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I didn’t make you punch me
I didn’t provoke your violence by advocating tolerance. I DIDN’T MAKE YOU PUNCH ME We both said things. We can agree on that. I want to say We both said things we regret but I’m not sure you do. I feel the regret, at least. Not only for what I said but the rage ripping…
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Wrestling with the ethics of violence
Antifa, punching Nazis, accepting violence, and forcing greatness upon us As a lifelong pacifist, I abhor violence. All of it. But a long time ago, I gave my friends one exception: vampires. At the time, the movie Blade had come out and I found a way to make an exception for my pacifism. If I…
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Is Jesus cool with MMA? Self-defense and the gospel.
I’m not sure what Jesus would think of modern sports, but I know the Prince of Peace doesn’t dig on violence. And considering his critiques of Rome, I’m guessing mixed martial arts isn’t his bag. Any fights in cages where people come to watch people pummel each other would probably be too Roman and not enough…
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We Politicized Tragedy Long Before Now
If I had looked at the news Sunday morning, I would have rewritten my sermon. I’ve done that before, but I was being patient. I liked it already. I take the time in the morning, to review and reflect. I don’t look at email or listen to messages. I don’t read the news and I…
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Insane Consequences
INSANE CONSEQUENCES When did we justify brutality? A desk flipped with a student still in it, grabbed, hair pulled and thrown against the floor because apparently refusing to listen is enough of a reason to bring violence into the classroom. A shoplifter shot at in the parking lot. A police call to a Target a…
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Violence Doesn’t Teach What You Think
Violence doesn’t teach them to respect you. It teaches them the lengths you will go to have your way. We expect violence to communicate the complex thoughts, the most sophisticated of desires, the very contents of our minds, but it doesn’t make them mind readers. It doesn’t communicate what we want to communicate.…
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Of the World
Of the World (Day 3 of A Simple Lent) “They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.” One of the temptations for the Christian is to develop an “Us vs. Them” mindset. We have seen this during those fights over so-called religious freedom. We see this when we…
