Flawed Glass

       Not long ago our church had a booth at the local Pride Festival. We acknowledged that most of those in attendance had been hurt by some manifestation of Christianity, and we wanted to be a healing presence.      During that afternoon, a couple of guys approached us, one with an open Bible in his left hand, his right forefinger jabbing at a single verse, claiming they wanted to “have a conversation” with us.      They were lying, of course. They wanted to use the Bible to condemn us for reaching out in love to people guilty of the heinous abomination of homosexuality. Theirs was a daunting task, since there is no clear biblical injunction either condemning or confirming homosexuality.      In the first place, the biblical word that is translated “abomination” means “liturgically improper” and includes certain food prohibitions, like shrimp and other shellfish, wearing wool and linen fabrics in the same garment, and a...

           The border crisis is no longer about the border crisis. It hasn’t been for a long time. The border crisis is now about the Republicans vs. Democrats—liberals vs. conservatives. The time has long passed since either was concerned about reaching a just settlement of the issue. Both sides just want to win the fight. In my limited observation, the crisis (liberal/conservative winner/loser notwithstanding) has two primary conflicting values. The first value is the disruption of established “domestic tranquility.” The mass influx of human bodies is overwhelming the existing system’s ability to assimilate them with justice and compassion. That flood of humanity creates a threat to the stability and, to a significant degree, the security of those who are in the path of the flood and/or who deal directly with the challenge. The border states obviously bear the brunt of that challenge, and many believe the Democrats/liberals have not demonstrated satisfa...

This is a change-of-pace from my usual blog focus. On the other hand, it’s all about values, which keeps it in the same ball park (sic). My two cents' worth (and, yes, some of you will want change back): in college football, the transfer portal is ruining the integrity of the sport and may prove irreparably damaging unless it is restructured. Marshal University's "Thundering Herd" had earned the right to meet nationally ranked Army in the Independence Bowl, but contract talks with the head coach stalled, and the coach resigned, leaving the team high and dry. In response, 36 players, including all the team's quarterbacks, entered the transfer portal, depleting the team's roster so that the team had to withdraw from the bowl game. The University lost millions of dollars, and dozens of college athletes lost their chance to participate in the fruits of a great season and a Sun Belt Conference championship. Two points in response that are flip sides of the sa...

  I confess that this is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. The picture it paints leaves no question regarding God’s wishes for God’s children: 1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 3 His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. 6 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a lit...