To make Comments write directly to Jim at jimt@quixotic.ca
18
Oct
2022
unday October 9, 2022
Could Jesus have been wrong? This is not a hypothetical question. It bears strongly on how we can – or should, or might – respond to a variety of current controversies.
Could Jesus be wrong? The mind boggles. Christian faith worldwide is founded on the conviction that Jesus must have been right, regardless.
Now, there are certainly things that Jesus said and did that stretch our credulity. Walking on water, for example. I’ve tried it. It doesn’t work. But we rationalize away that experimental failure, by arguing either that it’s a skill limited to the divine, or that it proves our lack of faith.
But then there are those troublesome parables.
Categories: Sharp Edges
Tags: Trump, Jesus, parables, wrong
1
Aug
2018
Every Christian church I know reads a text from the Bible, every Sunday. Yes, even the radically and sometimes profanely feminist/LGBT Church of the Apostles in Seattle -- and then rips the Bible’s patriarchy apart.
But maybe we should be looking at other sources of wisdom. Like Dr. Seuss, for example.
Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, never claimed any divine inspiration for his writing. But The Grinch offers more inspiration about Christmas than many sermons. Horton Hears a Who takes the side of overlooked people. Green Eggs and Ham illustrates conversion, a change of heart.
Most of Seuss’s books, in fact, are parables. They tell a story, but inside that story is a greater story, and inside that -- if you’re willing to dig for it -- a profound message.
Categories: Soft Edges
Tags: parables, Dr. Seuss, Grinch, Lorax, Horton, Green Eggs
16
May
I was driving north, up the main highway. As I came down the hill into town, traffic slowed to a standstill. The truck ahead of me turned on its four-way flashers.
Something was happening, but I couldn’t see what.
I peered through the gap between the vehicles ahead of me.
And I saw a woman, walking backwards across the four lanes of traffic, beckoning to something or someone with her hands, encouraging them to come on.
Then I saw what she was encouraging. A pair of geese. Canada geese. Big birds. When they spread their wings and hiss, they can be terrifying.
But these two waddled along following the woman. And right behind them came a pair of goslings, balls of fluff on toothpick legs.
And finally, behind them all, came a man pushing a bicycle, making sure no one got left behind. Or run over.
Tags: trust, Geese, parables