10Jun

Thank you, Senator Lankford

A small but significant semantic victory on the religious freedom front has been won by a senator from Oklahoma. In recent years, a quiet effort has been made to substitute the phrase (and concept) “freedom of worship” in place of the more traditional “freedom of religion.” One place where this change has emerged in the past few years is on the civic test materials of the US Citizen and Immigration Services.

As reported last year in the Christian Post, Senator Lankford of Oklahoma, a former youth pastor, has taken issue with this:

“Not only is ‘freedom of worship’ inconsistent with the text of the Amendment proposed 226 years ago today, saying that ‘freedom of worship’ is more inclusive that ‘freedom of religion’ flies in the face of the pillar upon which our entire nation was founded,” Lankford contended. “Our forefathers came to America to have freedom of religion, not simply freedom of worship. So valued, they made the free exercise of religion our first freedom.”

Lankford’s letter also asserts that “freedom of religion” is the ability for a person to live out their beliefs in every aspect of life.

“The freedom of religion is much more than just the freedom of worship. Worship confines you to a location,” the senator explained. “Freedom of religion is the right to exercise your religious beliefs — it is the ability for Americans to live out their faith or to choose to have no faith.”

His efforts appear to have worked. The Agency and its parent, the Department of Homeland Security, have recently agreed to change the wording of their materials.

This may prove a minor and symbolic change only, but we applaud it, as we do all efforts of Christians with convictions to stand against the tide. Our appreciation goes to Mr. Lankford.

26May

Canada Plans Further Assault on Freedom of Speech

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his party have proposed new legislation to expand Canada’s ~~blasphemy~~ laws, er… hate speech laws… to cover transgender issues. Anyone who dares to speak wrongly on transgender issues could face penalties of up to two years in jail. You can read favorable mainstream media coverage, for example, at
NBC.

Canada is no stranger to using hate speech law to curb religious expression. The Christian Post has bundled with this story a mention of the following chilling example:

An identical ban on anti-gay “hate propaganda” has been in place for several years and has caused problems for Christians who oppose gay marriage. In 2013, the Canadian Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a Christian street preacher for distributing fliers denouncing homosexual behavior.

The court justified the preacher’s conviction on the grounds that he used “vilifying and derogatory representations to create a tone of hatred” against homosexuals. The court held that the pastor’s religious freedom did not excuse him from violating “hate propaganda laws”.

The case in question from 2013 was Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission v Whatcott, which ruled against a street preacher named Whatcott, an activist who had been convicted and fined in Saskatchewan Province, for hate speech. He had handed out fliers denouncing homosexual acts and the promotion of the same among public school students.

Justice Rothstein described hate speech as describing:
“…the targeted group as a menace that could threaten the safety and well-being of others, makes reference to respected sources (in this case the Bible) to lend credibility to negative generalizations, and uses vilifying and derogatory representations to create a tone of hatred.”
(Source: Atlantic Canada Legal Examiner)

Now, to be fair, the opinion did take pains elsewhere to clarify that religious texts aren’t to be regarded as hate speech. Furthermore I am not going to claim moral or spiritual solidarity with Mr. Whatcott, as I haven’t read his brochures. He appears to have had numerous prior run-ins with authorities, who have found his statements to be “polemical and impolite”–I will even presume that to be understatement.

Still, to those who hold to orthodox Christianity, the message is clear. The notion of freedom of religious expression will no longer afford anyone in Canada protection against hate speech censorship.

25Mar

What is ISIS?

On the heels of the attack by terrorists upon the airport in Brussels, it seems a good opportunity to revisit the question, “what is ISIS?” I recall a very good article by Graeme Wood in the Atlantic which lays out a lot of information on ISIS. One of the points that struck me was this one:

The reality is that the Islamic State is Islamic. Very Islamic. Yes, it has attracted psychopaths and adventure seekers, drawn largely from the disaffected populations of the Middle East and Europe. But the religion preached by its most ardent followers derives from coherent and even learned interpretations of Islam.

This echoes the assessment of former Muslim Dr. Nabeel Qureshi, who is a speaker with Ravi Zacharias Ministry, and wrote a recent essay for USA Today:

This is not at all to say that most Muslims are violent. The vast majority of Muslims do not live their lives based on chapter 9 of the Quran or on the books of jihad in the hadith. My point is not to question the faith of such Muslims nor to imply that radical Muslims are the true Muslims. Rather, I simply want to make clear that while ISIL may lure youth through a variety of methods, it radicalizes them primarily by urging them to follow the literal teachings of the Quran and the hadith, interpreted consistently and in light of the violent trajectory of early Islam. As long as the Islamic world focuses on its foundational texts, we will continue to see violent jihadi movements.

In order to effectively confront radicalization, then, our tools must be similarly ideological, even theological. This is why I suggest that sharing alternative worldviews with Muslims is one of the best methods to address radicalization. Indeed, this is what happened to me. As I faced the reality of the violent traditions of Islam, I had a Christian friend who suggested that Islam did not have to be my only choice and that there were excellent reasons to accept the gospel.

24Mar

In the wake of the Brussels Attacks

Once again our prayers go out to our European brethren as they cope with the aftermath of an Islamic terror attack.

27Jan

Jonas Aftermath

Our heartfelt prayers for the families of those who have died in the aftermath of the recent winter storm. As far as I can tell, the death toll from Winter Storm Jonas is at 48, according to a Weather Channel report.

(Weather Channel)

12Jan

David Bowie

All of us will come to a moment when we must face our own mortality. Few of us will have as spectacular a public forum in which to muse about it as the late singer David Bowie.

Just 2 days before his death he released his last album, “blackstar”.

In the video for his mournful new song “Lazarus,” David Bowie lies in what looks like a shabby hospital bed, bandages over his eyes, straining his frail body upward.

“Look up here, I’m in heaven,” he sings over the forlorn wail of a saxophone. “I’ve got scars that can’t be seen.”

Unfortunately, while his artistry and boldness can be admired, it appears that his musings about death did not coalesce into a coherent religious experience or something anticipating a beatific vision. In the end his last words to us amount to little more than a spiritual version of word salad:

The album’s ominous title track, almost 10 minutes long, contains references to death and resurrection.

“Something happened on the day he died / Spirit rose a meter and stepped aside / Somebody else took his place, and bravely cried / I’m a blackstar, I’m a blackstar,” he sings.

The video for the song — whose imagery includes a faceless monster, crucified scarecrows, a jeweled skull inside a spaceman’s helmet and Bowie singing with bandages (again) over his eyes — almost defies interpretation.

Well here’s genuine word of wisdom from Mr. Bowie:

“As you get older, the questions come down to about two or three. How long? And what do I do with the time I’ve got left?”(from Thought Catalog).

RIP David Bowie. Our thoughts go out to his heartbroken family, friends, and fans.

01Jan

Make each day count!

Happy New Year!

We are allotted so few New Year’s Eves, in the grand scheme of things. Make each day count. Put service to God first on your resolution list. If you have not “joined the team”, and become a Christian, then do consider making that commitment before it is too late to do so.

25Dec

The Dawning of the Light

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

(Isaiah 9:2, Holy Bible, King James Version).

11Dec

Logos is Life

In a list of wisdom from the late tech guru and Apple founder, Steve Jobs, one item that leaps out is “your logo is your life!” (See example at a website byMillo).

A slight play on the wording here would give us an even more profound statement, “Logos is life”. As Christians, in the midst of the season of Advent, we have the privilege of heralding the arrival of the divine Logos, God’s “Word made flesh”.

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, Holy Bible)

Logos is Life!

06Sep

Remarks at the dedication of a Medical Office

Welcome everyone to this moment, as we prepare to dedicate this office to the service of the Lord.

At events like these, we pause to recall the past, we pause to prepare for the future, and we pause to acknowledge the higher purposes that guide us. I will speak obliquely to that higher purpose as others here will do so more directly. We may not all share the same religious beliefs, but we do, I think, share a common faith that what we do serves a high and noble purpose–that our labors here are about more than money, about more than an institution, about more than even the practice and perfection of our craft. This idea of higher purpose reverberates through the various versions of the Hippocratic oath.

Most medical schools have their students recite some version of the oath. I believe the the following is the version in use when I was coming through.

“I do solemnly swear, by whatever each of us holds most sacred”…

I will pause here and just emphasize that invocation of transcendence. Even the earliest oath recognized that health care is a sacred enterprise, and it invoked the gods.

[One translation of the ancient oath reads: “I swear by Apollo the physician, and Aesculapius the surgeon, likewise Hygeia and Panacea, and call all the gods and goddesses to witness, that I will observe and keep this underwritten oath, to the utmost of my power and judgment.”]

“That I will be loyal to the Profession of Medicine and just and generous to its members

“That I will lead my life and practice my art in uprightness and honor

“That into whatsoever house I will enter: it shall be for the good of the sick to the utmost of my power, my holding myself far aloof from wrong, from corruption, from the tempting of others to vice

“That I will exercise my art solely for the cure of my patients, and will give no drug, perform no operation for a criminal purpose, even if solicited; far less suggest it

“That whatsoever I shall see or hear of the lives of my patients which is not fitting to be spoken, I will keep inviolably secret

“These things do I swear. Let each of us bow the head in sign of acquiescence

The oath concludes but I’ll defer that for a minute.

I think it is a powerful testament to the people here, and to those in whose tradition we stand, that at a time when people are cynical about institutions, they still trust their physicians and nurses to take good care of them.

Of course, this current medical practice has been a reputable part of its community since the mid 20th century. It is because of the labors of our forebears there and then, that we enjoy such success here and now. We have stepped forward and taken on a work begun by others, by hard working men and women who built this practice and its reputation.

We honor and remember also the vision of the religious order whose toils and dedication to healthcare more than 100 years ago culminated in this hospital and the larger health system that we now serve.

We must continue to remember and cherish the best from tradition, as we also struggle to adapt to the staggering and rapid paced changes in healthcare. We must change and innovate as the circumstances require, while also being careful not to toss carelessly aside our heritage.

This is where that higher purpose comes back in. That is what guides us and gives us wisdom. That is what helps us to know when to change and when to resist change. May this higher purpose be always in view.

As my version of the Hippocratic oath concluded:

And now, if I will be true to this, my oath, may good repute ever be mine; the opposite, if I should prove myself forsworn

Or, as the 20th century philosopher known as Yogi Berra put it: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.”

Thank you

Brother James’ Airs

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