I have just learned recently that one of the temples in ancient Rome housed the statue of Janus, the two-faced god of boundaries. The temple had doors on each end, so each side of the statue could face a door. During times of war, the doors remained open. They were closed in times of peace. According to Plutarch, who wrote this in “Life of King Numa,” “[Janus] also has a temple at Rome with double doors, which they call the... Read more
What are we going to do about the children? Anyone close to news sources knows about the increasingly large number of unaccompanied children making their way to the US through our permeable borders. They make the trek by God only knows what horrific means of transport. I have heard an estimate of about 72,000 coming in this year and perhaps up to 90,000 next year. They come, not just from the increasing economic and social chaos to be found in... Read more
“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United... Read more
A friend of mine who has quite a knack for political analysis wrote this about the growing crisis in Iraq: The problem is that elections don’t work very well in places that do not have a homogeneous population, especially if they have no history of democratic institutions.  If you count forced relocation as a kind of genocide, what happened in Europe after the Treaty of Versailles poured democracy over everything was about as big an episode of genocide as the... Read more
“Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him, earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with their neighbor unless . . . you can’t eat regular bread and don’t participate in the sexual life of regular people and then the invitation is rescinded.” I wrote this after yet one more time, I was excluded from the Sacrament. It was Annual Conference, Monday morning. As a United Methodist Clergy, Annual Conference is my church.... Read more
The little girl, perhaps five years old, happily danced around the edge of the beautiful lake high up  in Rocky Mountain National Park at the end of a long and grueling hike. The family, mom, dad, a son about 13, another daughter about 10, and this little one had been right behind us on a particularly icy/slushy part of the trail. At one point, I had offered a hand, gratefully accepted, to the middle child for a moment of balance... Read more
Steve Blow, one of my very favorite columnists, wrote in today’s (5/29/14) Dallas Morning News these words about the Tea Party take-over of the Republican Party in Texas: “Texas Republicans can’t keep appealing only to angry, fearful whites. It may be a winning short-term strategy, but it’s long-term suicide. Texas Republicans have to find a platform that is more hopeful and inclusive.” Now, a quick game: let us substitute “The UMC Good News contingent (AKA “The Gang of 80)” for... Read more
The blogosphere exploded last week after the primarily anonymous “Gang of 80” announced through Good News their desire to split The United Methodist Church. In my opinion, anyone who thinks this attempt to separate is “good news” has never been through a church split or divorce, but they feel that an interpretative issue is irreconcilable. Infallibility and Inerrancy One paragraph of their press release leaped off the page: It is a crisis regarding the inspiration and the authority of the Scriptures, where some believe that, rightly understood,... Read more
Our memories make us, inform us, shape us. They can fill us with the warm glow of love given and returned, of special joys and experiences. They can also burden us with a sense of obligation or make us cringe with shame. On a sub-conscious level, memories make our decisions for us. And Memory Monday approaches–better known as Memorial Day. So, will we stop and remember? Will we honor the memories of those upon whose lives we get to stand... Read more
What does it cost to do the right thing? Especially when doing the right thing means your whole life comes tumbling down around you? A whole life that is good, well-lived, and couples business expertise and success with the respect of the larger community? A movie, Locke, explores that concept in an agonizing 90 minute car drive.  Writer-director Steven Knight’s film, which won the British Independent Film Award for best screenplay, invites us into the life of Ivan Locke. I... Read more
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