Religion
What is spiritual success?
Becoming Jewish from the stronghold of Christianity requires a continual examination of thought and a questioning of beliefs. I don’t see this as bad, but I need to be careful about what beliefs I allow into the picture. In that context, I see the need to retract some of my statements about Judaism and even [...]
Becoming Jewish, Part 2 (The Ritual Of Righteous Living)
My anthropologist professor informed the class that every amassing ritual has a fail-break to stop it. Her example was the point in the wedding ceremony where the congregation is asked that if anyone knows of a reason why the couple shouldn’t wed to “Speak now or forever hold your peace.” Other times rituals fail because [...]
Becoming Jewish, Part 1 (Half Born)
The doctor hadn’t arrived and the contractions were getting more frequent. “Don’t push!” the nurse cried out, then flushed white and ran out of the room in a panic.
It was her first day in the maternity ward and knew only what she was trained for. Contractions were two minutes apart, lasting more than a minute [...]
Purim
My family attended their first Purim a couple of weeks ago. I’m still reflecting on it with a certain level of interest, clicking through articles on various blogs and Jewish websites.
The lowdown is that everything happens for a reason. If we choose not to risk ourselves for righteousness in whatever circumstance we’re placed into [...]
Mainstream Media
Interesting how recent bipartisan attention about the lap-dog behavior of the mainstream media has recently erupted. In high school of all places, one of my instructors, quoting someone I can’t remember, stated that in the near future more people will realize that true news isn’t from newspapers, television, radio, books or schoolrooms. Instead, newsworthy truths [...]
Superstition
I recently watched a show called “Trick or Treat”, hosted by Derren Brown. For those who don’t know who Derren Brown is, he’s the most famous psychology magician in the UK and arguably in the world (other than Benny Hinn). In the last episode of the second season he talks about superstition and it’s curious [...]
Lame
I used to lead worship for our church’s children regularly for about 8 years. During that time I found it necessary to ask kids if they knew what they were singing about.
I recall reading some humorous notes from school teachers where a class had been required to write out the pledge of allegiance (to the [...]
“Nothing Better to Do”
Several days ago my youngest daughter, three, started learning about Jesus’ crucifixion. We’ve spoken to her about it before, but this was the first time she actually understood it to some extent.
M to Mommy in an excited voice: “Is it true? Is Jesus Really Coming Back?”Mommy: “Yes. He’s coming back someday.”M: “Yay!” (Spins around [...]
