I had a buddy in college who was very confidently aggressive with women.  When he saw a girl he wanted to ask out, one of his pick-up lines was “Well, HELLOOOO ‘God’s will’!” When one of his relationships got ugly and went south, I asked him if we should now refer to the girl as “Godzwilla”.  He wasn’t amused.Evangelicals, I discovered, have a whole category of jargon related to “God’s will”.  The...  Read More

-- Duty to humanity is easy compared to duty to your neighbor.-- Ron Swanson, the caricature of a conservative on "Parks & Rec" once said, "History began on July 4, 1776. Everything before that was a mistake."  The more I hear progressives on the left, the more I am convinced that they would say same thing -- except their date would be March 4, 1933 – FDR’s inauguration.-- What kind of memories wi...  Read More

If you’ve had any exposure to evangelicalism, you’ve probably seen people raising their hands or waving their hands in the air while they sing songs.  A few people at our church do that, but most do not.  So, what’s going on with that?In the ancient Near East one could “lift one’s hand(s)” to swear an oath (Gen. 14.22; Deut. 32.40) or to take action either for or against someone (2 Sam. 20.21; 1 K...  Read More

My granddaughter Lucy recently learned to wink.  She shows everyone her new skill and everyone winks back at her.  It gives everyone a chuckle.But depending where you are (and “when” you are) and depending on who is winking and who is being winked at, winking can carry very different meanings.We wink to indicate that there was irony, teasing, or an inside joke.  Winking can also be flirtatious wit...  Read More