Yeah, I don’t know about this one. And even less about the lyrics… anybody have any clues about what Bono and co. is on to here? Negativity perhaps, and the general mood of pessimism? It “needs a kiss”? Read more…
Love him or hate him – he’s important. He’s the new voice of evangelicalism, and while he may not have received the warmest reception from the chilly crowd in DC, he is going to be the next Billy Graham advising presidents and world leaders. He’s in a caliber of his own. So here I’ve transcribed the text of his invocation – it’s choppy – so feel free to correct – but what did u think of his invocation? Read more…
Here’s a classic case of job mismatch.
Since I’m on this vocatio thread and will be talking through Ecclesiastes this Sunday, how apt to have this perfect example of vocational mismatch – Joe, I implore you! Proceed no further! You are setting yourself up! We (the public) really care about u dude, and it makes our eyes itch to watch you stepping on your own verbal land mines… please stop here before you hurt yourself! See Joe the Plumber endorses the Israeli occupation. CNN writes a masterpiece of understatement and editorial satire: Read more…
Will be preaching this Sunday @RCC about vocation and the theology of work. It’s also a great topic to gripe – err.. blog about. Sure people have a love / hate relationship with their work – where do u stand? I’d love to hear from you as I put my sermon together based on Ecclesiastes 2:11 – 24; perhaps your story will even find its way into the message. But tell me – do you love / hate what you do, and why?
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It’s the end of an era.
And now with just 1 week left to clean up shop, take his box, clean out his locker – u know what I mean – here’s a list of the top 10 things Bush has to do in his last week of office:
Apparently he’s in the news again, with rumors of making some kind of comeback via documentaries. While the past few years have been rough on him – some say the homosexual-bashing conservative evangelical deserved it – I don’t see what he’s trying to accomplish with a public statement – perhaps some vindication. You gotta feel bad for the guy – his life, vocation, future, promise, career, possibly family life – all destroyed. As a pastor myself I am sad for him, but at the same time I don’t know why he’s trying to get in the spotlight again – no one ever really recovers from these things. But the real question is – how did this ever even happen in the first place? Did he have any accountability or any confessor at all? Was he alone in his struggles? And how much imbalance did he have in his life to get to the point where he was using crystal meth and seeking out prostitutes? I know first-hand the hardships of pastoral ministry – but someone tell me -
how does somebody get like that?
No better way to get the year started, aye?
Instigated by my recent foray into the theology of the Old Testament under professor Ian Provan, I found myself fascinated by a number of things – his perspective on Ezra / Nehemiah / Esther for one – but also the look into the wisdom lits, particularly Song of Songs. Long been held an allegorical reading of the love of Christ for the Church, I’ve always walked away thinking that was a stretch; it always seemed to me a pretty obvious picture of one thing: eros. Defining songs as allegorical just never really convinced me as I can’t seem to see that as the author’s intent. At any rate this is not so much about splitting hermeneutical hairs as much as it is about the deep redemptive value of a theology on sex; Songs has the potential to address the neurotic dysfunctionalism of our view on sex today; the problem is the allegorical message of Christ and the church keeps getting in the way – it seems to be blinding us to the more obvious – the literal interpretation of songs as a theology on the “healing of sex”. But at any rate:
Is there indeed, such a thing as a “theology of sex”? Is it in there, in the text? Is it an a priori of secularism? Is it relevant, devotional-type material? Can you make heads or tails of it? Does it speak to the church or the individual?
Atif Irfan and his wife, Sobia Ijaz, were among nine passengers removed from a flight Thursday after commenting on the safest place to sit. (By Phelan M. Ebenhack For The Washington Post)
I’m all for deconstructing prejudices but there’s an oft-missed dimension of prejudice that is not adequately addressed, namely, fear.
As much as we can wax progressive in cross-cultural ideals let’s face it; we’re really terrified of the ‘other’ are we not? For example, what happens when this xenophobia is mixed with, say, fear of flying? All of our progressive ideals get tossed out the window. In light of 9 Muslims getting booted off a plane – sure it’s discrimination – but it reflects a national sentiment and deeply-rooted fear since 9/11. What we need is dialogue – more voices from the Muslim community – and more talking to address this issue of fear. I’ll be the first to admit; ever since 9/11 I’ve hated flying more than ever. Anybody else echo that sentiment?
My prediction – and I hope I’m wrong – is this latest round is going to be the longest, most acute, persistent case of xenophobia ever.
Intrigued that Clint Eastwood has chosen to tackle the subject matter of Asian-American racism; while it’s not his first venture into the Asian genre (Letters From Iwo Jima) I think this one will take a unique twist. I’m looking forward to watching Gran Torino. Above all, don’t visit the wikipedia page, the person who put it up completely spoils the film. At any rate, any body see it yet? What’d u think? And pls, – no spoilers… for those who might be interested, here’s the synopsis (sans spoiler): Read more…
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