Last Sunday my small group used the story of Zaccheus to launch a discussion about what makes for a great apology. We know it when we see one and we definitely know when someone’s “I’m sorry” falls far short. But what are the things that make an apology meaningful? Here are some phrases I suggested we might hear in a great apology (order intended). Continue reading
True Apologies prove the existence of God
I’m a semi-regular listener to Harry Shearer’s Le Show on NPR (also one of my favorite voices on the Simpsons). Each week he reports various “apologies” given by news-makers in a segment aptly titled: “apologies of the week.” Ironically, and why it can be quite funny, the apologies are almost never that. They are defenses, excuses, and convoluted explanations. What are some of the typical non-apologies you might hear? Continue reading
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Filed under Christianity: Leaders and Leadership, conflicts, Repentance, sin
Prophet or slanderer? Some additional thoughts
One of my colleagues gave me a friendly challenge after reading my initial thoughts about the differences between prophets and slanderers. While he agreed with my starter list on the differences, he asked about how I would respond to Jesus’ accusatory responses to the Pharisees. As prophet, Jesus called the teachers “white-washed tombs…a den of vipers”. My colleague could have gone further and added things the OT prophets said to Israel and Judah. Isn’t there a place for modern day prophets to be very firm and clear in their convictions, even insulting? Can’t they call a spade a spade? Continue reading
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Filed under conflicts, Missional Church
No longer despairing
Several years ago I wrote an article on the Puritan “treatment” of despair and melancholia. But I despaired of ever finding a home for it. It was too theological for some psychological publications, too clinical for some theological/historical publications…and so it languished. But yesterday I got my copy of Edification (2:3, 2006), the newsletter about to be flagship journal of the Society for Christian Psychology–and my article is the lead article. See my links on the right side of this page for their homepage.
As a teaser, here are some points I make. The article has lots of delicious (to me at least) quotes. Next week, I’ll trot out a couple for you. Continue reading
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Filed under Depression, Despair, History of Psychology, Uncategorized
Counselors…repeat after me
“It is an easy thing for one whose foot is on the outside of calamity to give advice and to rebuke the sufferer”
Attributed to Aeschylus, Greek playwright
Something Job’s counselors would have done well to know and the rest of us even more.
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Filed under counseling skills, Great Quotes
Science Monday: Pills for “forgetting” trauma
on 11/26/06 60 Minutes presented a piece about the use of Propranolol, a beta blocker, in attempting to eliminate the physical symptoms of memories of trauma. Patients (in the treatment group) were administered the drug after writing out the details of their trauma. Later (long after the drugs wore off) they were read their stories back to them while measuring adrenaline levels and physiological symptoms associated with the flight/fight response. Some seem to not have the triggered reactions of PTSD. Some studies of the drug have been carried out on rats. The rats given the medication while trying to “learn” something seem to have more trouble remembering what they were trying to learn. In humans, the theory is that it somehow may disconnect emotion from memory. Continue reading
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Grief brings ‘wisdom through the awful grace of God’
Came across a great quote from a Greek poet this week by watching part of the PBS series on Bobby Kennedy. While Bobby was running for president, MLK was brutally gunned down (4/4/68). RFK had been scheduled to make a speech to a large gathering of African Americans in Indianapolis. Since this time wasn’t an age of the 24 hour news cycle, RFK had to be the bearer of the terrible news to his audience. He spoke for just a few minutes from the heart and connected with his audience by talking about the experience of his own brother’s assassination. Here’s one piece of his speech (if you watch to the end you find the Aeschylus says in the sentence prior to the italics below: He who learns must suffer. So true!):
My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He once wrote: “Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.
Isn’t this so true? Against our will, the pain of grief brings wisdom and experience. And in the end, we see the grace of God even when we never feel good about the experience.
See this link if you want to read/hear the entire RFK speech: http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/rfk.htm
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Filed under Great Quotes, Meditations, suffering
Consider these thoughts from Mark Twain
I saw this first quote in McCullough’s Truman book (pointed out to me by my lovely wife) so I went looking for confirmation of it on-line and found the other quotes as well:
Always do right; this will gratify some people and astonish the rest.
– Note to the Young People’s Society, Greenpoint Presbyterian Church, 1901
Do right and you will be conspicuous.
– Mark Twain, a Biography
Do right for your own sake and be happy in knowing that your neighbor will certainly share in the benefits resulting.
– What Is Man?
See more of Twain at: http://www.twainquotes.com
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Filed under Meditations
Do you see a river of life (creation) or only a river of death (sin)?
People of Reformed theological persuasion tend to be quite passionate in describing sin patterns–at least in theory. We feel at home with concepts such as Total Depravity (thank you Calvin. Some day I’ll share my friend Doug’s bible study: “Why total depravity leads to joy”). We know that even our best isn’t very good. Yes, we have been already adopted, but we are not yet glorified, and so we are still sinners in need of God’s daily grace.
However, I’ve noticed that some attracted to Reformed theology and biblical counseling are very much focused on the fall, on the broken world. Continue reading
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Filed under biblical counseling, Doctrine/Theology, sin
Jefferson vs. Adams: Two leader’s style of communication
I’m finally getting around to reading McCullough’s book on John Adams. After writing my post on some of the differences between prophets and slanderers, I read these descriptions of the two. Both had their strengths and both had significant weaknesses (especially Jefferson’s apathy toward his debts and his slaves). But, here notice the contrasts between two of our most influential leaders: Continue reading
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Filed under conflicts
Musings on Faith and Psychology 