Rev. Stephen Carl

What if children were purposefully taught critical thinking skills and adults intentionally used them? People would have the tools to sort through information and make decisions for themselves. Perhaps then there would be no need to ban books and political propaganda would be useless and obsolete.

The universe is vast.
Wonder is the heart’s hymn of humility, gratitude, and joy.

“Is the removal of something in the world enough to liberate us? Is it not as important, perhaps even more important, to add things?
If we want to be free, we will have to affirm, not just deny. Sometimes we will have to destroy, but more often we will need to create”
~Timothy Snyder, On Freedom

"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others."
~Cicero (106-43 BCE)

“The Christian life consists of discernment of (seeing and hearing), reliance upon (reckless and uncalculating dependence), and celebration (ready and spontaneous enjoyment) of the presence of the Word of God in the common life of the world.
~William Stringfellow, A Private and Public Faith

"Original sin is that thing about [humanity] which makes [us] capable of conceiving of [our] own perfection and incapable of achieving it.”
~Reinhold Niebuhr

Freedom that does not invoke and wed itself to justice and responsibility isn’t freedom, it’s privilege.
Freedom aims for good governance, for without it there is no freedom.
Good governance self-corrects, providing guardrails from corruption and monopolizing power.

“An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.”
-Plutarch

In a theatre a fire started off stage. The clown came out to tell the audience. They applauded thinking it was a joke. He told them again, and they laughed more.
This is the way that the world will be destroyed-amid the universal hilarity of wits and wags who think it is a joke.
-Soren Kierkegaard

“Man’s [sic] capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.”
Reinhold Niebuhr, The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness (1944)

The goal of distractive politics isn’t governing, but to capture attention. There’s no intention of solving any issue, just getting ears and eyeballs focused on something other than what matters. What matters? The stuff that those behind the distractive politics don’t want people to see.

Blood Moon
Full Lunar Eclipse
March 14, 2025

“Only God can be omnipotent without danger, because his wisdom and justice are always equal to his power. There is no earthly authority so inherently worthy of respect, or invested with a right so sacred, that it should act without oversight or rule without impediment.”
Alexis de Tocqueville

“The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from time to time one can see the old aristocratic colors breaking through.”
― Alexis de Tocqueville

“Suffering seems to be the only thing strong enough to destabilize our arrogance and our ignorance. I would define suffering as whenever we are not in control. All healthy religion shows us what to do with our pain. If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.“
~Richard Rohr

"Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble."
~John Lewis, 2018

LEARNED HELPLESSNESS occurs when an individual faces a continuous negative, uncontrollable situation and stops trying to change their circumstances, even when they have the ability to do so. The PERCEPTION that one has no control elicits a passive response to the harm.
~Psychology Today

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

—Theodore Roosevelt, From an editorial written in 1918

“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
James 2:12-13
What then is the law that gives freedom?
Love

Marketing Jesus: Prayer apps, TV ads, and faith in the digital age - The Presbyterian Outlook Explore the ethics of marketing Jesus in the digital age—from prayer apps to Super Bowl ads, how is tech reshaping faith and evangelism?

Marketing Jesus: Prayer apps, TV ads, and faith in the digital age

How is faith spread in the digital age? From prayer apps to Super Bowl ads, Patrice Gaines explores the ethics of marketing Jesus in a tech-driven world.

#SuperBowl2025

Stupidity is a more dangerous than malice. One may protest evil. Against stupidity we are defenseless; reasons fall on deaf ears; the stupid person is self satisfied and dangerous, going on attack. To persuade with reason is senseless and dangerous.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Letters and Papers from Prison

The Holocaust memorial of 70,000 stones Michael Friedrichs-Friedländer hand-engraves individual Holocaust fates onto small plaques called Stolpersteine, which constitute the world’s largest decentralised memorial.

STOLPERSTEINE (Stumbling Stone) is the world’s largest decentralised memorial. There are now more than 70,000 “stones” around the world, in 20 languages.
Each plaque begins ‘HERE LIVED,’ followed by the person’s name, date of birth, and fate.

www.bbc.com/travel/artic...

www.stolpersteine.eu/en/

“Made for spirituality, we wallow in introspection. Made for joy, we settle for pleasure. Made for justice, we clamor for vengeance.”
— N. T. Wright

"Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love."

-Gandalf in The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien

Even in harsh environments and challenging conditions beauty takes root, patiently waits, then blossoms to declare it cannot be defeated. Mountain flowers remind us to persevere.

"It's a very important thing to learn to talk to people you disagree with."
~Pete Seeger (May 3, 1919-January 27, 2014)

The church is not neutral in regard to issues that are political, but the aim of the church is not political. The aim is God’s will. The church is wed to God’s vision of redemption as yeast, salt, and light in the world. The Gospel reinterprets politics as righteousness, justice, and compassion.