Mark D. Roberts

As we approach the season of Lent, and then Holy Week and Easter, I propose to consider the question: “Why did Jesus have to die?” At the outset, I must say that this isn’t an easy question to answer for several reasons. Let me mention three.First, when it comes to the death of Jesus, we’re…

No, I’m not exaggerating. If you were to ask me, “Who is the happiest man you’ve every known?” I would quite quickly answer, “Louie Zamperini.” As a boy, I attended the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood. Every now and then, Louie, who was part of the church, would speak in my Sunday School classes. He…

Last week I began to examine the anthropology (understanding of human beings) in the recent hit song of Lady Gaga, “Born This Way.” I began by presenting the lyrics and main ideas of the song. Then I commented on whether her view of the human condition makes sense. She seems to believe that, however we…

Fathoming the Unfathomable Psalm 36:1-12 Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; ?     your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, ?     your justice like the ocean depths. Psalm 36:5-6 I’ve said “God is great” several thousand times in my life. This is true, not only because people…

The New York Times recently ran an article called “Blogs Wane as the Young Drift to Sites Like Twitter.”  Here’s the core of the article: Blogs were once the outlet of choice for people who wanted to express themselves online. But with the rise of sites like Facebook and Twitter, they are losing their allure…

The New York Times reports that the California Institute of Technology basketball team won its first conference game since 1985, beating nearby Occidental College 46-45. Caltech won by scoring the last nine points in a row, delighting the home crowd of 387 people! That victory broke a 310-game losing streak. Ouch! (Photo: One the buildings…

Yesterday, I introduced the controversial anthropology of Lady Gaga as found in her hit single, “Born This Way.” In a nutshell, her anthropology (understanding of humanity) is embedded in her title. Whatever I am, I was born this way. My genes explain who I am. Is this right? Does this make sense? Does it fit…

Yes, rock star Lady Gaga has an anthropology. No, I don’t mean that she’s been digging around in the dirt, looking for remnants of ancient societies, or studying tribes in far away jungles. I’m not implying that Lady Gaga is an anthropologist, in these senses. Rather, I’m saying that she has an anthropology, that is,…

My friend Phil recently sent me an email featuring the “Cowboy’s Ten Commandments.” He said these were posted in the Cross Trails Church in Fairlie, Texas. Curious, I did a little digging around the Internet. Sure enough, there is a Cross Trails Cowboy Church in the community of Fairlie, Texas (northeast of Dallas). And, sure…

A few days ago I put up some thoughts on the Confession app that had stirred the pot of popular opinion. At the center of this app is a guided reflection based on the Ten Commandments. It seems to me that, these days, most Christians don’t quite know what to do with the Ten Commandments.…

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