Wandering Elder

As I sit on this very rainy day and listen to the sound of the water hitting the roof and rattling down the gutters, I find that whatever regrets I have (or have had) seem to be more easily recalled.  That doesn't always  happen on a rainy day, but something about the gray skies pulls out the melancholy - but it does not pull enough for a total extrication.  Perhaps that comes from some subconscious unwillingness to completely let myself be rid of those feelings of regret. That may be because many of my regrets come from the recognition of poor behavior on my part in the past.  I find that in the midst of a thought, conversation, or walk between rooms or offices, that a flash of memory hits and I am back in high school, or a moment in college, or in some intangible age where I can hear or see myself acting poorly towards someone: making fun of them, saying something mean or mean-spirited, or not acting in a manner becoming of me.  And as far back as some of th...

We have to acknowledge that our country is going through a difficult time of transition.  I have heard people say that America is dying.  That may be going a bit too far.  It isn't clear what it is  doing, though.  We live in a time where we are well armed, if not overly well armed, and poorly educated.  That is never  a good combination. This isn't to say that there isn't anything good to see.  There is.  There are plenty of avenues of progress being made, but that doesn't capture the news.  That doesn't keep the pundits talking.  What does is a love for decay, scandal, and basic unpleasantness.  As such, what we begin to believe is that the time in which we live is not good. And there may be some truth to that. We live in a time of lawyers, loopholes, and increasing leverage from corporations.  Laws are written and re-written in an attempt to close loopholes on some and open them for others.  The discrepa...

As I mentioned in the last post, I have been re-evaluating some of my positions and thinking.  Not a bad thing to do from time to time.  Not an easy  or necessarily enjoyable thing to do, but one that is needed in order to grow. Faith, theology, and philosophy are topics on which I dwell most of my waking hours.  I realize that this is not the case for most people.  But these topics have a great deal to do with my work as well as being topics I enjoy (this does not mean that I always enjoy my work!).  And it is from those times of musing and pondering that I write. Perhaps one of the common threads I have found in my writing and thinking revolves around identification.  Very often I have written about people claiming to be this or that (and in this case the term Christian), but noticing that in so claiming they identify those who are not  this or that in an effort to expose their fraudulence.  "If they were a real  Christian, they wo...

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...