Resident Alien

Spring Lineup

2007-02-08T23:16:00.000-06:00

The title of this post is meant to conjure up good feelings about baseball season's rapid approach. My Red Sox have a new lineup, and with the exception of JD Drew I am excited about it. I am going to be complaining about Drew all summer (and hopefully deep into the fall), so just get used to it.

And here is my own fall lineup.

>The Radical Reformation: A seminary in church history focusing on those people I now count as my forefathers and mothers. A very helpful course, for any Anabaptist theologian has to meander through a highly variegated garden of potential historical sources.

>Contemporary Systematic Theology: Here we are asking the basic questions. Method. What key assumptions drive a theology forward or hold it back? Only those who take up the task after Barth and Tillich are covered here, which makes it a wild and wooly experience.

>20th Century Catholic Renascence: Just keeping tabs on what the Vatican has been up to the last 100 years. Did you know they have been producing a windfall of terrific literature to complement the renewal in theology? I'll tell you all about it after I pass the class.

>And our departmental colloqium is reading Dostoevsky. The Brothers Karamazov and The Underground Man are two absolutely stunning pieces of literature. I have been thoroughly unsettled since picking them up. Few authors have been able to capture their audience's attention and expose their most guarded and hidden assumptions.

Let's hope I can survive it.

Check-up

2007-01-28T17:15:00.000-06:00

How has my New Year been? I'll give you a run-down
>Got snowed-in while visiting family in Denver. Never seen 30 inches of snow in my life. Hope to never see it again.
>Got to see my newest nephew, Jack. Adorable.
>Michigan loses to USC, Oklahoma loses to Boise, Ohio St loses to Florida, New England loses to India-no-place. I am no longer a football fan. Until next season.
>Boston Red Sox sign JD Drew. I weep bitterly. They are under review this season as my favorite baseball team.
>Spring semester has begun as I pull my first all-nighter of graduate school. When we did 'em at undegrad, it was because we secretly wanted to. I did it this week because there was no other way...
>Started attending a bi-lingual Mennonite house church. Started wondering why I hadn't done so until now.
>Movies watched: Casino Royale is my favorite Bond movie of all time. Children of Men is the most uncomfortable movie of all time. The Sixth Sense is the worst movie of all time. (Just threw that last one in there for spite.)

Any questions?

Not Dead Yet

2006-11-24T15:23:00.000-06:00

Hmmm. Where to begin.

First, I am not sure that I have killed anything (yet). I am still blogging , and I still use a telephone. So I do not think we need to abandon all technology (yet). There are certainly proper and improper usage for things such as cell phones. I think I am approaching an acceptable practice of blogging both here and at our communal page. I do not know how to use a cell phone properly, most likely because I have a general aversion to telephones.

Second, I am arguing from a position of weakness here. I do not know how to go forward. I am not sitting here waiting for someone to ask me "How do I go on?" so I can tell them all they need to know. I would very much like to know that myself. I am merely pointing out that modern "conveniences" often warp the very thing they are intended to preserve. I seriously doubt that this is a very innovative claim, and I know it is not very constructive.

Third, I am not advocating a "minimalist" approach to community. We need not pare away every single thing that is not a perfect representation of what relations are meant to be. If we did so, we would certainly be very alone. We would do well to be cautious in how we use our tools, how we approach our neighbor, and how we interact with our friends. This does not mean that "incidental" contact is time wasted. It is just hard to be anything other than "incidental" if we do not take care to be intentional.

Incidental Contact

2006-11-19T19:46:00.000-06:00

I hate telephones. I really hate cell phones. And I also have grown to despise blogs.

Now, I can explain why.

Ok, Ok, these wonders of technology are not the tools of the devil. I certainly do overstate my case very often. (It's called hyperbole, and it should be #14 on my list of improper online speech) I do have a telephone, a cell phone (it's prepaid), and a blog (duh). So it's not the tools themselves that I hate. It is the improper use of these tools that make me ill. Allow me to explain why these communication devices are pernicious influences on you and me.

When we use telephones, cell phones, and blogs, we are often using them to communicate with people we already know. These established relationships are maintained through the contact these tools provide. Phones and cell phones are great because they make "keeping in touch" more convenient. Cell phones make it ridiculously easy to call somebody literally anytime. They have a cell, you have a cell. You can call while standing in line, walking home from class, stuck in traffic, etc. And this is precisely where the problem begins.

On the one hand, all I need to do to talk to you is pull the phone out of my pocket. How nice. On the other had, all I need to do to talk to you is pull the phone out of my pocket. How incidental. I don't need to go out of my way to make contact. I don't need to set aside time out of my otherwise busy day. If you are not there, it's no big deal. If you don't call me back, I am not waiting by the phone anyway. I am just doing what I was already doing. Our personal contact was not anything important. It was merely incidental to who I am and what I am already doing.

I recently realized that blogs also make our online contact incidental to who we are as persons. Instead of actually going out of my way to contact you, to speak directly to you and hear from you in return, I can just blog whatever I am thinking about. If you happen to stumble across it, you and I renew our incidental relationship. I blog when I want, and you read when you want. Nothing essential to our lives is taking place here. It's all incidental.

Human beings are not things that have relationships. Humans are those relationships. We are defined by our human relationships. There is no "me" without my wife, mother and father, siblings, other family members, and friends, even colleagues. When we think there is a "me" that stands above these defining relationships, we are in for trouble. The last thing I need is encouragement to make contact with the people most important to me seem "incidental" to what "I" was doing. So, that is why I do not carry a cell phone.

What do I do now with this blog?

Rules for My Online Speech

2006-11-03T19:03:00.000-06:00

As I and a few trusted companions venture forth on a collaborative blog, I find myself in need of setting up a few ground-rules for my online speech. It seems that the Internet can easily lead one down the path of misunderstanding. The scariest part is that many people go down that path willingly. Here are a few rules I am cooking up to prevent you from misunderstanding me, but also these rules will prevent me from forgetting what I am doing here in the first place.

1) No questions can asked of a reader with an answer already in mind. Hypothetical questions notwithstanding, to ask a question merely in order to correct the response of the answerer is highly inappropriate.
2) Posing a question as a pretext for a soapbox is all wrong.
3) Unnecessary technical jargon will be avoided unless the term is thoroughly explained. Assuming that the audience knows what I am referring to is not allowed.
4) "You got your hair cut today" Statements of fact intended to avoid the conversation that needs to take place are unacceptable.
5) Red herrings smell very poor. Off-topic pronouncements are not allowed.
6) Triangulation in a debate is in poor taste. Making questionable associations between the opposed party and a distasteful third party in order to short-cut the actual debate is sick and wrong. Just because politicians do it does not make it right.
7) The "rhetoric of excess" is not an acceptable tactic. Taking a valid point and over-extending it in order to short-circuit actual conversation is a poor move. Ex: "The Church needs to engage society in order to transform it." "Yes, because society is so sick and messed up" Nothing good can come of this.
8) Ad hominen (which I must now explain, see #3). Responding to an argument with a personal attack is rude and counter-productive.
9) Attributing an unecessary label in order to undermine an otherwise positive statement.
Ex: "The female pilot who landed the plane did a good job." What, should we be surprised?
10) No point is too small to be appreciated, nor is any point too large to be undermined.
11) Playing the devil's advocate in secret, adopting a contrary position just to argue a point and feel vindicated by the attention, is to be avoided.
12) Nobody wins when someone just gives up trying to be understood. Conceding an argument verbally without being entirely convinced destroys community rather than preserves it.

Some of these rules will be more helpful, some were just for fun. I do, however, pledge to honor these rules. You can hold me to it (please).

This is a very rough draft in need of both editing and suggestions. To be continued...

A Mere Proposal

2006-10-19T14:03:00.000-05:00

Seeing that an idea has arisen that may be worth pursuing, a recommendation may be in order regarding a suitable opening discourse. Here is my modest recommendation. Since there are no rules established yet for the communal blogging endeavor found here, I did not want to sully up our blank slate. So, I give my idea here first to measure general opinion.

It would be useful for me to discuss my desire for a new approach to blogging, and perhaps it will help everyone else to get a handle on their own hopes and expectations.

I believe that the blog is a microcosm of what we have become as victims of post-modernity. We have become private minds living life almost entirely within our own heads. We have lost faith in our ability to adequately explain anything, up to and including giving an explanation for our own thoughts. We are walking, talking mysteries to ourselves.

The blog's very structure illustrates this quite clearly. The main body of text is where I expound on my latest big idea, tell of my recent exploits, relate my present existential crises, etc. The comments, instead of providing actual discourse, are buried beneath a link and do not appear as "commentary" to my text. Instead, comments are tools provided for the passersby to provide a weak recognition that I am, in fact, thinking. Whether I am thinking rationally or not is of no real importance. The links I provide serve to point out the fact that I do know people who may be rational, but I am not addressing them in my text at all (or at least rarely).

In short, the blog functions as a long, dark well in which I may shout as often and as loud as I choose. But nothing useful will ever return from the bottom of the well. I will only hear my own voice, and it will be unintelligible even to me.

How can we ever become better friends? spouses? ministers? students? scholars? musicians? writers? siblings? parents? when our chief interaction partner is our own mind?

Let Us Blog Together

2006-10-17T14:16:00.000-05:00

While pondering many things (like the nature of theology, the purpose of blogging, my closest friends, my chosen career path) I read the following article. I found it in a former colleague's blog. It is an interesting critique of Blogs themselves, and may indeed be a way to bring the aforementioned list of ponderables together into something approaching a unity.

The gist of the article is as follows: blogs are inherently limited in their capacity for sustained reflection and interaction among thoughful readers. We have all noticed it before but have perhaps not been quite so articulate (or maybe its just me who is slow). Blogs are supposed to facilitate interaction between readers and author via the "comments" section. However, as anyone who visits any blog regularly can attest, very little actual interaction takes place in the comments section. People may read the comments or even leave a small note. But, if one hopes for a reply or a clarification as a result of the content of a comment, one hopes in vain. A new post is the typical reason people check back later, not an actual conversation or engagement (or even sustained encouragement).

So, as one of my blogging friends has hinted, something new may be in order. It has been suggested (by Clint) that some type of collaborative blogging may be more useful on multiple levels. I suggest one blog, jointly edited by a few people with common intention, that deals with one topic at a time for a sufficient period allowing for helpful, collaborative action to occur in the blogosphere (one month?). Each editor in turn selects a topic (or two) and each contributor can then interact on their own time over the period. Or, a story can be offered followed by critique and discussion and reflection. Or a recent significant (personal?) event can be discussed. (Or we could discuss sermon ideas? Work-related issues? Family? ...)

It is only an idea, and I am not sure if it will work. What I do know is that if YOU are interested and do not respond (in the inadequate comments section) nothing will happen. I promise to spend the rest of the month (at least) on this discussion. I hope to read some comments and/or blog posts on the topic soon.

Blame Jeter

2006-10-10T18:41:00.000-05:00

Please permit one post of useless sports drivel, at least until Michigan loses.

Now, I know my baseball team has been at home for quite some time now, but any good Boston fan always has a team in the playoffs when the Yankees are still playing. I have never been as big of a Detroit Tiger fan, but this almost goes without saying. I loved watching the $200 million dollar team get mowed down by some guy named Zumaya who makes the league minimum. There are so many funny Yankee epithets floating about the media right now. (Head to Page 2 for the funniest).

But I have a more serious observation that every Yankee fan needs to at least consider. If being a Red Sox follower has taught me anything, it is how to assess one's failures. So listen up, and I will tell you who is really to blame for the Yankee debacle.

His name is Derek Jeter, and he is your "captain". Yankee fans love to speak of his intangible qualities of leadership on and off the field. His clout with the New York media is unparalled. When Jeter speaks, Yankee fans and followers listen and take his every word to heart. So why didn't he address the single biggest issue that has haunted this team for over a year now: A-Rod. All Jeter needed to do was tell the media to lay off, recite A-Rod's phenomenal stats since joining the team, put his arm around his teammate in front of the cameras, and be the captain. Then, when the press leaves, Jeter can kick A-Rod in the pants and tell him to produce in the playoffs or hit the road. Problem solved, one way or the other.

Instead, Jeter seems content to let the media fry A-Rod all season, distracting the team and ruining any chance of a solid team chemistry. Jeter has not done his job regarding the A-Rod issue, and this calls everything we say about Jeter's leadership and character into question. Any team deserves better from their captain. At best Jeter didn't thinkhe could do anything to help, in which case he is wrong. At worst Jeter didn't want to help a teammate out, in which case he is no captain at all.

Halloween Safety

2006-09-29T16:11:00.000-05:00

All of writing endeavors are either mundane research papers or self-serving, autobiographical nonsense on this blog. My wife, however, has discovered a way to put her writing skills to good use. While my research may one day pay off, and this blog will never feed anyone, my genius wife is bringing home some extra loot while telling us all how to be safe at Halloween.

Have I ever been as helpful to any of you?

Worship Music?

2006-09-24T15:50:00.000-05:00

I have spent at least the last three years avoiding the subject of music used during corporate worship. I pulled this off by going to a church that considered anything played on a piano rather than an organ to be "praise and worship". How quaint! Three years of this and the overall effect was to come as close as one can to hitting the neurological reset button when it came to Sunday morning music. My attendance and participation had nothing to do with music but instead had everything to do with the congregation.

This now means that whenever I hear church staff discuss the quality of their church's "worship" (as in "Man, we just aren't worshipping like we used to.") , my eyes narrow and my ears try to discern what is meant by "worship". It would be too easy and so three-years-ago for me to pontificate about how shallow and superficial such talk is (and my friend Clint can tell you more about that than me). I pray that I have matured since I left the guitar-strumming worship scene of my alma mater. I grew to despise it then, but now I know that music does play a role in the worship of the church. But when it is done poorly, it is really really awful.

So here is my attempt to understand why we do what we do: a modest list of the possible reasons the church should use music in its corporate worship.

1) To elicit the proper feeling and sentiment among the congregation.
This is perhaps the most popular, or at least I would accuse most praise & worship bands of holding this mindset. Here the musicians attempt to create a "mood" or "atmosphere" conducive to worship. The problems here are perhaps myriad. First, why use music for this when anything else would do just as well? I am sure LSD can create a mood that promotes a receptivity before the divine. Second, one needs to establish what that mood is that makes worship possble. Here, most praise & worship types are terribly uncreative. Fast happy song, love ballad song, awe-inspiring march filled with power chords, repeat. But what if we need to be angry one Sunday in order to properly worship? Somebody needs to put Lamentations to music.

2) To promote the understanding of and repetition of basic doctrinal, biblical, theological statements
We sing Scripture, repeat lines of the ancient creeds, wax theological in hymnal verses. Why? Because we can never say these things enough, eh? Repetition is the key to understanding according to the ancients and your third-grade teacher. I like this one because memorizing a song is effortless compared to memorizing a chapter of Hebrews. But it takes theologically astute musicians or else the basic thought is just repeated over and over ad nauseum. Here I must confess I favor the old hymns, because they are just so much more interesting and stimulating that singing "Better is one day in your courts..." until the words stop making sense. You don't repeat it until you feel it: you repeat it until you understand it.

3) To join the congregation in a common task, that of declaring and proclaiming allegiance and praise to God
Even while singing the most dreadful songs, I must say I enjoy the fact that I am singing with other people. Part of what turned me off in the rock band style of worship was that whole "draw a circle around yourself. It's just you and God. Now sing to Him" stuff. I can do that in my car (which is probably why praise and worship CDs are so hot). I came to church to be part of a congregation. People who have been part of a choir or a band can speak more to this than I, but to come together with a roomfull of people to produce a sound of beauty is a bonding experience. Congregational singing can strengthen one's faith and help forge a Christian community.

There are 3 basic reasons, my own "good, better, best" for church music. But I am no expert. If I left anything out, or if I need correction or rebuke, I am depending on you to set me straight.

Early Season Thoughts

2006-09-18T22:28:00.000-05:00

I had not realized how much I had missed living in this part of the country until the past few weekends. Rutgers can play a little football (with the emphasis on little), but I want to see the Big 12 on Saturday. Give me Tech, OState, A&M, UT, and my Sooners on Saturday. Keep Pitt, Syracuse, Rutgers, and Maryland. Life is good.

Here are thoughts about my two favorite teams.

Sorry peeps, but the Sooners have struggled and will continue to struggle. I am counting on perhaps four losses this year. Don't blame Bomar/Thompson, blame the inexperienced and untested defense. Before watching the first two games, I would have never expected to be questioning a defense coached by Stoops. But they stink against the run and get beat deep. I know that the guys who got baked by USC are long gone, but that dreadful loss still haunts the defense.

As for Michigan: no coronations yet. I am worried sick that these guys are going to convince me a few weeks from now that they deserve to be called a title contender. They are going to tease me this year, I know it. But I don't think for a minute that the decisive win against Notre Dame this weekend means too much. The Irish were (and continue to be) the most overrated team of the last decade. They can't stop the run, can't defend the pass, can't run the ball, and rely on a girly looking baseball player to catch their passes. Brady Quinn for the Heismann, huh? He reminds me more of Ron Powlus. Big Blue was going to roll these clowns up. But can they beat Ohio State?

It is nice to use my brain and my fingers for something other than theology.

Almost Forgot

2006-08-25T08:45:00.000-05:00

I almost neglected to include my fall line up for those of you interested (mom). Here is what I find worthy to study this fall.

> Contemporary Ethics: What is "virtue ethics" and why is it so cool? An inside peek.

> Christian Anthropology: What are humans that God is mindful of them? Not cultural study like "anthropology" but rather sin, the fall, its consequences, our possibilities, etc., all theologically understood.

> Thomas Aquinas: Love him or hate him, you still have to know him.

> And a lovely colloqium on Dante's Comedy. OBU Western Civ revisited; only now its harder and we actually get to read more of Paradiso.

That should keep me entertained for at least a few months, eh?

Aliens Landing?

2006-08-21T17:27:00.000-05:00

I am making no promises, but my friend Clint's blog inspired me to post at least one more time. If I can approximate even slightly the perfect blend of insight, humor, and self-revelation I just read at his blog (which can be accessed via my links) I will be doing exactly what I always hoped to achieve: a continuation of a formative conversation with people important to my self-understanding even if in a fragmentary form.

Because I do not want my life to stop making sense, I need to at least have a "happy illusion" of immediate contact with people who have influenced me. I do plan on changing, and already have, but the notion of me "changing" implies that I was formerly something that I at least recognized as a whole and coherent self. Should I ever forget that, I fear I may lose something quite precious to my well-being.

The significance of this is simple: I believe that we are most vulnerable to disasters both private and professional when we live under the illuson that we are unconnected to the world in a definite manner already. It is a dangerous thing to believe that one can redefine the nature of their existence on earth in a mere instant of capricious reflection.

I am going to stop now so I have an excuse to continue later.

End of Summer

2006-08-16T19:02:00.000-05:00

I am now a certified reader of the German language. However, let us hope that I am never incarcerated in a prison cell until I can translate a page or two of Goethe or Hegel or Kant. It would be a long stay.

I am now officially orientated to my new school. I have been thoroughly frightened by the reading lists for my preliminary exams, briefly introduced to the library, and repeatedly told how smart my incoming colleagues are. Class begins on Monday.

This means one of two things. Either
1) This will be my last posting ever due to the insane constraints placed upon my time.
-or-
2) I will be posting with renewed vigor in an attempt to keep my last shred of sanity intact.

Stay tuned...

Second Impressions

2006-07-12T21:47:00.000-05:00

I have been here for a bit, and here is what I have to say.

Michelle and I blindly picked out the best dog on the planet when we went to the local humane society. If enough people pester me about it, I will have to pull out our antique digital camera and post a picture of Livy the Long-Tongued Destroyer of Nations and Terrorizer of All Things with Wings. You can call her Livy for short, though.

German is hard. I don't like it.

World Cup soccer is better than the Olympics. A far less dizzying cast of characters, nothing silly like rhythmic gymnastics, and the whole world actually cares about who wins these games. Oh yeah, and there are no commercial breaks. The only drawback was when Zinedine Zidane went ballistic and ruined the final. But at least there were no commercial breaks.

If forced to choose between the bitter cold of New Jersey winters and the jaw-dropping heat of Texas summers, I would gladly opt for the latter. In the middle of Texas summers, you can go out at sundown or after and be at least somewhat comfortable. Go out at noon in January in Jersey and you will still be miserable.

Enough. I am still lacking coherence. My newly minted Texas driver's licence is contributing to my disoriented state, no doubt.

First Impressions

2006-06-28T19:09:00.000-05:00

Texas is hot, and it is full of Texans. Nevertheless, it beats the heck out of Jersey.

Driving 18 hours in one day is not a bad idea: it is a terrible idea.

People in the Central Time Zone do not need to stay up as late to see the end of a baseball game or the Daily Show. It's nice.

My nephew is the cutest kid to look like me since, well, me.

We are moved in, unpacked, and looking for a dog.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

2006-06-18T19:32:00.000-05:00

I am awfully tardy with this post. So much has happened, I just could not decide where to begin. So, a list is in order.
> I am typing this on my new laptop. Thanks to my in-laws, I am now portable and wireless.
> My sister-in-law is engaged. Hooray for her.
> I am due for a new niece/nephew in January.
> I am moving to Texas this Friday. Living out of boxes currently.
> I am officially and irreparably hooked on World Cup soccer. I even like to call it football. At least until this fall when I am back in Big 12 country.
> My wife and I are planning on adopting a puppy. More details to come.

Short list, long on substance. It does explain why I have not posted though, huh?

Great Waste of Time

2006-05-11T10:34:00.000-05:00

So my two-week vacation was just about to get boring when I discovered the next great Internet toy from Google. It is called Google Trends. It allows you to compare searches and news volume on any number of terms. It even tells you the most popular regions and cities for particular terms. Here are a few interesting examples.

>The Yankees and Red Sox are neck and neck for search and news volume for the past few years, except of course for that glorious 2004 World Series. The teams seem to have an equal following in the States. Internationally, however, the Yanks get more hits and more news in every country except Canada. Score one for the Canadians.

> Sex is more popular in Pakistan, Egypt, Vietnam, Iran, Morocco, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Poland that it is in the good ole USA. We did not even make the top 10. The most over-sexed city in the world seems to be Delhi, India. Chicago is the only US city listed in the top 10. Figures. Some news story will pick up on that and blame Wheaton University, Billy Graham, and Billy Sunday for that.

> Nobody googles New Jersey more than the folks in Freehold, NJ. Why would you need to google it when you are already stuck in it?

> It seems that Chile and Mexico are more interested in Cushing, Oklahoma than our fellow Americans. Is this for business opportunities or Cushing High School futbol?

> And finally, if you have ever wondered where Dubya gets his information about Iraq, now you know. Washington DC records more searches and news about Iraq than any other region in the country. Can't you just seem him pouring over the latest intelligence reports and then checking GoogleMaps and GoogleNews to make sure its all accurate? I would.

Google will soon rule the world. What should we do about it?

Beware the Nostalgia Machine

2006-04-21T14:35:00.000-05:00

Today I attended my last class at Princeton Theological Seminary. But this is not a celebratory post. Not at all. Were this a celebratory post, I would undoubtedly begin my summer estivation period. This would result in me not finishing my final two papers. Can't have that, but I do need a study break. Therefore, I blog.

Wednesday night we had a Senior Dinner. Food was good. My wife made for an excellent date. The president's wife dined at my table, and she was a hidden treasure. But then, somebody cranked up the nostalgia machine.

This is an Ivy League atmosphere, so we did not blast out "Friends Are Friends Forever" and hold each other while crying and exchanging phone numbers. We did the Ivy League seminary equivalent - we pretended that we all actually got along, would miss each other, and were more than casual "colleagues". Now, don't get me me wrong. Those statements are definitely true regarding some (maybe 3 or 4) of my classmates. But on the whole, graduate school is not high school. (Though they nevertheless insist upon calling us "seniors")

Who was responsible for the nostalgia machine? None other than those most interested in creating the illusion of an eternal bond of love between students under the banner of alma mater: the keepers of the endowment and the solicitors of donations. These people should not, under any circumstances, be allowed to direct a gathering of graduates weeks before commencement. They will inevitably seize the day, crank up the nostalgia machine, and try to convince you that they knew you before your name was on the list of potential donors. Before you know it, you are pledging half your first paycheck to an endowment larger than the GNP of entire countries in Central America. But they did give me a free PTS mug.

I am sure that actually finishing these papers will lighten the mood, so stay tuned.

Boos of Summer

2006-04-13T10:56:00.000-05:00

If only all of America political life was as democratic as baseball. Then we would get the chance to let Dick Cheney know exactly how we feel about him, and he would not get to pre-screen his audience like his boss.

If we had to give up the debacle that was the Montreal Expos in order to get an opportunity to give instant feedback to publicity seeking members of the executive branch, I say the cost was little and the benefit enormous.

See here. It's funnier on FoxNews.
The pitch was dreadful, but at least it did not hit anybody.

I Spy

2006-03-30T19:11:00.000-06:00

I was sitting...somewhere...in my apartment this morning when I saw a very familiar yet unexpected sight in the newest issue of Newsweek.

I saw Raley Chapel.

For the uninitiated and un-baptist, that is the monstrous behemoth that serves as a place of worship at Oklahoma Baptist Unviersity in Shawnee, OK. And what did the my embattled alma mater make national news for? Here is a hint: Jerry Falwell and the heirs of Oral Roberts didn't do it, but Mark Brister (the school president) did. Answer: Let the Christian gay-rights group SoulForce visit campus peacefully and legally. Read about it here, and even see the picture.

Is anyone else surprised? Can anybody more informed than me offer some color to this most-unusual and unprecedented event?

Hate To Say It, But...

2006-03-22T11:54:00.000-06:00

Somebody deserves a great big "I told you so" over the latest news from North Korea.

Evidently Kim Jong Il wanted everyone to know that George W. Bush does not have the market cornered on pre-emptive strikes. They, too, would strike pre-emptively with their nuclear arsenal if they felt a US attack was eminent. Whether or not they have a nuclear arsenal is a subject of debate, yet it is far more probable that North Korea currently has nuclear capability than it was probable that Saddam was even trying to arm himself with nuclear weapons. (ie: no recent weapons inspections, no recent devastating wars, a border with Putin's Russia, a recognizable and legitimate atomic energy program, etc).

I have been pretty political here recently, so now it is your turn to either tell me I am nuts or tell me that you think something is going wrong, too. Here goes:

Does pre-emptive war actually make us more safe? What do you think?

Live My Dream

2006-03-20T18:52:00.000-06:00

I have one recurring dream that involves my greatest and most odd fascination:

Sharks

I am terrified of the ocean, hate the beach, and don't even really care to swim in lakes or rivers or even deep pools. I am not afraid of drowning. I can swim like a fish, or at least a wounded fish. And there is the problem... I always feel like shark bait. Being at the mercy of predators most at home where I am at an extreme disadvantage is not my idea of fun.

Yet I never miss a Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, and I can quote lines from every Jaws movie made (Even Jaws 4. Really). I dream that I am being chased by a shark at least every six months. It starts out like any regular dream, but then wherever I am starts filling up with water. Then the shark arrives. You can guess the rest. So humor me for a few minutes.

Go here, be a shark for a few minutes. And be afraid. Be very afraid.

Three Long Years

2006-03-12T22:12:00.000-06:00

March 13 is the three year anniversary of the "shock and awe" attacks that I was unfortunate enough to have witnessed live on television. Three years after CNN & FoxNews brought us the beginning of a war to either find WMD or topple Saddam Hussein and bring freedom & democracy to a terrorized people, all we have to show for it is this.

Are You a Felon, Too?

2006-03-11T10:01:00.000-06:00

The House of Representatives recently decided that I am a felon.

The new stipulations included in H.R. 4437, the "Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005" makes the definition of alien smuggling so broad as to include the offering of any assistance at all when it is given to a known "illegal alien". Give them a cup of water? Hand out some food at a soup kitchen? Give directions at a stoplight? Offer information on how to legalize their status? Not unless you want to be committing a felony according to a new law.

According to this definition, I have committed a felony plenty of times already and plan to again. I am unwilling to turn away from someone in need just because they are not lawful residents. Illegal immigration is not reason for starvation or ostracism. If someone is in the United States, and their visa expires (like your driver's license sometimes does), no one can lawfully help you without committing a felony. If someone did come here without documentation intending to work anyway, and they are hungry or ill or lost or dying, it would be a felony to assist them. Churches, social services, anf refugee assistance organizations are now illegal enterprises. Join them at your own risk.

The bill also makes it a felon to be here illegally in the first place. This sounds good, of course, to those who want to end "illegal immigration" for felons are not allowed to ever come back. But should every violation, even an error in paperwork, be reason for permanent deportation? Furthermore, the bill calls upon local law enforcement agencies to carry out the work of apprehending illegal immigrants. At first glance, this sounds great as well. But what happens to the communities where these workers live? It is fine if one does not even want them to be here, but if they are afraid to go to the police when they are victims of a crime they will be repeatedly victimized and become targets for every kind of criminal. Rob them, beat them, kill them, and no one can go to the police. This is not how we should treat the alien, the immigrant among us. Especially when our own economic practices demand such low-cost labor to be available.

I could go on and on, and I already have. I am amazed at what we can ethically justify to ourselves under the banner of anti-terrorism. Our safety has become a liability not only to the rest of the world but to the least of these among us. Our treatment of the fatherless, the alien, and the widow must continue to be dictated not by our laws but by our convictions. May we all be good felons.

Check out the text of the bill and commentary.

Ladies & Gentlemen

2006-02-23T21:06:00.000-06:00

We have a winner in the great "Admit-the-Porters" sweepstakes.

Baylor University caved and decided to admit me to their Graduate Program in Religion.

What's that you say? I already have been in graduate school? Sure, but all I will have to show for it is a crummy master's degree. Baylor wants to give me a shiny PhD after I work my hind quarters off for a few years.

If none of that makes sense, then just hear this: We are moving to Waco!

(I am still to excited to admit to myself that I am moving to Texas. Adjustment will take time. Go easy on me. After all, I have been in New Jersey for so long that Limbo was beginning to sound quaint.)

Did You Know?

2006-02-14T16:32:00.000-06:00

Did you know that the last vice president to shoot someone while in office was Aaron Burr in 1804? He shot and killed Alexander Hamilton.

Do you know what Aaron Burr is famous for? He is remembered as the guy who shot Alexander Hamilton.

Do you know what Dick Cheney is famous for? Me neither. He would never tell the press anything, so how would anybody know?

(Sorry about the macabre humor on Valentine's Day, or any day).

This Is It

2006-01-26T12:02:00.000-06:00

For those of you interested, here is my ultimate semester course lineup. It is funny how nostalgic I got during my last semester at OBU. Right now, less nostalgia and more interest in the next stop. Anyway, here it is:

The Doctrine of Justification> I chose this one for the reading list. Luther, Ritschl, Barth, etc. We are not going to be reading about them, we are going to be reading them.

Post-Liberal Theology> Excuse me while I go postal. Not to be confused with "post-modern" theology. Yuck.

The Theology and Ethics of Reinhold & H. Richard Niebuhr> Love them or hate them, no theologian has been as influential in America as these two. Just ask your pastor about Reinhold.

The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ> "There is that wily Jesus fellow! I hoped he was gonna take something about Jesus while at seminary." I am going to be glad I took this during Lent and Holy Week.

That is all. Shorter than usual. Quality over quantity. And I only need 12 hours to graduate. If you think I am lazy, my wife is taking a course on microeconomics and will be schooling me in something I know nothing about. Oh yeah, and we will be moving in June. And we don't know where. That'll keep me busy enough.

Help This Guy Out!

2006-01-15T11:04:00.000-06:00

I am slowly yet surely dropping of the Southern Baptist radar screen, but many of you are not.

OK, just a few of you perhaps.

But some of you are still SBCer's.
And if you are, help this guy out. He seems level-headed and genuine to me. And he is getting blasted for communicating via blog about his opinions as an Internationa Mission Board trustee.

Yeah, now I know I have you SBC-friends-of-mine's attention.

Vote at the upcoming Convention, send a letter, talk with your pastor, protest, organize, whatever it is you do. And, you know who you are; and yes, I am talking to you.

It's All Done

2006-01-13T13:53:00.000-06:00

After two of the most grueling weeks of my academic career, I am pleased to announce that it is all done. Every application deadline met, every road-trip and plane-trip taken, every assignment turned in, and every paper written.

Now I get my vacation: one week off. And it will be the last week off until graduation.

Graduation? Graduation! No way, couldn't be.

I am gonna have to go see that registrar.

Xmas Break

2005-12-20T18:59:00.000-06:00

Here is something to leave you with for a week or two. I will be traveling to Colorado and finishing up finals, then traveling to Fort Drum, NY. My wife and I were momentarily captivated by an advertisement for AMEX. There was just something so darned interesting about how famous people answer the most basic questions. Hopefully, I can be just as interesting. If not, read this and ruminate.

childhood ambition> to drive a fire truck
fondest memory> hard to beat my wedding day
soundtrack> Bebo Norman at his best
retreat> a warm corner in a library basement
wildest dream> to write a column for Time magazine
proudest moment> on its way, hopefully
biggest challenge> getting out of bed in the morning before my wife
alarm clock> it's there
perfect day> a canoe somewhere in a river with the wife
first job> furniture delivery
indulgence> microwave popcorn
last purchase> something at Starbucks, isn't it all the same there?
favorite movie> The Shawshank Redemption
inspiration> the Rule of Christ

Grace and Peace to you in Advent and beyond!

QuakerWatch

2005-12-15T18:03:00.000-06:00

In their vigiliant, inspired, and on-going effort to keep us safe from terrorists, it seems that no one is trustworthy in the eyes of the Pentagon. Not even Quakers. Threats could come from anyone, anytime, and anyplace. I mean, who expected Al Qaeda to actually try to attack us on our own soil? They had only been publicly threatening to do so for about a decade while only truly attempting it twice. The real terror threat is a covert group of people with a bone to pick and US passports. They can move about almost unnoticeably, at least until the Pentagon started tracking their movements and recording what vehicles they could use in their sinister plot to overthrow the . . . Pentagon. Don't believe me? Read about it.

That's right, the Quakers are the new and biggest threat to national security as we know it. They must be tracked, recorded, scrutinized, questioned, and then fed to the lions! Um, ok, maybe sent to Gitmo instead of that last part. Just listen to them. Quakers are just the kind of people the Pentagon would suspect to be terror(!)ists.

In the spirit of Narnia, I ask you. These people are obviously not safe, but are they good?

I would rather spend Christmas with Quakers than with the folks at the Pentagon. But then, they probably knew that already.

Emergent & Me

2005-12-11T16:21:00.000-06:00

A good friend recently commended a blog written by an exponent of the "emergent church" movement. I am most grateful for such help, and I am intrigued by the number of people who point me in the direction of emergent after listening to me rant. What intrigues me about this is that I have no involvement with nor leanings toward an "emergent church".

My exposure to emergent has been highly limited due mostly to the denominational affiliation of my seminary. Emergent is not really big here, but a few students like to affix that label to themselves. I prefer other labels, but that is another blog.

While I am not hostile to emergent, (Why should I be? I am a pacifist) I am skeptical of the movement. First, the name "emergent" seems to imply the birth of something new and previously unseen in church history. This sounds more like a "re-Enlightenment" model than anything that claims to be raised from the ashes of post-modernity. As if now, after deconstruction and the Holocaust, we know the secret and have the tools to get this thing right. I doubt it. Having a conversation is one thing, but expecting this conversation to culminate in the unification of all viewpoints is not a good idea. While I have not read of all of Brian Mclaren's book, the subtitle was enough to make me walk away.

And second, I am not totally dissatisfied with emerged churches. (Get it, emerged?!?) Two milennia of Christian expression and thought has produced a wide enough variety that I expect everyone could find one to belong to. If you are unhappy, do some homework and find a confession that fits your best insights. If emergent is just a contemporary attempt to find a perfect church, then it is going to be sorely disappointed in a few years. If it is, as I expect to be correct, a backlash against the GOP-leaning evangelical conservative establishment, then it is well-intentioned but unnecessary. Alternatives have always existed, in many forms. From Quakers and Mennonites to Anglicans and even Catholicism, there is much going on that could appeal to the disenfranchised socially-minded Christian.

So I am not planning on dropping out and planting a new church full of emergent-minded people here in the ruins of Christendom. I would much rather cast my lot in with an existing tradition, dealing with all the ugliness and nastiness that 2,000 years can accrue, than pretend I can keep from spoiling something pristine and unblemished by perpetually moving "toward" something that I do not intend to name.

This will have to do for now. Besides, I could never be in the emergent movement. I still use Windows. Maybe if I had a Mac I would see things a different way...

Moving On

2005-12-03T09:40:00.000-06:00

Satire is a wonderful thing. Few forms of communication can be so piercing and illuminative while also not becoming voerly cynical. I read satire to learn things about myself, my world, and sometimes my church.

Larknews.com was recommended to me by a friend during college. I instantly found it ridiculously funny, but a few minutes later I was re-evaluating the small, subconscious categories and characterizations I was making. My own absurdity was revealed. Anyone who has ever seriously studied Swift's Gulliver's Travels knows what I mean.

Inspired by my own remarks about cynicism a few weeks back, and by the wisdom only a sister-in-law can possess, I have decided to discontinue my link to larknews.com. I really do not read it any longer, because it is no longer (very) funny but tragic. It was quite helpful satire for life at OBU. Larknews served as a reminder that the things many people were taking seriously were quite ridiculous. But it has lost its edge on me. Now, it just fuels the fires of cynicism. That is the last thing I need right now.

I am not claiming to be more mature suddenly, or to have become enlightened to the point of ultimate knowledge. But I believe this satire of Christian evangelical subculture has done its work on me. I am ready to get involved. Therefore, I commend it to you one last time, here. Read it, laugh a little, then tell me what you think of it. I hope it offends you in a constructive way.

Still Worried

2005-11-29T09:45:00.000-06:00

The growth of private security contractors being utilized by our armed forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and by FEMA in New Orleans still concerns me. I have checked out a few of their websites and am not encouraged by what I see. These groups may not always be taking necessary precautions before using force, as mercenary groups tend to do.

But the media may be checking things out a bit more. That is a relief, but this still worries me. If we are serious about this war in Iraq achieving its stated purposes, then all our forces must be held to the highest accountability possible. Handing a contract to "defend" certain areas to a private organization does nothing to ensure that the individuals involved will be held to the same standard as the common enlisted soldier.

Check out this group, and if you missed it, here is another one.

Apparently, I am not the only one concerned. Here is an article about an Army colonel whose task was to oversee an independent contractor in the training of Iraqi security forces. The colonel was previously a professor of ethics at West Point. You can do the math, or read the article. That contractor's site is here.

Better Dead than Red?

2005-11-23T12:48:00.000-06:00

I know what people are saying about me. Just because I currently reside in the hotbed of "pinko liberalism" does not mean that I am converting to communism.

But if converting to communism means doing what Hugo Chavez, the quasi-communist leader of Venezuela, just did, then I might look into it. Chavez, the same man that Pat Robertson wants assasinated, is distributing eight million gallons of heating oil at half the market price. Not too surprising for a communist, but here is the catch. Chavez is distributing this super-cheap heating oil to select communities in the United States.

And GWB cannot do anything about it (short of taking Robertson's advice), for the oil will be distributed through CITGO. That is the company owned and operated by the national oil company of Venezuela.

Think of this as a gift-wrapped warm and cozy Thanksgiving morning for thousands who could not otherwise afford it courtesy of your friendly neighborhood communist. Hopefully GWB is taking notes.

Towards My Next Sermon

2005-11-21T17:08:00.000-06:00

Forgive the uber-cliche postmodern insertion of "towards" in the title here. I mean it in a practical and not an epistemological sense. Rather, I just have not written the sermon yet, although I know very well what I am preaching about.

Text: Mark 11:27-33

Any good sermon about Jesus cannot help but be political. Preaching about Jesus leads one into speaking about the realties that Jesus confronted head-on. Avoidance of "political" implications is to harness the Gospel and perhaps even deny the humanity of Christ. We are political animals. Yet the word "political" today can scarcely be uttered without risking the audience parsing every word that follows into one of two categories. Is this preacher a Democrat or a Republican?

My response is to ask you in turn "Was Jesus not the Christ? Doesn't Jesus fully reveal the God of creation so that there can be no doubt Who created this world?" Before you answer, I would recommend a careful study of this text from Mark. Jesus' opponents have become quite nervous. They want answers. They want to know whose side Jesus is on. They have seen great miracles and heard marvelous teachings come from this man, but they do not trust him. His teachings and actions threaten to tear the entire system apart. So they ask him whose side he is on. Is Jesus from God or somewhere else?

The response comes in the form of a question. Before Jesus would tell them what side he was on, Jesus demanded to know something about their allegiance. Were they willing to acknowledge that God was at work in a new way, perhaps even standing before them as Christ? They talked it over. Much was at risk for the leaders of the people. They knew that either answer condemned the very systems that claimed their allegiance. Revolution or conversion confronted them, for the people were listening. So they gave a most skillful political answer: "We do now know." Jesus walks away.

The moral of the story is simple. Before we can know which side Jesus is on, we must confess which side we are on. The first question cannot be: "Is Jesus a Democrat?" or "Is Jesus a Republican?" We must first decide if we are followers of Christ. Then our political allegiance is crystal clear. We can accept neither a war that denies an obligation to protect life nor a peace that ignores the suffering of an oppressed people. We can accept neither the violence of 9/11 nor the destruction of Baghdad.

Additions? Suggestions? Critiques? Be gentle: unfinished work

Re-Beating a Dying Horse

2005-11-15T16:07:00.000-06:00

Torture.

Not a pretty word at all. In fact, it may be one of the ugliest in our language. Generally speaking, torture is not something we would wish on our worst enemies.

But that is pre-9/11 talk!

Now that torture is approaching standard operating procedure for intelligence gathering in the war on terror, it is becoming more clear that many (most? a few? I dunno) Americans do not have clear moral objections to torture any longer. At least we could say that Americans are willing to let their leaders define illegal torture out of existence.

This reminds me of an argument I posted on this blog in the wake of the 2004 election. I observed that Oklahoma overwhlemingly voted for Bush and a "defense of marraige act" while also voting to allow casino gambling on land belonging to Native American tribes in addition to finally creating the lottery. Both of these measures were violently opposed by Oklahoma's churches, yet both passed with nearly the same majority that Bush managed to gain. (see SQ 712 & 708 respectively) I merely wished to point out that religion was likely not the deciding factor in the hearts and minds of voters, for surely religion did not motivate the same electorate to approve prohibitions on same-sex marriage and allow gambling across the state.

The present administration's tacit (and not-so-tacit) approval to questionable treatment of prisoners makes my argument even more clear. If Bush had truly been elected by a tide of religious renewal and evangelical Christian zeal, why are those same people so silent before the horrendous pictures emerging from Abu Ghraib and other prisons? Where are those who claimed to stand up for truth and justice when they voted for Bush now that such atrocities are being performed under his command? Don't feel bad if you were such a Christian. What happened in 2004 cannot be blamed on the church alone. But we are guilty of silence if we do nothing. Here is something we can do.

More Marital Bliss

2005-11-04T17:18:00.000-06:00

My wife and I took a trip down to Times Square Theater to catch Switchfoot on their new tour. We snatched up their new disc (preliminary ruling: highly decent). Augustana opened up, and we enjoyed them a great deal. Then Eisley followed, and they stank the place up a bit. There, that is as close as I am coming to a "concert review". I am no trendy music hipster, as I have mentioned before. If I were, I would be on xanga flaunting how trendy my tastes in music are every time I post. As is, I am merely flaunting the fact that I am a short train ride from NYC. I could see any band you hipsters pretend to know so much about. And I could do it live. Eat your heart out. Location is wasted on the hopelessly disinterested ignorants. If that seemed bitter, remember that I was in NYC for a concert last night. Therefore, I only got about 3 hours of sleep before my 8:00am.

The real story is that the tickets were a b-day present for my wife. She has been a devoted fan of Switchfoot since the days of Legend of Chin. I was always somewhat put off by the lead singer's "surfer guy" voice. Somewhere between then and now, they learned to play their instruments and write decent music. Now, they even have something of a coherent message. When they started belting out, "Happy is a yuppie word", I fell in love with these silly surfer guys.

Michelle and I had fun, but not nearly as much as the couple who sat next to us. Times Square was once legendary for its "red light district" aura. Now it is quite the tourist stop. These two must have not received the memo. After several cold brews, the sloppy makeout session was only punctuated by some equally intense groping. As I nervously looked around for the poor youth minister who was surely getting fired for this, I remembered that I was in NYC. Business as usual, and not a twentysomething with a goatee and a Christian t-shirt in sight.

My wife, undaunted by the PDL (public display of lust), nevertheless enjoyed the concert. She found it amusing if offensive, but neither of us could claim to be surprised. I am sure she will blog about soon. Read about it here. Which reminds me, if you read her blog please leave a comment. She is convinced no one ever reads it because there are never new comments. I would leave a few myself, but I don't want anyone to think that Michelle and I only communicate online these days.

Unlikely Sources in the Fight Against Cynicism

2005-10-31T17:22:00.000-06:00

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I am immensely enjoying Paul Tillich's writings. Consistency is always held in tension with dynamism. Knowing is met with doing. Belief never makes a day without unbelief. For someone who aspires to be a more orthodox Anabaptist, I must say that Tillich is nevertheless fascinating. Perhaps it is because I usually read his work immediately after reading the news, for Tillich is quite applicable after I read the news and before I watch John Stewart.

Bird flu, Supreme Court candidates, disasters, indictments, and Oklahoma football have all piled on to make my cynical side fluorish. And then it is Tillich, the man who describes faith as "ultimate concern", who reminds me that cynicism is the weakest response imagineable. Feeling cynical yourself? Have a sip, but beware the aftertaste:

"We may try to dismiss all concerns and create a cynical unconcern. We determine that nothing shall concern us any more, except perhaps casually, but certainly not seriously. We try to be unconcerned about ourselves and others, about our work and our pleasures, about necessities and luxuries, about social and political matters, about knowledge and beauty. We may even feel that this unconcern has something heroic about it. And one thing is true: It is the only alternative to having an ultimate concern. Unconcern or ultimate concern- those are the only alternatives. The cynic is concerned, passionately concerned, about one thing, namely, his unconcern. This is the inner contradiction of all concern. Therefore, there is only one alternative, which is ultimate concern."

There you have it, folks. I hereby disavow that brand of cynicism, which I shall name "insulatory cynicism". If Tillich gets anything right he definitely knows how to describe the human predicament. You crazy cynics are really concerned, too. Just admit it.

A Shining Moment

2005-10-12T05:23:00.000-05:00

The following conversation actually took place a few weeks ago while my wife and I were watching some commercial on TV.

Her: "That guy looks like... uh... he looks like... whats-his-name"
Me: "I don't think he looks like Harrison Ford."
Her: "Yeah, I guess not."

You can't make this stuff up.

Ends of Civilization

2005-09-30T14:54:00.000-05:00

Here is a tip for all of you overstimulated masses:

If you are having lunch with someone and you...

a) have iTunes blaring down your eardrums
b) are googling stuff via Wi-Fi
c) are both talking on cell phones to different people
d) are partaking in any combination of the previous three options

...then you are not having lunch with anybody but yourself!

Discuss.

{This post based on observations made by a certified Neanderthal at 12:15pm today in downtown Princeton}

What a Boar!

2005-09-27T15:05:00.000-05:00

This is what I get for reading my hometown newspaper. Not much is going down in Princeton, so I thought I would greet everyone with this story.

Coincidentally, I recently watched Bowling for Columbine with my wife. I was expecting a passionate if misguided rant about gun control. What I got was a brief conversation about how strange American culture really is about guns, hunting, and violence, along with a minor rant about gun control.

Anyway, I am not saying that you have to agree with Mr. Moore (sheesh, what a nut this guy is). But after reading this article, I must agree with him that we Americans are a bit off. And the picture is priceless.

One Last Fall

2005-09-15T17:44:00.000-05:00

This is my penultimate semester at Princeton Theological Seminary. What a long strange trip it has been. To keep you informed and prepare you for the subject of my rantings for the next few months, here is my fall lineup.

The Doctrine of Election> Hey, c'mon now, don't start hacking on me. Everybody has one even if they do not believe in predestination. Stellar readings in everything from Augustine to Calvin to Barth and back.

The Theology of Paul Tillich> To do theology in America, you have to know two names: Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Tillich. I am doing Niebuhr in the spring and Tillich now. Initially I am not inclined to be a tremendous fan, but I am sure that I will find something instructive.

Marriage and Family during the Reformation> All these weddings taking place the past few years have got me thinking: "What the heck are we (am I) doing here?" I am going to go back to the source of the Protestant wedding craze and try to sort all this out before we (I) screw it all up.

Foundations of Missional Theology> Where else would I get to throw around words like "post-Christendom" and hang out with other baptists?

The Theology of John Howard Yoder> My fall gem: an independent study with a professor I admire on a topic I love. May be a launching pad to further study, or it may convince me to abandon the academy altogether. Stay tuned to find out. (PS> Yes, I am a pacifist).

That is where I am coming from.

Who ARE These Guys? pt II

2005-09-14T15:17:00.000-05:00

Here is some more news, finally from an American source, about those private contractors and they trouble they cause.

Check it out here and then tell me what you think.

Who ARE These Guys?

2005-09-12T11:28:00.000-05:00

Let's see how deep this rabbit-hole goes.

I am getting pretty fed up with the media and their coverage of Katrina and the chaos in New Orleans. Will somebody just shot me straight and tell me how bad it really is? GWB and USAToday.would have me believe that things are getting better and we may soon be swamped with aid. This is only a few days after Newsweek told me that all was lost and no one had lifted a finger. While no one is surprised that the media still sucks, one thing did catch my eye.

I have had to resort to reading foreign newspapers because they seem more interested in actual news than the political spin. If I want to know what is going on there, I have to read what a reporter for the Sydney (Australia) Times has to say. What I read there worried me more than a little and made me even more angry at our media.

There is an innocuous little paragraph in this story that made a little light bulb come on in my head:

"Some homeowners have hired companies such as Blackwater USA, whose contractors protect Americans in Iraq at a fee of $US1000 ($1300) a day."

Blackwater USA? Private Contractors in Iraq? Are these the (in)famous paramilitaries running around in Iraq that our media never seems to mention BY NAME? These "private contractors" have been a mystery to me, and a concern, for awhile. And now they are going to New Orleans.

I am severely concerned about the government hiring privately trained mercenaries in Iraq, but I am even more troubled with the news that they are also being sent to New Orleans. As you can see from Blackwater's website, these guys are indeed highly trained military personnel who can carry out rescue operations, provide security, and then help rebuild (?!?!?!?!). But their continued existence as a business depends upon another insurgency or another war or another occupation or another disaster. It is bad enough when we use our military for purely economic concerns, but a privately owned military operated for purely economic profit cannot be a good thing. Let's hope our own media gives this some attention soon.

17-10: My Nemesis

2005-09-10T18:12:00.000-05:00

I am now a college football free agent fan. At least until the following happens:

1) OU rediscovers its heart and starts playing real football.
2) Michigan wises up and fires Lloyd Carr and finds a head coach with some guts.
3) The rest of the Big 12 decides it should really try to be competitive again on the football field.
4) Contrary to #3, OSU fans should give up on ever trying to be competitive.

Regarding #1, it might happen soon. Or it may take years. As for #2, I have been throwing things at Loyd Carr's image on the TV set for YEARS (ask my wife). I have never been a fan of conservative football from a team that is loaded with talent. He has got to go. #3 is a real embarrasment when I watch the ESPN guys go on and on about how good the SEC is. Of course, they never mention ESPN's TV deal with the SEC. And I apologize for #4, but after listening to people try to put a positive spin on putting away (barely) Florida Atlantic late in the fourth quarter, I am beginning to wonder if OSU fans watch the same game the rest of the world does.

OK, enough sports raving. Classes start Wednesday, so I promise something of substance soon.

PS> Go Red Sox!

Maize & Blue+Crimson & Cream= Dilemma

2005-09-09T12:58:00.000-05:00

I would love to camp out & watch TV all weekend. Yankees v. Red Sox tonight becomes Michigan v. Notre Dame tomorrow afternoon becomes Texas v. Ohio State tomorrow night, with OU v. Tulsa mixed in with the US Open (for you, Brent) somewhere. But instead, I will have to watch it all save Mich v ND. "Why?" you ask. Because I did not look at the college football schedule when my pastor search committee set up our candidate interviews. Oh well. These candidates had better be worth missing such an event.

What I won't miss is UT v OSU. But I must say I am less than excited about it. As a native Okie, I despise the Texas Longhorns (team colors: vomit orange & panty-waste white) more than any other team in the land. Except for maybe the Ohio State Buckeyes (team motto: Yeah, we never really liked Maurice Clarett either). So what am I to do? I have finally accepted the fact that ONE of them must win, but which one should I favor?

I am now considering arguments as to which team deserves my allegiance. Tell me what you think. And if you think this is all silly, remember this: I may have single-handedly brought the Red Sox back from oblivion against the Yankees last year. I missed games one thru three but saw every precious inning of four thru seven. The rest is history.

So: Hook 'em Horns (yic) or Go Buckeyes (ugh)?

I'm Ready for My Retinal Scan

2005-09-08T12:20:00.000-05:00

Hurricanes, pennant races, wars, threats to national security, Supreme Court battles, college football disasters, and impending re-immerison into academia, and I choose to blog about this. I am out of my mind.

I went to that middle school. I know those people mentioned in the article. I have many fond memories of prowling the hallways during school... uh, wait. Let me think. No. No, I don't think I remember doing that. Sure I was a "good little kid", but I don't even remember much trobule being caused in the hallways during class. Now, the five-minute passing period was when all the action went down. I remember this one kid beating this other kid to a bloody pulp because of a ripped jacket (I never saw the rip). Yikes.

Don't get the wrong idea. I was not in a violent school. But keeping track of the date and time that every student leaves and returns to class sounds kind of Orwellian. Has it gotten that bad at ol' CMS?

One upside is that some smart kid is going to figure out how to forge a planner. Maybe sell blank pages and the means to insert them into the book as needed. That smart kid would get rich overnight. OK, maybe not rich. But he would never get beaten up again.

This blog entry dedicated to Stick & KDK.

East Coast

2005-09-02T10:40:00.000-05:00

I am gearing up for the old routines again. Soon I'll be setting an alarm to get up, eating breakfast before noon, and reading the actual news rather than just checking on the pennant race. Actually, the changes to be made soon are not that drastic. I have been working full time all summer. In a library. So maybe working is the wrong word. Regardless...

I think to reacquaint myself with blogging, I will give a rundown of my summertime journeys up and down the east coast. Here goes:

1) My travels began with my birthday present. Michelle scored some tix for a pleasant evening at Fenway Park. I had already fallen in love with Boston (and my wife, incidentally). And the Red Sox are near and dear to my heart as a Yankees-hater. The game was great. The city is perfect. Boston is old enough that it predates the Americn urge to build skywards when you can't build out. The result: you can see the sky! I could do urban if urban was Boston. And Michelle picked up a souvenir for the car in the parking garage. But don't ask about that!

2) The day after returing from Beantown, it was off to Philadelphia for the 4th of July. I am not one for crowds, and I am not one for hot weather, and I am not one for Elton John. So this evening was basically a disaster. Too hot, too crowded, and too late. Philly is just not my cup of tea anyway. I don't drink tea. Jersey has its problems, but at least it is not as depressing as Philly.

3) Our nation's capitol, where the license plates read "Taxation Without Representation", comes next. I had been here before (8th grade trip and last summer), so nothing special. We met some family in front of the White House. Lucky for us it was Vietnamese Armed Forces Day. Protests were still quiet, and we made our way elsewhere ASAP. Washington D.C. is nice, though. Not sure I would want to live there.

4) Next, mom & pop came up (finally). So I punished them with a weekend in New York City. Never have I been to a city so loud, so expensive, so crowded, and so abusive to the senses than NYC. And I have been to Beijing. If this is the center of the universe, then the universe sucks. Two days is all I can handle before I feel like a paranoid schizophrenic. And by that I mean a local. And did I mention that I hate the Yankees?

5) And most recently, Atlanta was home for an extended weekend. Michelle's family has collected there, so we drove down to see them. ATL has nothing in common with the previously mentioned cities except for its location near the Atlantic. It has a more distinctive Southern feel to it. This means real BBQ and Mexican food, and it also means that city planning had come a long ways when they built the place. Traffic in ATL is 30 mph on a 6-lane highway. Traffic from Jersey north is stop and go on a two-lane road. Pick your poison, but I would at least like to see potential for movement. Thankfully, we drove out the morning Katrina came in.

That was the summer you all missed. Now that I am heading back to school Sept 14 you may hear more from me. Or not.

A Date that Will Live...

2005-05-30T14:10:00.000-05:00

Does anybody out there know day what tomorrow is?

Need a hint?

Were you there?

What do you remember?

I remember kazoos...

Blogging Mission Statement

2005-05-17T18:23:00.000-05:00

In order to provide a more enjoyable blog-reading experience, I am taking stock of what it is I do here. Just what am I doing here? I don't think I have ever asked that question before sitting down to blog. I usually just get fired up about something that I just thought of or heard about.

While this may indeed be a winning strategy, I now realize my grave error. I am not taking my not-so-captive audience into consideration. In fact, I rarely think of who is reading this at all. This makes me:
A> arrogant
B> self-centered
C> a fool to expect anyone to read this
(except for you, stick, I know how boring work must be)

So, I am going to jot down a few preliminary ideas to blog about. Feel free to let me know if the following sound deathly boring or fruitful for you, my reader.

1) I am going to keep an online tab of my many experiences giving directions to random people who ask me how to find things. I have claimed that it is at least a weekly ocurrence between my wife and I, so we will all see if I am exaggerating. Sadly, however, this idea still seems to be for me.

2) I hope to comment from time to time on my summer reading chores. I am working through Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, translating Romans very slowly, and reading as much John H. Yoder as I can squeeze in. Feel free to tune these postings out, or not.

3) I have consciously tried to avoid using this blog as a running public diary because those make me insane. It would be nice to know what everyone is doing out there right up until the point where they tell you everything they are doing. That makes for terrible reading. But I may write more about major events in life while trying to avoid the autobiography.

4) I sometimes think I want to talk theology here. Then I read the Pub. There, a friend of mine has developed a knack for attracting every fundamentalist with a computer. The resulting fracas consists of little in the way of constructive dialogue. Straw men sit at every corner. I need that like I need a paper arse. If I wanted to argue with a fence post, I would move back to the Midwest. But maybe I can try to speak a theological word or two. Suggestions?

Enough of this. Sound off, offer advice, poke fun, or inquire.

Final Verdicts

2005-05-04T13:46:00.000-05:00

I turned in my last final at 8am this morning (I wrote it yesterday), so I am no longer burdened by the perils of academia, at least for a week or so. Then I start my summer reading. Looks like a little Kant & Nietzsche, then some Yoder. Ah, life.

In cse you are curious, here is how things turned out this semester. My initial impressions were close, but here is the exit poll.

The Doctrine of Atonement> So, I was hoping to get things settled in this class. Such as: are substitutionary atonement theories worthwhile? was Anselm nuts or just flawed? can I really live with just an Abelardian view? The answers are as follows: sorta, not really, and not at all. So I guess I did get some substantive goals met.

The Theology of Friedrich Schleiermacher> I discovered that the father of modern theology was more of a misunderstood genius. Don't blame him for what ails us, somebody had to be the first theologian to deal with "modernity".

Intro to Christian Mystical Tradition> A wild and crazy survey of wild and crazy people. Who was the wildest? Meister Eckhart, hands down.

Theory and Practice of Pastoral Care> One of the ebst practical theology classes I could ever imagine taking. We did not tlak about how to keep the deacons from firing you once! Instead we actually talked THEOLOGY about issues like alcoholism, family problems, counseling, etc. I am going to have to plug the prof's book, too. I am not going Xanga, OK? Just one book.

Preaching> I wrote and delievered my first funeral sermon (not at an actual funeral, but in class). Tough stuff, but I passed.

Field Education> No more seminary required field ed. 2 hours credit in the spring semester for a year-long internship of 15 hours a week. At least I got paid. Sure I did. And then I paid the school for the credit.

That is a wrap.

The Swamped Fox

2005-04-11T20:16:00.000-05:00

I am currently awash in a sea of looming and deadly deadlines. No new ideas to blog, for all my energies are going to getting my stuff done.

So, during my hiatus, feel free to leave an idea for something you would like to hear from me about. Anything. Or nothing.

Out

Death Penalty Revisited

2005-03-30T17:19:00.000-06:00

I have had much to say about the death penalty, but this was too much to pass up commenting on. It was almost as if I was able to write my own case study regarding the realtionship between Christianity and our legal system. Read about what happened here. It seems that a Colorado court overturned a death penalty sentence because a juror consulted the book of Leviticus.

How about that? Maybe I was not being too crazy when I suggested that the legal system was overstepping its grounds by dealing out life and death. What resources are jurors expected to draw from when dispensing capital punishment? The latest episode of Oprah? Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition? What could be more relevant to life and death than the Bible? If the jury is not allowed to draw from such texts, what is it that they are doing in the first place? My hunch is that they fall back to garden variety fears, common bias, or emotional response. The end result is little more than a more civilized, but just as angry, lynch mob.

If reason and rational discourse could lead us to believe that taking a human life is necessary, then I doubt we could prosecute anyone for murder. The penalty phase, therefore, is a discussion of "how bad" a crime was. What could be more subjective? I once heard a wise(?) man say that we should always error on the side of life. I still can't believe he said it, either.

Calling Former (and Current) Bison

2005-03-25T17:28:00.000-06:00

OBU grads scattered about, get ready for the next scandalous chapter in our alma mater's history. I am still sorting it all out, but it looks kinda bad.

It all started here. The public relations guy (who helped re-make the alumni mag) wrote a somewhat scathing letter to the editor of the Shawnee newspaper. Immanuel Baptist is moving from Main Street to a larger, more expensive building. Whether or not you agree with Mr. Kincaid's analysis, what happened next is outrageous.

According to blogs in the area, Mr. Kincaid has been asked to resign and has done so. Comments on this blog entry include a public response from the pastor if Immanuel and a counter from Mr. Kincaid.

It seems that alumni have been sounding off for a long time now to no avail. So let's brainstorm about what we could do to be heard. Any suggestions, leave a comment.

Let's Get Maundy

2005-03-24T16:20:00.000-06:00

Not much to say this week. So I am going to have an informal poll:

Can you watch an NCAA tournament game after a Maundy Thursday service?

I am a Protestant, so I am new to all of this liturgical stuff.

C'mon, now is your chance to sound off...

GWB and J-Lo

2005-03-16T14:32:00.000-06:00

Enough theology for awhile, let's get back to politics for at least a day or two...

My new thesis is that W is the J-Lo of the political world. I cannot remember a time when J-Lo was actually famous for something other than being famous. Everything she has touched has turned to caca, from movies to music to marriages to her "performance" at the Grammys. (Did she just learn Spanish that day?) Yet she acts like we should all support her and care about what she is doing as a "talented artist". The only people who think she is worth all the attention must be the people who tell her to keep dancing and singing and acting long after it is obvious she can only do the first one. When your world is encapsulated in your entourage, you are asking for trouble. After J-Lo's career is over, what are we going to remember her for? Two things: Ben and Gigli. Neither is a fond memory.

Last time I checked, W had not done much well either. I appreciated the way he rallied the country after 9-11, but then came Afghanistan and Iraq. Neither worked out as planned (if planned). Isn't the economy supposed to have taken off? And what about the record budget deficits? And the WMD in Iraq debacle? It seems that he, like J-Lo, has shown some promise at times only to be a tremendous disappointment later. But for some reason, we keep giving GWB and J-Lo the capital necessary to keep going. Do either of them learn from their mistakes? No. Just as J-Lo had "Shall We Dance", GWB is acting like he was the perfect first-term president.

His recent appointments of a new ambassador to the U.N. and a president of the World Bank are indicative of a man who has become captivated by his own entourage. John Bolton and Paul Wolfowitz represent the most controversial foreign policy views of his administration. And now they are in key positions to dictate US foreign policy for the next few years. I would not ask W to make drastic changes. He did win the election, after all. But if he does not show me that he can operate and think independently of his neo-conservative entourage, his legacy is going to die with them. And if you do think that the neo-con legacy is going to be short-lived, just watch the Middle East carefully and see how much gratitude we get for our "liberation" after our troops leave.

How to Win Your NCAA Tourney Pool

2005-03-15T16:30:00.000-06:00

As you hurriedly fill out those March Madness brackets, I want to share a few recent theological musings . . .

I am suddenly fascinated with the statement: "God does not care who wins the NCAA tournament. God has more important things to worry about." I am sure that at one time or another I myself have made just such an utterance. Surely in a world seemingly full of war, terror, starvation, and disaster, God should be attending to the sufferings of the people and not some ridiculous game, right?

But doesn't that statement imply a limitation on God's providential abilities? We surely do not believe that if God is busy watching a basketball game things go on behind God's back. It cannot be the case that God can only handle one thing at a time, or else all hell would break lose. Rather, perhaps God does care who wins the tourney. What we may be trying to express when we deride God's providential hold over sports is that God will most likely not cater to our personal emotional attachments to specific teams. God surely has a larger purpose in mind for basketball.

So, I guess that if any of us were intelligent enough to see what God intended to accomplish through March Madness, that person would be able to fill out a flawless bracket. Of course, that person would then be as smart as God, not to mention very rich.

PS> If anybody calls me a Calvinist in a comment, I am going to vomit.

Faith Explained

2005-03-11T17:17:00.000-06:00

It is good to hear what old friends are saying and thinking via blog. An old friend of mine recently posted a few thoughts about faith. Basically, Adam said what I have been trying to say on a few of my posts, but he put it far more eloquently. I have been addressing the theo-political issues: my friend addresses the soul. Read it here.

While at least one of his commenters has attacked him for (supposedly) tending towards an Abelardian "moral example" idea of the atonement of Jesus, I disagree. The importance of Christ's divinity is not limited to his penal-substitutionary atonement. The sacrificial death is only half of the story. It is the life of Jesus that reveals God to us. And since we believe that Jesus was God, we can trust that what we saw in Jesus was what we can expect of God.

Confession, Law & Order

2005-03-08T10:51:00.000-06:00

I was up way too late last night. I was researching a paper, then watching the Daily Show, then I caught the end of an episode of Law and Order... or maybe it was L&O SVU... no wait, it might have been CSI... or CSI Miami, or CSI NY even... I could have been NYPD Blue... oh well, what difference does it really make? Anyway, I have been pondering the reason these shows and their spin-off and knock-offs are on about 140 hours a week. And I think I got it. Maybe. Here goes my theory:

I have commented before on the ever blurry lines between what we expect of lawyers and what we (used to) expect of priests. Our legal system, in my opinion, is far overstepping the boudaries of "blind justice" and beginning to take a role in more priestly functions, specifically the authority over life and death. Asking juries to speculate on a person's right to live under the guidance of lawyers and judges seems to me to be beyond the realm of reason and evidence. But, if you disagree, read my blog post on it at least.

It also seems that the general public is becoming more and more interested in the entire judicial process. And not just the trial itself, but the investigation and even the incarceration and its aftermath (see Martha Stewart). In the absence of real-world examples, it seems that a well-scripted and artificial substitute does the trick as well. People love Law & Order not for the characters but for the events. We watch these "cases" proceed from the detectives to the lawyers to a verdict. What are wanting to see? What is it about an otherwise mundane and predictable progression that makes it so compelling? Perhaps the same thing that used to make the church and its Gospel compelling to so many: truth and confession.

The drama these shows produce almost always surrounds the one moment when a victim or an accused party is confronted with the truth about a situation. The lawyers and detectives spend their time trying to uncover the deep and hidden thing that could not be spoken of. The guilty party tries to evade but rarely is able to do so. When the confession comes, time stops in the room. Sometimes we are shocked or outraged, other times we pity. But regardless of our reaction, we feel better once we know what a person has done. Before the truth is known, the accused is an alien to us. When we know the truth about a person, we can then choose to forgive or condemn. The truth allows the accused to re-enter the community, whether in guilt or innocence. The confession is the centerpiece of every show. No matter if the detectives discover it, the lawyers elicit it, or the guilty offers it. It is the moment when we can see that which is true in the other that compels us to watch such a formulaic show.

The church used to be a place of confession. Even Protestants once featured a confession in their churches. But the church has not been allowed to pursue confession of guilt in our modern society. To force someone to label themselves as sinful is seen as oppressive, self-righteous, and hypocritical. But this is not the point of confession at all. The reason we confess is because we know ourselves to be guilty, of something at the very least. We all know of something terrible we once did that has become our deepest secret. We cannot bear to tell anyone, so we must separate ever so slightly from those around us. Our hidden guilt alienates us. Confession is not how we condemn ourselves before our neighbors, rather it is how we reunite ourselves with our community. How can anyone feel forgiven and accepted unless they have confessed? When the church gives up its confession of guilt, it will be pursued elsewhere. Television will fill the void and teach us that the truth does indeed set us free.

Hey, It's a Start

2005-03-05T11:13:00.000-06:00

The Supreme Court recently struck down perhaps the worst part of our criminal justice system's reliance on revenge and retribution. No more killing of people who cannot even vote. But if it is "cruel and unusual for an 18 year old, how is it any different for a 30 year old? All well, I will excuse the Supremes for now. One good thing a year may be almost too much for our legal system. I commend them for being reasonable and maybe even merciful, but most of all I commend them for being right. Let's hope they get this 10 Commandments thing right, too.

But I still agree with Stanley Hauerwas. If we really believe in the death penalty as a means of discouraging criminals, why don't we put a guillotine on Wall Street? That would be very discouraging to the next Enron perps, wouldn't it?

To Prove My Point

2005-02-24T15:42:00.000-06:00

I could not have asked for a better example to illustrate the point of my last two posts. The Southern Baptist Seminary in KY recently dropped its program in pastoral counseling, which included behavioral sciences and psychotherapy, in favor of a "biblical counseling" curriculum. Read the article here.

The dean criticized pastoral counseling for being "naive" about the presuppositions of secular sciences and their application in pastoral care. He claims that there are too many "contradictory and incoherent" theories involved in psychotherapy. Many psychotherapists have vastly different opinions on both the methods and the data involved. Therefore, the Bible alone is the best foundation for pastoral care.

The problem is that the Bible is subject to just as many interpretations as psychotherapy. Worse yet, basing pastoral counseling on a text alone opens up the possibility for terrible abuses. Consider the example of counseling an adulterer. Are you going to choose Leviticus 20:10 and recommend death, or are you going to choose John 8 and excuse it entirely? Odds are that you are going to have to do more than just read the text. You will need to know about what mental and emotional states were involved. You may also consider whether or not true repentance has been found. Then you must begin the task of reconciliation by offering advice on interpresonal relationships. The Bible does indeed offer wonderful categories for understanding how to deal with the issue (indeed, for a Christian it offers the only categories). But pastorally speaking, you are going to rely on an operative understanding of the human psyche anyways and not just the biblical text alone. It may as well be a thoroughly examined psychotherapeutic method than one that is presumed and never identified.

When we make Scripture a magical answer book, we are ignoring both its true purpose and our own limitations. Our theological doctrine of inspiration has run amuck and is ravaging also our theological anthropology. Pastors trained to give counsel solely from knowledge of the Bible will only be able to project their own natural misundersandings of human nature onto all of their clients. There will only be a discussion about facts and data culled from the Bible to fit the agenda of the counselor. Serious psychological disorders do not arise from biblical misunderstandings or lack of faith. These issues lay deep within the human psyche and not within biblical ignorance.

To an Old Friend and an Alma Mater, Pt. 2

2005-02-19T22:05:00.000-06:00

Lately theology has been given a bad name. Theologians are those stuffy, old, smart jerks who sit around and write boring treatises on things that do not matter in the least. Their work seems to be the very definition of irrelevant for two reasons.

First, many view education as vocational in nature. Theology will not teach you how to make money. In fact, it may teach you to give it all away at times. In an era of "practical" education for the ministry, church leaders are not even trained in theology. Instead the emphasis is placed upon the pastoral. Ministers are trained to counsel, evangelize, preach, and baptize well enough, and for good reason. But ask these ministers why or how it was that Christ was both God and man, and you will only be told to read your Bible again. Which brings me to my next point...

Second, for the last century one single topic has so dominated theological discourse that it has subordinated all else to it. The inspiration of Scripture has been the source of heated controversy since Darwin and historical-critical methodology challenged "traditional" ideas about the Bible. Christianity has spent the last century trying to rescue its sacred text from "relativism". In doing so, it has misidentified the Bible and relativized its own tradition.

In John Stott's book Evangelical Truth, this misidentification comes clear. On p. 50, Stott draws an analogy between Christ and the Bible in order to explain inspiration. Just as Christ is both divine and human, the Bible shares a divine and human author. While I can agree with Stott, it must be made much more clear that this is merely an analogy. One is "like" the other. The relationship between Jesus' divinity and humanity was such that it is intelligible to say both that "Jesus is God" and "Jesus is man". With Scripture, we can only say that it is both "the word of God" and "the word of man". The difference is subtle but outrageously important. The Bible has no intrinsic divinity (which Stott does point out). The Bible has no place in the Trinity. The Bible is not the subject of theology! The subject of theology is God, who is revealed in Jesus. Scripture provides theologians with a set of data to work with, indeed the most important set imagineable. But from there, much work must be done.

Scripture is no substitute for sound, rational, theological exploration. Our yearning for a simple piety based on an infallible text is naive, dangerous, and hopeless once we begin the task of educating Christians. If we base our entire religion solely upon a text, rather than upon our God, we are preparing ourselves for idolatry.

To all Christians seeking to become educated, look and see that many men and women throughout history have applied their various skills and talents towards making God known. These theologians loved Scripture, meditated upon it, and never departed from it. We will disagree with many who came before us, but to do so is an invitation to continue the discourse of faith to the next generation.

To an Old Friend and an Alma Mater

2005-02-18T17:51:00.000-06:00

Reason and revelation: revelation and reason. It is the great bane of all Christian education to have to endlessly participate in academic gymnastics in order to properly define the two in relation to each other. Issues of precedence and exclusivity are extremely important to clearly delineate. Many approaches to the proper arrangement of reason and revelation can be seen. Some end up emphasizing one at the expense of the other. A few emphasize one to the benefit of the other. Still more choose one and leave the other out completely. But that is not what interests me today. What interests me is the content of each.

Reason seems clear enough. It is generally being smart about stuff. Knowing the causes of hurricanes and the flu, the proper taxonomy of flora and fauna, and the differences between the id and the superego fit quite nicely under Reason. Many liberal arts also fit here, like Spanish and philosophy, art and drama. In my experience, Christian education either ignores this side entirely (see bible colleges) or excels at it. Those that excel at it often do so to their own detriment. Academic discipline makes traditional Biblical piety seem empty. "Meaning" in the text is no simple thing any longer. Evidence, proof, suspicion, epistemology, metaphysics, history, and language come into play. The text is no longer "ours" but "theirs", and we are left to guess and question each other without the possibility of real answers.

So by the time we arrive at revelation, our faith is often wounded. The only source of revelation we have ever known has been challenged. The Bible may not be what it has always seemed (nor what the church has always taught it to be). Even if we say that we still hold revelation to be truthful and accurate, we are left holding a book that seems far from perfect. Our reason has overcome our conception of revelation. Why did this happen? How did this happen?

I can only answer that question by way of personal testimony. Christian education did indeed radically alter my faith. I have never read the Bible in the same manner as I once did. But I still count myself as a faithful Christian, for I have been fortunate enough to become immersed in a world that my Christian education dared not tread. Theology. I have discovered the joys of Gregory of Nazianzus, Athanasius, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Anselm of Canterbury, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Karl Barth, John H. Yoder, and Stanley Hauerwas. These wonderful theologians have taught me more about the faith than 1,000 sermons ever did. But this was not part of my "Christian" education. It seems that there is no room for the Christian tradition in Christian education. The only revelation most Christian educations include is a brief survey of all our extremely complicated texts in the form of Old & New Testament survey courses. It seems to me that what should be just as important is the centuries of reasonable scholarship devoted to making sense of the text. Theology has been my guide in understanding how to apply rational principles to matters of faith. Training in theology enables students to apply their new skills to their faith.

Tomorrow (or the next day) I will continue this monologue. I will discuss why theology has been left out, what the results of its exclusion have been, and make a recommendation for Christian education.

Happy (?!) Lent

2005-02-10T08:16:00.000-06:00

I know, I am a day late on this one.

It seems that Lent is for the "in" crowd this year. Flipping through some TV channels yesterday, I noticed the mark of the cross in ash on the foreheads of several people. One of the guys on Crossfire had one, and then somebody else on ESPN's Around the Horn. OK, so maybe those two examples do not necessarily make Ash Wednesday an "in" thing. Did anybody see Paris Hilton yesterday? Snoop? American Idol? Report your own ash sighting here.

As a symbol of repentance, I am not sure that an ashy forehead will ever become too popular. And since most people associate it with Catholicism, there are two big strikes against it (see: John Kerry). Most Protestants look at the ashes as a mark of the beast. And that is too bad, because Lent has more to offer than an end to Mardi Gras.

This year I am going to be reading Henri Nouwen's Show Me the Way during Lent. I think I am going to take this whole "40 days of repentance and meditation" seriously for once and see where it takes me on Easter. There is just something about the concept of a church calendar that appeals to me. Giving our time to the church should mean much more than showing up on Sunday morning or getting involved in various projects. It could also mean ordering our lives in such a way that the full reality of Easter can capture our hearts and minds. Instead of merely living day to day until Easter, we can participate in the season of redemption as it grows closer.

I am only preaching a little bit. I am really planning on using this blog to keep myself accountable to the season. So, here it is. In writing. For all to see. I invite you all to join me, publicly or privately.

Faithful God, trusting in you,
we begin
the forty days of conversion and penance.
Give us the strength for Christian discipline,
that we may renounce evil
and be decisive in doing good.
We ask this through Jesus Christ.

Maybe It Was the Rapture?

2005-02-03T19:26:00.000-06:00

This story is just one terrific reason to keep close tabs on my news links. If you never check them out, you miss out on great stuff. Check out the front page of my "hometown rag" soon before they remove the picture. It is priceless.

PS> Rumor has it that the cat has hired an attorney.

On A Momentous Day?

2005-01-30T17:30:00.000-06:00

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

2005-01-25T19:30:00.000-06:00

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

2005-01-20T12:37:00.000-06:00

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

2005-01-18T10:29:00.000-06:00

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

2005-01-07T08:50:00.000-06:00

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.

On a Bad Idea

2004-12-23T09:07:00.000-06:00

Sincere apologies for not following up that last diatribe. Maybe later, or not.

I have been writing and reading at a feverish pace due to the lack of goodwill among my school's administrators. We take our fall finals in January, so if you wish to have a stress free break you must finish everything possible before you go on holiday. What looks like a ridiculous mistake in reading and understanding a calendar is actually a calculated maneuver that allows Ivy League grad students something else to complain about.

Must hurry off now to get on a train, then a plane, then land on the Plains. Merry Christmas.

Peace to you all

On Legalizing the Lynch Mob

2004-12-13T17:10:00.000-06:00

Today I watched a group of Californians decide that a man's mother was not emotionally moving enough to persuade them that her son did not deserve death.

I wrote this blog entry twice before settling on that opening line. It just seems too outlandish to summarize the events that transpired during the sentencing phase of Scott Peterson's murder trial with those few words. But after struggling with it, I can do no other. Never before has the very idea of a "sentencing phase" been such a stark slap in the face to my sensibilites. Laying the morality of capital punishment itself to the side, isn't the typical procedure of this phase little more than an official formation of a lynch mob? It seems that when the trial ends, the woman holding the scales and the sword removes her blindfold. Objective reason and the burden of proof are discarded for photographs of corpses and the emotional ravings of mothers who have lost their children. Psychologists may speculate on the guilty party's mental state, capacity for violence, and emotional stability; but beyond that, all facts are laid aside. What matters during the sentencing phase is whether or not your peers like you.

Our legal system is completely overstepping its bounds when it leaves the land of proof, empirical evidence, and reasonable doubt and begins to judge the humanity of its subjects. Such things cannot be done, and indeed must not be done in such a "secular" venue. No jury can speak for God, and no witness testimony can reveal a man's soul.

While I personally do not support capital punishment, my argument probes much deeper than this into our legal system. Even if you support the right of the state to kill its chief offenders, you must pay close attention to the manner in which it is done. The court should never attempt to make claims beyond that which it can justify blindly. Emotional appeals to a common sense of decency that is not also legally defined and equal for everyone must never be allowed. Pay close attention and make sure that the arguments used in the "sentencing phase" do not correspond to those backroom discussions that once led to a hastily organized, unruly lynch mob. I fear that Mr. Peterson got no better treatment than many of those nameless victims. If we wish to make any claims beyond his guilt or innocence in the crime, we have left the realm of law and entered the realm of theology. If the court wishes to delve in the subject of divinity, so be it. But let it do so openly, and no longer may we hide our own thirst for vengeance behind the veil of law and order.

On the BCS

2004-12-07T08:16:00.000-06:00

An open letter to ESPN.com's Pat Forde in response to his article
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls04/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=1939745

I just finished reading your extended lament over what havoc the BCS has wrought on the wonderful New Year's football holiday. You say that it has drained the life out of every other bowl game that is not the "big one". Your solution, then, is a playoff. How creative!
But do you not see that a playoff would only serve to drain the life out of the last few weeks of the regular season? Who would have watched OU paste CU if they knew that even a Sooners loss, however unlikely, would still have not dropped them from the top 8 (or 16)? Same goes for UCLA's valiant effort the same day against top-ranked USC. Letting the top 8 teams battle it out for supremacy also has the effect of draining the life out of every other team's season-making game. UCLA had a chance to vindicate their own season by snatching a shot at the title away from their hated rival. That made for an exciting, emotional contest that would have been lame otherwise.

Furthermore, setting up this playoff of 8 (or 16) would still stir up controversy. You can no more easily pick the top 2 than the top 8. Is Boise St. in or out? Va Tech? Michigan? You would end up with just as much campaigning, only from more people. More teams would have to run up scores to bolster their case of being in the top 8, just as Utah had to do to move into the top 6.

I think the media stirs up more trouble with the BCS than the fans would ever notice. We just want to watch good football. The real "problem" with college sports is that there are so many teams that do not play each other during the season, making comparisons the subject of watercooler discussions rather than an eventual meeting in the playoffs. And that is fine with me, because I am not a big fan of the NFL. I do not want college sports to look the same. I am a born and bred Oklahoma Sooner fan. I realize that things have gone our way the last two years especially. But I also remember the not-so-remote lean years, when the only thing we had to look forward to was possibly upsetting Texas or Nebraska and ruining their hopes of an undefeated championship season. No matter how bad your team is one year, all it takes is one Saturday to turn everything around and give the players and coaches and fans something to smile about. The biggest problem with the BCS is that it places the focus entirely on the national champion and ignores everything else college football has to offer its fans every Saturday.

Thanks for your time

On a Peace of Advent

2004-12-05T16:48:00.000-06:00

This second Sunday of Advent is dedicated to a meditation on peace. This theme is what is causing me great deliberation. Normally, I would jump at the chance to share an Advent lesson. But this one, I am afraid, is lost on most of our churches. Anything I would have to say about peace would surely be lost in the midst of political rhetoric and fear. But, I am sure that the Lord worried about such things as well when he sent the Son. The world was not going to treat a Prince of Peace fairly, as we can clearly see in the gospels and reflect upon at Easter. But God did it anyway, so I will write the next paragraph inspired by the hope of the Lord.

The message of peace most of us heard this morning dealt with our family relationships and friends. We should treat them with peace, but do not the pagans and non-believers do the same? Our practice of peace should be extraordinary, just as Jesus commanded in the Sermon on the Mount. And this peace is extended to even our enemies. I am discouraged by the number of Christians who feel secure because our nation is fighting pre-emptive wars. This is not the kingdom that was begun in a manger. The Christmas message of peace often gets drowned out by the competing visions of the kingdom found in liberalism, nationalism, and economics. Anyone who understands the central image of Christmas, that of Christ in a manger, will imediately see that the peace of the Advent has no place in this world. It will never "work". But the same logic says that God does not belong in this world. God's kingdom did not "work". It ended in scandal and crucifixion, but also in resurrection and glorification. Let us be thankful this Christmas that God did not let our rejection of God's politics prevent the Incarnation and our redemption.

Chew on that for awhile, and see if it breaks any teeth.

On the End

2004-11-30T17:51:00.000-06:00

http://entertainment.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=174659

On Good Counsel

2004-11-30T17:12:00.000-06:00

Ok, I promised to re-visit the "What's next for Iraq?" issue with an answer and not just criticism. So I will, and I have my good friend's commentary to thank for the inspiration.

We need to reach back into history and see that a parliamentary system is the best way to wean a society away from dictatorship. English history should be our model instead of our own warped ideas about the Founding Fathers creation of democracy ex nihilo. When England began experimenting with democracy, the king retained a great deal of the power. Parliament could advise initially, then later gained control of the purse. Actual policy decisions were left to the executive for several hundred years or more. Now, we see a strong Parliament in England that did not spring up overnight. What happened in France was a wholesale destruction of the executive branch, and the result was nightmarish.

So, my proposal would be to create a Parliament but make it quite clear that the executive branch will hold the most power. Somebody has to make the decisions, and somebody has to be accountable to the minority groups. It is much easier to hold a Prime Minister accountable than a deliberative body. If that Prime Minister was charged with maintaining the peace and safety of every citizen, and then given the power to do so, minority groups may feel more at ease. Something has to preserve their rights, and although dictators are bad people who abuse power, they also prevent wholesale slaughter that leads to great unrest. It is in their best interests to be the sole agitator, so dictators never allow for two groups to obliterate each other. This dynamic will be missing in the early days of the Iraqi republic. A strong Prime Minister leading a large parliament will maintain some sense of continuity in society and encourage peace.

If freedom is to keep on the march, it needs to keep its wits about it. There is nothing natural about democracy. Every democratic nation on the globe today has only arrived there through great trial and countless mistakes. We forget this as Americans, being the inheritors of English common law and tradition. If only we had a few kings and military coups in our history, we would see how difficult a task we face in Iraq.

On Driving with Bono

2004-11-28T12:07:00.000-06:00

I just got back from a little Thanksgiving jaunt down to Atlanta to spend the holiday with my wife's family. Many aunts and uncles. Great turkey. Southern hospitality. Marvelous.

Except for the 14+ hours plus it took to drive there. And then another 14+ back. But it was pretty easy going coming back north. My wife and I stopped at a Wal-Mart (confession time) and picked up U2's new disc, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb ($9 at Wal-Mart that day) . I must say I am impressed. Somewhere between all those charity fundraisers, UN visits to Africa, and Super Bowl halftime shows, Bono and The Edge managed to cook up something special for the fans. I love it, but before you run out and buy it you must know that I am still spinning The Joshua Tree at least every month or two.

On Martial Law & Elections

2004-11-23T12:00:00.000-06:00

I just put two and two together, folks.

Iraq has been declared (acknowledged?) under a state of martial law since the assualt on Fallujah began about a week ago. This entails travel restrictions, curfews, military police, the whole nine yards. This is all fine and good, and perhaps should have been done a few months ago. The martial law will continue until sometime in January.

Also coming in January, Iraq's first democratic elections. I do have my fingers crossed hoping this really works, but it seems like an abrupt transition, doesn't it? At best, there will be a three week period without martial law in which all the campaigning will be done. Iraqis spent decades under a military dictator, over a year of chaos after an invasion, several months more of martial law, and now we are pretending that it will only take a few weeks to install a democracy?

Ask yourself the question. If you were an Iraqi, would you trust the results of this election? Can we really expect society to just suddenly "open up" and become a liberal democracy that trusts in the electorate? Our election in 2000 was contested enough, and we are people with centuries of trust in the institutions of democracy. Iraqis have no such trust. As far as they know, the next president could become another dictator upon gaining power. Or the next government could severely discriminate against the minority parties. In a fragmented country with so many competing interests at work, it may not be realistic to expect everything to come together to form a 2 or 3 party system in the three weeks of peace and democracy that Iraq has coming. None of the minority groups are going to feel safe, and revolution or assasination may be viable options to the disenfranchised.

And don't ask me for a better idea yet. That is another blog, another day.

On My Name

2004-11-20T21:23:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine had this website posted on his blog. It tells you what your name might mean for your personality. I dunno, but this seems kinds far-fetched. You read mine and tell me if you think it is accurate. And please, be gentle in your comments.

Matthew
Your name of Matthew has created a most expressive nature, idealistic and inspirational, driven with a strong inner urge to be of service in some way that would uplift humanity as a whole. However, there is a tendency to assume too heavy a burden of responsibility for others, which leads to worry and undue concern. People with problems are drawn to you as they recognize you as one who has understanding and gives not only sympathy and comfort but provides also some constructive advice or assistance. You have a generous quality to your nature, but you must guard carefully against giving more than you receive or you will find yourself doing without because you have helped someone else. You love people, family, home, and friends and try to be a parent to the whole human race. While you have generally stable conditions in your personal life, you may experience some problems in business affairs through a tendency to be scattering and inattentive to details. Any health problems would show as tension in the nervous system brought on by worry.

This might just be a whole lot of bunk, eh?

Check it out at http://www.pressanykey.com/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/pak//names.cgi?&

On Trying to Be More Clear

2004-11-19T15:08:00.000-06:00

I may not have made myself entirely clear yesterday, so I will reiterate. Please read carefully before posting a response.

My friend Stick's comment yesterday nailed it. The red states voted against Kerry because Democrats have been seen as weak on defense as far back as Nixon. It had nothing to do with religion and everything to do with the culture of the South and American politics.

Southern Baptist voters do vote for Bush. They also vote to ban homosexual marriage. And they rarely (if ever) vote for a Democrat. But this is no different from the rest of the South. I am only saying that it is possible that the Southern part should trump the Baptist part when analyzing the election. Look again at Oklahoma. Did Christian voters go against their church and vote to allow gambling on Indian Land and the lottery? I am saying no. People were not listening to their pastors (though their pastors were egging them on undoubtedly). They were voting how they normally do. Christians may have voted their "values", but those values are more easily identified as Southern than Christian.

What is at stake here? Do not look at Bush's majority in the popular vote as the result of a religious revival or national renewal movement. Those were not all Christians. True Christians are probably as divided as my friend Stick said in his comment. Both parties stink. Regional and traditional politics won this election. The media is just trying to ignore the fact that the majority of America was red. So they blame it on the religious zealots who make easy prey. The easiest way to discredit Bush is to blame his election on religious fanaticism. This is certainly not the case. The majority of America does not seem to like gay marriage, abortion, the UN, and France. And that majority is certainly not exclusively Christian. But that makes for a boring news story.

On the Christian Right to Rule

2004-11-18T18:30:00.000-06:00

I know I told you I was done with politics until after the new year, but I cannot be silent any longer. I hear so many people sounding off about the role Christianity played in the election that I feel like I have to say something.

I am only going to say this once: Do not blame/praise Christians for the re-election of Geroge W. Bush. It is not our fault/victory. It is indicative of a large scale political movement in America that just happens to somewhat coincide with the ramblings of madmen like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Richard Land.

First, let it be remembered that these "Southern fundamentalists" all reside in states that were blood red long before Bush or Kerry. The "solid South" is a phenomenon that is as old as Nixon. No red state was going to vote for Kerry with national defense on the line. Everybody south of the Mason-Dixon and west of the Great Lakes but short of the coast "knows" that Democrats are weak on defense.

Second, the churches that the "moral majority" represent are not growing. Christianity in the South is in a long and slow spiral when you look at actual church attendance. You cannot have a Christian resurgence without a resurgence of Christianity. No massive revivals are breaking out anywhere, including the red states. The Southern Baptist Convention is in the midst of budget cuts, and the long-term prognosis is not so great. The church leaders have no national majority behind them. They just happened to be on the winning side.

Finally, take a close look at the election results in Oklahoma. All those Christians who flocked to the polls as a majority certainly voted for GWB and Tom Coburn and the ban on same-sex marriage. But they also must have voted against "Christian morality" as defined by their church leaders (www.gamblingmouse.com) when they approved both the state lottery and casino style gambling on Indian land. How can the church achieve such stunning victory yet also suffer such astonishing defeat? Simple, voters were not informed by religious convictions but socio-political concerns. (Isn't that a liberal democracy in action, though?)

I do not find a very convincing argument anywhere pointing to GWB riding a tide of religious renewal to a stunning victory. And do not think for a minute that GWB considers conservative evangelicals as anything other than a "part" of his base. He has not, and will not, recognize any of these religious leaders as integral to his win. There will be no cabinet appointements from Bob Jones University, or even from Oklahoma Baptist U. He had the red states before a single Christian ever marked a ballot. That is politics at work, America. Before we go to the press and claim to have a "moral majority", we better come clean and admit that our "moral" majority is not necessarily a "Christian" majority.

On Hiatus

2004-11-16T17:33:00.000-06:00

I am going to be mending for a few days, so there will be no post until the weekend probably. Until then, I leave you with this. . .

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2004-11-16-anf-bias_x.htm

That should give you enough to talk about with your friends until I am back to a more regular schedule.

On the Spontaneous Pneumothorax

2004-11-15T17:10:00.000-06:00

Tall and skinny guys just never have things go their way. I have been trying for years to get used to the idea that pants will just never cover my ankles. But the latest piece of info declaring that tall skinny guys will never rule the earth came to me last Thursday in the form of a collapsed lung. It seems that tall skinny guys are susceptible to that bane of humankind, the spontaneous pneumothorax.

In about an hour I went from sitting and reading a book (dangerous, man, dangerous) to an emergency room. My right lung had sprung a leak, and the air that was filling my chesty cavity was collapsing it. To solve the problem (!), they stuck a metal tube into my chest cavity and pressed it against my lung. For 24 hours they pulled out all the extra air from my chest and allowed my lung to reinflate. Then they had to make sure they did not cause any extra leaks. Four days, 150cc of morphine, and countless blood pressure checks later, they released me. A warning to all you tall, skinny guys: this hurt like the dickens! I have a wound that pierces half of my abdominal cavity!

On the bright side, I got to know the healthcare professionals at the lovely Princeton Medical Center. It is a teaching hospital, so all the residents and medical students flocked to my bedside every moring and evening to catch the next thrilling chapter of the saga. My thorax will be discussed for weeks, I am sure. If you ever want to visit PMC, be sure to take advantage of the valet parking next to the emergency entrance.

On Church Signs

2004-11-10T16:12:00.000-06:00

I am not fond of church marketing. A well-advertised church is usually larger, more wealthy, and often empties out quickly on Sundays after the benediction. The congregation is more prone to leave when the pastor does, never really finding a home among the people. Churches usually market things like music and entertaining preaching, things which I do not put a high premium on personally.

But yet, I got an interesting e-mail this week. The church I am now a member (and a deacon) of is situated on a roadside where at least 5,000 cars a day pass by. If it sounds hard to believe, just trust me. It is a New Jersey phenomenon. One of those 5,000 people yesterday saw our sign and wrote an e-mail via the church website (again, not something I personally spent time on). She wanted to know if there is anything to hope for in this world. So, our webmaster told her what we as a church hope for. I don't guess this would have happened without a good sign.

So, help me out people. Do I need to lighten up and get on board with the Rick Warren PR train? Is that the way the 21st century church is going to do things? I think I feel a catharsis coming on.

On Growing Up a Stoops

2004-11-09T08:42:00.000-06:00

Whatever happened to Mike Stoops? C'mon, surely you remember the brother of Bob Stoops and one-time co-defensive coordinator at the University of Oklahoma. It seems like so long ago he set out to create his own name. He left the long shadow of his brother in Norman for the head coaching job at Arizona. Does that jog your memory?

I am really rooting for the guy, honestly. But you gotta wonder what might have been. I don't think the new arrangment has benefitted anyone. Arizona is 1-7 this year and has made its debut on ESPN's Bottom 10 (which, incidentally, is a must read every week).

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=bottom10049

Not only does Arizona stink, OU's defense cannot seem to remember that wide outs are eligible receivers in college football. The DB's in Soonerland are getting beat like they stole something several times a quarter. I bet that Thanksgiving will be interesting at the Stoops' house.

On Dear Alma Mater

2004-11-06T09:56:00.000-06:00

I guess times are tight on Bison Hill. Money is scarce, and since the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma spent all their money campaigning against the state lottery (and failing, I might add), they have none to give to their flagship school.

Never fear, however. The geniuses in the PR department came up with a grand scheme. This baby is gonna sell like Spam-cakes, so you better check it out now. They might sell out by next March or something. It will make a great gift idea; but if you get one for me, I will never speak to you again.

www.raleychapel.com

Buy one today!
Or tomorrow!
Or at all!
Please?!?!

On My Classes

2004-11-04T17:07:00.000-06:00

Just in case somebody out is wondering what I do all day, here is a list of my current course enrollment along with a few remarks. This is what I do with 85% of my time.

Systematic Theology II> Observing Presbyterians as they worship, I mean, read Calvin's Institutes.

Interpretation of Job> Not a class about the economy.

History of the Radical Reformation> It was radical. It was reformation. Hence the name.

Church, Community, Nation> A 1960s revolutionary becomes an Episcopal minister, then earns a PhD and teaches Presbyterian seminary students. I could not make this stuff up if I tried.

Preaching> This is a participatory lab. I now hear 6 sermons a week. Pity me.

Internship> I am an assistant to the Baptist chaplain at Princeton University working with students. If I have ever made anyone around me feel dumb, I sincerely apologize. I now feel dumb every day.

Give me some feedback. What should I be taking?

On Keeping One's Word

2004-11-03T19:58:00.000-06:00

I could have a whole lot to say today about what has transpired within the last 48 hours. But, I promised that I was done with politics for the year. I intend to keep that promise, hoping that my example will encourage others to do the same. Maybe someday, this blog entry will be a turning point in history. It will represent the day we all began telling the truth. People will look back and say, "Man, I don't know what a 'resident alien' is, but that guy sure inspired me to be a straight-shooter." Good luck, America. And good night.

I am Matt Porter, and I approved this message.
This message paid for by Porter-Kinzie '08

In Case You Missed It...

2004-11-02T14:28:00.000-06:00

The election has so dominated national news that I wanted to make sure that nobody missed out on this story:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6387111/

It looks like the casinos in Atlantic City will be open for the holidays. A new deal with the union means that there will be no strike and no interruptions in casino services. The entire Eastern seaboard rejoices along with Donald Trump. It is a shame that Brokaw, Rather, Blitzer, and Co will miss this historic occasion.

On Campaign Media Coverage

2004-11-01T07:23:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow, it will all be over. Worst case scenario: talk of legal action and recounts becomes the lead story until about mid-January. But that will still mean that we will no longer be subjected to the brainless, worthless, pointless excuse for political coverage that is being presented on your TV.

All CNN has to say about Bush-Kerry is how big their "war chests" are and what state they are campaigning in today. This is followed by a 10 second blurb from one of their recent speeches in which Bush uses the word "resolve" and says "freedom is on the march" a few times. Kerry's sound bite is usually a cheap knock-off using slightly different phrases while also questioning Bush's sanity.

Instead of the serious debates and discussions that should mark a democratic election, we are presented with a horse race between two competing "messages". The media actually compares spin now instead of talking about facts (that perve O'Reilly included). For my last political statment of the year, I say "Good luck, and may the best-marketed talking head win."

On Six Year Old Friday Nights

2004-10-30T09:27:00.000-05:00

Last night, my wife and I caught "Friday Night Lights" at the local cinema. I sat there for almost two hours in deep culture shock. High school kid's SAT scores are all the talk of the town up here, so no one else in the theater could understand the movie like I could. Everytime some idiot would tell one of those kids that high school football "was all you got, after that you just have the memories and nothing else to hope for", I flashed back to the faces of the people who once told me that. Man, how crippling that could have been. Saying that to an 18-year old should be a capital offense. But, as is often the case, the coach was the one guy in town with the proper perspective. Billy Bob Thornton nailed the mythic figure of "high school football coach". Winning football games is not much different than losing, it just changes the way people treat you. The only thing that really counts is that you held nothing back for your team.

I laughed, I cried, I got all nostalgic. Then I came home and went to bed. Good movie, great book, but best of all are the six year old memories without all the bruising.

On Politics

2004-10-29T08:53:00.000-05:00

I, Matt Porter, do solemnly swear to not turn my blog into a daily political rant.

That said, let me give you my thoughts on politics just a few days before an election. Put the women, children, and undecided voters to bed! I will now handicap the race between the Three Stooges.

Bush> I honestly do not believe that a guy smart enough to make it through Yale University cannot pronounce "nuclear" properly. Everytime he says "nuculer" I cringe, feeling like I am being mocked by a guy with barely above average intelligence. Who is this guy trying to kid? He grew up with a silver spoon wedged between his mandibles, and Barbara would never allow one of her children to sound like a redneck. But the worst thing about W is foreign policy. I remember sitting at home during a spring break watching the war start on CNN. During the televised (!) portion of the "shock and awe" campaign, Wolf Blitzer (Cpl. Putz) kept warning us that the next cruise missile may ignite one of those stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. How gullible we all were! What we were really seeing is a bunch of innocent Iraqis get killed, which is not much different from what we are seeing today. If WMD and a dictator are a recipe for a pre-emptive war, get set to invade Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Russia, Cambodia, Indonesia, North Korea, and the state of Maine.

Kerry> This guy is dying a slow, suffocating death. He really never stood a chance and is an embarrasment to the ttwo-party system. Which party does he represent? The party of "I am not George W. Bush". Yet another victim of American democracy. Why was he "for the war before he was against it"? Simple. Because most of us were, too. Kerry is imprisoned by public opinion and unwilling to take a risk in giving his own views. Why do we not know what he believes? He won't tell you until you tell him. Then he will agree with you and ask for your vote. If he simply had the guts to vote against the initial war resolution in the first place, we could at least all see that he was a true alternative. I don't have much to say about John Kerry, and neither does he.

Nader> Don't waste my time. When your biggest supporters are Republicans who hope you steal votes from Kerry, you have to admit that you are wearing a big sign that says "Mr. Irrelevant".

We really have only two choices, bad and bad. Most people justify this by saying that to vote for president is to pick the "lesser of two evils". They usually say this meaning that their own candidate is bad, but not as stupid as the other guy. I disagree. What we have here is the evil of two lessers. Surely America can do better than two rich, obnoxious white guys who graduated from Yale only a few years apart. How about Barack Obama v. John McCain in 2008?

On $800k

2004-10-27T17:37:00.000-05:00

Baseball again, but then the season is over tonight (?), so just deal with it.

Barry Bonds has now hit 700 home runs over his career. Which, incidentally, is about 700 more than I ever hit in my career, but I could bunt way better than he ever dreamed of. He may just be the best baseball player of my lifetime. His 700th homerun was certainly a historic moment. And I must not be the only person to think so, because some moron paid $804,129 for that baseball via an overstock.com auction. No typos here, once again, $804,129. If only I could have been the guy who dropped the hot dog and peanuts jumping up to snatch my one-way ticket to financial security at that game. Small price to pay for more clams than I will ever see in my lifetime.

Then again, I did catch a ball once too. I was in Stillwater, OK at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium with my good friend Ryan Maloney. A young man named Thad Chaddrick fouled of an 0-2 pitch in the bottom of the fifth inning (sure, why not? I was 13 years old, like I'd remember. But it makes for a good story. ) I outran the 8 year old girl and her little brother while Maloney held our sodas. I took that ball home proudly and proceeded to never play a single game of catch with it. Chaddrick made my investment pay off later that year when he was chosen in the 37th round of the 1994 Major League Baseball draft (#1,036 overall).

http://www.sports-wired.com/draft/1994/JuneR/d37.shtml

So, in comparison to Bonds' $800,129 hunk of leather, my piece of baseball history has gotta be worth at least seventy-five cents. And that, my friends, is three more quarters towards that next load of laundry.

On Being a Yankee Hater

2004-10-26T17:42:00.000-05:00

Last week was one of my favorite weeks watching sports. Not only did the Oklahoma Sooners and Michigan Wolverine football team bookend the week with a pair of victories, I watched the team for which I have grown quite a soft-spot, the Boston Red Sox, vanquish their hated rivals. The New York Yankees legendary history failed them, losing four straight games.

Throughout the series, I was fascinated by what I was seeing. I have been a marginal Red Sox fan since I spent a summer in Rhode Island a few years back. But what was really driving me to see the Red Sox undo the Yankees was more simple: I am a hater.

Since I was a little boy, I have hated the Yankees. I stopped playing baseball in junior high, and watched very little of it on TV. But I knew about the Yankees. They were those guys. You know, they were the ones who were supposed to win. They reminded me of the kid who had a mustache in the sixth grade. When he played football with everybody else, we all knew what was gonna happen. Or the girl who had been head cheerleader since the fourth grade. She just felt entitled because of her history, and nobody was going to question it. That, to me, sums up the Yankees. They were supposed to win because they always have. They had no skeletons in their closet, nothing even resembling a curse in their history. Now, they do.

I also find it to be profoundly theological. Now, to a seminarian everything is theological. But think about it: isn't the gospel about such things? The high and lofty are undercut, and the things that count are to be found among the poor and lowly. No one is entitled to anything nor is anyone left out, no matter where they have been or what they have done. In short, all things are made new.

This is what happens when a seminary student watches too much baseball during a week he should have been studying his arse off!

On New Jersey

2004-10-25T19:51:00.000-05:00

For well over a year now I am sure that most of you have been wondering why anyone would pick up stakes and move to New Jersey. After reading this post, I am also sure that many of you will continue to wonder. I myself have grown to enjoy pondering why anyone would choose to live in New Jersey. Putting aside the harsh and bitter winter cold, the obscenely dense traffic at all hours of the day and night, the outrageously high cost of living, and the general sense of doom and despair that hangs in the air along with the smog, I can think of only a few reasons why anyone would not wish to live here in the jewel of the Mid-Atlantic. And here they are, in no particular order.

#1 Instead of Fox Sports SouthWest and Big 12 football every Saturday, I am stuck here observing the scandal that is Big East football. Instead of watching a very important bedlam matchup next weekend, I will probably be stuck with entertainment similar to last Saturday's riveting matchup featuring Rutgers and Pittsburgh. I may get to catch Syracuse take on New Hampshire. Lucky me.

#2 Sonic Drive-In is poised to complete their crawling advance to the north very soon. A new location opened up in Philadelphia, a short 2 hours away (if you are lucky). Of course, the next closest locations in Baltimore and Pittsburgh mean that Sonic's dream of being a nationwide franchise have finally come true. Meanwhile, denizens of Perkins, Cushing, Stillwater, and Shawnee are laughing their heads off at these stupid Yankees. Can an Oklahoman even throw an Aggie without hitting a Sonic?

Enough for now. My neighbors may not appreciate the good-natured fun. (Hey, I am sure you have seen the Sopranos. I am done here, lest I be gutted like a fish)

An Apology

2004-10-25T15:35:00.000-05:00

First off, I must admit that I am quite the loser. This all began when a few of my long-lost friends thought it would be fun to blog random current events in their lives. It was interesting to see how everyone had changed, or not, since I had seen them last. But I was not content to be merely an observer, oh no. I had to jump in and give it a try myself.

So, I sincerely apologize for my utter lack of imagination, creativity, ambition, ingenuity, etc. I am going to blog basically the same load of poop that the rest of you seem to be blogging. If you checked it out thinking, "Hey, I remember Matt! He was kinda nerdy. I wonder what he has to say, for it might be interesting," then you are terribly mistaken. Whereas many Internet hounds utilize blogs to wax profundities about the local music scene, geopolitical happenings, or social analysis, I promise to do nothing but sound off on my latest (mis)adventures as a married seminary student in New Jersey. I may mention politics, theology, philosophy, but only in reference to topics such as the breed of dog my wife and I aspire to own when our lease permits it. (Campus housing still sucks, even in grad school)

That said, if you have read this far, I take the apology back. You are certainly reading this nonsense under your own free will, and you have no one to blame but yourself for the five minutes you have just wasted. Cheers.