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The Religion of Appeasement: God as Idol
Generally, when we seek to appease someone, we turn them into an idol. One of the misconceptions we have about idols is the assumption that we love our idols. And we love some of them, I’m sure. The love of money is a common one. But the other common denominator in idolatry is fear. Proverbs says Appease an angry man and you will do it again. How common is it for us to get caught up in a cycle of appeasement? I think it starts in childhood in many families. If the child transgresses (a not uncommon occurrence) and parents get angry, that child quickly learns how to turn the…
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So You Want to be a Prophet: Here’s How
The most basic definition of a prophet is someone who acts as an emissary for their god. Note the small g. Every religion has their prophets, spokesmen for their deities. Christians are no exception, of course, but there is one significant difference between the false and the true prophet. I will get to it in a moment. The first time I was made aware of the nature of a true prophet in a way that hit me viscerally was in Israel. Of course, it was in Israel. And it was an orthodox Jewish professor at Hebrew University who really defined the term. The Christian rules for prophetic ministry that I…
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Validation: How to Love Well
Validation is the little-recognized glue than creates and mends relationships. After all, we live in our own selves all day, every day. Understanding someone else’s journey takes effort, in part because clearing the decks of our own experiences is so challenging. But the rewards of validation are great. Validation builds trust, opens previously clogged channels of communication, and creates relationship between the most unlikely pairs. The primary myth about validation is that by affirming someone else, you are signing off on their beliefs. Validation means selling out your position for the sake of peace and a couple of feel-good moments. Not true. Affirmation of a person is not ratifying their…
Healing Through Art & Words
