Parts of Speaking Publishing

I am studying Ephesians right now, very slowly, and I'm glad to hear N.T. Wright has a new book out about it. However, I find his style repetitive and wordy. So be it. He gives another kingdom view of the New Testament.   I came to Ephesians 2:4 today: "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us..." The preceding verses chronicle our state before conversion and really, before the cross.  Here is the interlinear version: The phrase "But God" appears a great deal in the Bible, so here are some. The thought "But God" appears more.  From Joseph's life: Genesis 48:21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying,  but   God  will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. Genesis 50:20 But as for you, you meant evil against me;  but   God  meant it for good, in order to bring it about as  it is  this day, to save many people alive. Genesis 50:24 And Joseph said to his brethren,...

 I just learned of the poet James Wright (sorry, the literary world is so expansive that we all have holes of knowledge) and this quote about being criticized as "glib." "My family background is partly Irish, and this means many things, but linguistically it means that it is too easy for me to talk sometimes. I keep thinking of Horace's idea which Byron so very accurately expressed in a letter . . . 'Easy writing is damned hard reading. ' I suffer from glibness. . . . I have [to struggle] to strip my poems down." 'Easy writing is damned hard reading. ' Yes, I need that today. I wrote a short story for my writers group in one setting, typed it up with some edits, and submitted it for the bi-weekly meeting. They liked the idea . . . but I could tell on the re-reading that it was "easy writing," too effortless, too fast, too full of myself. The idea was one I wanted to get on paper without paying attention enough to the execution.  It'...

Years ago I read a book by Douglas Groothuis. He is a professor at Denver Seminary who has written many books, is known by some friends of mine affiliated with that seminary, and somehow became a "friend" of mine on Facebook. I guess I added him and he agreed. I always like his posts. He also wrote about his first wife's long battle with a disease.  He posted this link to an article on what the Apostles' Creed and affirms and that by saying we believe it, we are actively denying a lot of other false teachings. This might be a good article for discipleship groups or similar gatherings for a discussion of doctrines. I find that most Christians are really uninformed about false teachings and have, at the very least, misconceptions. There are a lot of false doctrines out there.   https://www.christianpost.com/voices/what-the-apostles-creed-denies.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawPhBctleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeq29awklXzWS_SIitjW2M1fhd7dVT8pogI22j3QKewBNhq...

 I am working on an essay and podcast on binaries. There are plenty of theological, biological, and logical binaries.  But they rarely exist in politics.  This ICE issue is one of the non-binaries. As I have written elsewhere, two, three, six things can be true at once. Yes, ICE overreaches. Yes, some of their actions are cruel and disturbing and violate human rights.  Yes, Congress has failed to deal with immigration reform.  Yes, Biden let in millions of criminals.  Yes, leftist activists are getting paid to cause chaos.  Yes, American values of law and order are at stake at a higher level than one church in one city.  Yes, Donald Trump is a chaos agent. His recent actions are downright scary. He somehow manages to get what he "wants" after taking us to the brink of war, only because the U.S. has a bigger military. Yes, some immigrants come here to be criminals in a richer place.  Yes, protesters of the past, such as in the civil rights mov...

 I am posting this because I sent it to my writers group this week and it has gotten mixed reviews (they were nice about it). I know it needs work but I also know that I don't know what to do with it.  My fiction is too secular for Christians and too Christian for secular audiences.  ____________________ Laughter (title in progress) I saw her—them—today. I’d heard they were coming back but I didn’t want to believe it and I didn’t want to see them. But our village is small, and their home, a part of his family’s complex, is just three streets over. I was on the way to the market and they caught my eye as they were unloading an ass-driven cart. She looks to be at the end of her time, as if she will soon go into her confinement. The little boy, maybe three, maybe getting closer to four, carried small baskets in and out to help his burdened mother. He is a pretty child. He seems serious but with that mysterious wisdom we see in children’s eyes that often deceives us. ...

I just read the responses on Facebook to a Christianity Today article on the protesters against ICE who invaded a church in Minneapolis. The article in CT is balanced. One of the elders of the church is an ICE director, so the church was targeted for that reason. Don Lemon, who seems like a clown to me, showed up conveniently and filmed interviews with the pastor, acting very self-righteous.  In the comments on the story, which I figure are more from people trolling the sight than anything, they keep saying "Jesus flipped tables." This comment is from ignorant people who don't know Jesus. Disturbing a Sunday morning service has nothing to do with the cleansing of the temple. The moneychangers were directly exploiting the poor. The church members were not doing that. People who write that have no concept about the New Testament.  Added 1/21: They are using this as a talking point someone made up. Note how often it appears in these comments.  All that said, two things can b...