Moving forward, I will strive more fervently to “err on the side of love,” as the saying goes. This does not mean I will stop pointing out what I see as uncomfortable truths. I believe more than ever we need that in our current time. But I will seek to be more engaging and less compelling. I will do all I can to not speak out of bitterness and frustration, but instead pursue grace and an invitation to discussion.
Tag: Politics
A closer look at Luke (Part 12): Do we prioritize the healing, or the Sabbath?
When we look at protests, do we see the pain of centuries of injustice, or do we see graffiti? When we hear about yet another unarmed Black person killed by police officers, do we see the shedding of innocent blood, or do we seek to find an excuse (such as a misdemeanor on their record that means they were a “criminal,” and, by extension, deserved to die) to justify it? When we see healing on the Sabbath, do we see 18 years of disability come to a loving end, or do we see a violation of religious ritual?
An honest question: Do we really want an economic system that makes Jeff Bezos a trillionaire?
We have a chance to actually set America on a path to greatness. Not a greatness as measured by how many billionaires live in our midst, but a greatness measured by how few live in poverty, how few can’t afford medical treatment when they are ill, how few can’t afford education, how few can’t afford a home in which to live.
What is your goal in belittling a deadly disease?
Since I know the people I continue to see on Facebook doing this are incredibly loving Christians and proudly pro-life, I feel compelled to ask why they feel a need to do this? Please take a step back and consider the message you’re truly sending to the people around you, many of whom will lose someone they care about (if they haven’t already) due to this disease.
Gaslighting and a chance to return to a fact-based world
This pandemic is a chance for us to come together as a country and see what’s really most important to all of us as life and the health of our friends, family and neighbors takes center stage. Even in the midst of this pandemic, we’ve seen the unwillingness of certain groups to accept truth lead to greater spread of the disease. It is in this time that we must step back and really self-assess as to whether our sources of information are reliable or if we’re allowing partisan gaslighting to turn us against entire groups of people based on manipulation. We must do better if we hope to survive as a nation through this period not just of medical turmoil but some of the greatest political division we’ve ever seen. In order to do so, we must start with a firm foundation: a foundation of truth.
Our failures led us to this point. We must learn from them.
But at some point (hopefully sooner than later) it will end. At that point, we’ll be left to pick up the pieces. And there will be a lot of pieces as we discover just how devastating this experience will be for all of us in so many ways – medically, socially, culturally, economically. I pray that as we go through this together (apart, please respect the restrictions for going out as much as you can), we will seriously reconsider some of the deeply rooted aspects of our American personality.
The problem with the “Reluctant Trump” claim
The supposed “Reluctant Trump” voters are the most powerful voters in our country. If they’re not going to express their “reluctance,” they can call themselves whatever they want. The end result is no different from the blind allegiance voters.
Seeking the Truth even when it exposes us
The truth exposes. It places things out in the open. From there, we can respond and move on. The opposite almost always grows into something uncontrollable, as our quest to hide the truth leads to piles of increasingly larger lies piled on top of lies that all threaten to destroy our house of cards and expose our hypocrisy.
Trump as Cyrus? Perhaps a different Old Testament king is a better fit
It might cost us our jobs, our friends, or something else to stand up against a man who has the support of the majority of white evangelical Christians. But perhaps that’s the “vessel” God is using Trump to determine: who proclaims the name of Christ actually bowing to the god of political power, and who will trust God, defy the “king’s” command and choose to give up their life (or whatever else) rather than serve or worship any god except their own God
What does it mean to be Pro-Life?
Our world is full of double-speak terms, where we politicize our words to make them sound better than they are. So I think it’s important to really… Read more “What does it mean to be Pro-Life?”
Castles in the Sand 