Flawed Glass

                 I haven’t written recently. It’s almost a “what’s-the-use” situation. For everybody. We’re so divided as a nation, as a church, as congregations, as families… If I write anything of substance I’ll piss somebody off—no matter what I write. We’re so divided we can’t even watch a Super Bowl together! We’re to the point that we’re not divided over issues anymore; we’re just divided. Division isn’t the condition we’re in. Division is who we have become. Sincerity and integrity scarcely matter anymore—unless it agrees with me—unless it conforms to what I believe—if I even know what I believe. From all appearances, much of our population doesn’t advance any purpose or cause except to oppose somebody else’s purpose or cause. And don’t you dare disagree with them! Disagreement is the unpardonable sin! Much of our population apparently can’t function without an enemy—by pointing out somebody else’s sins they can deflect at...

               In the destructive partisan chaos that defines our national identity, the principles and values in our Constitution have long been forgotten. Differences and disagreements, if approached with maturity, can be resolved, but only if both sides elect to work for reconciliation instead of just wanting to “win the fight.” When adversaries truly listen to each other, they almost always discover that they have more in common that in opposition. But we’ve fought for so long that we’ve forgotten why we’re fighting--what's at stake. Causes and ideals have been discarded and now the only important thing is to destroy the “other side,” and the bloodier the better. In the 19 th  chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament there’s an interesting story. Paul and the missionaries were successful at Ephesus, and many Ephesians believed. Consequently, the economy took a dip. The economy centered on the Temple of Diana...

I’ll be using an issue that is of fading significance but that represents a general trend of division within the “United” (sic) States of America. Proposition #1 ~ Citizen Group A : [1] ·          Believes that science (specifically, in this case, medical science) is corrupt. At best it is in the pockets of Big Pharma and Health Insurance. At worst, some in Group A believe medical science is a part of a global conspiracy to . . . (you fill in the blank. Not being a conspiracy theorist, I won’t skew the perspective by entering what would be an opinion, rather than a conclusion based on evidence.) ·          Believes a small minority of medical sources that say COVID-19 is not a serious threat. It is exploited by a corrupt medical science sold out to Big Pharma and Health Insurance. ·          Therefore, since they believe COVID-19 is not a serious threat, they believe i...