Okay, this has nothing to do with theology, but I'm a Mac guy and I like to take advantage of opportunities to mess with Microsoft when they do something stupid.
The new slogan for Microsoft is "Life without walls". Okay...uh...without walls, what's the point of windows?!
Just a question.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Why Obama?
If you're with the IRS, I need to say that in this blog, I am an individual and in no way represent any church I am currently affiliated with or have been affiliated with in the past, either by membership or employment. Okay, now that's out of the way.
I want to tell you why I support Barack Obama.
I am voting for Barack Obama because he gives me hope. He appeals to our better natures - the things we Americans have in common, and the values that are important. I am sick and tired of politicians arguing with each other over which of them is the least worst option. I'm sick and tired of people calling each other names, and demonizing each other. I'm sick and tired of being told I'm 'un-American' or not a 'real American', or that I don't have 'moral values'.
Barack can talk about values without being judgmental of those who might disagree with him. He can talk about religion, as a liberal, and not be afraid to use the language of faith (or sound like he's using the language for the first time). He has raised the level of public debate in this country, and represents our hopes rather than appealing to our fears.
I don't care that he's young. He's smart, and he's got good judgment. Those who led us into Iraq had a pile of experience - look where it got us. I don't care if some people think he's an elitist. I think the President should be elite. The President should be the best of the brightest, not the person we want to have over at our neighborhood barbecue. It's a demanding job, and we should have our best people in that position.
Most importantly, Barack makes me proud to be an American. He makes me think that our country can be about hope, freedom, justice and opportunity, rather than the paranoia, division and economic disaster of the past eight years.
I believe in Barack, but it's more than him - it's about all of us.
I want to tell you why I support Barack Obama.
I am voting for Barack Obama because he gives me hope. He appeals to our better natures - the things we Americans have in common, and the values that are important. I am sick and tired of politicians arguing with each other over which of them is the least worst option. I'm sick and tired of people calling each other names, and demonizing each other. I'm sick and tired of being told I'm 'un-American' or not a 'real American', or that I don't have 'moral values'.
Barack can talk about values without being judgmental of those who might disagree with him. He can talk about religion, as a liberal, and not be afraid to use the language of faith (or sound like he's using the language for the first time). He has raised the level of public debate in this country, and represents our hopes rather than appealing to our fears.
I don't care that he's young. He's smart, and he's got good judgment. Those who led us into Iraq had a pile of experience - look where it got us. I don't care if some people think he's an elitist. I think the President should be elite. The President should be the best of the brightest, not the person we want to have over at our neighborhood barbecue. It's a demanding job, and we should have our best people in that position.
Most importantly, Barack makes me proud to be an American. He makes me think that our country can be about hope, freedom, justice and opportunity, rather than the paranoia, division and economic disaster of the past eight years.
I believe in Barack, but it's more than him - it's about all of us.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
What is Grace?
I got a question from a reader as to how I define grace. I thought it might be good to put it in its own post too, as I don't know how many of you read the 'comments' on older posts. It's the best I could do late at night with lots of other things to do, sleep being one of them!
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It's not about salvation in the afterlife - it's about justification. We are justified to God by the fact that God's grace surrounds each and every one of us no matter what we do or don't do. There is nothing we can do to earn it, and nothing we can do to un-earn it. Each of us is a recipient of grace whether we like it or not.
The language of justification comes from Paul, and Martin Luther (among others) picks up on it quite a bit. For Paul, faith is our justification because out of faith, we act in discipleship, doing good out of gratitude to God for the gift of grace. This doesn't mean that non-Christians go to hell, Paul just thinks that they are missing out on a particular relationship with God.
Personally, I think, 'who am I to limit the grace of God to Christianity?' If it is truly grace, it must be sufficient to extend to all believers, no matter what they believe, or, I would add, no matter what they don't believe.
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It's not about salvation in the afterlife - it's about justification. We are justified to God by the fact that God's grace surrounds each and every one of us no matter what we do or don't do. There is nothing we can do to earn it, and nothing we can do to un-earn it. Each of us is a recipient of grace whether we like it or not.
The language of justification comes from Paul, and Martin Luther (among others) picks up on it quite a bit. For Paul, faith is our justification because out of faith, we act in discipleship, doing good out of gratitude to God for the gift of grace. This doesn't mean that non-Christians go to hell, Paul just thinks that they are missing out on a particular relationship with God.
Personally, I think, 'who am I to limit the grace of God to Christianity?' If it is truly grace, it must be sufficient to extend to all believers, no matter what they believe, or, I would add, no matter what they don't believe.
Friday, October 17, 2008
This Won't Cheer You Up
I heard a podcast of a This American Life episode from a couple of weeks ago. It was quite sobering, yet very informative. If you want to remain blissfully ignorant about the economy, don't listen to this show. If however you're thoroughly confused about what's going on, this may actually explain it in ways that are understandable.
Friday, October 10, 2008
A Little Hope
As I'm sure many of you are, I'm getting increasingly worried about the economy. I'm luckily young enough that the stock market numbers aren't affecting me as much directly, but next year is a bit different. I'm going to be applying for jobs in churches starting in the spring, and wherever we end up, I'm hoping to buy a house.
I know this is a good time insofar as housing prices, but in terms of getting a mortgage with an affordable interest rate - that may be an entirely different story.
Congress passed an unprecedented rescue plan for the economy last week, but Wall Street hasn't exactly reacted gratefully this week. What does this all mean?
While the fear of the unknown is real, we have survived these things before. The way we survive is by taking deep breaths, being as objective as we can, and looking at the big picture. Deep breaths have a remarkable, instant impact on helping me feel more calm. Being objective means that we're skeptical about the panicked tone coming from the media, and we're careful about what we listen to from political candidates - especially those who are down in the polls and panicking themselves. If we look at the big picture, we can be grateful, still, for a gracious God who is present with us whether we're eating beans and rice or fillet mignon.
I know this is a good time insofar as housing prices, but in terms of getting a mortgage with an affordable interest rate - that may be an entirely different story.
Congress passed an unprecedented rescue plan for the economy last week, but Wall Street hasn't exactly reacted gratefully this week. What does this all mean?
While the fear of the unknown is real, we have survived these things before. The way we survive is by taking deep breaths, being as objective as we can, and looking at the big picture. Deep breaths have a remarkable, instant impact on helping me feel more calm. Being objective means that we're skeptical about the panicked tone coming from the media, and we're careful about what we listen to from political candidates - especially those who are down in the polls and panicking themselves. If we look at the big picture, we can be grateful, still, for a gracious God who is present with us whether we're eating beans and rice or fillet mignon.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Does Heaven Need a Zip Code?
I've been wondering lately, whether or not heaven needs a zip code. God lost an address when Galileo first looked through a telescope a few centuries ago. At least most of us think so. Some still think that God sits on a cloud and the damned swim in rivers of magma, but the rest of us have had to ask ourselves the question, "Where is God?"
Many have answered by saying that God is within us, others that God is all around us, some that God is in everything that is, and various versions of this. But a question I only recently discovered was - what about when we die?
Personally, I don't believe in hell. I don't think of God as a megalomaniacal pyromaniac who wants to set non-believers on fire for eternity. Sorry, I just don't buy it. I think there is something - a fulfillment of grace, as Augustine would say - where our souls reunite with the Ground of our Being. We come into a sense of peace and understanding that is impossible in this earthly life. At least, that's what I think.
But where is it located? Is it some kind of parallel dimension? Do our souls get sucked out of our bodies and beamed (a la Star Trek) to the far off corners of the universe outside the reach of the Hubble Telescope? It's a very interesting question, and I have to say I don't have an answer. To me, it's just one more of those things that makes me think - and helps me to stay humble when faced with the vastness of the Universe and the complexity of God.
Many have answered by saying that God is within us, others that God is all around us, some that God is in everything that is, and various versions of this. But a question I only recently discovered was - what about when we die?
Personally, I don't believe in hell. I don't think of God as a megalomaniacal pyromaniac who wants to set non-believers on fire for eternity. Sorry, I just don't buy it. I think there is something - a fulfillment of grace, as Augustine would say - where our souls reunite with the Ground of our Being. We come into a sense of peace and understanding that is impossible in this earthly life. At least, that's what I think.
But where is it located? Is it some kind of parallel dimension? Do our souls get sucked out of our bodies and beamed (a la Star Trek) to the far off corners of the universe outside the reach of the Hubble Telescope? It's a very interesting question, and I have to say I don't have an answer. To me, it's just one more of those things that makes me think - and helps me to stay humble when faced with the vastness of the Universe and the complexity of God.
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