The Arrow's Path

I just got back from Chattanooga, and the wedding of Nick and Sandy went off as a smashing success. Yours truly was the best man, and I did a good best manning if I do say so myself Congrats to the happy couple.

We alternate when I am home for Christmas as to what church we go to Christmas services. Last year, we went to St. James' Episcopal; so, this year we ended up at my mother's Methodist church for both the Christmas Eve and Christmas day services. I learned something astounding...Methodist ministers can, in fact, preach sermons less than 10 minutes. I was astounded. I've been to Rite I no frills Episcopal services that were not that short. The other interesting thing was that the Baptist Mega Church wannabe across the street did not apparently have services. I find that just a bizarre phenomenon, personally. Its the same people who picket and hand out leaflets about secular culture taking the Christ out of Christmas. I guess they can't be bothered with the fact that they are taking the mas out of Christmas. I then, due to the unseasonably short Methodist sermon, got home with enough time before dinner to putter with the new gadgets I got for Christmas. In short order I ma...

Merry Christmas! 

The sound you are hearing is the Boston Red Sox "Evil Empire, Jr." crumbling. The original Evil Empire is still going strong in the New York Yankees, who signed away Johnny Damon, the much beloved center piece of offense during the BoSox curse busting streak. I think the beginning of the end of Red Sox dominance in the AL East may be coming to a close. Aside from losing Damon, consider: General Manager Theo Epstein left in disgust. Manny Ramirez left in disgust, even putting his condo up for rent. They traded their major-league ready shortstop (Hanley Ramirez) along with at least one top pitching prospect (Anibal Sanchez or Jesus Delgado) to the Marlins for Mike Lowell and a pitcher with a history of blisters and a bad MRI (Josh Beckett). And they still have to pick up the $18 million tab on Lowell as well. What a bargain! They also paid the Braves $11 million to take former All-Star Edgar Renteria in exchange for a prospect (third baseman Andy Marte) who they don't have ...

I finally went to see the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. For some weird reason, I always put off seeing the movies that really interest me. I am not exactly certain why I have this odd habit, other that perhaps I am afraid of being disappointed. In any event, I liked the new movie version for the most part. My major concern going in was that the Christ allegory was going to be watered down or else the plot was going to be butchered. There was a little plot and dialogue finagling, but on the whole, I thought it did not stray from the book too far. I did a radio version of this play when I was in college, and I guess my producer tendencies are showing. I was not really fond of the casting. The 4 child were well done, for the most part. I did think Peter and Susan were a bit too old, but other than that, they did well. I thought the guy that played Mr. Tumnus was, frankly, a clown. And I didn't think the wolves sounded like wolves. And I thought the White Witch was just not that s...

You Are a Cranberry and Popcorn Strung Tree Christmas is all about showcasing your creative talents. From cookies to nicely wrapped presents, your unique creations impress everyone. What Christmas Tree Are You?

Thanks to the Deaf Jedi for finding this one...I was betting on Augustine, but Barth is good too. You scored as Karl Barth. The daddy of 20th Century theology. You perceive liberal theology to be a disaster and so you insist that the revelation of Christ, not human experience, should be the starting point for all theology. Karl Barth 93% Augustine 80% John Calvin 67% Anselm 67% Jonathan Edwards 67% Martin Luther 60% Charles Finney 53% Friedrich Schleiermacher 53% Paul Tillich 13% J?Moltmann 13% Which theologian are you?

It's good to be home...although my dogs probably don't think so.

I recently got back to Chicago from South Dakota where I had a job interview for a job I had essentially already been offered. Tomorrow I will trek back to the other airport and fly to Knoxville for Christmas. I love air travel. The mindless waiting in airports, seeing the weird new ways airport security will find to search me. (This time they were particularly fixated with my boots, and needed to swab them down to make sure I didn't have any bomb residue on them.) I especially hate having to wait for your flight next to the moving walkway that finds it necessary to announce every 3 seconds, "(loudly) Caution! The Moving Walkway is ending!" But the fun does not really begin until you get on the plane. They kick it off right by reminding you that in the event of a water landing (how this would be accomplished between Rapid City and Denver is interesting in itself...) your seat cushion can be used as a floatation device. I especially enjoy the Federally mandated insult to y...

Fiesta Bowl Tempe, Arizona Jan 7th, ABC Ohio State (9-2) v Notre Dame (9-2) This is the clash of the 9-2's Bowl Other than the Rose Bowl, this is one of the more interesting bowls, and my last BCS bowl to analyze. (Don't worry, sports fans, there are plenty of other bowls for the Archer to comment on.) Ohio State under headcoach Jim Tressel is a defensive powerhouse. Notre Dame this year is everyone's surprise. Charlie Weis, former Offensive coordinator for the Superbowl Patriots, has done much more with Notre Dame in a year than anyone expected, making it all the way to the BCS. Its interesting that both Notre Dame and OSU both got a shot at one of the two teams playing for the whole can of cheese whiz this year in the Rose bowl. Ohio State played Texas early on and was very dominant, leading for most of the second half, but finally just ran out of gas at the very end (22-25). Both teams in that game played like it was a bowl game on the line, which in essense it was for T...

SUGAR BOWL Atlanta Jan. 2, 8:30 p.m. (ABC) Georgia (10-2) vs. West Virginia (10-1) This is the "I shouldn't be here" Bowl. Georgia had the makings of an undefeated season, with DJ Shockley at the helm at QB. Starting out 7-0, the unthinkable happened and Shockley was injured, precipitating 2 losses in a row against Florida and Auburn. Although, even without Shockley's razzle dazzle footwork, Georgia only lost those two games by a combined 5 points. They did rebound nicely winning at a very respectable Georgia Tech (who beat Miami) and upsetting LSU handily with a healthy Shockley. Dawg fans, though left with an SEC championship and a BC$ berth, are left to ask what might have been. Many are wondering why the Big East, after Miami and Virginia Tech bolted the conference, still has an automatic berth in the BCS. The Big East is, frankly, the worst BCS-invite conference, being little more than a MAC or Conference USA (who don't get invites). Still, West Virginia is 1...

Forget the Red Cross, we now have the PC Red Crystal .

ORANGE BOWL Miami, FL Jan. 3, 8 p.m. (ABC) Penn State (10-1) vs. Florida State (8-4) This is the over-achiever/under-achiever bowl. Penn State came into this season with very low expectations. The last few years had not been kind to JoePa and the Nittany Lions. In fact, my sources tell me a lot of Penn Staters were praying JoePa would finally hang it up and let some new blood into the coaching ranks. But the ever classy Joe Paterno had a few tricks left, and pulled off an almost unbelieveable 10-1 record, winning against a very good Ohio State team, @ a scrappy Northwestern, a lack luster Purdue, and a respectable Wisconsin (9-3), and losing by only 2 points @Michigan. Florida State on the other hand had high expectations and had a mostly bad season, despite winning the ACC and making it to a BCS bowl with 4 (count 'em 4) losses. They did beat Miami in one of the overall ugliest games of the year, but did not have another respectable win until upsetting Virginia Tech in the ACC Cha...

My friend Al, who reads this blog but rarely leaves comments, was telling me yesterday before Lessons and Carols about an article in the Chicago Tribune saying that a lot of mega-churches like Chicago's own Willow Creek, will actually be closed on Christmas and will have no services. I found a copy of the AP article (which I assume is the same article Al was referring to) here . On a usual year, this may not be such a weird thing. But this year, Christmas falls on a Sunday. Not having a church on Christmas Sunday just blows my mind. I hate to break it to these folks but Christmas means Christ-mass meaning having a mass commemorating Christ. Perhaps my logic is too fuzzy and abstract?I have to agree with the article. I can understand not having the usual 3 Sunday services or whatnot. But not having any services on Christmas day at all?I have a friend at the church I have been attending here in Chicago. I remember last year at coffee hour, someone made some comment about being out of...

"I hate my master..."

Anglican General's Warning...the following contains gross amounts of satire inappropriate for any audiences. The Archer's views are his own and reflect heinously upon the management. Viewer discretion is advised. Sometimes it's difficult to decide what to buy this gluttony season for those Christians who have no taste or religious self respect. Fear not...The Archer has some suggestions. 1. For those Christians you know who are wrapped up in the national TV poker craze, Faith based poker chips . Nothing says Christ's love like giving the poor this season a poker chip that reads "Jesus went All In for you." Hey, don't gamble on eternity. 2. Want some Christ centered bling-bling? The Archer has that covered too with the Jesus Christ mood cross . Much like a mood ring, when your body heat shows you aren't acting saintly, Jesus appears on the cross and you can repent, you back-slider you! 3. Christianize your pagan iPod with the iBelieve cross cap . It...

The BCS (or as I call it: the B arely C redible S ystem) announced its selections for the 4 big college football bowls. It only took 6 years, but believe it or not, they finally got the big one right. On my blog, I am intending to run a mini series on the major bowls, so bear with me non-sports fans. Let's take a look at the big matchup: Rose Bowl Pasedena, Calif. Jan. 4, 8 p.m. (ABC) USC (12-0) vs. Texas (12-0) The BCS seriously lucked out by having 2, and only 2, undefeated teams, which made the national championship picks a no brainer. This is about the only scenario where the BCS actually works. Had Texas or USC lost last weekend, there would have been chaos as to whom got the second invite, but luckily that was avoided. USC is the 2 time defending champion, whose season victories of note include: Notre Dame (in a squeaker), Oregon (10-1), and UCLA (9-2). Pro's : USC has had Lady Luck on their side for some time, and that is nothing to sneeze at. Offensively, they are just ...

I have been a huge Johnny Cash fan for years; I even had this Johnny Cash poster in my dorm room when I was in college. I probably own at least 20 of the man's albums or more, which is really only a dent in the man's discography. The 'man in black' put out an unbelieveable number of albums in his lifetime. I am not sure of the exact number, but it is well into the 100+ range if you count the single LPs and the joint albums he did with other musicians. I guess that is how you become the only man to be inducted into both the Rock and Country Music Halls of Fame. People naturally assume by this that I am a huge country music fan, which is true only to a point. I do enjoy real (or I suppose what is now known as classic) country music. You know the types: Cash (a moment of silence please), Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, that crowd. Ever since country music hit the mainstream in the mid to late '80s, the genre has tanked in my opinion. I recoil in mortal horror at the me...

I updated my blog a bit with some Advent/Christmas color schemes. I was tired of the Halloweeny colors... In other news, check out this article on a pre-historic 5 foot scorpion. Happy Advent!

Anglican clergy among the most introverted MOST ANGLICAN clergy are sensitive introverts, according to research that will be published next month. The survey of Protestant clergy by the retired bishop of Southwell, Michael Whinney, found that while in the general population 47 per cent of people are introverts, among Anglican clergy the number rises to 62 per cent. Of those surveyed 58 per cent of Baptists were introverts. Among Methodists it was 49 per cent. Personality type, the report claims, may also play a part in the reluctance of many clergy to go out knocking on doors and actively winning converts. The report indicated that introverted clergy were more at home in traditional worship styles, while extroverted ministers were happier in the freer participative style of the fast growing younger churches. Bishop Whinney said: “Anglicans and Methodists score high on feeling. This means that they are people who put their heart right into their ministry. They may however struggle with ...