Category Archives: Christianity

A series of essays on Christian human history, Christian philosophy and theology, and the search for God and Self.

God’s Shadow over History

Jean-Pierre Caussade in Abandonment to Divine Providence writes truthfully that God is behind all historical events. If so, then it is God’s will that the United States is in 2025 exactly where He wills it to be. And further, that … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, God's Providence | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

God is with Us in Each and Every Moment: The Teaching of Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)

Jean-Pierre de Caussade, an eighteenth-century French Jesuittheologian, provided a seminal study of God’s will in Abandonment to Divine Providence. Caussade writes that to sense God in each present moment that connects the past and future moments sets the mind to … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, God's Providence | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Martyr for Christ: Jean de Brébeuf (1593-1649)

The images of the great martyrs of the past, those disciples and followers of Christ who committed their all—body and soul—to the Great Commission, to spread the word to all creatures worldwide, inspired Jean de Brébeuf as a young man … Continue reading

Posted in American History, Biography, Christianity, Great Commission | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

St. James, a Son of Thunder

James the son of Zebedee and brother of John the Apostle was one of the first disciples of Jesus, was a fiery personality completely committed to the Great Commission, and was the first martyr of Jesus’ disciples.   The Gospels … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, FAQs of Christianity | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Saint Anthony of Padua, Franciscan Thaumaturgist

St. Anthony (1195-1231, Anno Domini) was a Franciscan thaumaturgist famous for his erudition, oratory, works of charity, and miracles. A native of Portugal, for a time he was a cleric with the monastic order of St. Augustine. In his early … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, FAQs of Christianity | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Saint Athanasius: Saint and Doctor of the Church

Athanasius (196-373 AD) lived a long and varied life subject to philosophical, political, and theological controversies, violence, exile, and contentious relations with the most powerful rulers of his time, the Roman Emperors. Athanasius is well known for the Creed named … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, FAQs of Christianity | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Teddy: Do Dogs (animals) Go to Heaven?

It has been twenty-one months since my pup Ted died. He was only nine years old. After several months dragging his left paw along on walks, and after multiple tests by veterinarians, it was discovered in June that he had … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity | Leave a comment

Red-Shouldered Hawks and the Grace of God

One of the blessings about where I live in the Arkansas River Valley is the prolific numbers of birds. Today I watched astonished as two red-shouldered hawks danced above me in the clear morning air, calling to each other. They … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity | Leave a comment

God’s Providence: What did Early American Religious Thinkers Believe about the Role of God in Human Affairs?

The eighteenth century in America was a time of awakening from the slumber of the past. Light was shed on the darkness of superstition, irrationality, autocracy, aristocratic privilege, and dogma. The individual, weighed down by the chains of time, institutions, … Continue reading

Posted in American History, Christianity, God's Providence | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Mirror of the Past is found in Books

The mirror of the past is the only way to peer at the image of what is human. The reflection is darkened by time and sin. Specters of the dead, haunting the dusty stacks of long-ago thoughts, turn up repeatedly, … Continue reading

Posted in books, Christianity, Review of books written by Russell Lawson | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment