A Century of Trauma, Part 2: How Each War Affected America’s Trauma
Henry Lang came to Downton Abbey to take over as the Valet to the Lord Grantham when the Lord’s previous valet had to leave suddenly. This fictional account of a household of the English aristocracy is originally set during the early days of World War 1. The writers of Downton Abbey researched how the war…
Understanding Internal Family Systems – Part 1
My granddaughter looked thoughtful. She took more time than I thought a 5-year-old would take to answer the question “What’s your favorite movie?” I shouldn’t have been surprised. This girl thinks things through. “I’m ready Papa. I know my favorite.” I waited. “So, which one is it?” “I just love “Inside Out”. Don’t you? It…
Church and the Low Libido Trap
“I don’t know if I want to be married to James any more. This marriage is torture and I can’t see any solution.” Adeline slumped over in her chair and sighed. James just rolled his eyes and sighed a different sigh than hers. She sighed out of hopelessness. I thought his sigh had tints of…
Why I CANNOT Believe in a Bible Without Errors
I believed in the doctrine of Inerrancy for 20 years. Then, in the middle of a career as a pastor, I realized that believing the Bible had no errors was both nonsensical and impossible. Here is part of that journey. One particular morning, I texted my wife and asked if she would read Numbers 31…
A Polymath and the Pain
A polymath (Greek: πολυμαθής, polymathēs, “having learned much”; Latin: homo universalis, “universal man”) is an individual whose knowledge spans a significant number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. –Wikipedia definition of “Polymath”. This past year, I have learned a hard truth about myself. I’m not who I…