By Graham Glover –
Universal healthcare. The mere mention of the idea is enough to bring a smile to a liberal and a scowl to a conservative.
Outside of the immigration debate, I don’t think there is an issue that divides the electorate more than whether the United States federal government should provide healthcare to all its citizens. Obama won two elections because of his promise to provide universal healthcare. One could argue that Trump won an election because of his promise to repeal it.
By Graham Glover –
A Southern Lutheran
It’s not an oxymoron, although sometimes it seems like it should be. Compared to the Northeast and Midwest, there aren’t a lot of Lutherans in the South, especially Missouri Synod Lutherans.
By Graham Glover –
I swear it’s never going to end. It was supposed to be over last November 8th, but it’s still going. Almost 6 months after Americans went to the polls, we are still immersed in the 2016 campaign. For some reason, we just can’t let it go. I really think it’s never going to end.
By Graham Glover –
Protestants have a problem. It’s a problem that’s not going away. Protestants try to explain it, they try to finesse it into something understandable, at times they even ignore it – wishing it weren’t as big an issue as it is. But it’s still here. It still lingers.
By Graham Glover –
Are we on the brink of war?
Chemical weapons attacks in Syria. Cruise missiles fired in response. North Korea flexing its muscles. Carriers and submarines in route to the Pacific. China. Russia. Iran. And let’s not forget ISIS, Afghanistan, Iraq, and about a dozen or so other volatile regions of the world.
By Graham Glover –
The United States of America has become our idol. It has become our god. Our worship of it, or at least what we think it should be, consumes us. I dare say it defines us. We talk about what it means to be a good American all the time. Our devotion to living out what we perceive to be the “American Dream” is the benchmark of our success – its fulfillment is what we strive to every day.
We may claim to put God first. We talk often about the importance of family and friends. But nothing beats the U.S. of A. It is our priority. In everything.
By Graham Glover –
God doesn’t care. Not one bit.
Democrat? Yawn. Republican? Yawn. Socialist? Libertarian? Liberal? Conservative? One big giant yawn from the Lord.
By Graham Glover –
Want to see something scary? Something that should completely frighten you?
Look in a mirror.
Scared of what you’ll see? You should be.
By Graham Glover –
On the surface we don’t appear to have much in common. He, an Independent Baptist. Me, a Missouri Synod Lutheran. He, a conservative Republican. Me, not so much. He, a teetotaler. Me, well, let’s just say I like to imbibe in a good bourbon, or two, or…
By Graham Glover –
This is my body.
This is my blood.
It’s really quite simple. Body. Blood. Not a symbol. Not a representation. Not a quaint memorial. It’s real, corporeal, and physical. It’s what Jesus says it is.
By Graham Glover –
For the last several weeks I’ve been living in the backwoods of the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Ft. Polk, Louisiana. Training alongside my Soldiers, I was “disconnected” from the rest of the world during this time, with no access to my phone or personal laptop. That meant: no calls, texts, email, Facebook, or Twitter, no ESPN, Fox News, Huffington Post, or GatorSports.com. I had virtually no idea what news stories were breaking, which sports teams were winning, and perhaps most importantly, no ability to engage you, the readers of The Jagged Word!
By Graham Glover –
I love my country. Although imperfect, the American republic is the greatest country in the world. No matter what candidates proclaim, protestors lament, or dissidents believe, there is little doubt that the American experiment reflects the best political model ever envisioned by humanity.
By Graham Glover –
It’s sad, but true.
Conservative Christians, a group I consider myself to be a part of, have come to love politics more than theology. Recently, their political euphoria is utterly palpable. Theology? Eh, who cares about that…
By Graham Glover –
Last Friday, 20 January 2017, changed everything.
Not about who we are as Christians. Not about who we are as individuals. Not about who I am as a husband, pastor, or father. Not about the Jagged Mafia that follows this blog. Not even about whether we are Falcons or Patriots fans.
But last Friday changed everything about American politics.
By Graham Glover –
Which is more important?
When pitted against one another, who wins? The Bishop of Rome in his role as the Vicar of Christ? Or the doctrine of justification by grace through faith as proclaimed in the Holy Scriptures?
By Graham Glover –
It’s here. The year 2017. And with it, an onslaught of conversations about an Augustinian Friar who started a chain of events 500 years ago that forever changed the Western Church.
As Lutherans, Roman Catholics, and others begin to discuss anew the causes and consequences of Luther and the reformation that bore his name, we are wise to remember that Luther sought an internal reformation, not an external revolution. This may sound like semantics to some, but it calls to mind a quote attributed to the Lutheran theologian, Peter Brunner, that went something like this: “a Lutheran who does not daily ask himself why he is not a Roman Catholic cannot know why he is a Lutheran”.
By Graham Glover –
After 2 months in theological and political hibernation, The Emperor’s Chair is reopening!
While still interested in all things religious and political, my intent now is to focus all my writing efforts on only two topics of conversation:
By Graham Glover –
I’m shocked. Yesterday’s election results are simply stunning. Like many others, I never imagined that Donald Trump could win this election.
But he did. The American electorate has spoken and Donald Trump is the president-elect of the United States.
Wow. Just wow.
By Graham Glover –
There is only one solution remaining. All others have failed. Democratic liberalism? No thank-you. Republican conservatism? Not a chance. Green Party environmentalism? Uh, no. Libertarianism of any kind? Never. Never. Never. My fellow Americans, we are down to our final hope. To save America, our country must embrace the cigar. I implore you to heed my call. The cigar’s time is now.
By Graham Glover –
My two favorite things to talk about are politics and religion. I am a Lutheran pastor, who years ago worked as a lobbyist, am currently working on finishing my PhD in Political Science, while serving my country as an Active Duty Chaplain in the US Army, with a wife that used to run state-level campaigns, and a father-in-law whose professional and political career has been devoted to public service. I suppose you could say such topics are part of my DNA, as they encompass so much of who I am and what I do.
