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Massacre and Violent Rhetoric:

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I wrote some of these words 12 years ago after the Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, CT. Unfortunately not much has changed, other than a continued increase in violent rhetoric from many sides. We are especially seeing a lot more violent rhetoric within right-leaning political circles. The public growth and empowerment of Nazi, Neo-Nazi, white supremacist, racist, misogynist, and anti-immigrant sentiment, including related rhetoric and actions continues to increase. We can talk all we want about minor contributing factors, but it does no good if we do not stem the tide of incivility in our media, political, and social discourse. Too many pundits in religious circles have been decrying various issues as responsible for the massacre at Sandy Hook. Some say the issue is the separation of church and state and the withdrawal of state-sponsored religious speech and rituals. Others claim the influence of video game and television violence, or the prevalence of and easy access to deadly...
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You Made Me Choose, but Why?

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Did you really think I would give you more importance than my own daughter? Did you really think you could use our father’s memory as a weapon to bend me to your will? Did you really think pulling rank would force me to adapt to your definitions of propriety, when you have never once interrupted your life on my behalf? Did you really think protecting a relationship that has always depended on my initiative would have greater weight than maintaining, caring for, and supporting the family I’ve made and lived with more than twice the time I ever lived with you? Did you really think I would refashion my life and character after your expectations for me? Did you really think I would hand over my autonomy to you, simply because you refused to listen or learn anything about me and my family? Did you really think I would interpret your attempts to control me and my family as love? Did you really think I don’t understand love enough to recognize your prote...
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The Harbinger: It Begins

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In the humblest of spaces where the reportedly important are loathe to go we find truth, meaning, and value. In a world ripped apart by violence, anger, hate, and incivility all powered by greed, God arrives in the simplest guise of all. God’s arrival is the greatest of all messages, even when we miss the point. As much as we portray ourselves as important, superior, and greater than any and all others, the Greatest of all enters our midst with no semblance of fanfare. As far as anyone in Chickasaw knew, it was another night like any other. Nothing special was going on that evening, unless you count a newborn baby’s cry. There was nothing of note in most of the ways we consider something important. The newborn did not cry out in a sterile hospital delivery room. There were no doctors or nurses attending in scrubs. We’ll never know its Apgar scores. No one recorded weight, length, race, or footprints. The only people to know of this baby’s birth should have been the very few i...
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Demolition Cabinet

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I keep hearing people bemoaning Trump’s cabinet picks. I hear them railing against their lack of qualifications, their criminal history, their sex crimes, that they would never pass background checks, that they know nothing of running the departments of the Federal government they are being tapped to run. What I see very little of is open recognition that these cabinet picks are not being tapped to run a government at all. We saw this in Trump’s last term, but now he has the backing to go much further. Remember Betsy DeVos tapped for Department of Education? She was named because she had a competing interest with public education in the ownership of charter schools. She was not placed there to make the Department of Education run more smoothly or improve public education. She was there to help bleed the department, making it less effective and shifting funding to cronies with profit motives. Remember Louis DeJoy elevated to the US Postal Service? He had competing pro...
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What Was It?

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America, why did you vote for a narcissistic, uncouth, white supremacist, Nazi, convicted felon for president. Was it due to one of these traits? Violent rhetoric? Pussy-grabbing? Bankruptcies? Lying? Cheating? Mocking? Insults? Boasting? Lack of filter? Immorality? Pretense? Adultery? Rape? Pedophilia? Visible anger? Nepotism? Destruction of standards? Incivility? Base instincts? Anti-social behavior? Anti-intellectualism? Crass ignorance? Distrust of government? Disregard for decency? Abuse of the system? Blatant self-promotion? Disregard for expertise? Or did the racism and misogyny outweigh all of that? — ©Copyright 2024, Christopher B. Harbin  http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/ My latest books  can be found here on Amazon
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Abusing Reconciliation

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I hear many calls for reconciliation, a la Rodney King, to just get along. Reconciliation is a bit more complicated. It requires an admission of guilt and wrong. It requires change. It cannot accept simply sweeping wrongs under the rug as though no harm has been done. We can become reconciled if I have hurt you, but only as far as I am willing to make amends and change course into the future. Anything less is a cover for more abuse. To be reconciled requires a meeting of minds and intentions, respecting and honoring each other’s human dignity. I am in control only of myself and my actions. I can only do so much toward reconciliation. It takes accepting responsibility for my own actions. It does not necessitate taking responsibility for the actions of others, nor should it. Jesus does not ignore injustice, abuse, anger, hate, and violence. Jesus addressed issues regarding abuse and oppression. It's the same with reconciliation with God. It requires ...
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Recognizing Anti-Christ

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Popular Christianity works under a false notion of what the Bible speaks of in terms of “The Antichrist.” First of all, John’s epistles are much easier to read, translate, and understand than Revelation. An essential rule for Biblical interpretation is that what is clear takes precedence over what is not clear. Secondly, what is repeated received more weight than a one-off statement. John’s epistles should be given more credit than the uncertainties surrounding a few verses in Revelation. John speaks clearly of multiple anti-Christs that had already arisen in his day. That refers to the turn of the First Century. He starts that comment with, “You have heard that anti-Christ is coming.” He is fully aware of an already popular concept of a coming anti-Christ. He then disparages that notion by saying that indeed, “many anti-Christs have already come.” The term anti-Christ means just what the terms signify. It is any who are in opposition to Christ. As such, John points to ...
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