Twice in the past
week people asked me why I have not written a blog post recently. Others have said
the same thing in recent months. It is not that I don’t have anything to say.
It is just that my thoughts are not publishable.
I have written articles and never posted them. Sometimes they
were printed in the local newspaper in the religion column I write for. But
hardly anyone reads that, so it is almost the same as not publishing them!
Some of my articles are still sitting in a folder on my
laptop. Others I deleted after writing, being too controversial for a small
town pastor to voice publicly. Still others disappeared when my hard drive
crashed a few months ago. I see that as divine intervention.
I have been thinking a lot about persecution of Christians
in the world. The destruction of ancient Christian communities and public
executions of Christians have been weighing heavy on my heart. I have been
thinking about the rise of Islamic extremism. I have been watching with concern
the marginalization of religion and the eroding of religious liberty in our
country.
I have been thinking of the growing crop of presidential
hopefuls. (Lord, save us from them!) I
have been thinking about the ruling class in America. I am increasingly disgusted
with the two main political parties, and I wonder how anyone can believe in
them anymore.
I have been increasingly amazed by the senseless tripe that
is paraded as news on the major networks. Every channel runs exactly the same
stories, with the same footage. They run the same stories night after night. New,
unique, and important events are happening every day in the world, and they are
ignored by the media.
You see? That is why I have not written anything. I get upset.
I feel like I am in a Wachowski movie. I have chosen the red pill, and
sometimes wish I had taken the blue one. Life is so much easier when you
believe whatever you want to believe. I have also been reading the novels of
Philip K. Dick recently. That does not help.
I am increasingly dismayed at Christian religion in America
- mainline Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, and evangelical Christianity. The anti-scientific
bias in Christianity – liberal and conservative - astounds me. The narcissistic
introversion of popular spirituality amazes me. The cultural captivity and herd
mentality of both progressive and evangelical Christianity repulses me. Where
is Kierkegaard when you need him?
You see, I am already saying too much. I probably should have
kept some of those thoughts in the folder on my laptop. Anyway, this is why I
have been blogless. Now you know. But who knows? Perhaps this post will be the
beginning of a change.