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Why Are You Afraid?

25 He spoke, and the winds rose,    stirring up the waves.26 Their ships were tossed to the heavens    and plunged again to the depths;    the sailors cringed in terror.27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards    and were at their wits’ end.28 “Lord, help!” they cried in…

A Wonderful Movie that Misses the Point

Frank Capra’s classic film It’s a Wonderful Life is an American Christmas icon.  For many, including me, December isn’t complete without watching it at least once.  I was around ten years old the first time I saw it and I was captivated.  I wanted to be a part of it.  I wanted to live in Bedford Falls, eat ice cream at Mr. Gower’s drug store, go to the dance at the high…

What’s God Got to Do with It?

As I write, Hurricane Irma is battering Florida.  Just a few days ago we watched Hurricane Harvey flood Houston.  Barely noticed in American news, devastating floods have killed over a thousand people in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.  A few days ago, an 8.2 magnitude earthquake devastated southern Mexico, killing dozens.  When human suffering comes suddenly and on such…

What on Earth Is an Evangelical?

In the classic Rob Reiner film The Princess Bride there is a funny exchange between the pint-sized blowhard Vizzini (Wallace Shawn) and the brave hearted Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin).  Vizzini has just cut the rope that Dread Pirate Roberts was using to climb a cliff.  When Roberts keeps climbing, Vizzini shouts, “He didn’t fall?  Inconceivable!”  To…