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Proverbial But O’ the Week: Influence
He who walks with the wise grows wise, BUT a companion of fools suffers harm. (Proverbs 13:20). We become, in part, like the people we allow closest to us. Their attitudes rub off, their priorities influence ours, and over time their wisdom—or foolishness—can quietly shape the direction of our lives. But Proverbs reminds us that companionship is more than… Continue reading
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The Pivot: But Moses Died There …
Every ending is the quiet, sacred boundary line that makes space for a brand-new, hopeful chapter to begin. Moses had led Israel for forty years. He had stood before Pharaoh, crossed the Red Sea, received God’s law, endured the wilderness, and known the LORD “face to face.” But Moses died there. His part in the journey came… Continue reading
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Surrounded, But
“All the nations surrounded me,but in the name of the LORD I cut them down. They surrounded me on every side,but in the name of the LORD I cut them down. They swarmed around me like bees,but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns;in the name of the LORD I cut them down. I was pushed back… Continue reading
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Attention Students: Christian Orthodoxy Has Buts
Christian Orthodoxy: Brought to You in Part by the Word BUT Students, I have made a discovery. An important discovery. Potentially the sort of discovery upon which distinguished academic careers are built, reputations established, endowed chairs offered and small bronze plaques eventually affixed to library walls. For some time, your good doctor has attempted to… Continue reading
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Fearfully and Wonderfully Made; Intimately Known and Loved
Years ago, knowing how much I enjoy poking around dusty old Bibles and theological books, my sister Diann gave me a treasure she discovered in a used bookstore. It is called Reflections on the Works of God in Nature, written by Christoph Christian Sturm and originally published in German in the 1770s. My English-language copy was… Continue reading
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But Even the Dogs …
An excerpt from Chapter 15. A Mother’s Faith The next scene is one of the most surprising—and, at first glance, one of the most uncomfortable—in all of Jesus’ ministry. A woman approaches Jesus crying, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Her daughter is suffering terribly under the oppression of a demon. Picture the scene.… Continue reading
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Planted
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night.”—Psalm 1:1–2 I should probably begin with a confession. Plants come… Continue reading
Darin Michael Shaw
In addition to being the world’s foremost expert on the conjunction but, author and freelance writer Darin Michael Shaw (he/him/his) identifies as a post-evangelical, free-range Jesus Freak, taking Jesus seriously when he says, “Follow me,” while inviting others to come and see for yourself.
Big Buts of the Bible 