Growing Up with Disney’s “Robin Hood”
My first encounters with the legends of Robin Hood are, in many ways, the memory of my own maturing, realizing things for the first time which have characterized my understanding of the world around me.…
Tag: Avellina Balestri
A Christian Response to a Dawah Pamphlet
The following is a rather lengthy response I made to a Muslim friend who sent what I believe was an online pamphlet of sorts from a Dawah site, comparing Christian and Muslim beliefs, and I…
The King Arising: A Lion King Poem
There are roots in this land;The cradle of man,The pride of lions,The circle of life.There are a thousand storiesand a thousand dreamsfor those with eyes to see,and carve the signs in rock.There are roots in…
Good News: The Strange Starkness of the Gospel of Mark
I have just read through the Gospel of Mark for my Lenten preparation, and the starkness of it is really quite haunting, and sometimes jarring. I feel like it’s the gospel where Jesus comes across…
Exaltation
We Christians are condemned Ever to be crucified. It is our binding and our breaking. It is our only hope and home. It is our only exaltation. There, upon the tree, We must be mocked…
Ya Allah: On Culture and Calling God
So here's the deal with my sharing posts referring to God as Allah on social media. I'm not gonna repeat the stats in detail about it being the Arabic word, known to be used in…
God’s Good Chaos: A Reflection on the Problem of Evil
The problem of Evil is one of most staggering dilemmas for the human mind. If we define it as such, then we acknowledge a spiritual component, and yet if we do that, we also acknowledge…
Water and the Spirit: A Catholic Perspective on Baptism
I had an interesting discussion about Baptism and some of its implications from a Catholic perspective, so I thought I'd expand upon it as a general overview. Keep in mind, different denominations have sometimes radically…
Abraham’s Sacrifice: Reflections from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
In the past, I’ve had some interesting conversations about the controversial story of Abraham/Ibrahim being asked by God to sacrifice his beloved son, which appears (with the variation of Isaac or Ishmael) in both the…
Judge and Jury: The Complexity of History and the Human Condition
It is my heartfelt belief that history, and historical figures, are as inherently complex as the human condition itself, and need to be viewed in the context of their era, upbringing, and evolution, as well…