Like any good English major, I eagerly await new adaptations of Shakespeare, especially if they involve great actors and directors. The Tragedy of Macbeth, starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand in the title roles and directed by Joel Coen, certainly…
Why do we still wonder when violence happens?
Why do we wonder? That is an important question for God-folk like us. It is probably a question we ask regularly, or at least one we should ask frequently. After our first reactions of lament, anger and frustration at the…
Why do we obsess over single tragic events and ignore the greater peril?
Since the moment the 12-story Champlain Towers condominiums partially collapsed June 24 in Surfside, Fla., the tragedy has topped the news — hourly, daily, exhaustively. News outlets nationwide have breathlessly reported every updated body count, every revised tally of the…
Thanking God ‘for all things’ or ‘in all things’?
Personal tragedy can make the Thanksgiving season very difficult. We need only remember Job to acknowledge that. After a series of events that included the deaths of all his children, his beloved servants, his contracting a painful illness, the inadequacy…
There is no them, only us
As a pastor, even in the free-church, priesthood of believers, Baptist tradition, I feel a need to respond and minister in a profound way when tragedy strikes. If I’m being honest, part of that tug comes from my understanding of…
On broken hearts and crazy love
There are never any words sufficient to address the senseless acts of violence that are happening too frequently in our world. Our instinct as human beings is to somehow try and make sense of it all, to find an explanation,…