God. Real. Right.

The closer an election, the greater the shallow promises intended to convince a few more voters toward one side or the other. Since by definition the majority of people are not wealthy, many of those shallow promises are aimed at the middle class and lower. “We will not raise taxes (or we will lower taxes) for anyone making less than $xxxx.” But promises are not the only way to win a middle-class heart. There are also attacks on a minority, in this case the wicked people who make more money than they do. “Greedy corporate executives have abused the free market and they ought to be punished.” Never mind that it is not greed, but the success at acting on their greed which actually aggravates the critic’s audience. That is, there is no political bounty to be had by attacking those who are greedy but fail to gain wealth through it: only those whose greed brings them wealth face the criticism, revealing the hypocrisy of a criticism motivated more by its disdain for wealth (or even profit) than for greed.
But back to the point: even a cursory analysis of those attacks extrudes Read the rest of this entry »

Scientists have apparently (or non-apparently, as the case may be) taken a big step toward making invisibility a possibility–according to an AP story and a C|Net article out this week.
But putting the technical aspects of a childhood dream aside, living among people who are invisible, or of living invisibly among people, is already an adult nightmare; ethically, that is.
Here’s a smidgen of background on egoism and altruism: People need each other. That fact is the bane and purpose of human existence in the world. It also explains why it is so easy to explain all human behavior, even what looks like altruism, as egoism. Altruism is a sincere (pure, simple) concern for others. Egoism is pure concern for self. While egoism is an essential part of living as a human it is not sufficient to explain genuinely ethical living. The Western world’s claim that everything people do is egoistic is wrongly motivated, wrong-headed, and wrong. Worse yet, if the West’s worldview were correct it would mean either that morals are not real (artificial constructs of society or individual psyches) or that morals are nothing more than a description of the selfishness of those who are approved by whoever stands in judgment–a famished view of ethics at best.
Back to the invisible man: The normal way for people to act Read the rest of this entry »

Here is the next message from the book of James. It’s on chapter 4, verses 1 through 5. I delivered it as interim pastor at First Baptist, Madisonville, TX. This passage deals with the most fundamental ethical issue, and with the reason practical discipleship (practiced Christianity) often fails. It deals with the inherent problem with egoism (of any form), and the value of altruism. The reason Christians often end up with unanswered prayer and acting as the enemy of God is not that they imitate just any immoral, worldly behavior, but that they choose self over others. It is a very important passage for contemporary theology and practical Christian living.
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