Yesterday, the Dow-Jones Average had its biggest one day loss. Though in percentage terms, the loss was not one of the biggies. Banks are failing. There are only two significant investment banks left and they are now federally regulated. The red hot housing market and the questionable tactics that helped fuel that market is now being paid for in terms of human misery and a credit crises.

The reason for the bailout package failure yesterday in the House of Representatives caused the markets to react, because we are in deep trouble without it. The package was a last ditch effort by the administration to save the credit markets. Blame for the mess we are in can come later. Action is need and it is needed soon. Credit in this country is drying up. This means there is little money for house loans, student loans, car loans, credit cards.

Business loans and commercial paper are in a severe crisis. This means that payrolls may not be met. More banks will fail. Businesses will not be able to increase their inventories. Many, many more people will be forced out of their jobs.

These are dire times. Though far from perfect and far from being "market friendly", the bailout bill is for more than Wall Street, it is for Main Street. Congress must pass this bill. The consequences of failure to act will be severe for every American.

There are many Biblical passages that could be used to put all of this into a theological perspective. Many are not helpful. That's the trouble we get into when we pick and choose what passages we want to use to make our point. Other passages are left out that also have a voice. The overriding message of the Bible is God's great love and concern for us.

God won't make the credit crunch disappear, but God will be with us to prod us to do what we need to do to limit the damage this might cause to our neighbor. It is for this reason that our members of Congress need to hear us say that we need to pass the bailout to lessen the great pain that might befall our neighbor. God will be with those of us who already suffer from these economic times.

12:08 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

September 02

Prescription Drug Ads

One of my pet peeves is watching prescription drug ads on TV. A typical tag line is, "Ask your doctor if X is right for you." My problem with these ads is that they encourage we everyday, untrained, people to engage in self-medication and to practice medicine without a licence. Physicians are well qualified to determine the best and proper drug treatment for us. Unless we have been to medical or pharmacy school, we do not have that knowledge. And we aren't going to get it from watching TV advertising.

I've heard anecdotal evidence of physicians being pressured by their patients to get a particular prescription drug. Of course, that is exactly what the drug companies want to have happen. They want to improve their bottom line and they apparently don't want ethics to get in the way. They are willing to spend a great deal of money to advertise controlled substances to the general public. This is money that would be better used to lower the price of prescription drugs and be used for further research.

It is wrong for patients to demand prescription drugs from their physicians. It is wrong for pharmaceutical companies to market their controlled substances to the general public. These actions by the drug companies are immoral and unethical.

10:39 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

August 21

Can law enforcement be evil?

Last year, there was a shootout in Shingle Springs (west of Placerville, CA). A young man, with mental problems, had killed his father. Knowing sheriff's deputies were on their way, he holed up with weapons behind his parent's house. During a shootout with law enforcement, the young man was killed. Three deputies were injured by gun fire. The state, to this day, has not released the results of their forensics. There are rumors that the deputies may have been hit by friendly fire.

Two of those three deputies, John Yaws and Greg Murphy, who were injured in that gunfight have now filed a lawsuit against the widow of this tragedy. There is a principle in law called the Firefighter's Rule that law enforcement and firefighters cannot sue those to whom they are called because they knew the dangers involved in their work when they agreed to do these jobs. Yaws' and Murphy's attorney believes that the Firefighter's Rule does not apply to his clients. Most local attorneys disagree.

Despite the legal issues here, there are moral issues. Ms. Mies dealt with the deaths of her husband and son on the same day, both killed violently. Now she is being made a victim by the very people who were sworn to serve and protect her. They are EACH asking for $4 million. Mrs. Mies lives modestly as a hospice nurse. Her house is not worth anything like the money being asked for. On top of all of this, she will need to find the resources to pay for her own attorney. It would be likely that after attorney fees, even if the deputies were successful, there would be nothing left of her finances. In essence, the deputies get nothing either way. The sheriff has even gone on record to denounce their actions.

These two people, one a sheriff's deputy and the other now an investigator for the district attorney, are evil. So to answer the question above, law enforcement is not evil. But sometimes those wearing a badge may be evil.

4:20 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

August 05

Lambeth 2008

The once-a-decade Lambeth Conference has concluded. The Lambeth Conference is a gathering of the bishops of the Anglican Communion. Lambeth Palace is the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury in London. There are so many bishops in the Communion now that the Lambeth Palace can no longer host them. Beginning with the 1998 Lambeth Conference, the bishops meet at Canterbury Cathedral and Kent University both in Kent.

Many anticipated fireworks at this year's conference over the issues of human sexuality. This did not materialize, mainly because Archbishop Rowan Williams designed the conference format to prevent such a thing from happening. The bishops used indaba groups to talk to each other. There were 16 indaba groups and each one of those was broken into smaller groups. In parts of southern Africa indaba groups are used by tribes to talk out conflicts. They are instrumental in achieving consensus.

No consensus was reached at Lambeth 2008, though many bishops more clearly understood each other's point of view. There were no votes taken. There is a conference report that is supposed to reflect what was said at the conference (http://www.lambethconference.org/reflections/document.cfm).

There is continued movement toward an Anglican Covenant. The bishops were able to give input on the latest draft. There is also a push to have a final version approved by the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) at their May 2009 meeting. Perhaps not coincidentally, this would be in time before the Episcopal Church triennial General Convention. There would then be pressure for the Episcopal Church to ratify the covenant in 2009 or suffer a possible expelling from the Anglican Communion. 2009 should be a very interesting year.

8:40 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

July 08

Smart Marriages 2008

I had the pleasure to attend the 2008 Smart marriages Conference in San Francisco last week. John Gray was great as usual. Gray talked about how Mars and Venus collide. Our relationship patterns were set in our prehistory. Our brains still function in the same way. But over the past several decades, women have joined men in more dangerous vocational pursuits. This is good for the advancement of women, but their brains and their brain chemistry did not change. Women deal with their to-do list at work and come for another to-do list. Women need help in being able to manage their new circumstance.

This was the first time I heard Gary Chapman of the Five Love Languages fame. He was very good. Chapman related how finding our primary love language and how our partner can feed that love language and vice versa will improve relationships. He also does a great imitation of a southern preacher.

This was also the first time I heard Sue Johnson. She was great. Her premise is based on the new research that shows it is not just babies that yearn to be held, but that need is with us all throughout our lives.

The theme of the conference was about the reluctance of 20 and 30 somethings to marry. They tend to hold myths about marriage that prevent them from making a commitment. It is our job to educate them that marriage is beneficial and that with marriage education, they can have life long marriages. This situation is a likely result of our high divorce rate.

The highlight of the conference for me was to be trained in leading PAIRS classes. PAIRS is the best marriage education program I have ever seen. There are many practical tools that are taught to couples to aid in their communication and in resolving couple conflict. I am certified in four PAIRS classes (there are others). I will lead the first one in September at Our Saviour.

10:31 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)