Oak Ridge Today

Guest column: Imperial religion has no place in the Kingdom of God

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Preparing for the greatest day of the year, Easter, was a bit harder this year than last. On Thursday, the night we remember how Jesus was betrayed and handed over to both the religious and political empires of his day, I happened to read of the new bill that seeks to designate the Bible as the state book of Tennessee.

There are a ton of ways to scream “no” to this legislation, starting with the both the Tennessee Constitution and the United States Constitution. There is also the objection that the bill places the transcendental and eternal qualities of the Bible on the same footing as the lily (our state flower) or the raccoon (our state animal). Of course, then there’s just downright common sense: The laws I use to influence my neighbor’s religion (or lack of) can easily be the same laws by which my neighbor one day attempts to subjugate me.

Those are fine ways to oppose this bill, but they are of lesser concern to me as a Christian pastor of 25 years. I am most deeply concerned at the way in which an action like this stands in stark opposition to the actions and words of the Bible itself, most especially as revealed in the person of Jesus. [Read more…]

Guest column: Destiny

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DESTINY! I love that term. Some people use that word when asking the question, “Where do you think you will go after death?”

Well, I prefer to ponder that word when considering the question: “What is my unique mission I am to accomplish here on earth? What is my destiny?”

A few years ago I coined my own description of the path we travel to reach our own unique destiny. I define that path to destiny as

A series of propelling events which are statistically impossible to have all happened to the same person.

You see, I don’t believe we can make our ultimate impact on this earth unless we travel this seemingly coincidental path. If we are in complete charge of our own lives, then the outcome will be our own accomplishment. But if we are cooperating with God’s unseen grace then our ultimate impact just might be accomplished. [Read more…]

Guest column: Christmas Meditation 2014

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Christmas is the time of year when we think about giving and receiving. For many, the giving part comes rather easily. Indeed, we are reminded how blessed it is to give than receive. But this morning, I want to share how it’s sometimes difficult to be on the receiving end.

One summer when I was a young lad, I attended a day camp, which included horseback riding among its assorted activities. Learning to ride horses for the very first time was very exciting, but it was diminished as I discovered how unkind the instructors (college students from the local college) were to me. I never understood why.

My way of dealing with it was to keep to myself and suffer through the perceived rejection.

One day, I accidently slammed my finger in the door of a truck used to haul us around. It hurt terribly, but I resisted the notion to report it to somebody. My thought was: “Who would care that I smashed my finger?” It was unusually hard for me to ask for help in this particular instance.

Eventually, the pain became so intense I broke down and asked for help. And when I did, I discovered the most remarkable thing: The people I thought didn’t care about me were eager to help me with my dilemma. Their compassion was amazing. Their love for me was evidenced in their care and concern for my injury. [Read more…]

Guest column: ‘More than true’…Christmas matters

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I had a talk not too long ago with a very intelligent person about Christian Christmas stories. He asked, “Surely you don’t actually believe that the Christmas story you preach really happened?” It was a question that I settled long ago, although it reminded me that many people still struggle with their faith around the holidays.

Even though there are probably some good reasons to ponder the “reality” of the Nativity story over the holidays, I honestly don’t even think about it anymore. I once read a quote that went something like, “The question is not always whether it is real, but whether it matters…the things that matter most become reality.”

Atheist Sam Harris has written about “tiny lies” and the cost they have on our culture. He even discusses Santa Claus, taking on a popular non-religious Christmas tradition as a form of deception. I see Harris, much like my friend, in a very “stuck” place. When we bring the wrong question to the table, we often feel the need to “force feed” answers. No one likes being force-fed.

When it comes to Santa, the question for families is not so much whether or not he and his reindeer troop are real; rather the question is whether or not he matters. Because if he matters, every family finds a way to make him real during the season. [Read more…]

Letter from Oak Ridge clergy: Public statement on Ferguson

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Yesterday’s decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson—who shot and killed 18-year old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August—serves as the latest flashpoint for heated racial tensions involving our criminal justice system. Whether one feels Officer Wilson’s action constituted “a crime” or not, the reality is that young black males are at a far greater risk of being shot dead by police than their white counterparts. Consequently, a tremendous amount of our nation’s racial history and tension gets exposed in reactions to such shootings because, regardless of the reason, the rate that blacks are killed by police is startling when set against the rest of the American population.  During these times of heightened racial frustration, it is critically important for the faith community to lift up a unified voice.

The Michael Brown case presents a unique challenge for racial harmony because the “no indictment” announcement was carried out in a way that highly frustrated many in the black community and went to great lengths to communicate that no crime was committed. As a result, many African Americans believe this case to be an attempt to “turn back the clock on race relations,” while many others see it as a successful demonstration of the effectiveness of the American justice system. So the question becomes, “How does the community of faith move forward in unity?”

First, we must draw inspiration from this situation. We must inspire our congregations to believe that God is still sovereign in spite of human brokenness. We must also inspire our people to believe that God, in His sovereignty, will ensure justice always prevails. Psalm 9:7-8 says, “But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment, And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.” [Read more…]

High Places has ‘Walk Thru the Bible’ on Sept. 7

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High Places Community Church

High Places Community Church in Grove Center is pictured above.

High Places Community Church will be hosting a special “Walk Thru the Bible” event on Sunday, September 7, at the historic Grove Theater at 123 Randolph Road in Oak Ridge.

The event has been booked as the result of a passion, one that stretches back more than 30 years in the heart of High Places’ founding pastor Martin Fischer, who also celebrates a birthday on the same date.

“What I want for my birthday is to host a party where anyone in attendance will be given a chance to experience the same thing I once did in a ‘Walk Thru the Bible’ event,” the Rev. Fischer said in a press release. “Years ago, I came away with a better understanding, appreciation, and even fascination for the way the Bible story unfolds through history. It was life-changing for me.”

This event, which focuses on the Old Testament, offers a unique and highly interactive way to gain better handles on the Bible stories that show how God built a “faith family” with the Hebrew people in the two millennium leading up to the birth of Jesus. [Read more…]

Guest column: Burying mistakes

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John Ragan

John Ragan

Our founders boldly asserted in the Declaration of Independence that our nation should exist because the “Laws of Nature and Nature’s God” entitle it to exist. They further held the God who authored these natural laws endowed everyone with certain, self-evident rights.

By these concepts, every individual has the same God-given equality before the law. There can be none with special, legal “privileges” such as royalty or aristocracy. Likewise, there can be no serfs inherently lacking certain rights.

An even more radical concept in that document is that government exists to protect these God-given rights. Furthermore, our nation’s founding document maintains that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, thus are accountable to them.

In other words, our founders insisted that government must answer to its citizens, not the other way around. However, events recently in the popular press have called this concept into question. [Read more…]

Guest column: Remembering Walt Whitman

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This Saturday, May 31, marks the 195th birthday of America’s greatest poet and perhaps even its greatest citizen to have ever lived: Walt Whitman. “Leaves of Grass,” as one contemporary reviewer put it at the time, was “an explosion in a sewer.” The reactions to Whitman’s work, at least in most circles, were largely unpleasant. One reviewer even suggested that Walt Whitman commit suicide.

“Leaves of Grass” was so offensive that it cost Walt several jobs, and by the end of his life, the poet died nearly in poverty, relying on the kindness of Britain’s literary elite just to survive and be buried.

I had the chance to visit the Walt Whitman home on a mini-Sabbatical in 2012. The caretaker there in Camden pulled a letter out and read it aloud to me. It was written by a middle-aged woman from England on September 11, 2001. As she watched the twin towers fall, she was uncertain how to express her grief and outrage—or even where to direct those thoughts. She chose Walt Whitman and eloquently expressed her love of America’s democratic spirit, stating there was no other place for her to lodge her thoughts than with Walt Whitman. The letter was powerful and brought tears to my eyes. [Read more…]

Church Women United celebrates friendship, service

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Church Women United invites the public to a program entitled “Through God Our Hands Can Serve” on Friday, May 2, in the parish hall of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church at 212 N. Tulane Ave. in Oak Ridge. The program celebrates May Friendship Day by focusing on the gifts that God has provided each of us to serve others.

Fellowship begins at 11:30 a.m., followed by a brief meeting and program at noon. A potluck lunch will be held afterward. Please bring something to share. Reservations are appreciated but not required.

CWU was founded in 1941 as a national interdenominational women’s movement to bring together women of diverse races, cultures, and traditions in closer Christian fellowship, prayer, advocacy, and service to strengthen communities and build peace with justice. For more information, contact Gay Marie Logsdon at (865) 483-7940.

Biblical scholar to give science, religion talk on Sunday

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Stan Saunders

Stan Saunders

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The topic for the 11th annual Jackson B. Davidson Memorial Lecture on Science and Religion will be “A Dwelling Place for God: Recovering the Forgotten Story of God, Humankind, Temple, and Creation.”

Stanley Saunders, associate professor of New Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga., will deliver the lecture at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 27, in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church, 1051 Oak Ridge Turnpike (at Lafayette Drive).

Refreshments will be served after the lecture, and childcare will be provided during and after the free talk.

“Modern, western Christians typically presume that Christian salvation entails escape from our bodies and this earth, so that we can dwell with God in an ethereal heavenly realm,” Saunders said. “The New Testament, on the other hand, much more clearly affirms a vision of God coming to dwell with us.” [Read more…]

Faith column: Does it make a difference to the dog?

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I once heard of a cute example of faith. It told of a stubborn husband who had fought the Lord for years. After a revival, he was converted and the neighbors said he was such a changed man, that even their dog could tell the difference!

I was in a conversation a while back with several people who had been around the Amish culture and known some of them personally. Now we all have ideas about certain groups and their beliefs. The Amish are probably one of the groups that most people hold to a higher expectation and standard. Their radical lifestyle suggests that they are set apart on purpose and desire to exhibit a more disciplined and holy lifestyle than most Protestant Christians would ever desire to attempt. But in this particular situation, their neighbors had taken the Amish to task for cruelty to animals, namely the inhumane treatment of their draft horse animals. It was an awkward situation for authorities to deal with. [Read more…]

Local church to offer neighborhood Bible study

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Christ Community Church

Christ Community Church will offer a new Bible study starting Thursday, Oct. 17. (Photo courtesy Julio Culiat)

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Promises. We’ve all made them and we have all had them made to us. Hopefully we’ve felt the elation of a promise kept. Most likely we’ve all experienced the heartbreak of a promise broken.

Indeed, promises can be tricky when made by mortal man.

But what about the promises that God makes to us? Can we trust him to be better at it than we are?

Beginning on Thursday evening, Oct. 17, Christ Community Church invites you to come and find out as we begin a new Bible study entitled “Covenant-Knowing God’s Promises.” [Read more…]