Haidt summarizes, The author of Ecclesiastes wasn’t just battling the fear of meaninglessness; he was battling the disappointment of success. . . . Nothing brought satisfaction.2 This is an abiding hu...
Fear always haunts and then overwhelms you when you seek to save yourself, to earn your own sense of worth, and to construct your own identity.
Evolution, therefore, cannot account for the origin of our moral feelings, let alone for the fact that we all believe there are external moral standards by which moral feelings are evaluated.
Everything we know in this world is contingent, has a cause outside of itself. Therefore the universe, which is just a huge pile of such contingent entities, would itself have to be dependent on some...
Everyone gets an identity from something. Everyone must say to himself or herself, I’m significant because of This and I’m acceptable because I’m welcomed by Them. But then whatever This is and whoeve...
Deep humility. Examination: Have I looked down on anyone? Have I been too stung by criticism? Have I felt snubbed and ignored? Consider the free grace of Jesus until I sense (a) decreasing disdain, si...
Contrary to popular opinion, then, Christianity is not a Western religion that destroys local cultures. Rather, Christianity has taken more culturally diverse forms than other faiths.25 It has deep la...
Christmas and the incarnation mean that God went to infinite lengths to make himself one whom we can know personally. What
Cheer up: You’re a worse sinner than you ever dared imagine, and you’re more loved than you ever dared hope. 1
Change from Change to 1. Individual salvation The gospel changes everything (hearts, community, and world) 2. Being good Being saved 3. Cheap grace Costly grace (awareness of our sin) 4. Heaven is up...
By the time we get to the third story, and we hear about the plight of the lost son, we are fully prepared to expect that someone will set out to search for him. No one does. It is startling, and Jesu...
By comparing ourselves to other people and trying to make ourselves look better than others, we are boasting. Trying to recommend ourselves, trying to create a self-esteem résumé because we are desper...
But, she says, if she could break them when they appear inconvenient to her, of what would be their worth? If you only obey God's word when it seems reasonable or profitable to you - well, that isn't...
But perhaps the clearest symptom of this lack of assurance is a dry prayer life. Though elder brothers may be diligent in prayer, there is no wonder, awe, intimacy, or delight in their conversations w...
Becoming a Christian is not like signing up for a gym; it is not a living well program that will help you flourish and realize your potential.
As future citizens of heaven, Christians must see and avoid the idolatries and injustices of their culture, even as they continue to enjoy its common-grace blessings.
Aristotle very famously said in his Politics I.V.8 that some people are born to be slaves. He meant that some people are not as capable of higher rational thought and therefore should do the work that...
Anything that is functionally more important to you than God is an idol. Anything you love more than God—even a good thing like a spouse or child or social cause—is a false god. Because we love them t...
An ounce of sin can harm us more than a ton of suffering. Sin can harden our hearts so we lose everything, but suffering, if handled rightly, can make us wiser, happier, and deeper.
An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.