4th of July sermon preached by the Rev. Harold W. Anderson, Ph.D., July, 2005 Before I became a marriage and family therapist, I was a minister. The last church I pastored before retirement was a church in Brush, Colorado, a community that politically and theologically was my opposite. I embraced a liberal mindset; most inContinue reading “Walking through Grainfields”
Category Archives: Politics
Rushing Headlong towards Civil War?
Two clergy worry about the divided nature of our country and wonder what type of sacrifice is necessary for the division to be healed. They worry if it can it be healed or are we as a country rushing headlong into another civil war? Hundreds of thousands died in the last one. What will happenContinue reading “Rushing Headlong towards Civil War?”
Mass Shootings and Red Herrings
Red Herrings, if left unattended, tend to stink up the place and the red herrings that prevent intelligent and common-sense responses to mass shooting are indeed stinking up our country. Can you say red herring? A red herring fallacy is a ploy used to divert people’s attention from the original topic of discussion. Following theContinue reading “Mass Shootings and Red Herrings”
Rhetoric vs. Reality: Are They the same?
We live in a world where all too often politics divides us more than unite us. If this division sparks a useful debate, it is helpful. But when it furthers the divide, which breeds hate, we have a problem. Perhaps it is by understanding the relationship between rhetoric and reality that we find the wisdomContinue reading “Rhetoric vs. Reality: Are They the same?”
Are We Going to Die?
Pictured is a postage stamp that recalls the tense standoff between John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. When I was a child, we lived close to the-now-defunct Gowen Field, a strategic airbase near Boise, Idaho that, I was told, was one of the main targets for nuclearContinue reading “Are We Going to Die?”
Mental Health Care and the Free Market
Should Mental Health Care go to the highest bidder? I can remember a conversation I had a while back with a county commissioner. I was discussing an idea with him when he paused, calculated for a moment, and said “Yes. That fits into my way of thinking.” It was a while ago, so I don’tContinue reading “Mental Health Care and the Free Market”
Red-Letter Christians and the Prophetic Imagination
The basis of spiritual community is truth; the basis of emotional community is desire. The essence of spiritual community is light. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together “The red letters are the words of Jesus.” Told to me by my mother as a child When I was a young child, our church had a contest. The firstContinue reading “Red-Letter Christians and the Prophetic Imagination”
The Common What?
This essay was precipitated by a friend who wanted me to respond to his question: What do you think will solve our country’s problems? Asking for solutions to our country’s problems is mind-boggling if for no other reason than it begs the question of what is wrong with our country. There are so many problemsContinue reading “The Common What?”