Why is There Evil? Recently in Cincinnati where I live, a sweet, vibrant, smart 11-year-old girl full of life and potential and part of a large loving family was gunned down in a playground by a drive-by shooter. As our Bible study group joined with many others grieving, the question was raised, “Why? Why, Lord? I don’t get it. I don’t understand. How could anyone do such a thing?” We try to explain evil in terms of freewill. God created us with freewill. The person (still at-large as of this...

Lawrence R. Taylor, PhD     There is a crack in everything; that’s how the light gets in. —Leonard Cohen, “Anthem”     It is quite possible to live our lives sailing on the surface of the sea, unaware of the splendid, awe-inspiring, mysterious depths.   We enter the world laden with the blessings and baggage of family, clan, and culture. As we grow, we naturally take on the expectations of the people and institutions around us. We develop personae . We must.   Personae are masks we put on or...

There is always more to learn, more to discover. Each discovery opens up a thousand more yet to come. The more I know, the more I realize how much I do not know. God is infinite. God’s love is infinite. God’s heart is infinite. When I was a young pastor in rural Minnesota, an elderly congregant expressed his fear that heaven might be rather boring.  What are we going to do? Sit on a cloud playing a harp? Be locked in an eternal church service? Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335–394 CE) was an early...