Parts of Speaking Publishing

Pope Leo wrote of Lent 2026:  "I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor. Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgement, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves. Instead, let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media and in Christian communities. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace."   I am not Catholic and the role of the Pope (and Mary, and sacraments, and the Eucharist) are a point of disagreement for us, but these words are wise. Fasting from overuse and abuse of words makes a lot of sense spiritually.

 I will be writing responses to succeeding verses in the book of Ephesians over the next 40 or so days until Resurrection Day.  Ephesians, unlike Corinthians and Galatians, is not written to address a certain problem in a church. It is therefore more theological and I guess I would say positive in tone. We read of our calling and posture or placement as believers, how we exist as part of a holy temple being built to God's glory, and how nothing now should stand in the way of fellowship across cultures (focused on Jew/Gentile).  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,  To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:  2  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It starts simply.  Note that Paul calls them faithful in Christ Jesus. He knew this church, or really collection of house churches, well from evangelizing there for close to two years, perhaps longer. I visited Ephesus in the fall on my tri...

 I will send you in this direction:  https://rabbitroom.substack.com/p/ash-wednesday-a-heart-grief-rentlanier?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=3347135&post_id=187769336&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2pwl1&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email   I just officially joined The Rabbit Room. I have been a lurker on the edges for several years. A guest on my podcast yesterday encouraged me to join (Joyce McPherson).  The link posted above is a wonderful reflection on Ash Wednesday, and I am posting it as someone who has never observed the day as determined by the Catholic Church 1400 or so years ago. But I see the hold such a "ritual" would have on Christians: to visit one's faith community, to submit to the somewhat awkward and embarrassing ritual  of having some black substance smeared on one's forehead and having it seen in public afterward, all to be reminded of sin, repentance, death, and the end of life in thi...

 Just thinking. I'm reading complaints that Bad Bunny, the rapper, is going to sing the half time show at the Super Bowl in Spanish. What an outrage. Imagine, singing music no one can understand in the first place in another language.  So many thoughts.  The Super Bowl is kind of an outrage in general. The commercials, the hype, the violence of football, the manufactured community over a game that has no bearing on 99% of the lives of those watching it. I'm avoiding it, as always.  Now, I don't know Bad Bunny from Bugs Bunny, but questions for him: Why does Bad Bunny, who has a real name of course, a good ol' 4-part Spanish one, go by the name Bad Bunny if he only raps in Spanish?  Shouldn't his name be "Conejito Mal"? (Bad Little Rabbit).  Since he raps in Spanish, it wouldn't be easy to translate raps into English. They would be very different songs because of the rhythm of Spanish and the culturally embedded meanings in rap in general.  Why did the ...

Tom Klingenstein on Higher Education  Although I am reluctant to "buy into" the views of a person with his connections, on this topic I think he has something to say. I have lived and seen some of this, but at the same time this essay is very much oversimplified. Higher Education is not a federal government thing, really, except in terms of student financial aid (which controls A LOT of what we do). It is run by state systems (Georgia has two), private boards, and religious denominations/Catholic Church.  John Dewey's and the German model did have a lot of input toward our current system of education, but so did American pragmatism (workforce development), specialization, growth of the federal government with its tentacles into everything, and the accreditation system (boy, I can talk about that!) There are attempts to return to a "purer" higher education model. They need either independent funding or high tuition, but they are coming to fruition, such as New Co...

Russell Moore on Assisted Suicide Beautiful job.