New...

With a new year comes a new look for my blog. I hope you like it and that it is easy for you to read. I personally like the wider frames to type in. Speaking of new, here is what is on the horizon for the year 2005:

I will become a stay at home dad for my new son Elijah while my wife returns to teaching 5th grade. I relish the opportunity, but am wondering how I will be able to train him up and give him the necessary interaction while also trying to juggle my hectic youth ministry schedule and other duties at the church.

I am in the process of writing 2 dramatic worship services. One is based on the Lord's (Disciple's) prayer. The other is a Passion play using the Stations of the cross as vignettes. The dates for their debut are yet to be determined.

I am also going to seriously look into getting a lesson series published. I have a few to choose from, but think that the ones on the Beatitudes are best.

Finally I have purchased and begun to play the Tin Whistle, and hope to be as good as Brian Carter soon (This is of course a dream and will never happen on any instrument).

Tune in soon as I take stock of my past year a la Shannon's example. Hope the past year has treated you well and the next year allows for many opportunities for God to be praised and glorified.

A Christmas Story

I have a busy week getting ready to make the big trip to Alabama for Christmas with the whole family (brothers and sisters and those in-law along with the 3 nephews). So, I am posting a story that I wrote this year. It's sort of a different take on the Christmas Story. Let me know if you like it, think it stinks, think it could use something, etc. It is a little long, so, take your time. You can download it in Word format from my website (at the bottom)if you like along with a nice Christmas Greeting. Hope you enjoy.

The Innkeeper’s Indwelling Grace

Most of the people hate tax season. It serves as another reminder to the Israelites that they are a conquered people, forced to give allegiance and tribute back to Rome. The whole idea of forking over their hard earned money to some dictator just so he can line his pockets seems ludicrous. For the Israelites, the Roman promises of “Bread and Circuses” was merely taxation and entertainment at their expense. It is no surprise then, that the tax collectors are among the most hated in their society.

And in order to get ready for tax season and avoid imprisonment or further fines, they have to get their houses and finances in order. They have to take time off of work. They have to travel back to their homeland. They have to make reservations or impose upon some family member. And of course, they have to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. It is all such a big hassle for them.

But there are some beyond the tax collectors that love tax season. There are some that can’t wait for it to come. It doesn’t come all that often, but these people plan their whole schedules around it. You see, these people rake it in. They profit quite a bit from tax season. Take for example Sar. His name means “prince” but as an innkeeper in the lowly city of Bethlehem he is far from royalty. He is not much to look at. Not overly pretty. His face is covered by a brown beard with graying tips. Thin cheeks from years of scratching by can be seen under his facial covering. Teeth a greenish-yellow from years of smoking on a pipe occasionally appear behind his cracked lips. Despite his appearance though, he is decent with his hands. After all, he did convert his home into an inn after his farming took a turn for the worse. Sar may seem like an average Israelite, but unlike most Israelites, Sar looks forward to the tax season.

You see, the hotel business in Bethlehem is, to put it mildly, slow. Most times, he could expect one, maybe two guests a week. Most are on their way to Jerusalem but arrive in Bethlehem late at night. They decide to stop, not wanting to go the rest of the way and increase the risk of getting jumped and robbed. If it weren’t for its proximity to Jerusalem, it is doubtful that anyone would stop by. No, this town doesn’t get many visitors coming around. The King David Shrine and museum is about the only tourist attraction, and everyone knows that it probably isn’t authentic. I mean, they are trying to sell the actual pebble David used on Goliath for 25 shekels. That’s right, 25 shekels! Of course they have been selling these same pebbles since the Bronze Age, so one has to think the pebbles they pass off as real fool no one anymore.

No, there is nothing to do here in Bethlehem. Even the name of the town is not really exciting—“House of Bread.” Unless you are a baker or you really love grain products, they don’t have much to offer. No, the town basically just lives in the past, struggling to get by. And that is why people like Sar love tax season. With the influx of visitors he makes enough in one week to live on for a long time. People come from far and wide back to the homeland they have abandoned. They aren’t happy to make the trip, but the law is the law. So, when they come, Sar’s inn, “The House of Bed” sells out. And boy what a party do they have. He figures, the better time the people have, the more likely they will be to come back and not go to the competition. It seems to be working. He hasn’t had an empty room during tax season for many years. Everyone knows, if you want a room at The House of Bed, you better make your reservation early.

Well, almost everyone knew. This past tax season, a couple arrived in Bethlehem without a reservation. They stumbled into the inn late one night, probably 3:00 in the morning. The innkeeper woke with a start, angry that he was disturbed from his nice, warm, straw cot by the sound of their banging on the counter. This couple was a sight to behold. As the innkeeper wiped the sleep from his eyes, he took in the situation. Here, a somewhat poor man and a pregnant woman who was probably not his wife stood before him. Sar assumed that the child was illegitimate. Sar wanted to laugh at the situation if it weren’t so sad. Before him stood two of society’s outcasts who had made no plans ahead of time and yet expected to find a comfortable place to sleep and probably give birth.

This man who looked to be in his 40s was in bad shape. His beard was not neatly shaved, but grew up in tufts all around. His clothes were dusty. His eyes had dark circles about them. His hands were worn and calloused from manual labor. And his body was clearly worn out. Fortunately for him the counter was there to hold him up or he would have fallen over.

Strangely enough, he was with a pretty, much younger girl, though she too was looking quite weary. And for good reason. Her belly looked like it was about to pop. She had to be fully pregnant. Though her attractiveness and her pregnant body shape stood out, what really drew people to her was her eyes. Though her eyes looked tired and were red from what had to be many tears of pain, they were kind. Her eyes belied the pain of her circumstances with something that he had not seen in a long time.

Well, the man, after taking a short drink from his water pouch, hoarsely mumbled to the innkeeper, “Can we have a room?”

Sar laughed wryly, “Sure. It will only cost you 100 denarrii.”

The man’s eyes widened. “100 denarrii? That’s a third of the year’s wages. I can’t afford that!”

Sar shot back, “Well, that is what it will cost for me to kick one of my good paying customers out of their beds and into the streets. We’ve been booked solid for a year. You can’t just waltz in here at tax time and expect a room. And don’t expect to find a place anywhere in town, neither. You would think that 100 denarii is a steal compared to what some of these places will charge you.”

The man replied, “Do you not have anything for us? Look at my wife. She needs a room.”

“Are you kidding me?” the innkeeper sniggered. “I won’t have you disturbing the rest of my guests with her screaming and yelling. This is an inn, not a nursery. You’ll have to head south to Tekoa if you want a room.”

The man’s shoulders slumped even further down as he turned and looked at his wife. “Can you make it 10 more miles?” The woman, through a mouth clinched in pain smiled, and nodded.

As they were walking out the woman turned and gave a nod of appreciation to the innkeeper. It was then that he realized what was so mesmerizing about her. Her eyes and her whole demeanor were full of grace. Though he had treated them rudely and cruelly, she still had the grace to respond with affirmation.

Struck by such a response, he ran out and stopped them from leaving. “Wait, wait, wait. I don’t have a room. And I hate to even offer this to you, but you seem to be in dire straights. I have a cow stall just up the way there. It is shielded from the wind, there is plenty of hay in there, no one will bother you and you can scream as loud as you want maam.”

The man thanked him and the woman gave him a grateful smile as they slowly set off for much needed rest and shelter.

As the week went on, Sar was caught up in the activities of tax season. Being counted, figuring out the appropriate tribute to give to Herod, keeping his patrons happy—he almost forgot about that couple out in the stall. That is until they came to check out—the man, his wife, and their new baby boy. Though still tired, they had a light about them that could not be quenched. The man set his money pouch on the counter and asked, “How much do we owe you?”

Sar was speechless as he looked at the bundle in the woman’s arms. That little baby had the same aura about him that his mother did. In response, all he could mumble out was, “No charge.”

The man replied, “Thank you for all you have done for us. May the grace of Yahweh rest upon you. Shalom.” He left a denarii on the counter and walked out. His wife followed with that same warm smile upon her face as she looked down upon her newborn son and murmured to him, “It’s time to go Yeshua.”

It took the innkeeper about 5 minutes to regain his breath. He was struck by this strange family. How could they seem so content in their awful circumstances? They had little money, she was an embarrassment to her family and community, the child would probably be labeled a bastard, and they could well have died making this trip. Yet, here they were, unable to mouth a disparaging word.

All he could think of was a Scripture from his days at the synagogue:
“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Yes, peace and grace in the midst of turmoil. This family possessed such qualities and carried them around for all to see as though they were a bundled up child.

The words of the man reverberated in his ears: “May the grace of Yahweh rest upon you.” Somehow, Sar felt like it already had.

The Death of Christmas

It’s official—Christmas has been ruined for me. The joy of gift giving, and lights, and all that crap has been turned to deep cynicism. I get irritable, angry, and downright hostile during this season. Many reasons could be identified, but the straw that broke my back came from television.

I have always enjoyed songs of the season—classically done Christmas songs (you can refer to my post on Christmas specials for more on that). But here I am, enjoying a show on TV, and I am bombarded by ridiculous renditions of these songs. I am sorry, but a punk version of “Joy to the World” is not an improvement.

But there is always something worse, like taking a Christmas Jingle to hawk your crappy product. Yes, I am talking to you OLD NAVY!!!
You can’t make leg warmers more appealing just because you change the words to “Jingle Bells.” Though I have never purchased anything from Old Navy, I have begun a personal boycott that I will NEVER buy anything. Their normal commercials piss me off. But this latest travesty is intolerable. I don’t intend to bring down this corporate giant. I don’t expect anyone to join me. I just want to sleep at night knowing that I don’t support such blatant disregard for anything sacred just to sell some more worthless crap probably made by oppressed Taiwanese children. Nobody needs your products. I sure don’t want any of them. And I don’t appreciate you ruining Christmas for me. Bah Humbug!

Desperate Indeed

ABC, in my opinion, is destroying the competition with the lineup the have at night. Most people have heard and watched enthralled as “LOST” has captured the attention of the viewing public. But I have taken notice of a different show. “Desperate Housewives” has gotten rave reviews by critics and shocked responses by conservatives. Here is a show about lustful mothers and wives, wayward teenagers, suicide, divorced families, cheating spouses, etc. And on the surface, there is a lot of vice that is put out there for the world to see. But I do not see that vice is being glorified and projected as normative. Rather, these women struggle to make it through the day and the pressures of life. And often, they fail. They succumb to temptation. They are forced to lie and cheat to cover up their past sins. And they enter into a downward spiral that seems to have no end. But somehow, some way, they get relief. They have friends that support them. The last two shows have ended with Jerry Springer Final Word moments that have really impressed me. Listen to what the mother who committed suicide yet still provides a dialogue from beyond the grave says:

“There is a widely read book that tells us that everyone is a sinner. Of course, not everyone who reads this book feels guilt over the bad things they do. In contrast there are those that assume more than their share of the blame. There are others who soothe their consciences with small acts of kindness or by telling themselves their sins were justified. Finally there are the ones that vow to do better next time and pray for forgiveness.”

“People are complicated creatures. On the one hand able to perform great acts of charity. On the other…capable of the most underhanded forms of betrayal. It’s a constant battle that rages within all of us. Between the better angels of our nature, and the temptation of our inner demons. And sometimes, the only way to ward off the darkness is to shine the light of compassion.”

That is some deep stuff, even if it is from a show that is popular probably due to the overabundance of attractive actresses. I am interested to see where this all leads. Will they be forced to endure the consequences of their actions? Will they receive grace? Will their past transgressions be covered up and ignored, sending a message to the viewer that you can do whatever you want as long as you don’t get caught? I don’t know.

But in the midst of this story resides a spiritual element that cannot be overlooked. The women are desperate for more than just sex. They are desperate for stability, salvation, and compassion. And in the end, I believe they reflect more of humanity than we like to admit or are comfortable with. But the needs are there, and the "light of compassion" has already come.

Spiderwoman

When I was growing up, I collected comics, mainly Punisher and Spiderman. So, when the Spiderman movies came out, I was interested. I saw the first one, and it was decent. But then I saw Spiderman 2, and I have to say…IT BLEW!!! It was one of those movies that you thought would never end, but you had already wasted too much time not to finish it out. The following are the reasons why I encourage you not to watch Spiderman 2:

Having grown up on the comic, I know that there is a relational element to the story. Peter was always dealing with Mary Jane, her relationship with him and Flash Gordon, his relationship with Aunt May. And though such relationships play into the storyline of the comic book and the Peter’s actions, in the end the story is mostly about a super hero. Well, not so in the second movie. Probably 90% of the movie was relational drivel. Most of the dialogue was as follows:

Mary Jane: “Peter, I just don’t get you.”
Peter: “I’m sorry” (Just tell her)
MJ: “Don’t you see that I love you?”
PP: “I…don’t love you” (Just tell her)
MJ: “You don’t love me?”
PP: “No.” (What are you doing?)
MJ: “I don’t understand you.”

At which point some cataclysmic event happens to break up this wonderful exchange. The worst part is that this seems to happen the entire movie!! Oh, the drama. I’m sorry, but I deal with teenagers all the time, and when I watch a movie I want to get away from reality, especially when I am watching a movie about a superhero. Enough is enough. We know your life is hard Peter. Get over it and fight some crime.

Anyway, there were some redeeming qualities in the movie. Aunt May’s speech on what a real hero is was great. She said that there is a little hero inside all of us, and what really distinguishes a hero is that s/he is able to sacrifice their own ambitions to help others (a paraphrase). Quality stuff. Also, the animation was great. It didn’t look overly cartoony, but attempted to maintain the semblance of actual filming.

So, you are welcome to disagree with me about the quality of the movie. But, if it were up to me, save your money for “Electra.”


PS - If you want to download a Spiderman Template for your blog, go here: http://spiderman.sonypictures.com/bugle/weblogs/downloads.php

Charity Work

I am taking the day off of my blog, but I am working nonetheless. I am doing some pro-bono work for my friend Fabian's Guest Blogger Week. I submitted an article about American Arrogance that you can read (when he posts it) at www.fabiansworld.blogspot.com. So, go support his bizarre blog.

Survivor Strategy

I will admit to the world, on this blog today, that I watch Survivor. I give many reasons for why—I like taking in the beautiful settings, I get ideas for youth group from the challenges, I get caught up in the drama and intrigue, or I just like seeing if I can guess who will be voted off. But, mostly, I like thinking of how I would play or act or react in certain of the same situations.

Lat night Chris one by both lying and acting like he was everyone’s #1 guy. It was unbelievable to see how this guy, who was up against 6 women who all at the outset wanted only women in the final, could get them to turn on each other and eventually they consumed each other. This left him to stand alone when the dust settled.

Anyway, it got me to thinking: “If I were on Survivor, how would I play?” Every time they flashed my picture and my name, right under it would read “Minister.” My ideology, conduct, and relationship with Christ would be on center stage for all to see. Would I be caught up in the game—the backbiting, the lying, the slander, etc.? Because seemingly, that is how the game is played and won. Or would I have integrity and be sent home the first night?

Well, what follows would be the strategy that I would start the game with. It may work. It probably would not.

I would change the mantra of the game from “Outwit, Outlast, Outplay” to “Outwork, Outlove, Outpatience.” These are not just glib phrases to sell Christian T-shirts, but qualities I desire and would have to work on.

There would be no treaties or alliances for me. If I happened to agree with others who were voting a certain way, then so be it. I would cherish friendships, not agreements.

I would seek to develop true relationships with the people. Can you imagine the first night sitting around an unlit campfire and doing boundary breakers? I think it would be awesome!

I would be careful to listen before reacting or speaking. Too many of the players refuse to actually listen. I am guarded anyway, so I think this would be my best play.

When it came to voting, I would use the following criteria:
1) Did the person in question mess up a challenge for the team (performance)?
2) Does what the person brings to the team outweigh what s/he detracts from it (cohesiveness)?
3) Is the person in question divisive (unity)?
4) Are there real opportunities to be Christ to this person down the road (witness)?

And when I decided on a person, I think I would tell them before the vote. Not in a mean vindictive way, but tell them what I was thinking. That would probably come back and bite me, but you never know. And when there was a problem among the team, I would look to be a peacemaker instead of resolving it with gossip and power plays. I would use encouragement rather than guilt or condescension.

I think that this way of playing has a chance, because if you get people to really trust you, and if you invest in them they will want to keep you around. Of course, like the Kingdom, this is an ideal. And, I will probably never audition to be on a Survivor, but you never know.

The Post -Modern Church

I read an article in Christianity Today that really fleshed out some of my observations about and dissatisfactions with the current church. You are welcome to read it in its entirety here But the comparison of the worldview of Evangelicals (which I equate with Modernity) with that of the Emerging church (Post-modern) is very eye opening. So, let me summarize the two views first, and then make some observations.

Evangelical Worldview

Fundamentally, the Evangelical Model is concerned with getting yourself “saved” or improving your life. The Christian life first focuses about you and your needs. Once your needs are met, then you think about how you can serve the church. Then, if there is anything left over, you ask how the church might serve the world.

“One of the greatest enemies of evangelism is the church as fortress or social club. It sucks Christians out of their neighborhoods, clubs, workplaces, schools, and other social networks and isolates them in a religious ghetto. There it must entertain them (through many means, many masquerading as education) and hold them (through various means, many of them epitomized by the words guiltfear). and This Christians are warehoused as merchandise for heaven, kept safe in a protected space to prevent spillage, leakage, damage or loss until their delivery.”

The Emerging Church Worldview

In this view the gospel and evangelism is not primarily informational but relational/missional. That is, imparting information about how to be individually saved is secondary to inviting people into relationship with a King and with members of a Kingdom whose foremost concern is wholeness for a broken world, rather than an insurance policy for eternal destiny.

It’s not about the church meeting your needs. It’s about you joining the mission of God’s people to meet the world’s needs.

When it comes to Salvation and Election, it is not about who gets to heaven; it is about who God chooses to be part of His crisis-response team to bring healing to the world. The gospel starts with God’s concern for the world (“For God so loved the world that He sent His Son”), in which God creates a community called the church, comprised of persons who stop (repent of) being ‘part of the problem’ and choose instead to join God as ‘part of the solution’—thus simultaneously entering a mission and a community in which one is accepted by grace, through faith in Jesus. Church is not a place one attends but a community to which one belongs. The church is God’s people chosen to demonstrate that love to the world.

I suppose what intrigues me is the shift of focus from self to the world. As a minister, if the world is my focus, I will refuse to limit the focal point of my preaching and teaching to the "needs" of saved and elect insiders, but instead keep the cries of the least, the last, and the lost alive in the ears of the “insiders.” Songs too have a different tone to them. Instead of thinking of how I am in a great relationship with God, we should sing songs of justice and compassion, of mission and hope, of the glory of a God who loves, not just me, but the whole world. In so doing, sermons and songs concentrate not on a self-centered gospel but on a world-blessing gospel. This concentration reminds me of God’s covenant with Abraham. It is not just blessings for Abraham for his benefit, but so that he and his descendants can return the blessing to the whole world.

And though many might agree with this sort of church, how we go about “reforming” our churches is often skewed. If we are a self-centered church in America, it is because our programs and theologies are perfectly designed to produce such a church. It has been said that the greatest obstacle to the coming of the kingdom of God is the church, preoccupied with her own existence. I am not saying we should do away with the church, but the Kingdom is bigger than the church. And until bringing healing and restoration to the world takes prominence over our own selfish preoccupation, the Kingdom will remain an ideal.

‘Tis the Season

You may call me a scrooge, but I can’t stand Christmas much anymore. Maybe it is the commercialism combined with my cynicism. Or maybe I need a visit for Christmas past, present, and future. Whatever the case is, I can guarantee that I am not going to get into the “holiday spirit” based on the crappy Christmas specials that are out there.

I remember when Christmas was marked by Christmas specials that were of high quality. They involved orchestras and singers of renown ushering in the season with classic renditions of old Christmas favorites. But those such memories are all in the past, and I wonder if they will ever become present events again.
Let me just rattle off a few of the highly touted Christmas specials:

A Nick and Jessica Christmas
An American Idol Christmas featuring Rueben, Anastasia, and that first chick we forgot about
Dr. Phil’s Christmas featuring Vanessa Williams and JOJO
And last, but certainly not least, An intimate evening of Christmas merriment with Clay Akins

I’ll tell you what, nothing says “Christmas spirit” like JOJO and American Idol. I am so sick of these people getting Christmas specials just because they are famous, and then proceeding to butcher classic songs. So I propose the following stipulations that one must meet in order to garner one’s own Christmas special:

• You have never competed on American Idol
• You have had a career (that consists of doing music more than 10 years and putting out more than 3 albums, none of which are a “Best of”
• You are world renown for actually being able to sing well, not just picked by American idiots (I suppose that is similar to #1, but applies to the Billboard Top 40 as well)
• You promise not to butcher the songs by doing awful renditions including numerous “runs” up and down the scale just to prove that you can hit notes

Though not comprehensive, I think it is a good start. You are welcome to add your own stipulations to the list. Hopefully, if followed, we can put the “mas” back in “Christmas.”

Another Christian Christmas

Now I know you are all looking for that last minute Christmas gift for loved ones. And for those of you who are buying for Christians, perhaps you feel obligated to buy a “religious” sort of gift to keep up your standing in the community.


Well look no further. I have found the perfect gift—a new Bible. No doubt many of you are saying, “How unoriginal.” But you haven’t seen this Bible. Nothing says, “I have been sucked into the vortex of Christian commercialism” like an Alligator skin covered Bible. That’s right, you read correctly. Just take a look at the picture. But the best part is the advertisement that goes with it:

“Because its more than just another book. He reads it everyday. He takes it on every trip. He will not part with it easily…he needs a Bible as enduring as the Word it contains.”

God knows I would take extra special care of His Word if it were wrapped in faux alligator skin. So don’t fret this Christmas. Let your gifts reflect your level of spirituality. Then others can boast, like you do, that they really take their Bible seriously.

PS - any other jank Christian Christmas gifts of interest are welcome to be posted here.

#^%^@$$&^$%@#

I just don’t get it. I don’t get what is acceptable and what is unacceptable for TV, especially cable TV. The more I watch different channels, different shows, and different genres, I got more and more frustrated and confused. Let me give you a few examples.

I was watching the best of Eminem on MTV2, and his song, “The Real Slim Shady” comes on. You know the one: “Will the real slim shady please stand up; please stand up; please stand up.” And as it goes on they mute out various words, but then they mute the word “clitoris.” Last I checked, “clitoris” was a technical, medical term, and not crude slang. The same thing goes for “penis” (though I can’t think of examples currently).

Then, I am watching the movie “Showtime” with Eddie Murphy and Robert De Niro on TBS. He says “Bullshit” probably 3 times in the first hour. I have also heard “asshole” used on cable TV. Now last I checked, those were slang and pretty much unacceptable by FCC standards. Yet, these stations had no problem airing them. Also, I hear songs that use the phrase “God damn” but God is muted while damn rings out.

Let me say, I don’t have a problem with censoring or not censoring these words. I will admit that I am desensitized to them at this point. I But what I do have a problem with is the hypocrisy of another government agency. They came down so hard on CBS for the Janet Jackson incident. They kick Howard Stern off the air for his words and antics. Yet these other things go along unchallenged.



Just be consistent. Either go for clean air, and take out the “swear words” or let them all go. And don’t go editing out real words while leaving in slang. It makes no sense! If someone can explain why there are different standards and why some things are allowed and ignored while others are so stringently regulated, I am listening. Oh well, I guess if I just watch PAX all the time I have nothing to worry about.

Free iPods for everyone!!

I know we have all gotten various emails, claiming free stuff if only we do something – forward an email, subscribe to something, etc. And those have turned out to be hoaxes or pyramid schemes—I for one never got my Outback gift certificate or my $100 from Microsoft. And, I have mocked and ridiculed those that believed they would receive such freebies for doing nothing. But, something has come across my inbox that cannot be ignored.

I was watching my normal geek show, “The Screen Savers” on TechTV. The 2 hosts both decided to see if they could get free iPods based on an add they saw. So, they tried it. Sure enough, one got his free iPod a month later, and the other 2 months later. Here’s basically how it works. You go to the site using the link I provide, sign up for a service, get 5 people to sign up for a service, and you get a free iPod of your choice. I know what you are thinking: “Sign up for a service. Sounds like a scam.” Granted, that is how the people make their money. But, the services are actually pretty good. If you have ever used NexFlix (an online DVD rental) they have a similar service through Blockbuster that you can try for next to nothing. I personally got the Video Professor’s CDs about Photoshop. It cost my $6.95 for shipping. I returned 1 of the 3 CDs within 10 days. I keep the other 2 and have fulfilled my obligation. So, to say that the iPod is free may be overstating it. But a $250 iPod for $7 is pretty dang good. Plus I got the tutorials.



Anyway, all this is to say, I would love for you to help me get an iPod by enrolling yourself. Just follow the link below to get started. Let me know if you plan on getting on board. Then others can be your enrollees so you too can get a free iPod. Thanks for your time. Let me know if you have any questions. You are welcome to check it out for yourself at www.freeipods.com. But if you decide to do it, use the link below so I get the hookup.


Get your free iPod!!!

Eulogy of a Snack now gone

Whenever Carrie wanted to treat me (and they were on sale) she would pick up Munch ‘ems (preferably Cheddar flavored). This snack was like leaven for me. They were back crackers and were devoid of the grease of chips or the flakiness of crackers. The Keebler elves hand made every one with love.

But one day the day came. The local Food City Keebler representative informed Carrie that there would be no more Munch ‘ems. She was getting the last box this store would ever see. No more snacking during sporting events. No more reliving my cravings late at night. No more crispity crunchy goodness. The life of the Munch ‘em had been taken far too early. But I have my memories. I have my cholesterol. And I have one box that I am saving for a special moment, perhaps by 50th anniversary.

Tell me of your favorite memory of Munch ‘ems. Let us commiserate together.

The Tri-Universe and the Trinity

Consider space, matter, and time in turn. Since matter is linked to space and time, they form a tri-universe. The universe as a whole is a space-matter-time continuum. Space is length, breadth, and depth. Time is future, present, and past. And matter is cause, event, and consequence. Throughout the universe we see this recurring relationship of source, manifestation, and meaning. And this same relationship can shed light onto the Trinity.

Thus, the basic laws of nature, and the triune dimensionality of natural processes, rather than discrediting God and His primeval creation, emphatically witness to the fact of creation and the nature of the Creator. God is Father in generation, Son in declaration, Spirit in appropriation.

Morris does admit that this does not prove that the Creator of this Tri-universe is a triune God, but with all these worldwide reflections on the triune nature of the Godhead, he thinks that men should not stumble over the “Biblical revelation” of a Triune God. Though the word “Trinity” is not used in Bible, and though the formulaic “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” comes more from early creeds than the Bible, there is probably enough evidence to support such a theology. I suppose I have held a modal type of understanding of the Trinity, which may fit in well with his definition of the Trinity. I see the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as different manifestations of the same God, and leave the logistics of how it all happens to others.

I guess what intrigued me the most was this fresh view on the Trinity. Though I have considered this paradox of 3 in 1 for many years, it was never quite satisfactory in my mind. I have heard the analogies—the egg with three parts, etc.—but those just didn’t quite do it for me. So I appreciate this new way of looking at things. Let me know what you think or if this has been helpful at all.

Take a close look at the picture. I have found it quite insightful.

The Tri-universe chart

The Tri-universe: Time and Matter

Time
It is wonderful to realize that time consists of future time, present time, and past time. All time has been future and will be past. The future is the unseen and unexperienced source of all time. It is made visible and manifest, moment by moment, in the present. It then moves into the past, into the realm of experienced time. Man’s consciousness of time pertains only to the present, but this does not lessen the reality or significance of both the past and the future in his experience and understanding. He is enabled to understand the present, and even to some extent the future, in terms of the past. But both his recollection of past time and his anticipation of future time are visualized in terms of his consciousness of present time.

And again all these relationships and functions are closely parallel to those of the persons in the Godhead. The Father is the unseen source. From Him proceeds the Son, in who He is visibly revealed. From the Son in turn proceeds the Holy Spirit, who interprets and makes meaningful the actual experience in the Son and the Father.

Matter
Matter can only be understood and considered in relation to that portion of space it occupies and that duration of time when it functions. Every manifestation of matter in the universe takes place in time and space. Matter and energy may be synonymous and include light, heat, sound, electricity, radiation, and all other manifestations of energizing phenomena, capable of producing motion and accomplishing work. The very presence of energy is necessarily manifest in motion. If energy is present, it will beget motion. It accomplishes work. Thus, there is energy (matter) that is unseen but powerful which begets and manifests itself in motion, and is finally experienced in terms of a phenomenon that is produced. Matter invariably is equivalent to energy, and energy is invariably manifested in motion, and motion invariably produces phenomena.

One may liken this concept to the Trinity by equating Energy to God, the manifestation of that energy (motion) to Christ, and the resulting phenomena to the Spirit.

I find these ideas fascinating even if the are stretched. Tomorrow will sort of review and summarize and hopefully put some flesh on these abstract ideas.

The Tri-Universe: Space

While I was at Carrie’s parents house, her dad read me portions from a book called The Biblical Basis for Modern Science by Henry M. Morris. Though most of what he is doing is setting up an argument for God using nature (also against evolution which I don’t have a stake in), he made some awesome analogies about God and the Trinity from nature that I wanted to share. I have edited his stuff to make it shorter and more readable. So, if it sounds intelligent, he wrote it. If not, attribute it to me. The first is a bit long, but the next two will be shorter.

Space

As far as space is concerned, the universe contains 3 dimensions, no more and no less. Reality requires space, and space is three-dimensional. Each dimension is infinite and each occupies the whole of space. If only one dimension existed, it would be impossible to even comprehend or visualize what this would be like. Indeed, “No man has ever seen a line.” No matter how thin a line is, it will always have width, and this ceases to be a line. Thus, the existence of one dimension can only be demonstrated by a construct in two dimensions. The second dimension must be demonstrated in order for the first to be revealed.

The “two-dimensional” method of representing physical reality is universally used and, in fact, is far easier to visualize things in two dimensions than in three. Pictures are painted in two dimensions, construction plans are drawn in two dimensions, and so for nearly all representations of physical reality. Though it is easy enough to visualize one dimension, it is essentially impossible to represent any reality by only one dimension. The two-dimensional representation is necessary and sufficient for the perception of both one dimension and three dimensions.

Space is “identified” in terms of one dimension, “seen” in two dimensions, “experienced” in three dimensions. In the same way the Godhead is identified in the Father, seen in the Son, experienced in the Holy Spirit. The reality of both the eternal Father, and of the ever present Spirit of God is demonstrated and represented visibly by the incarnate Word, the Son of God, the Second Person.

Nevertheless, the experiential reality of the Godhead requires more than the recognition of the true existence of the Father as revealed in and by the Son. There must also be experienced the real presence of God by the Holy Spirit. As Paul writes, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9). Ephesians 2:18 also states such a progression when it comes to our relationship with God: “For through him (Jesus) we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”

Finally, it should be noted that space is measured in terms of volume, obtained by multiplying the three dimensions together. Thus, the “sum” of the Trinity is not 1+1+1=1 (which would be a contradiction) but 1x1x1=1, which is profoundly true.

Tomorrow I will tackle Time and Matter. But you are welcome to comment on Space and its comparisons to the Trinity.

The Mêlée

I had something else planned for today, and even posted it for a short while. But, I couldn't get the following off my mind. So here it goes.

I sat down Friday to watch a nice, competitive basketball game between the Pistons and the Pacers. As the game came to a close, I thought that I had already witnessed the travesty—the Piston’s play. But no, the now infamous brawl was yet to come.

I have heard a lot of coverage on this sort of thing. Some people say that it represents a break down in the social morays of our culture. Some say it is another testament to the thugary that is the Detroit fan base. Some say it is an inevitable event when you combine the emotions of sports players and fans.

And a lot of those comments may be true, but I am just pissed about the whole thing. I don’t have a stake in keeping the NBA “pure” but I have a stake in humanity. I look at it and wonder, why must people be such idiots? Why can’t people control themselves? Why must we just resort to violence when we can’t control our anger?

There is plenty of blame to go around.

Ben Wallace—have some self-restraint. You may have been upset because it was a little bit of a dirty foul, but I guarantee if you had been winning you would have been fine.

Ron Artest—be a man. A real man can control himself. A real man does not walk away from a real threat (seen here by the beast Ben Wallace) and then finds some pencil necked geek with glasses to cold cock. A real man can take an offense whether it be a punch to the throat or a cup of liquid dropped on you and walk away. Well Ron, you asked for some time off. Now you’ve got it. Heal from injuries. Promote your Rap album. But for God’s sakes, get some help.

Pacers Bench—be peacemakers. Go into the stands and pull your guy back on the court. Don’t go in with punches flying.

And last but not least, Pistons fans—have you ever heard of civility. When you buy a ticket you earn the right to cheer and even to boo. You don’t earn the right to do things that are misdemeanors or criminal offenses. Throwing things at people, whether beer or punches is illegal. Your $30 ticket does not change that!

Maybe it does show a breakdown in society. I don’t know, but it does show that the human race still has a long way to go.

The new issue of "The Holy Observer" is out. If you have never checked out this satirical jab at Christianity and the world, you should support my friend Marcus and check it out at www.holyobserver.com. You will laugh, guranteed, or your money back.

One more photo to round out the week. Next week we'll get more serious and talk about the Trinity. But for today, let us enjoy the hilarity of children. Captions are optional, but appreciated. If you can't tell, this is Little Larry demolishing his birthday cake.

Long Family Picture (Wileys too)

Well, here we all are at last week's big party for Little Larry. Quite a good looking group.

Anyway, I thought it might be fun, based on Shannon's success at the GLCC forum, to pick out a character, and write a clever caption of what they might be thinking or saying. Best caption wins an autographed copy. (PS - you might want to enlarge the photo for a good look at facial espressions)

The Imitation of Christ Part 3

I think that there are two major aspects of Christ’s life that should be imitated. The first was discussed yesterday—showing love to all. The second has to do with holiness and purity. As Thomas à Kempis writes: “This ought to be our purpose, then: to conquer self, to become stronger each day, to advance in virtue.” When you talk to many people about what it means to be a Christian, they go right to virtue—“I’m a good person.” But even good people have bad in them, and do not reflect Jesus’ commitment to holiness. Sure, they don’t sleep around, get drunk, or carouse with those who do. But, what about the lesser sins of gossip or anger?

Even when we conquer those, I wonder if we fall into a different trap—pride. We see what we have accomplished and take great comfort in it, all the while ignoring God’s call to go deeper. Check out another quote: “Do not be ashamed to serve others for the love of Jesus Christ and to seem poor in this world. Do not be self-sufficient but place your trust in God. Do what lies in your power and God will aid your good will. Put no trust in your own learning nor in the cunning of any man, but rather in the grace of God Who helps the humble and humbles the proud.”

Often times I think that long-time Christians struggle with unfaithfulness. Not so much an act of will against the desires of God but a lack of true faith in God and a recognition of His prominence. That one line, “Do not be self-sufficient but place your trust in God” hits far too close to home for me. I struggle far too much with making sure things go right, and improving the condition of the church I serve by my own power. Where is God in it? Where is the faith in His power to move? Though I should be proactive and do things, I often forget the second part: “God will aid your good will.” If I neglect God’s role in this world and do not put my faith in Him, I will never be like Christ who, despite his doubts, put his whole trust in the plan of the Father.

The Imitation of Christ Part 2

In chapter 3 of “The Imitation of Christ,” Thomas à Kempis comes down really hard on those who elevate learning over doing. As he states, “Many often err and accomplish little or nothing because they try to become learned rather than to live well.” As one who has devoted his last 10 years to higher learning, I had to stop and reflect upon what he was getting at. Do I elevate the accumulation of knowledge over acts of grace, charity, and love? No, I think that I do well to balance the two. Although, I am sure that opportunities to serve have been overlooked during these last few years because of my “busy schedule” or low income.

But then, Thomas had to go and get personal. He said, “If men used as much care in uprooting vices and implanting virtues as they do in discussing problems, there would not be so much evil and scandal in the world, or such laxity in religious organizations.” How often do I just discuss problems without working towards resolving them? How often do I sit in meetings and complain as well as hear complaints about the church without seeing action? How often do I focus on everyone else’s downfalls while ignoring the glaring problems in my own life?

This chapter was a call to action. The church has been doing too much talking. It is time to act. It is time to stop brainstorming, and start storming the walls of hatred and oppression that exist in our world. Active Loving is an imitation of Christ.

A Redemption Story

My Great Aunt Roberta died this week. She was a wonderful woman. We stayed with her whenever we visited my mom's family in Ohio. She always had glazed donuts to eat. Her funeral was on Friday. I couldn't make it because I was in Kalkaska. The rest of the family couldn't make it either because of the 1st birthday party for Larry. I have to say, I was very sad that I couldn't pay respects to this great woman.

But then I got thinking. Redemption is a lot like that. Life is not easy. Life requires pain, and at times, even death to be fulfilling. Women go through excruciating pain to bring life forth. And when I think of what Austin and Erin went through to bring Larry into the world, I can't help but be in awe at God's providence.

Our family couldn't make the funeral to celebrate the life of this great woman. We couldn't be involved in her death. Instead, we will rejoice at the new life and the hope of life that we see in little Larry. Redemption involves pain. But the joy that comes makes the pain worth it.

The Imitation of Christ Part 1

I began reading “The Imitation of Christ” but Thomas à Kempis. From the outset, he targets the main problem of Christianity—a lack of action.

“Now, there are many who hear the Gospel often but care little for it because they have not the spirit of Christ. Yet whoever wishes to understand fully the words of Christ must try to pattern his whole life on that of Christ.”

Clearly, we all know churchgoers guilty of this, and are probably prone to it ourselves. We attend church out of habit or guilt, refusing to see real change come from it.

This past Sunday, the worship service was structured to lead people to respond with their gifts—tithes and talents to serve the church. At the beginning we handed out service surveys for people to sign up for various ministry opportunities. I just happened to be standing at the front door where they were being handed out, when I man I only saw on Sunday mornings came in. The greeter handed him a bulletin, and said, “Make sure you get a service survey (from the other greeter).” Taking offense at such a suggestion, he replied, “Survey? What do I need that for?” The answer of, “To help God’s work for the kingdom in this church” would probably not have helped so I let it go.

But that attitude is so prevalent, and I wonder what can be done to change it? What can we do to encourage ourselves and our congregations to imitate Christ through action? All the education and the ministry opportunities are worthless if people don’t want to actually become like Christ. I suppose this sums up my frustration with myself and the church I serve.

Thomas à Kempis encourages us to, “turn your heart from the love of things visible and bring yourself to things invisible.” I suppose this is a good starting point. Get people focused on Christ, but even that seems so theoretical. So, I offer it up to you, my faithful readers. Before Thomas tells me how to do it, let me know what you think.

Big Vacation

Just for those who are wondering, I am in Michigan to visit Carrie's parents as well as attend the big 1st Birthday party for Little Larry (Trey). Internet is super slow in Kalkaska, so I am not sure if I can post or not. But, I have been reading some good stuff that I hope to comment about soon. Stay tuned.

Decision 2004

You may have come here seeking my thoughts on the election. But you will not get them...today. Because even with all the questions about voting that have plagued America for the last few weeks and months, I have had a bigger decision on my mind. My cable costs have gone up $30 in 3 years. That is unacceptable. But what are my other options? Rabbit ears or the Dish. So we went for it. We “cut the chord” as they say. We dumped Charter Cable for DISH Network Satellite. Now we get approximately the same service for $10 cheaper a month. Let me list the good and the bad. First the good:

Cheaper, and cost effective-we can use the $120/year on diapers or some other expense.
Way cooler than cable-we got a DVR, which is beyond awesome. No more crappy video tapes.
Higher-quality reception means higher quality video capture for me.
Picture in Picture-Finally! I can keep an eye on my sports while Carrie watches her “Murder She Wrote”
Easy Channel Navigation
No Hidden Fees screwing me each month.

Bad:
Annoyingly big dish on the deck (see picture) marring our wonderful view. We thought it was going to be a small dish on the roof, but because we wanted local channels we were stuck with the pictured dish.
We lost TechTV (my geek station) and FitTV (Carrie’s geek station)
Another Remote (I don’t care as much as Carrie does)
We have to learn all new channel numbers

Carrie is a little hesitant, but I am already a big fan. She will come around. Will I watch more or less TV? We will have to wait and see. Either way, I believe we made the right decision. Now if I can only justify it by using it in ministry in some way.

Birthday Sentiments

Today, November 2nd, is indeed Election Day. Today the American public will decide the course that the country will take for the next 4 years. And though I have an interest in the outcome, my thoughts will be elsewhere today. For today, I will spend the day with my soul mate, Carrie. She turns 27 today. We will celebrate her birth, which the consequences and blessings I have felt in the past and continue to feel.

She has been with me through all of my rantings, my impatience, my arrogance, my selfishness, and all my other faults. She has been with me through my calling to ministry, through my desire to attend seminary, and through my last semester where I was taking 15 hours, writing a thesis, and working many hours at the church.

She has blessed me lately with our son Elijah. He has brought all kids of new joy to our lives. But before that, she was willing to suffer morning sickness, drastic changes in body shape, fatigue, discomfort, pain, and she knows what else. All just to help complete our family.

Carrie, though I spend too much time on these stupid blogs, though I waste too much time playing games, though I don’t spend enough quality time with you, and though I don’t say “I love you enough,” words and blogs can’t express what you mean to me. Thanks for being there for me. Thanks for loving me.

Trunk or Treat

Well, Elijah's first Halloween has come and gone. He seemed to enjoy it. Although, I think everyone else enjoyed seeing him all dressed up. Carrie made a costume to make him look like the very hungry caterpillar. You should see him. He is so cute. But that is not why I started this entry. If you look below you will see two carved pumpkins. Both were entered into a pumpkin carving contest at our annual "Trunk or Treat" at the church. Ideally they were anonymous, but everyone knew that the little one was "Elijah's Pumpkin." As a result, Carrie won the contest and my awesome castle got screwed out of the victory. Ah well. There is always next year.

My Pumpkin that should have won 

Carrie's Award winning Pumpkin 

Why I Don't Vote

With the Presidential election fast approaching, I thought I would put down my thoughts about why I won’t be voting. Simply put, my vote does not mean as much as MTV tries to make it out to mean, and I don’t feel that I should have to choose between the lesser of two evils. My friend Regan has hashed much of this out in a post on his blog, but I feel the need to speak on it as well. First, read the following essay from Christianity Today, which expresses the same sorts of things I am thinking, only more eloquently. It is a little long for a blog, but worth the read.

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Salt-and-Pepper Politics:
Choosing between candidates whose consciences are too clean
By Andy Crouch
October 2004, Vol. 48, No. 10, Page 108
Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today.

Some things were meant to be together. At least, that's what I learned somewhere along the way about table manners. Even if you just want the salt, etiquette requires that you ask for the salt and pepper. In the words of Miss Manners, "they get lonely if separated."

Ancient Israelites, as far as I know, didn't even have a word for pepper, but they did have the twin words mishpat and tsedaqah, which most English Bibles translate as justice and righteousness. "Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness" (Ps. 72:1)—justice and righteousness go together just like king and royal son. Prophets and psalmists thought in twos: throne and kingdom, establishing and upholding, justice and righteousness. Mishpat and tsedaqah. Just as salt and pepper belong together on a well-set table, justice and righteousness belong together in a nation. Mishpat and tsedaqah show up together more than 30 times in the Hebrew Bible, nearly always in a political context. Because justice and righteousness are the foundation of God's throne (Ps. 89:14), they are also the "measuring line" and the "plumb line" (Isa. 28:17) of earthly thrones.

Which brings us to Democrats and Republicans, and to why I will be voting this November with, well, fear and trembling.

Justice, in biblical terms, is more than equal treatment under the law—it involves putting power at the service of the powerless and wealth at the service of the poor. My friends who care about justice argue that Democrats have spent 50 years advocating for the vulnerable: the poor, the sick, the youngest, the oldest. And though the party of the powerless also has a curiously strong appeal among the elites of Hollywood and Manhattan, on the whole my friends are probably right.

Righteousness, meanwhile, is more than honesty and fair dealings—it requires the alignment of our lives with God's original good intentions for creation. Like justice, righteousness in a nation especially benefits the poor and powerless, who cannot insulate themselves from the effects of sin. My friends who care about righteousness argue that Republicans have held the line against values that come straight from the maw (or the mall) of individualistic consumerism, where pleasure and preference reign. And while the party of moral character raises lots of money from people whose only interest is making the world safe for consumerism, I can't argue with these friends either.

To make matters worse, each presidential candidate has blind spots even in his area of putative strength. John Kerry declines to see that abortion is not a matter of private morality but of public justice for utterly vulnerable human beings. (Bizarrely, he justifies his position by saying that government must keep out of people's bedrooms. Abortions do not generally happen in bedrooms.) Any public official who professes Catholic faith and is as enthusiastically pro-choice as Kerry does not have, in the words of the Catholic bishops, "a well-formed conscience."

Yet our President's conscience also seems too clear to be true. Asked a simple and predictable question at an April 2004 press conference—to name his greatest mistake since September 11, 2001—he couldn't answer, saying, "I don't want to sound like I've made no mistakes. I'm confident I have. I just haven't—you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one." Is it too much to ask that the most devout President in recent history have a more concrete response to a question about his own limitations?

Such is the state of our presidential politics: an evangelical President flummoxed at any suggestion of his own fallibility, and a Catholic candidate who sidesteps his church's teaching authority. And in both our political parties, concern for justice often serves as cover for self-justification; righteousness curdles all too quickly into self-righteousness.

So I've decided that my own vote will be less about endorsing a platform or person than discerning the potential for change—in biblical terms, for repentance. Is it more likely that the party of justice can repent of its indifference to righteousness, or that the party of righteousness can repent of its deafness to justice? I have to choose one, but I will pray for both. Some things aren't meant to be separated.
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Neither side has it all together, and both leave out one aspect of life that is vital—justice and righteousness (which I equate with standards of holiness). Just because Bush is against the hot button topics like gay marriage and abortion doesn’t mean he has done much or plans to do much to help out the scenario in which the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Kerry may care about the oppressed, but does his laisse faire attitude about conduct agree with the lifestyle that I believe God is calling His creation to live? So I choose not to vote. And until a candidate shows that he cares just as much for the oppressed and the poor as he does about making sure that our freedoms line up with God’s standards I will not cast my vote.

For all of you who say that I can’t complain or have an opinion about the state of things because I choose not to vote, I refer you to our Bill of Rights. Just as I have the right to vote (or not to vote) I have to right to think and speak (or not to speak).

Let me know what you think.
Give some qualities of candidates you would endorse.
Tell me why you are voting and why you have chosen a particular candidate.

TV Pet Peeves

I was watching a thrilling college football game between Miami and Lousville. Then what happens? My cable goes out. No, not all of it. Just the sport, music, and Turner channels. So instead of watching this offensive explosion I had to sit through Baseball. What a joke. You would think that for $45 a month I could get better service. Nope.

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We also found out that our company (Charter) was sued for driving up prices through line fees and other hidden costs. A class action suit was brought against them and now I might be getting a year of high speed internet access. Pretty sweet.

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For a while now, I have noticed a disturbing trend on ESPN2. At the outset, they were supposed to be a station for “alternative” sports, which at the time was “extreme” sports. Now that “extreme” has become normal, they have gone to other sorts of programming. Billiards, Hunting and Fishing, even Poker have entered into the daily schedule. I don’t have a major problem with this sort of broadcast. But the last few years have seen a rise in things that are not sports, but merely competitions. The National Spelling Bee and dog shows have headed up the list. I suppose there is a place for these shows on TV, but not on my ESPN. How is the Spelling Bee going to get better ratings than something else, say the #1 sport in the world, soccer?

Well, have I put up with it for a few years, but enough is enough. I turned on the TV yesterday, and ESPN2 was showing the National Scrabble Tournament Finals. You read correctly. Scrabble was being televised. Two nerds were dukeing it out for a $25,000 purse. They even had insights into training such as the 4-6 hours a day that the contestants spent learning the 120,000 acceptable words in Scrabble. What a joke. Sure, they may be way smarter than me. And, perhaps intelligence should be praised over strength and agility. But seriously, does it have to be on ESPN? I recommend we start a new station dedicated to televising this crap. Spelling Bees, Dog Shows, Scrabble, Firefighter competitions, Lumberjack wierdness, even Poker (which I love to watch and play) should not be on a “sports” network. Get the hell off of my ESPN and stick the Game Show network, or Animal Planet, or wherever else you can show this crap. But leave the sports on ESPN. Please.

Pop-up Debates

I watched the final presidential debate last night. It was what I expected. A lot of mudslinging, a lot of impugning one another’s past actions, and a lot of inflated statistics. The whole time I watched, I wondered, “Is that true?” When they are talking about trillions of dollars it boggles my mind and I wonder if such a figure could be accurate.

This led me to an idea. I always enjoyed watching pop-up video on VH1. You know, interesting, but mostly useless facts about a particular video, the artists, the sets, etc. What if we had pop-up debates. That way, when John Kerry says that Bush’s tax cuts are putting us 600 trillion dollars in debt, a little balloon pops up and says, “Actually, it is only 1 trillion.” Or when Bush says that Kerry voted for extra taxes 98 times, a balloon pops up and says, “Though true, 80 of them were for alcohol, cigarettes, and other vice taxes.”

ABC did have a fact checker at the end of the debate who set some things straight. But it was too little too late for me. I like instant gratification, and would like to know who is lying, who is skewing facts, and who is just a moron. But in order to know such things, I would have to spend way more time on the internet than I already do. And I just have no desire to do that.

The Butterfly Effect

Carrie and I watched the movie “The Butterfly Effect” the other week, and I am just now getting my thoughts out about it. The idea comes from “The Chaos Theory” and basically attempts to describe how small and apparently insignificant incidents can set in motion a chain of events with far reaching consequences. As this concept relates to the movie, every time the main character went back and changed his past, the future looked much different. Though some things were improved, others were affected for the worse. Anyway, decent movie. Kind of interesting.

But it got me thinking. If taken seriously, the proponents of this theory postulate that even the flap of a butterfly's wings in Central Park could ultimately cause an earthquake in China. That blew me away. Though most dismiss this concept as farfetched and without basis, I thought I would spend some time spiritualizing it. I considered how many people I ran into each day. Some I acknowledge perhaps with a nod, a smile, maybe even a word. Others I blow by uninterested in their lives. And still others I spend a large portion of my time, investing my life into theirs. And what are the consequences? It seems that my dismissal of people has more impact than my investment, at least I feel that way sometimes. I spend hours with the kids in my youth group and then find out that they are involved in things that will only lead to pain and heartache. Meanwhile, I ignore other kids and who knows if it has any impact on them.

At the football game Friday night I saw two teenage girls holding hands and kissing. My teenagers just looked with disgust. I did nothing but continued to engage them in pointless conversation. But what if, instead of focusing on these kids that I know so well and am trying to impact, I had spent that time reaching out to their classmates that are ostracized? By ignoring them, and so many other people do I perpetuate their destiny in life to be cast out? What if a simple “Hello,” or some other act of love and kindness triggered a spiritual awakening in them?

I guess in the end, I want to be the butterfly – flapping my wings, not to cause an earthquake and devastation, but bringing renewal, restoration, and reconciliation. When my wings flap, may it cause the same ripples that Jesus’ actions did: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, to proclaim the release of the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).

The Big Debate

So, I watched the presidential debate last night.

All I heard from Bush was, “I don’t see how you can lead when you say, ‘Wrong war, wrong time, wrong place.’ What message does that send?”

All I heard from Kerry was, “We should not have brought war to Iraq.”

Now, I have not kept up completely with it all, and I suppose that these issues are important to Americans, but not as much for me. I tuned in hoping they would discuss gay marriage, stem cell research, the environment, our social problems, etc. But I found out at the end that these “domestic” issues will be discussed in two weeks at the 3^rd debate. I was more than a little displeased. But, it was interesting nonetheless.

A couple of observations. Both men came out swinging at the opponent, but refused to answer for themselves. One candidate would make an accusation at the other, and instead of doing a good, clear job of answering the accusation, he would side step it and return fire. Not what I was hoping to see.

Second, Kerry made it clear that Bush needed to humble himself and seek some forgiveness from various places. That, I agree with. Leadership books will tell you to always have a strong front, and not show weaknesses. I believe it is quite the opposite. If leaders want respect, they must seek forgiveness when they fail. If they make bad decisions, then the must come clean and say, “I screwed up.”

I believe that the inability to be humble is the very thing wrong with politics. Too much side stepping and spin doctoring. Maybe they teach that sort of thing at Ivy League schools. And maybe the American public wants a strong front of a person that they see no flaws in. And maybe we don’t want to show weaknesses to other nations. But if we want to lead in such a way that brings people together, I believe honesty and humility must be at the forefront.

Let me begin by saying that I appreciate all the comments I have gotten thus far about my approach to Scripture. You have been insightful and challenging which is the exact reason I put it out there. I was not exactly trying to “get your goat” as Shannon said, but at the same time I was interested in seeing how a controversial view like that would be handled. I am searching for an approach that can answer the contradictions found in the Bible in a reasonable way (I am sorry, but many of those books out there like Hard Questions from the Bible or whatever just don’t do it for me). I am still working on an approach to the Bible that accepts it as God’s Word, but allows for human influence. Regan posed the question that really is the chink in the armor of such a view: “How do you determine what is from God?” Once you start relegating certain parts of Scripture to human invention, what keeps you from dismissing the Bible as a whole? My anonymous contributor talked about undermining the text leading to “walking on shifting sand”, or as I always have been taught, “heading down a slippery slope.” And all of those things are considerations that must be handled. So let me see what I can do.

I hold that there are tensions in the Bible that fall into one of two categories. First, is the obvious—contradictions. If at one point the Bible says the sky is Blue, and at another point it says that the same time and place it was lavender, we have a contradiction. We see them in various places—differing Gospel accounts, differing numbers in the OT (sizes of armies, shekels, etc.), differing accounts of who actually killed Goliath. For the most part, we can reconcile them by citing sources, points of view, etc. In other words, we blame the human element in Scripture for that. The other category we call paradoxes—two things that are seemingly at odds, but that are true. God’s grace and judgment, forgiveness and holiness, the Fear of Yahweh and fellowship with Him. These are harder to explain (being that they are paradoxes), but we see that they can exist together.

Here is where the problem arises for me—when contradictions and paradoxes overlap. We know that God is love, but he is also holy and cannot stand to be around the profane. Thus, we see the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Flood, etc. We say, yes they got what they deserve for living a life of evil. But what about the Canaanites? What did they do to deserve being ousted from their homeland? Why were they to be completely wiped out? Just so the Israelites could have a home? I have to say, that bothers me a little. I see this sort of mentality grating against both God’s love and His holiness. In other words, the narrative seems to be contradicting what the rest of Scripture reveals about God. One might say, well this Scripture says something different about God and must be accepted too. I will concede such a point, but ask, “What are we to learn about God from this? Is He arbitrary, biased, cruel?”

I suppose a lack of sufficient answer up to this point led me to considering my view of the Bible that perhaps God did not order the annihilation of the people of Canaan. And if that is the case, I wondered what else had the writers atributed to Yahwe that might not have been. Maybe that was the wrong way to go, but I thought I would go somewhere and see what I found. I found that I could accept it there, but that I did have that nagging voice saying, “Who makes you the arbiter of Scripture?” So I throw the question back to you all: “How do you determine which parts of Scripture are human and which are divine, or do you not accept the human influence at all?” And for those that are wondering, the answer to such a question will determine whether I accept the Bible as the revelation of God for salvation, faith, etc. But it would be nice to know! :)

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Questions

So, I was watching the TN FL football game Saturday night and all I can see are those ugly orange shoes that the TN players are wearing. But that isn’t the point of this post.

Anyway, right before the second half starts, the sideline reporter says to Zooke, the head coach of the Gators (paraphrased with my own sarcasm added), “So, your quarterback is playing well. Are you going to run the ball at all in the second half?” What is the coach supposed to say? “No, we are going to pass on every down. We only gained 54 yards on the ground in the 1^st half. The running back had his chance. Too bad.” Of course not. Even if they were going to pass on every down, they wouldn’t tell the sideline reporter.

It leads me to a pet peeve of mine. Stupid questions.

You hear them on the sidelines of sporting events—“Coach why did you lose by 45 points tonight?” The answer is usually obvious—the other team is way better than us, and we can’t play offense or defense.

You hear them in the Miss America pageants—“If you could wish for one thing for the world, what would it be and why?” The answer is always world peace.

You hear them during interviews—“So, are you for the war in Iraq or not? If you say “yes” you are a warmonger, if you say “no” you think it is great to have a homicidal maniac in power.

You hear them from people you know—“How are you doing?” They don’t really want to know; they’re just being cordial.

Stupid questions lead to stupid answers and stupid conversations.

What happened to good questions? Questions that make you think; questions that don’t have pat answers; questions that actually mean something. A good lesson writer can ask those questions that get the people thinking and responding. But those questions are hard to come by.

I see that Jesus was always asking good questions. Normally when people posed questions to him, he answered in kind. Their questions were meant to trap Jesus or paint him in a doctrinal corner. But Jesus made them do the thinking. He asked the good questions. Socrates asked some good questions and made people think about their own presuppositions before he tipped his hand.

Imagine, someone making a statement, say on a forum or blog, that you disagree with and instead of reacting, you asked some insightful questions to mine out some more of their thinking and the things that lie behind their beliefs.

Imagine, someone is caught in a sin and instead of running to an indictment first asking how something might have happened, or perhaps what you could do for the injured party or to restore the offending party.

Imagine someone complaining about some arbitrary thing in the church, and instead of taking sides asking questions to see what lies behind their complaint.

As one who is quick to give his opinion about things, I would like to see myself and others around me ask good questions first, and then respond second. It is a call to humility, a call to understanding, and a call to patience.

Approaching the Bible

I finshed my response, and couldn't wait. So here it is.

First off, let me say that I am not dismissing any part of the Bible. However, I understand some parts to be human invention, perhaps not of God’s direction. And Shannon is right—God chose to leave them in. Maybe for theology; maybe to understand humanity better or differently. I am not sure. But that is something to discuss. What I am proposing is not new, nor is it an attempt to say that those before me did not properly understand the Bible. I do not have an “edge” on understanding God that others (far smarter than me) did. Many others have asserted and believed the same things I do which at certain points agrees with and at other points disagrees with those who went before. That is the nature of Scripture—it is so rich and deep that one man or community will never grasp it. Yet each generation of Christians struggles with deciphering just what this corpus of literature meant and now means. With that in mind, we struggle forth.

Let me try to lay out again what I am proposing. Regan said, “How can you tell what is biased?” I would reply, “All of it is biased.” It has all been written by men of faith advancing their own view of God, religion, and the world. I don’t discount the work of the Spirit, but in the end, men are still writing and I have faith that God is guiding the process. Now Tom worries that this view dismisses God’s “commandments”. This is of course, not the case. I don’t seek to dismiss morality or God’s call to holiness. But we all know that there are things in the Bible that are very situational that we no longer (or at least should no longer) adhere to. For example, Corinthians is full of situational edicts or “commandments.”

“Any woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head.” (1 Cor. 11:5a)

“Women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law says.” (1 Cor. 14:34)

I doubt many of your churches refuse women the right to participate publicly in the worship service. And when they do, are their heads covered with a veil? I doubt it. Yet, such practices undermine the Scripture. Though I am challenged that I toss away certain parts of the Bible, we all do it frequently. How about all of the Levitical laws? What about those “commandments”? We dismiss them as archaic or not applicable to the New Covenant. The reason we take such an approach to Scripture is because of the human element that is inherent in the Bible. Even Paul admits that his own preferences have made it into the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 7:12 states, “To the rest I say—I not the Lord—that if any believer…” Clearly Paul’s own understanding and application of God’s commandments made it into the letter.

My point is simple—we all interpret the Bible according to our current situation. If a particular passage or commandment seems based on a specific context, we ignore it or find ways to reapply it. I am doing the same sort of thing. The OT is full of polemic—stories intentionally crafted to further a point of view or to discount a point of view. For example, the creation accounts in Genesis 1-2 are more a response to the polytheistic ideologies that ran unopposed in the Ancient Near East than they are an exact account of what happened. If that is the case, than why couldn’t other material from the OT be along the same vein? Why couldn’t the Israelites justify their wars by assuming God commanded them? All I am saying is that some of the “Thus saith Yahweh” phrases may not be from God.

We can talk about the implications of such a view. Like, “How do we know what is from God?” Or, “Were the Israelites then wrong for doing such things?” Or even, “How can I trust my Bible?” But I will save that for another day.

Let the flogging commence.

Hello? Anybody there?

Many of you might be wondering: “Where did Sam go?” or “What happened to him?” Now I was supposed to be short on blog posts because I was in Michigan and unable to get internet access. But that is not the case. We didn’t go to Michigan because Carrie and Elijah just could not make the trip. So, we stayed at home, and I recovered from sickness, and we sort of vegged out hoping to get better. But I am back now (to normal life not from somewhere) and will attempt to engage you, my faithful readers better. I never answered the questions from my last post about the nature of the Biblical literature. I plan to tomorrow. So stay tuned.
Blog ya tomorrow.

Pacifism and the Bible

I know I don’t have a great following yet on my blog, but for those who come regularly, you will notice that I haven’t had much to say. To be honest, anything that I have had to say has gone on the forums at the GLCC Alumni site. Even then I haven’t had much time to say some of the things that I have wanted to. So, I thought I might make some observations about what I have read.

I have a few things to say about the nature of God as revealed in the Bible. The Pacifism thread of the Alumni Forum contained much discussion about God always being right, and God commanding the Israelites to do some things, and us questioning whether these were right and so forth. It seems to me that the reason that these texts in which the Israelites are commanded to destroy entire nations are so difficult is because they grate against what we consider to be the unchanging nature of God. We consider Him to be Good, Loving, etc. How could a God of that character order His chosen nation to annihilate other members of His creation? The answer, in my opinion, does not lie in the character of God but in the lens with which we interpret the Bible.

Let me introduce a concept that might be considered heretical or liberal—what if God didn’t command them? What if in these texts we have Nationalistic polemic, or what I might call Divine Approval of Israel’s actions? In other words, what better way to justify your actions than by claiming that God has commanded and ordained them? We see it throughout history—the Crusades, the founding of our country, the enslavement of entire people groups, and every other “holy war” that has been undertaken. I believe the example for such actions stems from the Biblical corpus.

This view, though perhaps controversial, ends discussions about war ever being justified because God commanded it. I don’t think God does! This was the misunderstanding of the disciples in Jesus’ time. They expected Him to lead a rebellion against Rome to restore Israel to its proper place in the world. Yes Jesus came to bring a “sword” but not to fight with, but to divide with. He brought a distinction between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world. The Kingdom of God is one of power, to be sure, but of peace. The power of God’s Kingdom revolves around restoration and redemption, and not about conquering fleshly strongholds, but spiritual ones.

Just some thoughts. Let me know what you think.