tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3235745224488791862024-03-13T16:09:00.426-07:00Flawed Glass"...for now we see as if through a flawed pane of glass..." (I Corinthians 13:12, my paraphrase)Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.comBlogger207125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-66217256607146582892023-11-28T09:00:00.000-08:002023-11-28T09:00:54.084-08:00A Faith Statement<p> <span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Recently I
was asked whether I believe in an afterlife. The apparent reason is that my
preaching and writing focus pretty much on living a Christ-like life here and
now. Still, the question is valid, and I will address it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I will restrict
my comments to what I find in Scripture, setting aside what others may have
“found” (sic) in Scripture. In particular, I will set aside the eschatological model
created by John Nelson Darby (an attorney; not a biblical scholar) in the mid-nineteenth
century, and the spinoffs from his model. The spinoff versions<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/08947db23bad2ad2/Documents/BLOGS/7-7-2023--A%20Faith%20Statement.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
vary greatly; nevertheless, they all are dependent on Darby’s work and together
constitute the default eschatology accepted, albeit uncritically (in many cases
I would even say assumed), by the overwhelming majority of Christians today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I find no
evidence that Darby’s model, nor any part of it, was articulated prior to his
creation of it less than two centuries </span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">ago. Nor do I find any earlier eschatology
that takes unrelated texts from as varied sources as Ezekiel, Daniel, Matthew 24,
Luke 17, I Thessalonians 4, et. al., and dumps them randomly into Revelation
like a boy rolling his marbles across a hardwood floor. Revelation is complete
and can stand on its own as is. It needs no help from Ezekiel or Paul or the rest.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">That being
said, there can be little doubt that the New Testament projects some
manifestation of a transcendent, eternal existence characterized as utopian perfection
(an anthropomorphic assumption) lived in the full, conscious awareness of God’s
presence. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Two factors
pretty much form the basis of my understanding of that existence as presented
in Christian Scripture. First, the language is from Jewish messianic hopes that
emerged in the post-exilic era (5<sup>th</sup> and 6<sup>th</sup> centuries BCE).
Those hopes had a distinctive military and political quality of empire, with an
ultimate hope for a world dominant kingdom. That didn’t happen under Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Christians do
see Jesus as the fulfillment of Jewish messianic hopes, but in a way totally
unexpected by Israel. Within today’s dominant Christian eschatology, Jesus’
role as Messiah was all about individual salvation through faith in him as the
qualification for heaven after death. But there will be a “second coming” in
which things will be different!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In today’s default Christian eschatology there’s little
focus on issues of justice and peace here and now because it is understood that
nothing can be done until Christ returns to fulfill Israel’s original messianic
expectation. For now, it’s virtually all about getting into heaven and being
nice until Jesus returns.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The people
of Israel, on the other hand, continue the original hope, even as a secular nation
of Israel exists separate and distinct from that hope. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Christians
have joined in that some-day hope of a world-dominant kingdom headed by a
returning Jesus, but into that hope they have inserted ancient apocalyptic imagery
that projects a cosmic, metaphysical quality that inspires post-apocalyptic movies
and video games. I find nothing in the Christian Scriptures to validate such a scenario
except metaphorically.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It is the
abundance of metaphor that is the second factor that informs my understanding
of biblical eschatology. The metaphors are rich and powerful, so long as they
remain metaphors. Once they are squeezed into some conjectural literalism, they
take on a fantasy quality. John Dominic Crossan’s quote comes to mind: “My
point, once again, is not that those ancient people told literal stories and we
are now smart enough to take them symbolically, but that they told them
symbolically and we are now dumb enough to take them literally.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
metaphors are necessary because what they communicate is a reality that
transcends not only time and space, but also the human capacity to comprehend. In
simple terms, God’s promise of "heaven" (again, a metaphor that has taken on anthropomorphic literal qualities) will exceed anything we can imagine, even
when our imagination is based on metaphoric streets of gold and walls of
diamond.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
metaphors are so rich and powerful that I have no illusion I can comprehend or
even imagine their fulfillment. But I trust God for that unknowable eternity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Having
trusted in the faithfulness of God’s promise, and having accepted Jesus as the
Way, the Truth, and the Life referenced in that promise, I leave it in God’s
hands. Now I am free to follow Jesus’ Way, Truth, and Life here and now: </span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Truly I tell you,
just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,
you did it to me” </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-variant: small-caps; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">(Matthew
25:40). </span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The current obsession
among some Christians to figure out all the details is a distraction from our
calling thus to follow.</span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beyond what
I can control here and now, whatever God has in mind will come to pass, it will
surpass anything I can anticipate, and none of my pondering (or yours) will
influence when or how it will happen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Let’s,
while we wait, be about imitating Christ in our personal and community lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/08947db23bad2ad2/Documents/BLOGS/7-7-2023--A%20Faith%20Statement.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"> Including, but not limited to:
Hal Lindsey’s <i>Late, Great Planet Earth</i> (I have met and interacted with
Lindsey, and I admire and respect him as a Christian. I just disagree with his
eschatology), the <i>Left Beh</i>ind series of novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry
Jenkins. There are other expression of today’s dominant Christian eschatology.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-91183423763995928462023-05-10T09:38:00.002-07:002023-05-10T09:52:28.650-07:00The Gospel in a Teacup: A Theological Perspective<p> <span> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.3in;">I think it was Martin
Luther who said John 3:16 is “The Gospel in Miniature”. It’s also been called “The
Gospel in a Nutshell”. While I affirm that characterization, such a
condensation is like coming in at the middle of a movie. The Gospel is not an
isolated truth. It is expressed in the culmination of centuries of an evolving
relationship between humanity and humanity’s Creator. That evolving process
must be delineated, or it will be assumed. And you know what “they say” happens
when we assume.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The alternative, however,
is clumsy and cumbersome. If we pause to lay out our assumptions and reassemble
the context of every discussion, most discussions will lose momentum and coast
to a stop before any significant conclusion is reached. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Without that cumbersome
setup, however, the outcome of any significant conversation is predictable;
indeed, we live that outcome most days of our lives: we end up with Democrats
and Republicans and Libertarians and Tea Partiers—and Baptists and Catholics
and Presbyterians and Quakers and Methodists and . . . <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Gratefully, we still have
options. (1) We can choose to respect and honor each other in our differences,
and even to harvest an occasional pearl of wisdom and faith from our brothers
and sisters and cousins with whom we differ. (2) We can assume our assessment
of truth is absolute and deny any credibility on the part of any who dare
disagree. From there, we can (2a) ignore or shun those who differ; (2b) contend
with those who differ and try to persuade them to our perspective; (2c) try to
destroy those who differ. Sadly, 2c is rapidly becoming the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">modus operandi</i> of many persons and
groups whose identity is grounded rigidly in any specific ideology.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">For all these
reasons I will need a container somewhat larger than a nutshell if I am to
offer any summary perspective on the Gospel. There are Scriptural hooks upon
which I hang my summary, and I will gladly share them upon request. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">* * * * *<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Humanity is created in the
image of its Creator. This <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">imago dei</i>
(divine image) includes <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">freedom of choice</i>.
In granting free choice, our Creator freely, voluntarily and intentionally
became <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">vulnerable</i>. Our Creator
completely understood and accepted the risk that humans could choose ways inconsistent
with the desire and purpose that motivated creation in the first place.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">That desire and purpose
was a fulfilling, loving <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">relationship</i>
between Creator and creature. As the poet caricatured, “God said, ‘I’m lonely.
I’ll make me a man.’”<a href="file:///F:/Applied%20Theology/The%20Gospel%20in%20a%20Teacup.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Our Creator set everything
up; providing every necessity to sustain meaningful, purposeful life and
relationship in an idyllic setting of pleasure and comfort. The Creator also
established boundaries which, if honored, would insure the continuation of that
pleasure and comfort and meaning. Within those boundaries was the revealed path
toward full and abundant life and relationship with the Creator.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">But the boundaries were
permeable. Humanity had freedom of choice, without which no relationship is
possible.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The boundary was a tree.
Whether the tree was literal or metaphoric is irrelevant; indeed, it morphs
into virtually unlimited images. For a toddler, it may be the burner on a stove
and the related warning, “Hot!” The tree was called “the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil.” Key word is “knowledge.” Perhaps the tree was a
personification of the question, “Why?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I don’t know if physics
can have any correlation with theology (Astronomer, Carl Sagan, at least found
a spiritual kind of awe in his work). A basic observation in physics is “for
every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. In human life and
relationships <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">natural consequences</i>
accompany every enacted choice. Most often those natural consequences are
predictable: “Touch the burner and you’ll get burned.” “Hot!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Predictable! But, how many
toddlers heed adult advice regarding the “Hot!” burner?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">We want to “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">know</i>”. Instead of accepting the Creator’s
loving provision and boundaries, we shift our focus to the persistent question,
“What if I get it wrong?” Instead of accepting life as gift, we try to prove our
worthiness: self-justification trumps grateful acceptance. Every time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">So here we humans are:
sewing fig leaves together to hide our nakedness (which for some reason we
assume is evil), hiding in the bushes and fabricating strategies calculated to
escape responsibility and accountability for our choices. The “blame game” doesn’t
work any better now than then; nevertheless, it remains the best humanity has
been able to come up with.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">And here is our Creator, “OK,
you’ve chosen a different path than I laid out for full and abundant living.
Let’s go to ‘Plan B.’ Let’s get you away from that tree; and since you want to feel
useful, take some of my creative spirit and till the soil to produce your own food.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">When we humans choose a
different path, our Creator is the master of improvisation, and provides
everything necessary to redirect our path back toward the full and abundant
life our Creator continues to offer and eternally desires for us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Essentially, that’s the
“Gospel.” That’s the “Good News.” We humans make choices that are not
consistent with the Creator’s way of full, abundant living. Our different idea never
works as we anticipate. But, the Creator is always with us, improvising a detour
back to the Creator’s more productive path to fulfilling, loving relationship
with the Creator and with each other.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The gospel has been played
out again and again in virtually every generation, in virtually every
individual life. The Bible is a faithful witness to that divine human dance: an
accumulation of testimony and counter-testimony through generations of the Creator’s
people as they struggle with their freedom of choice, living out the natural,
predictable consequences, but always with the gracious offer of choosing the Creator’s
improvised detour back to abundant life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">That gospel was ultimately
lived out and demonstrated in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. There are multiple
theories (called “atonement theories) explaining how the life of Jesus
manifested the Creator’s improvised detour, and how we humans can become
reconnected (reconciled) with the revealed path toward fulfilling, loving
relationship with the Creator and with each other. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">But virtually all atonement
theories are extensions of the original human need to “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">know</i>” the “right” way. The goal of virtually every atonement theory
is to codify what is “right”, thereby guaranteeing (perhaps even obligating) the
Creator’s acceptance and justification of our life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The historic result has
been to shatter the body of believers and to set them against one another. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Gospel—the Good
News—is that the Creator’s improvised detour is not of our devising; nor does
it require our assent or understanding. Like every manifestation of the Creator’s
love, the detour is provided as gift, personified in the life of a man who
said, “Follow me.” In essence, the intention and effort to heed that call and
to follow Jesus is, itself, an expression of faith and, finally, the enactment
of the “right” choice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thanks be to God, Creator
of all that is, Redeemer of all that is broken, and Sustainer of all that is
holy! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///F:/Applied%20Theology/The%20Gospel%20in%20a%20Teacup.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif"> James Weldon Johnson,</span><cite><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> <span lang="EN">(1964)
[1927], God’s trombones: seven negro sermons in verse (hardback), Douglas,
Aaron Ill; Falls, CB lettering, New York: Viking</span></span></cite><span class="z3988"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" lang="EN" style="display: none; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-hide: all;"> </span></span><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">.</span><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-75874256833139151002023-03-31T09:03:00.000-07:002023-03-31T09:03:03.275-07:00Guns Don't Kill<p> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">“Guns don’t kill;
people kill” is the mantra of the population for whom the “right to keep and
bear arms” takes precedence over virtually all human life, which is really
ironic, since the overlap with the “right-to-life” population would include
most of both groups. The second amendment trumps right to life.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">In my relatively
small field of vision, nobody disagrees with that mantra.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">“Thoughts and
prayers” is the throw-away dismissal of the cult of the Second Amendment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">In my relatively
small field of vision, nobody agrees that that’s enough.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">In my view there
are two factors that render the guns-don’t-kill mantra irrelevant and impotent.
First, there is no effort, nor is there any apparent intention, to do anything
to identify the people who do kill and restrict their access to guns. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Guns don’t kill;
however, the love of guns, and the parallel unwillingness to <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">mitigate the</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u style="text-underline: words;"> unregulated and virtually total access
to guns</u></i> by essentially anybody with the funds to do so is totally
irresponsible and uncaring; furthermore, it is undeniably the greatest single contributor
to the senseless mass slaughter of so many innocent and unsuspecting victims
and to the grief of their families.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">The second factor
is the selective ignoring of the initial qualifying phrase of the second
amendment so that the second half, viz., “the right of the people to keep
and bear Arms, shall not be infringed” is the sole focus of interpretation. The
first half is totally ignored, even though numerous respected legal minds have
pointed out its qualifying impact on the amendment. Hence, “A well regulated
Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State…” is not considered an
important part of the amendment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">By Definition</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;"> in 18<sup>th</sup> century syntax (1791,
when the second amendment was established) a militia consisted of live-at-home
civilians who went about their private and family affairs, and were not
billeted in an established military compound or assigned duties of a military
nature; nor were they issued uniforms or firearms or other military equipment. Training
was minimal at best. They were called up in emergencies, at which times they
provided their own firearms.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">The necessity of a
“well-regulated militia” has long been supplanted by the establishment of a
full-time standing military consisting of Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps,
and Coast Guard. Supplemental units (Reserves and/or National Guard) are
subject to being called up and activated. Again, however, these supplemental
units, when activated, are billeted in a military compound and are issued all
necessary equipment, including firearms.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">As defined and
understood in 1791, the United States has no militia nor any need of one;
therefore, it can be argued that the second amendment is archaic and has no
applicable base in the twenty-first century.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">All that being
said, I have no desire to prohibit the possession of firearms by people who are
mentally and emotionally stable and are not prone to substance abuse or
irresponsible or impulsive behavior. Hunting, collecting, and competitive
shooting seem, to me, the only valid and reasonable use of firearms by
civilians. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Home security is a
popular justification for firearms; however, multiple statistics document that one
is more likely to be killed by natural disaster than by a home intruder or
personal attack; indeed, persons who keep firearms in their home are more
likely to die by gunfire than those who do not. In fact, the lesser-known,
private tragedies that occur in homes accounts for substantially more deaths
than do mass shootings.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/08947db23bad2ad2/Documents/BLOGS/Guns%20Dont%20Kill.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
The “security of a free state” that made necessary the keeping and bearing of
arms in 1791 referred to a militia responding to a call to arms and engaging in
fixed battles against an opposing threat to national security.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Arming school
personnel has proven virtually useless in preventing school shootings, and even
has been counterproductive in some cases.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/08947db23bad2ad2/Documents/BLOGS/Guns%20Dont%20Kill.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Finally, I am
drawn to one word in the initial qualifying statement of the second amendment: “A
well-regulated Militia, being <i>necessary</i> to the security of a free
State…” My attention is drawn to the word, “necessary.” To what extent are guns
“necessary?” While it may seem an irrelevant question, especially to gun
enthusiasts, it does seem relevant to the interpretation of the amendment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Nevertheless, while
I consider the second amendment <i>as it is written</i> to be basically
irrelevant to twenty-first century application, it’s here to stay. There’s
simply no way it will ever be rescinded or even amended.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/08947db23bad2ad2/Documents/BLOGS/Guns%20Dont%20Kill.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Until the
proponents of gun ownership (and that would include me; although I don’t own a
gun and don’t want one in my home) shift focus from the guns that don’t kill to
the people who do kill (for the benefit of those who are being killed), blood
will continue to run in our streets and in our school hallways.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">That’s the way it
looks through the flawed glass that is my world view.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Together in the Walk<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/08947db23bad2ad2/Documents/BLOGS/Guns%20Dont%20Kill.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"> One of may documentations of my
comment: </span><a href="https://time.com/6183881/gun-ownership-risks-at-home/"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;">Owning Guns Puts People in Your
Home at Greater Risk of Death | Time</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/08947db23bad2ad2/Documents/BLOGS/Guns%20Dont%20Kill.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"> Again, one of many
documentations of my comment: </span><a href="https://cssrc.colorado.gov/guns-in-schools"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;">Guns in Schools | School Safety Resource Center
(colorado.gov)</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/08947db23bad2ad2/Documents/BLOGS/Guns%20Dont%20Kill.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"> There are two ways to rescind a
constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds vote of both houses of congress
(which ain’t gonna’ happen!), and ratification by three-fourths of the states.
That means 13 states could defeat the motion to rescind. I can name twenty states
that would vote against rescission. The second way to rescind an amendment is
convene a constitutional convention, which would require two-thirds of the
states to call for one. The amendment is iron-clad safe.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-20198700519527902122023-01-10T11:58:00.005-08:002023-01-10T12:10:41.359-08:00The Need to Be Right (or for Others to Be Wrong)<p> Can we talk?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Is it just me, or does it seem that, in general, Christianity has evolved into a matter of who’s right and who’s wrong? Even among the theological elitists, there is almost a smugness in finding something "wrong" in someone else's witness. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Maybe it’s always been that way. The New Testament Gospels, written in the last half of the first century partly responded to heresy. The epistles, written a generation or so earlier, even though they were primarily personal letters addressing practical questions, also addressed foundations of doctrine and confronted “false teachings.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Peter and Paul, the primary influencers of the first generation of the church—Peter in Jerusalem among Jewish converts and Paul throughout Turkey, Greece and into Rome, working among Greco/Roman converts—carried on a bitter disagreement until it was resolved at the Jerusalem Council (cf. Acts 15). What we learn through their dispute and its resolution is that Christianity is adaptable; it touches people where they are with no prerequisite hoops to jump through in preparation to receive our “right” doctrine.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The infamous Inquisitions and Crusades of the Middle Ages, and even the Protestant Reformation itself, all were intended to punish heresy and infidelity and to extend “correct” doctrine.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">So, maybe the greatest heritage of Christianity from the beginning is conflict over who gets it right and who gets it wrong.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">More primal is the question of “ultimate reality” and my/our relationship with it: Who gets in and who gets thrown out. Calvinism, in particular, focused more on what is considered “wrong” than on what is considered “right.” The emphasis was on who gets in and who doesn’t, and Calvin made it pretty darn difficult to “get it.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bottom line, it all goes back to the Garden and the “fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Why would “the man” (adam in Hebrew) want to “know” good and evil? He was in paradise with everything provided, including a mutually gratifying mate.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">But there was the tempter: “You’ll be like God, knowing good and evil.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hmmmm. "If I 'know,' I’ll be in control (like God). I can do good and avoid evil and thus, by my own initiative, can control my own destiny." But what happened instead was the introduction of doubt: “What if I get it wrong?”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">From that moment (one understanding of original sin?), the history of humanity has been a desperate sense of alienation from self and from ultimate reality, and a related search for assurance that I’m getting it right. Faith says, “Just trust God’s word that you are loved and accepted.” But the opposite of Faith is not doubt. It’s knowledge. And it is knowledge that produces doubt, because with knowing comes unknowing--an awareness of the limits of our knowledge; thus, “What if I get it wrong?”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">So, my hypothesis is that the right/wrong dichotomy that drives the divisiveness in humanity (including the church) is a manifestation of original sin: the need to know and the rejection of trust.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">And one human myth says the way to be assured that “I’m right” is to label those who disagree with me as “wrong.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">What we learn through Luke 9:49-50<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>, Mark 9:38-40<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>, and Philippians 1:15-18<a href="#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> is that even those who teach a different doctrine are affirmed in their witness by both Jesus and Paul<a href="#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>; therefore, can be affirmed by us.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">What if we simply live as if we truly believe what we say we believe, viz., that <b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">“God did not send the son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.” </span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">(John 3:17)</span></b><span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">? </span>Did God fail in God’s purpose? Do we really believe that “through him” (Jesus) we are made at one (atoned) with God and with each other; indeed, with ourselves?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Was God only partially successful in God’s intention that “the world through him might be saved?” Could God not save some because God had set up rules that have to be followed—hoops through which we have to jump—as prerequisites to realizing success? Wouldn’t that put the burden on us, rather than on the grace of God? Or is grace selective? Does grace exclude? Is grace insufficient to cover all our faults and errors?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">How would we relate to another person who disagrees with us if we experienced no need to prove him/her wrong? How would we relate if we had no need to prove ourselves right? How would we relate if we trusted that our relationship with God and our eternal destinies (and the other person’s relationship with God and eternal destiny) are functions of God’s grace and not of our being right?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">At another level, when you judge whether another person’s faith is wrong, does that exercise bring you closer to God? Do you experience God’s presence in the act of assigning right/wrong absolutes on others—or yourself?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I suspect you’re somewhat like me: you’re more likely to feel a divine presence when you live and relate as if you truly believe what you say you believe, and exercise that belief, not through comparing doctrine or theology, but through an imitation of Jesus, who did not come to condemn the world…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">That’s the way it looks through the Flawed Glass that is my world view.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0in;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0in;">Jim<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" /><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /><!--[endif]--><div id="ftn1"><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif"> “John answered, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he does not follow with us.’ <sup>50</sup>But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you.’” (NRSVUE)<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="ftn2"><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif"> “John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not following us.’ <b><sup>39</sup></b>But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him, for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. <b><sup>40</sup></b>Whoever is not against us is for us.’” (NRSVUE)<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="ftn3"><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><a href="#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif"> <b><sup> </sup>“</b>Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry but others from goodwill. <b><sup>16</sup></b>These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defense of the gospel; <b><sup>17</sup></b>the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment. <b><sup>18</sup></b>What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true, and in that I rejoice.” (NRSVUE)</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div id="ftn4"><p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif">A particularly cogent observation, since one recent right/wrong discussion regards the influence of Paul on current understandings of Jesus. Some say current Christianity is more a reflection of Paul than of Jesus, and that Paul misleads the faith (read: “is wrong”). I’m only just discovering that argument, and am not yet informed enough to weigh in.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-74222906430905376412022-09-27T12:28:00.002-07:002022-09-27T12:30:51.691-07:00God, Give Me Patience! Right Now!<p> </p><div class="WordSection1">
<div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Sunday I preached
from </span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">II
Timothy 4:1-6</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">, a part of
which reads</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt;">,
“</span><span class="text"><b><i><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt;">I solemnly urge you: </span></i></b></span><span class="text"><b><sup><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt;">2</span></sup></b></span><span class="text"><b><i><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt;">proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is
favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage <u>with the utmost patience</u> in teaching. </span></i></b></span><span class="text"><b><sup><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt;">3</span></sup></b></span><span class="text"><b><i><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt;">For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound
teaching, but, having their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves
teachers to suit their own desires </span></i></b></span><span class="text"><b><sup><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt;">4</span></sup></b></span><span class="text"><b><i><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt;">and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander
away to myths.</span></i></b></span><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/September%2027.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 11pt;">[1]</span></b></span></span></i></b></span></a><span class="text"><b><i><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Patience. On the
contrary, I grow impatient with a subculture that is increasingly proud of its
inhumanity—a subculture that dresses up rudeness and cruelty as sacred and treats
kindness and compassion as weak and unchristian—a subculture that insults</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">and characterizes kindness as “Snowflake” and
“Bleeding Heart.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Last week, I was
horrified watching some manifestations of that subculture of inhumanity shipping
exhausted migrants to other areas of the country in brazen acts, not only of
political posturing and vengeance, but also of outright cruelty. And one of
their number appeared on television boasting, “That’s just the beginning.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Beyond the acts
themselves, I’ve grown impatient with, as John Pavlovitz puts it, “…the
theological and mental gymnastics so many professing Christians have engaged
while trying to justify traumatizing already traumatized people.”</span><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/September%2027.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[2]</span></span></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">And the shameless disregard for humanity is
increasing, both in frequency and in severity, and so is my impatience. (Sorry,
Paul.)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The saddest part
is that up front, leading the pack, are people who are confessing Christians!
How did they miss the more than 500 times the words, “kind,” and “kindness,”
are used in the Bible to describe God’s relationship to humanity and,
therefore, God’s expectation of the creatures created in God’s own image? How
did they miss the crystal clear message in </span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Micah 6:8,</span></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 11pt;"> “What does the Lord require of you but do
justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God?”</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">“Yeah, but…” They
rationalize and justify their inhumane behavior not on the basis of faith or Holy
Writ, but on assumed-but-undocumented threats </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">and/or some mythical and unbiblical standard of
worthiness. They whine about “illegal aliens,” and then take away the legal
means by which immigrants can enter our country.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">How can they
justify their selective inhumanity as professing Christians while ignoring
Jesus’ injunction to “love your enemies?”</span><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/September%2027.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[3]</span></span></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Of course, if I am
totally honest, I must ask, “What if I’m the one who’s wrong?” Maybe I read
something wrong when Moses says, twice </span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">(Exodus 22 & 23):</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 11pt;">“You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien,
for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Maybe I miss
something when I read twice in the same chapter of </span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Leviticus</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt;">
</span><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10pt;">(19:33,
34):</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 11pt;">“The alien who resides
with you shall be to you as the native-born among you; you shall love the alien
as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Fourteen times in
Genesis Abraham is described as “an alien in Canaan—an alien in the land of the
Philistines.” And as Moses is preparing the Israelites to enter the Promised
Land after their Exodus from Egyptian bondage, he instructs them to use as a
part of their liturgical life the confession, </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 11pt;">“A wandering Aramean was
my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien…”</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">(Deuteronomy</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10pt;"> 26:5 NRSVUE)</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Am I missing
something? Am I wrong when I apply that same principle to White, Anglo-Saxons
in America? Were we not aliens in 1620?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Whether I’m right
or wrong, I have not seen or heard a word from the culture of inhumanity
regarding any of the Scriptural teachings about the treatment of aliens and
strangers. Moreover, I don’t expect anyone from that subculture to read this
blog; therefore, I’m guessing I’m “preaching to the choir.” But I will not be
consenting in my silence.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Paraphrasing and
adapting Pavlovitz from his blog referenced above, I wonder where professing
Christians in that subculture see Jesus in deceiving and shipping frightened
migrants to Blue areas of this country; I wonder how they can “celebrate with
joyous middle finger defiance” using human beings as some sort of prop in
political posturing and vengeance.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Rather than a
basis in ethics, morals, or Judeo/Christian Scriptures, the rationalization
from the culture of inhumanity appeals to the fears and underlying hatred (not
our “better angels”) of anyone who is “different.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">In contrast,</span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I saw Jesus in the response of the
people in Martha’s Vineyard, as they recognized and responded to the common
humanity of those lost and confused migrants and received them with open arms
and open hearts. People in Martha’s Vineyard (<i>some claiming faith and some
not</i>) understood that empathy is the only redemptive path when people are
hurting and abused and treated like pieces in some revolting political game.<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/September%2027.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[4]</span></span></span></a> It no longer is about
“faith” or politics. It’s about common humanity.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">And the people in
Martha’s Vineyard challenged me in my growing impatience. And through their
example I heard the voice of Paul saying, “Teach this. Just teach this and be
patient. Teach this and turn it loose. Teach this and have patience and faith
to believe that the Word will not return to you void. Just teach this:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 11pt;">“I
was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to
drink, <u>I was a stranger</u> and you welcomed
me...” </span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">(Matthew
25:35)</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">That’s the way it looks through the Flawed Glass that is my world view.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; text-indent: 0in;">Together in the
Walk,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; text-indent: 0in;">Jim</span></p></div></div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/September%2027.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
All Scriptural quotes are taken from the <i>New Revised Standard Version, Updated
Edition </i>(Chester Heights, PA: Friendship Press, 2021)<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/September%2027.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif"> </span><a href="https://johnpavlovitz.com/2022/09/16/how-the-religious-right-made-cruelty-sacred-and-compassion-unchristian/"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif">How The Religious Right Made
Cruelty Sacred and Compassion Unchristian (johnpavlovitz.com)</span></a><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/September%2027.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif"> Twice in the Gospel of Matthew
and Twice in the Gospel of Luke!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/September%2027.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif">Again, adapting thoughts from
John Pavlovitz’ blog cited above.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-26712614634978698142022-08-30T11:04:00.004-07:002022-08-30T11:14:04.874-07:00Weighing in on Student Loan Forgiveness<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">OK, I’ll weigh in on the loan forgiveness
debate, knowingly subjecting myself to the abuse of those who disagree (just as
I’ve witnessed those who <i><u>agree</u></i> with me abusing those who <i><u>disagree</u></i>.
Why can’t we have civil discourse anymore? Why can we no longer discuss issues,
and instead attack each other? Why must any disagreement deteriorate into a
bout of juvenile sibling name-calling?)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I think I understand a lot of the
resistance to President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. Basically, there’s
a level of unfairness. I get that; and a part of me empathizes. I paid off my
student loans; why does this generation get a free ride? Right? One counter argument
is the inequity in the tax system, favoring the rich and the corporations. That
also is unfair.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A significant number of legislators who
oppose $20K student loan forgiveness have had $6-figure PPP loans forgiven.
That’s unfair. I couldn’t have been forgiven my $28K automobile loan! There’s
far too much unfairness going around, and it’s a valid complaint, and it
impacts the entire left/right liberal/conservative spectrum, and I don’t have a
better idea.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some are severely burdened by huge
high-interest student loans, while others (like me) have no serious problem
paying them off. That also carries a level of unfairness—or at least inequity;
nevertheless, the inequity is acknowledged and reflected in the indexing of the
loan forgiveness to the income of the debtor.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Another inequity relates to race. Loans to
black students carry a higher interest rate than loans to white students, while
black college graduates earn significantly less income than white graduates in
the same vocation. That’s unfair.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">But here’s the thing: my confusion relates to the
tremendous amount of <i>SELECTIVITY regarding which unfair practices are
criticized and which are acceptable.</i> Case in point: </span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vouchers for charter schools are our tax
dollars paying for private school education and used to pay private investors
in those schools. But tax dollars to cover higher education is a plot by commies
and socialists. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">[Side bar: the matter of selectivity—hypocrisy?—makes
up a major difference between the left and right on virtually every issue, and
selectivity may be the only bi-partisan element within our political system!]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A major oversight in the student loan
forgiveness debate (I’ve not seen anyone from either side of the debate make
this point) is that education is not solely the benefit of those who are being
educated. There is ample documentation that a culture/nation benefits in direct
proportion to an increased level of education within the population. Across the
board, the fact is that individual financial benefit to a college graduate is
much less today than it was a generation ago, while the cost of education has
increased significantly. Documentable statistical trends show that American
culture in general has diminished as the educational level had diminished.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I favor free public education through a
four-year undergraduate degree or any trade or vocational certification. I
favor it for the reason above: the whole nation benefits from a higher level of
education within its population. And since the public—the whole nation—is the
major beneficiary, it’s not unfair to expect the beneficiary—the public—to pay.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The issue for me is the transition. How do
we get from our broken and declining education system to a free, high-level
system like we see in so many other nations who have surpassed the United
States in so many ways in the past generation? By “broken and declining” I mean
the trend toward sectarian, partisan indoctrination instead of presenting all
sides of every issue and teaching the discipline of critical thinking so
educated people can make intelligent choices. What I suspect won’t be admitted by those
who disagree is that when all sides are presented and critical thinking is
applied, the documentable trend always moves toward a more liberal outcome.
THAT, I suspect, is the tap root of the debate.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">That’s the way it looks through the Flawed
Glass that is my world view.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></p>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-68252246050367481982022-04-11T08:00:00.001-07:002022-04-11T08:00:08.466-07:00Shortcut to Easter<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;">People want to move
directly from Palm Sunday to Easter. Even before the pandemic, Maundy Thursday
services were poorly attended in most churches; and Good Friday services are
virtually unheard of, except, maybe, in the Roman Catholic and some Episcopal
Churches.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The music of Good Friday is dark;
heavy with minor harmonies. It's not happy praise music. It's not Easter music;
it's about the crucifixion of our Lord; so, people want to take a shortcut from
Palm Sunday to Easter—stay in the sunlight and avoid the shadows of Holy Week:
the confrontation with the merchants who had commercialized the Temple, the
controversies with the religious leaders of the city, the open criticism and
plotting against Jesus, the betrayal of Judas...<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The loud "Hosannas" of the
Triumphal Entry and the excited "He is risen!" of Easter are
separated by the cries of the rabble in the streets: "Crucify him!" Between
the Palm Branches and the lilies are the thorns. The praises and cheers of the
crowd give way to the mockery of concocted charges, and the cloaks thrown in
his pathway are replaced by the sting of the whip, the burden of the cross, nails
and a spear.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We'd rather avoid the darkness. In
fact, North American culture in general has become, not so much an Ayn Rand
seeking of pleasure as a Pollyanna avoidance of unpleasantness—not so much
moving toward Easter as going around Good Friday—looking for a shortcut.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Through Christ God offers
"LIFE"—abundant and abiding. Humans respond, "Bless the life
I've already chosen, and make my chosen path easy and fruitful and full of lasting
happiness and pleasure."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>God says, "I give you
life." Humans say, "God, here's what I want from you."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>God says, "I give you my
Son." Humans say, "God, give me financial security and lots of time
for recreation and travel and kids who are good athletes and good students and
popular in school."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>God says, "What I offer is
infinitely better." Humans respond, "Yeah, but I don't have time;
I've got to go here and do that and take the kids there and just look at my
calendar, God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m stressed out and I
just don't have time."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today’s culture wants Easter—oh, and
Christmas—but fears the cost. But without Good Friday, Easter is just a
"fairy tale"—a shallow celebration of bunnies and fuzzy chicks and
colored eggs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;">Resurrection means
nothing unless someone dies. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;">And therein lies the
"Good News". Someone already has died. But you know that. And I keep
coming back to a verse I remember from Paul:</span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; letter-spacing: -.15pt;"> “</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all
people most to be pitied.” </span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-variant: small-caps; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(I Corinthians 15:19 NRSV)</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I don’t think that’s our problem. One of the
contradictions in Christianity today is the </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">avoidance</span></u></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> of “this life.”
I have a good friend who’s a pastor in another denomination who won’t have
anything to do with the democratic process in our nation. “I won’t vote,” he
says. “There’s no point. None of the social problems we have are going to be
worked out until Christ returns.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Barbara Brown Taylor writes, “But Jesus wasn’t
crucified because he preached about going to heaven when we die. He was
crucified because he called upon the wealthy to feed the hungry. He was crucified
by law and order allied with religion, which is always a deadly mix. Beware
those who claim to know the mind of God and are prepared to use force, if
necessary, to make others conform. Beware those who cannot tell God’s will from
their own. Temple police are always a bad sign. When chaplains start wearing
guns and hanging out at the sheriff’s office, watch out. Someone is about to
have no king but Caesar.”<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/005--April%2011--Shortcut%20to%20Easter.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Will Willimon wrote in his blogsite, “Peculiar
Prophet,” “I remember being at a retreat once where the leader asked us to
think of someone who represented Christ in our lives. As we shared, one woman
stood up and said, “I had to think hard about that one. I kept thinking, ‘Who
is it that told me the truth about myself so clearly that I wanted to kill him
for it?’” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">According to John’s gospel, Jesus died because he
told the truth to everyone he met. He was the truth, a perfect mirror in which
people saw themselves through God’s own eyes. And we humans don’t want to see
ourselves as we are. We want to see ourselves as we fantasize: superhero/super
model/super mom, and “right” about everything. We don’t want truth; we want
confirmation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">What happened then is happening now. In the
presence of Christ’s integrity, human pretense is exposed. In the presence of
his faithfulness, human self-deceit is brought to light.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And so, he must die. The world wants him dead:
Caesar wants him dead, and Caiaphas wants him dead, because he refuses to confirm
the way of life they have chosen, and they refuse to look into the mirror of
truth with which he confronts them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;">Resurrection means
nothing unless someone dies. New life is costly. Its price is the rejection of
all that contradicts the abundant life Jesus preached, lived to the fullest, and
offers to all humanity. But we are limited by the clay of which we are made, and
so Paul writes, </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;">“</span></i></b><b><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but
then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I
also am known.”</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;"> </span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-variant: small-caps; letter-spacing: -.15pt;">(I
Corinthians 13:12 NRSV) </span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;">In view of these limitations, the poet writes, “The world
is too much with us.”<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/005--April%2011--Shortcut%20to%20Easter.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -.15pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;">Resurrection means
nothing unless someone dies. But Sunday’s coming!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; tab-stops: -.5in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;">That’s the way it
looks through the Flawed Glass that is my world view.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: -.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: -.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; letter-spacing: -.15pt;">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/005--April%2011--Shortcut%20to%20Easter.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"> <i>Barbara Brown Taylor, “Truth
to Tell,” from “The Perfect Mirror,” copyright 1998 Christian Century
Foundation., 89-92.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/005--April%2011--Shortcut%20to%20Easter.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"> William Wordsworth, a sonnet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-8845642015881052882022-02-16T09:30:00.005-08:002022-02-18T07:35:32.573-08:00Reclothing the Emperor<p> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
suspect you are familiar with Hans Christian Andersen’s fable, “The Emperor’s
New Clothes.” A pair of swindlers posing as tailors offer to supply the emperor
with magnificent clothes that are invisible to those who are stupid or
incompetent. The emperor hires them, and they set up looms and go to work. Several
officials, and then the emperor himself, occasionally check their progress. Obviously,
the looms are empty, but everyone pretends otherwise to avoid being thought a
fool. Finally, the tailers are finished. They mime dressing him and he sets off
in a procession before the whole city. The townsfolk uncomfortably go along
with the pretense, not wanting to appear inept or stupid, until a child blurts
out that the emperor is wearing nothing at all. Although startled, the emperor
continues the procession, walking more proudly than ever.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">When
the newly converted Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the religion of
the realm and marched his army into the sea as an act of baptism, the church
began, slowly at first and then headlong, a process of adopting the model of
empire as the way to get things done. Brief exceptions notwithstanding, since
that time (early 4<sup>th</sup> century), whenever the church has advanced, it
has been on the basis of expansion by conquest (including military conquest) and
rule of law, enforcing its presence through political power and inquisition and
outright fear. Beginning with Augustine and reinforced by Calvin, the primary
instrument of control and intimidation has been the fear of hell.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">And
the masses went along with the sham, fearing the fires of hell if they didn’t.
And then along came Martin Luther, who exposed the emperor’s nakedness with his
95 reasons the church more closely resembled the empire than the kingdom of
God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">The
Protestant Reformation exposed corruption in church leadership and restored a
sense of integrity. The church’s political and police power was challenged, and
except in isolated areas diminished over the next several generations. But John
Calvin kept the fires of hell stoked, and the empire model remains the primary
mode of operations for the church even today. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">What
changed during the Reformation was a shift of the church’s source of power and
control. With the political and police power of the state diminishing,<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/004--February%2016--Reclothing%20the%20Emperor.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
the church’s grasp of power evolved ideologically; nevertheless, the basic
instrument of control has remained intact, viz., the fear of hell.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">But
now a new generation is coming into maturity<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/004--February%2016--Reclothing%20the%20Emperor.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and is shouting, “The emperor has no clothes!” And a new movement is rediscovering
a way to reclothe the emperor. Briefly, I say “rediscover” because the clothes in
which the emperor will be dressed are not new. They are found in some of the
earliest writings of the church (prior to Constantine and Augustine), and in some
writings in my own lifetime. So, why have these clothes not been worn—why have
these writings not been at the forefront of the church’s life and teaching and
ministry? Maybe because the emperor doesn’t want to admit to being naked?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">In
500 words or less, essentially in the original languages of the Scriptures, the
concept of God’s punishment, including the idea of hell, are redemptive rather
than punitive. Insofar as human suffering is to be understood as divinely
inflicted, it is less like a courtroom and more like a hospital operating room.
What pain and suffering are experienced are necessary elements of a process of
healing and restoration.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Another
biblical metaphor is the smelter whose fire melts the metal so the impurities float
to the top where they can be skimmed off, and pure metal remains.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">A
bit more complicated is the idea that God’s punishment, and particularly hell,
are forever. The primary New Testament word translated forever did not
originally imply eternity. The word is </span><span lang="EL" style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-ansi-language: EL;">αιών</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">
(ai–ón), which is the root of the English word, eon. It means “a very large
division of geologic time usually longer than an era” (Mirriam-Webster). It was
not translated “forever” until the time of Augustine in the early 4<sup>th</sup>
century. In some cases, it remains translated “age,” which implies a beginning
and an ending, and there is the clear idea that one eon follows another: “</span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI";">Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be
forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven,
either in <i>this </i></span><i>age</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> or in <i>the </i></span><i>age<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> to come</span></i>” (Matthew 12:32 NRSV).<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/004--February%2016--Reclothing%20the%20Emperor.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Thus,
the call to faithfulness is more biblically accurate when instead of inflicting
the fear of eternal hell, it offers the hope of healing and restoration, even though
the process may be painful. In this perspective, the spiritual disciplines are
practiced, not to earn God’s love and peace, but to experience life lived
abundantly in that already gifted condition.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">While
I always admit to limitations in my understanding and practice of Christianity
(“I see as if through a pane of flawed glass” ~ my paraphrase of I Corinthians
13:12), from where I sit, the reclothed emperor looks resplendent! What remains
is to reimage the church in some model other than “empire.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">That’s
the way it looks through the Flawed Glass that is my world view.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Jim</span><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">If I've piqued your curiosity, here are a few bibliographical suggestions for further reading:</span></div><div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span face=""Arial Narrow", sans-serif">Artman,
David, <i>Grace Saves All: The Necessity of Christian Universalism</i>. (Wipf
and Stock, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2020).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span face=""Arial Narrow", sans-serif">Karris,
Mark Gregory. <i>Religious Refugees</i> (Quoir. 2020)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span face=""Arial Narrow", sans-serif">Zahnd,
Brian. <i>A Farewell to Mars: An Evangelical Pastor's Journey Toward the
Biblical Gospel of Peace</i> (David C Cook. 2020).<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/004--February%2016--Reclothing%20the%20Emperor.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif"> The separation of church and
state reached its peak of influence during the early generations of the United
States; however, it remains a relative thing, and that unholy marriage has
never completely been dissolved.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/004--February%2016--Reclothing%20the%20Emperor.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif"> Actually at least two
generations as Strauss and Howe, <i>et al</i> identify them, beginning with “Generation
X”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/004--February%2016--Reclothing%20the%20Emperor.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;"> The foregoing comment
regarding “eon” is encapsulated from David Artman, <i>Grace
Saves All: The Necessity of Christian Universalism</i>. Wipf and Stock, an
Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.</span><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div></div>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-82554227007582966152022-02-15T09:31:00.004-08:002022-02-15T09:49:19.029-08:00The First Mutation<p> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">“The
Church is a place of great beauty and healing. It can also be a place that
traumatizes, excludes, and abuses.”</span><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/000--The%20Fifth%20Mutation.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[1]</span></span></span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">From
the very beginning—the Acts of the Apostles in the Christian New Testament—the church
has been divided. In chapter 15 Peter and Paul, the leading voices of the
nascent church, locked horns over whether Gentiles should become Jews (read: be
circumcised) before being accepted into the church. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">The
church in Corinth was divided over almost everything: which spiritual gifts
were more important, whose baptism counted, which preacher they should follow…
Even the Lord’s Supper was a point of contention.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Heresies
abounded in that first generation of the church: Gnosticism, Docetism,
Arianism, etc. The overarching question was “Who’s right?” How can we make sure
we get it right, so we won’t go to hell when we die? (More about hell in the
next blog!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">That
issue of who’s right and who’s wrong never has been resolved within the historic
church. I saw a headline today (I didn’t read the article. The headline was
upsetting enough.); it read, “All Baptisms Performed by Phoenix Priest Invalid
Because He Changed One Word.” Good grief!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Some
of the apostles seemed to catch momentary glimpses of what was right; but they
were inconsistent in their proclamation of it. Some of the early church fathers—I’m
thinking specifically of Origen of Alexandria (c. 184 – c. 253)—seemed to get
it right, at least part of the time. Of course, even this paragraph represents
my own conviction that I’m right. (One difference is that I accept the human
limitations described by the title of my blogsite: “Flawed Glass,” based on I
Corinthians 13:12. I accept the possibility that I may be wrong.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">The
purpose and objective of spiritual discipline—both individually and in
community—is not to attain that divine love, but to experience what already is
and always has been.<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/000--The%20Fifth%20Mutation.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">But
there’s that first mutation thing. From primordial wondering about things
unseen, we humans have wanted to get it right. We have a need to be loved and
accepted. We have a need to <i><u>make sure</u></i> we’re loved and accepted. We don’t
want that faith and trust stuff, we want a solid guarantee! So we develop a
binary “right/wrong” system by which we can be sure. Oral Roberts often said, “I
know that I know that I know.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">So
that first mutation is the move from trust to certitude. It’s not a new thing;
it’s a throwback to a prehistoric human need to control the unknown. It is a
rejection of faith and trust.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">The
truth is: nobody <i>ever</i> gets it right! That’s why we need grace. It’s not
about being right. It never was. It’s about being loved and accepted by the
source of all love. John got it right (I John 4:8): God is love!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Red,
brown, yellow, black, white: you are loved! LGBTQ/Straight: you are loved! Republican/Democrat/Libertarian/Socialist/Communist:
you are loved!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">And
here’s the thing: when we are experiencing love and acceptance, we are free
from all that worry and anxiety about whether we’re “right.” The reason we
wanted to be “right” in the first place was just to be loved and accepted. When
we experience love we are free to love, without concern for ourselves and
without concern about whether the recipient of our love is worthy, or whether our
love will be returned. We <i><u>already</u></i> are loved!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">The
natural response to <i>experienced</i> love is to love in return. We worship the
God who is Love with praise, adoration and thanksgiving, and we serve the God
who is Love by loving the people God loves, which excludes nobody! Thanks be to
God!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">That’s
the way it looks through the Flawed Glass that is my world view.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/000--The%20Fifth%20Mutation.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"> Bruce Epperly,
endorsing Mark Gregory Karris, <i>Religious Refugees</i> (Orange, California:
Quoir, Kindle Edition, 2020) p. 4.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/000--The%20Fifth%20Mutation.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"> I’m grateful for
this insight discovered in David Artman, <i>Grace Saves All: The Necessity of
Christian Universalism</i> (Wipf and Stock, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock
Publishers. Kindle Edition 2020) p. 105.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
</div>
</div>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-86992553445036101312022-02-14T07:34:00.002-08:002022-02-14T07:34:19.256-08:00 Spiritual Archeology <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">The
longer I live and study the Scriptural and other witnesses of my faith, the more
I discover how little my faith, and the faith of almost all Christians I know,
is based on the life—the teachings, the examples, and the ultimate rejection of
the world’s values—of Jesus of Nazareth. We quote selective—<i><u><span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">selective</span></u></i>—sound
bites from the Bible to defend a faith and spirituality that scarcely models
the Carpenter of Galilee, opting instead to choose one of the many mutations
that have emerged, beginning in the fourth and fifth centuries (Current Era).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">An
honest and more nearly accurate approach to Christianity would resemble spiritual
archeology, digging through the many layers of spiritual mutations, noting how
Christianity in each historic period <i>reflected</i> its culture, <i>rather
than molding</i> its culture according to the Gospels</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">, until finally reaching—as
nearly as possible—the original meaning and intent of Jesus.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">The
choice of which gospels and epistles would form the definitive Christian
witness (New Testament) was not decided until the end of the fourth century (<span style="background: white; color: #202124;">Council of Carthage in AD 397). By then, the mutations already had begun.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #202124; font-family: "Garamond",serif;">[Quick
aside to address the elephant in the room: the question of <i><u>divine
inspiration</u></i>. With more than 450 English translations today dating back
to the early 16<sup>th</sup> century<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/February%2012--Christian%20Mutations.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #202124; font-size: 12pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
(and countless translations into other languages), none of which are identical,
and with literally thousands of more ancient documents, scrolls, and codices in
the original languages dating back to the fifth century<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/February%2012--Christian%20Mutations.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #202124; font-size: 12pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>,
again, none of which are identical, <i>which one is the divinely inspired
version?</i> None of the original documents survive.]</span><span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">In
the early fourth century when the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to
Christianity and declared Christianity to be the religion of the realm, <i>two
mutations</i> resulted. The first was that Christianity became the vassal of
the empire, with a primary role of chaplain of state, defending and confirming
the affairs of state (including military imperialism). This mutation reflects
the direct opposite of any New Testament concept and resulted (as one example)
in the anti-Christ Crusades of the middle ages. It also is emerging today into
a frightening level in American Christian Nationalism.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Second,
when Constantine convened the First Council of Nicaea in 325, Christianity
mutated from a kerygmatic<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/February%2012--Christian%20Mutations.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
faith to a credal religion. What had been for 300 years a dynamic behavioral
and relational moral response within a community to a preached message of God’s
presence and love as demonstrated through Jesus of Nazareth, at Nicaea mutated
into a static mental assent to the Creed of Nicaea, with morality defined by
the laws of the Empire.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">A
hundred years later Augustine of Hippo (St. Augustine) engineered another mutation.
Until then, in the Christian understanding of Scripture, divine punishment was
restorative. Like a medical procedure that inflicts pain in the process of healing,
or like the smelting process of melting metal ore to extract the sluff and refine
the metal to a state of purity, God’s punishment was seen as a part of divine healing
and purification. Even the biblical teaching related to hell was understood as
a part of that divine healing process.<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/February%2012--Christian%20Mutations.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Under
Augustine’s influence, divine punishment mutated into a punitive thing.
Moreover, until Augustine, the New Testament word αιών (ai - ón) was understood
to mean essentially what it means in today’s English, namely, “eon” or “age.” The
biblical understanding of eternity is an unending series of eons or ages. From
the time of Augustine, when the word appears in Scripture it usually is
translated, “eternity.” It is not thus translated in other religious or secular
contexts.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Thus,
what originally was described God’s punishment, including hell, as relating to
an eon or an age and accomplishing its intended purpose of restoration, under
Augustine mutated into a concept of eternal, punitive damnation and punishment
with no hope of restoration. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">That
mutation, with some variations, continues at the center and core of most Christianity.
The fear of eternal damnation became a primary tool of control, even of monarchy,
and was wielded like a weapon to keep the rabble in line during the middle age
corruptions and Inquisitions of the church. It reached its peak and its harshest
application under John Calvin and Puritanism. It continues today in the
offshoot denominations and sects of Calvinism.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">There
have been other mutations, like the emergence of American Christian Nationalism;
but probably none have had greater or longer lasting influence than the Constantine/Augustine/Calvin
combo. But the fundamental result is the emergence of a religion based upon
fear: fear of getting it wrong and thus inheriting eternal damnation. Each successive
sectarian division of Christ’s Body assumes an exclusive and infallible grasp
of the truth, with growing animosity toward any person or group who perceives
reality differently.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">The
fallacy or heresy of each successive mutation is that it places the burden and
responsibility of the divine/human relationship squarely upon the shoulders of
humanity <i>(if we get it right we go to heaven when we die; if we don’t get it
right, we go to hell—forever!)—</i>it’s all up to us<i>—</i>which is a direct
contradiction of the New Testament’s undeniable witness that it is God’s grace
alone, and not any human effort or action or credal affirmation or sinner’s
prayer that determines either the immediate or the eternal destinies of humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">In
that context, our relationship with God takes on the character of a child’s
relationship with a loving parent, fully trusting and gratefully responding
with thanksgiving and praise, and humbly seeking to please that parent<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/February%2012--Christian%20Mutations.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
in all we do and say. “God is love” (I John 4:8), and “There is no fear in love,
but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has
to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection
in love” (I John 4:18 NRSV).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">That’s
the way it looks through the Flawed Glass that is my world view.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><div><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: .3in;"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/February%2012--Christian%20Mutations.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"> John Wycliffe is the first known
translator of the Bible into English in the 14<sup>th</sup> century; however, William
Tyndale’s translation (ca. 1525) was the first <i>printed </i>English version.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: .3in;"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/February%2012--Christian%20Mutations.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"> Actually, some fragments date to
the turn of the first century, e.g., the John Rylands fragment of the Gospel of
John.</span></p><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: .3in;"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/February%2012--Christian%20Mutations.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="text-indent: 0.3in;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", sans-serif; text-indent: 0.3in;"> Kerygma comes from the Greek
word meaning “to proclaim” or, as applied in Christianity, “to preach.” Early
20<sup>th</sup> century theologians like C. H. Dodd and Rudolf Bultmann suggested
that the gospels were a literary type that was unique in the ancient world.
They called it kerygma and described it as a later development of preaching which
morphed into a literary form. The Kerygma has come to denote the <i><u>irreducible</u></i>
essence of Christian apostolic preaching, especially in its references to Jesus.</span></p><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: .3in;"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/February%2012--Christian%20Mutations.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", sans-serif;"> See the writings of Origen of
Alexandria in the early third century, as well as many other early Church Fathers.</span></p><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: .3in;"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2022/February%2012--Christian%20Mutations.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", sans-serif;"> In contrast to responding out of
fear of eternal punishment.</span></p></div>
</div><div><div id="ftn4">
</div>
</div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
</div>
</div>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-45305006787530332812022-02-05T10:38:00.006-08:002022-02-05T10:50:14.563-08:00Are Evangelicals Killing Christianity?<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It’s admittedly a dangerous title, but I chose it, not for
shock value or to gain attention (although I hope it does gain attention).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">I hope to open productive conversation, not start a fight.
In a fight there is a winner and a loser. Any time I do a conflict resolution
consultation, whether between troubled marital partners, a parent/child conflict,
or in an organizational setting, I always begin by asking, “Do you truly want
to resolve the issues between you, or do you just want to win the fight?” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">Nobody wins a fight. The only thing a fight accomplishes is
the establishment of one’s power over another--and resentment on the part of the loser. Relationships—indeed,
civilizations—cannot <i>thrive</i> indefinitely in a power relationship.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">Thus, I attempt here to open a conversation. Agreement is
neither necessary nor truthfully expected. Mutual understanding, I think, is a
reasonable expectation. Respectful conversation teamed with earnest seeking
might lead to some common ground upon which to build “a more excellent” way than
the way that has produced four generations of decline in the Body of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">These thoughts were stimulated by a paragraph from
evangelical author, Philip Yancey. In <i>Vanishing Grace. </i>He writes:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0.5in 6pt; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I decided to write this book after I saw the results of
surveys by the George Barna group. A few telling statistics jumped off the
page. In 1996, 85 percent of Americans who had no religious commitment still
viewed Christianity favorably. Thirteen years later, in 2009, only 16 percent
of young “outsiders” had a favorable impression of Christianity, and just 3
percent had a good impression of evangelicals. I wanted to explore what caused
that dramatic plunge in such a relatively short time. Why do Christians stir up
hostile feelings—and what, if anything, should we do about it?”<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">I haven’t read beyond those words. My mind was stimulated
to distraction, and I was compelled to put my thoughts on paper. I look forward
to finishing Yancy’s book.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">One of my greatest frustrations in ministry is what Thomas Bandy
Calls the largest and fastest growing spiritual population in North America, viz.
“the spiritually yearning, institutionally alienated public;<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
a population that calls itself, “spiritual but not religious.” Yancey notes in
his book the phenomenon of the “nones:” those who, when polled about religious
preference, respond by checking “none.” They now constitute one-third of all Americans
under the age of thirty.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">My frustration is that virtually two generations have
abandoned, not just that part of “religion” (specifically Christianity) that
offends them but essentially all organized religion, and in the process have
thrown out the proverbial baby with the bath water!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">My read is (and has been for a couple of decades), that
they really don’t disagree with the theological content or the essential
purpose and ministry of the denomination in which I serve. My impression
(again, biased and unsupported by data) is that they experienced, either
personally or vicariously, something in a relatively narrow religious context
that offended or hurt them and have generalized from that isolated experience
to justify their judgment about all religion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">The truth is that I agree with the two most frequently
identified offenders: hypocrisy and judgmentalism. And while no discipline or
community has a lock on hypocrisy, it would be difficult to deny a distinct
aura of judgment as a definitive characteristic of evangelicalism.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">As a recovering evangelical, here is what I remember: the
first premise is the basic Calvinist dogma of the total depravity of man.
Already, we’ve lost the “nones,” but hang with me; I think I can get us out of
this mess. I learned the “Roman Road to Salvation” as the basic “plan of
salvation,” and it begins with Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God.” The basic approach in this doctrine of salvation is to assume that
that all are lost and bound for hell.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">The trouble is, some people—probably a large majority of
people—don’t “feel” lost. I’ve heard in more than one discussion group or
conversation, “But, I’m not a sinner.” People generally associate “sin” with
gross crimes and harmful behavior (especially sexual in nature), and most people don’t
fall into either category; therefore, we have to create that sense of being lost <i>for
</i>them. It is manipulative and dehumanizing and the origin of a lot of the impression of judgmentalism.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">Here's the thing: one thing I’ve always loved and admired
about evangelicals is that they’re sincere in their concern for the salvation
of all humans. Who can fault that? But the Kennedy approach: “If you were to
die today, where would your soul be tomorrow?” and the basic assumption that everyone
is lost and bound for hell—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u style="text-underline: words;">right or wrong</u></i>—is dehumanizing, and has become increasingly ineffective;
indeed, it has become increasingly <i>counterproductive</i> since the middle of the last century!
The results are available on basically any related survey or poll.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">WHAT
IF…<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">Instead of the Pauline “Roman Road” (which has been
proof-texted and tailored to fit the Calvinist doctrine of the depravity of all
humans), WHAT IF we began with Jesus? Most who identify as “spiritual but not
religious,” and even many who are classified as “none” affirm an admiration and/or
devotion to Jesus. But, like Gandhi, “I love your Jesus; but your Christians
are so unlike him.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">Still, why not begin on common ground? Jesus said, “If I am
lifted up…” WHAT IF we simply lift up Jesus, rather than create a need? WHAT IF
we quit preaching hell and “lift up Jesus?” Does one absolutely need to recite
the “good confession” or pray the “sinner’s prayer” to enter an eternal
relationship with God through Jesus Christ? Is it the recitation of the words,
or would the act of following Jesus by following his
example accomplish that same relationship? Would not the action indicate the
acceptance of Jesus as Lord?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">Yes, I memorized this, too: <span class="text"><i><span style="background: white; color: black;">“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me
before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven;<sup> </sup>but
whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven” </span></i></span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(Matthew 10:32-33 NRSV). I</span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">s the good confession and/or the sinner’s prayer the <i>only
way</i> to acknowledge Jesus before others? Or do actions truly speak louder
than words, especially when a “spiritual but not religious” public points vociferously
at religious hypocrisy? Would not actions that are consistent with our words
remove any impression (or reality) of hypocrisy?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span class="text"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">The truth is, while the overall trend of American church is
downward, there are those entrepreneurial churches that attract large flocks.
And—<i><u style="text-underline: words;">right or wrong</u></i>—those growing
churches put out a message that is clear of judgment or condemnation, offering
instead a prosperity gospel or the Prayer of Jabez. No, Jesus is not the core
of that message. BUT NEITHER IS HELL OR CONDEMNATION! Misguided or not, the
offering is hope!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span class="text"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">WHAT IF there is yet another approach: an approach that
lifts up Jesus <i>only</i>? Could that be a valid starting place—common ground
upon which to begin?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span class="text"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">Stay tuned. I’ll continue this conversation with some
specific applications.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span class="text"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">That’s the way it looks through the Flawed Glass that is my
world view.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0in;"><span class="text"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0in;"><span class="text"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;"> Phllip Yancy,
<i>Vanishing Grace</i>, Page 15, as quoted in </span><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Artman, David. <i>Grace Saves All: The Necessity of Christian
Universalism</i> (p. 103). Wipf and Stock, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock
Publishers. Kindle Edition.</span><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background: white; mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 1030px;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="padding: 0in;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-weight: normal; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> Tom Bandy, </span><i><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Talisman: Global Positioning for the Soul</span></i><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"> (p. 6) </span><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Wipf and Stock, an
Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. </span><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Kindle Edition. [Bandy identifies
this population in several other books, including <i>Christian Chaos, Kicking
Habits: Welcome Relief for </i></span><i><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0in;"><i><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-weight: normal; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Addicted Churches, et.al</span></i><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-weight: normal; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">.]</span><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span face=""Arial Narrow",sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-23339993639547529102021-12-17T08:03:00.005-08:002021-12-17T08:03:48.339-08:00Taking a Difficult Stand<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">I
have been called out, and I confess to avoiding the moral elephant in the room.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Given
the divisive nature of our national ethos, to take a stand on any issue is to <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>accept the inevitable binary response—love/hate,
pro/con, right/wrong—and any attendant hostility directed <i>at the person</i>,
rather than the issue on the table. There is no middle ground—no effort,
intention, or desire to compromise or even to understand. It’s all about total
agreement and compliance, and few will accept the possibility of being wrong. Obstinacy
oozes from one end of the ideological spectrum to the other, but the bell curve
skews heavily to the right.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">By
nature, calling, and training, I am a reconciler—a resolver of conflict. I
believe any conflict can be resolved if all parties truly want resolution, but
in our divisiveness the priority is “winning the fight,” not resolving the
conflict. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">One
final disclaimer: I reject blanket generalizations. Individuals and groups
within any faction will vary in the degree to which they align with any
political, theological, or philosophical position. Human cognition is not an
on/off switch; it is a graduated scale; therefore, not everyone within the
categories I challenge will be culpable. If the shoe fits…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">With
those caveats, I take my stand: there is <i>within</i> the American Evangelical
Right <i>a faction<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2021/006--December%209--Taking%20a%20Difficult%20Stand.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i>
that overlaps with <i>a faction within</i> the political right (including <i>parts</i>
of the Republican party<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2021/006--December%209--Taking%20a%20Difficult%20Stand.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>)
and that overlap brews heresy. For 50 years <i><u style="text-underline: words;">that
faction</u></i> of evangelicalism has voted for Republicans ONLY because of
their position on abortion. Nothing else seems to matter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">My
quarrel is not with their opposition to abortion. I oppose abortion, as do many
pro-choice advocates; but that’s material for another blog. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">My
quarrel is that in their obsession with that singular issue they tolerate an
ideology that selectively dismisses virtually every teaching of Jesus regarding
human relationships and community. Heresy is not necessarily false; indeed, in
most cases heresy contains some truth—in this case, twisted by its selective omissions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">In
ultra-conservative <i>Christianity Today</i>, Ronald Sider wrote that our first
priority “must be internal integrity, not external (threat or influence). What
a tragedy for evangelicals to declare proudly that personal conversion and new
birth in Christ are at the center of their faith and then to defy biblical
moral standards by living almost as sinfully as their pagan neighbors.” Sider
continues:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .3in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">“The findings in
numerous national polls conducted by highly respected pollsters like The Gallup
Organization and The Barna Group are simply shocking. ‘Gallup and Barna,’
laments evangelical theologian Michael Horton, ‘hand us survey after survey
demonstrating that evangelical Christians are as likely to embrace lifestyles
every bit as hedonistic, materialistic, self-centered, and sexually immoral as
the world in general.’ Divorce is <i>more</i> common among
"born-again" Christians than in the general American population. Only
6 percent of evangelicals tithe. White evangelicals are the <i>most</i> likely
people to object to neighbors of another race. Josh McDowell has pointed out
that the sexual promiscuity of evangelical youth is only a little less
outrageous than that of their nonevangelical peers.”<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2021/006--December%209--Taking%20a%20Difficult%20Stand.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">For
over a century and a half, evangelicals have offered a “salvation only” approach
to Christianity tied to a rigidly described and passionately anticipated
after-life while ignoring any gospel mandate to shape just and compassionate
human community in this life. Such imbalance is heresy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">I’ve
had numerous conversations with evangelical acquaintances who run the gamut
from seminary-trained clergy to vaguely aware laity, and their common political
and social strategy is to wait until Jesus returns. He’ll take care of it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">The
evangelical focus is individual salvation, individual morality (primarily, if
not exclusively, sexual morality), and individual responsibility. There is
virtually no guideline for social responsibility or even how to live once the
individual is “saved,” other than don’t drink, smoke, dance, or have sex
outside of marriage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">I
affirm the idea of society based on a balance between personal and social
responsibility. Such a model reflects the kingdom ethos taught by Jesus. But in
the meantime, how do we affect justice and peace while we’re waiting for that
to happen? It’s been 2,000 years!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">But
the passage of Roe v. Wade in 1973 activated the social consciousness of
evangelicals, leading many to split their energies between a salvation only rhetoric,
and an anti-abortion activism. The result is some of the most un-Christlike behavior
in human history, which is heresy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Pollsters
George Gallup and George Barna reinforce Gandhi’s observation that professing
Christians are “so unlike your Christ”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Even
<i>Christianity Today</i> acknowledges the disconnect—and takes a difficult
stand. In a 2018 issue, <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">a blistering
op-ed described what moderate and progressive Christians (or anyone with even a
cursory understanding of the life and teachings of Jesus) have been saying
about our immediate past president. In part, it said, <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“His Twitter feed
alone—with its habitual string of mischaracterizations, lies, and slanders—is a
near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused. …</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">To the many evangelicals who continue to support Mr.
Trump in spite of his blackened moral record, we might say this: Remember who
you are and whom you serve. Consider how your justification of Mr. Trump
influences your witness to your Lord and Savior. Consider what an unbelieving
world will say if you continue to brush off Mr. Trump’s immoral words and
behavior in the cause of political expediency. If we don’t reverse course now,
will anyone take anything we say about justice and righteousness with any
seriousness for decades to come? Can we say with a straight face that abortion
is a great evil that cannot be tolerated and, with the same straight face, say
that the bent and broken character of our nation’s leader doesn’t really matter
in the end…”<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2021/006--December%209--Taking%20a%20Difficult%20Stand.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
<i>…as long as he appoints anti-abortion judges? [italics are my addition]</i></span><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Richard
Rohr said, “The evangelical support of Trump will be an indictment against its
validity as a Christian movement for generations to come.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">It’s
a matter of priorities, values, and truth, and the end does not justify the
means. But the heresy imbedded in the religious right has infected a large portion
of those who occupy the right side of the legislative aisle.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Again,
heresy is not <i>de facto</i> false. It usually contains some element of truth,
albeit an element typically misleading by virtue more of what it excludes than
what it includes. Individual salvation and responsibility are valid concerns;
but Jesus framed his teachings, his ministry, and his life as a call to life in
a kingdom, and to deny kingdom responsibility is heresy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">That’s
how it looks through the Flawed Glass that is my world view.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2021/006--December%209--Taking%20a%20Difficult%20Stand.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"> In my observation, but with no
supporting data, the faction represents an overwhelming majority.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2021/006--December%209--Taking%20a%20Difficult%20Stand.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"> Again, in my own limited
observation, it includes most of the Republican party.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2021/006--December%209--Taking%20a%20Difficult%20Stand.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2005/001/3.8.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;">http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2005/001/3.8.html</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2021/006--December%209--Taking%20a%20Difficult%20Stand.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/december-web-only/trump-should-be-removed-from-office.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;">Trump Should Be Removed from
Office | Christianity Today</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div><br /><p></p>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-9843017811376422432021-04-26T07:21:00.000-07:002021-04-26T07:21:12.800-07:00“My Bible Says…”<p> </p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">…has become a favorite
go-to introductory phrase for many who are not initiated into the complexities of
intense, in-depth study of Scripture. And they could be right. There are more
than 450 English translations of the Bible, and none of them are identical.
Search long enough and one probably can find a version that says what one wants
it to say.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">American Christian lay
persons, especially in some more conservative groups, have been led to believe that
Bible study is simple: just draw your chairs in a circle and each one read a
verse and say what it means to me. And a growing attitude in conservative
Christianity—parallel with an increasingly prevalent attitude among American
conservatives in general—is that education is a detriment to faith. Theological
seminaries, says the attitude, are “theological cemeteries.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Biochemist and “Sci-Fi”
author, Isaac Asimov, wrote, “There is a cult of ignorance in the
United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism
has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural
life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is
just as good as your knowledge.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In a recent interview,
FOX host, Tucker Carlson, said college education “diminishes us,” and “everyone
should opt out.” He indicated the only real value in college education is “discrete
knowledge” applicable to specific professions and careers. Medicine and engineering
are two that he mentioned.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Always a dangerous idea, disregard
for knowledge is never more dangerous than when applied to the study of ancient
Holy Writ. Such a warped genre of faith expression is a spin-off: Calvinism
gone amok. Faith is replaced with knowledge (Oral Roberts used to say, “I know
that I know that I know…”), and questions are no allowed. Trust is replaced
with certitude, and “being right” is the goal of all spiritual endeavors (because,
while grace is preached, the actuality of that strain of Christianity is a “works
righteousness” that says our relationship with God and our eternal destinies
are determined by the correctness of our doctrine. ). And intelligence and
integrity are measured largely by whether one “agrees with me.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">But here’s the thing: there
are multiple doctrines claiming to be “right,” although virtually none of them
are identical. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u style="text-underline: words;">Somebody </u>has to be wrong</i>! (Which is precisely why we need
grace!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">What we must realize at
the very beginning is that when we open any version of the Bible, we are
reading a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy… <i>ad infinitum</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Did somebody just play
the “divinely inspired” card? With more than 450 English versions, and
thousands of older (even ancient) manuscripts, scrolls, and fragments of
various parts of the Bible written in multiple languages and dialects over
several hundred years, none of which are identical, which is the divinely inspired
one? And just because it’s “easy to read” doesn’t mean it’s true to the divinely
inspired original documents, none of which exist today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I don’t introduce all
these issues and challenges just to stir the pot or to raise doubts. There is a
valid, dependable way to arrive at a trustworthy understanding of Scripture that
sustains the intent of the One who inspired it. But note: the understanding
will be “trustworthy,” not certain. “The Word” is true—absolutely. But, limited
as we are by the clay of which we humans are made, we do not possess the
ability to know <i>anything </i>absolutely. At best—AT BEST—we will read and
understand by faith, the opposite of which is not doubt, but knowledge.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I am not a medical professional.
I don’t understand the mechanics of genetics or infectious diseases or
immunology; therefore, I have to trust those who have devoted their lives to
the healing arts. Of course, there are a few proverbial bad apples in every
barrel, and while some medical professionals are seduced by the siren music of
questionable applications and practices, and while others succumb to the
temptations of profiteering, and while non-medical sources may politicize certain
aspects of health care (e.g., immunizations), the overall consensus of reputable
professionals almost always is the best path to follow.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I seriously doubt that
any of those who comprise the overall consensus have dedicated their lives to the
study and practice of healing just so they can mislead the public. I trust the
consensus of mainstream medical science, and I accept its recommendations by
faith.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The same holds true in
any profession. I have a friend who is a petroleum engineer. He tells the oil
companies where to drill. He studies multiple factors, such as the history of an
area and its geological structure. He uses seismic technology. He reads samples
collected from trial drillings. Then based upon “the preponderance of the
evidence” (his words), he says, “Drill here.” Evidence produces faith, not
certitude. Some holes will be dry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">“</span></i><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Now faith is the assurance of <u style="text-underline: words;">things hoped for</u>, the conviction of <u style="text-underline: words;">things not seen</u>.</span>”</i><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span></i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-variant: small-caps;">(Hebrews 11:1 NRSV)</span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; font-variant: small-caps; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Speaking of God’s future time, Paul wrote, </span><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will
see face to face. Now <u style="text-underline: words;">I know only in part</u>;
then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.” </span></i><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; font-variant: small-caps; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(</span></i><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-variant: small-caps;">I Corinthians 13:12 NRSV</span></i><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; font-variant: small-caps; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">, </span></i><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">emphases mine)</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Most people are not professional
theologians or biblical scholars. I have some training in both fields, and am
conversant with the terminology; however, I have not engaged in the depth of investigation
necessary to find “the preponderance of the evidence” within Holy Writ. I am
dependent upon the work of those who have been thus engaged. In that regard, the
primary difference between the general public and me is that (1) I am trained
to use the resources produced by a consensus of mainstream theologians and
biblical scholars, and (2) (maybe more importantly) I trust them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I know the levels of
study and research in which those professionals engage. I know the intensity of
their dedication, and I don’t believe they have devoted their lives to their
profession just to mess with people’s faith or to make us all liberals or communists.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There are two basic
approaches to the study of Scripture. The first is to dig out what the Scriptures
are saying. This is a clean slate discipline that endeavors to set aside all
previously held ideas. It examines the available ancient texts in their original
languages, and places them in their original cultural, historical, and religious
contexts. They consider the placement of particular passage within the context
of the broader reading. The general question is, “What was God saying to a
particular people in a particular historical and cultural setting?” The task then
becomes one of applying the ancient truths in our language, in our historical
and cultural setting.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">That approach is called “exegesis:”
reading meaning “out of” the text; letting the text speak for itself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The second approach is to
assume the Bible’s message applies as is, <i>de facto</i> and <i>en toto</i>,
to our time and to our culture, and to use the Bible as a tool for confirming
ideas, creeds, and practices already in place. This approach is called “eisegesis,”
reading meaning “into” the text. It sometimes is called “proof texting.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It likely is evident that
I advocate the former. I say, trust the mainstream theologians and biblical
scholars. There is consensus among them, and the resources they produce are
plentiful and useful. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If I may exercise a bit
of self-indulgence, I suspect the most common reason the laity has difficulty
with Scripture is not that it is so difficult to understand (although it is not
easy!), but that the laity is not sufficiently motivated to dig into the study
resources that readily are available. Devotional and inspirational sources sell;
but in-depth study resources gather dust on book store shelves. Many also are
reluctant to participate in studies led by those with competence in those resources.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I’m not concerned with
what “your Bible” or “my Bible” says. My concern is with what “The” Bible says.
And within the community of faith are those with the skills and resources I
trust to guide me to the Bible’s truth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">That’s the way it looks
through the Flawed glass that is my world view.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></p>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-7647199373021248892021-02-06T12:54:00.006-08:002021-02-06T13:01:13.196-08:00A National Dip Stick<p> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
am, by undergraduate degree, a scientist; a social scientist, in fact. I deal
with data different from that of physicists, chemists, medical scientists, etc.;
nevertheless, I use the same scientific method as they. I also have two
postgraduate degrees, so I know something about research. And I have a smattering
of training in statistics, so I know how to test the data I discover through research.
I also know how to check out the conclusions drawn by others, and can usually recognize
a red herring.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">The
upshot is that I’ve learned that I don’t really know much of anything
absolutely. I gather a preponderance of evidence that creates a level of confidence
in what I think I know. Bottom line: everything I do or say is based upon faith:
trusting the process, whether I’m researching human behavior or a passage from
the Bible.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">In
recent years I’ve grown increasingly concerned about the proliferation of belligerent
partisanism in our culture, especially as demonstrated in the level of
animosity on social media—what amounts to a pooling of ignorance and a glut of
misinformed (or outright Uninformed) opinion and counter opinion (Hey, <i>somebody’s</i>
gotta’ be wrong!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">I’ve
tried to determine when, where, and how the hostilities began, hoping to find clues
to how to bring some sanity to 21<sup>st</sup> century humanity. I’ve reviewed what
I think I know, and I’ve done research (not nearly enough to justify another
doctoral thesis), and I conclude it’s not a new reality. Man’s inhumanity to
man<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2021/003--February%206.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
is as old as, well, humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Partisan
animosity enveloped the Continental Congress during the composition of the
Declaration of Independence and on into the early years of the nascent United
States. One need only recall numerous duels: Aaron Burr vs. Alexander Hamilton,
Andrew Jackson vs. Charles Dickinson. Even some women got in on the action.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Some
blame social media. I find no convincing evidence of that; although, some data
suggests that social media has brought to light what already existed below the
surface of social awareness. Social media basically is a dip-stick that measures
the mood and attitude of our rampant partisanism.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">I
do, however, locate a significant “flash point” in America’s political mood
swing toward angry intolerance. 1968 was a year not easily forgotten by those
who lived through it and were politically aware. Riots triggered by Vietnam
protests erupted in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention. Martin
Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. All this and the Vietnam
conflict itself were brought into our living rooms via television. Public
awareness was raised to unprecedented levels, and essentially never receded,
although it remains tribally opinionated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">But
the event that effectively drew the line in the sand happened four years later
in the break-in to the Democratic National Committee headquarters in a Washington,
DC office complex called Watergate. Implicated in the break-in and subsequent
cover-up attempts, President Richard Nixon resigned, and the GOP has been out
for revenge ever since. “Worse than Watergate” became a go-to claim every time a
political opponent was caught with his hand in the cookie jar: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Chappaquiddick
(“Bridgegate”) (Democrat): “Worse than Watergate”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Rigged
Public Opinion Polls (Republican): “Worse than Watergate”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">The
Keating Five (4 Democrats and 1 Republican: “Worse than Watergate”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Iran-Contra
(Republican): “Worse than Watergate”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Whitewater
(Democrat): “Worse than Watergate”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Bush’s
Iraq Coverup (Republican): “Worse than Watergate”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">I
could go on. And on. <i>Ad infinitum. Ad nauseum</i>. The die was cast at
Watergate, and American politics—and the public’s perception of politics—descended
into hell.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Revenge
and counter-revenge so consume the major parties that constructive legislation
is a pipe dream. The overwhelming appearance is that destroying a member of the
“other” party, or blocking every legislative effort of the opposition takes
precedent over the good of the country.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Truth
no longer is based on evidence or documentation, but rather on party
affiliation. <i><u style="text-underline: words;">We just don’t care</u></i> if our
guy or gal is guilty!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Ideology
takes precedent over humanity, and any level of compromise is seen as a total
surrender of values. (Values? There’s an oxymoron for ya’!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">I
have a few Libertarian friends (and I cherish their friendship), and I don’t
agree with them that “government” is <i>de facto</i> evil and bad. Government
is a tool: no better or worse than those who wield it. But I find it very
difficult to deny that the current state of our government totters on the brink
of practicable counterproductivity. At best, it is distracted and ineffectual.
Those few idealistic souls who enter the Senate or the House with hopes of
making the world a better place soon are devoured by the corrupting influence
of politics. In its present state there is little hope of constructive,
positive, helpful legislation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Rather
than being a tool to actualize “a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure
domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare,
and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…” the government
has become an end in itself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">But
see, here’s the thing: we the people are caught up in the same vortex of self-destruction.
The evidence I’ve collected suggests that instead of being a tool to produce
the ideals of democracy, the government has become just like social media: a
dip-stick to measure American culture. And what it measures is the residue of the
“Me” generation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Will
Rogers said there are people in congress who shouldn’t be allowed to play with
matches. Well, who put them there? Congress has become a mirror. Do you dare
look into it?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">That’s
the way it looks through the Flawed Glass that is my world view.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></p><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0in;"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2021/003--February%206.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> Quoted from Robert Burns’ poem, “Man
Was Made To Mourn: A Dirge”, 1784. Burns’ statement may have been a paraphrase
of an earlier source, viz., <span style="background: white; color: #202122;">"More
inhumanity (to man) has been done by man himself than any other of nature's
causes." </span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Samuel von Pufendorf</span><span style="background: white; color: #202122;">, 1673</span>.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-68291417330275311862021-01-30T15:13:00.008-08:002021-01-30T15:13:57.827-08:00Toward A More Perfect Union<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I’m
reading </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">A Promised Land</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">, by Barak Obama, which brings current my process, begun in 2009, of reading at least one book by or about every United States President,
beginning with David McCullough’s biography, <i>Truman</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">I was
getting into Facebook about that same time, and quickly was drawn into the
partisan belligerence that so characterizes that medium. I’m ashamed to say
that I participated fully in the put-downs and the name-calling.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">But
something in me (my “God-in-Christ Link”, maybe?) kept bothering me about the
animosity manifested in my Facebook posts, something wanting to strike out “in
kind” against the negative, degrading posts filled with hostility and
disrespect.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The books
by and about Presidents called me in a different direction. Within the first few
books I became aware that each President had something positive about his term
and I initiated a conscious effort to find at least one significantly positive
contribution by each President. As one might expect, that effort proved more difficult
in some cases than in others; nevertheless, I have been able to find some good
in each of the dozen Presidents from 33 through 45.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">That effort
was partly penance for the animosity of my early participation in the mindless political rants on social media—my indulgence in what, for the most part, remains
a pooling of ignorance. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I wasn't denying the deep problems within in the American ethos—the serious insider threats. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">But Facebook
is not the problem. It’s a dipstick that measures the problem. Furthermore, I’m aware
that my own experience there is biased: fewer than 20% of my 400+ online “friends”
share my liberal perspective. I rarely see a balanced conversation; nevertheless,
the elephant in the room remains: a deeply divided nation, catalyzed by extremist
groups and riding the crest of a rigid, tribal, binary mentality created and
nurtured by intentional use of distortions and misrepresentations of truth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">I found a
different mentality in the easy camaraderie between the five (now four) living
former presidents, including both Bushes, Carter, Clinton and Obama. A recent story
relates a request made from President-elect Obama to President Bush during the
transition between their respective tenures. Obama requested a get-together
with the other four still living Presidents.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Mr. Bush
cordially granted the request, and set up a luncheon at the White House. For
two hours the three former Presidents and the outgoing one shared their wisdom
and experience with the new kid on the block. I marked the reported cordiality
and candor with which those five men related to one another. The disagreements
that typified their political affiliations did not lead them into the mutual condemnation
so common in political exchanges today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Then, late
in the afternoon of January 20, three of the remaining four from that White
House luncheon (President Carter was ill) gathered to offer their support and
availability to the new POTUS. In their interview, President Obama shared that
they indeed had had their disagreements—even bitter disagreements, but they never forgot their common commitment to building “a more
perfect union.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">That theme
appears in the early pages of Obama’s book, <i>A Promised Land</i>. As Mr.
Obama describes his first days as a United States Senator, he notes of a kind
of collegiality that transcended the ideological differences. He writes:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">“The
old bulls of the Senate—Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch, John Warner and Robert
Byrd, Dan Inouye and Ted Stevens—all maintained friendships across the aisle,
operating with an easy intimacy that I found typical of the Greatest
Generation. The younger senators socialized less and brought with them the
sharper ideological edge that had come to characterize the House of
Representatives after the Gingrich era. But even with the most conservative
members, I often found common ground: Oklahoma’s Tom Coburn, for example, a
devout Christian and an unyielding skeptic of government spending, would become
a sincere and thoughtful friend, our staffs working together on measures to
increase transparency and reduce waste in government contracting.”<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2021/002--January%2030.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">While I am
conversant with Generational Theory, I hadn’t made any application specific to political styles and character. After reading that paragraph, I remembered
the bitterness with which Robert Taft and Harry Truman fought during “working
hours,” only to leave the bitterness on the table when the working day was
over. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">That same
generation spawned people like Bill Buckley Jr., whose verbosity and wit could
rip a guest to shreds during his television talk show, then he’d take his
victim to dinner (Gore Vidal notwithstanding)..<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">But then
came the “Me Generation,” AKA the “Entitled Generation”, and Generation X, and
somewhere in that transition we the people lost our ability to remain civil in
our disagreements.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Disagreement,
when approached with the right spirit and information and communication skills,
can produce positive and effective resolutions. But a significant portion of the
current generation doesn’t want resolution, it wants confirmation and absolute
conformity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">A thin
line separates commitment and obstinacy, conviction and arrogance, assurance
and blind dogmatism. That line is all that separates civility and barbarism. Some
of today’s ideologues are oblivious to that line and unwilling to accept any
possibility that they may be wrong about anything. When presented with facts,
they simply declare alternative facts and continue their merry way. Truth and
reality have no meaning for them. They simply fabricate their own truth and
reality.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">And so we
have a raid on our nation’s capitol on January 6—a mob in full tantrum mode
because they didn’t get their way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">In
conflict resolution I always begin by asking both parties, “Do you really want
to resolve the issue between you, or do you just want to win the fight?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The
January 6 riot was the residue of three generations of letting somebody else
take care of the nation—three generations of apathy that produced a
frighteningly large population of entitled people who just want to win the
fight. They may be unreachable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">OF
COURSE</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> they don’t
represent an entire generation. <i>OF COURSE</i> they don’t represent mainstream
conservatism or liberalism. They represent the apathy and complacency of a reasonable
majority which is capable, when we set their minds to it, of resolving almost
any disagreement. The conservative English statesman and philosopher, Edmund
Burke, wrote, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men
to do nothing.” We the people have done nothing far too long.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">We have
been reminded a number of times since January 6 that Democracy is fragile, and
that it is, and always will be, a work in progress: a work toward “a more
perfect union”. If our “more perfect union” ever is realized, it will be
completely bi-partisan, acknowledging that there is some good in virtually
every person and group and ideology.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">That’s how
it looks through the Flawed Glass that is my world view.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2021/002--January%2030.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> Barak Obama, <i>A Promised Land</i>
(New York: Crown, 2020) p. 57.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-71378327673750250862020-12-27T12:08:00.000-08:002020-12-27T12:08:05.152-08:00A Law of Medes and Persians?<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Senator
Robert Taft was a unique politician. Although a Republican—and a formidable
political opponent of President Harry S. Truman—he wasn’t a cookie-cutter party
clone; indeed, he had some serious disagreements with some of his own party
members. If his principles were at stake, he chose principle over party.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In <i>Profiles
of Courage</i>, John F. Kennedy said of Taft, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Those who were shocked at
these apparent departures from his traditional position did not comprehend that
Taft’s conservatism contained a strong strain of pragmatism, which caused him
to support <a name="_Hlk59967792">intensive Federal activity in those areas
that he believed not adequately served by the private enterprise system.</a>
Taft did not believe that this was inconsistent with the conservative doctrine;
conservatism in his opinion was not irresponsibility. Thus he gave new
dimensions to the conservative philosophy: he stuck to that faith when it
reached its lowest depth of prestige and power and led it back to the level of
responsibility and respectability.”<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/015--Medes%20and%20Persians.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What a concept! A politician whose principles embraced
human need. I suspect he believed the oft-quoted axiom, “That government is
best that governs least, because its people discipline themselves.”<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/015--Medes%20and%20Persians.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
In the simple eloquence of the sentence, I agree; however, I suspect few people
recall, if they ever acknowledged, that last part: “because its people
discipline themselves.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Henry David Thoreau took the phrase further in “Civil Disobedience:”
<br />
“Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which I also believe, – ‘That
government is best which governs not at all.’” However, Thoreau didn’t advocate
his dictum as a rigid “law of Medes and Persians.” He qualified it thus: “…<i>and
when men are prepared for it,</i> that will be the kind of government which
they will have. Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments
are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient.”<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/015--Medes%20and%20Persians.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
(Italics mine)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In my lifetime the Medes and Persians have infiltrated
America’s political right and are gaining increasing influence, plowing ahead
without any semblance of Senator Robert Taft’s pragmatism. Today’s right would
jerk the rug out from all who are dependent upon government relief, without
regard to circumstance or to the validity of need. Indeed, the hell-bent drive
to remove government pays scarce attention to any human vulnerability—or even
worse, dismisses it carte blanche as the result of laziness and poor decisions,
and thus unworthy of assistance. (“Let ‘em eat cake.”) To say the political
right has prioritized principle over human need would be a gross understatement.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It seems obvious to me that the primary focus of the
current Republican party is to remove all boundaries and limitations from the
corporate world and to allow American economy to free-fall into abject oligarchy.
In doing so, they totally disregard the second part of their beloved maxim, namely,
“…because its people discipline themselves.” There is no indication that
corporate American has any interest, intention, or ability to discipline
itself. But, the political right expects the poor to discipline themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I appreciate the few Republican Senators and Representatives
who have refused to accept the ring through their nose, and who demonstrate
some degree of free-thinking ability; but, alas, they are a shrinking breed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What bothers me most about the sell-out to oligarchy is
that some of its most visible and verbal spokespersons are Bible-thumping self-proclaimed
evangelicals. I emphasize the term, “self-proclaimed,” because their behavior
doesn’t align with the “evangel” (good news) from which the term originates. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where does their evangelical oligarchy reflect, </span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal;">“I
was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to
drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me
clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited
me”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">? </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-variant: small-caps;">(Matthew 25:35-36 NRSV)</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where does it reflect, </span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-variant: small-caps;">(Matthew
19:21 NRSV)<span style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where does it reflect</span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal;">, <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="text"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,</span></i></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span class="indent-1-breaks"><span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;">because he has anointed me</span></span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span class="indent-2-breaks"><span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;">to bring good news to the poor.</span></span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span class="text"><span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives</span></span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span class="indent-1-breaks"><span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;">and recovery of sight to the blind,</span></span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span class="indent-2-breaks"><span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;">to let the oppressed go free,</span></span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span class="text"><sup style="font-size: 1.2rem;"><span style="background: white; font-weight: normal;"><span id="en-NRSV-25075" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">19 </span></span></sup><span style="background: white;">to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”</span></span></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The cliché cop-out is “But Jesus was addressing
individuals, not the government. Let the individual philanthropists and the
churches and the non-profits take care of that. Leave the government out of it.”
(Meanwhile, let the government bail out the largest and wealthiest corporations
in the world. You see, they want to be very selective about what areas the government
should “govern least.”)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The cop-out misses a very important reality: philanthropists,
churches and non-profits already are operating pretty much at full capacity,
and their efforts and resources don’t begin to touch the enormity of need. Indeed,
churches are in serious decline.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Which brings me back to John F. Kennedy’s comment about
Senator Robert Taft, namely, that he believed in “intensive Federal activity in
those areas that he believed not adequately served by the private enterprise system.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I agree: “That government is best which governs least,
because its people discipline themselves.” I agree: the current system of government
assistance tends to foster dependence and parasitic abuse (although such examples
are relatively rare). </span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: normal;">So, change the system to foster growth
toward independence! It’s been done before—briefly! THEN let the government “govern
least.”</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Such a radical suggestion is beyond the
capacity of today’s blog. But stay tuned. There’ll be more.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That’s the way I see it through the Flawed Glass that is my
world view.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="mso-pagination: none;"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/015--Medes%20and%20Persians.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">John F. Kennedy,
Profiles in Courage (New York: HARPERPERENNIAL MODERNCLASSICS,1956) p. 195.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="mso-pagination: none;"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/015--Medes%20and%20Persians.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> The quote is
most frequently credited to Henry David Thoreau in Civil Disobedience; however,
it appears earlier in “United States Magazine and Democratic Review,” founded
in 1837 by John O’Sullivan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="mso-pagination: none;"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/015--Medes%20and%20Persians.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> <a href="https://fee.org/articles/who-said-the-best-government-is-that-which-governs-least/">Who
Said "The Best Government Is That Which Governs Least"? - Foundation
for Economic Education (fee.org)</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div><br /><p></p>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-14780031064802073252020-12-06T08:32:00.001-08:002020-12-06T08:32:22.619-08:00A Cult of Denial<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Beyond COVID-19 (as if that weren’t bad
enough!), we’re enduring a pandemic of denial. I have no corroborating data,
and my sources are limited to social media, personal conversations, online or
radio/TV sources, and the op-ed pages of a few printed sources. Nevertheless,
within that limited scope, the denial pandemic is contained almost exclusively
to the right of socio/political/economic center, and the farther right one
goes, the more widespread is the pandemic.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Within my limited field of observation, the
infecting virus seems to be “thuh guv-uh-mint.” If any manifestation of
government is related in any way to any issue, there will be opposition and
denial from the right of center. It makes no difference whether the issue is
beneficial or destructive. If government is involved, it will be rejected.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">I seriously wonder, had the government issued a
prohibition <i>against</i> wearing masks, would we have seen . . .
Oh, never mind.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">An article in a recent edition of the Washington
Post began,</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“<!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600"
o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f"
stroked="f">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/>
<v:formulas>
<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"/>
</v:formulas>
<v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/>
<o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/>
</v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75"
style='width:.75pt;height:.75pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:/Users/fcccp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.png"
o:title=""/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img height="1" src="file:///C:/Users/fcccp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.png" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_2" width="1" /><!--[endif]-->Americans heard the pleas to stay
home. They were told what would happen if they didn’t. Still, millions traveled
and gathered during the Thanksgiving holiday, either doubting the warnings or
deciding they would take their chances. <span style="background: white;">Now,
like any partygoer waking from a raucous weekend — feeling a bit hung over and
perhaps a tinge of regret — the nation is about to face the consequences of its
behavior and will need to quickly apply the lessons before heading into the
doubleheader of Christmas and New Year’s.”<a name="_ftnref1"></a><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/014--December%2015--Denial.docx#_ftn1"><span style="color: black;">[1]</span></a></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Denial. It’s too early to determine the
article’s accuracy; however, evidence from the overwhelming majority of leading
medical scientists has been confirmed many times over since the pandemic began.
Still, the cult of denial asserts its doctrine of liberal conspiracies, saying
“leftists” are using the pandemic to seize power and to pad the pockets of the
pharmaceutical industry.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Denial. Then there’s right-wing denial of the
recent election’s validity. A question occurs to me: If the Democrats were
going to “rig” the election, don’t you think they’d want to rig the senatorial
votes, too?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The Post article concludes:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Public
health messaging needs to be retooled, as whole swaths of the country are
simply tuning out the warnings from officials and experts.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“We have
to rethink how we’re communicating. Blaming people, yelling at them,
stigmatizing them — clearly it’s not working,” said Angela Rasmussen, a
virologist at Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security. “We
have to show compassion and empathy. Understand where people are coming from
and persuade them to do otherwise.”<a name="_ftnref2"></a><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/014--December%2015--Denial.docx#_ftn2"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Improved communication always is a valid goal;
moreover, I like the way the quoted virologist takes responsibility for trying
to resolve the obvious impasse, rather than simply blaming the denying public.
It's a good model for all of us! Still, if communication is to be dialogical,
both sides must decide to listen—LISTEN—as well as to articulate their points.
When minds are made up, …you know the rejoinder: “don’t confuse me with facts.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">And already, before a vaccine is ready to be
dispensed, the deniers are up in arms. The anti-vaxxer cult published a recent
meme on Facebook saying, “We have the flu vaccine; but we still have flu.” The
implication is clear: it’s the antivaxxer theme song.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yes, we still have flu. It’s a viral infection
that needs annual vaccination because it mutates. The same likely will be true
regarding the coronavirus. Moreover, only 40% of Americans utilize the
influenza vaccine on a yearly basis,<a name="_ftnref3"></a><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/014--December%2015--Denial.docx#_ftn3"><span style="color: blue;">[3]</span></a> thus
diluting the vaccine’s overall effectiveness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Furthermore, antivaxxer logic loses credibility
totally when one considers vaccines for smallpox, diphtheria, polio, and other
historic pandemics.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Moving on: consider the rampant denial of
racism. Within my small circle of acquaintances, those who deny racism seem to
take every comment about racism as a direct accusation that they, personally,
are racist.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hand-in-hand with the denial of racism is the
denial of “white privilege.” White privilege does not imply that whites don’t
encounter difficulties; but white people’s difficulties do not result directly
from their skin color. It simply is not enough to be non-racist. We need to
move toward a cultural climate of anti-racism.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The cult of denial is just one of many clearly
identifiable characteristics of the <i>deeply entrenched tribalism that
divides our nation into antagonistic factions</i>. The hostilities are accelerating,
and I fear armed confrontation is inevitable unless the trend can be reversed.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The reversal of national antagonism depends upon
the willingness of <i>all parties</i> to accept their human
limitations, including the possibility that their ideologies are not
infallible. At best, human ideologies represent <i>partial</i> truth.
I repeat here my belief in absolute truth, although I believe it is humanly
impossible to comprehend truth absolutely. Truth always is strained through the
filters of human perception and circumstance. I refer to St. Paul:</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia Pro", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“…<span style="background: white;">For now we see
in a mirror, dimly…”</span></span></i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">(I Corinthians 13:12 NRSV)</span><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">. </span><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">At best,
our comprehension of truth is incomplete.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Every position along the left/right
socio/political spectrum represents a relative imbalance vis-à-vis the greatest
good to the greatest number of people, and about the needs of society versus
the needs of the individual.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Church is in the season of Advent, and I am
struck by the parallels of human brokenness addressed by the Hebrew prophets
eight centuries before Christ compared to the latest headline of any current
newspaper. The words of the ancient trumpets of God remain as valid today as
they were 2,800 years ago. The cynical Preacher was right: </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“</span></i><i><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">What has been is
what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; </span>there is nothing new under the sun.”</i><i><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">(Ecclesiastes 1:9 NRSV)</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">I see reality through the lens of a Christian
pastor; nevertheless, virtually every major religious faith upholds similar
ideals, and the truth, as I see it, is that human brokenness has not yet been
surrendered to those universal truths that call us to peace and justice and
love.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">That’s the way I see it through the Flawed Glass
that is my world view.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Together
in the Walk,</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jim</span></p><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/014--December%2015--Denial.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/why-health-officials-are-terrified-of-a-pandemic-christmas/ar-BB1bwEDT?li=BBnb7Kz">Why
health officials are terrified of a pandemic Christmas (msn.com)</a><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/014--December%2015--Denial.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Ibid.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/014--December%2015--Denial.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-americans-get-flu-shots-vaccine-cdc/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20CDC%2C%20the,during%20the%202018%2D19%20season.">How
many Americans get flu shots? - USAFacts</a> [42.2% in 2016. My figure above is
rounded off.]</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-64456476729782437342020-11-16T06:44:00.001-08:002020-11-16T06:44:50.837-08:00Post-Election Reflections<p> </p><div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Living in a Post-Election World; Leading in a Country
Divided</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Reflections on an
Online Seminar sponsored by Christian Theological Seminary<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/013--Living%20in%20a%20Post-Election%20World.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[1]</span></b></span></span></a></span></b></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Gospel of Mark
begins with John the Baptist in the wilderness “proclaiming a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (1:4 NRSV). </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What strikes me about John the Baptist—is that
he was nowhere near a church. And those who insisted on staying inside the church
never heard his message—they NEVER got it!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why the wilderness? because, in the
wilderness, there’s only God; there’s no political system, no government, no
economic system, no military or police system, no education system, no science,
no social security, no insurance, no pensions, no locked doors…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I suspect every one of us has some idea where
our own wilderness lies—and we all have long lists of good reasons we should
not go there. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And then, a pandemic hits. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And suddenly—we didn’t choose this; we didn’t
plan this—we <i>all</i> are in the wilderness. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Our political life is in chaos, our nation is a house
divided, and there’s a pandemic that has become politicized and, in some cases,
weaponized.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And over the past
two weeks our election process disrupted what little was left of “normal” for
us. Antagonistic lines were drawn in the sand many years ago, and the animosity
and belligerence exchanged across those lines has exploded across social media,
increasing daily in intensity. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So, how do Americans
respond? And, in particular, how do people of faith respond? I am a Christian,
and although I have respect for many other faith communities, I will not
attempt to speak for any but my own. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">First, we grieve</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">. Grief is not
just sadness; although, sadness is an obvious part of grief. Grief is a process
that moves through stages toward healing. There is no logical or “normal” order
to the stages of grief, even though they are relatively well-defined and observable.
They don’t even have the decency to come at us one-at-a-time. And there’s no
guarantee that an apparently resolved stage won’t reoccur. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Anger is one of
the most disruptive stages of grief. Combined with other stages, its impact is intensified.
A sense of numbness reduces one’s capacity for clarity of thought, and shock
and denial redirect (often misdirecting) one’s energy and motivation. Other
typical stages of grief include loneliness and even clinical depression.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My point is that
grief is a normal response to any sense of significant loss, including the loss
of dignity, sense of direction, or hope, and that grief is not a good platform
from which to make significant decisions or to take significant action. It’s a
part of our wilderness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Second</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">, but related to
grief is the <b><u>anxiety</u></b> we experience <b><u>in face of our revealed
vulnerability</u></b>. A part of our culture denies vulnerability as anything
other than the result of laziness or poor decisions. Others may recognize the
reality of personal and/or social vulnerability, but never expect to experience
it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Even with infections
and deaths spiraling out of control, many continue to deny the seriousness of
the current pandemic, and their obstinate refusal to take precautions becomes a
major factor in our growing vulnerability, as well as the anxiety concerning
said vulnerability.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I confess to no
small degree of anger at the insensitivity and the willingness of some to use the
health and life of my family and loved ones as gambling stakes in betting that their
anti-science dismissal of the corona virus is right, regardless of the
preponderance of scientific and medical evidence to the contrary--including over 235,000 related deaths, many of which could have been prevented.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And so, here we
are in the wilderness. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And yet, as God’s
people—as people of faith—this is not a strange place. We’ve been here before;
we’ve done this before. Turn to Scripture stories of how the people of God were
strengthened and led by God. Realize we are children of God, and not only have <i>we</i>
done this before—God has done this before.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">God is still our
refuge and our strength, and this is a time, and these are conditions for us to
put our faith into action: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">…to
look to value a person, rather than to denounce his or her position,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">…to
redirect our energies intentionally away from division. and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">…for
religious leaders to model an ability to work together, even across our
differences!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Faith communities
cannot impact the division until they come together, themselves. In a community
I served some years ago there was intense racial friction. Whites were a
minority, but controlled everything. The city was zoned so that there were four
white and four black city councilmen. The mayor always was white. Every vote
was 4 – 4, with the mayor casting the deciding vote. Local chapters of three nationally
prominent ethnic gangs engaged in their turf wars. The community was wired for
conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There was an incident
that threatened to ignite the volatile environment, and a weekly lectionary
study group (all white clergy) issued a call for all clergy in the city to
gather.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">About 75
ministers, equally divided by ethnicity, showed up. After about an hour of polite-but-tense
(and virtually impotent) conversation, one of the black ministers stood and
said, “In this room I see black ministers who represent the perspective of Dr.
Martin Luther King, and ministers who represent the perspective of Malcom X,
and ministers who represent the perspective of the Black Panthers. How can we
hope to unite across ethnic lines when we in the black community can’t even
unite, ourselves?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So, I repeat: “Faith
communities cannot impact the division until they come together, themselves.”
One way we can consider that is by developing an ability to communicate faith
concepts without using faith language. Instead of demanding that the public understand
our faith jargon, we could develop, instead, the ability, through listening, to
communicate our message <i>in the public’s language.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And finally, there
is that stereotypical scapegoat: “the media.” There is a common, uncritical (let’s
even say oblivious and irresponsible) diatribe that suggests “the media” is at
the root of all our nation’s problems. The judgment is that “the media” forms
our thoughts and opinions, as if we aren’t fully capable of considering
evidence and coming to our own conclusions. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“The media” prints
and broadcasts what its market will buy. Period. They reflect, rather than
form, the values and ideologies of specific American markets. FOX publishes
what a very conservative market will buy, while MSNBC (possible the ideological
opposite of FOX) publishes what its market will buy. In all cases, the opinions,
biases and ideologies of the market form the content of media publications,
rather than the media forming the public’s ideology.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Of particular blameworthiness
is social media: Facebook, Twitter, etc. These social media form a barometer—a dipstick—by
which to measure to pulse and biases of America. And it’s all there in its raw
ugliness. But it’s not the social media that is at fault! It is but the medium through
which the American public vents its vile and hatred.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">DON’T BLAME “THE
MEDIA”!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But people of
faith are called to a higher level of response. From the Christian perspective,
the valid faith response to the allegation that social media (or “the media” in
general) is forming our values is two-fold: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">(1) we are totally
responsible for our own response! Hatred and divisiveness happens <i>only if we
allow it</i>. We are not obligated to respond in kind!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">(2) self-knowledge
is crucial. The issue is simple: who, or what, is the model by which we form
our values and our character? Are we limited by the narrowly (and usually
erroneously) defined categories that are flung around carelessly on social
media? Or are we truly free to choose our own model? Are we responsible enough
to study deeply into the roots and origins of the models we choose? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The voice of John
the Baptist calls us to turn from uncritical acceptance of social values and
character, and to choose responsibly. For me, my conscious choice is the life
and teachings and sacrificial obedience of Jesus of Nazareth. My personal spiritual
journey through these anxious and uncertain times is guided by this one vision:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Day
by day, Oh, dear Lord, these things I pray:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">To
see Thee more clearly,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Love
Thee more dearly,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Follow
Thee more nearly, <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Day by day.”</span></i><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/013--Living%20in%20a%20Post-Election%20World.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">That’s the way it
looks through the “Flawed Glass” that is my world view.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Together
in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-family: times;"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/013--Living%20in%20a%20Post-Election%20World.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">On November 5, Seminary President David
Mellott moderated an online gathering of local faith leaders from
different religious traditions. Recording available at </span><a href="https://www.cts.edu/cts-responds-to-anxious-and-uncertain-times/" style="font-size: 11pt;">https://www.cts.edu/cts-responds-to-anxious-and-uncertain-times/</a>. These are my thoughts and reflections related to that event.<span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-family: times;"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/013--Living%20in%20a%20Post-Election%20World.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
From the musical, “Godspell”, by Stephen Schwartz,<span style="background: white; color: #4d5156; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span>book by
John-Michael Tebelak. 1970.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-60641117885312237172020-10-01T09:46:00.002-07:002020-10-01T09:46:24.813-07:00And the World Will Be as One (John Lennon)<p> <span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; text-indent: 0.5in;">Remember that Coca Cola commercial from a few years ago:
“I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing in Perfect Harmony”? Remember the Beatles’
song, “</span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; text-indent: 0.5in;">Imagine all the people Livin' life in
peace…”?</span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Do you find it a bit strange that the voices most
frequently heard proclaiming that message of peace and unity come from the
secular world: a TV commercial; a rock song? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Meanwhile, back at the church… Rather than uniting around
our faith in Jesus, the entire history of the church is a referendum on
division. There are more than 200 Christian denominations in the United States,
not to mention all the independent and entrepreneurial Christian bodies—each
pointing out the errors in all the others. And more and more of the spiritually
hungry public is disillusioned and wants no part of it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">About 200 years ago, a father and son, Thomas and
Alexander Campbell, both ordained ministers, also had had enough. It was never
their intention to begin yet another Christian denomination. They dreamed of a
society in which all Christians could unite around a common, simple faith in
Jesus. Their dream never materialized; indeed, their movement now comprises
three separate denominations manifesting the same dissensions and hostility as
the whole of Christendom. We continue to crucify Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">And yet, the dream lives on. Sunday is World Communion Sunday.</span><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> The tradition</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> was begun in 1933 by Hugh Thomson Kerr
who ministered in the Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburg,
Pennsylvania. Its purpose was to reconcile dissenting congregations in
that area.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Christian unity has been avoided, especially by the more
conservative denominations, because it is perceived that unity means all
churches will be coerced into affirming a single doctrine. But that’s not
unity. That’s uniformity, and it doesn’t work any better than division, because
a demand for uniformity disallows diversity. And religious faith—and especially
Christianity—thrives on diversity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">When we understand that our differences enrich our
relationships and our ministry—and our faith; and when we blend our diverse
gifts<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/013%20October%201.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Sans Typewriter"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
into a harmony of ministries, that’s when those spiritual fruits blossom:
“Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control.”<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/013%20October%201.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Sans Typewriter"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> And when
that’s what we produce—when the world sees those things emerging out of the
harmony of our ministries—then the mystery of God’s will<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/013%20October%201.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Sans Typewriter"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text1;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> is
revealed, and God is glorified.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">As we come to the Lord’s Table on this World Communion
Sunday, may we come in the awareness that Christians express faith in diverse
ways. Some disagree. Some are polar opposites of others. We don’t even agree on
what happens at the Lord’s Table. But we are united there by our common need
for God’s grace. We gather in the awareness that Christians all over this
planet will gather at a table and confess, “Jesus is Lord.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">That’s the way I see it through the Flawed Glass that is
my world view.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/013%20October%201.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Sans Typewriter"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> A broad variety of
spiritual gifts is mentioned in several New Testament passages, including
Romans 12:6-8; I Corinthians 12:8-10; ICorinthians 12:28-30; Ephesians 4:11; I
Peter 4:11, et. al. In I Corinthians 12:4-7 Paul refers specifically to the
variety of gifts, services, activities, and other manifestations of the Spirit
that are given by the “same Spirit”, the “same Lord,” and the “same God” (note
the early trinitarian formula.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/013%20October%201.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Sans Typewriter"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Galatians 5:22-23<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 3.0pt;"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/013%20October%201.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Sans Typewriter"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Ephesians 1:9-10</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-11436007365836609152020-08-26T13:04:00.009-07:002020-08-26T13:43:16.997-07:00COVID-19: Pespective<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">In response to
those who would discount the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic, or who would
reduce the human death toll to a statistic or a percentage of the population, and
then dismiss them as insignificant, it may be noteworthy to compare coronavirus
deaths with deaths from the worst pandemics/epidemics in the United States since
the early 20<sup>th</sup> century: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 453px;">
<tbody><tr style="height: 14.25pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: none; border: double windowtext 2.25pt; height: 14.25pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="75">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Date<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: double 2.25pt; border-color: windowtext; border-left: solid 1.0pt; border-right: solid 1.0pt; border-top: double 2.25pt; height: 14.25pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: double 2.25pt; mso-border-color-alt: windowtext; mso-border-left-alt: solid .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double 2.25pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="121">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pandemic<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: double windowtext 2.25pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: double windowtext 2.25pt; height: 14.25pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 45.35pt;" valign="bottom" width="60">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"># Deaths<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: double windowtext 2.25pt; border-left: none; border-right: double black 2.25pt; border-top: double windowtext 2.25pt; height: 14.25pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 147.65pt;" valign="bottom" width="197">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Length of
Pandemic<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 13.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: double windowtext 2.25pt; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="75">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1918<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="121">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">H1N1 Spanish Flue<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 45.35pt;" valign="bottom" width="60">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">675000<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: double black 2.25pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: double black 2.25pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 147.65pt;" valign="bottom" width="197">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One Year<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: double windowtext 2.25pt; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="75">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1921-25<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="121">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Diphtheria<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 45.35pt;" valign="bottom" width="60">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">14000<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: double black 2.25pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: double black 2.25pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 147.65pt;" valign="bottom" width="197">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Average annual
deaths over 5 years<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: double windowtext 2.25pt; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="75">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1916-55<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="121">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Polio<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 45.35pt;" valign="bottom" width="60">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1225<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: double black 2.25pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: double black 2.25pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 147.65pt;" valign="bottom" width="197">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Average annual
deaths over 40 years<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: double windowtext 2.25pt; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="75">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1957<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="121">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">H2N2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bird Flu<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 45.35pt;" valign="bottom" width="60">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">116000<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: double black 2.25pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: double black 2.25pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 147.65pt;" valign="bottom" width="197">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One Year<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: double windowtext 2.25pt; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="75">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2009<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="121">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">H1N1 Swine Flu<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 45.35pt;" valign="bottom" width="60">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12469<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: double black 2.25pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: double black 2.25pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 147.65pt;" valign="bottom" width="197">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One Year<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: double windowtext 2.25pt; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="75">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1985-2013<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="121">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">HIV/AIDS*<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 45.35pt;" valign="bottom" width="60">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">24000<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: double black 2.25pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: double black 2.25pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 147.65pt;" valign="bottom" width="197">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Average annual
deaths over 28 years<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 13.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 7; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: double windowtext 2.25pt; border-left: double windowtext 2.25pt; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; mso-border-left-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="75">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2020<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: double windowtext 2.25pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="121">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">COVID-19**
(Mar-Aug)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: double windowtext 2.25pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 45.35pt;" valign="bottom" width="60">
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">182818<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: double windowtext 2.25pt; border-left: none; border-right: double black 2.25pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 147.65pt;" valign="bottom" width="197">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Narrow",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">six months <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
have no criteria by which to qualify the advance of medical science in the 102
years between 1918 and 2020; nevertheless, whatever evaluative criteria one may
find, medical science today has advanced beyond that of any of the previous
pandemic or epidemic eras. Yet, even with that advantage, aside from The
Spanish Flu in 1918, The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed—</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">in six months</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">—more
American lives than the total </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">annual</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> deaths (averaging the annual deaths
from pandemics that lasted more than one year) from all the previous epidemics
and pandemics </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">combined</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">I
also am aware that America’s population today is larger than previous eras
considered. Still, I am at a total loss to understand the blasé, casual
approach of so many conservative Americans to a pandemic whose death toll <i><u style="text-underline: words;">in six months</u></i> significantly outstrips the total
<i><u style="text-underline: words;">combined annual</u></i> deaths of previous
major pandemics over the past 100 years! How is that insignificant?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">While
the research is yet too young to be conclusive, the evidence of long-term impact
of the coronavirus increases with every study: heart and lung damage,
neurological symptoms, and serious questions about immunity for those who
survive. And the virus appears already to have gone through one or more
mutations, making it even more difficult to pin down and treat. How is that
insignificant?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">The
most difficult aspect for me to understand is how so many Americans dismiss out
of had the recommendations of the leading medical authorities on the planet! <i>[I
know: liberal conspiracy. Right?]</i> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Natural
medicine has its value. I practice it, but not exclusively. It’s been my
observation that not much of life comes to us in singular, neatly wrapped
packages; nor does much of life present itself in a binary, right/wrong,
black/white, good/evil format. Almost all of life is lived in relation to a
balance of factors lived out on an ideological continuum. Life is comprised of
the decisions each person makes in relation to the challenges and opportunities
presented by that continuum. For the Christian, those decisions are informed by
the way a person understands and follows Jesus of Nazareth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">To
a significant degree, human problems begin when fallible persons or groups settle
at one position along life’s spectrum and declare that position to be absolute
and infallible. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">“A
5% death rate is acceptable.” <i>REALLY!?!?!</i> There’s absolutely no way of
discerning how many of those deaths could have been prevented had Bubba not
been so pig-headed about wearing a mask and keeping his distance and avoiding social
gatherings. </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u style="text-underline: words;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Preventable deaths are
not acceptable!<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">“But
my rights…!!!” Baloney! Your rights stop where my nose begins; and you do not
have the right to gamble with my health or my family’s health—or maybe even our
lives, just to make your statement. And, of course, Bubba seems incapable of considering
the possibility that he may be wrong. <i>[see comments above about making one’s
position on life’s continuum absolute and infallible.]</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Neither
882,818 deaths, nor any percent thereof, can be dismissed flippantly —especially
by any who claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ, and especially when the
overwhelming majority of respected medical science has indicated that some of
those deaths could have been avoided by compliance to some simple precautions (acknowledging
that the precautions can be somewhat incongruent with our comfort zones.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">How many rallies,
sporting events, church re-openings, face-to-face on-site school re-openings
(including major universities), parties, and concerts have been followed by spikes
in the incidence of infection? How is that insignificant? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">From Bubba to the
White House, a major subset of the American population has never taken the
pandemic seriously, and continues to refuse to follow the simple guidelines
established by medical science, in effect dismissing medical science’s virtual
elimination of smallpox, polio, and other pandemics as a liberal conspiracy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">And as a result,
America once again is #1! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">That’s the way it
looks through the flawed glass that is my world view.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">____________________<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">*<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
HIV/AIDS pandemic involved primarily a specific sub-culture, as compared to the
general population included in the other pandemic deaths in this study.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">**<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
found four different figures, with a variance of almost 3,500 deaths from the
lowest to the highest. The difference in each case was the starting date, which
varied from January 1 to January 21 of this year.</span> <o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-6441206875468147892020-07-05T08:13:00.002-07:002020-07-05T08:16:22.003-07:00High Stakes Gambling<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">In America one has
a right to believe, and to proclaim, and to live by the belief that Dr. Anthony
Fauci, Johns Hopkins Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, The American Medical
Association, the Center for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization (and
others) are engaged in a national, or maybe even a global liberal conspiracy to
control the world. One has a right, in America, to believe that the COVID-19
pandemic is a ruse—a tool being used by said liberal conspiracy to take away our
freedoms and liberties and rights, and that it is no more threatening than last
year’s influenza season.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">One has that
right.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">But, what if there
is a slight chance—an ever-so-slight chance—even just a 10% chance—that one
would be wrong in that belief? What if the coronavirus is as deadly as the
evil, liberal conspiracy claims?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">What if wearing a
mask and social distancing <i>really do</i> reduce the risk [nobody ever claimed those actions would totally eliminate the risk] of contracting—<i><u style="text-underline: words;">or of transmitting</u></i>—the disease? It’s one
thing to say, “I’ll take my chances.” “I’m willing to gamble with my health,
and maybe my life, on the belief that I’m right.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">One has that
right. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Until…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">…until that right violates
my right(s). As the cliché goes, “Your rights stop where my nose begins.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">At some point it
ceases to be a matter of one’s personal liberties and rights, and becomes a
matter of cooperation, compassion, and common decency and respect.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">So, while one can
say, “I’ll take my chances; I’m willing to gamble with my health, and even my
life, on my belief,” it’s NOT OK to gamble with my health and my family’s
health on the basis of your obstinacy. And it’s not OK to dismiss my concerns
as the incoherent mutterings of a university-brainwashed libtard.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">What if you’re
wrong? The stakes are terribly high.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">That’s the way it
looks through the Flawed Glass that is my world view.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></p><br />Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-27494661278109541352020-06-30T08:11:00.002-07:002020-07-05T08:11:29.163-07:00Musings of an Anxious Patriot<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">This weekend is the annual
celebration of the day the American colonists' Second Continental Congress
adopted the Declaration of Independence—July 4, 1776. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">We’ll fly our flag proudly at
home. Actually, we’ll fly three flags: one will fly on a staff over our curbside
mailbox, and two smaller ones will be on display in the flower beds. We’ll grill
hot dogs and possibly watch the movie version of the Broadway show, “1776.” We
missed the show last year, but it’s become something of a 4<sup>th</sup> of
July tradition at our house since we first watched it with part of our extended
family when we were vacationing in Fairbanks, Alaska eight years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">I am a veteran. I’m no hero. I was
in the Marine Band at Quantico, Virginia until August, 1967, when I left for
Vietnam. Before the Tet Operation in early 1968 I was primarily a trombone
player in the 3<sup>rd</sup> Marine Division Band in Phu Bai (about 14 miles
south of the ancient citadel of Hue). When the Tet Operation erupted, the division
moved to Quang Tri (just south of the DMZ), where we put our instruments away
and served in various combat operations until I rotated out and came home. We
rarely engaged the enemy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">I stand for the National Anthem. I
place my right hand over my heart and frequently get misty; although, I bear no
disrespect or ill will toward those who exercise their first amendment rights
to kneel in protest of injustices that scarcely can be denied.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">Occasionally I go online and watch
a video of some Marine band on parade, and I get teary-eyed and experience a
thrill when they hit those opening notes of the Marine Hymn.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I vote in every election, and frequently contact the legislators
who represent my area. And I have served in public office.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, I consider myself a patriot, and will celebrate the birth
of our nation on Saturday.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But on Sunday, I will be in church to worship God and to
give thanks for God’s grace. And in God’s sanctuary my patriotism will not
express itself in celebration, but in repentance and prayers for forgiveness
and healing. As the hymn says, “America! America! God mend thine every flaw.”
And flaws abound. Nothing positive or constructive ever has emerged in the
history of humanity from any mixture of patriotism and religion. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Sunday I will pray that God will forgive the divisive,
intolerant hatred that has infected the country I am proud to have served, and
I will pray that God will heal our land. And no matter how passionately it is
denied, hatred—some directed at specific people and some just ambiguous and
generalized—is the root sin of our nation. It manifests itself most
destructively in what has been called religious nationalism.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, I’ll fly the flag on Saturday, and celebrate the nation
that was “…conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men
are created equal.”<a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/010-June%2030--Musings%20from%20an%20Anxious%20Patriot.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> I’ll
celebrate the great vision that propelled our forebears: the vision articulated
on our Statue of Liberty: <i>"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled
masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden
door!"</i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But on Sunday I’ll pray for forgiveness for what America
instead has become and for the people destroyed in process of becoming what we
are. And I will pray for reconciliation among the diverse peoples still at
enmity within our borders, so that the vision in which America was conceived actually
might be realized someday.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: .3in; margin-right: .3in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">“</span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">If my people who are
called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their
wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal
their land.”</span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;"> </span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-variant: small-caps; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(2 Chronicles 7:14 NRSV)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That’s the way it looks through the Flawed Glass that is my
world view.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">Jim<o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://firstchristianchurchconway-my.sharepoint.com/personal/fccc_firstchristianchurchconway_onmicrosoft_com/Documents/BLOGS/Numbered%20and%20Dated/2020/010-June%2030--Musings%20from%20an%20Anxious%20Patriot.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
From Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div><br />Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-58740217740057555002020-06-21T12:30:00.000-07:002020-06-21T12:30:32.887-07:00"Let The Words of My Mouth..."<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“…and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-variant: small-caps; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">(Psalm 19:14 NRSV)</span></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Words. Vocabulary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Sticks and stones may break my bones; but words
will never hurt me.” Really? Ask that 14-year-old girl at the junior high camp I
directed—the one who clawed her face until it bled because she was teased about
her freckles. Ask me about how I felt when I was called a queer (1957-58--before enlightenment) because I was
smaller and less athletic than most of the boys in my class—and because I was a musician.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In my preaching professor’s office were two
shelves of books about words. One reason his preaching was so effective was
that he carefully chose each word, crafting each sentence and transition. He
taught that words have gender, and texture, and color, and temperature.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Effective public speakers know how to choose
specific words to encourage, to challenge, to inspire, and unfortunately, even
to incite to violence. Words carelessly tossed into the wind can do more harm
than ever intended.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The problem is that in today's house-divided-America
some people (too many), either by intention, or by denial, or simply out of
oblivion, are choosing words precisely that divide and trigger anger, and in
this house divided, in which tensions and anger and partisan animosity already are
overpowering, anger all too quickly erupts into verbal, and/or physical
violence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Words can be correct and still be manipulated to
mislead and to distort the truth. Some media analysts and wannabe pundits on social
media have become specialists at such strategies of misdirection, denial, and the
exploitation of ignorance. And the further one moves toward the extremes, left
or right, of the political and ideological spectrum, the more intense is the application
of those strategies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Words can heal. Words can reconcile. Words can
unite. Words can be essential parts of a solution to most human problems. Words
also can be—and too often intentionally are—weaponized and therefore are
precisely a part of any problem of human relationships and interaction.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The words are not the problem. They simply are tools.
The problem is a spiritual one. And at this point, I specifically will be
addressing Christians; although, if any others find my remarks helpful, I am
grateful. Here is the spiritual problem for the Christian: There cannot be
found anywhere in Judeo/Christian Scripture any justification for any behavior—<i>ANY
BEHAVIOR</i>—that results in division and alienation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Every word of Christian Scripture is focused upon
God’s saving action in Jesus Christ, whose purpose, in his own words, was, </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I came that they
may have life, and have it abundantly.” </span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-variant: small-caps; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(John 10:10 NRSV)</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-variant: small-caps; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How is dropping the “F”
bomb on everyone who holds a different perspective even remotely consistent
with that purpose?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“…in Christ God was reconciling the world
to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the
message of reconciliation to us.” </span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-variant: small-caps; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(2 Corinthians 5:19 NRSV)</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-variant: small-caps; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How does calling
liberals “snowflakes” or “libtards”, or calling conservatives “idiots” or “wackos”
promote reconciliation?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><i><sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “…</span></sup></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">he has made known
to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth
in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to <u style="text-underline: words;">gather up all things</u> in him, things in heaven and things on
earth. </span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-variant: small-caps; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">(Ephesians 1:9-10 NRSV) </span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The intention is clear</span><a href="file:///E:/HACCR/Language--Blog%206-21-2020.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">: God’s will, God’s plan
for all creation, is unity, harmony, reconciliation. How does the use of</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">derogatory labels promote God’s
will, God’s plan for people who are different in any way from each other?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Words. Vocabulary. Labels. Stereotypes. Choose
yours carefully, because </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to
give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you
will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> ~ Jesus </span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-variant: small-caps; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(Matthew 12:36-37 NRSV).</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">That’s the way it looks through the Flawed Glass
that is my world view.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jim<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///E:/HACCR/Language--Blog%206-21-2020.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In the original language, the underlined
words are one word, ανακεφαλαιωσασθαι (which is a tongue-twister pronounced “ah-nah-keh-fah-lie-oh-sas-thigh”)
which means to recapitulate or to sum up, as in a column of numbers. It also
refers to justifying or reconciling two sets of numbers, as in reconciling one’s
checkbook with the bank statement. I found one secular application to music,
when two or more performers are singing and/or playing different notes or
melodies at the same time—what we would call today, “harmony.” The King James Version
says, “gather together in one,” the RSV says, “to unite all things,” the NIV
says, “to bring unity to all things,” The ERV says, “be joined together…” The
intent becomes clear: unity, reconciliation, harmony describe God’s will and
God’s plan.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div><br /><p></p>Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-509265197661865942020-05-31T16:08:00.000-07:002020-05-31T16:08:46.147-07:00Come, Holy Spirit!<p class="MsoNormal">This may not be the best time for me to write. My heart is
heavy—grieving. I’m not angry; although, anger surrounds us and increasingly
becomes the norm among some parts of our American population. I’m sure I’ll be
angry at some point. Anger is a normal part of grief.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I find myself on the verge—and sometimes into the abyss—of
tears more and more frequently. I recall that dreadful news clip of the fiery
crash of the Hindenburg, and the sobbing voice of the reporter, “Oh! The
humanity! The humanity!”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How calloused have we become when we so rarely are moved to
tears at the sight of human suffering? What hideous kind of demon possesses one
human to kneel on the neck of another human—a human who is face-down on the
ground, handcuffed, with two other humans kneeling on his back—a human who is
crying, “I can’t breathe! Please!”? And what kind of inhuman creature looks on,
apparently more concerned about the camera that is recording it all than about
the human who is gasping for his dying breath? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Kneeling on a man’s neck is an extreme and dangerous step,
well out of bounds for ordinary police procedures. The kneeling officer appears
to have a long track record of complaints.”<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
I’ve seen three videos, each from a different perspective. In none of them did
it appear that Floyd was resisting or uncooperative.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I know: there is a report that George Floyd had preconditions
“including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease”; and the
preliminary autopsy showed, “no physical findings that support a diagnosis of
traumatic asphyxia or strangulation.” The report said death likely was caused
by the "combined effect of Floyd being restrained by the police, his
underlying health conditions, and any potential intoxicants in his system.”<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Does such an analysis diminish the inhumanity of three
humans sworn “to serve and protect?” As a medical layman I have to ask, “Would
such unnecessary use of force exacerbate the preexisting factors, thereby possibly—even
probably—contributing to Floyd’s death?”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But, I linger too long on one specific instance, when my
grief is over the increasing commonness of justifying inhuman behavior on the
basis of ideological absolutism. The controversy over where to stand in
relation to George Floyd’s death appears to line up consistently with every
other controversy in America: conservatives line up against liberals. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There seems little possibility that there ever will be an
issue in which both liberals and conservatives agree. And there seems little possibility
ever again that those disagreements will be pursued with respect and integrity.
I see very little indication that anyone on either side wants to resolve any of
the issues that divide them. Most just want to win the fight.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And so, I grieve. And the tears come more frequently.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We are watching something cancerous grow faster and faster
each cay. It is, in my estimation, the satanic spawn of absolutized
individualism run amok. Don’t misunderstand. I serve a master whose sacrificial
love for individuals is unsurpassed in human history. But, Ayn Rand notwithstanding,
the master I serve also called his followers to love one another sacrificially,
to serve one another in humility, even to the point of washing one another’s
feet, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself. And he defined one’s neighbor in
his Parable of the Good Samaritan—a parable, incidentally, about reaching
across lines of ethnicity to serve anyone who is in need.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The individual is important, and the individual’s importance
is embellished in service to other individuals. Our individual importance
reaches its highest potential when we “lose ourselves”. All four gospels report
Jesus saying, “<b><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Those who find their life will lose it, and those
who lose their life for my sake will find it.</span> </i></b><b><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-variant: small-caps; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(Matthew 10:39 NRSV). </span></b><span style="background: white; color: black;">I like the way the Message Paraphrase puts
it:</span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">“If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll
never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll
find both yourself and me.</span>”<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I write as a Christian Pastor to Christians; however,
Christians are as divided and as hostile as the rest of the culture (which is a
primary reason the church has been in decline for a half-century), and I
struggle to find hope that peace and reconciliation can come from Christianity so
divided. Therefore, my appeal is to all who are of a similar mindset,
regardless of your spiritual base. I believe respect, integrity and compassion
have no ideological or credal boundaries, and that people of all spiritualities
can unite in the effort to be agents of healing and reconciliation. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Today is Pentecost. Christians celebrate it as the birthday of
the church and recite the biblical story of the Holy Spirit of God descending
upon a broken, frightened little band of Jesus’ disciples. The Spirit filled
them, and they turned the world upside down. I suspect that our nation will not
be healed by human effort apart from that same Spirit.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, come Holy Spirit. Come as wind and breathe into us a
passion for the humility of Jesus, who washed his disciples’ feet.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Come Holy Spirit. Come as fire and burn away all the
divisive arrogance that solidifies our human understandings of your purpose.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Come Holy Spirit. Come as a dove and bring us peace.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That’s the way it looks through the Flawed Glass that is my
world view.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">Together in the Walk,</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="text-indent: 0in;">Jim</span></p><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/05/george-floyd-death-minneapolis-riots-justice-requires-order/">https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/05/george-floyd-death-minneapolis-riots-justice-requires-order/</a>.
I point out that the “National Review” is a conservative source. The inherent
danger of such restraint was reported in several additional sources.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://www.insider.com/george-floyd-non-responsive-before-officer-took-knee-off-neck-2020-5">https://www.insider.com/george-floyd-non-responsive-before-officer-took-knee-off-neck-2020-5</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div><br />Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323574522448879186.post-65261852086791477302020-05-12T10:41:00.000-07:002020-05-12T10:52:28.700-07:00Crybaby<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Maybe
it’s my reaction to being self-quarantined, but I’ve gone beyond anger to
grief. I’ve stopped responding to most Facebook posts (who knows how long <i>that</i>
will last?), and often find myself weeping at what I’m reading. I guess I’m a
crybaby.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beyond
my relatively narrow sampling on Facebook, the news on all media (and I do
watch all media) extends my impression that our American culture is growing
more and more angry and hostile—more filled with hatred and rage—by the day. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
has long been a tendency among some Americans to prioritize political ideology over
human need and to focus on the miniscule percentage of fraud to justify not
working toward meeting the multitude of need. Today on Facebook there was a photo
of a couple carrying a banner that read, “I won’t sacrifice my rights for your
safety.” What a rotten attitude! And there was that 2017 quote from a voter who
said, “I trust Trump more than Jesus.” And it’s well established by now that at
least part of one political party has declared publicly that the economy is
more important than human life. Pro-life? Indeed.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Last
week someone posted, “I’ll take my chances.” That’s fine if your chances are
all that’s at stake. When you take your chances you also are gambling with
someone else’s chances—including mine and my family’s; so, I tend to take it
personally.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">How
is love demonstrated in any of the above? Or has the message of Jesus also
become a hoax in this “Christian” nation? A conspiracy inflicted upon us by “liberal
theology?”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And
I grieve over the growing anti-empiricist mentality among a significant subset
of a whole generation. Expertise of any kind is equated with idiocy and stupidity.
Empirical evidence that can be seen and measured and graphed is denied as
manufactured. It’s easier and more convenient to believe that the scientific
and medical communities are lying—they’re involved in a conspiracy to take away
our freedoms. One always can find somebody with a degree or a title to support one’s
previous presupposition</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">s; therefore, the information bubble is preferred over
empirical evidence.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
upshot is that a large portion of the American public just refuses to believe
that the CoVID-19 pandemic is real. It’s a hoax. It’s no more dangerous than
the annual round of flu. <i>I hope they’re right. I truly hope I’m wrong—that medical
science is wrong</i>. Maybe medical science was wrong about smallpox, too. And
polio. And the Spanish flu in 1918. Maybe those killers would simply have run
their course and life would have gone on, even without medical intervention. Maybe
medical science didn’t shorten the duration of those pandemics. No big deal. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Maybe
the bubonic plague would have simply run its course without a massive clean-up
of heaps of rat-infested garbage in the streets. No big deal.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
really big deal that makes me weep is the number of deaths that could have been—<i>that
still could be</i>—prevented. If the risk can be reduced by temporary
inconvenience and discomfort, <i>why would anyone</i> refuse to accept those
inconveniences? It’s not as if it’s forever.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What
wrenches my gut is the haunting, tragic image of that photo I saw this morning—that
banner that said, “I won’t sacrifice my freedom for your safety.” Is that
really—<i>REALLY</i>—where we are? I wonder what would have happened if the
government (whoever that is) had issued a proclamation demanding that everyone disregard
the pandemic and carry on as usual. My suspicion is that those who flaunt their
freedom today would have burrowed in while whining, “The government isn’t going
to tell me what to do! I’m not going to risk my safety for your freedom!”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Maybe
that’s really what it’s all about: “Nobody’s going to tell me what to do.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When
Jesus’ disciples were arguing over which of them would be the greatest, he got
up and washed their feet. And then he said, <i>“<span style="background: white; color: black;">I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have
done to you.”</span></i><span style="background: white; color: black;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-variant: small-caps;">John 13:15 (NRSV)</span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, serif;">But, yeah, don’t sacrifice your freedom for
anybody else’s safety.</span></b><b><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-variant: small-caps;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , serif;">That’s the way it looks through the Flawed Glass
that is my world view.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Together in the Walk,<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Jim</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />Jim Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08117163571084943275noreply@blogger.com0