The Practical Parson

 As some of you may know, back in December, just a few days before Christmas; I had to go to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy.  While appendectomies are a fairly routine surgery in this day and age; the expenses associated with hospital stays are certainly a factor of their own.  Due to a number of health issues, I have not been able to work a secular job since 2012; and as a result of many circumstances, do not presently have health insurance.   I do not address this to elicit sympathy from any of you, but to describe my experience with the aftermath of all of this.  With what little resources I have available to me, I am working to pay off the medical bills which are ever present; however I thought that I would ask for just a small amount of help from friends and family in the form of a "Gofundme" page.  The amount a small portion of the bills in total; but a chance for those who wish to, to help if they want.  I expect nothing of any ...

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.    Speak unto others as you would have them speak unto you.   Speak of others as you would have them speak of you.    Love others as you would have them love you.   Give unto others as you would have them give unto you.   Be a friend unto others as you would have them be a friend unto you.   Care for others as you would have them care for you.    For by the standard that you judge others, you yourself shall also be judged.  If we say that we are above the judgement of man, yet judge other men; how shall we be spared ourselves from the more righteous judgment of God?  We speak ill of those we despise, we treat with contempt those with whom we disagree, we lash out against those who have angered us; forgetting that we ourselves are reflecting the manner in which we desire to be treated by our treatment of others.   Love your enemies, do good to those...

It is not enough for Man to say "I am free"; he must learn to say also "I am responsible." Man is free to choose his way in life; from all manner of little decisions to the bigger ones, such as marriage or employment.  Man has freedom to pray to whatsoever deity he chooses.  In a nutshell- Man is free.   But at what cost?  Can man truly be free if he forsakes all responsibility for his choices and actions?   A man who forsakes responsibility for his actions is no longer free; for he has made himself slave to passion, desire, anger, hatred, and the multiplicity of other emotions that plague the human race.  If we say that man has no ability to control himself, then we give him over to bondage to instinct and desire; degrading him from being a creature gifted with divine knowledge and free will, to that of a mere beast doing for the moment what feels good.  Man is not a mere beast; but a being created in the image and likeness of God.  ...

 Last week the world saw the presidents of the United States and Ukraine clash in the Oval Office of the White House over a proposed deal to continue providing material and financial support for Ukraine in the wake of their ongoing war.  While President Zelensky of Ukraine had promised he would sign the agreement at that meeting, after having promised to do so twice before and reneging on his word; he got the opportunity to leave the scene without signing the agreement, once again.  This clash gave him a boost on the European front, with allies clamoring to give them additional funding for war; despite his protestations about pursuing peace.  While I am not one who will consider it good form to openly antagonize or berate allies; it is true that both sides equally traded jabs during the Oval Office meeting, with President Zelensky hoping that the media's presence would force President Trump into agreeing to additional concessions and assistance that were not agreed u...

 This week, the Bishop of Rome has chosen to issue an apostolic letter to exhort the Roman Catholic bishops in the United States against President Trump and the ongoing efforts to secure the Mexico-America border and to deport criminal, illegal immigrants in the United States.  While the Bishop of Rome is entirely within his right to tell his lackeys to do whatever he fancies at a given point in time, his claims on the Christian response to a situation with precedent not seen since the fall of Rome; are not only tone-deaf, but contrary to the natural law and the dignity of the citizens of a free nation.    It is entirely true: the United States is a nation that is built upon a bedrock foundation of immigrants from various places in the world.  Indeed, it is this tapestry of patrimonies which has given the US its unique, cultural importance on the world stage in the modern era.  But what comprises such a nation, and more importantly the national identity?...

 As many Anglicans and conservative Christians have seen in the past couple of weeks, there is a cognitive dissonance between what is correct, and what is personally acceptable; summed up in the ongoing case of Rev. Calvin Robinson.   As I have touched on previously in Rev. Robinson's case, the situation of what transpired was centered entirely around his determined trolling of leftist, liberal ideologues, and their mistaken notions that everyone who thinks other than what they think is a Nazi/ fascist.  While Robinson's actions in and of themselves hold no true transgression against sense or a desire for conversation; they do transgress one of the most important duties of any ordained cleric: which is to defend the church against those who would destroy it, and to protect the people of God entrusted to our care.  While Robinson's actions have had the desired outcome he wished for in the secular scene (inspiring conversation, to some extent); they have had a neg...