This Side of the Pulpit » Entries tagged with "politics"
Whose Obligation?
Overheard at another blog: I work three jobs, and yet I’ve been told by people in my (*****) church that we don’t need universal health care. It’s not the government’s job. The Church should take care of the poor. I notice none of them are offering to buy insurance for me and my husband. I keep wondering how much you have to work to be deserving. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
(The) Who will fix our Synod
Many of the LCMS blogs these days–at least the ones I read–are posting about the upcoming LCMS Convention this summer, and posting a lot about it. It is the topic du jour. It always is. But not here. At least, not so much. It is true the LCMS is in a world of hurt, at least when it comes to financial operations, unity in doctrine and practice and unity of purpose. It’s gotten so bad that I have to fight off an inward cringe when I have members who tell me, “I visited and LCMS when I was on vacation, and they…” Almost inevitably, they continue by saying something that sounds more Consumerist Mega-Church Metho-bapti-costal than anything Lutheran. Well now. So we should all be concerned with what is happening at the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Scary Stuff at the Tea Party
Completely quoting re-posting from Christopher Orr: According to John at Notes from a Common-place Book, the Tea Party group Grassroots America – We the People recently held an event headlined by Glenn Beck. At this event he asked: “Do you believe this is God’s land?”; “Do you believe our Constitution was divinely inspired?”; and he also noted that “the American flag is a symbol of God’s Freedom.” Theologically, not just politically, no. No. Read the comments there too. … Read entire article »
Health Care and our Christian Witness
So I think I have a case of the blog-writer’s block. In efforts to cure it, how about Health Care? I’ve got seriously mixed feelings. The problem is we have several fundamental tensions involved, centering around the question of the role of the government and so-called rights of Americans. Namely, do we have some sort of right to health care? History does not help us much. We cannot go back even 100 years and see how much government provided, controlled, or denied health care to its citizens because there simply wasn’t that much that physicians actually did to cure people. We’ve come a long way, baby. Theologically speaking, God established the governments to protect and defend its citizens, allowing us to live a “quiet and peaceable life.” How this is carried out is … Read entire article »
My Politics, Apparently Not
The chart doesn’t show up right when I publish this, so I’m giving up. For the best, I suppose… … Read entire article »
Let’s Focus on Things that Matter
I am no fan of President Obama. I cannot support his deathworks policies. But let’s go easy on his sense of humor. Here’s where people said he was making fun of Jessica Simpson: The girl is on the cover of a national magazine publicizing how she used to be fatter. What Obama said is pretty mild…and amusing. Now some rail against him for making fun of the Special Olympics. Here’s what happened on the Tonight Show: Give the man a break, please. He was making fun of himself and everyone who was buttering him for bowling a 129. Until he does something like this, he’s not making fun of anyone (it begins in a familiar fashion, then goes off the tracks at 0:13) … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
Welcome, our Conquering Liberal Overlords!
The Connecticut Legislature is debating a bill that would madate Roman Catholic Churches be administered by an elected lay board, upon which the pastor and his bishop would have no vote. Obviously, many Catholics are up-in-arms, as it would redefine Catholicism. An editorial in The Advocate notes, “Free exercise” of religion includes the way a Church chooses to organize. Strip the bishops and priests of their role in financial matters and their message becomes subject to the approval of those holding the purse. Historically, “under trustee control, not only was pastoral authority practically eliminated, but the Church’s message was utterly dependent upon the congregation’s cultural and political condition.” The writer grants that many protestant churches have chosen such an arrangement. Nevertheless, the First Amendment grants churches the right to choose. There are a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
Death and Capitalism
From Second Terrace: …the Christian Right complains about abortion, the destruction of embryos, hyper-socialism, termination of the aged and disabled, and the chic redefinition of aberrant sexual proclivity as conferring “minority” status – these are all issues about which I wholeheartedly agree with my right-wing heterodox friends. But they are not-so-strangely silent, in their insouciance, about encroaching totalitarianism, consumerism, war-as-aggrandizement, environmental rapine, and hyper-capitalism: these concerns are just as Biblical, and should be just as salient — even in such a restricted view thatsola scripturaallows. You would be hard pressed to find a fundamentalist Christian who will say a critical word about capitalism, given their multi-generational catechism that defines the Beast as a red communist for sure. If you turn the radio dial enough, late at night (or the url-bar), you can still … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
Rhetorics in the Second Grade
On the way to school several days ago, my daughter asked me who I was voting for. I told her McCain. She asked why I was not voting for Obama. I tried to tell her, in 2nd grade terms, that despite good qualities in Obama, and despite some of the positions of his party, that I cannot in good conscience vote for someone who is in favor of abortion. I don’t like it, but I am a single-issue voter for now. I had to explain abortion to her. The next day she told my wife and I, “Grace at school wanted to vote for Obama, but I asked her, ‘Grace, don’t you love babies?’ She said she did. Then I said, ‘Well, Obama thinks killing babies is good. You don’t want to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
Is It Paranoia if They Are out to Get You?
“What if, in a society characterized by a Goldilocks economy, we can’t find anything to worry about? What if we somehow go looking for things to fear, things that will destroy this economy, things that will reach every corner of government, everyenterprise, every man, woman, and child?” –Special Agent Fox Mulder … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
Books!
Networked Blogs
Recent Comments
- Emily H. on Fasting Fast Approaching
"There ought to at least be hummus on that plate in the picture! ;) Blessed Fast…" - Jay Hobson on Law/Gospel Outlines?
"My thoughts are to do as the text does, and let the text govern the outline. Som…" - Christopher Hall on A Rant which May not Impress You, if Read Correctly
"See. You're not impressed. :) Seriously I sympathize with what you are writin…" - Chris Jones on A Rant which May not Impress You, if Read Correctly
"This is a modern problem, which is to say that from a Christian perspective it i…" - Christopher Hall on Law/Gospel Outlines?
"I think your opinion is very good, Chris. And Bill...hmmm...not a fan of preachi…"