We all want to change for the better, and who better to do that job than ourselves. But are we as adept at self-improvement as we think? Of course not. Our problem with changing ourselves is the problem of ourselves. Perhaps the solution is that we need to somehow change the part of us thatContinue reading “Dependence in Moral Tranformation”
Author Archives: Robbie
The Underwhelming Underworld
The ‘darkness within’ is a trope of popular movies and stories. There is a certain kind of relatability we have with the modern villains. But when it comes to the ‘underworld’ (that includes angels and demons, the devil, death and the spiritual realms), it’s out there in the darkness at the edge of society, certainlyContinue reading “The Underwhelming Underworld”
Bill Bryson’s “Body”, and God.
In Bill Bryson’s book “The Body”, you will find a truly remarkable account of the biological makeup of the human frame. There is a lot of detail about all its intricacies, as well as an account of the historic investigations that led to many of the discoveries in human biology. How Bill Bryson and hisContinue reading “Bill Bryson’s “Body”, and God.”
Death, Pass over.
Egypt, Judgement was coming. Justice was coming. Death was in the air. But where was mercy to be found when death abounds? Under the blood of a lamb. Blood, upon the door. It writes, this family belongs to the Lord. Death, pass over. But God’s people were slaves. Paying an endless debt to their spitefulContinue reading “Death, Pass over.”
Kintsugi, Idealism and Moderation.
Some months back I was walking with a mate and we mentally meandered across the topic of Kintsugi. It is the art of repairing pottery with gold joinery. Turns out that this topic is getting the spotlight in Christian circles as a bit of a metaphor. Instead of deeming something un-valuable and not worth fixingContinue reading “Kintsugi, Idealism and Moderation.”
The Mission of Marriage
Lately I’ve been writing about marriage. It just so happens I read a book on the topic, The Seven Principles That Make Marriage Work, by Gottman and Silver. Great book! We looked at a whole bunch of stuff in those posts about what the intersection between the bible and those principles were. But as IContinue reading “The Mission of Marriage”
The Seventh Principle, Shared Meaning – An Addendum?
Is it possible that a good marriage could be defined by a negative, the absence of conflict? The arcane, the esoteric knowledge behind a successful marriage, could it really be as simple as avoiding the higher levels of the decibel range? Not at all. In the book, The Seven Principles That Make Marriage Work, GottmanContinue reading “The Seventh Principle, Shared Meaning – An Addendum?”
Reading the Seven Principles – What you’re prepared for from the Bible
In our last post regarding the seven principles we considered some of the novel concepts that a Christian reader would encounter, that is to say, novel to Scripture. For example we considered the wisdom and recognition that Gottman and Silver had in identifying certain problematic patterns that persistently creep into marriages causing them to nosediveContinue reading “Reading the Seven Principles – What you’re prepared for from the Bible”
Reading the Seven Principles – What you won’t find in the Bible…
Plenty of people get married. And of that group of people a reasonable deal of them slowly trudge their way towards a bitter breakdown in relationship culminating in the tragic event of divorce. Plenty of books have looked at why this happens. But what about the ones who not only survive but thrive within theirContinue reading “Reading the Seven Principles – What you won’t find in the Bible…”
The Servant, Culture.
It seems to me that our time is steeped in a certain kind of self-awareness of culture. At least that is how I feel as I listen to the podcasts, peruse the articles and read the books. That’s beside the fact that there is this “culture war” thing happening at the moment as well. ButContinue reading “The Servant, Culture.”
Bigvai and Shiphrah 