What do you think of when you think of faith? Some folks think of the things you have to believe. To have faith is to believe certain propositions regardless of external evidence. Others see faith more as a matter of trust. Faith is, quite literally, trusting in something or, even more, trusting in someone. For most of my life I’ve leaned toward this latter view, that faith is relational. In the Apostles’ Creed, for instance, we don’t just confess the faith by saying “I believe that there is a God” but rather the more relational “I believe in God” – that is, I not only believe there is a God, but put my trust and confidence...

I’ve gotten a number of questions of late about the conservative, or literal, way of reading the Bible. It’s that way of reading the Bible that’s maybe best summed up in the bumper sticker, God Said It. I Believe It. That Settles It. Most of us, it seems, have at least one friend or family member who reads the Bible this way and although we may covet their confidence, we often don’t feel like that way of reading the Bible “fits” with us or “works” for us. I use quotation marks to name these feelings because it’s often hard to describe what doesn’t seem accurate or faithful about...

Michael Norton holds a Ph.D. in psychology and puts his training to work while teaching at the Harvard Business School. In this fascinating TEDTalk, he shares with us a variety of experiments that convinced him and his team that you can, in fact, buy happiness. But only when spending your money on others! What I found rather astounding about this was not, actually, Michael’s conclusion. I’ve experienced that before and so, I bet, have you: the great feeling that comes from buying someone a gift, however small, or making a donation to an organization that will make a difference in someone’s life. When my kids and I...

Q: What do Jairus, the woman who’s been bleeding for twelve years, Stephen King, and Tim Robbins have to do with each other? A: Just about everything, at least when it comes to hope. Okay, here’s the backstory: After writing on “Hope as the Heart of the Christian Faith” a couple of weeks ago, a number of folks suggested that I watch the clip from The Shawshank Redemption (written by Stephen King and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman) on hope. I’d seen – and loved – the movie years ago, but had forgotten that scene. I’ve put it below for you to watch: I think that’s right: hope is beautiful like a sonata from...