Announcing… Trogo 2

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By popular demand (2 people) I have decided to add another category to this site: Trogo 2. Trogo 2 is much like Trogo. It consists of various wanderings and wonderings of my mind. But while Trogo addresses very serious, and often philosophical or theological subjects, Trogo 2 is a more lighthearted look at spirituality, American culture, and life in general. Hope you enjoy, and that Trogo 2 helps brighten your day. “A merry heart does good like a medicine,” (Proverbs 17:22).

… just don’t call me late for supper!

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My wife’s full name is Sue Ellen Peters Morris. With a name like Sue Ellen, you know she is from the South. Indeed, consider the names of all the girls in her family: Sue Ellen, Rebecca Ann, Mary Beth and Martha Lee. Get the idea that they are not from New Jersey?

I think Southerners have a distinctive approach to naming their children. Their naming knack is unlike anyone else’s. Who else would pick Scarlett as a first name for their little girl. Certainly not a New Englander. For them this name would probably inspire visions of giant A’s tacked onto the front of a sinner’s dress. You know—the scarlet woman. (Although Hester Prinn is not without merit as a humdinger of a name.) Continue reading →

Belated Happy St. Patty’s Day

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I wanted to post this yesterday, but what with church and teaching a class last night, I missed the chance. So a happy and belated day of celebration for one of my favorite saints, Patrick of Ireland. Here is his story…

He was from a religious background, but not particularly religious himself. He committed the typical sins of the youths of his time. He was kidnapped at the age of 16, and sold into slavery. He was taken to a land far from his home where he was forced to serve a cruel master for six long years. Then, he made a bold escape. He managed a journey of 200 miles on foot to the coast of the sea. And there he found a miraculous deliverance from the land of his servitude! Does this sound like the plot of a Hollywood film? Maybe it should be, but it’s not. It is part of the story of Patrick of Ireland.
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Where do babies go when they die?

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Question: What happens to babies when they die? Do they go to heaven or hell?

My Answer: The Bible is very explicit in its condemnation of sin and its explanation of sin’s consequence. When Adam sinned, he not only sinned personally, but he sinned as the “head” of the human race. So in Adam, all have sinned, and all are condemned. The universal sinfulness of all men, including infants, is plainly taught in Romans 5:12, 19. That condemnation has come to all men is evident in Romans 5:16, 18. The Bible plainly teaches that we are born with sinful natures (see Psalm 51:5, Ephesians 2:1-3). This is the doctrine of Original Sin. And it applies to all human beings—not just adults but infants and young children also.

So, if infants are by nature sinful and condemned, what happens to them when they die? Do they go to heaven? Do they go to hell? Or is there another answer?
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The City Built Foursquare

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Lately in the circuitous meanderings of my mind I have been considering the importance of the number four. When we think of numbers with spiritual or biblical significance, we usually think of the number seven, of course, and then perhaps of the number three. But four? Yes. Four. It calls to mind the four faces of the cherubim of Ezekiel’s vision, the four living creatures that John saw in the Revelation, and certainly the four gospels. It is also a number representing the earth: the four points of the compass, the four winds, and that sort of thing.

Indeed, it is the significance of the number four in nature that the 2nd century church Father Irenaeus used as a rationale for the appropriateness for there being just four gospels… four and no more. This is not a trivial point. For we live in a day when these same four gospels are coming increasingly under attack. Witness the Gospel of Judas.
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