First things first...

So, I have changed the picture that fronts the podcast. I also have changed the category from "Christianity" to "Philosophy." Both changes seem to fit more of where the podcast is and where I want it to be.

Me standing next to one of the two Soren Kierkegaard statues in Copenhagen embodies my goal of staying close to his legacy and his writings. Christ at the center.

Philosophy means "Lover of Wisdom" and how Christianity has lost its wisdom to a degree these days in an exchange for a bowl of political lentils/stew like Esau is disheartening. We have sold our birthright to fill our carnal hunger for power and other nefarious appetites (revenge, etc).

As an aside, I was struggling in the episode to remember what "Philo" meant in the Greek. It means love. Sophia means wisdom.

This episode continues to build on the Upbuilding Discourse on the Apostle Paul's "Thorn in the Flesh." An excruciating and chronic pain that Paul had in his body. In looking at the Greek word translated as "thorn"actually means "stake" and it is an instrument designed for torture.

Chronic pain will splinter our worldly dreams of personal peace and prosperity, what Francis Schaeffer called the two idols of American Evangelicals. The Cross tells us that God himself took the stake on our behalf.

God can use our worldly brokenness (the withered splendor of fulfillment) to bring a greenwood and eternal hope to us and others. Where do we place our hope?