"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle of Stagira Proverbs 13:13-17 (teaching of the wise is a fountain of life) #IC 60: Ten Areas of Agreement about Abortion - part 2 (6/15/11) A Return of Sorts – 10 Areas of Agreement (10/8/23) #IC 55: A Better Way to Debate (5/8/11)...
"Why were we put here? What for? We're unsure. We sure weren't put here to hate." Nate Albert and Dicky Barrett Matthew 7:13-23 (knowing them by their fruit, there are some who claim the name of the Lord but Jesus has said he won’t even recognize them) #IC 180: Jesus Quote Bubble (2/10/16) The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Let's Face It...
"You cannot ask Jesus into your heart alone. He will ask, 'Can I bring my friends?' You will look at his friends -- the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed -- and you will hesitate. But Jesus is clear, 'Only if I can bring my friends.'" Peter Storey John 10:14-16 (“I have other Sheep,” Jesus said. “I must bring them also”) #IC 150: Opening the Scriptures (9/23/14) Walk The Earth 29 (8/22/15) Walk The Earth 30 (9/1/15) #IC 172: Proud To Know You 2 (9/14/15) With God in the Crucible: Preaching C...
"I see anger as a complex series of body changes triggered off by a sudden awareness of danger. This reaction to stress can be regarded as our survival kit, shared in some measure with all living creatures. All of us live, to some extent, in danger." David R. Mace Ephesians 4:26 (the old adage about not going to sleep angry is directly Biblical) #IC 8: Christian Response to the Sexual Revolution … Or Not (4/24/10) #IC 13 Companionship Marriage (5/31/10) #IC 9: Overview of the Decades (5/3/10) Da...
"Whether we can take 'a life for a life' is one question; whether we should is another. Cain and Abel pose an answer. Rather than taking life for life and delivering a powerful message by killing Cain, God instead banished Cain from the community. To say the least, we must not be cavalier about death penalty decisions." The Author Genesis 4:13-16 (mark of Cain directly dismisses any death penalty rule) #IC 62: Protecting Society With, and From, Capital Punishment (7/14/11)...
"Honesty is not the best policy because of the pitfalls of lying; it is best because of the feeling of being deeply and genuinely known." The Author Ephesians 4:25 (speak the truth because we are part of one another) #IC 167: Speaking Truth to Power (6/18/15) #IC 217: Right Reasons...
"Life's an essay test; we're obliged to give essay answers." The Author Acts 17:16-34 (I proclaim to you now what you worship as Unknown) #IC 1: Introduction to Inappropriate Conversations (3/7/10) #IC 150: Opening the Scriptures (9/23/14) #IC 97: Any One Being Ashamed (8/8/12)...
"It's the things which aren't said that do the most damage." Luc Longley Acts 4:1-22 (we cannot keep from speaking about what we’ve seen and heard) #IC 80: Revelation Weekend (2/5/12) Walk The Earth 48 (11/18/17) Lucien James Longley...
The General, Aloma of the South Seas, Faust, among others.
“The world is like a book that can be read in either direction. There is the power of creation, to make something of nothing. And there is the power of destruction, to make nothing from something.” Rebbe Pinchas of Koretz Galatians 5:13-26 (works of the flesh versus fruits of the spirit) #IC 21: Permanent Things I Believe (7/27/10) Larry Crabb - The Silence of Adam Rebbe Pinchas of Koretz...
"I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel of Jerusalem Ezekiel 36:25-28 (a new heart and a new spirit as a baptism of sorts) #IC 189: Apocalyptic Visions (9/20/16) #IC 21: Permanent Things I Believe (7/27/10) Walk The Earth 7 (12/26/13)...
"I wasn't voted most likely to succeed. Instead, it was most likely to be found on a mountaintop in Guadalajara writing the world's most profound three-word sentence." The Author Mark 9:2-13 (when they looked around, they saw no one else with them anymore) #IC 79: A Farewell Address from the Mountaintop (1/29/12) #IC 90: Moments of Epiphany (5/23/12) #IC 80: Revelation Weekend (2/5/12)...
"As we must account for every idle word, so must we account for every idle silence." Benjamin Franklin Luke 12:8-12 (the Spirit will tell you what to say) #IC 21: Permanent Things I Believe (7/27/10) #90 Moments of Epiphany (5/23/12) Benjamin Franklin...
"Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything; that's how the light gets in." Leonard Cohen Romans 5:1-11 (we were sinful when Christ stepped in) #IC 201: The Sound of Sustainability (6/14/17) Leonard Cohen - The Future...
"We do not need to be rescued from God. God is the one who rescues us from death, sin, and destruction. God is the rescuer." Rob Bell Luke 15:1-7 (this fellow Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them, they said) #IC 131: Christianity 301 (10/22/13) Rob Bell - Love Wins...
“People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own souls.” Carl G. Jung 2 Corinthians 13:5 (test yourself to see if you are living in the faith) #IC 44: Sacred Friendship (1/27/11) #IC 227: Some Assembly Required, Chapter 5 (7/6/20) C. G. Jung - Psychology and Alchemy...
"Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect." Peter of Bethsaida 1 Peter 3:13-17 (how to account for the hope that is in you) #IC 136: Converse or Convert (1/1/14) #IC 131: Christianity 301 (10/22/13)...
“Love and the self are one and the discovery of either is the realization of both.” Leo Buscaglia 1 John 4:7-21 (everyone who loves is born of God and knows God) #IC 120: Making Contact (5/15/13) Leo Buscaglia - Love (special edition)...
“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." Henry David Thoreau Mark 9:38-41 (we saw someone casting out demons in your name) #IC 2: The Author and Different Drummer (3/14/10) Henry David Thoreau - Walden...
"Men cannot see their reflections in running water, but only in still water." Zhuang Zhou Psalm 46:10 (be still, and know that I am God) #IC 44: Sacred Friendship (1/27/11) Zhuang Zhou - Zhuangzi
"There's a saviour born every day in the valley of your soul." Sophie B. Hawkins John 3: 13-17 (God so loved the world that Jesus didn’t come to condemn it) #IC 81: Singing a Song for Lovers (2/11/12) Sophie B. Hawkins - Tongues and Tails...
"Could I really be this thirsty if there weren't something more?" Chris Rice John 2: 1-11 (water into wine) #IC 118: Where Would I Be Without God? (4/8/13) Chris Rice - Past the Edges Inappropriate Conversations website...
Lost in Translation, The Return (Vozvrashchenie), Memories of Murder, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Dogville, among others.
The apparently upcoming demise of a former employer has led me to thoughts about topics I've sidestepped in the past on Inappropriate Conversations, keeping work and personal life separate. Perhaps it makes no sense to protect an organization that no longer exists, and I don't think the stories I could tell are really that embarrassing. I consider them to be more revealing about the gap between what a group says it values compared to the culture it actually creates. If that's an Inappropriate Co...
Battleship Potemkin, The Gold Rush, The Big Parade, The Lost World, among others.
The Incredibles, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Downfall, Brothers, among others.
Sherlock Jr. Greed The Enchanted Cottage The Thief of Bagdad among others
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Serenity Brokeback Mountain Capote among others
Whether words of Truth become false based solely on who is speaking?
Our Hospitality Safety Last! The Grub-Stake A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate The Street among others
