My very first blog post!

Starting a blog is something I have been putting off for far to long. And I can think of many reasons why this has been so. For the past three and a half years I have been writing paper after paper for my Master of Divinity degree so to take on the task of posting my own thoughts and opinions in addition to all the writing I was required to do for my coursework seemed like such a chore. Furthermore, it seems that all of cyberspace is clogged with the opinions of other bloggers on a range of topics. Why would anyone want to read yet another blog post?

However, after recently completing my MDiv degree as well as accepting my first pastoral position at a wonderful church, I feel that the time is now ripe for me to offer my own thought and ideas about a range of issues.

Certainly one of those issues concerns the tragedy that took place last week in Newtown, CT at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The killing of innocent children and their teachers is something that haunts me as a spiritual leader as well as a human being.Even after much reflection, I still cannot fathom why such evil acts happen. But what I am finding perhaps more repugnant is so much of the rhetoric surrounding this tragedy, rhetoric which often uses the death of innocent children as a springboard to promulgate all sorts of political positions concerning gun control, the "proper" interpretation of the Second Ammendment, and who precisely is to blame for this horrible act. Indeed, just yesterday, James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, asserted in his usual fashion, that this tragedy happened because America has turned its back on God by decriminalizing homosexuality and kicking God and prayer out of the public schools.

In our collective grief, it is natural to look for a cause for why something so evil actually happened. Was it the fault of a society whose laws allow people to purchase guns so easily and quickly? Was it the fault of "secular humanists" who have kicked God out of all areas of public life? Is it the fault of one mentally ill individual and the network of parents and caregivers who failed him? These are all questions we are asking but I believe that the attempt to place blame and scapegoat in this time of deep loss and grief is not the best use of our time. Right now we are called to comfort those who are mourning, not just the survivors of this horiffic event, but all who are hurting, all who are without.

Perhaps at the heart of all of these events is our understanding of freedom. What kind of human freedom allows us all to live together with some degree of peace and secrity? Is it a freedom that says I can acquire any gun I want and so can you. Or is it a freedom that understand that my quality of life is deeply dependent on your quality of life?