Guest Articles

Sometimes the very words we need to hear come from the most unlikely sources. Wisdom isn’t reserved for great philosophers, theologians, or grandparents alone. 

The Bible isn’t a science textbook. And we shouldn’t expect it to operate as one.

"Try to pose for yourself this task: not to think of a polar bear, and you will see that the cursed thing will come to mind every minute.”

I often ponder over what drives individuals to opt for a deceitful path rather than a righteous one.

"There is evidence that, in the backs of the disciples' minds, there was always the glimmer of the same question that shimmers on my frontal lobe today: 'But what if we’ve gotten it all wrong about him?'"

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"In our spiritual rest, we draw near to God and bask in His presence in prayer, our Bibles, and His beautiful creation."

For when you've lost the expectation of God in your life

"...words are also just hollowed statements to avoid the truth. It’s far too tempting a cover-up. We love ideals, but we don’t like what they require."

Maybe that’s what Judy Garland meant in “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” when she sang “we’ll have to muddle through somehow?”

Is the journey to the Cross our stairway to Heaven?

"The fact of the matter is, we will never be like God, nor will we ever be able to create a system that knows everything, is capable of anything, and controls all things."

The biggest connection I made between music and spirituality was that they both focus on the present moment. When I managed to stay in the present moment in both the song and in life, I realized there was no time for anxiety.

"Are there things that are too precious to expose to real life? Things we’re afraid might get soiled? Maybe the most beautiful parts of ourselves? Maybe our faith?"

Embracing clarity, forgiveness, and purpose

In the heart of poverty, a community's spirit shines, defying limitations, and embracing hope against all odds.

"Job was, you might say, trapped in a Porta Potty right there in the desert, despairingly dejected and despondent."

"...And I'm ever grateful for His guidance."

"Hidden grief whispers loud among us, especially at Christmas, as we navigate losses too often dismissed or unacknowledged—but even in the pain, there’s a gift waiting to be unwrapped."

"Maybe it was that I, myself, had just given birth—but as I held the perfectly composed Mary in my hand, she no longer felt believable."

"This black-crowned bird truly taught me three lessons today – compassion, bravery, and love. It’s a lesson I will cherish in my daily life."

"In the silence of loss, I cling to the whispers of hope, believing that beyond the veil of goodbye, our beloved pets wait, their love an eternal beacon guiding us through the darkness."

"...of course it would be the home of a hamster with a preference for a song about a bunch of sinners on a cruise ship begging for a revival."

"Ruth demonstrates how resilience can reward us, showing that even in the darkest of times, there is always hope to be found for those who refuse to yield to despair."

If God sent His only Son to earth, not just to save us from our sins, but because He knew how difficult it was for humans to believe in something we cannot see, why wouldn’t He still use that tactic today? Knowing our vulnerabilities, understanding us the way a parent understands their child, why wouldn’t God send us messages through people we trust?

“This is the first time I’ve seen AI presented with all the trappings of a new Aquarian theology.”

"I believe the role of a Christian mentor is ongoing, and it’s important to consider our role in the salvation of others."

"We will adorn our scars with gold and reminisce on our journey—guided by hope."

"Perhaps it is not that God has ceased His miraculous works, prophetic messengers, and tongues that can cross language barriers, but that our understanding of miracles has changed because the flesh is as fleshy and conflicting with the Spirit as ever."

"Placing faith in AI to originate creations like art and music may lead to disillusionment. Ultimately, the true creator is a higher force."

"I long to see the nearing restoration..."

"Autumn is a season of Remembrance – where we remember what God has done for us and are thankful and praise Him for His Goodness."

My timing can lead to stress and striving, but God says not so fast, my daughter.

This nasty turn unnerved me, so I gathered myself together and drew a table with my comfortable beatitudes on one side and my uncomfortable ones on the other...

For more than two millennia, the Star of Bethlehem, which guided the Magi to the city where Jesus was born, has been rousing the curiosity of researchers worldwide.

"Once upon a time, a grittier version of me roamed barefoot and luxuriated not in material but in emotional response. "

"The funny thing about ego is that it can make people believe they are more important than they are."

"Finding footing in a world that appears to condone worshiping men can be incredibly hard, especially when that world extends past every aspect of your being."

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What scared me was that something I never thought was possible just might be.

"What really is going on at that moment, which so grips the artist’s imagination, moving him to bend every effort of will and skill to re-produce, under the sign of paint, the precise reaction of the shepherds on first seeing the Holy Infant? "

This nasty turn unnerved me, so I gathered myself together and drew a table with my comfortable beatitudes on one side and my uncomfortable ones on the other...

For more than two millennia, the Star of Bethlehem, which guided the Magi to the city where Jesus was born, has been rousing the curiosity of researchers worldwide.

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"Once upon a time, a grittier version of me roamed barefoot and luxuriated not in material but in emotional response. "

"The funny thing about ego is that it can make people believe they are more important than they are."

"Finding footing in a world that appears to condone worshiping men can be incredibly hard, especially when that world extends past every aspect of your being."

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What scared me was that something I never thought was possible just might be.

"What really is going on at that moment, which so grips the artist’s imagination, moving him to bend every effort of will and skill to re-produce, under the sign of paint, the precise reaction of the shepherds on first seeing the Holy Infant? "

"Jesus was always teaching. Teaching, all the time."

For a culture that values education, we seem to forget that our children need to be educated in the Word, not just the world.

"Dear Lord, thank you that you are Jehovah Shammah–"the Lord is there". (Ezekiel 48:35)

"A lot of people celebrate fall season with pumpkin pie, sweaters, and taking in crisp mornings. I love all of those, but mostly fall is a season to meditate on colors, death, and divine presence."

As a chaplain, I am allowed to talk about faith or pray with a client if that is what he or she wants. Like many people in our secular and even religious society, I am to be there for ‘those of all faiths or none.’

"Like at Passover, most Jews who celebrate Sukkot encounter it in spaces where people can honor their values, cultures or histories."

"I would like to share how I create music, but more importantly, where my music comes from."

"The argument for the “Happy Holidays” greeting is that because Christians have been imperialistic, and have erased everyone else (including Jews) from American culture, they now need to include us."

"Nobody wins democracy. It's not a possession, but a continuous process that requires everyone's participation."

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"When AI does our writing for us, we diminish opportunities to think out problems for ourselves."

"Writing is not like Athena, springing fully formed from Zeus’ forehead. Writing is like all of Zeus’ other children, where he has to relate to someone for creation (and boy, does he relate). To create things, we need other people. It takes two to tango, two to make a child, and around 12 to make a sitcom."

"Nonhuman animals do, in fact, engage in resistance, even if their defiance is futile. The will to prefer life over death is a primary act of resistance, perhaps the only act of dissent available to animals who are subject to extreme forms of control."

"I believe the role of a Christian mentor is ongoing, and it’s important to consider our role in the salvation of others."

“Counting the Omer – like the shemitah cycle – invites us to believe that each day, week and year is count-worthy, valuable and unique.”

New research is revealing surprising complexity in the minds of goats, pigs, and other livestock.

They say that a watched pot never boils. That’s a lie. It does boil, but do you know what doesn’t?

"We were both smiling from ear to ear, unable to communicate with words, music our only form of communication."

"There comes a time when our souls need more respite than even the traditions of Christmas can offer us."

"I wonder how different the rest of the year, heck, the rest of my life would be if I did bottle summer’s secrets."

So much of Easter focuses on conquering death itself, but overlooking the freedom that the resurrection offers 'this' life, skips a sizable chunk of the miracle.

"We can only speculate what the six boys on the island in the Pacific Ocean would have done if they had run out of food – but whatever it is, I would certainly not draw any conclusions from it in terms of the essence of human nature."

Pulling that off was more artistic in his opinion than any of the “new age” stuff out there pushing the envelope.

"Prayer, for many, is more than just a laundry list of requests. It's a profound act of opening oneself to the divine, a dialogue between the mortal and the eternal."

"...words are also just hollowed statements to avoid the truth. It’s far too tempting a cover-up. We love ideals, but we don’t like what they require."

"Just as the ocean's waves weave tales in their dance, polymaths craft stories of innovation by seamlessly blending knowledge from diverse domains."

"More than 50 years ago, Joseph Ratzinger said that the life of the Church would be the outcome of her death, just as Easter Sunday was the outcome of Good Friday."

"AI will virtually obliterate the barrier between what can be known and what is known."

"First impressions swiftly shape neural pathways, steering our social interactions through rapid cognitive processes."

"One way helpful in recovering the wonder of childhood and a simpler life, is to become more creative, imaginative, wonder-filled people again."

We are thrilled to share with you the winning essay from our first Young Writers Challenge, this one conducted exclusively at Cabrini High School in New Orleans. Our winner, Grace Krzenski, answered the prompt, "Why do you think Arthur Miller decided to call his play 'The Crucible' and which definition of crucible do you think Miller had in mind when he wrote his play?" Grace's essay has also awarded her $100. Congratulations, Grace!

Author Regan Penaluna on female philosophy and the risks of being too smart throughout history...

"The longing is powerful. Perhaps because this is the longing for unconditional love and acceptance with which every human being is born."

"In my research, I discovered that the shepherds were important to St. Luke for a simple reason: They were the primary eyewitnesses of the events in Bethlehem on the night of Jesus’ birth, and they passed down the story through established methods of oral transmission."

"Faith is not belief without evidence; it's the content of a relationship with God and is based upon the private experience of God's love."

"This matzah, which we set aside as a symbol of hope for the thousands of women who are anchored to marriages in name only, reminds us that slavery comes in many forms."

"Fully beholding the gift of the Messiah enables me to see Him in the daily moments not only of Advent, but each and every day of the year."

"In any case, Pentecost turns out to be a big deal after all. Reformed folk can join with those claiming to be a “full-gospel church”—maybe even remind the others of some overlooked elements in that mix."

Can AI have soul ?

"Clever schemes and novel doctrines won't save us. Stay faithful to the truth of God in Jesus and live with confidence, even in these shaky times."

"I would like to be an intellectually honest spiritual seeker, a warm and loving and dynamic wife and mother, a supportive friend; but at the end of the day, I look in the mirror, and see an annoyed and tired dish rag, and all I want to do is have a cup of coffee and a bar of chocolate. Warm dynamic spiritual seeker aside, anyone who stands between me and my mug is in for it."

"Let us follow  these biblical women and Harriet Tubman’s unflinching courage. Let us be agents in our time in the political arena to support and stand with all who struggle for freedom here in America, in the Middle East, and around the world."

“We are not midway through the Second Act of a Mystery Play called Salvation… Brunhilda has sung; we just need to applaud!”

"That Christ ushered in this new era of life and liberation in the presence of women, and that he sent them out as the first witnesses of the complete gospel story, is perhaps the boldest, most overt affirmation of their equality in his kingdom that Jesus ever delivered."

For Aristotle, there is a real distinction between what a thing is and what a thing is like.

If a tiny thread had the power to ruin a movie, what in my own life, deep in the background, bears such importance to my bigger picture? And if it’s so important, why isn’t it front and center?

"Advances in neurotechnology do raise important privacy concerns. However, I believe these debates can overlook more fundamental threats to privacy."