Jasie's Journal

Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear - Chapter 9

2008-08-06T08:11:00.000+02:00

This chapter in Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear may be the most politically charged as Scott Bader-Saye tackles The Risk of Peacemaking. I should start out by saying that by peacemaking he is not saying that every Christian must be a pacifist, but simply that the call of peacemaking severely limits the ways in which we can justify violence. Fear and its attendant virtue of preemption pushes us to view the world suspiciously and often respond by force in order to ensure our security. Here he asks the question: is there a better, more Christ-like way to respond when we feel threatened?

Returning again to providence, he declares that while trusting providence is the key to peace, it is also fairly readily turned on its head by those in power in such a way that it actually threatens peace. We see this all through history - when providence is used to justify violence and domination. After all, if whatever happens is God's will, then the victor must be God's winner. And, he notes, the victor not only writes the history, but also writes the theology. Thus we find scripture being used to support the rich, the powerful and the oppressors, contrary to the life of Christ as witnessed to in the gospels, which shows compassion and love towards the meek, the poor, and the oppressed.

In order to respond appropriately to threat, we must cultivate the virtue of patience. "One of the gifts of courage is the ability to be patient because we refuse to let fear push us to act before we are ready, that is, before we have taken time to gather the wisdom necessary to judge a situation with prudence. Because Christians trust in Gods' providence, we believe that time is on our side, that history unfailingly moves toward that fifth act in which God will gather up all things in Christ. Patience, then, as an outworking of our trust in providence, becomes a partner of peace." (129)

This patience, however, must not be creatively cloaked apathy. All peacemaking efforts ought to involve actively living the way of God. So, for example, during the civil rights movement it wasn't Godly patience that urged the black leaders to just wait. "Their kind of patience was not a freely chosen witness to God's providence, but a weapon wielded by the powerful to shut down social change." (130)

To be perfectly honest, I find the risk of peacemaking to be quite difficult. Not only to do, but to figure out what doing it even means. The idealist in me is drawn to pacifism, but the reality of non-response in the face of terrible, violent injustice chastens me. But can a nation wage a war 'justly'? I don't know. What are 'sufficient' reasons to respond in violence? It's all so hard to discern!

And even on a personal level, it is so tricky, especially given our astounding capacity for self-deception, to figure out when we are being patient and when we are being apathetic. It's far too easy to brush things off with an "all in God's time," but perhaps easier still to act rashly in the interests of 'urgent' tasks and problems.

Anyone have thoughts on this? I'm curious to hear what y'all think about pacifism, just war, criteria for helping to discern when to act, etc.

Next week, the final chapter: The Risk of Generosity

Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear - Chapter 8

2008-07-30T07:34:00.000+02:00

In this chapter Scott Bader-Saye kicks off the final stretch in which he talks about hospitality, generosity and peacemaking as ways to combat fear in his book Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear.

He begins with The Risk of Hospitality, calling us back to the discussion in chapter 2 about how a culture of fear can lead to an ethic of security, with 'virtues' like suspicion, accumulation and preemption. These 'virtues', however, easily lead to a decline in hospitality - if we view the stranger with suspicion and see him as a threat, we are unlikely to risk opening our homes or lives to him. In a post 9/11 America, it is quite easy to see how individually and corporately we have adopted this attitude. But this mentality threatens our commitment to the Christian ethic of love for God and love for our neighbor.

Next he identifies a less obvious threat to hospitality: community. We've all probably experienced to some degree how easy it is to start to tribalize within our communities, with sharp boundaries defining who is in and who is out. When we are driven by fear, it becomes increasingly important to surround ourselves by people like 'us', disavowing all that may be 'strange' in a stranger in order to feel secure. It goes against most of our natural impulses to trust in God (see the previous discussions on providence) rather than our own ability to protect ourselves, especially knowing that "following... God will lead us into the unknown where safety is simply not the point." (102)

However, community can also serve as the context for hospitality. If we allow the boundaries to remain porous, shifting our communities from being 'bounded sets' to 'centered sets' as suggested by Brian McLaren, we become defined by where we are in relation to the center (Christ) rather than if we fit into the boundaries established by the group. This is immediately uncomfortable, as it adds a certain fuzziness to our identity. Christine Pohl (whose book on hospitality, Making Room, is excellent by the way) says this:

Part of the difficulty in recovering hospitality is connected with our uncertainty about community and particular identity. Hosts value their 'place' and are willing to share it; strangers desire welcome into places that contain a rich life of meaning and relationships. By welcoming strangers, however, the community's identity is always being challenged and revised, if only slightly. While this is often enriching, it can occasionally stretch a place beyond recognition. (108)

We can look to the early church in Acts to see some of the ways in which welcoming the stranger forced the Jewish core to reshape their notions of identity as they invited gentiles into their communion. Serious centuries-old boundary breaking took place that required much more of a total paradigm shift than most of us will have to undergo. We need to embrace the body of Christ metaphor given by Paul and start celebrating diversity in our communities, risking the 'death to self' that takes place when we start to actually welcome difference, letting go of our pride and holding our identity loosely enough to allow it to be refined.

Next week: The Risk of Peacemaking

And I'm Back

2008-07-24T14:31:00.001+02:00

Thus ending the long string of lasts, and beginning a new series of firsts. Right now? First time back on the internet. It's still strange to me that I can get online in Bellevue but not at my parents house.

Other great firsts in my new life back in Texas include margaritas, mushroom fajitas, firecracker sushi, walking with Dad and the dog at the crack of dawn, working out with mom and realizing she can lift more than I can, lunch with grandma, and a trip to Target. Good stuff. It's amazing how much you can pack into a day when you get started at around 3:30 in the morning. Jetlag, gotta love it.

Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear - Chapter 7

2008-07-23T11:57:00.000+02:00

Continuing the discussion of providence as it relates to fear, in this chapter of Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear, Scott Bader-Saye takes a look at Security and Vulnerability.

He begins by reiterating the point that the drama we are participating in is ultimately comic, not tragic. Not funny comic, but comic in the sense that because of God's providence, we can trust that it will end well in Act 5, to continue using Sam Wells' metaphor from last week.

But as we live in Act 4, with its attendant suffering and brokenness, we need to dig a bit more deeply into providence not as an insurance policy against harm, but as a promise of provision and redemption. This flies in the face of the 'health and wealth' gospel that draws heavily on the verses which seem to promise blessing and protection. What do we do with these verses? Well, it seems that we ought to treat them in the same manner as we treat other parts of scripture: Read them in their context. The larger narrative paints a picture that includes not only these verses, but the story of Job.

So given the reality of the world, and our deep instinct to seek security in fearful surroundings, where do we go looking for it? Well, it seems clear that wealth, power and domination aren't the answer if we look even only superficially at scripture.There we find a "paradoxical reversal of strength and weakness" (93) that manifests itself most clearly in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But to place our security in a God whose power is vulnerable love? Seems sort of risky. It seems counter-intuitive almost to trust a God who seems silent in the face of evil. But as you can probably guess, Bader-Saye again has something to say about interpreting events that helps give voice to the silence.

He draws again on Sam Wells and his metaphor based on theatrical improvisation, which I really love. "In the lingo of improvisation, an actor can respond to an 'offer' (an action, speech or gesture) from another actor by 'accepting', 'blocking', or 'overaccepting'." (94) Accepting the offer is to play out the scene on the terms as given. To block is is to refuse the offer and "disrupt the scene in such a dramatic way that what follows has no coherence with what preceded." (94) To overaccept is to receive the offer, even an evil offer, but in a way that refuses take it on its own destructive terms.

The Genesis flood could be taken as an example of an act of blocking on the part of God, after which he promised to not 'block' humanity in such a way again. Joseph serves as an image of overacceptance by both he and God, taking the 'offer' of his brothers selling him into slavery and, rather than responding in violence, transforming the evil into a good in the larger narrative. Obviously, Christ again also presents to us the pinnacle of overacceptance, turning the evil of the cross into victory. In all of these stories, we see God refusing to 'block' the sin of humanity, but instead working through it to produce good. He redeems the situations and provides for the people within their own experience, even if not in the direct way they (and we) might initially choose.

So when faced with fear producing realities like, say, cancer, while we are powerless to fully 'block' the offer, we can choose to re-narrate and transform the event (and ourselves) by responding in trust to God. If we seek first the kingdom of God, making Him rather than security our primary goal, we can better meet life with courage in the face of fear.

Again I find these chapters on providence difficult to condense, so I hope that this makes some sort of sense. From here Bader-Saye moves to combating fear by risking hospitality, generosity and peacemaking.

Next week: The Risk of Hospitality

Going, Going, Gone

2008-07-22T05:24:00.001+02:00

Well, I've been up since about 3 this morning doing a final pack, and Kay and I will be catching the 6 o'clock bus to begin our long haul over the ocean. It's all too crazy.

See y'all stateside soon!

More Lasts

2008-07-19T21:38:00.001+02:00

Another day of lasts... my last formal meal, my last Bellevue dinner crew. Tomorrow is my last final high tea. It's all very.... just, very.

Also, the last installment of Dr. Horrible. If you haven't watched, do it, you'll love it.

Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear - Chapter 6

2008-07-16T16:20:00.000+02:00

This week we'll be diving into Narrative and Providence in Scott Bader-Saye's Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear.

Now you may be wondering what in the world providence has to do with the topic of fear. Well, a lot actually. You see, he identifies a common yet subtle fear that afflicts most of us at some time or another: purposelessness. It's easy to worry that our lives are simply a series of meaningless actions, but he argues that the Christian story provides the larger context that gives us meaning. Not to mention hope.

One of the important skills we must learn is to read our own stories, the story of history, the story of culture, etc. figuratively with the story of scripture. An example of this can be found in Elie Wiesel's book Night, written about his experience in the Auschwitz concentration camp. In it, some of his fellow inmates struggle to interpret the horror in terms of the biblical pattern of exile, while others drew on apocalyptic imagery. Wiesel himself attempted to interpret the experience through the lens of Job. In each case, they placed themselves within the biblical narrative to interpret the events. Again, not to explain causation, but to interpret them in a meaningful way. This type of figurative reading is poetry, not science, and is flexible enough to allow multiple readings at once as well as for the interpretations to change as times and events change.

In addition to learning to read figuratively, we can read our lives within the larger narrative of God's redemptive plan. Sam Wells' uses the analogy of a 5 act play (86):
   *   Act 1: Creation
   *   Act 2: God's calling of Israel
   *   Act 3: God's incarnation in Jesus Christ
   *   Act 4: God's calling and sending of the church
   *   Act 5: The culmination of the story in the reign of God

As we walk through scripture and become acquainted with the overarching themes and the narrative that enfolds us from beginning to end, we are able to place ourselves in act 4, part of the continuing story. This placement gives meaning to our lives, reconnects us when we are feeling disconnected, and frees us of the burden and pressure of creating a new story by allowing us to participate fully in a story that is already being told. And we know the ending: the kingdom of God. So while we strive and try and persevere, we can also rest in the true hope of God's redemption, knowing that whatever surprises life throws at us, as the author of the story God can and will write a good ending. Or has written it: in Christ act 5 has already definitively been decided.

Well, to be honest, this was a chapter packed full of important theological nuances and helpful anecdotes, and I feel certain that in condensing it for blogging purposes it has lost much of its punch. Please comment if I've left out the bit that makes it all make sense, and I'll try to clarify it there.

Next week: Security and Vulnerability

The Status? Is Not Quo.

2008-07-15T18:59:00.001+02:00

Act 1 of Dr. Horrible is up, and it is fan-freaking-tastic. Check it out ASAP!

Little Surprises

2008-07-14T18:11:00.001+02:00

Still packing, still going through drawers, still feeling sad, and I found this:

given to me by Anna ages ago. Made my day a little sweeter.

Ugh. Packing.

2008-07-14T17:22:00.001+02:00

This is the week that it all has to come together. After my last worker meeting this morning (yet another last) I pulled out the suitcases and began the somewhat traumatic process of going through desks and closets and drawers and trying to figure out what should stay and what should go. The weather matches my mood - it's a virtual white-out, and we can scarcely see the mountains through the fog. It's an apt metaphor, really.

But the good news is that Thomas, upon witnessing my plight, made me a delicious chocolate pie to give me comfort. Seriously, what else could a girl want? Such a thoughtful guy! (Ladies - he's available!)

Medical Missionaries in Need of Support

2008-07-12T11:17:00.001+02:00

Susan, a woman on ravelry, is doing a raffle on her blog to help support her aunt and uncle, who are medical missionaries. Her uncle, Jan, fell out of a tree and broke his neck and spine and is now partially paralyzed. She's trying to raise enough to get them the wheelchair they'll be needing.

Read more about these folks here. Tickets for the raffle are only $10, and even if you don't want the stash she's raffling off, it's a great way to support them if you'd like to do a good deed today.

Really, Really, Really Ridiculously Good Looking

2008-07-11T10:14:00.001+02:00

This has been a week of 'lasts' for me. I had my last High Tea on Sunday and did my last lecture/discussion on Wednesday. It's hard to believe how quickly my time here at l'abri is drawing to a close!

For my last High Tea, once again I showed Zoolander in the afternoon, served up enchiladas (yum!) for dinner, and then everyone got gussied up for a Ridiculously Good Looking party in the lounge. With a walk-off, of course! Some pics of the evening...

Me and Meghan, Ben & I - dude doesn't
my beautiful tutee even have to try!

The Boys - Erik, Eric & Ben

Me and Kellie

Adrienne, Me and Renea

Kara, strutting it during the walk-off

Dancing the night away...

Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear - Chapter 5

2008-07-09T07:54:00.000+02:00

Here, in the 5th chapter of Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear by Scott Bader-Sayer, the role of community in developing courage and overcoming fear is addressed.

He begins by noting that in our times, the culture of fear and the culture of disconnection are very much related. More and more people suffer from loneliness, and are truly very alone in the world. Much business can be done electronically, more people work from home, with the rate people move around our communities have less stability... it all adds up to greater fear.

To combat fear, we need to develop courage. Courage is, in his definition, "the capacity to do right and good in the face of fear." (67) Courage doesn't dismiss fear, it perseveres in spite of it. This is much different than recklessness, which mimics courage but doesn't have the sister virtues of prudence and humility.

So what role can/should community have in developing courage? First, he asserts that courage, like other virtues, is best learned by having it modeled. It's just not the same on paper - he likens it to sheet music vs. a symphony actually performing. In a well functioning community, courage (and other virtues) will be being sought and lived, and a living community is reinforced by the stories of the communities of the dead (tradition). For example, the lives of the martyrs can help sustain a church community by modeling faithfulness.

Another role the community plays is by providing a space in which one can be vulnerable and confess their fears in anticipation of support rather than judgment. Often our churches don't have this reputation, which is tragic. We need a place to name our fear. "Fear grows strongest when we allow it to fester as a 'wordless darkness'. Words not only help us understand our fear but, more importantly, make it possible to share fear. To speak our fear to another is to begin to loosen the grip that fear has on us. To make fear take form in speech is to name it as something that can be confronted, not confronted alone but in the community of those willing to speak their fears aloud and thus begin to subdue them." (71)

He draws on the early church portrayed in Acts as an example of courageous community, especially as they shared risks and resources. Alone, resources feel much more scarce, and fear can drive us to spend more time protecting ourselves. After all, if I get sick, who will help me? Or what if my car breaks down? Fear seems much more manageable when we know that there are people who will support us both with prayer and material help. This flies in the face of the Western elevation of the autonomous self.

I wouldn't advocate an attempt to go back in time and recreate this exact scenario, but I wonder how we could implement some of the principles into our current context in a better way. Any ideas?

I'd also be curious to hear what anyone thinks about online communities. Most of you on my blog are connected to me solely electronically. Geographically we are very distant. Could we be called community? Can an online community be expected to take on any of these characteristics? Should it?

Next week: Narrative and Providence

Beat the Press

2008-07-08T09:23:00.001+02:00

You gotta love Fox News...

You also gotta love that MSNBC has a segment devoted to exposing the manipulation of other networks, which basically serves to manipulate our perception of their network. Ah, the media.

Podiobooks

2008-07-08T07:40:00.000+02:00

I may be late to the bandwagon on this one, but I just heard about this site, podiobooks.com that has free audiobook downloads. I haven't actually listened to any of them yet, so I can't vouch for the quality of them, but as an avid audiobook person, I'm definitely curious to check it out.

Have any of y'all listened to any of them? Any titles you'd recommend?

Prayer and Fasting

2008-07-07T13:26:00.001+02:00

Today we are doing a day of prayer and fasting in our community to spend an extended time of bringing the needs of L'abri and the world before God. I'd love to invite anyone who desires to join us...

Anticipation

2008-07-05T12:20:00.001+02:00

On July 15th, part 1 of Joss Whedon's musical extravaganza, Dr. Horrible, will be begin airing online. To tide us over until then they have put out an online comic featuring Captain Hammer, the "hero" of the piece. It's hysterical - Check it out!

My Day

2008-07-04T21:58:00.001+02:00

I ate a lot of cheese. A LOT of cheese. That is all.

The Chateau

2008-07-04T09:54:00.001+02:00

One of the things that was on my list of things to do before I left Switzerland was to get a picture of the Chateau de Chillon in Montreux from this exact spot. So the ladies (Adrienne, Trisha, Renea and Bethany) trekked out with me and we made the rounds: Montreux, then Vevey for lunch and meandering, and finally to Lausanne to check out the brocante (a second hand shop) for steals. Which we found in abundance: Books for 2 francs a kilo! Clothes for 1 franc! Awesome leather shoes for 2 francs! Hurrah! And then to top off our day of bargain hunting, Adrienne got a new iPod in Aigle for free. Okay, not exactly. After getting stuck in the downpour last week, her iPod had a meltdown, and they replaced it for her. But still...

Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear - Chapter 4

2008-07-02T07:32:00.000+02:00

In this 4th chapter of Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear, Bader-Saye tackles the topic of Putting Fear In Its Place. After all, we've said already that being overly fearful is not good, nor is being fearless, so how do we start reflecting on our fear to discern what's going on?

To do this, he returns to Aquinas, offering his definition of fear as a jumping off point: "[F]ear arises from the imagination of a future evil (something that threatens the loss of something we love) that is both imminent and hard to resist." (53) From here he extrapolates that we can offer two broad categories that a 'disordered' fear could fit into. We can either fear what or as we ought not.

As far as fearing what we should not, we can return to the definition and find a couple of criteria to test against. 1) Is the object actually evil? 2) Does it threaten the loss of a proper love? 3) Is it of great magnitude? 4) Is it imminent either in time or distance? 5) Is it difficult to fend off?

A couple of fears of mine that get critiqued under this rubric are heights (not of great magnitude), death by snake bite (not imminent), a computer crash (not a proper love)... and you get the picture. Some of these things get more difficult to discern, particularly imminence and magnitude, as the media floods us with constant streams of information. So how much should we fear global warming? Economic crisis? Poor water quality?

Here we step into the (I find) grayer arena of fearing as we should not. This comes in when we fear excessively, when we allow our focus on avoiding evil to overwhelm our dedication to doing/being good. So, for example, loving my dad tremendously (a proper love) and having the threat of his loss feel more imminent post-rattlesnake shenanigans, and agreeing that death is of great magnitude and impossible to avoid, I have some huge fears about losing him. But if this fear prohibits me from enjoying fully the times I share a beer with him, or limits my ability to be excited about his adventures, then my fear has become excessive. It contracts my world rather than expanding it.

Or what about our possessions? Our homes? It seems important to take care of the things we have, and to understand that goods, to whatever degree, are 'goods'. But does it limit our generosity and hospitality?

Bader-Saye makes the point at the end of the chapter that while reflecting on these things and critiquing our fear is a necessary part of putting fear in its place, we don't have the capacity to simply command ourselves to stop being afraid. No, our fears have to be overwhelmed by bigger and better things.

So I'd be curious, do any of you have stories of conquering a fear, be it trivial or major?

Next week: Community and Courage

Summer Storms - Part 2

2008-07-01T07:45:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I told you about our little (actually, according to Greg, the biggest since he's been here) hail storm in Huemoz. Like a lot that's going on in the world these days, even though it was beautiful it was destructive. It tore up much of the l'abri vegetable gardens, and no doubt hurt lots of local producers that rely on their harvests for income. This in turn will drive up our food costs even more.

Not a unique tune, and certainly not even close to the volume of damage that the flooding in the Midwest is causing. I don't even know how to begin praying in the face of such overwhelming destruction: China, Myanmar, the Philippines, the Midwest, California... it seems that almost daily there is more bad news. And that's just the weather! Attempts at eloquence when I pray have faded as words fail me, and I am left with the refrain: "Lord, have mercy on us."

With the credit crisis, gas prices, food shortages, etc. times are tight for everyone. It seems like the forecast for our lives this summer is 'overcast'. Here at l'abri, as at many other non-profits, we are definitely feeling the crunch. We've already had a couple of months of salary reductions, and this month the hope is mostly that we will be able to pay all of our bills, much less any of our salaries. Please pray for us. Not only that we will get the donations that we need, but that this time will spawn a growth in trust. That the words of Jesus will gain new depth; that things like leaky roofs, squeaky brakes and the like wouldn't deter me or any of us here from seeking first God's kingdom. That all these things would take their proper context in God's providence, and that my feeling of scarcity wouldn't make me less generous. Already I find myself holding the money I do have a little more tightly.

I recognize that as a relatively affluent Westerner I've never even scratched the surface of 'need' in my life. Please pray also that this tightness in my chest as I face (somewhat minor in the scheme of things) uncertainty in my life would not breed doubt, but increase my compassion for those who truly want for the bare minimum to survive. And that this, too, would increase my generosity.

Thanks to all of you, the friends who read this blog and remember me (and l'abri) in prayer!

Summer Storms - Part 1

2008-06-30T17:11:00.001+02:00

After hours of sunshine and volleyball yesterday, Renea and I headed back to the chalet to relax and do our Sunday ritual, during which I knit while she reads to me from the second of the Ender books. (I know, I am spoiled) We had the door flung open in my living room to allow in a breeze, when suddenly our noses detected rain in the air, the skies clouded over, and torrential rain began pouring down. Shortly thereafter, due to a little roof condition in Bellevue, it also beg an raining in my living room. Here are a couple of pictures of a a bowl rapidly filling next to an electrical outlet (thank goodness my laptop was spared! It was still plugged in when the deluge began!) and the worn buffet that is sort of impossible to protect because of the angle of the mirror, so I make due with lots of bowls and towels. I couldn't believe how heavily it came down!

Shortly after the rain started and the bowls were strategically placed, our reading was interrupted again as the sounds of the storm grew louder - it had turned to giant chunks of hail that persisted for nearly an hour. Everything was covered with a layer of white. Happily, we were inside - unlike this poor schmuck (-->) and Adrienne, who was up past La Truche when it started and by the time she made it down to rejoin us was soaking wet.

And then we ate crepes. MmmmmCrepes.

Non-Dogmatic Americans

2008-06-27T08:09:00.000+02:00

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has recently released a new report on religion in America, and the results are really interesting. The article says that Americans are 'non-dogmatic', which seems almost to be an understatement! We talk a lot about postmodernity here at l'abri, and while I wouldn't want to equate postmodernity and relativism, our culture certainly seems to produce a certain murkiness or uncertainty about how strongly we are able/allowed to hold our beliefs. This survey seems to bear that out - 66% percent of Protestants and 79% of Catholics believe that many religions can lead to eternal life. And it's not just Christians who hold their faith in such a 'true for me' way - over 80% of Jewish, Hindu, and Buddhist respondents believe the same, as well as 56% of Muslims.

It makes me wonder what churches are teaching - not that we can or should take a small view of the power of God to save or even pretend to know exactly what that looks like - the perennial questions of babies and people who haven't heard the gospel, etc. come to mind. I don't know that we have enough information to make an absolute judgment on that, and don't think we have to - I'm fairly content to let God be God on such weighty matters. But on the question of God himself - I'm unclear why, if solid biblical teaching is taking place, 19% of Protestants and 29% of Catholics surveyed (2 and 3% of whom, respectively, say that there is no God at all) believe that there is a God but not a personal one. God as impersonal force. How can even a superficial perusal of the OT (50% of Jews say that God is impersonal, by the way) or the gospel accounts lead to that conclusion? But then, 28% of folks who answered from mainline churches don't believe that the Bible is the word of God, anyway.

I don't know, I hate that writing even a little thing like this makes me cringe, knowing that I will likely be thought judgmental for not having such a total openness. But I think that total openness lacks humility just as much as total closedness. I'm just sad that we've reached the point in many conversations where to make any kind of truth claim is taboo.

Anyway, you should check out the site, there is tons of interesting data on the religious landscape, as well as how it affects politics, which will be interesting to watch as this election year progresses.

Dr. Horrible

2008-06-26T12:07:00.001+02:00

Most of you know that I am a giant Joss Whedon fan. He's a brilliant, brilliant man. Well, he's working on a new web project, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, which will be a three part musical starring Nathan Fillion (that's Captain Tightpants, for you Firefly/Serenity fans), Felicia Day, and Neil Patrick Harris. They've just released the trailer and it looks legen (wait for it) dary. (If you've not seen How I Met Your Mother that last sentence probably makes no sense. Sorry)

Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.

Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear - Chapter 3

2008-06-25T07:42:00.000+02:00

Here in chapter 3 of Scott Bader-Saye's excellent book Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear, we discover Why Fearlessness is a Bad Idea.

It seems that fear and love are inextricably bound together. If we love nothing, we have nothing to fear losing. So fear itself is not the problem, but only an excessive fear or a lack completely thereof.

So what should we fear? Scripturally it seems that fear of the Lord is in order, and is both spiritual gift and wisdom. However, we ought not fear the Lord as a threatening or coercive power. But, argues Ellen Davis, simple reverence is perhaps not the best interpretation either. She says, "The writers are speaking first and foremost of our proper gut response to God. Fear is the unmistakable feeling in our bodies, in our stomach and our scalp, when we run up hard against the power of God. From a biblical perspective, there is nothing neurotic about fearing God. The neurotic thing is not to be afraid, or to be afraid of the wrong thing... Fear of the Lord is the deeply sane recognition that we are not God." (44)

Aquinas makes the distinction between 'filial fear' and 'servile fear'. Servile fear prompts one to act rightly because of a fear of punishment. Filial fear, on the other hand, acts rightly because of a love relationship that you don't want to damage by acting contrary to it. Our relationship with God ought to be prompted more by a filial fear than a servile fear.

Aquinas also argues that one can become fearless in three ways, none of which are good or healthy: "through a 'lack of love' (loving nothing enough to fear its loss), through 'dullness of understanding' (not knowing or acknowledging the danger or threat), or through 'pride of soul' (refusing to believe that one is susceptible to loss)." (45)

Bader-Saye expounds upon each of these, but of particular interest I thought was the last one. He comments that 'pride of soul' can lead to a pursuit of invulnerability, which can be achieved only when one achieves totalitarian power and/or destruction of all potential threats. Bad for individuals, bad for governments.

He goes into a lengthy description of the Star Wars saga as a parable of fear and fearlessness, which is good and helpful, but I just can't in good conscience devote much space to Yoda. I know, it's small of me.

Next week: Putting Fear in its Place

Echoes of Fear

2008-06-24T14:58:00.001+02:00

I'm reading a book called Hope in Troubled Times: A New Vision for Confronting Global Crises, and it's especially interesting in light of reading Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear. It talks a lot about ideologies, defining them as consisting of three elements: 1) they have an absolutized political or societal end, 2) they require a redefinition of currently held values, norms, and ideas that legitimize in advance the practical pursuit of the predetermined end, and 3) they establish a standard by which to select the means or instruments necessary for effectively achieving the all-important goal. (p.33)

Looking at identity ideologies that develop when identity is threatened, the authors point to militant Islamists, the terror of the Gaza strip, and the lessons of apartheid and Nazism. These all seem like impossible progressions of the 'American Dream', but our nationalist identity could indeed be slinking towards ideology, just look at Guantanamo Bay and the treatment of prisoners there (although the recent Supreme Court ruling is, I believe, a step in the right direction). To start treating people as less than human may be pragmatic and even somewhat effective as a means to an and (although even that is questionable), but at what price? Is it okay for us to redefine our morals in the pursuit of self-preservation, or is the Christian call radically risky?

Here's an interesting paragraph from the book that sort of sums it up:

During difficult times democracy falters and the national urge for a strong leader and tighter security returns... When self-preservation becomes our highest goal, then we deem whatever contributes to it as strong and whatever detracts from it as weak. Further, the all-encompassing desire for self-preservation can lead us to redefine good and evil, whereby good becomes whatever preserves us and evil becomes whatever threatens us. In the aftermath of September 11, did not President Bush declare, in a paraphrase of John 1:15, that 'the light [America] has shone in the darkness [the enemies of America], and the darkness will not overcome it'? These words have echoes of a nationalist ideology. If this ideological impulse is allowed to progress, its cures will be worse than the illness, and the means for maintaining order will slip out of control. And then it will be too late. (p. 82)

So what do y'all think? Do you see the new American doctrine of preemption as a 'necessary evil' or a step along a dangerous path? As a nation do we have a responsibility to protect ourselves, and how far does/should that protection take us? It's murky sometimes, I know, and I'm curious how y'all feel about it.

A New Trick

2008-06-23T07:43:00.000+02:00

Knitting freak that I am, I have already finished four sweaters this term, and wanted to challenge myself to learn a new skill: Knitting two socks at the same time on two circular needles. You use two balls of yarn, and just pray that it doesn't end up a tangled mess. After spending nearly three hours casting on, joining, and knitting a few rows of ribbing, I am now the proud owner of, you guessed it, a tangled mess. Sigh.

So what will with any luck someday look like this -->

Currently looks like this:

Hopefully I can update soon with good news from the knitting front...

Somewhere Out There

2008-06-22T07:27:00.000+02:00

Public Funding - What is the issue?

2008-06-20T14:06:00.001+02:00

Barack Obama has declined to use public funding for his general election campaign despite earlier clues that he would use it, and some people seem none too happy about it. I don't know a ton about it, but it all seems to be a mixed bag. I think spending limits are good (public funding would place a ceiling at 85 million dollars), but does it really limit spending if you've got lobbyists and special interest groups that can still spend a virtually unlimited amount? Is there any way to actually limit spending? Do private donations encourage political favors - even in relatively small amounts? (A great site to check for up-to-date numbers is OpenSecrets - find out where the money is coming from and where it's going to)

I don't know... does it matter as an campaign ethics thing or will campaign spending pretty much just stay out of control no matter which way you spin it? Anyone have an opinion on the topic?

You can watch the video announcement below:

Hold the Meat, Please

2008-06-20T12:27:00.001+02:00

One of the questions I get asked most often is why I am a vegetarian. I think people often assume one chooses to go that route because they are sentimental about God's furry little creatures. Well, I have to admit, I'm not really that sentimental. I mean, I love animals and don't relish the idea of their pain, but I also don't have any fundamental issues with eating them. I don't think that it is theologically problematic at all. That said, I would definitely call into question the factory farming practices that are widely used.

However, I am somewhat sentimental about humans, and creation in general. So I've gone veggie in large part because I think that most meat is raised/processed in ways that are not healthy for my body. Not only the drugs used on the animals directly, but the agricultural chemicals that go into the grains they are fed. I don't really want to put all that into my system. And that applies not only to meat, but in trying not to eat a lot of processed foods in general.

Also, I think that the methods used in raising livestock are often not good for the planet. Farming and ranching are often separated in ways that leave lots to be desired, and the massive deforestation that is happening to make room for more livestock is problematic, I think. Other environmental factors are pollution, soil erosion due to overgrazing, more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined, and the list goes on. Plus, animals raised for meat consume tons of feed (for example, it takes about 16 pounds of soybeans and grains to produce 1 pound of beef) that could potentially be used for feeding us human folk. It's plausible that eating lower on the food chain could ultimately help with some of the hunger issues worldwide if it was done on a larger scale.

That said (and it's terribly oversimplified for purposes of brevity), I wouldn't want to preach or pretend that vegetarians have some greater degree of ethical sensitivity, having in some way attained an enlightenment that omnivores don't have. Truthfully, I am an omnivore when I can be. I love that my dad and brothers hunt and fish, and I have no dilemma at all in eating the venison and redfish that I'm happy grace my plate when I'm home. I don't have any ethical problem with wild meat. And while I have some reservations, as there is no perfect system, I would probably eat free range organic meat and non-farm raised salmon if I could afford it. I know I can't be totally consistent (and vegans could call me hypocritical in a heartbeat), but I feel like I need to do what I can. For me it's about claiming control over that which is in my power, since so many of the things that grieve me about the world are completely outside of the scope of what I can do. So I look for ways to go green, but recognize that no matter what I do, it's probably insufficient and/or contains problems that I'm simply not aware of. It's somewhat overwhelming, actually.

So there it is, my little spiel. For more information on vegetarianism, I'd recommend The New Becoming Vegetarian. It offers a much better articulated rationale for the whys, as well as giving lots of great nutritional information to help make the best food choices you can if you decide to cut out or decrease your meat intake.

Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear - Chapter 2

2008-06-18T07:02:00.000+02:00

This week I'll be looking at chapter 2: Fear and the Moral Life in Scott Bader-Saye's book Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear. In it he poses the question: "What kind of people do we become if we are fed a steady diet of dread?" (25)

To answer this question, he asserts that we must first ask whether we can even speak of fear as a moral issue at all. After all, we're not accustomed to ascribing anything more to our emotions than neutrality. Bader-Saye calls our attention to theologian Simon Harak on the issue to show that our emotions can indeed have a moral dimension: "It is somehow wrong not to feel revulsion at rape, or to stay forever angry with imperfect parents. It is somehow right to rejoice at a friend's success, or to be moved by the plight of an abused child. So it seems upon reflection that our passions can be morally praise-or blameworthy." (25)

As applied to fear, while he says that fear itself is innate, we are socially conditioned as to what/how/when we fear. And if our fear becomes disordered and/or excessive, as it often is when we bathe in its waters daily, it can result in what he calls "shadow virtues". These 'virtues' are arising as we are losing the common ground and language with which to talk about morality, lacking a shared platform to exercise communal judgement. But we can appeal to our shared fear, and create a new ethic of safety that we all agree on. After all, who doesn't want to be safe?

Thus instead of talking about, for example, sex in the context of belonging to marriage as a gift from God (you've all heard this song, you can fill in the rest), we discourage premarital sex because of the health/pregnancy risks. Thus a moral decision now has little to do with holiness or goodness, and everything to do with safety. "We are more likely to tell our children 'be careful' than 'be good.'" (31)

But going back to the 'shadow virtues' that develop in a culture of fear. Bader-Saye identifies three: Suspicion, Preemption and Accumulation.

Suspicion assumes that we are (nearly) always at some kind of risk, and leads us to treat others as potential threats rather than our neighbor (in the Jesus-ian sense. Is that a word? Can it be?) It's easy to see this on the individual level, as most of us feel a little jumpy sometimes (also see the upturn in knife violence among teens in London this year. Scary.), but it also takes place at a policy level. One example he gives is how each foreign visitor to the US is now required to have a photo taken and be fingerprinted. A practice we often associate with what? Suspects in a police station. I'm not (and he's not) saying it's ineffective, but the roots of policy like this are problematic. (See the contrast with Leviticus 19:33-34)

Secondly, the 'virtue' of preemption: fight or flight. Get out of the way or strike before the other guy gets a chance. Again, you don't have to read long into W's National Security Strategy (check out the second bullet point) to see this virtue at the national level, nor far into the headlines about the war in Iraq to see some of the cost. He contrasts preemptive flight and fight, observing that flight is "characterized by our own lost opportunities and possibilities", while fight "jeopardizes the opportunities and possibilities for others." (33)

Finally, accumulation of wealth. We save for a rainy day, save because social security is going away by the time we need it, save because we might get sick, save so we can ______. While I would definitely advocate for wise financial planning and good stewardship, it might be worth taking a moment and examining the motives. What are we trusting?

Okay, that's it. Next week: Why Fearlessness is a Bad Idea.

Man, I Love The Onion

2008-06-17T11:10:00.001+02:00

McCain Vows To Replace Secret Service With His Own Bare Fists

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T10:52:00.001+02:00

Celebrating parents makes me feel like a kid, so here's a Father's Day acrostic for you:

Doggedly determined, daring to do what is right
Amply adventurous, always ready for fun
Dashingly debonnaire, dripping with charm

Dad, I love you and wish I could be with you today!

License Plates and Religion

2008-06-14T07:45:00.000+02:00

The Washington Post has an interesting essay by C.Welton Gaddy offering his take on the South Carolina decision to offer license plates with an image of the cross on them.

This paragraph pretty much sums up my view, as well:

Does not the government have other work to do that is more important and appropriate to its functions? Given the mortgage crisis, an economy teetering on the edge of inflation, joblessness, the status of public education, it boggles the mind that any legislature would debate crosses on a license plate.

What do y'all think: would you get one of these? Do you think they should be offered? What would you think if it was an Islamic motif? Or are you Switzerland on the subject?

A Wrench in the Rumor Mill

2008-06-13T14:16:00.001+02:00

Barack Obama is fighting back. He's launched a new website, FightTheSmears.com, to combat the rumors spreading like wildfire on the internet accusing him of everything from being a Muslim to refusing to say the pledge of allegiance. Videos and photos offer solid evidence.

Knitters Take Heed...

2008-06-13T07:02:00.000+02:00

.... this site has the potential to kill loads of your time. Brace yourself: Thousands of patterns. Forums. Yarn reviews. Book reviews.

And did I mention, thousands of patterns?

Check out Ravelry if you haven't. You'll be glad you did.

Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear - Chapter 1

2008-06-11T07:52:00.000+02:00

I recently finished reading Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear by Scott Bader-Saye. It's one of the best books I've read in a long time, and has prompted me to re-enter the blogosphere after a long leave of absence to do a chapter by chapter review of it.

So I'll start with, appropriately, the first chapter. Titled Fear for Profit, it sets up the book by outlining how fear is in many ways the air we breathe. (One caveat - Bader-Saye is from North America and is drawing on North American culture. It may not generalize globally, but I suspect that most points would ring true) Our cultural identity is sometimes built around being consumers, and since fear often drives consumption, we have become masters at manipulating it. He points to a couple of major areas that this takes place:

First, parenting. Drawing upon his experience of fatherhood, he points out the ways in which fear can become overwhelming. From choosing the type of birth (hospital? home? natural? meds?) to baby proofing the house (spawning a billion dollar child safety industry) to choosing a parenting method (consult one of the hundreds of books written by experts contradicting each other), it becomes easy to to spend more time "think[ing] about what we want to prevent and avoid rather than what we want to encourage and develop." (14) The lack of cultural consensus about standards and norms confuses the issue even more - "it's not even that we don't know if we're 'getting it right', it's that we don't even know what 'right' would look like." (13) Honestly, I know several people who have opted to not even have children simply because it all seems like too much. And I can't say I blame them!

Then he moves into the broad area of media and marketing. We all know that we will see millions of commercials over our lifetimes, most of them instilling fear that without x product we are doomed to being sexless, ugly, and lonely. It's a fairly obvious ploy, and one that is much discussed. Perhaps less discussed is the way that TV and news increase our fearfulness. News programs need advertising dollars, so they air the most sensational and shocking news stories to generate ratings. A quick glance online shows rape, murder, new toxic substances/health dangers, economic crisis, etc. topping the headlines on all the major networks. Witnessing so much brutality both on the news and scripted programming (see: Dexter, 24, the many crime procedurals, etc.), we start to believe that the world is a more dangerous place than it actually is. In fact, "in the 1990's crime rates were dropping while 2/3 of Americans believed they were rising." (15) Our fears no longer correspond to our actual risk levels.

Thirdly, there is politics. In a post 9/11 world, we are all too aware of our potential vulnerability, and will go to fairly extreme means to ensure our safety. Politicians capitalize on this in their rhetoric (by the way - I've only caught the headlines so far this election cycle, how are the political ads? I'm curious...). We also tend to be more suspicious of our neighbors, especially neighbors who aren't just like us. Makes it difficult to practice loving them.

Finally, he puts the spotlight on the church, and its tendency to manipulate fear from the pulpit. Could be fear of hell, fear of science, fear of loss, or whatever. Less direct than the old fashioned fear of the sword method, but I still find fear as a driving force of spirituality problematic. At least this kind of fear.

So that's all for this chapter, and I think he's laid the problem out well. Next week? Fear and the Moral Life.

Stay Tuned. Or else.

New Book Study

2008-06-10T11:19:00.001+02:00

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to be doing a chapter-by-chapter book review on Scott Bader-Saye's Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear. If anyone wants to follow along, it's a fantastic book, definitely worth reading.

Change is in the Air

2008-06-10T07:54:00.000+02:00

For those of you who don't know yet, this is to be my final term at L'Abri. I'll be leaving to head back to the Lone Star State, Houston to be precise, and start working towards grad school. I'm planning to pursue a degree in social work, despite the horror stories I've heard from friends in the field. I'll (hopefully) be attending University of Houston, so that I can remain in the geographical vicinity of my family, which is growing* (my brother Josh recently wed the gorgeous and wonderful Anna), and I don't want to miss any (more) of it.

It will be more than difficult to leave this place that has changed my life so much, but I think, at least for the time being, it's time to bid adieu.

Just wanted to post a brief update about this major development in my life.

*Mom - I don't know anything you don't. No grandkids from any of your children are insinuated here... ;)

The Coburn Seven

2008-06-09T15:00:00.001+02:00

A post on the God's Politics blog Friday talks about seven senators (the "Coburn Seven") who are hard at work blocking the reauthorization of the Global AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis bill, which helps fund the fight against these diseases which account for more than 90% of infectious disease death. It's a post worth reading, and Sojourners has a form online that you can use to send a letter to your senators encouraging them support getting the bill passed.

What Does it Mean to Grow Up?

2008-06-09T07:51:00.000+02:00

A few days ago there was an article by David Brooks in the International Herald Tribune talking about what it means to mature, starting with the example of Lincoln and the model during his time that to be mature was to exercise self-control. A sin-centric model that changed over time to a model that emphasized our inner goodness, placing self-discovery as the goal of growing up. Now, according to Brooks, we are moving into a maturity defined by service - maturity as moving from being served to serving others.

I read this article to a group of students at my formal meal, and it was a really fascinating conversation. People described maturity as being accountable and responsible, cultivating virtues. We also talked about maturing requiring an end goal, and that goal must be virtuous, even if not explicitly Christian. We also talked about the external cultural markers of maturity (rituals or rites of passage), and some of the ramifications of having few if any of them in modern Western culture. Very cool stuff - we spend so much time talking about identity, but it seems as though very rarely we talk about maturity.

I'd be curious to hear anyone else's thoughts on it...

Doing the Jitterbug

2008-06-08T19:20:00.000+02:00

Many moons ago, I went on a trip that went badly. Very badly. To soothe myself, I did what any self-respecting knitter would do. I bought a fabulous hank of out-of-my-budget yarn dyed in bright and cheerful colors. Upon returning home, I placed this yarn in my basket and waited for inspiration to strike, for the wool to whisper to me what it wanted to be, and then to knit it up into something beautiful that would in some way help redeem the memory of the trip.

And it sat there for months until finally, sick and tired of waiting for inspiration and starting to feel almost mocked by that bright little ball of wool, I saw a lacy little scarf pattern that I thought just might work and decided to knit the blasted thing. Which I did, and after making a six foot long scarf, still had more leftover to continue the mockery. So I made a head scarf. But like the memory of that week, it just wouldn't go away. Still more remained. Giving up on my idea of full redemption through yarn, I finally gave it away, tossing it to a fellow yarn lover with my best wishes.

Pleased that finally it was gone, I then went to block my new projects. For the non-knitterly folks, that simply means soaking the project and pinning it out to dry into shape. I put it in its first bath, and it bled. And continued to bleed through the nearly 15 subsequent washes. I never could get the water to run clear. I laughed a lot, I cried a little, and I supposed that ultimately the story of this little ball of wool (Colinette Jitterbug, hence the title) had completed itself in the only way it could have.

Have A Non-Commercial Easter!

2008-03-21T18:22:00.001+01:00

Slate Magazine has an article about how, unlike Christmas, Easter has largely resisted mass commercialization.

Even the resurrection, the joyful end of the Easter story, resists domestication as it resists banalization. Unlike Christmas, it also resists a noncommittal response. ... Easter is an event that demands a "yes" or a "no." There is no "whatever." ...

What does the world do with a person who has been raised from the dead? Christians have been meditating on that for two millenniums. But despite the eggs, the baskets, and the bunnies, one thing we haven't been able to do is to tame that person, tame his message, and, moreover, tame what happened to him in Jerusalem all those years ago. That's one reason why you don't see many Easter cards, Easter gifts, and Easter decorations; why the stores aren't clogged with shoppers during Lent; and why the holiday is still, essentially, religious.

As I thought about it, glad that it hasn't gone over the top with cards and presents and such, I couldn't help but wonder how often I go through this holy week with little more than a "whatever". How I regularly attempt to tame Christ, to not be radically shaped by the events of Easter.

So I turned to my trusty Book of Common Prayer and found, as always, encouragement in its pages. I'll just share a prayer from Holy Week here...

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Have a good Easter, y'all!

Obama Speech

2008-03-20T11:25:00.001+01:00

Well, I've been absent from the blog for quite a while now, but after Paul sent me the link to this video, I thought I'd share it here. Obama gave this speech on race in America, and I just thought it was the best thing I've heard out of a politician's mouth in ages. If you haven't already heard it, check it out...

Back In Session

2007-11-03T10:33:00.001+01:00

The few weeks since I've been home have been jam packed after a bit of a rough start... I think I picked up a bit of the bug that V was suffering from in Bozeman, and spent the first three days asleep in bed. Giant bummer. But then I got over it and moved on to many fun events, like my Zoolander showing followed by a Ridiculously Good Looking party for High Tea, and Halloween. Here's a few pics:

These are the contestants from the walk off at high tea. The moves were pretty fabulous...

Kate Jon Amelia

Tim Grace Charlie

Emily Chris Erin

Thomas, Kay and I (the Judges)

Tori sent a box of decorations for Halloween, so the dining room got a bit of a transformation. In the kitchen, we had so much fun making pumpkins and evil bears out of chocolate cake.

Erin Beth

Also, right before break I hosted a party to celebrate Cirdan's 4th birthday. She and her sister Lorian came up and decorated cakes before playing with the big kids for a while. How cute are these girls??

Susan. Lorian and Cirdan The Birthday Girl

Beautiful Bozeman

2007-10-17T07:53:00.001+02:00

So far I've been really enjoying my first Montana adventure. Bozeman is a gorgeous place, and it's been fun just getting lost around town and exploring. I'm pretty much on my own during the days, since V works an absurd amount, but the relaxing pace and total lack of schedule has been a welcome break. I've had what could be considered an unhealthy amount of coffee, but there are just so many cute coffee shops that I can't pass up. Also, there are some fabulous yarn shops that I'm trying not to spend too much time in, but budget schmudget, I can't imagine I'm leaving without some new fiber to play with.

On Saturday we drove out to Paradise Valley, which was great fun. Sitting on the rocks by the river was delightful, I don't think I could ever get bored of just listening to the sound of water. The fall leaves were dancing in the current, and I found myself getting a little mesmerized by it all. We saw some deer in a field as we were leaving (it was nice to see some live wildlife - we passed lots of roadkill on the way, including a moose!), and in another bit of nature that never gets old to me, watched them bound across the field in that graceful way they have. Here are a few more pics...

This morning I went on a short hike up to 'The M', and found a great bench overlooking town to plant myself on for a while. Getting out into nature to read, write, knit and think is pretty much the most perfect way I can imagine to spend time alone, and it's been an ideal mix of the solitary time and hanging out with folks. Everyone I've met here is absolutely fantastic, and it's been so great to spend time with V and some of his friends, and I'm looking forward to Adrienne's arrival tomorrow (I hope - she never does travel without 'adventure') and reuniting with she and SB. Awesome, awesome break.

Welcome to the Mall of America

2007-10-12T00:22:00.001+02:00

I touched down in the Minneapolis airport about an hour ago, 2/3 through with this seemingly interminable trip. Planes just make me claustrophobic. Now I'm sitting in the terminal, attempting to kill at least part of my four hour layover. Yikes!

So I am definitely an American, and I don't want to write this with the snobbery of one who has spent just enough time in Europe to pseudo-intellectualize about the pitfalls of American culture, but still, it has been somewhat stunning so far to be back, even just to the airport. The Geneva airport is spartan, the Amsterdam airport had lots of shops and souvenirs (and was seriously scary... the security check at the gate gave me hives. I spent about 10 minutes undergoing an interrogation that was terrifying despite having nothing to hide - and then getting felt up by an agent at the metal detector. Word to the wise - gum wrappers can set it off.), but the Minneapolis airport is a world unto itself. There are TVs all over the place broadcasting everything from CNN to ESPN to ET, chain stores and restaurants in every available nook and cranny offering all a girl could ever want, and even vending machines selling iPods and iPod accessories. Who spends hundreds of dollars at a vending machine???

But what was the most disturbing part of the trip so far was my experience at the customs gate. I was in line between two black men, and a young blonde customs agent doing a "random" check of passengers came and rudely interrogated them both. One of them she even harassed for wearing a hoodie and a cap. "Is it cold in here? Why are you wearing that parka?" The other man protested - rightfully so, I think - with the claim of "I'm an American. I should be able to go on vacation where I choose!" Which got me thinking, as I considered the number of white folks I've heard griping about the 'politically correct' terminology of African-American, Asian-American, and all the others in use. After all, we're all just Americans, right? Well, no. Standing in line I realized again how the word "American" so often really means white. It's lovely to think that racism is dead and that we're all now equal under the law, but inequality is still very much alive and well, and it was not only disturbing to see the agent's more blatant racism in action, but to be made aware of my own complicity. Rather than speaking up, I was tired and just wanted to get through the gate without any delays or inconvenience, and so sat silent in the midst of the horrid display.

ETA: I've arrived safely in Bozeman and am excited for this little break with some new scenery and a couple of old friends. The couple I'm staying with are incredibly hospitable and gracious, and the lodging is pretty lush. I'm feeling pretty spoiled.

The Disciplined Heart - Chapter 5 (Part 2)

2007-09-26T07:45:00.001+02:00

Having looked briefly at romantic love, the second part of chapter 5 deals with married love. As previously mentioned, Simon differentiates the two on her concept of destiny, with marriage moving forward to create a third dimension - a shared destiny - in addition to the individual destinies of each partner.

In exploring marital love, Simon draws heavily on the philosopher Robert Nozick's concept of a we. This we is created when two people unite to "form and constitute a new entity in the world" (123). This entity has several defining characteristics, including a shared identity, being seen publicly as a couple, giving up the right to make certain decisions unilaterally, mutual possessions, etc. Of particular import is the reshaping of identity to include being part of a particular couple. This implies monogamy, as "[i]n the strong sense of the notion of identity involved here, one can no more be part of many wes which constitute one's identity than one can simultaneously have many individual identities" (124). This deep interlocking of destiny, identity, body and life is best expressed in the institution of marriage. And I would say, best confined to the institution of marriage.

However, this merging isn't total. In a healthy marriage, there ought not be an attempt to completely fuse the two people (Simon uses the ancient Stoic image of wine and water poured together to create a new liquid), but rather some element of separateness must remain. "[W]ithin marriage there is a shared sense of identity that cannot be undone without damage to one's sense of of self, [but] there should also be a sense of remaining two whole and healthy persons within the union" (126).

As with identity, so with destiny. While there is a merging of destinies, there also remains a dialectical tension with the destinies of each partner, as they are not completely absorbed into the mutual destiny. Enter imagination, which will (hopefully) "reveal a vision of one's own destiny as shaping, being shaped by, and unfolding in and with the destiny of one's spouse" (127).

This linking of destinies, while wonderful and necessary, can be harmonious, but also inevitably entails "being wounded by the other's wounds and being a hostage to the other's fortunes. There will be no we... without suffering and a certain dying to self" (131). The question becomes whether the suffering is destructive or redemptive.

To illustrate, she takes a fairly detailed look at William Stegner's novel Crossing to Safety, which looks at the intersecting lives of two married couples, the Langs and the Morgans. I don't have space to recount it all here, but suffice it to say that one marriage involves fiction-making in that the wife, who has a powerful personality, does not endorse the destiny of her husband and has created one for him that is not in keeping with who he is, making the creation of a healthy mutual destiny nearly impossible. There is love, yet the husband admits that it is bondage. But nonetheless "a slavery [he] couldn't bear to part with" (136). Despite the good in the marriage, I get the sense from her summary that both partners have somehow lost some of the best in themselves through the prolonged confrontation.

The other couple, the Morgans, suffer as the wife is crippled by polio, severely altering their lives. Here, though, the husband says (after being told by the other man that they are both chained by their marriages): "But what he doesn't understand is that my chains are not chains, that over the years Sally's crippling has been a rueful blessing. It has made her more than she was; it has let her give me more more than she would ever have been able to give healthy; it has taught me at least the alphabet of gratitude" (140). In this case the suffering has been redemptive. Both the individual and the shared destinies were shaped and altered, allowing each partner to move more fully into him/herself.

Again here it seems that we are faced with two key components for love: knowledge and humility. These things, coupled with creative insight into the the other's destiny, seem to mark all brands of love as described by Simon.

Living Biblically

2007-09-22T10:20:00.001+02:00

A.J. Jacobs has recently published a book called The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. Jacobs, an agnostic, carried around a list of all the Biblical rules and prohibitions to follow, and even kept some pebbles in his pocket for impromptu stonings.

In an interview with Newsweek, he talks a bit about the experience. I was fairly unsurprised by his conclusions: religion provides a structure that can serve as an antidote to the sheer volume of choice we are faced with, the Bible is okay as long as you pick and choose the 'good' parts, behavior influences thought, the Bible encourages gratitude, etc. I guess what I found more interesting is how completely he misses the point of living Biblically, even after so much reading and study (I presume). In my mind to live Biblically is to serve God and live under grace with the aid of the Spirit. Not to embrace an anachronistic legalism devoid of faith. It makes me kind of sad, actually, that he sought to understand Christianity by following the law, but didn't discover the fulfillment of the law in Christ and the freedom that entails.

The First Mitt is Complete!

2007-09-21T19:21:00.001+02:00

Today we took a little field trip to the Gianadda gallery in Martigny to see the Chagall exhibit, which was absolutely fantastic. The Fiddler on the left was apparently the inspiration for Fiddler on the Roof. Who knew?

After we toured the gallery and the sculpture garden, we walked across to the old Roman amphitheatre for lunch, where Vincent and Carla entertained us with sticks (see below), and then several of the girls did a little gymnastics expo.

While that was taking place in the arena, I chatted with some of the girls in the stands and finished up the first of my new pair of Endpaper Mitts. It's difficult to see the colorwork here (check out Eunny's site for a better view of the detail), but I'm very excited about them...

A Quick Update

2007-09-20T19:31:00.001+02:00

Sorry that my blogging has been so sporadic of late. This term has kept my days and my mind pretty full, and it's been difficult to keep up with everything. But it's been full of really wonderful things: a fabulous group of students, the discovery of a few new authors and ideas, and whenever I can spare a moment, knitting.

On the l'abri front, a few highlights so far... last Sunday I did my sock puppet theater high tea and this group proved exceedingly creative. I think my favorite was directed by Chris (who also blew us all away last summer), whose team did a spoof of Monty Python and the Holy Grail seeking the grail at l'abri. There was also a version of Romeo and Juliet, a scene from l'abri in which another Gregg did a Greg Laughery impersonation that was just frighteningly dead on, Kay and I following the students to El Gringos (to make sure that the blue (boys) and red (girls) didn't make purple, apparently), and some other ones that are currently escaping my memory. I wish I had more pics and video, but my camera ran out of juice just as we were getting started.

I also did a seminar on The Disciplined Heart, and I think I'll do another one soon. All of the other typical day fillers are going swimmingly - cooking, formal meals, tutorials, prayer meetings, and the rest. I'm really enjoying the girls I get to tutor, and I'm thrilled that they are all here the full term and so we're really getting a chance to know each other.

Days off have been fun, but fairly solitary so far. It's either been crummy weather so I've holed up with a book, or gorgeous weather so I've gone for some pretty amazing hikes. Last week I went to Vevey with Renea to do some shopping and just hang out by the lake, which was super fun. We went to Manor and I practiced my self-control by browsing the yarn section and not buying.

Speaking of yarn, I've also been finishing off lots of half completed items, including a couple of sweaters, a few pairs of socks, and some mitts. Of course, I've also cast on some new projects. A hoodie cardigan for Kay, some more mitts, and the ever-present pair of socks (handy for lectures).

That's a seriously abridged version of life right now, but it will have to do. I've been thinking a ton about spiritual disciplines, especially praying and fasting, and I'm hoping to get some thoughts up here about it soon. I'm going through a period in which my mind is almost too full, if such a thing is possible! It's making it difficult to write anything, as I'm tackling lots of things at the same time and I don't feel as though I've processed much of it to a shareable point. Hopefully soon!

The Disciplined Heart - Chapter 5

2007-09-11T12:30:00.001+02:00

When I think of love, my mind usually jumps first to romance, so I had to force myself not to skip ahead to this chapter on romantic and marital love. I'm going to split the discussion here into 2 parts (romantic and marital love), as trying to condense without totally losing the point is tricky and I want to try to do at least a little justice to Simon's thinking on the topics.

The first question is, of course, are romantic love and marital love two different things? In the context of destiny, Simon seems to say yes. Romantic love, when seen as a preamble to marriage (which it may or may not be) still involves two unique destinies, whereas in marriage the added dimension of shared destiny comes into play.

So what is romantic love? In Simon's view it involves seeing the other as embodying ideal manhood or womanhood. This idealization is complex, and could very easily lend itself to fiction making. Particularly if we buy into the standards set by popular culture, which are largely oppressive. I don't know that we can fully escape cultural ideals of masculinity and femininity, but this seems to be a point at which it would be crucial to seek awareness and dialogue with scriptural renderings of manhood and womanhood to find a better vision. Ideal manhood/womanhood is also highly person relative... thank goodness we're not all looking for the exact same thing!

A healthier sort of idealization, fueled by imaginative insight into the other's destiny, “attributes to the beloved positive features that the beloved in fact has and knows about, contributes to increased self-awareness by making the beloved aware of positive features that the beloved previously did not know he or she had, or motivates the beloved to acquire positive characteristics on order to grow into the lover’s view of him or her.” (116)

Again, love requires some degree of knowledge of the other person as they are. To avoid false idealization, we must be sufficiently aware of the capabilities and desires of the other person - their own view of their destiny. For example, my own concept of ideal manhood includes high intelligence and pursuit of knowledge. So if I meet a great guy who is super smart but hates the book learnin' (I'm not saying that intelligence is determined by reading, but I like the bookworm sort), the mismatch between ability and proclivity would force me to either reshape my ideal or take a pass on the relationship. Otherwise it's highly likely that I'll create a no-win situation, forcing the guy to either pretend to be something that he's not or live with the knowledge of being a disappointment in that area. Ditto if a guy were to include a superabundance of docility in his ideal of womanhood. There, the capability issue would come to the fore.

This brings us to another important point that Simon makes: In a healthy romantic relationship, both the ideal and the beloved undergo growth and change. The dynamic would hopefully work out so that as you grow to admire more things in the other, your ideal would be shaped by him/her, while at the same time your appreciation of those qualities would encourage him/her to move more fully into them. Of course, as my dad likes to say, we all have our outhouse ways, so the negative qualities definitely factor in. How isn't particularly addressed by Simon, which is a sad oversight as I can't imagine any love that doesn't deal with the realities of our weaknesses. That would be merely illusion.

So next week we'll look at marital love, and as a precursor to that I'll leave you with a quote from George Eliot's Middlemarch:

Whatever else remained the same, the light had changed, and you cannot find the pearly dawn at noonday. The fact is unalterable, that a fellow-mortal with whose nature you are acquainted solely through the brief entrances and exits of a few imaginative weeks called courtship, may, when seen in the continuity of married companionship, be disclosed as something better or worse than what you have preconceived, but will certainly not appear altogether the same.

Talk Like A Pirate Day

2007-09-07T10:58:00.001+02:00

Apparently, September 19th is Talk Like A Pirate Day. I know a few of you love the swashbucklers, and now Cafe Press has a whole line-up of pirate swag for you. My personal favorite is this shirt...

New iPods Unveiled

2007-09-06T20:08:00.001+02:00

Apple announced new versions of the iPod yesterday... including a 160GB model for $349 (!!), the Nano with video, and a model with a touch screen, as well as slashing the price of the iPhone by $200.

It's a sad truth that the second I read the news, my fully functional 80GB version looked a little less shiny. Sigh.

St. John's Bible

2007-09-01T08:15:00.001+02:00

St. John's has commissioned a project to complete a hand written and illustrated Bible - the first one made since the invention of the printing press. Now, after 9 years and about 4 million dollars, the project is almost complete, lacking only the final volume. And it's gorgeous!

Click here to see some images from Newsweek, and here for the image gallery on St. John's website.

Mother Teresa

2007-08-31T14:04:00.001+02:00

I am told God loves me — and yet the reality of darkness & coldness & emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul. --Mother Teresa

Time Magazine has an article about Mother Teresa and the new book of her letters to her spiritual confessors over the years, Come Be My Light. Many of her communications reveal a deeply felt absence of God, and her persistence in her faith and work in light of it is all the more astounding.

Most (all, I suspect) of us experience what Richard Foster calls a "Sahara of the Soul" at one point or another, although gratefully most of them seem to last for less than the 50+ years of Mother Teresa's. I find these letters so encouraging, as I continue to grapple with my own doubts and the inevitable times when I feel like I'm talking to the air. A similar sentiment was expressed by many in the article. Rev. James Martin says of the book, "It would be a ministry to people who had experienced some doubt, some absence of God in their lives. And you know who that is? Everybody. Atheists, doubters, seekers, believers, everyone." (See Also: Brian McLaren)

On the other side is Christopher Hitchens, an outspoken atheist, who reads the letters as additional evidence of the profound idiocy of faith: "She was no more exempt from the realization that religion is a human fabrication than any other person, and that her attempted cure was more and more professions of faith could only have deepened the pit that she had dug for herself." (See Also: Sam Harris) There is also the psychological analysis, that "she punished herself with a crippling failure to counterbalance her great successes."

The overwhelming lack of feeling of closeness with Christ in Mother Teresa's life suggests that perhaps we should re-examine what faith is. Most know that it's not just a feeling, but how do we live our lives when the feeling isn't there? And what constitutes sufficient feeling? Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, who put the book together, "thinks the book may act as an antidote to a cultural problem. 'The tendency in our spiritual life but also in our more general attitude toward love is that our feelings are all that is going on,' he says. 'And so to us the totality of love is what we feel. But to really love someone requires commitment, fidelity and vulnerability. Mother Teresa wasn't 'feeling' Christ's love, and she could have shut down. But she was up at 4:30 every morning for Jesus, and still writing to him, 'Your happiness is all I want.' That's a powerful example even if you are not talking in exclusively religious terms.'"

Personally, I'm grateful for the example and look forward to reading the book. As often as we talk about doubt, it is rare to have someone with such great spiritual maturity or in leadership be so open about their own struggles, except in a very general way. (See Also: Kamp Krusty) I should also mention, though, that Mother Teresa herself wanted these correspondences destroyed, but her wishes were overruled by the church. That decision is a whole other question, and while I'm grateful that they are being made available, I don't know what I think of it.

OMG! So Interesting!!

2007-08-30T22:59:00.001+02:00

Encouraged by a new style guide to use exclamation points liberally in e-mail correspondence, an article in Slate today points out their original use:

A relatively recent addition to the punctuation clan, it first appeared in print around 1400 and was known until 1700 as a "mark of admiration," though admiration in this case meant something like "wonderment" (of a religious variety). Some scholars believe it derives from the Latin Io (meaning joy). Io, the theory goes, might have been rendered with its second letter under the first, thus producing an exclamation mark.

and some of the sad effects of the medium itself:

For centuries, the act of writing mandated a tremendous exertion of labor, so that scribes committed to the page only texts of supreme import. (Imagine a team of tonsured monks toiling for decades on an illuminated manuscript that read, "WTF … c u l8r?") For centuries, that which was written had to deserve to be written. Today's technology, however, allows us to transmit doodles of thought (e.g. "Running 10 mins late") we never would have deemed worthy of print. It's not that we know we aren't writing well—and so tack on some exclamations!!!—it's that we know what we're saying doesn't deserve to be written at all.

Just For A Laugh...

2007-08-29T16:09:00.001+02:00

Check out The 10 Most Regrettable Celebrity Commercials

The Disciplined Heart - Chapter 4

2007-08-28T08:45:00.001+02:00

This chapter on friendship begins with the task of trying to get to some definition of 'friend' from which to start. After all, it is a term we tend to use loosely, referring to everyone from people we see at work to the folks who were part of our past to our current intimate friends. How do we narrow it down? Simon suggests a starting point, outlining some features that are (ideally) part of a significant friendship: "A sense of equality and mutuality, concern for each other's welfare, willingness to help when needed, shared interests and activities, shared values and principles, shared history and memories, open communication, and intimate connection." (89) "Intimate connection" is an interesting one for me, as I don't have the luxury of physical proximity to most of my dearest friends. There is a short article in Philosophy Now that offers a positive spin on how email/the internet allows friendship to grow and thrive in new ways. What do y'all think - how significant can a friendship be when you're only face to face once in a blue moon?

So then, how does friendship differ than neighbor love? Well, the use of imagination is markedly different, for starters. While in neighbor love we need not have " any clear idea of what his destiny is beyond the general Christian belief that it will somehow involve Christlikeness," (89) friendship requires knowledge of the other and an affirmation that their own vision of their destiny is substantially correct. In addition, it requires a commitment to help them achieve their vision, supporting them and encouraging them and in general becoming a source of strength for them. All of this implies that friends must not be "so completely fictions of their own making that they have not a clue of their own destinies." (96) They (and we) must be sufficiently self-aware. We all engage in some degree of fiction-making about ourselves, but "[t]o the extent we [do so], we are strangers to ourselves and others." (107) This is true in our relationship with God as well as with other people.

If we take an affirmation of destiny (used here as God's intention for our lives, our "true story") as one of the central ways of loving a friend, does this mean that Christians can only be friends with other Christians? Or that non-Christians in general can't have true friendships? To this charge, Simon says no: "Spiritual or moral growth need not be the focus of a genuine friendship, but growth in the good will be its result." (103) This good could be a love of art, a passion for science, or whatever. Even in Christian friendships, it "need not look like two-person religious support groups. The friends may spend more time talking about literature or sharing the silence of a trout stream's banks than engaging in 'God talk.'" (103) Spiritual improvement is not the aim of friendship, but rather it is to help them fulfill their conception of their destiny. I think the "their" there is important. Friends have the difficult task of speaking sometimes hard truths into the relationship and sharing insight, but ultimately "one wants the story that one's friend lives out to be his own." (105)

So how do you respond when a friend's story begins to diverge from your own? Or when when you simply don't agree with a person's conception of their destiny? I'd be curious to hear thoughts about how to deal with these things... how to discern when to speak and when to maintain silence.

It seems evident, even from this very superficial overview (me, not the book), that, as Aristotle claimed, "a wish for friendship may arise quickly, but friendship does not." (93) To have understanding and acceptance of the other person requires that you know them fairly well, and establishing trust and intimacy requires time - for some of us, a lot of time!

To end, a quote from The Great Gatsby, which is the novel she uses to illustrate friendship, in which Nick describes Gatsby:

He smiled understandingly - much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced - or seemed to face - the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. (91)

The Perils of Writing

2007-08-25T10:48:00.001+02:00

I won't claim to know much about the Jose Padilla trial that prompted this essay, but Garrison Keillor has written a wonderful and humorous piece on the dangers of writing for unknown readers and the hazards of being (mis)interpreted....

We are invisibly linked through words I have written, and yet the meaning of those words, as determined by a jury of twelve men and women good and true, could be far, far from what I intended, and as I sit there at the defense table in the Miami courtroom, smelling the musky cologne of your idiot attorney, looking past him at you, you wretched cretin, as the linguistics expert for the state, a tall bunheaded woman with a Ph.D. in literary deconstruction, testifies that the subtext of my column in question was a command that you plant an explosive device in the heel of your cowboy boot and try to run through airport security hollering "I'm a-comin', Mama!" I am going to think back on my life and wish I had become a gardener. Nobody was ever indicted for watering plants.

Free Theological Classes

2007-08-24T12:33:00.001+02:00

Reclaiming the Mind is starting new theology courses on September 9th (HT: Evangelical Outpost) that are free for the self-led online version, if anyone is interested...

The Theology Program is a program of Christian theology (study of God) and apologetics (defending the faith) created with all believers in mind. TTP seeks to give people who may never have the time, ability, or circumstances that allow them to attend full-time seminary the same opportunity to study the great and rich Christian heritage of truth. Here, you will learn theology historically, biblically, and irenically (in a peaceful manner). The contents of TTP are created from a broadly evangelical perspective, engaging other traditions in a persuasive yet gracious manner. In short, we seek to help people think theologically by understanding what they believe and why they believe it.

Having never taken a course from them, I don't know what they're like, but I thought I'd pass along the link.

The Joy of Reading

2007-08-23T17:38:00.001+02:00

I just finished reading Neil Postman's book Amusing Ourselves to Death, which talks about some of the problems inherent in an image based culture (as opposed to a print based one). It was alarming to have laid out so clearly the ways in which our TV saturated society has reframed our entire epistemology over the last hundred years or so! Hopefully I'll post more on the book, but for now I just wanted to direct you to Tim Challies' recent post on the pleasures of reading, which was a great affirmation of the value of books after spending some time with a more negative critique of things.

The Disciplined Heart - Chapter 3

2007-08-21T12:13:00.001+02:00

In this chapter, Simon discusses neighbor love. This, of course, begs the question of "who is our neighbor?", which Jesus answered in the parable of the good Samaritan and which I will summarize here as "Everyone."

Neighbor love, like self-love, involves imagination, a creative vision into the destiny of the other. (Remembering that destiny, as defined by Simon, is that which God intends for our lives; our "true story.") We are called to do this even when there is little overt evidence that the destiny is even in progress, and we can find no easily identifiable value in the other person. But "because Christians refuse to see people from a merely human point of view (2 Cor 5:1-17), we take this exercise in imagination to be more than fiction-making." (74) Such fiction-making would result in a superficial sentimentality, which "assumes that thinking nice thoughts will solve all problems, that pretending that things are less grim than they are will somehow magically make them better." (74) It requires a much deeper transformation in our thinking, a willingness to see that appears to be pure foolishness much of the time.

There is a crucial distinction she is making here that I think is important to point out, especially because it is a trap I find myself falling into: We are not loving others in spite of what we see, thereby affirming the unworthiness of the object on at least some level, but instead we are perceiving the actual value of the other person. (There is a whole discussion she goes into on the popular Christian dichotomy between agape and eros, and proposes something of a synthesis between them (caritas), akin to that which Augustine and Calvin talked about. An interesting read, but I won't get into it here.)

The relationship between love and humility comes to the fore again as we look at the flip side: our willingness to receive love. Most of us have experienced how hard it is to accept love that we don't feel we deserve. As C.S. Lewis says in The Four Loves, "how difficult it is to receive, and to go on receiving, from others a love that does not depend on our own attraction!" Plus, many of us are sometimes overwhelmed a by a sense of guilt and shame. There is a certain pride in hanging onto that. For me, accepting the grace and forgiveness of God was one of the hardest things I've ever done (and continue to do). To accept the loss of myself as my own savior was tough, but ultimately freeing. And if it's that difficult to accept from God, how much more so from other fallen people! But it seems here that a similar 'giving up' is required for us to participate in a Christian vision of neighbor love. It would be a very condescending version of 'love' to give to all and accept from only a few. It requires much more imagination to, for example, participate in the good act of volunteering at a soup kitchen and see the street people there as having something important to offer you by their love, and not just you coming in to offer something to them.

To love people is to respect them... I'll finish with this definition of respect from a footnote that quotes Paul Wadell summarizing Enda McDonagh on page 74 (how's that for a convoluted reference?)

To respect another person is to take whatever time is necessary to see their goodness. Respect literally means to ‘look again,’ to ‘take a second look.' It means we cannot settle for first impressions, or casually dismiss people from our lives. To have respect for someone is to look far enough into the person to see their goodness, even if that goodness is more a promise than a fact. We respect them when we call them to this goodness and commit ourselves to eliciting it.

I Know I Shouldn't Laugh...

2007-08-19T14:59:00.001+02:00

...but there is a story in the IHT today about an Australian woman killed by her pet camel when it attempted to mate with her.

In other, less cringe-inducing news, it appears that J.K. Rowling is at work on a new crime novel. I can't wait to see what she does!

The Key Demographic in 2008

2007-08-18T12:01:00.001+02:00

In The Know: Candidates Compete For Vital Idgit Vote

I ♥ The Onion

The Disciplined Heart - Chapter 2

2007-08-14T14:28:00.001+02:00

This chapter, " Love and Self-Knowledge", deals in large part with the danger of self-deception. She uses two stories - "The Lame Shall Enter First" by Flannery O'Connor and "Father Sergius" by Leo Tolstoy - to illustrate the depth and power of a person to deceive themself about who they are, and how this filters outward and colors the way in which other people and the world are interpreted. It is a destructive fiction-making that prohibits love. For example, in the O'Connor story the main character, Sheppard, believes himself to be a good father who provides everything his son, Norton, could need or want after his mother passed away. So when he witnesses Norton counting his coins, he interprets this hoarding behavior as selfishness, rather than "pathetic attempts of a grieving child to build some fragile security." (44) His desire to perceive himself in one way causes him to think and act in ways that generate the exact opposite perception of him by other people.

How often do we all do this? I know I certainly have some deeply held beliefs about myself that lead me to some less than generous conclusions about other people's behavior!

So how do we get to this point? Self-deception seems terribly incoherent, as we would be "both believing and not believing the same proposition at the same time." (45) Simon points to the philosopher Alfred Mele, who says that self-deception occurs when the desire for a false belief to be true causes one to look only at/for evidence that confirms the truth of the belief, or to interpret evidence only in such a way as to support the belief. It's all very subtle, really. And so convoluted and deeply entrenched in our minds that it is quite difficult to know when we're doing it!

Given the immensity of the task of knowing ourselves and the sometimes overwhelming reality of self-deception, what can we do? Well, for one thing, we must engage in the task of reflection. Self-knowledge, she claims, is intimately connected with progress in virtue. (Virtue being defined here "character traits that enhance one's ability to live out one's destiny." (41) ) To become more virtuous is to face our vices - the evil in us - and "[t]he more we reflect, the more we shall transform ourselves from being the instruments of [evil] to being [its] controllers." (58)

But reflection on its own can be a dangerous thing; our vices can influence our introspection. For example, "[m]alicious people who engage in reflection are likely to become adept at insight into other people's weaknesses, especially those whom they dislike, but may be unable to see this as itself an instance of their own maliciousness." (58) Reflection alone could in this way increase our self-deception rather than draw us closer to truth.

At this point in the chapter, I felt a wee bit despairing... how in the world can we ever cut to the truth of it all if all of our tools are dull and dangerous? Happily, there is more. Here we begin to clearly see some of the connections between love and humility: as we allow ourselves to become vulnerable enough to hear critique from our community, and also start taking steps of both personal and communal confession, that dynamic relational interplay hones us. It starts becoming easier to see where our thinking diverges from reality, and community support can be a major factor as we begin the hard work of change.

We also can't underestimate the value of the traumatic moments when we fail in a spectacular fashion. Those times disallow us the luxury of pretense, as we are faced with an obvious display of our weakness and sin. Augustine actually believed that overt sin is less spiritually dangerous than pride hidden beneath a veneer of good behavior. That makes sense to me.

I feel as though I've skipped through this chapter so quickly, I hope I pulled out at least some of the main points. I'd be really curious to hear anyone's thoughts about self-knowledge and how well we can actually know ourselves, particularly any thoughts on the good/bad points of introspection.

I'll finish it up with one last quote from the chapter:

In order to know who we are, we do not need to strive for unemotional objectivity, but rather to cultivate the correctives to pride: the faith that allows us to face the truth about ourselves because the depth of our brokenness finds its answer in grace; the hope that, though we often wander from the path, grace will make straight what we have bent; and the love, compassion, and gratitude that follow from seeing our own and others' stories as part of God's story. (65)

Proving What We All Knew In High School

2007-08-13T08:49:00.001+02:00

Conventional wisdom says that men not only think about sex more than women, but are also having a great deal more sex. Surveys have proven this: in the US a recent study proved that men had a median of 7 female partners while women had slept with a mere 4 guys. The only problem with the data? Apparently, it's not mathematically possible. So where does the discrepancy come in? One explanation:

"Some might be imaginary," Graham said. "Maybe two are in the man's mind and one really exists."

New PostSecret Video

2007-08-13T08:35:00.001+02:00

I love checking out the PostSecret site on Mondays to see the new postcards they put up. (PostSecret is an ongoing art project in which people mail in artistic cards revealing a secret). This morning they have put up a video in lieu of the typical 20 secrets. If you have a moment, check it out...

Is This Love?

2007-08-13T08:26:00.001+02:00

Texas Megachurch Cancels Memorial for Gay Navy Vet

(HT: Brant)

******

ETA: My mom just checked the blog and followed the link back to Brant, who has posted the link to the response of High Point Church. So much for 'fair and balanced' reporting. Tough call, that one.

The Great Escape

2007-08-10T17:17:00.001+02:00

The Disciplined Heart - Chapter 1

2007-08-08T13:02:00.001+02:00

After a couple of delays, I think I'm finally ready to get going on The Disciplined Heart: Love Destiny, & Imagination by Caroline Simon. The chapters are fairly lengthy, so I'm going to leave lots out in the interest of space, but if anyone is reading along and thinks I've skipped something crucial, let me know.

This first chapter is called "Love and Love's Counterfeits", and serves primarily as an introduction to the framework she will be using for dealing with the various forms of love throughout the rest of the book.

Of primary importance is the concept of destiny, which in her usage will refer not to fate, but to one's "true story". Destiny is "what God intends, but does not compel, me to be." (19) A couple of conditions apply to a Christian account of destiny. Our destinies only include things that are valuable and significant. Part of the value lies in the morality, so my destiny would preclude anything counter to God's moral will. Significance is fairly easy to understand... many choices I make are largely irrelevant to my destiny, such as a haircut, etc.

Open-endedness is a key factor of destiny as well. By this she means that there are not specific individual blueprints for our lives, but that there are any number of possibilities that would be in keeping with God's intentions for us. "Destinies can be failed or refused, but God confers on humans the dignity of being creators of their own destinies within the limits set by God's intentions." (20) So there isn't a single path that constitutes our destiny. This is hugely freeing - how often do we face choices (job, marriage, move, etc.) and get terrified that we'll make the wrong decision and permanently remove ourselves from God's plan for our lives? Talk about pressure! A pastor I once heard, I can't remember who, made the point emphatically that "with God, there is no plan B." Our choices matter, but I don't know that we have the power to do anything that will completely thwart God. Honestly, given my own checkered past, I take great comfort that God can use pretty much anything for good. Doesn't mean I couldn't have made better choices - I really wish I had - but it doesn't doom me to a second rate life. But you get the point.

So what does destiny have to do with love? Simon says (heh) that love is a form of grace that allows us to have insight into another person's destiny. And then it goes further. Not only does it allow us to perceive people in light of their destiny, but also to "act toward them in certain ways and experience certain feelings" (30) about them. This is important. To counter the prevalent romantic notions of love, Christians (and others) have become quite adamant that love is not an emotion, but an action or a commitment. Here she counters that, saying that while love cannot be reduced to an emotion, it certainly includes emotion. It is much deeper than a romantic feeling, however. It is the care and compassion that motivates our actions towards another. I definitely have a romantic streak, but am also quite practical in matters of the heart, and find it appealing to think in terms of 'deciding' and 'choosing' to love. So it was very helpful to think of the emotional side in a more nuanced way than the twitterpated feelings of love (infatuation?) that so often characterize our understanding.

Finally, a key element in her understanding of love is imagination. Imagination is the thing that allows us to have insight into the destiny of someone. This is contrasted with what she calls fiction-making, which is an illusion produced, often selfishly, by wishful thinking. Imagination is based firmly in the reality (the good, the bad, and the ugly) of the other but seeks to see beyond it and place them in the true narrative of God's purposes. It is defined by hope anchored in God, allowing us to see folks as God wants them to be, and then committing ourselves to being a part of their redemptive journey.

So that's a brief intro into her concepts of love, destiny and imagination. I'm looking forward to the rest of the book, especially as she will be taking a narrative approach and drawing a lot on novels and literature. As a bookworm, this pleases me.

My Meandering Mind

2007-08-07T20:28:00.001+02:00

I returned home today from Lausanne with the best intentions in the world to finish writing up the first chapter of The Disciplined Heart to post here. But then I read Bill Kinnon's post titled On Women As Introverts, which links to Calicirian's blog where she writes about some of the difficulties of being an introverted Christian woman. She in turn linked to a fantastic and funny article called Caring For Your Introvert. I continued to follow the rabbit trail back to Bill's blog and his link to a hysterical take on the Myers-Briggs personality types.

Of course, this got me wondering what my very own box might look like, so I did a quick search and took a quiz, discovering that I am an INFJ, aka a conspiracy theorist. My mom, to the surprise of absolutely no one who knows her, appears to be an ISFJ, aka The Martyr.

So after that fun little foray, needless to say I shall not be posting chapter 1 tonight, but will do it tomorrow. If anyone else decides to jump in the rabbit hole, let me know what you find out...

The Downside of Diversity?

2007-08-06T16:49:00.001+02:00

From the International Herald Tribune:

It has become increasingly popular to speak of racial and ethnic diversity as a civic strength. From multicultural festivals to pronouncements from political leaders, the message is the same: our differences make us stronger.

But a massive new study, based on detailed interviews of nearly 30,000 people across America, has concluded just the opposite. Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam -- famous for "Bowling Alone," his 2000 book on declining civic engagement -- has found that the greater the diversity in a community, the fewer people vote and the less they volunteer, the less they give to charity and work on community projects. In the most diverse communities, neighbors trust one another about half as much as they do in the most homogenous settings. The study, the largest ever on civic engagement in America, found that virtually all measures of civic health are lower in more diverse settings.

Huh. There's a ton of info in the article and my brain is a little too mashed at the moment to think clearly about it, but my initial response is to really respect Putnam, who has courageously published results that he knows, as a civic leader, will probably be used against the ideals he strives for by certain conservative groups. I'm also impressed that in addition to just publishing the data, he included some prescriptions to help smooth over some of these difficulties, and offers some hope that while these things may be true in the short term, over the long term "increasing diversity in America is not only inevitable, but ultimately valuable and enriching."

Asexual Embryos?

2007-08-04T16:33:00.001+02:00

I don't know if I find this more or less frightening, but it seems as though the Korean scientist who published fraudulent data from his stem cell experiments may have accidentally stumbled upon a major breakthrough in the field. He "inadvertently created cells that were derived by "parthenogenesis", a method by which unfertilised eggs start to divide to form embryos asexually."

The question is, does this make it ethically neutral? If the embryo is chemically "tricked" into development, what does that mean exactly? I don't know. I haven't got the scientific background to understand it all, and even if I did I don't know how one would go about navigating this ethical quagmire.

Swiss National Day

2007-08-03T19:54:00.001+02:00

A few photos from the August 1st parade in Villars...

White Like Me

2007-08-02T13:34:00.001+02:00

Have you ever thought much about white privilege? For most of my life, I haven't. I've never been forced to really think about race in America, which is actually just as good an example that white privilege exists as any other. I'm fairly certain that most ethnic minorities are unable to postpone or avoid confrontations with the realities of racialization that surround them.

I just finished reading White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son by Tim Wise, in which he does a terrific job of narrating the story of white privilege in the U.S., using personal anecdotes as well as expounding on public policy and events to illustrate truths that are difficult for us, as white folk, to accept. His voice is not one of condemnation, however, but one of hope. For justice for all (and even if we don't see or never achieve such justice, "there is redemption in struggle"), which includes white people... racism, he claims, not only harms the oppressed, but damages the oppressor.

Racism, even if it is not your own, changes you, allows you to think things and feel things that make you less than you were meant to be. It steals that part of your humanity that is the most precious because it is that part that allows us to see the image of God, the goodness of creation, in all humankind. And our unwillingness to see that, and more than to see it, to really feel it, deep in the marrow of our bones, is what allows us, and even sometimes compels us, to slaughter one another, often in the name of the same God whose image we wouldn't recognize if our lives depended on it. Which, come to think of it, they probably do. (p. 126)

This echoes Wendell Berry, who says: "If the white man has inflicted the wound of racism upon black men, the cost has been that he would receive the mirror image of that wound into himself... The wound is in me, as complex and deep in my flesh as blood and nerves." (The Hidden Wound, p. 4)

This is not to in any way, shape or form imply that white people somehow suffer more from racism, or that we should be selfishly motivated in our pursuit of justice. It is simply to say that as we continue to reap the benefits of a racialized society, it would behoove us to get outside of the paternalistic, "we'll help you", mindset that seems to be deeply ingrained in us and move toward a more holistic approach centered on the truth that sin hurts everyone it touches.

With Bells On...

2007-08-01T22:48:00.001+02:00

To be somewhere with "bells on" refers to a practice peddlers had when they roamed the area west of the Appalachians selling wares. To avoid Indians, they traveled as silently as possible until they reached a settled area. Then they unmuffled bells hung around their horses necks to announce their arrival to outlying cabins. Hence, "I'll be there with bells on." The peddlers' arrival was a much anticipated major event in the mostly tedious and hard lives of settlers, not only for the goods they sold, but also for the news, letters, and messages they carried from the outside world. (--From What's the Meaning of This?)

A Little Delay

2007-07-31T13:52:00.001+02:00

I was planning to do the first chapter of The Disciplined Heart today, but as my mom has arrived this morning, I'm going to put it off for a week. So next Tuesday, I'll be here with bells on. (Does anyone even know what that phrase means?)

What A Surreal Afternoon...

2007-07-30T23:00:00.001+02:00

This afternoon I was sitting in the office, working on some projects I've been putting off when the phone rang, effectively shattering the normality of the rest of my day. The voice on the other end of the line announced himself as the director of security for Benny Hinn, who would like to come by this afternoon and see l'abri. This didn't really ring any immediate bells, except for reminding me of some jokes I've forgotten the punch line to, so I told him that we didn't have any students but he would be welcome to come by and see the grounds, etc. I hung up and went back to digitizing tapes, only moments later realizing that wait, I do know who Benny Hinn is. Seconds later the phone rang again, informing me that he would like to come and they were leaving Geneva right then. I said come on, and then ran to the living room to inform Julian and Katie that we were gonna have us a bonafide TBN superstar in our midst shortly. We immediately headed back to the office to do a little quick research on the man before he arrived, and then we waited. And waited. And laughed. And waited.

They were lost. Very lost. It took them three hours and countless phone calls to navigate the trail from Geneva to Huemoz, but it was all worth it when they arrived and we saw 5 bodyguards, 6 assistants, and a couple of other 'somethings' spill out of the bus and car, led by Benny himself, dressed in fitted black pants, a snazzy button up, purple leather jacket and diamond studded sunglasses. Seriously. There were diamonds on his sunglasses. Julian will back me up.

After giving them a tour and a brief history of l'abri, we headed to Prisca's, who had graciously offered to meet and greet for a bit. They were just thrilled to meet someone directly related to Francis Schaeffer, who they seemed to idolize despite knowing very little about him and having not read any of his books. But he was famous, so does it really matter what for?

Watching Prisca and Benny was incredible. It was like the death match between Image and Substance. I'd say substance won, hands down. A few favorite moments? Him: Can you believe some of these young kids have never of Francis Schaeffer? Her: Well, I've never heard of you. Him: Maybe I can bring some cameras and film something down in the chapel. Her: NO! That would ruin everything. These kids are trying to escape things like you put on. Him: I am so honored to have met you, what a privilege, etc. Her: It was nice to meet you too, but I'm just me, you know.

After we left her place, I took them down to the chapel, where they oohed and aahed over all the books and listened to a bit of a tape of Schaeffer's, just so they could hear his voice. Some of that stuff just weirds me out, I must say. Afterwards, we headed back up the hill, but Benny got winded so he had the bodyguards stop traffic so the bus could pick him up where he stood. Before he left, he offered a thank you and had his security guy dig a couple more hundreds out of his bag as a tip. We felt a little like it was dirty money, but I have to admit, we took the gift.

You know, despite the fact that I have more problems with his ministry than I can even begin to describe here, he seemed like a nice enough man, and his staff all seemed devoted. Julian, Katie, Julie and I headed immediately up to Villars for dinner and debriefing. I'm not even coming close to doing the experience justice here, it was two worlds colliding in a pretty major way.

If you don't know who Benny Hinn is, here is a quick video that seems to catch the essence of his ministry...

A Letter About Palestine

2007-07-29T14:38:00.001+02:00

34 American evangelical leaders have signed a letter to President Bush supporting the creation of a Palestinian state that would include a majority of the West Bank, saying that "being a friend to Jews and to Israel 'does not mean withholding criticism when it is warranted.' The letter adds, 'Both Israelis and Palestinians have committed violence and injustice against each other.'"

This is in opposition to the louder, more organized voices of some in the conservative camp who hold that, as John Hagee says,

"God gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob a covenant in the Book of Genesis for the land of Israel that is eternal and unbreakable, and that covenant is still intact," he said. "The Palestinian people have never owned the land of Israel, never existed as an autonomous society. There is no Palestinian language. There is no Palestinian currency. And to say that Palestinians have a right to that land historically is an historical fraud."

Reading something like this gives me such a mixture of hope and dismay. Dismay that justice and compassion seem to get left behind so often in the rhetoric of the religious right who swamp the media with sound bites, making the label of 'Christian' sometimes embarrassing to wear. Hope because I'm starting to see more headlines with evangelicals taking a stand and making moves towards political and social justice in the world.

With any luck the message of this letter will be heard, as they hope, not just by American politicians and people, but by the Muslim world as it is translated into Arabic and distributed throughout the Middle East and Europe.

Ethics and Embryos

2007-07-28T14:55:00.001+02:00

There's a really interesting series of 5 articles this week on Slate about embryonic research titled, somewhat alarmingly, "The Case for Harvesting Older Human Embryos."

I won't pretend to understand the science behind it all, but here are some of the main points that I gathered:

To get transplantable tissue from an embryo that your body won't reject, you need a clone from your own cell line. Current ethics in the field prohibit preservation of cloned embryos after 14 days, at which point the cells begin to differentiate and are no longer useful for embryonic stem cell research. (His explanation of the reasons behind the 14 day rule are laid out in part 3) The author argues that:

But if the goal is tissue, clones aren't less useful after 14 days. They're more useful, precisely because they're differentiating into the cell types that patients need. Why stop research at 14 days? Once you say we can do this much of it, what's the difference?

One problem that researchers have run into, however, is that differentiation that occurs in vitro don't seem to take to transplanting, while tissues from embryos 'in vivo' (maturing in a living organism) did. Some researchers have found a way to inject human bone marrow stem cells into an immuno-compromised rat embryo and allow the cells to differentiate there (into, for example, kidney cells by injecting into the embryonic kidney) for transplantation, creating something of an "in vitro organ factory."

Next the author goes on to lay out reasons why the 14 day rule should be extended to 8 weeks (I debated whether or not to put in a photo, and opted for a drawing. I have serious issues with some of the harmful and non-helpful ways in which graphics are used by certain groups, but ultimately decided it was appropriate here), based on the arbitrary nature of the original rule, sensitivity to pain, neural development, the shift from 'embryo' to 'fetus' status, etc., but really, above all, it's about utility. This allows us to "avoid the moral perils of 'fetus farming'", and still get the scientific progress we crave. The remaining question? What do we do about that pesky but seemingly necessary implantation thing?

Enter Dr. Helen Liu, who has engineered endometrial (womb) tissue that an embryo can nest in while in the petri dish. "You could argue that implantation in a dish is still implantation. But it shatters our moral understanding of the word." So, in the name of health and science, we should grow (like the verbage as we avoid fetus farming? Growing, harvesting...) human fetuses in an artificial womb for up to 8 weeks, kill the (dare I say it) child, and then transplant the tissue in our quest for bliss and immortality. Already there are skin creams on the market that use aborted fetal cells to help us restore our youthful appearance, so we could probably sell the leftover 'parts' for other purposes like that. Good for us, good for the economy, waste not want not.... Yikes!

Don't be scared. We don't have to grow a whole new you... an embryo cloned from one of your cells would need just six or seven weeks to grow many of the tissues you need. We already condone harvesting of cells from cloned human embryos for the first two weeks. Why stop there?

Well, frankly, I am scared.

Thinking About Prayer

2007-07-27T16:35:00.001+02:00

I've been doing some reading and listening of late on relationships, intimacy, commitment and such things, and have also been thinking about prayer, and the way that I pray for people in the different relationships I have.

One of the things I've noticed is that when the potential for romantic relationship enters the horizon, it is really easy to stop praying for that person, and start praying for 'us'. I've come to the conclusion that there is something seriously wrong with that. How can I ever truly love someone if even my prayer life around that person is (at least somewhat) selfish? If my prayer is for my needs to be met more than the other persons well being? I'm not saying that I believe that it is inappropriate to pray for an 'us', but I wonder how often what is being prayed for is the end that I want, rather than truly for wisdom and guidance from the Lord in both my life and the lives of others.

Uncertainty is scary, and as I think back even to recent history with good friends, when the terrain got rough and the relationship got hard, it was easy to want God to miraculously restore the friendship, good as new. To stop praying for them and the hardships in their life, and to start praying for them as they related to me. After all, I missed them and wanted them back!

So as I look at this trend of praying in the face of anxiety and ambiguity in my relationships, I am becoming increasingly aware of what it really means to love someone selflessly. Maybe the way I pray for someone is one gauge - do I want blessing in their life or my own? Again, I'm not saying that the two don't ever intersect, but perhaps it's worth pausing for a moment and asking who I am really praying for.

More Harry Potter News

2007-07-26T17:41:00.001+02:00

MSNBC has posted some tidbits from an interview with JK Rowling that answers a few more of the questions for all us Harry Potter fans who wanted more from the epilogue...

On Bearing Fruit

2007-07-25T20:01:00.001+02:00

I've started reading Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire by Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat, and am thoroughly enjoying it thus far. They draw some really interesting (and frightening) parallels between the Roman empire into which Paul was speaking and the current empire of the West (led by the US).

One of the things I found particularly interesting in the first few chapters was a discussion on the references to bearing fruit in Colossians 1:1-10. First, they bring out the riches of the reference in light of Israel's history:

When Paul says that the gospel is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world and that knowledge of God in Christ results in a life worthy of the Lord, bearing fruit in all kinds of good works, his language echoes the stories of Jesus, the prophets' promises of restored fruitfulness, the Torah's connection of fruitfulness to justice and obedience, and the very foundational calling for humanity to bear fruit and multiply... When he uses a metaphor as seemingly common as 'bearing fruit', the whole scriptural tradition of Israel is informing its meaning. (p. 75)

It is also fascinating to discover the counter-cultural meaning inherent in the metaphor:

The Colossian community was surrounded by a claim of fruitfulness and fertility, a claim rooted in the oppressive military might of the empire, in the controlling social structures of the empire, and in evocative images of lush fertility found on the buildings, statues and household items that shaped their visual imagination. It was a claim that incessantly called everyone to acknowledge that Rome was the source of fruitful abundance. (p, 72)

So into this cultural climate a gospel (the word for gospel, euangelion, "is the very same term that the empire reserved for announcements of military success and pronouncements from the emperor" (75) and so already carried a political overtone) was being proclaimed that directly countered the empire. Who do we believe is the source of our fruitfulness? Christ or Caesar?

And what kind of fruitfulness are we talking about? Paul tells the Colossians that the gospel of Jesus bears a fruit in their lives that is fundamentally different from the fruit of the empire. The fruit of this gospel is rooted not in military might and economic oppression but in the practice of justices and sacrificial faithfulness. This is a gospel that bears fruit in 'every good work' of forgiving generosity and therefore undermines the hoarding abundance of the empire. (p. 75)

It's A Pity Party & You're All Invited!

2007-07-25T09:11:00.001+02:00

I'm beginning day 5 of absolute solitude in Bellevue, and the loneliness birds are starting to gather at my window. I wave my hands to shoo them away in frantic bursts of activity, but they seem to keep regrouping. Bummer.

Starting the break, I was so excited for this time to plow through the many books on my To Read list, but as it now stands I keep turning the pages, not able to concentrate and gleaning virtually nothing from the seemingly disconnected words before me. Any tips on reigning my focus in?

Oh, and in an unrelated note, I woke up with an earache and am almost positive that something has burrowed in and laid a nest after falling asleep in a field the other day. Or, maybe I fell asleep with my earbuds in. I'm really hoping it's the latter...

Are You A Revolutionary?

2007-07-24T17:31:00.001+02:00

I stumbled across a great website the other day called The Other Journal. There are lots of terrific articles - including one on the mythology of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which as most of you know thrills me - and I just read one by Curtiss Paul deYoung titled "Are You A Revolutionary?".

He looks primarily at three faith-inspired revolutionaries, Malcolm X, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and talks about the lost notion of revolution in the 21st century. What really jumped out at me was one sentence though, that turns the whole 'ends justifies the means' thing on its head. He says:

Those who call for a revolution of the spirit know that the end will reflect the means.

It made me think of so many things, including (of course) social justice and all of the issues that he's raising directly in the article, but also the state of things in the church itself. We spend a lot of time here at l'abri discussing the many critiques of the church that students - and workers - bring. I think the critiques are valid, but it also seems so easy to fall into an utter disdain for the institution and withdraw into cynical arrogance. We know we need to treat our brothers and sisters with love, but I know that for myself it is easy to 'love' condescendingly, with a wink and a nod towards the more 'enlightened' members of the family.

So I wonder, what would it take for us to revolutionize the church? And for the church to step up to the task at hand and revolutionize society? I'm pretty sure there's a book about that somewhere...

Reality TV Strikes Again

2007-07-23T08:12:00.001+02:00

You're never going to believe what's coming to TV sets everywhere on July 29th. Remember The Lost Boys? License to Drive? Dream A Little Dream? Bad teeny bopper posters on your bedroom wall?

That's right, the two Coreys (Haim and Feldman) will be reuniting for our viewing pleasure on the appropriately named The Two Coreys as they seek to make their big comebacks in the entertainment world.

What wacky hijincks will ensue as "sloppy, impulsive, and unpredictable" Haim moves into chez Feldman? How will Susie, the love of Feldman's life, react to this new houseguest? Oh, the hilarity! Oh, the laughter!

In the interest of full disclosure, I will probably watch *an* episode. Corey Haim was my McDreamy before I got introduced to Robert Smith and changed all my posters.

Chastity for Dummies

2007-07-21T15:45:00.001+02:00

I just listened to a really great discussion with Lauren Winner, author of Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity, that was hosted by the City Church of San Francisco. She talked a bit about some of the lies the church tells us about sex, for example that if you engage in sinful sexual behavior, you'll wake up feeling terrible and guilty. Nope, not so, says she. Also, she addresses the myth that men are highly sexual and emotionally thin, whereas women lack a forceful sex drive. Again, not so. I felt like she took a very realistic, scriptural approach to the topic, and while the focus of the talk was on the issue of sex, she tried to keep it in a less primary place in the grand scheme of things, talking in broader strokes about the nature of sin, etc.

Definitely worth a listen...

Harry Potter Is On The Shelves!

2007-07-21T09:26:00.001+02:00

Granted, I won't get to read it until next week, but still... it's pretty exciting.

Read a review from the IHT. It sounds fabulous. I wonder who all will die?? (And if you already know, don't tell me. I'm resolutely spoiler-free)

Sad But True

2007-07-20T14:45:00.001+02:00

I've just started reading Eugene Peterson's book, Living the Resurrection. He paraphrases Pope John Paul II when he addressed leaders of Third World countries:

Don't look at the Western nations for models in your development. They know how to make things, but they don't know how to live with them. They have acquired a mind-boggling technology, but they've forgotten how to raise their children. (p. 11)

Enjoying the Silence

2007-07-19T18:43:00.001+02:00

The term ended on Monday, and this morning I dropped V off at the airport, leaving only Thomas and Katie to say goodbye to tomorrow. Bellevue is very quiet. I'm loving it.

We had a great final high tea on Sunday... the students this term were unbelievably talented. Andy on the piano, Laurence on the cello, Peter on the native flute... and my personal favorite was Rachel performing a song she wrote. She has an unbelievable voice, and with her guitar and Andy's mandolin behind it, it was pretty spectacular. I'd put up pictures and video except for the unfortunate incident involving my camera and a water bottle in my purse. C'est depressing.

But break has officially begun, and I'm looking forward to so many things. One of which is starting the next book here, if anyone is interested in going through it with me. I'll be doing much the same thing - commenting on a chapter at a time and then hopefully sparking some dialogue. I think I'd like to do The Disciplined Heart: Love, Destiny and Imagination by Caroline Simon. Here's the book description from Amazon:

Often what passes for love is a product of self-deception and wishful thinking. Genuine love, according to philosopher Caroline J. Simon, must be based on knowledge of reality, and Christianity affirms that reality includes not just who people are but the unfolding story of who God intends them to be. Taking the use of narrative seriously, The Disciplined Heart draws on works of literature to display a Christian understanding of love in its various forms: love of self, love of neighbor, friendship, romantic love, and marital love. Using instances of love and its counterfeits in novels and short stories by such authors as Flannery O'Connor, Leo Tolstoy, George Eliot, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Simon constructs an account of love's joys and obligations that both charms and instructs. Learned, astute, and elegantly written, The Disciplined Heart is a groundbreaking work at the intersection of theology, philosophy, and literary analysis.

I'll be posting the first chapter (there are only 6, I believe) on Tuesday the 31st, so if you want to grab a copy of the book, please do. But even if y'all don't want to read it, there will hopefully be plenty to discuss....

Back to the Blog

2007-07-14T12:22:00.001+02:00

Just wanted to do a short post and let everyone know that I haven't completely abandoned the blogosphere. Things around here have been intense, and I haven't had much spare time on my hands, but daily updates should be restarting over the break.

Thursday Gregg and I headed to Montreux for the Jazz Festival and walked the shore for a while, but quickly discovered that it was pretty much the exact same thing it was every year. We went and saw the new Harry Potter movie, which I had been really looking forward to, and I'm sad to say I was pretty disappointed. Maybe it was because I had just finished rereading the book and was mentally filling in all of the blanks and so missed seeing the movie for what it was, but it seemed like a lot of the dramatic tension was lost because crucial things were kind of sped through, and there wasn't enough exposition to make up for the parts that were left out. But still, you gotta love Harry. Can't wait for book 7.

Well, the day keeps on moving and I must move with it, I just wanted to throw something up here and let y'all know that, as Schwarzenegger says, "I'll be back".

Holy Busyness

2007-07-03T12:23:00.001+02:00

Sometimes I feel guilty because I look at my schedule and I know that I am not overburdened, and yet I will feel overwhelmed. As I beat myself up, I have wondered about this discrepancy between my actual workload and my perceived workload. I was thrilled, therefore, when reading this chapter, "The Business of Busyness" by Charles Anderson in Everyday Theology, when he identified one of the elements of our cultural busyness being a blurring of the boundaries between different areas of life. For me, this is an obvious piece of the pie; for all intents and purposes there are virtually zero boundaries between my work life and my 'other life'. Even the friendships that I have (that are close enough to break bread together) are in large part dictated by my job. Don't get me wrong - I love my job and I love my life, but I find it helpful to identify some of the limitations in order to deal with them.

I also find myself on occasion trying to frantically pack activity in a day, usually panicking, feeling as if there is so much that I want to do that I will never have the time to get done. So I start a thousand projects with the best of intentions for accomplishing all sorts of great goals... and then stall, cluttering my life and my space with countless memorials of my failures of productivity, further burdening myself with guilt. Knowing the futility of this cycle (and yet still participating in it) I found a helpful tonic in Anderson's exhortation to patience.

One character trait for cultivating holy business is patience. We are a patient people because we trust that God has given us our vocation and our time, and that each is sufficient for the other. We are a patient people because we know God often takes his time in forming us. (167)

Holy Busyness. Busyness as a virtue rather than a vice. Busyness rooted not in shame, economics, or panic that there's just not enough time, but rooted instead in the gospel. "Being grounded in the gospel means that relationships - with God, others, and creation - precede activity... who we are remains primary." (165) What a beautiful and freeing thought!

A Week of Day Trips in Photos

2007-07-02T20:48:00.001+02:00

I actually took fewer than the normal amount of pictures, but here are a few photos from the last week or so, as we headed to Lausanne, Annecy and Montreux.

A view of Lake Geneva from a park in Lausanne

Gregg and I in Lausanne

Gwen and Thomas in Lausanne

Annecy

The Annecy Gang - Daniela, Me, Kay and Gregg

Daniela and I giving Kay a boost to compensate for her shortness

Gregg, always thrilled about a photo op, as we set out for Montreux

The lake in Montreux

Church Architecture: Does it Matter?

2007-06-30T10:53:00.001+02:00

Premkumar D. Williams has a chapter in Everyday Theology titled "Between City and Steeple: Looking at Megachurch Architecture" that is really fascinating. He talks about the ways in which megachurches often emulate a mall or a theater (actually, a combination thereof), borrowing from culture to create spaces that are welcoming and familiar.

He highlights some positive things:

Control, quality, and efficiency are architectural values associated with theater and mall forms, and equally so with the megachurch. The hard work that preachers and their teams put into their art (much like the practice that goes into perfecting a concert recital) pleases God, stirs people's souls, and witnesses to the world. The use of common places to help restore the human spirit makes the megachurch a less threatening place and fosters amicability toward the gospel and the life of the church... The stage connotes the dramatics of a performance and creates a sense of relaxed anticipation. (121)

As well as some potentially negative things:

In contemporary culture, image is everything. Models pore over their portfolios, singers over their music videos, and preachers over their sermons. Yes, we can do these for Christ's sake, but when this involves advertising, programming, management, and leadership of a large number of people responsible for a variety of activities all geared toward creating the best impression on the visitor, there is a tendency to control the process so as to guarantee the product. This can tempt one to squeeze the Spirit out of the scene and lean on the dynamics of a performance. The larger the church 'corporation' and its image, the greater the pressure to maintain and promote its image. For architecture, this might raise a tension between cultural image and Christian identity. (122)

What do y'all think: do architectural forms have theological significance? Does the physical space that we worship in matter?

From Whence Comes The Soul?

2007-06-27T15:01:00.001+02:00

There is a very interesting article in the IHT today as scientists continue to research the evolution of the human soul. A quote:

For many scientists, the evidence that moral reasoning is a result of physical traits that evolve along with everything else is just more evidence against the existence of the soul, or of a God to imbue humans with souls. For many believers, particularly in the United States, the findings show the error, even wickedness, of viewing the world in strictly material terms. And they provide for theologians a growing impetus to reconcile the existence of the soul with the growing evidence that humans are not, physically or even mentally, in a class by themselves.

The idea that human minds are the product of evolution is "unassailable fact," the journal Nature said this month in an editorial on new findings on the physical basis of moral thought. A headline on the editorial drove the point home: "With all deference to the sensibilities of religious people, the idea that man was created in the image of God can surely be put aside."

My question is, even if a physical basis is found for some of our moral senses, does it necessarily mean that we have evolved them and/or negate our identity as image bearers of God? Is there a chance that God created us with a certain moral compass that might explain some of the universality of human morality? A form of common grace? I don't know. I'm fairly convinced we haven't even begun to touch the complexity of creation with all of our scientific progress. It certainly raises new questions, but I don't know that the answers are quite as easy as some scientists (among others) want to offer.

Any thoughts?

A Generous Orthodoxy - Chapters 18-20

2007-06-26T12:30:00.001+02:00

I feel as though I am incessantly criticizing McLaren, and it's a shame because I really appreciate the heart behind what he is doing, but I keep feeling like his desire for generosity is trampling on orthodoxy. That said, after reading chapter 18, "Why I Am Depressed-Yet-Hopeful", I was left wondering 'Hopeful for what?'. Sometimes I feel like he is optimistically hopeful in people rather than God.

His focus is on repentance, but I'm not entirely sure what he means by the term as he uses it. The dictionary.com definition is "to feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one's life for the better; be penitent." Which is, of course, part of it. From a Christian perspective, I think it's deeper than that though. It's more than "being disposed to change", but I think he stops there... hence the quote on page 267:

But even when it [the Christian religion] doesn't [cooperate with the goal of the kingdom of God], that doesn't mean it can't cooperate again in the future - if it repents. The same can be said of every religion in the world.

At the risk of sounding harsher than I want to, I don't think the same can be said of every religion. I think most religions in some form or fashion are doing and saying things that are in line with Christ's teachings on ethics and morality, and in that sense I believe that they are acting in ways that are very, very good. But if repentance is tied to God, and the Bible is true, and Jesus is Lord and Savior, then to fully cooperate with the kingdom of God is to assent to certain truth claims. Repentance and heart change are, to me, inextricably linked to the work of the Holy Spirit. What do y'all think?

Chapter 19, "Why I Am Emergent", was helpful in understanding better where he is coming from. Throughout the book, I have appreciated his critique, which I think is pretty valid, of some of the problematics of Christianity, and I think he is correct in saying that we need to emerge from some of those things into a better understanding of the gospel. But to reduce sin to something that hinders emergence, "body-lusts refusing to be integrated with mental ideas in an ethical soul" (281), etc., is again going too far. My understanding of sin is much bigger than that. Again, for me he's making it about the individual instead of God - sin as something that prohibits us from self-actualizing rather than something truly evil and an affront to God.

Also, I feel like he's fairly manipulative in avoiding critique. On page 285 it sounds like if you don't agree with him, you must be a modern, exclusivist, absolutist, colonial Christian. I resent that, and I don't think some of his statements to that effect are helpful in promoting the dialogue he wants. And I don't know about this whole pluralistic relativism as chemo for the ailing church thing. We need a corrective, but I find the drastic swing to add confusion, not clarity. I tend to agree with Horton (285) that is can be polarizing, "present[ing] you with only two options: a non-emergent gospel that is definitive, clear, sure, and certain, or a 'radically indeterminate' anything-goes gospel that means anything, and thus is worth nothing." How do you guys feel?

At least he acknowledges that "no emergence is perfect" (284) and that he's not attempting to propose a form that "finally gets it right" (285).

Finally, chapter 20, "Why I Am Unfinished", concludes the book with his final thoughts on orthodoxy. Again, I have to disagree with his notion that it's all about the journey and reducing orthodoxy to being a "way of seeing and seeking" (293). Why can't we hold a truth both with confidence and humility? Why must we choose between arrogance and knowing nothing? Is that even true humility? I'm not saying that my (or anyone's) understanding of orthodoxy has Truth boxed up with a bow. But I think we know more than McLaren wants to claim.

Okay, that's it. That's the end. Can't say I loved the book as a whole, but I do think he had some good points to make and that it was worth reading. What did y'all think? Love it, hate it, really don't care either way?

I'm going to take a break for a few weeks and hopefully people will be able to catch up and comment if they want, and then I'll post some ideas for another book, if there are any takers. It's been fun, y'all!

The 40 Day Fast

2007-06-25T16:27:00.001+02:00

The blogger at The Secret Life of Kat has organized a 40 day fast, with a blogger on each day, from June 22nd to July 31st, posting a bit about a cause/organization who is meeting an area of need in some part of the world and fasting for that day. The line-up is on the right hand bar of the blog. If you get a chance, definitely check out Brant Hanson's post titled The Worst Place In The World, where he talks a bit about Compassion International's work in Calcutta. What a great idea!

Innocence Regained

2007-06-22T12:51:00.001+02:00

April recently posted about innocence, and it got me to thinking about the relationship between innocence and ignorance. She was responding to a comment made on a post by Mountain Mama that included a picture of two young children and some bottles of alcohol, with the commenter observing that he/she thought it was sad that children would be exposed to such things.

After wrestling with it a bit (please do read her full post), April concluded that:

How amazingly beautiful it is to see the options, interact with them, and THEN choose which way to go! How much more meaningful is a blameless life when those choices were made courageously?!

I will conclude, in my own opinion, that innocence is maintained in spite of exposure, as long as good choices are made. And perhaps innocence is redeemable? If we don't allow ourselves to choose, if we don't allow ourselves to be educated, if we don't educate our children....then we are just ignorant. I think I really believe that.

I think I agree with her conclusion as well. After mulling it for a while yesterday and talking about it with (at?) V for a bit, I'm starting to see it all as directly related to maturity. Certainly, there are things that are age appropriate. For example, I wouldn't take a child (or some adults, for that matter) to go see American Psycho. The world is full of brutality, and we can't deny that it exists, but it seems unnecessary to me to confront people with it, especially in its extreme forms. Sometimes we can be non-ignorant but still avoid exposure. But something like alcohol? Well, I suppose there are levels of exposure. I don't have any problem at all with adults drinking responsibly around children. I do have a problem with an adult offering a kid a shot of tequila.

So maybe it's also a matter of awareness vs. participation? Her comment about innocence being redeemable made me ponder my own life a bit. Over the course of things I've participated in some pretty rough stuff. But as I've matured (spiritually, emotionally, etc) the activities that used to be a natural part of my daily life would now feel completely uncomfortable and weird. Maybe that's something of what it means to recover innocence?

I know these thoughts aren't particularly well formulated, but I hope they make a little sense...

More New Gloves

2007-06-20T15:41:00.001+02:00

I haven't been doing much knitting lately, but I just finally finished a pair of green fingerless gloves. I designed them around a vining cable I thought was kind of fun (out of the Vogue Stitchionary book). Whatcha think?