Tag Archives: america

Electing Faithfulness: Concluding Thoughts

Posted by Caleb Coy on

“Concluding Thoughts on Electing Faithfulness”
or
“Why should a foreigner like me care about this country?”
or
“I promise I’ll completely tone down the political postings for the next four years, but I ask that you to pay attention to this”

I am very much indebted the sermon I heard this Sunday by Frank Sullivan.  It reminded me that Christ is our hope and that it’s foolish to place our “trust in princes” whose plans come to an end and who’s power is but dust to God.
Sermon on Christ as our Hope
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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.
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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.
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_Not Worth Fighting For_ Review: Part 7

Posted by Caleb Coy on

I remember one time we were with some friends watching How to Train Your Dragon with some friends who had children.  I said, “I wonder if there’s some critics who say this film is bad because it’s telling us to love terrorists or something.”  The guy said, “yeah, can you believe people actually believe that?”  I think he meant the loving terrorists thing.  Of course the whole point was that the dragons weren’t the real enemy, but the monster they were serving.  So is there a kind of person we are not called to love?

While the previous chapter focused on soldiery, in chapter 7 Greg Boyd asks, “Does God Expect Nations to Turn the Other Cheek?”  We actually may be surprised by his answer.  I had previously read Boyd’s book The Myth of a Christian Nation, a terrific read that asks us to reconsider the naive notion that America is “Christian” in any tangible sense, by looking at scripture.

He reminds us that Jesus’ instructions are unconditional, and that God has even the worst, most violent of our enemies in mind, not just meanies down the block, in Matt.5:38-48; Luke6:27-36; Rom.12:14-21; 1 Peter 3:9,14-18.  Imagine, he says, that Al Qaeda ruled America, and you will know the animosity the Jews felt toward Rome.  But since what Jesus did for isn’t just what he did, but reflects what he wants us to do (be willing to die innocently loving our enemies and not harming them), Christians don’t have the right to choose who they will and won’t love, will and won’t show loving action toward.
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_Not Worth Fighting For_ Review: Part 6

Posted by Caleb Coy on

“They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.” -Revelation 12:11

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” -John 8:36

Happy International Peace Day, everyone.  A day we should all celebrate.  In part 5 of the review we looked at the difficult question of how to be or work with policing in a peace community.

Chapter 6 is a message easier for me to accept up front, and is a conclusion I have already drawn.  Justin Bronson Barringer asks, “What About Those Men and Women Who Gave Up their Lives so You and I Could Be Free?”  A question which he feels “seems an attempt to shame the one to whom it is directed as one who dishonors soldiers.”  As if to say that the people who don’t love soldiers are the ones who want them to come home, not the ones who want to send them out to shoot and get shot on the sender’s behalf.

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The 10 Suggestions: A Public School Solution

Posted by Caleb Coy on

It’s been a whole summer since the decision in Giles Co. VA to remove the ten commandments from a public display and replace them with an alternative.  This week many students will be going back to school, and some might even notice this new display when they pass by it.  Maybe.

I didn’t go up on a mountain, didn’t have a personal conversation with God, and my face is not glowing.  But I have read his book, his good book, and I can’t give you any new commandments.  Not that I need to.
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