The Bible isn’t just a collection of biographical sketches of spiritual heroes. Some of the stories are in there to warn us about the consequences of persistent bad behavior. The narratives of people like King Saul, the prophet Jonah, the Apostle Peter, and most glaring of all, Judas the betrayer, all declare the message: “Don’t …
Jesus or Ayn Rand?
Twentieth century philosopher Ayn Rand wrote: “Every man—is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of …
Needed: A Denser Dose of Discernment (John 7:45-53)
I ran across a passage in John 7 that reminded me of current day propagandizing schemes designed by powerful people to hold on to their power. We’ve looked at how propagandists lie with impunity, question our intelligence, and speak to us with condescension and cursing. They traffic in conspiracies and wives tales––not to mention the …
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Oh To Be Philosophically Limber (John 7:45-53)
We’re talking about the incident in which the Jewish moralists sicked the temple guards on Jesus to bring him back to face trial. When they came back empty-handed, the things the leaders spoke to their minions was representative of propagandists protecting their privilege of all times (including ours!). I would have otherwise called these tactics …
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Propagandists and Play-Doh (John 7:45-53)
In my devotional reading of the story of the chief priests and the Pharisees sending temple guards to arrest Jesus I felt like I was reading today’s news. When the arresting officers came back empty handed the great spiritual experts (only in their own eyes) want to know why. I encourage you to read the …
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