A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Designated huggers take God’s place in the love lineup. Peace now!
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
Politics wears me out, so I don’t want to think about it.
Religion wears me out, too, so no more thinking about it.
Perhaps if I keep my focus on loving you and loving my neighbors, that can pass for my religion and my politics.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“You look real good for having had five husbands.”
[Not what He said to the Samaritan woman at the well.]
D. Blog: Un-news of the Week
- Paris Hilton, again. Please, spare us from gossip pretending to be news.
- Fox “News”, always. This conservative political arm rants about children singing a song (during African-American History Month) that honors African-Americans of achievement, including President Obama. Fox shouts: INDOCTRINATION! BRAINWASHING!! PROPAGANDA!!!
Fox “News” obviously knows all there is to know about those things. They take priority over reporting real news.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Do You Like Jazz?
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Who’s afraid of the little, good peace?
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
Any time we leave our familiar neighborhood, we enter other worlds.
Any time we step outside our normal patters, we walk into alternative realities.
Any time we move beyond the walls that enclose our minds, we have a chance of finding you.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“So, what was your near death experience like, Lazarus? White light and all that? I wonder how mine will be.”
[I wish the gospel mentioned their conversation, but it doesn’t.]
D. Blog: Word of the Week – “Jazz”
By 1912, Amer.Eng., first attested in baseball slang; as a type of music, attested from 1913. Probably ult. from Creole patois jass "strenuous activity," especially "sexual intercourse" but also used of Congo dances, from jasm (1860) "energy, drive," of African origin (cf. Mandingo jasi, Temne yas), also the source of slang jism.
"If the truth were known about the origin of the word 'Jazz' it would never be mentioned in polite society." ["Étude," Sept. 1924]
The verb meaning "to speed or liven up" is from 1917; all that jazz "et cetera" first recorded 1939; Jazzercise is 1977, originally a proprietary name. Jazz Age first attested 1922 in writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald, usually regarded as the years between the end of World War I (1918) and the Stock Market crash of 1929.
[Thanks to the Online Etymology Dictionary, I have an even greater appreciation for jazz…]
Who’s afraid of the little, good peace?
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
Any time we leave our familiar neighborhood, we enter other worlds.
Any time we step outside our normal patters, we walk into alternative realities.
Any time we move beyond the walls that enclose our minds, we have a chance of finding you.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“So, what was your near death experience like, Lazarus? White light and all that? I wonder how mine will be.”
[I wish the gospel mentioned their conversation, but it doesn’t.]
D. Blog: Word of the Week – “Jazz”
By 1912, Amer.Eng., first attested in baseball slang; as a type of music, attested from 1913. Probably ult. from Creole patois jass "strenuous activity," especially "sexual intercourse" but also used of Congo dances, from jasm (1860) "energy, drive," of African origin (cf. Mandingo jasi, Temne yas), also the source of slang jism.
"If the truth were known about the origin of the word 'Jazz' it would never be mentioned in polite society." ["Étude," Sept. 1924]
The verb meaning "to speed or liven up" is from 1917; all that jazz "et cetera" first recorded 1939; Jazzercise is 1977, originally a proprietary name. Jazz Age first attested 1922 in writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald, usually regarded as the years between the end of World War I (1918) and the Stock Market crash of 1929.
[Thanks to the Online Etymology Dictionary, I have an even greater appreciation for jazz…]
Thursday, October 29, 2009
The Fairy Tale Analogy
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Destruction brings more of the same. Time for change.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
When I approach you in a different place or time, it’s of no concern to you. I might worry about the difference in my routine and discipline, but you remind me that you have a unique take on all of that. In truth, it might not be such a matter of importance to you if I seek the encounter or not. It happens according to your ways even if I don’t seek it. You will
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“I’m telling you, people, now that the flood’s over, beachfront property is the way to go.”
[Not what He taught about where to build houses.]
D. Blog: Fairy Tale Analogies
A man on the radio spoke of those who are like Chicken Little, people who try to frighten us into responding to threats: nuclear war, overpopulation, limited natural resources, diminishing oil supply, global warming, terrorism, disappearing species, human extinction.
His these was that we humans have a psychological tendency and need to create such threats. I turned off the radio at that point. These threats are not imaginary, figments of our neurotic impulses.
The fairy tale analogy I suggest is not Chicken Little, but the Three Little Pigs. The threats don’t represent misapprehensions of reality. They are all too real, much more like the big bad wolf readying to huff and puff and blow our house down. And too many of us delude ourselves into thinking our lives of straw and sticks can withstand that terrible force when it comes.
Destruction brings more of the same. Time for change.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
When I approach you in a different place or time, it’s of no concern to you. I might worry about the difference in my routine and discipline, but you remind me that you have a unique take on all of that. In truth, it might not be such a matter of importance to you if I seek the encounter or not. It happens according to your ways even if I don’t seek it. You will
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“I’m telling you, people, now that the flood’s over, beachfront property is the way to go.”
[Not what He taught about where to build houses.]
D. Blog: Fairy Tale Analogies
A man on the radio spoke of those who are like Chicken Little, people who try to frighten us into responding to threats: nuclear war, overpopulation, limited natural resources, diminishing oil supply, global warming, terrorism, disappearing species, human extinction.
His these was that we humans have a psychological tendency and need to create such threats. I turned off the radio at that point. These threats are not imaginary, figments of our neurotic impulses.
The fairy tale analogy I suggest is not Chicken Little, but the Three Little Pigs. The threats don’t represent misapprehensions of reality. They are all too real, much more like the big bad wolf readying to huff and puff and blow our house down. And too many of us delude ourselves into thinking our lives of straw and sticks can withstand that terrible force when it comes.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Felony Conversion?
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Left to our own devices, we often wind up slaughtering one another and destroying the peace available when we rely on God’s devices.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
You are in all time and space, so we can encounter and interact with you any time and any place. At school, on the job, in a medical office, a grocery store, a gas station, mowing the yard, walking in the woods. Why do we try to limit our encounters to a specific time and place? Silly of us, if not downright blasphemous.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Gimme a ‘G’. Gimme an ‘O.’ Gimme a ‘D’. What’s it spell?... Oh, right. You can’t spell.”
[Why He didn’t turn the Sermon on the Mount into a pep rally.]
D. Blog: “Felony Conversion”
BLACK MOUNTAIN — Police say a Fairview woman kept rented kitchen appliances worth $2,458. Tammy Diane Morgan, 38, was charged with felony conversion, according to a warrant served Monday. The warrant states Morgan failed to return the appliances to Aaron’s Rental on U.S. 70 in Black Mountain. Bond was set at $1,000.
-- Asheville Citizen-Times, Oct. 20, 2009
[I like the idea of felony conversion, but this isn’t the meaning I’d attach to it…]
Left to our own devices, we often wind up slaughtering one another and destroying the peace available when we rely on God’s devices.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
You are in all time and space, so we can encounter and interact with you any time and any place. At school, on the job, in a medical office, a grocery store, a gas station, mowing the yard, walking in the woods. Why do we try to limit our encounters to a specific time and place? Silly of us, if not downright blasphemous.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Gimme a ‘G’. Gimme an ‘O.’ Gimme a ‘D’. What’s it spell?... Oh, right. You can’t spell.”
[Why He didn’t turn the Sermon on the Mount into a pep rally.]
D. Blog: “Felony Conversion”
BLACK MOUNTAIN — Police say a Fairview woman kept rented kitchen appliances worth $2,458. Tammy Diane Morgan, 38, was charged with felony conversion, according to a warrant served Monday. The warrant states Morgan failed to return the appliances to Aaron’s Rental on U.S. 70 in Black Mountain. Bond was set at $1,000.
-- Asheville Citizen-Times, Oct. 20, 2009
[I like the idea of felony conversion, but this isn’t the meaning I’d attach to it…]
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Miraculous Haiku
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Of the longing for peace, there shall be no end.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
I hurt.
But life is good.
I could use more money.
But life is good.
I’m overextended.
But life is good.
Yeah!!
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“For the record: I have nothing to do with snakes.”
[I see the connections, but He never said it.]
D. Blog: If it’s Tuesday, there must be Haiku
I don’t need to ask for
Or expect miracles.
They’re all around me.
Of the longing for peace, there shall be no end.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
I hurt.
But life is good.
I could use more money.
But life is good.
I’m overextended.
But life is good.
Yeah!!
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“For the record: I have nothing to do with snakes.”
[I see the connections, but He never said it.]
D. Blog: If it’s Tuesday, there must be Haiku
I don’t need to ask for
Or expect miracles.
They’re all around me.
Monday, October 26, 2009
No Way!
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
War represents a failure of imagination.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
When illness strikes, I have trouble focusing on other things. I can become obsessed with my ailment and allow it to cast a shadow over the health in other parts of my system and my life. I remind myself: it is well with my soul.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“No Way!”
[No way He said that!
(And hats off to research associate Alice Martin-Adkins for discovering this un-quote.]
D. Blog: Didn’t Happen, You Say?
Alice and I spent a delightful afternoon with our friend Walter, a teenager when he survived a Nazi concentration camp. The visit brought to mind the ludicrous claim made by a few that the Holocaust didn’t happen, that it’s all a hoax. Can anybody, even the Iranian President, truly believe that claim? The claim itself must be some sort of hoax, a ploy, a sham, a distraction, a further attempt to discredit Jews, blame them even for their own victimization.
Quite apart from all the physical evidence and the personal stories of millions of people like Walter whose relatives were murdered, isn’t it telling that we do not hear Germans say it never happened.
War represents a failure of imagination.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
When illness strikes, I have trouble focusing on other things. I can become obsessed with my ailment and allow it to cast a shadow over the health in other parts of my system and my life. I remind myself: it is well with my soul.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“No Way!”
[No way He said that!
(And hats off to research associate Alice Martin-Adkins for discovering this un-quote.]
D. Blog: Didn’t Happen, You Say?
Alice and I spent a delightful afternoon with our friend Walter, a teenager when he survived a Nazi concentration camp. The visit brought to mind the ludicrous claim made by a few that the Holocaust didn’t happen, that it’s all a hoax. Can anybody, even the Iranian President, truly believe that claim? The claim itself must be some sort of hoax, a ploy, a sham, a distraction, a further attempt to discredit Jews, blame them even for their own victimization.
Quite apart from all the physical evidence and the personal stories of millions of people like Walter whose relatives were murdered, isn’t it telling that we do not hear Germans say it never happened.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
350
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
When violence and terror appear, beauty evaporates and ugliness fills the void she leaves.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
I wonder whether the biblical characters had the same sort of feelings that I do about taking a journey? There are always unknowns and potential dangers. How will I need to make adjustments along the way? Will things be the way I hope or expect when I arrive at my destination?
It’s a great metaphor for life. And in metaphor as in life, you journey with us.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“After this, you can call me a real nowhere man.”
[Not what He told the disciples at the ascension.]
D. Blog: 350
I took part in the local rally in support of an international goal of 350 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere, the amount deemed likely to make life sustainable and limit climate change.
On the one hand, I was pleased that such an event took place in our city and that city officials have already taken measures to lower local carbon imprint and have plans to do even more. On the other hand, I thought this particular event was too much pep rally and not enough education. In other words, not enough focus on why the effort is so important if we humans are to have the opportunity to flourish as part of the Earth community.
Meanwhile, as the 250-300 of us gathered in the plaza, a group twice that large walked past to demonstrate their support of research to cure Alzheimer’s disease. And four blocks away, another group of about 800 attended a free concert and downtown block party.
The numbers say we’ve got a lot of work to do.
When violence and terror appear, beauty evaporates and ugliness fills the void she leaves.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
I wonder whether the biblical characters had the same sort of feelings that I do about taking a journey? There are always unknowns and potential dangers. How will I need to make adjustments along the way? Will things be the way I hope or expect when I arrive at my destination?
It’s a great metaphor for life. And in metaphor as in life, you journey with us.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“After this, you can call me a real nowhere man.”
[Not what He told the disciples at the ascension.]
D. Blog: 350
I took part in the local rally in support of an international goal of 350 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere, the amount deemed likely to make life sustainable and limit climate change.
On the one hand, I was pleased that such an event took place in our city and that city officials have already taken measures to lower local carbon imprint and have plans to do even more. On the other hand, I thought this particular event was too much pep rally and not enough education. In other words, not enough focus on why the effort is so important if we humans are to have the opportunity to flourish as part of the Earth community.
Meanwhile, as the 250-300 of us gathered in the plaza, a group twice that large walked past to demonstrate their support of research to cure Alzheimer’s disease. And four blocks away, another group of about 800 attended a free concert and downtown block party.
The numbers say we’ve got a lot of work to do.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
What She Wore
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
The war correspondent’s thesis is that war gives meaning to life. If so, we have no vision. If so, we perish.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
Family ties can bind us together.
Ties of friendship sometimes bind tighter than those of family.
Faith circles can bring us into spiritual closeness.
The bond to you grows firmer through all other relationships.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
"Tell them they’ll recognize me in the crowd by my halo."
[Sorry, He only wears one in pictures, so He never said it.]
D. Blog: Un-news -- What She Wore
What Drew wore to some Hollywood event.
What Michelle wore for the Annie Leibowitz photograph of the first couple.
What Hillary wore when she met the Iraqi president.
What Queen Elizabeth wore for her carriage ride.
What outrageous costume that actress wore at the Oscar awards.
Would it be newsworthy to report what Jackie Kennedy wore in Dallas? What Mrs. O’Leary wore to milk her cow? What Anne Frank wore when she was taken into custody? What Mary wore to the crucifixion?
The war correspondent’s thesis is that war gives meaning to life. If so, we have no vision. If so, we perish.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
Family ties can bind us together.
Ties of friendship sometimes bind tighter than those of family.
Faith circles can bring us into spiritual closeness.
The bond to you grows firmer through all other relationships.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
"Tell them they’ll recognize me in the crowd by my halo."
[Sorry, He only wears one in pictures, so He never said it.]
D. Blog: Un-news -- What She Wore
What Drew wore to some Hollywood event.
What Michelle wore for the Annie Leibowitz photograph of the first couple.
What Hillary wore when she met the Iraqi president.
What Queen Elizabeth wore for her carriage ride.
What outrageous costume that actress wore at the Oscar awards.
Would it be newsworthy to report what Jackie Kennedy wore in Dallas? What Mrs. O’Leary wore to milk her cow? What Anne Frank wore when she was taken into custody? What Mary wore to the crucifixion?
Friday, October 23, 2009
Ugly American
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Name calling can’t help achieve peace.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
It troubles me that so many believers see you as a harsh and judging god of law and punishment. I wonder if this is simply their projection, an image of the kind of god they would be. Is our experience of you only what we expect to experience from our gods? Will we allow you to surprise us with your divinity?
The surprise of good news revealed in and by Jesus delighted those who gladly heard of your mercy and forgiveness. For those who saw you as the lawgiver, Jesus was a problem they had to deal with, not the bearer of good news.
May we hear your good news.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“This world is not my home.”
[There is no other world, so He never said this.]
D. Blog: Word of the Week – “ugly”
[Thanks to the Online Etymology Dictionary]
c.1250, uglike "frightful or horrible in appearance," from O.N. uggligr "dreadful, fearful," from uggr "fear, apprehension, dread" (perhaps related to agg "strife, hate") + -ligr "-like." Meaning softened to "very unpleasant to look at" c.1375. Extended sense of "morally offensive" is attested from c.1300; that of "ill-tempered" is from 1687. Among words for this concept, ugly is unusual in being formed from a root for "fear, dread." More common is a compound meaning "ill-shaped" (e.g. Gk. dyseides, L. deformis, Ir. dochrud, Skt. ku-rupa). Another Gmc. group has a root sense of "hate, sorrow" (see loath). Verb uglify is attested from 1576. Ugly duckling (1877) is from the story by Hans Christian Andersen, first translated from Danish to English 1846. Ugly American "U.S. citizen who behaves offensively abroad" is first recorded 1958 as a book title.
[Fearsome and dreadful still apply, 50 years later, to so much U.S. behavior in and impact on the world.]
Name calling can’t help achieve peace.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
It troubles me that so many believers see you as a harsh and judging god of law and punishment. I wonder if this is simply their projection, an image of the kind of god they would be. Is our experience of you only what we expect to experience from our gods? Will we allow you to surprise us with your divinity?
The surprise of good news revealed in and by Jesus delighted those who gladly heard of your mercy and forgiveness. For those who saw you as the lawgiver, Jesus was a problem they had to deal with, not the bearer of good news.
May we hear your good news.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“This world is not my home.”
[There is no other world, so He never said this.]
D. Blog: Word of the Week – “ugly”
[Thanks to the Online Etymology Dictionary]
c.1250, uglike "frightful or horrible in appearance," from O.N. uggligr "dreadful, fearful," from uggr "fear, apprehension, dread" (perhaps related to agg "strife, hate") + -ligr "-like." Meaning softened to "very unpleasant to look at" c.1375. Extended sense of "morally offensive" is attested from c.1300; that of "ill-tempered" is from 1687. Among words for this concept, ugly is unusual in being formed from a root for "fear, dread." More common is a compound meaning "ill-shaped" (e.g. Gk. dyseides, L. deformis, Ir. dochrud, Skt. ku-rupa). Another Gmc. group has a root sense of "hate, sorrow" (see loath). Verb uglify is attested from 1576. Ugly duckling (1877) is from the story by Hans Christian Andersen, first translated from Danish to English 1846. Ugly American "U.S. citizen who behaves offensively abroad" is first recorded 1958 as a book title.
[Fearsome and dreadful still apply, 50 years later, to so much U.S. behavior in and impact on the world.]
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Cosmology, or Thinking BIG
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
We can seek to control our neighbors, or we can seek peace with our neighbors. Not both.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
Remind us again…
- What is most important?
- Why are we here?
- What can we do for you?
- How can we serve others?
- Who do we think Jesus is?
- Of what should we be afraid?
- What was wonderful about yesterday?
- Whom do we love?
- What makes us laugh?
- What inspires us?
- What makes life worthwhile?
- What hope lies before us?
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Got a Light?”
[He didn’t say it like that.]
D. Blog: Cosmology, or Think Big
I just read Brian Swimme’s The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos. Here’s a sampling:
“Unless we live our lives with at least some cosmological awareness, we risk collapsing into tiny worlds. For we can be fooled into thinking that our lives are passed in political entities, such as a state or a nation; or that the bottom-line concerns in life have to do with economic realities of consumer life-styles. In truth, we live in the midst of immensities, and we are intrinsically woven into a great cosmic drama. Economic and political concerns are o real importance, but children need to understand that whatever importance and value these concerns have derive ultimately from our encompassing matrix and its deepest meanings. To be out of touch with this cosmological context is to risk living within a shrunken and distorted version of reality… The human journey is as immense in time as the galaxies are distant in space..”
And then there is Swimme’s colleague, Thomas Berry, and the book The Great Work: Our Way into the Future. Some snippets:
- “Our entire industrial system can be considered as an effort to escape from the constraints of the natural world. We have created an artificial context for our existence through mechanical invention and the extravagant use of energy. In this process we have so violated the norms of limitation, so upset the chemical balance of the atmosphere, the soil, and the oceans, so exploited the Earth in our use of fossil fuels, that we are devastating the fertility of the planet and extinguishing many species of wildlife. We no longer live within the organic, ever-renewing world that is the natural context o our existence.”
- “Our Western culture long ago abandoned its integral relation with the planet on which we live.”
- “The universe, in the phenomenal world, is the primary value, the primary source of existence, the primary destiny of whatever exists.”
- “The accomplishment of the Great Work is the task not simply of the human community but of the entire planet Earth. Even beyond Earth, it is the Great Work of the universe itself.”
We can seek to control our neighbors, or we can seek peace with our neighbors. Not both.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
Remind us again…
- What is most important?
- Why are we here?
- What can we do for you?
- How can we serve others?
- Who do we think Jesus is?
- Of what should we be afraid?
- What was wonderful about yesterday?
- Whom do we love?
- What makes us laugh?
- What inspires us?
- What makes life worthwhile?
- What hope lies before us?
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Got a Light?”
[He didn’t say it like that.]
D. Blog: Cosmology, or Think Big
I just read Brian Swimme’s The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos. Here’s a sampling:
“Unless we live our lives with at least some cosmological awareness, we risk collapsing into tiny worlds. For we can be fooled into thinking that our lives are passed in political entities, such as a state or a nation; or that the bottom-line concerns in life have to do with economic realities of consumer life-styles. In truth, we live in the midst of immensities, and we are intrinsically woven into a great cosmic drama. Economic and political concerns are o real importance, but children need to understand that whatever importance and value these concerns have derive ultimately from our encompassing matrix and its deepest meanings. To be out of touch with this cosmological context is to risk living within a shrunken and distorted version of reality… The human journey is as immense in time as the galaxies are distant in space..”
And then there is Swimme’s colleague, Thomas Berry, and the book The Great Work: Our Way into the Future. Some snippets:
- “Our entire industrial system can be considered as an effort to escape from the constraints of the natural world. We have created an artificial context for our existence through mechanical invention and the extravagant use of energy. In this process we have so violated the norms of limitation, so upset the chemical balance of the atmosphere, the soil, and the oceans, so exploited the Earth in our use of fossil fuels, that we are devastating the fertility of the planet and extinguishing many species of wildlife. We no longer live within the organic, ever-renewing world that is the natural context o our existence.”
- “Our Western culture long ago abandoned its integral relation with the planet on which we live.”
- “The universe, in the phenomenal world, is the primary value, the primary source of existence, the primary destiny of whatever exists.”
- “The accomplishment of the Great Work is the task not simply of the human community but of the entire planet Earth. Even beyond Earth, it is the Great Work of the universe itself.”
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
War Memorials
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
So, we have all these memorials to those killed in war. How about a memorial to the Africans killed in the slave trade?
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
How do we decide which massacre of innocents to memorialize?
We have today’s memorial to victims of the Trade Center and Pentagon bombings.
We don’t have, yet, a memorial to US bombing victims in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.
We have memorials to the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
We don’t have similar memorials to the widespread slaughter of American Indians by white, “Christian” invaders from Europe.
We have battlefield memorials to soldiers killed in you-only-know how many battles in you-only-know how many wars.
We don’t have memorials to the countless civilian deaths and devastated lives from those battles.
I imagine you keep track, but our narrow field of vision and selective memory disturbs me greatly.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“If you’re really into banking, Judas, you should go to Switzerland.”
[Turns out that Judas had a sense of shame, so he couldn’t be a banker. But Jesus never said this.]
D. Blog: The Crimes of Asheville (cont.)
ASHEVILLE — City police Wednesday charged an Asheville man with using a stolen credit card to pay for a limo ride. Rufus Cedric Baker, 24, of Asheville, was charged with obtaining property by false pretense. Bond was set at $1,000.
--Asheville Citizen-Times, Oct. 8, 2009
[Is it just me, or is this a really, really odd crime?]
So, we have all these memorials to those killed in war. How about a memorial to the Africans killed in the slave trade?
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
How do we decide which massacre of innocents to memorialize?
We have today’s memorial to victims of the Trade Center and Pentagon bombings.
We don’t have, yet, a memorial to US bombing victims in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.
We have memorials to the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
We don’t have similar memorials to the widespread slaughter of American Indians by white, “Christian” invaders from Europe.
We have battlefield memorials to soldiers killed in you-only-know how many battles in you-only-know how many wars.
We don’t have memorials to the countless civilian deaths and devastated lives from those battles.
I imagine you keep track, but our narrow field of vision and selective memory disturbs me greatly.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“If you’re really into banking, Judas, you should go to Switzerland.”
[Turns out that Judas had a sense of shame, so he couldn’t be a banker. But Jesus never said this.]
D. Blog: The Crimes of Asheville (cont.)
ASHEVILLE — City police Wednesday charged an Asheville man with using a stolen credit card to pay for a limo ride. Rufus Cedric Baker, 24, of Asheville, was charged with obtaining property by false pretense. Bond was set at $1,000.
--Asheville Citizen-Times, Oct. 8, 2009
[Is it just me, or is this a really, really odd crime?]
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Eye for an Eye Requires Blindness
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
An eye for an eye not only leaves a lot of blind people, it requires a large measure of blindness from the beginning.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
Did you go too far when life evolved to let us loose on Earth? I hope we will be able to avoid the terrible downward spiral that looms before us, but I have numerous skeptical moments. We humans have too high an opinion of our place in the universe. We are not as indispensable as we seem to think we are. Still, I will act in hope.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Yes, dear.”
[Thanks to my research associate, LisaRose Barnes, who uncovered this unquestionable un-quote of Jesus.]
D. Blog: Tuesday Haiku
Pray and wait. Pray and act.
Pray and give thanks.
Repeat continuously.
An eye for an eye not only leaves a lot of blind people, it requires a large measure of blindness from the beginning.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
Did you go too far when life evolved to let us loose on Earth? I hope we will be able to avoid the terrible downward spiral that looms before us, but I have numerous skeptical moments. We humans have too high an opinion of our place in the universe. We are not as indispensable as we seem to think we are. Still, I will act in hope.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Yes, dear.”
[Thanks to my research associate, LisaRose Barnes, who uncovered this unquestionable un-quote of Jesus.]
D. Blog: Tuesday Haiku
Pray and wait. Pray and act.
Pray and give thanks.
Repeat continuously.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Peak Oil
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Who put peace on the back burner?
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
We say you are God of the weak and vulnerable. We also say “only the strong survive” and “God helps those who help themselves.” I don’t think we can have it both ways. The Bible accounts show you again and again acting on behalf of the lowly, the weak, the vulnerable. Most of us fit those descriptions at least some of the time. They don’t so much define who we are as describe our condition. I am weak but you are strong, and knowing your strength is here to support me makes life a greater joy, makes my vulnerability not a cause for panic. For some reason, I am reminded of a song title, at least I think it’s the title: “I love how you love me.” Or, how about “You light up my life”? Keep on coming to prop me on my feet.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Did you see the chick standing in the front of the crowd? One of God’s crowning achievements!”
[From what we know, that wasn’t His style.]
D. Blog: It’s About Natural Resources
For 40 years we’ve had convincing evidence that Earth has limited resources and that the human population is too large to be sustained. We didn’t want to hear it, didn’t want to adjust to those realities, instead wanted to continue as if consumption growth could go on and on and on.
Now we’re on the verge of “peak oil”, that point when the cost of extracting and refining oil becomes greater than the value received from it. When we reach that point, the jolt to the our societies will be far greater than what we experienced in the recent “unprecedented” recession, also brought about by our over-consumptive ways of living.
Many government and corporate officials are aware of the threat, but don’t/can’t do anything to warn us. Some activists are trying. Take a look at the Transition Movement. And watch the documentaries “Peak Oil” and “End of Suburbia.” The films are sobering; the Transition Movement offers hope and a way to respond to the coming global tsunami that will drastically alter the human landscape.
Who put peace on the back burner?
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
We say you are God of the weak and vulnerable. We also say “only the strong survive” and “God helps those who help themselves.” I don’t think we can have it both ways. The Bible accounts show you again and again acting on behalf of the lowly, the weak, the vulnerable. Most of us fit those descriptions at least some of the time. They don’t so much define who we are as describe our condition. I am weak but you are strong, and knowing your strength is here to support me makes life a greater joy, makes my vulnerability not a cause for panic. For some reason, I am reminded of a song title, at least I think it’s the title: “I love how you love me.” Or, how about “You light up my life”? Keep on coming to prop me on my feet.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Did you see the chick standing in the front of the crowd? One of God’s crowning achievements!”
[From what we know, that wasn’t His style.]
D. Blog: It’s About Natural Resources
For 40 years we’ve had convincing evidence that Earth has limited resources and that the human population is too large to be sustained. We didn’t want to hear it, didn’t want to adjust to those realities, instead wanted to continue as if consumption growth could go on and on and on.
Now we’re on the verge of “peak oil”, that point when the cost of extracting and refining oil becomes greater than the value received from it. When we reach that point, the jolt to the our societies will be far greater than what we experienced in the recent “unprecedented” recession, also brought about by our over-consumptive ways of living.
Many government and corporate officials are aware of the threat, but don’t/can’t do anything to warn us. Some activists are trying. Take a look at the Transition Movement. And watch the documentaries “Peak Oil” and “End of Suburbia.” The films are sobering; the Transition Movement offers hope and a way to respond to the coming global tsunami that will drastically alter the human landscape.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Bible Burning
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Onward Christian pacifists, marching as to peace – or to heaven.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
Any time we leave our familiar neighborhood, we enter other worlds.
Any time we step outside our normal patterns, we walk into alternative realities.
Any time we move beyond the walls that enclose our minds, we have a chance of finding you.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Dear Santa, … “
[If it’s not obvious to you that He never said it, you have a problem.]
D. Blog: Bible Burning
A pastor in a nearby town is encouraging his flock to burn any Bible translations that are not King James Version. Others, he says, are satanic.
So, those of us who read other versions are being influenced by Satan…
So, anyone who read or heard the Bible before the King James version, ditto…
So, anyone whose Bible is not in English, ditto…
So, Bible scholars and translators have been wasting their time, and ditto…
One only hopes the flock is small, and that the sheep have more sense than the lost shepherd.
Onward Christian pacifists, marching as to peace – or to heaven.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
Any time we leave our familiar neighborhood, we enter other worlds.
Any time we step outside our normal patterns, we walk into alternative realities.
Any time we move beyond the walls that enclose our minds, we have a chance of finding you.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Dear Santa, … “
[If it’s not obvious to you that He never said it, you have a problem.]
D. Blog: Bible Burning
A pastor in a nearby town is encouraging his flock to burn any Bible translations that are not King James Version. Others, he says, are satanic.
So, those of us who read other versions are being influenced by Satan…
So, anyone who read or heard the Bible before the King James version, ditto…
So, anyone whose Bible is not in English, ditto…
So, Bible scholars and translators have been wasting their time, and ditto…
One only hopes the flock is small, and that the sheep have more sense than the lost shepherd.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Not the News
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
No just peace has ever disappointed.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
Old friends, treasured.
New friends, precious.
Young friends, priceless.
Your friendship, free and indispensable.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
"Don’t be ridiculous! Arms are for hugging."
[Not the way He told his disciples to put away their swords.]
D. Blog: Un-news
Parents lost track of their young son. They thought he was in a helium balloon drifting in the sky. They called for help. A few hours later, the boy awakened after having fallen asleep in the attic. Relief (and embarrassment?) to family and searchers/rescuers.
That should be the end of a local story. Nope. National media attention because it evokes parents’ worst nightmare – lost child. Then the story becomes: was it all a hoax to get attention? Did the news media follow the story, to their embarrassment over wasted air time, that was not real news? If it was a hoax, how dare that family tug at our emotions like that!! Wait: isn’t that what news media do with every broadcast? Stories of little significance, (except, perhaps, to the individuals involved) but that trigger an emotional response in an audience. The not news, either.
No just peace has ever disappointed.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
Old friends, treasured.
New friends, precious.
Young friends, priceless.
Your friendship, free and indispensable.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
"Don’t be ridiculous! Arms are for hugging."
[Not the way He told his disciples to put away their swords.]
D. Blog: Un-news
Parents lost track of their young son. They thought he was in a helium balloon drifting in the sky. They called for help. A few hours later, the boy awakened after having fallen asleep in the attic. Relief (and embarrassment?) to family and searchers/rescuers.
That should be the end of a local story. Nope. National media attention because it evokes parents’ worst nightmare – lost child. Then the story becomes: was it all a hoax to get attention? Did the news media follow the story, to their embarrassment over wasted air time, that was not real news? If it was a hoax, how dare that family tug at our emotions like that!! Wait: isn’t that what news media do with every broadcast? Stories of little significance, (except, perhaps, to the individuals involved) but that trigger an emotional response in an audience. The not news, either.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Imprimatur/Impremature
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Profits from war can be staggering. Costs of war even more so.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
No matter what my question, you provide the answer. I don’t always hear it, but you provide it. I don’t always like it, but you provide it. Your ways are not my ways; you are like the wind – you go where you will.
Usually, though, your answers satisfy me. They address my need in posing the questions. Sometimes the answer involves a lot of work on my part, and patience to wait until I can understand the answer you have for me, or until I encounter the person or writing that reveals the answer to me. I think I’ve become better at waiting, not passively, but alertly.
I think, too, that your answer will sometimes be “make up your own mine” or “figure it out for yourself” because you’ve given me a mind to use. And I wonder whether you don’t give us the questions in the first place to engage us in conversation. I know they get my attention. I hope I’m keeping up my end of the dialogue.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Please pass the pickled herring.”
[Has anyone ever said that? He certainly did not.]
D. Blog: Word of the Week -- "imprimatur" (not "impremature")
The Eggcorn Database has a large collection of interesting attempts people have made to understand words which are not familiar to them. This example, when imprimatur becomes impremature, comes from Ken Lakritz.]
§ It’s one thing when homosexuals design moral views around their sexual preferences, another thing entirely when constitutional lawyers give them the impremature of constitutional legitimacy by throwing out anything based on religion. (catholic.com forum, July 20, 2009)
§ That text has nothing to do with the intent of the other text. It tries to apply the impremature of the IETF to the proposal. (IETF pptext mailing list, Dec 8, 2005)
§ The WINO “report?” Some day, to a lot of Jews, it will look like the Warren Commission Report. Which stands out as quite a piece of junk, getting the impremature of a worthless American Chief Justice. BIG DEAL. (blog comment, May 8, 2007)
An imprimatur — the Latin can be translated as 'let it be printed' — was originally an official license to print or publish, granted by the Roman Catholic church, thereby declaring the work in question as compatible with Roman Catholic doctrine. The word is used by extension to refer to any official endorsement, or even more widely, any kind of (emphatic) approval. The semantic link with premature is that for a work that requires some institution’s imprimature, it would be premature to publish it until the imprimatur has been granted.
Impremature can also be found substituting for the word imprint — a particular publisher’s brand or label — as for example in:
“Chances are good that someone–perhaps Salon, Huffington Post, the Daily Beast–will pick up Froomkin’s column and keep it going. Of course, it won’t quite be the same. It won’t have the Washington Post’s impremature on it.”
What may be happening here is that the two rather learned terms imprimatur and imprint (both obviously close etymological relatives) blend in some speakers’ vocabulary, and the imprimatur>impremature substitution extends out to imprint.
[I notice that a lot of public figures' would benefit from having someone's impremature on what they say...]
Profits from war can be staggering. Costs of war even more so.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
No matter what my question, you provide the answer. I don’t always hear it, but you provide it. I don’t always like it, but you provide it. Your ways are not my ways; you are like the wind – you go where you will.
Usually, though, your answers satisfy me. They address my need in posing the questions. Sometimes the answer involves a lot of work on my part, and patience to wait until I can understand the answer you have for me, or until I encounter the person or writing that reveals the answer to me. I think I’ve become better at waiting, not passively, but alertly.
I think, too, that your answer will sometimes be “make up your own mine” or “figure it out for yourself” because you’ve given me a mind to use. And I wonder whether you don’t give us the questions in the first place to engage us in conversation. I know they get my attention. I hope I’m keeping up my end of the dialogue.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Please pass the pickled herring.”
[Has anyone ever said that? He certainly did not.]
D. Blog: Word of the Week -- "imprimatur" (not "impremature")
The Eggcorn Database has a large collection of interesting attempts people have made to understand words which are not familiar to them. This example, when imprimatur becomes impremature, comes from Ken Lakritz.]
§ It’s one thing when homosexuals design moral views around their sexual preferences, another thing entirely when constitutional lawyers give them the impremature of constitutional legitimacy by throwing out anything based on religion. (catholic.com forum, July 20, 2009)
§ That text has nothing to do with the intent of the other text. It tries to apply the impremature of the IETF to the proposal. (IETF pptext mailing list, Dec 8, 2005)
§ The WINO “report?” Some day, to a lot of Jews, it will look like the Warren Commission Report. Which stands out as quite a piece of junk, getting the impremature of a worthless American Chief Justice. BIG DEAL. (blog comment, May 8, 2007)
An imprimatur — the Latin can be translated as 'let it be printed' — was originally an official license to print or publish, granted by the Roman Catholic church, thereby declaring the work in question as compatible with Roman Catholic doctrine. The word is used by extension to refer to any official endorsement, or even more widely, any kind of (emphatic) approval. The semantic link with premature is that for a work that requires some institution’s imprimature, it would be premature to publish it until the imprimatur has been granted.
Impremature can also be found substituting for the word imprint — a particular publisher’s brand or label — as for example in:
“Chances are good that someone–perhaps Salon, Huffington Post, the Daily Beast–will pick up Froomkin’s column and keep it going. Of course, it won’t quite be the same. It won’t have the Washington Post’s impremature on it.”
What may be happening here is that the two rather learned terms imprimatur and imprint (both obviously close etymological relatives) blend in some speakers’ vocabulary, and the imprimatur>impremature substitution extends out to imprint.
[I notice that a lot of public figures' would benefit from having someone's impremature on what they say...]
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Green Man
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
War belongs on the way-back burner, the one on the entrance to hell.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
You give us the courage we need to try difficult things, to do things that must be done even when we might wish to be doing something else. You supply gentle encouragement to try new and different things that take us out of our routine and our comfort zone. Thus you expand our comfort zone and broaden our notion of what’s routine. You lead us into a fuller experience of life, provide the therapy to overcome our minor agoraphobia.
Moving outward, we often find that there are many more friends and neighbors than there are unfriendly or cold or hostile folk. They too are being empowered and led by you, so we should expect nothing less than your receptive and accommodating self when we step out in faith and courage.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“I cannot tell a lie. I killed that fig tree.”
[Check it out and you’ll find that’s not what He said about that tree.]
D. Blog: Green Man
From the book by William Anderson:
“Our remote ancestors said to their Mother Earth: ‘We are yours.’
Modern humanity has said to Nature: ‘You are mine.’
The Green Man has returned as the living face of the whole earth so that through his mouth we may say to the universe: ‘We are one.’”
The point being that human survival depends upon getting over the notion that we are separate from nature/Earth/universe.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Screwdriver Theft Alert!
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
My handbasket is headed toward peace, how about yours?
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
Who are these “powers that be?” Can they really do what we seem to think they can do? Do they honestly think that’s who they are? Maybe we need to a reminder of who you are.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“You have 2,631,782 hairs on your head. Margin of error? That’s a joke, right?”
[He was not a statistician, but He never said this.]
D. Blog: Western North Carolina Crime (cont.)
BILTMORE FOREST — Police arrested an Asheville man who they say broke into a Biltmore Forest residence on Stuyvesant Road and stole a screwdriver. Jeffery Allen Wilson, 44, was charged with first-degree burglary, larceny and resisting arrest, according to warrants served today. Bond was set at $25,500.
-- Asheville Citizen-Times, Oct. 7, 2009
[Okay, resisting arrest could be serious. But stealing a screwdriver??? Okay, I know Biltmore Forest is a high-end neighborhood. But was the screwdriver made of gold??? So many unanswered questions in these crime reports. Like, why set such a high bond in this case? And, why the $500 part? I'd sell my favorite screwdriver for much less than that...]
My handbasket is headed toward peace, how about yours?
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
Who are these “powers that be?” Can they really do what we seem to think they can do? Do they honestly think that’s who they are? Maybe we need to a reminder of who you are.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“You have 2,631,782 hairs on your head. Margin of error? That’s a joke, right?”
[He was not a statistician, but He never said this.]
D. Blog: Western North Carolina Crime (cont.)
BILTMORE FOREST — Police arrested an Asheville man who they say broke into a Biltmore Forest residence on Stuyvesant Road and stole a screwdriver. Jeffery Allen Wilson, 44, was charged with first-degree burglary, larceny and resisting arrest, according to warrants served today. Bond was set at $25,500.
-- Asheville Citizen-Times, Oct. 7, 2009
[Okay, resisting arrest could be serious. But stealing a screwdriver??? Okay, I know Biltmore Forest is a high-end neighborhood. But was the screwdriver made of gold??? So many unanswered questions in these crime reports. Like, why set such a high bond in this case? And, why the $500 part? I'd sell my favorite screwdriver for much less than that...]
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Sanctimonious Warring
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Cain did not claim God’s sanction for killing his brother. We condemn Cain, then claim divine sanction for going to war.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
If we let you nurture us, we grow strong in spirit.
If we let you guide us, we travel to places of hope and promise.
If we let you teach us, we learn about ourselves, our world and you.
If we let you support us, we discover gifts that serve our community.
If we let you love us, we know forgiveness and compassion.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“My crazy shrink says I have something called suicidal ideation.”
[It was a different era, so He never said this.]
D. Blog: Tuesday Haiku
When I die
Spread my ashes in the woods
Where I will be going home
Cain did not claim God’s sanction for killing his brother. We condemn Cain, then claim divine sanction for going to war.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
If we let you nurture us, we grow strong in spirit.
If we let you guide us, we travel to places of hope and promise.
If we let you teach us, we learn about ourselves, our world and you.
If we let you support us, we discover gifts that serve our community.
If we let you love us, we know forgiveness and compassion.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“My crazy shrink says I have something called suicidal ideation.”
[It was a different era, so He never said this.]
D. Blog: Tuesday Haiku
When I die
Spread my ashes in the woods
Where I will be going home
Monday, October 12, 2009
Who Is My Brother?
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
The past is but prologue to peace.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
When the party starts, I’ll be ready to celebrate.
When the food and drinks are served, I’ll be seated at the table.
When the games begin, count me in.
When your door opens, I’ll step right inside.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
"My friends I choose, my family are inflicted upon me."
[Not quite what He said when family members came for Him.]
D. Blog: Who Is My Brother?
A group of 13 men went on retreat together. We shared bits of our life stories. We ate and sang together. We enjoyed poetry, music and ritual together. We spoke of what it means to be a man of spirit in a culture that holds up materialistic, “self-made,” competitive or violent men as role models. We became community as we recognized one another as brothers.
The past is but prologue to peace.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
When the party starts, I’ll be ready to celebrate.
When the food and drinks are served, I’ll be seated at the table.
When the games begin, count me in.
When your door opens, I’ll step right inside.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
"My friends I choose, my family are inflicted upon me."
[Not quite what He said when family members came for Him.]
D. Blog: Who Is My Brother?
A group of 13 men went on retreat together. We shared bits of our life stories. We ate and sang together. We enjoyed poetry, music and ritual together. We spoke of what it means to be a man of spirit in a culture that holds up materialistic, “self-made,” competitive or violent men as role models. We became community as we recognized one another as brothers.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Knowing Our Place
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Did anyone ever pray for war?
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
You created nature and its marvels, but you are not contained in it. Nature gives us one window into who you are, but not the only one. Also not the best one, I think. That would be Jesus. If we had only nature as our window for knowing you, we might conclude, as C.S. Lewis says, that you are an artist, but a merciless one. Fortunately, we have other windows that allow us to know more of you. You are beyond nature, too, so super-natural. I wonder how many of the details you put into place in the “natural order.” Or did you in some cases set the guiding principles of life and growth and interaction, then leave the details to be determined by the ensuing process. Whichever, it’s all a source of wondering meditation for me this morning. I want to be a respecter of the natural world and my place in it.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Everybody got your lifejackets? Could be a storm on the sea later in the afternoon.”
[No, He gave them no warning.]
D. Blog: Knowing Our Place
Ecclesiastes 3:18-20
“I said in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show that they are but animals. For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals: for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust and all turn to dust again.”
I didn’t memorize this text in Sunday school. I never heard a sermon based on this text. I didn’t know it was even in the Bible until yesterday. I think it should be highlighted as one of the most important passages for our time…
Did anyone ever pray for war?
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
You created nature and its marvels, but you are not contained in it. Nature gives us one window into who you are, but not the only one. Also not the best one, I think. That would be Jesus. If we had only nature as our window for knowing you, we might conclude, as C.S. Lewis says, that you are an artist, but a merciless one. Fortunately, we have other windows that allow us to know more of you. You are beyond nature, too, so super-natural. I wonder how many of the details you put into place in the “natural order.” Or did you in some cases set the guiding principles of life and growth and interaction, then leave the details to be determined by the ensuing process. Whichever, it’s all a source of wondering meditation for me this morning. I want to be a respecter of the natural world and my place in it.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Everybody got your lifejackets? Could be a storm on the sea later in the afternoon.”
[No, He gave them no warning.]
D. Blog: Knowing Our Place
Ecclesiastes 3:18-20
“I said in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show that they are but animals. For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals: for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust and all turn to dust again.”
I didn’t memorize this text in Sunday school. I never heard a sermon based on this text. I didn’t know it was even in the Bible until yesterday. I think it should be highlighted as one of the most important passages for our time…
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Anxiety
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Peace might not be perfect, but it beats the alternatives.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
They say that seeing you face to face would be more than a human being could handle. I don’t know if you have a face other than in the faces of people around us. Maybe the saying means that to see your essence is simply beyond our capacity. But some manifestations of you are manageable. They give us glimpses of glory, comfort, assurance and hope. Thank you for not appearing in ways we can’t handle.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Well, sorry, Nathaniel. Did you think the Messiah would look like Charlton Heston?”
[Of course not!]
D. Blog: Anxiety
A full to-do list fills me with a sense of anxiety. How can I manage it all? I do the first thing on the list, the second and the third. These go better than I had feared, so I gain a bit of optimism.
Then I get a phone call and I learn that one of my appointments for the day has to be postponed. I check items four, six and seven from the list in short order. Suddenly I have extra time. A nap fits into the schedule quite nicely.
Why be anxious?
Peace might not be perfect, but it beats the alternatives.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
They say that seeing you face to face would be more than a human being could handle. I don’t know if you have a face other than in the faces of people around us. Maybe the saying means that to see your essence is simply beyond our capacity. But some manifestations of you are manageable. They give us glimpses of glory, comfort, assurance and hope. Thank you for not appearing in ways we can’t handle.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Well, sorry, Nathaniel. Did you think the Messiah would look like Charlton Heston?”
[Of course not!]
D. Blog: Anxiety
A full to-do list fills me with a sense of anxiety. How can I manage it all? I do the first thing on the list, the second and the third. These go better than I had feared, so I gain a bit of optimism.
Then I get a phone call and I learn that one of my appointments for the day has to be postponed. I check items four, six and seven from the list in short order. Suddenly I have extra time. A nap fits into the schedule quite nicely.
Why be anxious?
Friday, October 9, 2009
Purloin that Nuclear Waste
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Peace has never bothered me.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
You are always emerging into view. Each day I feel as if I see and know a little more of you. Always in part, but always more. The best view I’ve seen is in the person of Jesus – his life and teachings, death and resurrection. He reveals you quite well, I think. What a grand idea, incarnation. We’re still trying to comprehend it.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Well, yes, James. I suppose if Solomon did it, then it is biblically permissible. Um , just out of curiosity – how many wives do you have in mind?”
[His guys missed a lot, but He didn’t say this.]
D. Blog: Word of the Week – “purloin”
FreeDictionary.com tells us it means:
Verb
1.
purloin - make off with belongings of others
cabbage, filch, pilfer, snarf, swipe, abstract, nobble, pinch, sneak, hook, lift, steal - take without the owner's consent
[cabbage?, snarf?, abstract?, nobble? For real??]
The Online Etymology Dictionary says it comes from:
c.1440, "to put far away," from Anglo-Fr. purloigner "remove," from O.Fr. porloigner "put off, retard, delay," from por- (from L. pro- "forth") + O.Fr. loing "far," from L. longe, from longus. Sense of "to steal" (1548) is a development in Eng.
[What happened to put far away? I like that one. We have a lot of words that mean steal.]
Peace has never bothered me.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
You are always emerging into view. Each day I feel as if I see and know a little more of you. Always in part, but always more. The best view I’ve seen is in the person of Jesus – his life and teachings, death and resurrection. He reveals you quite well, I think. What a grand idea, incarnation. We’re still trying to comprehend it.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Well, yes, James. I suppose if Solomon did it, then it is biblically permissible. Um , just out of curiosity – how many wives do you have in mind?”
[His guys missed a lot, but He didn’t say this.]
D. Blog: Word of the Week – “purloin”
FreeDictionary.com tells us it means:
Verb
1.
purloin - make off with belongings of others
cabbage, filch, pilfer, snarf, swipe, abstract, nobble, pinch, sneak, hook, lift, steal - take without the owner's consent
[cabbage?, snarf?, abstract?, nobble? For real??]
The Online Etymology Dictionary says it comes from:
c.1440, "to put far away," from Anglo-Fr. purloigner "remove," from O.Fr. porloigner "put off, retard, delay," from por- (from L. pro- "forth") + O.Fr. loing "far," from L. longe, from longus. Sense of "to steal" (1548) is a development in Eng.
[What happened to put far away? I like that one. We have a lot of words that mean steal.]
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Swedes Win on Spanking
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Every hug is part of the peace process.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One, Tireless One,
You have energy to spare, and spare it you do, supplying us with the oomph we need to carry out the things you have for us to do. Do you ever rest, really? It seems to me that the seventh day is as busy as all the others for you. I appreciate it though, that you gave us the story of your resting. We even have the prescription for 15% rest each week. When we follow that prescription, we find ourselves re-energized and ready to act. Without that rest, our energy fades and we become stale. Maybe the rest from our labors connects us to your resting state, puts our spirits in touch with your resting place “by still waters.” Maybe you manage to do several million things at once, including some rest and renewal that keeps your energy supply beyond limit. Your life force continues unabated, even when we blindly destroy various life forms. Like an energizer, you keep going and going. But you are much more than a cute TV commercial. You’ve got the real thing, and sometimes we get a glimpse of it working. Awesome power that could take a speck of matter and turn it into a vast universe. You’re the universal powerhouse, the big generator.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“I’d love to see signs of intelligent life in my disciples.”
[Not what He said when John the Baptizer’s disciples interviewed Him for the role of Messiah.]
D. Blog: No spanking??
You’ve got to admire the Swedes. Despite the doomsayers who thought outlawing spanking would lead to an unruly generation of children, their 30-year results say otherwise. When parents behave decently toward children, the children mature into decent adults. Go figure!!
As you know, I love this sort of news!
Every hug is part of the peace process.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One, Tireless One,
You have energy to spare, and spare it you do, supplying us with the oomph we need to carry out the things you have for us to do. Do you ever rest, really? It seems to me that the seventh day is as busy as all the others for you. I appreciate it though, that you gave us the story of your resting. We even have the prescription for 15% rest each week. When we follow that prescription, we find ourselves re-energized and ready to act. Without that rest, our energy fades and we become stale. Maybe the rest from our labors connects us to your resting state, puts our spirits in touch with your resting place “by still waters.” Maybe you manage to do several million things at once, including some rest and renewal that keeps your energy supply beyond limit. Your life force continues unabated, even when we blindly destroy various life forms. Like an energizer, you keep going and going. But you are much more than a cute TV commercial. You’ve got the real thing, and sometimes we get a glimpse of it working. Awesome power that could take a speck of matter and turn it into a vast universe. You’re the universal powerhouse, the big generator.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“I’d love to see signs of intelligent life in my disciples.”
[Not what He said when John the Baptizer’s disciples interviewed Him for the role of Messiah.]
D. Blog: No spanking??
You’ve got to admire the Swedes. Despite the doomsayers who thought outlawing spanking would lead to an unruly generation of children, their 30-year results say otherwise. When parents behave decently toward children, the children mature into decent adults. Go figure!!
As you know, I love this sort of news!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Men Commit Crimes, Too
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
War offers a solution to one thing only: overpopulation.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
You gave us awesome/awful intelligence, creativity, power, physical bodies, emotions, and lives. Sometimes the awful makes me wonder whether you knew what you were doing. At other times the awesome convinces me that you did.
I hope I tilt the weight to the awesome side.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“James, you wear the clown costume for the parade into Jerusalem.”
[I don’t think so…]
D. Blog: Men’s Crime in WNC
ARDEN — Authorities in Buncombe County charged an Arden man with breaking into a home and stealing a house key. Azucema Hernandez, 24, of Sweeten Creek Road, was charged with breaking and entering and larceny for entering the home on Sycamore Drive and taking the key, according to warrants filed at the Buncombe County Magistrate's Office. His bond was set at $1,000.
-- Asheville Citizen-Times, Oct. 6, 2009
[The crime wave in the area has tourists staying away this fall season.]
War offers a solution to one thing only: overpopulation.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
You gave us awesome/awful intelligence, creativity, power, physical bodies, emotions, and lives. Sometimes the awful makes me wonder whether you knew what you were doing. At other times the awesome convinces me that you did.
I hope I tilt the weight to the awesome side.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“James, you wear the clown costume for the parade into Jerusalem.”
[I don’t think so…]
D. Blog: Men’s Crime in WNC
ARDEN — Authorities in Buncombe County charged an Arden man with breaking into a home and stealing a house key. Azucema Hernandez, 24, of Sweeten Creek Road, was charged with breaking and entering and larceny for entering the home on Sycamore Drive and taking the key, according to warrants filed at the Buncombe County Magistrate's Office. His bond was set at $1,000.
-- Asheville Citizen-Times, Oct. 6, 2009
[The crime wave in the area has tourists staying away this fall season.]
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Peace News Flash
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
News Anchor: “We have lots of peace news tonight, beginning with the school child who picked up the gum wrapper on the grass and put it in the trash.”
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
You remind me that your experience relative to time differs from ours. From the perspective of eternity, rest is a given. Even as you act in time and space, you also rest in eternity. Maybe it’s like what happens to us when we’re absorbed in some activity. We can be mindless of time, lost from our surroundings. In such moments it can seem as if we have experienced something of eternity. And we have. We are then absorbed in another level of consciousness, where Spirit has dominion and in which we are inspirited, i.e., energized. I feel your power in those moments.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“No one comes to the Father but by me. As for the Mother, who knows?”
[Even if He knew, He wasn’t saying.]
D. Blog: Tuesday Haiku
Kept inside by rain.
No problem! Relax, enjoy.
This book is awesome!
News Anchor: “We have lots of peace news tonight, beginning with the school child who picked up the gum wrapper on the grass and put it in the trash.”
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
You remind me that your experience relative to time differs from ours. From the perspective of eternity, rest is a given. Even as you act in time and space, you also rest in eternity. Maybe it’s like what happens to us when we’re absorbed in some activity. We can be mindless of time, lost from our surroundings. In such moments it can seem as if we have experienced something of eternity. And we have. We are then absorbed in another level of consciousness, where Spirit has dominion and in which we are inspirited, i.e., energized. I feel your power in those moments.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“No one comes to the Father but by me. As for the Mother, who knows?”
[Even if He knew, He wasn’t saying.]
D. Blog: Tuesday Haiku
Kept inside by rain.
No problem! Relax, enjoy.
This book is awesome!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Politician Questions
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Keep your eyes on the prize: Peace
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
My beliefs feel well settled.
My spirit enjoys the surprises you bring.
My soul rests secure with you.
I abide in your peace.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Why can’t we all just get along?”
[Not what He said to scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, or lawyers.]
D. Blog: Politicians
I know it’s too easy to criticize politicians on too many fronts. However, reading accounts of actions by the Nevada senator, the South Carolina governor, a former presidential candidate from South Carolina (and too many other national politicians), lead me to ask:
- What happened to their personal moral compass?
- What leads them to think it’s okay as long if they don’t get caught?
- What kind of citizenry does not demand that they be removed from office when they go so far as to misuse their authority in an attempt to keep their illicit affairs from the public?
- Have we come to accept such things as part of what happens with those we put into power?
- What sort of arrogance lies in them to think they can preach to the public about morality, righteousness, or family values?
- How does a nation project an image of democratic and noble ideals when these are the people we elect to office?
- How do we avoid cynicism about all of politics when these are the politicians and the deeds that get so much media attention?
. . .
Keep your eyes on the prize: Peace
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
My beliefs feel well settled.
My spirit enjoys the surprises you bring.
My soul rests secure with you.
I abide in your peace.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“Why can’t we all just get along?”
[Not what He said to scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, or lawyers.]
D. Blog: Politicians
I know it’s too easy to criticize politicians on too many fronts. However, reading accounts of actions by the Nevada senator, the South Carolina governor, a former presidential candidate from South Carolina (and too many other national politicians), lead me to ask:
- What happened to their personal moral compass?
- What leads them to think it’s okay as long if they don’t get caught?
- What kind of citizenry does not demand that they be removed from office when they go so far as to misuse their authority in an attempt to keep their illicit affairs from the public?
- Have we come to accept such things as part of what happens with those we put into power?
- What sort of arrogance lies in them to think they can preach to the public about morality, righteousness, or family values?
- How does a nation project an image of democratic and noble ideals when these are the people we elect to office?
- How do we avoid cynicism about all of politics when these are the politicians and the deeds that get so much media attention?
. . .
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Breaking Waters
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Seen floating on the wind: Peace and more peace.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
You made it for our living.
We’d like to remake the world to our liking.
You sent Jesus as your true image.
We’d like to make you in our image.
Our graven/craven images make shoddy reflections of your creation and of you.
They fall to pieces before you.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“I know all the punch lines, so I never laugh at jokes.”
[C,mon, Jesus, humor us.]
D. Blog: A Divinely Feminine Image
Seen floating on the wind: Peace and more peace.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
You made it for our living.
We’d like to remake the world to our liking.
You sent Jesus as your true image.
We’d like to make you in our image.
Our graven/craven images make shoddy reflections of your creation and of you.
They fall to pieces before you.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“I know all the punch lines, so I never laugh at jokes.”
[C,mon, Jesus, humor us.]
D. Blog: A Divinely Feminine Image
"Breaking Waters"
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Habitat Angels
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
Psst… Join the peace conspiracy.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
I have abundant life, full to overflowing with sights and sounds, activities, experiences, work and play, love and laughter, travel, friends, beauty and memories. All the goodness you promise. Blessing. Good luck. Relative health. None of it “deserved” any more than the starving child in Africa deserves her fate. I can’t ask for anything more – except for her.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“What makes you think she’ll be in heaven, having married all 7 brothers? Maybe she poisoned the first six…”
[Not the answer He gave the questioners. Suppose the women asked Him about a man who had serial marriages…]
D. Blog: Habitat Angels
I met some angels yesterday when I helped with building a Habitat for Humanity house. There was Kenny, the crew supervisor, who has done this work for more than seven years. He skillfully and gently guides the workers, assigning them according to their skill levels to the next steps in the building process.
There were cheerful volunteers, happy to be contributing their time and energy and varied skills to build a house for a deserving family.
There was the elderly immigrant couple, already living in their new Habitat house, doing their neighborly part to build another’s house.
And there was the eager homeowner-to-be, so pleased to participate in building her own place, dreaming about how she might landscape the yard and decorate the interior.
In the midst of such a positive and cooperative spirit, it was easy to believe I was in the presence of angels.
Psst… Join the peace conspiracy.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
I have abundant life, full to overflowing with sights and sounds, activities, experiences, work and play, love and laughter, travel, friends, beauty and memories. All the goodness you promise. Blessing. Good luck. Relative health. None of it “deserved” any more than the starving child in Africa deserves her fate. I can’t ask for anything more – except for her.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“What makes you think she’ll be in heaven, having married all 7 brothers? Maybe she poisoned the first six…”
[Not the answer He gave the questioners. Suppose the women asked Him about a man who had serial marriages…]
D. Blog: Habitat Angels
I met some angels yesterday when I helped with building a Habitat for Humanity house. There was Kenny, the crew supervisor, who has done this work for more than seven years. He skillfully and gently guides the workers, assigning them according to their skill levels to the next steps in the building process.
There were cheerful volunteers, happy to be contributing their time and energy and varied skills to build a house for a deserving family.
There was the elderly immigrant couple, already living in their new Habitat house, doing their neighborly part to build another’s house.
And there was the eager homeowner-to-be, so pleased to participate in building her own place, dreaming about how she might landscape the yard and decorate the interior.
In the midst of such a positive and cooperative spirit, it was easy to believe I was in the presence of angels.
Friday, October 2, 2009
How Persnickety are You?
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
National glory shines only in times of peace.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
You are. Perhaps that distinguishes you from the many gods that are not, except as made up by our minds, or those idols that we sometimes allow to take a pre-eminent place in our lives. They are false gods, illusions, delusions. You are. Real. The real thing.
The response given to Moses in the book of Exodus when he asked for your name works pretty well “I will be who I will be.” We can’t pin you down. We can’t control you by having one name for you. It is beyond our power to name you. It is enough that we know your presence. You are.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“And when you preach, your sermon must never exceed 20 minutes in length.”
[I heard that from somebody in authority, but not from Him.]
D. Blog: Word of the Week – “persnickety”
"1. obsessed with detail: overly attentive to detail and trivia ( informal )
2. U.S. snobbish: snobbish in terms of choice, and thus wanting or accepting only the finest things
3. U.S. requiring keen eye for detail: necessitating precise, keen attention to details
[Early 20th century. Alteration of pernickety]"
[Thanks to msn.encarta.com for a definition. And “pernickity,” you ask? Online Etymology Dictionary answers, sort of. A persnickety person might find the answer lacking in precision, somehow, perhaps.]
"1808, 'precise, fastidious,' extended form of Scot. pernicky, of uncertain origin, perhaps somehow from particular."
National glory shines only in times of peace.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
You are. Perhaps that distinguishes you from the many gods that are not, except as made up by our minds, or those idols that we sometimes allow to take a pre-eminent place in our lives. They are false gods, illusions, delusions. You are. Real. The real thing.
The response given to Moses in the book of Exodus when he asked for your name works pretty well “I will be who I will be.” We can’t pin you down. We can’t control you by having one name for you. It is beyond our power to name you. It is enough that we know your presence. You are.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“And when you preach, your sermon must never exceed 20 minutes in length.”
[I heard that from somebody in authority, but not from Him.]
D. Blog: Word of the Week – “persnickety”
"1. obsessed with detail: overly attentive to detail and trivia ( informal )
2. U.S. snobbish: snobbish in terms of choice, and thus wanting or accepting only the finest things
3. U.S. requiring keen eye for detail: necessitating precise, keen attention to details
[Early 20th century. Alteration of pernickety]"
[Thanks to msn.encarta.com for a definition. And “pernickity,” you ask? Online Etymology Dictionary answers, sort of. A persnickety person might find the answer lacking in precision, somehow, perhaps.]
"1808, 'precise, fastidious,' extended form of Scot. pernicky, of uncertain origin, perhaps somehow from particular."
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Original Blessing
A. Unabashed Pacifist:
The homeland can only find security by establishing peace.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
I’ve noticed that in the realm of athletics, people seem to have a lot of interest in naming the all time greatest. Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods? All time greatest basketball team, football team, baseball team. Well, I know you’re the all-time great God. And not just because you have no real competition. You aren’t even competing; you’re simply completing your creation, if complete is something that’s possible with creation. Being all-time God also means you are God of all time – past, present, and future. Your dominion doesn’t end even then, for you are God beyond all time. We have only the faintest ideas about that, but we imagine it must be wonderful, for you are there in your fullness. For now we can only marvel at your glory in our time and for all time.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“This blueberry chipotle sauce will make your fish taste amazing, Pete.”
[It would, but He never said it.]
D. Blog: Blessings – See before Counting
I heard a preacher say that we Christians need to balance our theology of original sin with a theology of original blessing. Personally, I don’t want a balance between the two. I think the beam needs to tilt heavily to the side of original blessing. That’s the side that’s about God rather than about us. That’s the side that points our religious life to a focus on you rather than on us. That’s the side that takes us out of our self-centeredness so that we can relate well with the Divine.
God provides original blessing. We need first and foremost to acknowledge that. Again and again we need to recognize and give thanks for the blessings that are ours in our lives. Included among them is the blessing of forgiveness for our sin, which doesn’t amount to nearly as much in God’s eyes as it does in the eyes of so many tunnel-visioned religious types. We can’t count blessings if we won’t see them.
The homeland can only find security by establishing peace.
B. Unabashed Christian:
Holy One,
I’ve noticed that in the realm of athletics, people seem to have a lot of interest in naming the all time greatest. Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods? All time greatest basketball team, football team, baseball team. Well, I know you’re the all-time great God. And not just because you have no real competition. You aren’t even competing; you’re simply completing your creation, if complete is something that’s possible with creation. Being all-time God also means you are God of all time – past, present, and future. Your dominion doesn’t end even then, for you are God beyond all time. We have only the faintest ideas about that, but we imagine it must be wonderful, for you are there in your fullness. For now we can only marvel at your glory in our time and for all time.
Amen
C. Un-quoting Jesus:
“This blueberry chipotle sauce will make your fish taste amazing, Pete.”
[It would, but He never said it.]
D. Blog: Blessings – See before Counting
I heard a preacher say that we Christians need to balance our theology of original sin with a theology of original blessing. Personally, I don’t want a balance between the two. I think the beam needs to tilt heavily to the side of original blessing. That’s the side that’s about God rather than about us. That’s the side that points our religious life to a focus on you rather than on us. That’s the side that takes us out of our self-centeredness so that we can relate well with the Divine.
God provides original blessing. We need first and foremost to acknowledge that. Again and again we need to recognize and give thanks for the blessings that are ours in our lives. Included among them is the blessing of forgiveness for our sin, which doesn’t amount to nearly as much in God’s eyes as it does in the eyes of so many tunnel-visioned religious types. We can’t count blessings if we won’t see them.
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