Well, I'm off to Peru for a week of scoping out the land. Be prayerful of our little mission team. Be prayerful as well for the beautiful wife and precious baby I'm leaving stateside. Was it El Cid who said that leaving his wife was like tearing a fingernail from his flesh? Well put my Spanish knight. Well put.

Excuse me, err... I seemed to have misplaced my aircraft carrier... have you seen it anywhere?

Nazi Aircraft Carrier

A few months ago I wrote a post entitled Because Daddy Says So about how Bush invoked the "state secrets privilege" in an attempt to close the investigation on the NSA domestic spy program. Yesterday, however, U.S. Disctrict Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker rejected Bush's request to close the investigation. I must say that I'm thoroughly impressed. My excitement that the tides are turning against Bush is tempered, however, by a concern that people have succeeded in creating a new bandwagon they can jump on without thinking about why they are jumping in the first place. United Statesians are such fickle people!

The Article

A brave soul was willing to comment on my last post. I think this conversation is important, and so I wanted to carry on with a new post. Read the quote by "Anonymous" on my last post to understand the context.

My Reply to Anonymous

Thanks for having the guts to bring a little debate to the table! I was beginning to wonder if I wasn't being "prophetic" enough. You have posted on my page, and have thereby opened yourself to be disagreed with. Before I say anything else, however, I wanted to acknowledge and celebrate the fact that you are my brother/sister? in Christ.

Moving into the argument, I wanted to second what you say about the fact that "everything is God's;" amen. While I haven't specifically studied debt in the Bible, you are probably correct in your assessment that Biblical writers had a negative attitude towards debt. I also have a negative attitude towards debt, but I doubt it is for the same reasons. We need to remember that 2000+ years ago "debt" was a bit of a different animal. Imagine approaching a bank today after 7 years and asking for your loan to be forgiven!

My personal stance on modern debt is that if you live in the United States of America, the economy is structured such that in order to do things like own a house or a car, unless you have inherited money or saved every penny you've made since you were 15, you need to take out a loan. Regarding consumer debt, on the other hand, I think that it is equivalent to gluttony. I personally have a small amount of consumer debt because I bought a computer and plane tickets to visit my wife's family in Albania. I hate this debt and can't wait to get rid of it -- it makes me feel dirty.

Whether or not you choose to "profit off of or support companies that are in the 'sin' business" I believe is a matter of conscience. For instance, I personally have no qualms with purchasing wine to take over to a dinner. I do believe, however, that taking an extreme stance (like one where you feel guilty for going to a grocery store) is probably unhealthy.

If the wealthy stopped buying yachts and gave away the money instead, strange things would start happening to the economy. A lot of economists would raise red flags and investors would probably pull out. In fact, we would probably have a kind of melt down. We would probably have to say goodbye to the United States as we know it today. When you come to a fork in the road and take the wrong path, sometimes you have to turn around and go in the opposite direction for awhile before you can begin in the right direction. If our country is fueled by gluttony, greed, and the oppression of the poor, then maybe it's time for a change.

I think it's time for being a Christian to become a bit more revolutionary. I don't mean that we use violence to change society (one or two Liberation Theologists made this mistake). I personally don't like the idea of using politics to change society. What I would like to see is a group of people dedicated to bearing the cross of discipleship. Two of Mohandas Ghandi's quotes to chew on:

"It is my firm opinion that [the West] does not represent the spirit of God or Christianity but the spirit of Satan. And Satan's successes are the greatest when he appears with the name of God on his lips."

"I consider western Christianity in its practical working a negation of Christ's Christianity."