cartoon: 2 rooms

nakedpastor May 4th, 2010

This cartoon was provoked by something I saw on Facebook yesterday. Someone was thanking God for healing someone. They said something like, “God is awesome! We serve a God who always answers prayer!” Or something like that. I immediately thought of all the people who simply couldn’t say that. At least not now. This picture popped into my mind of the two realities that can be experienced in adjacent hospital rooms: one has just lost someone and is in complete anguish; the other has regained … (Read More)

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Anger, Ashes & Compassion

Susan Isaacs March 9th, 2010

One March afternoon in my first year of college, I stopped at the school's theater box office to buy tickets to some nihilistic bucket-o-blood experimental theater production. I had to see it for class credit. I noticed the woman behind the glass had a black smear on her forehead. Maybe she had to do scene painting for class credit? So I kindly informed her of the schmutz.

"It's Ash Wednesday," she glared.

"Oh, yes of course!" I apologized. I may have added that I w … (Read More)

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Haitian voices: God and the quake

Terry Mattingly January 27th, 2010

So far, nothing I have seen coming out of Haiti has changed my mind about how journalists should approach the basic “theodicy” story.

I’ve said it several times already (click here and then here), I am really not that interested in what American religious broadcasters or even articulate American academics have to say about the role that God or the spirits did or didn’t play in causing the hellish earthquake that rocked Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area.

What matters to me are the v … (Read More)

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Pondering Perplexing Prayer & People Problems - Woodley & Godwin on SBE

Erik Guzman August 21st, 2009

Steve often says that pagans don't pray because they're afraid God might be there, and Christians don't pray because they're afraid he might not be.

When it feels like God's ignoring you, or worse, messing with you, it can put a strain on the relationship. Join us on this week's Steve Brown Etc. as we talk with Matt Woodley about practicing the absence of God.

(If you're on the front page of the site, click "Read More" to see audio player options.) … (Read More)

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Sometimes, I don’t like any of the answers.

Michael Spencer July 28th, 2009

Sometimes, I don't like any of the answers.

Let’s take the problem of suffering. My friend Glenda recently had a serious bleed-out in her brain. It looked for a while like she wasn’t going to make it. After a coma, two surgeries and some miraculous responses to treatment, she’s at a rehab center dealing with a relatively small amount of residual consequences.

This weekend at church, we were rejoicing in Glenda’s recovery. One person kept saying “Thank God for intervening.”

God i … (Read More)

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Dancing with Democrats - Dr. Joel Hunter on SBE

Erik Guzman January 16th, 2009

Join conservative spokesman, Dr. Joel Hunter, on this edition of SBE as we discuss the controversy surrounding his association with President-elect Obama, Rick Warren's involvement in the inauguration, pro-life Democrats, Obama's Christian faith and more.

(If you're on the front page of the site, click "Read More" to see audio player options.)

Dr. Hunter is a registered Republican, he says he's not part of the religious left and he delivered the closing prayer at t … (Read More)

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