Posts Tagged “Divine Command Theory”
Gabriel the red-nosed angel
Christmas is round the corner, and you’ve probably heard someone saying “Jesus is the reason for the season”. But you might never have thought to wonder “Which department in Heaven is the most Christmassy?” Gabriel’s department, of course.
The binding of the winged monkeys: A horror story
The Wizard of Oz is a classic which has been endlessly updated and adapted. In my youth, I read it and enjoyed it, and I still have a soft spot for it (though I now prefer Gregory Maguire’s Wicked novels).
Leafing through the original recently, I found a very instructive horror story.
A tale of two lions
Has anyone ever told you they had a message from God for you? If so, have you ever felt worried that you might be attacked by a lion if you responded wrongly?
The Bible contains two such stories - fairly close together, actually. I think they’re interesting in themselves, but even more interesting when compared.
Remembering Uzzah
Have you heard the story of Uzzah? He was a follower of God who was struck down by God for daring to try and protect God’s special box. And today his story provides a troubling example of believers desperately trying to find someone, anyone to blame so they don’t have to blame God.
So I wanted to remember him - without excusing God.
Reclaiming the rainbow for humanity
In popular culture, the rainbow flag has come to symbolise the LGBT movement, and I’ve heard relatives complaining this interferes with the “real meaning” of the rainbow. Some conservative Christians have called it “cultural appropriation”, while others have tried to “reclaim” it. However, the rainbow has been used for many things over many years and belongs to all humans, not just to Christians.
How a dangerous pandemic works for (God's) good
In these difficult times, almost everything seems to about Covid-19. It is a pandemic that is already bad and looks like getting a lot worse.
However, many Christians feel almost contractually obliged to look for the good side of the pandemic, and this just ends up showing the bad side of their religion.
The greatest story and the greatest gift
Last week, I went along to a local church’s Christmas play. Usually, it’s just a bit of fun for the children. I expected to hear claims about the True Meaning of Christmas, and was not disappointed (my take).
However, this time the superlatives were out. The Christmas story was “The Greatest Story Ever Told”. Baby Jesus was “The Greatest Gift Ever Given”. And this was all completely free, with no strings attached.
NaNoWriMo
With November approaching, this is the time of year I start to think about NaNoWriMo. Over the years I’ve had various family members and friends doing it, and some of them have told me I should too. However, I remain almost as hesitant this year as I have been in previous years.
Eyes opened to a tyrant god
One of the dubious benefits of having been a lay preacher for over ten years is that Bible passages often remind me of talks I built on those passages. Recently, this happened with Ezekiel’s vision of God leaving his temple in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 8 - 11).
Five years ago, I used that as the starting point for my “Dies Irae” exhortation. Ironically, I sub-titled it “Finding our Blind Spots”, but I now see that it was I who had the blind spot: The passage clearly showed the unpleasant behaviour of the God of the Bible, and I was so busy trying to find what we might have done wrong that I just couldn’t see it.