OS spotted this posted on Ms. Barnhardt's page, a few posts before today.
Well worth reading:
It may very well be that the Communists, who are so anti-Christ, are closer to Him than those who see Him as a sentimentalist and vague moral reformer. The Communists have at least decided that if He wins, they lose; the others are afraid to consider Him either as winning or losing, because they are not prepared to meet the moral demands which this victory would make on their souls.
If He is what He claimed to be, a Savior, a Redeemer, then we have a virile Christ and a leader worth following in these terrible times; One Who will step into the breach of death, crushing sin, gloom and despair; a leader to Whom we can make totalitarian sacrifice without losing, but gaining freedom, and Whom we can love even unto death.
We need a Christ today Who will make cords and drive the buyers and sellers from our new temples; Who will blast the unfruitful fig-trees; Who will talk of crosses and sacrifices and Whose voice will be like the voice of the raging sea. But He will not allow us to pick and choose among His words, discarding the hard ones, and accepting the ones that please our fancy. We need a Christ Who will restore moral indignation, Who will make us hate evil with a passionate intensity, and love goodness to a point where we can drink death like water.
-Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
"Life of Christ", AD 1958
Showing posts with label Christianity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christianity. Show all posts
Friday, November 18, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Peter Hitchens Provides The Quote Of The Day
Is there any point in public debate, in a society where hardly anyone has been taught how to think, while millions have been taught what to think?
The rest of his thoughts are here.
The rest of his thoughts are here.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Singing Bach In The Ruins: Easter 1950 Dresden, Easter 2011 Here
A Facebook friend sent along a link to this video a few days ago, and OS has been meditating upon since seeing it. It's a 1950 recording of a German boy named Peter Schreier, singing one of the alto arias from Bach's St. John Passion--Es ist vollbracht--It is finished.
Schreier grew up, and became one of the great tenors of the twentieth century. It's easy to hear the promise in that boy's voice as he sings.
What struck OS most was not just the boy's voice. It was the boy's voice, recorded so beautifully in 1950 Dresden, still in rubble from the British fire-bombing of World War II. It was a miracle he was alive, and that Bach was still being played, sung and recorded in that place that year.
The video is worth viewing for the beauty of the music, and for the photos that pan as the music plays. The most telling is a shot of the boys choir in their cassocks, outside the church, singing in a rubble-filled street. They literally sang Bach amongst the ruins of one of the world's great cities. They kept showing up, despite the devastation around them, and the losses they had suffered, to sing Bach in church.
OS has friends who recently visited Dresden and Leipzig, and attended concerts and services in the old Lutheran churches. They came back with reports that faith and hope were alive and well in those buildings, in contrast to the weary cynicism encountered in The West.
Easter approaches, and OS wishes his readers a blessed one. We live in much more comfort, most of us, than those children in Dresden, but to hold to a Christian faith here increasingly means singing in the ruins of a culture that decided to self-destruct.
The message is--It is finished. Evil cannot possibly win in the end, because death itself has been conquered. And we will not always sing in the ruins. There is a day and time appointed when all will be set right.
Until then, though, we sing.
Lyrics:
Es ist vollbracht!
O Trost vor die gekränkten Seelen!
Die Trauernacht
Läßt nun die letzte Stunde zählen.
Der Held aus Juda siegt mit Macht
und schließt den Kampf.
Es ist vollbracht!
Translation:
It is fulfilled!
O hope for ev'ry ailing spirit!
The night of grief
Is now its final hours counting.
The man of Judah wins with might
And ends the fight.
It is fulfilled!
Schreier grew up, and became one of the great tenors of the twentieth century. It's easy to hear the promise in that boy's voice as he sings.
What struck OS most was not just the boy's voice. It was the boy's voice, recorded so beautifully in 1950 Dresden, still in rubble from the British fire-bombing of World War II. It was a miracle he was alive, and that Bach was still being played, sung and recorded in that place that year.
The video is worth viewing for the beauty of the music, and for the photos that pan as the music plays. The most telling is a shot of the boys choir in their cassocks, outside the church, singing in a rubble-filled street. They literally sang Bach amongst the ruins of one of the world's great cities. They kept showing up, despite the devastation around them, and the losses they had suffered, to sing Bach in church.
OS has friends who recently visited Dresden and Leipzig, and attended concerts and services in the old Lutheran churches. They came back with reports that faith and hope were alive and well in those buildings, in contrast to the weary cynicism encountered in The West.
Easter approaches, and OS wishes his readers a blessed one. We live in much more comfort, most of us, than those children in Dresden, but to hold to a Christian faith here increasingly means singing in the ruins of a culture that decided to self-destruct.
The message is--It is finished. Evil cannot possibly win in the end, because death itself has been conquered. And we will not always sing in the ruins. There is a day and time appointed when all will be set right.
Until then, though, we sing.
Lyrics:
Es ist vollbracht!
O Trost vor die gekränkten Seelen!
Die Trauernacht
Läßt nun die letzte Stunde zählen.
Der Held aus Juda siegt mit Macht
und schließt den Kampf.
Es ist vollbracht!
Translation:
It is fulfilled!
O hope for ev'ry ailing spirit!
The night of grief
Is now its final hours counting.
The man of Judah wins with might
And ends the fight.
It is fulfilled!
Monday, April 4, 2011
OK, Let's Go Over This Question Again, Slowly, So Even Fundamentalists Can Understand It
Burning books is a reprehensible thing to do, even if you are convinced the books you are burning are reprehensible. OldSouth has been over this with ya'll once already.
OS, like so many, was cradle-born Southern Baptist (No longer, but still a conservative Protestant. Another story, another day perhaps.) What that meant was, that every child learned his Bible, front to back. We had Sword Drill on Sunday nights, when the teacher would call a chapter and verse and we little ones would scurry to find the passage first in our copies of the King James Bible (which, of course, was the one written by the Almighty Himself, for the benefit of all English-speaking and right-thinking people everywhere). We knew that book cold, and OS is forever grateful to all those adults who gave so much of their time and energy to make certain that happened.
Never, not once, does the Good Book ever endorse burning books. Golden calves, yes. The Prophets of Baal fared pretty badly at the hands of Elijah on Mount Horeb if memory serves. Our Lord, in his days upon earth, did have his words eventually recorded by his followers. There's a good bit of overlap in the three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew/Mark/Luke), and nope, not one endorsement of burning books one takes offense at. The Master directed his most acid words at bankers, lawyers, and fundamentalist legalistic nutter clergy types--the type who prey upon the emotions, hopes and finances of humble people. In the end, they got together to perform judicial murder upon Him, proving His point in the process.
This last week, against all sane advice, it appears a nutter preacher in Florida staged a Koran barbecue. In America, that's protected Free Speech. Black-letter law, no argument about it. In Afghanistan, some other nutter decided the response to that should be to stage a suicide bombing, and kill a bunch of UN aid workers. That's murder, and unspeakable tragedy.
And there is no excuse for it. Period. Even if the Florida nutter incinerates a thousand Korans. It's ink on paper, just like those KJV's we used in Sword Drill in that Breeko-block little church. The content matters, not the newsprint.
But what OS wishes to repeat, for all who might read, is this: The Florida nutter is exercising his American right to Free Speech. That doesn't make him a Christian, and what he did was not a Christian act, in any possible definition of the word. It was done to draw attention to himself, to piss people off, to create headlines and controversy. Our Lord did not behave that way, except on one occasion, for very specific reason, and never out of malice. He did not endorse that method of operating in the world, nor did any of his immediate circle, when it came time for them to write down their accounts.
The nutter set a tragic chain of events into motion, giving another nutter an insane pretext to commit a foul act of mass murder. Florida Nutter did not 'cause' Afghan Nutter to commit murder, but he certainly helped set the stage.
Whatever this nutter in Florida is, he is not Christian. This is not the practice of Christianity. He is a heretic, plain and simple.
And a nutter. (Did OS mention that already?)
And heresy always, in the end, breeds tragedy.
OS, like so many, was cradle-born Southern Baptist (No longer, but still a conservative Protestant. Another story, another day perhaps.) What that meant was, that every child learned his Bible, front to back. We had Sword Drill on Sunday nights, when the teacher would call a chapter and verse and we little ones would scurry to find the passage first in our copies of the King James Bible (which, of course, was the one written by the Almighty Himself, for the benefit of all English-speaking and right-thinking people everywhere). We knew that book cold, and OS is forever grateful to all those adults who gave so much of their time and energy to make certain that happened.
Never, not once, does the Good Book ever endorse burning books. Golden calves, yes. The Prophets of Baal fared pretty badly at the hands of Elijah on Mount Horeb if memory serves. Our Lord, in his days upon earth, did have his words eventually recorded by his followers. There's a good bit of overlap in the three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew/Mark/Luke), and nope, not one endorsement of burning books one takes offense at. The Master directed his most acid words at bankers, lawyers, and fundamentalist legalistic nutter clergy types--the type who prey upon the emotions, hopes and finances of humble people. In the end, they got together to perform judicial murder upon Him, proving His point in the process.
This last week, against all sane advice, it appears a nutter preacher in Florida staged a Koran barbecue. In America, that's protected Free Speech. Black-letter law, no argument about it. In Afghanistan, some other nutter decided the response to that should be to stage a suicide bombing, and kill a bunch of UN aid workers. That's murder, and unspeakable tragedy.
And there is no excuse for it. Period. Even if the Florida nutter incinerates a thousand Korans. It's ink on paper, just like those KJV's we used in Sword Drill in that Breeko-block little church. The content matters, not the newsprint.
But what OS wishes to repeat, for all who might read, is this: The Florida nutter is exercising his American right to Free Speech. That doesn't make him a Christian, and what he did was not a Christian act, in any possible definition of the word. It was done to draw attention to himself, to piss people off, to create headlines and controversy. Our Lord did not behave that way, except on one occasion, for very specific reason, and never out of malice. He did not endorse that method of operating in the world, nor did any of his immediate circle, when it came time for them to write down their accounts.
The nutter set a tragic chain of events into motion, giving another nutter an insane pretext to commit a foul act of mass murder. Florida Nutter did not 'cause' Afghan Nutter to commit murder, but he certainly helped set the stage.
Whatever this nutter in Florida is, he is not Christian. This is not the practice of Christianity. He is a heretic, plain and simple.
And a nutter. (Did OS mention that already?)
And heresy always, in the end, breeds tragedy.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
The Toothless Lion: Pastor Peters
OS contends that the culture started wandering off some time ago, when the American church decided that it was crucial to look/feel/smell like the rest of the culture. Well, it succeeded in that quest, and the results have not been pretty.
There are a few souls who continue to stand up and question the wisdom of that approach.
Pastor Peters has the wordsmith's gift of putting his finger directly upon the raw nerve that we generally wish left alone.
It is the greatest sadness that we pawn off the Church (and therefore Christ) as a toothless lion who can really do no harm but which is really kind of nice once you get used to it... It is to our poverty that we offer the world only a pale imitation of what they already have instead of the radical difference of the Incarnate God who has borne the fullness of our sin and all its grief in order to place upon us the easy yoke of grace and mercy... It is our weakness that we would rather be seen as ordinary than the extra-ordinary among whom God is present and faith apprehends and responds to this presence in the means of grace...
There are a few souls who continue to stand up and question the wisdom of that approach.
Pastor Peters has the wordsmith's gift of putting his finger directly upon the raw nerve that we generally wish left alone.
It is the greatest sadness that we pawn off the Church (and therefore Christ) as a toothless lion who can really do no harm but which is really kind of nice once you get used to it... It is to our poverty that we offer the world only a pale imitation of what they already have instead of the radical difference of the Incarnate God who has borne the fullness of our sin and all its grief in order to place upon us the easy yoke of grace and mercy... It is our weakness that we would rather be seen as ordinary than the extra-ordinary among whom God is present and faith apprehends and responds to this presence in the means of grace...
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Work As If It Mattered: Jordan Ballor At Acton Institute
These thoughts are not about a burning issue of the hour, but do merit reading.
In the meantime, OS is working against several deadlines this week, deeply grateful for his life, work, and family. But he does look longingly at the perfect golf weather as he plows through the next stack of ThingsThatSimplyCannotBeDelayed.
In the meantime, OS is working against several deadlines this week, deeply grateful for his life, work, and family. But he does look longingly at the perfect golf weather as he plows through the next stack of ThingsThatSimplyCannotBeDelayed.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Best Suggestion Of The Year: Pastor Peters--A Hymnbook In Every Home
OS continues to maintain that our woes are cultural, and that the cure has to address the culture.
Pastor Peters hits the ball out of the cultural park when he reminds us of the obvious: Every home should have a good hymnal, in use, not on the back shelf.
And, the best 'accessory' for your hymnal is a piano. Lots of them on the market now, at bargain prices.
He is heartened to hear the news that this particular Lutheran hymnal has sold over a million copies since 2006.
Enjoy Pastor Peter's thoughts in the meantime, ya'll.
Pastor Peters hits the ball out of the cultural park when he reminds us of the obvious: Every home should have a good hymnal, in use, not on the back shelf.
And, the best 'accessory' for your hymnal is a piano. Lots of them on the market now, at bargain prices.
He is heartened to hear the news that this particular Lutheran hymnal has sold over a million copies since 2006.
Enjoy Pastor Peter's thoughts in the meantime, ya'll.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Burning Books Is Reprehensible, Even If You Think The Books Are Reprehensible
General Petraeus is a sober soul. He makes decisions every day that may determine the life expectancy of many people in his care.
He thinks that the proposed public burning of the Koran by the Rev. Mr. Jones, head of the 50-member Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., is not an act of a sober person.
He's right. His public statement is mild and measured, but unmistakable. And deserves to be republished over and over again in the next few days.
Again, OS is a devoted conservative Christian, and no fan of Islam. But, whatever Mr. Jones may be doing at his 50-member Dove World Outreach Center, he is not, repeat is not, practicing any recognizable form of Christianity. This sort of whack-job nonsense treads all over the Fourth Commandment--the one about not taking the name of the Lord in vain, or as one more modern translation puts it, not misusing the name of the Lord.
Then there is response of our Lord when queried about the Greatest Commandment. His response: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and strength. And then he said, 'The second is like unto it--love your neighbor as yourself.'
Not a hint anywhere about burning anybody's books, not even remotely about it.
OS could go on and on. Ya'll get the picture, he hopes.
In the meantime, this whack-job hits a bit close to home this week. OS has an unavoidable business trip that involves flying into Yew Nork City on Saturday, September 11. He's never enthusiastic about flying to that place, especially on that date. Now, this nutter decides to tell the world he's decided to burn a Koran on September 11.
Great. Just great. Thanks, Reverend. OS will be thinking of you as he takes his shoes off after waiting in the security line for an hour each direction. And attempting to explain this mess to his business associates from overseas. Thanks for nothing, you utter inexcusable idiot.
If ya'll are reading from overseas, and OldSouth hopes you do, please forward this screed to your friends in places like Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi, the Emirates, and the Moslem neighborhoods of the UK and Europe.
This nutter does not, repeat does not, speak for 99.99 percent of the citizens of the US. He is at the least mentally ill, probably sane and evil. He is no Christian, and burning a Koran for the cameras is one of the most un-Christian acts of the year.
This is not Christianity.
This is not America.
He thinks that the proposed public burning of the Koran by the Rev. Mr. Jones, head of the 50-member Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., is not an act of a sober person.
He's right. His public statement is mild and measured, but unmistakable. And deserves to be republished over and over again in the next few days.
Again, OS is a devoted conservative Christian, and no fan of Islam. But, whatever Mr. Jones may be doing at his 50-member Dove World Outreach Center, he is not, repeat is not, practicing any recognizable form of Christianity. This sort of whack-job nonsense treads all over the Fourth Commandment--the one about not taking the name of the Lord in vain, or as one more modern translation puts it, not misusing the name of the Lord.
Then there is response of our Lord when queried about the Greatest Commandment. His response: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and strength. And then he said, 'The second is like unto it--love your neighbor as yourself.'
Not a hint anywhere about burning anybody's books, not even remotely about it.
OS could go on and on. Ya'll get the picture, he hopes.
In the meantime, this whack-job hits a bit close to home this week. OS has an unavoidable business trip that involves flying into Yew Nork City on Saturday, September 11. He's never enthusiastic about flying to that place, especially on that date. Now, this nutter decides to tell the world he's decided to burn a Koran on September 11.
Great. Just great. Thanks, Reverend. OS will be thinking of you as he takes his shoes off after waiting in the security line for an hour each direction. And attempting to explain this mess to his business associates from overseas. Thanks for nothing, you utter inexcusable idiot.
If ya'll are reading from overseas, and OldSouth hopes you do, please forward this screed to your friends in places like Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi, the Emirates, and the Moslem neighborhoods of the UK and Europe.
This nutter does not, repeat does not, speak for 99.99 percent of the citizens of the US. He is at the least mentally ill, probably sane and evil. He is no Christian, and burning a Koran for the cameras is one of the most un-Christian acts of the year.
This is not Christianity.
This is not America.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
A Most Thoughtful Discussion On Christianity In The Academy
OS is an unabashed Christian. If forced to absolutely declare which flavor of Christianity he would be forced to adhere to for the remainder of his days, he would probably opt for a Protestant stance based upon the Apostle's Creed and Westminster or Augsburg Confessions. But he was raised old-school Baptist, and there is something about that wonderful tradition that settles in the bones.
He is an uncomfortable Christian in his current existence within US culture. It's a looong story, that can't yet be told without violating the privacy of a lot of folks, so someday...
In any case, here is a thoughtful discussion found on Inside Higher Education about the experience of Christian adherents in academe. There are no real heroes and villains here--examples of bad behavior are cited from several directions, and the tone is thoughtful and kind, which is a welcome relief from the normal clamor.
Both authors have great credentials, and write well, so it's well worth the time devoted. They give a good snapshot of what's happening in the US culture.
First, from Timothy Larsen of Wheaton College in Chicago, 'No Christianity, Please'.
He relates a story of a student who was academically thrashed by a professor for expressing his Christian views; and how his own work was trashed, not for content, but for his Christian world-view.
In response, Adam Kotsko, now teaching at Kalamazoo College, offers thoughtful words, and OS will share a few of them here, in hopes that you will read both essays.
On every front, the conservative evangelical community perceives itself to be under siege, particularly its children, since indoctrinating children in secular ideology is the most effective means of undercutting Christianity. Education has therefore always been a particular flashpoint, as the recurring debates over school prayer and the teaching of evolution illustrate. Believing that evangelical students are under continual attack, conservative evangelical leaders encourage them to boldly defend themselves whenever possible. Overall, the attitude their most prominent leaders promote in conservative evangelical students is a combination of extreme paranoia and defiance (conceived as self-defense).
Conservative evangelicals as a group, therefore, are not just one among many excluded groups. Rather, they are sui generis insofar as they have constantly been encouraged, from a very young age, to expect and create conflict in the classroom.
I should say immediately that not all conservative evangelicals take such extreme views seriously. My own parents, pastors, and youth leaders, for example, had fairly sensible views — certainly they were more conservative than I have wound up being, but they were fundamentally reasonable. However, in their desire to provide young people with wholesome, Christian edification, they gave credence to leaders and, much more insidiously in my opinion, to "Christian contemporary" pop groups whose members espoused views much more extreme and militant than they themselves would have been comfortable teaching their children.
That final paragraph is especially cogent. The 'Christian Media Industry', especially the part that produces music and recordings, has done great harm to Christendom, and has a lot of 'splainin' to do, Lucy. (As one wag put it: The Christian Music Industry--not Christian, not an industry, and certainly not music.)
Both articles well worth the ten minutes spent to be read in tandem. If you read from overseas, it will be especially helpful as a window into the present US culture.
He is an uncomfortable Christian in his current existence within US culture. It's a looong story, that can't yet be told without violating the privacy of a lot of folks, so someday...
In any case, here is a thoughtful discussion found on Inside Higher Education about the experience of Christian adherents in academe. There are no real heroes and villains here--examples of bad behavior are cited from several directions, and the tone is thoughtful and kind, which is a welcome relief from the normal clamor.
Both authors have great credentials, and write well, so it's well worth the time devoted. They give a good snapshot of what's happening in the US culture.
First, from Timothy Larsen of Wheaton College in Chicago, 'No Christianity, Please'.
He relates a story of a student who was academically thrashed by a professor for expressing his Christian views; and how his own work was trashed, not for content, but for his Christian world-view.
In response, Adam Kotsko, now teaching at Kalamazoo College, offers thoughtful words, and OS will share a few of them here, in hopes that you will read both essays.
On every front, the conservative evangelical community perceives itself to be under siege, particularly its children, since indoctrinating children in secular ideology is the most effective means of undercutting Christianity. Education has therefore always been a particular flashpoint, as the recurring debates over school prayer and the teaching of evolution illustrate. Believing that evangelical students are under continual attack, conservative evangelical leaders encourage them to boldly defend themselves whenever possible. Overall, the attitude their most prominent leaders promote in conservative evangelical students is a combination of extreme paranoia and defiance (conceived as self-defense).
Conservative evangelicals as a group, therefore, are not just one among many excluded groups. Rather, they are sui generis insofar as they have constantly been encouraged, from a very young age, to expect and create conflict in the classroom.
I should say immediately that not all conservative evangelicals take such extreme views seriously. My own parents, pastors, and youth leaders, for example, had fairly sensible views — certainly they were more conservative than I have wound up being, but they were fundamentally reasonable. However, in their desire to provide young people with wholesome, Christian edification, they gave credence to leaders and, much more insidiously in my opinion, to "Christian contemporary" pop groups whose members espoused views much more extreme and militant than they themselves would have been comfortable teaching their children.
That final paragraph is especially cogent. The 'Christian Media Industry', especially the part that produces music and recordings, has done great harm to Christendom, and has a lot of 'splainin' to do, Lucy. (As one wag put it: The Christian Music Industry--not Christian, not an industry, and certainly not music.)
Both articles well worth the ten minutes spent to be read in tandem. If you read from overseas, it will be especially helpful as a window into the present US culture.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
'Scuse Me While I Whine, Ever So Briefly
He really does attempt to avoid it, but some days...
This morning, he was on the receiving end (not completely unexpected) of a diatribe from an academic colleague, whom he's known for some forty years now. OS had to deliver some mildly unpleasant news yesterday. It was very mild stuff, but OS had to do his job and be the bearer of less-wonderful-tidings.
No one had lost a job, a house, a spouse, a child, received a diagnosis of cancer, suffered a stroke or heart attack. None of the above, not even close to that sort of level of severity. The reaction was, shall we say, disproportionate.
Then he got to talk with a caterer who told him they could pack soft drinks into box lunches with no problem, but to make up a crock of lemonade would be prohibitively expensive, as in, eight dollars per pitcher expensive. OS responded, 'This really beggars belief; this is why your hotel has a chef. Crush lemons, add sugar, add water, stir, adjust, add ice, serve. Just like iced tea, no?'
No, sir, we can't do that.
OS passionately believes that profits are good, but rape is bad.
His beloved United States seems to be in the grip of a few of pernicious attitudes.
1. We deserve to be successful, to be told that we are successful, and feel good about it--all the time, whether we actually did the work to accomplish that success. Failure is not an option, so we just won't allow anyone to tell us about it. (Think university grade inflation. Parents of twenty-one year old students raise Cain if their special child earns and is awarded a 'C'.)
2. We get to decide what is and aren't academic standards of expectation, from here in our corner of the world. 'Cuz it's us that sez so. If Professor Doolittle at Bugtussle State College has been teaching the same syllabus since 1987, then (ByGod!) that is the heart of the body of knowledge, and don't-chew-dare tell me otherwise. (Like I said, the reaction was disproportionate...)
3. We deserve to sell you a pitcher of lemonade for eight dollars, or (as in the hotel in Indy earlier this month) a shot of Jack for nine. 'Cuz it's us selling it to you. We be makin' money, honey, and it's your job to fork over. OS saw a story on Fox Business earlier today that convention venues in Chicago were charging exhibitors $1200 to connect electricity and internet access to their booths, and then marvelled that the trade shows decided to take their business elsewhere. That bar was deserted, by the way. Wonder why?
It's as if we have arrived at the firm belief that we can create our own reality, that the laws of gravity, math, ethics and mortality are mutable.
By us. 'Cuz it's, well, us!
There is a weird Christian heresy that floats through the culture here, called 'Name It And Claim It'. It posits, that because you are an adherent to this brand of the faith, God loves you better than that poor schlub Baptist down the street. God wants you to have all the goodies, all the time. (HAL-le-looooh-YAH!) Just decide what you want (Name It), pray real hard and donate generously via our TV ministry, and God will give it to (Claim It). 'Cuz it's you, and He really really really loves you better. It's you He's thinking of, 24/7/365 into eternity.
It sounds ridiculous, but it is sooooo beguiling. You don't even have to be an adherent of an heretical cult to fall for it. It's like it's in the water here. Think about what that sort of societal attitude might do to a culture, and its economy, over the long pull.
Wait a minute, it already has...
OS will stop whining now. But he just wants to say for the record that he is on the receiving end of unimaginably wonderful things in this world, including the ability and will to work like a Trojan for sixteen hours a day. And he doesn't deserve a bit of it. He still wakes up to the fabulous Mrs. OS every morning, shocked that she tolerates him, much less loves him like she does.
Whine ended, thanks for your indulgence.
This morning, he was on the receiving end (not completely unexpected) of a diatribe from an academic colleague, whom he's known for some forty years now. OS had to deliver some mildly unpleasant news yesterday. It was very mild stuff, but OS had to do his job and be the bearer of less-wonderful-tidings.
No one had lost a job, a house, a spouse, a child, received a diagnosis of cancer, suffered a stroke or heart attack. None of the above, not even close to that sort of level of severity. The reaction was, shall we say, disproportionate.
Then he got to talk with a caterer who told him they could pack soft drinks into box lunches with no problem, but to make up a crock of lemonade would be prohibitively expensive, as in, eight dollars per pitcher expensive. OS responded, 'This really beggars belief; this is why your hotel has a chef. Crush lemons, add sugar, add water, stir, adjust, add ice, serve. Just like iced tea, no?'
No, sir, we can't do that.
OS passionately believes that profits are good, but rape is bad.
His beloved United States seems to be in the grip of a few of pernicious attitudes.
1. We deserve to be successful, to be told that we are successful, and feel good about it--all the time, whether we actually did the work to accomplish that success. Failure is not an option, so we just won't allow anyone to tell us about it. (Think university grade inflation. Parents of twenty-one year old students raise Cain if their special child earns and is awarded a 'C'.)
2. We get to decide what is and aren't academic standards of expectation, from here in our corner of the world. 'Cuz it's us that sez so. If Professor Doolittle at Bugtussle State College has been teaching the same syllabus since 1987, then (ByGod!) that is the heart of the body of knowledge, and don't-chew-dare tell me otherwise. (Like I said, the reaction was disproportionate...)
3. We deserve to sell you a pitcher of lemonade for eight dollars, or (as in the hotel in Indy earlier this month) a shot of Jack for nine. 'Cuz it's us selling it to you. We be makin' money, honey, and it's your job to fork over. OS saw a story on Fox Business earlier today that convention venues in Chicago were charging exhibitors $1200 to connect electricity and internet access to their booths, and then marvelled that the trade shows decided to take their business elsewhere. That bar was deserted, by the way. Wonder why?
It's as if we have arrived at the firm belief that we can create our own reality, that the laws of gravity, math, ethics and mortality are mutable.
By us. 'Cuz it's, well, us!
There is a weird Christian heresy that floats through the culture here, called 'Name It And Claim It'. It posits, that because you are an adherent to this brand of the faith, God loves you better than that poor schlub Baptist down the street. God wants you to have all the goodies, all the time. (HAL-le-looooh-YAH!) Just decide what you want (Name It), pray real hard and donate generously via our TV ministry, and God will give it to (Claim It). 'Cuz it's you, and He really really really loves you better. It's you He's thinking of, 24/7/365 into eternity.
It sounds ridiculous, but it is sooooo beguiling. You don't even have to be an adherent of an heretical cult to fall for it. It's like it's in the water here. Think about what that sort of societal attitude might do to a culture, and its economy, over the long pull.
Wait a minute, it already has...
OS will stop whining now. But he just wants to say for the record that he is on the receiving end of unimaginably wonderful things in this world, including the ability and will to work like a Trojan for sixteen hours a day. And he doesn't deserve a bit of it. He still wakes up to the fabulous Mrs. OS every morning, shocked that she tolerates him, much less loves him like she does.
Whine ended, thanks for your indulgence.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Happy Easter: O Death, Where Is Thy Sting?
Before driving off to church, a thought or two:
That Nazarene rabbi, so shamefully murdered on Friday by the PowersThatBe of his day, walked out of the tomb on Sunday morning, alive.
That changed, and changes everything.
If we can remember that one fact as we face each day, the world looks different, and our place in it takes on a cheerful significance. Anything is possible, and evil cannot overcome love. Love has already won. We need not fear, even though we do.
Paul embraced this idea, never backed down, even in the face of Nero and his crew:
Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?....Therefore, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Happy Easter.
That Nazarene rabbi, so shamefully murdered on Friday by the PowersThatBe of his day, walked out of the tomb on Sunday morning, alive.
That changed, and changes everything.
If we can remember that one fact as we face each day, the world looks different, and our place in it takes on a cheerful significance. Anything is possible, and evil cannot overcome love. Love has already won. We need not fear, even though we do.
Paul embraced this idea, never backed down, even in the face of Nero and his crew:
Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?....Therefore, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Happy Easter.
Monday, February 1, 2010
A Success Story, Brought To You By People The Pundits Ridicule
It's not all bad news out there.
Consider Northern Ireland's Wrightbus.
From the FT, earlier in January:
Last week, when London’s authorities revealed the company that would design and build a new bus for the capital, mayor Boris Johnson heralded the planned vehicles as “state of the art”.
But behind the proposed cutting-edge buses is an old-fashioned family business called Wrightbus. Its workers still make the vehicles, partly by hand, on the site where it was founded – in God-fearing Ballymena, the Northern Irish town represented in parliament by the Rev Ian Paisley, and known as the “buckle on the Bible belt”.
In keeping with its traditional values, Wrightbus has a church within its grounds, tithes money to tuberculosis wards in Uganda, still has a tea trolley, employs a welfare officer, offers loans to staff in difficulty and has always stuck to a principle of little or no borrowing.
But, hold on folks! This success, in Paisley's old stomping grounds(likely at least someone in that plant voted for the man!)? You mean, it's not captive to the banksters? You mean, it takes care of its people?
It's not unionized?
It's not on government life support?
It employs craftsmen?
It hasn't moved to India, or China, or Mexico, to take advantage of the slave labor market?
Maybe it succeeds because it has steadily tread against the dominant cultural tide.
Green Shoots Nominee!
Consider Northern Ireland's Wrightbus.
From the FT, earlier in January:
Last week, when London’s authorities revealed the company that would design and build a new bus for the capital, mayor Boris Johnson heralded the planned vehicles as “state of the art”.
But behind the proposed cutting-edge buses is an old-fashioned family business called Wrightbus. Its workers still make the vehicles, partly by hand, on the site where it was founded – in God-fearing Ballymena, the Northern Irish town represented in parliament by the Rev Ian Paisley, and known as the “buckle on the Bible belt”.
In keeping with its traditional values, Wrightbus has a church within its grounds, tithes money to tuberculosis wards in Uganda, still has a tea trolley, employs a welfare officer, offers loans to staff in difficulty and has always stuck to a principle of little or no borrowing.
But, hold on folks! This success, in Paisley's old stomping grounds(likely at least someone in that plant voted for the man!)? You mean, it's not captive to the banksters? You mean, it takes care of its people?
It's not unionized?
It's not on government life support?
It employs craftsmen?
It hasn't moved to India, or China, or Mexico, to take advantage of the slave labor market?
Maybe it succeeds because it has steadily tread against the dominant cultural tide.
Green Shoots Nominee!
Friday, January 8, 2010
The Theology Of The Great Bubble
December's Atlantic Magazine features an extensive article tying The Great Bubble to a popular brand of American Christianity: The Prosperity Gospel. Written by Hannah Rosin, it is thoughtful, and well worth the time invested in the read.
OldSouth has always always believed that culture shapes economy; and that behind culture stands theology, even if it's the anti-theology of atheism. OldSouth also thinks that heresy is no laughing matter, that it destroys lives and cultures.
Rosin refers to Jackson Lears, author of Something for Nothing. This paragraph states the problem succinctly:
...Jackson Lears describes two starkly different manifestations of the American dream, each intertwined with religious faith. The traditional Protestant hero is a self-made man. He is disciplined and hardworking, and believes that his “success comes through careful cultivation of (implicitly Protestant) virtues in cooperation with a Providential plan.” The hero of the second American narrative is a kind of gambling man—a “speculative confidence man,” Lears calls him, who prefers “risky ventures in real estate,” and a more “fluid, mobile democracy.” The self-made man imagines a coherent universe where earthly rewards match merits. The confidence man lives in a culture of chance, with “grace as a kind of spiritual luck, a free gift from God.” The Gilded Age launched the myth of the self-made man, as the Rockefellers and other powerful men in the pews connected their wealth to their own virtue. In these boom-and-crash years, the more reckless alter ego dominates.
The 'second American narrative' is soooo seductive, and has become ubiquitous in American church life. Like the original serpent, the message is often subtle: God loves you better than that pagan down the street. Step out on faith, and He'll be there to catch you! They purposefully ignore the entire Wisdom tradition of the Old Testament, the very tradition that gave birth to Christianity. Some of the purveyors of the heresy even blatantly connect donations to their ministry to the rewards of earthly wealth for the faithful donor.
It's a far cry from that crucial moment of history when that certain rabbi from Nazareth sweat blood and prayed, 'Not my will, but thine, be done.'
Culture forms economy. Our view of God and mankind form culture.
Let's be careful out there. That same rabbi also issued warnings about wolves among the flock, and wheat and tares, and trees that bear good and bad fruit...
OldSouth has always always believed that culture shapes economy; and that behind culture stands theology, even if it's the anti-theology of atheism. OldSouth also thinks that heresy is no laughing matter, that it destroys lives and cultures.
Rosin refers to Jackson Lears, author of Something for Nothing. This paragraph states the problem succinctly:
...Jackson Lears describes two starkly different manifestations of the American dream, each intertwined with religious faith. The traditional Protestant hero is a self-made man. He is disciplined and hardworking, and believes that his “success comes through careful cultivation of (implicitly Protestant) virtues in cooperation with a Providential plan.” The hero of the second American narrative is a kind of gambling man—a “speculative confidence man,” Lears calls him, who prefers “risky ventures in real estate,” and a more “fluid, mobile democracy.” The self-made man imagines a coherent universe where earthly rewards match merits. The confidence man lives in a culture of chance, with “grace as a kind of spiritual luck, a free gift from God.” The Gilded Age launched the myth of the self-made man, as the Rockefellers and other powerful men in the pews connected their wealth to their own virtue. In these boom-and-crash years, the more reckless alter ego dominates.
The 'second American narrative' is soooo seductive, and has become ubiquitous in American church life. Like the original serpent, the message is often subtle: God loves you better than that pagan down the street. Step out on faith, and He'll be there to catch you! They purposefully ignore the entire Wisdom tradition of the Old Testament, the very tradition that gave birth to Christianity. Some of the purveyors of the heresy even blatantly connect donations to their ministry to the rewards of earthly wealth for the faithful donor.
It's a far cry from that crucial moment of history when that certain rabbi from Nazareth sweat blood and prayed, 'Not my will, but thine, be done.'
Culture forms economy. Our view of God and mankind form culture.
Let's be careful out there. That same rabbi also issued warnings about wolves among the flock, and wheat and tares, and trees that bear good and bad fruit...
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Pastor Peters Ponders Pope's Perspicacity
Forgive me. It's been a long few weeks.
Actually, a great part of the formation of culture, both here in the US and elsewhere, has been the practice of Christianity, in its many forms. It really matters, and if the churches can 'find their mojo' again, we'll all benefit.
Pastor Peters does a great job as a highly literate Lutheran minister pondering these questions. He feeds my poor brain weekly, and I recommend him to you.
You can find his latest musings, about Rome's new 'open door policy' to the Anglicans.
I must say, it is a lot more thoughtful than my rant of a few days ago.
Actually, a great part of the formation of culture, both here in the US and elsewhere, has been the practice of Christianity, in its many forms. It really matters, and if the churches can 'find their mojo' again, we'll all benefit.
Pastor Peters does a great job as a highly literate Lutheran minister pondering these questions. He feeds my poor brain weekly, and I recommend him to you.
You can find his latest musings, about Rome's new 'open door policy' to the Anglicans.
I must say, it is a lot more thoughtful than my rant of a few days ago.
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