Inappropriate Conversations

Prior to 2009, documentaries about sports were not that easy to find. I had seen a couple, both related to Olympic years, where the politics were as much in focus as the events or athletes. With its "30 For 30" series, ESPN has changed everything. For the most part, these aren't just good "sports" documentaries; they are great features. Now, in depth and behind the scenes explorations of great spo...

It is possible, from recent shows, that my tastes in music seem a bit soft. I've spoken about easy listening (The Ink Spots) and Christian music (Chris Rice) at some length lately. Truth is, my tastes vary wildly. Most people think they have a broad taste in music; typically, that means broadly within a genre. I cut both across and deep, with examples here that don't include any jazz (Anthony Brax...

The first time I heard "This Is Worth Fighting For" from the World War II era, I remembered a story from a motivational speaker at a seminar. It was about a man struggling to return from an attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest, and which voice among many ultimately talked him off the mountain. He didn't respond to reminders about his duty and obligation. He didn't react to the fear of frie...

One of the ways I know that I lean toward introversion is my experience at reunions. In journals and poetry, I describe those events with both a longing and regret over what I might call invisibility. "Disappear Here" is the name of the poem. No doubt, it was inspired by the "people are afraid to merge" theme in Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis. Some people are afraid to merge; at least, I know...

A great deal of what I want from fiction connects with The Sound And The Fury by William Faulkner, particularly the Quentin chapter ("June 2, 1910"). Despite the depressing narrative, I find hope in the connections between characters, including both flawed characters and flawed connections. There are moments in life that we always revisit, whether intentionally or not. I've had friends I haven't s...

I recall hearing in a Sociology course about a form of existentialism so dark that some people never accept they were alive until the moment of death itself. For most of us, even the slightest touch confirms what I'll jokingly call "our suspicion" that we actually exist. A handshake, pat on the back, or a hug can provide powerful validation. It's a mistake to take such an obvious thing for granted...

All of us benefit when children grow up with a strong baseline education, and all of us suffer when schools fail. Some form of "public education" is essential in this Information Age. It isn't optional; meaning, it isn't acceptable for any part of our society to opt-out. The most common abdication of responsibility in this area over the past couple of decades is the voucher proposal, which would a...

Personally, the better answer to a question like "where would I be without God" calls up a lot of powerful memories. I know the Holy Spirit has moved in my life through specific people and situations, which I can recall as vividly as if the intervening decades disappeared. I can name the names, in fact, and I do a couple of times. They are people who loved me in a way that supersedes human underst...

A few years ago, a question was posed to me online: where would you be without God? There are two answers, actually. One is personal, which I'll cover next week. The other is philosophical, a combination of ontological and cosmological arguments going back a thousand years. "God's existence is necessary for my existence" is, in some ways, a faith-based equivalent for "I think; therefore, I am." A...

Idolatry can be described as making something other than God sacred, or treating things as objects of worship. It can be that direct, in the sense of idols, but it also can be as abstract as the notion of the "image" of ourselves that we show the world. Too often, these things interfere with our spirituality, even when they are deeply embedded within our rituals or temples. Different Drummer: Vict...

It is almost a cliché to speak about strained communications between mothers and daughters or fathers and sons, but that doesn't make it any less true. The moments where my family has overcome those obstacles have had much to do with humor. Less successful situations tend to be hampered by either parent or child remaining silent, unable to find the right words. Long ago, a classic Swedish film tau...

Citing language Jesus used to describe those who tell lies and defend deception in God's name, one of the most demonic spirits at work in our world has taken seed within Christianity. Lately, I have encountered politically active Christians who not only mislead people by putting words into Christ's mouth -- "Jesus tells us to hate" is one example -- but they also shrug their shoulders in confusion...

Exactly 30 years ago tonight (from the time of this posting) I was the victim of an armed robbery, staring down the barrel of a gun. I know a bit about courage, not because I demonstrated such resolve in the face of fear, but because I didn't. Nothing about that experience changed or solidified my perspective on gun control or gun violence. It did bring other changes, though, like maturity in faci...

True fidelity probably isn't about never being in a position to say "yes" to a temptation. Don't get me wrong, that's a smart way to live. Fidelity means a bit more, though, when you've summoned the strength to say "no" to such a temptation. I can speak to this from experience, and I'll refer to three specific occasions. One story I've never mentioned before on Inappropriate Conversations. Another...

Should we tax adultery into oblivion or merely minister to its casualties? No, I don't really believe that using taxation as a punitive fine will stamp out infidelity in marriage, but it would stand a better chance of succeeding than other methods of "legislating morality." When I was a child, a wise man in our church taught me that the real answer to divorce is setting aside the urge to cast judg...

In challenging emotional and ethical decisions related to the end of life, we are often told that no one can make that decision.  "These matters belong to God," for example.  Regardless of your religious beliefs, there is something false in such statements.  By taking the ownership and responsibility for a life away from the person living that life, the control doesn't disappear completely; instea...

The Nativity storyline runs throughout popular culture, but we often fail to notice even at Christmas time.  Whether we don't expect it, or accept it, when it is told through rap music or in films like The Matrix, it's not hard to find examples of a chosen one entering into a dangerous and fallen world with a destiny to restore and renew.  I hope you find the hope of Christmas in unexpected places...

With all the talk about Mayan calendars and the end of the world, it is past time to discuss Christian understandings, and misunderstandings, about end-times prophecies.  The New Testament in the Bible contains more than one.  More often than not, though, Christians fail to recognize fulfilled prophecy and presume instead that everything in a book like Revelations refers to future events.  For tho...

After speaking boldly about questions of sexual identity and unacceptable answers presented by the "religious right," it's important to turn the other cheek.  I do not speak as someone who has always stood up for the rights of non-heterosexuals.  No, I understand homophobia because I have experienced it.  I have felt that irrational fear; and, even though I was much younger then, it's still import...

We may hesitate to conclude that it's an act of violence to deny that someone exists or that he or she is real.  So much damage has been done, though, by denying that people are who they say they are and their rights can be compromised as a result.  This may be a quiet violence, but it cuts to the very core of what "human" even means in the context of human rights.  Evangelical Christianity has be...

Charges of liberal bias in the mainstream media fail to take into account the power of publishers as an authority that is likely to be more conservative than writers and editors.  At the same time, the rise of politically conservative and evangelical-Christian alternatives for "the press" have led many people to turn away from large media conglomerates altogether.  More and more citizens who aren'...

Lore of the United States' "founding fathers" is that they were brave, creative thinkers who were not afraid to discuss ideas and both learn from and break with the past to create a new vision of the future.  So why are our current leaders so frightened?  At election time, both Republican and Democrat candidates seem to be fearful about the future, their past, and anything resembling "truth."  Abo...

As a genre, "thriller" is different from horror or other suspense films, but that distinction is in grave danger of being lost forever.  Before the most common forms of scary cinema became slashers or demonic possession, when serial killer movies were crime-dramas rather than gorefests, the thriller was the TV equivalent of the midnight movie.  Now, with Halloween approaching, you are more likely...

Alcohol is a controlled substance -- a "drug" -- and it's the only one that I use. As a rule, I won't drink when I am angry or depressed. I also tend to invest more in the flavor than the feeling. More likely than not, this is another way that I don't quite fit in with most of society. My approach also doesn't work for fundamentalists. C.S. Lewis has rightly said that Christianity is not a teetota...

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