Tim Keller sermon from 1/13/2013
Time Stamp 11:30 in the sermon. A longer version of the Toyohiko Kagawa quote about his conversion can be found here.
I am grateful for Shinto, for Buddhism and for Confucianism. I owe much to these faiths. Yet these three faiths utterly failed to minister to my heart’s deepest needs.
I was a pilgrim journeying upon a long road that had no turning. I was weary, I was footsore. I wandered through a dark and dismal world where tragedies were thick.
Buddhism teaches great compassion … but since the beginning of time, who has declared ‘this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many unto the remission of sins’?”
Islam, of course, proclaims the mercy of God. Each chapter of the Qur’an is introduced by the words “In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.”
But they do not tell of a costly and historic display of God’s mercy as portrayed by the cross and spoken of in each Gospel.
In Islam, Allah is merciful to the meritorious, those who pray, give alms, and fast in Ramadan.
In Christianity God is merciful to sinners not because of their good works but because of Christ’s sacrifice for them on the cross.
–Toyohiko Kagawa
At minute 25 Tim begins an illustration of an anthropologist in Africa dealing with the question of whether anthropologists should be non-judgmental in their work or take positions critical towards the cultures they are studying. I found the article he mentioned. It is by Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban. Here is the link. Here is the conclusion to her piece: Continue reading
Mixed Messages on Suicide in the Wake of the Aaron Swartz Suicide
The suicide of Aaron Swartz has the attention of the tech community. While going after prosecutorial harassment most commentators are rightly measuring their statements because of the role depression played in the suicide. One of the podcasts I regularly listen to is “This Week in Google” on the Twit network and the first half of this week’s show was devoted to the Aaron Swartz suicide. Jeff Jarvis ends the section with an impassioned speech about suicide not being the answer.
As our culture is increasingly post-Christian in our ambiguity when it comes to suicide, especially in contrast to the longstanding position of the Christian church opposing it. Continue reading →