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Category Archives: Culture
Moths and a Curious Gift
A full bladder when one is camping in a tent a long walk from the bathroom is never welcome. It meant a roll and wallow to get out of the sleeping bag and slip on sandals and then a hunt … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Fathers and Sons
Tagged Curiousity, knowledge for the sake of knowledge, moths
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Let the Circle Remain Unbroken
My church sat us in rows staring at a platform with a pulpit, but in 1970 I found myself in a circle in the back room of a Jesus freak coffeehouse on Sherman Avenue in North Bend, Oregon. We tore … Continue reading
Tense Shift
Tense shift is an error I often mark in student papers. In church yesterday it occurred to me that it is also an error we make in our walk with God. In a paper, tense shift happens when a student … Continue reading
Vampires and Running Water
In Bram Stoker’s Dracula one of the Count’s limitations is an inability to cross running water. I find this comforting and instructive. Comforting because I live on the coast of Oregon where water is running everywhere. Three forks of the … Continue reading
In Memory of Beatrice Wilson
What words can capture Mom’s life? I need orchestras and choirs, the roar of the ocean and the sound of her lone violin in a country church. But here are my words—my loaves and fishes broken, and I hope, blessed. … Continue reading
I Feel That
“No one cares about your feelings,” I cruelly tell my writing students. I am always on a holy war against the expression, “I feel that . . .” in persuasive essays. I was therefore delighted this morning to read Proverbs … Continue reading
Chasing God Part Two: Living in Nazareth
Spiritually and intellectually I am a life-long citizen of Nazareth, but I desperately want out. Nazareth is, of course, the place Jesus grew up. They all knew him and his family. During his ministry Jesus made a stop in his … Continue reading
Chasing God (Part One)
I dislike public confession and repentance. Whenever people draw attention to their repentance, it’s like saying, “Hey, look at how humble I am!” Crazy, right? But I think my repentance of this particular arrogance and error may be instructive. And … Continue reading
Trump, Gilgamesh, and the Prophetic
Gilgamesh was a bully. Although the hero of the great Babylonian epic, he was badly behaved. His story opens with an account of picking fights with the young men of Uruk and bedding every young woman in town. In answer … Continue reading
Ordinary Virtues in Ordinary Places
Many have written eloquently about how Tolkien celebrates the triumph of ordinary virtues over extraordinary evil. Indeed, this explains why hobbits are at the center of his tales. Their loyalty, perseverance, pity, sense of duty and humble tastes are what … Continue reading