Articles by Bruce Strom

About Bruce Strom
I was born and baptized and confirmed as a Lutheran. I made the mistake of reading works written by Luther, he has a bad habit of writing seemingly brilliant theology, but then every few pages he stops and calls the Pope often very vulgar names, what sort of Christian does that? Currently I am a seeker, studying church history and the writings of the Church Fathers. I am involved in the Catholic divorce ministries in our diocese, and have finished the diocese two-year Catholic Lay Ministry program. Also I took a year of Orthodox off-campus seminary courses. This blog explores the beauty of the Early Church and the writings and history of the Church through the centuries. I am a member of a faith community, for as St Augustine notes in his Confessions, you cannot truly be a Christian unless you worship God in the walls of the Church, unless persecution prevents this. This blog is non-polemical, so I really would rather not reveal my denomination here.
Cicero on Friendship and Virtue
Philosophy

Roman Stoic Philosopher Cicero On Friendship and Virtue

02/06/2026 Bruce Strom 0

Cicero advises us: “The first and sacred law of friendship: Seek only good from friends, do only good for the sake of friends, and don’t wait to be asked! Be always attentive! Banish hesitation! Be ready to give advice freely! Take seriously the good advice of friends. Be ready to offer it openly, even forcefully, if the occasion demands, and also be ready to follow when it has been offered.”
In contrast, Antisthenes, the first Cynic philosopher who studied under Socrates, advises us: “Pay attention to your enemies, for they are the first to notice your faults.” Often, friends are reluctant to tell us what we need to know, preferring to tell us what they think we want to hear. […]

Sunrise Police Academy 2 SMALL
Criminology

Sunrise Community Police Academy: What is New? Cameras, Technology, Guns, SWAT Team, and More

02/05/2026 Bruce Strom 1

Caution is a policeman’s main defense against bullets headed their way. Police are rarely in a rush to approach the driver during a traffic stop, nor are they in a rush to knock on the door for a domestic dispute call. If possible, they wait until other policemen arrive. The more backup, the better.
I was surprised to learn how policemen respond to other police pulling them over when they are in other jurisdictions. They politely roll down their windows, put their hands on their steering wheels, and tell them that they too are police officers. They volunteer where they have their guns, which all policemen carry. They don’t put any documentation in the glove box, because they don’t want to reach in to grab it. […]

Protestantism, Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Judaism: Which Is True
christianity

Protestantism, Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Judaism: Which Is True?

01/30/2026 Bruce Strom 1

We agree with CS Lewis when, in his Preface to Mere Christianity, he states that “the reader should be warned that I offer no help to anyone who is hesitating between two Christian denominations. You will not learn from me whether you ought to become an Anglican, a Methodist, a Presbyterian, or a Roman Catholic.” CS Lewis compares his Mere Christianity to a central hall opening up to many rooms, representative of the various denominations, saying that this hall is a place to wait while you try the different doors.
CS Lewis continues: “There is no mystery of my own position. I am a very ordinary layman of the Church of England, not especially high, nor especially low, nor especially anything else.” […]

Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church: The Zondervan Debates
christianity

Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church: The Zondervan Debates

01/21/2026 Bruce Strom 4

For better or worse, most of us choose our intimate partners, and build our world around that choice. If a homosexual couple is accepted by the clergy of your church, what good can come from telling them they are going to burn in hell if they do not repent? We are only responsible for our own personal salvation, it is not our job, particularly if we are laymen, to speculate on whether our neighbor will be saved. That is between them and Jesus, and nobody else.
My goal is not to change your mind about homosexuality. My goal is: If you do not accept that it is possible to be both a Christian and homosexual, that you will refrain from telling them they are damned to burn in hell, but would instead refer them to an Episcopalian Church, or other church where they would be welcome.
Jesus will judge us all in front of the great IMAX theater in the sky, where we will need to account for the decisions we made in our lives as they are displayed on that screen forty feet wide and forty feet tall. Jesus is the judge; we should not seek to do his job. Instead, we work out our own salvation, judging our own actions rather than our neighbors’. […]

Plato’s Republic, Book 1, Reflecting on Old Age, Morality, and Justice
Aging

Plato’s Republic, Book 1, On Aging and Morality, a Better Word for Justice

12/27/2025 Bruce Strom 0

Reading Robin Waterfield’s translation was like breathing fresh alpine air. When I thought that Plato’s Republic was about justice, I reasoned that this was because Socrates sought to train Athenians to be better citizens in a direct democracy, a skill that would not be needed in the later totalitarian Roman Empire. But Robin Waterfield’s translation of the Republic makes more sense and is more in line with Stoic and Christian moral values. I demur from the conventional scholarly opinion that who the translator is does not matter. […]

Paul Tournier, Christian Psychologist on Marriage and Widows in Old Age and Retirement
Aging

Paul Tournier, Christian Psychologist on Marriage and Widows in Old Age and Retirement

12/19/2025 Bruce Strom 0

What is the ideal, according to Paul Tournier? “Growing old together, husband and wife can come to know a love which is, in a way, a prefiguration of heaven, for it is less tumultuous than the love of youth, being less directed towards selfish pleasure-seeking, and because a slow advance in mutual comprehension permits more authentic communication.” […]

Joys of Successful Aging, by Evangelical George Sweeting, Moody Bible Institute
Aging

Joys of Successful Aging, by Evangelical George Sweeting, Moody Bible Institute

12/13/2025 Bruce Strom 1

George Sweeting writes: “Age adds maturity and richness to life. Age smooths the rough edges of life and adds gentleness and compassion. They say: ‘The older the violin, the sweeter the music.’ Some speak of seniors as ancient, faded, frail, shriveled, senile, withered, wrinkled, and worthless!” I prefer to say seniors are “experienced, dependable, mature, patient, seasoned, steady, wise, tested, survivor, and veteran!” […]

Opposing Suicide: According to the Bible, Catholic Catechism, and St Augustine’s City of God
Command 6 Do Not Murder

Opposing Suicide: Biblical Exhortations, Catholic Catechism, and St Augustine’s City of God

12/12/2025 Bruce Strom 2

CCC 2281. “Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.” […]

Why Are Dementia Patients Who Wander So Drawn to Water? Why Do They Drown?
Dementia and Alzheimers Disease

Why Are Wandering Dementia Patients Drawn to Water? Why Do They Drown?

12/03/2025 Bruce Strom 1

The biggest objection property managers and association boards raised against performing health and wellness checks on their owners and residents is they are not nursing homes: they do not want to be held responsible for the welfare of their owners and residents. But even if they wanted to, they cannot take on the responsibility of care. Instead, they should call the police and request that they conduct a health and wellness check. They should inform the police about the possible foreclosure of a dementia patient, as this will better enable them to receive any care they may need. Any known family members must also be informed.
Alternatively, or additionally, they can request that the Broward County Council of Aging, or an appropriate local agency, refer the case to a professional. The Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 support hotline at 800-272-3900 is also an excellent resource. […]

The Decalogue in the Torah and the Book of Legends, Do Not Steal
Command 7 Do Not Steal

The Decalogue in the Torah and the Book of Legends, Do Not Steal

11/06/2025 Bruce Strom 0

The rabbis in the Book of Legends, which are moral excerpts from the Talmud, teach that there are four kinds of men:
The average man, like those in Sodom, who says, “Mine is mine, and your is yours.”
The ignorant man who says, “Mine is yours, and yours is mine.”
The pious man who says, “Mine is yours, and yours is yours.”
The wicked man who says, “Yours is mine, and mine is mine.” […]