LP's LampPost

I am reading a pretty fascinating book.  10 Books That Screwed Up the World and 5 others That Didn't Help by Benjamin Wiker takes Professor Wikers own list of the world's (or, at least, Western Culture's) 10 worst books and summarizes them to show their detrimental effect on society.  A common thread of the offending books is that they present a vision of utopia and, in more or less detail, a plan for how to bring about this utopian vision.  Even casual students of modern history will recognize the names Hitler and Lenin who both make the list.  Professor Wiker presents an interesting case for how these universally reviled figures, among others, stand in the flow of a philosophy developed by others rather than as unique, evil figures who somehow made themselves.  The thing that struck me today, however, was how we relatively mild-mannered contemporary westerners tend toward the same method for bringing about our own happiness. The common element of the method of achievin

People all over the world, throughout history, and from many faith backgrounds have acknowledged the genius of the man Jesus.  For the record, I believe Jesus to be more than a man; He is the God-man, the unique Son of God, and the only hope for people to find peace with the one, true God.  My point however, does not depend on you believing the same as I do.  In my experience, Jesus' practical wisdom is displayed, perhaps better than anywhere else, in His teaching on handling conflict.  Jesus' teaching goes to both the offender and the offended.  Jesus instructs the offender to go to the offended as soon as possible to make it right (Matt 5:23-24).  Don't wait till someone tells you that you have hurt their feelings.  Go when you have even a suspicion of trouble brewing.  It is far better to show concern over your relationship with a friend when it is unnecessary than to ignore a situation that needs attention.  Jesus also gives a simple process to follow when we are of

     LampPost is a title I have used a few times in other places but it is more than just an opportunity to use my initials in the title!  I am a big fan of C.S. Lewis and, like lots of others, my introduction to him was through "The Chronicles of Narnia."  In "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" the lamp post is a marker between two worlds, Narnia and England.  It one of the first things the Pevensie children see on entering Narnia and the marker of their return to their world.  Similarly, I would love the things I write, indeed my life, to be a marker for people in this world to see that there is another, grander world waiting to be explored.  I heard recently by way of a sermon on the radio that the Celts would refer to certain days as "thin places."  That is, times when the divider between the physical world and the spiritual world was thin.  Halloween was such a day.  The pastor (who I wish I could credit but have now forgotten) made the point that

I have finally thrown myself over the edge on blogging.  I was encouraged by a friend, Jerry Gamblin, so some blame should reside with him! There seems to be a war on the word "religion" these days. Let me say first that I agree with the concept of what most are saying about the difference between religion and relationship with Jesus.  I just think that there is a false dichotomy being set up.  Mostly, it seems to me a matter of order. If we try to use religious practice to gain God's approval without meeting Jesus, then all the negative comments about religion are right on. However, meeting Jesus will cause us to be religious people. The big theological word is sanctification.  This is the process of God making us more and more like Him.  It happens between when we first accept Christ and when we meet Him face-to-face in Heaven.  James 1:26-27 give the contrast between false and true religion. Being simply religious, without a relationship with Jesus, will r