Buried in the recesses of our soul is a quiet desperation for adventure, a hunger for more than our current experience. James Bond speaks to that “wild at heart” part of us and stirs and soothes those fantasies. Are those fantasies all bad? All things we need to eradicate or repress? Or are they mixed with the image-of-God stardust we … Read More
What I Learned about God from James Bond, 1 of 2
It may seem counterintuitive, I know, and they say “don’t miss the forest for the trees,” but I’d like you to look at a particular tree with me… in order to see the forest… with the end goal of better seeing the Maker of that forest. To be clearer, I’d like to start with a popular fantasy, a movie franchise … Read More
What I Learned About Marriage from Kay Hymowitz
Most Christians believe deeply in marriage and see it as the foundational institution of the human race (Gen. 2:18), but many have never thought about what it does for society. For me, the most insightful book I’ve read to date on this is Marriage and Caste in America by Kay S. Hymowitz. Hymowitz is an incisive American author and senior … Read More
Thinking About Fire
“All candles are lighted by his torch.” Thomas Manton “We didn’t start the fire It was always burning, since the world’s been turning We didn’t start the fire No, we didn’t light it, but we tried to fight it” Billy Joel “Each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can’t strike them all by … Read More
Nuclear Family, 2 of 2
What of Jamie Smith’s critique from Part 1 that many nuclear families are “closed, self-sufficient, autonomous” units with little concern for others, including a church or spiritual family? He’s right but the reasons for this are myriad and complex and certainly not an indictment of the traditional family itself. Further, being self-sufficient isn’t always bad. Paul tells us to “bear … Read More
Nuclear Family, 1 of 2
“If you want to summarize the changes in family structure over the past century, the truest thing to say is this: We’ve made life freer for individuals and more unstable for families… worse for children.” -David Brooks https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/03/the-nuclear-family-was-a-mistake/605536/ Although David Brooks and I don’t share the same view of God’s design for family or the superiority of the “chosen families” … Read More
Breaking Free of Rigid Family Stereotypes
I’ve written about this more extensively here but the cultural stereotypes of dad as breadwinner or provider and mom as nurturer (think Leave it to Beaver) go back to 1760 and the Industrial Revolution, not 1950. Further, these rigid stereotypes are cultural, not biblical. As we pointed out here, even in the ancient Near East, the Proverbs 31 woman worked … Read More
Properly Understanding Mal. 4:6, Part 2 of 2
Identifying “the Fathers” of Malachi 4:6: Parents, Biological Fathers, or Jewish Forefathers? As we mentioned in Part 1, this week we’re going to examine arguments for each of the above, make a case for the third, and conclude with some important applications. First, let’s mark out the possibilities: Parents: Less literal translations like the New Living Translation (NLT) are not … Read More
Properly Understanding Malachi 4:6, Part 1 of 2
It’s the mother of all fatherhood passages and in my eleven years working at National Fatherhood Initiative, it was the most oft-quoted verse by faith-based practitioners. Unfortunately, as often as it was quoted, it was just as often poorly understood and applied. And it still is. The common conception goes something like this: “400 years before Jesus came to this … Read More
Malachi’s Vision of “The Good Life”
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You … Read More