Marginal Christianity

From Moltmann’s The Ethics of Hope (Kindle loc.72) we read: “The principle behind this ethics of hope is: -not to turn swords into Christian swords -not to retreat from the swords to the ploughshares -but to make ploughshares out of swords.” I take from this description of ethics that its sharp edge, its interface with the reality of the world we know, love, and anticipate is -to know it well enough not to be trapped in its reality (“not to turn swords into Christian swords”), -to love it deeply enough not to leave it to suffer, despair, and die from that reality (“not to retreat from the swords to the ploughshares”), but -to counter its reality with the strange but true hope of the transformation of the world through the Crucified but Risen Jesus Christ (“to make ploughshares out of swords). Reflecting on Moltmann’s insight in light of my experience as an American Christian, they say to me that: -culture wars (of the right or left) are wr...

6.        “Behold, the human being!” (John 19:5): Becoming Human for the first time. DB’s sixth word to the North American church. His understanding of ethics is neither informational (Socratic), or formational (Aristotelian), but conformational (Christological). He does not believe that if we know the good we will do it. Nor that if we do the good enough it will become a habit. For him, not surprisingly, it all depends on Jesus Christ. DB’s Ethics as Conformation “Only the person who combines simplicity with wisdom can endure,” writes Bonhoeffer ( DBWE 6 :2707). Only this person can offer a free act of responsibility casting themselves on the mercy and judgment of God.  But can such simplicity and wisdom be found? Yes, answers Bonhoeffer. “Only because there is one place where God and the reality of the world are reconciled with each other, at which God and humanity have become one, is it possible there and there alone to fix...

Mike Rightmire , Universitäts Klinikum Heidelberg - Analysezentrum (2017-present) Answered Oct 19 I’ve found one of the major differences between conservative and liberal viewpoints is; that liberals often (not always) try to drive legislation based on how humans tend to react to stimuli, whereas conservatives (often but not always) tend to drive legislation based on how they feel humans SHOULD respond to stimuli. For example; trickle down. It makes sense that if a person growing a business gets to keep more of their money (lower taxes) they would invest that money in the business (making more jobs) so they can make more money. That makes total sense!! The problem is; the evidence suggests they don’t (or at least not after a certain point. Once a person has reached a “certain level” of wealth, speculation tends to be more profitable than trying to sell/ manufacture more widgets. Speculation does not create jobs...

Jan 16, 2016 In the old days, she would be propped up on a comfy pillow, in fresh cleaned sheets under the corner window where she would in days gone past watch her children play. Soup would boil on the stove just in case she felt like a sip or two. Perhaps the radio softly played Al Jolson or Glenn Miller, flowers sat on the nightstand, and family quietly came and went. These were her last days. Spent with familiar sounds, in a familiar room, with familiar smells that gave her a final chance to summon memories that will help carry her away. She might have offered a hint of a smile or a soft squeeze of the hand but it was all right if she didn’t. She lost her own words to tell us that it’s OK to just let her die, but she trusted us to be her voice and we took that trust to heart. You see, that’s how she used to die. We saw our elderly different then. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-know-you-love-me-now-let-die-louis-m-profeta-md

6/10/2016 Short answer: yes. But why is this significant? Because some scholars try to make this case: 1. There were no loving, non-abusive same-sex relationships in New Testament times.  - What relationships there were (so the argument goes), were abusive: master-slave, or older man with younger, teenage boy (pederasty). 2. So when New Testament authors condemn same-sex sexual activity, it's because those relationships were abusive. 3. Therefore, the New Testament does not speak to loving, non-abusive same-sex relationships. As a result, we can affirm loving, non-abusive relationships that involve same-sex sexual activity. The underlying moral logic to this revisionist argument is: same-sex sexual activity condemned by Scripture is sinful because these relationships are  abusive, not because they are two people of the same sex .  Read more at http://www.bransonparler.com/blog/were-there-non-abusive-same-sex-relationships-in-new-testament-times...

Brian Ross, FB 5.26.16 As a society, we often create our own problems, and then we fumble creating solutions. Why? Because of our faulty "faith" commitments. Many progressives assume that historical ethics and spiritual narratives are a danger to society. Human beings should be free to be anyone they want. Then, when evil happens, the answer becomes: legislate, legislate, legislate. Not realizing that their own narratives helped to grease the wheels towards evil. They have dismantled thick narratives of transcendence that serve as a check on human actions and motives. Similarly, many conservatives (who pay lip service to historical ethics and spiritual narratives) assume that any check on unfettered markets is quite ridiculous. Human beings, economically, should be free to do whatever they want. And to entice anyone they want to- with the widgets they have for sale. Then, when evil happens, the answer becomes to preach more and more about historical ethics a...

  August 2, 2015 August 2, 2015 / johndpav For a while now, I’ve witnessed my Evangelical Christian brothers and sisters bowing at the sacred altar of Ronda Rousey. I’ve watched them genuflect in reverence at her growing legacy of domination in her field. I’ve seen their breathless adoration and effusive social media praise as they speak of her now-expected savage dispatch of her latest opponent. I’ve watched their enthusiastic public invitations to pay-per-view church parties where Rousey and others will do the work of beating and bruising one another into submission. And this week I’ve once again witnessed their giddy exhilaration in the wake of another of her brutal displays of physical dominance over another woman. I’m always surprised (and entertained) at how out of character this is for these fanboys and girls, since I know them so very well. You see, these are many of the same folks who spend the...

  January 8, 2015 by Rod Benson If we are faithful in the way we follow Jesus, then our deepest and truest desires will find their expression in godly, counter-cultural, justice-shaped prayers passionately aligned to the kingdom and mission of God. Our best prayers will be ethical prayers. In this and my next column, I want to explore the relation of ethics to prayer – what’s distinctive about ethical prayer, and how to do it well for maximum effectiveness and social impact. We all pray, some more intelligently and strategically and often than others.   And we include ethical considerations in our prayers, whether public or private, silent, written or spoken. We pray for peace in place of conflicts large and small. We pray for the defeat of evil and the triumph of good. We pray for our political leaders, and for electoral and legislative processes. We pray that God will intervene and bless people suffering in the face of natural and human-induced disast...

  Together, the seven petitions in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) express our restless discontent with the way things are in the world, in our communities, and in our hearts.  They offer a daily rhythm, challenging us to refocus on what matters most, calling us to remember the unfailing goodness and mercy of God. As German theologian Karl Barth put it, “To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.” The point of the sixth petition, “Lead us not into temptation,” is not so much a call to moral vigilance in the face of threats posed by the pleasures of the flesh but a general call to holiness and godliness.  This is part of the fruit of knowing God’s will – ordering our lives, our passions, our minds, so we can serve God fully and freely as genuine disciples. Read more at http://togethermagazine.com.au/2015/02/05/ethics-and-prayer-part-2-of-2/

January 30, 2015 by Elizabeth Scalia 64 Comments Image via Wikimedia Commons By Very Rev. Robert Barron Many atheists and agnostics today insistently argue that it is altogether possible for non-believers in God to be morally upright. They resent the implication that the denial of God will lead inevitably to complete ethical relativism or nihilism. And they are quick to point out examples of non-religious people who are models of kindness, compassion, justice, etc. In point of fact, a recent article has proposed that non-believers are actually, on average, more morally praiseworthy than religious people. In this context, I recall Christopher Hitchens remark that, all things considered, he would be more frightened of a group of people coming from a religious meeting than a group coming from a rock concert or home from a night on the town. God knows (pun intended) that during the last twenty years we’ve seen plenty of evidence from around the world of the godly behavi...

Giles Fraser The Guardian , Friday 4 July 2014 10.00 EDT                  http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2014/jul/04/assisted-dying-triumph-market-capitalism   'Assisted dying opens up an emotional minefield of second-guessing and lonely choices.' Photograph: Getty Images I have seen many people die. Some slip away on a cloud of morphine. Others go in pain, coughing and spluttering, vomiting up their insides. It is a no-brainer which one we would all prefer – not least because the latter is a cause of such huge distress to those who lovingly gather round the patient's bedside. The case for assisted suicide is made every time we see another human being dying in terrible pain. But however compelling, this argument must also be set in the context of the more complicated hydra-like emotional pain that is generated by the process of dying. And I ...