Messages

1

Your Turn / Re: Political/cultural/religious division

« on: January 11, 2022, 06:33:14 PM »

Charles,

Thank you for your candid reply. I do understand your inclination but with well over 35+ years of ministry under my belt (not as many as you granted), I would suggest that Luther's Bondage of the Will would be worth re-reading, as well as more modern insights of Family systems and what I refer to as "theological psychology" as over against the "we're basically good people" myth that is constantly promulgated. Again, it is the sola's that transform lives and even then, who truly knows? Thus, at the last is the cry not "Lord, have mercy!"

Tim Christ

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Your Turn / Re: Political/cultural/religious division

« on: January 11, 2022, 04:21:03 PM »

Charles,

I know that this is a couple of pages back, but you wrote: "an essential good in humanity," As a Lutheran Pastor, do you truly believe that? It would explain you for years...and would explain your view of the world. If Genesis 3 is truly descriptive of the human condition, such a view is naive at best, and heretical at worst. People are NOT essentially "good". They are captive to being their own god, more often than not without their knowledge or consent, granted, but nevertheless... Do you dare admit that this also applies to us all, whether Democrat or Republican, Liberal or Conservative, you and me, etc.? Grace alone, dear Charles, is the only antecdote of your apparent failure to understand the heart of human nature and the general tone of your posts over all these years.

Tim

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Your Turn / Re: Coronavirus news

« on: March 09, 2021, 09:35:11 AM »

Charles,

It saddens me that you so easily distinguish between people and the economy and its impact on life. As one who is also retired, I'm not as impacted as I might have been during my working life, but the fact is: Life is all intertwined and interrelated. The economy is a part of people lives, psychologically, socially, just as is relationships, kinfolk, living communities, even the genome project (!), etc. You are so liberally cavalier sometimes that it really makes me question how much you truly learned about life in its fulness, in spite of your autobiographical rehearsing (over and over) of same on this and previous forums.

Tim Christ

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Your Turn / Re: Coronavirus news

« on: March 03, 2021, 05:24:39 PM »

FWIW...got my 2nd Phizer vacinnation on Sunday. No sore arm. No side effects of any type. Back on the golf course on Tuesday. However, the vaccine has not improved my golf game, in spite of the confidence the Doctor delivering the shot had that it would do so!

Pr. Tim Christ, STS (retired)

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Your Turn / Re: Life in Quarantine: One man's reflections

« on: May 11, 2020, 11:56:55 AM »

I once heard that "joy" and "happiness" are Bibilically distinct. "Happiness" was defined as "right circumstances", if I want to play golf and it's raining, I'm not happy! By contrast, "joy" is "right relationship". From our Lord's perspective, this is established and eternal in our Baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ. It is sheer gift. However, the living out of that "joy" in our broken world, our relationship with others and with our world...well that is far more difficult, as Charles has eloquently said. This event has separated (root concept of sin) us from one another. Yes, Pastor Bohler, God's promise is sure. But in the warp and woof of a fallen world, the "joy" we once shared in community (church, world and beyond) is deeply and profoundly challenged. We can "know" it is present but because we are not experiencing even remotely fullness we once took for granted, our human nature is feeling the pain of such loss. Not unlike the ongoing emptiness in my life since the death of my wife. I cannot "fix" that, I can rejoice in the promised resurrection, but the daily reality of emptiness and loss is still a part of my ongoing earthly journey. FWIW.

Pr. B.A. "Tim" Christ, STS (retired)

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Forum Blogs / Re: Ramifications

« on: October 14, 2019, 05:16:08 PM »

What change? Every scientist worthy of the name will admit that we do not have sufficient data to formulate any trends as regards "climate change". It's just the latest fadish speculations hyperventilated upon by the publicity seeking media/social media/political frenzy, which is fueled by none other than: the profit motive. I was young once, too. I suspect we all got caught up in the "trends of our time" only to discover years later how short sighted we truly were as regarded many many things of our youth. Echoes of Paul's "When I was a child, etc." 

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Forum Blogs / Re: Ramifications

« on: October 14, 2019, 02:10:04 PM »

What is missing in this conversation is the fact that there are many states where such fires (caused by natural phenomenon as well as human error, etc.) are far more rare due to the fact that routinely clearing underbrush, cutting firebreaks, and a variety of other common sense preventatives are not done in California because the tree huggers and environmental wackos are far more interested in plants and animals than people and sadly, with the political climate in place making money off of it all, getting away with it.

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Forum Blogs / Re: Ramifications

« on: October 11, 2019, 11:42:33 AM »

Will anyone in the governmental arena in California finally take note that the only state with this consistent problem is California? Could it be that the prevailing political ethos is primarily responsible for most of these state specific problems? Just asking. California is beautiful, but (with the possible exception of Illinois) appears to be the most messed up state among the lower forty-eight. My new wife lived in California most of her life and was involved in many of these matters and is beyond giddy about being able to get out and now live elsewhere, where, as she puts it, common sense still has a foothold in how the state is governed.

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Your Turn / Re: The fate of the nation (A topic as serious as female lectors or gay clergy)

« on: July 09, 2019, 06:12:11 PM »

for clarity sake.... an assault weapon (I am not expert on all the names and nuances but one that shoots automatically and has large annunciation capacity for instance, silencers, night sights probably, adaptation for launching grenades) should not be owned or used by folks (other than the military or police types).  They should not be used for target shooting or hunting of animals.  Now whether a given weapon is proper for large police forces or should be restricted to military use is another issue and for instance a rocket launcher should not be in the police arsenal but brought in specially from/thru/by the military if there is some unique need.

FYI, down here we are being overrun with feral hogs. AK-47s equipped with night vision scopes are extremely helpful in curtailing a significant environmental threat, since the hogs are generally nocturnal. I understand your perspective and am not unsympathetic, but where your feet happen to be planted (your cultural environment) has a lot to say about what you say and when your feet are planted elsewhere, perhaps you don't know as much as you think you do. Shades of a scene from "Smokey and the Bandit"!!!

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Your Turn / Re: Seminex was not an institution but a missional movement within American Luthe

« on: July 08, 2019, 06:09:15 PM »

Theologically, Dave et alia, I tend to agree with you. But missionally, I think that moving back and forth across the “redline” might be beneficial for our time.
The ELCA has not declared fellowship with any Baptist or Pentecostal denomination and is not likely to do so.
As I have said here numerous times, we do not deny our differences in emphasis, and we hope we could find ways to fully resolve the differences. But in the meantime, we shall share the meal together and share of the mission together. This could mean that, rather than losing our understanding of Sacramental theology, which many people here seem to fear, we will enhance the sacramental theology of our ecumenical partners.

Perhaps, or the movement may indeed go in the other direction (and it would appear to many that it already has), ala the cultural acquiescence and pliability of the ELCA in terms of instead of holding solid to Word and Sacrament, to being far more public in its support for what can properly be called "ideologies" not "theologies".

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Your Turn / Re: The fate of the nation (A topic as serious as female lectors or gay clergy)

« on: July 07, 2019, 06:49:57 PM »

Pilgrim writes:
Me thinks you’re a product of watching too many of the “Dirty Harry” movies. Out here in the real world of gun ownership it really is quite different.
I comment:
No. It is what I am hearing in what gun enthusiasts say and write. If you were are not “that way,” then you need to understand that “that way” is how you come across.

Charles, Am I to assume the “you” is singular or plural? Otherwise your “that way” is arrogant and insulting and is slamming me into a large group of people and you don’t even know me. Shame on you. This is apparently the “who” you come across as in this forum that you are ardently blind to.

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Your Turn / Re: The fate of the nation (A topic as serious as female lectors or gay clergy)

« on: July 06, 2019, 06:22:21 PM »

And if it falls upon us to kill a law-breaker, is that the “retribution” of God?
Maybe. Maybe not.
And so if that task appears to fall upon us, and should we choose  to accept it, we should do so with fear and trembling and a sense of our own sinfulness and of the darkness of the task we take upon ourselves.
But we live in a gun culture and the romance of the gun seems a part of our being. So sometimes I fear that we approach these situations with this sentence in our minds: “I’m ready for this!” - BANG! “Got you, you son of a bitch!”

Me thinks you’re a product of watching too many of the “Dirty Harry” movies. Out here in the real world of gun ownership it really is quite different.

13

Your Turn / Re: Looming Shortage of Pastors - Worse Than We Realized?

« on: July 01, 2019, 02:55:07 PM »

Retirement is looming on my horizon as well. Part of the reason was also widowhood for me. My ministry and life partner for over 40-years was called to the Church Triumphant, leaving an enormous hole in my life. Although the good Lord has graciously and powerfully moved to bless me with a remarkable helpmate for the rest of my journey, that traumatic shift in my life seemed to me to signal an end to ministry as I had lived it for so long. Since I'm already receiving social security and having other sources of retirement income, I'm blessed in that the finances should not be an issue, as well as owning my own home. Having served in my present call for almost 20-years, I sense it is also time for new leadership here, as well as the emotional reality that the illnesses and family turmoil and funerals I conduct are no longer for "members" so to speak, but for "friends" and that takes an enormous toll as I have aged. I do not envision ceasing to be engaged in ministry, but with a new focus and lessoned time demands that frees me up for my new spouse, children and grandchildren and some of those things postponed over the years.

14

Your Turn / Re: Exegetical arguments in favor of Women's Ordination

« on: March 07, 2019, 04:55:50 PM »

I once shared with someone who posed the question regarding women's ordination that it could well be that either side of the argument could be wrong. Too much emphasis on Paul in some particular passages that may have been intended to a much more limited situation of which we are unaware. Too little attention to other passages and obvious Biblical evidence of  women in leadership roles. You put your money down and you make your choices and for both sides I pray we say, "God forgive us if we erred." The one thing that has always brought a smile to my face over the years is the simple observation that states, "If it were not for the women, we men would not know about the resurrection!"

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Your Turn / Re: Celebrations of Life

« on: August 01, 2018, 05:43:33 PM »

The Lord's Supper is for the forgiveness of sins and, and, and, and, and .... so much more that it is finally incomprehensible this side of eternity. The feeding points to the meal, unequivocally!