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Up one levelThe Vocation of Bodily Function?
I love word puzzles. I love putting different combinations of letters together and making up funny words. But when I’m playing with others, such as Scrabble or Boggle, I must often ask (or my opponents query), “Is that a real word?” The same is true for ideas. I am capable of positing many things: The grass is green. Dandelions are yellow. In the spring my lawn is green and yellow polka-dotted. Cows are black and white. Tuxedos are black and white. Cows must be clothed in tuxedos. Not everything I am capable of positing is true. There are times I must ask myself, “It sounds good, but is it true?” In reading the proposed ELCA Social Statement “Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust” (HSGT), I found myself asking this question with regard to the use of vocational language.
Resolutions or Repentance?
If we honestly take stock of most of the things we make New Year’s resolutions about, we find that some form of greed is at the heart of the problem. We recognize it when we see the likes of Scrooge, but we don’t see it so easily in ourselves when we walk away from the smorgasbord with two plates filled to overflowing, or when we insist on having the last word in a disagreement. Nor have I ever heard of anyone turning a new calendar page and saying, “I resolve to root out greed from my heart this year.” Join a gym, make more charitable donations, yes – repent. No...
The Loss of Militant Language as the Loss of Biblical Narrative
"No more war, but what have we gained?" It’s not a question I would have thought much about 25 years ago. That was the era after Vietnam, when flags were not welcome in the chancel, “Stand up, stand up for Jesus” had lost its place at the top of hymn lists, and one began to think twice about singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic. A socio-ecclesial shift was taking place to reframe the Christian narrative and message without reference to warfare.
Whose Moral Authority Do We Fear?
It bears saying that moral outrage can be expressed on any side of a particular issue. Abraham Lincoln was exercising moral leadership when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation and gave the Gettysburg Address, and he was assassinated because of the moral outrage of those who held opposing views...