We lost 11-2 to a fine Leslie County team. A good loss for us, because it reminded us of what good competition we have to face. Almost all our errors tonight were correctable, which is good. And pitching is the thing. Believe it.

I agree with Peggy Noonan. Mrs. Clinton will be hard to beat. Beatable, but hard to beat. Bill will be old, and way out of the picture. She is a skillful politician who knows how to appeal to a lot of people who voted for Bush reluctantly.

Baptist Press- the propaganda and promotional arm of the SBC- is now touting young creationsim openly as Baptist orthodoxy. That’s unfortunate. I predict that within five years the Baptist Faith and Message Statement will require an explicit belief in young earth creationism. Write it down and see if I’m right.

Wilson draws a rather crude line in the sand for NT Wright. (PWinn: I am impressed that you understood Reformed Is Not Enough. It made no sense to me at all.)

William Tighe says the Windsor Report shows that N.T. Wright isn’t ready to lead an “Athanasian” resurgence of Anglicans who really believe the faith.

Want some Irony? Barak Obama fundraising for Robert Byrd.

This issue of Larknews continues to prove to me that this little page is spot on and razor sharp with its observations. Read it all…ads included. Hilarious and full of truth.

Will anyone care if I don’t use the word “Destiny” in any sermon titles in the future?

Easter: The Aftermath

Opening Day for the Reds is less than a week away.

I tell you what, Spaniards are a little “touchy-feely” but this takes the cake.

Guys, I received two emails today regarding Landon. Things are not looking good. I’ve pasted the emails below. Please, please pray for him and his family.

****

I just spoke to Rhonda. Landon has been moved into an isolation room. The most recent tests showed that he has a strep infection in several areas of his little body. They are doing tests and scans on his head, spine, stomach and other areas this morning. An infectious disease specialist has been brought in to assess the situation. There will probably be more blood transfusions in the coming days, too.

Brittany is emotionally wasted, and the stress and helplessness are showing on Rhonda for the first time.

****

Just when it seems that things can’t get any worse, they do.

Rhonda called to say that the ultrasound that they did this afternoon showed
the staph infection has spread to Peanut’s stomach lining and he now has
spots on his liver. Her voice was very subdued and not encouraging. It looks
bad.

Please keep Landon, Brittany and Rhonda in your prayers tonight.

Sorry, Michael, I thought I had typed “you keep saying over and over that the furore over the whole “federal vision” thing is nothing.” Assuming that statement is more agreeable, this was a typo, not an actual mis-characterization. {:)}

Indeed, Wilson seems to answer many of the objections I’ve heard from Lutherans, both sane and otherwise, and very nearly dovetails with my own views that have slowly emerged as I’ve considered and generally rejected the details of those Lutheran views while acknowledge that modern Evangelical views seem to be even more off the mark.

I’m not sure that they are—or that Wilson is, at least—trying to appropriate Wright et al at all; in fact, I suspect it must be one of the others that drew NPP into the loop, because Wilson seems generally (thought not entirely) disdainful of Wright based on this book and the very few other pages I’ve read.

I’m also not sure that Wilson is up to anything except attempting to be faithful to Scripture, really. He doesn’t seem to have an axe to grind other than to say that modern evangelicalism has drifted to far into individualism and away from a “proper” understanding of God’s covenant with humanity.

I guess it might say more about me than I tend to admit that I found myself nodding as I read the book, and only barely recognized in passing certain points that might be objectionable to some. Then again, most of what I say is objectionable to the same “some,” so I guess I’m just out of the loop.

Kurt, yes, this is what happens when you baptize your babies. {:)}

I’m a Black Russian Terrier.

What kind of dog are you? HT to the Agitator.

Why all the bad language?

I believe the first scene of Othello today was more than enough to offend the fundamentalists in my class. Three gasping highlights:

”...Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is topping your white ewe.”

“Because we come to
do you service and you think we are ruffians, you’ll
have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse;
you’ll have your nephews neigh to you; you’ll have
coursers for cousins and gennets for germans”

and, of course,”...I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs.”

Ahh….the Bible and Shakespeare. Nothing like them to offend the decent and the sophisticated among us.

Finally, an IM commenter says that the Christian position on Shiavo is (was) simple: She must be kept alive because we know that God miraculously heals sometimes. The Gospel examples of Jesus healing make it clear that people with terminal diseases are sometimes healed by God. Therefore, we must do all we can to keep everyone alive in hopes of healing. Interesting.

>I know, Michael, that you keep saying over and over that the whole “federal vision” thing is nothing, or less than nothing.

Let me defend myself from yet another PWinn summation of my views. :-) Glad to have you back around.

I’ve never called it “nothing” or “less than nothing.” I have underlined that this isn’t a coherent movement, it’s various representatives have too much diversity to mount much of a coherent challenge. (Differences between Wilson and others would easily fill a volume. They admit this.) I’ve not been real impressed with their ability to explain what it is they are up to beyond emphasizing infant baptism and the “objectivity” of the covenant. I’ve said they are definately going in a Lutheran direction. Josh S likes much of what they say. I don’t find the movement to be particularly important….yet, and their appropriation of N.T. Wright is, while commendable, probably much more incomplete than most “fans” of the Federal Vision realize.

So I’m just not ready to see them as more than a handful of pastors having a conversation inspired by the NPP at this point. I have said that the reaction of the PCA to the Federal Vision guys is way over the top.

I read Wilson’s Reformed Is Not Enough yesterday, and found it fascinating. I’m paying less attention to the appendix in which he disputes N.T.Wright, since it appears to be less well-reasoned than the body of the book and primarily designed to respond to charges against Wilson.

I know, Michael, that you keep saying over and over that the whole “federal vision” thing is nothing, or less than nothing. A tempest in a teapot, even. Still, I found Wilson’s arguments compelling and don’t see in any way how they undermine orthodox theology.

Within the boundaries of classical reformation theology, as defined by the Westminster Confession of Faith, Wilson explains several tensions in Scripture pretty clearly. I won’t go into too much detail unless other people here have read the book, but I found his statements to be consistent internally, with Scripture, and with tradition.

I had done quite a bit of reading on baptism before having my children baptized recently, so I had already, it seems, gone about 80% of the way toward Wilson’s position. I won’t be surprised if a month from now I actually side with Wilson 100%, but I’m letting things steep for now. I’ll read the book again in a week.

Rachel: If that Romans 5 passage refers to human death, as I believe it does, then it doesn’t enter into creation/evolution. I think, as do YEC’ers, that animal death and suffering before the flaws is somewhat problematic when we think of our loving God, but if I can accept eternal human suffering, then I can accept temporal animal suffering, though I don’t have a good explanation.

Matt: I agree. Colson has just as much authority to write on this as all the non-scientist Op-Ed writers do who bash creationism/ID. I do have a science degree, and I am not a Darwinist, though I am an OEC. I can accept Darwinism as a mechanism for minor changes and even some speciation, but not as one for major changes such as legs to wings or for human origins.

I don’t think you can be a Christian without believing ID to some degree, because we believe in a Designer who created everything, even if everything else happened by guided evolution. Unfortunately, the ID movement is so broad that it isn’t able to propose a mechanism for change. Darwinism has the presupposition of naturalistic materialism and can be consistent within that system. Reasons to Believe believes the Bible demonstrates Old Earth Creationism and builds a model based on that. For the most part, ID is restricted to criticizing Darwinism.

I believe Darwinism is scientific, inasmuch as scientists are starting with particular assumptions on the nature of the universe, and applying the scientific method from there. Let me make this interesting: I don’t think Young Earth Creationism is any less scientific than Darwinism. I’m not talking about the Hams and the Hovinds. There are legitimate scientists, not many for sure, who think the Bible teaches a young Earth, and try to work from there. They wouldn’t hold to a lot of what is passed around in popular YE Creationism, such as a canopy theory. I’m not saying I agree with them, but I don’t see how they are any less scientific than scientists who reject any and all supernatural interference in the development of life on Earth. Both have their basic assumptions, and their theories are dependent upon the framework they have chosen.

OBI 17 Lynn Camp 2

Our first victory against a major public school in a while. We have speed, and we used it. The opposing coach complained that we were “humiliating” his team with too many steals.

To quote a favorite film: “There’s no crying in baseball!” -Tom Hanks, A League of Their Own.

Please pray for one of the opposing players, Tommy Hubbard, who was hit in the back of the head with a full speed pitch thrown by his own pitcher, and was knocked out with a serious concussion. He was taken off the field and to a hospital by ambulance. I hope Tommy is going to be OK and return to the field soon.

Also, my wife is having major problems with neck pain ever since she started an exercise routine. Anyone with a knowledge of exercise phsyiology who might answer some questions, feel free to contact me at michael@internetmonk.com.

Noted anthropologist and archeologist Chuck Colson weighs in on the creation-evolution debate.

Together for the Gospel conference – Louisville, Kentucky, April 2006. Ladies, click on the registration button to find out that your are invited, unless you end up being uninvited. Dever, Duncan, Mahaney, Mohler, with Piper, Macarthur and Sproul.

From the comments on this post:

Brian said: “Go back to the PDC’s image of reaching “Saddleback Sam”- he’s a upper-class, 30-something white guy with a cell phone. By putting so much emphasis on targeting, we have forgotten the need for diversity in the body of Christ- and that means old and young, rich and poor, black and white, etc. The church is reinforcing culture rather than transcending it to produce God-glorifying unity in the midst of diversity (Gal. 3:28).”

Interesting article in Christianity Today this month that addresses this exact topic, and Bill Hybels says that it was a mistake in his early ministry:

“Willow Creek started in the era when, as the book (United by Faith) noted, the church-growth people were saying “Don’t dissipate any of your energies fighting race issues. Focus everything on evangelism.” It was the homogeneous unit principle of church growth. And I remember as a young pastor thinking, That’s true. I didn’t know whether I wanted to chance alienating people who were seekers, whose eternity was on the line, and who might only come to church one time. I wanted to take away as many obstacles as possible, other than the Cross, to help people focus on the gospel. So now, 30 years later, as I read this book, I recognize that a true biblically functioning community must include being multi-ethnic. My heart beats so fast for that vision today. I marvel at how naive and pragmatic I was 30 years ago.”

I commend Hybels for his honesty on the subject. It would have been easy for him to say that his community just wasn’t that diverse in the early years. But how many current CGM adherents are still reading the material that led Hybels astray? I see it very evident in the picture of “Saddleback Sam.” Reduce everyone to the lowest common denominator, and odds are you are going to end up with a 30 year old white guy.

Advanced scouts from ABC News at Prestonwood Baptist. The quotes from the Ellis family are choice.

(One of the Ellis boys is named ‘Sheridan’. My heart goes out to him. I’m sure it’s a fine, strong name, but it is also the name of the son of Richard and Hyacinth Bucket. Fans of Keeping Up Appearances will understand.)

Richard Balmer likens the megachurch phenomenon to “consumerism run amok.” So I ask this question (-of-the-evening?): is it possible to make a commodity out of the gospel and the Christian life? Now, in one sense, the answer is obvious. Of course we can and we do. Visit a Christian trink-, er, “book” store. CCM. Bibles. Wall plaques. But this isn’t the sense I had in mind. What I was wondering (and I’m struggling to find the words to articulate this) is: can or do we internalize Christianity like we do a product to be purchased or owned? Is what we value in the Christian life what we find is its convenience for us, like single-serving packaging? Are we reducing our fellow believers to “single-serving friends?”

At Stan Gernz’s funeral Dr. Bruce Milne did a superb job of saying what has to be said when a Christian dies and also of saying what has to be said when a prominent Christian theologian dies. Here’s a superb model for all who are called to preach funeral sermons. One of the things that depress me most about current church fads and fashions is the Gospel-lite or the Gospel-less funeral service. Mark Dever says that funerals are Christianity’s home turf. Sermons like this prove that it is so.

Several years ago, when I started to study Shakespeare in earnest, I became interested in I Henry IV (as opposed to II Henry IV). This is, technically, one of Will’s “history” plays, so it seldom sees the light of day. What got my interest was Harold Bloom’s constant comment that Falstaff was the second greatest character Shakespeare ever created (just short of Hamlet,) so I thought I would give it a whirl. I’ve read, studied and reread I Henry IV, and today, just completed taking my AP English class through the play (which is available in the Arkangel audio series.)

It made me very happy to achieve the goal of teaching this play to my students. The students “got it” which was greatly relieving to me. My principal really didn’t want me to detract from the necessary attention we must pay to Othello, Hamlet and Lear. But I was determined to get the play in, and we did it in 7 class days.

I Henry IV is the story of Prince Hal, who rejects the life of a serious prince of Wales and chooses to spend his time drinking and carousing with Falstaff and the crew of the Boar’s Head Tavern. The tension of the play is created by civil war that threatens his father’s kingdom, and the question of whether Hal will decide to become a responsible and valiant young man, or remain a libertine. The young rebel Harry Percy, aka “Hotspur,” provides the contrast of a young man ambitious for the throne, while the fat old knight, Jack Falstaff, is the king of the tavern, the epitiome of the cynical, honor-rejecting life of drinking and petty crime that Hal must reject if he is to grow into a man.

The genius of the play is Shakespeare’s creation of two worlds: the world of the court and the world of the tavern. In each, we see the concerns and distractions of those who live there: war, honor and politics in one. Wine, money and good times in the other. One world is violent, while the other is forgiving. The ways of speaking, thinking and acting are vastly differnent, yet young Hal must move from one to the other. In the end, you realize his years in the taverns were not wasted, but gave him a touch with the common man that will serve him well.

Prince Hal’s father took the crown by violence, deposing the weak, absent Richard II, and now the nobility are in arms against him. Part of Hal’s irresponsible behavior is shame at his father’s reputation, and you can see how the surrogate father of “Falstaff” gives Hal an identity without the baggage of tainted royalty. Yet you can also see that the day will come (as it does in II Henry IV) when the young prince/future king will have to turn the old man and his drinking crew away.

It is a play about growing up. About the wasteful ways of the young. About two worlds that are brought together in war. About the ambitions- petty and noble- of all kinds of men. And in the midst of it, the voice of Falstaff rejects all the notions of honor and morality that others take for granted, creating for himself a “myth” of who he is that honors his greatest value: survival.

We ended our discussion relating the plot to movies: What movies had they seen that created two very different worlds that the protagonist must navigate to become fully reailized? And what films had they seen that showed the necessity of rejecting a corrupting influence in order to fulfill a person’s potential. Good discussion.

Now, on to Othello.

Michael: Well, at least you’re first class. I just get “idiot”, among other descriptive nouns applied.

Bill, Absolute concurence. The snow’s not quite gone yet here and the lakes are still iced over. The driveway’s muddier than can be described as the frost is not yet out of the ground…but Spring’s a big deal to us too.

We’ve not seen green yet, not usually ‘til the first of May. There have been a few moths flying around, a reminder that Spring brings bugs…the “bane of the North”, but that’s why God created Deet & bug screens.

The canoe is hanging in the garage looking forward to a Spring cleaning, we’re strapping our bikes to the back of the truck this weekend and driving up to Fargo & Grand Forks ND to look at Travel Trailers. We may actually be able to be outside this weekend without earmuffs and gloves. My new Nikon is in a new waterproof pack itching to get outside when the first flowers start to appear

Michael: Of course ED is an acronym for a certain medical condition, which may explain things.

Most of the patrons of the bar (I think) live south of the Mason Dixon line, so I don’t know if this time of year affects you in the same way, but it’s hard to express what Spring means to us up here. The snow lingers, but it is losing. We will get snowfalls even into May perhaps, but essentially it’s over. The mud is a drag, but you wouldn’t believe the change in spirit and attitude now. The sun is already up when we wake. The sun is still shining when we get home. The hardier flowers are poking through. The clothing is getting lighter. The land is born again, and in a way, so are we. (Man, that sounds corny, but I’m going to let it stand)

Marketing decisions fascinate me. Who said there is a real need for a lime green Bible?

As best I can tell, no one in the “relevant church” conversation is talking about old people. As someone who is turning into an old person, it seems like a remarkable omission. Where are these young turks going to put the old people? Are the old people supposed to be escorted back to the traditional churches? Will emergent/relevant churches start a “normal” service for old people? Pop culture rides the wave of the interests and fads of the young, and is pushed by the forces that market to the young. How did THAT become the guiding light for the church? It’s very easy to see why some older people want to dig in and fight over changes. They see with some clarity where all this is going. The culture of the church must deal with the surrounding culture, but the process is different for differing factors. For instance, in race relations we should be ahead of the culture. In worship music, we should be pan-cultural. In style and language, we should be specific to the culture of the congregation WITHOUT being slaves to culture itself. We should always be calling Christians away from wars of “preference,” to servanthood and love for one another (so that one group doesn’t oppress another for the sake of style.) And whiners should not run the church. See I Cor 3 for details.

It increasingly appears to me that the relevant church conversation is primarily church planters talking as if they were speaking for congregations. In many instances, they are not. They are talking about the congregations they imagine having. Should be noted. There is a difference in talking to the staff who run our school, and the guy who quits to start his own, but doesn’t exactly have one yet.

Waiting for me in my mailbox this a.m.:

“you’re a first class idiot. good luck explaining your trash to God when you come face to face. get a life”

ed

(Why are guys like this always named Ed?)

David Wayne responds to Donald Sensing’s posting on the “soul” issue.

“And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition” – 2 Tim 2:24-25a

I wrote some posts and comments early on in this thread, so from those it should be clear where I stand on this, but I found myself unable to continue without getting caught up in the anger. More power to those of you who can. This is a serious issue and deserves discussion. If I had any power to do anything, I would choose differently, but I’ve said my prayers, written my emails, and the rest is in God’s hands. Maybe this is a copout, I don’t know. I believe that Christians should get involved in people and issues around us, but I didn’t see how my writing angry blog posts would help.

I’m not even that upset by the hype. Yes, it seems like everybody is playing politics, but there are a lot of political ramifications to this case, and not just for end-of-life and euthanasia. The executive and legislative branches took on the judiciary in a power struggle and lost. I’ll involve myself with these discussions, but I won’t comment anymore on the feeding tube.

“I loved him as a good Christian man; I look at Johnny as a great Christian,” Simpson told CNN. “I knew him as that. He was a great guy.”

PS – And if Falwell goes next, my money is on the Pope to finish the trifecta (famous people always die in 3’s).

Cinci’s best band is featured in this story. I know there are Over The Rhine fans in the BHT.

Andres Gallaraga, on of the classiest Expos ever, ends his great MLB career

I have to be honest. The pastor in the article I posted earlier is/was a friend of mine from college. He actually co-officiated my wedding with one of my religion professors. But I’ve lost touch with him over the years.

Joel – it certainly gives us pause to think in real world terms instead of theory because it’s happening to someone we know. If I didn’t know him, I would make the assumption that he is a right wing fundamentalist pastor. And he may be but I don’t know how he’s changed since college.

Michael – before you deleted your comment you made reference to Judge Greer being on the outskirts of the church. He may very well have been but I get the impression that he wasn’t to begin with. It was only after he was cast as the embodiment of evil that he withdrew from participation. From the accounts I’ve read he is socially and politically conservative, a Republican, and not just a Christian in name. If so, that will certainly be a fly in the ointment to the Religious Right.

Steve – I have great admiration for you guys in ministry and that is why I posted this topic. I know y’all are constantly put in positions where you cannot please everyone (or at times anyone). But from other articles I’ve read it appears that the issue may have come down to Greer either reversing his decision or leaving the church. I hate to use the word ultimatum, but it appears there was no one-on-one prayer or counseling. And it may have been the judge’s fault. There is just so much we don’t know about this issue.

I guess I have a problem with how this was handled (especially since this apparently was given to the media by the church). I struggle with the issue of church discipline if that’s what this qualifies as. I mean, Greer and his family are under death threats (how ironic in a right to life issue), he is villified in the media, he has no doubt lost friends over this, etc.

More »« Less

My worldview has been completely turned upside-down. I don’t even know what to make of this. I feel the same way I did when I saw that picture of Kurt that looked like Home Depot exploded all over him.

Here’s the chapter on NT Wright from MacArthur’s new book. I haven’t read it yet so I’ll hold my comments until I get a chance. I understand Phil Johnson, the writer of this chapter, is a big Spurgeon guy. He wouldn’t happen to be the man who chastised the iMonk a while back would it?

The media is paying attention as churches take up more media to communicate with culture. But in all this creativity, is something essential lost? Who is keeping an eye on the merchandise while we make the store “hip?” Will those who go to “Scum of the earth,” ever be able to relate to any other kind of church? I’m more optimistic than I once was, but I still see a real danger of watering down, editing and omitting the truth of the Gospel in churches that are in a big hurry to be hip.

I was wondering what you folks who are in ministry, especially the pastorate, think about the following story from the St Petersburg Times. Was this the right way to handle this situation (especially mailing the letter to a place where it is sure to be made public)? More »« Less

Verdict overturned because jurors consulted the Bible.

Dennis Prager on Judaism’s “culture of life.”

While I wait for Dave to list me as one of those fundmentalists you should leave for the sake of your mental health (jn), I’ll say this is an excellent post on Anglican worship, and what’s good about it.

I find it quite extraordinary that, with calls for civil disobedience everywhere in evangelicalism over this situation, there are less than 100 protestors out there, and they are of the most ardent Randall Terry variety, even arguing with the Schindler family. I’ve heard calls for marches on Washington. Where are the people? With all the ink spilled, is it possible that America’s Christians are home sulking that, thoroughly horrible, rotten scenario and all, it’s better to live in a nation of laws than they want to admit?

So much of this Red Lake story is being replayed here in Appalachia and Ky. The same drawings, poetry, fasciniation with despair, etc. The same background of poverty and adults who are screwed up. I read it/’see it every day.

Now, I don’t want you to misunderstand me: I have tremendous respect for the pain of my students, but living in a Christian community you can’t deal with it the way the world thinks we should. You have to call these young people to process it and move beyond it into a new identity that they find in the new community. That is where our school often works. Some goth turns into a farmer or a baseball player or just loses the audience because most of his/her peers are no longer interested in playing the game. Wearing black and spikes and chains won’t get much of a reaction here. It’s boring.

I think we have to call kids away from the morbid fascination with their own pain. Pain, alienation, hurt, loss: these are common human experiences. Yours is unique. Sortof. You can’t make it into an idol. It’s not the key to your life. Christ is. In actual fact, it’s part of the human experience that we all have to face. I have so many kids from rotten families that a shooter would be shooting kids just like himself. We have to accept the rotten side of it, and then decide if the pain is going to be our identity. That is what the youth culture teaches, especially in the arts. The pain is your identity. Any rejection is a reason for rage. Everyone must like you or you must hate them. How stupid.

Christ says the pain is your window to the cross. The rejection is your window into the cross, and into the suffering of others. Your healing comes not from demanding justice on your terms, but by accepting and fighting the injustice in yourself, then bringing that to relationships and community. (Note how this young man sought community with Nazi’s, where the common center is racial hatred.) That is why we spend 30 minutes in the middle of the school day, every day, putting Christ at the center of our experience. Not as the reference point for stupid rules, but as the reference point for a new identity, and as the lighthouse in this wrecked world.

I captured this photo of Satan with my new camera.

Guys, would y’all continue to pray for Landon? He was doing much better, but now something else has happened. Here’s the email I received:

Britt’s baby, Landon, seems to have taken a turn for the worse at Texas
Children’s Hospital. I have very little detail, but apparently he now is having
problems with his stomach, too. I will get back to you all ASAP, but for the
mean time, send up more prayers for Peanut. It sounds serious.

Thanks,
Mike

Right now, I would like to type one very angry paragraph, but I am realizing that the people who say the stupid things are the least moved by anything other than their preprogrammed worldview. So instead, I’ll tell you a story. A story that is part of me, and part of why I am not like you. And don’t want to be like you.

Once upon a time, I was an associate minister at a large church. We had friends, good friends, I’ll call Hal and Betty. Hal and Betty had two boys. They got pregnant with a third child. He was born without most of his brain.

I don’t remember a lot of the details here. I know it was terrible and lasted for months. I remember the weeks and months at the hospital. I remember Hal and Betty’s agony about what was the right thing to do for this child they loved. I could feel it tearing away at their marriage and their relationship with their children. Over time, the choices became more terrible, the stress more awful. The child was able to come home, but required constant vigilance and care. Death was certain, but no one knew when. On one occasion, the child stopped breathing at home, and the caretaking parent allowed death to occur. The other parent rushed home and revived the child with extreme measures. They lived through this, and many other things. Eventually, in God’s mercy, the child died.

I remember how the funeral was a mixture of darkness and light. Scriptures of dismay that God let such things happen and scriptures of hope in God. I remember that no one knew what to say. No one knew how to comfort the family. No one knew anything, because the whole journey was so hard and confusing. They loved their child. They wanted to do the right thing. In doing the right thing, almost all the life was sucked out of their home. They divorced. They moved on, and life has been good to them, but they carry this with them always.

I remember that all the ethics classes I had at seminary, and all the Bible studies I’d taught seemed so very pointless. You didn’t know what to pray. You just held their hands and said that you loved them. They made ALL the decisions. I have no idea what they did or did not do in comparison to what could have been done. For all I know, they sustained that child far beyond what it should have lived, or he could be in a hospital somewhere right now if they had done more. I don’t know. And I don’t care. They walked this road and they stand before God with their choices. I deeply respect them because they acted according to what they believed was right.

I respect Hal and Betty even more as I read about the Shiavo situation. They did their best, and they had to bury a son. They made their choices. There was always someone saying they did too much or not enough. Screw them. Screw them all.

To all of you who are appalled that I have continued to ask questions and not camped out with you in your certainties, pray for me. I am weak. My faith is weak. My knowledge is small. The complex world intimidates me. I am not sure what path to walk. I don’t know the hearts and motives of people in the Shiavo case. I hear what they say. I don’t buy conspiracy theories. I can’t imagine what it must be like for any of them. I look at it, and I look at my wife and children. I do not know what the future holds, but I ask God for wisdom, because I have none.

To those of you who can’t believe I haven’t sided with you, those who say that you cannot be a Christian and agree with the courts, those who say a “consistent Christian worldview” has only one outcome here, I want to congenially ask you to do one of two things. Either tell me off and go away, or leave me alone to continue wondering. Job didn’t know what was going on. His friends were experts on everything. God, of course, showed up and said they were idiots. I’ve done the know everything route. Now I am trying something different. So either leave me alone, or drop me from your list of Christians and move on. Ok?