When Facebook rolls this change out to a given profile, they offer the user a dialog that shows the Page links that Facebook has automatically generated so that the user has a chance to make any corrections.

I’m guessing that the algorithm for matching terms to pages is a little off when it comes to some unidentified book that is popular with lots of Christians.

If you visit the Facebook page for Joseph Stalin, you’ll see that he has over a thousand people on Facebook that like him and if you click on any of these people at random, most likely you’ll find that they like The Bible and have other Christian interests. In addition, you’ll find that they apparently like a book called “Joseph Stalin” which sticks out like a sore thumb.

This amusing example of string matching gone wrong makes me mildly curious what the real title is.

90 percent of the time, when you ask a Christian why he or she votes Republican you will find that a big factor is that he or she finds voting for a politician who supports abortion unconscionable. I’ve been there myself as a fellow pro-life Christian and know that the intentions are honorable, but the sad truth is that the issue of abortion is simply a political football in American politics. While Christian voters pat themselves on the back for pulling the Republican lever election after election, nothing has changed to stop the deaths of millions of unborn children every year and nothing will if Christians keep allowing themselves to be manipulated by politicians.

Consider that it has been over 30 years since Roe v. Wade, and we are no closer to overturning that decision today. More importantly, Republicans have had control of all three branches of government for six of the last eight years. From 2000 to 2006, we had a Republican majority in Congress, a Republican President, and 7 Republican appointed judges out of the 9 justices on the Supreme Court. And yet, no legislation was ever passed to challenge Roe v. Wade.

Instead of making excuses for the Republicans, we need to call a spade a spade: the abortion issue is a wonderful carrot to dangle in front of Christians to get their vote every election cycle, and the Republican party sees no reason to take that carrot off the table any time soon. Keeping things the way they are is a win-win because it keeps the Christian vote coming in while preventing the Republicans from experiencing the serious political damage that they should expect from any serious attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade. A majority of Americans support Roe v. Wade and have supported it ever since 1973 with little fluctuation. While sad, it is the reality that we face, and the Republican party is not going to risk turning off so many voters for the benefit of a voting block that they can evidently keep in their pocket with little more than lip service.

So where does that leave us if we admit that Christian voters are being manipulated for political gain?

Well, for starters, we need to realistically look at the limites of electoral politics. As indicated above, no political party is going to have the political capital to legislate the overturning of Roe v. Wade any time soon. When it comes to government actions, we are left with embracing policies that can reduce the number of abortions performed.

It so happens that policies that fight poverty supported by the Democratic party (and other left-leaning parties such as the Green Party and independents like Ralph Nader) and opposed by the Republican party can reduce the number of abortions because many woman get abortions out of a sense that they will not be able to financially support a child. Easing the economic strain of low-wage earners, making child-care accessible to single mothers for work and for school, and ensuring that all people can receive decent health care – these moral and Biblical issues of standing up for the poor while fully worthy as issues in their own right have the virtue of reducing the conditions that tempt people into getting abortions.

So if you are a Christian, consider voting next time for a candidate whose policies will better honor God’s concern for the poor and thereby better combat abortions, instead of voting for an empty promise.

Thou wilt be as valiant as the wrathful dove or most magnanimous mouse.

-Spoken by Falstaff in Henry IV, part 2

He thought the phrase the wrathful dove fit perfectly for my blog, and I quite agreed!

After many weeks of procrastination, I’ve finally taken the time to update the site with a new logo and its new name. Thanks go out to the authors of the excellent Christian anarchist website Jesus Radicals whose logo featuring the raised fist with a nail through the wrist inspired me when I was designing the blog’s new logo.

I suppose here is as good a place as any for explaining the imagery for those who may not be familiar with all the symbols used in the blog’s logo.

I designed the symbol on the left as a Christian anarcho-communist flag. The color black symbolizes a world without national borders or boundaries that artificially divide the people from one another. The color red symbolizes the blood of comrades and martyrs who have died for humanity and for God. The black flag basis for the design is one of the historical symbols of anarchism. The cross is one of the most recognizable symbols of Christianity and obviously symbolizes Christ’s sacrificial suffering and submission on the cross for all people. The hammer and sickle is a sign of communism. It represents the unity of the workers and common people of the world via overlapping symbols for agricultural workers (sickle) and industrial workers (hammer). Taken altogether, I find it a beautiful symbol of a world of solidarity and unity under the loving Kingdom of Christ.

The symbol on the right combines the raised fist which has been used by various leftist movements over the years as a salute and a symbol of solidarity. The addition of the nail through the wrist brings a Christian dimension to the symbol and for me represents Christ’s unity and suffering with his people as they struggle to live lives that reflect the values and reality of his Kingdom. I added an olive branch clutched in the fist to emphasize the pacifism and non-violence that I embrace and believe an integral part of my faith and politics.

I believe that the Bible is divinely inspired by God and that it is suitable for teaching and proofing of doctrine. That is not to say that God directly dictated the words of the Bible to its various authors or that God has not inspired other writings, but that God in His complete power wove the fabrics of history and the people in its threads such that the authors of the Bible wrote the words that He wished to communicate so that all men might know about His love, His goodness, and the marvelous salvation that He has accomplished. I believe that some of the prophets and apostles heard directly from the Lord and did write down direct words of God. Others, however, only acted on instinct. But through it all, God was directing their course as He weaves all events together to accomplish His purposes. Indeed, to those who raise objections about translations and the human nature of the authors, I say that these are inconsequential in the outcome of the finished product when one begins with the hypothesis that an all powerful God directed events to produce a communication from Himself to His creation. One might readily question this hypothesis, but to raise the prior objections requires one to accept the hypothesis and yet said hypothesis destroys these objections.

I believe that the Bible is only properly understood when all of its scriptures are read in context (both textwise and culturally) and with Jesus’s teachings taking precedence over any seemingly difficult passages.

I believe that the teachings of Jesus are just as important as His sacrifice on the cross and that Christians are called to live their lives in accord with His words.

I believe that Christians are called to a life of non-violent resistance against injustices and the system of this world. Through our lives, we bear witness to God’s Kingdom of Heaven within us that will one day be without when Christ is All in All.

I believe that there is no true authority but God alone and that Christians are called to follow only God. When our actions are not in accord with the human authorities that God has allowed to have power over us, we are called to imitate Christ and not return evil for evil, but to instead submit to the unjust suffering at the hands of those who have power over us knowing that God is with us through all things and that He works all things towards our good ultimately – even when others intend our harm.

The above stands in contrast to the historical position of the church as an institution where Christians were taught to obey the powers that God has placed over us and to recognize them as legitimate. This position derives from a failure to recognize that God ordains all things and that his allowing a Hitler or a Bush to have power does not at all imply that He approves of such a ruler or that His children should recognize them as legitimate. The misunderstanding is further compounded by a failure to read Romans 13 in context as a continuation of Romans 12 where Paul describes showing love to one’s enemies and thus uses as an example the emperor Nero and his officials who were surely among the worst enemies of the early Christians. Paul says that we are to love even these persecutors and submit to their persecutions, knowing that we will suffer nothing that God has not allowed. We can take comfort in this knowledge because we know that God loves us and will work all things to our good – even our own suffering or deaths.

I believe that God is a God of justice who repeatedly condemns the powerful and wealthy of the world for their corruption of justice and their mistreatment of the poor and down trodden. I believe that God calls His children to be a voice for the voiceless. God calls us to reach out in Love to the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed as our brothers and sisters in need.