Tag: James
I’m listening to a lecture on Augustine (iTunes U = free learning) and I’m prompted by a comment about Augustine’s reflections on his life. In an event where he stole fruit, he made the comment that he did not steal for the object itself, rather he stole for the thrill of the act. He stole because he loved evil. The lecture goes on to point out that Augustine was a sex-addict, living with a mistress for 13 years. In a prayer during that time Augustine prayed that he would be celibate… but not yet.
James 1:27 Religion has always been a hot topic, just bring it up with a group of people from diverse backgrounds and you’ll have an instant conversation, if not a heated argument between the fundamentalist believer and the so-called apathetic atheist. Yet, while ‘religion’ may not be the word of the day, there is defined for us an acceptable and one, I believe, would find very little to be argued against: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by…
James 1:25 For most people, the two words ‘freedom’ and ‘obedience’ simply are not compatible. To be ‘free’ is to be unbound by submission to another authority, to be ‘obedient’ is to relinquish one’s freedom and submit to authority. Logically, they are incompatible ideals but James, and throughout the Bible, brings these two, seemingly opposite, ideas together as a part of the Christian life. Where most of us would immediately associate faith with obedience, James brings into the picture ‘freedom’ found what some might consider a rigid framework. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives…
James 1:23-24 The saying goes, “Action speaks louder than words.” Indeed, before that saying, we have the words of James: Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. What more needs to be said about this age old parable. One of the biggest criticisms of the Christian faith is that they simply don’t “walk the talk”, “practice what they preach” but simply a bunch of hypocrites. I am ashamed…
James 1:13 A common misconception about Christianity and faith in God is that is the miracle cure to whatever problem you might have. So very, very wrong! As we’ve seen through the introduction of James, life is one of trials and hardship for those who faith in God. Let the hard times roll! It’s almost the slogan for the Christian.
