Jasie's Journal: July 2007

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

A Little Delay

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?)

Monday, July 30, 2007

What A Surreal Afternoon...

Julian, Benny & I

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...

Sunday, July 29, 2007

A Letter About Palestine

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.'"

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Ethics and Embryos

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."

Fetus At 8 Weeks 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.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Thinking About Prayer

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.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

More Harry Potter News

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...

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

On Bearing Fruit

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!

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...

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Are You A Revolutionary?

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...

Monday, July 23, 2007

Reality TV Strikes Again

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.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Chastity for Dummies

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!

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)

Friday, July 20, 2007

Sad But True

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)

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Enjoying the Silence

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....

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Back to the Blog

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".

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Holy Busyness

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.

Monday, July 02, 2007

A Week of Day Trips in Photos

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.