Orthoanalytika show: 20101109 +++ Lesson: Nothing Need Divide Us Ephesians 2:14-22; St. Luke 16: 19-31 Unity: a source of peace and joyBoth readings reinforce the consistent message of the Gospel: there are no divisions in love. Pride, meanness, apathy, lust, addiction, greed, jealousy… these things pull us apart; and while they are easy and […]
Top Ten Books for Understanding Political, Cultural, & Religious Dynamics
April 8, 2009 By
Intelligence analysts should read quite broadly (not just outside their own message feeds, but also well beyond the boundaries of political science, sociology, security studies, & anthropology). Still, they also need to have a solid grounding in how things work. This list is my first attempt to suggest books that will help set the foundation […]
Soviet atheism and American secularism
December 21, 2008 By
Introduction: thinking about the radical atheism of the Soviet Communists The Soviet Communists were atheist totalitarians. They tried to create a system that would make both faith and the religious institutions that foster it seem silly and superfluous. Given the strength of Orthodoxy in the pre-revolutionary Russian Empire, they had to be very intentional about […]
On Newsweek’s Religious Case for Gay Marriage
December 9, 2008 By
I warned my parishioners that the only thing that the Fathers spent more time preaching on than money was sex. I’m sure they rather I talked about their budgets! Advocacy Journalism – and Bible Study – at their Worst The December 15th (2008) edition of Newsweek contains an article by their Religion editor Lisa Miller […]
How many cars do we need?
November 29, 2008 By
Our economy continues to “correct” itself after decades of being artificially inflated by easy credit, poor saving habits, and superfluous spending. The government is attempting to ease the effects of this correction by replacing the suddenly prudent (i.e. risk-averse) credit market with its own. In this way, it forces more money into a system in […]
The Holodomor – not just bureaucratic excess
November 24, 2008 By
A letter to the editor entitled “Stalin didn’t purposely starve Ukrainians” recently appeared in the local paper. The author attempts to dispel the “myth”, “tall tale”, and “legend” of the Ukrainian Holodomor in 1932-33. Sifting through his hyperbole, his argument relies on the following “facts”; I will briefly address each in turn: The Holodomor serves […]
On the Obligations of Christian Citizenship
October 20, 2008 By
The demands of sacrificial love and citizenship are hard to reconcile. Christ demands that we welcome strangers, turn the other cheek, and love our enemies. But the governments we elect have immigration laws, prisons, and armies that they use to turn away strangers, imprison those who assault others, and fight against those who declare war […]
More Thoughts on Immigration Policy
October 8, 2008 By
[FIRST POSTED ON AUGUST 18 2008; UPDATED ON OCTOBER 10, 2008] I am not a political activist – my activism is “in the trenches”, building up the community of Christ rather than than trying to lobby the government. But as a citizen in a democratic country who pastors the same, and as an amateur political […]
A New Direction in Pakistan’s COIN Effort
October 3, 2008 By
The weeks since my last post have been a busy time for those who follow Pakistani politics. As I wrote last time, I was waiting for the “other shoe to drop” as various groups in Pakistan reacted to our increased cross-border attacks. The shoe has dropped, but the result has been much more muted than […]
Thoughts on the Bailout
September 30, 2008 By
On the Bailout How did we get into this mess? Well, it started when Adam and Eve decided to go against God… Okay this may be taking things a bit too far back, but it really is about choosing selfishness over prudence; of choosing to create a new reality apart from the Truth. This fallen […]
