Belief

In my years of ministry I've discovered that people are going to believe whatever they believe irrespective of anything I say or do. I believe certain things because they appear to be Biblical to me; other people do the same. Applying this to the big social issues of our day we can see this belief dynamic at work. People are deeply entrenched on things such as abortion, gay marriage, illegal immigration, the war on terror, etc. The polarization is immense, and we tend to focus on that polarization as if that is the big problem. And so people try to persuade others to change their beliefs through argumentation and debate, and sometimes unfortunately, threats and legislation. The thinking is that if everyone believed the exact same things there would be unity and harmony-- the whole "One Nation under God" thing.

What would happen if we stopped focusing on what people believe and began delving into who people are? There is more to people than their beliefs. People have stories which have molded their beliefs. Perhaps we need to look at the stories to find out about the person rather than trying to railroad them into a set of intellectual proposals. This will foster true harmony and unity, whereas the present way of handling things leads to oppression and uniformity.

Riddle Me This!

Q: What do the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago Cubs have in common?

A: Both have yet to win the World Series in their new stadiums!

Heeheehee! Hawhaw!!

Disappointment in TigerTown

I really believed the Tigers could've walked off with the championship, but they made way too many mistakes and their bats were silent the whole series. Ballgames cannot be won like that. The Cards capitalized when they were supposed to and certainly earned this World Series championship! Next year will be interesting for the Tigers.

It looks like Barry Bonds is headed for free agency. Maybe the Tigers can sign him to a deal!

Aw, can't I dream for a while?!

Drizzle

What a lousy day, meteorologically speaking. It's been a steady drizzle all day, kinda like what's going on in my brain.

I'm very tired today. I've felt this way all week. I wonder if I'm sleeping well. I wake up feeling like I just got hit by a semi.

I've started drinking green tea. Maybe that's the problem, but I'm drinking decaffeinated green tea, so I know I'm not overstimulated. But we'll see if it helps me lose the old spare tire in my midsection. Seriously, I look like I've swallowed a yacht! Green tea's supposed to raise the metabolism rate. I really haven't seen any results yet, as it has only been a week. I'll give it some time to start kicking in.

Tonight I go a haunted prison (yes, you read that correctly) called Statesville. It'd better be a gourmet haunted prison, because it costs $25. I've heard it's pretty intense, and it looks quite hardcore on its website. Plus, with my sensitivity to outside stimuli, it should all come together to make for an enchanted evening. I'll probably start having nightmares beginning tonight.

I think I'll go home and take a short snooze before I'm terrorized tonight. Hopefully the World Series Game 4 will be on when I get home from Statesville. That's all for now!

My Aplomb

I used to have aplomb, but I lost it and I can't remember where I put it last. I even did what I learned on Blue's Clues and went back to where I was, but it wasn't there. What am I going to do without my aplomb?

I guess there's always my apeach, but it just isn't the same.

Air America

I've started listening to Air America. They claim to be progressive talk, but it's just more angry liberalism that seeks to unseat anyone who's conservative. It's merely regurgitated "us vs. them" kind of radio, and is one more example of the deep polarization in our country. It adds fuel to the fire. That's not progressive to me.

True progressivism seeks to go above and beyond the liberal/conservative impasse, while taking both poles to a place where neither has ever been before. It takes creativity and tact to do this, and I have a little bit of both, but probably not enough to solve this problem. But I still seek and learn, and that's why I listen to Al Franken and Rush Limbaugh, Randi Rhodes and John Gibson, Mike Papantonio and Bill O'Reilly.

Faith-Based Politics

A new book has been causing quite a storm in the religio-political realm of late. I don't know much about this book seeing as I haven't read it. But I have seen interviews with the author (whose first name escapes me for the moment, but his last name is Kuo, so that's how I'll refer to him), and he seems to be an even-keeled person. He's a conservative evangelical Christian who was second-in-charge in the office of the Faith-Based Initiatives. Apparently, Kuo overheard derrogatory comments made about certain prominent evangelical leaders by members of the Bush administration. According to Kuo, the Bush administration is using the conservative Christian constituent as pawns in a much bigger game of political pandering. Kuo seems to be saying that some members of the Bush administration have absolutely no respect for evangelical leaders, calling them "kooks", "insane", and "needs to be controlled", the latter moniker placed on James Dobson. The accusation leveled by Kuo is that the Bush administration doesn't really care about their religious right constituency, as long as they help Republicans win key elections throughout the country. In other words, the Bush adminstration is using the whole idea of faith-based initiatives, promising billions of dollars in funding, in order to garner support for Republicans in general, and his administration in particular.

Aside from the latest shenanigans portrayed in this book, this whole faith-based initiative has been a stinker from the beginning. Anytime Washington gets involved with a cause, that cause becomes politicized, and it doesn't matter which political party is behind it all. Also, when something becomes politicized, it's only a matter of time before the cause forgets its very essence and purpose for its existence. The same can be said about religion, as there are many who see the whole faith-based effort as an attempt to marry Church and State, 'til death do they part. Is the separation of Church and State constitutional or not? Some say yes, citing the 1st Amendment. Some say no, citing the 1st Amendment. To me, its constitutionality doesn't matter. The separation of Church and State is a damn good idea and is just common sense. All one has to do is study the many empires that have come and gone throughout human history to see the fallacy of Church and State becoming bedfellows. It's a disaster waiting to happen, and when it does it falls with a large crash (apologies to Jesus). Consider for a moment the Jerusalem temple. If there was ever a place where religion and politics created a very caustic mish-mash, it was the temple. The temple was destroyed for good in AD 70. If you have ears to hear, then hear!

One thing that disturbs me is that conservative evangelical Christians seem to view the Church as the institutional guardian of the moral underpinnings of the nation. This is why they seem to be so myopically focused on hot-button issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. They can't seem to change peoples' hearts and minds through preaching and teaching, and so they rely on legislation as the necessary vehicle for their moral advocacy. That's why so many see the Church as attempting to impose its morality on the entire nation.

I would love to see the day when the Church gets out of national politics altogether. It doesn't mean that Christians individually can't be involved in political processes, or run for office, or speak out when the State become oppressive and tyrannical. But the Church as a whole should stick to the purpose for its existence-- giving liberty to the captives, opening the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf to the very reality of Christ in us, among us, with us, and for us, Emmanuel-- being the flesh-and-blood, provisional display of Christ's presence. And stop worrying about whether or not city hall allows a manger scene at Christmastime!!

Are You Ready?

I've always been annoyed by rock bands that ask the crowd, "Are you ready?" What a dumb question! Of course they're ready. That's why they're there!! Oh well.

Sometime I'd like to hear someone stand up and yell, "No, I'm not! I didn't come here for this! I came here for the roundtable discussion on the environment and third-world debt!"

Actually, I'll bet that not everyone is ready when the band is. How about that guy in the upper tier who's upchucking the hot dog and beer he got from the concession stand? He's probably not ready. And those women in the line for the restroom? You know-- the line that goes 2 1/2 times around the arena? Not even close to being ready.

So, perhaps these rock bands should stop acting like they're worried about everyone else's readiness and just play.

More Prodigal Thoughts

I began to wonder if the Parable of the Prodigal Son was a parable Jesus told about himself. This line of thinking is beginning to make more sense the more I think about it. Jesus would be considered a prodigal to his own people, especially the religious leaders. Jesus was dead and is now alive. He was lost by crucifixion, but found in resurrection. He presented himself before his Father and was restored in glory and honor, and of course the legalistic Pharisees aren't going to be exactly thrilled that Jesus' way would ultimately be vindicated.

There are also echoes of the Jacob/Esau story in this parable. That will be another path to examine.

I'll write more about all of this as soon as I think it through more and sort things out, but if anyone has any thoughts along the way feel free to add or subtract from any of my above brain drizzles.

Prodigal

Luke 15:11-32 is Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son. There's a very interesting aspect of this parable that has intrigued me for a while, and that is, the son's request for his share of his inheritance from his father.

In Middle Eastern culture, asking for your share of the inheritance is tantamount to telling your father to drop dead. It is highly insulting to your father and to the community. The community will seek your death for the way you treated your father. Here's what's incredible to me-- the father gives the son his share of the inheritance, and then the son runs away from home. Now here's the best part:

As the son is returning home with nothing and within an inch of losing his life, his father sees him from afar, runs to him, and embraces him. He is safe! The community can't touch him because his father has welcomed him back! The villagers must treat the son as the father treated him. And then it was party time!!

So, I'm wondering-- What if we all told God to drop dead, ran away, and then came back? Will God punish us? It looks to me like God will throw a party instead!!

Tigers=Awesome!!

The Detroit Tigers are performing far beyond my expectations. Beating the Oakland A's in Oakland the first two games is nothing short of incredible! Now it's off to Detroit! I predicted the Tigers winning the series in 6 games, but I hope I'm proven wrong and the Tigers sweep the A's.

A note to the unconvinced-- the announcers of last night's game pointed out that teams who began a series with home field advantage and lost the first two games have never gone on to the next level. Ya hear that?! NEVER!!!

That's either good news for the Tigers or they've just been jinxed.

Mindfulness

Zen Buddhists have a practice that I believe we Christians (and westerners in general) can benefit and learn from, and that is, the art of mindfulness. Do we ever just stop to think what we are doing? Many of our actions are just automatic and second nature, and they contribute to the breakneck pace that we experience. We move so quickly that our activities become hair-raising means to an unfruitful end. We go around and around and around, and we say, "That's it?!" Thud. No wonder we're so bored.

What would happen if we just stopped and noticed that we aren't thinking, but that we are being thought? That we aren't breathing, but we are being breathed? What if we savored every morsel of food and every sip of liquid at each meal, and thought very deeply about what we are actually doing? What if we thought of every step we take as a walk through a garden or a labyrinth, concentrating on each step? This is mindfulness, and it's an art that can be learned.

I don't know about you, but I'm guessing that my heart rate and blood pressure would go down if I started doing this more often!

Cutting Through the Abortion Debate

Abortion is an issue which deeply divides our country. Most people are so entrenched on this issue that the two sides have created a no-man's land for those who choose not to take sides. It's mostly a battle over words and rhetoric, with the express purpose of making the opposing side look inept.

The people who are against abortion label themselves as "pro-life", the implication being that those who are on the other side of the issue are "anti-life", or "pro-death".

The people who are for abortion label themselves as "pro-choice", the implication being that those who are on the other side of the issue are "anti-choice", or "pro-fascism".

It's like organizations who call themselves "Friends of (fill in the cause)". Not undertaking the advocacy activities of said group implies that one is an "Enemy of (fill in the cause)."

These maneuvers with language are ways of avoiding what's really important. Seriously, I've never met one person who is actually pro-death or anti-choice. I've yet to meet a person who believes that abortion is the greatest activity in the world. I've yet to meet a person who believes that shooting clinic employees is a worthwhile cause. I'm not saying that these people aren't out there. I've just yet to meet them. But I'll have a hard time finding them.

Until we learn to use different language to identify how we feel about this issue we will continue to be entrenched. I will go on record saying that I am opposed to abortion, but I know that it will exist no matter what anyone thinks about it. I propose we investigate why people seek to have abortions in the first place and then address those issues instead of seeking to annihilate the supposed opposition. This may be conducive to an atmosphere in which abortion would be unheard of.

Tigers vs. A's

Surprise by the Tigers-- they beat the Yankees!! After losing Game 1 to the Yanks I really thought it was the death knell for the Tigers. They had no momentum going into the series, but they really hankered down and got serious. Joe Torre's future hangs in the balance. That's really too bad because he is a great manager!

Tigers and A's, Game 1, Tonight, in Oakland!! I'll be missing most of it as I am teaching Crossways tonight. Oh well.

The Latest Fiasco

The Mark Foley scandal has been the talk of the town lately. Yesterday I read online some of the text messages that Foley sent to a teenage boy and it's some of the most shocking things you could ever read coming from a US Congressman. Just about everyone is agreed on that. Now we have many representatives and congressional aides doing damage control and others trying to inflict more damage on an already incendiary situation. So who's to blame for this fiasco? The Republicans are saying that the Democrats are on a witch hunt. The Democrats are saying that it was Republican operatives who leaked the story to ABC in the first place. And what we end up with are two diametrically opposed sides lobbing grenades at each other. Everyone is on the offensive and the defensive. People across the political spectrum seem to be running up to the front lines, throwing a bomb, and then ducking for cover. But someone is being relegated to the backseat in the wake of all of this wrangling: Mark Foley himself.

A person is more that what he/she does, and Foley is no different. What kind of help is Foley receiving? What kind of help are his victims getting? Are they getting any personal support from colleagues, Republican or Democrat? Is there anyone recognizing that Foley is a severly disturbed man who needs help? Would anyone on either side of the aisle be willing to show some compassion to Mark Foley? I'm getting the impression from listening to the media darlings that none of that really matters right now. What does matter, though, is gaining political capital from this whole thing, and it just shows how entrenched people can become.

Both political parties now have the chance to show that they're not just a bunch of political opportunists. Mark Foley and his pages represent the opportunity to bring out the best of everyone involved. It would be nice to see Republicans and Democrats together reaching out to Foley with mercy and compassion, while at the same time trying to restore some dignity and wholeness to the pages Foley exploited. Otherwise, the shame and the guilt and the scorn heaped upon them will just drive them deeper into the darkness.

Residual Guilt

I wonder if there's such a phrase as "residual guilt". I used it the other day, and if there is no such phrase, then I will take credit for its creation. I may even have it copyrighted so I can start collecting royalties [rubs hands together, laughs in mad scientist fashion].

Residual guilt comes from a feeling that God's forgiveness isn't complete. We know that God forgives completely in Christ and can give intellectual assent to it. But there are those times when we feel we must atone for anything that may have "slipped through the cracks" of grace. It's troubling to think that grace has cracks to begin with, let alone feeling like we've managed to wiggle through somehow.

I think residual guilt comes from the inability to forgive ourselves. And I believe we can forgive ourselves. What God has declared to be clean should be declared clean by us as well-- including ourselves. Our culture has taught us that we need to make restitution for any shortcomings or mistakes that we've made. We then project this onto God and believe that God expects the same. After all, God is perfect, makes no mistakes, and has done nothing to feel guilty about.

I can't tell you how many times I've pictured God sitting around waiting for little old me to conform completely to God's standards, and making up for the places I've failed which were not covered by Jesus' blood. But this is not the picture revealed in Scripture.

God has forgiven us completely through Christ. When we learn that we can do the same, then residual guilt can be stricken from our vocabulary. I'll lose royalty fees, but I won't mind.

Myers-Briggs Typology

My Myers-Briggs temperament is INFP- Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving, which means that my inner world is where I derive most of my energy. I swim in a world of feelings and emotions. I prefer patterns over cold facts. I also don't like small talk. It's not because I don't like the person I happen to be conversing with. It's because I'd rather talk about something else. So, don't give me details about your day. Tell me how your day affected you. What happened inside of you? Talk to me about how you perceive the world and how you feel about it. If you ever criticize me, make sure you tell me it's nothing personal because I will tend to take things personally, even if you didn't intend it that way.

One criticism I hear of the Myers-Briggs inventory is that it pigeon-holes and categorizes people. I can understand that objection, but I don't quite agree. I think it can be used that way. However, it's nice to have somewhat of an explanation of why you do the things you do. Why am I so sensitive? Why do I get angry at certain things and laugh hysterically at other things?

So, what's your temperament? There are many places on the internet where you can take a free temperament inventory, and the url's escape me at the moment. But I'm interested in your type if you wouldn't mind sharing.

Detroit Tigers. Yippee.

Sheesh! What a letdown! The Detroit Tigers get swept by the Kansas City Royals at home and blew their chance at a division championship. All they had to do was beat KC once. ONCE!!! I gotta give a lot of credit to the White Sox, who beat the Twins twice (Friday and Saturday), practically handing the championship to the Tigers on a silver platter. The Tigers are still in the playoffs, but not only did they lose the division, but they also lost home field advantage. Now they have to face the Yankees in New York. Congrats go to the Minnesota Twins for winning the AL Central. They earned it.

I'm rooting for the Tigers, but they have zero momentum going into the playoffs. It doesn't look good, folks. But I'm trying to remain optimistic, because the Tigers have come a long way from being the worst team in baseball just three seasons ago to having one of their best seasons in almost twenty years.