Blog - Page 223 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Preaching Is in My Heart

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:42-05:00August 3rd, 2008|Categories: Homiletics/Preaching|

The apostle Paul writes of preaching:

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believe in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

When I was ordained, back in August of 1970, the text my pastor used was 1 Timothy 5:17:
"The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching." I still recall him saying this means we should support, both personally and financially, those who labored in preaching. I knew almost nothing then but I was sure I was called to preach. There was, in my soul, that sense that said, "Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel."

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Why I Am a Conservative

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:42-05:00August 2nd, 2008|Categories: Politics|

I often consider the ways in which conservatives and liberals think about what they see in the world. They do reflect two rather dramatically different ways of seeing the world, at least in general. Someone has said that a conservative is a person who has been run over by reality. I like that. The hard core facts of human nature, human wars, and human institutions and how they change, all tend to make conservatives want to preserve and care for the future by not radically altering the present. Change is welcome but we must have a carefully thought out prospect for true success.

The problem with this philosophy is that conservatives can become reactionary and oppose progress when it is needed. They can develop a complete aversion to change and this, in the end, is not good. Movements for American civil rights, to cite one important example in my lifetime, required a more progressive vision of how things could be truly different or real change would not have come. So conservatives will always need a big dose of this reality to balance […]

Alabama's Christian Govenor Gets It Right

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:42-05:00August 1st, 2008|Categories: Separation of Church & State|

Alabama’s Governor Bob Riley has asked the churches of his state, in a May 20 address, to shoulder the burden of caring for the newly released inmates of the state. He says the state of Alabama lacks the funds and flexibility to do the job. Leaders from churches and other non-profit groups were asked to assist in housing, employment assistance, clothing, health care and cash. He made an interesting appeal when he said churches rose to the occasion when Hurricane Katrina
hit the region and if they had the will they could rise to this occasion as well. Speaking to a group of some 500 leaders Riley said, "If we can motivate the faith-based communities in the state the way we do during an emergency then we can make a difference." The state releases 11,000 prisoners each year.

This is an issue […]

The Meaning of Christian Brotherhood

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:42-05:00July 31st, 2008|Categories: Unity of the Church|

One of the very finest books written by Joseph Ratzinger, who would later become Pope Benedict XVI, was titled: The Meaning of Christian Brotherhood (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1993). The original German edition was published in 1960 when Ratzinger was still a young man in his thirties. Thus this book is also pre-Vatican II. And it happens to be one of the most important things Ratzinger ever wrote, so far as I am concerned.

Ratzinger’s treatise argues that a true Christian brotherhood exists between all were believers in the one Christ. He gives us the biblical grounds for real cooperation and does it in a way that remains Roman Catholic at the same time. Many Catholics and Protestants would do well to read this precious little book.

Ratzinger establishes a Christian brotherhood from the perspective of salvation history by opening up both the Old and New Testaments on the subject. He shows that there is a distinctively Christian sense of brotherhood […]

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:42-05:00July 30th, 2008|Categories: Baseball|

The well-known American song, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," is 100 years old this year. It trails only "Happy Birthday" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the most frequently performed song in America, at least according to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. (I wonder where "Amazing Grace" is on this list. I would think it has to be the highest ranking religious song!)

What most people do not know is that this song was not always sung at baseball games and it was most certainly not a seventh inning ritual, as it now is, until much more recently.
It was in 1976 that the infamous Harry Caray, while working for
Bill Veeck and the Chicago White Sox at that time, decided to sing it in the seventh inning stretch. Harry could not sing at all and that seemed to make […]

How the U. S. Army Learns from Mistakes

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:43-05:00July 29th, 2008|Categories: America and Americanism|

David Ignatius, Washington Post syndicated columnist, recently wrote that the U. S. Army was better able to admit its mistakes and change its ways than almost any institution in our society. Intuitively this seems preposterous until you think about it.

For eighteen months the army messed up the plan in Iraq very badly. While civilian leaders and politicians are still assigning blame all around for what did not work in Iraq the Army has faced its numerous mistakes, in tactics and judgment, and made serious changes. Ignatius suggests the reason is that the Army can’t afford to inflict self-justification or blame like the civilian leadership. The Army must learn or it truly fails. Recent Army publications show how the Army failed in not reacting properly after its initial assault on Baghdad. And then it failed again in the follow-up over the next few years. But, and this is the interesting part, the Army learned and made recommendations that led to the "surge" […]

How Bout Those Cubbies?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:43-05:00July 28th, 2008|Categories: Baseball|

I write ever so often about the Chicago Cubs. I am open about my feelings that I do not much care for the Cubs. This was not always true. When I came to Chicago in 1969 and Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Ferguson Jenkins and Ernie Banks were leading the Cubs to what seemed to be destiny in the World Series I made my first visit to Wrigley Field and got on the bandwagon. I had been a lifelong Braves fun but hey, it was Wrigley Field and the Cubs never won so why not celebrate?

But I then went back again and again to the "hallowed vines" and grew weary of the place and the fans.
Local writers even refer to Cubs fans as "inmates" who want to run the asylum in our newspapers. And blog spots on the Cubs abound. A recent […]

What on Earth Do We Make of Jesse Jackson?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:43-05:00July 27th, 2008|Categories: Race and Racism|

Jesse Jackson cannot avoid the news cycle. He is either running here or there in an attempt to free prisoners overseas or he’s making another "racist" statement that should offend millions of black Americans. I am not sure that his statements offend large numbers of black people but they do offend me!

Not only did Rev. Jackson mock Senator Obama, in a recently captured private statement, but he also used the N-word during a break in the same TV interview. Jackson apologized to Obama for the first statement and then apologized again last week for his use of the N-word. People ask, "How can he do this?" Simply put: "Out of the heart the mouth speaks." Basic biblical principle 101: Jackson thinks this way or he wouldn’t speak this way. This is the same person who referred to the Jews with similarly offensive language some years ago. And this is a Baptist minister who covered-up a long-standing sexual indiscretion that produced a child. […]

Acts for Everyone

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:43-05:00July 26th, 2008|Categories: Biblical Theology|

Readers of this blog know that I am appreciative and positive about the biblical theological contributions of Bishop N. T. Wright. They will also know that I profoundly disagree with his social and political views. I written about both in the past.

For those who do not yet know who Tom Wright is you owe it to yourself to get into his biblical theological material. If you are an ordinary reader, and thus not technically trained, you will find that he writes about 50% of his material for an academic audience and about 50% for the non-specialist audience. He is a churchman and thus he clearly feels a deep responsibility to feed ordinary people and to serve the whole church. I am deep grateful for this commitment and believe that Tom Wright is a rare gift.

Some readers only know about Tom Wright from negative reviews of his work on blog spots or through off-handed and off-putting comments by […]

Obama Got It Wrong About Language

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:43-05:00July 25th, 2008|Categories: Culture|

A few weeks ago Senator Barack Obama, speaking in Georgia, said that: "Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English, because they will learn English, you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish." This statement raises a number of compelling questions that must be a part of our cultural dialog at this important time in American history.

For example, when Barack Obama talks about change what does he really want to change? This kind of statement sounds like his view of change goes far beyond getting things done in Washington politically. He apparently wants to change the country in some rather profound ways in terms of culture and identity.

The remark came in the midst of a larger effort by the campaign to appeal for Hispanic support. And all of this is a part of the larger debate about illegal immigration. Both McCain and Obama have similar views about immigration, if the facts are studied carefully, but […]