One of the RSS feeds I follow is for a web site called Religion Dispatches. I will admit that I generally just read the short blurbs in the feed instead of going to the site—as a whole their pieces are on the liberal end of the spectrum and my traditional Christian hairline doesn't have much to spare. :-)

And it did seem like the article, "Richard Dawkins' Atheist Academy of Unguided Truth" was going to be standard fare for Religion Dispatches. The title was enticing enough that I clicked through, and although I didn't want to try to read the whole thing on my iPhone I did run into this:

Do you enjoy movies that involve angels? Although I do, I worry that secular films with biblical themes can cause us to confuse that which is actually in Scripture with what is just in the imagination of a Hollywood writer. Regardless, a while back Michelle, Mikey, and I watched Legion, whose overall plot is that God lost patience and is sending His angels to wipe us out.

With our world's rampant, abhorrent sin it's hard to argue that we wouldn't deserve it, but it is disturbing to see with what relish the "good" angels carry out their duties (and there is nothing that distinguishes their control of humans from popular perceptions of demon possession).

One angel, an archangel to be exact, decides we are worth saving and helps a group trapped in a diner in the middle of the desert. If you aren't one for violence in movies, you'll want to avoid the film, but you might find the final conversation between the good archangel, Michael, and the "bad" one, Gabriel, interesting. Michael gave his life to save a special baby...and it looked like Gabriel was going to be able to finish off the child (and the young couple that was protecting the infant). Just when all was lost, Michael returns and saves the day.

A couple weeks back I snuck out to the Hillsborough Circle K on my motorcycle to grab lunch. Although, as seems constant with any food I really enjoy, they've since stopped carrying the cheeseburger rolls I was trekking for...those midday runs are a nice break in a work-from-home day even if all I am rewarded with is ordinary hotdogs (minus the buns, thanks to my low carb diet).

Well, rewarded with hotdogs and the beautiful surroundings our gracious Lord has provided (something you experience far more directly on two wheels and with no vehicular enclosure).

Either way, as I was getting close to my target I passed a gentleman walking the other way on the side of the road. I really can't tell you much about him (I am no Sherlock Holmes), but the way he was strolling made me think, "Here is a guy who has..."

Nowhere to go and nothing to do.

This article was written for the next edition of the local Antrim, New Hampshire paper, The Limrik.

Although the pews have a habit of filling up just before church starts, summer activities definitely have meant it's less crowded during the Sunday services here at the Antrim Church of Christ. Luckily, e-mail, Facebook, and various other social media outlets mean that even though one family might be visiting Alaska, another member vacationing in Puerto Rico, and others camping in the great outdoors...the distance is only physical.

But, I think everyone who wouldn't be labeled "antisocial" agrees that nothing beats seeing somebody in person. We can try to enter the cyber-universe and escape reality, but reality is that whether God or evolution produced humans we are part of the physical cosmos, not just a bunch of zeros and ones instructing a CPU how to behave. Ask yourself, do you prefer an e-mail or a letter? A book you hold in your hands or one you read on the computer? Someone who posts "I'll pray for you" in your Google+ stream or a friend who sits down and petitions the Lord with you?

This week I had the opportunity to spend a couple days in downtown San Francisco. It's not that I've never been to that city before—I've just never had an interest in walking its streets. So, my visits have always been limited to quick stops at its airport or meeting with the San Francisco Giants (a long-term client of the company I used to work for).

Why didn't I have any desire to experience what San Francisco had to offer? With it's convenient BART train system I could have easily spent many nights in it while visiting Concord, California (where that same company used to have an office)...and I had an employee who would do just that. He felt the tug of the "city by the bay," whereas I always wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible.

"Whatever."

How many people have heard that word as a declaration of exasperation? Now, change the punctuation...

"Whatever!"

And the exasperation graduates to anger. Go one step further and put it in the mouth of a teenager...and a parent might best translate it as a two word obscene utterance (where the kid can get the same effect without the same punishment).

Often one or two words can communicate an amazing amount—and I'm not speaking of curse words. Ordinary words. Simple statements or questions.

One biblical case that especially intrigues me is "Who knows?"

The first time I remember noticing it was while preparing a sermon on what the questions in the book of Jonah tell us about God. In that case our reluctant (rebellious) prophet finally told the Ninevites what was in store for them. Then...