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Continue reading →: What does “Lent” mean?Did you known the word “Lent” comes from the Old English “lencten” or “lengten”, which means “spring” and literally translates as “lengthening” (of hours of daylight). This in turn comes from the Proto-Germanic “langatīnaz” from langaz (“long”) + tīnaz (“day”). In the Southern Hemisphere, however, the first signs of spring…
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Continue reading →: Remembering MennoMenno Simons fascinates me. Born in 1496, he was a Catholic priest who eventually broke away from the Church and became a key leader in the Anabaptist movement. What I admire most about him is his unwavering commitment to peace. In a time marked by religious conflict and bloodshed, Menno…
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Continue reading →: Defining Peace“Many people would define peace as deliverance from one’s enemies. I believe Jesus would define peace as the transformation of enemies into friends.” – Unknown
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Continue reading →: Jesus as Dionysus and DemeterIn the Western imagination, YHWH and His Messiah are often likened to Zeus, the lord of the sky, and Apollo, his light-giving son—or should I say, sun? Yet, the scriptures consistently portray YHWH as the Lord of earth, sky, sea, and everything within them. Would it not be just as…
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Continue reading →: Is contemporary Christianity is way too anthropocentric?I have to say, I think contemporary Christianity is way too anthropocentric. Some expressions are very individualistic, focusing on the “personal relationship with Jesus” and not much else. Others are more communal, emphasizing the “Kingdom of God” in which, refreshingly, horizontal relationships are affirmed as well. But this still falls…
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Continue reading →: Can Evangelicals Learn from Occult Traditions?Several years ago, evangelical author Gerald McDermott wrote a superb book entitled, “Can Evangelicals Learn from World Religions?” The text explored the ways theologians of the likes of Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin had historically engaged with Pagan philosophers of the likes of Plato and Aristotle and asked what…
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Continue reading →: The Alchemy of Wisdom: Unearthing Treasures in Job’s InterludeI was thinking this interlude from Job sounds a bit alchemic 🙂 There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore. Mortals put an end to the darkness; they search out the farthest recesses…
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Continue reading →: The synoptic gospel relationships at a glanceHere’s a helpful diagram I came across that maps out the relationships between the synoptic gospels.
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Continue reading →: Christ as the Fulfillment of the Kabbalistic SearchI have been brushing up on Hebrew this summer and in the process I uncovered some interesting correspondences between the messianic prophecies of Isaiah 11:2 and the divine emanations of the Kabbalistic tree of life. In essence, the prophet foretold that the Spirit of Chokmah, Binah, Da’at and Gevurah would…
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Continue reading →: Understanding Zen RitualThe following excerpt is taken from “Zen Ritual: Studies of Zen Buddhist Theory in Practice” edited by Steven Heine and Dale S. Wright. It provides an informative counterbalance to the western perception that Zen is inherently anti-ritualistic. “That Zen life is overwhelmingly a life of ritual would not always have been…
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