One of my favorite comedians is Steven Wright. He is the thinking man’s stand-up comedian. Here is one of his classics. “I’m addicted to placebos. I’d give them up…but it wouldn’t make any difference.” Think about it. Dictionary.com defines a placebo drug as a substance having no pharmacological effect but given merely to satisfy a patient who supposes it to be a medicine. Some would suggest that all religion is a placebo. Friedrich Nietzsche said that “Faith means not wanting to know what is true.” I realize there are many people of faith who fit into that category. I can speak only for the Christian faith and myself. I have spent many years seeking what is true. I have tried to the best of my ability to be honest. I have read the arguments of thinkers on all sides. I have studied the life of Jesus. I have researched other religious figures. Why would I not want to know what is true? Why should I waste my time, money, and questionable talent on a faith that is false? The men
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Today I accomplished one of my least favorite tasks of the year. Taking down the Christmas decorations always makes me a bit melancholy. One of our Christmas staples is a yard display that spells out “Joy”. The sign is simple yet the nativity scene incorporated into the letters clearly communicates our feelings about what this holiday represents. As I took down the display I thought about the reason I love this decoration so much. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great JOY to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!  (Luke 2, NLT) That is where I place my joy as I head into a unstable New Year. I find my joy in the Messiah, the Lord – who was born in
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I am taking a respite from the humble ramblings for the rest of this year. Some accused me of already mailing it in by recycling some previous Christmas articles. However, I had to point out to those accusers that these are holiday classics! How does a blog become a holiday classic? It is easy. Start your own site, pay the server fee and you can call your posts whatever you want. Plus recycling those posts kept me from having to purchase carbon offsets to reduce my blogosphere carbon footprint. To be safe, I did plant a Chia pet. To placate my sometimes needy tens of readers I have compiled a Baker’s Dozen of the most read articles of 2008. There is a snippet from each article and we begin with number thirteen. 13) Everybody Want To Go To Heaven? A tune by Kenny Chesney is chock full of catchy rhythms and bad theology. The song is called Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven but the underlying theme is that nobody wants to go
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I am a little too old and lot too cynical to be swept away by the latest fad in Christendom. I have sat on the sidelines while Jabez prayed, millions were purpose driven and others found their best life. I guess I was just left behind. Others were incredibly excited by one or all of these phenomenons. So I was more than a little surprised to find that God has rocked my world through a ministry I knew little about. Their books and materials have not become an entire section at your local Christian superstore. And that is a shame. Because they have a message that needs to be heard by most of us. The organization is called Leadership Catalyst and they have an incredible book called TrueFaced.  I don’t think I have ever had a book (not included in the original 66) impact me as much as this one. Here is how strongly I feel about this book and
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I keep having a recurring dream about the Congressional hearings with the Big 3 Automakers. I know. I need a hobby. But I imagine that the CEO of General Motors is addressing the Congressional panel. GM Dude: “So that is how much money we have to get right away.” Congressman: (HUGE Sigh)   “I’m not sure we can do that deal.”   (Looks up and rubs chin)   “Let me go talk to my General Manager and see if he will go for this.”   (Gets up and leaves the CEO shifting awkwardly) Wouldn’t that be a moment of healing for all of us who sat in the chair while a car salesman went to “talk” to some wizard behind the curtain? I suspect my little dream will not come true. But I have been having another dream that has a little better chance to happen. A dream that we would learn to trust God as we face difficult times. This is
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This series was well received last year. You may view this as a repeat. I prefer to think of it as re-gifting. Blessings and Merry Christmas!    Dave We are fast approaching the hardest day of the year for most men. Many of us men give gifts to our significant others with fear and trembling. Humor writer Dave Barry relates the confusion most men deal with when giving a gift to their wife. He could tell by her reaction to the gift that she had not been dreaming of getting an auto emergency kit, even though it was the deluxe model with booster cables and an air compressor. Clearly, this violated an important rule, but the man had idea what the rule was, and his wife was too upset to tell him. Barry continues his thoughtful treatise… So why is the Christmas season so difficult for men? There are many complex reasons, by which I mean: women. The problem goes back to the very first Christmas. We
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There has been a politically correct Christmas greeting that has circulated the internet for the past couple of years. Best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most joyous traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, but with respect for the religious persuasion of others who choose to practice their own religion as well as those who choose not to practice a religion at all. Perhaps that should be adopted as official “safe“ greeting for all people who are spinally challenged. This year’s big Christmas controversy has been the suddenly in your face anti-religion tactics launched by some atheists. I wrote about what I considered to be a mildly amusing advertising campaign by atheists in Washington D.C. But some people in Washington state have taken a rather ugly turn in their attempt to have a voice during the Christmas season. A group called Freedom From Religion placed this sign near a nativity scene
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