Enlighten Me

You are on one side of a closed door.  There are other rooms on the other side of the door.  You can’t see them, but you know they are there.  When you were traveling through the space between sleeping and waking, you remember having been on the other side of the door.

The Best of Mikey (so far)

Since I’m nearing 300 posts, it’s time for another retrospective.  These articles were among those most viewed, but more importantly, I thought they were good even when re-read.

It’s The End!

People keep reminding me the world is set to end this Saturday.  I love apocalyptic stories.  In my mind they merge with all those bad movies I grew up on in the ‘50s, the ones where radiation transforms things into giant, angry whatevers.

As it Appears

My pastor during childhood was a man called Father Elmer.  Toward the end of winter he visited the Sunday school classes to teach the children something about the concept of resurrection.  Little kids aren’t interested or equipped to analyze holy texts.  We wanted to know how Jesus could die, but not stay dead.

What if There Isn’t?

TIME Magazine wimped out.  On the cover was the provocative question “What if There’s no Hell?”  The article inside hardly dealt with the question.

Free Yourself

When someone with more orthodox views about religion calls me a “Cafeteria Christian” I don’t take it as an insult.  It’s supposed to be a put-down to suggest that I pick and choose what I like about Christianity and accept that, and don’t buy other parts of it.

How to Own Christmas

13,000 Santas in Londonderry – @Arthur Allison

Over time, the best and worst in people becomes concentrated and specified.  The dual nature of Christmas is a superb example.

Commercial Icon

This is Warner Sallman’s painting Head of Christ from 1941.  It’s an archetype.  When an image or an idea becomes so ubiquitous that it becomes the model for most people’s understanding of the subject, it becomes an archetype.  This is what most people think Jesus (Yeshua bar Yosef) looked like.  Most people NOW, that is.  For hundreds of years after his death, Jesus wasn’t even portrayed as having a beard.