You are faithful, true and gracious. Thank You for coming into our world when we could not and would not come to You. You wal... -
illustration
Elephants Chains’ and Self-Limiting Beliefs
Have you ever wondered how people keep elephants, whether at a circus or as means of transport throughout Asia, from throwing off their shackles and marching to their own tune? A single metal chain is... -
illustration
Persuading Ourselves of the Truth
When we observe evil, sinful behavior from a distance, the inclination is simply to see people as acting with malicious intent. We assume they are “bad people.” But often the motivations that lead to ... -
illustration
Are All Religions Basically the Same?
Most people who assert the equality of religions have in mind the major world faiths, not splinter sects. This was the form of the objection I got from the student the night I was on the panel. He con... -
illustration
Mythology in Genesis
Mythology by its nature seeks to explain how the world works and how it came to work that way, and therefore includes a culture’s “theory of origins.” We sometimes label certain literature as “myth” b... -
illustration
Religion: A Private Affair
So it is that in most Western industrialized countries church and society have lost their identity, religion has become more and more a private affair, and morality has become secular. This process af... -
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Negative Attitudes About Christians
I’ve asked strangers and casual acquaintances, “Why do Christians stir up such negative feelings?” Some bring up past atrocities, such as the widespread belief that the church executed eight or nine m... -
illustration
Realizing We are Biased
When I went to seminary to prepare for the ministry, I met an African-American student, Elward Ellis, who befriended both my future wife, Kathy Kristy, and me. He gave us gracious but bare-knuckled me... -
illustration
Religious Faith in the Workplace? The Resistance May Not Be What You Think
More often than not, park-it-at-the-door thinking [about religious faith] has less to do with hostility to faith than with the avoidance of risk, for many employer’s fear that any hint of religion is ... -
Quote
80 percent of Americans agree with the statement “an individual should arrive at his or her own religious beliefs independent of any church or synagogue.” -
blog
Spare: Privilege and Pain
What do the royals and a Rorschach test have in common? Both provoke reactions that tell us more about the attitudes and beliefs of the beholder than about the object of their gaze. This is not to say... -
illustration
The Separation of Church and State in America: What Did Their Separation Entail?
The wall Jefferson referred to is designed to divide church from state, not religion from politics. Church and state are specific things: the former signifies institutions for believers to congregate ... -
illustration
Generosity Is Paradoxical (Part 2)
In recent years, I (Smith) have been leading a study called the “Science of Generosity Initiative” at the University of Notre Dame, in which I (Davidson) have been deeply involved. In that study, we h... -
illustration
American Culture
Our culture is no longer banded together by shared beliefs; it’s drawn together by shared spectacles. Like Halloween costumes designed to match the most popular movies, we seek our self-identity insid... -
illustration
The Theological Roots of Apartheid
Did you know that apartheid in South Africa was based in large part on theological doctrines that were formed at Stellenbosch University in the 1930s and 1940s? Isn’t that chilling? Many of the intell... -
illustration
Sheep Over Goats… Literally?
While in seminary I did some research and editing work for a missiology professor, and I came across a story of a missionary who took Jesus’s illustration of sheep and goats quite literally when worki... -
illustration
What Exactly Is Racial Reconciliation?
What exactly is racial reconciliation? If you asked ten different people, it’s likely you’d get ten different answers! At a gathering I attended of national multiethnic leaders—pastors, professors, di... -
Quote
Our culture is no longer banded together by shared beliefs; it’s drawn together by shared spectacles. Like Halloween costumes designed to match the most popular movies, we seek our self-identity insid... -
Quote
Protestantism developed its sense of identity primarily in response to external threats and criticisms rather than as a result of shared beliefs. In one sense, the idea of "Protestantism" ca... -
illustration
The Mixed Bag of Human Culture
Regarding the average human’s awareness of their own culture, career anthropologist Darrell Whiteman has said that “it is scarcely a fish who would discover water.” This is a reliable statement. Human... -
illustration
Story as Worldview and the Example of Passover
Stories, after all, are one of the most basic modes of human life and are a characteristic expression of worldview. Human life is constituted by a series of stories, implicit and explicit, that makes ... -
illustration
An Unexpected Friendship
Sometimes moments of forgiveness and friendship come from unexpected places. In 2018, the comedian Pete Davidson appeared on the “Weekend Update” segment of Saturday Night Live (SNL). Davidson made a ... -
illustration
God Believes in You
There was what an Orthodox Hasidic rabbi had said on a flight westward. He’d put his prayer shawl in the overhead compartment and sat down, sweeping aside the tassels dangling from his pockets. And so...
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A
- Abandonment
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B
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C
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D
- Dancing
- Danger
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- Dangers of Technology
- Darkness
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- Death
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- Debt
- Deception
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- Division
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- Dying to Self
- The Digital World
- The Dying
E
- Easter
- Eating
- Economics
- Eden
- Education
- Elderly People
- Elders
- Elections (Political)
- Emotions
- Empowerment
- Emptiness
- Encouragement
- Endurance
- Enemies
- Energy
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- Entertainment
- Entitlement
- Environment
- Envy
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- Eschatology (End Times)
- Eternal Life
- Eternity
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- Ethics
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- Evil
- Evolution
- Example
- Excellence
- Exclusion
- Exhaustion
- Expectations
- Expectations of Children
- Experience
- Exploitation
- Eyes
- The Early Church
- The Earth
- The Epiphany
F
- Face of God
- Failure
- Fairy Tales
- Faith
- Faith and Doubt
- Faithfulness
- Falling Short
- Fame
- Family
- Family Discipleship
- Family Dysfunction
- Farming
- Fashion
- Fatherhood of God
- Fathers
- Fatigue
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- Fear
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- Fiction
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- Five Senses
- Flesh
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- Focus
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- Food
- Foolishness
- Football (American)
- Forgetfulness
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- Foundations
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- Free Will
- Freedom
- Friends
- Friendship
- Fruit
- Fulfillment
- Fun
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- Future
- The Fear of God
G
- Games
- Garden of Eden
- Gardening
- Gardens
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- Generations
- Generosity
- Genesis
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- Giving
- Giving God the Glory
- Gladness
- Global Christianity
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- Glory
- Goals
- God
- God Seeking Us
- God the Creator
- God's Anger
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- God's Gifts
- God's Goodness
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- God's Name
- God's Nearness
- God's Omniscience
- God's Plans
- God's Power (Omnipotence)
- God's Protection
- God's Provision
- God's Pursuit
- God's Reign
- God's Sovereignty
- God's Story
- God's Sufficiency
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- God's Works
- Good and Evil
- Good Life
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- Good Works
- Goodness
- Goodness of God
- Gospel
- Government
- Grace
- Grandparents
- Gratitude
- Greatness of God
- Greed
- Grief
- Growth
- Guidance
- Guilt
- The Glory of God
H
- Habits
- Happiness
- Hard Work
- Harmony
- Harvest
- Hatred
- Healing
- Health
- Healthcare
- Hearing God
- Heart
- Heart Change
- Heaven
- Hell
- Help
- Helping our Neighbors
- Helping the Poor
- Heroes
- High Performance
- History
- Hobbies
- Holiness
- Holiness of God
- Home
- Home Ownership
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- Honor
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- Human Condition
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- Human Nature
- Human Sexuality
- Humanity
- Humble Living
- Humility
- Humor
- Hunger
- Hurry
- Hypocrisy
- The Holy Land
- The Holy Spirit
I
- Ideas
- Identity
- Identity in Christ
- Idolatry
- Ignorance
- Ignoring God
- Illness
- Image
- Image Bearers
- Images
- Imagination
- Immigrants
- Impact
- Impatience
- Independence Day
- Indifference
- Individualism
- Inequality
- Influence
- Information
- Ingratitude
- Inheritance
- Injury
- Injustice
- Inner Peace
- Innovation
- Insanity
- Insecurity
- Inspiration
- Instant Gratification
- Integrity
- Intelligence
- Interdependence
- Invitation
- Irony
- Irresistible
- Isolation
- Israel
- The Image of God
- The Incarnation
- The Internet
J
K
L
- Labor
- Labor Day
- Lack of Presence
- Language
- Laughter
- Law (Torah)
- Laziness
- Leaders
- Leadership
- Learning
- Legacy
- Leisure
- Lent
- Lies
- Life
- Life after Death
- Life Story
- Light
- Light of the World
- Limitations
- Listening
- Listening to God
- Liturgy
- Living Life
- Living Water
- Loneliness
- Longing
- Lord of Lords
- Loss
- Love
- Love of God and Neighbor
- Love of Money
- Loving Kindness
- Loving Other Christians
- Loving your Neighbor
- Lying
- The Lord's Supper
M
- Magnificat
- Manipulation
- Marriage
- Martyrdom
- Masks
- Materialism
- Meals
- Media
- Medicine
- Meditation
- Meekness
- Mental Health
- Mental Illness
- Mercy
- Military Service
- Millenials
- Mind
- Ministry
- Minorities
- Miracles
- Mission
- Missionaries
- Missions
- Mistaken Identity
- Mistakes
- Misunderstanding
- Mobility
- Modern Life
- Monasticism
- Money
- Moral Relativism
- Morality
- Moses
- Mothers
- Motivations
- Motives
- Mountains
- Mourning
- Music
- Mystery
- Mythology
- Myths
- The Military
- The Mind of Christ
- The Missional Church
- The Morning
N
O
P
- Pace
- Pain
- Palm Sunday
- Parables
- Parenting
- Parents
- Passion
- Past
- Pastors
- Paths
- Patience
- Peace
- Pentecost
- Perfection
- Perfectionism
- Persecution
- Perseverance
- Persistence
- Personal
- Personality
- Perspective
- Phones
- Photographs
- Place
- Play
- Pleasure
- Poetry
- Political Freedom
- Political Leaders
- Politicians
- Politics
- Poor
- Pop Culture
- Popularity
- Possessions
- Postmodernism
- Poverty
- Power
- Praise
- Praise Music
- Prayer
- Prayers for Funerals
- Preaching
- Prejudice
- Presence
- President
- Pressure
- Price
- Pride
- Priorities
- Prisoners
- Private Faith
- Privilege
- Problems
- Productivity
- Progress
- Prosperity
- Protection
- Proud
- Providence
- Provision
- Pruning
- Public Faith
- Purpose
- The Passing of Time
- The Prophets
- The Psalms
R
- Race
- Race (Running)
- Race and Reconciliation
- Racial Reconciliation
- Racism
- Rationality
- Reading
- Real Estate
- Reality
- Reason
- Rebellion
- Receiving
- Receiving Forgiveness
- Receiving Gifts
- Receiving Grace
- Receiving Love
- Receiving the Word
- Reconciliation
- Recovery
- Redeemer
- Redemption
- Reformation Sunday
- Rehab
- Rejection
- Relationship with God
- Relationships
- Relaxation
- Relevance
- Religion
- Religion and Politics
- Religion and Public Life
- Religions
- Religious Pluralism
- Renewal
- Repentance
- Repetition
- Reputation
- Rescue
- Resilience
- Responsibility
- Rest
- Restlessness
- Restoration
- Resurrection
- Resurrection of the Dead
- Resurrection to New Life
- Retreat
- Revelation
- Revival
- Rewards
- Rhythms
- Rhythms of Rest
- Riches
- Righteousness
- Risks
- Rituals
- Romantic Love
- Romantic Relationships
- Rootedness
- Routines
- Rules
- The Rich
- The Risen Lord
- The Rock
- The Roman Empire
S
- Sabbath
- Sacred vs. Secular
- Sacrifice
- Safety
- Salt and Light
- Salt of the Earth
- Salvation
- Sanctification
- Satan
- Satisfaction
- Savior
- School
- Science
- Science and Religion
- Scripture
- Sea
- Searching
- Second Chances
- Secularism
- Security
- Seeking God
- Seeking Happiness
- Segregation
- Self-Absorption
- Self-Acceptance
- Self-Awareness
- Self-Centeredness
- Self-Consciousness
- Self-Control
- Self-Deception
- Self-Destruction
- Self-Discipline
- Self-Expression
- Self-Help
- Self-Image
- Self-Improvement
- Self-Interest
- Self-Knowledge
- Self-Love
- Self-Reliance
- Self-Renunciation
- Self-Righteousness
- Self-Sufficiency
- Selfishness
- Selflessness
- Servanthood
- Service
- Settling
- Sex
- Shallowness
- Shalom
- Shame
- Sheep
- Shelter
- Shepherds
- Sickness
- Silence
- Simplicity
- Sin
- Sinfulness
- Singing
- Sins of the Church
- Skepticism
- Slavery
- Slowing Down
- Smart Phones
- Social Media
- Social Status
- Society
- Soil
- Solitude
- Songs
- Sorrow
- Spectacle
- Spiritual Disciplines
- Spiritual Formation
- Spiritual Growth
- Spiritual Hunger
- Spirituality
- Sports
- Spring (Season)
- Standards
- Stars
- Status Quo
- Staying Humble
- Steadfast Love
- Stealing
- Stereotypes
- Stewardship
- Stillness
- Stories
- Storms
- Storytelling
- Stranger
- Strength
- Stress
- Structures
- Stuff
- Stupidity
- Submission
- Suburbs
- Success
- Suffering
- Suicide
- Summer
- Sun
- Supernatural
- Surgery
- Surprise
- Surrender
- Suspicion of Authority
- Sustainer
- Sweetness
- The Sacraments
- The Saints
- The Sick
- The Soul
T
- Talents
- Talking
- Targets
- Tears
- Technology
- Teenagers
- Television
- Temptation
- Terrorism
- Thanksgiving (General)
- Thanksgiving (Holiday)
- The Temple
- The Trinity
- Theology
- Therapy
- Things
- Third Third of Life
- Thought
- Threats
- Time
- Tired
- Tongue
- Town
- Tradition
- Training
- Transformation
- Translation
- Travel
- Treasure
- Trees
- Trouble
- True Self
- Trust
- Truth
- Turning a Blind Eye
U
W
- The Way
- The Weak
- The Wild
- Waiting
- Wandering
- Wants
- War
- Water
- Ways
- Weakness
- Wealth
- Weariness
- Weather
- Weeping
- Western Culture
- Wickedness
- Wilderness
- Wisdom
- Wisdom of God
- Witnesses
- Wittiness
- Women
- Women Changing the World
- Wonder
- Words
- Work
- Work and Rest
- Work-Life Balance
- Workaholism
- Workmanship
- World
- World Leaders
- World Peace
- Worldliness
- Worldview
- Worry
- Worship
- Worth
- Writing
Y
Top_level_categories by Reference
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
2 Samuel
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Esther
Job
Psalm
- Ps 1 (5)
- Ps 2 (1)
- Ps 6 (1)
- Ps 8 (5)
- Ps 9 (2)
- Ps 10 (1)
- Ps 12 (1)
- Ps 14 (1)
- Ps 15 (1)
- Ps 16 (1)
- Ps 18 (1)
- Ps 19 (10)
- Ps 20 (1)
- Ps 22 (4)
- Ps 23 (16)
- Ps 24 (9)
- Ps 25 (1)
- Ps 27 (8)
- Ps 30 (4)
- Ps 32 (6)
- Ps 33 (5)
- Ps 34 (19)
- Ps 36 (1)
- Ps 37 (4)
- Ps 39 (2)
- Ps 40 (2)
- Ps 42 (6)
- Ps 46 (21)
- Ps 47 (1)
- Ps 48 (1)
- Ps 51 (18)
- Ps 52 (1)
- Ps 55 (1)
- Ps 56 (1)
- Ps 57 (2)
- Ps 62 (2)
- Ps 63 (2)
- Ps 65 (2)
- Ps 67 (1)
- Ps 68 (2)
- Ps 71 (1)
- Ps 72 (4)
- Ps 73 (3)
- Ps 78 (2)
- Ps 80 (2)
- Ps 82 (6)
- Ps 84 (2)
- Ps 85 (3)
- Ps 86 (3)
- Ps 88 (1)
- Ps 89 (1)
- Ps 90 (8)
- Ps 92 (2)
- Ps 94 (1)
- Ps 95 (4)
- Ps 96 (2)
- Ps 98 (6)
- Ps 100 (5)
- Ps 103 (9)
- Ps 104 (4)
- Ps 105 (1)
- Ps 107 (1)
- Ps 111 (1)
- Ps 112 (2)
- Ps 113 (2)
- Ps 115 (2)
- Ps 117 (1)
- Ps 118 (2)
- Ps 119 (9)
- Ps 121 (1)
- Ps 122 (1)
- Ps 124 (1)
- Ps 126 (2)
- Ps 127 (5)
- Ps 128 (1)
- Ps 133 (5)
- Ps 135 (1)
- Ps 136 (2)
- Ps 139 (16)
- Ps 141 (2)
- Ps 143 (1)
- Ps 145 (4)
- Ps 147 (6)
- Ps 148 (1)
- Ps 150 (1)
Proverbs
- Prov 1 (1)
- Prov 2 (1)
- Prov 3 (19)
- Prov 4 (7)
- Prov 5 (1)
- Prov 6 (1)
- Prov 9 (1)
- Prov 10 (2)
- Prov 11 (5)
- Prov 12 (6)
- Prov 13 (4)
- Prov 14 (9)
- Prov 15 (4)
- Prov 16 (10)
- Prov 17 (6)
- Prov 18 (8)
- Prov 19 (9)
- Prov 20 (2)
- Prov 21 (7)
- Prov 22 (7)
- Prov 23 (3)
- Prov 24 (2)
- Prov 25 (1)
- Prov 26 (1)
- Prov 27 (7)
- Prov 28 (2)
- Prov 29 (7)
- Prov 30 (2)
- Prov 31 (11)
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
- Isa 1 (13)
- Isa 2 (4)
- Isa 5 (4)
- Isa 6 (3)
- Isa 7 (1)
- Isa 9 (14)
- Isa 11 (2)
- Isa 12 (1)
- Isa 25 (1)
- Isa 26 (5)
- Isa 28 (4)
- Isa 30 (7)
- Isa 32 (1)
- Isa 35 (1)
- Isa 40 (26)
- Isa 41 (11)
- Isa 42 (2)
- Isa 43 (10)
- Isa 44 (2)
- Isa 45 (1)
- Isa 47 (2)
- Isa 49 (3)
- Isa 51 (1)
- Isa 53 (11)
- Isa 55 (13)
- Isa 56 (1)
- Isa 57 (4)
- Isa 58 (7)
- Isa 60 (6)
- Isa 61 (16)
- Isa 64 (2)
- Isa 66 (2)