The Christian Life

The relationship between Church and State, particularly the intersection of Christianity and politics, has been on my mind since I first started paying attention during the lead-up to the 2008 USA presidential election. Back then, I was just a high school student, but these themes have stuck with me ever since. (For those curious, here’s a quick timeline: In 2012, I was studying biblical studies in college. By 2016, I was a seminarian, and in 2020, I was working on my Ph.D. in theology. Now, in 2024, I’m a software engineer! Yet political theology continues to weigh on my mind.) ...

(The following prayers come from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.) Prayers for the Sick For a Sick Person O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need: We humbly beseech thee to behold, visit, and relieve thy sick servant N. for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon him with the eyes of thy mercy; comfort him with a sense of thy goodness; preserve him from the temptations of the enemy; and give him patience under his affliction. In thy good time, restore him to health, and enable him to lead the residue of his life in thy fear, and to thy glory; and grant that finally he may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ...

TL;DR: If you’re serious about biblical and theological studies, you should invest in Logos 10 Bible Software. Do so via my exclusive partner offer for Logos 10 here! If I could go back in time and chat with Joshua Steele when he was a Bible & Spanish major in college, there are a few things I’d tell my younger self: Quit laughing at How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and READ the thing. Baba ghanoush is superior to hummus. Study computer science sooner rather than later. Bite the bullet and INVEST IN A LOGOS BIBLE SOFTWARE LIBRARY. Don’t get me wrong. I love physical books as much as anyone, and I own quite a few (hundred)! ...

Help me out. I’m looking for the best, clearest, and most charitable explanations of the following three things: the biblical and theological reasons for caring about social justice and systemic racism, the unfair ways in which some have used accusations of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Cultural Marxism to sideline legitimate Christian concerns about social justice and systemic racism, and the legitimate Christian critiques of CRT and Marxism. Now, I know that there are plenty of resources out there that address each of the three items above! ...

The following is a “collect” prayer that I composed for Juneteenth in 2020. What’s a “collect” prayer? The short form of prayer, constructed (with many varieties of detail) from (1) an invocation, (2) a petition, and (3) a pleading of Christ’s name or an ascription of glory to God; and one of the most characteristic items in the W[estern] liturgy. Source: The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church For more on Juneteenth, see “The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth” (National Museum of African American History and Culture). ...

There are PLENTY of resource recommendations out there for those interested in learning more about racism and anti-racism (just Google “best X (books, movies, podcasts, etc.) on racism,” “antiracist reading list,” etc.). However, I’m worried that, especially for people who are not used to working their way through lengthy reading lists, getting so many recommendations at once will lead to nothing due to the paradox of choice. I’d much rather recommend a single book that someone will actually read than 100 books they won’t! ...

I commend the entire interview series that Ed Stetzer recently did with Esau McCaulley. Among many highlights, I appreciate McCaulley’s following answer to the question of negotiating the differences between protests and riots. Again, read the whole interview and series, but here’s a key section related to concern about rioting and lawlessness: [Ed Stetzer] We both agree: Protests are good. Riots are not. Unpack that for us from your context. Esau: There is a cycle of what happens. There’s a racial incident. African Americans protest. Some of those protests from people inside and outside the community turn violent. People say, “Hey, look at this. Why aren’t the Christians who are speaking out against the racial injustice equally strong speaking about the riots?” ...

Certainly, the Bible has much to say about individual sin and redemption. But (1) focusing on “systemic” issues doesn’t need to negate a focus on “individual” issues. In fact, a focus on “systemic racism” actually exerts a lot of pressure to evaluate people individually, and not on the basis of their race—as long as we keep in mind how those supposedly individual evaluations are often subtly (and nefariously) shaped by systemic issues. ...

The “Occasional Prayers” section of the Book of Common Prayer is a goldmine, particularly when the going gets tough. The following prayers come from the Anglican Church in North America’s 2019 Book of Common Prayer. You can view the text of the 2019 BCP here. And you can download a Word document containing all of the Occasional Prayers here. 58. FOR A PERSON IN TROUBLE OR BEREAVEMENT O merciful Father, you have taught us in your holy Word that you do not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men: Look with pity on the sorrows of your servant N. Remember him, O Lord, in mercy; nourish his soul with patience; comfort him with a sense of your goodness; lift up your countenance upon him; and give him peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ...

This code of conduct very much relates to Rapoport’s Rules, Adler’s advice, and Alan Jacobs’s “The Thinking Person’s Checklist.” SOURCE: T. Edward Damer, Attacking Faulty Reasoning: A Practical Guide to Fallacy-Free Arguments, 6th ed (Australia ; Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2009), 7–8. 1. The Fallibility Principle Each participant in a discussion of a disputed issue should be willing to accept the fact that he or she is fallible, which means that one must acknowledge that one’s own initial view may not be the most defensible position on the question. ...