Friday, May 22, 2009

Backseat Parenting

Two cases in the news in our region:

1. A Wisconsin mom, Leilani Neumann, convicted of murder because she did not seek medical attention for her ill 11 year old daughter and her daughter died. She tried to heal the girl with prayer.

2. A Minnesota mom, Colleen Hauser, is on the run to prevent court-ordered chemotherapy for her 13 year old son. She claims she wishes to treat his cancer with natural therapies for religious reasons.

It sure is easy to quarterback from the armchair. Or drive from the backseat.

I wonder what Mrs. Neumann would say to Mrs. Hauser? Probably keep running...

Update (5/26): Mrs. Hauser has had a change of heart: Parents agree to chem for boy who fled

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Means of Grace

A nice post on communion at Pr. McCracken's website Kyrie Eleison: "What we take for granted - what is granted without merit"

The Methodist church I grew up in was "old school" liturgical. When I left the nest I discovered it was probably one of the last such Methodist churches on earth. Too bad.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The Shack - a very brief book review

I liked it.

The theology isn't Lutheran but if you think of the shack (the building in the book) as a metaphor for the cross, it is sort of Lutheran.

Theology issues aside (since it is fiction) I found the story thought-provoking. The writing isn't exceptional and the dialogue is often painfully awkward, but the story is overall inspirational.