Author Archives: R.P. Nettelhorst

About R.P. Nettelhorst

I'm married with three daughters. I live in southern California and I'm the interim pastor at Quartz Hill Community Church. I have written several books. I spent a couple of summers while I was in college working on a kibbutz in Israel. In 2004, I was a volunteer with the Ansari X-Prize at the winning launches of SpaceShipOne. Member of Society of Biblical Literature, American Academy of Religion, and The Authors Guild

Hate

The great philosopher and Jedi, Master Yoda, declared: “Fear is the path to the dark side…fear leads to anger… anger leads to hate… hate leads to suffering.” We fear what we do not know, what we do not understand, what … Continue reading

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The One Verse

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12) The Bible is complicated. Sometimes it is boring. For most people, Netflix is a lot … Continue reading

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Becoming Inhuman

The urge to make people do and say and act the way you want them—because it is good for them, because it is right—is the beginning of destruction. Like a gentle snowfall on the mountain slopes, it brings an avalanche. … Continue reading

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The Question

The question of why bad things happen to good people is a question that is directed at a particular someone: God.  And inherent in the question is blame.  “Why did you let that happen?  Couldn’t you have stopped it?  You’re … Continue reading

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Belief and Unbelief

Belief is hard. Disbelief is easy. I’ve been following SpaceX for a very long time. Many people didn’t think they’d ever launch anything. Then many thought landing rockets was impossible. Others doubted they’d ever make any money. At each step, … Continue reading

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Even Bad People Matter

There are those who seem to get bent out of shape by the phrase “Black Lives Matter.” This is odd, because the phrase has arisen due to Black people facing a crisis of racism. The response by some, “All lives … Continue reading

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Our Opinions are Not God’s Opinions

Jesus spends a surprising amount of his time being annoyed. He regularly seems to be rolling his eyes and biting his tongue, along the line of my reactions to one of my adult daughters. Admittedly, she has struggles, legitimate struggles. … Continue reading

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Who Do You Think You Are?

What are you willing to do in the service of what you are convinced is the truth, for the noble cause that dominates your thoughts? D.W. Criswell writes, “The desire to prove what you intuitively or instinctively believe is so … Continue reading

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Saying the Unsayable

Do you have freedom of speech? Do you have freedom of the press? Of course you do. In the United States you can say, write or print anything you want. No one from the government is going to show up … Continue reading

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Love Your Neighbor

“Do to others as you’d have them do to you” Jesus is recorded as saying in Matthew 7:12. He then says that that phrase sums up the Bible. The rest of the Bible exists to illustrate and explain that, in … Continue reading

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