Author Archives: Paul Harris
Defection by Television
Forty Autumns, the story of East Germany and Germans inside and out of that dystopian regime is worth the read. It illustrates why the most effective way of undermining an Iron Curtain is not an effective way for spreading the … Continue reading
Prolife Pregnancy Centers and Contraceptives or 21st Century Bread and Circuses
Recently my congregation stopped funding a local prolife pregnancy center because they provide birth control to the unmarried. When I told this to the center this is how they responded:
“I Support Rick Sawyer”
That’s the title I saved this under in 2011. I think this is the writing of his I am referencing https://steadfastlutherans.org/2011/03/acelc-conference-the-divine-service-and-daily-offices-by-rev-rick-sawyer/ . As always from the original Seelsorger of the web, good stuff.
Fact or Fiction, the Blurring of Theology
In the category of truth is stranger in fiction, we find that Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mocking Bird, and author and gadfly Truman Capote grew up together.
Pope was Right
No, not the Pope but Alexander Pope, the turn of the 18th century English poet who some consider better than the Bard. He told us how we would come to embrace LGBTQ. And boy have we.
Uxoriousness
I had to look this word up when I first read it. Uxoriousness means to be “excessively fond of or submissive to a wife”. It’s from the Latin for wife uxor (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uxorious ). In his 1999 book The Church Impotent, … Continue reading
The Fat Lady Hasn’t Sung
Who knew that this saying is no older than 1976 and comes from Texas Tech sport’s information director, Ralph Carpenter, when the Aggies tied the Red Raiders in the conference finals? The actual quote is: “The opera ain’t over … Continue reading
Gateway to Bait and Switch
This visit to Gateway was to the mother ‘church’ of the Austin area, Gateway North. My wife’s initial impression as we’re walking to the car: “I don’t know why this week I came away depressed while last week I … Continue reading
Gateway to What?
Gatewaychurch.com says of itself: “Gateway is a COME AS YOU ARE kind of church – a community of imperfect people doing life together, helping each other become all that God created us to be. Whether you’ve had a relationship … Continue reading
Of Popular Music and Unpopular Crime
I’m breaking my 10-year rule. This blog is not quite 9-years-old, so I’m repeating myself rather than citing. In a discussion over the recent shooting, I was reminded that I wrote something after Sandy Hook. Actually, I wrote right after … Continue reading