Dr Paul Allen

Christopher Hitchens (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) College-aged millennials today are far more likely than the general population to be religiously unaffiliated. This is true when they are compared to previous generations as well. In fact, the Pew Research Center documents that millennials are the least outwardly religious American generation, where “one in four are unaffiliated with any religion, far more than the share of older adults when they were ages 18 to 29.” Just over 60 percent of millennials say that Christianity is “judgmental,” and 64 percent say that “anti-gay” best describes most churches today. In ministry circles, it has long been reported that of youth raised in homes that were to some degree “ Christian ,” roughly three-quarters will jettison that faith after high school. Just under half of this number will return to some level of church involvement in their late 20s or early 30s. It has long been recognized that experience with an earthly father deeply info...

God simply doesn’t do things our way. His plans are not our plans — his thoughts not our thoughts ( Isaiah 55:8). His ways are higher. And not just a little bit higher. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). Yes, he is Creator almighty, and we are mere creatures. He is infinite; we are finite. He is God, and we are not — but don’t miss the jewel in the context of these often quoted verses from Isaiah 55: While we are not gracious by nature, he is. Where our only reflex is to dole out punishment, he stands ready to forgive — and not just forgive, but “abundantly pardon.” Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:7) He is a God beyond our natural expectations and inclinations, not just in the power of his might, but in the wideness of his mercy...

Image via Wikipedia A sign flashed at the Occupy Wall Street protest reads "People Before Profits." It is an effective sign. Who could support Profits Before People? Some Wall Street employees have apparently responded sympathetically to the protestors, trying to understand their demands. But part of the power of the protest lies in its ambiguity. Americans are angry about many issues today. In such a climate it may be more strategic to focus on the common anger than on specificities. The protests are centered on Wall Street because they target political corruption in the finance industry. But the world of finance is very complex. Part of the problem is that it became too complex, so complex that even the financiers themselves couldn't understand the implications or robustness of the financial derivatives they were trading, or even how to properly price them. (They seemed to be particularly challenged with pricing derivatives of sub-prime mortgages.) The problems with...