Always Reforming

The world is a scary and uncertain place right now.  Whether you're stuck at home or out working in the real world, it seems impossible to escape the reality of COVID-19.  Opinions abound and emotions flare as people complain, shift blame, and forecast the end of the American Dream.  For those of us who claim to be Christians, we need to evaluate how we ought to respond Biblically.  There is, perhaps, no single response that is uniquely Christian, but the way that we respond to this pandemic should demonstrate that veracity of our religious and ideological claims.  Here are four ways that Christians ought to respond to this situation. 1) Pray for our leaders.  It's really easy to complain about the job that our elected leaders are doing.  I am guilty of this myself.  It's easy to sit at home as an armchair QB and tell the world how you would handle the crisis, but, unless you're in a position of power, you really have no idea how you would handl...

For the last month or so our family has been visiting a small Anglican church near our house.  Having been raised Reformed Presbyterian, Anglicanism was not a tradition which with I was intimately familiar, nor was it a persuasion to which I was particularly attracted.  Due to circumstances mostly beyond my control, however, our family was inactively looking for a new church and found St. John's Anglican Church.  Anglicanism was not really my preference because I have traditionally been very low church, but, when I spotted the sign for St. John's, I was intrigued and began to investigate that specific church, the greater body of which they are a part, and Anglicanism as a whole.  I would like to share some of the reasons that I have been drawn to Anglicanism and how I ended up at St. John's. 1) I was sick of bickering.   Let me be clear about something.  This is not meant as a critique of Presbyterianism.  I am not trying to insult my Reformed Pre...

1) Whether or not this response is warranted, COVID-19 is definitely serious enough to kill you, regardless of your age. 2) Panic buyers are annoying. 3) The government will take any opportunity to extend it's power. 4) Most mainstream media outlets hate Trump and will spin anything to make him look bad. 5) Most mainstream media outlets will blow a story out of proportion in order to generate ratings. 6) We all need fresh air and sunshine right now, which can be problematic when you live in Ohio. 7) This pandemic is setting a dangerous precedent for future crises. 8) Insider trading by politicians in Washington D.C. is absolutely abhorrent, but they will never be held accountable. 9) I am saddened that I can't go to church for a few weeks, but I recognize that religious leaders everywhere are doing the best job they can to balance faith and discretion. 10) Most legislators are doing the best job they know how to do right now, and I don't envy the position ...

In light of recent Internet memes, let's be perfectly clear about a few things here. 1) President Trump's proposal to send checks to citizens impacted by COVID-19 is not, I repeat, is not the same thing proposed by Andrew Yang during his failed attempted to nab the Democratic nomination.  It is intellectually dishonest to conflate the two.  Trump, along with numerous other legislators, is recommending a bailout of the American people as a temporary response to a crisis.  Yang was suggesting that we should permanently provide $1000/month to an entire class of poverty-stricken Americans.  The concepts are entirely different, as would be the fiscal ramifications.  Moreover, Trump's stimulus package is an attempt to correct problems caused not only by the current pandemic, but by the restrictions put in place as a response to that pandemic.  It's an attempt to counteract the financial hardship caused by government actions--a "sorry, here's some money" sort o...

Unless you're living under a rock (which might not be such a bad thing right now), you're aware that a novel coronavirus, officially labelled COVID-19, has sent the world into a frenzy.  Major events have been cancelled, travel bans have been put implemented, and people are stocking up on toilet paper!  Beyond the obvious medical implications of a pandemic like this, people have begun to express concern over the economic impact it will have, especially as the stock market is diving precipitously.  The NBA shut down will itself cost untold millions, and it will affect not only the rich, but your average joe as well.  President Trump has urged Congress to pass legislation to support those put out of work due to COVID-19, but the government gets all of its money from taxpayers, so we're probably just delaying the economic implications.  I am not a medical expert, nor am I an economic expert, so I really don't intend to comment on either of those fields.  I...

I was contemplating economics the other day while taking a shower.  Elections naturally bring up this topic, so it's been jingling around my head, and I do some of my best thinking in the shower.  Here are some of the random thoughts that I had. 1) You will always have poor people.   You know what?  Our discussions of economics and politics will be much simpler if we come to terms with this reality.  Poor people have always existed, and poor people will always exist.  As a poor person (by first-world standards, anyway), I am okay with that.  It simply is the way that the world is. Why, you ask, must it be this way?  Well, I can give you at least three reasons.  Firstly, some poor people like being poor.  They might not like being poor per se, but they would rather remain poor than do what is necessary to lift themselves out of poverty.  Politicians can talk about equality and social justice, but it is inescapable that every soc...