The worst I’ve ever feared from a police officer is a traffic ticket. And the roughly ten times I’ve been pulled over, I’ve never worried about things escalating to the point of being removed from […]
Tag: Violence
The necessary violence of God
I like me the idea of pacifism and especially a nonviolent God. But human pacifism is impossible with a nonviolent God. Too many people have a theology centered on a God who cannot cause pain. […]
Psalm 120
A rendering of Psalm 120, a prayer of helplessness by someone longing for peace but living among people clamoring for war and whose words are violent.
Hugh Hefner, Playboy & the death of sex
I remember the first time I saw a Playboy magazine. I was about 11 and an older neighbor has stolen a copy from the nearby 7-11. Not yet to puberty, it didn’t have the effect […]
Psalm 149 — a song in bed & a sword in the hand
Prayer easily becomes rote and formulaic, even when we try to be spontaneous. I hate that about myself. I quickly and easily fall into ruts where I’m pretty much praying about the same things in […]
Wonder Woman & the problem of violence
We need strong women in movies and fiction. The helpless, screamy women of far too many movies offer little to the imaginations of girls and boys who see them on their screens — girls who […]
How Lenten fasts help develop different appetites
Lent is one of the least appreciated seasons in the Christian calendar. Being a penitential season, it’s a time of fasting — of saying an emphatic NO! to one particular area of our lives — […]
An open letter to Hollywood about guns
Dear Hollywood (whoever you are), Thank you for so many beautiful and entertaining movies over the years. You have filled my imagination with incredible stories that have forever shaped my life. Babbette’s Feast showed me […]
Welcome to a post-Christian world (it's not as bad as it sounds)
We Westerners live in a post-Christian world. But don’t worry. It’s not what it sounds like. What it means is that Christianity as a cultural force is no longer the power it once was. What […]
Protest violence and Martin Luther King's dream
We gave Martin Luther King, Jr., a holiday and put his dream on the shelf. That often happens when those who led from the margins are officially recognized. Because of the role he played in […]