On A Momentous Day?

A word about today before I get back to the sermon and my latest catharsis about Paul...

Watching the news reports today, I feel good about the elections in Iraq. Of course, CNN is not always to be trusted (and I do not get Fox News HAHA), but it looks like things went well today for those Iraqi voters. When I say well, I mean there were only a few suicide attacks and minimal loss of life. The worst news I heard was the poor turnout from the Sunnis. Look out, could be trouble later. All things considered, it was a start. I am praying that whatever they get going on out there works. Let us remember our first attempt to produce a working constitution sucked. We could send the new Iraqi politicians a copy of our Articles of Confederation as an example of what not to do.

One last thought, however. What is up with all these Iraqi expatriates coming out of the woodwork in the US and abroad still being allowed to vote in the election? These peeps jumped ship and set up shop elsewhere, and now they get a say in the fate of the country they bolted on? All those voters had better plan on moving back, like next week, or else their vote was no more authoritative than mine would have been.

(Please ignore the overstatement on the last line.)

On Fodder for the Cannon

Just a few hours ago, I decided to begin brainstorming for my next preaching class assignment. We are to address a topic pertaining to social issues. I want to avoid the cliches, so I thought I would need some time to get the creative energies flowing. Five minutes ago, the creative juices boiled over at the following article:

Blackaby says tsunamis God's judgment;
missions experts question theology
By Ken Camp
DALLAS (ABP) --"Experiencing God" author Henry Blackaby believes the tsunamis that hit South Asia were God's punishment of an area where Christians have experienced particularly intense persecution. But some missions experts with links to the region question both his theology and his assertions about persecution.
Blackaby told a Kentucky pastors' conference workshop he recognized God's hand of judgment in the tsunami after he saw a map published by Voice of the Martyrs showing areas of intense persecution of Christians worldwide.
Many of the areas highlighted on that map "match to a T" the tsunami's impact, he said.
He later told a reporter for Baptist Press: "If you read the Old Testament, especially, God is very concerned how the nations treat his covenant people. The nations that persecuted, offended and killed his people, God came down and destroyed them. And he's the same God today. He's just as concerned about his people."

I edited the article here due to space, but I encourage you to check out the full text on my "Baptist hot sheet" link. I am gonna let this fester for a while and see if a great sermon does not result. Feel free to fester with me, and give me some feedback or suggestions.

PS> For the record, I think Blackaby's comment ranks right up there in the "Stupid Things Southern Baptists Have Been Too Eager to Say" Hall of Fame.

On Fear and Democracy

Watch the inauguration carefully tonight. And remember, while W. is spending millions on security, there are Iraqi political candidates just hoping to survive until inauguration day, win or lose. Meanwhile in the news, everyone who looks to Iraq sees only chaos and fear...

from India
from the Middle East
from the UK
from CNN

The question is not whether democracy can thrive in such an environment. We should ask what kind of of democracy we will be seeing. The Iraqi people are undoubtedly scared to vote and scared not to vote. In such an environment, every choice will be determined by a fear of the alternative. Bush must be crazy to push ahead with the election, right? Does he realize what he is doing?

The cynic in me says yes. GWB won his re-election by way of creating fear of the alternative. How many times did you hear people say "If Kerry wins, the terrorists will attack more"? Hot-button issues also created anxiety over abortion, same-sex marriage, etc. The Democrats tried to defeat him by making us fear the alternative. "What will this madman do if re-elected?" Kerry never really ran a campaign. He just played on the fears of the other side.

If this is what America calls democracy, then Iraq may be more than ready.

On Looking Ahead

With fall finals officially behind me, I am already gearing up for the spring (gritting my teeth all week). One of my astute professors did not want us to be too bored, so he e-mailed an assignment for a class I have not started yet. I must familiarize myself with 19th century German philosophical movements (Schelling, Hegel, Romantics, etc) and begin reading a textbook. Luckily, I am looking at three days of sub-freezing daytime highs. German philosophy sounds like fun.

Here is a quick and dirty of my spring, so you can know where I am coming from

The Doctrine of the Atonement> Seems kinda important, right? Why not take a class on it? Because it is at 8am!

The Theology of Friedrich Schleiermacher> What? Never heard of him? You must not be a seminarian. Don't worry much about it though. I'll read it all and tell you what is important. Trust me (this sentence followed by a maniacal laugh).

Introduction to the Christian Mystical Tradition> This class will examine the medieval roots of Christian mysticism, and we wil not discuss Gandalf at all. No spell casters (or Deepak Chopra fanatics) need apply.

Theory and Practice of Pastoral Care> A late, but useful, addition to my schedule. Go ahead and laugh, but there is more to it than building programs, cheesy poems, dramatic sermons, and charisma. I hope.

Preaching II> More of the same. My final general requirement.

Field Education> More of the same. My other final general requirement.

Ask for peace, grace, sound sleep, and clear thinking. Again, if you have any suggestions for next fall, better let me know by mid-March.

On Excuses

I do not like excuses much, so I am going to apologize for the few pithy excuses I am about to make.

As I said earlier, I am in the midst of finals. One more week and everything will be written, typed and/or turned in. Then a week off before the madness begins again. So I am probably going to be silent for another week or so. Unless I throw in the towel and choose to ignore the mountain of work I need to do. Tempting...

Speaking of throwing in the towel, I must admit that I did not watch the 4th quarter of the Orange Bowl. It was far too painful and was some of the sloppiest defensive football I may have ever seen. I hesitate to proclaim it the worst because the defense I participated in as a high school senior may have been worse, but only at times. My excuse for not watching USC grind it in our faces: the Daily Show was on.

As for the Rose Bowl, I have a great excuse. Kinda. I had been saying from the beginning of the season that my boys in maize and blue were in for it this year. No QB, no RB, patchwork defense. I was tickled pink that they made the Rose Bowl and won a share of the Big Ten title. How hard was that to do? Ask Ok State how good the Big Ten was this year. Michigan discovered a freshman QB and RB that will let them contend to go back to a BCS bowl next year, and likely the year after that. So, Michigan was just being generous because their future is bright and Texas has to play (read: lose to) Oklahoma every year.

So, enough excuses until my grades are complete. Then I will just blame it all on the pneumothorax.