Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Have you seen Chicken Pax’s blog? He visited the Porch, blogged about it, and visited again. I met him last week – he doesn’t seem too nutty, despite his Sound of Music photograph, and the fact that he emerged out of cyberspace.
Grammarians (Kimberly, Rachel, and Carla) and ironists (Colleen): I don’t think either of these items are ironic. If they’re not ironic, however, what are they?
1. A letter to the editor in Sunday’s paper. “Pope Benedict, while serving as a cardinal, issued a Vatican declaration that stated that any non-Catholic Christian body is defective. Now we are told that his first goal will be to try to unite all Christian people. These statements strike me as contradictory and ironic.”
This seems like a straightforward criticism, and an opinion that the Pope is contradictory – not an irony.
2. In a book on Catholics and contraception, the author says she believes that even though most American Catholics want to exercise individual conscience in matters of contraception, they also want pastoral leadership, which American priests generally don’t offer. There should be “conversations that involve every constituency in the church. How ironic, not to say tragic, that birth control gets in the way.”
This seems like a double entendre to me (birth control ‘getting in the way’), not an irony.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
KP suggested Flanders as the name of my second twin, reasoning that the name would aid in the fetus’ spiritual development. Indeed, the twins leapt in my womb at church, more than they had all day. If kicking the person who gave you life is a sign of enjoyment, then they really liked Let The Name of the Lord Be Praised, Subjects of Change, the announcement about the New Covenant Participants Meeting (they might like to join), and the announcement about the clothing drive (after all, they’re quite naked). The invocation and the Nestorian Hymn of Praise did not go over so well – a chilly silence.
Hints
In my times of despair, I go to God like the disciples when they said, “Where else can we go? You alone have the words of life.” Or like Jesus, “Take this cup from me.” Or like the kind of wife I am when marriage is hard. I’m committed, and I won’t leave, but only because there’s nowhere else to go. My life is here with you, my devotion of resignation.
In times of happiness, I’m Samuel bolting from bed at the sound of what might be God’s voice, saying, “Here am I!” I’m Moses climbing a mountain, sure that my God is both with me on the hike and waiting for me at journey’s end. I’m my best wifely self - arms, smile, body, and life wide open to the one I love.
I’m in the home stretch of this pregnancy – two hints of happiness in my belly that wallop me during worship. I hope I have it in me to be really, really happy. It’s been years.
In grief, I didn’t learn to trust God in a way that makes me care less about future losses. I don’t see His purpose in suffering, and I don’t see His hand orchestrating the traumas of this world. Christianity (not God, mind you) promises reduction of painful symptoms associated with life. With Jesus, your lows won’t be so low, your losses won’t be permanent, and you’ll experience gratitude for it all. He’s in charge, so how bad can it really be? Jesus seems more like the ultimate consumer good than our suffering Savior. I can put something like that kind of faith in Lexapro, but not in God.
Instead, I saw that God loves life. He sustains life before, during, and after its run on this earth. But He doesn’t seem highly concerned with making life easy or even necessarily long. If I have to grieve more of my children, it will be just like last time – deep, hard, and everlasting. I’ll be like the monkey mother I saw on Animal Planet. One of her babies died, and she ran around chirping, carrying the dead baby in her arms, demanding that others notice her. After days, a naturalist had to take the baby away so the decaying body wouldn’t infect the mother or other monkeys.
The other day someone suggested that I “just trust God” in this pregnancy, because “He will do His will.” I said to her, "Well, look at the great job He did for me last time!" I don’t trust God to sustain the lives of my twins. He can’t be trusted for that. Every single life God has created so far has expired. I hope my twins will live long lives and die dignified, timely deaths. (At some level, I just hope they outlive me so I don’t have to be so sad.) Instead of trusting God to keep safe my loved ones, I just trust Him to love them, and me. I thank Him for making me like the monkey mother. I’ll hold those I love until they’re pried away from me. And then one day I will die, and those who love me will mourn.
Today I give myself over to my hints of happiness. If I mourn tomorrow, it will be because I loved so much today.
8 Comments:
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After Ned Flanders?
That would just be too weird ;)By
dave paisley, at 1:27 AM
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It is not until we have experienced death that we can fully appreciate life. So it is with the fruit of the Spirit. How else can we have hope without experiencing the pain of hopelessness. Enjoy the good times.
The New DaveBy
, at 10:23 AM
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If you don't stop making me cry, I'm going to become cross, Jenell.
I'm lifting you, Phillipo and Flanders up in prayer. I would have chosen the names Huldrych and Wilberforce, but that's just me. -
Beautiful. What more can I say?
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We met on a few occasions at the Porch before moving to Omaha. I often read your blog and love your transparency. Having recently lost a baby myself, I feel your 'everlasting grief' but also your hope. I look forward to hearing about your twins arrival and thanks for writing about the things that are sometimes too sad to say out loud.
By
Courtney Manus, at 8:41 AM
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Interesting blog you have here, I landed here on accident. I was searcing for something else and came across your site. I found it pretty interesting and entertaining. I got you book marked.
I will pop back in from time to time to see what you have new here.
My site is a bit different than yours, but just as entertaining and educational, I run a mens male enhancement reviews related site pertaining to mens male enhancement reviews related articles. -
"I’m in the home stretch of this pregnancy"
The puns that are the most fun are those you don't intend.By
Gene Chase, at 1:44 PM
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My name is Lisa Carter and i would like to show you my personal experience with Lexapro.
I am 39 years old. Have been on Lexapro for 2 years now. This medication had an almost immediate positive effect on my life. Within 2 to 3 days of starting Lexapro, there was a noticeable lift in my general mood. A WARNING ABOUT STOPPING OR WEANING OFF LEXAPRO: I started taking 10 mg daily a couple of years ago for about 2 months, then decided I just didn't want to take medicine every day. So I weaned myself off over a 2-wk period, first reducing the dose to 5 mg/day, then 5 mg every other day before I stopped altogether. I figured I would be able to tell if my mood was going downhill and I would just restart if it did. Well, there was no gradual decline. I was careful to monitor my mood and thoughts every day and everything went great for about 3 months, then C.R.A.S.H!!! I mean it hit me like a WALL, very very suddenly! Despite exercising 4-5x per week, healthy eating, etc., I hit an all-time low.
I have experienced some of these side effects-
Constant dull headache, jittery in the morning if taken before bed, dizziness. These negative side effects subsided within a week or two. Other side effects have continued, including sleepiness and yawning, apathy, vivid (but great) dreams. My libido died and never came back.
I hope this information will be useful to others,
Lisa Carter
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Three bits of Christian media I’ve consumed in the last 24 hours.
1. Todd Friel broadcasts his open-air preaching once a week on his radio show. He stands on a bench or something at the U of M and shouts the Gospel at people. Yesterday a pagan woman asked him, “Why did God let the people die in the tsunami?” Todd shouted, “Because they deserved it! And so do we, because we’re all so sinful. The better question is, ‘why doesn’t He just kill all of us?” The pagan, unwilling to open her eyes to the sinfulness of each and every tsunami victim, became enraged with Todd.
I’m going to have to go with the pagan on this one.
2. I listened to two praise songs on KTIS this morning. When I was a child, I remember white adults saying, “Black people’s music is too simple and it just repeats itself over and over. Hymns have real doctrine.” These are the lyrics to the two songs, the style of which were both very, very white.
Thank you Lord
Thank you Lord
I just wanna thank you Lord
Thank you Lord
God is my friend
God is my friend
God is my friend
God is my friend
3. Just a few minutes ago, while shoveling a baked potato six inches from the plate balanced on my belly to my face, I watched Winning at Marriage on TBN. It’s a Christian version of the Newlywed show (which, of course, was popular thirty years ago). Chosen because of their winningness at marriage (that seems to mean smiling alot, and not being divorced), three couples compete to answer questions like, “In what room of the house does your wife most often pray?” or “What is your wife’s favorite pizza topping?” One woman got so excited at her husband's correct answer that she leaned over to kiss him. Fortunately, the camera scooted away quickly so we were spared gratuitous sexual content.
One wife works as a congressional aide for a “born-again congressman.” The show’s host said, “Oh, I wish we could just take over the government so we could all go up there and pray together.” WWJWS? (What Would Jim Wallis Say?)
A last word in my defense - I have also listened to NPR and U2, and watched Mad TV and the Today Show in the last 24 hours. And I'm reading a book written by an author who isn't a Christian.
12 Comments:
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Oh, no. (Holding head in hands, rending garments) My people, my people. This is why I've taken to calling myself a Christ-follower. Things like this make me feel like I'm trying to sing in a strange land!
--LaTonya the Lurker -
It does seem a bit like self-abuse rather than anthropological interest. I'll pray that the Laward free you from this habit.
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This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
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Chicken Pax, at 1:18 AM
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on point no. 2... I'm a worship pastor, and not a week goes by that someone doesn't say, "you know what song you should do? That 'yes lord, yes lord, yes yes lord' song. That would bless me so much". My response is always the same. "Our God is a creative God, can't we do better than that?"
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I think the radio makes the music much worse, and white people's general inability to improvise. I loved simple, familiar worship music at my African American church in D.C., but it was never the same song twice - always variation and creativity in music and the way people sang.
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Too funny. If only more Christians realized that we (and I'm talking about the collective "we" here, as in the traditional Christian church) are the best argument for agnosticism.
Let's get it right PEOPLE! -
First time reading your blog. I enjoy people who think outside the box. Your role in the church is significant. I do not know you but can tell you are on the verge of doing something great. Warning: do not get lost in the load of crap that is out in the mainstream. Focus on the one you live for.
By
, at 11:00 AM
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Too funny!
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Chicken Pax, at 8:04 PM
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Oh and thanks for your comment over at http://chickenpax.blogspot.com/. I am toddling along with a new blog, and all the silly formating things. Thank you also, too, for your blog, which I stumbled on last year by way of Hugo's; I appreciate very much your humor, intelligence and openness. Thanks!
By
Chicken Pax, at 2:33 PM
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Yeah..I go with the pagan gal too.
Love the rest. Keep it up Romy! -
Help me Dude, I think I'm lost..... I was searching for Elvis and somehow ended up in your blog, but you know I'm sure I saw him in a car lot yesterday, which is really strange because the last time I saw him was in the supermarket. No honest really, he was right there in front of me, next to the steaks singing "Love me Tender". He said to me (his lip was only slightly curled) "Boy, you need to get yourself a San Diego cosmetic surgery doctor ,to fit into those blue suede shoes of yours. But Elvis said in the Ghetto nobody can afford a San Diego plastic surgery doctor. Dude I'm All Shook Up said Elvis. I think I'll have me another cheeseburger. Then I'm gonna go round and see Michael Jackson and we're gonna watch a waaaay cool make-over show featuring some Tijuana dentists on the TV in the back of my Hummer. And then he just walked out of the supermarket singing. . . "You give me love and consolation,
You give me strength to carry on " Strange day or what? :-) -
Now this is funny ;)
By
, at 4:56 AM
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
I am not so Zen as to believe that all things are one, and there is no distinction between success and failure. Christianity seems to uphold the oneness of all things as created by God, but not the oneness of all things with God. Christianity also seems to make distinctions between good and bad, suffering and joy, and the like. As I typed Goldberg’s paragraphs, they felt like something I wouldn’t write, and I think that is why.
My question, apparently, is not really so much about success and failure. Perhaps it is more about stewardship and ambition. At what point does stewardship of one’s gifts become personal ambition? It seems to me that many “famous” Christians either walk this line, or give themselves over to ambition. Max Lucado says ambition is his ‘besetting temptation.’ He wants to write and publish in part because he likes acclaim, respect, notoriety, and money. He says he depends on community and relationships in which people can help him see these tendencies, because he lies to himself and tells himself he is a pure-hearted servant of God.
Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones is a permission-giving book for writers. She says a writer is a person who writes. Quality doesn’t matter, and publishing doesn’t matter – practicing the craft is what matters. Sit down and write every day. Now you’re a writer.
I don’t write for the joy of writing. I do feel compulsion to write – both in terms of responsibility/stewarship, and an artistic compulsion. Mostly I write for a purpose – to craft an article, to communicate to someone…to make a product. This is probably why most academic writing is so tedious. We’re trained to communicate our ideas and research, and writing is one of the primary vehicles of communication. We don’t play with words, we appropriate them. It is not art, we do not practice it, and it is not intended to bring joy or art to the world. It is one of precious few tangible results of our labor, and we do much counting, measuring, and assessing of each other by it.
I am considering taking up Goldberg’s advice to claim the freedom to just write. I could write fiction, memoir, anything…and it would be good to have written it, even if it is never edited, polished, or published. I’m not sure whether or not I really want to do this, however. I’m afraid to labor in obscurity. I’m afraid to ‘waste time.’ I’m afraid to relinquish the credibility that comes with a Ph.D., in exchange for being just a voice trying to say something. One of the great challenges for an enneagram One is to face the inner judge. I judge my writing word-by-word, and edit nearly every sentence as I write. I can’t tolerate typos even in drafts. The inner judge has great reign in my writing process, and perhaps I’m afraid to confront that, too.
5 Comments:
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Oh Jenell, you and I are indeed twins. You're also my role model. Somehow, I keep procrastinating, when I know I should be submitting articles (based on blog posts) to journals. I'm so afraid of rejection that I just won't suck it up and send stuff in. I love how liberating blogging is by comparison...
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Interesting - I have no problem submitting work for editorial scrutiny and, almost always, a few rejections on the way to acceptance. I struggle more to affirm myself enough to write privately.
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Another Bethel professor (not you!) once said that if you don't write every day, you're not a writer. That comment has stifled my creative work for a long time, because every time I think about writing for something other than a paycheck, that voice comes into my head: "Who are you kidding? You haven't written a poem in months. You're no writer." Like, if I don't have an artistic compulsion to write every day, I don't possess enough ability to produce good art.
I much prefer Goldberg's positive angle on the idea.
-Kim VBBy
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Monday, April 18, 2005
I’ve been reading emergent controversy…and have had enough. I have lots of thoughts on the subject, but no will to engage it. Blessings and peace to those who do.
I’d like to write for a few days about success. Through a difficult circumstance regarding one of my writing ventures, I’ve realized some new aspects of my heart’s assholery. When I first started teaching, it was very important to me to earn the admiration of my peers, and the approval of my superiors. After a few years, I realized that the deans are more my colleagues than my bosses, and that my colleagues are my colleagues. I also gained some confidence in my voice and style as a teacher. I teach because I love students and I love the world we talk about, not because my ego is at stake or because I fear losing my job. I’ve claimed the freedom to take risks, make mistakes, displease students, and spend hours working at a task that has little tangible measure of success and no hope of public acknowledgement.
Writing, however, is another matter. Mostly, I write to publish. I want to gain attention from editors, be praised for my skill, and be known. I want to exert influence, and offer some fresh ideas to the church. This seems like the sin behind the Tower of Babel, no? To make a name for oneself through one’s excellent efforts.
I have a year’s sabbatical coming up, and I’m formulating what I want to accomplish in that year. My sabbatical was approved on the basis of my saying I wanted to “explore and develop myself as a writer.” It’s been nearly two years since I wrote that application, however, and I need to reconfigure what I meant by that statement, and what I intend to do with the year ahead.
I’ve been reading Natalie Goldberg (The Great Failure, and Writing Down the Bones), and I need to process some of what I’ve learned from her. First off, what is success? Does it even exist, or do we make false distinctions between success and failure? Could the work just be the work?
From The Great Failure,
Downfall brings us to the ground, facing the nitty-gritty, things are they are with no glitter. Success cannot last forever. Everyone’s time runs out. This is not a popular notion, but it is true.
Achievement solidifies us. Believing we are invincible, we want more and more. It makes us hungry. But we can be caught in the opposite too. Human beings manage to also drown in the pool of despair, seeped in the mud of depression. We spend our life on a roller coaster with rusty tracks, stuck to highs and lows, riding from one, trying to grab the other.
To heal ourselves from this painful cycle – the severe split we create and then the quasi equilibrium we try to maintain – we have to crash. Only then can we drop through to a more authentic self.
Zen transmits its legacy from this deeper place. It is a different kind of failure: the Great Failure, a boundless surrender. Nothing to hold on to and nothing to lose. Sitting still, feeling our breath, we watch the electric animals of desire and aggression arise and pass away. Our arms spread wide, we welcome it all. In the Great Failure we find the Great Success. They are no longer different from one another. Both dissolve into the moment. Illusions bread open and we can be real with ourselves and the people around us.
1 Comments:
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Answers.
1. Because it tastes so good.
2. Probably Madelyn’s, definitely Jimmy.
3. Because wallpaper feels good on your feet.
4. Grateful, because it’s raining loudly.
5. 10:00 AM
Questions.
1. Why did Ruby lick the umbrella I just brought in from the rain?
2. Whose bib is on my living room floor, and who spilled beer right next to it?
3. Why did Opal pee all over the wallpaper shreds that were in the bathtub?
4. How am I feeling this morning?
5. At what time of the morning is my husband still sleeping?
2 Comments:
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Responding in the form of a question -- more than a game, it's a way of life!
Blessings to you, Jenell. -
1. Because it was there.
2. Definitely Madelyn's, Jimmy will publically deny spilling the beer.
3. Because she's a bad, bad, cat.
4. like a silly little school girl.
5. I could be asleep at 10 too if people would contribute to my 'make Jimmy never have to work again fund' but it ain't hapnin.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Thank you, friends of the blogosphere and friends at church. Not one of you has ever pranced about on top of my bladder. Now if I could only say the same for the people who live inside me...
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
I blog less these days. In part, because I wonder, after I speak or write, whether I’ve said too much, the wrong things, at the wrong times, and should have been silent. Goodness – are some people this insecure all the time? It would drive me crazy! It’s just temporary/hormonal for me. Usually, I jabber on and on, confident that it’s quite interesting!
I’m in a wonderful space in life, and don’t want to miss a moment. As many pregnant women report, it seems that this is the only and most important pregnancy in the world. What I eat, how I sleep, and how I feel are incredibly important facts. My babies will be the most important, wonderful, and fascinating babies ever. The most important thing I can do is feed them, think about them, put my hands over them, and consider whether or not they are safe at this moment.
I do, however, have moments of perspective in which I realize that writing my pregnancy or labor story for Reader’s Digest (or Christian Parenting) would not be a great idea. My days are entirely ordinary, but like a first day at a new job, an engagement, a move, or a domestic argument, they are extraordinary to me. Blathering on and on here also seems odd – on the one hand, there’s nothing in my universe but me and my babies, but on the other hand, I don’t need to talk about it all the time. I just need to be quiet and do it.
My happiness is a thin balloon I hold by a thread. I know it can pop at any moment, so I’m keeping it indoors, away from the textured ceiling, tied to my wrist. I keep my eyes on it, in case it goes away.
4 Comments:
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i've never thought you've said too much and enjoy your thoughts. my blog-life has been fairly non-existent and probably will continue in such fashion until my wedding is over and i've moved to a new state! it seems like this is a great time for you to blog, before you have many toes and fingers to take care of! just my thought. ;)
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I think I blog mostly to help me clarify my thinking. And often, once I've written down whatever it is, I find that it's not that important to express it publicly.
And I never thanked you for your help with the article I wrote- turns out after about a month of mulling, it fell into that category- needed clarification in my own heart and mind, didn't need to be aired publicly. So thank you, you input was valuble. -
One of the things I love about your writing, Jenell, is that you write the "ordinary" so well. As an anthropologist, isn't it your job to celebrate the little, seemingly banal rituals of life?
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i second hugo.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
In my education, theology was defined as “thoughts about God.” As commentary on the pope’s death, Bill Maher mocked religion and religious people last night, and I suppose those were his thoughts about God. Why not speak of our thoughts and our feelings and our fears and our hopes…our relationship with God? In Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg writes that we don’t write about subjects, rather, we write about our relationships with subjects. Me and the tree, me and the man, me and the universe, me and God.
A family member connected me with a man who I am getting to know. My family member said, “This guy seems to be interested in the faith, but is not quite on track. His wife isn’t even a believer. Maybe you can help him find his way.” What would it mean for me to get this guy ‘on track’? Shall I persuade him to speak correct thoughts about God (this is likely what my family member meant)? When we speak, this man and I speak of bad Bible translations, and the oddities of fundamentalism, and Greg Boyd, and Christian bookstores. We are each on our way, and it is a very similar way – the way of Jesus. I am probably more ‘on track’ in my understanding of evangelical theology and my ability to use evangelicalspeak correctly. But in the relationship with God, I think we’re both on our way.
My most painful dealings in the last year or two have been with religious tradition, not with God. My religious tradition – sometimes via people, but more often via the voices in my head -- has doled out bad theodicy, fluffy platitudes, and warnings against doubt and depression. I’ve had to renegotiate my relationship with a flawed tradition.
I’ve faced God as well, and found Him to be more straightforward than the traditions that represent Him. With God, I speak and am heard. I listen and hear. I realize answers to many of my questions are not forthcoming, though answers are plentiful in my theological tradition. Instead, with God, I receive answers to the most necessary questions, like, “Do you love me?, and “Do I matter?”
There seems to be so much judging in theological conversations, much of which is assessing someone’s “fit” with a tradition. My strongest stake in theology is my job – I do want to remain a good “fit” with an evangelical college. I also want to remain tethered to the tradition in which I was raised and be in relatively good standing with it. Other than that, however, I want to speak more of my relationship with God than my thoughts about God, and pursue the knowing more than the thinking.
5 Comments:
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Jennell,
You used a term which I'm not sure you meant to use; "...but more often via the voices in my head -- has doled out bad theodicy, fluffy..." Did you actually mean "theodicy" or "theology". Both would fit in the context of your piece.
Good thoughts.
VBy
, at 8:47 PM
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well I can stop trying to say this stuff, because you have come to my, and I am sure others', rescue and framed and fleshed it out well.
Mostly I like how you likewise assert that you still have a desire to be where you are... I am just getting there. -
V,
I did, in fact, mean theodicy. Bad explanations for why suffering occurs.
JWP -
A thoughtful post! I think I am like the friend, the heterodox man on his path.
Jennell, I haven't read your blog in weeks, and I realize why I like it, and that I missed it!
Thanks!
Cheers,
TroyBy
, at 10:22 PM
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Hi,
It's interesting that I found this blog because you and I had a conversation probably over a year and a half ago now, at the Pagitt house. Now I am out at Harvard Divinity school (and I only went to SP for less than a year), and I'm sure you don't even remember meeting me, but I remember you because of where you were teaching and what you were doing. Anyway, I thought your post was interesting because for a while now I have been looking for where I "fit." It is as if I am caught somewhere between the void of the Christian and non-Christian worlds- I recently went to an evangelical service for the first time in years and loved it so much, but yet there is so much pain. . . anyway, I don't know what I'm saying here, but I wanted to say hi, and that I enjoyed your post and I will try to check back again.
Anna
Friday, April 08, 2005
Jim Wallis was in town today, speaking at Westminster Presbyterian in Minneapolis. I listened to him on MPR (see, I don’t only listen to KTIS and KKMS!). Much has changed in 15 years. When I first discovered Wallis, I was emerging into adulthood from a politically and religiously right-wing environment. Wallis fit the empty spot on a pedestal of mine, the Christian left. He encouraged believers to consider the environment, the poor, racism, and the like, and to be Democrats.
When I moved to Washington, and eventually taught at the American Studies Program, a Christian public engagement semester, we used Wallis and Sojourners to represent the “radical” left. Christian Reformed ideas formed the center, and the National Ass’n of Evangelicals, the right. Os Guiness, and other Calvinist/Christian Reformed thinkers had been promoting for years the idea of a “third way”, a way of thinking about politics and the common good that transcended right and left. As believers, we can ground ourselves in neither right nor left, instead allying ourselves with either party on an issue by issue basis. (Most of these folks were, however, Republicans).
Today, Wallis (a registered Democrat) was voicing these same ideas, but with a leftist nuance – more focus on racism and poverty than the CRC folks, but also pro-life. He said the election hurt people at the point of their values, and we are in danger of becoming cynical. He said hope is cynicism’s opposite –the belief that things can change, that our voices matter, that we ought to struggle for a better world. He says when it comes to religion and politics, the right gets it wrong (triumphalism), and the left doesn’t get it (cynicism/atheism). He encourages people of faith to be hopeful, to engage the process, and to do so motivated by faith but disciplined by democracy. This means our faith motivates our political positions and our desire to contribute, but we engage in the political process as democrats (small d), not as theocrats.
I used to attend Sojourner’s worship services on Sunday evenings, and one time Wallis preached about postmodernism. He talked about deconstruction, and said as Christians, we must resist the temptation to deconstruct things into nothingness. He encouraged us to be reconstructors, people offering a fresh way of life not by talking about it, but by living it.
4 Comments:
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He said the election hurt people at the point of their values...
That's exactly it. Hadn't heard it put that way before. Thanks, J. -
I was at the Wallis event heard live on NPR. At some point there has to be some deconstruction to break down the so called neatly wrapped gospel of the american evangelicals that most of us have been raised around. i agree living it is much better. join us here http://thecorner.typepad.com/gods_politics_book_group/ for a month long discussion about this topic.
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I was able to sit in and listen to a pretty good conversation last year with Jim Wallis and Tony Jones at the Emergent Convention in Nashville. Jim Wallis wanted to know what we were emerging from and what we are planning on calling ourselves when we are done emerging? They also talked a lot about the current social justice issues that are confronting us today. Most of the conversation between the two was way over my head, but I really liked Jim Wallis a lot and would have loved to hear him speak this past week.
thanks naomi for the link to the book discussion -
If we're not living it, there's no point in talking about it...
Sunday, April 03, 2005
What do Brian McLaren, Ruth Haley Barton, Luis Palau, Tony Campolo, Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, and Rod Parsley have in common?
According to Todd Friel, ultraconservative local radio host, they are all in the wrong. Todd was encouraged, however, by the Southern Baptists dismissing McLaren from a speaking engagement. He said, “We need to do more uninviting like that, in order to protect the Precious Word.” Todd also discussed church discipline. “We need to make our church front doors a whole lot harder to get into, and make the back door a whole lot easier to kick people out of.”
Isn’t that the precise opposite of the Gospel?
On another note, just as the Word is precious, so is food. My plans this week include finishing last week’s beef barley soup and split pea soup, and consuming lots of fresh fruits and carrots, and making some vegetable lasagna and tater tot hotdish (with homemade cream sauce – blaah to Campbell’s). I would also like some pumpkin bread with chocolate chips and walnuts – if I have the stamina to get that far.
I just got back from spending $101 on groceries. I returned home too tired to bring the groceries in or put them away. I laid down, closed my eyes, and patted the babies. What did I buy?
Produce: zucchini, regular carrots, baby carrots, mango, strawberries, apples, pears, celery, bananas, watermelon, raisins
Dry goods: lasagna noodles, three loaves of bread, cloves, salt, cinnamon, oregano, Cheerios, Wheaties, Great Grains, Raisin Nut Cereal, peanut butter, tuna, tomato sauce, Sun Chips, tortilla chips, mayonnaise, cranberry juice
Deli: a corn dog and ice water (sat down and took a break mid-way through)
Frozen: two pizzas, tater tots, toaster strudel, frozen mixed veggies
Dairy: ricotta cheese, vanilla yogurt, eggs
Meat: bacon (can’t stand it while I’m pregnant, but my man loves his pork products)
I’m going to eat some watermelon right now. What’s the last thing you ate?
14 Comments:
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Sigh...Nobody is ever as right as Todd thinks he is...
Have you ever looked at the message board on his website? It's full of delightful ways to waste time arguing with people who have already made their minds up. A discussion about Todd's credentials for public ministry actually got deleted because "the accusations have gone too far." Funny--nobody has a problem with Todd questioning anyone on False Teacher Tuesday.
This soapbox isn't a huge place, but I'm glad you're standing on it with me.
The last thing I ate was three Nestle's Toll House cookies and a glass of chocolate milk. Prior to that I had a Fazoli's side salad with the most vinegary "italian" dressing I've ever had. I love vinegary things, too--like fish n chips with malt vinegar at Old Chicago or Mac's Fish n Chips, but this was just too much. -
honey nut cheerios
katieBy
, at 11:13 AM
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Oh how I long to have such amazing insight as Todd does HaHa!I haven't eaten today but just finished a soy steamer with toffeenut. I love coffee houses but I can;t stand coffee. Take care of those babies!
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Todd's comments remind me of that UC of C tv commercial- that's got to be about the most offensive thing I've ever seen.
Tuna! From one of those vacuum packed envelopes, with lemon-pepper seasoning: no carbs, no fat, lots of protein- just what the diabetic craves! -
teriyaki orange roughy, lemon roasted green beans & very peppery oven roasted potatoes, green salad with ginger-carrot dressing. very yummy.
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Just be careful you don't start approving of people just because someone you don't like disapproves of them. I glanced at the linked article outlining why the dude was dis-invited, and he was quoted as saying there are other ways to "follow" Jesus (as Buddhist, Hindu...) than just Christianity.
I really wonder what exactly he meant by that, but the dis-inviters took it to mean McLaren saw more than one way to salvation, which does seem a bit heretical, wouldn't you say?
White mac and cheese with ham and Broccoli. I have a 2-year-old who loves mc&h and I've started trying to get three + food-groups to a meal. She signs more than talks right now, but let me know after each of her first seven bites everything is "yummy".
AmyBy
, at 7:54 PM
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mclaren was disinvited because his new book takes jabs at the doctrine of hell and his previous book isnt strong enough against all the evils of the world.
when asked if he was against same-sex marriage, he replied something like, "what bothers me is that i'll hurt someone no matter what i say." instead of focusing on who's wrong and who's right, he's more about standing for relationship and reconciliation and loving in spite of wherever your doctrine might be lacking. evangelicals tend to take that as wimpy liberalism - i think it looks more like Jesus and the way he responded to religious leaders in His day, too.
i think Jesus would be more comfortable around a loving heretic than a spiteful pharisee, but that might just be me.
turkey melt. can't go wrong. -
I think you need to stop listening to Todd. You are trying to reduce the stress in your life, yes? And Flanders and Philipo can hear that stuff. Is that really the best thing for your children? What kind of mother are you?
By
, at 11:29 AM
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I don't necessarily agree with McLaren (or Benny Hinn or Ruth Haley Barton) just because Todd Friel disagrees with them. I disagree with McLaren and Barton about some small points, and Hinn about some large points, but I haven't really explored any of them in depth, in part because I don't' give myself the authority to declare 'heretic' or 'orthodox', at least not very often.
I think McLaren is an influential person within evangelicalism, and it would be worth listening to him and evaluating his ideas. If they are heretical, let's have a conversation about that. But by keeping a 'potential heretic' out of dialogue, we just keep doing the same boundary-drawing, outsider-punishing behaviors that evangelicals are already known for. -
Just curious, do you listen to Hank Hanegraaff (later in the day)? Though I have not read any of his books, I've been quite impressed with his Biblical knowledge. He seems more fact+scripture based than Todd. A while back he mentioned some misteachings of Hinn.
By
, at 4:44 PM
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Brad, I do listen to Hank Hannegraf. I think he is much more intelligent and well-informed than Todd, and I appreciate his Bible knowledge. There was some sort of flap over his organizational practices awhile back, and now he's just been promoting his Left Behind imitation novel...so I appreciate him, but I'm not looking for anyone from conservative Christian radio to put on a pedestal. I also tend not to be driving when Hank is on, and I tend to be driving when Todd's on, hence the listening tendency.
And Carla, I agree with your assessment of my irresponsibility in exposing Flanders and Philipo to Todd. My babies aren't even born, and I already suck. -
I heard the same program. I listen to it on the way home from work sometimes. Sarah wonders why I put myself through it.
I say it is to remind me of the fundamentalist worldview, how silly some of the arguments sound, and how I can never go back there. -
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StewardBy
, at 3:53 AM
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What is the Basis that you are using to claim that he is not right? Are you using the Bible as your reference?
I would hope that you don't think that everyone is right. There has to be a standard. If there is a standard not everyone will meet that standard.
The standard Todd uses is the Bible what is your standard?By
texnartist, at 10:44 AM
12 Comments:
you are correct: no irony in either.
The first is an example of the Pope being counterproductive, but since he probably said these things in two different conversations (and/or edicts) he can be forgiven.
The second is just someone being persnickity about the Catholic stance on birth control.
Helpful?
By
carla, at 11:12 AM
OK, Carla, if you're the Answer Woman today, can you tell me why I can't stop bursting into tears? I was just at the grocery store and started worrying at the checkout counter that I had purchased too many canned items (could I carry them? should a person eat stuff from cans? how many will fit in a bag? will I wish I had more black beans after I get home?). This upset me for 20 minutes.
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Jenell, at 12:17 PM
Clearly, you purchased too many canned items.
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carla, at 3:30 PM
Ms. Longenas, my 7th grade English teacher, taught me that irony is a form of speech in which the real meaning is concealed or contradicted by the words used. Irony involves the perception that things are not what they are said to be or what they seem.
The German Shepherd's statement is contradictory, sad and confused - were that it were meant with any kind of irony.
Canned food - that is more an oxymoron than an irony, right ?
By
bob c, at 4:22 PM
And isn't it ironic, don't you think? Its like raaaaayan on a sunny day.
By
Jimmy, at 11:35 PM
Yeah, Jimmy. Sing it! (Though it's "rain on your wedding day.")
Or a free ride when you've already paid.
But the things Jenell mentioned? Not ironic.
By
Rachel, at 11:53 AM
Jenell,
just so you know- it turns out, according to my elementary research on the web, that canned fruits and veggies retain most of their nutrients.
By
erica, at 11:45 AM
Hey! I don't think I am all that nutty. :)
This bit of Boolean confusion from http://tangra.si.umich.edu/~radev/:
I was visiting a government office recently and I noticed the following sign at the entrance:
"NO FOOD
or
NO DRINK"
I was tempted to walk in with a can of soda and absolutely no food... but I eventually decided against it :)
The smart alecky computer science prof has a point, but I don't think a government bureaucrat is going to appreciate it.
By
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