The knock on the door took us both by surprise. It was 3:30 on a Sunday afternoon, the day of our church Christmas program. I had to be there in an hour to make sure everything was ready to go, my wife had to be…
Jason LiefJanuary 5, 2018
A Palm Sunday Reflection with Saint Oscar Romero
On March 24, 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero was gunned down as he celebrated Mass. A week later, on Palm Sunday,…
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Having seen The Last Jedi twice, and having read numerous interpretations and critiques, I admit I enjoyed the film. I know I'm not supposed to like it—I guess real fans are supposed to be upset with the Marvelesque attempts at humor. Strange, the reason Han…
Jason LiefDecember 22, 2017
Listening to NPR the other day I heard a story about a metal band from New Zealand with the name Alien Weaponry. What makes their story unique is the language they use in their songs—Te Reo Māori, the language of the indigenous Māori people. Here's a…
Jason LiefDecember 8, 2017
When I think about the future of Perspectives I’m optimistic. Why? We’re still here! So many journals have disappeared, unable to survive the technological revolution. Maybe Perspectives is like an indestructible weed that resists every attempt to snuff it out. Or, maybe we have something…
Jason LiefNovember 24, 2017
As I greeted members of my church following a morning service, a woman came up to me, shook my hand and thanked me for the message. She was a visitor who lived in the community a long time ago. After she finished talking about how…
Jason LiefNovember 17, 2017
A local coffee shop made news last week when it was a part of a festival associated with the LGBTQ community. A local politician referred to it as a "Marxist coffeeshop". I think it was meant as criticism, but I'm not sure the politician knows…
Jason LiefOctober 27, 2017
A powerful man abusing his authority by taking advantage of a young woman. The male gaze peeping out from the window; unaware that he's watching, she merely goes about the normal task of bathing. An unsuspecting spouse, not knowing that his wife has been violated,…
Jason LiefOctober 13, 2017
I can just see it. Ten, maybe twenty, years from now, an avalanche of new books will come out. Or, maybe it will just be an edited volume, conveniently declaring how leaders in the evangelical world, how leaders in the Reformed world, have "changed their…
Jason LiefSeptember 29, 2017
Last Friday I took my kids to see U2 on their Joshua Tree 30th anniversary tour. My kids have grown up listening to U2 because my wife and I make them listen to the music we like. We're sort of music dictators. My son, who…
Jason LiefSeptember 15, 2017