The World Together blog : Aaron D. Taylor
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The triumph of hypothetical evil over real evil
Aaron D. Taylor
There’s a famous maxim that says, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Though Wikipedia says otherwise, the statement is often attributed to Edmund Burke. I doubt Wikipedia will give me the credit for this 200 years from now, but I’d like to take a crack at a counterpoint to Burke’s famous maxim anyway.
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Toward an evangelical peace movement
Aaron D. Taylor
Billy Sunday was the most famous evangelist in America during the first two decades of the 20th century. Without the aid of loudspeakers, TV or radio, Sunday preached to over 100 million people the classic evangelical gospel that remains familiar to many people today. Repent and believe in Jesus, who died on the cross for your sins, and be saved from eternal damnation. The simplicity of Sunday’s message prompted millions of early 20th century Americans to examine the state of their souls and consider their eternal fates. Yet when it came to conscientious objectors during World War I, Sunday spared no mercy:
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Was Jesus a fundamentalist?
Aaron D. Taylor
When I was in my early 20s, a Bible teacher by the name of Dianne Kannady posed a rhetorical question that continues to haunt me to this day: “If Jesus was your only source of information about what Christianity should look like, how would you live your life?”
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Can rich folks go to heaven?
Aaron D. Taylor
I like stories like “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” or “The Tortoise and the Hare,” the ones where the smallest of children can grasp the moral of the tale. But a story that doesn’t resolve? Not so much. Especially if the story deals with a high-stakes issue, like, say, what do I need to do to make it to heaven when I die?
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The Bible is not a public policy manual
Aaron D. Taylor
My pastor and I have a friendly tiff going on. He says that Jesus was strictly a-political; therefore, Christians should abstain from politics completely. I say that Jesus challenged violent, poverty-inducing, socio-political structures throughout his life and ministry; therefore, Christians have a duty to advocate for peace and to speak out for the poor and the oppressed. Both of us are hardheaded, and neither of us cedes much in our debates, but we always walk away as friends, because at the end of the day there’s a key component to the discussion that we both agree on: The Bible is not a public policy manual!
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God is pro-peace
Aaron D. Taylor
On January 31, 2004, World Net Daily published an article written by the late Jerry Falwell under the headline: “GOD IS PRO-WAR.”
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What I wish I’d known in junior high: It. Gets. Better.
Aaron D. Taylor
I saw “Harrison Ford” a couple of weeks ago at Starbucks. We sat across from each other for about three hours. I kept sneaking peaks at the guy. I even posted a status update on my Facebook saying, “I’m sitting across from a guy at Starbucks that looks like Harrison Ford, what do I do?”
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