Beatitudes Posts by category: News

As we approach Labor Day 2010, I, like 9.5% of Americans, am unemployed. So I thought for this blog that I’d lay out the concerns I’d like to hear addressed in a sermon and then see what Biblical stories and responses we can come up with that offer succor during this time. I hope that this can be a dialogue…

The chattering classes in Washington seem to indicate that the Obama administration will be implementing a new foreclosure prevention program that actually seeks to reduce the outstanding principal on mortgages that are currently upside down (owe more than they are worth).

We all know that the country is in a housing crisis. Every time a house is foreclosed upon, not only is one family displaced, but it reduces the value of every other home in the neighborhood, increases the likelihood for crime, and reduces the tax base for the city in which they formerly lived. Even so, I was not surprised to see the following reaction:

Ok, I want to start with the necessary caveat that nothing is over till it is over and that health care reform still needs attention. Furthermore, this certainly isn't the last step to a perfect system and it will have to be tweaked in the future.

That being said...

I recognize that one of the stickiest issues in the intersection between faith and politics is that of abortion. Though I disagree with some positions taken by self-described "pro-life" people, I do believe I understand their position and can appreciate where they are coming from.

There has recently been considerable publicity and energy over whether or not the current reforms before Congress would actually encourage more abortion. I am aware of 0 people on either side of this debate who actually would advocate for more abortions. Thus, this is a considerable charge.

However, I believe that much of the rhetoric around abortion and health care reform has failed to live up to reality...

I'm often accused of approaching political issues with a left-leaning bias. I plead guilty! Despite this, I do not believe I hold most of my positions out of fealty to a particular political party, but out of core principals that I draw from studying politics and policy in light of my faith.

As such, I often think the positions I hold on moral issues are those that do not cut strictly down the liberal-conservative moral divide. While I may espouse liberalism in the laws passed by the government, this does not mean I believe in an anything-goes world.

I say this because I’m about to tread into an issue where I have been accused of being a softhearted liberal.