Idle Chatter

If you’re one of those people who insist on keeping time according to the strict decay of the cesium atom, slicing and dicing the temporal plane into neat little quadrants of years, months, days, hours, minutes, nanoseconds and so on and so fifth, then you’re probably...

With the exception, I hope, of Pentecostals, the Day of Pentecost is one of those undoubtedly important days in Christendom about which most of the laity know half a thimble of diddly-squat. Which, sadly enough, is to be expected. After all, Pentecost is all about the...

When it comes to righteous (and generally justified) indignation, few things compare to the annual culture clash over the commercialization of Christmas (this column brought to you be the letter C). You’ve heard the pleas for holiday justice. “Jesus is the...

Christians – especially evangelicals who live in southern climes – aren’t exactly known as the 24-hour party people of the planet. In fact, we’re more often regarded as the Grand Poobahs in Charge of Party Pooping and General Shushing. Granted,...

In the 1980 major motion biblical allegory "The Blues Brothers," titular brother Jake Blues repeatedly insists, "We're on a mission from God." And the man was right. We are all on a mission from God. Sure, our mission may not include jamming with Aretha Franklin...

Tucked away in the biblical account of Abram (before he went all P. Diddy and changed his nom de robe to Abraham), a brief-yet-important reference is made to a priest-king named Melchizedek. Brief, because his cameo-like appearance happens over three verses (18-20) in...

Christmas. It's the most wonderful time of the year. A time when lovely weather rolls around that's just perfect for a sleigh ride together with you. Assuming you don't mind riding with a stranger in 50-degree Texas sunshine in what is technically a Chrysler Sebring...

When you head out for lunch today (I assume that Lean Pocket you placed in the office freezer two months ago is meant to create the illusion of dieting – here's a hint, you're no Doug Henning), take a look at the potpourri of value-based dining establishments...

Archeologists recently uncovered evidence of a Twitter-like social network dating back to around 2300 B.C. Among the many banal postings about knitting robes and detangling beards, one series of posts stood out for its potential to shed light upon one of the Bible's...

With apologies to Belinda Carlisle – the 80s chanteuse known primarily as a Go-Go in severe need of a vacation, and a fine mimic of the yellow-rumped warbler (the warbling part) – heaven is not a place on earth. Nor is it tucked away behind Jupiter,...