Thoughts on ethics, society, politics, religion, philosophy, theology, and everything in between
The U.S. Supreme Court recently overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which had established the legal freedom to have an abortion as a Constitutional right. This has moved the question of the legality of abortion back into the democratic legislative process (where it belongs), and a number of states have quickly moved to make … Read more
Jesus and the “God of the Old Testament” Marcion was a second-century heretic who believed that the god of the Old Testament and the god revealed to us in Jesus Christ were two entirely different gods. The god of the Old Testament was the creator god, a god of justice. The god revealed to us … Read more
The Psalms occupy a unique place in the canon of Scripture. Most of the writings that make up the Scriptures consist of God’s prophetic words to us, or narratives about God’s dealings with human beings in salvation history. The book of Psalms, on the other hand, is a collection of human prayers addressed to God. … Read more
The Gospel and Nonviolence “When people with power see things happen of which they disapprove, they drop bombs and send in tanks. When people without power see things of which they disapprove, they smash store windows, blow themselves up in crowded places, and fly planes into buildings. The fact that both methods have proved remarkably … Read more
Abortion is the deliberate killing of a preborn human being. From earliest times, and with remarkable consistency, the Church has condemned abortion as unjust and immoral. According to the Christian Tradition, abortion is murder. Recently, however, some modern Western Christians have departed from the consensus of the Christian Tradition on this issue and have condoned … Read more
A Right to Self-Defense? Most people in our culture would say that killing an assailant in self-defense is the most obviously justified form of violence. Obviously, we have a “right” to defend ourselves, don’t we? If an evildoer is trying to kill us, then it seems like we have no choice but to kill them … Read more
Previously on this blog, I have made the case for Christian pacifism, critiqued Christian just war theory, and responded to the most common objections to Christian pacifism. One might assume that adopting an antiwar, pacifist stance necessarily entails being opposed to the death penalty. However, this is not necessarily the case, since there are some … Read more
What is Courage? The two most powerful motivators of human action are love and fear. Love motivates us to pursue things that we find desirable, while fear motivates us to withdraw from things we consider to be dangerous in some way. There is nothing wrong with fear per se. Without the powerful emotion of fear … Read more
Previously, I have briefly made the case for Christian pacifism. I have also responded to some of the most common theological objections to Christian pacifism. Here, I will examine the logic of Christian just war theory and show why it is deeply problematic. Just War and Christian Love According to Christian just war theory, it … Read more
A year ago, I made the case for Christian pacifism. Here, I revisit this topic, responding to some of the most common theological objections made against Christian pacifism. Old Testament Violence The Objection: In the Old Testament, God not only allowed His people to use violence, but He actually commanded them to use violence on … Read more