Saturday, August 29, 2009

Mixing & Mingling

The fountains mingle with the river,
And the rivers with the ocean;
The winds of heaven mix forever,
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In one another's being mingle: -
Why not I with thine?

----- Percy Bysshe Shelley



"All our reasoning ends in surrender to feeling."

----- Blaise Pascal

Friday, August 28, 2009

Yet Another Take on Love

With my last TS670 paper written and sent to the prof, I've gleefully embarked on my month of recreational reading. September is the entr'acte between Summer and Fall terms, and I plan to fill it with a lilting intermezzo of emotional and non-scholarly books. Fa la la.

The first of which is "Why We Love" by Helen Fisher, an anthropologist who teaches at Rutgers. She dug into the brain chemistry of people in madly in love, or recently rejected by a lover. MRI technology allowed her to see the areas of the brain stimulated by those feelings and analyze what produces the highs and lows, the obsessive behavior, the passionate craving, the calm attachment, the crushing depression.

(okay, maybe it's a little scholarly. pop science.)

The cocktail of chemicals at work include dopamine, norepenephrine, serotonin, oxytocin, vasopressin and testosterone, in varying levels. Yikes! I kind of picture the chemical combinations like a graphic equalizer applied to music... you change the feel of the sound by boosting this range, lowering that one... except when you're in love, someone ELSE is messing with your levels - someone you're crazy about, and whom you hope feels the same!

More on all that later, maybe. For now, I want to summarize a section from the book where the author categorizes types of love according to which of these three main groupings of feelings it contains: passion, intimacy, commitment.

infatuation - passion only, no intimacy or committment
convenience - intimacy only, no committment or passion
dutiful love - committment only, no passion or intimacy

fatuous love - committment plus passion, lacking intimacy
companionate love - committment plus intimacy, lacking passion
romantic love - intimacy plus passion, lacking committment

complete love - intimacy, committment, passion - all active

Interesting take. And hey, who's to argue? After all, in the words of Sir Henry Finck (Queen Victoria's behavioral scientist): "Love is such a tissue of paradoxes, and exists in such a variety of forms and shades, that you may say almost anything about it that you please, and it is likely to be correct."

No kidding. It sure confuses me, that much I know.

Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go pop some St. John's Wort to raise my serotonin levels; writing about this has me all trippy. Darn that dopamine.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Attraction

I normally don't write limericks, but..



On a blanket beneath the full moon,
Zach and Allie delighted to spoon.
Soon what started as dating
Became copulating
And now she's expecting in June.




:)

Ah, the students return to campus this week, like so many migrating birds, and I'm sure as I drive around the grassy and shady grounds this next month, I will, as I did last Fall and in late Spring, see pairs of students on blankets, quietly keeping their own counsel in low whispers. Snuggle away, boys & girls, but let wisdom prevail.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Stages of (Theological) Consciousness

The book I'm currently reading (and the last one left in my summer independent study class, thank The Lord), is in essence a systematic theology textbook for the postmodern era in which we live.

Modernism ran for about 250 years (from roughly 1700), beginning to crumble after the atrocities of two world wars and the advent of the atomic bomb. It was characterized by scientific ideals from the Enlightenment, and put a high value on individual autonomy (both politically and religiously).

The Premodern era was the preceding period of antiquity running all the way back to ancient Greece. It was characterized by philosophic ideas from Aristotle, Augustine & Aquinas, and put a high value on the authority of law, king, and bishop over the individual.

Postmodernism is only recently born, and is still developing its own ideas from various current sources, while reacting to the failure of Modernism with disillusionment. It places a high value on synergy, the search for meaning, and on community among individuals.

The book in question is "God: The World's Future", by Ted Peters, and in it he mentions three stages of consciousness that we as individuals traverse over time. He also suggests that theology is also going through these same stages. I found them interesting on an individual level as well as theologically.

Stage 1: naive world-creation
Stage 2: critical deconstruction
Stage 3: postcritical reconstruction

In the first stage, we are new at life and are developing organizing principles about it as we go along. We are creating a worldview innocently as life unrolls before us. We come easily to conclusions and beliefs about things, lock them in and hold them, even in the face of sometimes harsh realities.

In the second stage, we discover life is more complex than we thought, and find that our worldview is inadequate and our beliefs have failed us. We then begin to critically tear down what we thought was true, finding the weaknesses and strengths to various beliefs, and make decisions about what is valid and what is not.

In the third stage, we stop the criticism and rebuild our worldview, but no longer from a position of naivete', rather from one of experience and deeper understanding of the world around us and where we fit in it. We take the fragments of stage two and holistically assemble parts together to a synergistic whole that we can sustain (and which can sustain us).

The author relates these stages to the premodern, modern, and postmodern eras, and how theology has developed during each. By way of analogy, he also describes his own personal and theological development. This got me thinking about my own.

Peters says that his first stage of naive world-construction lasted until he hit university, where he began a long period of deconstruction. For me, I think my first stage lasted until roughly age 40, then began to come apart until, at age 45, I began a long period of deconstruction, which I believe I'm still in. It may be nearly over, or may run another 3-5 years, but I think that I'm beginning now to assess the good and bad amongst the fragments of my original naive world-construction. Soon I may be able to see how to put a new worldview and belief system together from the pieces.

It would be great to be able to hit that stage of postcritical reconstruction before I endeavor to enter a classroom and teach anyone anything of eternal consequence.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Fruit!

My vines are really not supposed to have any this year: second-year vines don't bear. In the third year I'll get half a crop, and in the fourth, a full yield (from which, God willing, I'll make wine for my Seminary graduation party the following Spring!

But this year I apparently have one vine that's a bit more lusty than the others. (What can I say? Takes after the vinedresser, I guess...)

So anyway, it's a cute little cluster of 4-5 grapes growing right off the main trunk. I've been watching it all year, wondering what it would do when it hit véraison (the time when the grapes turn color, moving from growing to ripening). And yeah! They're turning, all right.



So, late August. Just before State Fair. That means harvest next year will be early October. Just about right. :)

Friday, August 21, 2009

Here we go again!

Another climactic event hits the metro area, and theological interpretations abound!

And again, they fall along the lines of Classical Theism (represented by John Piper), and Freewill Theism (represented by Greg Boyd), the two internet-savvy, mega-church pastors in the area who also differed on the 35W bridge collapse of two years ago, and on which topic I just preached in my local church.

This time it's the near-miss of a tornado that ripped through the area where the ELCA was meeting to discuss (among other things) whether or not to allow clergy to be in "committed, life-long, monogamous relationships with a person of the same gender". The links on the pastor's names above point to their blog posts on the subject.

No need for me to comment further. They effectively do justice to their respective theological positions. And one can readily see the appeal of those positions... to widely differing audiences.

Whose side are you on?

It wasn't long ago that our President (not the current, but the former) used the phrase "if you're not with us, you're agin' us." He was actually quoting Jesus of Nazareth, just... in a different context: the spread of Democracy vs the spread of the Gospel.

I happen to be on the mailing list for Organizers for America, the remnants of the Obama presidential campaign. They routinely send out letters asking "supporters" to rally for one cause or another of the current President's. And the tone of these emails is remarkably similar to that of the former President. If one disagrees with the President on a policy agenda issue, that person is an "opponent", and "stands in the way of progress".

Ideological fervor on BOTH sides of an issue, from both ends of the political spectrum, can take on religious overtones of zeal or duty or rightness. The problem is, we rarely consult God on the matter. We prefer to "baptize" our already closely held positions and make them holy.

It hearkens back to the words of another President, he of Emancipation and Civil War fame, when speaking of the blood shed between our fellow countrymen:

"Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge not that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has his own purposes."

-----Abraham Lincoln, second inaugural address



No foolin' there, Abe. God definitely has His own purposes, and most of the time they ain't ours. This is the reason that I NEVER sing along when "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" is played in church. It too easily invokes the name of God to justify the slaying of our neighbors in a cause of our own anointing.

This whole business reminds me of the Bible passage when Joshua was getting ready to make war on Jericho and start taking the Promised Land. He definitely had an "our side / their side" mentality working for him, and a conviction that God was on his side in the upcoming conflict. However, as he was walking about privately and praying, he had a remarkable encounter with an angel of God:

"Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"

"Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"

The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

-----Joshua 5:13-15



Would that all of us, when we take up a cause with righteous fervor, would remember to fall on our face and ask God for direction before we criticize our neighbors. A little humilty would get us a lot further in public discourse.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Faith in ... the Future?

Or... in the God who holds it?

(or maybe more precisely, in the God who is perfectly prepared for it, and walks into it with us).

Regular readers know that I have thought out loud here often about hope and how it works. It seems to be such a prevalent theme in today's post-modern world (as you might expect, given the inherent tendency in post-modernism toward disillusionment and despair), ranging from Jurgen Moltmann's "Theology of Hope" in 1964, to Barack Obama's "Audacity of Hope" some 40 years later.

Hope is the antidote to despair (as long as it is genuine, and not false hope which crushes the spirit), and hope for the future is what today's desperate world needs most.

On Sunday the guest preacher (a woman from within the congregation, sort of like me two weeks earlier), told her story; it was both tragic and beautiful. She referenced a couple of quotations about hope, which I really liked.

"Hope is the quiet and sometimes incessant call to dream for the future. Biblical hope is substantial faith regarding the future."

----- Dan Alendar, "The Healing Path"

I get this. The first phrase is great. The call to hope is often quiet; sometimes too quiet during times of desperation, when what you want hope to do is shout at you, so you can find it in the dark and grab the lifeline that it is throwing toward you. But even though quiet, it is also often incessant, like a beacon which continues to attract your attention and toward which you can direct yourself when lost; this is a good thing, because we don't often latch to it on the first time. Or the second, or third, or...

I like the second phrase just as much. I have found that there is a difference between hope... and Biblical hope. Hope can be desperate, and placed in something un-faith-ful (in the sense of not being reliable enough for our hope or trust to be well-placed there). But when hope is rooted in God, and in line with what's taught in Scripture, the result can (and should) be a faith regarding the future that is substantive and sure. Not certainty, mind you, but a confident hope founded on a trustworthy God.

The second quote put it more simply:

"She was scared silly, but she kept buying tickets"

----- greeting card (with a picture of a ferris wheel on the front)

:) I like this, too. And it's often how I feel as I face today and tomorrow. If I don't have hope, I don't want to get on the ride. Too scary. Better to step aside. But no matter how scared I am, when hope is strong, I keep right on buying tickets... to the future.

Monday, August 17, 2009

And the royalties just keep rolling in

Every 6 months I get a check from CCLI (a church music licensing service, similar to ASCAP or BMI), for the performance rights to a couple of songs I wrote some 10 years back or so.

Originally simply used for worship in the church I attended at the time, I took a flyer on listing them with this copyright service where that church licensed its music. It never really occurred to me than anyone other than my home church would ever use them. But churches could download an audio sample, and.. hm. Whad'dya know?

$15.80, baby. Nothing to sneeze at. Buys me a couple of CD downloads at Amazon, or 3 large Breve drinks at Caribou Coffee.

In this economy... I'll take it. :)

Sunday, August 16, 2009

A night out with Priscilla

Such a good boy this weekend. :) Tended my grapevines (nutrients and pruning), sang on worship team, did both draft and final versions of the next-to-last paper for TS670, submitted those, cut up a bunch of small stakes to stick in the garden to stop the dog from sleeping on the ferns, returned due stuff to the library, made my first pan of bars (don't ask!), did dishes, made bed, etc, etc.

So I felt justified in both watching the PGA on TV, and going out to a show Saturday night. A new place (for me) in the warehouse district: Bunkers. Not too bad. Smallish club, but a decent stage and adequate food, tables & stools.



On my way there, it started to rain, and I pulled up alongside a biker & chick combo who were toughing it out. I saw him reach inside his jacket and put this long thing in his mouth. At first I thought it was a cigar and he was going to light up, but... it turned out to be a stick of beef jerky. Unwrapped.. stored in his jacket pocket. Wonder what the jacket smells like just in general. Maybe he rides in the rain now and then just to wash it out.



The opener was a guy named Robert Francis, a fairly typical indie rocker with a couple of decent bandmates. But I guess he's indie no longer, since he was selling $5 advance copies of his new CD which is on Atlantic Records. So he's a major label guy now. He had a sound along the lines of Glen Hansard of The Frames, although maybe not quite so intense and soul-wrenching. Really a pretty decent, though, so I picked up a copy. :)



The one I came to hear, though, was Priscilla Ahn. I'd seen her advertised on Amazon.mp3 and got her CD from the library, really liked it. She looks kind of like Meiko, and sorta sounds like both her & Ingrid Michaelson if they were singing songs by Feist, while playing acoustic guitar like Paul Simon, and blues harmonica to boot.



Talented musician, this girl, and she really captivated the audience - you could hear a pin drop on her quiet songs (of which there were many). She even did a cover of an old Harry Nilsson song, Moonbeam, off of "Nilsson Schmilsson", one of the very first first albums I ever bought way back in high school. Nicely done, too. So despite the rain, all in all it was a pretty pleasant night.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

anathema

.


ideology
divides and conquers nations
arrogant rightness


.

Responses to "If You Don't Like Obama"

In an earlier post, I quoted verbatim from an email I recently received talking about the ideological rancor and partisan vitriol we see from both sides of the liberal/conservative divide. Quoted here (again verbatim) is a followup to that email, for those of you who want to see how that email was received in the local Christian community (or, at least.. a slice of it).

Dear Heart of the City Friends,

I recently wrote an article entitled “If You Don’t Like Obama” for this Heart of the City email newsletter. In 13 years of this ministry, having written occasional articles throughout this time, I’ve never received so many responses – 98% of which were very positive toward the message of the article. A couple of them did make polarizing statements like, “the title ‘liberal Christian’ is an oxymoron” and “why don’t you just call it ‘carnal Christian’ instead of ‘liberal Christian?’” And a couple of others said things like “I find that conservative Christians rarely or seldom do anything productive but just complain about what the left is doing” and “We must not let the far right , southern, Republican, conservatives define us .” But overall, I found some really humble, interesting and valuable responses that were given. I feel like these blessed and challenged me and I think that there are excerpts from several that are really worth having everyone read. So I’m including them below. I think it will valuable to you if you’ll take a couple of minutes and read these through. I find it refreshing to hear such humble, thoughtful responses from Christians in regards to these issues – that seem refreshingly not like the hostility that we are so often presented. So take a minute and hear these thoughtful responses.

God bless!

Dan Adler


“…I started reading this very apprehensively and wondering if I was going to change my view of you and your ministry. This is a well balanced article and I hope folks on BOTH sides of the aisle will read it - it's good that you took advantage of the opportunity here to speak. I have a million reasons to not care for Obama as president and I get so angry when ANYONE mentions race because that's the one single thing I'd like to embrace about the situation…”

“..You have brought up many significant issues, Dan. Chief among them is the fact that we can be "dead right" about something, right on the substance of an issue but wrong in our attitude towards others while holding it. We can be wrong about the arrogance with which we hold even a valid position. This is what often divides both the American nation and the American church. If we want God's help in a political or spiritual cause we need to remember that "God resists the proud and shows grace to the humble" (1 Pet. 5:5). Our emotions can get the best of us, and disrespect and even hatred against "the other side" of any issue or belief can erupt deep within us. It is possible to "be angry and sin not" (Eph. 4:26) so we know that anger is not always wrong. But we can also grow angry with a sinful kind of anger at our follow human beings on the opposite side of a political or even a doctrinal position. To hold a right position with a right attitude of humility takes Divine empowerment…”

“…thanks for this excellent note. I am in complete agreement with you. And as a Black conservative you can imagine I am doubly conflicted these days. I think my main disappointment is at the vitriolic tone our political discourse has taken. People are to the point where they have real hatred for people they don’t even know, and its based purely based upon their political affiliation. That is crazy. I used to be very involved in politics, but with the last few elections I’ve chosen to back off. I no longer openly share my political persuasion. I don’t put up yard signs or any of that. It creates an unnecessary divide between me and people that I really like at all times except during an election. And it certainly has nothing to do with what God is asking of me. So I applaud your note and hope that people, and especially Christians, can take it to heart…”

“…i thought it might bless you to know that every Sunday Morning in the opening prayer, our (predominantly white suburban church) Pastor prays for President Obama, that he would sense the leadership and Lordship of Jesus Christ and be guided by His wisdom. Praying for our leaders is our responsibility and has great power. Jesus is still now and always will be Lord!”

“Wow Dan, this is brilliantly written and even more importantly, solidly true biblical teaching and consistent with the heart of Christ!! Well done. I commend you!
A great book - if you have not already read it - is "The Myth of a Christian Nation" by our own Twin Cities' Greg Boyd. It will blow your mind on the topic of church and state, religion and politics. In that book, Boyd points out for example that Jesus selected men from polar opposites on the political issues of the day. On Jesus' team He had a zealot ready to overthrow the government and a man who collected taxes for that very government. And there is a lot more. I particularly appreciate the advice you have because my wife comes from a strong Republican family and I from a very strong Democratic family. My father-in-law worked for a large company whose mission was to make money. Taxes were the enemy. My father was born into poverty and spent his career in education. Taxes were a means to serve the poor. My father pumped my head full of compassion for the poor and a zeal for racial justice. He gave me a love for people who were different than me and/or less fortunate than I.
My family and I have lived over a decade abroad in a city of 100,000 where we were often the only white people and just about the only Christians. We know what it is like to live as minority people in a politically and religiously hostile environment where just the color of our skin is a strike against us. We also experienced in that very context the freedom of agape love that breaks down all barriers and prejudices and creates friendships and bridges for truth to cross the cultural-political-religious divide. As you experience in your ministry, it is a taste of heaven and absolutely thrilling to see the barriers break down and love flow back and forth across the divide.
Now for the controversial part: in our extended family, Obama got multiple votes including from me, my wife, and my children-and we are evangelicals. I cried for joy when the clock ticked past 11 p.m and the west coast results came in making his election sure. I jumped up and down yelling: "We have a black president!" over and over. Of course we did not vote for Obama because he was black, but we were thrilled at the historical milestone in our country's struggle against the injustice of racism and we could not help think about all the suffering of blacks through the years in this country, what they have endured just because of the color of their skin. So race was not a factor in my choice to vote for Obama. I voted for him because I believe that he has compassion on the poor. I voted for him because he supports health care reform so that all people can have access to health care. I voted for him because I believe in sharing the wealth of this nation out of compassion and selflessness to help those less fortunate. I believe I am my brother's keeper and that we are all in this together.
I wish and pray that Obama would become pro-life. I believe he is wrong on the abortion issue. I believe gay marriage is wrong. On these issues I am as conservative as any evangelical. I have voted Republican on the basis of the abortion issue and I certainly understand and accept Christians voting Republican because of this issue and the gay marriage issue.
I however have a hard time understanding why I should let the Republican party or any other political group dictate my views on all the other issues facing our country or why I should vote a certain way based on a single issue. I care about the abortion issue, but I also care about education and health care. And I am against the war in Iraq and concerned about the environment. So, if I agree with Obama on certain issues but disagree with him on other issues, what do I do? Does the abortion issue have to trump all others? It has been pointed out that if Roe vs. Wade were overturned by the Supreme Court, the decision on the legality of abortion would simply go to the state level, and there does not exist a single state currently prepared to make abortion illegal. So as much as I am against abortion, a presidential election outcome is not likely to save the lives of any unborn children in the foreseeable future . We would do better to focus our efforts on evangelism and grass roots work to influence the minds of individual people about abortion. This is work that is doable and within our reach and that is what I do to live consistently with my belief that abortion is wrong.
Dan, the theme of your article is treating one another with love and respect in the midst of the political bickering of our day. If I were to let people know that I voted for Obama, a lot of folks in my church would no longer respect me. Some would be appalled concluding that I am one of those hated liberals. I don't think there is much room in a lot of evangelical churches today for people who voted for Obama. I find that sad and it affects me personally. I can freely discuss my political views at work, but I don't dare discuss them at church. And by the way, my kids have been to some extent turned off to church as a result of the anti-liberal hate talk in evangelical churches. They feel it too- all the hatred toward Obama and those liberals. By the grace of God they still follow Christ in spite of what they hear at church out of the mouths of Christians.
This is why I say, I appreciate your call for Christian conduct, in stead of jumping on the hate band wagon. We sorely need your good word on this blind spot in our evangelical vision.”

“This was a blessing to me today. We are staunch conservatives. I can truly say that President Obama's race has not ever caused me to spout off with inappropriate racial slurs, but I can say that I have spouted off inappropriately about what he is doing in direct conflict of what Christ expects from me. This was extremely well written and inspired by the Holy Spirit. I will watch my mouth and pray for our leaders and country based on your article.”

“I can not thank you enough for writing this. I have been disturbed by many emails I have received from conservative friends, family and others - such hatred. I always choose not to pass them on. Your words are like a window has opened and I got a breath of fresh air and the truth. I have sat socially with liberal friends who verbally attacked me for my beliefs/values. I really hate when politics are brought up! Thank you. You have verbalized the reasonableness and love of God that we so often forget and get bogged down under daily propaganda.”

“Thank you so much for writing this. I wish every Christian could read this. So I am forwarding this to everyone I know. Similarly, for years I have been receiving emails that are very prejudicial against Muslims. I respectfully reply and ask if they know someone who is Muslim personally and if they have talked to them about these issues. Most of them say no. I then ask them unless they are stating a fact that they heard from first hand experience not to further the stereotypes. If we treat Muslims this way then why would they want to be a Christian?...”

“…I read your email carefully with a sense of dread, thinking you were "one of them" and then cheered, cried and danced.”

“…I strongly agree with what you have written here, and would add that people like me also need to heed it. I am not in either the liberal or conservative camp on everything. But, because of this very issue, I have backed away from politics and don't pay attention to what is going on. While this keeps me from getting angry at everyone, it does not help this world. It is not loving…”

“… It is not politics or armies or laws, but Jesus Christ who is our hope. I am very passionate about politics, and therefore need to remind myself often that God puts people into power and removes them for HIS purposes and the best thing I can do for America and the world is make disciples…”

“…I wish, in the all of the political zeal, that Christians (including myself) would realize the truth of how you ended it with the quote from Petra! We aren't of this world, and we won't find the solution to our world's problems through any political leader.........only Jesus!..”

“…That was absolutely fantastic! Totally agree!!! If I hear someone complain, I always ask them if they are praying for those in authority over us. Shuts them up then & there!..”

“…The greatest danger facing all who name Christ is acting, speaking or doing anything absent of love. 1Cor 13:1-4, tells us the end result - worth nothing…”

“These are potentially dangerous times and we as Christians seem to have forgotten what circumstances were like at the birthplace of our faith in Roman culture. We might in fact inadvertently create an unnecessary backlash of persecution toward a perception WE create for the unbelieving world…not because of the gospel, but our impulsive and venomous critiques of our opposition...IF we're going to be hounded it should be for the right reasons, not because we're brash and mouthy about political views...it just shuts down the interpersonal dialogue. It squelches any kind of opening to share our faith.”


And here’s a beautiful prayer that one person closed their note with that I’ll close this note with as well:

Lord, help us all to see that what we really need is You. Lord we are helpless. We cannot possibly win the war that rages for the souls of men without Your complete control. Father, forgive us when we forget that it is not about us. Lord, have mercy on us all. There is no one who is righteous, not one. We rely completely on the power of Christ that lives within us to live…Father, may we continue to worship you, and love our neighbors as ourselves. I pray in Jesus name. Amen”

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Foxes and peppers



Sunday night brought a nice evening out with my buddy SQ to celebrate his new job (and catch up a bit), so after some beer and appetizers at The Loon Cafe', we sauntered over to First Avenue...



to catch the sold-out show of the Fleet Foxes. They were so good!

The opener, Dungen (Swedish psychopop) was kind of dull.

It was another one of those groups that played to themselves (facing inward, not toward the crowd), mostly bent over to face the floor, except for the lead singer who occasionally strightened up for the pupose of snapping his golden locks up and down with the beat. Must be torture on the back...

SQ and I looked at each other and agreed... the songs are too unremarkable to be so long. :(



But then, the Foxes came up, and the whole atmosphere changed.



They were much better about engaging the crowd.



The lead singer (who also did some solo work later), was barefoot most of the night. Funny.



They definitely had the bearded, hillbilly-hip look to them, and ... the sound they could make from 5 guys but only three singing! My goodness, the vocals. Wow. Mix the vocals of the Beach Boys with CSN&Y, and set it into songs that have an Iron & Wine or Bon Iver feel, and you have the Foxes.



A great show and great company make for a great evening.




And, before I forget... it's bell pepper time at the Farmer's Market again! Yay! So after work on Tuesday I cored, cut, chopped and froze a couple of bagsful. :)



The orange/red/yellow ones are not ready yet, but the white and purple ones are! These are colors you don't find at Cub Foods...

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Someone sure knows how to write

As long as we're on a love theme lately, I can't resist one more. The "Missed Connections" section of Craigslist makes for fascinating reading: funny, stupid, heartbreaking, optimistic. People can be so hopeful, and at the same time so forlorn...

Last week, some anonymous person out on Craigslist posted this lament for their lost love. Reading it over, it sounds like the author was the one who chose to leave. Now she is dealing with regret, and a subsequent broken relationship which was spoiled by the fond memories of this boy she pushed away (and who apparently, despite his heartbreak, stayed away.) It's poignant to say the least. And, man, can she ever write.



I am here, still drowning in the confusion that was left
when I was no longer standing in the shadows of your smile.
If ever I found the warmth of your embrace,
then it was the cold emptiness I was left holding
when you left my letters unanswered.
Forever burned into my memories,
remains the impish smile that charmed me
and the velvety voice that I longed to hear.

I have heard many stories of what happened to you,
and how you wept bitterly for me but still I never heard from you.
The long nights turned into weeks and then grew into months
with no idea why you never answered.

The day I left, I too wept bitter tears knowing
that you might just as easily forget me
and your heart would soon belong to another.
It happened. I heard she broke yours too.
How familiar those words were to me.
I remembered the way my fragile
world fell apart because of you too.
He never knew you, only of you.
The ghostly memories that lingered
in our unstable world were more than he cared to deal with.

And now, as I find myself sitting in the dark of my room
and staring out the window at the rain,
I know I've been lying to myself again.
I should be able to let you go,
something that should have happened a long time ago.
I should not have come back to this place
where the memories flood my senses at all the wrong times.
I have no place in your life,
and you couldn't possibly know this was me talking about you now
because you are supposed to be in love again
and you have a family too.

My life wandered into unfamiliar territory
to show me things I didn't really want to know.
Maybe it's just that time of year when I think of you,
and it's been so long. I know where to find you,
but you will not find me at your door.
I know life has not been easy for you,
and though I'm not really allowed to care anymore,
I have to admit to myself and no one else I still do.
All it takes for you to bring me to that place in time
where your life was supposed to be a part of mine,
is the familiar scent of something that is not really there.
But I'm stuck somewhere between trying to let you go,
and the memory that refuses to leave.

If you made the wish for me to never forget you, I guess it came true.
Now all I have is the fading memory
of my brown eyed angel in baby blue,
forever comparing everyone else to you.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Communion

Pursuant to the prior post, my current theology book (aggravating though it is) produced a great little summary of what a close relationship looks like between persons. The context of it is a discussion of the Persons in the Trinity, but the author uses human terms to discuss it, which makes it more relevant to us.

Translated to the terms of my little 5-bar "scale", I think it means this: the more bars you have (in love's signal strength) = the closer you are to true communion with your loved one. See if you agree?

In "Trinity and Society", Leonardo Boff discusses some essential characteristics of personhood, namely:

distinctiveness (you are unique, separate)
incommunicability (I can't become you, nor you, me)
self-awareness (conscious of yourself, interiority)
relationality (capable of relating to others, beyond self)

and then goes on to describe what characterizes communion between persons, the highest form of relationship:

intimacy (described by the author as "presence one to another" - being face to face, communicating openly and honestly in true dialogue)

reciprocity (attraction each toward the other, mutual desire for close union, each person taking active steps to express & achieve it)

immediacy (togetherness without intermediaries, desiring the other's presence, convergence of interests, transparency of intention)

community (living together, and: seeing differences as gifts, valuing individuality, eliminating formalities, working for the common good)

He stresses that true union (in the sense of fusion of persons) is not possible, since by definition persons must remain distinct, one not subsumed in another. But communion is possible, and very desirable for us, as it reflects the Divine Communion: unity in diversity.

And I think.. each of the "bars" I mentioned in the prior post contribute strongly to the kind of relationship he describes. (How about that? My scale is even theologically sound. :P )

The more bars, the stronger the relationship. The stronger the relationship, the closer to "divine" communion you are. I honestly believe it's possible to have communion with someone in this life, definitely worth the trouble of seeking out, and... when you have it...

worth keeping. :)

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Love's signal strength

What do we really mean when we talk about how strong our love for someone is? How do you assess the strength of love? In a growing relationship, when is it safe to commit? And in a struggling relationship, what exactly is "still good enough to keep", or when is it "past the point of no return"?

Actually, I have developed a measurement scale for it. :) Really!

It's sort of like the Cingular 5-bar scale of cell phone signal strength (you know, "more bars in more places"). There's a bar for each of five different areas of intimate adult love relationships. The idea is, you look at the "signal strength" of your relationship in each of the 5 areas (a full bar here, half a bar there, no signal on this one at all, etc.) , then add them up.

The bars:

Friendship - do we like being together, hanging out? Is (s)he fun? Do we talk? Do we have common interests? Can we be together on vacation and not get tired of each other? Do we look forward to simply spending time together without a plan?

Romance - do we express love for each other, in ways that warm the heart? Does that person's face light up the room for me when (s)he walks in? Does (s)he make my head spin and heart race? Do I ache for him/her when away? Can I tell him/her so?

Sexuality - must I elaborate? You get this part. Woof.

Care & Concern - do I care about that person's well being, what (s)he is going through? would I willingly suffer for his/her sake? do I want his/her best good, even if it "costs" me? do I love him/her like family, willing to "be there" whenever needed?

Spirituality - do we share a common faith? Do we have the same values? Does (s)he embrace the same causes? Do we see church involvement the same way? How deep and important are any differences? Can we support each other in them?

You assess your "signal strength" in each of these, in some easy metric like 0, 1/4 strength, 1/2, 3/4, on up to a full bar, and then total them up across the categories. 5 bars is perfect, full signal strength in all areas, love is coming through loud and clear. Anything less than that, and you can start to diagnose weaker spots, and make decisions on some objective basis about a very subjective topic.

For instance, if you are sitting at only 2 bars out of 5 in total... this relationship probably won't work much longer. If you're at 3.5 out of 5, or better.. it's a keeper, enjoy it! If it's in between... what can we do to move it up? Or, is the trend inexorably down, down, down?

So, how's your signal strength with your spouse/lover/partner/steady date/significant other (whichever term applies)? How many bars today? Check again in 3 months. Assessing this scale four times a year (assuming you're still together!) should give you a feel for the trend in each category, what remedial actions to take, and the overall strength of the relationship, even for its potential "max" and "min" strength level (sort of a realistic ceiling or floor to its potential).

Maybe this idea will catch on, and girls will be sitting at a street cafe on Friday night, asking each other: "so, Emily, how's your signal strength with Josh? Getting closer to 3 yet? What might get it there?", or guys will be hitting balls at the driving range and one will say "Man, I am all the way up to like, 4 bars with Krista! It's really good with us. I'm thinking it's time to pop the question." Deodorant and toothpaste commercials will suggest that the number of bars you have with your sweetie will go up if you use their product. :) Internet scams will emerge selling you on-line books to boost your signal strength before it dips below the dreaded 2.

See? It could work.

Hm. This may be my next book! Take this thing mainstream! Then some company will buy the rights from me, and then I can retire and write whatever pops into my head. Yeah, man. Copyright me, 2009. All rights reserved. :)

But then again, maybe I should keep it proprietary, just between us. After all, it is kinda... personal. ;)

Saturday, August 08, 2009

If You Don't Like Obama

We all are on mailing lists. I'm on Obama's, on my church's, on Coldplay's, on the one from Focus on the Family, and the one from Live Earth. All kinds. I'm also on one from Heart of the City Ministries, a local multicultural Evangelical Christian rock band led by a guy named Dan Adler. I don't often read theirs, just like I rarely read Focus's or Obama's anymore, either. But this time Dan Adler had something to say that resonated with me. I reprint it in its entirety here, without further comment. Be warned, though... he's even windier than I am. :)



We live in interesting times, to say the least. Our nation has probably never been more divided across ideological and political lines since the Civil War. Changes are happening and they’re happening fast. Some people are thrilled about that and others are dismayed by it. As Christians, who happen to be citizens of the United States, we are caught up in the midst of all this and clearly, almost everyone has a strong opinion one way or the other. And with the internet at our fingertips, there is plenty of opportunity to spread those thoughts and opinions widely and quickly. Therefore, most of us receive plenty of politically loaded emails, blogs and news posts on a regular basis. I know I do. And that’s what inspired me to write this article.

I’m not going to talk about my political opinions, but rather I’d like to talk about how our Christianity fleshes out in the midst of a politically tense environment. I think that sometimes it’s hard for us to sort out the truth that we are called first to be Christians before we choose our political affiliations or values. That doesn’t mean we can’t be involved in politics and have strong opinions about what’s best, but our Christian values must dictate our actions most of all. And when I say that, for the sake of this article, I’m not referring to the big “moral issues” such as “Social Justice”, “Gay Marriage”, “Abortion law”, “Affirmative Action”, etc. (not to minimize those issues). No, I’m talking about how we conduct ourselves as Christians toward others we disagree with while we hold our political opinions and maybe even are activists for them.

The other day, on my Facebook wall, I saw a fellow Christian, who happened to be African American, post a link to an article about a popular Republican conservative blog that was filled with racist remarks about the Obama children. The caption she put above it said, “Somebody please help me understand!” I found the article and the multitude of hateful, racist statements made to be really disturbing too and I’m sure this sister in Christ was wondering how people holding a conservative viewpoint could speak such hateful and racist things. Especially since she knows a lot of Christians are also conservatives. Good question. How could they? And I have to say, I’ve also been disturbed by the flavor of a few emails I’ve received from the conservative side of things that have had racist leanings – small remarks, cartoons, jokes and innuendo – that were seeking to push the political point harder by piggy-backing on racist slurs. My fear is that among many conservatives, in reaction to President Obama’s liberal political positions and aggressive actions, there will be a misdirected resurgence of racism that rises in response to him and his ethnicity instead of just to his policies and politics that they happen to strongly disagree with. I fear that that is already happening and that because of strongly opposing political positions, race relations; even amongst Christians could become worse after this Presidency than before because of the unfair association of political stance with racial identity. If you’re a conservative, it’s okay to strongly disagree with President Obama’s policies, but it’s about his policies, not because he’s black!. And if you are a Christian who happens to be conservative, you will be a pawn of satan if you allow yourself to be caught up in that kind of response. If you see yourself as a conservative or Republican, check yourself. If you don’t like Obama, have you allowed racist attitudes to creep into your thinking?

But this isn’t just a concern for conservatives. I’ve found it incredibly ironic how, in the name of “tolerance” and even “justice”, so much hateful attitude, action and speech is directed by many liberals toward those who disagree with them. In that context, I find what seem to be routinely violent, anti-war protests to be the epitome of irony. I remember in the 2004 Presidential elections how, at some local Christian colleges, students with any kind of Republican bumper sticker on their cars were getting their tires slashed. From the left, the conservatives are hatefully presented as the rich, racist, oil-loving, environment trashing, less intelligent, homosexual hating, pro-war, big business loving, religious bigots and hypocrites. The implication of that packaging by liberals of conservatives would therefore be that those who are liberal embody the opposite of such horrible evils. They would be the loving, humble, tolerant, more intelligent, morally consistent, peaceful, mostly lower class people. But the amount of money, the pride, the hateful speech, the virulent intolerance for those who disagree, the violence, the equal moral inconsistencies and hostility toward religious people and conservatives (and especially conservative religious people) from many on the left makes it pretty clear that much of that is not true. If you consider yourself a liberal Christian, remember the Christian part and be sure that your concerns about conservative politics don’t lower you to un-Christian attitudes and behavior.

In this political firestorm, another un-Christian dynamic has arisen from both conservatives and liberals which is called misogyny (the hatred of women). How many times has Hilary Clinton been personally trashed, mocked, insulted and verbally degraded as a woman in a very personal way by conservatives and Republicans who don’t like her politics or her husband’s? But now even more, when has a woman ever had her clothes, her marriage, her intelligence, her education, her children and her family as assaulted, insulted and berated as has Sarah Pahlin and the way she’s been treated by liberals and Democrats? Have we ever seen male politicians attacked in these same type of personal ways? I don’t think so. Not liking the political stance of one or the other of these women is your prerogative. But it’s not because they happen to be women! You may strongly oppose their politics, character or qualification, but opposition to them takes on an evil form when it becomes misogynistic and hateful to them as women. And this is not a Christian way of thinking or behaving.

Sadly, what you clearly see from both conservatives and liberals, Democrats and Republicans, Christian and non-Christian, is a strong sense of self-righteousness that each side proudly embraces. Take a few minutes and listen to Rush Limbaugh on the conservative side and Bill Maher on the liberal side. These are two men with huge egos who have huge followings. Coming from both of them, there is an equal disdain for other political and ideological positions and an equal sense of almost religious pride (which is ironic for Maher – since he’s an atheist) and condescension toward those with opposing beliefs. And those who listen to them can easily pickup this attitude and approach without extricating it from the issue itself.

This is the ugly muck of political discourse that we all find ourselves immersed in. There are important issues at stake in our country. I’m not trying to minimize those realities. Our natural tendency is to align ourselves with the media spokespersons for our side of the issues. But we have to realize that most of these people aren’t Christians and that if they are, they often aren’t presenting their cases in a Christian way. So as we listen and read and seek to sort through these issues, we’ve got to be cautious and not embrace any attitudes or values that aren’t reflective of the mind of Christ – even if we agree with a particular political position being presented. As Christians, we’ve got to rise above these things – no matter where you stand on the political issues. Self-righteousness, hate, racism, misogyny, and lack of love are not Christian behaviors or values. Vilifying and marginalizing individuals or sub-groups of people, has been the very dynamic historically that has allowed a Nazi Germany to arise and a Communist Russia and China to arise. We cannot be like the Communists of the past, who in the self-righteous name of “social justice” and “equity”, began by first vilifying, marginalizing and then slaughtering millions of political opponents in order to establish what they thought would be a more just political system. They were so caught up in their political values that they were blinded to the hideous moral atrocities that they were committing while ironically trying to attain their more just utopian society. We also cannot lower ourselves to the sin of embracing racist attitudes, thoughts or actions - even if we strongly oppose the liberal political ideology and decisions of a President who happens to be Black. We need to stand up to those who endorse racist attitudes, passively or actively, even if we agree with most of their other values and political stances. We are Christians! We are aliens in this world. We belong to another Kingdom that transcends all earthly Kingdoms and we must conduct our behavior in submission to and in the steps of our King – Jesus Christ! He said such radical things as “Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Turn the other cheek. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…” I know there are some notable arguments of how these statements don’t necessarily apply to nations dealing with conflict and don’t imply national passivism. But at least we know for certain, that they do apply to how we deal with individuals who may even be our political and/or ideological enemies.

So my challenge to you, as you discuss and sort through the issues in the tempestuous political climate we are in, is to always put your values, statements and attitudes under the spotlight of the Word of God to see if you are truly thinking with the mind of Jesus before you are following the party lines of Democrat and Republican or conservative, moderate and liberal so that you won’t find yourself unwittingly embracing un-Christian attitudes and behaviors. And most of all, pray! We need to humble ourselves and pray. Pray for our nation. Pray for fellow Christians. Pray for race relations. Pray for God’s intervention in our nation and world. Pray for our political leaders – whether you agree with them and like them or not. Pray for revival amongst believers. Pray for Biblical unity amongst us – racially and denominationally. And let’s truly be a light to the world – demonstrating that we are true followers of Christ who aren’t racist, misogynist or hateful or self-righteous – but a people who are known for their humble love for one another. Like an old Petra song says, “We are pilgrims. We are aliens. We are not of this world.” Let’s live that way.

by Dan Adler

Friday, August 07, 2009

Rogue Waves and Pie

Last night we hosted a couple of middle-aged guys for dinner and an overnight, as they were in town for a conference. One is an old friend, made some 25 years ago. :) Probably hadn't seen him for 10. The other guy is his pastor, and they were both here for a church leadership forum, simulcast locally from Willow Creek in Chicago.

We talked a lot, and I managed to look over the conference brochure. They went on their way this morning, and then I saw the cover illustration from the brochure on the internet at a favorite blog of mine. The blog featured an article by Bill Hybels talking about what he has had to adjust as a result of what's going on in this tumultuous recessionary economy. It's a good little article and bears reading in good times as well as tough ones.

All in all, a nice little visit. And the fresh peach pie was swell.

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Knowing the unknowable

... or presuming to.

I get so frustrated with theology. Or rather, with theologians.

Over and over, it's the same thing: "We can't really comprehend the Ineffable Mystery that is God, but... after extensive study, here's my definitive answer. And I'll defend my conclusions as if they were dogma of the faith. If you believe otherwise, may you be declared anathema, you heretic! But, remember, we can't really know..."

The latest is this book I'm reading by Leonardo Boff, "Trinity and Society". He devotes most of the pages to a discussion of the Triune God, and how the church got to its current highly refined (and now considered "orthodox") view of that doctrine.

Let's just say that it contained an awful lot of reacting (to opposition movements in the church), and rationalizing (in the form of purely human reasoning about what God must be, in lieu of revelation.)

The phrase "load of hooey" comes to mind.

Grrr..

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

silencio

.


es Ăºtil, pero
crece la ansiedad
con duraciĂ³n


.

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Just when you think it's safe to relax..

the floor begins to move under your feet again.

This Spring I'd gotten to the point of wondering again whether I should change the title and descriptive header of this blog, since work seemed stable for now, and I had a path to walk on for the next three years (to get me to a Masters degree and closer to a career change of my choice).

Ha. With my history with Corporate America I should know better. Corporate restructuring and market repositioning have struck again. My current job is being eliminated.

However, at least this time I've been given a new one, in a part of the company that's ongoing... in a sort of corporate "think tank" where certain subject matter experts are being assembled into a new unit. Apparently I qualify as one of those.

So for me, I get a new boss, new co-workers, new duties, new things to learn; but I keep the old salary, old pay grade, at least one old co-worker, and the same old office location: right here at home. No official "announcements" yet of my change, but it's all happening in the next 30 days, they tell me.

Not so bad, considering. And a darn sight better than it could have been. That three year plan is still intact. :)

But, change the blog title and header? Nope. Not yet.

Monday, August 03, 2009

Back at it

After a lazy afternoon watching Tiger on TV cruise to another title, followed by pizza, an on-demand movie, and a little schnapps...

I believe I've recovered from the sermon assignment. Now, back to a normal workweek, and a normal study week. Two books left to finish in this course before month's end.

Next up: Leonardo Boff, "Trinity and Society"

(I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.)

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Whhewww!

Made it.

Sermon delivered, and service ended on time, with no "cuts" needed.
I managed to remember where to put the pauses, where to place the inflections, where to change tone of voice. And I only perspired through one shirt, not both. ;)

When an .mp3 of the thing is up on the church website, I'll drop in a link here. Of course, it could just as easily be a stake, straw and burning torches that await me following my soon-to-commence trial for heresy. But until then, I'll leave you with the last couple of lines. They pretty much say what I meant it to say.

"How marvelous! How wonderful! That the God who fashioned us from dust, remembers our frame, remembers that we are dust, and has pity on us. In Jesus, God knows rejection. Suffering. Loss.
God knows what it's like... to be us.

"How marvelous! How wonderful! That God - impervious, immoveable, impenetrable - opens Himself to us, so that we can hurt... or bless... the very heart of God."

(cue music)

:)

I feel like a limp washrag. Brats, beer, and watching Tiger try for the Buick Open title... that's the ticket right now.

Can I get an Amen?

Saturday, August 01, 2009

The space between

In the shower yesterday, I was thinking about poetry (which I often do. go figure.), and it struck me: In our normal life experience, there is a gap between:


Idealism...
and reality.

The Prototype...
and the production model.

What's Perfect...
and what's actual.

What Should Be...
and what is.


And poetry... lives in that gap.


When our actual is close to the Ideal, poetry is happy, positive, up.

When what we live with (or without), is hopelessly far away from what Should Be, poetry is dark, brooding, down.

When we feel like we have a foot in both places - one in a harsh reality, the other in an attainable Ideal - then poetry is full of ache, longing, hope, desire, tension, wistfulness, tenderness and pain.

In that case, we are stretched above a narrow but deep chasm, and are trying to bridge it with our own selves, trying to pull those two sides together (or, keep it from spreading further), with all that we have in us. We are in the gap between what Should Be and what is, and we feel the stress of it.

That's where poetry comes from. The gap. The space between.

At least... that's where mine comes from.
Who links to my website?