Tag, you’re it

A couple’ of weeks ago, I was “tagged” by Cavman (see my blogroll) with these chain-mail questions. I promised to answer so am now.
1. What’s the most fun work you’ve ever done and why?
Forensic psychological examinations of potentially violent individuals. Why? Its fun to explore another person to see what makes them do the things [...]

Fighting anxiety on 3 fronts

Anxiety (panic, OCD, PTSD, Generalized, phobias, etc.) is a multidetermined event. Any attempt to simplify down to either physiology or spiritual will be problematic. It is always a bodily event (everything we do is mediated through the cells), and it is always a spiritual event (nothing we do is neutral, everything either glorifies God or [...]

Anxiety after successful ministry

Been musing this am on a couple of biblical passages where God’s children fell to anxiety and fear after wildly successful ministry. Consider Elijah’s experience on Mt. Carmel and then his running to the desert in fear of his life. Consider Peter’s proximity to a number of miracles only to fall back to fear and [...]

Science Monday: The physiology of fear

Am teaching on anxiety, panic, and OCD tonight. Definition of anxiety: Responding to ambiguous stimuli (life situations) by reading them in the worst possible light. The Scriptures teach us that fear and worry are not good things. Time and time again God tells his people not to be afraid. We see that God wants us [...]

Buzzword watch: Let’s have conversation

In every good movement and cultural shift, there are words that signal these changes. However, just as quickly, the word gets picked up and used so frequently that it begins to mean absolutely nothing.
“Conversation” has become a buzzword of this present cultural moment. I heard Hillary Clinton invite listeners to join the conversation in the [...]

No hope for reconciliation between Israel and Palestine

I apologize for the delay in posting on the next chapter of Volf’s End of Memory. I’ve put it down briefly and am doing quick reads on two other books on the topic of division between people groups (Israel/Palestine; American Blacks/Whites). Volf has been exploring the matter of dealing with painful memories of past abuse. [...]

Do you qualify as an evangelical?

Barna research group sends me teasers of their latest research. They recently did a survey to see who qualifies as an evangelical. According to their research, 38% of Americans (84 million) self-identify as evangelical Christians. However, this survey finds only 8% (17 million) actually meet their 9 point criteria of true evangelical faith, criteria apparently developed [...]

The Holy Spirit is better than Jesus in the flesh?

Which would be better: be present with the Lord or have the Holy Spirit without Jesus’ physical presence? On Sunday, my pastor preached from John 16 about the advantages of having the Spirit. Seems there is power in us through the Spirit that would not be with us if we only had Jesus in the [...]

Signs of stigma in the church?

Our church puts names of people needing prayer on the back of the bulletin at least once a month. There’s a section for those suffering chronic diseases which lists names and specific maladies. There’s a section for those who have family members who suffer illnesses; another section for those who recently lost a loved one; yet [...]

Science Monday: Freud thinks forgetting is healthy?

I’m stretching the science end of things here to include some historical data. In chapter 8, Volf looks at the works of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Freud on the topic of forgetting. The chapter is interesting but I’m going to skip blogging on Kierkegaard and Nietzsche and only make a small comment on Freud. Volf argues [...]