May 2008
Sacrifices of War
05/27/08 14:44 Categories: Theology
“The greatest sacrifice of war is not the sacrifice of life, great as such a sacrifice may be, but rather the sacrifice of our unwillingness to kill. That sacrifice, that is, the sacrifice of our unwillingness to kill, is why war is at once so morally compelling and morally perverse.”
- Stanley Hauerwas, “Sacrificing the Sacrifices of War”, CTR, Spring 2007, pp 77-96
- Stanley Hauerwas, “Sacrificing the Sacrifices of War”, CTR, Spring 2007, pp 77-96
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Tithing
I had a realization today. There is much discussion about economics and economic policy, particularly as elections are coming up. Often times as Christians we try to connect what we see as Scripture to how we do life, and sometimes (for good and evil) we try to literally follow the prescriptions of Scripture. Late last year, when Huckabee was still a viable candidate his tax policy was considered by some - the flat tax where income is not taxed but only an enormous sales tax is levied on all products. The tithe of the Old Testament represents a very new and different form of taxation/public support. Not only does the theocratic form of government necessitate a different understanding of this economic interaction, but the very form of the tithe is not an income tax. Instead the tithe is a full wealth tax - the 10% is taken from everything that a family owns, not just the money (sheep, goats: livestock) earned in one year. This is has some impressive implications, namely that the distribution of wealth would be much more aggressively achieved. I do not know the reproductive rates of livestock, but there are few people who grew their entire wealth by 10% in one year. Jubilee, which is often so surprising, irritating and even odious to some, becomes far more easy to cope with when wealth is already being redistributed in such a serious manner. This definitely will require more thought later!
Seeking Truth
05/15/08 08:09 Categories: Theology | Philosophy
Maybe life is not so much about figuring out what is truth. Maybe it is more about figuring about what is false. There is little truth that is in any sense ‘provable’ in any ultimate or definite sense. Berkeley’s solipsism is difficult to refute, though I have never met anyone who actually believes in it. Even pragmatism does not function well as a decisive rubric for analyzing truth claims - there are a great many truths that are deeply impractical. The first that comes to mind is to love others as yourself, which truly leads to a better way of living life. At first, it is apparent that the most pragmatic way of doing life is to only look out for oneself, but the resulting life is disastrous (eventually). Nietzche’s Ubermensch would be another example - Hitler is not exactly the sort of person that few would morally tolerate, but according to Nietzche’s ethic, he is a perfectly moral character.
On Reason and God Speak
05/02/08 13:14 Categories: Theology
It is most interesting that the God of Scripture is so clearly unable to be discerned by any human endeavor. He can only be known by his coming and revealing Himself to us. There is no possible way that we can reason to Him.
Furthermore, even when we do get to meet Him, there is no implication that we ‘get’ him - that we can understand Him. If we doubt this and think that we have some fullness in our knowledge of God, we need only be reminded of the Trinity - one of the many aspects of God that has been revealed to us and to which we were not able to reason.
This should give us much humility in how we approach all theological knowledge. In particular, it should lend great modesty to the Academy where the intelligentsia particularly try to fathom the mysteries of God by way of intellectual pursuit and reason’s analysis of the experienced presence of God in Scripture.
However, there is still necessity and great value in the Academy, particularly when it pursues its purpose with humility and as a product for the enrichment and help of the Kingdom of God. Scripture is confusing, and Jesus in particular legitimates human reason both by his learning at the Temple and his own faith in his followers to continue to teach what they had learned from him.
Furthermore, even when we do get to meet Him, there is no implication that we ‘get’ him - that we can understand Him. If we doubt this and think that we have some fullness in our knowledge of God, we need only be reminded of the Trinity - one of the many aspects of God that has been revealed to us and to which we were not able to reason.
This should give us much humility in how we approach all theological knowledge. In particular, it should lend great modesty to the Academy where the intelligentsia particularly try to fathom the mysteries of God by way of intellectual pursuit and reason’s analysis of the experienced presence of God in Scripture.
However, there is still necessity and great value in the Academy, particularly when it pursues its purpose with humility and as a product for the enrichment and help of the Kingdom of God. Scripture is confusing, and Jesus in particular legitimates human reason both by his learning at the Temple and his own faith in his followers to continue to teach what they had learned from him.