Today I’m writing about paranoia. By paranoia I don’t mean the clinical diagnoses, but common anxiety experienced to an uncommon degree. I mean excessive worry. I mean the fantasies that…

The quietest line in Matthew’s nativity claims the Magi went home ‘by another route.’ They had been warned in a dream that Herod was going to kill them. They had…

I’m bad at math, but sometimes still try. Recently I asked my friend Amy to help me with a little math problem, to try and determine the approximate worth of…

There are two kinds of leaders: those who give strength to others, and those who keep strength for themselves. Because power is strength. At the extremes are tyrants and stewards….

Historians like Josephus seem to relish giving gory details about Herod’s worsening health in his latter years. Rashy skin. All-over irritation. Cankles. Swollen feet. Bedridden. Kidney failure. Heart failure. Respiratory…

Herod was a political prostitute. He commodified things that should never be sold. We do the same, sometimes, in different ways. We sell our opinions, our popularity, and our worth…

Fear of God and Fear of Man are diametrically opposed. Fear of God is best understood as awe. Imagine falling asleep on a mountain after a long day hiking trails….

Why don’t we feel welcome in places where we should? It’s Christmas, and about a billion people are going to parties, gatherings, and galas galore. But very few of us…