Vitas Brennus

Therapy Culture

2009-08-19T21:46:00.001-07:00

I try to avoid commercials in my day-to-day life. If I need to make a purchase I like to think that it will be of my own accord – I detest feeling manipulated. Commercials, whether in print, radio, or television, are designed to manipulate you into changing your behavior, specifically, to purchase goods or services that you might otherwise not have considered.

Advertisers have many tactics. In an ideal world, a commercial might present the product or service in question, explaining why it would be to your advantage to patronize their business rather than another. Of course, commercials do not work that way. They manipulate. Catchy tunes, skewed statistics, appeals to authority, and basic peer pressure are all common advertising tactics. In recent years, however, I have noticed a new one: Therapy.

Quite often lately, commercials aim to convince you that the business in question cares about you more than its competitors. Banks claim that to them, you are more than a number – implying that when you bank elsewhere you are treated as less than human. Mortgage firms and other lenders say the same thing: They care about you, your family, and your business. Car dealerships play the same tune.

Now that so many advertisers convey this tone, it is nearly impossible to advertise without it. What business wants to be labeled as cold or uncaring? The result is that today, rather than trying to compete on price or competency, businesses try to show that they care about you more than the other guy does.

All these advertisers are trying to fill a modern human need for acceptance and approval. People respond well to flattery, so businesses give them more and more. It costs nothing, after all, to pretend to care.

One of the most egregious examples of this sort of pandering is in the realm of politics. The basic guidelines for a political ad are simple: Accentuate your candidate’s strengths and hammer your opponent’s weaknesses. While this is still the norm in political advertising today, more and more would-be representatives are talking up how much they care for you. Think about the last election season. How many times did a candidate try to say that he cared about you and your family, while his opponent cared about “big business” or some other bogeyman? How many candidates tried to convince you that they were just regular guys?

When Barack Obama was running for president, he continually emphasized how his campaign was not about him, but was really about you. “We are the ones we have been waiting for.” What person feels no thrill about being part of a movement? Who does not like being told that they are special? Millions of people who cast votes for Obama the candidate truly believed, deep inside, that they were voting for themselves.

Local radio talk show host Dori Monson is fond of saying “Nobody cares about you more than you!” He is right of course – in the end, most people will look out for their own interests before those of others, especially strangers. Politicians and businessmen look out for their own interests, whether it is power or revenue. Ironically, today those interests are best served by pretending to care about the voter and the consumer.

Why do these advertising campaigns work so well? I think it is because we have entire generations that have grown up with a deep need for acceptance and emotional therapy. We are taught in grade school that scholastic results are less valuable than genuine effort, and that self-esteem is more important than skills and abilities. No longer is a job well done its own reward. Adult approval and peer admiration is reason to do anything.

The recent Disney/Pixar movie The Incredibles had a shocking moral message: Not everyone is special. Think about it. Dictionary.com defines special as “Of a distinct or particular kind or character.” If everyone is special, as children today are taught, then nobody is special. To be special means to be unique, one of a kind. Michael Jordan was a special basketball player – there was nobody quite like him. Albert Einstein had a special genius. Just because children are told that they are special does not make it so. Just telling a child that he can do anything does not make it necessarily possible to be as smart as Einstein or as great a ball player as Jordan.

Throughout grade school, high school, and even college, children are indoctrinated with this philosophy. More and more schools are doing away with grades because they show disparities amongst students. Competition is banned, because nobody must feel inferior to anyone else.

After college, reality comes as a shock for many people. Especially in today’s economy, many college graduates are having trouble finding work. All their lives they have been promised the world on a silver platter. They have been told that they can do anything, be anything they want. They believed that a low-stress, high-paying career was just waiting for them. Yet here they are, empty-handed.

"We are the middle children of history, raised by television to believe that someday we'll be millionaires and movie stars and rock stars, but we won't. And we're just learning this fact.”

(Is it not ironic that this line was spoken in a movie by someone who grew up and became a famous actor and hooked up with Angelina Jolie?)

Recently a college graduate announced her intention to sue her university, claiming they misled her and left her hanging out to dry. She believed that, along with a diploma, the university would hand her a high-paying career right away. When that did not happen, she sued, and complained about the stress of job hunting.

So it goes. Generations of Americans are finding it hard to make it in the real world, which is so different from the one they imagined. Advertisers and politicians recognize this, and come offering the self-esteem and approval that we have lacked. Yet we all know that politicians lie, and that businesses just want your money, so we remain hungry for more. How should we then live?

The answer is therapy, constant therapy. Therapy is our drug and we are hooked. In the last few decades, an entire industry has been created to fill these needs. Counselors, psychologists, therapists, and so-called life coaches fill the yellow pages. It makes me wonder how our ancestors managed not only to live their lives on their own, but also built our civilization. If I were to make an unscientific generalization, I would say the average American cannot get by without their antidepressants and weekly support groups. Therapy is a multi-billion dollar industry, catering to the narcissism of their clients.

We are all a bunch of dummies. It is true – the “For Dummies” series is full of bestselling titles. The “Self-Help” section is one of the most popular areas of a bookstore. If you want to write a bestseller, just tell people that they are truly amazing individuals who just need to break free and realize their own inner strength and beauty.

Couples go to marriage counseling. Single people go see life coaches to help them realize their dreams. Church groups host classes teaching people that debt is bad. The very existence of LiveJournal is a testament to our need for approval and acceptance. We yearn for people to tell us what to do, and having done it, to tell us how great we are.

It is disheartening to think that our civilization descended from the rugged individualists who survived the Depression and won World War II to this motley crew of self-absorbed whiners that we are today. Perhaps the anthem of our current economic crisis should be “Brother, Can You Spare Some Positive Reinforcement?”

We're All Going To Die!

2009-04-30T17:43:00.001-07:00

Well, eventually. Take a guess as to how many people have died from the so-called swine flu. From the media coverage, it must be a lot. At least fifty. Perhaps even a hundred, or more!

Actually, according to the World Health Organization, the answer is.... seven. In the entire world.

That's right. For all the hysteria and proclamations of doom, seven people have died of this bug since the panic began. To put that in perspective, on average more than 80 people die each day in the United States alone from the regular not-swine flu.

Remember the bird flu? SARS? Even AIDS in the early 90s was hyped beyond reality. Politicians like to scare us, it makes it easier for them to control us. The news media loves panics like this, they can sell more papers and ads. I think some people like to be scared like this. It makes them feel like part of something important - as if we're all in this together.

Oh well. Soon it will all be over, and the majority of people who lack any form of historical perspective will be ripe for the next media-induced panic. Egyptian Termite Flu, anyone?

Read this article and turn off the news.

Holy Week

2009-04-06T16:56:00.000-07:00

The weather can change in a moment. Until last Friday, 2009 had been bitterly cold here in the Pacific Northwest. Snow fell as late as Wednesday the 1st. Memories of last summer, a cold affair that gained the nickname "June-uary" abounded. Friday morning started the same - temperature hovering around the freezing point, a cold rain drizzling... but then it all changed. At about noon, the sun came out. Now the sun had been out before, but it was a cold and distant sun. This sun was warm and inviting. I knew then that spring had come.

Saturday was a beautiful sunny day, and Sunday and Monday were even better. Who knows how long it will last, but I appreciate it while it is here. This is more like it, you know? A cloudless sky, bright sunlight filtering through green boughs. I have wondered lately if I'm vitamin-D sensitive - when the sun is out, I am happier than otherwise.

My favorite memories of Easter and Holy Week involve sunshine and blooming flowers. The church I grew up in spent several years constructing its new building and for a while it was not inhabitable. Yet each Easter morn we would gather in the half-constructed building, surrounded by sunshine and flowers. There was still a sense of ancient tradition amongst the modern trappings.

The American Easter is about chocolates, rabbits, and brightly-colored eggs. Even the modern evangelical churches have these things in abundance. Buried are the staid Holy Week traditions of the past - Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday itself. Many people still partake in the ancient traditions but they are not in my circles. It seems these traditions are regarded as legalistic relics and meaningless papist motions.

You know something, though? Eggs and rabbits may be used to illustrate some gospel truth, but it is the Holy Week traditions that point directly to the gospel - the central truth of all human history. Ashes and sackcloth, palm branches and Lenten fasts, these are all undertaken in order to remember Christ's death and resurrection.

In my Awana group of elementary students I have been speaking through the Gospel according to St. Mark. I find it interesting that Mark spends half the book on the final week of Jesus' life in Jerusalem. At a pace of one chapter per week, I am able to meditate on the events of that week somewhat closely. Each moment has a sense of impending doom, the feeling that it is all leading to one important climax. And what an event - the death of Jesus Christ and His subsequent return from the dead is the most important event in all history. It changed everything.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the center of the Christian life. Like spokes on a wheel, everything radiates outward from it. It is especially important during this week as we set aside everything else to remember how Christ died, and why He died. We remember the praises from the crowd, waving and laying palm branches, as Jesus entered Jerusalem. We remember the parable of the vineyard, where the tenants murdered the messengers of the owner, until they killed his own son. We remember Christ's righteous anger at the greedy scammers in the temple, His house of prayer. We remember the last supper, the bread and the wine, the prayer in Gethsemane, the betrayal, Peter's denial, the trials before Caiaphas, Herod, and Pilate, and finally the crucifixion itself. We feel the bitter hopelessness of Friday night, and the exuberant joy of Sunday morning.

Without ritual, we forget. Without reminders, we will not remember why we have hope. It's more than just a pretty word.

Christ is risen. Truly He is risen indeed.

Home Again

2009-03-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

Today was rather eventful. After breakfast at the motel we headed south. We took a few pictures at a closed pioneer museum in Okanogan before continuing toward the Columbia River. No matter where you find the mighty Columbia it is always pretty awe-inspiring.

After crossing we took some back roads through the remains of a farming community called Dyer. After climbing 3,000 feet onto a plateau we saw some incredible views of the Cascade Mountains and the surrounding countryside. It was very quiet and peaceful up there.

We headed back down to the Columbia and crossed near Wenatchee. We stopped at another pioneer museum, this time it was open. There in Cashmere they had assembled many old buildings and artifacts from the pioneer days. People managed to exist with such little space and so few possessions. I think I have a rather Spartan home but these pioneers, sometimes raising a dozen children, put my life to shame.

We ate lunch in Leavenworth and crossed Stevens Pass during the daylight. Aside from a few snowflakes, the conditions were wonderful. In fact, it was a beautiful sunny day in Eastern Washington! We stopped one more time, this time to visit the Reptile Zoo in Monroe. We petted some tortoises and hung out with snakes and alligators. Great fun!

I'm home now and must sleep soon, for I have work tomorrow. Back to the real world, right?

But I'm An American!

2009-03-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

We slept late in Kamloops and then drove around searching for food. We settled on some sandwiches at a Tim Horton's - I had never eaten there before. Exciting!

We headed east toward Vernon, but along the way we came across the B.C. Wild Animal Park. Nothing beyond evening rest is planned on this trip so we went in and made some animal friends. Bears, racoons, llamas, elk, eagles, a chicken, a peacock, and even a monkey were there. I'll upload all the pictures soon. I have to say it was pretty amazing to stand three feet away from a large grizzly bear!

We continued east and then south toward the border. I figured that it would be an easy task compared to the crossing at Sumas. We were coming back to America, where we are free, right? I can understand being treated like a criminal upon entering Canada; after all, they have a right to ask where their guests are going and what they are bringing with them.

As you can probably guess, the Border Patrol agents at the Oroville crossing were not as cooperative as I may have hoped. They just knew we were smuggling drugs. They asked us several times about our homes, our families, our employment (she didn't know what a valet was!) and most of all, why we went to Kamloops and then came back for no apparent reason. They searched the car again, and even after searching still did not believe our innocence. They let us go though, unable to prove their theories.

That annoyed me. They made photocopies of our passports and our driver's licenses. Who knows what they are going to do with that information? We were treated like criminals because a few governmental bureaucrats lacked imagination and common sense.

Ah, well. We had dinner at Whistler's Family Restaurant in Tonasket and then settled in here in Omak for the night. Free breakfast tomorrow sounds excellent - biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, donuts, and more. Eastern Washington hospitality is serious business. The federal bureaucracy could learn a few things.

Kamloops, BC

2009-03-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

Good morning from Canada. Tyler and I made it to Kamloops by 3:00 AM after quite a trip the night before. We reached the border crossing at Sumas around 10:00 but were detained for quite a while. The customs agents were apparently perplexed why two guys were driving into the mountains for no apparent reason in the middle of the night. They asked us the same set of questions three times, and then the same ones separately. They even got tricky - "So don't you even have anything to protect yourself, mace or pepper spray or something?" Pepper spray is obviously illegal here. They searched the car, and made quite a mess, but found nothing of course.

Finally we were on our way. The road was easy enough until we went on the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Kamloops. At the worst point, there was ice and snow covering the road and snow falling in an entrancing blizzard. We made it through without incident, although my window is pretty muddy this morning.

Arriving in Kamloops we went to the Howard Johnsons, and I was pretty sure that this was the one I had reserved. The grumpy night manager disagreed, so we went further down the road to the correct Howard Johnsons. It's only a so-called 2-star hotel, but it had comfortable beds, hot water, free shampoo, and the wifi that I'm using now. Five stars in my book!

UW Wins Pac-10

2009-03-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

The Washington Huskies defeated their in-state rivals the WSU Cougars to clinch sole possession of the Pac-10 regular season title. It was hard-fought, however. I think the Cougars deserve to make a third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.

This championship is huge for Seattle and this region. The last eleven months have been horrible for local sports. The Sonics no longer exist. The Mariners lose 101 games. The Seahawks go 4-12. The Husky football team is winless. Even the Cougar football team is terrible. Finally we have something to cheer for. Go Huskies!

Economic Meltdown

2009-03-07T12:41:00.000-08:00

An economic meltdown photo glossary.

These are the Democrats who profited at every step of the mortgage meltdown while blaming George W. Bush for the crisis, and whose continued oversight of the financial system is a disgrace and a mortal danger.

From Instapundit.

The Good Old Days

2008-12-03T19:23:00.000-08:00

When I was young, I wished I could grow older quickly - finish school, get a job, my own home - and then I would be happier. Now that I am older, I look back on the halcyon days of youth and wonder what happened to such a carefree time.

Stepping out of the mists of melancholy I see quite easily that no time of my life has a monopoly on happiness. On the other hand, never has life been perfect. It seems to be human nature to look for happiness in a different time. Some people look ahead to a paradisaical future whilst others look back to a carefree youth.

How often do you hear people speak of the good old days gone by? How many times do people complain that the world is getting worse as time goes by? Are they right? Were things better before than they are now?

Modern Technology

2008-11-22T23:42:00.000-08:00

Today I transported a full-length movie on a computer chip the size of my fingernail. And, believe it or not, there was room for five or six more.

I picked up a 4GB Micro-SD memory card for my camera this week. It came with a USB adapter that is not much bigger than the chip itself. It is amazing how small our technology is becoming. In my living room I have a hard drive platter that is bigger than a dinner plate, and it only held about 30MB back in 1980 when it was still in use.

What an advance in less than thirty years: a giant platter in 1980 held less than 1% of what a fingernail-sized chip holds today. What will tomorrow bring?

It's That Time Again...

2008-11-21T17:40:00.001-08:00

Time to see how ignorant we Americans really are:

US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday. Skip related content

Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).

It is bad enough that the voting public has no real understanding of American history or government, but when our own elected leaders are just as ignorant, it bodes ill for our future.

Meanwhile, Victor Davis Hanson may have found the reason for our slide into historical blindness:

The K-12 public education system is essentially wrecked. No longer can any professor expect an incoming college freshman to know what Okinawa, John Quincy Adams, Shiloh, the Parthenon, the Reformation, John Locke, the Second Amendment, or the Pythagorean Theorem is. An entire American culture, the West itself, its ideas and experiences, have simply vanished on the altar of therapy. This upcoming generation knows instead not to judge anyone by absolute standards (but not why so); to remember to say that its own Western culture is no different from, or indeed far worse than, the alternatives; that race, class, and gender are, well, important in some vague sense; that global warming is manmade and very soon will kill us all; that we must have hope and change of some undefined sort; that AIDs is no more a homosexual- than a heterosexual-prone disease; and that the following things and people for some reason must be bad, or at least must in public company be said to be bad (in no particular order): Wal-Mart, cowboys, the Vietnam War, oil companies, coal plants, nuclear power, George Bush, chemicals, leather, guns, states like Utah and Kansas, Sarah Palin, vans and SUVs.

Since World War II, our nation has enjoyed immense prosperity. Especially after the end of the Vietnam War and through the economic recovery of the 1980s, my own generation has grown up without any real hardships. There has been no Great Depression to really test what we are made of, nor any noble struggle against tyranny to grant us a perspective on our own morality. Instead we have languished as if in a stupor, enjoying the fruits of our forefathers' hard work without having to pay what they already paid.

Instead of preparing children to live and thrive in the real world, schools teach them that the world should conform to their desires. If something in the world offends us, we are taught to shout and scream until it is remedied. We have completely lost our historical perspective. Young people with cable TV, cell phones, and multiple cars look at high gas prices and dwindling 401k accounts and think that they are walking in the footsteps of their great-grandparents who lost everything in the Great Depression, and the news media enables their self-pity.

If a Nazi Germany or an imperial Japan arose today and began the process of conquering the world and enslaving mankind, our generation would be too lazy to do anything about it. Oh, they might march in protest, or put a sympathy badge on their MySpace, but when push came to shove, they would be too leashed to their cell phones and American Idols to care.

Yet perhaps there is hope. Today I was in a middle school classroom and I overheard some kids quizzing each other on the US government. They knew how many representatives are in our Congress, how many electoral votes we have in the state of Washington, and when we will have a presidential inauguration. It is a good start. To really care for this country that has been so good, too good for us, we have to know its history and customs. There is more to life than whatever is on the television set, and our ancestors fought too hard for us to waste our lives in front of it.

Pandora's Box

2008-11-20T20:41:00.001-08:00

Do you like music? Of course you do. Then, if you haven't already, go to www.pandora.com and sign up for a free account. From there you can enter any artist, song, or genre and Pandora will build a station based on that musical style. As you give thumbs up or thumbs down to its selections, it will learn exactly what you would like to hear.

To take it one step further, go to www.pandora.com/desktop and download the Adobe Air Pandora application. I just discovered this nifty little program today. I can minimize it to my taskbar and have Pandora radio playing in the background, without worrying about accidentally closing Firefox while it is playing.

Go now, and enjoy the music!

Bigelow In Bloom

2008-05-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

Today I took a photowalk down the streets of my own neighborhood. According to the signs posted around here, the historic Bigelow neighborhood was established in 1854 when Daniel Bigelow built a house here, right up the road from my current dwelling place. Back then this area was mainly forest and wilderness. The city of Olympia grew up around it, though, and soon the land around the Budd Inlet became a center of trade for the state.

Today the Bigelow neighborhood is an enclave of calm in the midst of the busy downtown. Though the vibrant and noisy places around 4th Avenue and Capitol Way are just a few minutes walk away, my neighborhood is quiet and peaceful. (It is also full of Obama signs and stickers, but you can't win them all.)

The Bigelow House, built in 1954. The Washington
State Park service operates a museum and daily tours.

As always, the State Capitol rises above the neighborhoods.

A few of the flowers in the neighborhood. Check out
the full web album for more.

Slaves To Fashion

2008-05-23T17:03:00.000-07:00

In joining people from all over the world in a great system of communication, the Internet has effectively killed the nonconformist. Now, as in days past, the great majority of the people say what they say and do what they do because other people have said and done the same things before. In the past, one or two in a community would walk to their own beat, so to speak, and stand out from the crowd. Whether they did this because they did not care for the groupthink of the masses or because they just wanted attention, they did not conform. Now, the Internet unites these rebels with others of like mind, effectively defeating the purpose of nonconformity. It is a cliché that people express their individuality by doing what so many have done before.

Society is enslaved to fashion. Advertisers with mountains of data create commercial enterprises for the purpose of selling a brand to millions of people. Just as casinos are designed using the latest in technology and psychology to part a man from his money, modern-day advertising uses deep knowledge of human behaviour to convince people of what they absolutely need.

I am tempted at times to call this a modern phenomenon, but this is clearly not the case. Over one hundred and fifty years ago, Henry David Thoreau spent two years in relative solitude, pondering the vagaries of human existence. Of the human obsession with fashion he wrote thus:

We worship not the Graces, nor the Parcae, but Fashion. She spins and weaves and cuts with full authority. The head monkey at Paris puts on a traveler's cap, and all the monkeys in America do the same.

I was amazed at how well Thoreau describes our modern society just as much as his own. We are a nation of monkeys, merely copying the monkeys in Hollywood and Madison Avenue. We may think we have free will to decide how we will dress and how we will present ourselves to others, but the advertisers who create our products are much smarter than we are. They know our psychology, they know what creates desire in a human being. They know how to push our buttons to achieve a desired result.

Even the nonconformists conform to something. Through the Internet, those who rebel against the system reach out to others who do the same. Soon, they all march together: a long parade of nonconformists, marching to the same tune. Behind it all is another advertiser, a student of human nature, beating the drum.

Is it too late? Can a man still withdraw from the system? Is there still a Walden Pond where one can step back and observe, without being a part of it all?

I hope so.

Free Speech In Olympia

2008-05-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

This is why I love Olympia: It is never boring. With the State Capitol on one side, and the Evergreen State College on another, there is no shortage of people with opinions and the desire to shout them to the world.

Heritage Park is a fun little area in downtown Olympia. In the park proper, cold-water fountains fire at regular intervals and local residents come down in their swimsuits to enjoy the cool water. Today was especially hot, with temperatures rising past 85° for the first time this year. The park is situated at a major intersection just a few blocks from the 4th Avenue Bridge. 4th Avenue, the main thoroughfare through downtown, splits into two one-way streets. It was here that the protesters made their stand.

The Heritage Park fountains in front of the State Capitol.

Anti-war protesters. The fellow on the left had dozens of signs.

Counter-protesters. They were smart and brought cold water.

Normally they stayed on separate sides of 4th Avenue. At
one point, however, the counter-protesters crossed the
street. They did not stay long.

Another anti-war protester.

I am not sure what this fellow was trying to say. Is sending
soldiers to war "abuse" now? If that is the case, then what is
the purpose of having armed forces in the first place?

This fellow was on another street corner all by himself. The
other side of his sign said "A just peace for Palestinians and
Israelis." I wonder how that squares with his support for the
so-called "Right of Return" which demands that Palestinians
take over the whole of Israel.

Protests are fun for everyone! Even the bees
have a voice here in Olympia.

A wide shot gives you an idea of the groups in relation to
each other. This was taken facing east, with the 4th Avenue
Bridge behind me. Appropriately enough, the anti-war
folks are on the left and the counter-protesters are on
the right.

As always, catch the rest of the pictures at my Picasa Web Album.

The North Cascades

2008-05-16T16:02:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I took off work early, picked up my cousin, and headed into Eastern Washington. We did a little fishing near Moses Lake, crossed the Columbia River a half-dozen times, stopped by Grand Coulee Dam, and then came home through the high and snowy North Cascades.

My aim with these short trips is to travel to places I have never been before and to take good pictures. I satisfied both objectives with this adventure.

The Columbia River. That is Interstate 90 crossing it,
before heading northeast to Moses Lake.

The Grand Coulee Dam. Built in 1942, it remains the
largest concrete structure on the planet.

The town of Winthrop, in the North Cascades. Much of the
town is as it was a century ago. When we passed through,
they were in the middle of a rodeo and the festivities that
went along with it.

The North Cascades themselves were still mostly covered
in snow. The roads were plowed in the passes, with snow
piled higher than the car on the sides of the roads in some
places. A most beautiful countryside.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the pictures from the trip. Stay tuned for further adventures in the beautiful Pacific Northwest!

Signs Of Summer

2008-05-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

Uh oh, looks like global warming is real. The temperature, hanging around 50 degrees Fahrenheit for the past six months, has risen today to 70 degrees. They say it will reach 90 before this weekend! Whatever shall we do?

Oh wait, that's just summer. Seems to happen every year, doesn't it? Today was the first day of the year where it was warm in the shadows - a sure sign of summer's ascent. The winter-that-would-not-die is coming to an end, finally. No more snow in April, or frost in May! Leave that to Minnesota.

Weblog Links IV: Stuff Christians Like

2008-05-11T22:26:00.000-07:00

Following in the footsteps of the fascinating Stuff White People Like, pastor's kid Jon Acuff began writing about the foibles of the church community in Stuff Christians Like.

Having grown up in the church, Jon has observed many of the strange things that we have always taken for granted. Blending a sarcastic wit with a genuine love of God and His church, Jon writes about such topics as specialized bibles, Ned Flanders, and raising our hands when singing.

Here is a sample, from a post on the heroes of the Bible:

Jonah, Noah and David. These guys are to the Old Testament what Run DMC was to rap. Seriously, 87% of all OT stories involve either Jonah, Noah or David. Granted, that's an estimation, but based off the number of projects my kids bring home from preschool that's not far off. The funny thing is that when we embrace these three guys we tend to overlook some of their issues. For instance, after the ark landed, Noah planted a vineyard and ended up getting so drunk he passed out naked in his tent. Rarely though is that scene drawn on a color by the numbers piece of paper in Sunday School. Which I appreciate, because I don't want to hang that one on my fridge.

If you have been to a Protestant Christian church more than once in your life, you will find yourself nodding in agreement more than once in a while. Take a look, and check each day. Jon updates the list quite regularly!

The Photo Walk

2008-05-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

Today I began what I intend to be a habit. I have often walked the streets of Olympia, taking in the sights, sounds, smells, and culture. Now that I have a good camera, I intend to share it with whomever wishes to take part. I will post these photo walks at Picasa Web with a few excerpts posted here at the weblog.

Today I walked to the Olympia Timberland Library to return some horribly overdue books. On the way back I took a few pictures. As I was driving earlier today I wondered what I might take pictures of that would be of any interest to other people. Then I realized that not everyone is from around here, or walks the streets of the city. Perhaps what I find mundane will be novel to those from other parts of the world. Just as I am enthralled by a Saguaro forest in Arizona, so an Arizonan might be entranced by the evergreen trees of Washington.

I present to you the first of many photo walks:

The old capitol building, now the home of the Office of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction. Sigh.

The old-style sign for the local YMCA. I took
swimming lessons here when I was young.

I stumbled upon an apparent street preacher beside the bus
terminal. He was preaching that hard work and following God
would lead to prosperity.

Condominiums along the East Bay of Budd Inlet. I would not
like living in such a crowded place. The view is nice though.

Check out the rest at my Picasa Web Album. I will upload more next time. Join me for a virtual tour of beautiful Olympia, Washington!

Weblog Links III: Parchment And Pen

2008-05-07T18:23:00.000-07:00

All too often, church seems to be about skimming the top of Christianity. Simple exegesis and tenuous scriptural application that sounds more like a self-help class make up the bulk of church teachings, as far as I have seen. Yet there is a place where men and women of God delve into the depths of God's word.

Parchment And Pen is the weblog portion of Reclaiming The Mind Ministries. Their primary ministry is The Theology Program, a series of classes on basic theology that can be used in your own church in the same way as lighter fair like Rick Warren's The Purpose-Driven Life.

One of my favorite ministries of this organization is called Converse With Scholars. Each week the folks host a different Christian author, philosopher, or theologian and discuss complicated issues such as the historical Jesus, "problem passages" of scripture, and inter-denominational relations.

Check out the weblog, Parchment And Pen, as well as the other areas of Reclaiming The Mind. If you are looking for a deep discussion of the depth of God's creation and His person, then check it out.

The Seventh Of May

2008-05-07T18:10:00.000-07:00

So I am still here. Much has changed since I last drew the virtual pen. I am at a new job that brings me more income and more time, always a good combination. I have acquired a new camera, which I plan to use to document the world around me in vivid color. I began using Google Reader for my reading - no longer must I go to the web; I now bring the web to me.

Olympia has been fairly busy in the interim as well. More professional protesters caused trouble last week. Ostensibly marching to support a measure to make Olympia a "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants and war protesters, all they managed to do was disgust the Olympia City Council into dropping the motion without a vote. Being proud members of the Evergreen State College, I doubt the words "cause and effect" will bring about much comprehension.

I saw Iron Man on opening night, and it sure lived up to the hype. I wish I would have bought stock in Marvel last week, as their plan to self-finance their movies from now on has paid off, at least in the short term. I enjoyed it, and so did a lot of America. This looks to be an excellent summer movie season.

See you all soon, I promise I will not stay away quite as long anymore!

John Edwards to Round Up All Black Men!

2007-09-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

Presidential candidate John Edwards announced today his plans to commit genocide against the African American population. At the MTV/Myspace Presidential Dialogue, the former Senator reassured his young constituency that he was going to clean up the streets.

"...pretty soon we’re not going to have a young African-American male population in America. They’re all going to be in prison or dead. One of the two.”

It seems we have a wannabe Adolf Hitler on the left side of the aisle. I am sure the KKK will be endorsing Senator Edwards soon.

...

Okay, so I took that out of context. Seriously though, how often does the mainstream media go out of its way to take conservatives out of context in order to smear them?

Avast, Ye Scurvy Lubbers!

2007-09-19T08:23:00.000-07:00

Today be the one and only Talk Like a Pirate Day, so watch yourself or ye'll end up walkin' the plank!

Cradle to the Grave (II)

2007-09-18T13:26:00.000-07:00

America is driving toward a cliff when it comes to personal responsibility and government oversight.

She (Senator Clinton) said she could envision a day when "you have to show proof to your employer that you're insured as a part of the job interview — like when your kid goes to school and has to show proof of vaccination..."

America rejected this same plan back in 1994, but like a basketball player in a slump, keep shooting and it will go in. Once that happens, there is no going back.

Live and Weird

2007-09-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to make it to the Puyallup Fair last night and saw Weird Al Yankovic for free. It was a great show, he really put a lot of effort into making it an entertaining night. He played songs from the past twenty years, such as "Fat," "Eat It," and "Amish Paradise," as well as his latest, "White And Nerdy" and "Stuck In The Drive-Thru." All in all, there had to be around thirty songs in the performance. Some of them he condensed into a wild medley.

Al changed costumes quite a few times, including several times during a song. He came onstage looking like everyone from Eminem to Kurt Cobain to a Jedi Knight. He even dusted off the old fat suit for his Michael Jackson parody. How dated is that? It was awesome.

I thought it was great that he put on a two-hour-plus concert for the fairgoers here in Washington, most of whom got in for free. It was worth my while, and definitely worth more than I paid. If you can, be sure to catch Weird Al live!

Culture Clash

2007-09-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

What happens when the superstitions of ancient religion meet modern technology?

Officials at Nepal's state-run airline have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the carrier said Tuesday.

Maybe a quick call over to Boeing tech support would have been a better idea, at least as far as the goats are concerned.

"The snag in the plane has now been fixed and the aircraft has resumed its flights," said Raju K.C., a senior airline official, without explaining what the problem had been.

I figure that while the goat sacrificers were doing their thing, the woefully underpaid technicians were actually fixing the aircraft. I wonder who will get all the credit.

Washed Away

2007-09-04T08:35:00.000-07:00

A mighty thunderstorm left my neighbourhood soaked through and through, but this morning the sun is coming out.

I need a good camera, then I would post a lot more pictures of things like that.

Cradle To The Grave

2007-09-02T16:12:00.000-07:00

Presidential hopeful John Edwards has a plan for you. If he is elected, then that is when your choices end.

Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards said on Sunday that his universal health care proposal would require that Americans go to the doctor for preventive care.

"It requires that everybody be covered. It requires that everybody get preventive care," he told a crowd sitting in lawn chairs in front of the Cedar County Courthouse. "If you are going to be in the system, you can't choose not to go to the doctor for 20 years. You have to go in and be checked and make sure that you are OK."

Edwards said his mandatory health care plan would cover preventive, chronic and long-term health care. The plan would include mental health care as well as dental and vision coverage for all Americans.

"The whole idea is a continuum of care, basically from birth to death," he said.

This position is not unique to Mr. Edwards. Back when she was still First Lady, Senator Hillary Clinton spearheaded a plan for universal healthcare that ended up defeated in 1994 when the Republicans took control of Congress. Most of the Democrats in the race this year have their own plan for taxpayer-subsidized health insurance. This, however, is the first overt mention of it being mandatory.

The position of the 21st Century liberal can be boiled down to this: "We know better than you, we will take care of you, and we must take your money to do so." Most of the Republicans are not much better, and I believe soon that nearly all politicians will favor some sort of universal health solution. We are only a few steps away from a government that tells you what you are allowed to eat, where you are allowed to travel, who you are allowed to fraternize with, and when you must go to the doctor. In short, the government is becoming our master, from the cradle to the grave.

The most ominous part of this trend is that they are ostensibly doing it for our own good. Tomorrow's totalitarian government is not one that will take power by force or coup, but one that promises to take care of you. Our rights will be restricted for the good of mankind. Property rights are already being denied based on a supposed impact to the environment. Our Constitutional right to freedom of association is being denied because of a distaste for discrimination. If John Edwards has his way, we will no longer have a choice of doctor, or even the choice of whether or not to see a doctor.

Ronald Reagan once said that the scariest phrase was "I am from the government, and I am here to help." We have on our doorstep a government that is going to help us to death.

I Don't Care If I Never Come Back

2007-08-31T19:35:00.000-07:00

What a whirlwind day. I woke up planning to work late and miss our final softball game but my boss changed the plans and so I managed to be there. And glad am I that I did!

The last time I saw Westwood Baptist they absolutely crushed the ball, hitting homer after homer. This time it was destined to be different. It only took three pitches to get out of the first inning, three ground balls, three outs at first. I have gone entire games without touching the ball so many times.

I ended up with three more hits, making that a perfect six-for-six in my last two games. We almost ended after five innings but Westwood climbed back to within nine runs. We went the full seven and won 17-10.

The last two games really solidified my average. For the year then, I had fourteen base hits in twenty-nine at-bats for a batting average of .483, with one walk. Twelve of those hits were singles and two, including one tonight, were doubles. I scored eleven runs and knocked in seven RBI. I struck out just once. A successful year. I cannot wait for next spring!

Weblog Links II: Big Lizards

2007-08-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

Big Lizards is a thought-provoking socio-political weblog run by Dafydd ab Hugh and his wife Sachi. I used to read a lot of Star Trek novels when I was younger and Dafydd was one of my favorite authors.

The Big Lizards (As Dafydd, Sachi, and their friend Brad call themselves) often go beyond the headlines, beyond the journalism, and beyond even most Internet news analysis. Dafydd has a particular interest in world politics and is able to make complex issues easily understood, yet lose none of their depth.

Today he writes about a local: Congressman Brian Baird, representing Washington's third congressional district. When I moved from Yelm to Olympia late last year Congressman Baird became my representative, so this story is of certain interest to me.

Brian Baird's happy career has smashed into the rocks, and the shipwreck began with a dreadful, ghastly decision that Baird made: He foolishly decided to investigate for himself how the counterinsurgency was doing, rather than just taking the word of his leaders, Squeaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Haight-Ashbury, 95%) and Rep. John Murtha (D-PA, 65%)... or even his Washington colleague, "Baghdad" Jim McDermott (D-WA, 95%), who earned his sobriquet by flying to Baghdad in 2002 to support Saddam Hussein -- then receiving a $5,000 "donation" from Hussein supporter and Oil-for-Fraud suspect Shakir al Khafaji.

Worse, Baird has one terrible character flaw that spoiled everything: He is honest. Upon returning from seeing the counterinsurgency up close and personal, he wrote an opinion piece for the Seattle Times titled "Our troops have earned more time."

As Dafydd goes on to explain, stepping away from the party line of Moveon.org and the DailyKos is a capital crime for any Democrat. Moveon has prepared television commercials for the Third District, which stretches from Olympia down to Vancouver, attacking Baird for his position.

We all saw how well the liberal fringe worked in the Senate contest between Ned Lamont and Joe Lieberman over in Connecticut. Senator Lieberman was not liberal enough and worse, he supported the war in Iraq. Markos Moulitsas and his ilk descended on the state and tarred and feathered him, boosting the ultra-liberal Lamont into the general election. Lieberman, however, had the support of his state, beyond the fringe. He ran as an independent and won the general election.

The liberal fringe is loud and unyielding. I see them firsthand here in Olympia, where they are drawn by the strings of state government and the safety of the Evergreen State College. They believe in their cause with a most religious ardor, and they believe they can change the world. They will stop at nothing to do so.

Turning on Congressman Baird is a bad idea for the Democrats. Senator Lieberman was popular enough in Connecticut to win reelection unaffiliated with any party. If Baird is thrown out though, it will not pave the way for an ultra-liberal. No, this same district that elected conservative Linda Smith as a write-in candidate in 1994 will send another Republican to D.C. I doubt this is what Kos and Moveon are hoping for.

Go check out Big Lizards for political insight that digs deeper than the evening news.

Bric a Brac

2007-08-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

I peeled some potatoes for dinner today and wouldn't you know it, sliced open my thumb. I knew that would happen.

Dinner is good though, I made hash browns by grating the potatoes and cheddar cheese together, then mixing them with scrambled eggs. The three that were not yet peeled became baked potatoes.

Check out Ancient Faith Radio. It has programs of old Orthodox Christian music as well as short sermons and podcasts. I am not actually Orthodox, I am grounded in my Protestantism, but the music is wonderful and the sermons are thoughtful and encouraging for my faith.

I sold a TV Tuner card on eBay today. I am trying to get rid of some of the unused computer equipment taking up space around my house. If you have any need for old modems, RAM, cables, video cards, or other bits and pieces, let me know.

Time for dinner!

Weblog Links I: Dr. Helen

2007-08-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

The best way to expand your horizons when it comes to reading weblogs is to start where you already are. A great majority of my current daily weblog trips came about because they were linked from someplace I already paid close attention. Some weblogs have links to thousands of others (Thanks for the link Vox Day!) whereas I have only a few. It is growing, however.

Over the next few weeks I will highlight each of my links and explain why they are good to read. The newest addition is Dr. Helen, a forensic psychologist with a very down-to-earth outlook.

Today she writes about a new study showing that more domestic violence is instigated by women rather than men.

If reciprocal violence results in more injuries, it would seem important for domestic violence prevention to focus on both women and men in these cases. By focusing only on men, women never get the help they need to reduce violence. The false notion that men perpetrate the majority of domestic violence and women are on the receiving end just doesn't seem to be holding up in study after study.

There are two enormous factors keeping the truth away in this social ill. The first is that men do not by nature go running for the police when they are injured by their female partner. It is just not a "manly" thing to do, I suppose. Men are supposed to be strong, they should be able to take it without crying or tattling.

The second factor is the powerful feminist lobbies. Feminists have perfected the art of using victimhood as power, so anything that diminishes the belief that women are innocent victims of oppressive pugilistic males must be challenged, rationalized, or ignored.

Between male machismo and female obfuscation, studies like these never make the headlines. It is sad that politics will trump science whenever it suits those who pull the strings.

Check back as I profile the other bloggers on my list, and go ahead and read Dr. Helen - she makes a lot of sense.

Magical Moments In The Shining Sun

2007-08-22T19:56:00.001-07:00

Wispy clouds hang over the horizon as the sun slowly sets. For a brief moment, the blink of an eye, the sun hangs at eye level from my window. For a few fleeting heartbeats my home is bathed in orange light. Then the sun dips behind the house across the street and the moment is finished.

Today I felt dry leaves crackling beneath my feet. Summer is quickly giving way to autumn; Time does not pause.

Twenty four summers. I anticipate them in the spring and lament them in the fall.

Racing Pennants

2007-08-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

After three horrible seasons, the Mariners are back in the race! It is exciting to see them returning to form after such misery. Entering play today the Mariners are 1.5 games ahead of the surging New York Yankees for the AL Wild Card spot. They are also only two games behind the LA Angels for the AL West lead. The next few days will prove decisive, though this one may come down to the last of September.

Finally, a reason to follow Major League Baseball again!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

2007-08-18T15:58:00.000-07:00

A light drizzle did not prevent us from notching our second win of the season last night. I had a base hit in three at-bats and knocked in two runs as we strung a few hits together and beat Timberline Baptist 17-1. I ended the game with a running catch of a foul ball.

There is something special about baseball, is there not? I cannot explain it. The dusty field, the gloves, bats, and balls, the sound of the crowd. The game is so iconic, steeped in American tradition. Even a non-fan knows about Babe Ruth and his home runs, pitchers such as Koufax and Ryan, and the fact that the Yankees will always find a way to win.

I am definitely no star but I love the game. I wish summer were longer and work shorter so I could play more.

Back Home

2007-08-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

I have returned home. Everything was just where I left it. I slept in this morning. I am glad I returned early enough to have a rest day before returning to work.

Work. Sigh. To pay for the rest of my recent trip, in addition to the normal bills and expenses, I really need more money. Outsiders assume the computer industry is high paying but that is not the case - at least not at the place I am.

On the way home I picked up the new expansion for Civilization IV. I'm looking forward to trying that out. I also need to continue getting my house in order. I have nearly finished getting it just the way I want it, as I approach the first year anniversary of moving in.

Life goes on.

The Tour

2007-07-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight I have a softball doubleheader and then it is off on the 2007 edition of the Tour de Brian. Regular posting (har har) on this weblog will suspend for two weeks but you can catch all the details, stories, and pictures over at the Tour de Brian.

Seeing The World (II)

2007-07-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

In less than a week, the Tour de Brian 2007 begins. While past Tours have seen Australia, Spain, Iowa and upstate New York, this one will be an adventure by car through the American West.

Over the course of seventeen days we will cross the Golden Gate bridge, drive through a tree, visit the city of my birth, walk down the Strip of Las Vegas, camp at the Grand Canyon, drive through the Mexican wilderness, stand in four states at once, meet long-lost family and friends, and overall have a great adventure.

As with last year I will do my best to post regularly at my travelogue, which you can follow here.

Seeing The World

2007-07-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

As I prepare for my upcoming tour of the American West by car, my old friend Hannah is touring New England - by bicycle!

Goals:
An epic bike trip, 1200 miles, 28 days to the Atlantic Provinces of Canada, 7/15-8/12. To experience a family adventure, broaden our horizons, study God's creation, make relationships that will impact eternity, learn important lessons on simplicity, dependence, endurance and vagabonding.
The Cause:
Two daughters and a dad spending a boat load of time together, laughing and crying, talking and being silent, sweating and resting, complaining and praying, knowing mosquitos, whales, and overweight tourists, making a memory we will never forget.

Hannah is riding with her sister and her father from their home in New Jersey all the way up to the Canadian border. I simply cannot imagine making such a trip through the power of my own two feet. Even when we backpacked the Iberian Peninsula for three weeks, Kristin and I took trains and buses.

Perhaps someday I will be able to follow, but for now I follow in spirit. If you have a moment, pray for their safety and their adventure. Follow along yourself here.

If A Tree Falls...

2007-07-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

My morning began yesterday with the falling of a tree on my neighbor's house. Nobody was hurt and as far as I can tell there is no major damage. It seemed to make quite a mess though, and it broke some power lines.

One tree falls, another remains standing. One tree falls away from you, the other crushes you in an instant.

A popular science fiction theory regarding the nature of the universe has infinite parallel universes created every moment, one for every alternative, every road not traveled.

What of those roads not traveled? The decisions of the past render the present, and the future, leaving behind infinite possibilities.

Pick up the phone, and call an old friend. Or maybe another. Who knows what tomorrow brings.

A Losing Effort

2007-07-14T12:31:00.001-07:00

Another softball game yesterday. The weather was overcast and humid in the morning and I was afraid the game would be rained out again. Thankfully, out came the sun.

We were visitors again, playing Hope Community Church. I led off the order with a popup to the pitcher. The pitched balls had all sorts of movement and that popup was a harbinger for the rest of the game.

In the bottom of the first we did well also, giving up only one hit and no runs. I ended the inning by catching a line drive coming straight at me.

We did not score in the second, but they did, to the tune of a handful of runs. Nothing we could not overcome. I led off the top of the third with a base hit up the middle. I later came around to score on a bases-loaded fielder's choice. My streak remains alive - I have hit safely in all three games, scored at least one run in all three games, and incidentally, I have scored our team's first run in all three games.

The bottom of the third was when the bottom fell out. They batted around, scoring something like ten runs. Most of their hits went right up the middle, and more than a few were over our outfielders' heads. That was it.

We did our best to climb back into it. Bottom of the fifth, down 15-3, two outs, two runners in scoring position. I was batting with a chance to extend the game. If we ended the fifth down by more than ten, it was over. I looked toward right field, which is my normal area to hit, and saw a big gap. I took the first pitch for a ball. The next one was right in the middle. I swung - too much lift! I popped it up. Would the right fielder drop the ball? No such luck. Game over.

Oh well, it was fun. I hope to continue to improve. There is something about the concept of baseball that I just love, I cannot explain it. The dirty field, the crack of the bat, the feel of the ball in your glove. It is wonderful.

Olympia Wildlife

2007-07-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

I am often greeted by these little creatures on my deck. To them, I suppose, it is just an extension of the trees.

Work work work. Life is waking up and going to work and coming home. I found time to play some softball for the church team this week. In three trips to the plate I singled, walked, and was robbed of another hit by the most spectacular catch ever. I scored two runs in our losing effort.

Preparing for the big summer trip. Check the link to the Tour de Brian weblog over at right for updates and for the complete travelogue once we're on the road.

I Strive For Accuracy In Language

2007-06-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

Now, I don't mean to be a linguistic tyrant, but...

How many times have you ever been very hungry, and claimed to be "starving?" How often are you cold and say "I'm freezing?" These and other hyperbolic statements like them are obviously inaccurate, but the damage done to the language is far more subtle.

If I say that I am freezing when I am really just cold, what can I say if I actually am freezing to death? The English language has quite a gamut of adjectives to describe any situation. If you skip them all and use the most extreme for everyday situations, then what becomes of the others?

I have always thought the most terrifying idea put forth in Orwell's 1984 was that of the destruction of the language. The fictional Party realized a very real truth: To control language is to control thought. If people cannot express themselves, externally or internally, then their imagination is limited. The Party outlawed nearly all synonyms, leaving the people with just a handful of words for everyday usage. "Super," "great," "nice," "wonderful," "spiffy," "nifty," and "excellent" all gave way to just one word: "good." To express something more good, "plusgood," or even "doubleplusgood." All the adjectives meaning "bad" were done away with, replaced with "ungood."

This is an extreme extrapolation of the examples in my first paragraph, but I believe there is a connection. What the fictional Party of 1984 did out of evil desire, we are doing out of laziness. Each successive generation is losing the ability to express itself. The prose and poetry of the past is being ignored because it is too hard to understand.

So let us be accurate with our words. Other people will understand us, and we can treat the English language as a fine rapier of art rather than a crude club with which to bash in our ideas.

If I am an amateur artist of language, Fred Reed is Michaelangelo. Read his dissertation on the decline of English.

Thoughts

2007-05-28T21:09:00.000-07:00

I'm still here. What is new with you? It was another beautiful day today. Walking home I came across a squirrel as I often do. He did not run away as fast as the others have done. I turned around as he made his way around me. I found myself between him and his tree. The little guy looked up at me and lunged toward me. I took half a step back and he lunged again! I stepped backward and he then climbed up his tree. I admired his gumption; He could not have been any bigger than my shoe.

Watched Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End on Saturday. It was good. Very complicated though, it will take some time to figure it all out. A good trilogy.

I watched First Blood last night. Excellent movie. It was not so much about watching things blow up as it was a character study of the tragic John Rambo. He is a war hero who fought in Vietnam, the very best of the elite Green Berets, who finds he has nothing to live for back home. His buddies all die, he has no family, and no home. Walking through a small town here in Washington he stops for the first meal all day, only to find a sheriff with an inferiority complex, looking for trouble. Boy did he find it.

Can anyone who has not been through the worst hells of war truly comprehend what it does to your mind? As far as science and technology have progressed, as creative as we the human race has been at finding new ways to kill each other, the human mind remains the same.

This generation has it easy. Some have it easier than others. Without adversity we never grow beyond ourselves. Myself.

The Great American Gas Out!

2007-05-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well I did not buy gas today. Nevermind the fact that I drive once or twice a week and get gas once a month, I really stuck it to the man today! Woohoo!

Separated At Birth? (II)

2007-05-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

Former mayor of New York and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani:

And former Star Trek actor Armin Shimerman:

You be the judge!

Expansion of the Nanny State

2007-05-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

First they threaten to ticket us for not wearing our seatbelts, and now this:

Hang up or pay up: Using your hands to talk on the phone or tap out a text message while behind the wheel of a car will be illegal next year.

Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the measures into law Friday, flanked by children who suffered serious injuries after being hit by distracted drivers.

Under the new laws, drivers who read and compose text messages or talk on a cell phone without a hands-free device could face a $101 ticket. The text-messaging ban takes effect Jan. 1; the cell-phone law will be enforced starting in July 2008.

Source

I really am at a loss for words. How far will the busybodies in the government take away our rights in the name of safety? Cell phones have become an easy target for blame in car accidents, but they are not the only way that drivers become distracted. Adjusting the radio or CD player, eating food, flipping your sunroof, talking to a passenger, children in the back seat, all are causes of distraction. Are all those things to be banned as well?

The key to safe driving is not to ban things that may distract the driver but to teach drivers to operate their vehicle safely. Personally I can talk on a cell phone without distracting me from driving the car, and I know others who can do so just fine as well. At the same time, there are people who cannot multitask in this way. Motorists must take responsibility for themselves and avoid things that are personally distracting.

This bill will not save lives, but it will transfer more of our money into the hands of a fiscally irresponsible, socially incompetent state legislature.

Summer Is Here

2007-05-09T23:19:00.000-07:00

Three warm, sunny days in Western Washington and I am making it official: Summer has begun. Actually I consider the season to have started over the weekend with my first trip of the year. I spent a few days in Idaho visiting some family I had not seen in a while. The trip there was about nine hours and the trip home was closer to eleven. I took a side trip up a mountain across dusty, dirty, rocky, and snowy roads. It was an adventure! I will have pictures to share soon.

Anyway, that was the beginning of summer for me and the warm days have only confirmed it. The leaves and blossoms of Spring are thickening and deepening. Birds and squirrels make their presence known throughout my neighbourhood. My short walk to and from work really is quite a pleasure.

The only sad part is that I have to spend nine hours a day inside a small room with no windows.

Meet My Family

2007-05-08T18:14:00.000-07:00

I know it has been another long span of days since I posted. Much apologies. Maybe soon I will get into the habit of posting every day. For now, here is what I have.

One of my major life interests is charting the history of my family, those who have come before, and those to whom I share a blood relationship. Starting today I will begin a semi-regular series on this weblog sharing the stories of my family. Today I share an article from the OC Register from southern California.

Mary Toepelt Nicolai had two ambitions in life: become financially stable and get out of rainy Washington state, where she graduated from high school.

As the daughter of a father who had lost it all during the Great Depression, Nicolai worked hard to accomplish those goals.

In the 1940s, she obtained a master's in public administration from Syracuse University and landed a job at the Veterans Administration in Washington, D.C. to head development of its insurance program.

Later, she moved to Anaheim because of her then-husband's job. She worked as a school teacher in the city for about 25 years and got involved with local politics, sitting on the committee that helped Anaheim go from a general-law city to a charter city in 1964.

Her involvement with Anaheim has been strong ever since, giving a $400,000 endowment toward the renovations at the Central Library. The City Council agreed to name the first floor of the library the Mary E. Toepelt Nicolai Children's Library when it officially reopens this fall.

Mary Toepelt Nicolai is my first cousin, three times removed. Her father, Herman Toepelt, was the older brother of Charles Toepelt, my great-great grandfather. Sons of a German immigrant, they moved west from Wisconsin and helped settle the town of Doty, Washington.

Her story is told succinctly in the article above. She married Rolf Nicolai, worked as a civilian insurer in the German occupation after World War II, moved to Anaheim and taught school while becoming active in local politics. She was invited to two presidential inaugurations for Ronald Reagan as well as one for George H. W. Bush.

Mary's story is inspirational. She grew up in a small town in rural Washington during the Great Depression and set out to make the best of life that she could. Living in this generation that I lament so often, I can learn a lot from her life story.

Spring Into Summer

2007-04-27T22:47:00.000-07:00

Summer is my favorite season. I like the warmth, the feel of a cool breeze, the life, and especially the long sunlit days. In the summer life feels good. I love spring too, because spring is the anticipation of summer. After cold, dead winter, life begins to return to the world. The first hints of long days and warm weather appear on the horizon.

Walking down the road these past few weeks I have seen new trees blooming every day. A landscape that can seem so frozen and lifeless is transformed anew. On the horizon, rising above the city, is the sunrise of a new season. There is symbolism in the seasons, and it resonates in my heart.

The springtime is like the morning, when the sun rises after a long slumber and the world wakes refreshed. Birds sing, dew sparkles, and life begins. Summer is like noontime, when we are alert, awake, and ready for the challenges of the day. Autumn is the evening, as we return home and wind down, watching the sun set. Winter is the night time, quiet and cold. As spring follows winter, so does dawn follow dusk.

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze

Springtime is like childhood, filled with newness of life. Summer is the prime time, when everything happens - growing up, marriage, family. Autumn is when hair turns grey and children move away into their own summers. Finally, winter is death. Unlike the seasons or the day, life is not cyclical. Birth does not follow death.

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears

No, we are not reborn as some believe. Man is appointed once to die. However, we have a special way to carry on our cycle of life. As we pass our springtimes we can bring about new life: Children, boys and girls, who begin their own long journey through life. When we lay down for eternal winter, our children carry on. The cycle repeats, a little different each time.

I sit and ponder, I peer through my curtains. My day is closing and the night has come. It is dark out my window. A cold breeze wafts from the water nearby.

I sit and ponder, I remember the sunlight. Spring is upon us, and summer is in the air. Long days and short nights, car rides with the air conditioning, fans in the house, baseball and vacation are all yet to come.

I sit and ponder, I think about the past and future. The springtime of my life is drawing to a close and summer is upon me. Summer, my favorite season, yet as I take a count of my life I feel melancholy.

At the close of a bad day I am comforted by the notion of a new day. A subpar summer is ameliorated by hope of another. Yet what of life, that is here once and never again? What of the springtime passed?

I can't. I can't go on. It goes so fast. We don't have time to look at one another.

I didn't realize. So all that was going on and we never noticed. Take me back - up the hill - to my grave. But first: Wait! One more look.

Good-by, Good-by, world. Good-by, Grover's Corners... Mama and Papa. Good-by to clocks ticking... and Mama's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dressed and hot baths... and sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you.

Do human beings ever realize life while they live it? - every, every minute?

No.

The saints and poets, maybe - they do some.

Like a speeding train, I can see life passing by but I cannot do a thing to slow it down. Spring gives way to summer, but the summer will not last. Autumn and winter are there, right there on the horizon.

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.

Hope For Humanity?

2007-04-26T22:58:00.000-07:00

(Courtesy of Dave Barry)

When did we as a society turn off our brains? We live in the most technologically advanced civilization in the history of the world. Through the power of the Internet I can access more information in five minutes than was contained in the largest libraries. However, an average American can make a good living without knowing how to spell, or their times tables, or the state capitals.

The company I work for uses three somewhat common words in its name. A customer came in today with a cashier's check from their credit union. Two of the three words in our business name were spelled wrong. Yet this person obviously knew enough to make the money in the first place. Spelling is not necessary.

Every few years a new study shows how ignorant Americans have become. They show how most students cannot find certain countries on a map. They point out that more Americans can name the three American Idol judges than any three Supreme Court justices.

I suppose you really do not need to know much about our government in order to get by in life. Go to work every day, obey the law, pay your taxes, vote for the candidate who looks best on the television, and you are set for life.

I am disheartened by our nation. Television is a drug that has poisoned our minds. Not only does it take the place of more productive activities, it trains us to be impatient and dramatic. Watching half hour sitcoms and hour-long dramas all evening long, seven days a week, and we get into the habit of thinking that every tiny part of life is Truly Important. Like a character in a television show, the world begins to revolve around us. Other People are just side characters, we are the stars.

All the while life is happening behind our backs. When television and other media does our thinking for us, we lose the capacity for reasonable and critical thought. We begin to believe things as ridiculous as the government controlling the amount of light in a day. Or that mankind is causing the destruction of the planet. Or that there is nothing supernatural.

I mentioned previously that Star Trek saw humanity of the future as having given up television and capitalism in order to spend their lives exploring and bettering themselves. This is not the current trend. We have little reason to better ourselves in this world of instant convenience. We become outraged at the smallest things, and give our attention to the stupidest. The future is more like Mike Judge's Idiocracy than Star Trek.

Is there hope for humanity, especially for America? I really do not know. Until we as a society have a reason to use our brains they will continue to atrophy.

The More Things Change...

2007-04-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

...the more they stay the same. The new technology of the 21st Century only enables people to do the same things they have always done, if not on a grander scale.

An open invitation was placed on Rachael's MySpace page for revellers to attend a 'Skins Party' (based on a riotous episode of the controversial C4 teen drama). The invitation was headed: "Let's all trash the average, family-sized house disco party."

And they did. More than 200 young people from as far afield as London and Liverpool, converged on the £230,000 detached house in a respectable culdesac in Houghton-le-Spring and destroyed it after seven hours of drink and drug-fuelled mayhem.

Some believe in the progressive power of science and technology, that with enough scientific progress and education, people will better themselves. Nowhere is this more evident than in Star Trek. By the 24th Century, technological advancement has created an Earth that is Paradise. No disease, no war, no crime, no poverty. All the vices of human nature are gone.

Of course, we know better. Stories like this exemplify the fact that while technology may change, human nature does not. King Solomon recognized this fact nearly four thousand years ago when he wrote that there is "nothing new under the sun."

Just Say No...

2007-04-12T12:58:00.000-07:00

...to the First Amendment:

'It is our feeling that this is only the beginning. We must have a broad discussion on what is permitted and not permitted in terms of the airwaves' - Al Sharpton, referencing offensive comments by Don Imus.

Speech codes on college campuses are just the beginning.

The Message of Easter

2007-04-08T12:04:00.002-07:00

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! (Luke 24:1-6)

Happy Easter 2007. May the peace and joy of our living Saviour be with you today and always.

Listen to the Shrieking

2007-03-29T21:57:00.000-07:00

Some people just want their noses in everything.

It's called the Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Initiative, and the Bush administration doles out up to $50 million annually to fund its programs to build job skills and help fathers connect better with their children. But the National Organization for Women says the effort is illegal because it's only about men.

NOW and Legal Momentum, another advocacy group, filed complaints yesterday with the Department of Health and Human Services alleging sex discrimination in the initiative that is funding about 100 programs this year.

I wonder how many women-only programs take Federal money? Nobody questions that, nobody demands that they shut down or stop being so exclusive. Yet a government initiative to help fathers, indeed to help families? NOW just cannot abide that.

I think I will go down to the local women's shelter. If it is receiving any government money, then I clearly have the right to bed down there for the night. Sex discrimination is always wrong, right?

As Vox Day says, calling a feminist a "feminazi" is an insult to National Socialists.

Wherefore Freedom?

2007-03-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

The environmentalists are turning Fascist.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - City leaders approved a ban on plastic grocery bags after weeks of lobbying on both sides from environmentalists and a supermarket trade group. If Mayor Gavin Newsom signs the ban as expected, San Francisco would be the first U.S. city to adopt such a rule.

The law, passed by a 10-1 vote, requires large markets and drug stores to give customers only a choice among bags made of paper that can be recycled, plastic that breaks down easily enough to be made into compost, or reusable cloth.

While some worry about our freedoms being taken away in the name of security, I see them being taken in the name of preserving the environment. It was only a few short weeks ago when I wrote about this.

Global warming has the potential to destroy our society. No, I do not mean that climate change will alter our environment to the point that humanity faces extinction, rather I mean that I see draconian measures on the horizon that will be used by the political elite. They will say that certain oppressions and legislation is necessary for the survival of the planet. Our freedom will not be taken away in the name of security, but in the name of environmentalism.

Do you think we have a choice anymore? Does anyone think that this is the end?

Craig Noble, a spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said it would be disappointing if grocers rejected the biodegradable plastic bag option, since more trees would have to be cut down if paper bag use increases.

I am afraid it is only the beginning. In the name of Mother Earth, life as we know it will come to an end.

Little Things

2007-03-26T23:33:00.000-07:00

I had a long day today. Work was busy, Awana was hectic as usual, and I was tired early on. I arrived home near 11:00 PM and did some work on the computer, scraping up my hand on some circuit boards in the process. I decided to have some chocolate ice cream. As I scooped it into a cup I suddenly thought that some chocolate syrup would be extra good tonight. I did not think I had any, however.

I decided to check the refrigerator anyway. I was certainly headed for disappointment.

There, before my eyes, was a bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup. It brought a tear to my eye.

Thank God for the little things.

Decisions

2007-03-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

Ever since I moved here in November I have been accessing the internet through Comcast, the cable monopoly of the Northwest. Right now I pay about $30 per month, however that introductory rate will soon expire and I will owe between $50 and $60 a month. My downstream speed is between 4 and 6 Mbps, but it can be less if lots of people are online at the same time.

There is an alternative that I have been considering. Qwest provides DSL at 7 Mbps for a lifetime-guaranteed price of about $46 per month, contingent upon signing a two year contract. DSL is a consistent speed that is not affected by network traffic.

I have spoken to users of both services and I have heard the same things from both sides. There seem to be people who have had good and bad experiences with both services.

So what do you think? Cable or DSL? Comcast or Qwest? Truth be told I would rather have a T3 line pumping massive amounts of Internet into my home, but that is not really an option, is it?

Odds & Ends

2007-03-21T21:08:00.000-07:00

Well hello there. I am still alive and well. Just finished a wonderful dinner handmade by myself. I marinated chicken breasts in Italian salad dressing, breaded them with a bread/chip/cereal crumb and oregano/garlic mix, and fried them in butter. With some white rice with parmesan and warm buttered rolls, it was an excellent meal.

Sorry for the scant posting. I know my massive internet audience has missed me. In any case, here are some of the interesting opinions I have come across in the last few days.

Vox Day delivers quite an impressive treatise on the subject of learning.

Anyone who is sufficiently well read in history is aware that ancient man was just as intelligent, and just as capable of doing stupid things with that intelligence, as we are. This is one reason I loathe the idea of Progress, the notion that we are somehow superior to the medieval scholastics or the Athenian Greeks on the basis of possessing superior metallurgy and satellite television.

Meanwhile, Michael Spencer laments the decline in basic Bible reading in modern church services.

We have a phrase: “The sermon is the servant of the scripture, rather than the scripture being the servant of the sermon.” What do we mean?

Simply put, we believe the scripture lesson should precede the sermon and provide the direction and substance of the sermon, as opposed to the sermon using snippets and citations of scripture to provide legitimacy for itself.

Trekmovie.com interviews Robert Justman, one of the few living producers of the original Star Trek series still around today.

I remember when we were preparing Star Trek: The Next Generation and there was a Star Trek convention in Universal City and I invited myself over. Now this is before it aired and they were angry. All kinds of rumors were flying about and they were none too thrilled. I said “the least you could do is wait for something you could see, but don’t condemn us out of hand because it is important to us to make a wonderful show.” That was my message. Just be a real good human being and let’s see what they’re offering and then make up our minds. Don’t play it down before its’ time.

Last but not least, be sure to check out the new trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. It looks incredible. The Pirates trilogy is this generation's Star Wars, and has the potential to supersede George Lucas' incredible films.

In other news, I cleaned out my email inbox yesterday. I had not sorted nor deleted anything for a year and I had many hundred messages just sitting there. It is nice and tidy now. I am working on making my house the same way, I finally got my books up on my shelf this week. They had been in boxes since I moved here in November.

We had our Awana Grand Prix last weekend and it went well. Like the race itself, we had been preparing since January for the event and it was over in the blink of an eye. There were some nice looking cars that the kids (and their parents) made, and some fast ones as well. Organizing it was certainly a fun and educational experience.

Thanks for stopping by. I will try to post more regularly from now on.

The 300 Conspiracy

2007-03-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

Iran is not happy.

An Iranian official on Sunday lashed out at the Hollywood movie "300" for insulting the Persian civilization, local Fars News Agency reported.

Javad Shamqadri, an art advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, accused the new movie of being "part of a comprehensive U.S. psychological war aimed at Iranian culture", said the report.

Shamqadri was quoted as saying "following the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Hollywood and cultural authorities in the U.S. initiated studies to figure out how to attack Iranian culture," adding "certainly, the recent movie is a product of such studies."

The movie's effort wound be fruitless, because "values in Iranian culture and the Islamic Revolution are too strongly seated to be damaged by such plans", said the Iranin official.

It makes me wonder if Mahmoud Ahmadinejad thinks of himself as a modern day Xerxes the Great. Although instead of conquering his neighbors, like Xerxes did, Ahdaminejad makes paper threats. Instead of a godlike king, he is somewhat of a weenie. Instead of marrying a Jewish woman, Ahmadinejad threatens the destruction of Israel and the Jews.

Anyway, 300 was a great movie. It is not kind to the Persians, but since the whole story is framed as a rousing war story for the Greek army, that is to be expected. So what if the Spartans were missing their armor, or if Ephialtes really was not a hunchbacked cripple. It was a timeless story with fun fights and action and some truly great laconic lines.

Planning The Planets

2007-03-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

Wired News reports that one lawmaking body is taking action.

Seven months after a conclave of scientists downgraded the distant heavenly body to a "dwarf planet," a state representative in New Mexico aims to give the snubbed world back some of its respect. State lawmakers will vote Tuesday on a bill that proposes "as Pluto passes overhead through New Mexico's excellent night skies, it be declared a planet."

The resolution, House Joint Memorial 54, was introduced by Rep. Joni Marie Gutierrez (D-Dona Ana County). It reiterates the importance of astronomy to the state of New Mexico and calls for March 13 to be "Pluto Planet Day."

So which group of human beings has more power over the heavens, the International Astronomical Union or the New Mexico State Legislature?

Feminist-Style Freedom

2007-03-01T22:09:00.000-08:00

Frank J. at IMAO points out the absurdity of feminists and abortion groups protesting when pharmacies decline to carry certain products.

Trolls have signed me up for all sorts of weird stuff, so today I got an e-mail from NARAL Pro-Choice America (it used to be just called "NARAL" and that acronym actually stood for something... that was until they decided the word "abortion" was bad PR). Here's the beginning of the letter (which is as far as I read):

Dear Frank,

I wrote to you recently to share my story about my contraceptive emergency.

Basically, it went like this - my boyfriend and I headed to our local Wal-Mart in Springfield, Ohio, to purchase Plan B® after our condom broke. But rather than sell us contraception that they had in the store, the pharmacist laughed in my face!

So, I called NARAL Pro-Choice America and NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio!

Here's a better idea: Call Walgreens.

We had a similar situation here in Olympia last year. Two local Thriftway stores owned by the Stormans family decided not to carry Plan B. For more than a week, angry feminists picketed outside the stores. They had to picket on both sides of the parking lot since it was between two one-way roads.

It was absolutely ridiculous. I remember one old lady with a sign that said "Stop the war against women". I saw women with their young daughters. What kind of message is that to send to the children of America? If a business does not do what you want it to do then you should picket, protest, and legislate until your dreams come true?

As Frank J. so eloquently states, there are other pharmacies. Just like with any other product, you have the option of taking your business elsewhere. That is what freedom is all about.

I Don't Want The World, I Just Want Your Half

2007-02-28T12:53:00.001-08:00

Building The Bridge

2007-02-27T21:55:00.000-08:00

They took turns swinging across the gully on the rope. It was a glorious autumn day, and if you looked up as you swung, it gave you the feeling of floating. Jess leaned back and drank in the rich, clear color of the sky. He was drifting, drifting like a fat white lazy cloud back and forth across the blue.
"Do you know what we need?" Leslie called to him. Intoxicated as he was with the heavens, he couldn't imagine needing anything anything on earth.
"We need a place," she said, "just for us. It would be so secret that we would never tell anyone in the whole world about it." Jess came swinging back and dragged his feet to stop. She lowered her voice almost to a whisper. "It might be a whole secret country," she continued, "and you and I would be the rulers of it."

Katherine Paterson, Bridge To Terabithia

Imagination is a wonderful thing and the imagination of a child is the most wonderful of all. Unencumbered by the encroaching walls of adult society, a child is free to experience anything in the universe. Before he or she is told what does not exist and what is not possible, a child can create anything imaginable.

The Lord God created the world and all its wonders from His own imagination. He made air and water, darkness and light, plants and animals, men and women, and then He called it "Good". He infused mankind with the ability to think, to imagine, to commune with Him.

They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. How then can we humans imitate our Creator? We use the imaginations inherent in the souls of mankind. J.R.R. Tolkien, the great author, called this process "subcreation". We cannot create out of nothing, as God has, but we can create our own worlds within His.

An artist uses colors to create magnificent pictures that evoke wondrous feelings. An author uses words to create worlds that cannot exist outside of human imagination. Songwriters take simple sounds and weave them into a musical mosaic that pleases the ears and moves the heart. Movie directors put them together to show us things we never thought possible. Video game designers open the door to magnificent new places, allowing us to take part in the subcreation of another.

At the heart of all subcreation is the imagination, and imagination comes from the mind of a child. In Surprised By Joy, C.S. Lewis speaks of a make-believe land populated by talking animals in which he played as a child. Had any adults known of these flights of fancy at the time they would likely have brushed them off as the idle imaginings of childhood, soon to be forgotten. Yet how many people, children and adults alike, have been touched by the wonder of the Chronicles of Narnia. The wonder grows deeper when one sees the reality of Christ mirrored in the story. The Creator is revealed in the subcreation.

Imagination is a joyful experience. A child who is lost in another world of their own making may be called absent-minded and a slacker, but who could ever say he was dour? Subcreation is the highest calling of we the created. In Paterson's novel, Jess finds joy in his imaginary kingdom of Terabithia that gives him the strength to endure the rest of his life.

In his autobiographical treatise, Lewis writes of a feeling I know dearly. He recalls the later years of his childhood being bereft of joy, full of boarding schools and few friends. Yet there was a moment when he remembered joy itself, and it came with the stirrings of imagination.

This long winter broke up in a single moment... Spring is the inevitable image, but this was not gradual like Nature's springs. It was as if the Arctic itself, all the deep layers of secular ice, should change not in a week nor in an hour, but instantly, into a landscape of grass and primroses and orchards in bloom, deafened with bird songs and astir with running water. I can lay my hand on the very moment; there is hardly any fact I know so well, though I cannot date it. Someone must have left in the schoolroom a literary periodical: The Bookman, perhaps, or the Times Literary Supplement. My eye fell upon a headline and a picture, carelessly, expecting nothing. A moment later, as the poet says, 'The sky had turned round.'
What I had read was the words Siegfried and the Twilight of the Gods. What I had seen was one of Arthur Rackham's illustrations to that volume. I had never heard of Wagner, nor of Siegfried. I thought the Twilight of the Gods means the twilight in which the gods lived. How did I know, at once and beyond question, that this was no Celtic, or silvan, or terrestrial twilight? But so it was. Pure 'Northerness' engulfed me: a vision of huge, clear spaces hanging above the Atlantic in the endless twilight of Northern summer, remoteness, severity... there arose at once, almost like heartbreak, the memory of Joy itself, the knowledge that I had once had what I had now lacked for years, that I was returning at last from exile and desert lands to my own country; and the distance of the Twilight of the Gods and the distance of my own past Joy, both unattainable, flowed together into a single, unendurable sense of desire and loss, which suddenly became one with the loss of the whole experience, which, as I now stared round that dusty schoolroom like a man recovering from unconsciousness, had already vanished, had eluded me at the very moment when I could first say It is. And at once I knew (with fatal knowledge) that to 'have it again' was the supreme and only important object of desire.

C.S. Lewis, Surprised By Joy

Lewis spent the rest of his life in the process of subcreation, for it is there that joy is found. It is not the minute details of publishing a crafted work but in the opening of your mind to the wonders of imagination that finds joy. Adults are often concerned about the things of this world - rent, work, groceries, car payments - to close their eyes and open their minds. Sure, these things are important to life. However, if this is all there is to life, then life is not worth living.

Life is a journey, and our imagination can take us much further than our feet. Who can not feel a shiver upon hearing Captain Kirk, flying into the unknown, "...to boldly go where no man has gone before!" What is there in a simple song that makes "...the road goes ever on and on..." so magnetic when spoken by Gandalf the Wizard? What motivated explorers such as Magellan, Columbus, Lewis and Clark? They had to see what was out there. It is the same thing that motivates authors and artists, songwriters and moviemakers. There are infinite worlds out there, waiting to be discovered!

Here then is the answer to the questions begged by my previous post. Where do we go when we realize that modern life is lived in a small box, whose walls close in like a collapsing cave? When the whole world is mapped and civilized and paved and there are no more new worlds? Our imagination can take us anywhere. Like a child who does not know the cynicism of life, we can reach beyond ourselves. Narnia and Terabithia are only the beginning. There is a secret country for each of us, a country that can at once take us beyond ourselves and reveal an aspect of our True Country.

Plato spoke of ideals. Everything that exists is merely a reflection of the real thing, as best as we can see it. All the horses we see are imperfect reflections of the ideal horse, much like a shimmering visage of a mountain turns out to be a reflection of the real mountain on the water. Life is like this. Our existence is merely a reflection of what eternity holds for the children of God. This existence is finite and solid, while eternity will be infinite and perfect.

Our God-given imagination gives us a peek through the keyhole of eternity. Until he is used to the world, a child can conceive of wonderful and fantastic things. Yet we cannot remain children forever. John Timmerman writes here about his first-hand experience with subcreation.

I learned... that the world badly wanted me to grow up. And to grow up is to strip yourself of gauzy clouds of wonder and put on heavier garb -- woolens and cottons that protect you from winter’s cold or summer’s heat.

John H. Timmerman, Tolkien’s Crucible of Faith: The Sub-Creation

Growing out of childhood does not have to mean the death of imagination. Indeed, the examples of Tolkien, Lewis, and many other subcreators shows us that we can hold on to our infinite imaginations forever, no matter how hard the world tries to bring us back down to earth.

The great literary character Don Quixote de la Mancha was ridiculed for attacking windmills as if they were giants. To everyone else, they were obviously plain old windmills. But to Quixote, they were clearly evil giants that must be defeated. To the subcreator, well, they might be giants after all.

Of course, he carried it a bit too far. He thought that every windmill was a giant. That's insane. But, thinking that they might be... Well, all the best minds used to think the world was flat. But, what if it isn't? It might be round. And bread mold might be medicine. If we never looked at things and thought of what they might be, why, we'd all still be out there in the tall grass with the apes.

Justin Playfair (George C. Scott), They Might Be Giants (Source)

People grow up and grow out of their own imaginations. They enter an adult world, a world of taxes and mortgages and politics. They do their best to pull children and childlike adults back to the so-called 'real world.' The satirical newspaper The Onion reports on the safety hazard that a child's imagination poses and makes a more logical point than perhaps it should.

According to McMillan, children can suffer broken bones, head trauma, and even fatal injuries from unsupervised exposure to childlike awe. "If your children are allowed to unlock their imaginations, anything from a backyard swing set to a child's own bedroom can be transformed into a dangerous undersea castle or dragon's lair," McMillan said. "But by encouraging your kids to think linearly and literally, and constantly reminding them they can never be anything but human children with no extraordinary characteristics, you can better ensure that they will lead prolonged lives."

An imagination is a powerful and dangerous thing. It makes life worth living, and opens our minds to the wonders of the universe. With just a thought, the mundane becomes extraordinary. We use our imaginations in imitation of our God, and we look forward to the day when all is made perfect and this world passes away. You could say that imagination is a bridge to eternity.

For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

1 Corinthians 13:9-12

Comfortable America

2007-02-26T23:18:00.000-08:00

Fred Reed explains the character of our postmodern society.

One hears much admiration from politicians of the American “national character,” by which seems to be meant the aggregate of prevailing values of the majority of the population. I gather that Americans tend to regard their national character as comprising such things as freedom, independence, individualism, and self-reliance. One thinks of Daniel Boone or Marlboro Man.

In fact we no longer have these qualities and probably never will again. Generally we now embody their opposites. Modern society has become a hive of largely conformist, closely regulated and generally helpless employees who depend on others for nearly everything.

When we as a society look in the mirror we see the nearly mythological heroes of our past. Politicians see themselves as modern George Washingtons and Abraham Lincolns. Feminists think themselves successors to Susan B. Anthony while Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson believe they are following in the footsteps of Frederick Douglass and W. E. B. DuBois.

Take away the mirror and wipe the scales from our eyes and it becomes clear that we fall far short of our historical heroes. Each generation has confronted the issues of the day, but I fear that this one will not. We have become too comfortable to step out of our everyday lives.

The existence of the World Wide Web has created the most potentially knowledgeable generation in world history. Even the poorest American can read news from a thousand sources, encyclopaedic articles on a million subjects, and the inane babble of a billion people. We could spend so much time reading that we forget to live, in fact.

We do not know fear. My great-great-grandfather's generation had to work the earth in order to survive. My great-grandfather's knew the reality of complete and utter loss through the Depression, while tyranny threatened the entire world nearby. My grandfather's generation lived with a real fear that entire cities might be obliterated with nuclear weapons.

What do we know? We are afraid that the government might not have enough money to mail us checks when we grow old. We fear that our neighbor has more digital television channels than we do. We scream at protest rallies because there is a chance a government agent might read our emails.

We have grocery stores that never close. We have an expanding bureaucracy that provides meaningless jobs to people who know no world outside of their white-collar office. We have rules and regulations, acts and codes, all to keep us safe and secure and obedient. The Man comes around and extracts a fine if he can think of a legal reason to do so. Society is a tightly controlled framework. We are moved about on strings by a few elite puppeteers.

C.S. Lewis wrote a short treatise about the Men Without Chests. Plato explained that the head controls the belly through the chest. Sigmund Freud would say that the ego rules over the id through the superego. It means the same thing. Our animal passions are governed by reason. Yet we as a society are being constantly molded over time into subservience.

As Lewis says:

And all the time—such is the tragi-comedy of our situation—we continue to clamour for those very qualities we are rendering impossible. You can hardly open a periodical without coming across the statement that what our civilization needs is more 'drive', or dynamism, or self-sacrifice, or 'creativity'. In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.

The comfortable walls of a modern office is a prison compared to the wide open spaces of a worldwide frontier. Sure, modern life is safer. Our life expectancy has skyrocketed, infant mortality is rare, and we have conquered many diseases that once killed millions. Yet is this worth what we have lost?

If asked what kind of future awaits us, many would guess that it will resemble George Orwell's dystopia of 1984. That is, a supreme party controls the populace with constant supervision, threatening the people with death for the slightest transgression, while maintaining an endless war in order to provide a reason for its own power. Yet I do not see this happening.

No, the future is that of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. The institutions of antiquity such as marriage and family will be destroyed. The ruling class will keep the common man content with endless pleasure and constant distraction. We will be a people ruled by our bellies, or our id as Freud would say. We are almost there, can you not see it?

Gone is the man who can take care of himself. Gone is the family that can uproot and move into an unknown land to start anew. Gone is the community that is self-sufficient and united. Life has become so comfortable that we cannot even notice that we are dying like a withering vine.

But who cares. American Idol is on.

Across The Pond

2007-02-25T23:11:00.000-08:00

The answer to the riddle in my last post is that the monarchs in the first group are all ancestors of the current U.K. sovereign, HM Elizabeth II, while those in the second group are not.

In that vein, Helen Mirren won Best Actress Oscar tonight for her portrayal of the aforementioned Queen. That was the only one of the major nominees that I have seen thus far and I thought she was more than deserving. On screen, Mirren becomes Queen Elizabeth.

The movie itself is about the reaction of the royal family to the death of Princess Diana and the efforts of newly-elected Prime Minister Tony Blair to smooth things out. Michael Sheen deserved an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Blair.

Speaking of which, the Prime Minister is facing police interviews relating to Labour's cash-for-honours scandal. Several of his advisers have been accused of acquiring peerages for folks who contribute a lot of money to the Labour Party. In America that would be similar to a President appointing his top financiers to the Cabinet.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is trying to gradually withdraw British troops from Iraq just as HRH Prince Harry is scheduled to deploy there later this year. I wonder if those two situations are related.

Who says British politics is boring?

A Royal Riddle

2007-02-24T17:54:00.000-08:00

I posted this on a message board recently and nobody has been able to get the answer. I did not think it was too impossibly hard. Can anyone tell me what fact is true for the first group that is not true for the second? Let me know!

Henry VII... but not Henry VIII
George III... but not George IV
James I... but not James II
Edward III... but not Edward V
Edward VII... but not Edward VIII

The Face Of Feminism

2007-02-22T22:03:00.000-08:00

Amanda Marcotte speaks for many, and that is truly frightening.

To see that abortion is moral, you just need to look at women as human beings with lives that have value. When a woman chooses abortion, she’s not indulging some guilty pleasure, like sneaking in a round of adultery at lunch, to bring up a genuinely immoral action that should not be criminal. She is probably thinking about her family’s well-being and yes, her own well-being. Taking your own well-being into consideration is called “selfish” by anti-choicers, but I think valuing yourself is a moral good, even if you are female. In fact, especially if you are female, since you live in a world where having self-esteem can be an act of moral courage that requires some defiance. If I got pregnant, I wouldn’t even have to suffer much mental strain to realize that abortion would be the best choice for myself, my family, and my relationship. Abortion, not just the right to abortion but the actual procedure, is a moral good that helps women and families and should be honored as such. Women who get abortions should be recognized as people who can accurately weigh their choices and make the most moral one.

Updated to add: Also, saying that abortion is morally questionable, even if you’re pro-choice, is a huge insult to the brave men and women who risk life and limb to perform them. Being an abortion doctor is a pretty thankless task, because a bunch of “Christian” men who have emasculation issues are gunning to kill you in hopes that brings their huevos back. Meanwhile, other anti-choicers are running around claiming that being an abortionist is like this super great career that people only indulge in for the money. This is horseshit and pro-choicers need to push back and remind everyone that abortionists are heroes, who put up with all sorts of abuse because they want to help women.

The rise of the abortion movement is a triumph of selfish convenience over righteousness. Females like Amanda desire complete freedom to live their lives as they wish without any interference from others or consequences of their own actions. Killing your own unborn child because you have neither the desire nor the inclination to bring it into the world, to follow through with the consequences of your behaviour, is akin to running over a man in the street because you are late to work.

Amanda, and many others as well, have transcended what was once the pro-abortion position outlined by President Clinton as "Safe, legal, and rare." Now they consider prenatal murder to be a higher calling, a moral right. Amanda goes on to proclaim the so-called doctors who destroy these tiny lives as "heroes".

It is ironic that those who condemn Christians for adhering to morality in a post-moral age should call their own reprehensible behaviour "moral".

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
And prudent in their own sight!"
(Isaiah 5:20-21)

"Woe" is a scary word if you believe in the God of justice.

Muslims Against Cigar Smoking

2007-02-14T22:18:00.000-08:00

Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison, the first Muslim in Congress, is not making any new friends on the hill.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) believes it is his right as a Muslim to be sworn into Congress with the Quran. But apparently, the freshman lawmaker doesn’t believe it’s Rep. Tom Tancredo’s (R-Colo.) right to smoke a cigar in his congressional office.

Ellison’s office called the Capitol Hill Police on Tancredo last Wednesday night as Tancredo was in his office smoking a cigar. The lawmakers have neighboring offices on the first floor of the Longworth House Office Building.

I am sure that the fact that he is a Muslim, with ties to CAIR and other organizations who implicitly support terrorism, has nothing to do with this minor incident. It is not, however, good publicity.

Every office has a busybody, a nosy cubicle neighbor who makes a point of interfering in the business of others and making a big fuss over every perceived injustice. In Kindergarten these types are called tattle-tales. Some of them may even grow up to be United States Congressmen.

Keep Your Pants On

2007-02-11T21:02:00.000-08:00

Next time you go through airport security, remember to keep a tight belt.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A 66-year-old German tourist, annoyed by stringent security at Manila's airport, dropped his pants before walking through an X-ray machine, newspapers said Monday.

Authorities were not amused.

Instead of boarding a flight to Frankfurt on Friday, Hans Jurgen Oskar von Naguschewski was detained after police filed a complaint of lasciviousness against him, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Philippine Star newspapers reported.

"He must have been annoyed that he was asked to walk through the X-ray twice, so he took off his pants," airport security chief Angel Atutubo was quoted saying.

Oskar spent the weekend in police detention and was to face the prosecutor later Monday. If convicted, he could face six months to six years in jail.

"He actually didn't say much, unlike Filipino passengers who would talk a lot. He was clearly irked and he showed it by disrobing," the Inquirer quoted police Supt. Atilano Morada saying.

Source

The Global Warming Dogma

2007-02-09T19:10:00.000-08:00

Ellen Goodman, columnist for the Boston Globe, compares skeptics of man-made global warming with Holocaust deniers.

I would like to say we're at a point where global warming is impossible to deny. Let's just say that global warming deniers are now on a par with Holocaust deniers, though one denies the past and the other denies the present and future.

I wonder if the climate change faithful will ever realize how far they have drifted from reality. Will it be before or after an inquisition is set up to make sure everyone believes the officially mandated creed?

In the 1960s the hippies revolted against the established society. Young people were doing the opposite of their parents, no matter where it took them. Thesis:antithesis. Now those flower children have grown up, not realizing that they are the establishment. Their views are espoused as unassailable truth. Debate is not permitted. Skeptics are heretics to be silenced.

Global warming has the potential to destroy our society. No, I do not mean that climate change will alter our environment to the point that humanity faces extinction, rather I mean that I see draconian measures on the horizon that will be used by the political elite. They will say that certain oppressions and legislation is necessary for the survival of the planet. Our freedom will not be taken away in the name of security, but in the name of environmentalism.

Global warming is the religion for the 21st Century. A bleak future awaits those deemed heretical by the ruling elite.

In The End

2007-02-08T23:20:00.000-08:00

Does it really matter how much money is in your bank account? She made herself heir to a fortune, and by all accounts died in misery.

I always think that if I was a millionaire I would be different, I would be happy. What is it about money that corrupts so much?

The End Of The World (As We Know It)

2007-02-07T20:49:00.000-08:00

TIME Magazine is spreading the word about an imminent threat to life on this planet.

As they review the bizarre and unpredictable weather pattern of the past several years, a growing number of scientists are beginning to suspect that many seemingly contradictory meteorological fluctuations are actually part of a global climatic upheaval. However widely the weather varies from place to place and time to time, when meteorologists take an average of temperatures around the globe they find that the atmosphere has been growing gradually cooler for the past three decades. The trend shows no indication of reversing. Climatological Cassandras are becoming increasingly apprehensive, for the weather aberrations they are studying may be the harbinger of another ice age.

Telltale signs are everywhere —from the unexpected persistence and thickness of pack ice in the waters around Iceland to the southward migration of a warmth-loving creature like the armadillo from the Midwest.Since the 1940s the mean global temperature has dropped about 2.7° F. Although that figure is at best an estimate, it is supported by other convincing data. When Climatologist George J. Kukla of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory and his wife Helena analyzed satellite weather data for the Northern Hemisphere, they found that the area of the ice and snow cover had suddenly increased by 12% in 1971 and the increase has persisted ever since. Areas of Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic, for example, were once totally free of any snow in summer; now they are covered year round.

Yes, you read that right. Just 34 years ago, the world's most eminent climatologists were prophesying the end of the world via a new ice age. While details of these prophecies have changed, the attitude of the political and scientific elite has not.

Surely you have heard of the recent calls for the American Meteorological Society to decertify members who express skepticism of the official creed called global warming. Led by celebrities such as former Vice President Al Gore and Charles, Prince of Wales, there is a growing movement toward changing the infrastructure of the world in order to stave off the destruction of mankind via the emission of greenhouse gases.

There is nobody as shortsighted as a celebrity with a cause. To those who are caught in the raging throng, nothing in the world is as important as stopping this global warming. It is a religion. Heretics must be punished. The leaders must be venerated. The world must be evangelized.

My personal belief is that if global warming is indeed occurring, then it is a natural force. This world is too big for mankind to destroy. In any case, the potential exists for mankind to do more damage trying to fix what is wrong than by letting it be. I remember reading about plans from the 1970s to melt the ice caps in order to stave off global cooling. What would that have wrought?

Anyway, I feel fine.

Burning My Bridges

2007-02-06T18:41:00.000-08:00

Tonight I shut down some past weblogs that had languished for years without update. I did a little tracking online today, discovering the whereabouts of some old friends I have not been in contact with. I am quite good at tracking people down online.

That reminded me that others might someday track me down as well. I believe that I have changed in the past few years, so it prompted me to burn some electronic bridges. If someone from my past is going to find me it will be on my terms.

Before consigning my past to history, I took a few minutes to read through my old writing. I really have changed. At times I seemed really depressed, which is odd considering my typically sunny disposition and joyful attitude.

I found some pearls of wisdom, however.

Hmmm... still reading Surprised By Joy. According to Lewis, joy is a paradox. It is not merely a feeling, but a desire for something more. However, once the feeling, the desire, the joy becomes your focus and goal it disappears. Joy itself is a side effect of something more, and joy itself can never be gained by looking for it. Interesting. If I go for a walk on a sunny day I may feel joy, but if the purpose of my walk is to find joy I'll end up missing it.

The study of joy is a lifelong quest.

Went to downtown Olympia today... no place to park there! I parked a few blocks away from the computer place I wanted to get to and took a walk. It's nice to talk a walk at times. Here on the internet you forget how big the world is... at any moment I can know what's going on all across the globe. Taking a walk in the fresh air, with a sunny sky (and 90 degree temperatures) reminds you how small you really are, and how many lives fit into this world.

I now work at that computer place, incidentally.

Here's to the future.

Standing The Test Of Time

2007-02-04T23:22:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite computer games is Sid Meier's Civilization series. From the time I was very small, stumbling upon the game on my grandfather's computer, I have loved each incarnation of this game of history and geography.

This game speaks to my love of history. Rather than just reading about ancient leaders and kingdoms I can experience them. I can see what would have happened had I been in charge of the Roman Empire. I can match wits with Genghis Khan. I can ally with the English to fight off the rampaging Russians. The possibilities are endless.

Within the fictional framework of what-if lies an educational experience. I learn about the civilization I am playing, from their leadership to their architecture to their culture. I find that the English relied on their longbowmen in the medieval years while Germans made great tanks in the modern era. I learn the names of cities and great leaders.

Sid Meier, creator of the Civilization series, had this to say about games' educational value:

People actually learn fairly effectively from computer games. Someone who plays Civilization probably has a better understanding of some of the dynamics that go into the history of the world. We've heard from teachers and students. We heard about the guy who aced his geography class because he'd played Pirates, so he knew every city in the Caribbean and every island.

Sure, games can provide mindless entertainment. Who among us does not like picking up a big gun and blowing the bad guys away? But how much more fun is it to pick up the reigns of a civilization and guide it to destiny, all the while learning about the real world?

Personal Jesus

2007-02-03T22:29:00.000-08:00

Jared at the Thinklings carves up the post-modern idea of a personal, relative Jesus.

I'd suggest even more errant Jesuses propagated by American evangelicalism -- Success Guru Jesus, Mystical Experience Jesus, Politically Correct Jesus, Fundamentalist Jesus, Patriotic Jesus, Co-Pilot Buddy Jesus, Tony Robbins Jesus, Personal ATM Jesus, and last but certainly not least My Own "Personal" Jesus.

How do we sort through these myriad Jesuses, each of which has just enough truth in them (even if just a dash) to make them dangerous, to find the real Person Jesus Christ? I think we ought to start with the Gospels, which usually are the last texts consulted. We think we are quite familiar with them, but we are not. We think we know their stories and have been building on them for years, but the army of false Jesuses marching in the hearts of well-meaning Christians testifies otherwise.

Being a Christian in America is easy. Sure, the establishment looks on you with disdain, and a few look down on you as if you are an ignorant yokel. This is nothing compared to the life of a Christian in 3rd Century Rome, or in 21st Century Indonesia or China.

A church that is not enduring persecution has time and space to grow complacent. The Church of Christ in America, without the constant threat of annihilation, has time to develop an ideology of comfort, a doctrine of prosperity. Our basic needs are taken care of. We worry not about food, shelter, money, or the other amenities of the good life. We are not rabble. We are not desperate. The God we desire is not one of the basics of life but of more important matters.

The American Christian can find a Jesus to fit his or her own life. The ideologue can worship a Jesus who stood up and spoke truth to power. The environmentalist can worship a Jesus who cared for nature. The hippie can worship a Jesus who rejected the social mores of the establishment.

I could go on, but the point is made. We cannot let American complacency lead us to seek out a Jesus who is but a reflection of our own desires. Jared makes the point that we must return to scripture, to the gospel, in order to meet the real Jesus, the living and breathing Jesus. He leaves us with a warning, however.

The Word of God -- both the living Word and the written Word -- is transformational revelation. If we are not being transformed by Christ and Scripture, we are not reading Christ and Scripture correctly.
And if we constantly find them confirming our sense of self and our prejudices, leaving us unrepentant or unmoved, we have the chief indication we are looking down the deep, dark well of our own heart and seeing our own reflection.

We cannot let our Lord and Saviour be defined by our culture or ourselves. The knowledge of Jesus Christ is something that defines us instead. The primary source of that knowledge is scripture. We must cut through the detritus built up by years of comfort and complacency and study God's Word. It is there where we meet our Saviour.

Class

2007-02-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

President Bush sends his condolences:

Molly Ivins was a Texas original. She was loved by her readers and by her many friends, particularly in Central Texas. I respected her convictions, her passionate belief in the power of words, and her ability to turn a phrase. She fought her illness with that same passion. Her quick wit and commitment to her beliefs will be missed. Laura and I send our condolences to Molly Ivins' family and friends.

Molly Ivins was the sharp-tongued Texas columnist who spent the last few years of her life mocking President Bush. It was she who coined the nickname "Shrub" that has made its rounds in liberal circles. Her writing was pointed, even vicious at times. Yet the president took time to find common ground with this idealogical enemy, to mark her passing with grace.

That is class.

Book Review: Children of Men

2007-02-01T22:30:00.000-08:00

Holy cow, has it been all week since I last posted? Time flies when you are busy.

I finished reading P.D. James' novel Children of Men earlier this week. It was an engaging read, I found myself staying up well past coherency just to find out what happens next. The ending was honestly somewhat anticlimactic, but only because I wanted more.

I saw a preview trailer for the Alfonso Cuarón film sometime last summer. I was interested and the positive reviews did not hurt. I saw the movie near the end of the year. It was incredible, showing what kind of world one might find when humanity nears extinction. The movie pounds at you for hours with despair before ending on a flicker of hope.

I borrowed the novel from the Timberland Library soon after. It was the first fiction I have read since returning to Narnia prior to the movie release a year ago. I opened the first page and dove in. It was an easy read and I never had to force myself to keep reading.

Seeing the movie first took nothing away from the book. Perhaps the only side effect was that I imagined Theo, the main character, looking like Clive Owen as I read. Outside the premise, the plots of the book and of the movie were completely different. Each one presents its own version of the post-apocalyptic scene.

Not much happens in the first half of the book, but that is not an indictment. James steadily explores what life would be like if mankind knew its days were numbered. There is a tremendous sense of hopelessness, even apathy, about the whole situation. By the time the action starts moving, the stage has been masterfully set. Everything that occurs flows naturally out of previous events.

Read the book. Watch the movies. Both P.D. James and Alfonso Cuarón have crafted their own fascinating visions of a bleak future. In experiencing both I am reminded of what is truly important in this life - hope, joy, and the future. Studying my family history would be meaningless if I knew that I was to be the last in the tree. Planning for tomorrow would lose all purpose if the end was nigh.

There is always hope, for this life and the next. Some day this world will end, but mankind will continue with its God.

More Real, More Relevant

2007-01-29T12:26:00.000-08:00

It is getting worse.

The first "U2-charist" in England, an adapted Holy Communion service that uses the Irish rock group's best-selling songs in place of hymns, is to be staged at a Lincoln church in May.

A live band will play U2 classics such as Mysterious Ways and Beautiful Day as worshippers sing along with lyrics which will appear on screen at St Swithin's parish church in the town centre.

As I discussed before, the church is trying to make Christ "cool" for the 21st Century crowd. The end result, I fear, is an ecclesia with no depth, one that throws Christ out with all the other remnants of what once was cool in favor of the next new thing.

I like U2. I think that many of their songs can be encouraging to the Christian. However, (beyond 40 perhaps) the biblical content of their music is scant at best. We as a church need to return to our biblical roots, not drift further away in the hope of attracting more people. If men and women are not drawn to the word of God through the preaching of the gospel and the working of the Holy Spirit, how can we believe that they will form a strong faith based on a rock concert?

I Swear It!

2007-01-28T21:26:00.000-08:00

In modern legal terms, speaking an untruth whilst under oath is perjury. Speaking an untruth in everyday conversation is bad manners to some, par for the course for others. Beyond the legal sense, why is one considered worse than the other? One may say that perjury is worse than simply lying because a perjurer has sworn to tell the truth. Yet what makes the act of swearing an oath any different than normal speech? If a man can lie in everyday speech then surely he can lie when swearing an oath to be truthful.

Jewish law had a similar provision. An oath sworn by the gold of the temple, the sacrifice, or by God Himself were considered binding oaths, and breaking one would result in prosecution. However, everyday speech as well as oaths sworn by the temple, the altar, or heaven were not binding. Our Lord had some harsh words for the Jewish leaders:

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. (Matthew 23:16-22)

Earlier, Christ had spoken about oaths during the Sermon on the Mount:

“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. (Matthew 5:33-37)

Most commentaries I have read interpret this to mean that while official oaths (such as you would take before testifying in court) are fine, but you should not swear by God or His temple in everyday speech. Why not? Because if you do that, then you imply that your normal speech is inherently false. If you spoke the truth at all times, what need would you have to swear that you are being truthful? Adding an oath to your "yes" or to your "no" to lend your words gravitas only makes people think that you normally lie.

The message of Christ to the Jews, and to you and I, is that we must speak the truth always. If I am a man of my word, then I have no need to punctuate my statements with oaths or affirmations. Let your yes be yes and your no be no, that is all that is necessary.

A Beautiful Day

2007-01-26T19:08:00.000-08:00

You're on the road
But you've got no destination
You're in the mud
In the maze of her imagination

You love this town
Even if that doesn't ring true
You've been all over
And it's been all over you

It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
It's a beautiful day

(U2, Beautiful Day)

Today I walked to Subway as is my custom each Friday. That is the day when a tuna sandwiches are on sale. It has become a routine that I can look forward to, a ritual that marks the end of the work week and the beginning of the weekend.

I had to stand in line for quite a while today. Crystal, one of the sandwich-makers, was all by herself. She had to take care of the drive-through orders, the inside orders, the cash register, as well as shuttling back and forth to get ingredients before they ran out.

As I stood in line, I looked around. I have come to know this particular Subway restaurant as I visit it every week. Sometimes it seems to have a red-headed stepchild syndrome amongst the Subway family. The soda fountain was broken again, as it seems to be lately. The credit card machine was working again, which was good. It felt familiar though, like a home.

Crystal was inspiring. Even before she was finally joined by a coworker, she maintained good spirits. She always had a smile on her face as she scurried to and fro. Each time a new customer came in she made sure to address him and apologize for the wait. She took sandwich-making to a new art, arranging meat, cheese, vegetables, and dressing so fast her hands were a blur.

I was reminded of many a day at the computer store, standing at the front counter as person after person walks in with a broken machine under their arm. The line begins to stretch, and I feel the pressure. In Crystal I saw adrenaline but no pressure. She never made a mistake nor did she get impatient with the people in line.

When I came to the front and received my impeccable tuna sandwich, I mentioned that she was doing a good job. She gave me my cookies and my receipt and told me to have a lovely day. I took my soda from the cooler and stepped outside. For the first time in many dank Olympia months, the sun was shining. I took off my hat for a moment and let the sun beam down on my face. A lovely day indeed.

It was a beautiful day.

Firefox Down

2007-01-24T21:40:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, the source code to the defunct Netscape browser was released as open source and resurrected as Mozilla Firefox. I jumped on the bandwagon early, around version 0.7 or so. I have used it ever since. I like it. Here is why.

The first reason is add-ons:

Firefox is designed to be extended. There are thousands of add-ons created by the Firefox community that can alter your browser to do anything you can think of. Some of my extensions of choice are simple, such as Tabbrowser Preferences (Adding some more customization to the use of tabs) and Navigational Sounds (Adding a "click" to the clicking of links). There are also extensions that really enhance the browsing experience. NoScript automatically blocks all webpage scripts from running unless I explicitly allow them. AdBlock lets me view webpages without ad banners and popups.

That brings me to the next reason I like Firefox, AdBlock.

Here is a normal webpage viewed with Internet Explorer:

Now here is the same page at the same time viewed with Firefox with the AdBlock extension installed:

As you can see, the banner ad and the side ad are just not there with Firefox. I have become so used to browsing the web without intrusive ads that it has become annoying to use a different computer. Additionally, pages load faster and are generally more stable than before.

Many people today say that you should switch to Firefox because it is safer and more secure than Microsoft's Internet Explorer. To that, however, I say hogwash. In the old days, Internet Explorer was somewhat insecure. However, today it takes two confirmations to run a single ActiveX control. That is one more than it takes to install a Firefox plugin.

In the end, I use Firefox because it is customizable, convenient, and efficient. If that sounds good to you, check it out.

Separated At Birth?

2007-01-23T21:08:00.000-08:00

Nuclear terrorist Abu Fayed from the TV show 24:

Newsboys lead singer Peter Furler:

You be the judge!

Culture Of Life

2007-01-22T23:43:00.000-08:00

Dr. Grant:

In perhaps its most divisive and controversial decision since Dred Scott, the Supreme Court overturned the infanticide and homicide laws in abortion cases in all fifty states by legalizing abortion procedures from the moment of conception until just before the moment of birth.

Joe Carter:

We convince ourselves that they simply don't realize what they're doing. If only they could see the pictures. If only we could convince them that the "fetus" is a person. If only they knew it was a human life they were destroying. If they only knew, they wouldn't -- they couldn't -- go through with the abortion.

But they do know. And the abortions continue. Not because we live in a culture of death but because we live in a culture of me.

I have always held the belief that human life, even that of unborn children, is worth defending. Any possibility of debate ended for me when I realized that at the moment of conception, a new being is created. It may not have all the physical features of an adult. It may not survive on its own. It may not be able to cry out in pain or express emotion. However, it has its own unique DNA. At the genetic level, this fetus, this unborn child, is just as much a human being as you or I.

One would think that with the advances in science would enable us to show more compassion rather than less. Today we are able to display a live video feed of an unborn child only a few weeks into development. Yet along with scientific progress comes a massive human hubris. As Joe Carter points out above, today's culture has become a culture of "me".

I have bemoaned this fact before on this young weblog. Children are taught that they are their own gods, so to speak. They are taught that being themselves and living their dreams is the ultimate goal of living. Why should outdated morals prevent a woman from removing an inconvenient growth? Sexual promiscuity should be without consequence - after all, that is the very essence of freedom, right?

Society today has no concept of freedom combined with responsibility. Ask anyone about freedom and perhaps they will mention the Declaration of Independence. You know, Thomas Jefferson wrote that all men (and women) have an inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness.

What did the signers of the Declaration endure? Death, torture, and war. They understood freedom with responsibility. I have the freedom to say what I want to say, but I am aware that some statements can lead to a loss of my job, the alienation of my friends, or even lawsuits if they are extreme enough.

Men and women today are taught that they have a right to do whatever they want, consequences be damned. Ironic. Divine karma will win in the end. If murderers face no consequences in this life, I am sure they will in the next. For every woman and doctor who destroy a human life for the sake of convenience that think it is harmless, I am sure many more realize what they are doing and must try and rationalize it away.

47,282,923.

How many Nazi death camps is that? And that is just in the United States of America. Since 1973.

How is a person, a church, to respond? Marches and advocacy, politics and law, they have not stemmed the tide. Even if abortion were outlawed tomorrow, the culture would not change. We would still live in a culture of me. A culture where personal fulfillment is the highest ideal.

Tonight I began reading P.D. James' Children of Men. Women all over the world become infertile all at once, and the human race begins to die out. An implication is made that after creating a culture of death, where children are sacrificed to the god of convenience, the real God takes away His gift of childbearing. Humankind is left to die.

Perhaps mankind deserves such a fate. We are already dying. Where is compassion? Where is holiness? Where is an awe and reverence for the Creator of the universe?

The Old Testament relates how the Ammonites and several other Canaanite tribes sacrificed babies and children in barbaric rituals to their heathen gods. The people of Israel were commanded to wipe them out, replacing their evil with the worship of the true God.

How is the United State of America any different from the Ammonites, in the eyes of God?

I titled this post "Culture of Life" because I thought that I could talk about a proper church response to the culture of death. Yet now I am discouraged. I see how the abortion holocaust is the worst symptom of the culture itself. So many churches are indistinguishable from the culture at large.

The most godly men and women will stand out like sore thumbs in this nation. Perhaps that is where Christianity lives best. The first Christians did not go to mega-churches and tackle social issues of the Roman Empire. No, they shared their possessions, prayed together, and preached the gospel.

The gospel. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and your house. Let your light so shine before men, that they see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

With apologies to Mr. Reagan, the United States of America is not a shining city on a hill. It is a nation steeped in the blood of its most helpless. Yet the command of our Lord is to preach His gospel, to live His gospel.

That is really all we can do in the end. The culture of life is not to be found on this earth, but have hope! Our Lord promises that He is preparing us a place, where there are no more tears, no more death.

47,282,923.

I wonder if they are in heaven now. I wonder what kind of people they are, what personalities. Will their mothers recognize them, should they meet in eternity?

Thank God for mercy, or else none of us have any hope at all. The culture of death is an outgrowth of a human nature shared by you and me. God is calling us out of that world and into a new creation. Let your light shine.

President Carter: Off the Deep End

2007-01-19T18:35:00.000-08:00

Joshua Muravchik makes the case for labeling Jimmy Carter our worst ex-president.

Hamas, Carter writes, has “meticulously observed a cease-fire commitment,” and “since August of 2004 [it] has not committed a single act of terrorism that cost an Israeli life.” How Carter purports to know this, no one can say, since throughout the book he provides neither footnotes nor citations. As it happens, Hamas announces its operations on its websites and elsewhere. In the time frame Carter specifies, Hamas claimed responsibility for fifteen terror attacks that killed 26 Israelis: two young children and eleven other civilians, and thirteen soldiers.

Why is there such hatred for Israel amongst the political left and elite of this country, and of the world? I like Arabic culture. I have studied Middle-Eastern history. Sometimes I come close to equating Israel and the Palestinians, and begin to think that they are both equally morally culpable.

Then I remember that the PLO, Hamas, Al-Aqsa Martyrs, Islamic Jihad, and the other Palestinian organizations murder men, women, and children. They blow themselves up in shopping malls, discos, and cafes. They dance in the streets when hearing about the deaths of Israelis and Americans. They believe they are pleasing their god.

The Israelis target the terrorists, the murderers. When innocents are killed, investigations begin. The Knesset issues statements of regret and mourning. Nobody dances in the streets.

I will have more to say about issues in Israel later. They are not morally equivalent. Israel is a democracy, interested in peace and the protection of its citizens. The Palestinians are interested in killing Jews, and are part of a larger group that dreams of Dar al-Islam.

Still Alive

2007-01-16T12:48:00.000-08:00

I'm still here, in case anyone was wondering. Was away for the weekend and am now settling back into routine. I will be posting more soon.

Skellig

2007-01-10T21:37:00.000-08:00

O light the candle, John
The daylight has almost gone
The birds have sung their last
The bells call all to mass

Sit here by my side
For the night is very long
There's something I must tell
Before I pass along

I joined the brotherhood
My books were all to me
I scribed the words of God
And much of history

Many a year was I
Perched out upon the sea
The waves would wash my tears,
The wind, my memory

I'd hear the ocean breathe
Exhale upon the shore
I knew the tempest's blood
Its wrath I would endure

And so the years went by
Within my rocky cell
With only a mouse or bird
My friend; I loved them well

And so it came to pass
I'd come here to Romani
And many a year it took
Till I arrived here with thee

On dusty roads I walked
And over mountains high
Through rivers running deep
Beneath the endless sky

Beneath these jasmine flowers
Amidst these cypress trees
I give you now my books
And all their mysteries

Now take the hourglass
And turn it on its head
For when the sands are still
'Tis then you'll find me dead

O light the candle, John
The daylight is almost gone
The birds have sung their last
The bells call all to mass

(Loreena McKennitt - Skellig)

A Celtic Christian monastery existed on the Irish island of Skellig Michael (Sceilig Mhichil, in the original Irish Gaelic) for six hundred years. A remote place, it usually housed only a dozen monks. It is situated on the southwestern coast of Ireland, which places it at the edge of the medieval world.

Here was a place where men would come to devote their lives to the study of scripture and worship of God. It was truly a place to get away from the world.

Do places like this exist today?

Real And Relevant - Update

2007-01-10T18:29:00.000-08:00

In the same vein as my previous post, Dr. Grant from King's Meadow points out a similar effect in the Episcopal Church of discarding tradition and even scripture in order to stay relevant to modern culture.

John Yates is the faithful and courageous Rector of Falls Church, one of the prominent and historic congregations that separated from the Episcopal Chruch this past month. In an article co-written with Os Guiness for the Washington Post, he offered this rather remarkable observations:

"The sola scriptura (by the Scriptures alone) doctrine of the Reformation Church has been abandoned for the sola cultura (by the culture alone) way of the Modern Church. No longer under authority, the Episcopal Church today is either its own authority or finds its authority in the shifting winds of intellectual and social fashion--which is to say it has no authority."

That is so apt, so true, so tragic--and so repeatable.

As I said before, if you try to adapt Christ to fit the culture, you will lose both the culture and Christ.

Real And Relevant

2007-01-09T20:02:00.000-08:00

Mike Galli reacts to the decline of liturgy in Christian churches and the growing desire to reconfigure the church to fit modern culture.

A liturgical service is anything but relevant. It is the last place one expects to run into cool people, and it is hardly what our culture perceives as having an “enjoyable atmosphere” (as one church website promises visitors). The leaders wear medieval robes and guide the congregation through a ritual that is anything but spontaneous; they lead music that is hundreds of years old; the prayers are formal, the talk is based on a book written 2,000 years ago, and the high point of the service seems barbaric: one can hardly imagine a relevant church webpage inviting cool people to come and eat the flesh and drink the blood of a Rabbi executed in Israel a long, long time ago. All together, it doesn’t sound like a very enjoyable atomosphere. All it promises is that people will meet God.

Michael Spencer, the Internet Monk, responds with his usual levity.

Some will always point out that liturgical churches have often gone liberal, while non liturgical churches have a more orthodox view of the Bible. That’s not cause and effect, however; that’s irony. Liberal leaders have hidden behind the liturgy and the Bible, all the while selling the store. Evangelicals have kept the store, but turned it into a Chuck E. Cheese’s.

My church experiences have been strictly evangelical all my life. Church is this: A hymn, announcements, prayer, hymns or "praise choruses", a topical sermon, one more song, prayer. Then fellowship. The few times I have been to churches that are different it has seemed strange to me.

In the churches I have been to that emphasize the sermon, it sometimes feels like a seminar or a classroom. The preachers who hand out notes seem like my college professors, lecturing. On the other hand, churches that emphasize the music feel like rock concerts at times.

There is something about the idea of taking part in a form of worship that has gone on for hundreds of years that appeals to me, and is missing from the church services I have been a part of. Evangelical churches today seem to be all about innovation, trying to figure out how to adapt to the cutting edge of culture.

Christianity today is confronted with a culture that sees no need for God. Children are taught from preschool a certain selfish humanism, that the goal of life is to be happy, to be yourself. Young people today find apparent fulfillment in friends, music, and the internet. Life is fast and flashy.

The typical church response to the 21st Century culture is to try and adapt. People are going to movies? We'll make Christian movies. Kids like rock music? How about some Christian rock?* Churches seem to be crying out to anyone who will listen that "Church can be just as exciting and fun as everything else in your life!"

The result, of course, is usually a pale imitation of the secular culture. Though the church has set out to make God relevant it has instead succeeded in making God more irrelevant than before to the people it is trying to reach.

Today's culture is tomorrow's has-beens. The dances, movies, and music of the 1950s were old and boring to the children of the '60s. The crazy hair and outfits of the 70s and 80s are stupid to the youth of today. And sad to say, what is "cool" today will someday be yesterday's news.

Why should Jesus Christ become yesterday's news? If we adapt Christ and the gospel to the culture of today, then what happens when culture changes? Everything is thrown away to make room for the new. That is why churches need to hold on to something that does not go out of style - precisely because it was never "in style".

I believe that today's generation, myself included, is looking for something older than the latest fad or music video. Kids are not going to be drawn to a church that is a pale imitation of their culture, but rather to a church that offers an alternative to an empty and soulless society.

I don't want to sing along to songs that were just on the radio. I don't want to hear endless sermons on the latest evangelical fad, like the Prayer of Jabez or the Purpose-Driven Life. I grow tired of hearing about how God is like a coach or a boss - I want to learn to know God!

I want to draw closer to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God of David and Solomon. The God of Peter, James, and John. The God of Polycarp and Augustine, Thomas Becket and Erasmus, Martin Luther and John Calvin. The same God who has held the world in His hands from the beginning of time to today, and all the eras in between!

In seeking to make God real and relevant to the secular culture, Christianity dilutes the truth of God. God is God, and does not change. Why should we change the way we worship Him?

*I am listening to contemporary Christian music as I write this. I am not hostile to it at all, but much of Christian creativity these days seems to be aimed at trying to copy the culture. What happened to the days when Christian creativity led the world in art and music? Alas, another post for another day.

Note: Michael Spencer explains why he gravitated toward a liturgical type of church service. An excellent read.

Exposed!

2007-01-09T13:09:00.000-08:00

Stefan Sharkansky from Sound Politics exposes the reasons behind a local principal's suspension.

Alex Coberly, the principal of Seattle's Whittier Elementary School was placed on administrative leave last month under mysterious circumstances. The mystery has now been solved, today's P-I reports. Coberly had been arrested for indecent exposure "Principal's a flasher, police say":

...he had exposed himself to women on several occasions in the past five or six years, the [police] report said. He exposed himself only to strangers, and only while driving his car, according to the report.

Coberly apparently wants to go back to work:

Coberly was very concerned he'll lose his job at Whittier Elementary over the criminal misdemeanor charge.

"There is no connection between this incident and his job," [Coberly's attorney] said. "It does not involve any children, and it does not involve his work."

The powers that be in government education are not concerned about children so much as their own well-being and maintaining the power they have acquired.

The Day The Ramen Died

2007-01-07T22:10:00.000-08:00

It is a sad day. The creator of one of my favorite foods has passed away.

Momofuku Ando, the founder of Nissin Food Products Co. and inventor of instant ramen, died of heart failure Friday evening at a hospital in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, his family said. He was 96.

Born on March 5, 1910, in Taiwan, Ando initially ran clothing companies in Taipei and Osaka while he was a student at Ritsumeikan University. In 1948, he founded the precursor to Nissin and in 1958 unveiled Chicken Ramen, the world's first instant noodle product.

I must raise a fork-full of ramen in his honor as soon as possible.

Response: Papal Infallibility

2007-01-07T19:54:00.000-08:00

Timothy stopped by my fledgling weblog to offer counterpoints to my perspective on the infallibility of Pope and Church in Catholic tradition.

Greetings! Found your post via Technorati. I have a few comments:

Greetings to you as well. Before I begin I would like to state that whatsoever denomination or church one belongs to, I consider him a brother or sister in Christ if he or she professes faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour, believing in the death and resurrection of Christ for salvation.

Catholics believe 100% Christ words in John 14 that He has sent the Paraclete (Holy Spirit) to guide the Church in the truth. If Christ sent the Paraclete to the Church as scriptures clearly state, how can the Church ever teach error? Do most fundamentalist Protestants not believe Christ promise in John 14 or doubt the power of the Paraclete to guide the Church in the truth? Do your churches and pastors teach error? What errors have they taught you?

I will answer this question with another question: If the presence of the Holy Spirit precludes the Church from error, then how do you explain the historical errors of the church? If we look at John 14 with such a broad stroke as to assume that God will not allow the Church to err, then how can one explain contradictions between Church teachings? The Church is composed of fallible men.

In my reading of John chapter 14 I see Jesus promising that after He leaves, the Holy Spirit (or Advocate or Paraclete) will then come and not only convict of truth (verses 16-17) but also bring to mind the disciples experiences with Christ on earth, and the things He taught, ostensibly for the purpose of writing the gospels and passing along that information accurately. (Verse 26)

I see no promise to make the Church nor the leader of the Church infallible at any time. My teachers and pastors do not teach error, per se, but neither do they stand in the pulpit and claim the divine authority as do the Ecumenical Councils and the Pope speaking ex cathedra. They are simply men of God doing their best, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to pass along understanding of scripture and how to apply it to our lives.

Where is this doctrine in the Bible? Timothy states that the Bible is useful for correction and learning, but no where does the Bible state the doctrine of sola scriptura. Sola scriptura is a tradition of man.

Acts 17:11. St. Luke has praise for the Christians at Berea who took everything the Apostles said and compared it to existing scripture. Additionally, St. James, St. John, and St. Peter all have hard warnings to watch out for false teachers. How does one know a false teaching aside from comparing it to the Word of God?

The two examples I mentioned in my previous post were the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of Mary. Neither of these doctrines are to be found in scripture. According to the example of the Bereans and the warnings of the Apostles, they should therefore be rejected as false teaching.

"A Catholic may respond to this by stating that church tradition is necessary for interpretation and understanding of the Bible."

Certainly, because scripture tells us this. Recall Acts 8:26-40, the eunuch needed someone to explain the scriptures. Again, 1 Timothy 3:15, puts this responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the Church.

The best witness to the truth of the Church being the interpreter of scripture is the fact that among non-Catholic faiths there are greatly differing practices regarding infant baptism, methods of baptism, Lord's supper, salvation, etc. They can't all be true interpretations of the scriptures. If the Holy Spirit is guiding all these people in the truth, then why the major doctrinal differences?

Where you see the Roman Catholic Church on one side and every other denomination on the other, I see a multitude of denominations and interpretations. If the Holy Spirit were infallibly guiding the Catholic Church in doctrine, then why have there been contradictions and changes?

Infant baptism is not biblical, it developed several centuries after Christ's death. In fact, whereas the Apostles routinely baptised new converts, the Catholic church condemned the Anabaptists as heretics because they practiced the same thing.

In 1864, Pope Pius IX issued Quanta Cura condemning the idea of freedom of religion. Yet in 1965, the Second Vatican Council proclaimed religious liberty as a right. Which one was correct?

In 1415, Jan Hus was burnt at the stake by the for preaching that the Church is the Body of Christ, with Christ at the head. Was this the action of the Holy Spirit, or of fallible men in positions of power?

In 1804, Pope Pius VII crowned Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor of the French. Was this action guided by the Holy Spirit? Consider that Napoleon soon exiled the same Pope and conquered Rome.

Your points here are based on your assertion that the Holy Spirit does not allow the Church to fall into error. I believe that each denomination is imperfect, including the Catholic Church. The fact that there are several splits even within the Catholic Church attests to this idea.

I know that Catholics teach and believe that their church is The Church, founded by Christ, and all others came from splits. I disagree with this teaching. The Church of Christ as it existed in the 1st Century A.D. was quite different from any church of the 21st Century A.D. The church grew and changed, and each split was the result of a disagreement about some form of doctrine.

The Greek Orthodox Church separated based on relatively minor doctrinal differences as well as relatively major language issues - they spoke Greek while the Catholics spoke Latin. (I must ask, is Latin God's chosen language for believers?)

The Lutherans, Calvinists, Anglicans, and Baptists split a little while later and all claimed to be returning to the biblical foundation of truth. Why would they desire a reformation if the Catholic Church was still the infallible church founded by Christ in the 1st Century?

Catholics teach that all denominations are branches of a tree, while the Roman Catholic Church is the trunk. I believe that each church can trace its way back to the 1st Century the same as the others. The word "catholic" itself refers merely to the universality of the Church from the 1st Century until around the 6th Century, rather than being a specific denominational title.

"...Catholics were for a time forbidden to read scripture, and even now many are not encouraged to do so."

Prove it. Show us just one official Church document or statement that proves either of the two claims. The Catholic Church gave the world the Bible and has always encouraged the reading of the scriptures. We even had to chain Bibles down in churches to keep them from being stolen like telephone books.

Catholics were instructed to avoid certain translations of the Bible that contained rather serious errors. Even today, Protestants no longer print and use those Bibles.

At best, your statement is stereotyping. At worst, this is repeating vile anti-Catholic falsehoods. Neither is proper Christian behavior. Don't the Books of Exodus and Deuteronomy both state something about bearing false witness?

No need to get defensive. I have evidence to back up my statements. The first is anecdotal - My professor in college, a Benedictine monk, once commented that he knew I was Protestant by the fact that I actually knew the Bible.

Aside from that, how do you explain De heretico comburendo, ratified by the Catholic King Henry IV of England, forbidding the translation of the Bible into English and mandating burning at stake for those who did, or even those who were found to be in possession of such a Bible? This was, of course, in response to Wycliff and the Lollard movement in England. You can rightly claim that Protestants today no longer use his specific translation, however his work paved the way for Tyndale and later King James I himself, which opened the floodgates for a vernacular translation.

Speaking of Tyndale, he worked on a translation of the Bible as well. He was convicted of heresy and burnt at the stake. His translation was very close to the King James Version that was completed several years later and is still in use in many Protestant (and even Catholic, I imagine) churches today.

In fact, the Catholic Church seemed rather hostile to vernacular translations of the Bible (beyond those few authorized by Rome itself, of course) until the Second Vatican Council and Sacrosanctum Concilium. That was in 1965, well within the lifetimes of many people living today.

Please note that I argue against Protestants who claim that KJV is the only proper and authorized translation of the Bible as well.

"To help me understand it, I look to those who have come before to discover the mysteries revealed to them by the same Holy Spirit."

So, you are not really sola scriptura and require someone to explain scripture to you like the eunuch in Acts. You rely on non-sola scriptura works like commentaries, sermons, and the like. Interestng. Is scripture NOT suffic...

It seems Haloscan has a word limit. I'm still figuring all this out.

Anyway, I am not the same as the eunuch of Acts. I have studied the Word of God for many years and am still learning anew. I rely on commentaries and teachers as guides. They are written by fallible men like me. In their writings I see what they learned from scripture and thus follow, however, where their teachings disagree with scripture is where I disagree with them.

Reading the works of St. Augustine, Thomas a' Kempis, St. Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, Erasmus, and C.S. Lewis gives me a deeper insight into the Word of God. I see points of view that I may have missed on my own. I do not look to them as holders of sacred truth.

Like the Bereans, it is incumbent upon me to take every teacher and speaker back to the Bible and compare their teachings with scripture.

The truth is, the Roman Catholic Church has veered away from the foundation laid by Christ in the 1st Century A.D., as have all denominations. There is no single organization today that can claim to be the "best" or "most godly" church. I myself am non-denominational for this very reason. Apostolic succession fails, but the Word of God endures.

An Ancient Muse

2007-01-06T13:30:00.000-08:00

Over the past year and a half, Loreena McKennitt has become one of my favorite musical artists. Like most everyone, I heard her 1997 hit single "The Mummer's Dance" on radio, but I never paid it too much attention.

Some of you know I traveled to Europe in the summer of 2005. One of the places I visited was Marrakech, Morocco, ancient capital of the Muslim kingdom of Al-Andalus. Life goes on in some ways as it has for thousands of years.

Later that year I came across the lyrics of Loreena's song "Marrakesh Night Market". I read that Loreena composed the song whilst sitting on a balcony overlooking the market while drinking Moroccan mint tea. It looked interesting so I acquired the song and listened in. I found that it perfectly captured the feeling of being in such an ancient place. I listened in awe, realizing that I was there!

Since then I have found and experienced all of Loreena's music. Each song takes me to a different culture and a different time. "The Dark Night Of The Soul" takes us into the heart of St. John of the Cross as he seeks intimacy with God. "Skellig" unfolds life in a Dark Ages monastery as men study the words of God and the lives of the saints. Whenever I hear "Night Ride Across The Caucuses" I am transported to Russia in the darkest night, riding on a long train.

It is with great joy that I listen to Loreena's newest album. "An Ancient Muse" is her first in nearly ten years. Like her past work this music takes us on a journey to far off lands and long lost times. For me, an amateur historian and a would-be world traveler, this is the soundtrack to my life.

Memories of a Bull Moose

2007-01-05T20:30:00.000-08:00

Dr. Grant from King's Meadow remembers our 26th president.

He had served as a New York State Legislator, the Under-Secretary of the Navy, Police Commissioner for the City of New York, US. Civil Service Commissioner, the Governor of the State of New York, the vice-president under William McKinley, a Colonel in the US. Army, and two terms as the President of the United States. In addition, he had run a cattle ranch in the Dakota Territories, served as a reporter and editor for several journals, newspapers, and magazines, and conducted scientific expeditions on four continents. During his career he was hailed by supporters and rivals alike as the greatest man of the age--perhaps one of the greatest of all ages.

Theodore Roosevelt was a great man and his life serves as an inspiration. Here was a man who was able to do whatever he wanted once he set his mind to it. He cannot be wrapped up in a box, either. As a recent History Channel episode pointed out, he was a man of contrasts. He was a warrior who won the Nobel Peace Prize. He was a hunter who ignited the conservation movement and set aside the first national park. He did everything possible to do in this life and still found time to write 35 books.

He could not be stopped. When running for a third term as president, Roosevelt was shot before a speech. The bullet passed through his eyeglass case and a copy of the speech itself, but Teddy still got up and spoke to the crowd. "I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose," he said. Wow.

There are so many things to do in this life, and I want to do them all. I look back in awe at the life of Teddy Roosevelt. He managed government agencies, led a cavalry charge in war, hunted big game in Africa, explored the jungle, built a canal, and lived in the White House. Whatever he wanted to do, he did, and in doing so he changed the world.

I am not sure that I am ready and able to change the world, but I would like to experience all facets of this life. Here's to TR.

Infallible

2007-01-04T22:03:00.000-08:00

In 1869 Pope Pius IX hosted the First Vatican Council in Rome. The 20th Catholic Ecumenical Council, it was the first since the Council of Trent called in 1545 in response to the Protestant Reformation.

The Pope called the council in order to present his recent encyclical called The Syllabus of Errors which detailed the heresies committed by Catholic reformers and anti-Vatican elements within the Roman Church. The Council was a triumph for the faction that desired a strong central government of the church centered in Rome, and in the Bishop of Rome - the Pope himself.

However, what the First Vatican Council will be remembered for is not necessarily a strengthening of the Vatican so much as of the Pope. For it was at this council that the Roman Catholic Church formally accepted the dogma of Papal Infallibility. This meant that whenever the Pope spoke ex cathedra on matters of Christian dogma, he was incapable of error.

Think about that for a moment. Here is a man - a great man, for sure, a godly man, yet a man nonetheless - who believes that he is capable of being the perfect mouthpiece for the Word of God.

Now I will never go as far as to deny the power of God. If the Creator of the universe so chooses, He can and will use imperfect men to deliver His words. However, who is the man who can say "Thus saith the Lord" ?

The two most notable invocations of papal infallibility have to do with Mary, mother of Jesus. Pope Pius IX, the same who called Vatican I, had previously declared the Catholic tradition of Mary's Immaculate Conception, that is, her sinlessness, to be dogma. Though found nowhere in scripture, the Catholic Church believes that God used Pius IX as His mouthpiece in clarifying this portion of doctrine.

In 1950 Pope Pius XII proclaimed, ex cathedra, that Mary was taken into heaven at the end of her life. The Assumption of Mary as it is called is of course not found in scripture. However, to a devout Catholic is may as well be, because the words of a Pope speaking ex cathedra are the words of God, just as much as the writings of St. Matthew or St. Mark.

Pope Gregory VII once said, "The pope can be judged by no one; the Roman church has never erred and never will err till the end of time." This is striking. Even the most fundamentalist Protestants will admit that church leaders are imperfect men. Even St. Paul himself exhorted believers to compare his own words to those previously recorded in scripture.

I suppose every Christian in every denomination thinks that his way is best and others have somehow erred. Yet when was the last time the president of the Southern Baptist Convention made a statement and ordered member churches to treat it as dogma, as the Word of God?

As a Protestant I believe in the doctrine of sola scriptura. Though a Catholic may see me as trying to stand on only one leg, the Word of God is a foundation for faith that will not change through the years.

A Catholic may respond to this by stating that church tradition is necessary for interpretation and understanding of the Bible. Protestant tradition, at least on this side of Calvin, says that we understand God's Word through His Holy Spirit.

Again, the Catholic may call me arrogant in claiming to have divine guidance for the understanding of scripture. Yet is that not the same claim made by the Pope? Just like the Roman Catholic Church created a special class of people to be Priests of Christ, so they have created a special class of people to be the interpreters of scripture. Remember that Catholics were for a time forbidden to read scripture, and even now many are not encouraged to do so.

Just as I believe in the priesthood of the believer I so believe in the guiding power of the Holy Spirit of God as I seek His truth in His Word. To help me understand it, I look to those who have come before to discover the mysteries revealed to them by the same Holy Spirit. Unlike Gregory, I cannot say that the church will never make a mistake. Unlike Pius, I cannot claim perfect understanding.

I can only study and learn as much as I can, stepping forward each day in faith.

(Note: For a Catholic point of view on infallibility of the church and pope, see the Catholic Encyclopaedia. For a Protestant response, see The Historicist.)

But It Must Be True!

2007-01-03T19:21:00.000-08:00

The BBC profiles some celebrities who are using their soapboxes to promote certain medical viewpoints that have no basis in fact.

CAROLE CAPLIN, LIFESTYLE GURU

On how to prevent breast cancer by giving women more information about "the importance of keeping the lymph system clear and unclogged".

Prof Michael Baum, emeritus professor of surgery, University College London: "Carole's idea of keeping the lymph system "clear and unclogged" has no meaning whatsoever.

"It is not based on knowledge of anatomy or physiology of the human body, let alone of breast cancer."

This is typical not only of celebrities but of people in general. Folks will seize upon an idea that supposedly trumps all previous ideas and defend it to the death against mountains of evidence. The old wives tales of the past and the homeopathic/organic/all natural things of the present are all things held dearly by their adherents. It is for this reason that both chiropractors and astrologers stay in business. Against all evidence, it must be true!

The only difference is that celebrities have a soapbox. Any idiot can have an opinion, and any idiot can get on television. I was about to write that it takes a pretty idiot to get airtime, but then I realized that many celebrities are not pretty at all.

Celebrities know no more than anyone else. They just managed to get attention, whether by good looks, acting ability, or by impressing their superiors in some way. This does not make them experts on medicine, politics, or society. It just gives them a chance to shout a bit louder than the roar of the crowd.

Goodbye Foxtrot

2007-01-02T19:11:00.000-08:00

The Final Strip

One of the few good strips left. Larson, Watterson, Schulz, and Amend, they drift into past memory.

1066

2007-01-01T17:56:00.000-08:00

Anno Domini 1066. It has been nearly one thousand years since this time, which stands as one of the most influential years in the history of the world. The island of Britain, at the time a minor Dark Age kingdom, was about to be conquered for the final time. The events of this year set the course of western history. Out of Britain came a culture and language that would spread across the world, a system of government that has been copied and adapted by countless nations, and not the least of all my homeland, the Unites States of America.

As 1066 dawned on the island, the West Saxons had ruled all England for nearly two hundred years. This dynasty, rising to prominence from the many Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that had existed before, had survived Viking raids and Danish rule. Yet the end was near. King Edward the Confessor died without heir.

Three men stepped forward to claim his vacant throne. The first was King Harald Hardrade of Norway. His predecessor on Norway's throne had supposedly made a deal with Harthacanute, Edward's predecessor, that would join the thrones of England and Norway.

The second was Harold Godwinson of England. He was Edward's brother-in-law and had been leading England behind the throne for several years. Upon Edward's death, the Witenagamot (The Saxon council of elders) elected him to be their king.

The final claimant was William, Duke of Normandy. He claimed that Godwinson had promised him the English throne in exchange for shelter in Normandy some years ago.

The stage was set and the players were present. The Viking King Harald Hardrade struck first, landing an army near York. Harold Godwinson led the Saxon armies to meet him and utterly defeated the Vikings at Stamford Bridge. Hardrade was killed and the survivors limped home in what few longboats were left. The Viking era had come to an end.

While the Saxons were battling up north, Duke William landed near Hastings, in Godwinson's own estate. The Normans began to lay waste to the land, prompting Godwinson to march his troops back to the south with no rest after their victory.

The Battle of Hastings is one of the most influential battles in history. Who can know what small events turned the course of the fight, and therefore the course of the world? Had Harold Godwinson rested his army, perhaps they could have won the already close battle. Yet it was not to be.

Duke William won the day and Godwinson was killed. The Normans conquered England and the Duke was crowned King William I on Christmas Day, A.D. 1066.

One of King William's first acts as the new monarch was to perform a census of enormous magnitude. Every free citizen, every parcel of land, and every piece of property were recorded so that they could be taxed, and so William could know the extent of his conquest. The Domesday Book as it was called still exists and provides remarkable insight into life during this time period.

The Norman Conquest changed the course of history. England today has its roots in the dynasty set forth by William the Conqueror. Queen Elizabeth II may trace Her Majesty's lineage back to King William. The Westminster parliamentary system, which evolved a few generations later, is the basis of government for much of the world. The English language, heretofore made up of ancient Celtic, Germanic, and Scandinavian words, was infused with the Latin spoken in Normandy and began to bear resemblance to the English spoken all over the world to this day.

Who can know what the world of today would be like had Harald Hardrade won the battle of Stamford Bridge, or if Harold Godwinson had won the Battle of Hastings? What would the United States of America look like? Where would I be today?

Music In Worship

2006-12-31T13:56:00.000-08:00

Greg Wilbur from King's Meadow opines on the role of music in worship.

From the time of David, music has played a prominent role in the worship of God. Participation in that worship is crucial for the health of the Church. Too often we are “worshiped at” as opposed to being led in corporate worship.

I am not the most musical of worshipers. I can read music enough to know whether to sing the next word higher or lower than the last, but chords and parts elude me. However, as an observer I have noticed the changes in musical worship that have happened in recent years.

First of all, the word "worship" itself has been changed to mean merely singing in church, as opposed to any of the other faculties of honoring God. This deserves an entire topic for itself.

I recall being in church as a child and opening a hymn book and singing with the rest of the ecclesia. The folks who could read the music did so, it was right there in the hymnal. Sometimes there was a piano for accompaniment, sometimes nothing. The voices of the people created music. It was nice.

My more recent memories are quite different. The lyrics of a song are projected on a big white screen, sans music. A band performs on stage, with a keyboardist, one or two guitarists, a bass guitarist, and a drummer. The lead singer has a microphone, connected along with all the electric instruments to massive amplifiers, thus drowning out the voices of the congregation.

It is more like a rock concert than a church service. This is not the ecclesia of Christ worshiping, it is an audience being sung at. When did style and panache supersede reverence for God?

Death of a Dictator

2006-12-29T21:48:00.000-08:00

Saddam is gone. I remember in early 1991, 3rd Grade at Gause Elementary, we would post news clippings of the Gulf War on our bulletin board. We followed it closely. We nicknamed him "Saddam Insane". We were pretty witty for eight-year-olds.

Now he has been convicted and executed by a court of his former subjects. This is a unique event, a former leader being legally executed by his own country. It does not happen very often, and no matter your view on the Iraq War, it is a good sign. The rule of law is ruling in Baghdad.

Saddam Hussein takes his place on the ash heap of history along with other dead dictators. He will now be nothing more than a memory, a photo in a textbook alongside Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Mao Tse-tung, and others who murdered their own citizens.

People wonder why I so love the study of history. Look around, history is happening as we speak! There once was a time when all that we read in the history books was actually happening. This is that time, for all generations to come.