Longing for the Divine

Posts from the ‘Lifestyle’ category

Daniel’s Choice: Is It Time for a New Diet?

Perhaps the suggestion presented in Daniel 1:12 points us beyond fad diets to a meaningful way of eating at the “time of the end”—a dietary choice that manifests the Creator’s intentions for greater health and compassion, an eschatological diet, as it were, that is persuasive to those of other faiths. Perhaps it’s time for a new diet much like Daniel’s.

Vegetarian as Evangelism

Given the traditions of my Jewish and Hindu friends and the sensitivity of my vegan friends who demand compassion for all creatures, they would be highly offended if I consumed factory-farmed pigs and cows while advocating and otherwise adhering to Biblical principles of love, mercy, and compassion.

That’s Not What John 3:16 Says

Without a doubt, John 3:16 is the most quoted and well-known verse in the Bible. It’s been repeated by Christians, posted on billboards, printed on banners over highways, displayed at sporting events, and recited at evangelistic crusades. Yet, despite its fame, this verse deserves a second look.

My Vegetarian Lament, and Obeying the Creation Mandate

For centuries, Protestants have championed Martin Luther’s legacy of justification by grace through faith, not works. Habakkuk is the prophetic context from which Paul speaks in Romans of the right-making initiative that comes from God, yet it is often proclaimed from weekly pulpits in unbalanced ways that fail to connect to God’s work of justifying and righting all creation.

Quarantine Theology

It’s amazing how much our lives have changed during the current crisis. The novel coronavirus is dramatically altering the structure of our everyday lives through orders of social distancing, quarantines, isolation, and lockdowns. It’s no longer business as usual, and in a sense, we are all enduring a kind of apocalypse.