Inappropriate Conversations

"It is time to put the protest back into Protestantism" (Diana Butler Bass). I don't have an advocacy position on the "Occupy" movements, but I believe there are plenty of things happening in our society and economy that are worth protesting.  It's wrong to describe those who are loudly calling for reform "un-" ... if anything, they are taking typically Christian steps and a genuinely American approach.  See the Protestant Reformation or the American Revolution for parallels. Different Drummer: James Stewart 4 Reasons video A Great Awakening

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

I can recall times in my life when I would have said that breast reduction surgery is always a bad thing.  I wish I could say that I was "just a teenager" back then, which would make the thought both prurient and obvious.  No, that point of view survived more than 10 years after high school.  In fact, it only matured in very recent years. Different Drummer: Elisabeth Shue

Time to respond to feedback, formally, for the second time.  The P's and Q's are your points and questions: excellent ideas for me to consider ... hopefully with adequate answers.  Thanks! Different Drummer: Teri Garr Do Ask Do Tell - "Religion"

Most emphasis on "the good old days" is about comparing the current state of society to a time when moral values were stronger and centered on the traditional family structure.  The problem is that those longing looks to the past are full of self-deception.  Even The Puritans, who are often held up as an extreme example, were not what society has said they were.  Premarital pregnancy, open discussions in church meetings about sexual behavior, and even second-trimester abortion were not at all out of place then.  I'll bet you didn't learn that in American History class. Different Drummer: Thomas Paine

I shared my perspective about "9/11" on September 12, 2004, before a church congregation.  I wanted to make note of three particular ideas because I could already see them fading from popular thought.  Immediately following the terrorist attacks in 2001, it was easy to infer a consensus around these notions: evil exists, people are intrinsically valuable, and truth is not relative.  Now, 7 years after that speech and 10 years after the attacks, it's clear that I was right to worry.  We don't remember what we believed about those ideas in September 2001, and we can't satisfactorily explain why. Different Drummer: Indigo Girls

Our goal as parents cannot be making the world safe for kids.  That is irresponsible because it cannot be accomplished and won't serve them well as adults.  Instead, the goal must be to keep our kids safe from the world until they have been prepared to face its challenges on their own.  For many of my conservative friends, this sounds like a dangerous and radical concept.  It's also true. Different Drummer: Jim Henson