War! Huh! Good God! What is it good for? Getting college money! Yeah, say it again!

Gavin Has an interesting series of links about Christian Pacifism.

These are interesting arguments, and ones I struggle with myself. By no means am I an expert on Roman military structure, however I was in the active duty Army for four years working in Psychological Operations. It is not a Combat Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), but a Combat Support MOS. As the ads say, there are 212 ways to be an soldier in the U.S. Army. That's not including all the jobs in the Navy, Marine Corp, Air Force, or the Coast Guard. In the Army, everyone is trained in basic combat and soldiering skills, but very few are actually call upon to do the down and dirty work of killing the enemy (or as the weasel words go, "rendering the opposing forces combat ineffective.") The majority of the Army is made up of combat support (like Psyop, Engineers, Signal Corps, Military Police, Chemical Corp) and Combat Service Support (Office workers, chaplains, doctors, cooks, transport, and supply). None of these jobs have roles in which they are actively engaged with the enemy.

So, can a soldier be in a combat service support (CSS) or combat support (CS) unit and still live a pacifistic-like life? If you never directly harm another human being, yet enable others to do so, can you call yourself a pacifist? I would say that my initial response would be, no, as an enabler, I could not call myself a pacifist in a CS or CSS MOS. So how many steps away must one get before you are no longer culpable for the violence done by a military force? As a voter and a tax payer, I am, in effect, contributing to the war effort. My representatives may vote for war. My tax dollars are used to supply troops with everything from food and water, to rifles and rounds. Am I responsible?

How 'bout this: One of my many duties as Psyop was information dissemination (that'd be propaganda without the lying). We were well trained in surrender appeals and ultimatums. Via leaflets, handouts, posters, television and radio broadcasts as well as loud speakers, we informed our target audiences why they should not fight and how to surrender without being killed. Our job was to reduce battlefield casualties of both our enemies as well as allied forces. Mind you, the combat units hated us, because they generally would rather shoot people. I'm not trying to demonize them, it's just the truth from my direct experiences with infantry soldiers. Now, at anytime our position was compromised and the Psywar wasn't working, we were expected to fight as and along side combat soldiers. This is true with any CS or CSS soldier in the field. Considering all that I've said about the job of Psyop, could it be considered pacifistic either as a whole or to a degree?

If I were to be asked to come back into the military (and miraculously my gouty arthritis was cured), honestly I think I would fight my reactivation citing that I was now a conscientious objector. I don't want to take a life, not even in the defense of my own or those of my fiends. I would die for a friend, but I would not kill. To do otherwise would go against my conscience, and what I belief the example shown by Christ, the apostles, and the martyrs that came after.

In the mean time, I'm still voting and paying taxes. Prayerfully and begrudgingly; respectively and in that order.

P.S. Remember, you can't spell "pacifist" without "fist."

Cat-holic.

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations" (Psalm 67.1-2).

God's way: how many ways has this been defined? It's simultaneously elusive and right in front of our faces. It is both overwhelmingly difficult (if not impossible) to understand, yet it is written on our very hearts, minds, and hands. It is intended for all, yet few will actually live fully in its realization.

The revelation of God's way is given to us unmerited. It is, however, given to us as we need it, and need it we do. I don't think God just chucks it out there like a flank of antelope for the lions to devour in their zoo enclosure; the strongest and the fiercest get the best and most. I think its more like how we feed our cats. Each gets the amount they need, portioned out into their own food bowls. There's no competition, no stealing (mostly), and each cat has the opportunity to eat or not eat as he is hungry or likes the food. But we can't make the cats eat. On Christmas, we gave the cats a rare treat of wet cat food. Wesley ate an entire can in one sitting. Luther, on the other hand, at some of his, then wandered away. We kept sitting him in front of his food, but he wouldn't eat any more and eventually it spoiled. The cat's don't deserve the good cat food, or really any food at all, but it was given to them as a gift, and each did with it as he saw fit.

I think that if we had one cat (as we did for a while) or 488 cats (like a crazy cat lady we'd feed 'em all. Old cats would get cat food for old cats, kittens would get kitten food, the cat's with hairball problems would get anti-hairball food, etc. They may get different brands and types of cat food, but they would all have the opportunity to eat and be filled.

OK, I'm done with the cat metaphor. It's on the verge of getting out of hand.

What I'm getting at is the universal availability of knowing God's way. it's not just available to all nations, but it is available to all persons. And their are variations. No this might seem like plurality at first, but if I were to say that God's way only came in one flavor, then in effect, I'd be saying that my Baptist, UCC, Lutheran, or DOC friends don't know God's way and thus are not blessed through God's grace. God shines his face on all people who revere and praise him.

But my heart hurts when I think of those who don't know God. I still struggle greatly with the thought that those who do not claim Jesus Christ as Savior will not receive the blessing of salvation. I don't know what to do or think when I talk to friends who deny who Jesus is. It is even harder when I see what I identify as genuine love in a person who doesn't know Christ or someone who lives a Christ-like life better than some of the Christians I know. Who can love without knowing God? Am I wrong in identifying this--whatever it is--as love apart from an acknowledgment of the Christ? I'm willing to say that the people who do not act Christlike in my church (including myself at time) are blessed with salvation, but I balk at saying those who are great imitators of he whom they deny are not.

I will go as far to say, at this juncture, that I do not fully understand God or God's love. It's bigger than I can grasp. I think there may be a chance of salvation after death for those who never speak the words, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and died for my sins. I think that it may be the rare exception. Very rare. But not impossible. With God, nothing is impossible.

The entirety of God's love is so beyond my comprehension. I know only what God has revealed. Nothing more. I do know that love is the biggest part of God's way and I try to follow it as best as I can. And I pray that that love is known throughout all the earth, in whatever way it can be known.

Light.

I would say that between since the beginning of this weekend, Beth and I have felt more a part of this community and accepted by our church than ever before. It's been a rough six months for us. We got married, moved 600 miles from our families, started new careers, I started seminary, and have been trying to learn how to balance all of these thing as to not fatally neglect any of them. It has proven to be more difficult than we had anticipated, but I feel that we have endured.

Beth and I went out with Justin and Katie to see "Charlotte's Web" and afterward, we went out for Mexican. Justin is a student pastor of a two point charge in the district, and Katie is the program director for the District and the Sunday School Director at First UMC, Sulfur Springs. It is good to finally have friends our own age to hang out with in Texas.

Saturday morning we awoke to find that the parsonage had been festively decorated with plastic forks, spoons, and knives, as well as with copious amounts of toilet paper. turns out that a band of our younger congregational members, codenamed Snake, Brown Gravy, Gus, Mamasita, Jo-Lo, and Bubba, decided that it was time to initiate the new pastor and his wife in into the community. This was my first time being TPed ever, so I was pretty excited. but not as excited as finally feeling a sense of belonging.

Sunday was great. We had a wonderful 4th Advent service in the morning. I preached Mary's Magnificant focusing on the contrasts between the world we see and the that Is. I actually did all my prep work before Sunday, so I was comfortable enough to throw in some of my goofy humor (and people actually laughed!)

Then we put up our Christmas tree. Yeah, I know. We've been busy.

We also exchanged gifts after the tree was up. I got Beth a wine rack stocked with wine. This is a big deal because we live in a dry area of the county and it's a good hour round trip to get booze around here. I also got her Green Day's "American Idiot" CD and "Peter Pan" on DVD. She got me a bluetooth ear piece for my cell phone. I dig it. It's practical and it makes me look like the Borg. Yea, ROBOT!

At 9 p.m. we had our candle light service. I didn't believe church members when they said it'd be a full house, and found out that fifty bulletins and fifty candles wasn't gonna cut it (70 did, however). We did the lectionary readings, sang most of the classic Christmas carols, and I preached on John 1.1-5.

However, that was not the cool part. I found out a couple of weeks ago that there is a tradition where the sizable Dutch immigrant community in Hopkins County holds their Christmas Eve traditional worship at Como UMC. We opened our building to this wonderful group of believers for worship and fellowship. They had a 30 minute service of scripture readings, a neat candle service involving the kids, poetry readings, and a lot of singing, entirely in Dutch. Of the ten songs they sang, I recognized two by their tunes and I understood a few key words, like "Jesus" and "Bethlehem." The fellowship time afterwards was what was truly amazing. They had coffee, chocolate milk, chocolate, and pound cake in the fellowship hall. They didn't clear out until 30 minutes after midnight. Not to be too cynical, but I'd say that I saw more "church" happening after that service than I've seen in a long time anywhere.

Christmas morning we went over to the home of one of the larger families in the church for breakfast. They had invited us over after Sunday morning worship. They're a farming family--which may or may not have anything to do with this--but the food was amazing. More so was the time shared. Beth and I went back home and watched some TV and napped, them we went to another church member's house for some chili. Now, I've never liked chili in the past and I'm still a very picky eater, but as an unwritten rule of pastoring, I had to at least try it. And you know what? It was good. No beans (which make me hurl at the scent) was the key. We stayed there until the little bungalow was full of grandkids and grand-nephews and Beth and I retreated. Finally, to close out the day we watched "The Legend of Bagger Vance." There's nothing like watching a film loosely based on the Hindu text "The Bhagavad Gita" to get ya in the
Christmas spirit.

Anyway, that's about it for the weekend. Bedtime.

Festive Foods Friday Five

Well friends, we've covered advent, music, and movies/TV--but we here at F5 HQ would be remiss if we did not acknowledge that quintessential holiday topic... fooooooooood.

1. Favorite cookie/candy/baked good without which, it's just not Christmas.
Homemade (or out of a tube) chocolate chip cookies. Usually they're Mom's, but since Beth and I are in The Texas, We're baking some tomorrow. Pillsbury chocolate chip in a tube and mint chocolate chip that Beth bought from some kid doing a fund raiser.

2. Do you do a fancy dinner on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, both, or neither? (Optional: with whom will you gather around the table this year?)
In the past, I've always gone to Dad's, Cathy and Dale's (aunt and uncle), or Grandma's for a big Christmas dinner. But again, we are in The Texas, and we're inventing new "Kurt and Beth" traditions as we go. I have a turkey breast that I'm thawing now, that I'm gonna try cooking on Christmas, and I think we have some pork roast I'm gonna cook up tomorrow night. We'll have family Christmas next weekend when we drive home to Missouri.

3. Evaluate one or more of the holiday beverage trifecta: hot chocolate, wassail, egg nog.
I have strange tastes. I used to LOVE egg nog, but now it makes me throw up a little bit in my mouth when I drink it (or at least I think so, i can't tell the difference in the taste).
Wassail is good, but I never fail to burn my lips on it...every freakin' year.
I've never been a fan of hot chocolate, but I think this is the year to start trying to like it. I'm tired of being left out when everyone else is drinking it. Perhaps my problem with it is that it is a "sipping drink." I chug just about every liquid at about 3 oz. a swallow, so I'll probably have to slow down and enjoy my hot chocolate.

4. Candy canes: do you like all the new-fangled flavors or are you a peppermint purist?
Purist. 'Cause I'm picky.

5. Have you ever actually had figgy pudding? And is it really so good that people will refuse to leave until they are served it?
I don't even know what it is. To be honest, it sounds like something some club boy would say before going out: Yo, dawg, I'm gonna go out and get me some of dat hot figgy pudding!"
But if figgy pudding was a slang term for hugs, then I'd completely understand the reluctance to leave without getting some sweet figgy pudding action.

Christmas Caroling

These are the greatest Christmas songs EVAR!

For those who know that Jesus is the reason for the season, may I present the most [wonderfully] hideous rendition of O, Holy Night.

For those who know that being a consumer whore is the reason for the season, something a little bit more secular. Here's a great version of Jingle Bell Rock. The lyrics are my favorite, for they are easy to remember.


Hat tip to Steve at The Sneeze.

I used to be more heretical...but I got better.

You scored as Chalcedon compliant. You are Chalcedon compliant. Congratulations, you're not a heretic. You believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man and like us in every respect, apart from sin. Officially approved in 451. Chalcedon compliant 100% Modalism 33% Apollanarian 33% Nestorianism 33% Monophysitism 33% Pelagianism 33% Arianism 0% Monarchianism 0% Adoptionist 0% Docetism 0% Donatism 0% Albigensianism 0% Socinianism 0% Gnosticism 0% Are you a heretic? created with QuizFarm.com

I took this test nearly a year ago and I got a 92% You know what that means? That each percentage point is worth about 375 dollars. Thank you Christian Heritage I and Introduction to Theology!

The few heresies that I tend toward are probably due to my reluctance to select anything other than one of the two extreme ends of the Likert scales.