Why Non-Catholics Need to Listen to Pope Francis

In 2015, Pope Francis gave a challenge to all Christians to agree to put an end to the death penalty.  Non-Catholic Christians need to join with their Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ in putting to death the death penalty. Even if a Christian thinks in theory that the Bible permits the death penalty in certain situations, the way the death penalty functions in America is both broken and unjust in how it is administered. 

Do we understand that its probably better to be guilty and rich rather than poor and innocent in how money influences our current criminal system?  Do we know that there is a bias in our criminal justice system against the poor and people of color?  Do we understand that we execute people who are mentally challenged and in some states, even when a jury trial calls for a life sentence, that it can be overturned by a judge giving the death penalty?  Do we understand that one out of eight people executed today is innocent through DNA testing and its probably higher than that when it comes to the actual numbers of innocent people being executed to death.

If Christians believe in a culture of life and not death, grace and redemption then how can we execute grace and close the door on people who the State wants to kill?  Our own Bible is written by murderers like Moses, David and Paul.  Jesus encounter with the woman caught in the act of adultery (who was certainly guilty) where the law says kill her, Jesus showed grace.  Are we not to do the same?  The crazy irony is for Christians who support the death penalty while at the same time believing that in the future, the nation-state will persecute and execute Christians, we end up supporting the very system that will supposedly kill Christians in the end.  Something to think about!

Beyond Politics: Going beyond the Captialism and Socialism Debate

We live in such a political violent and unstable time where sides are taken and people believe to be a true humanitarian or true patriot is to think the world in black and white and us and them politics.  This is not only destroying democracy but blinding people to "the will of power" over others.  From a Christian discipleship view, our country has for a long time been a country with both capitalism and socialism functioning in various ways in both political parties.  Each one has it strengths and weaknesses and it does no good for people taking sides to humanize one as truly good or virtuous while demonizing the other economic view (even worse when Christians try to baptize an economic viewpoint as "Christian" which often turns Christianity into civil religion of the State).

How much income inequality does there have to exist before people wake up to the real problem is not big government but big money behind government?  If we possessed a smaller government with the same powerful corporations and few rich people controlling Wall-Street, the Media, funding and lobbying politicians, and placing corporations profits over the struggling working class, what real difference will there actually be in the end?

The big economic news is not the slow return of jobs today but the continuing drop in pay.  More and more Americans are falling behind and falling through the cracks and debates between socialism and capitalism is not going to solve our massive economic woes.  No one went to jail for the Wall-Street meltdown and the big banks that created the problem are doing business as usual while taking greater risks not with their money but with investors money.  Do  we still believe that large corporations will lead the way in providing more jobs or will it continue to be  making the most profit and quick money?

In some ways, it seems like social Darwinism has won the economic day of the survival of the fittest and wealthiest.  If we ever want to have a serious debate in our political system, how about a discussion on the growing problems of income inequality, political power from the top that does not trickle down, global corporations and Wall Street corrupting and crippling our economy.  Until this happens, it will be politics as usual.

Come, Creator Spirit

VENI, Creator Spiritus, mentes tuorum visita, imple superna gratia quae tu creasti pectora.	COME, Holy Spirit, Creator blest, and in our souls take up Thy rest; come with Thy grace and heavenly aid to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
Qui diceris Paraclitus, altissimi donum Dei, fons vivus, ignis, caritas, et spiritalis unctio.	O comforter, to Thee we cry, O heavenly gift of God Most High, O fount of life and fire of love, and sweet anointing from above.
Tu, septiformis munere, digitus paternae dexterae, Tu rite promissum Patris, sermone ditans guttura.	Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known; Thou, finger of God's hand we own; Thou, promise of the Father, Thou Who dost the tongue with power imbue.
Accende lumen sensibus: infunde amorem cordibus: infirma nostri corporis virtute firmans perpeti.	Kindle our sense from above, and make our hearts o'erflow with love; with patience firm and virtue high the weakness of our flesh supply.
Hostem repellas longius, pacemque dones protinus: ductore sic te praevio vitemus omne noxium.	Far from us drive the foe we dread, and grant us Thy peace instead; so shall we not, with Thee for guide, turn from the path of life aside.
Per te sciamus da Patrem, noscamus atque Filium; Teque utriusque Spiritum credamus omni tempore.	Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow the Father and the Son to know; and Thee, through endless times confessed, of both the eternal Spirit blest.
Deo Patri sit gloria, et Filio, qui a mortuis surrexit, ac Paraclito, in saeculorum saecula. Amen.	Now to the Father and the Son, Who rose from death, be glory given, with Thou, O Holy Comforter, henceforth by all in earth and heaven. Amen.

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Tr. (?). The indulgence may be found in the "Enchiridion Indulgentiarium", 1999, #26.

Too Little, Too Late: Voter Fraud Investigation

A grassroots organization, Watch The Vote, is collecting complaints to show a civil grand jury the various ways voters were disenfranchised during the California primary. According to Kelly Mordecai, director of Watch the Vote, a civil grand jury provides an expedited way for citizens to have their voices heard—easier, in many ways, than filing a lawsuit. Watch The Vote’s hope isn’t to overturn the primary results, but rather to prevent tampering and ensure a uniform, fair and reliable voting process for all voters—regardless of the political party with which they’re identified.
Many independent voters mistakenly registered with the American Independent Party—a little known ultra-conservative party that could not vote in the Democratic primaries. A Los Angeles Times investigation found three out of four people registered with the party did so by mistake—totaling almost half a million voters.

Even worse, a CBS News investigation found hundreds of deceased voters in Los Angeles County were still on voter rolls and voting. This discrepancy should have been corrected by the 2002 Help America Vote Act, but California is the only state yet to comply.
“The problem is California has been the most derelict state in the country in implementing statewide databases that are required under federal law. They just blew it off for over a decade,” J. Christian Adams of the Public Interest Legal Foundation told CBS News.

Leading up to the primaries, state election officials were investigating why and how the voter data of millions of Californians was posted online by a third party, despite public disclosure laws.
Voter tampering has been frequently cited in California, with many alleging their party registration was changed without their consent. In Riverside County, district attorney Mike Hestrin confirmed voters’ party affiliations were changed without their knowledge, and the San Francisco Examiner reported 1,400 voters in San Francisco were mailed the wrong party ballots before the primaries.

Voter suppression was also perpetuated by the media. Based on information from anonymous super delegates, the Associated Press formally called the Democratic primaries for Hillary Clinton on the night before the primary began, with most other major media outlets following suit.
“This is the perfect symbolic ending to the Democratic Party primary: The nomination is consecrated by a media organization, on a day when nobody voted, based on secret discussions with anonymous establishment insiders and donors whose identities the media organization—incredibly—conceals,” wrote Glenn Greenwald for The Intercept. “The decisive edifice of super delegates is itself anti-democratic and inherently corrupt: designed to prevent actual voters from making choices that the party establishment dislikes. But for a party run by insiders and funded by corporate interests, it’s only fitting that its nomination process ends with such an ignominious, awkward, and undemocratic sputter.”

As Clinton supporters and pro-Clinton journalists noted throughout the primaries, Hillary Clinton won because more people voted for her—but the manner by which she obtained victory is a disgrace for American democracy.

In nearly every state where Clinton saw a marginal victory over Bernie Sanders, the primary voting rules overwhelmingly favored Clinton supporters. Sanders, the longest serving independent in the history of Congress, inspired millions of disenfranchised voters affiliated as independent and Democrat. Unfortunately for independent voters, the bureaucracy and obstacles in place for one to vote in the Democratic primary prevented thousands of ballots from being cast for Bernie Sanders.

Voter fraud and suppression wasn’t limited to California—well-documented cases littered the primaries, with no solution rendered to those who were barred from exercising their right to vote. In Arizona, voters waited hours in line because 85 percent of polling locations were cut to save money. In New York, over 120,000 voters were inexplicably purged from voter rolls in a closed primary state where independent voters had to switch their affiliation six months before the primaries. In Massachusetts, Bill Clinton entered a polling station, drawing crowds so large they disrupted voters’ ability to cast their ballots. Clinton exploited a loophole in electioneering laws, claiming he could go in as long as he didn’t approach voters—but with his recognition, he knew people were bound to approach him. He repeated the same stunt in Illinois, but remained outside to avoid similar controversy.

The Democratic Party planned for Hillary Clinton to be their presidential nominee long before the primaries began. Prior to the Iowa caucuses, over 400 super delegates formally supported her candidacy—more than any other candidate in the Democratic primaries since the super delegate system was first introduced. Documents released in the Guccifer 2.0 hacks of DNC servers confirm the DNC, led by Clinton’s 2008 campaign co-chair, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, strategized around Clinton being the nominee as early as May 2015.

The mainstream media is also to blame for manufacturing Clinton’s coronation. CNN accepted and published an op-ed discrediting Bernie Sanders—written by a corporate lobbyist and edited by David Brock, but published under Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s name. Daily Beast’s Olivia Nuzzi claimed she was pitched a story about Bernie Bros by the Clinton Campaign. The Bernie Bros narrative was the most prolific smear campaign of the Democratic primaries, as the mainstream media stained Sanders supporters as white male sexists. Nearly every major newspaper in the country formally endorsed Hillary Clinton, and their coverage of the Democratic primaries, from opinion columns to reporting, either blacked out Sanders or discredited his campaign.

Across the board, the DNC has failed to ensure a fair and balanced democratic process throughout the primaries. Americans are now faced with two of the most unfavorable and disliked presidential candidates in the past 10 presidential cycles, according to FiveThirtyEight. In terms of favorability, Bernie Sanders is 2016’s most popular candidate, but his penchant for activism over partisan politics ensured the Democratic Establishment would do everything in their power to prevent him from winning

Observer, July 14, 2016 by Michael Sainato

Executing Grace

In Executing Grace: How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why It’s Killing Us (HarperOne), Shane Claiborne takes a similar approach to argue for the end of capital punishment in the United States. Throughout the book, the activist and founder of the Simple Way tries to put a human face on the victims and perpetrators of the death penalty, even the executioners themselves

Early on, Claiborne engages familiar biblical texts to dispute the well-worn notion that the death penalty is God’s idea. Among his contentions: In the Bible, murderers like Cain, Moses, and David are not executed but spared. The Old Testament’s eye-for-eye standard of justice was not license for death, but a limit on retribution (Lev. 24:14–23). Further, Claiborne argues, Jesus applied a more rigorous limit on this “letter of the law” in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:38–39, 44). To Claiborne, the “sword” borne by rulers in Romans 13:4 is not the saber of a Roman executioner, but a small dagger worn on the belt. Most important, Christ’s death on behalf of fallen humanity lets mercy have the final word (James 2:13

“Ultimately, we are not talking about an issue,” he explains. “We are talking about people.”

The book cites overwhelming sociological evidence. Claiborne writes, “One of the most powerful arguments against the death penalty is the simple fact of how disproportionately it is applied to race.” A black man is more likely to be executed than a white man, a poor man than a rich man. And a black, poor man in Texas—where more than half of America’s 2015 executions took place—is more likely than anyone to be sentenced to die. Practices like judicial override (where a judge can impose a death sentence even after a jury recommends a life sentence) and sentencing criteria like “future dangerousness” add to the problem of arbitrariness.

May 20, 2016 Christianty Today article

Pray for Peace, Work for Justice

With all the political chaos going on this year, I have been preaching through the book of Ezekiel focusing on justice issues.  This has been both challenging and encouraging as I have seen the lights go on for some people while some may be wondering why is our preacher bringing up political issues at times in the church.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is a spiritual revolution to change the politics of this world to the politics of the kingdom of God.  Can we all pray for peace and work for justice?

We had a special service on fourth of July weekend and ended with a moment of silence and a prayer for peace around the world.  Then we san the song "Let there be peace" and there was a strong sense of God's presence among his people.  Various people began to pour out words of passionate change that we all need to work or justice as we pray for peace.  I realize that this is a powerful word that God is speaking to his people of 2016.  "Pray for peace, work for Justice."

Putting Hell in its Place

Zondervan published a second edition of their four views of hell book and added universalism for evangelicals to consider.  Denny Burk holds the eternal conscious torment view, John Stackhouse the terminal punishment view, Robin Perry a universalist view, and Jerry Walls a hell and purgatory view.  Robin Perry's new voice to the conversation is unique because he raises a host of issues like the Bible supports various texts on everlasting punishment, annihilation, and universal restoration.  How one deals with this diversity and the divergent imagery of hell in Scripture will tell where people end up in their conclusions.

Perry tries to do justice to the full scope of the biblical witness which means he acknowledges both hell as conscious and punishment and as purification and restorative.  He understands the destruction imagery as part of God's purging process and not just as punishment.  One could say for Perry that there are three main views, the tormenters (traditional), the terminators (annihilationists) and transformers (universalists).  Where Perry tries to harmonize the biblical witness, it seems many others either proof-text, or silence or ignore various texts.   One may disagree with Perry conclusions but he does a wonderful job showing the depth and richness of Scripture.

The only way to reconcile divine love with divine victory is universalism for Perry.  One wonders if this has to be a dogmatic conclusion or deductive logic from scripture or maybe simply a blessed hope for the future since Perry freely acknowledges that Scripture does not directly teach full blown universalism.  "So if universalism is not true, it seems to me that the pressure is on to surrender either the claim that God is love or the claim that God completely wins" (p.90, Four Views on Hell).

I praise the Lord when I rise up and when I sit down. Priase the Lord!

I praise the Lord for God's mighty works over the long term.  For answering prayers in the next generation to a God whom a day is like a thousand years since Christ's crucifixion, we are entering into the third day.

I praise The Lord God Almighty for the glorious patterns of the universe.  God has carefully and wonderfully made the earth and sun and stars and created them with abundant beauty.  God has created every kind of flower and animal imaginable as I sing songs of God's abundant diversity.

I praise God how he holds he hold world in his hands and upholds everything.  Everything would fall apart and tear apart if it was not for God's sustaining presence.  The laws of evolution and physics are part of the grand design as God in Christ holds all things together.

I praise God for he vastness of his love and forgiveness.  Glimpses into creation reveal the loving hands and arms of God's unconditional love which creates abundant life for all those who trust and place their lives in God's hands.