excuses

Junk that lays around that I can't bear to part with, that I'm downright proud of. Every time I clean and reorganize these little things are somehow hardly ever thrown away. They have an indelible mark on my psyche.


slips of paper
-notes to self
-signs made of sayings
-notes for my wallet
-book marks
-receipts
-electronic gadget manuals
-review sheets
-old book catalogs
-old pictures my wife can't stand to have around (I once had a six inch beard that caused my wife's skin to crawl but she couldn't bring herself to admit that for a long time. Now she can't stand the pictures.)

handbags
-small backpacks
-free book bags
-a gas mask bag from WWII

broken gadgets
knik knaks
shards of broken glass and shelf from a Christian's house that was bombed out in Beit Sahour
a 1960s fishing reel that bequeathed from dad
old coins that belonged to dad
crosses

door knobs: cuz I may need them some day.

The previous occupant of my office has gadgets like that too. Old ropes and pulley systems. Old animal traps. A cow horn. Old flags.


I'd like to say that these things help me establish my sense of "place" where ever I go. But I'll leave it up to my sister Jen to say with any certainty. She did her MA thesis on "Place." Whaddya think Jen? Are these things indicative of the human yearning for home?

Tags: Place, home, memory

First Day of School part 2

Coloring her dress red. This is a portrait I did of her. I drew the ears way to big. She slept on her neck wrong the night before and woke up screaming in pain. Bummer of a way to start of the first day. But she made it through. :)

First Day of School

Alathea's very first day of Pre-K.

dominionism or Vitamin L?

This scares me, but so does this. Makes me think of Matt. 11:12, (NASB)
"the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force."
Exposition on the fly.

Dusty books

For just over one week I have shuffled, handled, cataloged and surveyed hundreds of used books. It started when I heard about http://cash4books.net on Craig's List. Over the last week I have run hundreds of book ISBNs in search of a treasured few that would yield some money. A local bookstore was pitching it's overstock and some friends and I rescued a cart load of books from a sure demise on a very rainy day. On Friday I noticed that the books on an entire line of shelves at my office were getting damaged from moisture and outside debris. So today, with a friend's help, I took down that whole line of shelves and books repositioned them. My office now has a very different feel to it. Less light in certain places and more in others.
Speaking of old books, if you go to http://books.google.com there are now many free books to download. I typed in these search terms: Zwingli, Luther, Colonization, Thomas Cranmer, International Relations, and League of Nations. Got some great old books in .pdf format. You have to look for ones that say "full view" and then on the right "download."

Tags: google books, free, Cash 4 Books

The Conversation Is Over!
Why Journalists Can Be Complete Idiots When Reporting on Religious Movements

I have always been intrigued by the way a journalist can shape
conversations by virtue of what is included or ignored in a
given story. I grew into a news junky at an early age, spending quality time with my dad by combing through the newspaper. As soon as I could put words together I was writing for the little Evangelistic rag my parents were doing.

My family (which happened to be part of a Christian communal group) was in the news a lot and this was not always fun.
I’ll never forget the time we were stabbed in the back by an
undercover journalist. One time a guy from a local paper spent
a week hanging out at our house, playing with me and my
sisters, asking questions, sharing our evening meals. He was so
friendly and I opened my heart to him. When the paper came out
we realized we’d been stabbed in the back. He cozied up to us
and then wrote terribly deceitful and malicious things. I
learned the hard way that it was nothing personal. He needed a
story that bled. So he made us bleed.

When I was eighteen I became the focus of a very different
feature article. When the reporter came around I didn’t know
how to act. I remember talking his leg off, answering Giving
him way too much information. This was the moment I dreaded and
loved at the same time. A puff piece. No slant, just a day in
the life of a nice preacher’s kid. That felt completely
different. I knew the pain of being lied about, but what about
when a story is nothing but praise! It seemed to me that
neither spin gave an accurate picture. It pointed to a weakness
in popular journalism. The public doesn’t want nuance in
feature writing. They want blood or they want a pedestal.

I must admit that growing up I remained blissfully ignorant to
the ways of Cult research and investigations. Cults were bad.
Avoid your local JW or LDS and even Oneness Pentecostal unless
you want to get into a protracted conversation you can’t get
out of. Jim Jones bad. Maybe my first introduction came with a
writing assignment in Bible College when I wrote a paper on
“Why Catholicism is not a Cult.” I decided to do the paper when
I learned that a guy in the previous semester received an “A”
for a paper titled “Why Catholicism is a Cult.” I too received
an ‘A”. The instructor decided to be impartial. Later in that
class I was exposed to a video on meditation where Carol
Matrischiana suggested that India was the world’s best example
of the evil effects of Hinduism. She knew because she’d been
raised there.

That kind of silly thinking was all too rampant around college.
A missions instructor would invite a local Catholic priest in
to ask questions about his faith. The very next class would be
dedicated to debunking (behind his back) everything he said. I
was bemused to learn that the local Baptist college down the
street had our Pentecostal tongue-speaking featured in their
cults class. It seemed like God’s justice. . . neh, just human
stupidity.


This question of how and when the moniker “cult” should be used
is nothing new. In 1997 Time reported on the work of two men,
Ron Enroth and J. Gordon Melton, and their very divergent ways
of dealing with cults. Melton, an Evangelical Methodist,
represents the New Religious Movements (NRM) paradigm and Ron
Enroth, an Evangelical Presbyterian, the counter-cult paradigm.
So what’s the difference? Well, ask anyone who has been
investigated as a cult! Melton is called a cult apologist by
counter-cult groups because instead of seeking to malign and
destroy them he (surprise) wants to hear their side of things.

Somehow he has the nerve to believe that even people he
disagrees with deserve human attention. If you’re interested in
this approach, check out Melton’s own website. He describes his
differences with Enroth and others well and provides an
excellent summary of the Evangelical attention to cults in
recent history. Douglas E. Cowan of the Religious Movements Homepage Project published Bearing False Witness? An Introduction to the Christian Countercult in 2003.
That’s a title I wish I had penned myself.

John Morehead tells his own similar story in "Tired of Treading Water: Rediscovering and reapplying a missiological Paradigm for Counter-cult Ministry."

Most people cannot relate to being lied about
on some massive scale. The average local congregation is not
accused of brainwashing adherents or being a dangerous cult.
For this reason when a religious group is accused of being a
cult in the press there is usually no rush for a fact check.
Most people probably don’t think to themselves, “I wonder if
that group is really as bad as this says.” The grist has been
run. There is no putting it back in the mill. The group’s only
consolation lies in the well known public amnesia. The news
from Saturday is often long forgotten by the following
Monday---maybe especially where religion is concerned.

I care about religion coverage in the media. It would be too
easy to lick old wounds and retreat with a persecution complex.
No human agent can ever be truly unbiased in the way they spin
a story. But there are certain ethics that reputable news
sources claim to work by. If you want to know more about these
the Project for Excellence in Journalism would be a good place
to start.

Jay Rosen has written a beautiful piece upon the
launch of The Revealer titled: “Journalism is Itself a
Religion” in which he says

“the most urgent purpose of journalism [is] to amplify, clarify and
extend what the rest of us produce as a "society of conversationalists."”

This comment would seem to indicate that to mute, obscure, and
embitter folks into not wanting conversation would be downright
anti-journalistic! Journalism at it’s best opens our minds and
invites further conversation. I have learned to be wary of any
article that puts the nail in a subject’s coffin and proceeds
to read its’ eulogy.

Tags: Ron Enroth, J. Gordon Melton, New Religious Movements, Journalism as religion

Israel/Palestine footage upload planned

I have plans to upload the video footage of my 2003 visit to the West Bank: Beit Sahour, Bethlehem region.
I will post it here to my blog when done. This is, for me, some very intense, painful footage of destruction in the area. After the visit I tried to watch it and could not. You'll see what I mean. It has descriptions and commentary from my friend Samer Kokaly of the Alternative Tourism Group in Bethlehem. It will take some time to transfer it from vhs to digital but I believe will be well worth it. My sister Jen was there. She may be able to offer further recollections.

Tags: Israel/Palestine, video, youtube, upload

Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism

THE JERUSALEM DECLARATION ON CHRISTIAN ZIONISM

Statement by the Patriarch and Local Heads of Churches In Jerusalem


"Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children
of God." (Matthew 5:9)

Christian Zionism is a modern theological and political movement that
embraces the most extreme ideological positions of Zionism, thereby
becoming detrimental to a just peace within Palestine and Israel. The
Christian Zionist programme provides a worldview where the Gospel is
identified with the ideology of empire, colonialism and militarism. In
its extreme form, it places an emphasis on apocalyptic events leading to
the end of history rather than living Christ's love and justice today.

We categorically reject Christian Zionist doctrines as false teaching
that corrupts the biblical message of love, justice and reconciliation.


We further reject the contemporary alliance of Christian Zionist
leaders and organizations with elements in the governments of Israel and
the United States that are presently imposing their unilateral
pre-emptive borders and domination over Palestine. This inevitably
leads to unending cycles of violence that undermine the security of all
peoples of the Middle East and the rest of the world.

We reject the teachings of Christian Zionism that facilitate and
support these policies as they advance racial exclusivity and perpetual
war rather than the gospel of universal love, redemption and
reconciliation taught by Jesus Christ. Rather than condemn the world to
the doom of Armageddon we call upon everyone to liberate themselves from
the ideologies of militarism and occupation. Instead, let them pursue
the healing of the nations!

We call upon Christians in Churches on every continent to pray for the
Palestinian and Israeli people, both of whom are suffering as victims of
occupation and militarism. These discriminative actions are turning
Palestine into impoverished ghettos surrounded by exclusive Israeli
settlements. The establishment of the illegal settlements and the
construction of the Separation Wall on confiscated Palestinian land
undermines the viability of a Palestinian state as well as peace and
security in the entire region.

We call upon all Churches that remain silent, to break their silence
and speak for reconciliation with justice in the Holy Land.

Therefore, we commit ourselves to the following principles as an
alternative way:

We affirm that all people are created in the image of God. In turn
they are called to honor the dignity of every human being and to respect
their inalienable rights.

We affirm that Israelis and Palestinians are capable of living together
within peace, justice and security.

We affirm that Palestinians are one people, both Muslim and Christian.
We reject all attempts to subvert and fragment their unity.

We call upon all people to reject the narrow world view of Christian
Zionism and other ideologies that privilege one people at the expense of
others.

We are committed to non-violent resistance as the most effective means
to end the illegal occupation in order to attain a just and lasting
peace.

With urgency we warn that Christian Zionism and its alliances are
justifying colonization, apartheid and empire-building.

God demands that justice be done. No enduring peace, security or
reconciliation is possible without the foundation of justice. The
demands of justice will not disappear. The struggle for justice must be
pursued diligently and persistently but non-violently.

"What does the Lord require of you, to act justly, to love mercy, and
to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)

This is where we take our stand. We stand for justice. We can do no
other. Justice alone guarantees a peace that will lead to
reconciliation with a life of security and prosperity for all the
peoples of our Land. By standing on the side of justice, we open
ourselves to the work of peace - and working for peace makes us children
of God.

"God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's
sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of
reconciliation." (2 Cor 5:19)

His Beattitude Patriarch Michel Sabbah
Latin Patriarchate, Jerusalem

Archbishop Swerios Malki Mourad,
Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate, Jerusalem

Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal,
Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East

Bishop Munib Younan,
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

Tags: Christian Zionism, Armageddon, Palestinian, justice, Michel Sabbah

Tags: Stephen Colbert, On Notice

Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Show

This little youtube video brought tears to my eyes today. I laughed so hard I was exhausted.
For the two of you who know me from the days I worked for a UHF TV station in central Missouri. . . .I'll tell you a little inside story of a serious mistake I made one morning.

Nancy Larson used to have a Christian exercise show on TV 38 titled "Shape Up." We ran it down on Ch. 24 and 25 in Missouri. One morning around 6:30am I was running "the board" (master control board, the switches that put shows over the air) while Nancy was doing her thing. She was encouraging her audience not to quit because they can "do all things through Christ who gives them strength." She reminded them that she'd been doing the show for years and that they should take it slow if they were new. If they had heart troubles or were pregnant they should consult a doctor before joining in. The music began and she started into jumping jacks. At just that moment an ink pen rolled off of the top cabinet and landed perfectly on the fast forward button of the board. I can still imagine the people at home trying to follow along at three times the speed!

Tags: Christian Broadcasting, TV, Nancy Larsen

Are ideas bulletproof?

Are Ideas Bullet-proof?
Musings on Idea, classical liberalism, and Christian liberation in the face of postmodern evil.


I'd like to consider the main idea imparted in the movie V for Vendetta with Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving. That idea is most memorably expressed in V's words to Mr. Creedy,

"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bullet-proof."

I think I could safely summarize the Moral of this movie (if you like Morals to tales) as the victorious freedom of Free Thought over against tyranny. You will notice in the movie that music, art collection, and satire are all illegal forms of expression unless controlled by the will of the government. The heroes of the movie correctly recognize and appreciate art for it's ability to allow the human spirit to soar above tyrrany. "V" is a classically trained antihero who wakens the public from their slumbering freedom to overthrow the tyrant by virtue of their great ideals.

Let me point out why this simple story poses no threat to contemporary Western governments. The heart of the victorious "idea" in this movie is based on a belief in human nature that came to prominence during the Enlightenment. In case you haven't been paying attention, the reigning system of the thought now is Post-modernism, essentially a critique of the modernism that had it's roots in the Enlightenment. Within postmodernism arguments are not won or lost on the basis of collective rational thought. Competing arguments each have their spheres of influence. Within America's form of liberal democracy capitalism very easily uses postmodernism for it's own purposes, namely the spread of free enterprise. Agendas that are throw-backs to modernist times are now packaged conveniently in postmodern thought for today's audience. In previous days the idea of an African American Woman representing American foreign policy would have been thought impossibly too progressive, feminist and liberal. Condoleeza Rice has broken all stereotypes as an evangelist for the new face of postmodern neo-conservativism.

To be sure, the moneyed and the powerful still have an agenda for the world. But we are hard pressed to see one single imperial power. "V" as a simple literary device can stir our passions to fight the Power. But what power? How do the money'd and powerful continue control? By distributing the power to various associations. In this way the Democratic western powers manage to further an old agenda forcing free trade on would-be players, isolating non-players, and when necessary "protecting" themselves with invasion and occupation. Power and control are exerted over time and usually in the face of resistance so that action is always in the name of defense. This way we don't feel either controlled by the powers or part of the powers.

Let me get back to "V"s statement. "Ideas are bulletproof." In "V"s world the truth of this statement has the perfect lighting and contrast. In our world we have little need for such statements. But what about an area of our world that has constant media attention, so much so that a generation has passed and we in America think we know about it so much that we aren't paying attention? I'm speaking of the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Palestine. Have more resolutions been passed concerning this little region than any other in the history of the International Community? I would say yes. And yet what has the UN ever been able to do to stop Israel from controlling every aspect of this region? The building of the Wall? Making the resident's lives a living hell? Nothing. Israel is right in the center of America's vision for Democracy in the Arab world. America wants to force this kind of democracy on the Arab world.

Iraq is America's attempt to Occupy (like Israel's long work in Palestine) a sovereign country for it's own good. The Iraqi Occupation swears that it is the new seed of democracy that the region wants. At least the Americans are swearing that.
My friend Jon walked into my office recently and said of Hezbollah, "It is an idea. You cannot kill an idea." Well that remains to be seen. If bullets won't work, maybe psychology, greed, torture, propaganda, and "good will" will. If the American people will go along with this radical way of seeding Democracy to weed out terror long into future governmental administrations, it will take a terrible toll on our own psyches. It takes a certain kind of morality to pull of an Occupation. A lot of self delusion. The reasoning must be: "If we can't kill their new ideas we'll at least keep it from infecting our own."

The next question I would ask is how can I be different? In "V"'s world the new superhuman test experiment arises from the inferno as the moral conscience of the nation. The perfect creation intended turns against the creators as their moral superior. Where does it get this moral superiority? As I said before, it is classical training from the Enlightenment. (Not of course, taking Nietchze's critique of morality into account.) The Christian Church in the film is part of the fascist matrix of control. Christianity makes the people impotent. This is not a unique idea, and neither is it necessarily true to history or human nature. Humans are not necessarily more noble for having discarded religion.

For myself, I can't find satisfaction in an argument for human nobility out of itself. Retorting that noble actions just as easily arise from the same humans that do the evil is just exercising contradiction.
Reminds me of a Monty Python skit that went thusly:

M: I came here for a good argument.
A: No you didn't; no, you came here for an argument.
M: An argument isn't just contradiction.
A: It can be.
M: No it can't. An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition.
A: No it isn't.
M: Yes it is! It's not just contradiction.
A: Look, if I argue with you, I must take up a contrary position.
M: Yes, but that's not just saying 'No it isn't.'
A: Yes it is!
M: No it isn't!
A: Yes it is!
M: Argument is an intellectual process. Contradiction is just the automatic gainsaying of any statement the other person makes.
(short pause)
A: No it isn't.
M: It is.
A: Not at all.

(http://www.mindspring.com/~mfpatton/sketch.htm)

The argument that faith always play victim to power doesn't work. It doesn't have to be true. I must bear witness that the opposite is true. The only way to make a stand morally and personally, as I see it, is with an active faith in the Jesus of the Bible. He alone embodies the reality of the new Kingdom that we dream of . A Kingdom of mutual submission, freedom from want, an economy of abundance, freedom for captives, healing and shared power. In worship and communion in Christ's church I'm taking part in His realities. I am becoming the kind of person able to resist the dark oppressive realities of the money'd and powerful. Ideas can be manipulated and subdued. They can be forgotten or ignored. A faithful life of service to a Higher Power effects real change.

Tags: V for Vendetta Movie Review, The Enlightenment, Post-Modernism, Politics, Anarchy, Hugo Weaving, Ideas are bulletproof

New Glasses. I call it Geek-billy or Egghead with hair on the sides.
God I can't wait til this post is buried in Archives.

Restaurant Sketch - Monty Python

And just to break things up a bit. . .

Noam Chomsky vs. Michel Foucault

part 2 of Human Nature and society discussion

Noam Chomsky vs. Michel Foucault

Fascinating conversation on Human Nature and Just society
part 1
lousy quality video but interesting discussion

Lebanon Israel Facts the Media Isn't Telling You

Good Chomsky commentary on origin of Israeli-Lebanese conflict.

When Cultures Collide

This just In!

NASCAR Audience So Desperate to Feel Adrenaline They Don't Get That They're Being Laughed At!

This whole story could be in what we in Chicago know as the Onion. But it's a true story!
On August 4th Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby opened in theatres across America. A young man who works for a lumber supply store knows Will Farrell (Ricky Bobby) and looks up the movie trailer online. Looks like a great comedy so he and the Mrs. head down to (let's say) the Wehrenberg Theatre on 247 Siemers Drive in their hometown Cape Girardeau Missouri. That's the theatre showing it on the GS Mega Screen. They thought they'd arrived early but came to find out the movie was sold out and there was a line streaming out of the building! Good thing they'd bought tickets in advance!

Once they got inside and endured the twelve minutes of premovie commercials the fun began. The couple were prepared to laugh, and laugh hard! What happened instead is now the stuff of legend. While they sat and smirked and politely chuckled at the first few jokes most of the audience sat in silence. Suddenly a young man down in front jumped out of his seat yelling, "Hey that's Atlanta Speed Way! I've been there!" The audience sprang to life with raucous approval. They'd all been there. Suddenly Jeff Gordan appears on-screen. The heretofore sedated audience cheer with such enthusiasm that our Lowe's aisle walker jolts in surprise. He swears he just saw popcorn poof in the air. The mood in the room changes for good from this point on. Someone starts the wave down on the front right. It begins and streams all over the theatre until it reaches our couple. They jump too late and he gets shoved from behind. "Retard." But the stream continues and then back twice. "What have we gotten ourselves into?" They wonder. Needless to say, this clash of cultures could be taking place as I write all across America. Perhaps tens of thousands of redneck NASCAR fans across America are going to NASCAR.com and seeing the ad for Talladega Nights. They're buying out tickets at their local theatres and turning this spoof on their culture into an anarchical red-neck sporting revolution!

Earlier on in my blog I noted that satire requires a certain kind of audience. As a Chicago city-slicker (albeit from Missouri) I get a laugh considering that in Cape these folks just don't get it. But really I think they do. They just don't care to play along. Hell, when was the last NASCAR movie that hit the big screen? I'll tell you. "Days of Thunder" with Tom Cruise in 1990. Well there was that Herbie movie a few years back. And there are all those TV specials. I'm trying to sympathize here but I can't. Come on people! This movie was made by the same people that did "The Anchorman"! I mean did all the TV broadcasters buy out tickets and root for each other? Or when Will Farrell made "Elf" did the Manhatten Christmas workers arise as one and buy out their local theatre to throw a party? Maybe, I never heard.

Anyway, I went to RickyBobby.com and I am "Chris The Clutch Master." But I won't be putting that on my Myspace page. Do check out the hilarious letters to Ricky on this site. And remember fellow non-NASCAR loving Will Farrell fan. Laugh, but the last laugh is from some red-neck on you!

Disclaimer: the facts of this story were related to me by my sister whose husband told her, who heard it from the man himself. I assume responsibility for mistaking which theatre where and whether the couple did the wave wrong or saw popcorn in the air. If anyone at this showing from Cape comes to hurt me now, "Step off! I respect your difference."

Tags: Talladega Nights, The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, NASCAR, Cape Girardeau Missouri, Movie review, satire

Me & Mylon

I know I've shared in the past some of my deep aversion for Prosperity theology, but let me relate the other side of this. Back in 1988 I was living near a little town in mid Missouri. I had just been really turned on to Jesus, with a serious salvation experience and some radical in-filling experiences with the Holy Spirit. My dad told me I nursed my Bible at the time like it was a teddy bear. He caught me running through the tall grass in front of our house, dancing in the Spirit, high on Jesus. When I came inside he asked me what I'd been doing. He said it was an embarrassment to him as he was sure the neighbors were watching. I'm sure he doesn't remember any of this now. Anyway. . . .

With some friends I began a music video TV show on NLEC's Christian TV station. One of the coolest music videos was from this band called Mylon and Broken Heart. Beginning with an interest in the videos I started buying Mylon albums every time they came out. Now you have to understand that when I listen to music I get nutso about it. That started here as a teenager. I memorized every note, every riff of the Mylon albums. (As I did with a ton of CCM music at the time. Keith Green had 24 hour nonstop play in my head. I got all his music on cassette for "whatever I could afford"--- which was nothing. I wore every tape out to where they wouldn't play anymore. My girlfriend's dad made the remark that I could have easily started a local chapter for a KG cult!)

But Mylon was more than music to me. I subscribed to his letters. I was very lonely at 16 and a real struggler. So I wrote to Mylon Lefevre. And the wild thing was that he answered me personally. At first I couldn't believe it was really him. I thought it was a stamp there instead of his signature. So I made each letter personal and asked specific questions. And he wrote back with specific answers. When Mylon and Broken Heart came to Columbia and Jefferson City, I made it to the concerts. Now Mylon was a real preacher in his concerts and he gave altar calls. So it was after a concert there in Jeff City that I went forward to recommit my life to Jesus again. I prayed with Mylon personally and just poured out my soul and asked all kinds of questions about what to do with my life and how to know if I was really following God's will---questions nobody could possibly know given the circumstances. But in a wonderfully personable way Mylon very patiently prayed for me.

A few years later Mylon got out of Rock n Roll. You can read about it on his website. He did a mellow solo album which I don't remember buying. I just read on a tribute site that while struggling with his heart condition he met up with Kenneth and Gloria Copeland. For over fifteen years now he's been hooked up with the Copeland family and has been teaching from Kenneth Hagin. That really pains me. So there you have a little connection between me and prosperity theology. I actually feel caught in tandem between these polar worlds of religious liberal and conservativism. Its an epidemic with Bible teachers. It's never enough to relate the words of Jesus. The audience must be drawn into a Kingdom here and now. Among Liberation theologians Jesus is the "yes" to a new civilization here and now. Among Prosperity teachers he is the "yes" to healing and wealth here and now. While Liberation theologians are content to "imagine" the new realities and act toward a future, prosperity teachers tell the poor that God hates their poverty and wants them wealthy now! Either way the identification with felt need is there. Trouble comes with the realization that God is much more than economics, medicine, and politics. Spirituality that focuses on these is less concerned with God's person than with what God gives. The question that should be looming in the subconscious is "What do we have when we get what we want?" Is there no more need for God? I feel suspicious of any lifestyle that needs a religio-philosophy to justify its' existence. As though its not enough to live, we need the heavens to resound "Yes, thatta boy!"

On the plus side, I do feel that Liberation theology highlights a political reading of the Bible that is intended. I don't feel it needs to be quite so forced, often times the textual criticism involved begins with a bias against history. With prosperity teachers I find it particularly inconvenient that there is a lot of evangelistic witness going on. Yes, many prosperity teachers are less prosperity than they are soul-winners, I must admit. And while I personally have spent so much time in (what felt like) manipulative spiritual meetings, I have to be honest and say that as far as I can tell the gospel is preached. It ticks me off to say that. I get angry at God that he uses people who turn around and malign the very gospel they preach. But its a human problem! I can't think of a preacher who doesn't fall under the weight of the gospel he/she preaches!

Jesus' command to "love one another as I have loved you" is alone enough to humble anyone who takes him seriously.

Tags: Mylon Lefevre, TV, Music, Prosperity Theology, Liberation Theology, Kenneth Copeland, conversion, discipleship

a Friday liturgy for fasting and prayer

The following is a little liturgy for myself and a friend that we do together on Fridays. It's largely taken from the liturgy for Good Friday (The Book of Common Prayer, 1977, pg. 276) and the Daily Office. (p. 35) The sample petitions at the end are from the cited web link.

Friday Liturgy for Fasting and Prayer

Let us pray.
Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your
family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be
betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer
death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Old Testament Isaiah 52:13-53:12, or Genesis 22:1-18,
or Wisdom 2:1,12-24 Psalm 22:1-11(12-21), or 40:1-14, or
69:1-23

Epistle
Hebrews 10:1-25
John 18:1-19:37 or 19:1-37,

The Solemn Collects

All standing, the Deacon, or other person appointed, says to the people:

Dear People of God: Our heavenly Father sent his Son into
the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through
him might be saved; that all who believe in him might be
delivered from the power of sin and death, and become heirs
with him of everlasting life. We pray, therefore, for people everywhere
according to their needs.


Let us pray for the holy catholic Church of Christ throughout
the world;
For its unity in witness and service
For all church leaders and other ministers
and the people whom they serve
For our pastors and all the people of this church. For all
Christians in this community.
For those about to be baptized.
That God will confirm his Church in faith, increase it in love,
and preserve it in peace.

Silence

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of
your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our
supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all
members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and
ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Let us pray for all nations and peoples of the earth, and for
those in authority among them;
For N., the President of the United States
For the Congress and the Supreme Court
For the Members and Representatives of the United Nations
For all who serve the common good
That by God's help they may seek justice and truth, and live in
peace and concord.

Silence

Almighty God kindle, we pray, in every heart the true love of
peace, and guide with your wisdom those who take counsel for
the nations of the earth; that in tranquility your dominion may
increase, until the earth is filled with the knowledge of your
love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray for all who suffer and are afflicted in body or in
mind;
For the hungry and the homeless, the destitute
and the oppressed
For the sick, the wounded, and the crippled
For those in loneliness, fear, and anguish
For those who face temptation, doubt, and despair.
For the sorrowful and bereaved
For prisoners and captives, and those in mortal danger
That God in his mercy will comfort and relieve them, and grant
them the knowledge of his love, and stir up in us the will and
patience to minister to their needs.

Silence

Gracious God, the comfort of all who sorrow, the strength of
all who suffer: Let the cry of those in misery and need come to
you, that they may find your mercy present with them in all
their afflictions; and give us, we pray, the strength to serve
them for the sake of him who suffered for us, your Son Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pray for all who have not received the Gospel of Christ;
For those who have never heard the word of salvation
For those who have lost their faith
For those hardened by sin or indifference
For the contemptuous and the scornful
For those who are enemies of the cross of Christ and
persecutors of his disciples
For those who in the name of Christ have persecuted others
That God will open their hearts to the truth, and lead them to
faith and obedience.

Silence

Merciful God, creator of all the peoples of the earth and lover
of souls: Have compassion on all who do not know you as you are
revealed in your Son Jesus Christ; let your Gospel be preached
with grace and power to those who have not heard it; turn the
hearts of those who resist it; and bring home to your fold
those who have gone astray; that there may be one flock under
one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us commit ourselves to our God, and pray for the grace of a
holy life, that, with all who have departed this world and have
died in the peace of Christ, and those whose faith is known to
God alone, we may be accounted worthy to enter jnto the
fullness of the joy of our Lord, and receive the crown of life
in the day of resurrection.

Silence

O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably
on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the
effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquillity
the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that
things which were cast down are being raised up, and things
which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are
being brought to their perfection by him through whom all
things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and
reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for
ever and ever. Amen.

The service may be concluded here with the singing of a hymn or
anthem, the Lord's Prayer, and the final prayer on page 282.
If desired, a wooden cross may now be brought into the church
and placed in the sight of the people.

Appropriate devotions may follow, which may include any or all
of the following, or other suitable anthems. If the texts are
recited rather than sung, the congregation reads the parts in italics.

Anthem 1

We glory in your cross, 0 Lord,
and praise and glorify your holy resurrection;
for by virtue of your cross
joy has come to the whole world.
May God be merciful to us and bless us,
show us the light of his countenance, and come to us.
Let your ways be known upon earth,
your saving health among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, 0 God;
let all the peoples praise you.
We glory in your cross, 0 Lord,
and praise and glorify your holy resurrection;
for by virtue of your cross
joy has come to the whole world.

Anthem 2

We adore you, 0 Christ, and we bless you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
If we have died with him, we shall also live with him;
if we endure, we shall also reign with him.
We adore you, 0 Christ, and we bless you,
because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Anthem 3
0 Savior of the world,
who by thy cross and precious blood hast redeemed us: Save us
and help us, we humbly beseech thee, 0 Lord.


Confession

The Celebrant may read one of the following sentences

Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith:
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and
great commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang
all the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 22:37-40

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us; but if we confess our sins, God is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. 1 John 1 :8, 9

Seeing that we have a great high priest, that is passed into
the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us come boldly unto the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to
help in time of need. Hebrews 4: 14, 16

The Deacon or Celebrant then says
Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God.

Silence may be kept.

Minister and People

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against thee in thought, word,
and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved thee with our whole heart; we have not loved
our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly
repent. For the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in thy will,
and walk in thy ways,
to the glory of thy Name. Amen.

or this

Almighty and most merciful Father,
we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep, we
have followed too much the devices and desires of our own
hearts, we have offended against thy holy laws,
we have left undone those things which we ought to
have done,
and we have done those things which we ought not to
have done.
But thou, 0 Lord, have mercy upon us,
spare thou those who confess their faults,
restore "thou those who are penitent,
according to thy promises declared unto mankind
in Christ Jesus our Lord;
and grant, 0 most merciful Father, for his sake,
that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life,
to the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.


The Almighty and merciful Lord grant us absolution and
remission of all our sins, true repentance, amendment of life,
and the grace and consolation of his Holy Spirit. Amen.


Sample Petitions for the General Intercessions
Originally from
http://www.nccbuscc.org/liturgy/ashwednesday.shtml
(with a few countries added as an update)

RESPONSE: Loving God, hear our cry.

That the nations of the world will be successful in avoiding wider war in the Middle East;
We pray to the Lord

That all might turn from the selfishness, hatred, and violence that can take root in our hearts;
We pray to the Lord

For leaders of nations, that the power of the Holy Spirit might grant them the wisdom to always seek justice and peace
We pray to the Lord

For those in our military who risk their lives in the service of our nation, that they might be protected from evil and harm;
We pray to the Lord

For peacemakers, that they will be successful in building bridges of peace in our world;
We pray to the Lord

For the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel and Palestine that they might be protected from harm and that they might know freedom and peace in their land;
We pray to the Lord

That God might grant us the grace to address the deep causes of war, poverty, and injustice that afflict humanity today
We pray to the Lord

That each of us will be ambassadors of hope to a world oppressed by many problems;
We pray to the Lord

That our families will always be schools for peace;
We pray to the Lord

Tags: Liturgy, Fasting, Prayer, Book of Common Prayer, Ekklesia Project

"Ray" and "Walk the Line"

I finally saw the movie Ray last night, the biographical movie on the life of Ray Charles Robinson starring Jamie Fox. Billy Crystal made that comment at the Oscars that Walk the Line was the same story with a white guy. It made me want to see and compare. You might find it really silly or trivial to compare the two lives and movies but I'll do it anyway.

Ray Charles and Johnny Cash both grew up dirt poor in the South.
Ray and Johnny were both tortured by memories of the deaths of their brothers.
Both men were severely addicted to drugs just as their music careers took off.
Both men cheated on their wives on the road.
Both men became music legends for mixing and matching musical styles and reinventing their musical approach repeatedly.
That's about all I see that's similar.

Here are the BIG differences:

Ray was blind and black, Johnny was sighted and white.
Johnny was a master story teller, Ray loved story music but focused on musical innovation.
Johnny had both a father and mother who lived to old age.
Ray's father rambled around leaving his mother to care for two boys. Ray's mother died while he was a young man. He never saw her again after being sent off to a school for the blind.
Ray had to deal with being used and ripped off financially because of his blindness.
The movie Ray does not present Ray as being very personally effected by a family faith. Ray loves gospel music but we don't know how religious he is. He is persecuted for setting sensual lyrics to gospel music.
Early on Johnny's parents were deeply religious. Even as an addict he thought long and hard about faith. He had a radical conversion experience that he often talked about.
Johnny Cash is legendary for embodying the darkness and light in all people. The story telling and presentation made his mythos, his shadow if you will, much larger than the man. As a white male his strength could have been used to embody all the perfections of white America. Instead he focused on the disaffections of the marginalized. Prisoners, killers, drunkards, drug addicts, losers in love, the hypocritically faithful.
Walk the Line is different from Ray in that it bears witness to the birth of the myth Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison. Ray is more of a biography with a celebration of an innovator. It also testifies to the evils of heroin addiction. Walk the Line is a love story wherein Johnny and June fight hard and beat the odds to win each other.

Tags: Movie Reviews, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, similarities, differences, Southern

Not Being Seen - Monty Python

This is the one right Jon?

only when Christ breaks the solitude. . . .

"The conscience and remorse of a person in Adam are his ultimate grasp for himself, the confirmation and justification of his autocratic solitude. He impeaches himself and summons his better self. Yet the cry of conscience only disguises the mute loneliness of a bleak isolation and sounds without echo in the self-dominated and self-interpreted world. . . . Only when Christ breaks a person's solitude does he know himself placed in the truth."

---Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Act and Being, 137-141.

Tags: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Act and Being, self, Adam

I'm fascinated by this photo of Bonhoeffer on guitar. There's not much said about it as far as I know. Thereagain if I read German there might be something I don't know about. From what I gather his instrument was piano. He's got to be playing some classical orchestral piece I imagine. But really, so little is said about his playing any stringed instruments. How does he know how? Maybe he's just sitting and plunking around on a student's guitar.

Tags: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, guitar, instruments, classical music, German

Why I have not yet blogged the Bonhoeffer chapters

Though I know that excuses are not "solution-oriented" I'm going to give you some insight into what is taking so long on blogging these next few Bonhoeffer chapters. 1932, the subject of the next chapter, is a crucial year in Bonhoeffer's development and for Hitler's Reich. Bethge dedicates the whole chapter to important months in this year. It's almost like "The Reich did this---Bonhoeffer did this." We are made keenly aware that Bonhoeffer was wide awake and active as a leader to countermand the German Christian seizure of the Evangelical church.

But here's the deal: As I said before I'm reading Clifford Green's Bonhoeffer: A Theology of Sociality at the same time. Green calls this period (1932) Bonhoeffer's transition "From the Phraseological to the Real". He follows that chapter (four) with "Creation and Christology 1932-33" (chapter five). This is 141 pages of not-lite reading! While Bethge only briefly refers to the Christology lectures, Green brings me into what I really want---full encounter.

I should say that I am really up to Finkenwalde in my Bethge reading. So the truth is I've gotten lazy, mixed-up, and distracted over the last few months. Also John Franke has just released Barth for Armchair Theologians on WJK press as a guilty and fun(!) rabbit-trail for me.

I set my face like flint to finishing Bethge's Bio by December 31st on the centennial of Bonhoeffer's birth. We'll see what happens. If you're along for the ride you might learn more about my personal reading habits than about Bonhoeffer by then. Bear with me. At the end I will post easy links to all chapter submissions.

Tags: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Clifford Green, John Franke, Karl Barth

You don't want to hear your 4 yr. old say suddenly:
"I think you're going to be mad at me. I just had an accident.
On you."
I admit it was disconcerting. But a memory nonetheless. Thank God for soap and water and clean clothes. (I thank God for my lovely wife who regularly does laundry! She washes all those clothes that my kids learn to potty train in!)

















"Take my picture too daddy!"

Steve Earle - Jerusalem

Steve Earle--I Feel Alright Promo Video

Lucinda Williams - World Without Tears (live)

The One Book Meme

1. One book that changed your life:
Karl Barth, The Epistle to the Romans

2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
John 'Lofty' Wiseman, SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea

4. One book that made you laugh:
Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods

5. One book that made you cry:
Jonathan Glover, Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century

6. One book that you wish had been written:
God's Agency Across Time: The Carefully Written Record of How Each Believing Community Used the Bible from Genesis to Revelation

7. One book that you wish had never been written:
Hal Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth

8. One book you’re currently reading:
Eberhard Bethge, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
Mark Nation, John Howard Yoder

10. Now tag five people:
Jon Trott
Jen Rice
Glenn Kaiser
Curt
Carol

Tags: The One Book Meme, Books

America you don't speak for me!

Maybe in Bizzaro world we all gave Israel the greenlight to continue the carnage. I'm too angry for words but I'm sure I'm not as angry as some. I pity my government. I pity Israel. They are bringing the whole world down. God help us all.

Tags: Israel/Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, Bombing, USA, anger

homeless blogger

I've never lived completely apart from a homeless person. I think I've related before how I grew up. It's wrong for me to not talk about it more often. I've always lived either in homes for homeless people or in direct proximity to their daily activities. Living in community is, for me, living in and with poverty. I consider it a distinct privilege. If that sounds crazy ask me about it. Surfing around this morning I came upon a blog by Kevin Barbieux, a homeless man living in Nashville Tennessee. His blogs have been up for years and he's received some national attention for them, notably in Salon.com
I consider it particularly unfortunate that I am not as involved with the homeless as I was at one time. I sit in this little office cubicle and stare at a computer. I see them panhandling up and down my street outside my window. Sometimes I stop to talk but not as often as I'd like. I miss the daily interaction of working in the homeless shelter. I miss the stories and conversation. I miss being part of so many lives over a given period of time. Forgive my little sentimental rant. There's little that is sentimental about being homeless. I recently argued perfusely with a friend here who grew up very sheltered but is now enamored by the thought of hitch-hiking and squatting, and attending the hobo gathering. I must have sounded like a mother hen when I described getting caught on an express freight train or caught in the freezing rain without shelter or having nowhere to take a piss for hours.

Tags: homeless, hobo, Kevin Barbieux, community

What a Country!

So Christianity Today's David P. Gushee has an article titled "What's Right About Patriotism" on the CT Weblog. He mentions that as Christians we cannot lose a proper love for our country in the face of the seeming lack of patriotism in America right now. He says that the Christian Right are part of the small number who are too nationalistic. He writes:

"It is deeply uncomfortable from a theological perspective that in many parts of our nation, the only place in which one can experience any substantive evocation of patriotism is the local Christian congregation. Other kinds of public celebrations of national loyalty have generally collapsed."

I have a question for Mr. Gushee: "Have you been to a baseball game recently? Do you watch sports at all?" The sight of 40,000 fans with their hands over their hearts singing "God Bless America" and (at White Sox Cellular Field) fighter jets screaming in time over head are only a small but very moving semblance of mass patriotism. Do you watch TV or listen to the radio? I don't know how you think "national loyalty has generally collapsed." Whether we wave flags or not the fact is we cannot help but be loyal to our nation. We participate in a physical and mental infrastructure that are loyal to the State. It does not need my flag waving to remain itself. I think it thrives on mass inaction and is postmodern enough to accept a mass defection from overt patriotism. Today I got an envelope from the American Bible Society asking for support. On the envelope were the words "One Nation, Under God, Indivisible; With Liberty and Justice For All. Free Gift Enclosed." When I opened the envelop, the first words of the letter read, "My dear Friend in Christ, What would you most likely want in your backpack if you were fighting in Iraq?" The free gift enclosed was an American flag.

Two Christian organizations on the same day are enough to arouse my attention. Let's talk patriotism. First let me say that I was born an American citizen and do not hold dual citizenship anywhere else. I have been able to visit India, Haiti, Canada, Mexico, China, Israel, and Palestine for short periods. Upon returning home to America, to one degree or another I always felt right at home. I was a missions major for a time in college and seriously pursued the idea of living great lengths of time in another country in service of the Kingdom. The most significant hurdle that finally forced me to drop my major in that college was the distinct feeling that we were being trained to infiltrate the foreign population with a culture love for Jesus that secretly also loved America. I felt that my academic adviser never really escaped his racist upbringing and really had no love for particular people so much as for their souls. I remember him walking in the morning the US got word of the genocide in Rwanda and exclaiming, "Don't be bothered by this little skirmish. These particular African tribes have been fighting for years. There's nothing anyone can do." This type of supposedly apolitical sympathy enables the kind of apathy and intransigence that lead to war globally. At the time that I heard these words I had no idea what was going on. His comments were so flippant and brief that I thought nothing of it. In the weeks to follow I got mad. I wish I could say I confronted him, but I didn't.

Whether it's David P. Gushee of Christianity Today, the American Bible Society, or my old mission's adviser reminding me of my Americanness, the constant theme seems to be that I need guidance to be political. The other idea is that politics never stands in the way of being Christian. We have nothing to fear from the State especially when it is Democratic. Finally, being in the world but not of it involves political allegiance. I'll take all of these points on at the same time. The real problem with CT, the ABS, and my adviser is that they are not political enough! They don't read the Bible politically. They assume that their audience passively subsists on just enough rhetoric to take the edge off their conscience. And so we need guidance. As though the audience we're asking, "Please remind me to be patriotic. Remind me to vote. Remind me that there is really nothing I can do to stop genocide except to feel badly and rush in to minister to the population later." [As an aside note: Isn't it interesting that church membership booms during atrocities? Does Evangelicalism serve best only as a balm after the damage is done?]

I hear the argument a lot lately that I should feel privileged to hold opinions like these. That I am protected by America's bombs, her Reserve troops, her big companies, her foreign interests. Some kid born in 1988 from a small town in middle America is getting blown up by an IED so that I don't have to worry about patriotism. But I do care. I did not ask that kid to go fight for me. I make so little money every year that since the war began I haven't had to pay the federal government for one shell spent on this mistaken war. I care about the half million children who died of sanctions in Iraq before this war. I care about the thousands who've died since. I care that as a nation we have lost all conscience or concern for what Eisenhower called "the military industrial complex." And I believe all this because I am an American. If I were truly unpatriotic I would care nothing about the way things are going. I love this country enough to say our current path is dead wrong and that it predates this Presidential administration. We would do right to surrender our permanent seat in the UN on the grounds that our true motives are not for the world's interests but our own selfish interests. Only a foreign policy of repentance can save us now. We are intent on setting a precedent for war the world over and letting all our allies do the same. Israel's actions in Lebanon are the case in point.

Yes Mr. Gushee I care about America. But I am not proud of my nation's interests. I hold my citizenship like Paul held his Roman citizenship. He used it wisely but then spoke constantly of the Kyrios Christ as opposed to the Kyrios Caesar. His readers knew what he was talking about. NT Wright does an excellent exposition of Phillipians 3 by way of explanation in his article "Paul's Gospel and Caesar's Empire". The Judaizers were wanting to offer haven and safety from the Roman cult in circumcision. Paul admonished against any safety from the State in circumcision. Our citizenship is in heaven but until then we have no safe haven here. Neither in Judaism nor in Rome. Yes we can expect persecution for worshiping Kyrios Christ. For wearing our citizenship as a loose garment. But we envision a Kingdom with different ways of being human. Kyrios Christ is out for a new humanity. In worship, in the eucharist, in fasting and prayer, we the called out Body of Christ remember our true allegiance. I do not rely on America's version of freedom or peace. Peace for America is an illusive security based on fear. For all of our wars we feel more insecure not less. I don't need my government to tell me I am safe.

Even so I cannot be independent of my country. I drink her water. I breathe her air. I use her electricity. I speak her language. I listen to her music. I even speak the language of dissent that she fosters. For all practical purposes I could be mistaken for a Democratic American. In the same way I could be mistaken for a Nice Guy and not a Christian. What does a Christian dress like? What sort of music does he listen to? As a teenager you could know by my t-shirts and my music that I was a Christian. Today you can't. But spend a week with me, watch my every move, and you'll find that I have pricked conscience. I do this faith-thing in that I care a lot about naming Sin. I care about Formation. I care about aligning my every move with God's. Someone recently reminded me of the Amish response to the question "Are you a Christian." It is "Ask my family."

I am a social animal. I care a lot about human interaction. That makes me political. God made me that way. If getting angry makes me a good American and if America wants men of conscience than I'm a proud American. But I know too that sometimes America threatens my faith. She is now threatening the Body of Christ worldwide with her warfare and her foreign selfishness. Christians in Lebanon are dying because my President and his choice of Ambassador to the UN refuse to call Israel's actions excessive. Kyrios Christ calls me to speak and act against those actions. As He guides me I do. Does that sound other-worldly and strange? So be it.

More David P. Gushee to Read:

The Middle East's Death Wish—and Ours
We say "everyone wants peace," but we also want to see our enemies destroyed.

Dialogue:
Another Point of View: Evangelical Blindness on Lebanon
The academic dean of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary is angry at evangelical Christians, Israel, Hezbollah, the U.S., and the international community. by Martin Accad

We Risk Not Just Suffering, But Annihilation
An open letter to Dr. Martin Accad. by David P. Gushee

Tags: Christianity Today, Patriotism, USA, Kyrios Christ, Kyrios Caesar, NT Wright, nationalism

Response to US response to Israel/Lebanon conflict

The White House continues to do all it can to "win friends and influence people" in the Middle East.

Jon Trott coined a little winsome tribute.

Here's my response on BlueChristian.blogspot.com:

My prayer this year is that I can set every other truth I say I believe to one side for the One truth that we humans are somehow made in God's image. All humans. Heaven will be a shock to our system in that we will encounter all these "castoffs" that we never knew about but who are near to God's heart.

Our US culture is all about setting a price on human worth. But that price is so low. We assign value based on buying power. This very imaginative construct is failing. We see it all around us. What should make us Christians different is that we take God's values seriously. But that will involve being transformed non-conformists who live and imagine life by different values.

Here is a portion of a liturgy from the Ekklesia project gathering this year:

"We confess that we are double-minded. We seek to have both our way and yours. We believe those two paths to be the same, but we are deceived. How great is the destruction caused by those who presume to know the way. How great is the darkness within those who trust in their own righteousness and fail to submit to yours."

Tags: Israel/Lebanon, Bombing, humanity, USA

ISRAEL MUST STOP BOMBING LEBANON NOW!
This is crazy! Bombing civilians is not an answer to kidnapping soldiers.
Why won't the UN speak out on this? Why won't the American people speak out?
Why instead are we talking about possible Hezbollah attacks on America?
Not In My Name is a group of American Jews who want all this to stop.

Tags: Israel/Lebanon, Not In My Name

I just created a LibraryThing list and started with my Barth and Bonhoeffer books. This'll take some time. I'm looking for something for music too.

"A little exercise for young theologians" by Helmut Thielicke

A little exercise for young theologians by Helmut Thielicke
Introduction by Martin E. Marty
Eerdmans, 1962, 1998.
Translated by Charles L. Taylor

As Michael and I were packing up for the festival this year we were down in our Wilson multi-function room and stumbled upon this tiny book by Helmut Thielicke. I don't know where it came from. Michael hadn't remembered placing it in the crate where he found it. I was aware of Helmut Thielicke, the German theologian and contemporary of Karl Barth, but I hadn't read much by him. The edge of the little book is sadly mildewed but the inside is well loved by the previous anonymous reader. At only forty-one pages, something this size is usually called an article not a book. Upon engaging these little pages seriously I got hooked. Lights flashed and bells rung. In simple, modest language Thielicke observes the sickness that strikes every student of theology. It is an explanation, a warning, and a bridge between lay folk, pastors, and anyone who uses theological language. His analogies are humorous but dead on.

Tags: Helmut Thielicke, theology, humor, Karl Barth

Here is this year's family picture.

My beloved prof's website

Well, I'm going to take a risk and tell you who that beloved prof is who was so ambivalent about Bonhoeffer. I do this because I still appreciate his work for the Kingdom of God. Dale Brueggeman served as theology professor at Central Bible College where I attended. He began work for the Division of Foreign Missions for the Assemblies of God in 1994 and is now involved in Eurasia Education Services. Maybe he will have forgotten all of the aforementioned conversations and me in particular. Nevertheless his mission work goes on and I'm grateful for it. I also recall in that same semester that I took Philosophy, Theology 1 and 2 at the same time. So as one prof discussed whether God existed another took it on faith. As Dale assured us of God's judgment, my soteriology prof leaned on God's desire that all be saved. Talk about a ride! I remember hearing from Dale one morning that hell was God's intention and from Vernon later the same day that it was not God's desire. When I interjected in Vernon's class a point from Dale's, Vernon grabbed my desk spun me in front of the class and began erratically pointing a finger in my face to make his point. There were wounds licked and tears shed in my dark corner of the library that evening. But I got better. Vernon apologized later. Lesson from all this: don't play a Westminster doctorate and a Fuller doctorate off each other on the judgment of God. At least not in the middle of the lesson in front of the class.

Tags: Pentecostalism, Dale Brueggeman, theology, missions, Eurasia Education Services

Bonhoeffer Ethics website

There is so much new attention to Dietrich Bonhoeffer these days that I almost fear a Bonhoeffer fatigue will result with this new generation of scholarship. When I began reading him in the late eighties and early nineties I didn't know anyone with much interest. I remember a conversation with my theology professor over lunch. I asked "What do you think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book on the Psalms?" His reply was "Dietrich Bonhoeffer? I guess the best thing I've got to say about him is that his approach to the Bible offered him comfort in prison." While I valued this professor's thoughts very much at the time, I got the feeling Bonhoeffer was too liberal for his Westminster training. They measured everything by a reformed epistemology canon. Only years later did I learn the full extent of how strict that canon was. This same professor made the comment that "if your theology is wrong you will burn in hell!" Well, that's a tangent.

Richard Gillingham of Sub Ratione Dei has a Dietrich Bonhoeffer Resource site with up-to-date links that give some great background on Bonhoeffer. This site is not yet high on Google's list for the search term "Dietrich Bonhoeffer" but it should be.

Tags: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, professors

Why Johnny Cash is so important to me. . .

I must be the only guy I know with hundreds of songs spanning the life of just one artist. A guy who has been dead now for years. I have a collection not of albums but of label sets. Granted I'm not the greatest Johnny Cash fan, but I've read the books by the real fans. I have four books by or on Cash. When I saw the latest American recording (number five) I stood amazed. I said to myself that I had enough. I thought I'd heard enough of this old voice to last me my life. Of course I listen to those songs again and again. American V has remade me into a wondrous believer in song crafting once again. But American V wasn't enough. I'd been eying this album Personal File released on Columbia/Legacy. I wanted it but wasn't sure I really needed more Cash on voice and guitar. Upon listening through both albums back to back I have to say that these songs instill in me a fresh love for storytelling and memory. Johnny Cash is more than a voice, more than a legendary performer, more than a personality. He is a bard. He is a collector and popularizer of old tales, magical memories, melancholy feelings, and faith hard as granite. When I listen to John I find a connection with the Spirit of the ages. He had a lust for life and story-song until his dying day. That impossible vigor mesmerizes me. I hope to be infected with a little bit of that spirit. My mind was widened by it years ago but I hope to be infected with the story-telling way he embodied. I want to tell stories with my life energy. That is my prayer.

Tags: Johnny Cash, bard, musicology