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Author: Tim

Senior pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ. Ordained in May, 1983. Called to First Congregational UCC in August, 1994. Retired July 1, 2018.
who’s irresponsible?

who’s irresponsible?

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In a time of war, it’s irresponsible for the Democrat leadership in — Democratic leadership in Congress to delay for months on end while our troops in combat are waiting for the funds.

– George Bush, speaking to the press this morning in the Rose Garden

Is it irresponsible to exercise congressional oversight over a war that the majority of the American people believe is being mishandled?

Is it irresponsible to refuse to allow the administration to do whatever it wants, however it wants, without input from the people’s representatives?

Is it irresponsible to ask for dialogue about a war that is costing this nation dearly — in money, in lives, and in reputation?

Or is the truly irresponsible thing to undermine the moral credibility of this nation, to expend billions of dollars and thousands of lives, to provoke an enormity of sufffering and death among the civilian population of a foreign nation, all for the sake of a war of choice, a war without need, a war without cause?

american dynasties?

american dynasties?

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Is anyone else troubled by the fact that if Hillary Clinton is elected president in November, 2008, we will begin a third decade with a head of state drawn from just two families? Since January, 1989 — already twenty years — either a Bush or a Clinton has occupied the Oval Office.

editing jesus for an american audience

editing jesus for an american audience

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This is too good … and all too true … not to reprint in full. You may see the original posting at The Sermon on the Mount, American Style.

The Sermon on the Mount is regarded by most Christians as the heart of Jesus’ teaching. Unfortunately, what Jesus has to say there has not been overwhelmingly embraced by much of the Christian community in America. Perhaps it is time to update the sermon so that it is more in line with American culture. Maybe something like this:

You have heard that you shall not kill. But sometimes you just have to. And don’t worry too much about anger or demeaning language. In order to win a war you must demonize your enemy, otherwise people won’t hate them.

You have heard it said you shall not commit adultery. But let’s face it, movies and television would be so dull without it. And forget about trying to suppress lust. You do that and no one will ever be able to sell a car or bar of soap anywhere.

And don’t get too worked up about divorce. Everyone knows that it is easier to end a marriage than it is to sustain one.

You have heard it said you shall not swear falsely, but common sense tells us if we are going to do business in the real world sometimes the truth must be ignored. If this gets too complicated, you may need to consult an attorney.

You have heard it said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. I don’t know how I can improve on that. The same for love your neighbors and hate your enemies. Some things just should not be changed.

Let me talk to you about prayer. What good is it if you go off and pray in secret where no one can see or hear you? Get out there in public, on television, at football games, during school days–pray out loud. What good is prayer if God is the only one who hears it?

And the same thing is true about charitable giving. Try to schedule a press conference so the media will see your good works. You might also think about printing an annual report of your good deeds so there will be a permanent record. After all, what good is charity if no one knows you’ve done anything?

Here is the bottom line: If you don’t take care of yourself, no one else will. Dress for success. Eat only the best foods at the finest restaurants. Keep that body healthy. No one wants to look at your flabby thighs. I say unto you–no one with flabby thighs will enter the kingdom, or any of the finer clubs for that matter.

Set high standards and don’t let anyone off the hook. If you cut someone a break, all they will do is go out and make the same mistake again. You’ve got to watch people all the time. They cannot be trusted. If they get half a chance, they will get you and yours.

Always seek to be first in line. The last one in line is going to be the last one in. Strive to always associate with strong, wealthy people. Those are the people who help you get ahead. Don’t think about death or suffering. Thoughts like that are for losers.

And no matter what, do not give to people who beg from you. That only encourages more begging and less work. Remember the secret to life rests in this one golden principle: Do unto others before they do unto you.

After Jesus had finished these sayings, he got into his private jet and flew off for a relaxing week in the Bahamas where he could check on his offshore tax shelters while enjoying duty free shopping. And many people in American said, Amen.

thinking ahead about energy

thinking ahead about energy

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The U.S. economy depends heavily on oil, particularly in the transportation sector. World oil production has been running at near capacity to meet demand, pushing prices upward. Concerns about meeting increasing demand with finite resources have renewed interest in an old question: How long can the oil supply expand before reaching a maximum level of production, a peak from which it can only decline?

On Thursday, the U. S. Governmental Accountability Office released a report urging attention to the looming problems posed by a finite oil supply, the unpredictability of sustained production at current levels, and the potential for severe consequences, including a worldwide recession. The report recommends a strategy to coordinate and prioritize federal agency efforts to reduce uncertainty about the likely timing of a peak and to advise Congress on how best to mitigate consequences.

Read a summary of the report: GAO: U.S. needs a peak oil strategy.

containment and the war on terrorism

containment and the war on terrorism

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In the run-up to the Iraq invasion, the Bush administration rejected containment as an obsolete Cold War hangover. Advocates of containment were accused of appeasement. But now we know that the containment regime worked: Saddam Hussein’s Iraq was in no position to threaten anyone, let alone the United States.

That’s the first paragraph of an article published in the Yale Alumni Magazine. The article, A Better Strategy Against Terror is adapted from Ian Shapiro’s new book, Containment: Rebuilding a Strategy against Global Terror (Princeton University Press). The article — and I would expect, the book! — are well worth reading.

torture hurts all of us

torture hurts all of us

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I started realizing that most of the prisoners were innocent. We were torturing people for no reason. I started getting really angry and really remorseful and by the time I got back I completely broke down.

I’m from New York City. I’m college-educated. But you put me in Iraq and told me to torture, and I did it and I regretted it later.

I didn’t know I would discover and indulge in my own evil. And now that it has surfaced, I fear that it will be my constant companion for the rest of my life.

(Tony Lagouranis, discussing his service in Iraq as a military intelligence specialist, quoted in the International Herald Tribune: “We were torturing people for no reason.”)

Torture hurts all of us … ravaging the bodies and the souls of those who are tortured, human beings like us, some “guilty,” some “innocent” … leaving a creeping and hungry darkness planted deep in the bodies and souls of those who do torture, human beings like us, haunted now by their own shadows … touching too the bodies and souls of all of us who silently look away or make excuses or try to justify the torturing, leaving us less than what we were, less just, less human.

Some things simply must never be done, under any circumstances. What little is gained — in intelligence(?), in security(?), in the preservation of freedom(?) — comes at the cost of our souls, of all of our souls.

a conversation that needs to happen, but won’t

a conversation that needs to happen, but won’t

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From today’s New York Times: Bush Vows Not to Negotiate on Iraq Timetable

A defiant President Bush vowed today not to negotiate with Congress about setting a date for withdrawing American troops from Iraq, and he said the American people would blame lawmakers if there is any delay in approving money for the war effort.

“Now, some of them believe that by delaying funding for our troops, they can force me to accept restrictions on our commanders that I believe would make withdrawal and defeat more likely,” Mr. Bush said. “That’s not going to happen. If Congress fails to pass a bill to fund our troops on the front lines, the American people will know who to hold responsible.”

I believe, I want to believe, that Mr. Bush believes he is doing what is best for our country by “staying the course” in Iraq, but sincerity and good intentions are not enough. By refusing to bend at all and by summarily dismissing legislation setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq passed by both the House and the Senate, Mr. Bush is not merely defying the Democratically-controlled Congress, he is defying the intent of the Constitution. The Constitution intends a trilateral sharing of power, a system of checks and balances, so that one person, one office, even one branch of government will not act alone, unilaterally establishing national policy.

But this administration wants to pursue its war as it sees fit, without counsel, without oversight, without negotiation, without compromise. The bills passed by Congress and the bill which may eventually reach the president’s desk should provide, not an ultimatum, but a starting point for conversation, a conversation that could lead to a policy more closely reflecting the will of the people. But this administration has already decided by itself what is best for the people.

“If we cannot muster the resolve to defeat this evil in Iraq, America will have lost its moral purpose in the world. And we will endanger our citizens, because if we leave Iraq before the job is done, the enemy will follow us here.”

We have already lost our moral purpose in the world. The invasion of Iraq four years ago was a preemptive strike; an act of war in response to a perceived threat, not to any provocation; quite simply an act of aggression, illegal and immoral. The United States and its allies invaded a sovereign nation without just cause, and the immorality of that act has only been compounded by the immense suffering of the Iraqi population.

We cannot unring that bell and the situation on the ground in Iraq today is complex and unpredictable. The daily violence despite — or because of — the presence of American troops is horrendous, and it is almost certain that the violence without the presence of American troops would be even worse. But as a moral issue, the war does not become any more moral by its elongation. The immoral war is still immoral, and the only way to redress that failing and to reclaim any moral redemption is to cease and desist … to leave Iraq.

beauty out of place

beauty out of place

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A floating rose

The red rose is out of place, floating on the surface of the bay, but even there holds our attention with its beauty … just as the one the rose remembers is out of place, not being here, but even so still holds our attention.