Snapshots and Synapses

I struggled with the title of this post. I wanted it to be simple and honest because I believe many people struggle with the problem of pain: how could a fully good, all-knowing, and all-powerful God allow suffering? Or perhaps a more honest and vulnerable question: why does God allow me to suffer? By it's very nature suffering is painful, and we naturally shy away from pain. Pain challenges our belief in who God is.  Whether it's physical pain, financial hardship, loneliness, or some other form of suffering in our lives, pain challenges our belief in who God is: Does He not know about my suffering? Can He not stop it? Does He not care about me ? Truly, the essence of all our questions about God come down to how God is relevant to our lives. Who is God for me ?  So when we are hit with a painful situation, our first response can easily be to blame God. I have known more than one atheist who rejected God because of a painful situation in their life. The rationale explaining aw...

I've heard more than one well-meaning person claim that a husband and wife should not go to bed until they've reconciled. Citing Ephesians 4:26 as their source, they claim that this is God's design for a happy marriage. So let's look at this verse within it's scriptural context: Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.  ~ Ephesians 4:25-27 I believe it's great advice to not go to bed angry. It's biblical wisdom. Holding onto anger is exhausting and unhealthy, eating away like a cancer inside. How do we let go of anger? First, recognizing that anger is a secondary emotion, we need to identify the emotion behind the anger. Is it sadness? Betrayal? Loneliness? Frustration? Embarrassment? Confusion? Fear? The source of our anger can be so many things, and identifying the ...

Whether you listen to the podcast or read the transcript in  Part 1 , I hope it's clear that there is a difference between being compassionate and being loving. Compassion without reason is a poison that kills despite it's desire to help.  In a similar way, the truth is a blunt instrument that can bludgeon a person if is not tempered with loving compassion. Immature Christians can sometimes beat others over the head with truths that are void of compassion, but that is not how we are called to represent God's Kingdom. Ephesians 4:15 in context tells us that we grow in maturity as we speak the truth in a loving way. I find it hard to read verses 11-18 and not understand that truth and love must be knitted together.  Can we truly love another without knowing them? Sure, we can never fully know another, just as the most self-aware person can never fully understand themself. We are complex and influenced by a myriad of past experiences, personality traits and cognitive biases...

Our world has forgotten what it is to love, to truly love.  We think it is just a powerful feeling, and we see it as the cause of a multitude of irrational behaviors.  People are called bigots, Nazis and hateful when they don't affirm others in what is obviously untrue. Yet I assert that love is not love without truth, and truth is incomplete without love. I'll explain this in a future post, but first, it's important to understand what Dr. Del Tackett explained in this podcast on the James Dobson Family Institute. (Alternatively, see the transcript ) The podcast is called:  The Rise of Malevolent Compassion Again, I'll write more about love and truth in a future post after establishing this foundation.  copyright ©2026 Mitchell Malloy ( http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/ )

With one exception that I'll get to later, I've never known anyone who has led a sin-free life. I know for sure that I haven't. I recall hearing one pastor claim that they "haven't sinned in 30 years!", and I immediately had the thought: "You just did."  Believe it or not, a Christian's goal is not to live sin-free. Now, I realize that this statement may shock people and seems a little counterintuitive especially since many religions promote the idea of reaching perfection. There are many Christian circles that promote this same ideal, but at the heart of Christianity, there is a different goal. I'm not saying that anyone who desires to live sin-free is a "bad Christian" or an untrustworthy person. I've been that person. I'm just saying that the goal of a Christian should not be to live sin-free. Instead, it's a by-product of reaching our goal. Why would you want to be without sin? So let's be honest: why do you want...

See  What does God's Economy Look Like? (Part 1)  for context. Economy is built around value, so what does God value? Scripture says that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills . He has no need that is beyond His ability to provide. We know that God is the very nature of love , and that those that know God love others. In fact, if we don't love others, we don't know God. An often quoted Bible verse ( John 3:16 ) tells us:  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." This verse alone demonstrates what God values. It's been said that if you want to know what someone values, look at their how they spend their money and how they spend their time. We know that God the Father loves Jesus (see John 3:35 , Matthew 3:17 , John 5:20 , John 17:24 ), so for Him to give His only Son shows that God the Father loves the world. But is it the world He values or what is in the world? Jesus didn't ...

Ok, so this is a topic that some people may never have considered, and it assumes that the Kingdom of God has an economy. I’ve heard some people refer to different economic systems as reflecting God’s heart. Some have  claimed that socialism / communism is true to the early church: to each according their needs; from each according to their abilities. Others claim that Capitalism entrusts God to move the market and is His designed economic system. Obviously these perspectives can’t both be true. I’ve considered the question “what is God’s economy?”  for years and have some thoughts on it that I’ll get to in a follow-on blog, But first, allow me to step back to what I wrote 15 years ago: Perturbations . I believe what I wrote in 2011 above will provide some necessary context. Continued in part 2 . copyright ©2026 Mitchell Malloy (http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/)

I mentioned in the  first part  of this blog series that there is a purpose to church and that God tells us we need church. So why do we need church and what is its purpose?  I claimed to have an answer that many pastors do not, which is admittedly a pretty bold statement, but I trust what my friend has told me when he has challenged pastors with this question. Still, there is no scientific poll surveying clergy that I’ve investigated, but I am going to assume it's true based on the lack of real depth I've seen in biblical teachings that could easily be mistaken as a TED Talk. But if I assume good intentions, I would say that most pastors see an inherent value in church and admire a beauty in it. However, when asked the question “What is the purpose of church?”, it's possible that they could be caught off-guard. Similar to a child asking a parent “Why is the sky blue?”, they know the sky is a beautiful blue and enjoy gazing upon it without ever wondering the source of it’...

Why should anyone go to church? Isn't it enough to love God and love others? And aren’t so many churches filled with hypocrites and money-grabbers? I get more from reading my Bible than hearing someone speak a dumbed down or hyped up sermon spattered with a few Bible verses, so why should I waste my time in a church service? Besides, I have been hurt and betrayed by church people. Why subject myself to further pain? Around this time of year over 20 years ago I was given a series of visions that showed how many people would leave church. That doesn’t seem so strange now, but even when I wrote why  I don’t want to go to church , it was a new phenomenon. Re-reading my post, it rings more true today. I can give you the bottom line:  We go to church because God says we need it.  My walk with Him is stronger today because I listened, albeit reluctantly, and I understand the purpose of church as a result. There are pastors who can’t make that claim. I know that for a fact becaus...

How Should Christians View Jews? I'll start answering this question by pointing out that the most effective lie is a half-truth. The half-truth leaves holes in between the whole truth, making it believable yet incomplete, the vacuum between facts pulling in all sorts of false assumptions. That is why the US court system makes witnesses swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It does not ask someone to tell "their truth" because the truth is true regardless of how someone perceives it. The truth is not subjective, changing with the perspective of the individual; rather, it is objective, unchanging and factual. Artemis II was not created with opinions or subjective perspectives. It's mission was successful because scientists applied objective facts when building and designing the spacecraft and its flight plan. In the same way, your opinion and my opinion about the Jewish people don't matter from a biblical perspective. Yes, there are dif...

I believe the Lord told me how to prepare for the “End Times”. Now to be technically correct, we have been in the End Times since Jesus ascension to heaven, but now we are near the end of the Age. There’s so much I could elaborate on that topic, but I believe it might take away from instead encouraging you to read this handbook for the end of the age . Written nearly a decade ago, it remains true and relevant to the world we live in now.

AI & Humanity See "Is AI a Threat to Humanity?" ( Part 1 and Part 2 ) for more context. If this question is of interest to you, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has a couple articles worth reading, especially as how the first, short post relates to the second one: What Your AI Knows About You   Over 4,732 Messages, He Fell In Love With an AI Chatbot. Now He’s Dead. What does AI know about you? According to the first article above: "Try asking your bot: What do you know about me? How do you tailor your responses to me? What are my likes and dislikes? "The results might be surprisingly personal. ChatGPT learned that I love cilantro, and my style is best described as “functional minimalism.” Meanwhile, Claude, which I’ve been using more recently, listed details so specific I’d have to redact them here." The first article explains how AI's ability to learn about you makes it valuable, but in light of the second article and other points I'll note here, I w...

I’m re-posting my 15 year old thoughts for Easter. Don’t let the title fool you; it’s not Easter that’s absurd. But you’ll see what I mean… Easter: An Absurd Celebration

 I’m again going to post a previous blog since it embodies what I would otherwise write again: Who Is this Person, Jesus?

 Rather than writing something new, I thought it better to revisit a post from 2021:

  The question “What happened to biblical orthodoxy?” is a complex question. It implies “something happened”, and to be honest, most people reading this now are probably struggling with other questions, such as “What is biblical orthodoxy” and possibly “why should I care?”. So, let’s start there. What is Biblical Orthodoxy, and Why Should I Care? BibleHub provides a very nice description of orthodoxy below: In a general sense, “Orthodoxy” refers to right or correct belief, drawn from the Greek words orthos (“straight” or “correct”) and doxa (“belief” or “glory”). Within Christian context, it denotes the set of doctrines historically affirmed by the Church and tested by Scripture (cf.  2 Timothy 3:16 : “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness…”). Throughout history, “Orthodoxy” has been shaped by essential creeds-such as the Nicene Creed (A.D. 325) - which define foundational Christian tenet...

When I met my wife, I was recently separated from the Navy and she was an intern for a congressman. Within a year, I proposed, and 6 months later, we were married. There was so much that we didn’t know, that we were trying to figure out. We had both recommitted our lives to Jesus shortly before meeting, and although I had a bachelor’s degree and experience as a naval officer, finances were tight. I was trying to figure out a vocational path and praying for God’s leading. He led me, but didn’t give me the answer I wanted to hear. I clearly heard Him tell me that it didn’t matter what I did vocationally so long as I took Him with me. I asked my spiritual mentors at the time if that sounded right, and they all affirmed it. On one hand it was freeing and on the other hand it was frustrating. I wanted a clear answer, and instead I was given freedom and along with it: responsibility. At that time, Dr. James Dobson, a christian psychologist, had a radio ministry called Focus on the Family, an...