From the Center

One of our recent Sunday night discussions was centered on the debate surrounding the upcoming conference on how the Church might engage the so called LGBTQ community.  That conversation is discussed here, as well as commentary on the articles pro and con.  Is there such a thing as a "gay-Christian"?  What does that mean?   Hodges and Vowell discuss the details of the Revoice mission statement, vision statement, and those of the Center for Faith, Sexuality, and Gender.

Hodges and Vowell celebrate the end of the Center year by reviewing some of the highlights from the study of books read this year.  Marriage and the "Inner Ring" seen in That Hideous Strength; the importance of hospitality in the Odyssey; the relation of sin to punishment in The Inferno; the worst of all sins in Dante and Victor Hugo.

"Human dignity is more than the right to be left alone."  What are the limitations of Libertarianism for Christians?   Does a decent society require a religious foundation?  Surely there are atheists who are kind, but as a society, there needs to be a moral culture that gives definition for freedom.  Freedom is not the same as autonomy.  Freedom is the ability to do the good.  But who is to say what is good without a revelation that comes from a higher authority than man himself?  Perhaps government and law cannot make us good, but isn't every sin destructive to society?  So shouldn't every sin be legislated?  Hodges and Vowell speculate on how to address the law.

Spun off from the discussion of the Paris Statement, Hodges and Vowell discuss the problem of simultaneously loving our neighbors, and defending national security in the midst of a complicated immigration debate.  Can Christians be in favor of assimilation?  Can they not be?  There are three kinds of immigrant: legal, illegal, and refugee, and each poses a separate set of problems for a country and for the Church.  How can we be both nationally secure and able to fulfill our calling to care for the stranger among us?

What is the real definition of Conservatism?  Hodges and Vowell continue their analysis of the Paris Statement, addressing the question of whether or not the public square can be "naked" as Richard John Neuhaus wrote.  Is there anyone who isn't conservative in some ways?  What do the authors mean when they suggest that Europe should secularize the public arena?  What is a working definition of sacred and secular?

What the Paris Statement addresses:  A False Europe is being built that embraces a secularized pluralism that they claim is neutral.  But it is not.  It also advocates the goodness of being disconnected from your own land, culture, and traditions -- exiled orphans.

Europe has divided, just as the US has become divided.  A group of Conservatives from many different countries in Europe have put together a statement that defines the two approaches, and advocates for a "Europe We Can Believe In."  Center Director John Hodges and Podcast Host Jack Vowell discuss a few of the points in the document, mainly that deal with economics: Marxism, Socialism, Capitalism, and promise to look into other key elements in future podcasts.

We have been gone for so long!  The Center has spent the better part of the last month preparing for and enjoying a trip to Europe.  But we have missed talking with you about issues of culture and faith.  In this episode, Director Hodges and host Jack Vowell discuss the importance of stories, especially today, in the lives of "millennials."

When you vote for a candidate, does it mean you agree with everything he says or does?  Or is there a way to vote for someone without endorsing?  Hodges and Vowell address a question brought up on a Sunday night Center dinner discussion:  If 80% of Evangelicals voted for President Trump, does that prove that 80% of Evangelicals are now OK with divorce and adultery?

Is Beauty the way to reach today's generation with the Gospel?  Hodges and Vowell discuss what Beauty is, how it relates to Goodness and Truth, and how intangible ideas and experiences can only be communicated through material means.  This is the craft of an art:  to be able to shape material things (sound, clay, paint, stone, words, film) into a means of communicating those ideas and experiences.  Beauty may very well be the experience of seeing the connection between the two.