Don: There is still a tension between the concepts of prayer and free will. If I successfully pray for help for someone else and that person does not want help, then I have violated that person’s free will. In scripture, we see god doing this all the time. Three personal prayers from the Old Testament…

Don: The world in which we live and must function is governed by natural laws. In a general sense, natural laws control our environment. They have to do with causes—gravity, for instance; and their effects—falling apples, for instance. They can be predicted, and therefore they can be managed, Newtonian laws determines how physics work; economic…

Don: The story of Jonah is not really about Jonah, or about the Ninevites, or about the great fish that swallowed him. It is about god and god’s grace. Jonah’s first prayer, which occurs in the second chapter, teaches us as much about what is not good prayer as about what is good prayer. Jonah’s…

(Our group was honored today with the participation of Nafe, a visitor from Bethlehem and a boyhood friend of Michael who also comes from that famous town; and of Patrick.) Don: A discussion of the great prayers of scripture—the prayers of Abraham, Jacob, Hannah, Gideon, of Solomon for wisdom, David’s prayer of penitence, the prayer…

Don: What does it mean to live a life of prayer? The notion of living life as a continual prayer is common in scripture. In the preamble to the parable of the importunate widow (Luke 18) which we have been studying lately, Jesus says we should always pray and never give up. In 2 Thessalonians…

Note: When scripture is quoted, I usually copy from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) but in this discussion Don makes many biblical references apparently using the New International Version (NIV), so I have done likewise except where specifically noted. Don: The promise of the parable of the importunate woman is that god’s justice will…