The Little Friar

I have been attempting to lay out ( here , here , and here ) a theological vision of Christianity that is moral  instead of metaphysical.   That is, lots of folks tend to associate Christianity with the need for salvation "by grace through faith", which they in turn associate with an intellectual affirmation of certain doctrines.  If one doubts those doctrines, that person can't be called a Christian. Instead, I think Christian metaphysics become intelligible only alongside certain practices.  The Christian is one who prays to the Triune God, sure; but those prays go alongside acts of humility and justice.  So this moral vision wants to demonstrate those practices without which we can't be Christian.  Some will be concerned that this becomes a "works righteousness" faith.  But that isn't what I'm claiming.  I'm saying that being a Christian is first and foremost an act of grace that makes faithful living part and parcel of that fai...

Gandhi once said: If one does not practice nonviolence in one's personal relations with others and hopes to use it in bigger affairs, one is vastly mistaken. I think this highlights one of the biggest failures of most pacifists:  We have trouble practicing nonviolence in our personal relationships.  Pacifism is too often projected onto the global scale.  The conversation becomes almost exclusively about war between political powers.  And no doubt that's an important conversation.  But it can get a little abstract and philosophical.  And some pacifists can be less than charitable toward others.  I call this big conversation heroic pacifism . Me?  I'm a closet Mennonite.  I don't think a lot about my pacifism.  I probably should, but I spend most of my time attending to my personal relationships, to how I treat people -- my family, people at work, people at church, people in the line at the store, friends who comment on my Fac...