Culture

I am honored to have this labor of love selected as a finalist in this year’s Selah Awards for “Best Online Article.” Sometimes you plant a seed and it takes a while to grow. Most articles that I write take a couple of weeks, tops. Not this one. I researched this material for over a […]

Scripture gets a bad rap when it comes to women. I’ve always considered this fact a bit odd because when you compare the depiction of women in Scripture to other ancient literature and historical accounts, the Bible is revolutionary. Homer portrayed women as objects, war prizes, pawns, and possessions, “the cause of all conflict and suffering” in […]

We were watching an episode of House Hunters on HGTV. My first grader looked at me with inquisitive eyes. “Why does that family have two daddies?” she wondered. The question hit me out of left field. I didn’t expect this topic to come up while watching a home improvement show. Agenda-driven television isn’t reserved for prime […]

Last December, I wrote an article giving five reasons to be careful when watching Hallmark Christmas movies. Overall, the article was a light-hearted endorsement of this network which has remained committed to family entertainment. The concerns weren’t deeply disturbing. They simply highlighted areas where one ought to be cautious. Now, there is a sixth reason to be […]

In the mid-70s, my parents adopted a child from South Korea—an infant girl left on the side of the road in a basket. She was strategically placed near a route where the orphanage workers travelled. I’ve often wondered if her mother or an older sibling watched to make sure that she was safe, just like […]

This article was originally published on Crosswalk. Scripture doesn’t say what I want it to say sometimes. I’m not a fan of the whole Tamar incident in Scripture, where she was tricked and then raped by her half-brother, Amnon. King David, their father, was “furious” according to Scripture. And yet he did nothing. And I’m really not […]

This article was originally published on Crosswalk.com. Two short sections of Scripture have been used for thousands of years to say that women should be silent in the church, and women should not be allowed to teach men. Claiming that there are numerous passages conflicting with this interpretation, many evangelical denominations, as well as mainline […]

Years ago, I did a short stint as a secretary for a stately old church near downtown Norfolk, Virginia. It was a quite a building. The mahogany wood work in the chapel and vivid stained-glass windows depicting Biblical tales inspired awe. Crimson velvet pews flanked a traditional center aisle. The lofty ceiling produced magnificent sounds—an […]

“Give me liberty or give me death,” was the infamous cry of Patrick Henry just prior to the Revolutionary War. Something deep inside the human heart seeks freedom. Freedom from tyrannical oppression. Freedom from control. Freedom from conscience. Freedom from consequence. Freedom from pain, guilt, and sin. Freedom…from God. As with most human desires, the quest […]

“I’m livin’ for May! I’m livin’ for May!” I said, more times than I could count. Back in January and February, this mantra played like a broken record in my mind. I would mouth the words to a fellow mom across the pews in our homeschool co-op, deep into an afternoon grammar class as my […]