Domestic Violence as Idolatry
The ancient gods blamed humanity for their own failings and problems. If humanity didn’t soothe them, they were struck down. Abusers treat their victims the same way.
The ancient gods blamed humanity for their own failings and problems. If humanity didn’t soothe them, they were struck down. Abusers treat their victims the same way.
The Frosts and the Coates started a feud with one another because they fought on different sides of the Civil War. The war ended, but their feud didn’t. It became a curse.
Desmond Tutu was still trying to bring down Apartheid in the mid-eighties. The powers that be hired protestors to try to smear Tutu, but he ended up sharing a tea party with them.
They called it “the war to end all wars,” but even before it ended, a British politician remarked: “This war, like the next war, is a war to end [all] war.”
A West African proverb: until the lion tells the story, the hunter will always be the hero. Hearing the stories, the understandings, the circumstances of those we disagree with is the path to peace along the way of Christ.
In the late 18th-early 19th centuries, Seraphim of Sarov fasted, prayed, and meditated for decades. He became a miracle worker, a source of peace, and a friend of bears.
An Icelandic child in the Middle Ages learned about mischievous trolls who arrive as Christmas draws near. However scary things get, you know that Christ is returning and all shall be well.
“We are finite creatures, but we touch the fringes of infinity” – Shannon Craigo-Snell
A heavy blizzard in Roswell united a shivering squirrel, a baby for baptism, and a multi-generational family celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Christ was the host and we were the guests.
The wedding is happening now. All the preparation, stress, and frustrations are done. Be in this moment. It works for Christmas, too!