Category: Uncategorized

When the wicked wires    wind their way to me — ruddy hands and face    decrying my guilt — How do I wash clean    and release the grip? Psalm 129

I spend hours    trying to erase around the edges, rarely thinking of how I'm being     filled in. Brushes and palletes are consequential.      It's the artist that matters. Psalm 119:73-80

Loving a rejected God is nothing like accepting man-made congratulations. One of those never turns into a huffing, shaking head. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20118&version=NIV

So, yesterday I asked for a ceasefire on false dichotomies. Today, I'd like to discourage a myth of responsibility in the upcoming election. Here it goes again: If you don't vote for Candidate-X, you're voting for Candidate-Y. Maybe you didn't fall for the whole false dilemma thing from the last post. That's fine. Let me tell you a story. It was 15 years ago, and I was picking up my notebooks and shoving them into my polyester messenger bag. (I didn't say it was an interesting story.) Class had ended, and all the graduate students were engaged in the liturgy of leaving the classroom. I was wondering about coffee when my Philosophy professor interrupted the exodus. "Don't confuse causation with association!" He offered it as a valediction. Since it was the last…

A false dichotomy is a powerful tool, one that our old fiction friend Jack Bauer often used. "You only have two choices here: let me torture him mercilessly or let the world explode..." or something to that effect. There are true dichotomies. If you only have a standard light switch in the room it's either on or off. No cuts, no buts, no coconuts. It's even helpful at times to point it out - especially to children who like to play with light switches: "It's either on or off!" But political decisions (or most complex decisions) are not so clear-cut. For the most part when it comes to politics there are a multitude of options. Don't give into the false dichotomy. The person using this logical ploy is trying to…

Respect makes you gleam like a coal in a dying campfire. The light warms some but kindles devious dreams in others. https://bible.faithlife.com/bible/niv2011/Ps112

Self-Providence is a sham - like getting a gift and claiming its purchase. It's a lying insult and a symptom of divine dysphoria. https://bible.faithlife.com/bible/niv2011/Ps111

"What does Lord mean?" My son stops the nightly ritual. "Someone in charge" I define, haltingly, my allegiance. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20110&version=NIV

Losing your nerve is dangerous when it leaves you unfeeling and a silent partner to the bringers of despair. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20109&version=NIV