While I worked in youth ministry, I had a mantra I kept to myself and shared with only a trusted few: Treat teenagers like adults; treat adults like children. I’m … Continue reading Treat Teenagers Like Adults; Treat Adults Like Children.
Tag: empathy
Let’s Talk About Feelings: Intro to Empathy
“Disciplined empathy is not self-dissolving but self-opening. It reshapes my own desire, not lessening it but strengthening, clarifying— widening it.” —Catherine Keller “Empathy doesn’t require that we have the exact … Continue reading Let’s Talk About Feelings: Intro to Empathy
Let’s Talk About Feelings: Equals and Opposites
Throughout this series on feelings, I’m going to talk about each feeling having an “equal and opposite.” For this to make sense, we need just a little history. For some … Continue reading Let’s Talk About Feelings: Equals and Opposites
Let’s Talk About Feelings: Introduction
My chaplaincy supervisor sat across from me every week and asked the same question: “What’s the feeling?” He displayed remarkable patience as I searched for the right word, which always … Continue reading Let’s Talk About Feelings: Introduction
Chapter 9: All Things to All People
Back in chapter 8, Paul explained to the Corinthians just because they can do something doesn’t mean they should. Specifically, just because they can eat meat sacrificed to idols doesn’t … Continue reading Chapter 9: All Things to All People
Envy
Latin Root: Invidia– to look upon (harshly) Gilligan’s Island character: Mary Anne Traditional Corresponding Virtue: Kindness/Compassion, Admiration Envy butts up against many of the other sins. Unlike greed, envy doesn’t … Continue reading Envy
I See You
I work in busy hospitals, and sometimes it gets difficult to remember our patients are people (rather than statistics or problems or puzzles or petri dishes). They are people with needs … Continue reading I See You
Empathy in Crisis
So often, when we encounter the suffering of others, we create distance. We may resort to intellectual answers, empty sympathy, or cliches and “conventional wisdom,” but when we do this, … Continue reading Empathy in Crisis
Beyond Right and Wrong
Why do we make such a big deal of the Ten Commandments? Why do Evangelical activists try to get those ten rules on statues in front of courthouses? After all, … Continue reading Beyond Right and Wrong
What Does the Bible Mean by “Perfect”?
Well, we’re finally into Hebrews 5, so at long last, it’s time to unpack what the author of Hebrews means when he/she talks about Jesus as the “perfect priest.” I … Continue reading What Does the Bible Mean by “Perfect”?