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Hear the Gospel

Recently, I came upon a blog post by Scot McKnight at Christianity Today. The piece is titled: When the Bible Ain’t Pretty.  I was excited because the post pretty perfectly illustrates why I think Lay Readers should put meaning aside when they read scripture aloud. Sounds strange. But it’s true. First, it’s always great when…

WHAT? I was a little shocked when I re-read the Gospels for the first time as an adult. Wait a minute…really? Do we believe that really happened? Miracles seem natural to children. The miraculous is everywhere. Picture books have miraculous endings. Myths have heroes undertaking heroic adventure. Miraculous beasts bring fantasy to life. Miraculous inventions…

     The Pew Research Center recently published an updated report, In US, Decline of Christianity Continues at a Rapid Pace. This annual report tracks the continuing decline in religious affiliation and church membership in the US. The fasted growing group in the US is now “none” when it comes to religion. Christians in particular are…

     Church attendance in the U.S. is declining. Fewer people identify as religious and fewer of those who still do attend church. Don’t take my word for it. See this poll from Gallup.  This shift is also clearly generational. The universal panacea for generational disaffection and engagement today? More Tech! So, we are overwhelmed with…

A headline in the Christian Science Monitor caught my attention: More public schools are embracing the Bible. Is it literature, or religion?  The article is by Chelsea Sheasley and Patrik Jonsson. Good. IMHO, study of the Bible should be included as an elective in public schools.  I think the study of the Koran and the…

      A recent article in The Paris Review caught my attention. Cody Delistraty describes his visit to a convent/museum on the Piazza San Marco in Florence, Italy that houses a collection of Fra Angelico frescos: Fra Angelico’s Divine Emotion These paintings, by the proto-Renaissance painter, Fra Angelico, adorn the rooms of what were once monastic…

You have to love this new article at Psychology Today, Empathy and Dream-Sharing: New Research Shows a Connection.  The author is Kelly Bulkeley. Dreams Dreams play an important role in the Bible.  Jacob’s ladder may be the most familiar. The interpretation of the dreams of Pharaoh by Moses may be the most dramatic. The flight…

Irina Dumitrescu has published a captivating article at Longreads.com, entitled Reading Lessons. It is a bit of a long read, but well worth it. She offers a lyrical meditation on deep reading and the way in which her experience of, and appreciation for, reading has evolved over time. I like the article because she touches on…

Recently, I came across an interesting article at the UK publication,  The Week.  The article is part of its 52 Ideas that Changed the World series.  #3 on the list is Christianity. 52 ideas that changed the world – 3. Christianity The article is simple. It’s the kind of article on Christianity you might have found…

Attempting to read scripture aloud for meaning can be frustrating and even futile for the Lay Reader.  A recent article in by John Barton in TIME, Judaism and Christianity Both Rely on the Hebrew Bible. Why Do They Interpret It So Differently? , offers perfect examples as to why this is true. Different Interpretations According…
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