Tag Archives: christianity

Despite almost no mention of God or religion, the filmmakers of "Groundhog Day" made one of the more spiritual films of the era. “You can argue about whether it is a Buddhist, Christian or Jewish movie — but it is deeply religious,” said author and Boston University religion professor Stephen Prothero, who has shown the film in his classes.

My Christian denomination, along with some others, celebrates the time between January 6 and Ash Wednesday as the season of Epiphany. In common use an epiphany is a sudden moment of awareness — an "ah ha" moment. Etymologically, an epiphany is a shining (“-pha’’-) forth (“epi-“), a manifestation of light. In Christian tradition, this shining forth is the coming of Jesus into the world, a coming through which we all may shine.

These past few months, I’ve been dealing with annoying rashes on my hairline, eyebrows and neck. They flare up often, triggered by almost anything — temperature changes, humidity, sweat, stress, etc. They’re usually red and sometimes itchy, and they had calmed down before I left for Kauai. But lo and behold, they got worse after a few days of arriving.

The recent SpokaneFāVS series on “The Evil in this World” may have missed something. Evil is certainly abundant; multiple examples are provided. But how much is focused on what may be the most common evil of all — lying? This simple act ranges from the deliberate whopper to nuanced shading of truth, from military propaganda to religious leaders denying child molestation to rationalization.

As NFL players prepare to take the field for the last Sunday of the regular season, the Rev. William Barber II, prominent pastor and activist, offered a prayer for NFL players and Damar Hamlin, the 24-year-old Buffalo Bills safety who went into cardiac arrest after making a tackle in Cincinnati Monday night (Jan. 2).

As a practicing Christian, I think the Bible, where the teachings of my faith reside, defines the unseen reality behind evil as Satan along with the demons (or “angels” in some translations) who follow him. I know this sounds like the stuff of fairy tales, but I think a case can be made that the Bible’s teaching about Satan and the creation account of humankind’s fall in Genesis 3 is as viable an option as any that defines the source of evil in this world.