LEGATO...

I have returned from Kenya and Uganda, where for one week I ministered to a group of pastors in Kenya and a group of Bishops in Uganda. I was traveling with Equipping Pastors International (EPI). Being a cultural historian and theologian of culture, I must say that the experience was personally stimulating and instructive. There are many aspects of East Africa culture that are worthy of report, issues that I will try to take up in an article or two on my website, www.roadfromeden.com. However, here I will mention just one observations from my trip regarding the cultural situation in this troubled region of the world. Uganda won its liberty from Great Britain in 1962, followed closely by Kenya in 1963. Liberty is a priceless treasure, but unless individuals and nations know how to handle liberty, it can quickly turn into a prison, manifesting great religious, tribal, and political abuse. Such is the case with these two nations, it seems to me. Being an American, with a decidedly America...

On Fox news, Shepherd Smith first drew out attention to a new phenomenon, if you choose to call it that, in which people are now eating hamburger, laden with cheese, and whatever, and putting it all between a sliced, Crispy Cream doughnut. Some years ago, it was Aristotle who mentioned the need for "balance" in all things. But the issue is really not one "balance" but of glorifying God in all that we do, in this case, our bodies, the temple of the Holy Spirit. It may appear as a small thing, but to apply the claims of Christ to our ever-dissolving culture, we must not overlook a single thing. Is putting a hamburger between a doughnut (see the video above and you'll gain a better sense of how hedonistically wacko this idea is) too small a thing for a Christian response? We live in a culture of pleasure, and one that is forever discovering news ways to seek it, even in the most cavalier and indeed stupid ways. The hamburger/doughnut combo is the equivalent of skat...

It ought to be clear that the Obama Administration is trying to have it both ways. It wants to appear strong in the face of world aggression while placate the far-left. The problem is that war is not a patient game. The realities of what is happening on the ground will not wait until the administration lawyers figure out how to straddle the picket-fence without turning themselves into castrato singers. Meanwhile, people are dying. This is what happens when armies flinch. We see this pattern time and time again in Scripture. Armies that hesitate lose. There is a further spiritual truth to glean from all of this -- a teaching point, if you will. One day a man asked Jesus if he could be one of his followers. But the man first wanted to go home to say goodbye to his family. Jesus, sensing the man's conflicted desire to be a true follower, responded, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." There are several good reasons why...