Faith Explored Posts

Now that the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence has passed, let’s take a look at what true freedom really is. It is more than just freedom FROM the rule of others. America’s founders saw it as freedom FOR something. But for what?

Throughout history, enslaved people have been given little recognition despite making major contributions. In the New Testament, some of Paul’s letters may have been written down by slaves. Who are the unsung people of our time that we can see and acknowledge?

One of my students asked me, “Mr. Faletti, how do you stay so calm?” I responded that “I know the end of the story.” “What do you mean?” the students asked. "How do you know the end of the story?" The answer begins with Easter.

Does it traumatize you to hear the truths of Black American history? Are they too dangerous? Do we have to hide from them in fear? Or can we handle the truth in the stories of our nation’s history? A Martin Luther King Day reflection.

My Christmas cactus didn’t bloom for years. When it did, I learned some lessons about having patience and not judging others.

This is the hardest article I have ever had to write. The second conclusion from my Civil Rights trip is that the treatment of Black people in American history was much uglier than most people know. From slavery to Jim Crow and beyond, the textbooks mostly downplay our ugly truths with language that misses the suffering behind the words. We cannot hide from the past any more than Adam and Eve could hide from God in the Garden. What was done must be acknowledged.

My wife Sonia and I were practicing. As I began to sing the second verse of my part, my voice cracked, I choked up, and I couldn’t go on.

Faith Explored is a virtual community for people of all denominations and backgrounds interested in exploring how to apply God’s Word to...