Just Another Surrender

I've read a lot lately about movements that use catch phrases like "Sold out for Jesus" or "Radical Christianity". I guess they call it that to indicate a high level of enthusiasm, and while I'm all for enthusiasm, what's wrong with just being obedient? Does honoring the Great Commission require being "Sold Out For Jesus"? Just how "Radical" do you have to get to take care of widows and orphans or feed the poor?  

When I read the Sermon on the Mount I don't get the feeling that Jesus was whirling about, driving the assembled multitudes into a hand waving frenzy, shouting emotionally as he worked the crowd into a lather of supernatural meekness. In fact, the only scripture where Jesus seemed to get all fired up was when he cast the money changers out of the temple. His demeanor in the rest of the Gospels was calm, steady, inspiring yes, but not like so many preachers today, sweating their congregations into action.

Jesus was a sea of calm in a turbulent era, I suspect that was a large part of His appeal. Maybe our need to get "Sold Out and Radical", to gyrate and spin, shout words of praise, and experience miracles is a result of simple disobedience to the day to day slog required to translate noise into action, to fully surrender to simple commands. I know that for me the inspirational stuff wears off quick, and then I'm confronted by the apathy in me, not the resistance of the world.

The Midas Dog

The Brockton Rox, a minor league baseball team, is introducing an $80 hot dog for their fans. The foot-long wiener will get the royal treatment. After deep frying, it will be rolled in truffle oil, then coated in porcini dust. The dog is to be topped with white truffle shavings and crème fraiche. If that doesn't gild the lily enough, the frank will be finished with caviar and fresh roe.

This is an outrage! Not the eighty dollars, professional sports teams have gotten so adept at ripping off their fans I can't get too worked up about overpriced stadium food, but putting porcini dust, truffle shavings, creme fraiche, caviar and fresh roe on a hot dog? Are you kidding me? Does anyone here know what a hot dog is? You're gonna put truffle shavings on the ground up remains of animals that would never sell on their own, anyone for a pig's nose smothered in entrails?

Now here's the deal and this matter is not open for debate, Stadium hot dogs should only be available with ketchup, mustard, relish and onions, all of which are to be served in tiny plastic packets with those fake tear here instructions, packets designed to leave emotional scars on kids and adults alike. In extreme circumstances they may be offered with chili as long as the chili is the consistency of water in order to speed the transfer of the chili from the dog to your clothing.

Now I'd pay $80 for that....

The Pledge

In a year when pledges have become all the rage for Republican presidential primary candidates, The Family Leader’s Marriage Vow seems to be falling flat.

It seems only two of the 641 Republican candidates for president have signed it, which means one of two things. Either the unsigned candidates are willing to go to the mat with evangelicals to defend their right to commit adultery, or they realize that the vow does not address the single most important threat to marriage as we know it, creamed corn.

Just kidding. While there's some debate about the effect of creamed corn on marriage, that's another post. Seriously, the pledge says absolutely nothing, zip, zero, nada, about how bad children are for marriages. That's right, children. For thousands of years we've been told without children the species will die out, disappear, become extinct. But has anyone ever tried it?

Now don't get me wrong, I have a daughter, and having her has  been far better than a 13 year long case of halitosis. But she's really time consuming, way more expensive than $4 gasoline, and now when she orders french fries she eats the whole bag. 10 years ago there were always fries left over that I got to eat.
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And that's the dirty little secret why the candidates won't sign the pledge. Everyone knows how bad kids are for the world, they're just afraid to admit it. Trust me.

Well This Is Awkward-Part Five

I wasn't going to do another of these topics for a while, but a recent post in Politico caught my eye and frankly, if there was ever a perfect "This Is Awkward" topic this is it. It seems there is some talk about disgraced ex-congressman Anthony Weiner running in and winning the special election for the seat he just resigned from. He still holds a 60% approval rating in the district so if he promised to behave this time it's suggested he could win re-election.

After all, if a Republican senator (David Vitter) can win reelection after carousing with prostitutes, why not Weiner, he just thought about adultery. Sigh. Now I have a rather tawdry past, 21 years of drinking and drugging will put a few blank spots on your resume, so I'm in no position to play "holier than thou", but this is so brazen even I wouldn't have thought it possible. You gotta love this country, we certainly don't put a premium on good behavior.

Nonetheless, there's a reason millions of people risk their lives to get here. We got a great country, warts and all, and I wouldn't live anywhere else.

Web Sites I Enjoy

Here are some really cool websites(in no particular order). Enjoy!!
www.reasons.org
www.youtube.com/user/oneminuteapologist
www.ministrymatters.com
www.gty.org
www.christianpost.com
www.relevantmagazine.com
www.patheos.com
www.realclearreligion.org
www.netbible.com
www.biblegateway.com
http://thegracetabernacle.org/quotes/gracequotes.html
www.spurgeon.us/mind_and_heart/quotes/a.htm
http://www.myutmost.org
www.gospeltruth.net/ravenhill.htm
http://usreligion.blogspot.com/

Well This Is Awkward-Part Four

Church yesterday had me really conflicted. On the one hand we rightfully celebrated America, yet on the other hand we never got around to celebrating God. There was a great deal of triumphal exceptionalism and too little gratitude for my tastes. And little talk of God apart from the ridiculous assumption ....well I'll stop here with this thought.
  
Accepting that America is exceptional due to God's unmerited favor breeds the virtues of gratitude and humility. But a belief that America is the recipient of divine favoritism, on the other hand, breeds arrogance and triumphalism—an arrogance that robs one of any claims to being truly exceptional. ~Jonathan Merrit-Relevant magazine

As I was sitting here reflecting on my experience in the service yesterday I began to realize that my faith is an awkward mixture of fundamentalism and progressivism, I'm equally at home reading the Christian Post and Sojurners magazine. I think the idea that man and dinosaurs roamed the earth at the same time is as ridiculous as universalism. I believe that many on the Christian right have subcontracted their faith to a political party that treats them like Pavlovian Christians, every four years they spout family values, believers salivate donations and time, then as soon as they're elected they drop us like a hot potato. Yet I'm also convinced that as believers we need to have our faith inform our vote.

As a result of this curious mixture I've alienated folks with whom I otherwise hold much in common. So here's my deal. I believe that Jesus is "The truth, the light, and the way." I believe that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and then to love one another. Mark 12: 30,31 And finally I believe we are to follow Jesus and become "fishers of men." Mathew 1:17 and His commands to feed the poor, heal the sick, and take care of widows and orphans should triumph over the unbridled pursuit of wealth, "unbridled" being the key word here.

If that bothers you feel free to stop hanging out with me, but I bid you go in peace.

Well This Is Awkward-Part Three

From an article in the New York Times.
In the aftermath of the 2008 Gay Softball World Series the second place team was stripped of it's ranking for an excess of non-gays on it's roster. Turns out only 20% of a teams roster can be non-gay. In the ensuing investigation it seems several heterosexuals had been slipped in as ringers, and of course they sued.

The disqualified players are suing to have the teams second place finish restored and to recover 75 grand each for, wait for it, emotional distress. Seriously? There's emotional stress in being outed as heterosexual? Apparently this has opened a can of worms for gay athletic leagues, what about bi-sexuals and trans-genders?
At this pace a team's roster might need to be the size of a small city in order to accommodate the demand from various sexual orientations clamoring for inclusion.

Call me naive but I was thinking, what if there was a softball league where all you had to do to qualify for the roster was pitch, bat, or catch? Nah.