Stopping to Think

I open with a question: Is it inconsistent to call for the removal of Confederate flags (from state-owned properties, as well as Christians dissociating themselves from this flag voluntarily), while not calling for similar treatment of Old Glory? This question has been raised all over my Twitter feed, and perhaps most prominently in a blog post by Douglas Wilson . The US flag does, after all, stand for a number of reprehensible things itself. In our past we have the horrors of slavery...quite the same ones as the Confederacy, come to think of it. We have the massive injustices of murder, land theft, and more of the Native peoples of North America. Currently we murder our babies in the millions. And of course I'm just hitting the lowest of the low notes. So, is there a difference? I believe the answer is, most definitely, yes. First of all, as Wilson labors in his post, flags mean a lot of things, including what a nation should  be. We might say, aspires to be. All men ...

Just a few thoughts on, as the title suggests, repentance, forgiveness, and consequences. Many of you may be familiar with the story of David and Bathsheba (if not, you may read it here ). You may also be familiar with David's prayer in Psalm 51 ( here ), In Psalm 51, David makes a most curious assertion when he says to God, "against you, you only, have I sinned." Having performed an even cursory reading of the story, we know that David has either coerced Bathsheba into adultery, or (perhaps more likely) simply used his power as king to demand her "services". At best he's led her into sin, at worst he's raped her. Then we have her husband, Uriah, whose wife has been used sexually by a man to whom he has been exceedingly loyal, and continues to be, even after the fact. And when Bathsheba becomes pregnant, David tries to trick Uriah into coming home and making this look like his kid; when that fails, he has him purposefully killed in battle. Those are ...

This something of a procrastination post. I have far more important things to be doing. Yet here we are. I love gardening. That is not to say that I am a gifted, skilled, or even particularly competent gardener. I just enjoy it. As I took a walk around my neighborhood this evening with my pipe stuffed with some Old Shenandoah tobacco, and eventually wound up back in my yard, I had a few rambling thoughts about this activity, at least as it exists in my life. Gardening is far from cost effective. Every time I endeavor to start a garden, my rationale is that I will be saving my family all sorts of money in the long run. Sure, I have spent forty plus dollars in seed and at least that again in topsoil, compost, and potting soil, but surely there will be a payoff, right? Then I realize that I have planted the sorts of things we tend to eat...cabbage, spinach, lettuce, zucchini. Do you have idea how much produce of that nature you can buy for eighty dollars? A lot. But homegrown things...

I would like to briefly introduce you to a doctrine: the independence of God.  This characteristic of God falls under what theologians typically refer to as His attributes, or perfections. This is a beautiful truth, the eternal independence of God. In simplest terms it is this: God depends on no one to exist, because He and He alone has always been. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.- Genesis 1:1 (ESV) Here, in the very first line of the Bible, we behold something amazing: In the beginning, God was already there. In the beginning, He created. Which means, before the beginning, He existed. He exists outside of, apart from, independent of that which He has created. Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”   God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” - Exodus 3:13-14 If one is familiar with the Old Tes...

Misty Minaloosa morn’ fog settled in Elk bugle, silence torn The air, quite dense I think it fells Like pea soup, yes Green single-wide seems to blend Into greener countryside Walking down the road gravel crunching Silence re-bestowed So peaceful here beneath pine trees green Like stillness bequeathed A gift for granted taken too often, true Till life’s silence shaken Makes one long for Still a relaxation true The thought, heart thrills

Over the past year, I spent a large amount of time thinking over the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. Part of this is due to the fact that I simply love this piece of Wisdom Literature. But I'm also making my second pass through teaching it, which forces me beyond simple mulling and pondering, into actual grappling with each passage as I go. Two verses that I find fascinating upon every return are verses 21 and 22 of the seventh chapter: Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others. (ESV)  The first sentence seems like a very obvious bit of advice that one might pick up anywhere in the world, perhaps even on Pinterest or Facebook. Don't take everything to heart, or you'll hear your servant cursing you. Don't absorb all that's said, because sometimes people say things that aren't all that swell. However, our line of reasoning to follow that up ...

Roughly one third of the population of the earth would identify themselves as Christian. What each individual might mean by that varies greatly, but I want to simply take my definition from the Apos tle Paul. I believe what he " delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep." 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 (ESV). Jesus Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the Old Testament Scriptures which predicted this would happen. He was buried, and He rose to life on the third day (also in accordance with the Scriptures). He appeared to witnesses, more than five hundred of them. Through placing our faith in Jesus and the work that He did in dyi...