Pondering Pastor

In the “everything-that-happens-is-because-God-caused-it-to-happen” theology (that has advocates like Westboro Baptist Church) it seems that God wants to run Eight Belles in a heavenly race.  This, from the Baltimore Sun:

Yesterday morning, the filly’s trainer, Larry Jones, his eyes puffy and swollen from a near sleepless night, stood outside his barn still disbelieving.  “I keep looking, and she ain’t in there,” he said. “She ain’t coming back. As to why, we’d like to think God wanted her in his stable. He gave us signs all along the way that we were in the race we were supposed to be in. He [God] put her in that race and let her run a great race, and then he took her. “I know God doesn’t make mistakes. There’s a reason for this. I just don’t know what it is yet.”

This is the kind of theology that results in diabetic children dying because their parents rely on prayer rather than the God-given talents of physicians, pharmachologists, scientists, and others.

This is the kind of theology that ignores that there are consequences to human decisions.  (Did the jockey pull Eight Belles up short too quick?)  Did Eight Belles have an unknown previous injury?  Should we even be racing horses at all?

This is the kind of theology that is as fatalistic as believing that God has abandoned the world.

This is the kind of theology that ignores significant portions of Scripture.

Pondering Pastor

Mention either Britney Spears or Westboro Baptist Church and you’ve got my attention. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but when news about either appears, I often will follow the links to find out more. And I’m not a celebrity watcher! I vehemently disagree with WBC! It is interesting to think about what they have in common.

I’m fascinated at how Britney’s life spirals out of control, and there seems to be no one who can call her to be accountable in a healthy way.

I’m fascinated at how Westboro Baptist Church spirals out of control, and there seems to be no one who can call them to be accountable in a healthy way.

It’s hard for me to imagine. I have many people around me who are willing to risk a great deal in order to hold me accountable. I trust them. When they speak, I listen. It’s not easy. As independent as I like to believe that I am, I know that I am accountable to any number of people … and to God. That doesn’t seem to be true for Britney or WBC (despite the fact that WBC says they are accountable to God).

Maybe it is because my religious tradition takes seriously the nature of sin. Maybe it is because I recognize my brokenness and regularly am engaged in confession. Maybe it is a whole host of other things.

But I look at Britney and WBC and I’m sad. I look at the impact of what they say and do, and wonder how anyone might be able to mitigate the destruction they leave in their wake.

Pondering.

Pondering Pastor

On February 5th each year, I stop and remember the martyrs of Japan. In 1597, 26 Christians (6 European Franciscan missionaries, a Japanese Jesuit priest, a Korean layman, 15 Japanese laypersons, and 3 young boys) were killed by crucifixion at Nagasaki. The Nippon Sei Ko Kai (the Holy Catholic Church of Japan) adopted this commemoration in its calendar in 1959 as a festival of all those who have given their lives for the Christian faith in Japan.

I became aware of this story more than a decade ago after reading “Silence” by Shusaku Endo and William Johnson.

It is a powerful story … one I’d recommend.

Pondering Pastor