Everything That Rises

This week, I'm travelling with the youth from my church to camp in Virginia. Today, on the way to camp, we stopped for the day in Washington, D.C.(by the way, there is way too much to see in just one day). And now, as I'm finally ready for rest after a packed day in our nation's capital, I thought I might share a thought or two about what I experienced today. I was reminded that the true greatness of our country is not found in arrogant attempts at proclaiming such greatness, but in the humble ways in which so many women and men in this great land have fought (not only themselves but for) their sisters and brothers. They have not only fought on the battlefields of war. They have fought in the countless courtrooms of our nation seeking justice. They have fought in the state houses to pass laws to govern this great nation. They have fought from the Oval Office seeking to make the true and fair decisions that held the power to alter the course of human history. They have ...

To use as few words as possible, the simple answer to this question is “yes.” As a person of faith, particularly a person who follows Jesus Christ (a victim of the death penalty, mind you), I am of the conviction that every person is a bearer of the image of God. This is an ideology expressed by those who stand against abortion in the “pro-life” movement. I’m afraid, however, that most of their “pro-life” sentiments end at the maternity ward. It is my belief that being “pro-life” means I am against (unnatural) death, whether it be abortion, war, murder, or even the death penalty. The death penalty stands in stark opposition to being “pro-life,” because it is a practice that unnaturally ends the life of another human being. Furthermore, as a Christian I am convinced that the attitudes and reasoning behind the death penalty stand in contradiction to the teachings of Jesus. We still live with the motto “an eye for an eye…”, but Jesus says to us “if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, ...

*This is my most recent response for the "Religion Roundtable" for The Anniston Star (to be published 2/2/2013)             It is difficult for any of us living in the Western World, on this side of the Enlightenment, to find reality in something like demon possession. We live in the reality of science and medical research. If we see someone exhibiting behaviors that could be understood as demon possession, we chalk it up to a mental illness or perhaps a chemical imbalance. We have even looked back at Holy Scripture and the instances of demon possession in an attempt to explain them away as ancient misunderstanding of other illnesses. Now, I am not discrediting medical research or science (in fact I think more people of faith need to embrace science), nor am I looking to explain away the witness of ancient Scripture. I believe demon possession is a real thing, even in our Western, post-enlightenment world, because I see it all arou...

*This is my most recent response to a question for The Anniston Star's "Religion Roundtable."* The short, simple answer to this question is “no.” Frankly, it’s hard (if not impossible) to say what ALL religions believe and practice. Given my experience with other religions, however, I would say that in some ways many religions do in fact share the same goals of worship, service, and proclamation (sharing their faith with others). Of course, the fundamental difference among religions is the divinity they worship, serve, and proclaim. As a Christian, I put my faith in the Triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), made manifest in the person of Jesus Christ. As a Christian, it is my goal to worship, serve, and proclaim God to other through both my words and my actions. My friends of other faiths share similar goals, though they may put their faith in a different deity or understand God differently than I do. We have similar religious goals, but our source of faith ...

So it's been a week since the horrific shooting took place in Newtown, Connecticut, and in these past seven days rhetorical shots have been fired by anyone with an opinion who cares to make it known. I've kept quiet on the issue, mostly because I've been keeping to myself during a time of transition. Now, however, I feel as if I have to put my thoughts down somewhere, and this blog is as good a place as any. First of all, let me say that I don't own a gun--well, technically I own a gun, but it's in the attic of my dad's house where it's been since I was about 18 (I fired it maybe five times). To be more precise, I don't currently keep a gun in my house, and I never plan on keeping a gun in my house. Now, before any of you who found this blog by a simple Google search for the word "gun" begin typing out your irate response about the virtues of gun ownership, let me say that I am not opposed to people owning guns and keeping them in their homes ...

(This is an actual picture from Interstate 65 in Alabama) Yesterday I came across this post by Matthew Paul Turner in my blog feed. Now, if you click on the link, you'll notice MPT didn't write anything; he just let the ridiculousness of the picture speak for itself.  This morning while reading my local newspaper online, I read this letter from a reader. Sadly, the writer of this letter is not in the minority of those in the South who still have some whitewashed image of what the South used to be.  As a Southern native, born and raised in the deepest of the deep South in "Lower Alabama," I have spent my life surrounded by the confederate flag and those who will (quite literally) fight to defend everything for which they claim it stands. There are the usual claims of defense: "It's about heritage...it's a sign of Southern pride...it's a symbol of tradition and history..." Regardless of what response you hear, it is almost always preceded...

So, earlier this week I came across this unfortunate video: To say I am disgusted by this is an understatement. However, we live in a culture of outrageously expensive weddings (weddings many of us claim are "sacred"), enormous Bar/Bat-Mitzvahs, and ridiculously lavish "sweet sixteens," so should we really be surprised that there are people who have "stylish adult baptisms"? As a Baptist, I practice believer's baptism (as opposed to infant baptism). I view baptism as an extremely important and meaningful step in following Jesus. It is not a social event. It is not simply some societal right-of-passage. Baptism is first and foremost about following Christ, so it is impossible for me to justify having such a lavish and expensive "event" for what is supposed to ignite a life of following the one who preached "blessed are the poor." While my complete disgust with this is beyond words, it has caused me to reflect on another practice ...