Month: May 2012

Hospitality

Hospitality

Dan Bouchelle:

…hospitality in the USA is a dying virtue. Sadly this is true even
in the church. When we have people from other countries visit the US
through MRN, these foreigners often
express surprise that American Christians will take them out to eat
but not invite them into their homes. Our houses have become refuges
from the world instead of portals for the world into the Kingdom of
God.

Treat Them as a Pagan or a Tax Collector

Treat Them as a Pagan or a Tax Collector

Richard Beck:

[Matthew 18.15-17] is one of those passages that has been use
to support practices of exclusion and excommunication within the
church. Specifically, if a fellow brother or sister is in sin and
fails to repent at the encouragement of the church we are to “treat
them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” That is, we are to shun
them.
…
The key … is found in how Jesus interacted with “tax collectors and
sinners.” That is, it makes no sense to read Jesus as telling his
followers to treat tax collectors and sinners like the Pharisees were
treating tax collectors and sinners. (see Matthew 9.10-13a)

Context matters.

The Moral Importance of the iPhone

The Moral Importance of the iPhone

John Pattison:

In a 2007 interview with Arthur Boers, the philosopher Albert Borgmann
makes the case that television is of moral importance. Borgmann says:
“When I teach my ethics course I tell these relatively young people
that the most important decision that they’ll make about their
household is first whether they’re going to get a television and then
second where they’re going to put it.”

I think for my generation and for the generation coming after mine,
the questions could probably be amended to (a) “Are you going to get a
smartphone?” and (b) “If so, what limits are you going to place on its
use?”

These are good questions. One of the struggles I’m going to face is
finding appropriate limits to set for my son and his interaction with
technology. We have a good idea about limits on television because it’s
been around longer than we have. Smartphones and the always-connected
network we’ve build is still quite new.

There Are More Homeless Children in Dallas Than Ever

There Are More Homeless Children in Dallas Than Ever

Anna Merlan:

This year, 496 homeless adults said they had children living with
them. That’s an 8 percent increase since 2011, and a 36 percent
increase since 2010. MDHA estimates that nearly 3,000 Dallas
Independent School District students are homeless. … MDHA also
reports that it found 190 homeless youths unaccompanied by parents,
a 272 increase over last year.

This survey was done by MDHA, an organization whose goal is to end
chronic homelessness in Dallas by 2015.

Go And Sin No More

Go And Sin No More

Speaking of not fearing we are reading the Bible wrong, Richard
Beck calls into question the moral standards of Jesus:

Let’s say John 8.1-11 really isn’t a part of the Bible as certain
evidence might suggest. Let’s say that Jesus never said “Go and sin no
more.” Imagine those words aren’t in the Bible. Then ask yourself
this: is there anywhere else in the gospels where Jesus says anything
similar?

Do Not Fear the Facts

Do Not Fear the Facts

Scot McKnight:

As a professor I teach my students at least two things about method:
face the facts and do not fear the facts. I believe this means we
have to face both what the New Testament teaches and what science
teaches.

I appreciate how he opens up and shares his internal conflict about what
do to when scientific discovery seems to contradict what we read in the
Bible. It can be a scary process to really question things that sit at
the cornerstone of your world view, but I think it is a necessary
endeavor. At the end of the day, I don’t want to believe something
because I always have, or because it’s comfortable. I want to believe
something because it’s true.

That means I can’t be afraid to ask questions like this:

What if we are wrong in our interpretations of the Bible?