Category: Culture
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Anti-Gossip
Gossip is one of those sins that is remarkably evasive and, in my experience, seldom taken seriously. Gossip is difficult to describe and easy to categorize away, making it easier and easier for Christians to fall into the habit of gossip. For instance, most would agree that you are not gossiping when you discuss the…
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Chaplaincy: Prophets
Before moving on to an examination of the early history of the chaplaincy, I want to make one more observation. Mr. Daniel Sutkowski and I recently held a conversation comparing the prophets of the Bible with the chaplains we see on television who, say, give a prayer before a national ceremony. As with the Levites…
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Taking Up the Sword – On War and Revolution
Honestly, I didn’t plan for this to coincide with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This has been in the back of my mind for years; I’m quite surprised that I didn’t write about this sooner. The final impetus was derived from a Bible study a couple weeks ago, the week before the invasion. We were…
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躺平 and China’s Recent Video Game Restrictions
Chinese culture generally discourages standing out from the crowd and attracting attention. If you can “pass the days” (过日子) with your head down, swallow the pain, and survive, you have a better fate than a martyr. Although China’s long history has suffered rebellions, modern-day China sees few protests considering the grievances the authorities place upon…
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The Role of a President
The modern political world often idealizes leaders who “get things done” — in other words, are able to enact an agenda effectively. I see a lot of merit in the arguments for a more powerful executive, though to be fair I have not personally acquainted myself with the arguments against the strong executive. While I…
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Why Abortion Must Be Dismantled Culturally
Abortion is the greatest injustice of our time. Over 3,000 children are aborted every single day in the United States. Pope Saint John Paul II taught that the deliberate destruction of human life is a symptom of a deeper loss of human respect. It is jarring to hear abortion called a symptom and not the…
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The Power of Forgiveness
We take many things for granted in our post-Christian world. Consistent with our human nature, we can be given the Son of God as a sacrifice for all of our faults, and get used to it. Moreover, we can gloss through many of the lessons Jesus teaches us to enact as cliche phrases with little…
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Christianity of the Third Millennium
I can see the merits of Sola Scriptura. I can see why so many people choose to adopt that ideology. Just as Jesus seemingly condensed the law into two rules, so a summary compilation of the tenets of the faith, the Bible, condenses the work of millennia. It’s easier to read, and, in theory, it’s…
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The Point of Denominations
In my region of the world, it’s a taboo for a church to have a denomination. Churches that have one are said to be divisive and misleading. I disagree. Christianity is the only ideology that can span all times, cultures, and situations, but show me a single organization that could manage that much territory. No…
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Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin
Growing up I often heard the phrase “love the sinner, hate the sin” used as a way to approach the complexity of living in a world where we are called to love a broken and sinful people. This phrase actually comes from St Augustine in his Letter 211 where he writes, “Cum dilectione hominum et…
