A Facebook Exchange About Why I Call Myself An Augustinian Democrat

A while back a Thai friend of mine asked me why I call myself an Augustinian Democrat. This is my response to her:

I'm so sorry for taking so long to get back to you about your question. I don't mind answering at all. It's an unusual combination of terms to be sure. Typically if someone is Augustinian then they're more likely to be conservative in their theology and also their politics. I use the term Augustinian to describe my view of our fallen nature as humans and also to describe God's sovereign hand in all of our affairs. Therefore every human institution is broken by sin and in need of reform and restoration, whether private or public.

I use the term Democrat afterward to describe my belief in equality between all people, regardless of race, creed, sex, or culture. I'm pretty strongly egalitarian in my views. So in combining those two terms, Augustinian and Democrat, I'm affirming that every human institution is in need of reforming and oversight. Thus at times I'll end up sounding quite liberal on some (well, many really) issues, and will also be very conservative on others. As I say on a political blog I belong to, I hope I can transcend the left/right divide. And it's my Christian convictions that lead to this point.

I'm so glad you asked, because it helped me to better explain why I use that combination of terms to describe my political beliefs.

Did Neanderthals Possess the imago dei?

I just read a fascinating piece about the relationship between early humans and Neanderthals at the Big Ideas blog. Realizing that early humans and Neanderthals "coexisted" and even interbred, made me wonder if we should consider them to also have the imago dei? This of course strays into a couple of different and tenuous areas of inquiry. One has to do with the fact that any interaction between the two groups would necessarily have to have occurred more than 20,000 years ago, when Neanderthals went extinct. That immediately pushes back at any literal reading of the creation narrative, which among young earth creationists, typically sees the earth as being less than 10,000 years old. It also raises the very basic but also notoriously difficult question of what does it even mean to possess the imago dei or the image of God? So if our ancient DNA was complementary enough so that we could interbreed with our Neanderthal cousins, a DNA difference that would need to be less than 3% for successful breeding to occur, can we legitimately say that we homo sapiens  have the imago dei, but the Neanderthals didn't?

If Jesus looks just like your liberal beliefs, then it's not Jesus you're seeing.

And likewise, if Jesus looks just like your conservative beliefs, then it's also not Jesus you're seeing.

What connection between Glenn Beck and right wing violence?

The Tides Foundation, which prosecutors in California say was among the targets of the anti-government unemployed carpenter Byron Williams before he got into a chaotic shootout with several law enforcement officers Sunday, is also a favorite topic of Fox News host Glenn Beck.
Beginning in 2009 (and as recently as last week), Beck has repeatedly included the group -- along with ACORN, the SEIU and George Soros -- in his cabal of liberals and liberal organizations that are supposedly agents of President Obama's plan to spread Marxist and socialist ideas throughout the United States.
Of course, that doesn't mean that Beck necessarily inspired or influenced Williams' alleged plan to attack the Tides Foundation. But the group has been something of a whipping boy for Beck over the last year.

 Continue reading...

Joel Hunter: Why the Origins Debate Matters for the Church

Big Bang, Big Boom

BIG BANG BIG BOOM - the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

A great stop action short giving an artist portrayal of how life started and may end. Brilliant and troubling.
ht/ Derek Webb, Charles Johnson

Glenn Beck: Prophet of God?

 Is God speaking directly to Glenn Beck? In this exclusive two part series, Stephen Colbert talks with Beck's secret Vatican insider, Father Guido Sarducci.

Part 1 introduces us to the topic after showing that the Vatican now loves the Blues Brothers:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Yahweh or No Way - The Blues Brothers & Glenn Beck
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

In part 2, Colbert blows the lid off of who Beck's secret Vatican contact is:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Prophet Glenn Beck - Father Guido Sarducci
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

Chris Matthews' Documentary on the Rise of the New Right.

Part 1:




Part 2:



Part 3:



Part 4:



Part 5:



Part 6:



This is Chris Matthews' report about the rise of the modern Right and its roots. Most of what he reports is publicly known to anyone interested. As I've said in other venues, this should not surprise anyone.

This series should only make clear what has been clear to anyone that sees the evidence clearly.

What if Everyone Were Christian? Would it Make a Difference?

An interesting thought occurred to me yesterday while I was in the shower (that happens a lot by the way), what would the world look like if everyone somehow were Christian? Obviously hypotheticals are always an iffy proposition, and this one is no different. But leaving aside the obviously severe improbability if not total impossibility of that prospect, assuming it were true, what would the world look like? Would it look better? Would people get along better? Would we have less conflict internationally? Or more? Or would it remain pretty much the same as it is now? Would economic inequality improve? Would we take better care of the natural world?

Another part of this hypothetical equation concerns the term "Christian" itself. How is it defined? I'm an evangelical Protestant, should that be the definition? What about Roman Catholics? What about the Orthodox? What about the mainline Protestant denominations? And then there are the various non-denominational Christian groups that have existed for centuries not attached to any liturgical tradition or ecclesial succession such as the aforementioned?

For the sake of argument, let's assume that if everyone were Christian they would exist within the current state of affairs within the larger Christian world, with all its diversity and divisiveness. And especially with that in mind, again, how would the world be different if that were the case? Would it be any different than it is currently? And if the answer comes even close to that conclusion, what does that say about the state of Christianity in the world?

I find this both a fascinating thought experiment and deeply troubling.

Civil War Monument

A Civil War monument in my neighborhood. I've walked by it many times, but never bothered to actually read it till today. The statement at the bottom of the monument really struck me: One Country, One Flag. A thought we should consider in the current environment of such ideological divisiveness.

Laying it Down

A sword was handed to me
and I took it up
and laid my life down
with many before me as well
with a story to tell
just like mine.

My friend my brother
my sister to my side
to serve and protect
leading and being led
into the valley of darkness
side by side we bled.

I left home, life, lover
to fight for and defend
those I love
sometimes it made sense
sometimes I
just did what I could
to live to see
another day
and help those
by my side
to do the same.

My uniform has colors
not sewn into the fabric
of who we are
colors seen by eyes
colored by blood
sweat grit and grime
that only those
by my side
can recognize.

Hold my hand
don't ever let me go
close my eyes
so that I won't see
what I've helped you
never to see.

If nothing else
if nothing more
remember me
your brother sister
son daughter friend lover
and even if you don't understand
please know I
did this for you.

Grateful

Faithful friends are better than rain to a dry and parched land.

Jennifer Knapp's new album Letting Go

 

Gravite

Gravité from Renaud Hallée on Vimeo.

My Primordial Post! (at Evolving Christian blog)

Rod Dreher has a good piece today about a new book that just came out called Science vs Religion. I haven't gotten this one yet myself, but I hope to and it sounds quite promising. These are exciting times to be a scientifically literate Christian. More resources are coming out every day and the evangelical church really needs to take notice if it hopes to have any future as a viable voice to the next generation.

Friday Night Cool: HD launch of Apollo 11. ht/ to Charles Johnson of LGF

Apollo 11 Saturn V Launch (HD) Camera E-8 from Mark Gray on Vimeo.

So a nice Jewish dentist goes to a folk music show...

Last night I attended a folk concert in Marblehead featuring a couple of folk singers I've enjoyed for over twenty years now. The coffee house, actually a Unitarian Universalist church, was packed and was overflowing. But thankfully I was allowed to sit up front because I was taking pictures and was videoing the show. So I got myself over there just behind the massive piano and got my various accoutrements together before the show began. As I set up I started talking to an older couple sitting right behind me in the second row of pews. We chatted for a few minutes before the show started and they seemed quite nice.

Then the show began. The artists before us sang their hits and a few lesser known tunes that meant something to them. All in all a wonderful first set. Then they took a 15 minute break between sets so they and us could all stretch our legs and maybe buy some CD's or whatnot. I had already bought what I wanted before the show had even begun, smart cookie that I am, so I had the luxury of being able to just hang out and hobnob. It was during this time that I got to talk more at length with the husband of the couple. I was so glad I did. He was a joy to talk to and had many a story to tell. Not just about the folk music scene of Boston, though he did have a treasure trove of that as well. But stories of his own life and of his meeting his wife and courting her in the fifties and getting married in 1960 and all of the pictures and video he had taken during that time. Still all stemmed from his seeing my own video equipment. He mentioned artists I knew all too well as well as several I had never heard of, though I'm sure they were all just as good. We even talked politics after he realized I was safe to share his opinion with! It was funny, because he almost said this in a hush. His wife, standing not too far off, didn't like him talking politics, since he got so worked up over it.

The second set began and it was as good if not better than the first one. They all sang old favorites that the crowd, including me, sang along with them. I dutifully continued to record the show for posterity's sake. Who's posterity I have no idea. I just know I love this kind of music and apparently others do too. So the set came to the end that it must with one encore for old time's sake. My equipment did its job, just barely. One battery gave out just before the end of the show. Then the other used up its memory as the last song ended. All in all, not a bad evening.

In the course of the conversation with my second row interlocutor, I found out that he is a retired dentist who is Jewish. We talked about my attempt to learn Hebrew this upcoming summer and the Hebrew his grandchildren had to learn for their Bar Mitzvahs. I shared that I'm a seminary student at Gordon Conwell Seminary who is theologically traditional in my beliefs, but who nonetheless is quite liberal in my social views. As I said earlier, all in all, a very nice evening. I hope I meet him again. He was a real blessing to me.

Michael Spencer 1956-2010

Michael Spencer, also known as the Internet Monk, has passed away today; his body finally succumbing to cancer. His work as a writer in the last several years blessed thousands of fellow Christians with his raw honesty and truly prophetic voice which challenged a church he loved enough to confront. Please keep his wife Denise, his daughter Noel, his son Clay, and his son in law Ryan in your prayers. Michael's suffering has ended and he now stands before Christ our Lord, and the day will come when he stands again in the flesh. But it will be a renewed flesh that will never again see decay.

Let us remember back to when Christ arose from the dead, thus conquering death forever. When we look back to that day, we are reminded that in Him, we will also, though we die, also rise again. I am saddened at losing such a dear friend as Michael even though we never met in person. But my sadness is tempered by the knowledge of Christ's victory over death. Thus I know that death is but a temporary parting for those whose lives are hidden in Christ.

Yesterday we called out to each other christos aneste, alithos aneste! The day will come when we will call out to Michael with new eyes and with new mouths and with new ears Michael aneste, alithos aneste! And it will be a day of great rejoicing and of ultimate and total fulfillment of God's design and desire for this broken world. I long for that day when our lives will be revealed at the revelation of Christ.

Michael, rest in peace.

christos aneste!

This day
This day long ago
Long ago a tomb broke open
A tomb broke open from within.

Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen indeed!

This day I am here
because of
This day long ago.

Television

In general I haven't been much of a television watcher in recent years. I did grow up watching TV several hours a day, so I know what it's like to be deeply shaped by its messages. But in recent years I've cut down on my TV intake considerably.

But in the last two weeks or so I've watched quite a bit more. Comedies, medical dramas, crime shows, talent competitions, and of course newscasts. Just this evening I watched the news on PBS, a CBS comedy, and then the second half of House, then at 9pm they went to the beginning of 24 on Fox, a show I truly despise and am very glad they're finally canceling. But as I switched the channels to ABC, NBC, or CBS, or even one of the several independent channels, I saw vivid images of sniper bullets killing cops and EMS in an urban American setting juxtaposed a few seconds later with the theme song for Two and a Half Men, then the twinkling eyes of stars dancing to win a competition. Every one of these images was arresting and captivating and deeply unnerving.

In the course of a few seconds I saw images that evoke fear and images that evoke fantasy, but in all of them there was an escapist mentality at work that in their rapid fire visual procession short-circuits any critical thinking. If you're on the right, 24 will reinforce the meme of eternal vigilance against the enemy who is always out there and is probably in here too. Please be afraid, our sponsors require it. If you're on the left, we only need to watch the evening news to see the militia crazies and their plans to kill cops because they somehow are the front line of the NWO. Please be afraid, our sponsors require it.

If your not especially political, you can watch a crime drama, a dance show, a slapstick comedy and be lulled into a blur of flashy images and snazzy one liners or mental tongue twisters that can keep you occupied just long enough to ignore what is actually going on in the world outside, or even the world inside you, or, me. Please be anesthetized, our sponsors require it.

I turned off my TV and walked away. Can I do the same with my computer?