Liberalism: Defending the status quo?

Last week American Christianity lost a great leader, thinker, writer, and activist in Richard John Neuhaus.  (See Michael Gerson’s “Apostle of Life” for a summary of his life and work.)  After reading Gerson’s reflections on Neuhaus’s life, I was drawn to First Things - an online journal on religion, culture, and public life – where I read one of Neuhaus’s articles (published just this month). 

In his article, “The Pro-Life Movement at the Politics of the 1960s“, Neuhaus describes how ironic it is that the Left has abandoned their aims and objectives that they once held so dear during the 1960s.  Instead, Neuhaus points out, the Left has become a “conservative” movement defending the status quo of pro-abortion.  It is the Pro-Life movement that is the progressive movement chalenging the system and the established media in order to protect the rights of the society’s weakest members – the unborn.

It’s a fascinating read that highlights the intellectual sinking sand that pro-abortion folks seek to build their arguments.  The “intellectuals” who argue in favor of abortion admit that there is NO logical way to define when a “fetus” decidedly becomes a person.  (Some pro-abortion “intellectuals” are even as honest to say that their logic DOES lead to the conclusion that it would be okay to kill a newborn “fetus” !?!)

As we approach yet another anniversary of Roe v. Wade it is high time that our talk of social justice includes defending the cause of the helpless of the helpless – the unborn!

Modern-day slavery – Not For Sale

Tonight I went to a presentation by David Batstone, author of Not For Sale.  The topic was on modern-day slavery; what a startling issue.  Some 27 million people live in SLAVERY today around the world!  Half of them are children!  The startling thing is that this is not just an issue “over there” but right here in our backyards.  Check out the following website that they (Not For Sale) recently launched that tracks human trafficking in the United States:  http://www.slaverymap.org/

on confession

I thought I would share a quote from John Chrysostom that we discussed in our Desert Spirituality class today. I thought it to be a very helpful reminder about confession (particularly since we evangelicals don’t like to do too often).

Why are you ashamed, why do you blush, tell me, to admit your sins? You are not speaking to a human being, are you, who might reproach you? You are not confessing to your fellow servant, are you, who might expose you? No, rather to the Master, who protects and cherishes you, to the physician you are showing your wound. He is not unaware, is He, even if you do not confess, since He understands everything even before it is done? So why do you not confess? The sin does not become more burdensome because of your self-accusation, does it? Rather it becomes easier and ligher. For this reason He wishes you to confess, not in order to punish you, but in order to forgive you: not in order that He may learn your sin (how could that be, since He knows already?), but in order that you may learn how great a debt He forgives you. If you do not confess the greatness of the debt, you do not discover the excess of grace. ‘I do not force you,’ He says, ‘to come into the middle of the theater and place many witnesses around you; tell your sin to Me alone in private, so that I may treat your wound and relieve your pain.’” (Chrystostom, John. On Wealth and Poverty. trans. Catharine P. Roth. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1984. p.89)

I love the image of Christ the physician healing our wounds – he is our Doctor, our Physician.

to chew on

Here are a number of questions that came up during desert spirituality class this morning. These are things that I need to spend a lot of time processing. I invite you to reflect upon them as well.

Who taught me to pray? How do I go about praying? How do I pray? What are the habit patterns that surround our prayer life? When do I pray? What goes on when I pray? Is there a rhyme and reason? What is my prayer history – is it easy or hard? Has it been successful? What does successful prayer look like? What have been some struggles in prayer? Have there been times when I stopped praying b/c of doubt or something else? When did these times come? Track my prayer history. Have you sensed a time when my passions interrupted prayer? What about the overarching question of praying continually – unceasing prayer (1 Thess. 5)? How do we go about praying unceasingly?

And a few questions about what it means to be “holy”?

What does a holy life actually look like in the 21st century? What characterizes the holy life? What would God have us be? How does holiness take flesh in normal everyday life? What does our/my church teach that holiness looks like?

Happy pondering.