Culture
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When a community loses its memory, its members no longer know one another. How can they know one another if they have forgotten or have never learned one another’s stories? If they do not know one another’s stories, how can they know whether or not they trust one another? People who do not trust one… Read more
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A 2023 study from the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics found that 40 percent of both Biden and Trump supporters “at least somewhat believed the other side had become so extreme that it is acceptable to use violence to prevent them from achieving their goals.” Read more
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One of the conclusions from Jesus and the Powers is that followers of Jesus will have to confront spiritual and worldly powers in this life. Conflict will happen. When authority goes wrong, it must be held accountable. Read more
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The final chapters in the book, Jesus and the Powers, are a struggle for me. Chapter 7 is the struggle. Chapter 8 is the summary. The fact of the matter, for Wright and Bird, is that government of some form is necessary. I can’t disagree. For all the shouting people do about corrupt government (on… Read more
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There are governments to resist. We wrestle with the need to submit to a point and then how to resist when there are violations of conscience and crossing allegiances, but then there is a need to understand there are things to resist. The how is tricky, and it takes the wisdom and guidance of the… Read more
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It’s been a week without writing mainly because I’ve been absorbing the political shooting from last week and then seeing how it might play out in the Republican National Convention. Along with that was preparation for this coming week’s book study group on Jesus and the Powers. It’s been a week of absorbing and reflecting. Read more
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David French writes in the hours following an assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a political rally in Pennsylvania: Now is the time for America’s moral center to rise up and declare — with one voice, neither red nor blue — “Enough.” We either recover our sense of decency and basic respect for the humanity… Read more
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What will you do with your life? The world needs kingdom-minded Christians now more than ever. This is from p. 89 of Jesus and the Powers, and it is a great question I have carried with me for over 30 years. Where does the Spirit want to have me active in the work of the… Read more
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In leading a discussion on this book, the first week gave me this observation for our group: they wanted detailed definitions and detailed actions. Here is the “problem” with the book (and, also, with how Jesus leads): no finite details are given. Beautifully, when it comes to “actions,” they readily admit this: Read more
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Notes from NT Wright and Michael Bird’s, Jesus and the Powers. The problem of political power is rooted in the beginning. In creation. God set humanity in place to bring order. The problem is humanity keeps getting in their own way. The history of the Old Testament leaves us in a quandary: Read more
Apprentice 2 Jesus 