The Arrow's Path

As someone who has always had a love/hate relationship with Ecumenism, I really loved Fr. Dwight Longnecker's article on Ecumenism today . For whatever reason, I always work hard at forging relationships with Christians of different stripes, particularly when I was still in ordained ministry. I became President of the local Ministerial Association as a matter of fact. Some of the most meaningful relationships I had as an ordained person were not with clergy from my own denomination but with pastors of other denominations. When I was newly ordained, a local Ukrainian Orthodox priest took me under his wing and shared some of his wisdom with me. I have never forgotten that. I also thought very highly of the Lutheran pastors in the local ministerial association when I was in South Dakota, both ELCA and (cue the minor musical chord) Missouri Synod. And, of course, I thought highly of the Catholic clergy in South Dakota, which is probably why I took the conversion path that I did. I al...

Great article here over at NewsBusters about the complete irony of the mainstream media in America being two faced on the issue of Gay NFL players and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The two would seem to be unrelated, but the point is made that while the American media has tried hard to condemn former Colts coach Tony Dungy for being a bigot because he would not have drafted said NFL player  (despite the fact that the ensuing media circus on the issue directly proves Dungy's point that that that player is simply a big media distraction to a team completely over an off field issue), the media loves to bash Israel over the conflict over Gaza, despite the fact that Palestinian gays often flee to Israel (which gives gays some protections under Israeli law) because any Palestinian state that would be forthcoming would almost certainly ban, imprison, or execute gays and lesbians (Can you name a predominantly Islamic state that doesn't?) Ah, the irony.

I heard this junk over and over in seminary, and I never really bought that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah was about "hospitality" either . If it were, where does God state in the salvation narrative up to that point that violation of hospitality is a sin so grave that he would destroy a city over it? One would think a commandment that grave would have been spelled out. In fact, I would argue just the opposite. God kicks Adam and Eve out of the garden (not a hospitable act.) God not accepting Cain's sacrifice was not hospitable. God commands Noah does not let anyone into the ark after the flood starts (not a hospitable act). God gave no such commandment, so therefore if he did destroy Sodom and Gomorrah over violation of hospitality, he is most unjust indeed. Just because Bedouin culture today has a central place for offering hospitality, it does not mean that was the way it was way back in the times of Genesis. That was a completely different world with a completely...

Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering. -Saint Augustine of Hippo

I was making deliveries to Lincoln today, and my final stop was a higher end grocery store in South East Lincoln, an area of the city that is fairly wealthy with new money. This particular store is the only place, despite all the Mercedes and BMWs in the parking lot at any given time, in Lincoln where I can find The Ring magazine, a boxing periodical that is bar none some of the best sports writing in the world. The new edition was out, and I snapped it up. As it was lunch time, and I have forgotten to grab my lunch box on the way out of the house this morning (Hey, it was 3:45 AM-I did grab my coffee cup!) I stopped by the deli section, intending to buy a sandwich or something. Instead, I noticed that had a single self container of cold chicken, so I went for that. Passing through the fruit section, they had some cut up fruit in Saran wrap, so I bought that. Finally, I procured a drink from the fridge unit in front of the cash register. There was a little lady in front of me buyin...

A thoughtful little article here about how Christians and Gym goers are a lot alike.

Polygamy, polyamory, whatever. It's already here , folks.

Interesting stuff here .

My experience of atheists is that, those I have met and talked to, do not really deny the existence of God (or any god or gods) due to lack of evidence. Underlying and causing their atheism is (I detect) a resistance to moral accountability. They do not want to believe that they are or will be judged because they want to live as they want to live without judgment other than their own. I have trouble taking atheism seriously. It is so clearly a product of modernity and (in my view) so clearly goes against the grain of everything we humans believe in (e.g., objective morality that transcends tribe, culture and custom) that I find it almost amusing—except that it can and often does have extremely pernicious consequences. ~ Roger E. Olson (Hat tip: Amorality of Atheism Facebook group)

Pearls Before Swine Comic Strip on GoComics.com

I haven't read good crackpot feminist garbage like this since seminary...

"I have always thought that just as Mother, when baking bread, leaves a little of the dough over in order that the children may make funny little men with raisins for tummy buttons and put them into ovens and bake them alongside the bread or the cake for the day, so possibly on the day of creation a little of the Divine creative power was left in reserve for the lesser cherubim and seraphim to use and they were allowed to make funny little objects like the Abominable Snowman." ~The Earl of Halsbury

There was a very odd editorial piece on Foxnews (why it was not on Foxsports, I don't know) about Baseball. It appears to have been written by "chief economist at the Heritage Foundation." So, in other words, he's a politico. Now, I know Foxnews gets a bad rap over being biased and too conservative, but in Foxnews' defense, I do not find it any more biased or brain dead to the Right that, say, CNN or MSNBC is to the Political Left, but that is neither here nor there. (Any comments simply bashing Foxnews will be deleted.) My point for this blog post is to discuss the editorial at hand and its argument. I generally do not tend to read editorials on news websites, but the fact that it had to do with Baseball caught my attention. Thoughtful sports writing of any type is hard to come by, particularly on the internet. I believe this article reinforces that opinion. As an economist, I am curious as to how he comes to the conclusion that "Baseball is dying. The tr...

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"The gift of speech was also given to us that we might understand one another, not through instinct, like the dumb animals, but through intellect. Thus we verbally [ or on the internet/blogs? ] express our ideas, which are abundantly and clearly opened to us by our God-enlightened mind, the source of thought and word, in order that we might conduct intelligent, mutual, brotherly conversation on the aim of daily life and its regulation, for mutual edification and benefit, in support and consolation of each other, and the like. It was not given to us that we might talk idly; or judge, slander, and condemn our neighbors, pronouncing judgments on them like unmerciful judges and torturers rather than considering ourselves as their brothers, weak and sinful as they, if not still worse. Thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest, says the Apostle, for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. And thinkest thou t...

ESPN ran a very interesting journalism bit about a Christian ministry that has arisen that deals with, of all things, umpires and the complete pressure and disrespect they now get thanks to 24-hour sports talking heads and instant replay culture that feels entitled to get every single call right. I think the article meanders quite a bit off topic and the person being covered advocates some theology that I would probably not agree with at the end of the day, but the general point made is a good one: the move to instant replay entitlement culture creates a dangerous mix of the American penchant to disrespect (and now abuse) anyone in authority and the explosive tribalism of organized sports. By tribalism in sports, I mean the modern manufactured tribes created, not by ethnic or familial lines, but by blind allegiance and loyalty to a sports team centered on geographic locals. Instead of being a warrior for my familial tribe or clan, as in days of yore, we meet that need by joining a ...

I came across the following bit on the Good Guys Wear Black blog , which is an Eastern Orthodox discernment blog. The blog post credited a source that surprised me: a blog that is written by a Baptist minister in Kentucky. Reading the comments on both sites, I see the words are true of wherever one serves in ordained ministry. I also gather that these are words that are seldom if ever taught in seminaries or ordination training but should be for those entering pastoral ministry: 10. Not everyone will like you. 9. You will make people angry regardless how godly you handle yourself; it comes with the position. 8. You will feel like a failure often, and when you do appear to succeed, the fruit that is produced cannot be accredited to you. God alone gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:7). Thus, there is little “sense of accomplishment in ministry” that you may be accustomed to in other vocations. 7. You will fight legalism and liberalism, along with laziness, ignorance, tradition, and op...

While I don't condone all the burning of incense to Caesar that goes on during the 4th of July these days, the following is the actual text of the origin poem written by Francis Scott Key, Francis Scott Key was ironically tone deaf and extremely religious, penning a few hymns, He was associated with the American Bible Society for most of his adult life.  as he was being held aboard a British ship during the naval bombardment of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812: O! say can you see, by the dawn’s early light, What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming, Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight O’er the ramparts we watch’d, were so gallantly streaming? And the Rocket’s red glare, the Bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our Flag was still there; O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O’er  the Land of the free, and the home of the brave? On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep, Where ...

As someone who at a previous job near the end was verbally berated on a near daily basis (and bordered on being physically assaulted more than once to the point I thought I would have to call the cops on a parishioner) because I would not perform a Same Sex Marriage (or blessing or whatever the crazies my beloved former employer wanted to pass such a false sacrament off as), I have thought and thought about what I did or what went wrong in my ministry there that made my former parish basically go completely ape over a completely hypothetical situation. I label it a hypothetical situation because there were no actual homosexuals at this particular place that had requested me to actually do such a thing. I admit that I did accidentally light the match to some of that because after the last Episcopal Church General Convention that basically gave the final okay for such things, with the local bishop's permission, I felt I had to say something in the sermon on the Sunday after that. ...