Rob is desperately trying to help us get past the false dichotomy of head and heart. Did you know that the head is part of the body? Did you know that the heart is part of the body? It's rather difficult to think without the heart and to feel without the brain. There are some basic biological principles at work here that are hard to deny. Yet, we are quick to take up these dichotomies. Rob is trying to help ...

Will science someday rule out the possibility of God? That was the sensational title of a recent MSNBC article by Natalie Wolchover. Wolchover interviewed Sean Carroll, a theoretical cosmologist working at the California Institute of Technology. Carroll “says there’s good reason to think science will ultimately arrive at a complete understanding of the universe that leaves no grounds for God whatsoever.” “N ...

Best-selling author, activist and public theologian Brian McLaren has never been afraid to ask Christians difficult questions, and his latest one gets to the heart of Christian identity in a divided world: How should followers of Christ treat members of other religions? That’s the subject of his new book, Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Muhammad Cross the Road?: Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith Wor ...

Sometimes you discover God in the most unlikely places. This belief was confirmed as I listened to an episode of NPR’s program “All Things Considered.” The particular episode was called “From Minister To Atheist: A Story Of Losing Faith.”  NPR’s Barbara Hagerty interviewed Teresa MacBain, and, as you can guess from the title of the episode, MacBain is a former minister who became an atheist. It brings up an ...

Adam discusses the question: Is the Higgs boson the God particle? Adam did pass his high school science classes - barely. He is clearly no scientist so any mistakes he made in this video should not be held against him. For more on the Higgs boson, see the essay in the Economist here: http://www.economist.com/node/21558254 and the New York Times interview of Christopher Buckley here: http://www.nytimes.com/2 ...

By disease standards, ‘Bieber fever’ is approaching a global pandemic with the release of the 18-year-old pop stars latest album, “Believe,” last week. -Melinda Beck, The Wall Street Journal, “Inside the Brains of Bieber Fans.” Justin has a message beyond what many critics quickly dismiss as ‘puppy love.’ But it is about love—God’s love for everyone. And his fans are listening. -Cathleen Falsani, Belieber, ...

Have you heard of flash mobs? It’s when a few people agree to meet somewhere and start singing a familiar song hoping that others will join in, and mostly they do. Strangers share a moment together and then go their separate ways. I’ve never experienced a flash mob, but this weekend at the Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago, after a performance of Eastland: A New Musical I experienced something I’ll call a “fl ...

This is a spiritual war. - Rick Santorum It’s Lent. For Christians, Lent is a time for spiritual warfare. Yup. I’m in a war. How do you wage spiritual warfare? Christians have two models for spiritual warfare: Jesus and Satan. Presidential candidate Rick Santorum warned us about one of those models in 2008 at a speech he made at Ave Maria University. The speech resurfaced this week on the Internet. Here are ...

I plan to preach this morning, but, and this sounds a little awkward, I plan to preach to the confirmation class.  So, I’m inviting the rest of us to listen in.  It might have something for you, but this sermon is primarily for the confirmation class. Emma, Daniel, Erik, Madison, Christian, Amanda, Madeleine, and Sam, it has been a great pleasure for me to have been through this confirmation process with yo ...

Parenting is kind of like blogging.  You never know if you are doing it right. You try.  And you learn.  And you try again. We had an wonderful Easter at the Ericksen household.  We went to church.  (Wisdom says a youth pastor shouldn’t play hookie on Easter.)  We all got dressed up.  My Wife and I figure we have a few years of dressing our Boys this way.  Soon, they will refuse to dress up as “twins” as th ...