The Arrow's Path

 

I realize I am quickly becoming a dinosaur from another era when it comes to things like manners and common decency in public places. I am by no means perfect, but I try very hard to be a gentleman in public, and in all things for that matter.  One source of irritation that seems to have become a chronic problem in America in the last 15 years, give or take, is the phenomenon of "ghosting." Perhaps it has been going on for longer, but it was not to my recollection a societal problem until about 10 to 15 years ago. Ghosting is, of course, the social phenomenon of scheduling a face to face meeting (whether in real life or via Zoom/phone) only for one person to just not bother showing up. No notice, no text, no call, no e-mail to say I am not interested in having this meeting or I'm running late or whatever. They just never show and never give a reason why and just "ghost" you. Often, you try to track them down after the fact, only to find they have completely disa...

 There has to be a country song in this one somewhere: 

 Sometimes, you just need some JRR Tolkien:

I generally try, as a personal rule, to avoid discussing politics on this blog. I have not always succeeded in this lofty endeavor, but, in general, it's my operating rule of thumb since I started this blog almost 20 years ago now. I admit I have bent this rule on occasion when the realm of politics presents a legitimate moral or ethical problem that deserves some Christian reflection. There is also a personal principle that I have always tried to live out in that I generally do not tell people how to vote. I have my own political opinions and philosophy, and I do personally disagree with some people on their view points and beliefs, but generally, I don't tell people how to vote. I try to get people to think theologically and Biblically on political issues in light of how Christ and the Church have approached politics in the first century.  That is playing with a loaded gun because the Church and politics have been intertwined to one degree or another for centuries, if not fro...

I have a friend who, like myself, was largely kicked out of the established Anglican church. While I went to Rome, he decided to go more Protestant, or at least more conservative Anglican. In the Catholic world, he would largely be labeled a "rad trad" but he has a good heart. While I don't agree with him on some things, he does understand about what it means to be a church planter, something that I think both the Catholic Church and other ecclesial bodies or denominations are not exceptionally good at as whole.  There are exceptions, of course. Religious orders and certain Protestant denominations that do church planting well do it very well indeed, but on the whole, it's a mixed bag of (some) success and (more likely) failure. Church planting is extremely hard, but in some ways might actually be easier than entering an existing church that is dying or dead because you get to start with a clean slate.  He wrote a very insightful substack article on his experience 2.5...