Monthly Archives: October 2012

Electing Faithfulness Part 8: The War on Some Drugs

Posted by Caleb Coy on

[back to part 7: Healthcare]

“The War on Some Drugs”
or
“The War on Poor People Who Have Drugs”
or
“The War on Drugs Pharmaceutical Companies Aren’t Cashing In On”
or
“The War on Black People” (ok, that one’s harsh)

Take a brief look at what’s happening in America today:
Fully Armed Swat team shoots at ex-marine 71 Times in Marijuana raid—No Marijuana found
Marijuana raid kills father to be
And several other tragic drug war fatalities

In the simplest of terms, any substance that affects the body in a way that can impair a person is a drug, whether it be for medicine, recreation, or any other purpose.  Thus, the term “drug” is a neutral term.  However, we often hear about a so-called “war on drugs,” which is actually, if we apply it honestly, a war on particular drugs and for particular reasons, benefitting only particular people.

Continue reading →

Electing Faithfulness Part 7: Consult Your Doctor—The Health Care Issue

Posted by Caleb Coy on

[back to part 6: Abortion]

“Consult Your Doctor”
or
“Big Bandaids and What To Do with Them”
or
“Man, do we have to talk about healthcare again?”

When the new Health Care bill was passed this past summer, I offered thoughts on that that you can view at the post: Big Bandaid.  Rather than revisit the entire post, I’ll recap some of the major points:

The teachings of the Christ are for us to take care of the poor and needy, and this combined with his miraculous healings stresses the importance of looking after the medical wellness of others (among the other things the miracles did, of course).  The examples of giving and caring shown by Christ and his followers in the New Testament demonstrate that the optimum way to do this is by individuals and communities actively caring for the “orphans and widows,” those society neglects.
Continue reading →

Electing Faithfulness Part 6: Civil Rights for the Unborn Class

Posted by Caleb Coy on

[back to part 5: Foreign Policy]

“Civil Rights for the Unborn Class”
or
“Understanding what Abortion means to a Nation and a Community”
or
“Being Pro-Seamless-Garment-of-Life”

Take a moment to, no matter your opinion, erase as much as you can concerning the preconceptions of people who exist on the “abortion stance spectrum”, including the terms we use.

Now I want to tell you that I believe that a sound civil government respects a woman’s right to her body.  I also believe that every person has a right to life, even those who are not yet recognized citizens.  I know that slightly more than half of children conceived in the world are women, and they have a right to live.  Because women and men are equal, I must conclude that all male children conceived in the world have a right to live.  Therefore, I believe all children have a right to live.  The government should not interfere with a woman’s body (or a man’s), but if a woman has another woman inside her, and she is trying to end that life, then the government is at a crossroads, having to make a decision between not interfering with one woman’s body, but also protecting the life of another.
Continue reading →

Electing Faithfulness Part 5: Swords<Ploughshares and The Golden Rule for Nations

Posted by Caleb Coy on

[back to part 4: Economy]

“Swords Into Ploughshares: The Golden Rule for Nations”
or
“Bring the Boys Back Home” (if you really want to honor them)
or
“Can Rambo turn the other cheek?”

Ron Paul has an appropriate understanding of U.S. foreign policy, U.S. defense, and involvement in the Middle-East—far more appropriate than either of the candidates.

Continue reading →

_A Faith Not Worth Fighting For_ Review: A Closure of Thoughts

Posted by Caleb Coy on


“You can kill us, but you cannot hurt us.” -Justin Martyr
“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”-Tertullian
*Matthew 5:9; 5:38-45; 26:52; Luke 6:27-28; Romans 12:14; 12:17-21; 1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Peter 3:9; and Revelation 12:11

Having finished the book A Faith Not Worth Fighting For, I have one wish, that it was instead called A Faith Worth Not Fighting For.  I think that phrase is more positive and more accurately reflects the essays within.  The Christian faith is something I will fight for in my heart and in the endeavors of my faith, not with weapons, but with the piercing sword of the spirit that gives new life.  Here the authors explain why they chose the title they did, which I think is justified.
Continue reading →

Electing Faithfulness: Part 4: All About the Benjamin$

Posted by Caleb Coy on

[back to part 3: The Constitution]

“It’s All About the Benjamins”
or
“The Lower Class Needs Care and Dignity and Sustainability”
or
“Why A Budget is A Very Moral Issue” (and why you are very wrong if you disagree)

I am convinced that Ron Paul will actively slash the US deficit and do more than any other candidate to help bring the US out of debt.  I don’t know much about the logistics of economics, but I know enough about the philosophy of it.  I will discuss the philosophy and rhetoric of money and government.

Contrary to many opinions, economic issues are and always will be moral issues.  People who call themselves “values voters” or voters who “only focus on moral issues” and then neglect economic issues are ignorant and destructive.  You shouldn’t be surprised how many problems actually come down to money.  You know it happens in marriages, you know it happens in churches, you know it happens in schools.  This is one of our government’s greatest problem right now.  Do you say that abortion is a big issue?  Did you know that women in poverty are more likely to seek abortion when pregnant?  Did you know that after a baby is born it’s still human, and still needs to eat and be taken care of?  Money is directly related to these things.  And if we don’t care about poor families, then we are not “pro family” at all.
Continue reading →

_Not Worth Fighting For_ Review: Part 13

Posted by Caleb Coy on

Chapter 12 was on the alleged violent Jesus in the temple.

Chapter 13 is about the alleged violent Jesus in John’s Revelation.  J. Nelson Kraybill asks “What About the Warrior Jesus in Revelation 19: ‘He has trampled out the vintage’?”

To start with, Kraybill reminds us that “we should read Revelation as reassurance that God has chosen to act and redeem in the midst of a messed up world.”  That’s important, considering some of the weird interpretations of the book that have come up over the ages.  Far too many people still believe that it’s something like the “Left Behind” books that themselves left wisdom and truth behind.  What John writes is in essence a revealing.  In all the troubles Christians were undergoing and about to undergo, we Jesus is revealed.  That is the purpose of the book John wrote on Patmos.
Continue reading →

Electing Faithfulness: Part 3: Respect the Charter

Posted by Caleb Coy on

[Part 2: the Ron Paul Revolution]
“Why I believe Ron Paul respects the US Constitution much more than Romney or Obama”
or
“Why it is important for each country to respect it’s original charter” (except in cases when a generation sincerely affirms that they have outgrown and risen above a certain law, for morally prescribed reasons, such as when a charter says “the king shall get to kill anyone he wants” and they later decide that is not a good power)

Ron Paul is not a Republican or a Democrat, but a professed Christian and a Constitutionalist.  He tried to run on a Republican this past go around but was rejected in favor of Romney.  He has historically run as a Libertarian on an Independent ticket.  I know a lot of people don’t like his affiliation with the unpredictable pack of angry wolves known as the Tea Party.  Keep in mind, he didn’t give birth to the Tea Party, he was just the one in the delivery room.  It was raised by men such as Glenn Beck and Alex Jones.
Continue reading →

_Not Worth Fighting For_ Review: Part 12

Posted by Caleb Coy on

The last chapter dealt with the centurion.  This chapter deals with the temple incident.

John Dear in Chapter 12 asks, “Didn’t Jesus overturn the tables and chase people out of the temple with a whip?”

Most of the paintings of this incident were done after versions of the Bible were disseminated that translated the word as “whip”.  Like paintings of a white Jesus, sometimes these old images continue through a culture, regardless of what a text says.

However, Dear makes it clear that this incident reminds us that “the nonviolent Jesus was not passive.  He did not sit under a tree and practice his breathing.”  Jesus was very confrontational, and may have seemed angry enough to hit someone or more.  It’s no wonder we may think his actions at the temple prove he wasn’t nonviolent because it was so…action-oriented.  “His nonviolence was active, provocative, public, daring and dangerous.”
Continue reading →

Electing Faithfulness: Part 2: Yep, Still Riding the Ron Paul Revolution

Posted by Caleb Coy on

[Part 1: Considering Third Roads]
“I’m Still Riding the Ron Paul Revolution”

or
“An endorsement for Congressman Paul as President by a citizen fully aware that he is not running”

(and why Caleb Coy would like for you to write in Ron Paul, though he fully respects your right to choose and wishes to clarify that he is not telling you what to do as prescribed to him by a pulpiteer or denominational edict, but offering what he has to say in a public forum)
(and yes, I know he’s not running, but that’s not the point.  If democracy works the way it says it does, someone who gets more write-ins than votes still wins.  If he does not, this only proves the system doesn’t work in the first place)

Continue reading →