Wandering Elder

With the recent statements by the President that our country will prioritize Christian immigrants, one once again finds renewed energy behind the idea that his is a Christian nation and always has been.  It isn't and it hasn't.  Though heavily influenced by Christianity, we are not a Christian nation in the same way we call other nations "Muslim." That's not my point, though.  My point is that whenever a country, state, or government prioritizes a particular religion, that comes with a number of perhaps not so obvious consequences. To begin with, to prioritize means to rank and if one religion is ranked as a top priority, all others have to be relegated to secondary, tertiary, etc. or be dumped completely. Second, when a religion becomes state sponsored it no longer has a voice that can run counter to that of the government.  While the religion may have been favorable to a government (which usually lead to preferential treatment), it now has great difficulty...

Amid the noise of the news over the last several weeks, you may have missed the report of the death of Captain Eugene Cernan.  He was the last human to walk on the moon as part of the Apollo 17 mission.  He was 82. I mention it because he was one of my early childhood heroes.  I have to admit as a child I didn’t know his name, but I had tremendous admiration for astronauts in general.  Therefore, he was one of my unnamed heroes.  Over the years, though, I have found that the stories of the Apollo missions to still be captivating, heroic, and inspiring.  Almost a year ago when I was doing some research for my doctorate, I came across an interview Cernan did for the documentary In the Shadow of the Moon in which he talked about how his life was fundamentally changed by his trip to the surface of the moon.  Describing the experience, he said, “What I was seeing and, more important, what I was feeling at that moment in time, science and technol...

When we talk about politics, we usually talk about it in the abstract or as we might phrase it, politics in general.  These abstractions may be ideological claims or philosophical claims.  Sometimes we get specific about policies, laws, bills, etc.  Sometimes we speak of particular politicians, though usually those conversations revolve around ethics and/or name calling. What we are experiencing currently is something of an inevitable train wreck of all the above with the addition of one tremendous factor in politics: ego.  Ego makes for animosity, gridlock, and the means by which everyone can foist blame, responsibility, and end up going nowhere. For example, with the issues the US is currently having with Russia over the alleged hacking: when President Obama moved to sanction Russia it brought to the fore the quagmire that is modern political action and rhetoric. This action was something that the Russians had been pushing for for some time.  So they cou...

As 2017 begins, we should perhaps think of 2016 as a television show and, as such, see what it has set up for the next season.  The list would probably be too larger and way too nuanced to fit effectively in one post.  But there is one theme that I believe will have immediate and lasting ramifications for 2017 and it is this: everything is on the table. The idea of permanence has been jettisoned.  Sometimes that isn't a bad thing.  Yet it appears we are entering into a time in which everything is being both questioned and accepted.  Laws are not made for endurance, they are made for a term to be overturned, repealed, or set up for something else later.  In politics, in religion, in almost all facets of public life, all is up for grabs. In particular, I have seen that most clearly in the Christian faith. Every religious tradition has its sub-groups.  Typically in Christianity we cite different denominations as a means of demarcation.  However...

John Lennon, in his song Happy Xmas (War is Over) sang, "So this is Christmas, and what have you done?"  The way he sang those words has always haunted me.  Especially the opening line.  "So this is Christmas."  John, not known for his overt Christianity, sings the song as if he is asking those who do believe in this time as sacred to the Christian story, "So here it is.  So what?  What have you done with it?  What does it mean to you?"   He then sings that the war is over "if you want it."  Again, I wonder if it is a question directed at us alleged followers of Christ: do we really want peace?  World peace?  A Prince of Peace? Or are we only wanting peace when it suits our interests? I don't know if that is what he meant, but it troubles me all the same.   That's because I find myself asking similar questions as Brother John.  Are we sleeping?  Are we paying attention?  Does this season have any deepe...

If there is a phrase that has been over-used during the last year, it is "double down."  Throughout much of the election cycle the phrase was used to mean one of two things: (1) to become more tenacious, zealous, or resolute in a position or undertaking or (2) to engage in risky behavior, especially when one is already in a dangerous situation.  Usually these definitions were used in the reverse order - someone makes a claim that is patently false and puts themselves in a dangerous situation politically, then becomes more tenacious in defending the initial position, no matter what the actual facts might be.  The term works, but it worked too well and too often and it has lost its power. The term itself comes from blackjack, and was used when a player would double the original bid against the house in exchange for only one more card.  A risky move.  The fact that a gambling  term has come to be the common phrase utilized to describe the political behavior ...

I recently read a post about the pending demise of the United Methodist Church (on the Thoughtful Pastor blog).  In it, the author said that there is no future for the UMC due to the inevitable split between the conservative arm and the Reconciling Movement over the language in the UMC Book of Discipline over homosexuality. It was a pretty compelling piece, and a frightening one because what it represents is the acknowledgment that the far right and far left will tear the middle out for the sake of ideology.  The far, far right are using words like "cleanse" and "heresy" when talking about this issue.  The far, far left are using words like "openness" and "inclusive."  The issue of homosexuality, while addressed in the Bible, is not one that is spelled out as clearly as either side would like for it to be.  There are clearly passages that condemn it, and there are passages that condemn a particular understanding of it, and then there are passag...