Dear Theophilus

Much ink has been spilled to talk about the the crowds who, on Palm Sunday, laud Jesus as savior and on the next Friday call for his crucifixion. Suggestions have been put forward: maybe the Greek interpretation of "crowd" will show that the crowds are different on those days, or the people are just fickle, or even that it was God's will and so the people had to do this to fulfill scripture/will. For me, Palm Sunday makes sense. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. The moment is pregnant with meaning. He simultaneously mocks the current political system, calls into question humanity's reliance on power, politics, and violence, and points to himself as the true king. Anyone can understand this. There are a million stories just like it. It is a powerful archetype. The newest prequel to The Wizard of Oz called Oz: the Great and Powerful is based on this exact premise. A nobody from no-where shows up, seemingly fulfills the long-awaited prophecy, challenges the...

Here are a few things Christians should consider before taking a stance on the gun control issue, in my opinion: Does God care if you have a gun if you are responsible? Probably not. Use it responsibly. Keep it locked up. Go hunting and be respectful in your hunts toward creation. Shoot clay pigeons all day (though Jesus might have something to say about how we spend our money here). You should be fine. Does God really care about your rights, constitutional or otherwise? It just seems to me that Jesus has a much bigger agenda, which expects something of his followers. Our job is to extend the Kingdom of God by being, first and foremost, good citizens of *that* Kingdom. "Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I w...