Theological Musings on Important Topics
As topics arise I like to write from my theological perspective. If you have a topic, send me one at my email.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Random Musings for the Week ending January 20, 2007 – On Obama, Marriage, and Global Warming
This is a new post type. As any reader of this site knows, I write really long posts in general, which means that I don’t post as often and topics go flying by. So from now on at the end of the week I will do a post that captures random thoughts for the week. Here goes issue #1.
Obama and the Madrassa – So someone tracked down that Barak Obama attended a madrassa (a type of religious school in Muslim communities that are focused solely on the Koran http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrasah). Is this a big deal?
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Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Timing is Everything – A Few Thoughts on President’s Bush’s 5-15-06 Speech
Comments are flying from all quarters about the President’s speech last night. Some polling data shows the speech was well received, but the anecdotal evidence, especially on the Right, is not so positive. What did I think?
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Sunday, April 30, 2006
Does Grace Bring Dedication?
In the past 2 days I have been struck again by the zeal and willingness to sacrifice of people of other faiths. It has raised that very uncomfortable question that such stories always raise…why aren’t Christians more like that.
On Friday I went and saw United 93 (my review on the previous posting). Lets be clear, I am deeply troubled by any act of violence in the name of God. But one cannot watch the dedication with which the four terrorists, their willing to sacrifice their own lives to serve the causes of God (as they very mistakenly understood it). They acted even after sitting in the waiting lounge at the airport with their victims. They acted after seeing and hearing people talk to loved ones whom they would never see again. That is dedication.
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Tuesday, August 23, 2005
The Imperative of the War in Iraq
As a theologian, I get asked my opinion on the idea of just war and whether people should be in favour of the war in Iraq. The subject though is neither easy nor simple. With all do deference to Cindy Sheehan and the Michael Moore’s of the world, just pulling out of Iraq is not going to change the world we live in. So, here is my take on it...The Imperative of the War in Iraq
The events of recent days regarding the war in Iraq have deeply touched many Americans. Whether it be the loss of the Marines from Ohio, the repeated car bombings, including the bombing that killed dozens of Iraqi children, and of course the media coverage around the mother of a dead soldier, Cindy Sheehan, has reminded us that we are in a real war, with real casualties. Living as I do in city with many military bases, including a U.S. Army post that has suffered hundreds of casualties, these events have touched me and brought a renewed concentration on this war which is clearly still far from its last stages. Clearly I am not alone as the polling agencies have been pumping out a regular set of new and more pessimistic results showing that the majority (and a growing number at that) now disagree with the war (or at least its current handling). While I readily admit that I am an evangelical Christian theologian and a Republican, I take no joy from war anywhere. No one I know does. But, the question you must ask yourself is, “What is worse than war?”
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Monday, May 09, 2005
The Courts, the Filibuster and Truth: Does it matter?
Is there a Christian position on the issue of the fillibuster crisis in the Senate? I don’t believe there is with regards to who should sit on the bench or not, but ending the crisis
appears to fall under the basic calling of the Christian - pursuing the truth.
Regardless of whether you are a Democrat or a Republican we all have the desire, as Christians, to see this current process of handling judicial nominees handled right and fairly. What does that mean? Click below to see my take on this current situation....
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Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Misunderstanding the New Pope
What are we to make of all the news coverage of the new Pope, Benedict XVI. If you read the news coverage, Atilla the Hun has taken over the Vatican.
As I have followed the news coverage of Cardinal Ratzinger’s elevation to the papacy I have been deeply discouraged by their treatment of one of the most brilliant theologians in the Catholic Church. They have treated this man as if he were Atilla, Stalin, Hitler and Mao all rolled together in one - or worse, the Catholic George W. Bush. Why such coverage of a man who is almost universally revered as not only a great thinker, but a self-effacing gentle soul who loves people, cats, and lemonade?
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Becoming a Christian - An Event or a Process
Is the moment of becoming a Christian an event (do you have a born-again moment?) or a process (the slow turning towards Jesus Christ)?
A dear friend of mine recently asked me what I thought about people who could not point to a definitive moment where they accepted Jesus. Are these people Christians? While I believe strongly in baptism (as a statement of our faith) the quetion is one that I think misses the point. We in America are caught up in “big moments,” and certainly there are big moments among many of the biblical characters (Paul is after all the one who calls us to imitate him even as he imitates Christ). The question I ask you, if you are married, is do you remember when you fell in love with your spouse? While you can point to your marriage day, can you point to the very moment when you fell in love? It is our love for Christ that is essential to our salvation, and while baptism (the marriage ceremony for many Evangelical Christians) is important, it is not salvation. Besides, many Evangelicals still practice infant baptism (including myself), so even that event may not be tied to our own personal realization of our love for Christ.
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