WINNER: Offbeat Outsider: Let the little Martians come to me.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Having a Baby
Bringing babies into the world can be fun:
If I were a OBGYN, I would assume mothers in labor like really funny jokes, so I would definitely get a terrified look on my face whenever I delivered a baby, and hire an actress to pretend to be a nurse and she would gasp in horror and say "Santa Maria!" and make the sign of the cross and step away in shock when the babies head came out, and then I would say "Nurse, get a hold of yourself", but I'm pretty sure all that would have happened with Paltrow anyway. Which is cool because actresses with their own nurse outfit probably aren't cheap.
Hat tip.
If I were a OBGYN, I would assume mothers in labor like really funny jokes, so I would definitely get a terrified look on my face whenever I delivered a baby, and hire an actress to pretend to be a nurse and she would gasp in horror and say "Santa Maria!" and make the sign of the cross and step away in shock when the babies head came out, and then I would say "Nurse, get a hold of yourself", but I'm pretty sure all that would have happened with Paltrow anyway. Which is cool because actresses with their own nurse outfit probably aren't cheap.
Hat tip.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Friday, April 28, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Total Depravity
In my recent theological statement for candidacy certification, I included explicit support for the doctrine of Total Depravity. Despite a recommendation to do otherwise due to its assocation with Calvinism, I decided to keep it in because (1) I believe it (2) it's thoroughly Wesleyan and (3) I couldn't find a better way to express the same idea with different language.But I also struggle with this doctrine.
Seminary has shown me how thoroughly humanist is my worldview [shakes fist]Curse/Bless you Ayn Rand![/shakes fist]. The idea that humanity is totally incapable of good on its own volition induces a bout of philosophical nausea. It is abhorrent. My mind rejects it violently as degrading to the accomplishments of mankind, such as democracy, technology, and art. And if humanity is totally depraved, how does it merit 'human rights'?We are born with Original Sin, inherited from Adam and Eve. We are imputed with Original Guilt by God who holds us accountable for that sin. I am held responsible for something that someone else did thousands of years ago. "It's our nature; we are born with a sinful nature," is the inevitable reply. Yes, but who designed us to have that nature? Who decided that we would bear the guilt for an ancient ancestor?
God did. How then is such a God rightfully called just?
That's my head talking. The humanist in me is outraged at the idea of original sin and guilt imputed by a just God.
But that changes when I'm in intensive prayer; when there's no one in the room but me and God. Then my head remains blind to his teachings, but my heart is receptive. When God and I are alone, he peels back the layers of my soul and quietly teaches me. He shows me how hopeless I am to resist sin without him. He shows me that although I am hopeless to resist, I am the sole person choosing to sin. It is a logical impossibility, and yet it makes perfect sense when he explains it.
Total Depravity (and its necessary companions Original Sin and Original Guilt) aren't ideas that I can reason, but they are ideas that I can emote. I can't think Total Depravity, but I can experience it. I can't rationalize it, but I can believe it.
UPDATE: Brett Royal has a post and a poll on Wesley's view of Total Depravity.
Methodist Blogger Profile: Olive Morgan
Olive Morgan of Octomusings
Editor's Note: This is a great delight! At 85, Olive is the seniormost member of the Methodist blogosphere. She's a living witness to history: world, British, and Methodist. Alas, her blog server is presently down and her picture would not load, but I converted her picture into a .pdf file, which you can view here. Enjoy the story of this amazing woman.
I had the good fortune to be born 85 years ago into a Christian family with my father a long-standing Methodist Local Preacher and Sunday School Superintendent and my mother a passionate supporter of Women’s Work (the overseas mission work of the church). Methodism was very strong in the Durham and Yorkshire dales of the North Pennines where I grew up and I owe much to the strong faith found in those country chapels. I was fifth in a family of seven children and we had a family concert party. I made my own commitment to Jesus at the age of 16 during a Cliff College campaign and I treasure that ‘Great Decision’ slip still. At 17 I passed the Civil Service examination and was sent to work in the Unemployment Assistance Board in Westminster. Almost immediately, at Clapham High Street Methodist Church I met my future husband, Edward (also the fifth of seven children), who was studying at the Pharmaceutical College. We married in 1941 when he was called up for service in the 2nd World War and we had been married for 58 years when he died 6 years ago.
We have two children, Tony (who lectures in Music at Nottingham and Keele universities, as well as conducting his own choir http://www.rytonchorale.org.uk/ and his professional orchestra the English Pro Musica as well as running a thriving business http://www.bassbags.co.uk/ selling instrument cases world-wide) and Sheila (who set up the English Department of a University in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 13 years ago after teaching in various other Universities across the world.) On my husband’s death, the family set up a charity http://www.edwardmorgan.org.uk/ in his memory to further the education of disadvantaged young people under the age of 25, mainly in Vietnam but also in the UK.
Tony’s wife is also a Music Lecturer and they have 4 adult children – David helps to run Bassbags and has patented several of his own inventions that have helped quarrying and the building of Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport; Anna went into teaching after graduating from Durham University and married another teacher, Carl, last year, after which they became house parents at Bethany School in Kent; Richard gained his Masters degree at UMIST and is currently manager of a wine company; and Emily graduated from Durham last year before joining the accountancy firm KPMG in London.
I have been a member of Caversham Heights Methodist Church since coming to live in Reading in 1948 and have served in various ways at local and Circuit level. I am currently Media Publicity Director and pastoral visitor, as well as producing monthly Prayer Guidelines for the Northern Section of the Circuit, and I am a Circuit representative at the Southampton District Synod.
Why do you blog?
I was still itching to spread the Gospel, despite being told that after 80‘you should ‘leave it to the young ones’, when I read a half-page article in the Methodist Recorder in which Richard Hall made a plea for more Christian bloggers, arguing that ‘if John Wesley were alive today he would have a blog instead of a journal’.
What has been your best blogging experience?
The way in which the young bloggers accepted me as one of them and often asked for my advice. I became very involved with a 24-year-old New Yorker who escaped the 9/11 bombings but 4 years later was still in need of posttraumatic stress counselling, though refusing to agree to it. [If anyone in New York reads this, please get in touch with me for he is now in greater need of help than ever.]
What would be your main advice to a novice blogger?
- Blog daily if possible, even if you have to copy a poem or a paragraph from a newspaper (but don’t omit the name of the author or newspaper).
- Don’t use text speak; instead, use your blog as a way of improving your writing skills.
- Be as interesting and varied as you can.
- Visit other blogs and leave comments often.
If you only had time to read three blogs a day, what would they be?
http://www.theconnexion.net/wp
http://www.wesleydaily.com/
http://www.locustsandhoney.blogspot.com/
All three give a wider perspective than a single blogger.
Who are your spiritual heroes?
Helen Keller, Gladys Aylward, Selwyn Hughes
What are you reading at the moment?
I have just finished The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren and Rob Frost’s Lenten study book The Way of the Cross. I am just beginning Don Piper’s amazing 90 Minutes in Heaven and for lighter reading The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith (though at a casual glance it doesn’t seem as though it will be as interesting as his earlier books set in Botswana),
What is your favourite hymn and why?
Very hard to choose!
I will sing the wondrous story because it expresses my faith;
O Lord my God! when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hand has made, because when I sing it I am girl again in the Pennines communing with God;
Lord, the light of your love is shining, because it expects revival
Can you name a major moral, political, or intellectual issue on which you’ve ever changed your mind?
I’ve certainly changed my mind about ageing! I used to think that 50 (and then 60) was OLD and that older people couldn’t preach the Gospel or, indeed, lead useful lives! I now know that, as long as you still have your faculties, you can still find many ways of service and of spreading the Word. All my contemporaries have given up their work for the church and are now, as one man said, ‘jut waiting to go up there’. All the talk this week of whether the Queen should abdicate now that she is 80 is indicative of the idea that you stop doing anything at 80!
What philosophical thesis do you think it is most important to combat?
Far too many people have a negative view of people, of policies, of proposed projects and of life in general. I am constantly telling them to ignore the negative and accentuate the positive. That’s the best way to build up anything, whether it be a marriage, a reputation, a church or an organization.
If you could effect one major change in the governing of your country, what would it be?
Put a Conservative government in power because I want to see if David Cameron can achieve what he promises.
If you could effect one major policy change in the Methodist Church, what would it be?
I was going to say that the Methodist Church should train Ministers as Chaplains to the Deaf, as the Anglican Church has done for years, but this is beginning to change with the announcement of the first Methodist Chaplain to the Deaf in London. Then I thought to advocate the abolition of Foundation training (for it seems to me to put off more people from becoming itinerant presbyters than it encourages, at a time when we need more), but today’s Methodist Recorder says that abolition is to be proposed soon!
What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
Keep your eyes upon Jesus, love him and follow Him as closely as you can. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today – say to yourself often, DIN (Do it Now). Never say you can’t do things – if you want to do something badly enough you will find a way to do it.
What, if anything, do you worry about?
I don’t have anything to worry about.
If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything that you’d do differently?
Not exactly. If circumstances had been different, I would like to have been able to take up the teacher-training place I won at College instead of having to go into the Civil Service, and I would like to have continued local preaching when my husband returned from the war - but I would not then have followed other ways of service that have been a blessing. So I don’t look back in that way, except for the day, twenty years ago, that I followed instructions from HQ to tell the JMA collectors of the need for latrines! I was accused of insulting the African people and it ended my 33 years as Junior Missionary Association secretary!
Where would you most like to live (other than where you do now)?
Nowhere. I’m very happy where I am now.
What do you do in your spare time? Spare time? What’s that?
- I do sight checking of Scripture for Wycliffe Associates (UK) - I have some Old Testament stories in Cuiba, a language spoken in Colombia and Venezuela, for checking just now. I also do research for Wycliffe Associates (UK)’s Bible for the Future project.
- I am about to take a six-week course in personal evangelism called ‘Lost for Words’ and in September I hope to start the Disciple 3 course.
- I like raising plants from seed and cuttings, reading listening to classical music, and Sudoku.
What is your most treasured possession?
Apart from the Bible, without doubt it is my computer! My family gave it to me for my 80th birthday and I’ve completed 13 courses since then.
What talent would you most like to have?
To play a musical instrument like the rest of the family. I did have piano lessons as a girl but my fingers were too clumsy and I was certainly not a natural. I can play enough to please myself but it’s not really ‘playing’!
If you could have any three guests, past or present, to dinner who would they be?
John Hull, the blind author of In the beginning there was darkness; the Revd the Lord Leslie Griffiths, former President of Conference and now Superintendent of Wesley’s Chapel, London; and the Revd Martin Lloyd, until recently coordinator of Easy English Bible (which has a limited vocabulary and so is useful for immigrants, educationally disadvantaged and Deaf people(http://www.easyenglish/info)
He is now travelling the world setting up teams to produce Easy Bible in as many languages as possible and has wonderful stories about the way in which ecumenical teams have, almost miraculously, come together in each new country.
UPDATE: Editorial changes made per Olive's request.
Caption Contest
WINNERS:
Ric: Cookie Monster lost control after the producers of Sesame Street told him that cookies where only sometimes food.
Mark Winter: Cookie Monster says, "Yum, they're made out of meat!"
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Methodist Blogs Weekly Roundup # 62
Here's the week in review in the Methodist blogosphere:
Christopher Gudger-Raines is sympathetic to Thomas, the doubting apostle.
Andy Bryan's son has answered the great question of theodicy (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!). He also explained why he is a vegetarian, how American culture is undermining its own values, and how to evaluate prosperity and culture.
Andy Stoddard lectionary blogged for April 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, and 26.
Brian Slezak wrote about seeing racial issues with clarity.
Chris Morgan blogged about finding delight in the surprises of God and what kind of legacy we believers can leave for the future.
At Bandits No More, Richard Heyduck terrorist job fairs and described 8 toxins of suburban churchianity.
Beth Quick, who is a member of the General Board on Church and Society, reported in from their annual meeting. She also talked about reformatting and reformulating the Book of Resolutions.
Brian Russell is writing a book about Biblical interpretation from a missiological perspective and that the starting point for Biblical interpretation is the saving work of God through Jesus.
Bruce Alderman blogged about American immigration policy.
At Connexions, Joel Thomas took the theological worldview test and evaluated his answers.
ConXian preached on a Christian response to fear.
Josh Tinley wrote about a UMC congregation in Houston that is building a children's clinic and a Catholic cardinal supporting contraception usage.
Dave Morris blogged about woundedness and the Resurrection and activism that crosses safe emotional boundaries.
Sally Coleman wrote about our obsession with possessing things, how Western prosperity spoils us, how God wants us to have big dreams, bearing God's pruning, and a Biblical approach to rest.
Steve Heyduck blogged about how Christians should engage DaVinci Code culture for the sake of evangelism.
Gavin Richardson wrote about homosexuality in the UMC and the difficulty of being a Southern hockey fan.
Gerry Charlotte Phelps wrote about the future of Sino-American relations when China is a great power, how China's economic growth will impact the world economy, and what causes rising oil prices.
Greg Crofford blogged about approaching spiritual discipline methodistically, handicapping American Idol, the four primary views of the afterlife (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!), and offered practical suggestions for living frugally.
Greg Hazelrig wrote about the necessity of Christian perfection and that Christian belief is active, not passive.
Gregory Lee blogged about the importance of strong confirmation class curriculum, Biblical illiteracy in America, and preached on looking at God instead of the world in order to interpret events in one's life.
Henry Neufield wrote about whether the Bible really can be taught neutrally in public schools, the complex structure of the Book of Isaiah, how being liberal or conservative doesn't make you have a richer spiritual life, the role of God's commands in the Creation, that creationists don't do real science, and how you can't fake it with God.
Chris Roberts wrote that Christian life must be lived in community.
Mike Holly is quitting blogging, at least for a while.
Jay Voorhees says that United Methodists need to completely rethink our Social Principles and how Methodists should live our their Christian ethics in society (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!). He also wondered if the National Day of Prayer is properly framed.
John Battern wrote about how the DaVinci Code has exposed Biblical illiteracy, that we must be patient during the reconstruction of Iraq, and the moral and persuasive power of stories.
John Wilks wrote that Easter is a time of confession.
Jonathon Norman wonders how he will respond to his Board of Ordained Ministry if he is asked about his position on homosexuality. He also thinks that much of the Methodist debate on homosexuality is framed by the dynamics of power relationships.
Ken Carter preached on the importance of sharing our testimony, which is the story of Jesus conquering death.
Lake Neuron wrote about reviving Star Trek.
Larry Hollon blogged about rescuing America from theocracy. He has also written a series of posts about how the mainline churches disengaged from the mainstream media. He also wrote about how mainline churches have historically expressed disdain for the working classes.
Mark Winter wrote that Methodists shouldn't be talking so much about homosexuality and appointments and whatnot, but revival.
Keith McIlwain likes the apostle Thomas. Why? Because he has doubts, just like the rest of us. He also wrote about the meaning of the phrase "Open minds" in the UMC slogan.
Michael Daniel says that we blame Judas for the cruxifiction when we should blame ourselves and that Republicans and Democrats are equally unvirtuous.
Michelle Hargrave wrote about the need for Christ-like compassion.
Mike Hensley blogged about obsessive dog owners.
Jeff Lutz described what is and what is not good Christian debate. He also wrote about the city of Grand Rapids banning nude dancing. Yours truly made the obligatory libertarian argument against the ban in as much as such an argument can be typed in 20 seconds.
Mitchell Lewis preached on Ezekiel's vision of dry bones.
Louie Gannon preached on doubting the existence of God.
Neil Bishop wrote about how people's selfishness hurts them and that it's okay if people want proof for the Christian faith.
At New Reality Blog, Jared Williams expressed fatigue over the homosexuality debate and feeling let down after the end of Easter. Ric called for prayer for the churches in his district.
Chris Monroe wrote about the emergent movement in Judaism and the difference between real and fake conversion, and how Christians should respond to it.
Thomas Scott wrote about what it's like to minister in Appalachia, the revival of coal mining in Ohio, what it means to be Appalachian, and the economic struggles of that region. He also preached that as believers, we live our lives in perpetual debt, how Satan responded to the cruxifiction, and whether we should look at the cross positively or negatively.
Jason Woolever wrote about why he's switching to the ESV and the importance of gender inclusive language in Bible translations.
ReligioNews blogged about the gender of God.
Sandpiper wrote about the spiritual meanings of water and bread. She also wrote about measuring success in ministry and the theology of the DaVinci Code.
Lorna Koskela blogged about the journey of sanctification, Biblical inerrancy, Biblical usefulness, the biggest struggles in ministry, and transformation of Peter from frightened disciple to Apostolic leader.
Sky Lowe-McCracken wrote about balancing work/rest in the ordained ministry.
Steven Webster blogged about efforts to overturn the Ed Johnson Judicial Council decision.
Kurt Boemler wrote about a Biblical understanding of sexual sin.
William Hardt recounted the story of an ex-pro gambler who became a prominent pastor and DS.
Tony Mitchell wrote about finding a balance between science and faith.
Paul Martin warns that haricuts in the UK now cost about $14,000. He is also tired of the 2-party system in British politics and wrote about how the arms industry is corrupting British politics and the crazed antics of Benny Hinn.
Trying to Walk His Path wrote about making the faith relevant to the next generation.
Shane Raynor wrote about the decline of Christianity in America and how effectively Soulforce and RMN represent the LGBT community in Methodism.
Willie Deuel is facing an identity crisis now that he's graduating from seminary.
Corrections? Additions? Do you know of a blog that should be included in the MBWR? Would you like to receive the MBWR via e-mail? Leave a note in the comments or e-mail locustsandhoney2005 at yahoo dot com!
Christopher Gudger-Raines is sympathetic to Thomas, the doubting apostle.
Andy Bryan's son has answered the great question of theodicy (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!). He also explained why he is a vegetarian, how American culture is undermining its own values, and how to evaluate prosperity and culture.
Andy Stoddard lectionary blogged for April 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, and 26.
Brian Slezak wrote about seeing racial issues with clarity.
Chris Morgan blogged about finding delight in the surprises of God and what kind of legacy we believers can leave for the future.
At Bandits No More, Richard Heyduck terrorist job fairs and described 8 toxins of suburban churchianity.
Beth Quick, who is a member of the General Board on Church and Society, reported in from their annual meeting. She also talked about reformatting and reformulating the Book of Resolutions.
Brian Russell is writing a book about Biblical interpretation from a missiological perspective and that the starting point for Biblical interpretation is the saving work of God through Jesus.
Bruce Alderman blogged about American immigration policy.
At Connexions, Joel Thomas took the theological worldview test and evaluated his answers.
ConXian preached on a Christian response to fear.
Josh Tinley wrote about a UMC congregation in Houston that is building a children's clinic and a Catholic cardinal supporting contraception usage.
Dave Morris blogged about woundedness and the Resurrection and activism that crosses safe emotional boundaries.
Sally Coleman wrote about our obsession with possessing things, how Western prosperity spoils us, how God wants us to have big dreams, bearing God's pruning, and a Biblical approach to rest.
Steve Heyduck blogged about how Christians should engage DaVinci Code culture for the sake of evangelism.
Gavin Richardson wrote about homosexuality in the UMC and the difficulty of being a Southern hockey fan.
Gerry Charlotte Phelps wrote about the future of Sino-American relations when China is a great power, how China's economic growth will impact the world economy, and what causes rising oil prices.
Greg Crofford blogged about approaching spiritual discipline methodistically, handicapping American Idol, the four primary views of the afterlife (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!), and offered practical suggestions for living frugally.
Greg Hazelrig wrote about the necessity of Christian perfection and that Christian belief is active, not passive.
Gregory Lee blogged about the importance of strong confirmation class curriculum, Biblical illiteracy in America, and preached on looking at God instead of the world in order to interpret events in one's life.
Henry Neufield wrote about whether the Bible really can be taught neutrally in public schools, the complex structure of the Book of Isaiah, how being liberal or conservative doesn't make you have a richer spiritual life, the role of God's commands in the Creation, that creationists don't do real science, and how you can't fake it with God.
Chris Roberts wrote that Christian life must be lived in community.
Mike Holly is quitting blogging, at least for a while.
Jay Voorhees says that United Methodists need to completely rethink our Social Principles and how Methodists should live our their Christian ethics in society (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!). He also wondered if the National Day of Prayer is properly framed.
John Battern wrote about how the DaVinci Code has exposed Biblical illiteracy, that we must be patient during the reconstruction of Iraq, and the moral and persuasive power of stories.
John Wilks wrote that Easter is a time of confession.
Jonathon Norman wonders how he will respond to his Board of Ordained Ministry if he is asked about his position on homosexuality. He also thinks that much of the Methodist debate on homosexuality is framed by the dynamics of power relationships.
Ken Carter preached on the importance of sharing our testimony, which is the story of Jesus conquering death.
Lake Neuron wrote about reviving Star Trek.
Larry Hollon blogged about rescuing America from theocracy. He has also written a series of posts about how the mainline churches disengaged from the mainstream media. He also wrote about how mainline churches have historically expressed disdain for the working classes.
Mark Winter wrote that Methodists shouldn't be talking so much about homosexuality and appointments and whatnot, but revival.
Keith McIlwain likes the apostle Thomas. Why? Because he has doubts, just like the rest of us. He also wrote about the meaning of the phrase "Open minds" in the UMC slogan.
Michael Daniel says that we blame Judas for the cruxifiction when we should blame ourselves and that Republicans and Democrats are equally unvirtuous.
Michelle Hargrave wrote about the need for Christ-like compassion.
Mike Hensley blogged about obsessive dog owners.
Jeff Lutz described what is and what is not good Christian debate. He also wrote about the city of Grand Rapids banning nude dancing. Yours truly made the obligatory libertarian argument against the ban in as much as such an argument can be typed in 20 seconds.
Mitchell Lewis preached on Ezekiel's vision of dry bones.
Louie Gannon preached on doubting the existence of God.
Neil Bishop wrote about how people's selfishness hurts them and that it's okay if people want proof for the Christian faith.
At New Reality Blog, Jared Williams expressed fatigue over the homosexuality debate and feeling let down after the end of Easter. Ric called for prayer for the churches in his district.
Chris Monroe wrote about the emergent movement in Judaism and the difference between real and fake conversion, and how Christians should respond to it.
Thomas Scott wrote about what it's like to minister in Appalachia, the revival of coal mining in Ohio, what it means to be Appalachian, and the economic struggles of that region. He also preached that as believers, we live our lives in perpetual debt, how Satan responded to the cruxifiction, and whether we should look at the cross positively or negatively.
Jason Woolever wrote about why he's switching to the ESV and the importance of gender inclusive language in Bible translations.
ReligioNews blogged about the gender of God.
Sandpiper wrote about the spiritual meanings of water and bread. She also wrote about measuring success in ministry and the theology of the DaVinci Code.
Lorna Koskela blogged about the journey of sanctification, Biblical inerrancy, Biblical usefulness, the biggest struggles in ministry, and transformation of Peter from frightened disciple to Apostolic leader.
Sky Lowe-McCracken wrote about balancing work/rest in the ordained ministry.
Steven Webster blogged about efforts to overturn the Ed Johnson Judicial Council decision.
Kurt Boemler wrote about a Biblical understanding of sexual sin.
William Hardt recounted the story of an ex-pro gambler who became a prominent pastor and DS.
Tony Mitchell wrote about finding a balance between science and faith.
Paul Martin warns that haricuts in the UK now cost about $14,000. He is also tired of the 2-party system in British politics and wrote about how the arms industry is corrupting British politics and the crazed antics of Benny Hinn.
Trying to Walk His Path wrote about making the faith relevant to the next generation.
Shane Raynor wrote about the decline of Christianity in America and how effectively Soulforce and RMN represent the LGBT community in Methodism.
Willie Deuel is facing an identity crisis now that he's graduating from seminary.
Corrections? Additions? Do you know of a blog that should be included in the MBWR? Would you like to receive the MBWR via e-mail? Leave a note in the comments or e-mail locustsandhoney2005 at yahoo dot com!
Methodist Demographics
Via Imperfect Mirror comes this fascinating map, showing the distribution of United Methodists across America.
Confirmation Classes
Greg Lee has written about the importance of confirmation classes for spiritual growth. They need to be theologically rich and tied to the conversion of the young person to Christ, not just reaching a particular age.
Do You Have to Believe in the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus to be a Christian?
A lively conversation over at Connexions. Hie thee to the comments and contribute.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Caption Contest
WINNERS
Michael Daniel: The Judicial Council is now in session.
John Battern: After the big fight over the color of the flooring in the restrooms, the Trustees move to keep everyone happy by providing 15 brands of TP.
Ric: Just when the stock boy at Taco Bell though his job was done, the clock turned to 2:30am
Monday, April 24, 2006
No MBWR Today
I had a dream last night that Brian McLaren and several other emerging church leaders published a cookbook.But that's beside the point. The Methodist Blogs Weekly Roundup will be delayed until Wednesday afternoon. I have to focus on my candidacy essays and paperwork. They take priority over everything. Except for prayer. Candidacy tends to go poorly without prayer.
In the meantime, check out humorblog Basil's Blog. Basil has a shtick whereby he writes subtitles to newspaper headlines. Very funny stuff. Here are a few examples.
Also: retired Methoblogger James Spring e-mailed me with this funny bunny video.
UPDATE: Make that Wednesday night. Late night. It appears that I will have to drive to Jacksonville (3 hours) to sign a candidacy document.
What is the Methodist Blogs Weekly Roundup?
ALERT: This post will stay at the top until April 24. Scroll down for updates.
In the past two months, the size of the Methodist blogosphere has expanded massively. We have scores of new bloggers milling about, sharing their thoughts and breaking bread (so to speak) with us.
Those of you who are new to us may wish to participate in the Methodist Blogs Weekly Roundup, a weekly summarization of the Methoblogosphere on Mondays here at Locusts & Honey.
A detailed explanation is here. All posts on a non-personal subject consisting of four paragraphs or more of original text can be included. You can also e-mail me and request that other posts that you have written be included.
New rule: Because the Methoblogosphere is a community, it's important to affiliate with our community. Therefore participating blogs must blogroll at least five members of the Methodist Blogroll. It doesn't matter whose blogs your include, so as long as you have at least five.
In the past two months, the size of the Methodist blogosphere has expanded massively. We have scores of new bloggers milling about, sharing their thoughts and breaking bread (so to speak) with us.
Those of you who are new to us may wish to participate in the Methodist Blogs Weekly Roundup, a weekly summarization of the Methoblogosphere on Mondays here at Locusts & Honey.
A detailed explanation is here. All posts on a non-personal subject consisting of four paragraphs or more of original text can be included. You can also e-mail me and request that other posts that you have written be included.
New rule: Because the Methoblogosphere is a community, it's important to affiliate with our community. Therefore participating blogs must blogroll at least five members of the Methodist Blogroll. It doesn't matter whose blogs your include, so as long as you have at least five.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Art Blogging: Mr. Potato Head
This week, art historian Sobek Pundit explored the Mr. Potato Head motif through the ages.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Weekend Rabbit Blogging
Photoshop fun for your weekend.
In other news: a dog gets stuck in a pipe while chasing a rabbit. Serves him right for trying to outsmart the descendants of El-ahrairah! (Hat tip, via).
In other news: a dog gets stuck in a pipe while chasing a rabbit. Serves him right for trying to outsmart the descendants of El-ahrairah! (Hat tip, via).
My Theological Statement for Candidacy
Due on Friday. Your input would be greatly appreciated:
I believe in God, the creator of the universe. This God is one deity in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, coequal and coeternal.
God caused all things to come into being, including humanity. He created humans and endowed them with the ability to choose righteousness or sin. Yet those first people, Adam and Eve, chose sin and were expelled from paradise as punishment. We inherit that original sin and original guilt from them. The price for that sin is death. There is nothing that people can do to free themselves from their sinful natures or redeem their conscious sins.
Yet God gives his grace to us so that we may overcome. From the moment of conception, he woos us toward holiness, giving us the capacity to recognize his existence, his righteousness, and our own unrighteousness. Though we are, by nature, totally depraved, God gives us the power through his grace to say ‘yes’ to his offer of forgiveness.
This forgiveness came through the work of his only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ. Both totally human and totally divine, Jesus lived a human life, yet was without sin. He was a spotless lamb that was sacrificed by the Father to atone for our sin debt. We cannot pay this debt on our own, partially, totally, or at all. All that we sinful humans can do is accept the sacrifice of Jesus as work done for us. The blood of Jesus is sufficient and complete for atonement; no other effort on our part is necessary or useful.
Rather, accepting the work on the cross as committed for our sake, though guilty, we are justified before God. Yet the life of a Christian believer does not end at this point. The grace of God continues to fill us, urging us on to a life of holiness and moral perfection. We depart the citizenship of the world and are joined to the Kingdom of God – a life of service dedicated to the proclamation of the gospel which we have received and the alleviation of suffering in the world.
These things we know from the Scriptures left to us by the illumination of God into the writings of humans. This Bible is the infallible Word of God, whose composition was directed by God. We derive doctrine and understanding of divine truth by reading the Word in reflection of our God-endowed reason, the experiences of our walk with Him, and the traditions of the Church.
I believe in God, the creator of the universe. This God is one deity in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, coequal and coeternal.
God caused all things to come into being, including humanity. He created humans and endowed them with the ability to choose righteousness or sin. Yet those first people, Adam and Eve, chose sin and were expelled from paradise as punishment. We inherit that original sin and original guilt from them. The price for that sin is death. There is nothing that people can do to free themselves from their sinful natures or redeem their conscious sins.
Yet God gives his grace to us so that we may overcome. From the moment of conception, he woos us toward holiness, giving us the capacity to recognize his existence, his righteousness, and our own unrighteousness. Though we are, by nature, totally depraved, God gives us the power through his grace to say ‘yes’ to his offer of forgiveness.
This forgiveness came through the work of his only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ. Both totally human and totally divine, Jesus lived a human life, yet was without sin. He was a spotless lamb that was sacrificed by the Father to atone for our sin debt. We cannot pay this debt on our own, partially, totally, or at all. All that we sinful humans can do is accept the sacrifice of Jesus as work done for us. The blood of Jesus is sufficient and complete for atonement; no other effort on our part is necessary or useful.
Rather, accepting the work on the cross as committed for our sake, though guilty, we are justified before God. Yet the life of a Christian believer does not end at this point. The grace of God continues to fill us, urging us on to a life of holiness and moral perfection. We depart the citizenship of the world and are joined to the Kingdom of God – a life of service dedicated to the proclamation of the gospel which we have received and the alleviation of suffering in the world.
These things we know from the Scriptures left to us by the illumination of God into the writings of humans. This Bible is the infallible Word of God, whose composition was directed by God. We derive doctrine and understanding of divine truth by reading the Word in reflection of our God-endowed reason, the experiences of our walk with Him, and the traditions of the Church.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Lesser-Known Heresies
The Message Onlyism: Eugene Peterson's translation is the only accurate rendering of the Bible, directly inspired by God. All others are of the Devil.
Gavinosticism: Rise to become a higher being through secret knowledge about Gavin Richardson.
Docey-Docetism: That time you saw Jesus square dancing? It was an illusion.
Gavinosticism: Rise to become a higher being through secret knowledge about Gavin Richardson.
Docey-Docetism: That time you saw Jesus square dancing? It was an illusion.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Methodist Blogger Profile: Chris Kindle
Current Charge: Associate Pastor at Concord U.M.C., North Sewickley Township near Beaver Falls, PA, 2005-Present
Married to Jan for 11 years. (No children)
Hometown: Erie, PA (Trinity U.M.C. was my home church.)
Bachelor Degree in Criminology from Indiana University of PA, 1994
Master Degree in Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary, 2000
Member of the Order of the Flame (World Methodist Evangelism), 2005
Previous Charge: North Clarion Good Shepherd U.M.C., 2000-2005
Why do you blog?
One day I woke up thinking that I needed a blog. Blogging is a way to express myself, to spread the faith and start some dialogue.
What has been your best blogging experience?
My best blogging experience has been getting a comment from Len Wilson of Midnight Oil Productions (www.midnightoilproductions.com). He commented on a discussion regarding the use of technology in worship.
What would be your main advice to a novice blogger?
a. Use pictures as often as possible.
b. Try to blog daily. It will keep your interest and your readers interest.
c. Remember anyone can be reading your blog…anyone.
If you only had time to read three blogs a day, what would they be?
http://www.mcilweb.blogspot.com/
http://www.brettprobert.blogspot.com/
http://www.locustsandhoney.blogspot.com/.
Who are your spiritual heroes?
Biblically, it would be Jesus, Job and Moses.
Historically, it would be John Wesley.
What are you reading at the moment?
The Bible Jesus Read by Philip Yancey
What is your favorite hymn and why?
Being an ATS graduate I have to go with the Asbury fight song…And Can It Be?
Can you name a major moral, political, or intellectual issue on which you've ever changed your mind?
I used to be pro-death penalty and now I’m against the death penalty. (I’m Pro-Life all the way around.) I was a Criminology major at Indiana University of PA and heard how many people are in prison falsely and realized that people could die for a crime they didn’t commit. It is just not worth it.
What philosophical thesis do you think is most important to combat?
Moral relativism.
If you could effect one major change in the governing of your country, what would it be?
I would eradicate the two-party system.
If you could effect one major policy change in the United Methodist Church, what would it be?
I would do away with the guaranteed appoint system and create a flat salary for the remaining pastors.
What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
That’s an easy one…accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.
What, if anything, do you worry about?
I don’t worry too much anymore.
If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything that you'd do differently?
I would have wanted to meet my wife earlier.
Where would you most like to live (other than where you do now)?
Hawaii, so that I could be an extra on the show LOST.
What do you like doing in your spare time?
I like to take walks with my wife, Jan.
What is your most treasured possession?
My gerbils, Laverne and Shirley… so don’t mess with them, man.
What talent would you most like to have?
No hablo Espanol - I would like to speak Spanish fluently.
If you could have any three guests, past or present, to dinner, who would they be?
For the amazing stories alone… Moses, David and Jesus!
Editor's note: Chris included a picture of his gerbils with his MBP, but Blogger wouldn't load them.
A Grim Anniversary
On this day, 27 years ago, Jimmy Carter History records their clash as ending in a draw.
My rabbits, Hyzenthlay and Inlehain, plan to mark the occasion with an evening of solemn reflection and mourning. You see, even though so many people joke about it as embarrassing for Carter, rabbits take a different view. In their opinion, if a healthy, full-grown rabbit can't slap around Jimmy Carter, it is a disgrace to Lapine machismo.
Hat tip.
It's Only the Tip of the Iceberg
Go read this.
Now...uhm.
Before this story gets any worse, I might as well admit that I've been doing this too.
I'll just come out and say it: Richard Hall and I are the same person.
I thought that it would be good for traffic, but it was wrong of me to deceive my readers.
Now...uhm.
Before this story gets any worse, I might as well admit that I've been doing this too.
I'll just come out and say it: Richard Hall and I are the same person.
I thought that it would be good for traffic, but it was wrong of me to deceive my readers.
Star Trek Government
Jeff the Baptist and Colossus of Rhodey are writing about what we can learn from Star Trek about political science. As every serious person knows, Star Trek is the starting point for all meaningful intellectual queries.The most commonly observed metaphor is US foreign policy. The original series was made during the height of the Cold War, when it was not controversial to call our world-enslaving enemies an "evil empire". Kirk was typical of the gunboat diplomacy necessary at the time. If you'd hit him, he'd hit back twice as hard. If you threatened Federation national security, he'd blow you out of the sky.
In contrast, sissy-boy Jean-Luc Picard of The Next Generation aptly resembled the modern wussified approach to national security seen in America today. One of the great horrors of the later seasons of the show was a potential outbreak of war with the Cardassians, a band of tyrannical pirate kings who had attacked the Federation a decade before. This conflict strangely resulted in an armistice, even though these murderous thugs lacked the capacity to resist a Federation invasion and had brazenly slaughtered Federation civilian colonists. The impotence of the Cardassians was on full display when one cruiser captain decided that he'd had enough of the Federation's pussy-footing and invaded the Cardassian system. All by himself. Just him and his ship blew the entire Cardassian Navy into scrap metal. Only the Enterprise could stop him, and did so. Then the Cardassians rebuilt their fleet and resumed fascistic expansion. The Federation was more worried about offending these terrorists than they were about permitting them to continue their raiding and plundering. The Federation had vast military resources and yet was constantly attacked by such pirates because it was unwilling to use that force, which would, of course, offend said pirates. Oh, horror of horrors!Sound familiar?
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Addressing Andy Bryan
I would like to address two points that Andy Bryan made in our recent discussion on immigration policy.
Of the value of wealth, Andy said:
Myth - Prosperity is inherently good. Truth - In addition to a lot of good, prosperity leads also to greed, envy, ulcers, and a mile-a-minute pace of life that is not conducive good health.
If you think that wealth is stressful, you ought to try poverty! I'm sure that watching the continuous ticker on your HSBC stock can lead a bit of worry, but I cannot seriously believe that it would be more stressful than wondering where your next meal will come from, or whether or not your children will die of measles because your country cannot afford to vaccinate the population.
It would further appear that the Mexicans pouring across our border do not think that prosperity will be hazardous to their health. They've tried the whole 'dirt poor' thing and, after much philosophical hand-wringing, decided that 'wealth' might be nice. For a change of pace and scene. Granted, they did not go to graduate school or seminary, so they might not be aware of enormous stress that they will take on themselves by having regular meals and electricity, but perhaps our public assistance programs for them can correct this misunderstanding.
It's like the old economics joke: two economists were walking by a Ford dealership. One looked at a Mustang and said, "Man, I'd love to have one of those!" The other responded, "Obviously not." The point is that our preferences are not what we say they are, but what we do. Andy, if you think that prosperity is stressful, then by all means rid yourself of that stress. Give up your salary and go live in a refrigerator box. Lilies of the field and all that. Certainly, you will have less to worry about.
Next point. Does America have a culture? 'Nay!', saith Andy:
Myth - there is an American culture. Truth - America is now and always has been vibrantly diverse.
It's easy to get lost in perspective. To one degree or another, all people divide the world into two spheres: 'self' and 'other'. It's hard to define the self because it's the default 'normal'. What we do and how we live may not seem like cultural choices or influences -- they're just the normal way to live. What 'other' people do is cultural because it's different from the normal. So they have cultures, but we don't because we're normal and they're different.
That's why it's necessary to mentally step back and view one's own activities and the activities of one's group from different perspectives in order to learn what we do and why we do it. Are we being purely rational or are we acting out of cultural perspective? It's a lot like learning a foreign language. I never understood English grammar until I studied French and Latin. Why do I use particular words in particular combinations in order to express an idea? I could explain why I made those decisions when speaking French or Latin. But I couldn't when speaking English because those philological decisions were just normal. Tense, case, syntax -- these concepts were meaningless in English unless I reflected the English text or speech in the mirrors of French and Latin grammar.
In the same manner, we can learn what it is to be American by looking at how we are different from other cultures. Our arts, faiths, values, leisures, community styles -- almost everything that we do and every facet of how we live is influenced by cultural factors.
America is a unique place, just as every other nation or community on earth is unique in many ways. But are we to believe that somehow the US, because it is 'normal' according to our own norms, has no culture -- alone among all of the nations of the earth?
Now, onto part 2: are we a diverse culture?
Sure, of course we are. All nations are diverse in many ways. Mexico, for example, is far more diverse than Speedy Gonzalez stereotypes allow for. It's a vast country with different ethnicities, communities, dialects, and economies. Are they more homogeneous then we are? Is America somehow a massive salad bowl, whereas other nations churn out their identical mass-produced citizens in factories with the same size-10 sombreros?
Of course not. All nations are complex entities, the US included. All nations have cultures, the US included. We may be 'normal' in our own eyes, but we're always an 'other' to someone else.
Of the value of wealth, Andy said:
Myth - Prosperity is inherently good. Truth - In addition to a lot of good, prosperity leads also to greed, envy, ulcers, and a mile-a-minute pace of life that is not conducive good health.
If you think that wealth is stressful, you ought to try poverty! I'm sure that watching the continuous ticker on your HSBC stock can lead a bit of worry, but I cannot seriously believe that it would be more stressful than wondering where your next meal will come from, or whether or not your children will die of measles because your country cannot afford to vaccinate the population.
It would further appear that the Mexicans pouring across our border do not think that prosperity will be hazardous to their health. They've tried the whole 'dirt poor' thing and, after much philosophical hand-wringing, decided that 'wealth' might be nice. For a change of pace and scene. Granted, they did not go to graduate school or seminary, so they might not be aware of enormous stress that they will take on themselves by having regular meals and electricity, but perhaps our public assistance programs for them can correct this misunderstanding.
It's like the old economics joke: two economists were walking by a Ford dealership. One looked at a Mustang and said, "Man, I'd love to have one of those!" The other responded, "Obviously not." The point is that our preferences are not what we say they are, but what we do. Andy, if you think that prosperity is stressful, then by all means rid yourself of that stress. Give up your salary and go live in a refrigerator box. Lilies of the field and all that. Certainly, you will have less to worry about.
Next point. Does America have a culture? 'Nay!', saith Andy:
Myth - there is an American culture. Truth - America is now and always has been vibrantly diverse.
It's easy to get lost in perspective. To one degree or another, all people divide the world into two spheres: 'self' and 'other'. It's hard to define the self because it's the default 'normal'. What we do and how we live may not seem like cultural choices or influences -- they're just the normal way to live. What 'other' people do is cultural because it's different from the normal. So they have cultures, but we don't because we're normal and they're different.
That's why it's necessary to mentally step back and view one's own activities and the activities of one's group from different perspectives in order to learn what we do and why we do it. Are we being purely rational or are we acting out of cultural perspective? It's a lot like learning a foreign language. I never understood English grammar until I studied French and Latin. Why do I use particular words in particular combinations in order to express an idea? I could explain why I made those decisions when speaking French or Latin. But I couldn't when speaking English because those philological decisions were just normal. Tense, case, syntax -- these concepts were meaningless in English unless I reflected the English text or speech in the mirrors of French and Latin grammar.
In the same manner, we can learn what it is to be American by looking at how we are different from other cultures. Our arts, faiths, values, leisures, community styles -- almost everything that we do and every facet of how we live is influenced by cultural factors.
America is a unique place, just as every other nation or community on earth is unique in many ways. But are we to believe that somehow the US, because it is 'normal' according to our own norms, has no culture -- alone among all of the nations of the earth?
Now, onto part 2: are we a diverse culture?
Sure, of course we are. All nations are diverse in many ways. Mexico, for example, is far more diverse than Speedy Gonzalez stereotypes allow for. It's a vast country with different ethnicities, communities, dialects, and economies. Are they more homogeneous then we are? Is America somehow a massive salad bowl, whereas other nations churn out their identical mass-produced citizens in factories with the same size-10 sombreros?
Of course not. All nations are complex entities, the US included. All nations have cultures, the US included. We may be 'normal' in our own eyes, but we're always an 'other' to someone else.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Caption Contest
Monday, April 17, 2006
Advice for Americans Traveling Abroad
Keep this list handy:
* Foreigners have a great sense of humor. In the spirit of inclusiveness, try to tell as many American jokes as you can about their particular ethnic or national group. You’ll have a great time together enjoying a hearty laugh when you explain “Estonian women don’t use them because it chips their teeth!”
* Another humourous gambit is doing an ethnic “impression” to show your hosts how their country and countrymen are portrayed in America. You might consider acting out a skit involving Pepe Le Pue, Commandant Klink (Hogan!! shake fist) the Frito Bandito, Boris Badinov or Jacques Chirac, for example.
* In the spirit of international brotherhood and comraderie, point out how things in the United States are much like the things in the country you are visiting, except ours are usually bigger, nicer, newer and cleaner. Remark on how cool it will be when they knock down all these useless old hovels and put up a sparkling new Wal-Mart.
* In an effort to improve communication, adopt an accent copying the people you meet, even if you are still speaking English. Speaking very loudly also helps.
Hat tip.
* Foreigners have a great sense of humor. In the spirit of inclusiveness, try to tell as many American jokes as you can about their particular ethnic or national group. You’ll have a great time together enjoying a hearty laugh when you explain “Estonian women don’t use them because it chips their teeth!”
* Another humourous gambit is doing an ethnic “impression” to show your hosts how their country and countrymen are portrayed in America. You might consider acting out a skit involving Pepe Le Pue, Commandant Klink (Hogan!! shake fist) the Frito Bandito, Boris Badinov or Jacques Chirac, for example.
* In the spirit of international brotherhood and comraderie, point out how things in the United States are much like the things in the country you are visiting, except ours are usually bigger, nicer, newer and cleaner. Remark on how cool it will be when they knock down all these useless old hovels and put up a sparkling new Wal-Mart.
* In an effort to improve communication, adopt an accent copying the people you meet, even if you are still speaking English. Speaking very loudly also helps.
Hat tip.
Methodist Blogs Weekly Roundup # 61
Here's the week in review in the Methodist blogosphere:
Steven Manskar wrote about life in a sin-denying culture.
Andy Bryan said that Easter should be a time for telling stories about Jesus, as we do after a funeral. He also wrote about the miracle of forgiveness.
Andy Stoddard lectionary blogged for April 10, 13, and 14.
Brian Slezak wrote about what the church can do to appeal to Generation X.
At Bandits No More, Richard Heyduck wrote about how churches and campus ministries can support the faith of college students (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!).
Beth Quick pondered roads not taken out of fear of risk.
Brian Russell wrote that the Resurrection should be shocking.
Bruce Alderman wrote a satirical piece on attemps to debunk Jesus.
At Connexions, Richard Hall wrote about the scandalous shame of the cruxifiction and Joel Thomas wrote about letting go of pride in the church community.
Josh Tinley wrote about how different schools of creation or responding to the discovery of a unique fossil, how a negative income tax would work, and some proposed commercials for the UCC (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!).
CBRN wrote that random mutations cannot produce evolutionary progress.
Cybervicar wrote that we need Jesus to invade our personal space and we also need to each make a personal journey to the tomb and be assured that Jesus has risen.
Dave Morris blogged about how we often misunderstand blessings and taking Mondays off.
Sally Coleman wrote about the pain of mothers who have lost children.
Steve Heyduck blogged about a bad documentary attempting to cast doubt about Jesus, that we shouldn't always try to be true to ourselves, and emotionalism in the Moussaoui case.
Gavin Richardson wrote about whether the sacraments could be given online.
Gerry Charlotte Phelps wrote that the dying French and Italian economies may send immigrants from those countries to our shores, defining unemployment and how illegal immigration effects it, and that our unwilligness to share our faith is not shyness, but stinginess.
Greg Crofford blogged about how you can keep Easter sacred for your children and what he learned from gym classes.
Greg Hazelrig wrote about finding hope in the Resurrection and living a life of preparation for the coming of Jesus.
Greg Lee reflected on what Jesus meant when he said from the cross "It is finished."
Guy Williams blogged about a new prayer initiative for Wesleyan campus ministries.
Henry Neufield wrote about how Christians and pagans have traditionally viewed sexuality, the radical nature of the crucifixion, dating the Book of Daniel, whether or not the US should export democracy, theological freedom, the value of literary criticism in Biblical study, and that people who reject evolutionary theory do so out of emotional need.
Chris Roberts wrote that we crucify Jesus everyday.
Jay Voorhees blogged about a cross-nailing worship service and the meaning of God in a tornado.
John Battern wrote about the stress that pastors face during Holy Week.
John Wilks blogged about the tragic atmosphere of the Last Supper, that God loves as a father, not as an owner, and that Easter should be kind of scary.
Just As I Am taught about the nature of repentance.
Ken Carter blogged about the implications of God loving us and that Jesus was lord of the outcasts.
At Kindlings, Jan wrote about what it means to be appointed by God.
Larry Hollon wrote about how the younger generation is inherently skeptical.
Mark Winter blogged about the faith that we can sustain due to the Resurrection, that Jesus was king on the cross, how we are each changed by the cross, and the memorial of Jesus that we have in communion.
Mark Youngman wrote that the Resurrection wasn't about saving us from hell, but saving us to transform lives here on earth.
Keith McIlwain listed the best Jesus movies that Hollywood has created.
Michael Daniel tried to define American culture and wrote about the proper place of emotional appeals in legal courts.
Mitchell Lewis wrote about celebrating Easter among the troops in Iraq, that we must forgive others as Jesus did from the cross, and that we can fly with God confidently.
Nate Loucks shared his thoughts on American Idol and what the Church can do to help kids grow up right.
Neil Bishop blogged about the meaning of the Resurrection.
At New Reality Blog, Ric said that we need to take all sins, not just out pet sins, seriously.
Nigel Coke-Woods wrote about misrepresentation of creation beliefs in the British media.
Olive Morgan blogged about an interesting pastor-exchange program in the Methodist Church (UK).
Pastor Laura wrote about a form of evangelism that misunderstands what it means to be saved.
Joe Tiedemann blogged about the origin of the term "Good Friday".
Jason Wooleever wrote about making confirmation classes spiritually effective and Biblical views of masculinity and femininity.
Theresa Coleman wrote that we should not just celebrate Jesus' resurrection, but mourn his death.
Lorna Koskela blogged about the Eucharist being an act of Christian unity and reviewed the book Lord, Please Help Me in the Laundry Room.
Sky Lowe-McCracken wrote that the US government and the UMC are fiscally irresponsible.
Kurt Boemler blogged about how friends react when you become a Christian.
William Hardt commemorated the creation of the Northwest Texas Annual Conference.
Jonathon Marlowe wrote about how important it is to retake Easter from the Easter Bunny.
Tony Mitchell preached on what communion means.
Shane Raynor blogged on the pro-gay organization Soulforce.
Additions? Corrections? Do you know of a blog that should be included in the MBWR? Would you like to receive the MBWR via e-mail? Leave a note in the comments or e-mail locustsandhoney2005 at yahoo dot com!
Steven Manskar wrote about life in a sin-denying culture.
Andy Bryan said that Easter should be a time for telling stories about Jesus, as we do after a funeral. He also wrote about the miracle of forgiveness.
Andy Stoddard lectionary blogged for April 10, 13, and 14.
Brian Slezak wrote about what the church can do to appeal to Generation X.
At Bandits No More, Richard Heyduck wrote about how churches and campus ministries can support the faith of college students (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!).
Beth Quick pondered roads not taken out of fear of risk.
Brian Russell wrote that the Resurrection should be shocking.
Bruce Alderman wrote a satirical piece on attemps to debunk Jesus.
At Connexions, Richard Hall wrote about the scandalous shame of the cruxifiction and Joel Thomas wrote about letting go of pride in the church community.
Josh Tinley wrote about how different schools of creation or responding to the discovery of a unique fossil, how a negative income tax would work, and some proposed commercials for the UCC (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!).
CBRN wrote that random mutations cannot produce evolutionary progress.
Cybervicar wrote that we need Jesus to invade our personal space and we also need to each make a personal journey to the tomb and be assured that Jesus has risen.
Dave Morris blogged about how we often misunderstand blessings and taking Mondays off.
Sally Coleman wrote about the pain of mothers who have lost children.
Steve Heyduck blogged about a bad documentary attempting to cast doubt about Jesus, that we shouldn't always try to be true to ourselves, and emotionalism in the Moussaoui case.
Gavin Richardson wrote about whether the sacraments could be given online.
Gerry Charlotte Phelps wrote that the dying French and Italian economies may send immigrants from those countries to our shores, defining unemployment and how illegal immigration effects it, and that our unwilligness to share our faith is not shyness, but stinginess.
Greg Crofford blogged about how you can keep Easter sacred for your children and what he learned from gym classes.
Greg Hazelrig wrote about finding hope in the Resurrection and living a life of preparation for the coming of Jesus.
Greg Lee reflected on what Jesus meant when he said from the cross "It is finished."
Guy Williams blogged about a new prayer initiative for Wesleyan campus ministries.
Henry Neufield wrote about how Christians and pagans have traditionally viewed sexuality, the radical nature of the crucifixion, dating the Book of Daniel, whether or not the US should export democracy, theological freedom, the value of literary criticism in Biblical study, and that people who reject evolutionary theory do so out of emotional need.
Chris Roberts wrote that we crucify Jesus everyday.
Jay Voorhees blogged about a cross-nailing worship service and the meaning of God in a tornado.
John Battern wrote about the stress that pastors face during Holy Week.
John Wilks blogged about the tragic atmosphere of the Last Supper, that God loves as a father, not as an owner, and that Easter should be kind of scary.
Just As I Am taught about the nature of repentance.
Ken Carter blogged about the implications of God loving us and that Jesus was lord of the outcasts.
At Kindlings, Jan wrote about what it means to be appointed by God.
Larry Hollon wrote about how the younger generation is inherently skeptical.
Mark Winter blogged about the faith that we can sustain due to the Resurrection, that Jesus was king on the cross, how we are each changed by the cross, and the memorial of Jesus that we have in communion.
Mark Youngman wrote that the Resurrection wasn't about saving us from hell, but saving us to transform lives here on earth.
Keith McIlwain listed the best Jesus movies that Hollywood has created.
Michael Daniel tried to define American culture and wrote about the proper place of emotional appeals in legal courts.
Mitchell Lewis wrote about celebrating Easter among the troops in Iraq, that we must forgive others as Jesus did from the cross, and that we can fly with God confidently.
Nate Loucks shared his thoughts on American Idol and what the Church can do to help kids grow up right.
Neil Bishop blogged about the meaning of the Resurrection.
At New Reality Blog, Ric said that we need to take all sins, not just out pet sins, seriously.
Nigel Coke-Woods wrote about misrepresentation of creation beliefs in the British media.
Olive Morgan blogged about an interesting pastor-exchange program in the Methodist Church (UK).
Pastor Laura wrote about a form of evangelism that misunderstands what it means to be saved.
Joe Tiedemann blogged about the origin of the term "Good Friday".
Jason Wooleever wrote about making confirmation classes spiritually effective and Biblical views of masculinity and femininity.
Theresa Coleman wrote that we should not just celebrate Jesus' resurrection, but mourn his death.
Lorna Koskela blogged about the Eucharist being an act of Christian unity and reviewed the book Lord, Please Help Me in the Laundry Room.
Sky Lowe-McCracken wrote that the US government and the UMC are fiscally irresponsible.
Kurt Boemler blogged about how friends react when you become a Christian.
William Hardt commemorated the creation of the Northwest Texas Annual Conference.
Jonathon Marlowe wrote about how important it is to retake Easter from the Easter Bunny.
Tony Mitchell preached on what communion means.
Shane Raynor blogged on the pro-gay organization Soulforce.
Additions? Corrections? Do you know of a blog that should be included in the MBWR? Would you like to receive the MBWR via e-mail? Leave a note in the comments or e-mail locustsandhoney2005 at yahoo dot com!
Caption Contest
WINNER: Mark Winter: Rikishi’s father and grandfather had been Sumo wrestlers...but he had to follow his own bliss.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Weekend Rabbit Blogging
Video Hosting - Upload Video - Photo Sharing
Also: read this important message from the House Rabbit Society. Every year at Easter, thousands of people buy rabbits for their children, who are usually completely unprepared for raising a rabbit for the next decade. When in doubt, don't buy a pet.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
How I've Changed in the Past Year
I took the What is Your Theological Worldview? test and tried to post it, but it messed up my template. My results were:
Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan: 93%
Charismatic/Pentecostal: 71%
Neo orthodox: 68%
Fundamentalist: 61%
Classical Liberal: 54%
Reformed Evangelical: 54%
Emergent/Postmodern: 50%
Roman Catholic: 43%
Modern Liberal: 36%
My memory is vague, but I took this test last summer and earned roughly 90% Wesleyan, 85% Reformed Evangelical, and 50% Fundamentalist. The remaining scores were below 50%. My Emergent score has gone way up, largely because of an increasing awareness of the failure of the modern church to drop its cultural baggage and traditions which are not mandated nor required by the gospel. I will, however, to my last dying breath, reject post modern epistemology.
I'm also less Reformed and Evangelical as I've come realize that giving altar calls is, to a large extent, a cop-out from real evangelism, which is personal, behavioral, and one-on-one.
I'm also more oriented to the importance of helping the poor and downtrodden as a core function of the church.
I'm not really sure what 'neo-orthodox' means, so I can't explain the sudden rise in that figure.
I plan to take this test every year and track my changes.
I'm not sure, but I think that this test gives me the highest Fundamentalist score in the Methoblogosphere, of which I am delighted. Now whenever I see Beth Quick, I can brag about how I'm more Fundamentalist than her.
Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan: 93%
Charismatic/Pentecostal: 71%
Neo orthodox: 68%
Fundamentalist: 61%
Classical Liberal: 54%
Reformed Evangelical: 54%
Emergent/Postmodern: 50%
Roman Catholic: 43%
Modern Liberal: 36%
My memory is vague, but I took this test last summer and earned roughly 90% Wesleyan, 85% Reformed Evangelical, and 50% Fundamentalist. The remaining scores were below 50%. My Emergent score has gone way up, largely because of an increasing awareness of the failure of the modern church to drop its cultural baggage and traditions which are not mandated nor required by the gospel. I will, however, to my last dying breath, reject post modern epistemology.
I'm also less Reformed and Evangelical as I've come realize that giving altar calls is, to a large extent, a cop-out from real evangelism, which is personal, behavioral, and one-on-one.
I'm also more oriented to the importance of helping the poor and downtrodden as a core function of the church.
I'm not really sure what 'neo-orthodox' means, so I can't explain the sudden rise in that figure.
I plan to take this test every year and track my changes.
I'm not sure, but I think that this test gives me the highest Fundamentalist score in the Methoblogosphere, of which I am delighted. Now whenever I see Beth Quick, I can brag about how I'm more Fundamentalist than her.
Question of the Day
Jockey Street has challenged me to a duel. As the challenged party, I have the right to choose weapons. What should I choose?
Friday, April 14, 2006
The Use of Baptism
My Methodist doctrine professor, Dr. Bob Tuttle, began his ordained ministry at a dying church in a slum in Chicago. People often approached him and asked him to baptize their babies. His reply was always, "Sure, I'll be delighted to baptize your child -- if you would just give me a couple hours of your time so that I can be assured of your salvation." Eventually, half of the members of his church were people converted to Christ during those conversations.I know that other pastors ask parents to read certain materials or be aware of certain theological concepts or parental duties in preparation for the baptism of their children.
What preparation do you request of parents before baptism? How do you make use of this sacrament for the benefit of not only the child, but the parents and congregation as a whole?
The Passíusálmar on the Crucifixion
In the 33rd hymn of the Passíusálmar, Hallgímur Pétursson wrote of the crucifixion of Christ:Let me, without lamenting,
Be crucified with Thee.
My sinful ways repenting,
Thy servant I would be.
This is my earnest plea:
Uphold my spirit, serving
With loyalty unswerving
For all eternity.
“With our transgressors numbered,”
In Nature’s last long sleep
Thy holy body slumbered,
Passing through waters deep.
Angels their watch did keep.
And now Thou numberest me
Amongst Thy redeemed to be.
What Thou hast sown, I reap.
Almighty Lord, your sacrifice is for me. Your sufferings are for my sins. I am unworthy of redemption, and yet you offer up the bounty for my evil. Forgive me, O Lord, for the nails that I drive into your hands.
Amen.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Letting Someone Wash Your Feet
Joel Thomas has an outstanding devotional on facing and accepting our weaknesses and disabilities.
I Had a Dream Last Night
In it, my mother and I visited an enormous fundamentalist church for Sunday morning worship. We were a bit out of place. Our biggest surprise was then they served the communion elements, which consisted of grape jelly on buttermilk biscuits.
It was an interesting substitution, if a tad syncretistic.
It was an interesting substitution, if a tad syncretistic.
New Poll
I saw a report recently sharing the results of a new poll done by Scripps Howard and Ohio University, asking people about their belief in their own physical resurrections after death. Basically, most people don't think that they will really be raised from the grave in a physical sense. I might bring this up in my message for Easter Sunday.
If you had to guess, do you think most members of the UMC accept the Apostle's Creed statement of belief in the "resurrection of the body," or do you see more people accepting a doctrine of some kind of "spiritualized" resurrection?
If you had to guess, do you think most members of the UMC accept the Apostle's Creed statement of belief in the "resurrection of the body," or do you see more people accepting a doctrine of some kind of "spiritualized" resurrection?
Caption Contest
Picture found at Purgatorio.
WINNER: Jeff the Baptist: And lo the Script doth say, "Thou shalt sacrifice unto me one of those who donneth the crimson blouse and I shall bestow dramatic tension upon ye. And verily ye shall become like unto God among the nerds..."
Justifying the Restriction of Immigration
Jockey Street, responsible for the end of Tom Delay's career, has placed me in his crosshairs:Essentially, I read them as John saying that he enjoys his privileged position and doesn't want to see the culture that he enjoys so much changed (or destroyed-- but cultures are rarely destroyed, generally only modified) and so he wants unappreciate, non-assimilating immigrants kept the hell out.
Yes, that's pretty much it. Jockey Street [in my reading] then goes on to say that it is a legitimate desire to retain majority status -- up to a point. The severity of the steps taken to ensure that cultural homogeneity should not morally exceed the actual harm done by its loss. I agree with that statement in principle.
Wants -- and I would say that the desire to maintain a certain lifestyle, a sense of privilege, a particular flavor of culture is in every way a "want"--are legitimate. We have every right to act on our wants, to seek the fulfillment of our own desires...up to a point. And that point, most of us would agree, comes when the fulfillment of our want conflicts with someone else's need. My desire to get loaded up and drive real fast so I can watch the colors go by in neat ribbons and swirls, for instance, is less important than the need of everyone else on the road to make it home alive, so I can't do that sort of thing. Even though sometimes I'd like to. That sort of thing. When weighing wants vs. needs or life vs. lifestyle, needs and life get priority, want and lifestyle have to be content with the back seat.
Driving out illegal immigrants would be an ugly business. It would, regardless of method, harm the immigrants in question. The harm that we should be willing to inflict would induce a moral cost which should not exceed the consequences of failing to drive them out. If the illegal immigrants were flesh-eating zombies trying to kill us all, that moral cost would be justified. However, our problem is primarily with Mexicans, a fairly civilized people who are coming here not to devour us but to work their way out of poverty:
If the immigration issues that you were discussing here were about life and safety, you'd have a lot of room to argue. To ask for secure borders in effort to keep bad people from hurting you is pretty rational. But that's not where you seemed to be going with these posts. That seems to be a different discussion altogether. You didn't express fear that a Mexican might come to your house and kill you, only that he might come to your country and force you to read signs written in Spanish or take away your privileged position in the culture.
Making these kinds of moral cost-benefit decisions is tricky because their variables are subjective and cannot be reduced to numerical form. What is the cost of not acting? Jockey Street is skeptical:
So I guess if your interest in keeping poor brown people from other countries out of your neighborhood is really all about enjoying the privileges you have and not wanting to see the things that you like changing, it's not entirely alright. To want to see some sort of regulation, to have an expectation that in some ways people assimilate (ways that will allow society to keep functioning), is understandable. But again, that doesn't seem to be what you were getting at.
Before I go (I've been rambling)--how different is what you're saying here from the rhetoric of racists not too long ago? "I have privileges, I enjoy them, I want to keep them." "I like my culture the way it is, I don't want it to change." Those words could have easily come out of the mouths of people opposed to civil rights (or even to the abolition of slavery) not so terribly long ago. Certainly, when the civil rights era (and the abolition of slavery, and women's suffrage) brought about significant changes in the culture and took a certain degree of privilege away from people who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it. Would those people have been justified in opposing integration, abolition, suffrage? And I'd be willing to guess that you and I--both white, male, educated, privileged--live in very different worlds, have different takes on culture. Can your arguments for opposing immigration be applied to keeping people like me out of your neighborhood? If me and twelve of my friends were to move into your neighborhood and change the local culture, could you kick us out?"
This isn't about race. It's about culture and language. Multicultural countries rarely hold together or function with national unity and multilingual countries do even worse. If America has too many divergent cultures, it will not function effectively as a country. And given that many of the Mexican immigrants (legitimately) see the land that they are inhabiting as stolen from their country and that they are engaging in a reconquest, America will not survive as a polity in the future. The problem is not that there are a lot of brown people coming into our country. The problem is that there is a massive tidal wave of people (regardless of color) moving here from a nation immediately bordering ours who consider the land to which they are moving to be stolen from their own homeland and that their intention is to displace our national culture there with our own. They're colonizing us and even say it, openly and brazenly.
I get Jockey Street's point: is it moral to sacrifice the lives of innocent Mexicans for the sake of preserving our culture? I'm uncomfortable saying 'yes', but I'm going to -- within limits. I base that yes out of an extended view of the fundamental human right to property. A person has a right to preserve his house and belongings* from thievery. If a family -- even a poor one -- occupies the house of another without consent, it is stealing. A person has the right to declare his house his castle and determine the rules for guests who seek admission into it. He should help the poor, but it is reasonable for him to say "Yes, homeless man, I will help you find food and shelter and possibly a job, but you cannot live in my house." The body politic is a collective house that we live in which has property (territory) and rules for admission (immigration and visa laws). We have a moral impetus to help other, less fortunate nations, but also a propertarian right to set and enforce boundaries.
So by all means, let us permit Mexicans to immigrate to the US. As Jockey Street says, it is fair to set rules and regulations for such immigration. Sassimilationuld require assimiliation into American culture and language.
Why are the Mexicans not assimilating? Because there are so many of them that they do not need to assimilate. Our problem is not that we have Mexicans; our problem is that we have so many. The present population will never assimilate such vast numbers. We are like a snake trying to swallow too large an animal. The Mexican population is simply too huge for us to digest, as we did with European immigrants a century ago. I am not calling on us to get rid of brown people. What I am suggesting is that we only permit in as many immigrants as we can absorb.
The consequence is that many impoverished Mexicans will never be able to come to America, not to speak of the hundreds of millions of other people around the world who would love to come here and make money. Does that make me a cold-hearted SOB? Yeah, kinda. We could be more charitable and open up our hearts and resources to others, like homeless shelters do. But even homeless shelters have rules. They have only X number of beds and Y number of meals, and if demand exceeds supply, too bad. Well, America only has a certain amount of room before it ceases to be America. Take a number and wait in line.
*Yes, yes, Jesus said give all of your stuff to whoever wants it. But then again, if there is no right to property, why are we commanded "Thou shall not steal"?
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Mega Church: The Game
I enjoyed Mafia, Hitman, Punisher, and Manhunt, but retired Methoblogger James Spring has e-mailed me and suggested this simulator.
A version of which already exists as a board game.
A version of which already exists as a board game.
Methodist Blogger Profile: Sky Lowe-McCracken
I am the pastor of Reidland United Methodist Church, located in the suburbs of Paducah in greater McCracken County (no relation, as far as we know). Reidland UMC is a 430-member congregation that averages around 210 at the two Sunday morning worship services.
I have a BS from the University of Tennessee (Martin) and an M.Div. from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. In the past, I served in the fire and emergency medical service in paid, paid-on-call, and volunteer positions. I am an avowed member of the Order of St. Luke, having professing vows in 1991 and Life Vows in 2000.
I am married to Liz Lowe-McCracken, who is employed by LiquidServices/Neel Enterprises of Ledbetter, Kentucky. We have one daughter.
Why do you blog?
It gives me a forum to communicate my musings and extended thoughts, and reaches a generation of people that are “online literate” who may also be hungry for faithful and spiritual food. I think it can also be an extension of how the Church communicates the Gospel. As a by-product, I think my blog has also allowed the people in my parish see my “human side” that struggles and celebrates life just as they do.
What has been your best blogging experience?
I was recently interviewed by a newspaper about my blog, and how it was different from other blogs in our local area with a focus on faith. I took that as a compliment.
What would be your main advice to a novice blogger?
Don’t be afraid to write about your dreams, hopes, fears, and struggles. Just be sure when you use sources that they are accurate and factual; there are enough gossip blogs out there already.
If you only had time to read three blogs a day, what would they be?
Besides Locusts and Honey?
1. Shane Raynor’s “Wesley Blog”
2. Ben Witherington (http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/)
3. Jay Voorhies “Only Wonder Understands”
Who are your spiritual heroes?
John Wesley, St. Luke the Evangelist, Augustine of Hippo, Frederick Buechner, Kathleen Norris.
What are you reading at the moment?
Holy Communion for Amateurs, N.T. (Tom) Wright. The newer edition is published under the title, The Meal that Jesus Gave Us.
What is your favorite hymn and why?
“Be Thou My Vision.” It’s a tune from my Irish rootage and a hymn that best expresses my spiritual yearnings.
Can you name a major moral, political, or intellectual issue on which you've ever changed your mind?
Abortion. I used to take the stance that it was preferable to an unwanted child or undesirable situation, but I came to realize that the same ethic I use to say that capital punishment is a premeditated murder equally applies to abortion.
What philosophical thesis do you think is most important to combat?
Without a doubt, individualism.
If you could effect one major change in the governing of your country, what would it be?
Healthcare and health insurance reform. Besides the immorality of some not having access to it, our present system simply isn’t working effectively anymore.
If you could effect one major policy change in the United Methodist Church, what would it be?
I would declare a moratorium on the mere utterance of the word homosexuality, as well as any derivatives of the word and any legislation on the matter. Regardless of what “side” some are on the matter, the issue has reached the status of idol in our denomination.
What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
Find balance and perspective, and let it be reflected in how we pray and spend our time, money, and efforts.
What, if anything, do you worry about?
I’m a worry-er, so I worry about everything… showing a lack of faith on my part.
If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything that you'd do differently?
I would have done my community service project and become an Eagle Scout.
Where would you most like to live (other than where you do now)?
The mountains – either the Rockies or the Smokies. Scotland would be a very, very close second.
What do you like doing in your spare time?
I enjoy long motorcycle rides, and officiating basketball. Both relax and renew me.
What is your most treasured possession?
A Westbury 12-string baroque guitar (a craviola look-a-like). I got it the summer I graduated from high school, not knowing how I was going to pay for it ($325 in 1983). When my parents got wind that I was struggling to make payments, they paid it off. I have since “retired” it from active duty and it sits prominently in our living room.
What talent would you most like to have?
A solo singing voice. I can sing with a choir or ensemble, but have always envied those whose voice can make a sure and strong joyful noise.
If you could have any three guests, past or present, to dinner, who would they be?
Jesus of Nazareth, Martin Luther, and Benjamin Franklin (although I wouldn’t allow him to sit next to my wife).
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