Monthly Archives: December 2014

2014 in review

Posted on December 30, 2014 by hessd

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,800 times in 2014. If it were a NYC subway … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Simeon the Stubborn

Posted on December 30, 2014 by hessd

We just finished the season of Advent. On the church calendar, it is now Christmas. How awkward is that? Our whole society is saying “Been there, done that,” and the churches, the liturgical churches at any rate, are saying, “Wait. … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies | Tagged Jacob, keeping the promise, refusing to give up, Simeon, spiritual stubbornness, waiting a long time | Leave a comment

Can you really prepare for Alzheimer’s?

Posted on December 29, 2014 by hessd

I think so. Last night, I watched a really good TED talk my brother, Karl, sent to me. The talk is about Alzheimers disease and Karl is my older brother—the only one of the four of us to have cracked … Continue reading →

Posted in Getting Old | Tagged Alzheimer's disease, giving yourself some margin | Leave a comment

Green Chri$tma$, 1958

Posted on December 21, 2014 by hessd

When Green Chri$tma$ came out in 1958, I was about twenty years old. I thought it was the funniest broadcast parody I ever heard. I memorized it immediately—not much of a trick at twenty, really—and performed little impromptu snatches of … Continue reading →

Posted in Getting Old, Theology, Words | Tagged commercialization, Green Christmas, men of good will, shepherds, social satire, Stan Freberg, Wise Men | 4 Comments

Mosquitoes in Heaven

Posted on December 13, 2014 by hessd

Pope Francis is having the same kind of trouble the apostle Paul had. It’s hard to be a pastor and a theologian at the same time. And if any remarks you make are going to be seized upon by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainability, Theology, ways of knowing, Words | Tagged animals with souls, heaven, lions and lambs, Pope Francis, the cycle of predation | Leave a comment

Are there errors in the Bible? Don’t ask.

Posted on December 4, 2014 by hessd

Imagine having a conversation with a man—it would be a man, I’m pretty sure—who wanted to “talk football” and whose only concern was with keeping the ball on the playing field. That might go like this. Do you think they … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies | Tagged accuracy and truth, God's story, inspiration, the Bible | Leave a comment