Sin is a form of self-harm, some might even say, self-hatred. For example, when a man is not a good husband, and, say, repeatedly commits adultery, he not only hurts his wife and children, but also his own wellbeing. Put differently, by fulfilling his role as a faithful husband, who models his loving actions to…

You were made for fulfillment! But that’s not the same thing as saying you were made for pleasure. Pleasure, however, is not a bad thing. Matter-of-fact, pleasure can be the natural consequence of eating a satiable meal or spending quality-time with an ole friend or behaving virtuously. The kind of pleasure that gets a bad…

From the dark abyss of suffering was born my book Biblical Ethics. Five years ago, the last thing on my mind was writing a book on how to live a morally happy, flourishing life. I was deep in the throes of a PhD program when the walls of my intellectual ivory tower came crashing down….

Ron Arko was my spiritual father, my Paul and my Barnabas, always encouraging me, my writings, and my blog posts. He was always there for me when I needed him. The irony is that I need him here right now to help me get through his going home. You stepped onto the battlefield, while others…

Don’t get stuck in the rut of seeing the forest from (the perspective of) the trees. If you get close enough to any tree you will see blemishes, imperfections, and problems. Stand back and see the trees from (the perspective of) the forest and watch your worries decrease and your joy grow. When you see…

What to do when you feel overwhelmed about the blurred lines of morality? What to do when you feel grieved over the cross-pollination of good and evil, right and wrong, in our ever-changing culture? There’s been so much media-attention recently concerning the political views and actions of the Right and the Left. There’s a presidential…

If we are to be like Christ, we must know something of self-sacrifice. To think that God will not refine us through the fires of pain and suffering, and melt away our imperfections like the dross of silver is to relegate the tao of Christianity. Let us embrace sufferings that serve to embrace our longing…

I am sharing with you what is now Chapter 7 of my book Biblical Ethics. This happens to be my favorite chapter because it’s chock-full of vivid explanations of God’s emotional life and flourishing. It’s also a topic that is not talked about much from the pulpit, which I believe needs to be discussed in…

I am not a songwriter but I did attempt to write a song once, while I attended Azusa Pacific University as a transfer student back in 2001. The lyrics speak of a fellow transfer student who I became close friends with during the last few months of her life before a fatal car accident. (I…

NICARAGUA, my beloved homeland, has experienced more tumultuous revolutions than any other country in Central America. To better understand the current socio-political climate of Nicaragua, Alan Arnesto–long time family friend and proud Nicaragüense–gives us an up-close-and-personal depiction of Nicaragua’s longing for peace and prosperity, in the midst of governmental greed, scandal, corruption, and violence.  …