Logan Martin Isaac

Public Writing

“Churches Have a Lot to Learn from the Military”

Discipline? Self-sacrifice? The church actually has something to learn from the military, argues Iraq veteran and pacifist Logan Mehl-Laituri.

coursework

Isaiah 6 Artistic Intertexts

Submitted on March 22, 2011, to Anathea Portier Young in partial fulfillment of Intro to Old Testament Interpretation (OT12). Girard Picart & Isaiah 6 For this assignment, I have decided to stick with the same scripture I used for my Exegetical Brief and Prophetic Sermon, Isaiah 6.  The prophetic office

coursework

Isaiah 6 Sermon

Submitted on February 21, 2011, to Anathea Portier Young in partial fulfillment of Intro to Old Testament Interpretation (OT12). Introductory Comments 1. Audience – one or more partners in precept, Tuesday February 21, 2011.  I am not moving toward ordination, so I have no reason to write for anything other than

coursework

Isaiah 6 Exegetical Brief

Submitted on February 15, 2011, to Anathea Portier Young in partial fulfillment of Intro to the Old Testament (OT12). Boundaries Chapter 6 of the book of Isaiah is a coherent and self-sustaining whole.  The commissioning of the prophet is a literary break from the surrounding chapters.  Chapters 1-5

coursework

"Let the Stones Cry Out: IVAW and the Question of Secular Prophetic Action"

Submitted December 10, 2010, to Mary McClintock-Fulkerson ("MMF") in partial fulfillment of Parish 215 (Par215). Historically, Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) has had a relative minority of devout religious members, and conversations of a religious nature rarely occur between members within the context of the organization

coursework

"God at the Threshold: A close reading from Soren Kierkegaard’s Works of Love"

Submitted on December 7, 2010, to Amy Laura Hall in partial fulfillment of Christian Ethics: Love in the Christian Tradition (CE144). When the couch of death is prepared for you, when you go to bed never to get up again, and they are only waiting for you to turn to

Members only

Sojourners

The Right to Refuse to Bear Arms

Public Writing

TCCW 5: Preaching on Truth & Conscience

Originally published in Sojourners, 2010-11.

coursework

"Enemy Love: A Stepping Stone or A Stumbling Block?"

Toward an Echthragapic Theology Submitted November 17, 2010, to Geoffrey Wainwright in partial fulfillment of Intro to Christian Theology (CT32). "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for

coursework

"Steam Rising: Fire & Water in Marilynne Robinson's Gilead"

Submitted on November 9, 2010, to Amy Laura Hall in partial fulfillment of Christian Ethics: Love in the Christian Tradition (CE144). The most powerful imagery in my reading of Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead has been the communion experience in the midst of the ruins of a church struck by lightning.

Public Writing

TCCW 4: Veterans' Suicides & SCO

Originally published in Sojourners, 2010-11.

Public Writing

TCCW 3: Moral Agency and Selective Conscientious Objection

Originally published in Sojourners, 2010-11.

Public Writing

TCCW 2: The Right to Act in Conscience

Originally published in Sojourners, 2010-10.

coursework

"Who and whose are you? Naming and Claiming in Toni Morrison’s Beloved"

Submitted on October 7, 2010, to Amy Laura Hall in partial fulfillment of Christian Ethics: Love in the Christian Tradition (CE144). In Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved, names are a crucial and central marking, stylistically and literally.  It might seem contradictory at first glance, but the importance of naming runs

Sojourners

TCCW 1: Securing Soldiers' Rights to SCO

Originally published in Sojourners, 2010-09.

Public Writing

Seeking Peace Among the Peoples

Originally published in Sojourners, 2010-08.

Public Speaking

"Dying in War"

... is not the only way to be remembered well. Interview conducted at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, IN during the Peace Among the Peoples Conference on July 30, 2010, hosted by the World Council of Churches. My vocational call is to humanize service members, and to recognize that the

Sojourners

Wikileaks, Truth Tellers, and a Crisis of Conscience

Originally published in Sojourners, 2010-07.

Sojourners

Why Christianity and July 4th May Be Compatible

*Originally published July 6, 2010 in Sojourners. It has since been removed. This past Fourth of July weekend, I reflected on Kurt Willems' recent post, which had a lot of great points. Like Kurt, I have thought for many years about the congruence of church and state, especially in

Sojourners

We All Share Responsibility for Going to War -- and for Stopping It

*Originally published by Sojourners on March 19, 2010. It has since been removed. A comment on my recent blog about The Hurt Locker really got my blood boiling. Fortunately, after having a good chat with another combat veteran, I realized that my frustration was not really with that particular comment,

TCCW

TCCW Testimony

Personal testimony given March 19, 2010 at the Riverside Church in New York City. If I could serve our country without being expected to kill people, I never would have considered conscientious objection.   I enjoyed the challenge and the satisfaction of knowing I volunteered for some of the most demanding

Sojourners

Hurt Locker Can't Contain the Reality of War

*Originally published by Sojourners on March 9, 2010. It has since been removed. I am not a movie buff by any standard, but somehow I suspect I am not the only one who was more than a little surprised at the reception of the latest war movie at Sunday'

Sojourners

The Contentious Issue of 'Selective Conscientious Objection'

*Originally published by Sojourners on March 1, 2010. It has since been removed. As I have been talking about the Truth Commission on Conscience in War, there have been some recurring themes that have surfaced. For the most part, the folks I have been in conversation about it with by

Sojourners

Reinvigorating the Discourse on Just War and Pacifism

Originally published by Sojourners on February 2, 2010. It has since been removed. Before I went to Iraq with my friend and fellow God's Politics contributor Shane Claiborne, I was trying to figure out how to take the lessons I would learn there back home. I felt certain

Sojourners

Learning from Iraqi Good Samaritans

*Originally published by Sojourners on January 25, 2010. It has since been removed. Just a few days ago, I returned from a short trip into Iraq with a small group of Christian peacemakers. Most of us had been to the country before, but under varying circumstances: I was on a