A Deafening Silence Bonhoeffer’s Germany, Part Four Michael Jinkins “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.” (Edmund Burke, 1729-1797) The phrase “a deafening silence,” gets used a good bit these days, usually to describe a situation when something ought to be said but […]
God Himself is With Us? Bonhoeffer’s Germany, Part Three Michael Jinkins “Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle that fits them all.” (Edmund Burke, 1727-1797) Perhaps there is nothing quite so seductive, yet so dangerous, as the idea that God is on our side and that our enemies are […]
Michael Jinkins (letter to the editor, The Advocate) Submitted October 15, 2019 Published November 4, 2019 See original post on The Advocate’s website, here. Recently, I attended an Interfaith Breakfast sponsored by our Mayor. Surrounded by ministers and priests, rabbis and imams, I was reminded how big is God’s family. Christians (and I am one) […]
A Front Row Seat for the Nightmare Years Bonhoeffer’s Germany, Part Two Michael Jinkins “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good [people] to do nothing.” (Edmund Burke, 1729-1797) From 1934 till 1940, American journalist William Shirer had a front row seat to witness the era in Germany that […]
How Could It Have Happened? Bonhoeffer’s Germany, Part One Michael Jinkins “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” (Edmund Burke, 1729-1797, Irish political philosopher) Early on a gray spring morning in Flossenbürg, Germany, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was taken from his cell, marched naked to the gallows, and hanged. The prison doctor […]
Intro to Bonhoeffer Series: Michael Jinkins Starting tomorrow, we will be posting a series of blogs that I wrote some years ago about Dietrich Bonhoeffer. These blogs first appeared on websites curated by Duke Divinity School, Huffington Post, and Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. The blogs, which appeared in 2015-16, originated in articles and lectures […]
Love and Knowledge Michael Jinkins At the close of worship recently I shared with the congregation a passage I came across probably a year ago. I had written it down on a post-it note and kept it on my bedside table. The passage is from St. Augustine of Hippo. Augustine said: If we […]
Living on Borrowed Time Michael Jinkins When I was a little boy I remember hearing older members of my family starting a sentence by saying, “If I die….” And I remember drawing the conclusion toddling around their knees that apparently some people don’t die. I hadn’t yet gotten the news that nobody gets out […]
Innocence and Experience Michael Jinkins Recently I read a fascinating essay in The New York Times by a philosopher who had suffered what her doctor described as a “minor traumatic brain injury.” The upshot of her injury meant that she wasn’t allowed for at least three months to do any heavy lifting with her […]
Banned Books Michael Jinkins Not long after we moved to Austin, Texas, the well-respected suburban school district of Round Rock banned Maya Angelou’s book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I hadn’t yet read the book but went out and bought a copy immediately just to see what the fuss was about. […]