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patriotism
A mosque near Ground Zero?
Wed, 06/09/2010 - 13:17 — Matt ShaferA discussion initiated by a friend of mine has brought to my attention the controversy in New York right now over whether to allow a mosque to be built a few blocks away from Ground Zero. Apparently this is a pretty high-profile issue the city at the moment.
I find it hard to conclude that the city government would be in the wrong, at least politically speaking, to deny permission to build the mosque, given the emotions conjured up by this issue and the repercussions that such a move could have.
That said, I believe that were NYC to decide, after appropriate deliberation and some semblance of consensus, that the mosque construction could go forward, it would constitute a tremendous act of moral courage and, in fact, a tremendous act of patriotism.... READ MORE.
I'm not proud to be an American
Fri, 01/22/2010 - 14:59 — Milton Brasher-...Milton Brasher-Cunningham's blog
she said, in that way one speaks
to get a reaction, or the way I titled
this poem so you’d keep reading.
I’m not proud, she said, because I
had nothing to do with it,
deftly putting patriotism in
a new light, a search light, under
the bare bulb of interrogation.
What, then, can I be?... READ MORE.
July 4 around the network
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 09:18 — Steve ThorngateCCbloggers have had a wide variety of things to say about the July 4 holiday.
James Lumsden gives thanks "for the blessings and challenges of this era." Andrew Thompson celebrates freedom for good things, rather than from bad things. Chris Brundage highlights the wisdom of Ben Franklin, while Bruce Prescott recites James Madison's definitive document on church and state. Keith Herron points to King David and the "messy work" of building and sustaining a nation, and Ellen Haroutunian observes that "America isn't easy."
Michael Ruffin picks apart the America-as-Christian-nation myth, and Peter J. Walker confesses that he isn't exactly proud to be an American. Julie Clawson highlights freedom-fighting heroes of the non-white-male variety; Matt Shafer commemorates revolutions that, unlike our own, were nonviolent. Milton Brasher-Cunningham reminds us that Woody Guthrie's patriotic song was written in response to Irving Berlin's, while Chad Holtz celebrates Interdependence Day. My fiancee and I reluctantly agree to exchange vows in a flag-adorned chancel.
"God help me," says Wayne Stacy. "I love the Fourth of July!"
If America were a Christian nation
Fri, 07/03/2009 - 11:10 — Michael RuffinMichael Ruffin's blog
Whenever we approach the American Independence Day observance, the debate over whether or not America is a Christian nation inevitably rekindles. The debate seems to me to be shaped in three different ways.
First, some people debate whether or not America was a Christian nation in the past. Many insist, and they can find pious quotes from various founding figures to support their contention, that America was founded as a Christian nation by Christian leaders. The most reasonable observers acknowledge that some of the Founding Fathers were Christians, some were agnostics, and some were Deists. One fact jumps out of the mists of history at me: the founding document of our nation, the United States Constitution, not only makes no mention of the Christian faith but indeed mentions God not at all... READ MORE.
The theology of Watchmen
Tue, 03/10/2009 - 09:06 — Matt ShaferI went to see Watchmen last night, having read the comic book graphic novel some months back. The novel is a work of art; it’s richly interlayered, accomplishing literary effects and conveying subtleties of meaning that are impossible in straight prose. It was of course impossible for the movie to live up the original, but the film nevertheless was well done. And incidentally, though many fanboys will protest over the film’s changed ending, I thought it made the finale stronger.
Like any narrative of artistic merit, Watchmen, as both film and graphic novel, raises profound theological questions. Lengthy papers could be written on the “Theology of Watchmen“, but this post will seek merely to briefly consider and draw attention to a few of the issues the story raises.... READ MORE.
