Monday, July 13, 2009
More from Augustine
For as man, [Jesus] is mediator, but as the Word, he is in no middle place, since he is equal to God, and God with God, and together one God. . . .
For us, he is before you [God the Father] both victor and victim, and therefore victor for the reason that he is victim. For us, before you, he is both priest and sacrifice, and therefore priest because sacrifice, making us your sons instead of servants, by being born of you, and by becoming servants to us.
Confessions, 10.43.68-69
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy 233rd!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
New Member
US wins!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Iconography
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Business & Mission
Our Central PA Conference Mission Coordinator, Ken Mengel, is bicycling across the USA to raise funds for bed nets to prevent malaria. It is part of the Nothing but Nets campaign supported by The United Methodist Church, the NBA, Major League Soccer, and other organizations. Check out his blog, including pics.
Kiva is a non-profit that specializes in providing micro-finance loans to entrepreneurs in the developing world. (They have also recently partnered with micro-finance providers in the USA as well.) It is a wonderful organization. Check out a recent article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review or Robin and my Kiva lender page.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
At the Base of the Mount
Trembling Hearts
In all such things and in like perils and hardships, you behold my trembling heart. Over and over, I feel my wounds, not so much as inflicted upon me, but rather as healed by you.
Analogically Faulty
From "Worst Analogies Ever Written in a High School Essay", The Washington Post, cited in Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . . Understanding Philosophy through Jokes, p 38.
Determinism and Free Will
Jesus also hits a long one toward the same pond, but just as it’s about to land in the center, it hovers above the surface. Jesus casually walks out on the pond and chips it onto the green.
The bearded man’s drive hits a fence and bounces out onto the street, where it caroms off an oncoming truck and back onto the fairway. It’s headed directly for the pond, but it lands on a lily pad, where a frog sees it and snatches it into his mouth. An eagle swoops down, grabs the frog, and flies away. As the eagle and frog pass over the green, the frog drops the ball, and it lands in the cup for a hole-in-one.
Moses turns to Jesus and says, "I hate playing with your dad."
From Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . . Understanding Philosophy through Jokes, p 22.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Annual Conference
Baptism
Friday, May 29, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
How does your garden grow?
In addition to Sunday worship and the evening PBS concert (excerpted in a YouTube posting), we observed the holiday with two picnic/party gatherings, one on Sunday and the other on Monday, both at our place. Fortunately for us, our friends were willing to get their hands dirty in the flower beds ($3 for gallon perennials at Lowe's over the holiday weekend, plus a bunch of bareroot, fresh dug perennials - mostly Black-eyed Susan and Bee Balm - gifted by a new friend Robin met in the Lowe's checkout line). We love the progression of color, from early bulbs to spring flowering shrubs (the big rhododendron is pictured above) to early perennials to season-long perennials and summer-flowering shrubs. No vegetable garden planned, though we'll grow some herbs and might stash a few odd veggies in some of the remaining gaps. This year, we joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Each week during the growing season, we'll receive a share of the harvest from a small family farm using organic growing methods and supplying the freshest of local ingredients. We've been interested in doing this for several years, but this is the first time we've done it. Looking forward to some good eating!
Trace Adkins- Til The Last Shot's Fired (Live At National Memorial Day Concert 05/24/2009)
A wonderful conclusion to the National Memorial Day concert on pbs.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Origin of Species
Augustine anticipated this point a millennium earlier. Certain biblical passages, he insisted, are genuinely open to diverse interpretations and must not be wedded to prevailing scientific theories. Otherwise, the Bible becomes the prisoner of what was once believed to be scientifically true: "In matters that are so obscure and far beyond our vision, we find in Holy Scripture passages which can be interpreted in very different ways without prejudice to the faith we have received. In such cases, we should not rush in headlong and so firmly take our stand on one side that, if further progress in the search for truth justly undermines our position, we too fall with it."
Senseless Violence and CommUNITY
Everywhere I go this week, it comes up: the crossfire killing of 9-year-old Ciara Savage in York on Mother's Day. This tragedy has reverberated through York County like a news event seldom does. And it demands action. Earlier this month, Penn State York held a gang summit, and some powerful speakers made the case that York County needs to find ways to keep our kids safe. But all of their eloquence and passion couldn't come close to making the point the way this senseless death does. And this single incident is tied into a whole range of other issues that stand in the way of making York County a better place to live: improving educational opportunities; providing safe community places for at-risk youth; creating good-paying, family-sustaining jobs that lift people out of poverty; and establishing more affordable housing opportunities across the county.
But on the most basic level, I'll say it again: We need to keep our kids safe. How are we going to do it? The time has passed for letting the passionate volunteers on the gang-prevention coalition try to figure it out by themselves. That group will likely be the leader in developing a broad response, and its next meeting is at 8 a.m. Friday in Penn State York's Conference Center. To join that effort, call Beth Gill-MacDonald at 495-7267 or send e-mail to bxg5@aol.com.
On Sunday, a unity march will bring two sets of marchers to Continental Square: one coming down Duke Street from Crispus Attucks, the other coming down Beaver Street from the Jefferson Center.
(See the entire post.)
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Election
Irrational Exuberance
Why do you say "stories" are so important in our economic thinking?
Social psychologists argue that the human brain is organized around stories. It's a memory device -- we tend to remember things that are tied to stories. The impact of stories on behavior is a major omission from economic theory. The main story line of the 1990s was the idea that capitalism was triumphant and people didn't want to be left out. The same thing happened with the housing market this decade. People were worried that they'd be left out, so their egos compelled them to take part in the housing boom.
That's probably why the Bible is filled with parables.
Yes, there aren't a whole lot of numbers in the New Testament.
The story of Capitalism's preeminence certainly has taken a beating.
Yes, but our attitude toward business changes from time to time. We hit low points in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and today there's a sense big business was involved in a conspiracy. Anger about that will result in more regulation.
Do you see Americans adopting new values as a result of the turmoil?
It's hard to predict. But I'm hopeful that people will start valuing friendships more and material things less.
See the entire article.



