A miscellany of reflections, thoughts, articles by Jonathan Gallagher, mirroring his interest in "God-thinking," the cosmic conflict, and fundamental human rights
“Thanks for taking the time to look around. I hope you find ideas of interest that will make a difference in the way you think and believe—thoughts to challenge the way we are! I believe in a healthy curiosity, and that we are supposed to use our minds to work things out. It’s not enough to rely on the thoughts of others—we all need to think for ourselves.
"So I’m delighted at your interest, and may you discover some points of departure so that you can say that you know what you believe, and are 'fully persuaded in your own mind.’”
Comments to jonathanpkp AT yahoo DOT com --but please bear in mind I may not be able to answer everyone...
Events and Presentations
Thoughts and Reflections
Articles
"God in other words"--theological contributions
Issues: Religious Freedom and Human Rights
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Patrick: The Difference of One |
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Reflections
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We know little enough about this man who lived long ago on the fringes of the then known world. Debates continue over his birthplace, ancestry, and mother tongue. Just about every event in his life is in dispute, while some even question whether he ever lived at all.
Yet the impact of Patrick, apostle to the Irish, is without question one of the most momentous in history. Little do we realize…
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Reflections
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I’m sitting on a plane, reading a modern version of Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son. I reach the part when the ever-loving father welcomes his long-lost son home. I smile at the beauty of love and reconciliation. For the parable is far more about the nature and character of God than the foolishness of the prodigal. I’ve often wanted to re-name the story “The Parable of the Generous Father” instead of the “Prodigal Son.”
Of course, we are the ungrateful kid who cashes in the family inheritance, and ignoring the pain we cause, grab the money and run. The story speaks to us where we are, so it’s understandable perhaps that we want to identify with the prodigal’s experience.
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Reflections
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Ice white traces black
Four Haiku
Ice white traces black
Among the trees, snow shadow
Caught upon the breeze.
Crystals of star night
Broken by dawn, early mist
Veil crumpled and torn.
Life as the sad snow
Fallen from high, to break in
Wind’s cold empty sigh.
Born as winter’s death
Destruction dies, new life flames
The Supreme Sunrise.
Jonathan Gallagher 1976
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Reflections
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It is not too often that routine UN documents catch my eye with something interesting. But in the document “Annotations to the Provisional Agenda” of the Commission of Human Rights, document number E/CN.4/2006/1/Add.1, page 44, Item 236 I found this gem:
“In its resolution 2005/66, the Commission requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a study on the right to the truth…”
That got my brain working right away. What did this mean? What truth were they after? And do we as human beings, have the fundamental right to the truth?
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The Problem with Analogies |
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Reflections
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The problem with analogies is they only work so far. They’re useful as some kind of picture, but they can’t tell the whole story.
So when we talk about the “trust/healing” model of our relationship with God, that’s fine. We all recognize that what God asks for is trust, so he can heal us. Concepts of healing are much better analogies for our sin problem than legal, “forensic” ones. But even here, we can get into trouble if we push the analogy too far.
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Jonathan Gallagher
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