Merry Christmas!

My eight year old son reads the Christmas story:

Merry Christmas to all!

At Least We're Not in Seattle

My friend and fellow blogger has been bemoaning the pitiful year of the Detroit Lions. At least it's not Seattle. Can you imagine? The best thing they had going was a mediocre WNBA team. I was not aware that the WNBA was still in existence. Check out this video from a beleaguered Seattle sports fan posted on ESPN. Let's all say a prayer for them.

Warm Christmas Memories

Everyone has those memories of Christmas that warm hearts.

My memory happened when I was a teenager. My mom, dad, and I had just sat down at the table for Christmas dinner when a knock on the door was heard by all. My dad rose to his feet and strode to the door. As he turned the knob to open the door, he let out a hearty, boisterous "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" that would have made St. Nick jealous. The two interlopers clear their throats and muttered an uncomfortable, "Well, uh, yes." The two members of the Jehovah's Witnesses were obviously uncomfortable as my dad engaged them in conversation. My mom was getting upset as the potatoes began to assume room temperature. My dad never shied away from engaging someone on spiritual matters.

How about you? Do you have any warm Christmas memories?

Happy Non-Sectarian, Non-Denominational, Politcally Correct, Non-Offensive, Ultra-Generic Winter Holiday(s)!

So as to be inoffensive to everyone, enjoy:

When I think about it, this video still leaves out Buddhists, Hindus, Shintos, Taoists, Communists, atheists, agnostics, Jehovah's Witnesses, and a multitude of smaller tribal--but no less "valid" in their own beliefs--religions. It does not mention Wiccans and their celebration of the winter solstice.

Lest we forget the real reason for and meaning of the season, the great theologian Linus Van Pelt reminds us:

We Got Our Daughter a TV for Her Room

For several years now, our 12 year old daughter has been begging for a TV in her room. Well, we did it. We gave her a TV of her very own for her bedroom. Now, you may be thinking we are cool parents for this, or you may be thinking we are idiots.

As Paul Harvey used to say, "Here's the rest of the story."

Several years ago, my wife won a TV. It has been used in various places around the house. The thing only has a 4 inch screen. It is black-and-white. It gets only 3 or 4 fuzzy, grainy channels. Oh, and by the way, after the digital conversion next February, it will be useless. The antenna is built in, so no one could hook up a converter box. I guess it won't be entirely useless, as it does have a radio feature.

Needless to say, she thinks it is pretty nice having her own TV.

Who's Next for a Bail Out?

As our elected representatives debate the wisdom of freely spending money confiscated from their constituents to bail out the auto industry, other industries continue to suffer. Now the Arena Football League has canceled the 2009 season. The Arena Football League is the league where they play football in basketball arenas. No one really pays attention, but people are losing their jobs. These people are suffering. Why can't we bail them out, too?

Read this book...

I bought this for my wife a few months back. We had seen Diane Sawyer's 20/20 interview, and I was intrigued. Being in grad school, I simply did not have time to read it, but my wife loved it. She quotes from it frequently.

With the end of the semester, I found time to read it. It took about 5 hours to read all 206 pages.

Every human being should read this book. Pausch, dying of pancreatic cancer (he died a little while back), offered a "last lecture" at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, where he had taught. The insights are powerful, practical, and penetrating.

If you are literate, read it. If you are illiterate, go to Youtube and watch the video. But, as always, the book is better than the movie.

Some of the book may seem trite, but the advice is good. We need to hear these things every once in a while. My wife has read some religious motivational books--and I have read a couple--and this has no where near the sap that oozes from them.

Here is the Youtube video:

A Valuable Book

The most valuable book that I read this past semester had nothing to do with the subject I am studying, which is history. It is a slender volume entitled The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E. B. White (of Charlotte's Web fame). This is a book that should be mandatory reading for anyone taking any class that has anything to do with writing. Pastors, teachers, business people, and anyone else would do well to peruse the hundred or so pages of this book to ensure that their writing is crisp and clear. If you are concerned about a bunch of dry rules of English, let me assure you that there is plenty of humor in this book. At times, I found myself chuckling or laughing.

Whew! It's Over!

Well, my second, and much more challenging, semester of grad school is behind me. I had two tough classes, and did not have time to blog much over the last couple months.

For both of you who read the blog (Thanks, mom. [Actually, I don't think my mom knows what a blog is.]) I will try to post a little more over the next month.

A few thoughts

It has been ages since I posted, but thought I needed to vent a little on the election.

Some thoughts/predictions:
- The people have spoken.
- The country voted for change, and that is all we will wind up with in our pockets: change.
- By the time of the mid-term elections (Nov. 2010), gas will be approaching $6 per gallon.
- If the Republicans develop a solid conservative leader (like Reagan or Gingrich) the landslide in 2010 will drastically dwarf the Republican revolution of 1994.
- Hillary Clinton will be a Supreme Court Justice. (A huge payoff for keeping her mouth shut.)
- Again, a wishy-washy Republican flames out.
- The last truly conservative nominee to lose the presidency was Barry Goldwater.
- The last "moderate" Republican to win was Eisenhower.
- Jimmy Carter will no longer be considered the worst president in the last 100 years.

A Plea to Department Stores

To all the owners/managers/CEOs of department stores:

Here is an idea. Put a "man room" in each store. If you want to men to be patient while the wife shops. A man room should contain a large screen high definition television and a big couch.

Come on, guys, let's do this thing.

How We Spnd Our Time

Being in graduate school has made me focus on time management. This semester I am taking two classes, with about 8 gazillion pages to read each week, along with various writing assignments. I am not complaining, but time has been precious, which is probably why I have not blogged in a while.

When I pastored a church, I had to find time for the duties that I had, preaching being the primary consumer of my time then. When I worked a cubicle job, I had to manage my time as well.

It is interesting that we are so focused on wealth in this country, because every single person, rich or poor, has the same amount of time each day: 24 hours, or 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. There are certain things we need to do: eat, sleep, bathe. These take time, but not all our time. How do we spend the other time we have? With family? Mindlessly surfing the Internet or watching brain eating TV?

I used to spend a great deal of time at TheOoze, which is a nice website, but a complete waste of time. I used to watch hours of mindless TV. I have decided this semester that I will limit my TV intake to two main shows: Prison Break and The Office.

How do you spend your time? Are you productive or mindless?

With Friends Like This...

Here is the Obamassiah's chosen running mate heaping scorn upon the Obamassiah. Geez! With friends like this, who needs the "Republican attack machine"?

Advice to Young, and Would Be, Pastors

The best advice I can give you any contemplating the ministry, or who has recently begun a ministry: Have something to fall back on.

We often go into ministry with lofty visions of parsing Greek words in sermon preparation, comforting the sick, helping the needy and so on. We have such lofty expectations that we do not think about what will come next in our lives. Not everyone who enter vocational ministry will be in the ministry their entire life.

I would advise a young college student who is planning a life in ministry to select an appropriate major, or minor at the least. When I went to college I was not planning on ministry, but many of my fellow students were. They majored in religion with plans for attending seminary after graduation. This is a mistake. If one is planning on attending seminary after college, major in something else while in college. If one is not planning on seminary, consider a double major or pick a minor that will help.

I am thankful that I have had something to fall back on after leaving (temporarily?) the ministry.

Be wise. Plan for life after the "professional" ministry. No one who is a Christian ever leaves ministry, but many leave the paid ministry.

Wonderful, Great, OPPRESSIVE China

From Voice of the Martyrs comes this story:

Pastor Zhang “Bike” Mingxuan, known for traveling across China on a bicycle to evangelize, was arrested by Chinese police just two days before the Olympics began. Pastor Bike was the inspiration for the recent partnership between The Voice of the Martyrs and China Aid Association to create the Olympic Prayer Band.

This story came across on an e-mail alert and is not posted on the website. Here are some more stories of the "benevolent" regime of China showing "openness and tolerance" toward citizens who follow Christ.

While Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Bob Costas and the other NBC lackies fawn over how wonderful China is, remember that the Communist government of China is jailing people for being Christians.

Wow! I am Impressed!

In my one class last spring, we never received a syllabus. Never. Still waiting...

My classes for this fall start next Wednesday, and I have already received the syllabus for one of the classes. At least now I can plan my schedule.

The older I get, the more I like to plan. I want to know what is coming next. That way, I can set aside time to study. The problem with the class in the spring was constantly shifting expectations and assignments. The class itself was very interesting, but I hated that we never really knew what was coming next.

I think ("hope" may be a better word) it will be different this fall.

Back From Vacation

We just returned from vacation yesterday. We spent a week in Memphis with my wife's sister and her family. Our niece is three. She bossed our kids around all week. It was pretty funny.

We ate some great Memphis barbecue at Jim Neely's Interstate Barbecue. It was magnificent.

We saw Graceland, the home of one Elvis Aaron Presley. My eight-year-old son went to Memphis with no clue who Elvis was. After touring Graceland, he wanted to be rich like Elvis. Later that day, he asked, "Dad, why didn't you name me Elvis?" My response, "Because, we didn't want you to get beat up." The one thing that surprised me is that Graceland was smaller than I thought it would be.

We went to the Shiloh Battlefield. It was only the second American Civil War battlefield that I have been to. (The other is Gettysburg.) I cannot even think of the words to describe it. There is a sense that so many men died there. It is almost as if they blood still cries out from the soil.

We went to the National Civil Rights Museum, which is on the site of the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered. Most of us fail to realize the struggle that so many African-Americans went through to attain equal rights.

We went to Mud Island, which has a scale model of the last 1000 miles of the Mississippi River and a museum of the Mississippi River.

We went to the Pink Palace, which was the home of the founder of Piggly Wiggly, the first modern grocery store. The kids had fun doing a treasure hunt for which they won a bunch of junk.

It was a great time, and very relaxing.

Yippie!

I picked up my laptop this morning. I am back in the... (Well, whatever I am in, I am back).

You never really realize how much you miss something until it is gone.

I Miss My Laptop

My laptop is in the shop with a power cord issue. I am having to use my old desktop. This thing should be in a museum of ancient history. It runs Windows 98. I mean that is so last century. I am tied down to one place, as this thing is only portable with a moving van.

Not that anyone cares about my whining.

Challenging Evangelical Assumptions, Part 2

Assumption Two: Communion is unimportant.

This is, of course, one that is not written. It is more unconscious.

This comes from the comment that I often heard, "When you take communion all the time (or frequently), it loses its meaning." How does the sacrifice that Jesus made lose its meaning. It is something we should meditate on daily? Communion is a powerful reminder of that. Churches were often scorned when they took communion weekly.

In our little church, we took communion once a quarter (four times yearly), as prescribed by the powers that be in our denomination.

Fortunately, some evangelical churches have foregone this practice and started taking communion once a month. I am glad to see the increase in participation in the Lord's Supper.

One further problem, it is still often left as an add on at the end of the worship service. We sing, we pray, we hear a sermon, and (oh, yeah) we have to take a tiny cracker and tiny cup of grape juice.

Communion needs to be more integrated into the worship experience.

Challenging Evangelical Assumptions, Part 1

I grew up in an evangelical church, the Church of the Nazarene. I was fully educated in the ways of the evangelical church. We were not fundamentalists, but somewhat legalistic. I want to examine some of the assumptions that I grew up with. (I will explore these off and on over the coming weeks, and perhaps months). Some of these assumptions are codified, and some are unspoken, and perhaps a few are even unconscious.

Assumption One: Prayer must be spontaneous to be sincere.

This is one that is not codified, but is certainly unspoken. I recall hearing criticisms of churches that read their prayers. In our church, prayers were sincere because they were spontaneous. We were somehow closer to God because we prayed in an utterly spontaneous way.

Here is the challenge I would issue. Why is spontaneity equated to sincerity? Think back on important moments in your life (proposing to your girlfriend, giving a big speech, taking a test, etc.). Were any of those spontaneous? Did you take a big test without studying? Anything that is important takes preparation. Are we not saying that prayer is unimportant if we "go off the cuff"?

As far as I am concerned, pre-prepared prayers can be very effective in focusing our attention on God. This could be done either through praying the Psalms, using great prayers of the saints, or writing our own.

Another aspect of spontaneous prayer, is that it is usually the same thing every time. Sure the order in which we pray for the missionaries.

I seems that spontaneous prayer is born of laziness rather than sincerity.

If prayer is important, it should take time.

Who Says Drilling for Oil Will Not Help?

Those opposed to drilling for oil, either offshore or in the barren ice-laden wilderness of Alaska, say that there will be no short-term benefit. They say it will be a decade before any of that oil will hit the gas station.

Last week, President George W. Bush lifted the executive ban on offshore drilling, while encouraging the do-noting-Democratic-controlled Congress to lift their ban.

Look what happened last week. Oil dropped $16 per barrel. Gas dropped nearly $0.10 per gallon. Yes, this has all been very short term.

If just talking about drilling can have this result, imagine what would happen if (and, hopefully, when) drilling actually begins. Gas probably will never again be $0.99 per gallon, but it does not have to stay at the $4.00 range.

Drill Here!
Drill Now!
Pay Less!

What's Wrong with the Boss? Part 2

An article by Franz Lidz from September 2007 talks about Steinbrenner's condition. Apparently no one associated with the Yankees or Steinbrenner's family comment on the subject.

What's Wrong with the Boss?

Is George Steinbrenner ill? Before last night's Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Steinbrenner was escorted to the pitcher's mound at Yankee Stadium to deliver the baseballs for the ceremonial first pitches. He looked terrible. He rode a golf cart and never left it.

Perhaps I have been under a rock, but is he ill? I noticed earlier this season that his son, Hank Steinbrenner, was front and center during the Jason Giambi controversy.

President Bush's Statement

It is not very often that you will hear a politician, even a Republican, say something like this. At a press conference today (7/15/08) President Bush was asked about conservation. Some pencil-neck reporter asked whether he would encourage/mandate conservation. Bush's response was priceless (from Politico.com):

"They're smart enough to figure out whether they're going to drive less or not. I mean, you know, it's interesting what the price of gasoline has done," Bush said at a news conference in the White House press room, "is it caused people to drive less. That's why they want smaller cars: They want to conserve. But the consumer's plenty bright. The marketplace works."

"You noticed my statement yesterday, I talked about good conservation and — you know, people can figure out whether they need to drive more or less," he said. "They can balance their own checkbooks."

"It's a little presumptuous on my part to dictate how consumers live their own lives," the president added. "I've got faith in the American people."

It is refreshing for a politician express faith in the American people. Most politicians (including many Republicans) think that the government has to take care of us because we are too cotton-picking stupid to take care of ourselves or make decisions on our own. Thank you, President Bush, for expressing faith in "We the People."

The Bible and Socialism

The Bible does not endorse one specific kind of government, except perhaps theocracy. It never ceases to amaze me that some folks are insistent that the Bible promotes socialism. (It also amazes me that some think it endorses capitalism or democracy.)

Yes, the early Christians shared all things in common, but it was voluntary. We should voluntarily support our fellow man who is in need. We should support our churches with our money. There should be nothing coercive about it.

No where does the Bible advocate the government taking care of charitable needs. That is our job as Christians. Jesus told us to do it. He never said, "Caesar will take care of the poor or needy."

This Sounds Painful

From FoxSports.com: Chris Snyder of the Arizona Diamondbacks

News: Snyder (testicular fracture) is progressing and he'll be reevaluated on Monday, the Arizona Republic reports.

I do not even want to know how that happened. I cannot imagine the pain he is/was in.

What's Next?

Man sues Bible publishers for anti-gay references. (From Newsmax.com.)

Can I sue a Koran publisher for "anti-infidel" references?

The scariest part is the last paragraph of the article:

U.S. District Judge Julian Abele Cook Jr., who will hear Fowler’s case against Thomas Nelson, says the court “has some very genuine concerns about the nature and efficacy of [his] claims."

More Political Hot Air

Ugh! Just when you thought that there could not be more hot air in politics, you get this story from the ABC news blog Political Punch that former Minnesota Governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura may enter his state's race for the Senate. Incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman is facing a challenger in the form of humor-challenged "comedian" Al Franken.

That is all we need, a hot air emitting former professional wrestler squaring off against a hot air emitting "comedian."

Thinking on the Thesis

With only 3 credit hours down, I am beginning to think about my thesis. This appears to be a bit tricky. I have to find a faculty member willing to guide me through the process. My interest is in 20th century American history, particularly the post-World War II era. The problem is that the guy who had been the 20th century American specialist recently retired. They are searching for a new one.

I have always been interested in political history, but my interest has recently been trending toward social history, specifically integration.

One area of integration that has piqued my interest is the role of the Church in integration, either with helping or hindering. In the Church of the Nazarene, there was a drive to integration beginning in the late 1940s. The Church of the Nazarene formed the Gulf Central District, which was made up exclusively of black churches in the Old South.

I would love to investigate this further to see how and why this was attempted.

My Son's Favorite Birthday Present

When I was a kid, I always felt sorry for the kids who had a summer birthday. No one was ever around for a party. They could not bring snacks to school.

My son has a summer birthday, right around Independence Day, no less. He has never really had a great birthday party. (Sure, one year, we were in Washington, DC for his birthday.) This past Sunday was his birthday. He got two great presents. First, his sister (our daughter) was put on a plane and sent to grandma's house for three weeks. Second, he got to go to Chuck E. Cheese's, where he burned through 100 tokens. It must be great to be eight.

Happy Independence Day

Happy Independence Day to all. Today is the day we celebrate our national independence. Today is the USA's 232nd birthday.

We have not been a perfect nation, but the grand experiment of representative government has been, I think, a success.

Be safe, have fun, and remember that we are ever so fortunate to enjoy the freedoms that we have.

Why We Do What We Do

I have been plowing through Timothy L. Smith's Revivalism and Social Reform this summer. (Smith was a great historian, but his writing style is awfully dry.) Smith's book covers the history of American Protestantism in the middle of the nineteenth century. He argues that holiness (perfectionism) was widespread in urban centers of the northeast United States and that ultimately led to social reforms from slavery to child labor to women's issues.

One thing has grabbed me continuously throughout the book. It really has nothing to do with his arguments, although they are fascinating in their own right. (Perhaps I will write more about that later.) It has more to do with the way that church is done.

First, I need to define something. When I used the term "Evangelical Church," I am referring to churches that are Protestant, outreach oriented (in theory), and generally conservative in theology. I would consider them to be broadly in the following groups: Wesleyan-Holiness churches (Church of the Nazarene, Wesleyan, etc.); Pentecostal/Charismatic churches; and most churches in the Baptist family.

There are numerous sacred cows in the Evangelical Community. I wish to focus on three: Sunday school, the altar, and hymns.

In the form most of us would recognize Sunday school has only existed since the 1780s. (I did a research paper on the early history of Sunday school in college. It is a fascinating study.) Despite what we may think, St. Paul did not attend Sunday school. Martin Luther did not attend it. John Wesley heartily endorsed it, however this was quite late in his life.

In most Evangelical churches, the altar is a centerpiece of the sanctuary. What most evangelicals think of as the "altar" has only existed for about two centuries. Originally, it was called the "mourner's bench." It was used primarily as an easy way for the saints to help seekers. In most "high churches" (Episcopal, Catholic, etc.) the altar is what evangelicals call the communion table. St. Paul never prayed at an altar in the way we think of an altar. John Wesley never did. John Wesley never gave an invitation to come and pray at an altar.

The revered hymns of the church were once contemporary songs. Most of the hymns we sing in the church were written over a period from about the mid-18th century to the early 20th century. St. Paul did not sing "Amazing Grace."

What the point? The point is quite simply that the things we hold dear in the Evangelical church are relatively young in scope of Church history. These things--Sunday school, the altar and hymns--were used to communicate the timeless gospel to a certain group of people at a certain point in time. They are not transcendent tools given by God. Now, I am not anti-Sunday school or anti-altar or anti-hymn. We just need to keep things in perspective. These things are only tools. Some tools were better at some times, but not others. (A chainsaw is great for cutting down a tree, but it will not work for engraving a plaque.)

They've Got It "SDRAWKCAB"

Yes, that is correct. They have it "sdrawkcab"! For those that cannot read in reverse, that is, "They have it backwards." Who does? The Church.

I could spend hours, days or even weeks on many things wrong with the functioning of the Church. Specifically today, I want to discuss church planting. It appears to me that most church leaders (denominational officials, primarily) have not changed their theory of church planting since Lewis and Clark embarked on their transcontinental expedition.

The theory behind church planting was to send a young pastor into a frontier town and say, "Brother, go start a church. God be with you." Then the guy was dropped into this town to fend for himself. It may have worked at one time, perhaps even as late as half a century ago.

This is still in play in many leaders' thinking. Here is the current philosophy: send some poor sap to a faraway place, demand that he find a permanent building and grow a church.

The reality of life today is that it simply does not work. Where the permanent building used to be one of the most important pieces of the puzzle, it is now one of the last things a church planter should worry about. One hundred years ago, building a church building was relatively inexpensive. All one needed was a few walls and pews. Now, one has to contend with building permits, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, fire codes, plumbing codes, electrical codes, building codes, environmental land use laws, etc.

Years ago, church staff was not important. In fact most churches did not have a staff. What staff that existed was voluntary. Unfortunately, that no longer works. Churches need to be staffed from the beginning. The way I see it, a church needs a minimum of four full-time (or nearly full-time) ministers: lead pastor, worship pastor, youth pastor and children's pastor. One would do well to hire a reliable nursery worker on a part-time basis.

The result of this "sdrawkcab" approach to church planting is that churches are doomed from the outset. To put it in business jargon, they are under capitalized. They have great buildings with no ministry. People may show up to see what a new building looks like, but they will not stay with effective ministry. We need to make sure every church has effective plans for ministry before we worry about anything else.

I call all church leaders to reevaluate priorities when seeking to plant churches.

Reaganomics Worked

Ronald Reagan has been called many things by his detractors. His economic policies have been called: voo-doo economics, trickle down economics and Reaganomics. The 1980s have been called the "decade of greed" when the "rich got richer and the poor got poorer." I am here to tell you, first hand, that those characterizations of the 1980s are complete bunk.

My family has never been rich. My mother had an eighth grade education (she has since earned here GED), and my dad has a two-year degree. They have worked hard all their lives, and still do to this day. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, our family was in financial trouble. I really do not remember it too much, but in looking back, it was pretty bad. I was in early elementary school at the time, so my parents did not exactly include me in financial discussions.

At one point, when my dad was out of work, we were nearly homeless. We had to sell our house fast, and we moved an old house. I remember walking around town collecting aluminum Coke cans so we could sell them. My mom and I did this while my dad was at the unemployment office. Couple that with the stagflation that is Jimmy Carter's real legacy, and we were in dire straits.

Everyone seems to forget that lovable old Habitat for Humanity codger, namely James Earl "Jimmy" Carter hurt numerous families with his failure in the White House. Thanks to President Carter, my family was nearly on the streets.

Enter President Ronald Wilson Reagan. His brilliant policies, allegedly to benefit the rich, benefited all Americans. By the end of the 1980s, my family was much better off. We were not wealthy, but we had more wealth. We were in a better position financially.

Reaganomics worked. Anyone who tells you anything else is out of their mind.

This nation owes a great debt of gratitude to our fortieth President. He cleaned up a huge mess. I just wish we had a candidate like him to vote for this year.

The End of the Season

My son played his last baseball game of the season last night. My daughter's softball season ended last week. (I am not sure what we are going to do with our evenings now.)

When the kids play sports, it always turns my thoughts toward teamwork. In many cases, teamwork is a lost art. One can see it all the time. There is always that one kid on the team that is is so much better than the other kids. He fields the ball at third and runs down the batter on his way to first, rather than throwing the ball to the first baseman. It happens to adults as well, which is one reason I cannot stand to watch the NBA.

Anything that is worthwhile, is a team effort. It took an army of scientists for us to reach the moon. It took an army of men to bring about the American Revolution. We had George Washington on the military side. We had Thomas Jefferson on the philosophical side. Even great "individuals" in history had help. Martin Luther had his Philipp Melanchthon. John Clavin had his Theodore Beza.

This is what Paul talked about in First Corinthians 12. None of us can accomplish anything of significance on our own. Even something as mundane as tying our shoes was once terribly difficult without the assistance of a loving parent.

I guess I just waxing philosophical after the conclusion of another sports season.

The President and Judicial Appointments

Conservatives are told that we have to vote for McCain even though his convictions are more in line with Barrack Obama than Ronald Reagan. The one area that seems to be a huge argument is in the arena of judicial appointments, especially on the Supreme Court.

Let's examine the record of Republican Presidents and Supreme Court appointments:

• Dwight Eisenhower gave us Earl Warren, who wound up being very far to the left. (Roe v. Wade.)
• Gerald Ford gave us John Paul Stevens, who was not as far left as Warren, but just the same votes liberal.
• George H. W. Bush gave us David Souter. He did give us Clarence Thomas.
  
• Even the great Ronald Reagan gave us Anthony Kennedy and Sandra Day O'Connor. Sure he gave us Antonin Scalia (who should be Chief Justice).

A President McCain is not guarantee that justices will be conservative. In fact, he is one of the Gang of 14 that sold George W. Bush's conservative nominees down the river.

Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day. Normally, I am not a huge fan of these Hallmark holidays. Father's Day takes on a new meaning every year, as I try, imperfectly, to raise my children. I am also reminded about my dad's influence on me and my kids.

My dad has been declining in recent years, but I have a wealth of memories and lessons that he taught me, imperfectly. My dad is a man of integrity. He is a man of upstanding character. He is a man of silent strength. My dad is a man of even temperament.

Fathers, even mine, are imperfect. They fail us from time to time. As a father, I have failed my kids. The important thing is love. In all we do, we must love our children.

What Can You Afford?

In a time of inflation, such as we have now with rising gas and food prices, the media often trot out sympathetic folk who complain about the fact that they cannot afford food, gas, etc. While I empathize those who suffer financial burdens (we all do, to one extent or another), I am a bit dubious about some the claims made by these people. Call me skeptical.

About ten years ago, while my beautiful bride and I were youth leaders, this point came home to me. The issue came up at the church related to babysitting. The church was planning an adults only function, and said that youth of the church volunteer their services to babysit. We offered the suggestion that families could pay a nominal fee (something like a buck or two per child) to help fund the youth group trip we were planning. Someone spoke up that many of the families could not afford the pittance. Many of these families had no trouble supplying their children with money for movies and snacks, and other recreational activities.

We came to this conclusion: People can afford what they want. In America, people can pretty much afford anything they want. (Sure, most people cannot afford a private jet or something wildly extravagant.) Most households have at least one car (often two or more), a couple TVs (often hooked up to DVD players, VCRs and cable TV), and so on.

I am tired of everyone being a victim. I am not a victim. I pay the same (rising) prices for gas and food as everyone else. Our family has made adjustments to deal with it. We do not drive nearly as much as we used to. We do not eat out as much. We do not have cable/satellite TV. Sometimes we just have to make due with what we have.

What Does Education Mean?

Over the last few months, I have been contemplating what education means. A few things prompted this thinking:

• My daughter is going enter middle school next year (YIKES!);
• I have started my master's degree;
• My wife is an educator (department head of Pre-Curriculum at a nearby community college);
  
• I teach in the Developmental Studies Department, at a different community college.
  

All of this has made me ask, "What is the value of an education?"or, "What is the value of a good education?"

I deal with students who are not ready for regular college-level classes, at least mathematically. (Some are completely unprepared.) I have students who are right out of high school up through students who complete high school before I was born. Some have been in college, some only have a GED. I am always fascinated to observe how students spend their education. Some show up when it is convenient for them and do the absolute minimum. Others go all out, taking notes, doing extra homework, asking for help, etc. Most are somewhere in between. (My wife deals with the same range of students.)

As my daughter prepares for middle school, thoughts turn toward he college education. (She does not have a choice. She will go to college.) In looking toward that goal, I want to prepare her to be a student who is not a minimalist ("What do I need to get by?")

I am approaching my master's studies with the question, "What can I do to get the most out of this?" I will admit that I was not always the best student in college, although my grades were very good (3.83, not to brag or anything). I am taking this much more seriously. Perhaps it is a function of my age. I have been in the real world.

That is one thing I notice about my students. The so-called non-traditional students (i.e. those who have been in the real world, as opposed to those jumping in from high school) are much more serious and motivated.

If we value our education--if we ask, "What can I get out of this?"--we are more likely to receive a better education.

Vocabulary

Last summer, while I was preparing for the GRE, I signed up to receive a daily e-mail from Merriam-Webster with their Word for the Day. Today, their word was "umpteen," which I had thought was one of those made-up words. It is kind of funny how some words become a functioning part of our language.

Food for Thought

Thomas Sowell's recent column gives us something to think about in the upcoming election.

The NBA Finals

Normally, I would not even bother to mention the upcoming NBA Finals (yawn!). This year, we are told that it is a "special" finals because the Lakers are playing the Celtics. We are treated to grainy images of the smooth Magic Johnson and the raggy-headed Larry Bird wearing their short shorts while facing each other in any of the numerous Finals in which they played in the 1980s. (I grew wondering why they even bothered to play the the regular season because it was always the Lakers and Celtics.)

Now, we are faced with the marketing blitz that it's the 1980s again. There are two things that will get me excited about this series:

1. If Larry Bird and Magic Johnson--along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Robert Parrish, Kevin McHale and James Worthy--show up to play.

2. If they started at time that I could watch the whole game without subsequent sleep deprivation.

As far as I am concerned, the NBA is irrelevant.

This says that I is smart

You paid attention during 97% of high school!

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
Create a Quiz

A Fulfilled Prophecy

Election years always bring about questions regarding faith and politics. "How much should faith inform politics?" This really hit me the other day, when I saw footage of John McCain exiting his bus with Rod Parsley nipping at McCain's heels. I have been very uncomfortable with the way the so-called Christian Right has been in bed with the Republican Party. (One could even make the argument that the Christian Left--and it does exist--is in bed with the Democratic Party.)

I have been reading one of the great books of religious history in America. It is Revivalism and Social Reform by Timothy L. Smith. On page 16, Smith writes:

[Fletcher] Harper [of Harper's Weekly] complained that clergymen and laymen alike rejoiced when they could persuade a politician or "some old hero of a general" to "harangue on such utilities before the annual religious gatherings"--as though the testimonies of public men were necessary to vindicate the gospel. He warned that if these aspects of religion continued to be presented as the chief ground of its support, Christianity would cease to serve the republic. Instead of the church evangelizing the world, the world would secularize the church.

I ask: "Is that not were we are today?" The church has sought its legitimacy from famous people--be they politicians, athletes, actors, etc. Does the church need John McCain (or some other famous person) to give Christianity legitimacy? Is not the church's legitimacy in Jesus Christ? He said, "Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).

The reality is that the church winds up secularized.

This is not to say that Christians should abstain from voting or refrain from entering the political arena. The problem comes from when we try to show how legitimate our faith is based on who wins elections.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is probably most known as the unofficial kick-off to summer. Unfortunately, amidst the cook-outs and trips to the beach the meaning has been lost.

If you have ever been to Arlington National Cemetery (see picture), you can appreciated the endless sea of rolling hills covered with simple white grave markers of the men and women who gave up everything so we may be free. Stones as innumerable as the stars in the heavens fill every hill and valley of that hallowed ground.

Thank you, to all who have served.

Gas Prices

Gas prices continue to soar, but people continue to drive. Locally, I do not think anyone has cut back on driving. When I venture out, it seems that the roads are just as full as before. It seems that the gas stations are about as busy as ever.

Personally, we have cut back on driving. We drive to work, church and the kids' sports. Fortunately the grocery store where we shop is close to where I work, so I do the shopping after work.

One thing that does concern me, is the possibility that churches and charitable organizations may feel the pinch. Having pastored a small church with a super-tight budget, every dollar means something.

I would hate to see giving decline to organizations that help the less fortunate.

Cut out eating out or buying the new shoes, and contribute to those in need.

Stupidity Tax

I know that I have ranted about taxes a lot in the past few months, but have you ever thought it would be a good idea to have a tax on stupidity?

The thing is that most states already have one: the lottery.

The state tells us that we can become instant millionaires by picking the right numbers. Millions of people line up and pick their numbers. How many of them actually win? Not very many. The odds of winning Powerball is 1 in 146,107,962. That means that if you purchased two tickets per week (there are two drawing per week), you would have to play for over one million years before you were statistically "guaranteed" to win.

If that is not a tax on stupidity, I do not know what is.

By the way, the government used to call this "running numbers" when the mob did it. It was also illegal. I guess it is different when the government makes the money off it.

Back in the saddle

Well, my nearly two week vacation ended today. Summer school is in session. I am back to the grueling four-hour work day. Instead of four one-hour classes, I have two two-hour classes.

I do not understand teachers who think teaching is so difficult. This is the easiest job I have ever had, and the pay better than someone with my skills (or lack thereof) would make working a 9 to 5 job. I am home when the kids get home from school. ("Do your homework!")

On top of that, the power that be changed the schedule this summer. In the past, we taught four days per week and finished at the end of July. This year, we are teaching five days per week and will done in the middle of July, which translates to nearly a month off before the start of the fall semester. I must say, though, that I really liked the three day weekends.

I Guess This Makes Everything Alright

A contrite Mike Huckabee has apologized for his ridiculous comments about Obama having to evade a would-be assassin. Every thing is hunky-dory now.

In our day and age, a politician can make the most outlandish comment, apologize, and resume his verbal diarrhea as though nothing happened.

Sure, we have all made dumb comments that we wish we could take back as soon as we utter them. Public figures should be more careful. The best way to avoid having to issue an apology is think before you speak.

Speaking about the potential attempt on the life a President or presidential candidate is morally reprehensible (or, the attempt on anyone's life, for that matter). Within the last fifty years, one President has been assassinated (John F. Kennedy), two more have had at least one attempt on their life while in office (Gerald Ford--twice--and Ronald Reagan), and two more candidates have been targets (Robert Kennedy--killed in 1968--and George Wallace--paralyzed in 1972). It not funny to joke about such things. As near as I can tell, not too many in the audience of the National Rifle Association laughed at Huckabee's remark.

Response to Mike Huckabee's Stupid Comments

The Reformed Poser pointed this out. It is from those insightful political commentators, RUN-DMC. Click the link to view, unfortunately the embedding feature has been disabled for this video.

Just Shut Up!

Mike Huckabee makes one of the most stupid comments.

Aging

My wife found out today that she needs bifocals. I chuckled when I heard that, but then I had a nagging voice in my head: "You're turn is coming, buddy."

We cannot stop time. As much as try to look, feel and act younger, time marches on relentlessly.

As if we aren't fat enough

In an era when we hear about how fat we are, as a nation, the Kansas City Royals have done their part to promote that. They now offer a section of seats called "All You Can Eat" seats. For $40-$50 (depending on the game) you can cram all the hot dogs, nachos, pizza, frosties, pretzels, Coke, peanuts, Cracker Jacks, or whatever else you find into your face. I am not sure if other stadiums are doing this.

Three Down, 30 To Go

I have finished my first graduate school class, and have ten to go. I have earned three hours of the required 33. I earned an "A," somehow. We never did get a syllabus, so it was all fuzzy expectations.

Here are some conclusions about Twentieth Century European History:

• The Nazis and Fascists were not right-wingers. They were socialists.
• Europe was not a seething cauldron of anti-Semitism in the early part of the century, although parts of it were.
• The triumph of democracy, in western Europe after World War II and eastern Europe after the Cold War, was not inevitable.

Next up, some American history. In the fall, I get to take Historiography and Problems in North Carolina History.

I have gotten my feet wet, and will tackle two classes.

Voting

I went and cast my ballot for a plethora of positions, today. As a registered Republican, I did not participate in Rush Limbaugh's ingenious "operation chaos." I went counter to conventional party line voting on a couple races. Most notably, I could bring myself to vote for the Democrat-in-elephant's-clothing, also known as John McCain. Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul and Alan Keyes were on the ballot. I was surprised to see Keyes there. Huckabee is a McCain wannabe. Ron Paul is just nutty. So I filled in the little oval next to Alan Keyes. I know he will not win, but it is principle. Keyes is for limited government.

Religion of the Easy Answer

As I mentioned yesterday (see below), we often want easy answers to complex political and economic matters. I think that it is easy for us to fall into the same trap in spiritual issues. We want fast, cookie-cutter answers from God. If we are sick, we want absolute, immediate relief. When God does not answer, we get impatient. We think about what we have done wrong to anger God and thus prevent his answering our prayer.

I think that sometimes God just wants to teach us patience.

Politics of the Easy Answer

As much as I hate to admit it, Barrack Obama is right. Suspending the gas tax for the summer would not bring down gas prices long term. The savings would not really amount all that much for the average American. While I am all for cutting taxes, the temporary suspension of the gas is a ridiculous idea. It is nothing more than a campaign ploy by those advocating it, namely McCain and Clinton. It amounts to buying votes.

While Obama is right about that, his energy policy is wrong. Energy independence means drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. One thing confuses me about the debate over drilling in Alaska. Somehow, it is environmentally unfriendly. What environment are we trying to protect. This semester I had a student who lived in Barrow, Alaska, which is as far north as one can get in the United States. (The next thing after Barrow, Alaska is Santa's house.) She commented that there is noting up there but ice and mud. There are no trees, bushes or anything green. On top of that it is night for about two months each year.

This is a symptom of our time. Everyone wants an easy answer. Everyone wants an immediate solution. Everyone wants the fix now. NOW! I tell, you, NOW! In an era of the Internet, microwaves and other tools that give us instant gratification, we need to realize that some answers take time.

We also need to realize that gas prices will never again be $1.00 a gallon. Those days are gone, along with the horse and buggy.

The Law of Unitended Consequences

In an effort to "protect the planet," environmentalists have forced upon us ethanol. Corn bases gasoline costs more and is less efficient than regular gas. Now we have discovered that shoving edible food into our gas tanks has caused food prices to rise. Here is a column from Fox.

This is the latest in a long line of environmentalists messing up our lives, and ultimately upsetting the environment and the market.

About ten or fifteen years ago, there was the big debate over paper versus plastic shopping bags. We were accused of killing trees if we wanted paper bags. Think about this: paper bags are biodegradable; plastic bags are made from petroleum, which we could be putting in our cars.

In the last few years, we have been ordered to use fluorescent light bulbs instead of Edison's incandescent light bulb. Now we discover that the fluorescent bulbs have mercury in them, which is harmful to the environment and a person's health.

If you want to help the planet, prevent an environmentalist from doing anything for the environment.

The Big Wind Down

The semester is winding down. This time it is on two fronts for me: teaching and studying.

As far as teaching goes, the semester has been incredibly average. Nothing great, but nothing awful. I did make a student cry, today. With finals coming up next week, I gave each student a note letting them know what they need to make on the final to get their desired grade (A, B, or C). Some students have no chance. One who has no chance left the room crying. I tried to console this student, but to no avail. I feel terrible about it, but I am not a magician.

This also concludes my first semester as a graduate student, but only attempting one class. The thing I loved about this class: no tests. The thing I did not like: fuzzy expectations (we never received a syllabus). I have to turn in my final review essay by next week. I just have to take the chainsaw to it, as it is ten pages rather than the suggested five to eight pages.

The light is at the end of the tunnel, and it is the summer sun.

Happy Earth Day

Today is Earth Day.

The whole debate over global warming and the "save the planet" stuff started me thinking. We have all this irrefutable evidence that within a matter of years we will be buried by the oceans or just burn up from really hot temperatures.

About a century ago, there was irrefutable evidence that Jews were lesser humans. Biologists, social scientists, psychiatrists and others in the science profession did numerous studies and conducted wide ranging research and drew the conclusion that Jews were inferior to just about every other race on the planet.

One hundred years later, we look back on those studies and roll our eyes at the methods they used. They did such things as measure the size of a person's head, which was thought to measure intelligence. They examined every part of the body. They did (what we would consider crazy and unethical) medical experiments on people. We now realize that the science they were practicing was junk science or pseudo-science.

It all makes me wonder what those living a century from now will think about our science of global warming. Do you notice that it is no longer called "global warming"? Recent studies have shown that the temperature is leveling off over the past ten years. It also seems ridiculous to talk about global warming when the upper Midwest and northeast faced record cold and snowfall this past winter. It is now called "climate change," which is a convenient catch-all no matter what direction the weather is heading (more storms, fewer storms, higher temperatures, lower temperatures).

Think about this when you go off to hug a tree.

What Other?

Last week, I received an e-mail about a survey regarding the student union at the campus where I go to grad school. (I am not sure which building it is in, but they were offering prizes for completing the survey.) The survey was set up and run by an outside organization with many standard questions. There was a page of personal information such as age, academic standing, marital status and so on. Then I came to the part about gender (which should really be sex, but we cannot say sex because it is a "dirty" word). Normally, one sees two options at this point, and they are pretty straightforward: male and female. It is not quite like race, where one can have ancestors from more than one race. Under gender they had male, female, transgender and other. Male and female I get. Transgender? Huh? Even if one accepts the idea that a person could be transgender, what in the world would classify as other? Is there some sort of evolutionary process at work here that I am not aware of? I thought about clicking "other" just for kicks, but I stuck to what I have put on every form previously.

Marriage Limitations

Recently, the circus surrounding the polygamist compound/ranch in west Texas has become big news. The issue of polygamy has been raised. Reportedly, girls as young as thirteen were forced to marry. People, rightly, are shocked by this charge.

This brings me to the issue of marriage, in general. I do not have much taste for the culture wars that many Christians revel in. However, I am annoyed by the charge of those who support the idea of homosexual marriage, that heterosexuals can marry anyone they want. That is simply not true.

We have numerous laws and mores in this country governing who can and cannot be married.

As is the case with polygamy, a person cannot be married to more than one person. I cannot decide that I want to marry another woman while still married to my current wife. (I do not know why anyone would want more than one wife. I have not figured the first one out yet.)

Again, as the Texas case shows, age is a prohibition in marriage. A couple of fourteen year olds cannot decide to get married. Some states offer marriage with parental consent.

There are limits on marriage to close relatives. Brothers and sisters cannot marry. In some state, close cousins cannot marry.

The thing is, if marriage is defined as anything other than one man and one woman, there is no end to what marriage can be defined as. Could I marry my motorcycle?

Opening Pandora's box can lead to things we really do not want.

The "Voluntary" Tax System

How is something voluntary if you can be punished for not doing it?

Listening to the Candidates

As I mentioned previously, all three major US presidential candidates believe that government is the solution to various real or perceived ills. When they are asked a question about health care, jobs, gas prices, trade, etc., they have the start to the answers, "The government would..." They go on to list what the government would do, or how the government would spend money--for which they often use the word "invest."

Here is something that will help you understand what they really want to do. Whenever they say, "The government will pay for" something, substitute the phrase "you tax payers" for the word "government." Then it will read, "You taxpayers will pay for..."

Promises are so abundant during political season. Be smart and realistic about what the candidates are promising. Ask yourself, "Who is going to pay for this?" The answer is that you will pay for it, if you have a job. The government's money is confiscated from the taxpayers. If you would not pay for it on your own, why should the government.

Why Is This True?

In a statement of the incredibly obvious, a reporter from our local daily rag, made the following observation:

A slip of the tongue seems to provide better ammunition nowadays than policy differences in the race for the United States presidency, officials say.

My initial response to that statement was, "Duh!" Every election year we groan and complain about the lack of substance in political campaigns. Everything is mudslinging, name calling and personal attacks. What else is there? Can Obama and Clinton debate on policy? They agree on everything as far as policy. A Clinton administration would look almost identical to an Obama administration. The reporter acknowledges that there are few differences between the two Democratic hopefuls.

My thought is concerning McCain. No matter who the Democrats nominate, one could use this quote in reference to the general election. Is there really any substantial difference between McCain and Clinton or Obama? I submit that the answer is no. McCain is Democratic-Lite. Every problem that McCain addresses has the solution being more government action, another government agency or government based solution. Where are the candidates that say we need less government, not more?

Happy Tax Day

I find it curious that some people get so excited over a tax refund. (Perhaps I am sour because I owed Uncle Sam money this year.) Some people run around like they won the lottery when they find that they are getting a refund.

Think about it this way. It is your money to begin with. The government confiscated it before your employer even paid you, unless you are self-employed. The government has been using for over a year buying stuff like pens, staplers, tanks; paying bureaucrats, soldiers, congressmen; providing health care services like immunizations; giving out food stamps; and so on. Now after you notify them that they took too much of your money to begin with, they will send you a check. If you did not bother to tell them that they seized too much of your money, they would not give it back.

Make no mistake, the government is not giving you their money. It is giving back the money it confiscated from you. It is your money, not the government's. The government has no money of its own, as it does not produce anything. The only money the government get is what it seizes from its citizens.

Happy Tax Day. I hope you get a whole bunch of your money back from the government.

Blah, blah, blah: The Response

Here is the canned response from Fox Sports regarding their decision to show non-athletes going nowhere rather than the end of the baseball game between the Yankees and the Red Sox:

"Dear FOXSports.com Participant,

Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback. We are aware that many individuals were displeased with the programming regarding the Yankees-Redsox MLB and Nascar coverage that interfered with each other. We would like to apologize for any displeasure that this caused as well as the inconvenience many of you had to deal with as a result. We have forwarded your comments to the appropriate coverage department so that your voice can be heard. We value the opinion of all of our users and participants, and should we require any more information about this occurrence we will be sure to contact you. We appreciate your time and assistance, and thank you again for your feedback.

Thank you for using FOXSports.com

-- The FOXSports.com Feedback Team"

Fox Sports Stupidity

Fox cut away from the Yankees-Red Sox game, which was a one-run game with two outs in the ninth, to show non-athletes going nowhere.

Here is my response that I sent to Fox:

"Are you brain dead? Why on earth would you cut away from the "biggest rivalry in sports," as you anchors called it to show the beginning of a bunch of guys driving around a circle? Not everyone has cable and go to FX. Fox Saturday baseball is the only game I get to watch every week. You should have put the start of the race on FX and switched when the real American past time was over. Your decision was poor. There were two outs and a one-run difference. I could understand if one team was 10 or 15 runs ahead.

It is disgraceful that you have absolutely no respect for the grand American game and more concerned with a bunch of non-athletes burning gas going nowhere!"

A Great Way to Save Gas

I think I have an idea that would save massive gasoline consumption. Since the liberal, environmentalist Democrat types will not let us increase supply by drilling for oil in Alaska or the Gulf of Mexico, we have to decrease demand.

No, I am not talking about ethanol or driving wind up cars.

Imagine the obscene amounts of gasoline consumed every week by non-athletes driving their super fast cars around a giant oval. They go absolutely nowhere. They drive for a couple hours and wind up right back where they started. Where I come from, that is called being lost. They burn thousands of gallons of gas, used hundreds of tires, and think they actually accomplished something.

Banning auto racing would saved thousands of dollars and thousands of gallons of gas per week. Imagine the saving over the span of a year or decade.

Not Caring What Others Think

If you were ever picked on as a child, someone (parents, teacher, or someone else) probably told you not to worry what others think.

I had a conversation with someone yesterday about the upcoming presidential election in the context of how Europeans are watching the election. He commented that western Europeans really do not like President Bush, although eastern Europeans tend to like him. My thought is, "Who cares?" He is not the President of any European country. Sure, each countries foreign policy impacts other nations. We should not elect a President on the basis of whether or not some foreign country like or dislikes a candidate.

I Guess People Fall For This Stuff

Lately, I have been getting hit with more spam e-mail. It is everything from fancy watches/jewelry to male enhancement products to other garbage. I guess that these companies send out these e-mails because people respond to them. Why? Why would anyone respond to them?

It's like telemarketing. Telemarketers call hocking their wares like street vendors in third world countries. Do people actually buy from them? They must because they keep calling.

I cannot think of anything I would buy from a telemarketer or e-mail spammer.

If you buy junk from them, please quit, so they won't bug me.

This Amazes Me

Perhaps I am a little late to the new wave of technology, but I am amazed. For my 20th Century European History class, we have to do research on a sub-topic (mine is anti-Semitism). We are to look at secondary sources--academic articles and monographs--but no primary sources--archival material, etc. I have managed to compile a long list, which I am trimming down to the assigned number of sources.

That is not what amazes me. The thing that amazes me is that I have not set foot in a library anywhere to do this project. I have not been to the university library, the public library or any other library. I have done all the research on-line. I have downloaded numerous articles, or had them e-mailed to me via inter-library loan. Both of the monographs that I am considering are available on-line through the university library's collaboration with NetLibrary.

Like I said, perhaps I am late to the party, but it amazes me. When I was an undergraduate, I practically lived in the school library.

The Olympics and Totalitarianism

Many people are upset (raging angry, in some cases) about the upcoming summer Olympics being held in China. The beef is mainly with Chinese human rights violations, in general, and in Tibet, in particular.

The Olympics really do not have a very good track record on this issue. There were "Hitler Olympics" of 1936, where der Fuhrer sought to showcase the superiority of the Germanic race. The funny thing is that an American of African decent, Jesse Owens, went over there and needed a cargo plane to bring back his medals.

Then there were the Moscow Olympics of 1980, after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Jimmy Carter thought it would be a good idea to boycott them. The Stalinist tactics, however, were not repudiated by Olympic officials.

So, why should China be any different? The butchers of 6 million Jews had their day. The proprietors of the Gulag had theirs. It seems only fitting that the butchers of Tienanmen Square have theirs. Who nows, maybe Osama bin Laden will be the organizer of the Olympics in the near future.

The Problem With the GOP

I was born a Republican. I have voted Republican in nearly every election (I have voted for a few Democrats). The Republican Party is doing its best to alienate me. I grew up with Ronald Reagan as my president, even though I was too young to vote for him. (I did vote for him in the mock elections we had in school.)

The thing Ronald Reagan is that he inspired people to be great, but not with the help of government. Reagan's vision was a country where the government was less intrusive. He sought to cut taxes and reduce the size and scope of the government. Sure, he was not as successful as he had hoped.

Modern day Republicans bear no resemblance to Reagan. Reagan would be horrified at the big government Republicans. There are no major Republicans advocating Reagan's vision. They are intent on passing new laws. When Barry Goldwater went to Washington as a senator from Arizona, he sought to repeal laws.

John McCain is not a small government Republican. But then neither were any of the Republican contenders, with the exception of Ron Paul, and perhaps Fred Thompson.

I have no idea who I will vote for. It sure will not be Obama or Clinton. McCain does not have my vote. I may leave it blank or vote third party.

Wake up, Republicans, or become a permanent historical party, just like the Whigs.

Decisions, Decisions

I am in the midst of trying to figure out my class schedule for the fall. I know that I will be taking Historiography, but mostly because I have to. I am torn for the second class. I am trying to decide between Problems in North Carolina History and American Revolution and Early Republic. Neither really strikes as more interesting than the other.

The High Modernist Church

I just finished reading James C. Scott's book Seeing Like a State. In the book, Scott, an anthropologist from Yale, dissects the high modernist view of the world. Essentially high modernism is roughly the time period of the early nineteenth century to mid twentieth century. Your run of the mill high modernist is someone who believes in endless progress of scientific reasoning. It is not so much a belief in science, as in biology, chemistry, physics, etc. It is a belief in the science of reasoning. There is no value of what has come before. In fact it is a hindrance. Scott uses the example of two cities that were highly influenced in their design by high modernist thinking. One is Paris, France. Paris is an old city, and it was difficult to retrofit it to a modernist grid system. The older part of the city was built up with no rhyme or reason, in the view of an outsider. The other city is Brasilia, Brazil. It was totally planned from the ground up by designers with a high modernist view.

Scott details how Brasilia did not turn out the way it was expected. He details many such things: Prussian forestry science, Soviet agricultural collectivization, and others.

He does not mention the church, but I think we can apply some of these lessons to the church. Somewhere in the nineteenth or twentieth century, this sort of thinking permeated through the church world. Everything became cookie-cutter. (I have numerous book in my library that prove this.) Everything was reasoned. Everyone had to have the same salvation/sanctification experience. Every church had to be run the same way. Every church plant had to done to exacting specifications. Every church building had to look the same way. (Not everyone does, of course, but you can almost date the decade in which a church was built by looking at the architecture.)

Centralized church bureaucrats (like centralized bureaucrats in the Soviet Union, or anywhere else) drew up plans for everyone to follow. The problem is that these cookie-cutter plans seldom worked. A church plant in midtown Manhattan, New York City is going look vastly different from a church plant in rural Iowa. The ministries that exist in a mountain community in Washington state are going to look much different from a multi-ethnic church Miami.

I think a good number of people in the church world have come to realize this. What works here will not work there. Just because Pastor Big Shot in Dallas baptizes people at the local water slide does not mean it is going to be effective in anywhere else.

As ministers, we have to know our community better than anyone else. This is one thing I struggled with as we were running our church into the ground. I went back and forth with the district big-wigs (250 miles away, in another universe). I kept trying to tell them what our community was like, but they would not listen. They insisted we do things by their methods. We tried to change, but the money they were supporting us with was taken away.

Every church must be local and meet the needs of its community. I am not a fan of this word, but it must be organic.

Happy Easter

I hope everyone had a great day celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our only hope for salvation. Let us not forget that today is the central day of the Christian year.

Oil and Gas Companies Making Record Profits? -- Good

I, for one, am glad that the oil companies are making profits, and big profits. "Why? Are you crazy?" you ask.

Simple, I own them. No, I am not some big tycoon, but I am an owner of the oil companies. It is likely that you are, too.

I have some mutual funds for my retirement. Yesterday, I received the annual report in the mail. As part of my mutual fund, I own shares in Chevron and Exxon Mobil. So if they make a profit, so do I, which means more money for me when I retire.

I also own shares in evil pharmaceutical companies: Abbott Labs, Eli Lilly, Merck, and Pfizer, among others. So when they make a profit, it helps me.

If you have a retirement account such as a 401(k), IRA, 503(b), or whatever, you likely own shares in companies that make huge profits. If your account does not own shares in these type of companies, you should probably move your money elsewhere.

I encourage you to take a look at the annual report and see which companies you own. Remember the next time you curse how much they make, you are reaping a part of their profits. So, if they make less, you make less.

I am not a Plumber

To paraphrase the prophet Amos, I am not a plumber, nor the son of a plumber.

Last week, a knob on the bathtub broke. I ventured to a local big box home improvement center to purchase new knob. I shut off the water. When I tried to fix it, I noticed another piece that was broken. In the process, like an idiot, I tried to fix it anyway. When I turned the water on, and the whole thing shot out of the wall. I then ventured back to a local big box home improvement center to purchase the missing piece. They did not have the exact piece, so I got something "close." After trying to fix it, with a hacksaw involved. Again, the water goes on, and, again, the whole thing shoots out of the wall. It was like on the cartoons.

My wife says, "I'm going to call a plumber."

I said, "Okay."

Faith and Family in the Storm

I have been immersed in reading about the Holocaust over the last week (see previous posts). I finished Bartov's Mirrors of Destruction today. I am also looking into anti-Semitism for my research project for my class. With some time, due to spring break, I picked up a book that has been on my shelf for a decade or so. Blood and Honor is the autobiography of Reinhold Kerstan.

Kerstan was born in 1931 in East Prussia--which is now part of Poland, but was German at the time. He was less than two when Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor.

His father was a Baptist minister, and the family wound up at a church in the middle of Hitler's Berlin. Brought up in the Christian faith, he was saw the biblical heroes (Abraham, Moses, David, the Apostles, etc.) as his heroes. They were all Jews, as were some of his friends and the family doctor. He could not reconcile that with the virulent anti-Semitism of the Nazi regime, especially the horrifying event of Kristallnacht.

The father is drafted into military service and sent to the front. His older brother Seigfried is sent away to school. Young "Reini" is sent to Czechoslovakia to a Hitler Youth school.

His world of faith in Christ collides with his faith in the Fatherland. Turmoil ensues internally and with his fellow students who wind up "crucifying" him. His faith sustains him through his months at school and in the bewildering aftermath of the war. He is eventually reunited with his family.

It gives me pause to think how would my faith hold up under similar circumstances. Not just the horrors of the war, but in the poverty stricken aftermath.

Hate Crime is a Redundant, Repetitive Term

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been reading Omer Bartov's Mirrors of Destruction. Bartov says that there should be a distinction between the Soviet Gulags and the Nazi death camps. This comes, as he says, from a "failure to distinguish between racial genocide and political persecutions" (p. 173). I ask, "Is one worse than the other?"

Is mass murder by the Soviets of political dissidents some how more noble than the Nazi killings of Jews because of their Jewishness? While the Soviets were not motivated by racial motives, they killed as many people as, if not more than, the Nazis. It is easy to say the Nazis were worse, but in doing so, we somehow saying the Soviets were better. I cannot buy that.

In our city, we had a recent "hate crime"--a term that is ridiculous because it is redundant. A white man approached an interracial couple (white woman, black man) in a store parking lot. He apparently uttered some racial slur and fired a gun. Many were up in arms about this "hate crime." I ask, "Would it have been better if he had criticized the car they were driving and fired a gun?" Is the murder or assault of someone worse because they are attacked because of their ethnicity, or for some other reason.

This brings me back to the idea of a "hate crime." Is there such a thing as a "love crime"? Is not all crime motivated by--or at least facilitated by--hate? If we truly love someone, we will not violate them or their property.

Utopia

Leszek Kolakowski writes: "When I am asked where I would like to live, my standard answer is: deep in the virgin mountain forest on a lake shore at the corner of Madison Avenue in Manhattan and Champs Elysees, in a small tidy town" (Modernity on Endless Trial, 131). This is his definition of utopia.

It is so utterly crazy. It is so utterly contradictory. Of course. That what utopia is. Utopia is something we create in our mind that is contradictory. It is impossible to have utopia. As Kolakowski points out, utopia cannot exist. In order to have a utopia, where all is peace and joy, one has obtain it at gun point, which is in violation of what utopia is. Utopia becomes, of necessity, totalitarianism, because the ideal must be enforced.

We are now reading a disturbing book by Omer Bartov, Mirrors of Destruction: War, Genocide, and Modern Identity. Using the Holocaust as a focal point, Bartov writes, "Totalitarianism is modern utopia brought to its ultimate concrete conclusion" (p. 158).

I think we all have a little bit of a Utopian in us. We often say (or think) things like: "If the rest of world just saw things like I did..." That is a Utopian statement. We are contemplating what our ideal would look like when enforced on the world.

Perhaps we need to get beyond our fascination with an idyllic world. The next time you think about how great your Utopian world would be, remember you are probably the only one thinking that. (Am I being Utopian saying that?)

By the way, my utopia involves a couch, high speed internet, and an unlimited supply of sweet tea.

This is So Clinton

Is there anything that surprises you about the Clinton machine? The Clintons claimed a "mandate" in 1992 and 1996 when Bill failed to receive 50% of the vote.

Now, with Hillary trailing in total popular votes, total pledged delegates and primaries/caucuses won, the Clinton machine floats the idea that the leader in all three, Barack Obama, should take second place to Hillary. Do not get the idea that Hillary will ever take the second spot.

More typical Clinton behavior. Do we really want another four (or [shudder] eight) years of this stuff?

Where's the Nazarene Revolutionary Guard?

I clicked the link for the Nazarene Revolutionary Guard blog and got a page that said it was gone. Could the goons have gotten to them?

Spring Break

Ahhhh! A week off. I am looking forward to the coming week of time off. I will, however, not be a couch potato the whole week. I will be working on my bibliographic project for my Twentieth Century European History class. Maybe, I will also be able to post a little more.

Unintended Consequences

We just finished reading Leszek Kołakowski's book Modernity on Endless Trial for my Twentieth Century European History class. For the last several years I have considered the debate between modernity and post-modernity, which are both slippery terms to define.

One thing from the book that captured my attention was the author's thoughts on the Reformation. Kołakowski was a Marxist who converted to Catholicism, which accounts for his dim view of Protestants, especially the Reformers, and particularly John Calvin.

He effectively says that the Reformation brought about the downfall of Christianity. Calvin sought a return to apostolic Christianity. In the process he marginalized Aquinas, as a theologian, and many of the church fathers. The result was not a return to more authentic Christianity, but that the Church in the process was stripped of is moorings to past. It was now adrift, tossed about on the waves of secular reason. What followed were the deists and proponents for natural religion.

What this says is that we, as Christians, need to be careful about how we handle our differences with fellow Christ followers who have a different take.

What's in a Name?

The Democratic front runner for the party's nomination is Barack Obama. There has been a lot said recently about his middle name: Hussein. Many conservative types have been using his name to stir up sentiment against him. His campaign has also been very thin-skinned about the whole thing.

Since when is wrong to use someone's middle name? We use middle names frequently when talking about presidents: John Quincy Adams, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Dwight David Eisenhower, etc. I see nothing wrong with saying Barack Hussein Obama, after all it is the guy's name.

As someone who is quite sensitive about his middle name (What on earth was my mother thinking when she gave me my middle name?!), I can sympathize with Obama's sensitivity. But grow up, for crying out loud.

At the same time, are we supposed to withhold our vote for him simply because his middle name is the same as the last name of one of the worst tyrants of our time? Just because Saddam Hussein's last name and Barack Obama's middle are the same is no reason not to vote for Obama. If anyone does not vote him solely on those grounds, they are a fool

I can think of plenty of valid reasons to not vote for him:
-Socializing health care
-Raising taxes
-Foreign policy naiveté
-His liberal policies, in general (He makes George McGovern and Walter Mondale look like Rush Limbaugh)

Was Jesus Sarcastic

It is that time of year again: tax time. Every year we are required (there is nothing voluntary about the US tax laws) to render unto Caesar what is his. (If God can live on 10%, why can't Uncle Sam?)

Some how the verse from the Bible dealing with this came up last week in my 20th Century European History class. Here is the context:

So they asked him, "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?" They said, "Caesar’s." He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s." (Luke 20:21-25,ESV emphasis added.)

Was Jesus being sarcastic with this? What does Caesar own? Recall the passage from Psalm 50:10 where God says, "For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills."

If God owns everything, what can Caesar possibly own? What can any of us truly own?

I am not advocating a tax revolt. Let me make that clear, lest the IRS accuse me of such.

I had just never heard that take on this passage. It is almost as if Jesus is saying (with a tinge of sarcasm), "Who's picture is on the coin? Caesar? Sure, give it him." It is not like he really owns it.

Just the thoughts of a grumpy guy who owes the government more of my money.