The DEI stuff blows my mind. I have been out of the workplace as a professional for 25 years. It is hard to fathom how crazy it has become. Hopefully with the new administration we can get on a better path. I identify so strongly with this writers experience in his church community. I am retired clergy and often attempt to engage peers i…
The DEI stuff blows my mind. I have been out of the workplace as a professional for 25 years. It is hard to fathom how crazy it has become. Hopefully with the new administration we can get on a better path. I identify so strongly with this writers experience in his church community. I am retired clergy and often attempt to engage peers in person and online. You would not believe how resistant these professional people are to thinking biblically about their political responsibility as leaders of their congregations. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his old seminary professor from Union Theological Seminary,Reinhold Niebuhr have left us an intellectual framework for when the church is required to get out of its normal lane in order to confront evil. The church in western civilization is making the same mistake the church in Germany made in the face of Hitler. It mostly folded right into the evil. Theology actually has a lot to say about natural rights, what it means to be a human being, morality in general, the nature of maleness and femaleness and many other aspects of our current crisis. I deeply appreciated the presence of the Father at the Brownstone conference but still felt the absence of at least one top flight theologian was a glaring black hole. This was a beautiful and well written essay, thank you for sharing it.
I certainly believe how resistant our local Lutheran Pastor is to thinking of having anything to do or say outside of his church box, for sure. He has suggested the congregation read a book: the Myth of a Christian Nation, Dr Greg Boyd. Wondering if you have read it and your take on it, if so? Available on Amazon, Kindle, $2.
I have read it and have some major . . . issues with the philosophy.
Interesting. Niebuhr was a pacifist but decided violence was warranted. Perhaps to operate in the world as it exist we should take elements of both. At any rate the church is failing to take its rightful place in the current battle against evil. I am not very familiar with Niemoeller so I appreciate you mentioning him.
Thank you. Really interesting stuff. The role of the church is to proclaimed the gospel, not involve itself in politics. Bonhoeffer made it clear that the church should stay in its own lane, except when the state strayed too far out of its lane. The intellectual framework left by Bonhoeffer on how to understand this is very important in my judgement. Because stepping out of our lane is an unusual event and outside our primary role I think it is difficult for church leaders to grasp. Especially when the enemy is so difficult to identify as is our situation today.
Tony, you may have pin-pointed the reason our local pastor has pushed Boyd's book. He is not capable of envisioning the darkness in the world outside of his church people. He likely sees only MSM media and not Fox News, Joe Rogan podcasts, substack. He is brainwashed quite effectively by the psyops Dr. Malone writes of in his new book. He has never read Eric Metaxas' book on Bonhoeffer, as likely, you and I have!
The DEI stuff blows my mind. I have been out of the workplace as a professional for 25 years. It is hard to fathom how crazy it has become. Hopefully with the new administration we can get on a better path. I identify so strongly with this writers experience in his church community. I am retired clergy and often attempt to engage peers in person and online. You would not believe how resistant these professional people are to thinking biblically about their political responsibility as leaders of their congregations. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his old seminary professor from Union Theological Seminary,Reinhold Niebuhr have left us an intellectual framework for when the church is required to get out of its normal lane in order to confront evil. The church in western civilization is making the same mistake the church in Germany made in the face of Hitler. It mostly folded right into the evil. Theology actually has a lot to say about natural rights, what it means to be a human being, morality in general, the nature of maleness and femaleness and many other aspects of our current crisis. I deeply appreciated the presence of the Father at the Brownstone conference but still felt the absence of at least one top flight theologian was a glaring black hole. This was a beautiful and well written essay, thank you for sharing it.
I certainly believe how resistant our local Lutheran Pastor is to thinking of having anything to do or say outside of his church box, for sure. He has suggested the congregation read a book: the Myth of a Christian Nation, Dr Greg Boyd. Wondering if you have read it and your take on it, if so? Available on Amazon, Kindle, $2.
I have read it and have some major . . . issues with the philosophy.
I have not read the book but I appreciate you mentioning it.
OK. Long story short: go the Martin Niemoeller way not the Banhoeffer way!
Interesting. Niebuhr was a pacifist but decided violence was warranted. Perhaps to operate in the world as it exist we should take elements of both. At any rate the church is failing to take its rightful place in the current battle against evil. I am not very familiar with Niemoeller so I appreciate you mentioning him.
Martin Niemoeller:
First the came for the socialists. . .
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/martin-niemoeller-first-they-came-for-the-socialists
Thank you. Really interesting stuff. The role of the church is to proclaimed the gospel, not involve itself in politics. Bonhoeffer made it clear that the church should stay in its own lane, except when the state strayed too far out of its lane. The intellectual framework left by Bonhoeffer on how to understand this is very important in my judgement. Because stepping out of our lane is an unusual event and outside our primary role I think it is difficult for church leaders to grasp. Especially when the enemy is so difficult to identify as is our situation today.
Tony, you may have pin-pointed the reason our local pastor has pushed Boyd's book. He is not capable of envisioning the darkness in the world outside of his church people. He likely sees only MSM media and not Fox News, Joe Rogan podcasts, substack. He is brainwashed quite effectively by the psyops Dr. Malone writes of in his new book. He has never read Eric Metaxas' book on Bonhoeffer, as likely, you and I have!
Yep
Thanks for the encouragement Tony! It helps!