There are quite a number of occasions when the Scriptural narratives tell of times when Jesus got upset, irritated or angry with the people around Him.

Previously, I meditated on one of the more well known incidents, and uncovered what I think was the real issue with that particular incident: that an institution designed to draw people to God became a purveyor of injustice to those who were deemed to be further away from the commonwealth of the people of God. As it turned out it became a hindrance to those who sought to foster a relationship with God. That enraged the Savior so much that He lashed out at the people who were perpetrating the injustice.

At another occasion the Lord was incited to anger by people who became barriers to those who were seeking to come to Him. As the Scriptures put it, He was indignant. It inflamed His sense of justice. This was recorded in Mark’s gospel, chapter 10. Recently, I heard Chap Clark’s sermon on this passage. Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: angry, coming to Christ, kingdom, disciples, justice, hindrance, Chap Clark

…to decipher the message…

From John Eggleton via news.com.au

In every sphere of life, “thinking outside the box” is a virtue that is not only encouraged, and highly desirable. This is especially so in the area of business, politics and probably also in religion.

But, does “thinking outside the box”, the virtue of not allowing the constraints of culture, habit or history limit one in problem solving or decision making, also cause one to take short cuts in moral issues?

This is especially significant for people in leadership positions, for they have the power to influence people, organizations and society itself. Recently, I reflected on a problematic question in leadership and moral justification, specifically about the nature of our understanding about the responsibilities of leadership that make us think that there are reasons to excuse or at least justify their immoral actions, at least some of the time.

When one thinks about the type of people that we typically choose to be leaders, one of the more highly prized virtues we desire in those who lead is this quality of flexibility and creativity. However, does this mean that we are also seeking those who are more prone to take liberties in ethical matters?

For certainly we do not wish to have our leaders not respect moral demands upon them or their organizations, while at the same time we do not wish for our leaders to be hampered by restrictive thinking and inflexibility.

Is this a real dilemma? How do we reconcile this state of affairs?

Technorati Tags: leadership, moral justification, creativity, ethics, virtues

Finally, I have another tenant: Christian Questions - Searching for Real Answers to Real Questions, hosted by blogger, Plabo P. From his introductory post, I will let Pablo describe the purpose of the site:

As I have already alluded to, this site is for Christians. Not that I’m trying to ignore and shun those who are not. But I already have two sites which are meant for those who are not of the Christian faith (both the religious and non-religious). I have decided to make multiple blogs to better organize and better target.

The purpose of this site, then, is not to debate and argue, even though I know this will happen. The purpose of this blog is to provide an environment where Christians do not have to hide their doubts and questions in shame and hopefully even find a satisfactory answer.

He has already started out on a pretty tough issue - the discrepancy between the genealogies between the gospels of the Luke and Matthew. Go check Christian Questions out! Don’t forget to say who sent you over!

Interesting thought this. Considering the number of corporate leaders who misbehave badly and political leaders who often put themselves above the law, or at least, above the demands of morality, this might not such a crazy question after all.

By virtue of the responsibilities that some leaders hold, is it possible to justify their immoral acts on the basis of these unique demands or responsibilities of their position? Perhaps leaders with a consuming vision and who have access to resources and influence that can bring about massive transformation and change the world for the better face unique enough challenges to set them apart from ordinary people. So much so that they can be excused, and even justified, in deviating from the demands of morality.

Further, what if a leader have access to privileged information, say, that the country is in mortal danger, perhaps, from terrorists who do not play by the rules? Read the rest of this entry »

Found this interesting post on Presbyterian Minister Apostle John’s blog about the different renderings of the Last Supper through the ages, including the images of Judas which depicts either the views of the artist or probably, the prevailing culture’s perspective on Judas. Perhaps, could it also be a commentary on the wider culture’s view of God’s mercy, grace, and perhaps also on what I characterized earlier as the “theology of blame-o-logy”?

I meant to blog about this earlier, but did not have the time to do so. Not sure if people missed this article on Christianity Today, but I agree with its sentiment.

At the height of the cartoon caricature controversy, many in the media and in Blogosphere turned up their nose at the reaction of Muslim rioters and clamor for the right to freedom of the press and to free speech and expression.

This argument, however, assumes that the right to a free press requires the publication of the caricatures. It does not. It is no hard task to discuss the caricatures without showing them. It is no failure of a journalist’s duty or his commitment to universal freedom of the press to choose description over depiction. That’s a choice journalists make on a daily basis regarding porn, racist epithets, and other content offensive to ethnic and religious groups.

The article close with urging those who claim to follow Christ to lead the way in love, charity and respect. After all, Christ died for our Muslim friends too. Yes, even those who want to destroy us and “our” culture.

Technorati Tags: Christianity Today, cartoon caricature controversy, media, Muslim, cartoons, press freedom

I wrote about this last week, and today it happened again. This morning, I had to rush out the door but my wife needed me to help her on the PC. She couldn’t find an old file, and she is not very conversant with using the search functions on the PC.

I tried to help her briefly but could not stay to help, and had to rush off. As I drove off, I wished I was ale to help her, and as I thought about it, I was reminded of a good friend of ours because he used to come over and help my wife quite a bit on the PC. This is one friend we haven’t contacted for about five years and he still lives halfway around the world in Australia where we used to live. This evening, when I got back from work, my wife announced that she received an email from our old friend.

How about that? Is this just me, or do you get similar experiences as well? Do you think of someone and that person calls you or emails you?

What does that tell us about the unseen world?

Or do you think it is just all coincidences?

Christian Carnival is on at Light Along the Spiritual Path, this week it is Carnival #113. Christian Carinval is a weekly roundup of posts submitted by Christian bloggers. Typically the host of the Christian Carnival weave all the submitted posts around a theme of sorts. It is rather hard work. I know! I had done it. Once. And, I will soon be doing this again! This week, the theme is “Innovation.” Go over to the to the Carnival to find out what it is all about. My submission this week is Changing Lives.

And, in case you hadn’t noticed, last Sunday, Best of Me Symphony was released at Best of Me Symphony. If you are a blogger, you can also participate in the Best of Me Symphony by submitting posts older than sixty days old to Gary Cruse, conductor of the BOMS. Each week Cruse crafts the Symphony by juxtaposing the submitted posts with comments from a “guest host” celebrity. This week, the guest host is William Yeats. My submission was a not-so-old post, The Problem with Dogmatism.

Technorati Tags: Christian Carnival, Best of Me Symphony, BOMS, Carnivals

One of my answers to questions from commenters responding to my Questions post sparked this post at Cat’s Living with Multiple Personalities. Reading her post and her commenter’s response (at the time of this writing there were only one comment so far), sparked another series of thoughts.

If I do not wish to change anything in my life, it is because I am confident that who I am today is not just a result of all that has happened in the past, and all the choices I have made, but also how I live today in response to those choices and circumstances. Part of that has to do with living consciously with the choices I do make today, and the relationships that I have today. For me, that also means connecting with God, with loved ones and with others around me in a way that positively enriches lives all around.

That sparked further thoughts about the lives of my growing children and my role as a parent. Read the rest of this entry »

Quick! Without looking, what do you think the word crapulous mean?

Crap!?!

No, not quite, but that’s pretty close!

It is the word of the day, so go look it up now.

I just saw it and thought you might like to know!

There is a new security release from Wordpress. Apprently, it is quite urgent that you upgrade, if you are using Wordpress. I did mine in my pyjamas this morning, and although I don’t notice anything different, I feel safer!