Thursday, April 13, 2017
Status update on first immigration post
This is just to inform anyone who is expecting the release of my first post on the illegal immigration workshop that something else has come up. I will not be able to complete the post tonight. I hope to be able to finish it tomorrow. Thank you for your patience!
Mackey Family Interview, Afternoon of Thursday, April 13 (VIDEO)
Today, I met with Traci Fant of Freedom Fighters and members of the Mackey family to discuss the case of Charles Mackey, who was shot on his property last summer. The video contains updates on the progress of the search for justice and information on how you can help. We also talked about the meaning of the phrases "Black Lives Matter" and "All Lives Matter." Keeping this story in the public eye and staying up to date on it are currently the top priorities on this blog.
Monday, April 10, 2017
Agenda for the week ahead
Hello everyone,
I was at a workshop Saturday on advocacy for illegal immigrants. As a conservative, I was not part of their normal clientele, but they were happy to have me. One of the attendees was very eager to know when I was going to write about the workshop. This post is for him and for anyone else who is curious what I am up to.
First, I should say that all plans are contingent on the needs of my wife and soon-to-be-born son. If I don't write on schedule, it is likely because there is a baby on the way. The due date is the 23rd, so it could be any day now.
However, today I hope to make a YouTube video addressing the candidates to the Greenville County Republican Party Convention and the precinct officers. This will not be posted on the blog, but I mention it here because it is important political activity. It arises from some emails I received yesterday and over the last couple of weeks.
Throughout the week, as I have opportunity, I will be following up with contacts I made at a minority non-profit leaders meeting Friday and at the workshop Saturday.
On Thursday, I will be blogging. There will be a video interview with the Mackey family, and I will be writing the first of at least three posts on the workshop Saturday. I hope to discuss illegal immigration from the three perspectives that drive this blog: character, social cohesion, and the rule of law.
Early next week, I will be announcing an exciting new project. You won't want to miss it!
Stay tuned. If you don't check in for or share anything else, be sure you do not miss the interview Thursday. This is dealing with an explosive issue in our society that is very painfully close to home for a family in our community.
I was at a workshop Saturday on advocacy for illegal immigrants. As a conservative, I was not part of their normal clientele, but they were happy to have me. One of the attendees was very eager to know when I was going to write about the workshop. This post is for him and for anyone else who is curious what I am up to.
First, I should say that all plans are contingent on the needs of my wife and soon-to-be-born son. If I don't write on schedule, it is likely because there is a baby on the way. The due date is the 23rd, so it could be any day now.
However, today I hope to make a YouTube video addressing the candidates to the Greenville County Republican Party Convention and the precinct officers. This will not be posted on the blog, but I mention it here because it is important political activity. It arises from some emails I received yesterday and over the last couple of weeks.
Throughout the week, as I have opportunity, I will be following up with contacts I made at a minority non-profit leaders meeting Friday and at the workshop Saturday.
On Thursday, I will be blogging. There will be a video interview with the Mackey family, and I will be writing the first of at least three posts on the workshop Saturday. I hope to discuss illegal immigration from the three perspectives that drive this blog: character, social cohesion, and the rule of law.
Early next week, I will be announcing an exciting new project. You won't want to miss it!
Stay tuned. If you don't check in for or share anything else, be sure you do not miss the interview Thursday. This is dealing with an explosive issue in our society that is very painfully close to home for a family in our community.
Saturday, April 8, 2017
Interview with the family of Charles Mackey
I have a time set for an interview with the Mackey family and with Traci Fant, founder of Freedom Fighters, who is representing them. Charles Mackey was shot to death on his own property last summer by his next door neighbor. Mackey was armed, and the shooting was declared self-defense. The family believes the decision was wrong, and they have asked the FBI to investigate the shooting as a hate crime.
I will be interviewing the family around 2 pm on Thursday, April 13th. Check my Facebook page, OwenCrewblog, for updates.
I will be interviewing the family around 2 pm on Thursday, April 13th. Check my Facebook page, OwenCrewblog, for updates.
Friday, April 7, 2017
Event tonight!
I am pleased to announce that we will be having a panel discussion tonight on race in the Church. I spoke this afternoon on WPJM (Greer) with Dr. Ronald Barton, who is helping to organize the panel. The discussion grows out of my interviews with Pastor Darian Blue, and the event will be at his church, Nicholtown Missionary Baptist, at 7 pm tonight.
Please join us! The event will be live streamed on my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/OwenCrewblog/ . I will interview the participants for an hour to an hour and a half, and then we will open it up for questions from the audience.
*****Update: unfortunately, no one showed up except Dr. Barton. Dr. Barton did not want to do an interview without the others. This failure on my part was a learning experience for me. However, we are in much better shape now for rescheduling the panel discussion.
After saying goodbye to Dr. Barton, I crashed a meeting at the Phillis Wheatley Center that Pastor Blue was having with some non-profit leaders. I was able to meet Darian Blue's executive assistant, with whom I had not had the pleasure of working previously. She is handling the scheduling for the panel, and I have been assured that she is very reliable. I also met two black pastors who were not aware of the planned panel discussion, and they expressed an interest in participating. I met several of the non-profit leaders, and I expect much to come from our networking tonight.
Though my hastily planned event tonight did not go according to plan, once more I had the opportunity of seeing God in His Providence work things out better than I could have planned. I know some people were praying, and I believe those prayers were answered.
I had one final bit of encouragement: Serena Yates, from Nicholtown Baptist, was leaving just as I arrived at the center. She did not hear about the panel discussion until too late, but she is very excited. She promised that with more notice next time, she will aggressively promote the event. I hope others will do the same.
I am very encouraged. Have a fantastic evening!
Please join us! The event will be live streamed on my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/OwenCrewblog/ . I will interview the participants for an hour to an hour and a half, and then we will open it up for questions from the audience.
*****Update: unfortunately, no one showed up except Dr. Barton. Dr. Barton did not want to do an interview without the others. This failure on my part was a learning experience for me. However, we are in much better shape now for rescheduling the panel discussion.
After saying goodbye to Dr. Barton, I crashed a meeting at the Phillis Wheatley Center that Pastor Blue was having with some non-profit leaders. I was able to meet Darian Blue's executive assistant, with whom I had not had the pleasure of working previously. She is handling the scheduling for the panel, and I have been assured that she is very reliable. I also met two black pastors who were not aware of the planned panel discussion, and they expressed an interest in participating. I met several of the non-profit leaders, and I expect much to come from our networking tonight.
Though my hastily planned event tonight did not go according to plan, once more I had the opportunity of seeing God in His Providence work things out better than I could have planned. I know some people were praying, and I believe those prayers were answered.
I had one final bit of encouragement: Serena Yates, from Nicholtown Baptist, was leaving just as I arrived at the center. She did not hear about the panel discussion until too late, but she is very excited. She promised that with more notice next time, she will aggressively promote the event. I hope others will do the same.
I am very encouraged. Have a fantastic evening!
Monday, April 3, 2017
Darian Blue Interview on Race in the Church, Part 1
Yesterday, I began my second interview with Pastor Darian Blue of Nicholtown Baptist Church. In the last interview, we focused on his experience and knowledge about social work, because of his work in the role of executive director of the Phillis Wheatley Center. Yesterday, we focused on the life of the church, specifically the separation between people of different races into different churches.
We only had time to get to a few of the questions, so we are going to continue at another time. Dr. Ronald Barton should be joining us, and at some point there will be other pastors joining the discussion as well. Dr. Barton was a part of the Civil Rights Movement, and both he and Pastor Blue feel that this is an important conversation we are having. The response to the last interview encouraged us, and we hope the interview on race in the church will meet a need in our churches and our communities.
We only had time to get to a few of the questions, so we are going to continue at another time. Dr. Ronald Barton should be joining us, and at some point there will be other pastors joining the discussion as well. Dr. Barton was a part of the Civil Rights Movement, and both he and Pastor Blue feel that this is an important conversation we are having. The response to the last interview encouraged us, and we hope the interview on race in the church will meet a need in our churches and our communities.
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Does the Republican Party Reject the Doctrine of Original Sin?
It isn't often that political philosophy and theology are explicitly linked. When someone who has influence in politics makes the connection, we should pay attention. That is what happened in this article tweeted by Sebastian Gorka, President Trump's Deputy Assistant. The article, by Joshua Mitchell of the American Affairs Journal, is entitled "A Renewed Republican Party." Gorka's comment on the article was, "STUNNING analysis of why @realDonaldTrump won and what it means for us all."
The article weaves a story of the roots of political thought in America, and it attempts to explain why Donald Trump won and to define what direction American politics should take now. Mitchell demonstrates a good understanding of the important influence of theology on voters and political leaders. He can explain the relationship between theology and philosophy in political thought. He makes a compelling argument for government policy that is both informed by the history of theology and modest in its estimate of the ability of government to bring about human flourishing. He sees churches (and synagogues) as central to the work of healing the wounds of American society.
While Mitchell's knowledge of and respect for the foundational role of theology in government policy are remarkable, however, his disregard for the central concerns of theology show the hollowness of the promise of his proposed civil religion. This is particularly so when he asks petulantly why European thinkers like John Calvin continue to shape the thinking of political conservatives. Here is his argument for a move away from Calvin:
"The covenantal theology found in The Institutes of Christian Religion (1559) is certainly important if we wish to understand Puritan New England. But who reads Calvin’s great American heir, Jonathan Edwards, today, except perhaps to frighten undergraduates? When original sin no longer captivates the American imagination, what use can Calvin be for us today? Protestant Evangelicals of the Reagan coalition did have an unforgiving view of sin; but like all austere religious movements in America, their ideas have softened with time. It is quite a leap from Calvin to the “compassionate conservatism” that many Protestant Evangelicals hold today."
Lest you think that this quote is taken out of context, here is his assessment of basing American political thought on European sources: "Each one of these authors helps us think about America, but they help more as critics than as defenders of the American experiment. Political parties will have no more than occasional successes if they are constantly trying to modify and attenuate the existing state of things. To achieve enduring results, they must work with the material at hand, not as if it is alien, but as if it is familiar." "The material at hand," in Mitchell's view, does not include the full package of Puritan New England theology, but so much of it as he believes continues to "captivate the American imagination." He would be happy with more about America as a "shining city on a hill" and less about original sin.
Views like Mitchell's are common among those who want to continue to see the benefits of theology for national strength and social cohesion, yet fail to understand how theology works. The agenda of theology is not set by popular opinion or by political strategists, but by the written Word of God. Central to its message are the issues of sin (including original sin) and salvation. The true church of Christ is much less concerned with political revival than it is with spiritual revival.
Mitchell proposes an agenda for political parties, but that agenda requires the cooperation of churches. Churches must resist the kind of cooperation that Mitchell is looking for. Christians involved in politics must reject the theological agenda that Mitchell is proposing. His analysis of the legacy of John Winthrop is sound as far as it goes, but if it leaves out original sin, it misses the point. Yes, the teaching of original sin is controversial. Yes, it may make the political unification of Americans more difficult. Yet it is indispensable. Without original sin, there is no salvation, no virtue, no grace, no Christianity.
Mitchell has thrown down a challenge to the Republican Party: will it reject the doctrine of original sin as outside the bounds of political speech? Or will it include those who affirm it and, in doing so, affirm the cure for original sin accomplished by the second Adam, Jesus Christ?
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned...even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous." Romans 5:12, 18-19
"For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:17
The article weaves a story of the roots of political thought in America, and it attempts to explain why Donald Trump won and to define what direction American politics should take now. Mitchell demonstrates a good understanding of the important influence of theology on voters and political leaders. He can explain the relationship between theology and philosophy in political thought. He makes a compelling argument for government policy that is both informed by the history of theology and modest in its estimate of the ability of government to bring about human flourishing. He sees churches (and synagogues) as central to the work of healing the wounds of American society.
While Mitchell's knowledge of and respect for the foundational role of theology in government policy are remarkable, however, his disregard for the central concerns of theology show the hollowness of the promise of his proposed civil religion. This is particularly so when he asks petulantly why European thinkers like John Calvin continue to shape the thinking of political conservatives. Here is his argument for a move away from Calvin:
"The covenantal theology found in The Institutes of Christian Religion (1559) is certainly important if we wish to understand Puritan New England. But who reads Calvin’s great American heir, Jonathan Edwards, today, except perhaps to frighten undergraduates? When original sin no longer captivates the American imagination, what use can Calvin be for us today? Protestant Evangelicals of the Reagan coalition did have an unforgiving view of sin; but like all austere religious movements in America, their ideas have softened with time. It is quite a leap from Calvin to the “compassionate conservatism” that many Protestant Evangelicals hold today."
Lest you think that this quote is taken out of context, here is his assessment of basing American political thought on European sources: "Each one of these authors helps us think about America, but they help more as critics than as defenders of the American experiment. Political parties will have no more than occasional successes if they are constantly trying to modify and attenuate the existing state of things. To achieve enduring results, they must work with the material at hand, not as if it is alien, but as if it is familiar." "The material at hand," in Mitchell's view, does not include the full package of Puritan New England theology, but so much of it as he believes continues to "captivate the American imagination." He would be happy with more about America as a "shining city on a hill" and less about original sin.
Views like Mitchell's are common among those who want to continue to see the benefits of theology for national strength and social cohesion, yet fail to understand how theology works. The agenda of theology is not set by popular opinion or by political strategists, but by the written Word of God. Central to its message are the issues of sin (including original sin) and salvation. The true church of Christ is much less concerned with political revival than it is with spiritual revival.
Mitchell proposes an agenda for political parties, but that agenda requires the cooperation of churches. Churches must resist the kind of cooperation that Mitchell is looking for. Christians involved in politics must reject the theological agenda that Mitchell is proposing. His analysis of the legacy of John Winthrop is sound as far as it goes, but if it leaves out original sin, it misses the point. Yes, the teaching of original sin is controversial. Yes, it may make the political unification of Americans more difficult. Yet it is indispensable. Without original sin, there is no salvation, no virtue, no grace, no Christianity.
Mitchell has thrown down a challenge to the Republican Party: will it reject the doctrine of original sin as outside the bounds of political speech? Or will it include those who affirm it and, in doing so, affirm the cure for original sin accomplished by the second Adam, Jesus Christ?
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned...even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous." Romans 5:12, 18-19
"For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:17
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