Comey and Conservative Theological Liberalism

It is not my intention here to comment on the Comey-Trump scandal and all that goes with it. I hope to write something about these early days of Trump in the near future.

I found this article interesting because awhile ago I picked up on the Comey connection to religious education and the fact that he had been a Sunday School teacher in a United Methodist Church.

Suddenly this Niebuhr-related article tied it all together. His place in the grand order of things suddenly made sense.

Air Force One: Hollywood Lies and Regime Propaganda

Even though the movie came out some twenty years ago, I had never seen it before. It was pretty much what I expected but actually the more I brooded on it, I became angry.

Many will remember the angst of the 1990's as the US and its entertainment industry sought new enemies. The fall of the USSR had eliminated the old stand-by 'bad guy'. The Serbs just couldn't quite fulfill that role.

Asian Perspectives: South Korea's Generational Shift and the Life Ethic of China's Underground

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/05/south-korea-christians-election/525606/?utm_source=feed

This article was interesting if spiritually speaking a little disappointing. Christianity in South Korea is complex as its somewhat brief history. On the one hand it's good to see some questioning the 'conservative' political bent and the corruption inherent within the Mega-Church model and yet like so many reactions in American culture... the response can sometimes be just as bad.

Abortion and Early 20th Century American Protestantism

https://pjmedia.com/faith/2017/05/09/no-new-york-times-christianitys-opposition-to-abortion-is-anything-but-new/

Hardly wishing to defend Kristof I would nevertheless point out that this author seems to be somewhat ignorant of Conservative ethics of yesteryear. Yes, he briefly mentioned Kristof's assertion that conservatives only began to care about abortion in the 1960's and 1970's, but he doesn't interact with it. Instead he turns to Church History.

The Unrepentant Adulteress cum Vatican Ambassador

http://www.npr.org/2017/05/20/529276806/callista-gingrich-nominated-as-ambassador-to-the-vatican?

One has to chuckle at the Trump administration. Are they trying to insult the Vatican?

Rouhani and Trump

I caught a few minutes of Trump's Saudi Arabia speech this morning and I thought it unfortunate. By lambasting Iran he (consciously or not) places Rouhani in a difficult situation.

Fatima Veneration as Adiaphora: John Paul II and Evangelicals

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-saint-and-the-lady-who-saved-him

John Paul II took up the office of Pope during the waning years of the Cold War. As the Christian Right sought to expand its political and cultural influence they found common cause with the Polish Pope who seemed to stand for conservative cultural values and was an ally in the war against the Soviets and Communism.

In other words, John Paul II was a bridge between the Evangelical and Roman Catholic worlds.

DeMint and Heritage

https://caffeinatedthoughts.com/2017/05/jim-demint-heritage-foundation/

If Heritage is indeed going to be 'torn apart' by this 'coup' against PCA member Jim DeMint, then I say tear away.

Heritage has been a force for evil, virtually writing the policy of the Reagan, Bush II and now Trump administrations. This 'think-tank' and its operatives have helped to implement policies of economic exploitation and warmongering. From Latin America to Africa and Asia, it was Heritage and the people within its orbit that helped unleash a stream of violent paramilitary and terrorist actions that still reverberate across the world.

Politics over research? Research? Propaganda is more like it. Heritage has churned out an endless stream of statistical manipulations, revisionist history and outright lies. Heritage has never been one to do research with an objective aim. The bias is built in. This is the nature of think-tanks. They're not to be trusted.

The EU's Sham Concerns for Religious Freedom

http://www.euractiv.com/section/freedom-of-thought/video/freedom-of-religion-and-belief-beyond-the-eus-borders/

These sorts of initiatives cannot but make one groan. It is but another case of blind bureaucrats addressing issues far beyond their ken. The EU is actually quite hostile to religious minorities nor do its leaders grasp what religious life is. The growing hostility to homeschooling in Germany and Scandinavia are prime examples of this. You can attend worship services, though increasingly what you say in them is under scrutiny but the idea that you would live out your faith is... increasingly verboten.

Police Protection for the Church: Evangelicals, America and Guns

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/12/523603112/alabama-senate-says-church-can-start-its-own-police-force

A Church, a Church-affiliated campus, with a police force? Why the controversy?

This move by an Alabama PCA is hardly surprising and will even be praised by many. Not a few Evangelicals are confused as to why this would even be an issue. It's normal for colleges and universities to have police forces, so what's the big deal? Why are people so bothered by this?

The United Methodist Church is Apostate

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/29/karen-oliveto-gay-lesbian-methodist-bishop

I continue to encounter United Methodists who pretend their domination is still somehow 'conservative' or has the possibility of being steered back in that direction. Just because the denomination hasn't officially endorsed homosexuality (even though it really has) doesn't mean that they don't accept it. The same is true for most Evangelicals. Even though they continue to largely reject homosexual conduct in accepting homosexuality as a valid 'orientation' they have already lost the argument.

Suu Kyi: An Inspirational Let-Down

Aung San Suu Kyi inspired a generation of human rights activists through her long struggle with the ruling junta of Myanmar/Burma. Suffering years of house arrest, all but abandoning her family for the sake of the cause, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1991 and seemed in recent years to be finally vindicated. Freed from arrest she now sits in a position of political power.

Erdogan's Byzantine Tactics

http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/04/28/turkeys-kurdish-agenda/

Turkey continues to move away from the West. While still ostensibly a member of NATO it is clear the EU accession project is now dead. In many ways Ankara is moving toward the Moscow orbit, itself a great coup in terms of modern geopolitics.