Theological Fragments

I write this fully expecting that no one will make it all the way through the post. This is a long post and somewhat technical, and it’s on a controversial topic: Evolution (not, that’s not why I mentioned monkeys in the title). Let me at least say this: what follows is not a stereotypical argument about Evolution. I am not arguing against Evolution, or in favor of Intelligent Design—in fact, I’m not even comparing the two. The reason I bring up Evolution is because I think it provides a great example of a certain tendency in our culture, the way we compare religious knowledge to scientific knowledge. The following discussion focuses on Evolution and probability, so I have taken on the added liability of discussing math in an already-questionable post. As I said, I don’t expect anyone to read this all the way though. I hope someone will, but ultimately I wrote this just to get the idea out of my head so I could focus on homework. If that’s all I’ve accomplished, it was worth it. Now,...

The Show Doctor Who  really is a phenomenal show. True, it is a bit Modernist and morally paternalistic, but I love it all the same. One of the principle reasons I like the show (besides my unreasonably-strong affection for David Tennant) is because Steven Moffat, the head writer, has a very intriguing view of time. Now, I don’t agree entirely with Moffat’s view of causality—I am personally of the school of thought that doesn’t believe the past can be changed (although I must concede that Emmett Brown skirts this issue effectively by positing that a change in the timeline results in the creation of a new dimension [Brown,  Back to the Future Part II , 1989]). However, Moffat takes the very unique approach of viewing the entire timeline from above, allowing single events to affect the past, present, and future. Russel T. Davies, the previous head writer, did this a bit in his seasons, but this was limited in scope—more for the purpose of foreshadowing the season fi...

The Bible is not a very politically-correct book. There’s a lot of stuff in there that would get it an R rating, maybe even NC-17. There’s murder, rape, incest, genocide, torture, all kinds of horrible things. And here’s the scary thing: some of those things are done in God’s name. And some of them are done under God’s orders. The story of how the Levites were originally consecrated to the priesthood is a good example. When Moses came down from Sinai and found the Israelites worshiping the golden calf, he called all loyal Hebrews to join him--only the Levites responded. He then ordered them to arm themselves and kill all of the people who were worshiping the calf. When the slaughter was over, Moses told them, "Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of a son or a brother, and so have brought blessing on yourselves this day" (Ex. 32:29 NRSV). So here’s the question: how do we deal with this? Genocide—especially in the name of rel...

[I debated whether to provide any context for this post. I've decided that it is important, for understanding the tone in which this fragment is offered, to know that I wrote this, not out of academic interest, but in response to an experience of pain. I am speaking to myself here more than anyone else.] The so-called “New Atheists”—Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, etc.—like to talk about the “Problem of Evil” (Which I think is more properly called the Problem of Pain) as a logical criticism of ethical monotheism (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). They treat it as a logical problem which they, or at least their scientific-minded predecessors, have discovered about the beliefs of those religions. If you’re not sure what the Problem of Pain is, here’s a brief summary: A.       Evil exists in the world, and pain happens. B.       A loving god who is all good would not allow evil or pain to exist if he could prevent i...

By now all of you have probably seen this viral video, “ Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus ” by Jefferson Bethke. It’s gotten a lot of views, and consequently a lot of press coverage. I’m not prone to jump into something just because it was in the news (or, at least, I try to suppress that urge) but there are two reasons why I want to talk about this: (1) because the first time I saw it was not in the news, but when people I know posted it online, which makes it personally relevant, and (2) because it touches on some of the things I’ve personally been wrestling with, specifically the concept of “religion” and the role of the church. Now, I call this “a” theological perspective because I don’t want anyone to think I’m saying this is “The” theological perspective; rather, this is how I personally react to this video’s message based on my theological perspective, which has changed considerably when I entered seminary. Before then I would be inclined to agree with this video, though I ...

Spoiler: It’s me—I’m the Christmas Jonah. I don’t mean that I’m back luck to sailors, or that I got swallowed by a whale (big fish?) and spit up three days later. No, I’m referring to a different part of the story. But I’ll get there. First let me explain where I am right now. I should be in Spokane at the moment. In fact, the plane I was booked on should be landing right about now. Instead, I’m sitting in the Pheonix airport. But that’s not the start of the story. The start of the story is early this morning, about 5am when I realized that my ride to the airport wasn’t going to make it in time to get me there for my flight. So I got in my car to drive myself to the airport, figuring I’ll just pay the parking and figure it out later. But the battery’s dead. So I jump my car with my portable car jumper (thanks, Dad!) and finally get on the road. Red lights all the way. Seriously, ALL THE WAY. I finally get there, park my car, and run into the airport. Interesting side note: a...

I am a priest in the temple of Possessions. I lead the worship of the god of Things. I preach the gospel of Eternal Consumption. Come, listen to the word of the lord: “There was a time, America, A long time ago, When each family had their own household gods— Personal idols they could worship And possess and be possessed by. Then came God, the One God, who abolished the gods, One God where once there were many. One God, with demands and rules And cruel expectations. One God who wouldn’t let anyone be. But truly truly, I say unto you, That a day is coming, and indeed has now come, When you can own your very own gods again! Not the old gods of stone, but shiny new gods, Gods of metal and plastic and LED lights, To worship and possess and be possessed by. Give your offering to the priest, and one of these new gods can be yours!”