david : philip : best

Vanderbilt and the Catholic Church - Organizations limiting religious freedom

2012-02-23T10:30:00.001-06:00

Introduction Father Araujo suggests in his piece, What is Freedom, that the distinction between who is pursuing a self-serving course of action and who is pursuing the other-serving course of action is clear. I agree. The Catholic Churches decision to limit the religious freedom of the people it serves as an employer when it acts as public employer is perceived by many as being self-serving.

Why are Evangelicals Misunderstood?

2012-01-22T12:14:00.003-06:00

A friend of mine who blogs under the pen name Angle KKG, posted a link on facebook to the following article: Why the Christian Right Becomes More Extreme as America Grows More Tolerant wanting to know what my take on it was. What was ironic was that independently of her, I had just been reading an article on a similar topic titled: In Evangelical World, a Liberal View Steps Up. Though it is a

When it comes to Jesus, we are all unbelievers

2012-01-13T18:53:00.081-06:00

Why I love Jesus but Hate Religion, is the title of a short spoken word video that has recently gone viral. Let me just say at the top, I like the sentiment in it, but what I find interesting is the variety of perspectives on it. We have both the non-religious giving it a shout-out, and the Evangelical crowd trying to draw a distinction between "religion" and the one true way. Others are

The Usual Suspects and The Ordinary Religion of Law School

2012-01-04T22:34:00.005-06:00

The following is a reflection piece I wrote for my Foundations of Justice class, the kind of class most law schools do not offer, one of the reasons i really appreciate St. Thomas. “How negligent was the rape victim?” was the question in Wassell v. Addams, a case in our Torts class meant to illustrate the consequences of various comparative fault systems. Should a victim that is also negligent

Are Gay Rights Rules Limiting Religious Freedom?

2011-12-28T16:16:00.002-06:00

The headline at the New York Times web site is: Bishops Say Rules on Gay Parents Limit Freedom of Religion. But the telling line in the story is: "Catholic Charities affiliates received a total of nearly $2.9 billion a year from the government in 2010, about 62 percent of its annual revenue of $4.67 billion. Only 3 percent came from churches in the diocese (the rest came from in-kind

A Prayer by Oscar Romero

2011-12-26T18:45:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago, Professor Schiltz who I had for contracts, read the prayer below at the start of class. That got me looking for more information about the person the prayer was attributed to. Oscar Romero was assassinated in 1980 due to his support of the poor and down-trodden amidst the civil war in El Salvador. His views were characterized as supporting communism, and the assassination was

Networked Blogs

2011-12-26T13:20:00.001-06:00

A little test run here with networkedblogs. I want to see if this blog post gets automatically posted to facebook. If you use networked blogs, how do you like it?

The Communion of Saints

2011-11-16T22:07:00.004-06:00

Today I enjoyed an interesting dialog between Mark Osler and Susan Stabil on prayer and intercession from their respective Christian traditions. They were comparing and contrasting Stabil’s Catholic view on intercession and praying to the Saints, with Osler’s Protestant/Ana-Baptist view on intercession. You can listen to the conversation here. For Osler, the idea of asking anyone, much less a

What did you learn in law school today Daddy?

2011-11-11T08:14:00.006-06:00

Kids and law or hilarious. I often ask my five-year-old Nicholas what he learned in school today. So when he turned it around and asked what I learned in [law] school. I had to think for a second. "Suppose you have a sucker and I take it away. Then mommy gives you a new sucker because I took yours. Should I have to give your sucker back, since you already have a new sucker" I asked. (The

Finding Purpose

2011-11-08T08:56:00.020-06:00

About a month ago I attended a lecture by Michael Schutt on the “drudgery of law school.” He was discussing the endless reading, writing and fact checking and the mundaneness of it all, and how we can respond. During the lecture he highlighted four issues: dualism, sloth, pride, and as mentioned, drudgery, that is, being frustrated and not enlivened by what we do. Dualism is that habit we all

Doing the math on Obama's new student debt rules

2011-10-27T09:06:00.007-05:00

I came across this article in USAToday on one of the new options on student loan repayment that Obama is implementing through executive order. While students will still have more traditional options, he is replacing an option that required graduates to pay 15% of discretionary income over 25 years, with a plan that requires 10% over 20 year. In both cases, any remaining balance is forgiven.

On the militeristic language of scripture

2011-10-25T09:14:00.005-05:00

There is a good blog post by Susan Stabil over on her blog which sets up this blog post. I initially posted this as a response there. The issue is this: is it ok to use the militaristic language found in the Bible when we pray? Generally no. While it might be acceptable on occasion, it is right there in the Bible after all, generally speaking, citizens of the greatest military war machine

Troubling Comments at GOP Debates

2011-09-24T09:02:00.004-05:00

There have been some troubling comments by the audiences at the recent GOP debates. No matter one's vision of the greater good, these kind of attitudes detract from the humanity in all of us. On Texas Executions On September 7, when asked about the number of Texas executions, there was wide-spread applause, and excited shrieks. (video) On the UninsuredOn September 12, in response to a question

Justice like a River: Why development needs justice

2011-09-23T18:31:00.008-05:00

Moving stuff in this article, Justice like a River: Why development needs justice by Jamie McIntosh and Hiroko Sawai For those of you interested in international law or development, this is both interesting and saddening. The article lays out several different areas where a lack of justice leads to increased poverty and suffering. Fortunately it goes on to describe some of the solutions as well

"Torts", "Civ Pro", Say What?

2011-09-18T08:52:00.004-05:00

Law school naturally has its own lingo, and short hand. This semester I'm taking four classes. Torts, Civil Procedure, Contracts, and Lawyering Skills. So what exactly am I studying? Here is a brief overview. Torts - If your like me, you had to google "tort" the first time you heard it. You can read more about it here, but basically, this is about law suits among people when they break

Why Law School - The Honest Version

2011-09-15T08:53:00.004-05:00

The following appeared on this blog in a post titled On Church and Public Policy, What is the Church's Role, and is probably a more accurate reflection of why I am going to law school. "So in all honesty, part of my decision to attend law school is born out of my dissatisfaction with the ability of the church to effect real change. I'm probably a little jaded in this area, but I think

Why Law School - The Polished Version

2011-09-13T18:59:00.007-05:00

So how is law school going? Good. I have been here for a couple of weeks, and thus far it has been a positive experience. I enjoy the rigors of thinking critically about tough issues, and the fact that at St. Thomas, issues of justice and equity are usually not far off. There is a healthy sense of community here. While law schools are not always the most friendly environments, as one of the

On Rob Bell's Love Wins and Other Thoughts

2011-03-21T00:20:00.010-05:00

Recently there has been quite the brew-ha-ha over Rob Bell’s new book, Love Wins. Here, I want to share some of the Biblical passages that cause me to be cautiously open to Bell’s take on these things. Open in the sense of being willing to converse. What we preach is clear, Christ crucified. (1 Corinthians 1:23) But when we do theology, we are venturing into a speculative human enterprise.

On Jesus and Political Advocacy

2011-02-19T12:54:00.016-06:00

Many of you know my basic approach is to say hey, we need to advocate for the values of Jesus when it comes to public policy. (however imperfectly) But as I'm reading in a book by Eugine Peterson titled The Jesus Way, it is not enough to believe in the theology or the values of Jesus. We need to behave like Jesus, we need to follow the way of Jesus. We have to do the right thing, the right

On Church and Public Policy : What is the Churches Role?

2011-01-25T04:42:00.009-06:00

So in all honesty, part of my decision to attend law school is born out of my dissatisfaction with the ability of the church to effect real change. I'm probably a little jaded in this area, but I think statistics concerning behavior of church attenders and non-church attenders would back me up. That said, in-spite of everything, I believe in the church. I love the church, and despite my

How my continuing engagement with Scripture changed my views on public policy

2010-11-03T02:07:00.006-05:00

In the 2000 presidential election, I voted in my first presidential election, and as a newly minted member of the U.S. Air Force, was very happy to see President Bush elected. And in the time before facebook and blogs, I e-mailed news articles to friends, often with my commentary, almost always with a conservative slant. So when I say that I have shifted to the left, that should be considered

Sex Offenders in the Pew

2010-09-17T17:03:00.010-05:00

Just read a great article at Christianity Today about churches and sex offenders, but it is 7 pages long so I have put some of the key excerpts up here. As N.T. Wright says, every society has one unforgivable sin, and as the article pointed out, many would argue that in our culture, that sin is the sexual abuse of children. Fortunately, Jesus accepts all of us as we are, unconditionally. But

Why Christians Should Support a Mosque near Ground Zero

2010-08-18T16:27:00.007-05:00

More than once I have heard stories of churches who were denied the opportunity to build a worship center where they deemed fit. Sometimes there was a hidden agendas, sometimes there were legitimate zoning issues. Regardless, they felt that their freedoms, their religious freedom no less, was being restricted. Having watched this 'ground zero' mosque debate for a while, I think this opinion

Christians of Every Stripe Calling for Immigration Reform

2010-08-16T11:57:00.008-05:00

You may be surprised to find out that churches of nearly every denomination and tradition are speaking out with one voice on immigration. Together they are calling on the Federal Government to reform our present immigration laws. Consistently, they are calling for three things. That immigrants be treated fairly, humanly, with dignity and respect. That the rule of law be respected, and

My Spirituality in Lyrics

2010-06-29T21:07:00.008-05:00

Following are two songs that I find deeply moving and pretty well sum up my spirituality. The first, The House That Moves Me, speaks to my upbringing, and the important people in my life who have given me a foundation, and a relationship with Christ. The latter, Welcome to the Future, speaks to my hope and prayers for the future, the need to be ever grappling with how we will shape it, and how

How Would You Do Immegration Reform?

2010-04-30T15:28:00.005-05:00

Sojourners has a petition going here. This is what it says: As a Christian, I believe my faith calls me to view all people, regardless of citizenship status, as made in the "image of God" and deserving of respect; to show compassion for the stranger and love and mercy for my neighbor; and to balance the rule of law with the call to oppose unjust laws and systems when they violate human

What Comes First, In Health Care, and Everything Else

2010-03-29T08:21:00.005-05:00

Been talking some with a good friend of mine, David Baxley, about the whole health care debate. He and I see things differently, but what I like about David is that he tries to put his theology first, and then his politics. He tries to understand his God and then allow that relationship to shape his relationships with everything, and everyone else, including his politics. I wonder, do you and

A Modern Day Psalm

2010-03-12T09:13:00.008-06:00

In the Scriptures we see the one who is Other, the God who comes close to us in the person of Jesus Christ, longing to know us in a personal way, when he says, "O Jerusalem... how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." And ironically, we who are human have some similar longings. We see King David seemingly

Seven Key Health Care Questions

2009-08-14T23:50:00.004-05:00

Great article here. Wheelan, an economist, asks (and answers) seven key questions. (Side Note: I think economists should run the world.) 1. How did we get the health care system we have? 2. If we had a Canadian-style system (or British or French), would you give it up for what you have now? (And might I parenthetically add, what would the "least among us" do?) 3. What are your preferred

My take on potential global warming.

2009-08-07T11:11:00.005-05:00

I'm not a scientist. Neither are most of you. So what to do about all the scientific claims on global warming. Here is what not to do. Don't think that this issue is in any way actually related to any other issue that has become partisan. I truly don't understand why virtually everyone that thinks abortion is wrong, also thinks global warming is false. Or why so many who think global

My Take on Recent Mega Church Research

2009-06-23T12:06:00.006-05:00

Pretty interesting article New Research Offers Portrait of Megachurch Attendees Here's the highlightsNearly two-thirds of megachurch attenders are under 45 years old, as compared to only one-third for all Protestant churches (62% vs. 35%). Nearly a third of megachurch attenders are single, unmarried persons. In a typical church, singles account for just 10% of the congregation. Megachurch

A Bible Thumping Agnostic

2009-06-03T15:58:00.009-05:00

There is a pretty interesting book coming out, and the title says it all.Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous, and Inspiring Things I Learned When I Read Every Single Word of the BibleWritten by David Plotz, a writer for Slate, an online news magazine, it is a compilation of his multi-year blog journey through the Bible.In his blog entry on the book he says this: Maybe it

Economic Stress Index

2009-05-19T16:59:00.002-05:00

Check out this map of the US showing stress by county.

A Fundraising Appeal

2009-05-12T09:45:00.004-05:00

Many of you know Joey and I are part of Oasis, a new church plant in Waverly, just outside of Lincoln Nebraska. What you may not know is why this means so much to us.Every week I meet someone who’s perspective on life, Christ, or His Church, has been stunted by bad experiences; some horrible, some not, but all of them leaving the person with a bad taste in her mouth. When I look at the world

I must say, I do love everything about blogging

2009-04-13T21:39:00.003-05:00

Just clicked through each of the blogs in my "bloggs of interest" list. Great stuff happening around the world. I will have to clean some of them up as a few of them are dead links, but it's interesting to check in on people I've been following for several years now. I don't write here as often as I should, but I must say, I do love everything about blogging.In other news, we just completed an

Favorite ChaCha Questions

2009-03-30T23:31:00.004-05:00

Below is a sampling of the questions I answered with ChaCha today. The questions are spelled as I received them. The answers are limited to a max of 130 characters, including spaces.Q: Who was the mexican govneor that ran for prerident? (P.L.U.)A: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson ran for the Democratic presidential nomination.Q: Who is in the ncaam final fourA: Michigan State, Connecticut, North

Do you ChaCha?

2009-03-29T19:58:00.009-05:00

On NPR I heard about this company, ChaCha to whom you can text or call-in a question and quickly get a response. What makes them different is that they employ real people to give you solid answers to your specific question. There are similar apps for google and other search engines, but all you get is internet based search results, in which it can be hard to find what your looking for.Now the

Families: The church on a bell curve

2009-03-26T23:39:00.001-05:00

The stratification of what we call “family” looks a little like a bell curve. On one end are any number of single people, who often become married, (curve increases) and create families of their own. These families grow, and eventually the goslings leave the nest. We begin to see the curve retract, often concluding quite sadly, with the passing of one lover before the other, returning the

Beleving : A Short History

2009-03-23T11:19:00.004-05:00

One of my friends, Mike, sent me this link: Biggest Intellectual Fights of All Time with the following question.David, I had a conversation with the guy who sent me it. I asked if he agreed with me that the Socrates part was slightly mistaken. I explained that the Sophists believed truth was not absolute but established by persuasion or argument (or truth is constructed by

At $347,000 Per Baptism Maybe It's Time To Rethink Church

2009-03-17T13:39:00.010-05:00

In at piece at Inside Work - Business Spiritually Engaged (an organization I just discovered which I think I really like) Bernard Moon writes an article analysing how much money is given to churches and Christian non-profits world-wide in relationships to the baptisms produced globally. A number of estimates put the number in the $300,000/baptism range.Here is how he got this number.The

In the Worst Way

2009-03-12T09:01:00.003-05:00

Integrating our faith with the culture that we are is paramount, but it has to be done appropriately. It's hard to define when that is being done well, vis-a-vis poorly, but you know it when you see it. This article How Soccer is Ruining America, is a mixing of faith and culture in the worst way. Take heed.

Evangelicals should stand with those who suffer in Israel and Gaza

2009-01-13T10:32:00.005-06:00

A Christianity Today blog post on the current bloodshed in Gaza says this: In counting their losses, Christians, Muslims, Jews discover common ground in grief. The article goes on to suggest that placing blame helps to perpetuate the violence.I disagree.The disproportionate nature of Israel's response to Hamas must be condemned by the Evangelical Christian community because it is unequivocally

Don't Imitate - Lead

2008-12-18T09:22:00.004-06:00

Recently, some "Christian" reality shows have hit the airways on various cable TV channels. While the message is positive, and at first glance relevant and integrated to the culture around them, ("punk" Christian skaters sharing Christ by all means necessary, or an inside look at a Christian rock festival) a closer look revels nothing more than a cheep knock-off of a lousy medium, not so reality

I love audio book downloads from my library

2008-12-10T08:45:00.011-06:00

So I recently discovered that I can download audio books from my local library's web site, and guess what, I like it a lot!For quite a while now, whenever I go on a trip I try and bring an audio book or two. This last time, I decided to look into whether there were downloads available and if they could be transferred to my mp3 player. They were, and I did.I like to learn, I don't like to

God's Politics by Jim Wallis

2008-11-30T08:47:00.005-06:00

I have collated what I believe are some key thoughts from the first few chapter of Jim Wallis' book God's Politics Why the Right gets it wrong and the Left doesn't get it.I write this post now, because it is not before, but after an election that the real work of governing begins.I haven't even read half the book, so I'll reserve judgment. However, thus far he is saying that the progressive

Calling and Convictions

2008-11-14T10:32:00.004-06:00

I'm in this on-line church planting class called Missio which approaches things from a "missional" perspective. (yes that over-used word again, I know)Here are my answers to a recent assignment.1) What is your best understanding to date of what you sense God is asking you to 'be' and 'do?'I feel called to create communities that worship Christ, love each other, and make the world a better place

Lack of funding denies the accused proper defense

2008-11-09T08:30:00.004-06:00

Exodus 23:6 - Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.Check out this article in the New York Times: Citing work load, public defenders are refusing new casesMy title reflects what i think is a more appropriate title for this story.Here is what is happening. Work loads for public defenders are going up, and budgets are going down, and experienced public defenders are quiting due

Decesions Decesions

2008-11-03T08:01:00.009-06:00

Who to vote for tomorrow is the decision in front of many of us. And for the Christ follower, I don't think it's an easy one. Two candidates and two parties each seek my vote, each representing Christ in some ways, and assailing him and his creation in others. So, who to vote for?To help me make my decision, I'm looking at what some Christian organizations have to say, specifically the

Red Sex, Blue Sex

2008-10-28T16:12:00.007-05:00

Different parts of the country have different attitudes about sex... and many other things for that matter. (no kidding) How those attitudes translate into actions is the rather interesting story. One highlighted by the The New Yorker in their recent story Red Sex, Blue Sex. Below are excerpts, but here is my take.As is the case with so many other things, Evangelicals generally need to shut up

New Oasis Web Site

2008-07-11T08:41:00.004-05:00

I've been working on building an Oasis web site the last couple of days. I'm sure we'll make a lot of changes in the future. This us basically just to give us some kind of internet presence. Originally I was thinking of doing something fancy with flash and stuff, but after looking at a number of sites, I'm thinking a simple google style, is better. Also, what exactly should be on a church home

Oasis Logo

2008-07-09T20:04:00.005-05:00

Here is the finished product for the Oasis logo.Matt Luecht responded to my add on CreativeMYK, and volunteered to do this for free. We really appreciate what he did.Want to see the evolution of our creative brain trust? Click here.

Missional Defination in Art and Scripture

2008-06-23T08:17:00.025-05:00

Philippians 2:6-7Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.Matthew 28:18Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go...John 20:21As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.Mark 2:

Oasis (3) - Missional?

2008-06-17T16:34:00.003-05:00

So this Sunday will be our first preview service for Oasis, our new church plant. Things are kind of crazy right now, but I need a break, so I thought I would share some of the mental gymnastics I am going through with being missional in a semi-rural/semi-suburban context, in Nebraska.It’s my impression that a certain number of people in this area want the attractional thing. Want church to be

Oasis (2)

2008-06-13T12:03:00.001-05:00

Here is part of an article I published in our monthly newsletter, explaining why we are planting a new church.The reason for the larger question of why start a new church at all comes from scripture. Jesus commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to be reaching out to new people in different places, inviting them to draw close to Christ. (Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 10:27-28) We believe

Missional - Overused and Missunderstood?

2008-06-12T23:36:00.004-05:00

Rick over at Blind Beggar believes that the word missional is getting overused. So he is calling for a SynchroBlog about the defination of missional on June 23. You can see who else is talking about this here. I'll definitely be participating.In the mean time, here is my defination in three words: Jesus - Community - Go.

Oasis (1)

2008-06-10T08:39:00.003-05:00

So I've mentioned a couple of times that I'm helping to plant a church in Waverly Nebraska, a suburb of Lincoln. This new church plant will be called Oasis Community Church, or just "Oasis", which is what we hope to be.Keep in mind, one's stay at an oasis is always temporary, it is a place to rest for those on a journey. Lord willing, so it will be with our Oasis. As we participate in the

Free Graphic Design

2008-05-29T14:35:00.004-05:00

So I'm working on creating a graphic, and/or having someone else do it. Seeing what's out there, getting ideas.Not surprisingly I have come across some pretty good sites. A lot of them are making things available for free. How do they do that? Several ways. One is for the artists to raise support, so the artists are creative design "missionaries". Another is for the web site to be a common

Juno

2008-05-27T22:49:00.005-05:00

Just watched Juno. It's really good if your ok with a certain amount of profanity and coarse joking. (it fits the character) It is so stinking real. I don't mean the pregnancy, I won't presume to be an expert on that, although the baby was shown as rather bloody right after being delivered. I mean the circumstances, the feelings, and all the rest. Specifically the challenge of dealing with a

Budget Hero

2008-05-25T23:41:00.005-05:00

I just got done playing this federal budget game. It's preety cool, check it out. Your Web browser software doesn't support frames, but you can visit The Budget Hero at http://budgethero.publicradio.org/widget/widget.php?refid=apm. You can sum up my budget priorities this way:Priority #1 - A balanced budget and a good economy (Go Republicans)Priotiry #2 - Taking care of those in need... wisely.

Update

2008-05-22T09:10:00.004-05:00

So obviously I haven't been blogging lately. I think I'm going to re-commit my life to Chr... I mean blogging, try and get on here a minimum of once a week or so.As for what's up now.I'm planting a new church (more about that in the future)Presently I'm on vacation (maybe that's why I have time to be on this blog)I just signed up for a cool on-line church planting class. You can learn more

How long O' Lord?

2008-03-06T21:44:00.002-06:00

If the Sun is capable of burning for another 6 billion years, what are the implications?

White Like Me

2008-02-28T12:23:00.003-06:00

In the last 10 or 20 years there has been a shift in the minority community from focusing on ways in which we are all similar, to the ways that we are uniquely and beautifully distinct.When I was first made aware of this, I had to ask the question, does this apply to me, a white male as well? Do I get to celebrate my whiteness or maleness? And does even asking this cause people to question my

Men and Diapers

2008-02-21T10:14:00.004-06:00

Men and Diapers, that's the title of my new blog. It will not replace this one, but will rather be more personal, focusing on my time as a stay at home father.My wife asked me why I have two separate blogs, even referencing something I have said numerous times, that life should be integrated. She is a very astute woman.However I am comfortable with this arrangement because while I do believe in

The Gospel According to Huckabee

2008-02-12T09:11:00.001-06:00

Huckabee wins the award for showing Evangelicals what not to do in public discourse, loading up his speeches with references to Biblical stories. I can understand public policy that is Biblicaly based, but it's just bad communication to be constantly referencing Biblical stories that people are not familiar with. Want to know just how not familiar people are with Biblical language? Check out

Obama's Relationship with Christ

2008-02-09T13:00:00.000-06:00

So we have this little Democratic caucus here in Nebraska today. I haven't been able to make up my mind whether I should participate or not, because there is a good chance I would vote for McCain rather than Obama, (and definitely if it's Clinton, though I have critiqued that approach here.) So I decided to do a little research, and came upon this little speech which apparently was pretty ground

What's Wrong Wtih McCain - Not Much

2008-02-06T15:19:00.000-06:00

Here is a good article written by a centrist-minded Christian like myself.ExcerptsIt all revolves around this desperate desire to find the new Ronald Reagan. He is the conservative icon. However as conservative Bill Bennett told me Tuesday night during one of our breaks in Super Tuesday coverage, Ronald Reagan wasn't always Ronald Reagan. His positions on taxes and gays evolve