Theological Fragments

Political theology is one of my primary areas of focus. I studied government as an undergrad, and when I went to seminary I became very interested in how theology and politics overlap--and they do quite often, more perhaps than we would like. Today I'm going to show you one of the ways they overlap, and how theology--that is, the logic of the Christian faith--impacts the way we view our government. My focus this time is on an area of political philosophy called "social contract," which tries to answer the question, why do we have governments?

[I know that I promised blog entries that I haven't delivered yet. I've got plenty of ideas in my head, it's just a matter of finding the time and the motivation at the same time. Anyway, I expect that I'll be ready to write relatively soon, but until then I thought I would tide you over with a section from T.S. Eliot's excellent poem, Choruses from "The Rock". Enjoy!] It is hard for those who have never known persecution, And who have never known a Christian, To believe these tales of Christian persecution. It is hard for those who live near a Bank To doubt the security of their money. It is hard for those who live near a Police Station To believe in the triumph of violence. Do you think that the Faith has conquered the World And that lions no longer need keepers? Do you need to be told that whatever has been, can still be? Do you need to be told that even such modest attainments As you boast of in the way of polite society Will hardly surv

In the theater the performance is played before persons present who are called spectators, but at the religious address God himself is present; in the most earnest sense he is the critical spectator who is checking on how it is being spoken and on how it is being heard, and for that very reason there are no spectators. Thus the one speaking is the prompter, and the listener is present and open before God; he is, if I may put it this way, the actor, who in the true sense is acting before God. ~"Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing" From Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits  

Hey. Everybody! I'm back! It turns out that taking 17 credits, working 30 hours a week, writing a thesis, and moving 1200 miles kinda gets in the way of writing a blog. But now that I'm back in Spokane, getting settled into a new routine, and starting to get involved with the church again, I find I have more time and motivation to write. Over the past few months that I haven't been writing, I've thought of a lot of things I want stop write about. Now I'm excited that I have the chance to do all of it. I like the way Kierkegaard described the feeling (Surprise!! A Kierkegaard quote! You're gonna have to get used to that again): "The past months I had in my indolence pumped up a shower-bath and now I have pulled the string and the ideas are cascading down upon me: healthy, happy, thriving, gay, blessed Children, born with ease and yet all of them with the birthmark of my personality." So yeah, I'm excited to get writing again. I have a lot of ide