wonderful thoughts from the Pope, intellectually coherent and practically relevant and doable IMO
Weekly lessons in theology and public life • Since 2011
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Lesson 6: The David Story
Read MORE: Lesson 6: The David StoryI come away with a different impression of King David every time I read his story. I imagine that is because current events draw my attention to one of the many layers of historical interpretation we find in the Bible.…
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Lesson 5: The Moses Story – Part 2
Read MORE: Lesson 5: The Moses Story – Part 2The Moses story is not only that God frees the Israelites from slavery and genocide, but also that he creates a nation by giving them their own land and teachings about just ways to live in it. I was caught…
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Lesson 4: The Moses Story – Part 1
Read MORE: Lesson 4: The Moses Story – Part 1When I began looking at Bible stories to help us understand our present situation, I never expected how much they addressed our problem with immigration. Just about every ancient story faced the problem of living as aliens in a foreign…
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Lesson 3: The Joseph Story
Read MORE: Lesson 3: The Joseph StoryWe usually pass off the Joseph story as a clever children’s tale. In truth, as written in Genesis 37-50, it is a rather sophisticated attempt to understand God‘s participation in our world. We still ask the questions it addresses. It…
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Lesson 2: Creation 2 – What We Are To Do
Read MORE: Lesson 2: Creation 2 – What We Are To DoAnother feature of the Genesis and Johannine creation stories that is usually overlooked is the importance of words. God creates by speaking. The good order of creation has all living beings in conversation. The corruption of the order is illustrated…
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Lesson 1: Creation 1 — Who We Are
Read MORE: Lesson 1: Creation 1 — Who We AreThis new series will be based on fundamental Bible stories. In a time of severely divided Christianity, turning to the Bible helps us remember who we are, what we believe, and what we are to do. That’s especially important when…
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Lesson 9: Might Makes Right
Read MORE: Lesson 9: Might Makes RightDavid Brooks recently wrote, “Donald Trump believes in one thing. He believes might makes right.” That provides a good wrap-up for this series. I come away thinking most Americans seem to believe only one thing. Might makes right. Over 40…
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Lesson 8: Power Over Nature
Read MORE: Lesson 8: Power Over NaturePower is simply the ability to do something. I decided to examine it to better understand our society’s acceptance of an abusive form. Public figures profess absolute power, enabling them to do whatever they want, even to define what is…
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Lesson 7: Living under Oppressive Power
Read MORE: Lesson 7: Living under Oppressive PowerMost of the Bible is addressed to people who lived under bad government. With very few exceptions, the kings and emperors who had power used it to take advantage of them. In response, biblical ethics offered practical advice about coping…
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Lesson 6: Efficiency
Read MORE: Lesson 6: EfficiencyOne of the first things that MAGA did was establish a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). That sounds like a good thing. We want to use power with little or no waste. However, my ears go up whenever I hear…
Recent Comments
I absolutely love these ideas, especially paying attention to beauty and reducing your needs.
Fritz a wonderful lesson – and esp. reading has a flow I found encompassing. If only …….. yes we can…