Posts Tagged ‘hope’

The theme of hope has been in the news recently.  In an interview outgoing First Lady Michelle Obama, lamenting what in her view is the loss of hope, said, “Hope is necessary.  It’s a necessary concept.”  Incoming President Donald Trump responded, “I’m telling you, we have tremendous hope.  And we have a tremendous promise and tremendous potential.”

Although both political figures rightly emphasize the importance of hope, they are terribly misguided about its nature.  The Christmas story in the Gospels reveals the true nature of hope and its power. Read the rest of this entry »

The ancient Greeks tragedies saw all of man’s efforts overruled by cruel and blind fate.  Karl Marx said man was subject to economic determinism.  B.F. Skinner contended that human behavior was determined by genetics and environment.  For atheistic existentialists, like Sartre, the human condition is to be trapped in a meaningless universe from which there is no escape.   Both fairy tales and the Bible disagree. Read the rest of this entry »

            The interpretation of the 1961 movie, Splendor in the Grass, as an outright condemnation of the repressive sexual mores of 1920’s small-town America is simplistic.  The film presents a nuanced view of sexual passion as a force that cannot be healthily denied, but that also is so powerful that it can be destructive (Spoiler alerts).   Read the rest of this entry »

           Last weekend I saw Peter Jackson’s version of The Hobbit.  I was entertained but disappointed. Read the rest of this entry »

            Psalm 1:3 declares that the righteous who meditate on God’s word prosper in all that they do, whereas the wicked are blown away like chaff.  This sounds wonderful, but reality often contradicts it.  The wicked prosper and the righteous suffer.  Does Psalm 1 mislead us?  Is God’s word false? Read the rest of this entry »