Benjamin Button – more about death than life

I took my wife to see the Curious Case of Benjamin Button on Christmas day. We both enjoyed it a great deal.
It’s a love story, and an adventure story. Someone compared it to Forest Gump, but it’s never as emotional as that masterpiece, nor as funny. But it’s got some humor, I’d give it it [...]

Not the last lecture

The world has lost Randy Pausch. Temporarily.

The Carnegie Mellon prof who gained acclaim and then wrote a best-selling book about dying of cancer has passed away in the last few hours. He was 47.
His story is particularly touching to me because he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at precisely the time [...]

Somewhere between nowhere and goodbye

I just finished a couple of major deadlines in my secular work and I celebrated by watching a movie in my hotel room. I’ve seen Million Dollar Baby before, but this movie is told so cinematically, so emotionally, that even when I know the plot ahead of time I find myself going through the same [...]

Q: What about Violence and Lust in the OT?

Eyoel writes:
But I really need your brotherly help this time…
This week, I’m going to debate a [person who does not accept Jesus as the Son but does believe other sacred texts which I do not believe are true]. I have seen [friends like him] pick the violent verses of the Old Testament (and Moses), and [...]

Q: Why was Jesus sent to Earth?

Hi, Brian and Kimberly,
My apologies for taking so long to answer you.
Jesus told us that God’s motivation is love, and that his goal is to bring life to whoever believes in Jesus. John 3:16
Of course, the mainstream traditional teaching is that most people self-select themselves out of that opportunity, by choosing to reject Jesus. My [...]

Happy Heretic, meet Happy God

I’m happy to rediscover Judith Hayes, the Happy Heretic. I’m a happy heretic myself, being convinced that most of Christianity is dead wrong about the end game God has planned. 
In her most recent post, Judith points her incisive wit at the 7 visions of Hell described in an article she reviews. All the views, though [...]

An Unfinished Life

Einar Gilkyson: You think the dead really care about our lives??
Mitch Bradley: Yeah, I think they do. I think they forgive us our sins. I even think it’s easy for them.
Einar Gilkyson: Griff said you had a dream about flying.
Mitch Bradley: Yeah. I got so high, Einar. I could see where the blue turns to [...]

Refreshing honesty

My apologies to anyone who may have missed me during thee last month.
But it’s a new year, and I’m kicking it off with a post spurred by a refreshing post I just found at Rondam Ramblings.
Ron Garrett points out that just the mathematics of the idea that unbelievers of this life will spend eternity [...]

From Chicago December 12

It’s been a few weeks since I posted.
Right now I’m on a train, after a day at a trade show in Chicago. Riding the Metra on the 2nd level, I can watch the city drain away, out my window. The snow has turned the yard into a simple striped space.
Today I attended a session on [...]

In his image

When a father begets a son, he sees his own image there. He sees the similarities, and yet the distinctive qualities. He sees the potential for unique and individual achievement, as well as the stamp of resemblance and inheritance.
I think that is what makes God happy as he contemplates his human and divine family. One [...]