Category Archives: Culture
Volunteering at Hope Ministries
This past Saturday I had the opportunity to volunteer at Hope Ministries here in Des Moines. Hope is a parachurch organization that brings the gospel to the homeless and poverty-stricken in practical ways. They have a number of different ministries, including a homeless shelter for men, a year-long recovery program for alcoholics and drug addicts, [...]
The Sanctity of Marriage, pt. 2: Christian Marriage
A few months ago, Iowa conducted its first same-sex marriage in accordance with the recent court decision passed. When seeing people’s mixed reactions, the thought occurred to me that Christians are often quick to point out what marriage is not. But what is it? What does the Bible say about it?
Many people have written entire [...]
Kurt Vonnegut: Chaos to Order
I had no respect whatsoever for the creative works of either the painter or the novelist. I thought Karabekian with his meaningless pictures had entered into a conspiracy with millionaires to make poor people feel stupid. I thought Beatrice Keedsler had joined hands with other old-fashioned storytellers to make people believe that life had leading [...]
Green Theology
We must be careful not to let our convictions or our opinions affect our theology. By this I mean crossing the line between “Because I feel like it’s a good thing to do” and “Because God wants me to.”
Some have incorporated “greenness” and environmental consciousness into their beliefs about God. But these people invariably live [...]
George Sodini
Last Tuesday evening, a 48-year-old man named George Sodini walked into a fitness club in Pittsburgh and opened fire on an aerobics class, killing three women and injuring nine more before turning the gun on himself. He didn’t have any connection to any of the victims, but his motives were clear: Since November, he had [...]
One Man to Die for the People
Racism is alive and well in America. We know this because a high-profile black man was recently arrested in New England for breaking into his own home. He accused the police officer of racial profiling, and said he wouldn’t have been stopped if he was white. A college newspaper picked up the story the next [...]
Husband First, Father Second
When I was growing up, my dad told us repeatedly that he loved my brother and me very much, but that he loved my mom more. I appreciated this. It made me feel very secure: I knew he loved me, so how much more did he love my mom? I never once felt any concerns [...]
Endless Customizations
Wheat, white, rye, slice, bun, ciabatta, mustard, mayonnaise, peanut butter, turkey, eggs, roast beef, hamburger, prosciutto, sausage, lettuce, banana peppers, jalapeños, red bell peppers, red onions, yellow onions, provolone, Swiss, mozzarella, Cheddar, hot, cold, microwave, oven, toaster, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, paper plate, dinner plate, now, later, alone, with family, with friends, at the kitchen [...]
Electrical Storm
Note: I originally wrote this on February 27, 2007 but never posted it.
About a month ago, when I was still at Target, an older gentleman asked me if we carried any phones that don’t need electricity. “I just want a normal corded phone that plugs into the phone jack without any lights or answering machine [...]
The Sanctity of Marriage
Two weeks ago, Iowa made national news for being the third state in America to legalize same-sex marriage. My Facebook feed exploded as fellow Iowans, each representing a single color in a wide spectrum of opinions, praised or criticized the court ruling, and then praised and criticized each other’s praises and criticisms. Blogs ignited across [...]
