Category Archive: The Ghost in the Machine

The Danger of Freedom

By Caleb Keith –

I have vivid memories of the first day I was allowed to ride my bike to school all by myself. The ride was only about a mile and half long and consisted of calm city streets that had a max speed limit of 25 mph. At the time, I saw no signs of danger and didn’t understand the risk my parents were taking by letting me embark on this journey. Instead, all I imagined was bragging to my friends when I finally got to class. Looking back now, I see how easily I could have been hurt or killed by one poor decision or a distracted driver. I am so glad that my parents let me take those risks, as it brought me great joy and taught me that the rules of the road aren’t arbitrary guidelines set by mom and dad, but that following or breaking them could have a real impact on my life.

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Law, Gospel and Friendship

By Caleb Keith –

Dear Jagged Mafia,

I let the month of February get the best of me. I was bummed out by some pastoral harassment and overwhelmed by the beginning of a new semester. I let these two things feed into my natural laziness, but it’s time to shake off the slump. With that in mind, I thought it would be appropriate to highlight the last two episodes of the Thinking Fellows podcast. On these two fantastic shows, the fellows and I were joined by none other than the Jagged Word’s very own Pastor Koch. On recording day, we enjoyed fine whiskey and pipe smoke while talking about friendship and preaching the Law and the Gospel. I personally believe that these are some of the best episodes we have ever recorded.

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Memorizing Versus Understanding

By Caleb Keith –

Last week, I started what will be my last semester as an undergraduate student, and boy does it feel sweet. As week two begins, I am feeling the hurt as the work begins to stack up. For my last semester, I decided to torture myself by taking three classical languages: Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Primarily taking language classes is nice because there are no research papers due at the end of the semester. However, the time and energy I gain from not writing papers is quickly sapped away by memory work. Vocab cards need flipping, paradigm charts need filling, and I could use a drink. Memory work is vital to language study, but it isn’t the whole picture. Memory work can’t be blind; it must have a purpose or goal for it to be worthwhile. When I study, I do not do so with the intention to have a bunch of random words and charts in my head. I do it with the goal to better understand my world. Memorization is far from understanding, and memorization that never reaches a level of any understanding is hardly worth the time. This is not true only concerning language but concerning everything we put to memory.

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It’s not Fair

By Caleb Keith –

I cannot count the number of times I have heard the words “It’s not fair.” The phrase has left my mouth on more than one occasion, especially when I was a child. To this day, my brother and I argue about fairness when it comes to cleaning the dishes or picking up the living room. Our culture is also obsessed with fairness. The social justice movement is a shining example. Its apparent focus is not to protect the rights of individuals but instead to balance the scales. This is seen in phrases like “check your privilege,” which tries to make people see how much of an unfair advantage old white men have over minorities and women. Fairness also came into play after the recent presidential election when the popular vote differed from the electoral college. While some degree of fairness is necessary for good order, it often becomes abused by whiners and gloaters.

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Rejecting the Intellect

By Caleb Keith –

The Christian faith is blessed with the ability to be informed and educated. The Lutheran Reformation highlighted and used this gift to its full advantage. Theologians were trained in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, History, Rhetoric, and Logic to better understand the Scriptures and clearly read what God revealed to the authors of the New and Old Testaments. Informed preachers and teachers were then called to proclaim the Gospel message to common people and train them not only to believe but to understand their faith.

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Watch out for your Children

By Caleb Keith –

Whether you like or hate that Trump won the presidential election, it is undeniable that the liberal community went through a freak-out. Twitter and Facebook were ablaze; college campuses crumbled in tears and some real idiots started blocking freeways. Amidst false cries of racism and bigotry, some liberals acknowledged how they failed and revealed the larger plan for changing the world. It starts with Christianity. You see, Christianity possess a real threat to the political left, not because many Christians find themselves on the political right, but because Christians believe in objectivity when it comes to issues such as morality, science, and law. Modern liberalism relies on a false pluralism, which says that there is no true right or wrong, gender doesn’t exist, and random chance is god.

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Stupid Christians?

By Caleb Keith –

If you are a Christian, you must be stupid. That’s what I hear from the mainstream media, twitter feeds, public schools, universities and often the federal government, at least. Christians believe in fairytales, hold back science, and have Scriptures that perpetuate sexism and homophobia. The only smart Christians are the ones who know that faith is just a safety blanket; they admit that religion doesn’t belong to the world of rational thought, and they also they keep their traditions, Christmas, and Easter. Maybe they’ll even pray at dinner when grandma is visiting. If only all Christians could be educated.

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Why I’m Happy Being a College Dropout

By Caleb Keith –

*Written by my beautiful wife Erika, who is helping me through a busy week.

I met my husband, Caleb, just after finishing my sophomore year of College at Concordia University-Saint Paul. We were camp counselors together, and our relationship moved pretty quickly. We both knew within a few weeks of dating that we would marry. It was an exciting time, but we were going to school in different parts of the country. We made some difficult decisions pretty quickly; I would finish the fall semester at Concordia in Saint Paul and then transfer to his school, Concordia Irvine, in the spring.

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Melanchthon Nerds

By Caleb Keith –

As many regular readers of The Jagged Word might know, I produce the Thinking Fellows podcast, featuring Drs. Rosenbladt, Keith, and Francisco. Typically, the show launches once a week on Friday mornings, but every once in a blue moon, I post a special mid-week episode featuring incredible guests. Two weeks ago, Dr. Keith and I traveled to Germany for the one-of-a-kind opportunity to record two shows with the highly esteemed Dr. Robert Kolb.

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Art & Theology: The Struggle To Create Imagery Without Heresy

By Quincy Koll –

As someone who finds a vocation in both art and theology, I often desire to combine the two. While traveling during my sophomore year of college, I met an artist who devoted his art to depictions of the Gospel. When his work is viewed critically and questions are asked, the Gospel can be shared in a personal and meaningful way. I was inspired by this and tried to take on theological concepts in my own work.

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Please Help

By Caleb Keith –

I have a problem and need your help. You see, like most other people in my generation, and perhaps even those outside of my generation, I am dependent on the internet. More specifically, I am dependent on the Google search engine. This dependence is a gut reaction and a tool that feeds a general skepticism about the things I know and the knowledge passed onto me by parents, advisors, and even experts. I only recently became aware of my addiction because I happen to be a young parent whose own parents live nearby.

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I Don’t Care How You Feel

By Caleb Keith –

Before everybody thinks I am a jerk, let me just say that I care about how you feel in the proper sense of the word that describes your emotional status. If you are happy, I am glad you feel that way. If you are sad, I sympathize with your distraught. I don’t care about how you feel in what I will call the “weak” sense of the word, that is the sense of the word which attempts to replace knowledge and indicative reality with uncertainty and personal probability.

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Back to School

By Caleb Keith –

Two days ago, I started my last year as an undergraduate student. The semester ahead is going to be no easy task. I am taking eighteen units, including courses in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. On top of that, I have my five-month-old daughter to care for, and I was stupid enough to get a puppy, which my wife will be picking up tomorrow. It is safe to say that I have a hefty challenge laid out before me. However, this challenge is not uninvited.

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Who the Hell Needs to Know?

By Caleb Keith –

In my day-to-day life, I like to think I write more than the average person, not because I have more to say but because it is the nature of being a student to write. During the school year, I write papers, essays, short-answer responses, and the like. My work also requires me to write. At 1517 the Legacy Project, I write Facebook and Twitter posts, emails to co-workers, and the copies for the Thinking Fellows podcast. Then there is The Jagged Word, which I write for once a week, supplying a short blog for your viewing pleasure.

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The Government Thinks It Can Conquer Sin

By Caleb Keith –

Over the years I’ve come to enjoy the series of Jason Bourne movies. Things were no different last Thursday when I went to see the latest sequel. 2016’s Jason Bourne follows the same basic formula as every Bourne film.  Step 1. Bourne comes out of hiding, Step 2. The CIA locates Bourne, Step 3. Bourne stops the corrupt CIA from some nefarious and internationally illegal scheme.  While the movie was certainly predictable, the formula still works especially with the movies new technological focus.

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Should a Christian Own a Gun?

By Caleb Keith –

Recently, there has been a flood of violence and unrest following both Islamic terror attacks and domestic shootings. As is typical in the United States, such violence has led to a nationwide argument about gun control. As arguments both for and against gun control go flying through the air, I have found one particular argument coming from Christians more bothersome than the rest. Many Christians, both evangelical and Catholic, have labeled it sinful and un-Christian to own guns. This argument stems from what I would call the “Not of this World” movement. These Christians tend to overemphasize the spiritual aspect of the Christian life while often demonizing or ignoring the worldly part.

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