Looking Forward to Rosh Hashanah

It seems that the Whitehouse is Jewish community organizing for the high holy days this year. The marching orders have gone out and this year's sermons are to be on the moral urgency of adopting universal health care. Great.

Amy and I go down to her parents' house for services during one of the holy days every year. When we can swing it, it's Rosh Hashanah instead of Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur involves fasting which Amy hates and I mildly dislike. But this is important to her parents so we go and I like Amy's parents. Their synagogue and rabbi? Not so much.

Amy's family's head rabbi gave a sermon on the high holy days in 2004 which I can summarize as "George Bush is evil - Vote Kerry." I find her sermons unenlightening generally. This isn't a Christian/Jew thing. I mean the sermon she preached on matzoh balls missed me culturally, but that isn't her fault. It's mostly a liberal theology thing for me. When any kind of religious instructor preaches a sermon like "Abraham would have been morally right to tell God to go to hell instead of offering up Isaac," I just can't grasp where they are coming from theologically. Actually I can, but I have absolutely no respect for it.

I have no doubt that this year's sermon will focus on the moral imperative that we fold, spindle, and mutilate the Commerce Clause even further to justify more federally run health care. It's for the children. Or not because they already have S-CHIP. The elderly? Medicare. The disabled? Early Medicaid. Hmm... Lazy people who consistently vote Democrat? Is there a program for them yet? Well there soon will be.

Justice in the Burial

Nine of the ten terrorist suspects in Mumbai were killed by Indian security forces. None of the Muslim cemeteries in Mumbai will accept their bodies. Now none of the Muslim cemeteries in India are permitted to accept them either. That's a sticky wicket for a religion that requires them to be buried before sundown. Perhaps the Pakistanis will ask for their men back?

$tewardship

Steve Lamp criticizes those who are tithing even while the bank forecloses on their house:

First, there is no explicit New Testament command to tithe. Impossible, right? Look it up. If you can find one I have overlooked, I am open to correction. Tithing is a good idea and a commendable practice, but not a command. Jesus didn't say don't do it. He did say it's not necessarily the most important aspect of our giving (Matthew 23:23).

This is true and one of those things I rarely hear mentioned in most churches. After the return from exile, the Jews moved from the tithe system to the temple tax system. Every Jewish male was expected to pay a half-shekel per year. Jesus's attack on the moneychangers in the temple was for practices surrounding the payment of this temple tax. I'm willing to bet that the current Jewish practice of maintaining synagogue memberships is descended from this practice.

The actual New Testament practice on giving was to give what you could afford. For instance Acts 4:32-37 where Barnabas donates the profit from selling property to the church.

Sarah Palin

McCain done good. Palin is, by all accounts, an excellent governor. She took on a corrupt Alaskan Republican party and won. This is exactly what needs to happen at the national level. Everybody is reacting to it, but Geek seems to sum it up well:

The smart Lefties just shat a brick. (And those who aren't think they've just won.)

I didn't think McCain had the balls to pick her, the closest thing to a libertarian candidate you're going to see in mainstream politics...and he did.

That was a brilliant move, in more dimensions than I have time to enumerate. The Lefties aren't going to know or understand what hit them in November.

Exactly. Palin might woo some identity voters from Hillary's old camp. But that's a side benefit, compared to the shot in the arm she just gave Conservative Republicans. As for her daughter, John the Methodist is addressing it via an extended quote from atheist Steven Den Beste:

Christians know that people make mistakes, and that people sin. From their point of view, the only man who never sinned was Jesus. They don't cast out sinners, because they believe that everyone is a sinner. What they look for is people trying to do right as well as they can, to live as good a life as they can, and to try to make up for their mistakes and sins. And from their point of view both McCain and the Palin family are doing so. And as long as they continue doing so, Christian voters won't turn away from them.

Other than some moralizing Christian malcontents, that right. Neither will I condemn you, go and sin no longer. My church has dealt with several pregnancies in our youth and singles ministries. There is some friction about it within our church, but what Steven describes is what happens.

Just as important to the theology and philosophy is this: look at who is running with the story. The lefties and the media (somewhat redundant) are running with it. The Christian social activists and press are giving it a pass. Given Palin's Christian street cred, this will become an us-vs-them issue. As such, the media is already switching to educating independent voters about Palin's "dangerous" sex education beliefs.

UPDATE: Let it not be said that I can't join the Palin bashing bandwagon. I mean come on Sarah, you call that a cheek weld?

I know, I know, judging from the pictures of Palin moose and elk hunting, she wouldn't even call that AR-15 a rifle (even if it wasn't a shooting simulator).

The Scripture Mangler

From Paul Smith, Obama uses the Sermon on the Mount to advance the idea that Jesus would have supported Gay Marriage. I guess he missed some major parts of the Sermon like:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

So Barack Obama - the least of these?

The Prayer Grunt

I haven't linked to Stuff Christians Like lately and his recent post on the Prayer Grunt of Affirmation reminded me of long ago small group days:

It's probably not good that I measure the quality of my group prayers by the number of grunts of affirmation I get. What are those? A grunt of affirmation is when you pray in a group and someone near you says, "Mhm" or "Unh" or some other grunt like statement that means, "I'm down with that."

While not everyone uses the prayer grunt, I remember the leader of my bible study during my senior year had that habit and I often found myself looking to make a good prayer at the end of a study in order to get that "warm manly." I think I may have subconsciously adopted it myself for a while when I was a small group leader.

Is it a little idolatrous? I don't know, but I suggest you avoid memorizing his prayer grunt score sheet just in case.

Mere Christianity

Paul Smith reviews the C.S. Lewis book over at his place.

Given the clarity and logic of this book, I'd be interested to see what disagreements atheists have with it. It's hard to disagree with. If you're interested in Christianity, this book will help you understand why it's the true faith, and if you're already Christian it will reaffirm your faith.

I think if Mere Christianity has a flaw, it is that the book is very modern and rational in its outlook. Lewis builds his argument largely on transcendent moral principles. If you're one of those post-modern people who thinks relative morality is just peachy, then some of the fundamental concepts may not get any purchase.

I also don't understand Paul's comments about the Eucharist. I've never seen a Christian group that didn't have some sort of doctrine concerning it (or Communion or the Lord's Supper). They might not match up with Catholic doctrine, but...

Twisted Verses

Mark Hemingway notes Jeremiah Wright using the first part of John 10:16 to justify ecumenicism with Islamists.

MODERATOR: Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the father but through me. Do you believe this? And do you think Islam is a way to salvation?

WRIGHT: Jesus also said, Other sheep have I who are not of this fold.

The entire verse is: "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." How exactly does this verse say what Wright thinks it does? It doesn't.

It often annoys me when people twist a passage into saying what it doesn't. A common one is Matthew 7:1. You know, "judge not lest ye."

People like to set this verse up as if it were saying that Christians should never ever judge anyone. Rubbish. The end of that passage in Matthew 7:5-6 contradicts this view. 7:5 (remove the plank from your own eye...) says that you should fix your own problems so that you can better make judgments. Likewise 7:6 (pearls before swine) is all about judging others.

The point of that passage is not "don't ever judge anyone". The point is to judge wisely because you will be held eternally accountable for those judgments. It's a big difference.

Any other favorites out there?

The Poor Are Hardest Hit

The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.

John Scalzi phrases this biblical truth more snarkily in a recent criticism of cliched newspaper writing:

Really? The poor suffering the most? It’s hard to imagine. Because, you know, usually when there’s a major global crisis of any sort, it’s the poor sitting there on the sidelines, going whew, dodged that bullet.

Via Instapundit.

Religion in Science Fiction

SF Signal is discussing the question "Is Science Fiction Antithetical to Religion?" with a panel made up of a number of different Sci-fi authors. John C. Wright acquits himself well with reasoning that could be true of conservatism or religion:

Criticism of religion is an SF theme, because it is speculation. If Jesus turns out to be a Martian, or the Bethlehem Star turns out to be a supernova, that is speculative. Defense of religion is not an SF theme, because the idea that our ancestors were right on this point is not disorienting. It is not speculative.

Let us not misunderstand this point. It is not that religion is unscientific ergo science fiction is irreligious. That argument is beneath contempt. It is that science fiction readers love the roller coaster of new ideas.

Adam Roberts brings up some interesting connections between the rise of Science Fiction and the Reformation. Individual authors pieces are mixed, but the whole is still worth reading.

Happy Easter

Image Via Chris Byrne.

Gorbachev Comes Out of the Closet

The prayer closet. It seems the last Premier of the Soviet Union is also a Christian. Something Reagan figured out over twenty years ago. I think the blotch on his head looking like the Virgin Mary was a tip off myself.

Gorbachev credits "Christian morality" with why he didn't violently suppress the revolution of 1989 as others would have done before him. Go Mikhail and go Jesus.

Left Wing Religion

Physics Geek has a commentary on some of Barrack Obama's recent statements. I respect a man that uses scripture or theology as a punchline.

Spiritual Gifts

David Wayne critiques the modern practice of standardized Spiritual Gifts testing and John the Methodist adds his own two cents. Let me add mine...

1. Even within the Bible, spiritual gifts are not clearly and definitively defined. Paul covers the topic several times. The moral of each passage is the same; that God has given you abilities to use for his glory and the betterment of the Church. But each list he gives is different. Do you compile a test for all of them mentioned across the various epistles? The core gifts that appear in multiple lists?


2. Many of the gifts are charismatic in nature. Lots of denominations don't think people will start spouting Jeremiah style Prophecy, so they reinterpret it as "speaking God's truth" (e.g. scripture application). Is that correct? Maybe. We really don't know what the Old Testament College of Prophets looked like. Most of the prophets we have records for are not the everyday sort, they're the once in a generation world-changers. Demanding direct connection with God might be like saying everyone with the gift of Evangelism ought to be Billy Graham. Or it might not.


3. Theological issues aside, most of these tests are actually based on aptitude or inclination not spiritual ability. They're often little more than personality tests. You like to talk to people? Be an evangelist or a pastor/shepherd. You're bookish? Then teach. You like to help meet physical needs: you're a servant. But is that the gift God has given you? Not necessarily. Worse yet, the whole structure of the test is driven by your own perceptions of yourself, which may or may not be accurate. Think of all those American Idol contestants who really think they can sing.

I've seen these tests become crutches and stumbling blocks to many. Some things are jobs every believer should be able to do, like evangelism. If I had a nickel for everyone who used the excuse "that's not my spiritual gift" to get out of a jobing they don't want, I'd have a healthy donation to the church building fund. As if Christ said "Go forth and make disciples of all nations... unless you're a Servant, you guys just show up at church workdays."

If you want to use these things in your church, just call them what they are, aptitude or personality tests. Explain to people that they can help them figure out their talents so they can use them to better the Kingdom, but that they aren't some sort of definitive source for spiritual insight and they don't absolve them of spiritual responsibility.

About Integrity

Paul Smith has a good piece expressing concern about Mitt Romney's "JFK" speech:

The problem with both Romney's and Giuliani's statements (and JFK's) is that they seem to compartmentalize their religious beliefs. They are claiming to have religious beliefs, but that they won't carry them over to their activities as President. If you're truly devoted to God, how can your belief in Him not carry over to every part of your life? We should strive to make God part of every moment of our lives and allow Him to direct us at all times, not push Him aside at certain points. Now, realistically, due to our imperfections, we don't live up to that standard, but that should be our goal at all times. We can't consciously decide to push Him out of a certain part of our lives because our faith might inconvenient to ourselves or others.

Exactly. I touched on this a bit some years ago with a piece on morality and integrity. Integrity is not about whether you are a good person or not. It is about whether you are a consistent person in different settings and situations. Romney's speech was largely about compartmentalizing his faith away from everything else. You can't do that and have integrity. Perhaps Romney has been in politics too long to realize this.

The sad thing is that too many people don't seem to understand this concept.

Revisiting Guns in Church

Considering recent events in Colorado, a lot of people are re-examining the issue of concealed carry inside of church buildings. Mostly because it was an armed church member who stopped the mass murderer. John the Methodist is conducting a discussion over at his place on the topic.

I've touched on this a couple of times now. The first was almost two years ago when a church in Harford County, Maryland was robbed at gunpoint. The second was about ten months ago and has a more thorough account of my reasoning on the subject. Most of the arguments for prohibition fail to get any traction with me, the two most common are:

1. "We should trust God to protect us!" Really, does your church have fire insurance? Flood insurance? Regular termite and pest inspections? If you don't trust God to protect the building with his divine presence, how much more should you actively safeguard the people inside the building. Because the church building is just a building, the parishioners are actually God's Church.


2. "Weapons are evil!" No, weapons are inanimate objects. They are things. They have no intent or moral nature in and of themselves. They only acquire moral nature through the perceptions of people. Some people's perceptions on this subject may get in the way of their worship, which is why concealed carry is a good idea. They'll never know and be disturbed by it.

If I had a concealed carry permit, which I don't because Delaware's permit process is deliberately laborious and labyrinthine, I would probably carry during my usher rotations. I would do it for the same reason I keep my CPR, First Aid, and Defibrillator training current: it is the responsible thing to do. Otherwise, probably not. I don't want firearms to become an idol to me.

A Rhetorical Disembowelment

Steve Lamp read through Debbie Maken's Getting Serious About Getting Married over the holiday weekend. His five-part fisking (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5) covers the breadth of the book. Maken's book makesI Kissed Dating Goodbye seem like manna from heaven.

The Unitarian Party

Eugene Volokh has brought to light an quote made by Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean to a Jewish group:

There are fundamental differences between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party believes that everybody in this room ought to be comfortable being an American Jew, not just an American; that there are no bars to heaven for anybody; that we are not a one-religion nation; and that no child or member of a football team ought to be able to cringe at the last line of a prayer before going onto the field.

Is proclaiming universal salvation something a political party should be doing? No, not really. By endorsing such an explicitly theological statement, aren't they destroying the atmosphere of religious neutrality they're trying to foster? Yes, probably. Does this show Howard Dean is a dumbass? Almost certainly.

Look I'm married to a Jew, so I get what Howard was trying to say with his pander to the important Jewish voting block. But once again he puts his foot in his mouth out of his own ignorance. His favorite New Testament book is Job after all. Maybe he doesn't really know or understand the implications of his statements. Again. I wouldn't be surprise if the Democrats quickly made a statement to bury this gaff as quickly as possible.

Saying What You Mean

John the Methodist has a great clip of poet Taylor Mali from the second season of Def Poetry Jam.



One of the good things about Christianity is that you ought to know what you believe. You should be able to make definitive declarations about it. The bad part is that definitive declarations are a double edged sword. Many people will respect you for saying what you mean. Many others will consider you a jerk. It is a difficult path to walk.

A Conversion Story

Novelist John C. Wright details his conversion from athiest to panenthiest in a post on his blog. Panenthiesm is one of those philosophies that I've always held, but I've never had a name for until now. Thanks John.

I really like Wright's blog, so much so that I picked up one of his novels from Borders and started reading it while on travel. The first chapter of the Last Guardian of Everness is a bit slow, but things really get going once they get suitably fantastical.