Is Idolatry Our National Problem? If the Hebrew prophets toured America this week – Super Bowl week – what would they think and speak? I think their subject would be idolatry. I expect a response of incredulity to my claim. “Idolatry? Did you say idolatry? America is a Christian nation, founded by Christians.” We are the image culture, the digital age, the people with our faces stuck in our phones, I-pads, and computers. As Aaron took the gold of... Read more
Contradictions, Explanations, and Excuses There are more instances of cognitive dissonance in our politics than we can count. People can’t agree on what is true. People argue over what constitutes justice, character, integrity, and democracy. Listen to enough Trump voters and you will be treated to a cornucopia of cognitive dissonances. The Contradictions of Trump and His Supporters A voter says, “I believe our elected leaders should have strong moral character, but I’m voting for Trump. Republican leaders are saying,... Read more
The Eagle Has Fallen There’s an eagle in 2 Esdras 11 that faces judgment. The eagle represents a power oppressing the meek and injuring the peaceable. More pointedly, the eagle has “hated those who tell the truth and have loved liars.” According to the prophecy of 2 Esdras the eagle will now face the consequences of its insolence. “Therefore you, eagle, will surely disappear, you and your terrifying wings, your most evil little wings, your malicious heads, your most evil... Read more
“Trouble Trouble Right Here in Church” I Corinthians 9:16-23 Clyde Edgerton’s novel Where Trouble Sleeps takes place in sleepy Listre, North Carolina. No one ever thought trouble would take up residence in Listre. It is the kind of rustic crossroads where the most exciting event in years was a collision between a mule and a pickup truck. It’s the kind of place where it seems like nothing ever changes – until the fateful day when everything changes at once. When... Read more
The Church Has an Unclean Spirit Mark 1:21-45 I want to talk about a man with an unclean spirit, not because I want to pick a fight, but because the church is being poisoned by the spirit of an unclean man. You might think that I was thinking of some politician and decided to go to the Bible to see if there was a text I could use. I did the opposite; I went to the Bible and my reading... Read more
Remedial Work: What God Loves and Hates From the first time I saw the banner headline of the late Fred Phelps, “GOD HATES FAGS,” I have felt compelled to dissent from this piece of virulent theology. I think there are Christians confused about what God hates and loves. I have listened for years as various groups of Christians have opposed gay marriage while attempting to maintain some relationship to the love of God. The defense, “I love the sinner, but... Read more
The Politics of Jesus and the Politics of Trump – II Perhaps no political conversation bears a great similarity to our current malaise than Jesus speaking with Pilate. After a lengthy discussion about kings (an obvious political category), Pilate asks the question that dominates American politics? “What is truth?” Donald Trump’s definition of what passes for truth fails the Jesus truth test. In The Art of the Deal, he calls truthful hyperbole “an innocent form of exaggeration—and a very effective... Read more
The Politics of Jesus vs. The Politics of Trump As an evangelical Christian, I have grave difficulties with the disparity between the politics of Jesus and the politics of Donald Trump. A huge chasm exists between who Jesus was and what Donald Trump now offers Christians. I want to show as clearly as possible the social/political ethics that derive from following Jesus. The difference faced by 21st century Christians rhymes with those experienced by Christians in the first century in... Read more
Ordain Women Priests and Pastors Watching an episode of The Great, I was intrigued by Katherine the Great’s insistence that women be treated with equality in an age when women were objects not persons. When she was introduced to one of the candidates for the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, she was instructed not to look him in the eye and told that he would not speak to her. As she knelt before the old, long-bearded archbishop, he gave... Read more
Why Conservative Politicians Struggle with the Civil War If the psychologist said, “I’m going to say a phrase and I want you to say the first thing that pops into your mind. The phrase: “Civil War.” Nikki Haley: “States rights!” Senator Tom Cotton: “Democrats.” X-president Donald Trump: “Negotiate.” What is it about the Civil War that short circuits conservative brains? American historians agree that slavery was the primary cause of the Civil War. They also teach us that the former... Read more
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