Social Media and Intimacy

Talking with people face-to-face is a rarity today. As more of our friendships and relationships are maintained online, there are understandable questions about whether being "friends" means what it used to mean only a generation ago.

One of the interesting phenomenon that our culture became aware of quite quickly in social media was the apparent contradiction that a person with hundreds of "friends" online could feel extremely lonely. This has generally been explained by saying that our friendships on the internet are more superficial, or shallower, and that a person who only invests themselves in online friendships will miss the depth of those found in real life.

Offensive Grace

I had a chat with a colleague at work once about my faith. It was a good discussion, she was asking honest questions and I was trying to answer in kind, but by the end of the conversation she was confused and a little offended by the concept of grace.

Grace, as a word, is probably best known from the title and opening line of the hymn "Amazing Grace" which contains lyrics about joy and freedom. The definition of grace is to receive a good thing even though you do not deserve it. It is a free gift that has not been earned. So how does such a positive thing offend someone?

Games: Console vs. Cardboard

When I was growing up, I never had a console, but our family had a computer, and that was enough for me to spend many hours playing electronic games. Now that I'm an adult, I'm only mildly surprised that it is acceptable for adults to play video games, too. I have moved on from video games, but not from games in general; instead, I've become a player (and collector) of modern board games.

Christians Dating Non-Christians

The subject of Christians dating people who are not Christians is one to be careful with. It probably doesn't help that the subject only ever seems to be raised when someone is doing it and someone else wants to tell them why it is wrong.

Both sides of the argument about whether it is OK or not refer to a few bits in the Bible, sometimes the same ones! I am going to leave the task of interpreting scripture regarding this to minds smarter than my own. But I would like to describe 4 possible things that a person may consciously or unconsciously mean when they say "It's wrong for a Christian to date a non-Christian", and my thoughts on each motive or reason.

Bart Simpson vs. Christianity

Brother Faith: "When I was your age, I was a hellraiser, too.  My slingshot was my cross.  But I saw the light, and changed my wicked ways."
Bart: "I think I'll go for the life of sin, followed by a presto-change-o deathbed repentance."
Brother Faith: "Wow, that's a good angle... But that's not God's angle."
(Taken from http://www.snpp.com/episodes/BABF06)

The script above is taken from the episode "Faith Off" form the television series "The Simpsons". In the scene, Bart is talking with a Christian miracle healer called Brother Faith, and I think Bart poses an interesting challenge. Why not have fun as I wish for most of my life, and then ask for God's forgiveness at the last minute? When I watched this episode many years ago, I didn't know how to answer that question.

Knowing How the Story Ends

I think that it isn't such a bad thing to know how a story goes before you read or watch it.

This goes against one of the main methods Hollywood uses to keep making money, because one of the most common reasons people choose to watch a film is that they want to know the story. What happens? How does it end? This is particularly true of sequels where the audience has already been emotionally hooked to one or more characters.

How Supernatural Should Each Day Be?

As a Christian I am in a relationship with the God who created the universe. But something that Christians can't seem to agree on, and I am not sure about myself, is what this should look like on a daily basis.

Should a follower of Jesus be able to go for days at a time in quiet obedience with no supernatural events? Or should the nature of this relationship cause healing, prophecy and visions to frequently occur?

I do not want to be a miracle-chaser, someone who focuses more on the miracle than the Maker. But at the same time, I do not want to set my standards too low and miss out on the amazing things God might want to give me.

Discussion With A Seeker

The following is the outline of some major points covered in a discussion I have been having with a friend who is seeking to test the idea of Christianity. In some ways our minds work in a similar way, and so I was happy to spend time to think through any questions. The actual discussion happened across many hours on more than one day, but I remember the following 3 questions because in my opinion they were highlights or central points.

Christianity is just one religion out of many in the world, and there is so much within it to think about before I would feel I could commit myself to it.

There isn't enough time in anyone's life to sample or even evaluate every single human religion or faith. Even in Christianity, there is too much to assess within a single lifetime, evident by the fact that committed Christians never stop exploring and learning more about what they believe. Therefore it makes sense to direct your focus to a single question: Was Jesus really raised from the dead after His crucifixion?