Wandering Elder

I have to admit that I have been re-thinking some long-held positions I have had.  That, I suppose, comes from being a pastor/teacher.  Everything you teach has to be researched.  And eventually you come to places where you have to re-evaluate your own ideas.  It isn't always pleasant.  Sometimes it is downright depressing or even frightening.  But I feel it is a duty of life since an unexamined one is not worth the lack of effort. I have been struggling with the ideas of tolerance.  The word is a catch all for people these days - especially people who also wish to advocate peaceful coexistence.  But are the two really the same?  Coexistence doesn't necessarily mean tolerance, and tolerance doesn't lead to coexistence.  I would feel that coexistence (itself a popular bumper sticker with regard to world religions) is a great ideal.  Our collective religious histories demonstrate that we have been reluctant to coexist but  have...

I was both happy and sad to hear the Pope's comments to the United States Congress today.  I was happy to know that the Pope made a great representation of himself, the Roman Catholic Church, and displayed a great deal of passion and compassion for the social ills that face our world.  While I am not Roman Catholic, Pope Francis has truly caught my ears over the last few years with his amazing ability to just speak and not pontificate.  And while we may have some theological differences, I feel his representation of the Christian faith is a strong and noble one. What saddened me was hearing Congress applaud him. Not that that in and of itself is a bad thing, but they treated him the same way they treat the president - applaud when he sounds like he is speaking in support of something you are for or that you feel represents your side .  When the Pope spoke, different sides of the aisle applauded at different times.  Always applause, but some were heartier on ...

Some weeks ago, our church had a fundraising pancake breakfast at a nearby restaurant.  As the morning went along, I was told that there was a man who would like to speak to the pastor of the church.  I went to meet this individual and found him diligently and dutifully studying his Bible and taking pages of notes. After introducing myself, I sat and we began to talk.  He had some questions about scripture, it seemed.  I was intrigued and ready to talk, especially to one who had so obviously been studying and working on notes that indicated some hard work on his part. His question, though, threw me.  "What is your definition of 'reprobate'?" It seemed that his whole morning of study had been to find places in the Bible where the word 'reprobate' was used and to discern the "biblical" definition of the word based on its contexts and usages.  After talking to him about it for a few minutes, he explained that since the Bible was clear on what make...

A martyr is one who suffers persecution and/or death for holding or refusing to hold a particular belief.  Many martyrs become symbols of heroism and leadership.  In its original meaning, a martyr meant "witness," as in bearing witness to one's faith. Of course the heroism and exemplary nature of a martyr is conditional to one's point of view concerning the actions of the proposed martyr.  Jesus, on one hand, can be viewed as a noble martyr.  However to the Romans he was just another agitator.  Likewise suicide bombers are venerated by a small group of fanatics who call them martyrs while to a great many more, these people are not martyrs they are murderers. So is Kim Davis a martyr? Certainly there is a question of her exercising her right to express her faith.  Religious liberty is a cornerstone of our country and its self-understanding.  But as Davis' husband Joe stated, "They [referring either to the government or to homosexuals, perhaps both...

Daniel Boorstin, in describing the reaction of Christian Europe to the work of Ptolemy, writes: The leaders of orthodox Christendom built a grand barrier against the progress of knowledge about the earth.  Christian geographers in the Middle Ages spent their energies embroidering a neat, theologically appealing picture of what was already known, or was supposed to be known. […] These were Ecumenical maps, for they aimed to show the “Ecumene,” the whole inhabited world.  Designed to express what orthodox Christians were expected to believe , they were not so much maps of knowledge as maps of Scriptural dogma.  The very simplicity that offends the geographer testifies to the simple clarity of Christian belief.  […]  At the center of the map was Jerusalem.  “Thus saith the Lord God; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her” (Ezekiel 5:5).  These words of the prophet Ezekiel overruled any tr...