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On Cancer, Suffering, and the Cloud of Unknowing

Anita Mathias — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 18:14:01 +0000

My father once read me a terrifying Greek myth about the giant Procrustes. Everyone who visited Procrustes fit perfectly into his bed. When a guest was too tall, he cut their legs off. When they were too short, he “stretched” them till they fit. It was a one-size-fits-all bed. * * * Procrustean theology adjusts […]

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God Saw the Light was Good, but He Left Darkness Too

Anita Mathias — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 15:28:34 +0000

In the beginning… God’s first recorded words in the Bible are “Let there be light.” And there was light. And God saw that the light was good. (Genesis 1:4) But he left darkness too. And so it shall ever be. On June 21, we have 16 hours 41 minutes of light in Oxford, England. But […]

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When, For a Season, God Himself Blocks You

Anita Mathias — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 11:09:50 +0000

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to save many lives,” Joseph quietly tells his brothers. (Genesis 50:20) Oh they did; they sure did, first throwing him into a disused well, then uncaringly selling him on for thirty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, not caring what became of him. And what […]

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The Secret History of Hagar: When God Invisibly Comforts the Oppressed

Anita Mathias — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 19:33:38 +0000

Image: Tissot, Hagar and the Angel in the Desert Hagar, Egyptian maidservant of Sarah, has a hard life. Impregnated, basically raped by Abraham, she is bullied and persecuted by a jealous Sarah—so much so that probable death in the desert feels preferable. (Genesis 16) And in the desert, the runaway slave, with only the clothes […]

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