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Atheism and the Unscratchable Itch

It is a fundamental datum of our experience that we all long for meaning; we long for a narrative in which to make sense of our lives, our passions, and our beliefs. But, if God doesn’t exist, the cold, hard truth is there is no meaning. We have a scratch, but no way to itch it.

Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, and our Longing for Wholeness

The classic book The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde does something to me. It scares me. It is a chilling, vivid picture of what happens when we allow our base appetites to overtake our rational and spirited faculties (as Plato would say). The story also awakens something: it awakens within me a desire for wholeness, a wholeness where all of my thinkings, willings, and emotions are fully integrated.

A Theology of Beauty

No doubt, there is much beauty in this world. Arguably, one can find beauty in many things—smiles, people, a sunset, the night sky, an act of service. And we are drawn to beauty—it moves us, it woos us, it pulls us in…but it doesn’t always leave us satisfied. We want MORE. And in our desperation, we sometimes latch onto ugly things and call them beautiful. And these things satisfy us even less and less…we long for it, we labor for it.

The Problem of the Divine Micromanager, Part 2 (sin, suffering, and freedom)

I’m still working my way through Hugh McCann’s book Creation and the Sovereignty of God. McCann is interested in developing an account of God as creator that respects his absolute sovereignty and overwhelming love of creation, while preserving the status of rational creatures as truly free and in command of their destinies.

The Problem of the Divine Micromanager

If the creative activity of God, as Hugh McCann suggests[1], is alone responsible for the existence of the world and its entire history, then God becomes the ultimate micromanager. No detail is too small that it is left to chance or delegated to any subordinate agency or intervening mechanism. God’s absolutely sovereign is preserved in such a picture, but one wonders, at what cost?

The Case for a Creator: Cosmological Arguments and Explanation

I am now reading Hugh McCann’s Creation and the Sovereignty of God.[1] He begins the book by making a case for a creator by advancing an inductive version of the cosmological argument.

The Supremacy of Christ in a Postsecular World

Over the last 50 years, with the rise of (what sociologists call) secularism—that is, an ideology promoted by devotees (secularists) who encourage free-thinking people everywhere to work for religion’s demise–it was predicted that belief in God would soon be a thing of the past.

The “Unforgivable Sin” and understanding the Bible

Recently, I was asked to preach on Matthew 12:30-32—the passage where Jesus talked about the “unforgivable sin” and “Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.” After my initial shock at being asked to preach on that passage, I realized that I had questions of my own about it. What is the deal with this passage? What is the unforgivable sin? And more to the point—have I committed it?

In Praise of Personal Retreats

I just returned home from a mini-personal retreat (36 hours) at the St. Francis Springs Retreat Center near Greensboro, North Carolina. I’m not one to typically “get away.” I’m a “do”er, not a “be”er, or so I say to myself. Add to this, the fact that we leave for a month of travel tomorrow—how can I possibly afford to get away for 2 days? How can I not?

Frankenstein and the Inescapability of the Creator-Creature Relation

In Mary Shelley’s masterpiece Frankenstein, we learn of a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, consumed with the desire to unlock the mystery of life. After many nights in his laboratory, he manages to bring a horrendous looking creature, put together from dead human parts, to life. Instead of exhilaration, Frankenstein is filled with horror.