John Tierney blogs about free will in the Science section of Monday’s New York Times. He’s coming from a non-religious scientific point of view, but here’s the takeaway: … [people] pragmatically intuit that regardless of whether free will exists, our society depends on everyone’s believing it does. The benefits of this belief have been demonstrated … Continue reading »
No Podcast for 3/20
“Ah, snap!” Something went wrong with the recorder so there won’t be a podcast this week. That’s a bummer: I thought it was pretty good. But there’s always next week!
Shortest Meeting
The bank needed to have minutes showing who was authorized to write checks on the Deacons’ bank account, so we had to have a special meeting of Session today. That’s exactly 1/100th of a second less than a minute. We opened with prayer, then the authorization was moved, seconded, and carried, as was a proposal … Continue reading »
The Catholic Church (Part 1)
I’ve mentioned that “Orthodox” is a word I’d like us Mainline Protestants to reclaim. Another word like that is “Catholic.” The word “catholic” means “universal” or “entire.” It comes from a Greek word that means “according to the whole.” Unlike “orthodox,” this word actually appears in Scripture, where members of the high priest’s party examine … Continue reading »
Straight Teaching
Imagine an argument where one parent said, “I love our baby,” and the other parent didn’t reply, “Well, so do I!” Even in an amicable separation, that would raise some eyebrows. For the same reason, there are three words I’d like mainline protestant Christians to reclaim. They each represent something too important to walk away … Continue reading »
Words Worth Holding Onto
When my children were younger, their kindergarten teacher taught them this saying: “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can also hurt me.” That’s not the version I learned when I was a kid: back then we were taught that words could never hurt us. I’m of two minds about changing that saying. … Continue reading »
More smaller churches – but not in a good way
There’s nothing to rejoice over in this report from the PC(USA)’s Research Services unit. Since reunification, the denomination has lost an average of 40,541 members a year (net) and we’re down about a third, from about three million down to a hair over two. The headline (“Fewer members = smaller congregations”) says what might be … Continue reading »
How to Boost Your Memory
This is interesting: aging adults can boost their memory just by taking a walk. “With a limited investment of time and effort you can produce fairly dramatic improvements in memory and brain health,” senior researcher Arthur Kramer, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told LiveScience. “You can roll back the clock about two years.” … Continue reading »
Groundhog Day, Again?
So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. —Psalm 90:12 (KJV) It’s the time of year when I watch Groundhog Day. (Actually, it’s one of my favorite movies and I watch it several times a year, but I’m always reminded to see it again when February rolls around.) … Continue reading »
Rules
Most people think Christianity is all about rules: quit doing that and start doing this other thing. When I meet people who believe that, I tell them, as gently as I can, that they have been misinformed. It’s not always easy, because often the people who told them so were Christians! But this misconception isn’t … Continue reading »