Category: Social-justice

When Not Helping Hurts

2/22/2018

Over the past few years, God has placed within us a desire for mercy ministry. With this call, he has provided us with a number of wonderful opportunities to love and grace others. But whereas we originally began answering the call with the idea that we would be bringing mercy and grace to others, we have come to find that transformative power in God’s call has more frequently been directed towards us. God has taught us many things over the past few years. Just when I feel I’m getting to the point where I “get it," God reminds me that he still has quite a bit of work to do on me.

Denton's Directions

12/30/2017

For each of our pregnancies, I wrote sonnets dedicated to our new child. I don't have too much to offer in the way of quilting or woodworking, so creating some sort of functional heirloom isn't an option for me. Instead, I thought I would craft some of the ideas I thought most important for my kids to understand when they grew up, and I decided to do this in sonnet format. While the structure is modeled around childish notions (ABC's, 123's, Colors, etc), the content is about morality, theology, and the like. They are definitely ideas the kids will have to grow into. I hope that one day my children can read my sonnets and reflections and take them into their own hearts as they wrestle with their humanity, with God, and with how they are going to move out in the world. Until they grow into that, I hope these works will be of use to at least one other strange person out there who would take the time to read about epistemology or metaphysics in an archaic, poetic format.

Freedom and Sacrifice

9/1/2017

For the past year or so, my heart has weighed heavy with the realization that we Christians have terribly conflated so many things - politics with religion, big things with small things, and what is morally permissible with what is edifying to our weaker brothers and sisters. Time and time again I and my fellow Christians are found vying for power and stymieing the very thing which Paul says is the core of what makes any action good - love.

Day after day I hear about the new flashpoint - statues. On its face it sounds like such a petty thing, a point which many exploit so they can demean the opposition and dismiss them with an arrogant and condescending wave of the hand. "The 'snowflakes' are at it again, whining and complaining about another trivial issue, trying to gain social power." Perhaps some are simply trying to gain power. But as Christians, our judgment must go much deeper than being dismissive. Our attitude must be held to a higher standard than demeaning others in our discourse. Our pursuit of provisions and power must be for our daily bread and God's Kingdom come, not for our preferences to be domineered over others while we seek our own kingdom come.

The Means to the End

8/15/2017

I believe that thought experiments and hypothetical situations are fantastic ways to soften our hearts and show us glaring holes in our belief systems. This is what Samuel essentially did to David when he confronted him about Bathsheba in what is perhaps one of the most powerful displays of such a method used in the Bible. So, I'd like to begin by presenting you with a hypothetical situation that rocked my world for many years.

Imagine, as in the M.A.S.H. clip below, that you are on a bus full of people trying to escape imminent death from persecutors. Your bus pulls off to the side of the road and into some thicket to avoid an incoming enemy patrol. As the patrol nears, your young child begins to scream. What do you do? Do you allow your child to scream so that the fifty lives on the bus are all lost, or do you smother your child so that only one life is lost? Fifty or one? What's the right answer?

Political Savior Complex

10/24/2016

I feel like an adult now. For anyone who knows me well, that's a pretty big deal. The video game playing, sarcastic, baby faced, never take anything serious guy finally feels like an adult. I've been paying taxes for over a decade, I've owned a home for almost half a decade, and I have two kids. But none of those things gave me this feeling that I had grown up - that I was in the same league as the other adults at work or at church. I think I have come to realize that what has made me feel like an adult isn't that I have grown up. I still love video games and hate paying taxes. Rather, I think the world has grown up to me.

Christians as Refugees

1/12/2016

I wrote a few weeks back about the Syrian refugee issue. Dwelling more on the topic got me to thinking about some of the deeper questions that arise - particularly the issue of how morality and "oughts" are derived. Whereas in the last post I focused mostly on what our response should be, in this post, I want to explore why I think consistent Christians should strongly consider

throwing off the stereotyping of refugees (and other groups) and allow the refugees into the U.S. (with strong and reasonable precautions and adequate vetting) - or at the least have a positive attitude towards them and help them abroad. I also want to explore why I think systems without a strong moral grounding - particularly on an atheistic system - can't consistently argue for the same acceptance and love. This is by no means intended to say that atheists aren't altruistic or can't be altruistic. Rather, I am fascinated with the atheistic worldview and what should logically follow from holding that worldview consistently. Since atheism provides such a strong juxtaposition to Christianity at its core, it helps to highlight Christian thought and importance. I want to explore the grounding of acceptance and stereotyping from both worldviews.

When Helping hurts: Poverty of being

12/22/2015

The first chapter of "When Helping Hurts" left us with the conclusion that as Christians, we are to seek the restoration of the world. The culmination of all history is leading to that event. While we as humans do not bring about such redemption on our own, and while we will never fully see such redemption until God brings all things to their fullness, we are to pursue restoration of the world, and push back against the evil that currently pervades it. The second and third chapters of the book begin to paint a picture of what this brokenness and restoration look like.

When Helping Hurts

10/3/2015

"Often lacking an appreciation of the comprehensive implications of the kingdom of God, many missionaries have focused on evangelism to save people's souls, but have sometimes neglected to 'make disciples of all nations.'" - When Helping Hurts, p. 45

I am currently reading one of the most painful books ever written. The pain doesn't come from the arduous task of reading boring text, but rather from the wedging in of a truth to my life that I, my society, and Westernized Christianity have attempted to repel for nearly a century.

When Helping Hurts has thrown more conviction and revelation my way in the first chapter than any book in my recollection. I'd like to lay that out in this post for others to see, but also for my reference - on those days when I need to remember what it's all about.

Kings and Vagabonds

6/6/2014

Power. Fame. Money. Many would put their life on the line for any of these. The chance to obtain any one of these things might make risking failure worthwhile. In the sense that all humans have these same desires, this common pursuit unites humanity. It's something we all share, whether rich or poor. But in another sense, the very desires we hold in common, are desires which seek to separate us from the rest of humanity. Each of these common pursuits ends in our separation from others. To have power means to have influence and control over others. If I am to be powerful in any real sense, others must be powerless, or at least less powerful in comparison to me. We can see the same thing with fame. Were all people to have the same fame and notoriety, of what significance would the word "fame" have as compared to "normal?" One who seeks fame would never want everyone else to be famous, for then fame would carry little weight and influence. Likewise, money would be of little value were everyone to have an abundance of it. Income and wealth require disparities for them to carry any useful distinction and significance. And so it is that the very desires which tend to control us and unify us in our humanity, are likewise pursuits which seek to separate and distinguish us.