http://www.jeshuaerickson.com/wordpress Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:16:10 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Several years ago while working as an intern at Sojourners Magazine in Washington, D.C., I had the pleasure of taking a class from David Hilfiker. The class was titled, "The Radical Inclusivity of the Gospel: Ending the Spiral of Violence," in which we explored the theories of Rene Girard. ... http://www.jeshuaerickson.com/wordpress/2009/11/25/david-hilfiker/ Here's a great quote from Kristine Holmgren in an interview I read to day at MinnPost.com: If you never go outside your peer group, you're only going to see the world the way your peers see it. The impact that my peers' opinions have on my opinions is fairly obvious. ... http://www.jeshuaerickson.com/wordpress/2009/11/24/do-peer-groups-shape-our-opionions/ Well, the health care debate rambles on. Conservatives are afraid of more government and liberals are seeing an opportunity to make health care available to millions of people who would not otherwise have it. Amidst thousands of pages of an actual bill and hundreds of thousands of pages of ... http://www.jeshuaerickson.com/wordpress/2009/11/23/reflections-on-the-health-care-debate/ Illegal immigration is a hot topic in Albert Lea, Minnesota. We've had a number of visits from Centro Campesino and others who are marching to raise awareness about the animosity that some folks feel toward immigrants. Needless to say, there are a number of Albert Leans who don't ... http://www.jeshuaerickson.com/wordpress/2009/09/14/marching-for-immigration-reform-in-albert-lea/ My brother-in-law, Kevin Land, sang this fantastic tune at my son's baptism. It's a song he wrote and I'm not even sure of the title of it, but the line that ties it all together is "Death is no more master over him." The phrasing is excellent and ... http://www.jeshuaerickson.com/wordpress/2009/04/25/death-is-no-more-master/ Here's a shameless plug for my mother and father-in-law's potato farm: Roger and Markell Vogt are potato farmers near Palisade in Aitkin County, Minnesota. They grow red and russet potatoes that are out of this world! So if you're in that area come harvest, drop by their farm and pick up ... http://www.jeshuaerickson.com/wordpress/2009/03/28/gun-lake-potato-farm/ Good news! Albert Lea was chosen by AARP / Blue Zones City Makeover to be the next "Blue Zone" community. There are several reasons why Albert Lea was chosen. Among them, our size, the average health of our population and the fact that we have ample numbers ... http://www.jeshuaerickson.com/wordpress/2009/01/15/albert-lea-chosen-to-become-a-blue-zone/ A few weeks ago Jen and I got a new (used) treadmill. We bought it on Ebay and had it shipped via freight to Albert Lea from somewhere in the Chicago area. It's a Precor 9.2s treadmill circa 1996. Jen uses it for walking, as she finds running rather ... http://www.jeshuaerickson.com/wordpress/2009/01/11/the-joy-of-treadmill-running/ Perhaps one of the most baffling considerations in religion and philosophy is the "Problem of Evil." If there is one God who created everyone and everything, then is it possible that God created Satan? And if so, why? (Some of this is in response to my own previous ... http://www.jeshuaerickson.com/wordpress/2009/01/07/the-problem-of-evil-my-latest-thoughts/ Lately, as a result of recent conversations with Bob Ekblad, author of "Reading the Bible with the Damned" and "A New Christian Manifesto," I've found myself contemplating the Holy Spirit in my life and in the lives of others. Bob told me about a book written by Francis MacNutt, "Deliverance from ... http://www.jeshuaerickson.com/wordpress/2008/12/22/holy-spirit-what-is-it/