viernes, junio 13, 2014

Summer of Critical Thinking

Waiting. That's what I'm doing today. I'm waiting for a book I ordered: Toxic Charity by Robert Lupton. The subtitle is How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It.) I have been doing quite a bit of study on domestic American problems and possible solutions, and the problems of other countries and how we can help them. Morgan Spurlock is a great documentarian, not shying away from even the most controversial of subjects. (His shows, 30 Days, and Inside Man, can be found on Netflix.) I also enjoy the Our America documentaries by Lisa Ling. Some of the topics covered are religious extremism and atheism, abortion, environmental issues, poverty, homelessness, human trafficking, lack of water and other infrastructure, jails, immigration and migrant workers, the booming elderly population, which brings with it issues and problems of health care, elder abuse, end of life issues, assisted suicide. Also addressed is bankruptcy, whether for one individual or a city or an entire state or even country. This list just scrapes the ice of all the sticky issues that we (whether we realize it or not) deal with on a daily basis. There is an old saying by the rock band Rush that, "When you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." We can't just close our eyes to all these issues and go merrily along our way; neither should we get so weighed down that we are paralyzed and unable to function. For me, I've made the choice to be informed about as many of these issues as I can, and to think through the issues and come to a Biblically formed conclusion . . . at least that's my goal. Thinking through these hard topics has already strengthened my prayer life and added to my conversation topics. It has also shown me how hard and complex some issues can be, and how much I need to rely on God and His mercy in making hard decisions.

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