Tag Archives: curiosity
The Theology of Calvin . . . and Hobbes (Asking the Right Question)
Yes, asking the right question is very important in life! If we followers of Jesus lived our lives with a kind of contagious curiosity, we just might make others curious about spiritual things. And when they ask the right questions, we can be there with the answer!
Getting to Know . . . I Samuel (6:13-21) Irreverence and Judgment!
The ark of God had been captured by the dreaded Philistines, but God has brought disaster upon them. For seven months they have endured God’s wrath of tumors and great panic (5:9). So they decide to send it back to Israel.
The people of Beth Shemesh, seeing the ark, rejoice! The cows are sacrificed as a burnt offering to the Lord and the Levites take down the ark (as well as the chest of gold objects). The five Philistine rulers watch this event.
However, not all is rejoicing. Seventy citizens of Beth Shemesh are struck dead because they looked into the ark (v. 19). This “heavy blow” that the Lord had “dealt” them caused them to ask, “Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?” (v. 20). 
They then invite the people of Kiriath Jearim to come take the ark to their town!
If I had been a citizen of Kiriath Jearim, I would have rejoiced that we get to go and bring the ark of the covenant back to our town! I wonder if the people of Beth Shemesh told the people of Kiriath Jearim about the Seventy?
Loving the Lord with Our Minds — The Apostle Paul in Acts 17 (Part 7)
On February 6-7 I will be the speaker at Emmaus Bible College’s “Christian MInistry 
Seminars.” My theme, “Anti-Intellectualism Isn’t Spirituality,” will pursue several topics, among them is Paul’s use of his mind in Acts 17. As we look at Acts 17:19-34 we see how the Apostle Paul reaches a diverse audience with the gospel. “Greatly distressed” to see the city “full of idols,” he uses reasoning to debate with those five groups.
He begins with a compliment: “I see that you are very religious” (v. 22). Complimenting those-not-yet-followers-of-Jesus is a wise approach, don’t you think?
He tells them that he has taken the time to look carefully at their objects of worship (v. 23). He read every inscription. He became culturally-aware of his audience and what had captured their attention.
He then moves from the known to the unknown. The Athenians covered all their bases (or so they thought) by even having an altar with the inscription “to an unknown god.” Paul uses that anonymous object of worship as a contact point to transition to “that is what I am going to proclaim to you” (v. 23).
There is a time for PROCLAMATION in the presentation of the gospel, isn’t there? But sometimes we bring in PROCLAMATION too early. What has preceded Paul’s proclaiming of this “unknown god”? (1) He has taken the time to become 
culturally-aware of their religious habits. (2) He has extended a compliment to them as he begins to speak about the true religion. RESPECT and KINDNESS precede PROCLAMATION.
In our next post we will notice how Paul unpacks the truths about this “unknown god” who has made Himself known to those who will seek Him! Paul inspires their curiosity in the next part of his speech. Question: How do we get people in our culture to become curious about the Christian God?
Time for a Great Cartoon! (learning)
The American humorist Will Rogers once said, “Everything is ignorant — only in different subjects.” You would expect an educator to say this, but I am appalled at how little many Christians know of their faith. It’s one of the reasons I love to teach the doctrines of the Christian faith. When we know what we believe, we can enjoy God and His will for us.
I love the quote that says, “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for 
curiosity.” Most of us need to pray that God the Holy Spirit would make us curious for the truths of God — and then dig in for ourselves!
Time for a Great Cartoon! (ignorance)
Ignorance is, it must be admitted, often a “true” answer. What Calvin misses is that he should know what 5 + 7 is. Or at least he should be curious about learning such things.
Dorothy Parker, a US author, humorist, poet, and wit, once said,
“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”
How curious are you? Are you curious about the things that matter most?
Sometimes you just have to go for it!
What would you say you are GOING FOR? What’s worthy of your full-out, no-holds-barred attention?
Don’t you agree that one of the sad signs of our times is a loss of PASSION, an emotionless going through the motions?
The term ennui describes the condition of many today, even those who profess to be followers of Jesus. I looked up the term and I found —
en·nui [ahn-wee, ahn-wee; French ahn-nwee]
noun
a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom: The endless lecture produced an unbearable ennui.
I also had to look up the term SATIETY! I found that it is an adjective which means satisfied, as one’s appetite or desire, to the point of boredom.
If our culture’s primary malady is boredom, what’s the cure?
Questions:
1. What are you GOING FOR right now in your life?
2. Do you agree with the statement: “Boredom’s only cure is curiosity. And there is no cure for curiosity.”?
Dr. Larry Dixon
larrydixon.wordpress.com 