The Scriptorium Daily

Month: April 2007

  • Check Out My Toy Train

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    by

    Fred Sanders
    in

    I’m not saying you have to get me a Lionel toy train with a gold engine and red cars and a remote control device with dual speed levers. All I’m saying is, if I had a train like that I would hug it with both arms and have the biggest smile on my face you…

  • How to Read Karl Rahner

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    Fred Sanders
    in

    Karl Rahner (1904-1984) is near the top of the list of most influential and important Roman Catholic theologians of the twentieth century. This Jesuit super-genius was one of the advising theological experts (periti) at Vatican II. Last year, Alvin Kimel over at the pontifications blog declared that “the theologians and clergy of the Catholic Church…

  • New Book: Kingdom Triangle

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    Guest Contributor
    in ,

    J.P. Moreland, 2007. I am excited to announce the publication of my new book, Kingdom Triangle: Recover the Christian Mind, Renovate the Soul, Restore the Spirit’s Power. This is the book I’ve been waiting all my life to write. For thirty-six years I have tried to be a radical for Jesus and to make a…

  • Snow White Ornament

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    Fred Sanders
    in

    Phoebe Age Four produced this drawing and testified that it is a picture of Snow White. Trying to throw her arms around the world, Snow White has an expression on her face which is open to interpretation. Is she as happy as she wants us to believe? Why is her smile unsettled? Her head and…

  • What’s New in Trinitarian Theology

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    Fred Sanders
    in

    God never changes, but theology can. The triune God never changes, but there’s always plenty to talk about and lots to learn in the field of trinitarian theology. Good books keep rolling off the presses on this central Christian doctrine (see my recs for intro books here), and there are also interesting things developing outside…

  • Anxiety, Depression and Meditation II

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    Scriptorium Admin
    in ,

    In Part I, we saw that there is a biblically and scientifically important distinction between discursive thought (associated with the brain) and emotional intuitive awareness (associated with the heart). We also saw that a major cause of anxiety and depression is obsessive thinking about an anxiety-producing thought. Such obsessive thinking digs a deeper and deeper…

  • Bike or Scooter

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    Fred Sanders
    in

    Dear Applicant, We regret to inform you that your request for a patent on the Bike Scooter has been rejected. The review commission’s main objection to the application is the incoherence of the device itself. You did not include a description of how the device works, and the the schematic drawing included is not rendered…

  • Anxiety, Depression and Meditation I

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    by

    Scriptorium Admin
    in ,

    Read Part II here. I once heard a Christian psychologist say that we were made to live in a camel culture—slow-paced, relational and no electric lights to keep people up beyond sundown and deprive them of the eight and one half hours of sleep they need each night. But ours is no camel culture. We…

  • The Prodigal Bride

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    Fred Sanders
    in ,

    Take the book of Hosea and re-tell it as a cryin’-in-my-beer tear-jerker country song. Cowboy Hosea ambles up to the jukebox, plunks in a couple quarters for that special song from their honeymoon, then turns to his honkeytonk gal and drawls, “You done me wrong, Gomer, but I still love you like you wuz the…

  • Hosea Calls it Quits

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    Fred Sanders
    in

    The book of Hosea is a fearsome thing. This prophet’s message is similar to any number of other prophets, but he means business in a way that makes his word to Israel uniquely unforgettable. He doesn’t just dust off Deuteronomy’s blessings and curses, check Israel’s current performance against them, and then issue the evaluation that…

  • How to Detect Answers to Prayer: The Discipline of Journaling

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    Scriptorium Admin
    in

    I want to take a look at the importance of identifying and remembering answers to prayer. In my more than thirty-five years as one of Jesus’ apprentices, I have experienced literally hundreds of specific, detailed answers to prayer. I have been strengthened considerably in my faith by their presence in my life. I, along with…

  • Desert Scene

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    Fred Sanders
    in

    You may think of the desert as an empty or lonely place, but this desert is a HOT SPOT in more ways than one. It not only sustains life, but a thriving community of many species living in harmony. The dominant figure is our host, a saguaro cactus (cereus giganteus) spreading out his four arms…