Second letter to politically conservative Christians

Dear politically conservative Christians, I love you dearly. I have been one of you for most of my life and, nominally at least, I remain one of you, though the “R” in my voter registration will soon be switched to an “I.” Almost all of my family identifies with you as do the bulk of […]

Do not be afraid

If there’s any single topic I am convinced I can speak with authority on, it’s fear. I’ve battled fear for as long as I can remember. It colors my childhood memories. The struggle was given a name as a teenager when it became known as panic attacks. Much of my life has been spent trying […]

What the American Church needs to hear

As I sometimes do when I feel despair and confused, I headed to St. Simons Island today. I go there to commune with God and connect with one of my long-dead spiritual mentors, John Wesley. St. Simons is, along with Savannah, the only place in America where the Wesley brothers stepped foot. John convinced his […]

The Christian’s relationship with politics

Christianity is both intensely political and apolitical. The Gospels and early Christians loudly proclaimed the very political opinion that “Jesus is Lord,” a direct contradiction and parody of the Roman slogan “Caesar is Lord.” Yet when several people tried to corner Jesus into making an overtly political statement regarding paying taxes to Caesar, Jesus demurred […]

Letter to politically conservative Christians

To politically conservative Christians in America, Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to you in the spirit of St. Paul for two reasons. First, just as Paul appealed to the Philippian church not to put confidence in the flesh by listing his own qualifications for […]

The problem with Pax Americana

[Caveat: the following criticism of American military policy is not a reflection whatsoever on the men and women who serve or have served in the military] As a lover of history, I can’t tell you how disturbing the parallels are between the U.S. and the Roman Empire. It’s uncanny. Rome was built on the strength […]

Six Years a Bureaucrat: An Inside Look at the Scandal of Idealism in the U.S. Government

As much bad press as the Department of Veterans Affairs received several months ago for delays in patient care that led to at least 40 deaths, the proposed solution stands to potentially prove even more disastrous. I recently ended a nearly six-year career with a regional section of the VA that handles the referral of […]