Here we go again!

A big day today. Election day, school starts and tomorrow is my first Ash Wednesday as clergy. I'll end up at church for about 12 hours tomorrow. We do imposition of ashes, Eucharist, in the morning, a midday service and an Ash Wednesday service tomorrow night.

An interesting discussion is starting in my theology class. (Pneumatology, Ecclesiology and Eschatology, or P. E & E for short.) Today we learned about the idea that total depravity is not the way of humanity. I must admit, this was refreshing for me. Despite everything I've learned about the evil of man. I have never been able to give up on a high anthropology. I've always felt that we have a spark of the divine in us. Its nice to know that a German Theologian agrees with me.

Jurgen Moltmann talks about the Holy Spirit as not being only relevatory. In other words, The Holy Spirit is not something that we simply experience, it is something we are in relationship with. And to be in relationship with something implies that there is a bit of that thing in us. Therefore, if we are part of the relationship with the Holy Spirit, we have some of it in us. And it is this part that goads on on and moves us toward perfection.

I see some echoes of Bonhoeffer's concept of Costly Grace in this as well as some of the Social Justice directives of Wesley. Ultimately, it is this bit of divinity that is in all of us that gets of off our butts and motivates us to make this world a better place. Moreover, to not do something is a denial of that divinity that rivals the denial of Peter.

So, go vote!