I think most Christians would kind of like the Bible to be written more like a Charles Dickens novel. I mean that in terms of characters. Dickens wrote social commentary with numerous characters. In this sense, his novels share something with much of the Bible. A big difference is that Dickens uses pretty simple characters. …
Category: Christian Ethics
More Reflections on Evangelical Political Thinking in the USA
So I think I had already talked about this but I keep coming back to a certain thing I read on social media. Was it FB? Can't remember. Anyway, the writer was giving advice to some American Christians (Evangelical I must presume). He said something to the effect... "When evangelizing someone, you don't need to …
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Holy Week as an Act of Protest
I don't repost very often. However, we are entering Holy Week 2026 and post I did regarding hope seems more relevant than ever. https://munsonmissions.org/2016/02/04/as-a-protest/ Happy Protesting Week!
Ethical Gymnastics and the Standards of Jesus
I recently started reading The Politics of Jesus, by John Howard Yoder. It is a recognized theological classic, having been published in 1972. The book makes a power case for Christian pacifism. As Americans, this is a tough sell. I recall attending a religious conference ("Baptist Fundamentalism '84") at the Washington Conventional Center. During US …
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Joy of Missing Out
I am slow in learning and using online acronyms. I only learned what FOMO meant perhaps a year ago ("fear of missing out"). Only a few days ago I learned JOMO--- "Joy of Missing Out." As a shy introvert I missed out on a lot, especially when I was young. But even then there was …
Anti-Partisan missions in a Partisan World
At church a few weeks ago our pastor was speaking about God's command to love one another. He then brought it around to politics. He spoke of the two major parties in the US (I am in the US right now, but will be soon going back to the Philippines). He said something like: "And …
Should Ethics Come Last?
I do wonder whether there is a tendency to place Ethics as a last, and sometimes elective topic in various ministries and professions. My evidence is a bit anecdotal... but please bear with me. #1. I used to be a mechanical design engineer. I earned a four year degree in mechanical engineering. I took another …
1st Century Judea Class Structure
I have been reading "The Global Gospel-- Achieving Missional Impact in Our Multicultural World" by Werner Mischke. I still have a long ways to go (I think I am around 1/3 done), but I want to share a diagram from the book. It is in Section 2.7 (I am Kindle-ing it, so I don't have …
Ethics and Accountability in Missions
I recently bought a book titled "Serving Jesus with Integrity: Ethics and Accountability in Mission" edited by Dwight Baker and Doug Hayward. On a quick glance through, it looks like it should be a good read. It got me thinking. I used to be a mechanical engineer. I served as an Engineering Officer in the …
The Temptation to Manipulate as Christian Leaders
Many (most?) of you are aware of the report that came out on Ravi Zacharias and some of his sexual misconduct (and the associated misuse of funds, as well as deception, to maintain the misconduct). I have friends who are real fans of Ravi, but I must admit I don't really know much of his …
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