We do not always get it wrong. It just appears that way too many times. And to hear some people talk, we are tempted to believe it. Yet, it is not true. Reflecting on the gospel text for last Sunday (Matthew 25:31-46), I considered all the missed opportunities for serving the least of these. Then I considered the highlight reel (in my own mind) of my years in ministry when we got it right. While I am inclined to dwell... Read more
Two years ago, I made a post called gift and gratitude. It is primarily about gifts. I want to speak more about being thankful today. Gratitude in God’s Country I met Rick Clark, an Indiana farmer who appears in the film Common Ground. It was not a long conversation. “Thanks for coming to God’s Country to speak to us,” I said. His reply surprised me, “Don’t ever leave it.” He saw what many visitors to our area see. In a... Read more
The Downloaded by Robert J. Sawyer is some light sci-fi that asks the question, “Where is consciousness? What qualifies a piece as science fiction is the story is driven by a scientific or technological problem. The story answers the question that mind and brain are dual. The brain is subject to Newtonian physics whereas the mind is constantly moving on the quantum level. If the mind stops moving, it dissipates. The bodies of the characters are in suspended animation while... Read more
Charlatans are usually a minor problem for churches. However, if you fall prey to any, they can be a major problem for you. If you are a pastor who must deal with one, it may be best to move on if you lack stamina. There are those people who claim all religious leaders are posers and con-artists. Such generalizations are for the intellectually lazy. Determining whether a person is a charlatan can be difficult. How do you tell the difference... Read more
We are empathetic toward a victim of violence, persecution, or exclusion. This is a general truth. Yet, we see many would-be persecutors play the role of victim when they are not allowed to act badly. Here is why we do not have to play the game with them. Victim of Inclusiveness One scenario played over and over is when people who propagate lies and advocate violent repression against other people accuse progressives of failing at inclusion. The charge of hypocrisy... Read more
A favorite essay of mine is Wendell Berry’s The Gift of Good Land. It is not his best piece of writing. But it renewed for me a way of thinking about our relationship to the land. Or maybe it is more accurate to say my relationship to land. Basic capitalist economics claims the three resources for production are land, labor, and capital. Beyond the mere mention of it, I do not recall anything about the role of land in production. One may as... Read more
American Christians focus on any empty tomb. But we rarely speak publicly about occupied tombs. This is a shame because Jesus was not ashamed to speak about certain ones. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you testify... Read more
The White House scene in Oppenheimer demonstrates the need for a conscious conscience. The American Prometheus sits in the room with President Truman to whom he gave the destructive fire. He says, “Mr. President, I feel I have blood on my hands.” According to the story, Harry Truman did not have any problem using the atomic bombs to end the war with Japan. We have debated the point for many years now. J. Robert Oppenheimer possessed a conscious conscience. Harry Truman... Read more
The ubiquitous meme we see, “I Stand With Israel” is another way of saying genocide is okay. The worst part is Western Christians are the loudest voices. The US news media is univocal in making clear Israel is the victim of terrorism. And yet, the plight of the Palestinians is ignored. Too many of us shrug and give the excuse, “They brought it on themselves.” No, they did not. It is the same argument made when Germany placed severe restrictions... Read more
Israel declares war the day before our Columbus Day. What an interesting time for reflection? The year was 1492 King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain took two world changing actions that year. One is they sent one of the most controversial and enigmatic figures in western history to the orient. The other action is they expelled all the Jews and Muslims from their Most Catholic Kingdom. These actions launched the beginning of the European empires in the New World... Read more
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