Lions and Eagles

“...And our roads would be private toll roads as government would  not build roads across private lands, so that nice interstate system we have today,” wouldn’t have existed under Libertarian rule.” Roads and Infrastructure It’s predictable. Every election, every two years, four years, eight years, you can count on political candidates campaigning on the promise to fix the nation's “crumbling infrastructure”. Those are the exact words that they will use. And no matter what they do while in office, we'll hear that exact same tune at the next election. Another certainty: Every couple of years, we are asked to vote a new tax onto ourselves. A SPLOST. A penny sales tax for education. A tax on certain items for senior services. A special trust for firefighters and first responders. An allocation for environmental protection. We are always told that if the tax doesn't pass, essential projects and programs won't be funded. The taxes pass, and still the money isn't al...

“...Of course having “recreational drugs” be legal is a great selling point I’m sure for some folks….” Drugs For some folks, recreational drug use may be a selling point. For myself, I have no desire at all to use drugs recreationally, and I only reluctantly use them even under doctor's orders. But I still support the Libertarian position on the drug war. Namely, that it is ineffective, unfair, and immoral. If you read what I had to say on prostitution, you shouldn’t be surprised by what I have to say here, either. When you make the sale of any given thing illegal, you don’t end that sale. You drive it into black markets, where bad people profit because bad people are the ones selling. People who might actually want help out of their situation are scared out of seeking it, because they are afraid of being thrown in jail. Theologically, I believe that careless drug use is a sin against the self and against God, but I do not believe it should be treated a crime. The body is a...

“...They would want a Mercenary Military vs a Standing Military. Also no military bases anywhere across the globe. Supporting their “live and let live” philosophy so that our enemy’s would never want to attack us, because we no longer are an imposing threat to them….” War and the Military Ah, foreign affairs and national security. This is going to be deep water. Our approach to this should be in line with our morality, otherwise we have no high ground. I'm game. Let's warm up with a few relevant quotes: [Jesus] said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.” -Luke 22:36 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword….” -Matthew 26:52 “War. Huh. Good God, why'all. What is it good for?” -Edwin Starr What do Christians believe about war? There's no one answer. At one end of the spectrum, some are...

“....Abortion on demand, no limitations of course....” Abortion Is that really what Libertarians believe on abortion? The truth is, not really. “Don't hurt people and don't take their stuff.” That's libertarianism in a nutshell as expressed by Matt Kibbe and many other libertarians. As a Christian, I think that “love thy neighbor as thyself” can be a stronger rule for life, but the libertarian rule is a decent starting point. Many Libertarians, including atheist Austin Peterson , recognize that the child in the womb is a person. If you're going to say “don't hurt people”, that has to apply to abortion as well. Yes, there are pro-life Libertarians. And, yes, it can get contentious. Libertarians may be hesitant to outlaw abortion outright. There are the concerns about women in medical difficulty, and victims of rape who have already suffered a loss of their freedom. Still, it is quite possible to argue in these cases against late term abortion on the ground...

“[Libertarians] have no issue with prostitution, including child prostitution(as long as its mutual). Abortion on demand, no limitations of course. They would want a Mercenary Military vs a Standing Military. Also no military bases anywhere across the globe. Supporting their “live and let live” philosophy so that our enemy’s would never want to attack us, because we no longer are an imposing threat to them. Of course having “recreational drugs” be legal is a great selling point I’m sure for some folks. And our roads would be private toll roads as government would not build roads across private lands, so that nice interstate system we have today,” wouldn’t have existed under Libertarian rule.” My last post got some attention from my friends. One friend challenged me to get into areas Libertarian ideas and Christian ethics might seem to conflict, and explain how I resolve them. Another made the claim above, which I think will be a good starting place to explore. There's a lot of...

I am a Christian. I am a Libertarian. This is not a contradiction. In fact, I believe that Libertarianism is the most Christian political worldview. I understand that there are many Libertarians who are not Christian, and many Christians who are not Libertarian. But I believe that these two worldviews fit together. Please let me explain. As a Christian, to use the words of Ravi Zacharias, I believe that the supreme ethic that God has given to us is Love. Love for God, love for each other. That is why He gives us free will, and why freedom and liberty are so precious. Without freedom, you can have obedience, but you can't have love. With freedom, you can love, and you can choose to give obedience and love to one who is worthy. The political Left says, we need to care for our fellow humans. And indeed we have that obligation. When we care for each other, we are following God's commandment to love one another. But the political Left's solution is to create a syste...

Written to a friend: Good sir, you've done good, and you have done it well. To answer your questions: We are definitely called upon to love and serve those in need. Opening up to people in a very personal way, getting into their lives and letting them into your own, is scary and difficult, and it makes you very vulnerable. But it's the only way to truly know what they really need. There are some people out there really are just looking for a handout, and giving it to them does no good. There are others who really do want a way out of their situation, but for some reason or other they just keep hurting themselves. And then there are the folks who have just had really bad luck. It takes getting to know a person to know whether what they need is simple material help, or a new perspective on how to get past their stumbling blocks, or whether the best love for them is tough love. It's a calling that we all have, that most of us fail at least sometimes, but some are blessed w...

Yes, it's another Reddit DebateReligion post. In this case, I'm answering a fellow who put forth the idea that God is too "big" to care about our sin, and that demanding a sacrifice to pay for it would be a sign that God is brutal. Here's my answer: If one of my daughters starts wilfully ignoring household rules and basic manners, and starts bugging her sisters, how does it possibly affect me? Why would I expect an apology? The disobedient child's disobedience disrupts the whole household. It reflects poorly on the parents. If my two daughters are fighting, I can't just sit idly by. The form of my intervention may vary from scolding, to temporary separation, to punishment. I've had to take stuffed friends away at night, and from their reactions you would think that I was crucifying them. Certainly they don't think that any punishment is fair when they are going through it. But then, I'm the one with the greater perspective here. We don't...

Earlier this week I found myself in a Facebook discussion with a friend of a friend. This guy Jim sits on the far opposite side of the political and religious spectrum. I like to try to engage with people who don't see the world as I do, it can be very enlightening. In this conversation, I had just espoused my preference for Senator Ted Cruz as a presidential candidate, given my perception that his honesty is unwavering and he has a strong understanding of and allegiance to the Constitution. Jim replied with his own opinion that Senator Cruz would be "worse than Trump", and described him as a "Dominionist". I like to think that I am reasonably aware when it comes to political and theological "isms". In the political world, I know about conservatism, libertarianism, liberalism, progressivism, communism, socialism, and more. In the Christian theological arena, I have heard of dispensationalism, pre- and post-millenial tribulationism, gnosticism, Ariani...

I recently ran across an article by a Presbyterian minister on 10 political things one supposedly cannot do while following Jesus. While I respect the author's viewpoints and even praise some of his motivations, I did personally find the article to be very heavily weighted towards one side of the political aisle. In order to offer a counterbalance, I thought I might offer my own list of 10 more political things, as seen from a different perspective. This will get long, but I'll ask you to bear with me. I feel it's very important to be clear not only with what I am saying, but also with what I am very specifically not saying. 10) Allow public expressions of faith to be silenced If you have good news, the best news in the world, do you not want to share it? If the news you have may save countless lives, are you not obligated to share it? The Gospel is Good News. Indeed, we have a Great Commission from our Lord himself to spread his News to every tribe, every tongue, every...

This post is in response to a Facebook discussion . A poster asked me a question, and the answer got to be... well, a little long. So I decided to blog my reply. First, the question posed: I will ask one question: did you pick who you would be attracted to or is the gender choice of your partner part of who you are? Your answer responds to your assertion that who you love is different from who you are. And I do not understand how a god who preaches love and acceptance of all can conclude that people who love one another are damned to be eternally different. Chris: I don't remember asserting that specifically, but I will try to answer your question. Your question is phrased in a way which makes me think that what you think I believe is not quite what I believe. In order to be clear in my answer, I am going to have to share something of what God has done in my life. This does not mean I want to impose my religion on you. I am simply telling my story from my perspective. Take fro...

Something caught my attention last night while watching Cold Case . In one of the flashbacks, a young teacher/would-be minister was counselling a club of teens. He told one girl, "God doesn't judge you." What? Where is this in the bible? I understand, there are a lot of bad representations of Christianity out there. Not all of them are the fault of "the media". Sometimes we as Christians take what we hope and believe personally, and hold it out for the world to see as "what Christians believe", when said beliefs may have no real theological basis. In this story, the character turned out to be not the kind of person you'd want as either a teacher or a minister to begin with. My name means "God is my judge". What kind of universe would we live in if He didn't? Many "atheists" and anti-Christians accuse God of being unjust, unfair, cruel, and heartless. But, if God is not just, then where did we humans get this idea of just...

I've been reading a lot of headlines lately. These fools in Florida and elsewhere that want to burn Korans. Riot crowds in Islamic countries burning Bibles and crosses in retaliation. Everyone's a victim, everyone's lashing out. A few thoughts in return: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." (Matt. 5:38-39) In other words, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth eventually leaves everyone blind and eating oatmeal. Also, a quote from M. Scott Peck that was in a recent sermon I heard: "There are dozens of ways to deal with evil and several ways to conquer it. All of them are facets of the truth that the only ultimate way to conquer evil is to let it be smothered within a willing, living human being. When it is absorbed there like blood in a sponge or a spear into one’s heart, it lo...

God, what are you doing in my life? I'd really like to understand. First, last weekend, there were the Jehovah's Witnesses you brought to my door. That was interesting. But okay. Then, there was the lunch where we stumbled onto friends, and joined them, only to find out that the guest of honor at the meal was a Buddhist monk and writer. The "dedication" for the meal was... interesting. But okay. And then there was last night. Dinner with family, friend, and friends of friend. Half the folks there were new to me. Fun, eclectic, widely varied conversation. Loved it. So then I got to asking my brother about the church he's recently been going to. Sounds like a great place. Anglican with a very contemporary styling, from what I understand. Then we heard a chime in. "Oh, that isn't one of those Anglican churches, is it? The ones with the gay-hating African bishops who think all gay people should be killed?" Umm... I know the Anglican churches you're t...

I encountered two very sad things this week. First, there was a woman at the church pot luck (I've seen her there many times) who said that she doesn't believe God has a plan for her life. She has nothing in this life but a litany of sorrows. I didn't know what to say!How do you answer that? How sad, to believe that God's love for you is less than perfect! How sad, to believe that God doesn't want you to have life and joy, or to think that somehow His power isn't enough to care for you! The other sad thing was just a few minutes ago. A trio of Jehovah's Witnesses came to the door, with an invitation to their Easter day service (though JWs aren't allowed to celebrate Easter). I politely told them that we would be quite busy at our own church. But one thing struck me after I had closed the door... They said that they wanted to invite me to a "celebration of the death of Jesus". Now, I will be celebrating Jesus's death... on Good Friday. Easte...

Yes, I heard Tiger’s “apology” press conference. At least, I heard part of it. More interesting to me than the conference were some of the remarks of WSB Radio listeners after. The question came up, why did he need to do this? One caller answered: This could be the beginning of Tiger’s own spiritual recovery. The first step, in many recovery programs, from infidelity to alcoholism, is to admit personal failure. This got me to thinking. This was a Buddhist confession, not a Christian one. How are the theologies different? What does Buddhist theology say about marriage and fidelity? The Dalai Lama was asked about this recently: Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader told The Associated Press during a brief interview in his hotel suite in Beverly Hills that he had not heard of Woods, but when the circumstances were explained to him he said that when it comes to adultery, “all religions have the same idea.” “Whether you call it Buddhism or another religion, self-discipline, that’s important,” he ...