Is the US like Babylon and Rome?

The New England Puritans were not in doubt that the US was the new Israel and Shane Claiborne is not in doubt that the US is a new Babylon. I think Claiborne is closer to the truth, but I wish he had taken a more nuanced approach when comparing the US to Babylon or Rome. [...]

Evangelicals Lose Bush?

After Bush’s recent interview on Nightline, media networks have creating hype around the fact that Bush made several comments relating to the Bible that wouldn’t jive with most evangelicals.  (I’m sorry friends–it was on Fox News, so it must be true! ;o)  In fact, according to some definitions of an evangelical, Bush is officially outside [...]

Alternative

Writing three years after the end of World War II, Reinhold Niebuhr, having been thoroughly disillusioned with Utopian vision of modernism preceding and leading up to the war, wrote an article entitled, “Why the Church is Not Pacifist”, in which he expounded his theory of “Christian realism”. In it, he leverages the “law of love”, [...]

Adding to the confusion

One of my non-Christian friends emailed me a couple weeks ago, asking me what the Bible said about killing and murder. He was alluding to the Ten Commandments, and so I told him that the Bible said, no murder (short version), and more generally spoke of a consistent ethic of life and of the value [...]

For what are we Fighting?

What exactly are we fighting for? The Seattle Times reports this year, once again, on a statewide controversy over displays of holiday symbols in public places and state institutions. This year’s controversy centers around a sign displayed in the state capitol presented by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. In part the sign reads: “Religion is [...]

No Wonder People Get Mad At Christians!

Did you ever have one of those epiphanies where once the light went on, you had a little more understanding and maybe compassion for someone you disagree with?  I had one of those while reading Robert Jewett’s book, Mission and Menace.  It is a fascinating journey through the history of the US and highlighting how religion, [...]

James Dobson’s in my Family

I don’t like much of what James Dobson has to say. I often dislike very much the way that he says it. When I hear him on the radio I cringe because I can imagine how many of my non-Christian friends would respond to what often seems like a self-righteous and overly assuming perspective. And [...]

The Bailouts

All week there’s been so much chatter about the auto industry and the big question: to bail out or not to bail out?
One of the things I hope this whole debate teaches Americans is that the government is always involved in shaping the business world in some way or another–from billion dollar bail-outs and trade [...]

Individuality fosters American Innocence?

When looking at the myth of “American Innocence” there are points when I find it hard to see my countries faults especially in certain wars. World War II is one that I feel many Americans might see it hard to not find innocence. We were trying to stay out of the war, but Japan bombed [...]

It’s not my fault

We recently talked about how one of the most prevalent myths in our American culture is the idea of our country’s innocence. All throughout the 20th century there has been this transcending idea of America as the innocent, the righteous, the strength for the weak and defender of the suffering.
When this is the view of [...]