In my previous blog, I wrote about Christ Against Culture which rejects the secular culture. This radical type of Christianity can be found within monastic communities and in such notable persons as Leo Tolstoy. H. Richard Niebuhr (1894–1962) wrote Christ and Culture (HarperOne, New York, NY, 2001) …
Christ Against Culture
Richard Niebuhr (1894–1962) wrote Christ and Culture (HarperOne, New York, NY, 2001) in 1951 after giving a series of 1949 lectures at my alma mater, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. In my last blog, I gave an introduction to Christ and Culture which Niebuhr describes as “the enduring …
Christ and Culture (Introduction)
I encountered culture the hard way — through experience. I flew to my new assignment in London and started work the next day. During one of my first trading meetings, I did not understand something and exclaimed, “Excuse me?” The conversation stopped and everyone looked at me. I had no idea what was …
The Childhood of Christ
During my first semester of seminary, I took a foundational course titled An Introduction to the Old Testament. Our final was a ten-page paper on a piece of art (painting, sculpture, poetry, or music) based on the Old Testament. The professor instructed students to follow his detailed outline and …
Unlike my children, I remember a time without email or any form of instantaneous written communication. I grew up looking forward to the daily postal mail delivery or what now is now known as ‘snail mail.’ Birthday cards and written letters were a joy to receive. I would collect cereal box tops and …
The Will of God
Last week during my weekly Emmaus gathering, one of the men asked, “How do we know the will of God? Does God have a plan for me?” These questions started a discussion that reflected many theological views. One of the men believed that his life was planned by God, although God’s plan was more in …
Mentors
I graduated from Colorado School of Mines (CSM), a state university, which currently educates about 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students per year. When I attended CSM during the late 1970s, it was half its current size. The only degrees offered were in mineral engineering and basic sciences …
“What Do You Do?”
Before the pandemic, I was invited to a two-day energy conference at the University of Texas. Various experts in energy spoke to a large audience of energy professionals. I was retired and enjoyed getting reacquainted with energy supply/demand projections, technological advancements, and …
It’s a Wonderful Life
My favorite Christmas movie is It’s a Wonderful Life which was released in 1946 to a war-weary nation and is considered one of the finest films ever produced. I first saw it during the Christmas holidays when I had small children and continued to watch it through the years during the Christmas …
Employment (Part II)
In my last blog, I described a recent drive through America’s heartland to visit relatives. “Along the way, we started to notice that many interstate fast-food restaurants were closed except for drive-thru service. We initially reasoned that local governments still imposed indoor Covid restrictions. …