Law
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When we justify evil
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4 min read
I know you have thoughts about the young man who shot three people in Kenosha, Wisconsin. We all do. And, in a sense, that’s all our culture offers us right now: thoughts. Disparate, unconnected, intemperate thoughts. But our thoughts often get trapped in a binary prison. We know that killing is wrong, but…and then we…
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The Law Doesn’t Convict
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4 min read
We often treat the laws we all live by as neutral and self-enforcing. They are neither. All laws are written, legislated, and enforced by humans. Often with very different understandings of what they mean. Therefore laws don’t simply arrive. Nor do they simply begin – or pre-exist us. And we all know that laws don’t…
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Hallowing the Sabbath
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8 min read
The Pharisees confront Jesus because his disciples break Sabbath law. Jesus turns the story around to show how few of them are really keeping the Sabbath. We could easily say the same about us. In Breaking the Sabbath, Jesus seeks to keep it. Proper 4B | Mark 2:23-3:6 “One sabbath Jesus and his disciples were going…
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Personal Religion
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6 min read
The new American definition of religious freedom, and therefore religion itself, is total, personal faith. No one in their right mind would say that Kim Davis defines Christianity. They are, however, eager to say that she is practicing her faith. She is being a Christian. Yesterday I wrote about what we should mean when we talk about religion. Today I…
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When we hate cheating…and following the rules
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5 min read
Imagine if Mitt Romney got caught stuffing ballot boxes in 2012. Well, not actually Mitt, but staff. Volunteers, actually. You’d be pissed, right? That’s serious, land his ass in jail stuff. Now imagine that election law only says that it is against the law to stuff ballot boxes. It doesn’t say what it means or…
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What should marriage be?
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7 min read
A “Should’ve Asked Question” While the Supreme Court mulls about trying to figure out what to do with the Frequently asked question: What do we do with “gay marriage”? we are actually left with more pertinent questions. Digging into the politics and legal cases for and against “marriage equality” send us into a spiral of…