All Posts Tagged With: "faith"
2008 Resolutions – Gotta have a list
Son, The idea of resolve – what a concept. Who needs it? What about a parent – should they have resolve? How about Democrats, or Republicans – what might resolve look like in a political party? And how about elected government leaders – a little resolve could go a long way with those folks. So […]
1Jan2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on 2008 Resolutions – Gotta have a list | Continued
The Year of Fear – 2008
Son, Irony abounds. An Election for President of the U. S. is upon us. We are talking about the leader of the free world. Some candidates for this heralded office use fear to jerk the chains of voters. Freedom and fear are not compatible concepts. Further irony reeks from the pores of candidate supporters – […]
30Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on The Year of Fear – 2008 | Continued
Crossing the Amelia Earhart Bridge
Son, Atchison, Kansas, is a nice place to visit. But I live in Missouri and that usually means that I have to cross the Emelia Earhart Bridge. The bridge spans the muddy Missouri River. It is a steel truss bridge, built in 1937 by the WPA – the Works Progress Administration. As I drove the […]
23Dec2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Crossing the Amelia Earhart Bridge | Continued
Philip Pullman – The Golden Compass
Son, Get ready for another wave of hoopla about literature and Christianity. Philip Pullman is a writer. He makes up stories. Like C. S. Lewis, he has written children’s stories of other parallel worlds. His trilogy, “His Dark Materials,” is viewed by many as a response to “The Chronicles of Narnia,” by Lewis. One of […]
26Nov2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
Of Mental Illness, church, and family
Son I wrote recently about depression. Meriwether Lewis was my inspiration – a man of undaunted courage who also suffered from depression. As noted, my case is mild, requiring a daily mental and physical discipline to keep all systems balanced. The discipline also requires staying connected socially. After all, at our primitive core, we are […]
21Nov2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Of Mental Illness, church, and family | Continued
Step 5 – Integrity
Son, Step Five of twelve is a big boy – Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs. “Confession is an ancient discipline,” according to the AA 12 x 12. We are not talking about a Sunday chat during half time of the Chiefs Game. Addiction steals […]
15Nov2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Step 5 – Integrity | Continued
Step 3 – Faith
Son, Step Three of twelve begins a mental discipline. Made a decision to turn our will and life over to the care of God as we understood him. So three frogs are sitting on a log, one decides to jump in. How many frogs are on the log? Three – he made a decision – […]
13Nov2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Step 3 – Faith | Continued
Step 2 – Hope
Son, Step Two of twelve states clearly – and with confidence: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. That is a mouthful, especially after the brutality of Step One. They tell us we are powerless – not much hope there. And our lives are unmanageable – if that […]
13Nov2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Step 2 – Hope | Continued
Step 1 – Honesty
Son, Step One of 12 Step Programs states simply: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol (insert your own problem), that our lives had become unmanageable. I have said before that there are consequences to belief systems. Well, what would be the consequence of believing that you had become powerless, that your life had become […]
13Nov2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Step 1 – Honesty | Continued
The Jesuits at Sillary – imposing culture
Son, Sometimes we are a little hard on contemporary Christian fundamentalists. We don’t like their aggressive evangelism – their attempts to force their culture on us. That is a statement of perspective – their perspective might be that they are trying to save us from going to hell. Christianity has as rich history of abusing […]
3Nov2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on The Jesuits at Sillary – imposing culture | Continued
The Bible – faith, truth, knowledge?
Son, So we have been talking about faith and truth and knowledge. Let’s put this discussion this in context. For one to say, “I know the Exodus out of Egypt is true because the Bible says so,” is , by the definition of the word know, a position that must be defended with facts beyond […]
10Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on The Bible – faith, truth, knowledge? | Continued
Faith and Knowledge – differences
Son, You and I talk often about faith. It struck me that perhaps we are getting mixed up on semantics. Faith and knowledge are different things. Knowledge requires proof, faith does not. There is a new show on television with Jeff Foxworthy as the host. It is called, “Are you smarter than a 5th grader?” […]
10Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 3 comments | Continued
Washington Post and Faith
Son, I asked my brother to comment on some faith issues because I do not feel qualified – and I feel that he would have something to offer. He sent me an email with a link to the Washington Post. I don’t think he understood that I was inviting him to comment on our blog. […]
5Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Washington Post and Faith | Continued
Responding to Christians
Son, Lay off the Betty Bowers web site – your judgment is beginning to drift. Just kidding. I am extremely pleased with you. I am pleased with your ability with the written word and with your willingness to tackle tough issues. I fear that your interpretation of my post was based more on how you […]
27Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Responding to Christians | Continued
The Right to the Faith of Our Choice.
Fortunately for all of us – we have a government of laws, guided by a constitution. Keep your own faith and be active in the political process. Have faith that the world is actually getting better – some days it doesn’t feel like it – but humanity is progressing in the concept of civilization.
7Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on The Right to the Faith of Our Choice. | Continued
Fear and Faith
Son, I hear people say things like, “Faith is the opposite of fear.” If one has faith, one will have no fear. To this I say, “Fear Faith!’ Question your faith! Challenge your faith! If your faith is true and just it will withstand any challenge – if it does not withstand challenge then it […]
30Aug2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Fear and Faith | Continued
Finding Faith in Mystery
I was producing and publishing my first podcast this week, so I’ve been a little behind. On the topic of Marcus Aurelius, I noticed that you stated ” A quick look at news headlines today might suggest that divine intervention has actually corrupted the morality of civilization.” I think that the idea of divine intervention, […]
30Aug2007 | bryan | Comments Off on Finding Faith in Mystery | Continued