Nathan E. Lewis

In October of 2006 Charles Carl Roberts IV walked out of his house and entered the nearby Amish school. In the school building, on his cell, he called his wife, who was at a Mom’s In Touch meeting praying for the children of the community, to tell her that he was not coming home. He shot 10 schoolgirls killing them and then he shot himself. The reaction of the Amish community was a genuine and immediate forgiveness, a remarkable presentation of the gospel while the entire world looked on in shock.
Bettie Mitchell, founder and director of Good Samaritan Ministries, powerfully points to the gospel of forgiveness in the midst of this tragedy. Continue reading »

Christianity Today online includes an enriching discussion between Bono and Assayas. I have clipped a few bits that expose Bono’s understanding and embrace of the gospel.

(The following exchange between Bono and Assayas took place just days after the Madrid train bombings in March 2004, an act of terrorism that left 191 dead and more than 1,800 wounded. The two men were discussing how terrorism is often carried out in the name of religion when Bono turned the conversation to Christianity, expressing his preference for God’s grace over “karma,” offering an articulate apologetic for the deity of Christ, and giving a clear presentation of the gospel message.)

Assayas: I think I am beginning to understand religion because I have started acting and thinking like a father. What do you make of that?

Bono: Yes, I think that’s normal. It’s a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma. Continue reading »

read this candid interview with an influential American leader close to death

A Calvinist Faces Death
Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007 By DAVID VAN BIEMA
Continue reading »

“The Gift of Inner Peace”
Presented by Nathan E. Lewis
at the annual, Faith PCA, WIC Christmas Brunch
at the Tacoma Club, December 11, 2004

Hi, I’m Nathan Lewis, a recovering worrywart, peace monger, and eager rabble-rouser. I have been asked to present to you today some insight on “The Gift of Inner Peace.?? I suspect that someone here discovered my particular sins and frailties in this area of my life and assigned to me this topic, as a middle-school teacher would do for one of her troubled students. In other words, I am speaking to the topic today, not because I am an expert by knowledge or experience, but rather for my own maturation in this particular field.
I am only a small part of the peace problem in our present world. We have left the 20th Century in the dust yet her wars, genocide, tyrants, and social unrest still haunt us. We have lived in the supposed postmodern world now for more than 30 years. Like a mantra we hear our generations chant, “’Peace, peace,’ where there is no peace.??
Bono sings,
Heaven on Earth
We need it now
I’m sick of all of this
Hanging around
Sick of sorrow
Sick of pain
Sick of hearing again and again
That there’s gonna be
Peace on Earth….

Continue reading »

One of Evergreen Church’s neighbors contacted the City of Beaverton’s mediation group to complain about the parking lot lights. Apparently, the lights are reaching his bedroom window and their glow prevents his pursuing of a new hobby in astronomy within the urban growth boundary. (This is not the first complaint or demand this neighbor has made.) The mediator called me to discuss our neighbor’s request that we install make-shift metalic shields on three lights. Continue reading »

By design Bono and The Edge of U2 write lyrics that hint to their faith in Christ rather than producing songs that blatantly blast a Christian message. It is no secret that Bono and The Edge believe the gospel of the Bible and view themselves to be united to Jesus Christ. Rather than extrapulating a gospel theme from one song, I have decided to look at the entire, “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.”
In the first song, “Vertigo,” Bono and The Edge write, “The jungle is your head/ Can’t rule your heart.” These lines present the prevailing human experience and desperate need. The second song, “Miracle Drug,” is an honest love song, but it presents the common search for a solution to the human problem - a miracle drug - or a relationship, or human ingenuity. “Of science and the human heart/ There is no limit/…Love and logic keep us clear/ Reason is on our side, love…. Humanity does have resources and means by which to improve and solve a good many problems, but there is still the deeper, nagging human problem. Continue reading »