Month: August 2026

Created to Create, Part 1: Image Bearers

~ D. R. Meriwether, Ph.D. ~ Leave a comment

Header image credit: me // Featured image credit: Michelangelo (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

What makes humans special?

Humans have probably been asking that question for probably as long as we’ve existed. For much of that time, I imagine that question focused on a particular variation: what separates us from the animals? Language, consciousness, problem-solving, and tool use are some of the more convincing answers, but not convincing enough. We needn’t look far into the animal kingdom to find sophisticated communication, self-awareness, clever solutions to problems, and the shaping and use of tools.

In recent decades, the arguably more pressing variation of the question is a technology-focused one: what separates us from the machines? Or, phrased differently, what makes human intelligence different from artificial intelligence? I’ll address the first question in this post, but you’ll have to wait for part two to hear my rant about—I mean my answer to the second.

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A Christian Approach to Mental Health, Part 3: Is Mindfulness Unbiblical?

~ D. R. Meriwether, Ph.D. ~ 1 Comment

Header image credit: me // Featured image credit: Dingzeyu Li (freely available via Unsplash)

It’s been a while because…life. But I’ve got a bunch of drafts in progress, so more to come soon. But first, time to finish this little series. And since it’s been so long sin the last one, a tiny recap: in the first part of this three-part series, I discussed why I believe there is tension between psychology and faith. The second part expanded on this, addressing how this tension has led to a particularly strong stigma around mental illness in the Christian community and proposing what an integrated approach to mental health should be. In this third part, I’ll discuss various mindfulness practices, how they apply to mental health, and whether or not they’re biblical and are things Christians can or should practice.

I wrote about mindfulness—what it looks like, what benefits it confers, and even Scripture verses that describe mindfulness—in a previous post, so I won’t go into much depth on the well-being benefits of mindfulness here. Instead, the focus of this post will be more about the spirituality of mindfulness.

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