The Secret Wireless

Alasdair MacIntyre compared our understanding of virtue with a civilization, generations into the future, uncovering our civilization. The few pieces that they could put together about our knowledge of science, this would be what we currently know about virtue. I am not an ethicist, but this idea of virtue intrigues me. Do we even have the faintest idea of how to be good people anymore? Do we know what "good" is? Do we even care? If we wanted to recapture virtue in our society, where shall we begin? We could look to past examples of virtue and attempt to follow in their footsteps. We could focus in on certain virtues and try to drive them into the minds of future generations. Personally I favor a multi-pronged approach. It begins with reading the right books. Some books have a sense of the "transcendent". Reading them gives you the impression that there is more to life than simply getting by one day at a time. The Lord of the Rings would b...

Someone once told me a story that went something like this: Several men had gathered together at their church to relocate the congregation's playground equipment. One task was to move the giant swing set. The legs of the swing set had been pulled from the ground. However, they were still encased in concrete. The swing set could not be moved and reset until the old concrete was removed. One of the men, "Martin", volunteered to take a swing at busting the concrete from the metal legs. He picked up a sledge hammer and went to work out of sight of the rest of the men. After a few minutes Martin returned and confessed that he could not crack the concrete even a little bit. Another man, lets call him "Jack", offered to try. He disappeared in the direction of the swing set. After a long absence Jack returned. "Did you get it?" asked Martin. "Yep," replied Jack, covered in sweat. "It's all off." Martin a...

One of the most difficult things in life to do is to admit defeat. I don't just mean that we admit we have lost this one encounter, but to say out loud that I have striven and completely failed, that takes guts. Too often I hope to hold something in reserve. I lost but...next time I'll be stronger...I only made one little mistake...they cheated. This morning I met a challenge that I could not overcome. I bought a workout video and tried to follow along with the leader on the screen. After the first few exercises my abdominal muscles were so tired and sore that I had absolutely no strength left. I could not even fake my way through the exercises. I failed and there was no way around it. I had to say it...out loud..."I failed." This applies spiritually as well. Forgiveness works best, or rather comes easiest, when I simply admit total failure. If I confess my sins to my wife, yet want to hold something back, she will not wish to forgive. "Honey, I'm ...

Jesus teaches His disciples to pray. He begins the prayer by addressing God as "our Father". Lately, in light of Father's Day, I have been praying this personally as "my Father". For some reason this hits me hard, to think that God condescends to allow me to call Him "Father". Saint Paul, in his letter to the Galatian Christians, writes that we have been adopted as sons of God through Christ Jesus. I am completely and totally unworthy to call God "my Father" and yet He allows it, even encourages it. When I pray, I am not begging at the doorstep of some "holier-than-thou" cleric. I am allowed, by God's grace, to ask anything of Him "as dear children ask their dear father." (Martin Luther, Small Catechism ) Of course this is all because I have been baptized into Christ Jesus. Jesus is the only true Son of God. He is worthy to address God as Father. That is not only His privilege, but His right. In baptism we ...