The great promise of Christianity is that a fundamental change has come into the world. The “normal” ways of the world, whether conceived of as sin or fate or the writing of the stars or the law of karma, have been overturned. We can now opt out of the power of these forces and be … Continue reading A Spirit of Freedom (A Reflection for Pentecost 2019)
As long-time readers will know, one of my favorite lines in all of literature comes from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago: “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either — but right through every human heart — and through all human hearts.” It is a … Continue reading Hearts of Flesh (A Reflection on Ezekiel 11.14-25)
Eight years ago, I was facing the seemingly impossible task of rebuilding my life. I really didn’t know where to start, but I decided to throw my curiosity wide open and read about anything and everything that struck my fancy. The idea was just to throw everything against the wall and see what, if anything, … Continue reading Love of Learning
I was once walking in the coastal rainforests of British Columbia with a friend, when he suddenly stopped, looked up, and said “God lives here.” Now my friend didn’t actually think that he had stumbled across the dwelling-place of the Almighty; nor did he mean it in an animistic, ‘tree spirits, gods of the forest’ … Continue reading Spirituality
In the climactic scene of the book of Exodus, Moses meets God and demands to know God’s name. God answers with the name “YHWH.” The name is a mystery, and not just because its vowels have been lost to history. It’s a mystery because it’s really no name at all. It means something like “I … Continue reading Own it
Matthew Root 