Inappropriate Conversations

Many people are beginning to believe that Christianity and the electoral process are incompatible because the obvious examples from the religious right fall into fundamentalism and fail to be true to either religion or politics.  For guidelines as simple and Biblical as "love your enemies" and "the kingdom of God is not of this earth," you would think that the politicians who most aggressively identify themselves as Christians must have sold their souls for votes.  Worse, I wonder how much of the dubious Christianity we hear being preached from the political pulpit will actually drive voters away from both the polls and the church. Different Drummer: Gautama

While recording on National Adoption Day this year, I referred back to a question I've raised in the past: whether a woman who carries an unwanted pregnancy to term and gives the child for adoption is performing a saintly act?  "Heroic" is, perhaps, a better term. Different Drummer: Thomas of Aquino National Adoption Day

Most pro-life apologists have an issue with Judith Jarvis Thomson's position in "A Defense Of Abortion."  Of course!  They have come to opposite conclusions about one of the most divisive issues of our time.  My quarrel with a number of those apologists has nothing to do with abortion rights or the lives of unborn children.  No, my problem is with dishonesty, made worse since it comes from people who purport to stand up for "truth." Different Drummer: Os Guinness

The best argument against the existence of God that I have ever heard makes a mistake you see more often in "young earth" creationism.  It's the belief that time has a permanence, an importance, even a "reality" that we frankly should not trust.  Ironically, tracing the philosophy of religion through an argument that has led me to question this faith in time ... well, it requires a greater number of minutes than usual. Different Drummer: Norman Kretzmann

I try not to be hypocritical about hypocrisy.  My feelings are too intense, though, to let some stuff go.  The more responsibility you have, whether an elected government official or a lead cashier in a retail store, the more important it is to manage intensity properly while avoiding short-sighted double standards.  For Christians, it has a lot to do with focusing on relationships and understanding what Jesus means by "neighbor." Different Drummer: John Wesley

Almost everything wrong with masculinity today can be described by the fear of being "found out."  Sexual aggression is often a front for homophobia. Bullying is often an attempt to use a seeming boldness and bluntness to cover for the fear of weakness.  This blunt-force macho nonsense does not reveal men at their best; it reveals our very worst. Different Drummer: John Eldredge

Time to respond to feedback for the first time, and certainly not the last.  The P's and Q's are your points and questions: excellent ideas for me to consider ... hopefully with adequate answers.  Thanks! Different Drummer: Hank Hanegraaff