The church season of Epiphany contrasts our darker nature reflected in the recent words from our president about immigration. As a Christian, true religion is more about the “least of these” than the great, powerful, and rich. There is nothing profane about having privilege. What is offensive to the Gospel […]
Truth is not a sport that wins with the score of popularity or power won. In our postmodern world, we can believe what we want. We can pay a company to spin information or post fake news on social media. Consequences do not matter. We are driven to win at […]
As we reflect on an election season, here is a psalm to help us focus our worship–loosely paraphrased from Psalm 21. My eyes see have seen The Hill, My ears of heard the POTUS proclamations, My Twitter feed full of hateful power. But, where does my help come from? Does […]
Mystery cannot be contained by two dimensions. We seem to escape mystery within the walls of our binary reality. If life was as simple as a switch, we could simply turn off or turn on solutions. In fact, we do that very act every day to choose hot or cold […]
What strikes me is that every four years we go through a loss of memory as to how traditionally American it is to hurl personal insults and spin preposterous claims to your political opponent. This is not new, and politics have not really hit a new low with the likes of Donald Trump.
With hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees flooding Europe, our response as a nation has at best been tepid. We have 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., but many would rather build walls than talk about how humanely to deal with the small children caught in the political crossfire. This week a 14-year-old geeky student brought a homemade clock to school and was arrested for making a “fake bomb”—four policeman surrounded and handcuffed the confused, slightly built young man. He happened to be Muslim and “looked” the part. Why is it that people not like us bring out our dark side? I believe that fear for our safety seems to trump human dignity. But, should it? Would we put Japanese-Americans in concentration camps if we had it to do all over again?
In the news recently, Michael Gungor made some remarks that caused a backlash and disparaging of his character and even his intent. He said that Adam and Eve were not literal people we all came from, and basically that to think so is like believing in Santa Claus. Yes, I strongly do not agree with that part of what he claims. Even some scientists appear to disagree with him when you consider genetic studies that propose a “Mitochondrial Eve” existed–albeit not one they would claim is the Eve of Genesis. Yes, Gungor’s tone admittedly was defensive. But, why would Gungor not be defensive? Are we able to even talk about our differences without that being the case?
The ascetics of the early church lived in caves, whipped themselves, and made vows of celibacy or silence. Monasteries were founded. Many of these did some amazing work, from copying by hand the scripture to creating beer for the masses to make something useful and drinkable during the unsanitary Middle Ages. The dark side of monastic life is the whole idea of living in a conclave, removed from the world. To be “holy” literally means to be “set apart” for God. So, why not focus on the “ apart” part of it while living for God? Some brilliant things happen when sequestered to study and learn. University time does this. But, when and how do we forge a path in the secular as we grow in the sacred? And, our times these days are filled with technology that allows us a separate life. Do you live in a virtual monastery?
Yes, there are early voting booths and absentee ballots available for people who cannot stand in line at their local precinct. But, why do we insist on having elections on work days? Why is it that we seem to make it a barrier administratively for a voter to who may […]
One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. – Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) Neil Armstrong’s passing surely brings up childhood memories of space shuttles launching, and astronaut heroes. In the animated Pixar movie Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear even as a toy represents the best of an era that […]
People get mad. They boycott. However ugly we think that is, it is really the “cost” of free speech. However, the biggest danger to us all is when liberty and free speech is coerced by people in office–when the government uses its influence to exact a penalty. When the chatter […]
We are being duped. Yep. If you are a liberal and for gay marriage you have just been delivered red meat in the form of CEO Dan Cathy’s very simple affirmation of his believe in traditional family–along with God’s impending judgement. You already know his company gives a lot of […]
