Tuesday, May 26, 2009

...in an adventure with Napoleon!

Gideon Defoe's latest book in "The Pirates!" series concerns the historical figure of Napoleon. If you haven't heard of Gideon Defoe, he's an English author who blends pirates and history in a campy, somewhat farcical and strangely historically inaccurate sort of way.

This adventure was released in England early last year (2008), but did not come out on this side of the pond until May of 2009. Thus, after pre-ordering and it arriving, I have summarily read the book.

My biggest complaint is its brevity.

This adventure involves the Pirate Captain moving to St. Helena island to become a beekeeper. There he runs into Napoleon and things go a bit odd from there.

Hard to explain too much without giving the plot away, but its a fine read. Keep 'em coming, Defoe.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Revolting Beauty

Dr. Greg Boyd preached a sermon series in 2008 called "Revolting Beauty." This sermon series outlined this followup to his book, "The Myth of the Christian Nation."

Boyd's previous book garnered a fair amount of criticism, namely from politically conservative Christians, insisting he goes too far. Growing up under that influence, I admit I have some reservations with agreeing wholeheartedly. This latest book, however, does much to reinforce his views. Boyd isn't against conservative politics nor against America or nationalism. Rather, his thesis is that we, as Christians, ought to have our focus on Christ, not our nation, comparing America (or whatever nation one belongs to) with Caesar: "So instead of working together to do what Jesus did, we often waste time fighting each other over what Caesar should do," (p. 28). Boyd's contention is that Christians are a religious people who often act nothing like Christ. If we did, on the whole, act as Christ, many of the national issues America faces would not be important.

Consider: Christ worked with the poor. If all who professed Christianity spend time each week feeding the hungry, clothing the needy, and sheltering the homeless, these issues would seem very mute in our society, since some 70-80% of Americans claim Christianity as their religion and there are significantly less needy people about.

The chapter about nationalism was a little hard to wrap my head around, having been infused with patriotic hymns, pledging allegiance to the American flag and honoring veterans whenever in church services, it only seems natural to adhere to "God and Country." Boyd makes a point to not do these things in church. While Jesus encouraged his followers to "give to Caesar what is Caesar's," he didn't make a point to honor those soliders who had killed in the name of caesar at the temple, nor pledge allegiance to Rome or sing Roman songs of patriotism. Rather, Jesus drove out the money changers from the Temple, seeing it as a misuse of God's holy place. With this in mind, it does seem outrageous to use a church as a place waxing Americana. Particularly when Jesus died not only for Americans, but also for every nation that America has ever warred against: Native Americans, French, British, British again, Mexico, both North and South during the civil war, Spain, Germany, Germany again, Italy, Japan, North Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Iraq again, and every smaller conflict in between and every war yet to happen. Jesus loves everybody, not just Americans. So why would he want us to go and kill "them"?

Which is not to say I am not patriotic. I enjoy America and its freedoms, and always will. There is a time and place to be patriotic. Just as prayer is not welcome in public schools, perhaps we should take America out of our churches - that's God's holy place, to be used accordingly.

Boyd continues this train of thought as all nations have always looked toward God or some gods and claimed that this divinity is on their side. Therefore they are right, all others are wrong and gives us right, if not necessity to war against other nations. This thinking has led to very un-Jesuslike wars across time. Perhaps it isn't practical for a "Christian Nation" to be peaceable, as others would take advantage, but that really isn' the Christian's concern. Ours is to be Christ to our neighbors. Let Caesar address foreign affairs.

While I enjoyed this challenging book, I had a few issues I found. Firstly, Boyd says "Jesus never..." a few times. One cannot logically prove a negative, especially with the incomplete history of Jesus' life we have available. Just because the Bible doesn't say something, doesn't mean it didn't happen. See John 21:25. I'm sure Boyd knows that, so it sounds like he's overemphasizing something, hoping we won't notice. Secondly, on page 147, he notes Jesus cursing the fig tree as the only destructive miracle Jesus performed. Again, so far as we know, but also, Jesus removed demons from a man and cast them into a nearby herd of pigs, about 2000 fold. They then jumped off a cliff. I would constitute this as destructive. Matthew 8:28-34.

Again, these are minor points. The main purpose of the book is to show the reader that being a sunday morning Christian is not enough. We are to be Christ's representative on earth 24/7. If we're not doing that, then we're missing the point.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Cataphatic Prayer, Part II

As mentioned a few posts back, the idea of cataphatic prayer, or imaginative prayer, is nothing new. Popularized by St. Ignatius of Loyola, some time back, Dr. Greg Boyd revisited this with his book "Seeing is Believing".

Part of the idea behind cataphatic prayer is to visualize in one's mind biblical events from a different point of view, or a richer perspective than what is presented by the Bible itself. Taking this idea, I've read a 600+ page 1930s copy of a childrens' Bible story book. From what I can discern, the stories presented are accurate retellings of Bible events (albeit sometimes glossed over for young ears, i.e. David's sin with Bathsheba isn't mentioned, just that David had done something rather bad...)

Taking these easier to follow accounts, one might further grasp what is going on in the story. By understanding these stories better one might place themself there and gain greater meaning from it. Sometimes this book helps clarify to the reader what is going on. For example, the people of Ephesus turned to Christ and burned their books of magic (this is where we get the idea of a Christian book-burning). The author side notes that this is profound because in the day books were expensive luxuries, not something impoverished people had. Think of it as smashing 50" 1080p plasma TVs on the sidewalk. This was really making a statement about how they were changing their lives.

Some commentary may affirm or upset theologians reading, as in Peter's vision of the blanket full of unclean animals, for which he is instructed to kill and eat.

I paricularly found interesting the commentary on Acts 5, where Annanias and his wife Sapphira sell land and give the profits to the church. However, they keep some money to themselves, but indicate the gift is the entire sum. In lying to the church, God smotes them, that is they die at once. Edgermeier's commentary expands on the Bible where it says "The whole church and all the others who heard of this were terrified" (Acts 5:11 Good News Translation). Edgermeier says that they were terrified and were afraid to claim to be Christians unless they were sure their sins were forgiven. This is poignant in terms of many who claim to be Christians who make appearances of the religiosity of the Church just as Annanias and Sapphira, but who are actually leading sinful, displeasing lives. It is one thing to "do church" and quite another to act as Jesus.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Lightspeed Travel

Traveling Light is a book written by Texas preacher Max Lucado. It's been sitting on my parents' bookshelf for a number of years, and the title always made me consider a beam of light peaking into a dense forest, a light that we might travel somewhere beyond the thicket of our own makings.

Thus, I was again a little disappointed that the book did not match my judgment of the cover. Where I used Traveling as an verb indicating how the noun (Light) moves, Lucado meant Light to be an adjective describing the process of movement (Traveling).

Basically, he's retelling the 23rd Psalm, reminding us that we ought to put down our burdens and let God do the worrying in our journey called life.

I've read a short Lucado book before, but this better illuminates his writing style, which can only, if ironically, be described as pastoral. Yes, he's a pastor, but that's not what I mean. Look it up. Additionally, metaphors flood the pages like cats and dogs from the sky in a thunderstorm. Some get lost in the specific nomenclature of the example, but the range of topics allows one to grasp most of them, or at least discern the meaning.

For the most part, the book accomplishes what it intends: a line-by line examination of the 23rd Psalm, addressing problems people have today. A few chapters felt like he was stretching his page count (at best) or giving loathesome counsel (at worst). What stands out to me are the chapters on Grief and Loneliness. Here I will make a lot of text about minor objections:

The chapter on Grief, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..." Psalm 23:4 (NKJV) tells a story of a young boy dying. The intent is of the chapter is to console the greiver, and this is accomplished. We are assured that God comforts those who greive, and Lucado should have stopped there. No, he continues, death is a good thing. Sometimes people are suffering and their quality of life is no longer good. What for the one that died early in life, say, in a car accident? God's time is not our time. But what about the unbeliever? How can we rest easy knowing they did not go to a better place? Lucado's solution is one of dangerous inclusivity. He insists that maybe they repented at the last minute, or as they traveled the road between death and judgement. He continues that God wants us to repent and go to heaven (2 Peter 3:9) and insists that God "usually gets what he wants."

Now I don't pretend to know what happens when we die, maybe we do all get some grace period to recant our misdeads after we die, but this feel-good approach that you can rest easy knowing your friend who lived a decidedly ungodly life went to heaven seems like bad teaching. Jesus said "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV).

Thus, my contention is that while God may want everyone to join him in heaven, the reality is that FEW actually do.

My second objection to this book comes from the chapter on loneliness. Oh how this made me angry. He give the story of a shut-in that orders deliveries for personal interaction, and is puzzled at how someone could be so lonely. He continues with another analogy of driving a friend's car, with your only choice in music is to listen to nothing or something you don't prefer. Eventually, out of desperation, you find yourself adapting to the friend's choice in music. Lucado says this is like God, forcing us into a corner which the only way out is God's way, and therefore loneliness is a Gift from God.

Obviously he doesn't know lonely. Most preachers I've met are extroverted social butterflies. They go where people are and make conversation, and make friends. Lucado says one of his prayers on a sunday morning on behalf of the congregation gave thanks to God for all our friends, noting we have more than time to spend with them. A businessman later informed him that wasnt' the case for all the congregants, like himself, who was in the midst of a church but still lonesome.

My work in software has found many such people. We're an introverted lot for the most part, and many prefer that, but loneliness still abounds. I've known people that although lonely, would prefer to not go to a party with a bunch of acquaintances. The rationale was simple: being around a group of people who all knows each other highlights one's own loneliness. Being around people and their friends as an outsider is worse than being alone and not having that reminder right in front of them. Its a vicious cycle, to be sure, but hardly one that I would consider a Blessing for those undergoing it. Yes, "God is with me" but friends of flesh and blood are important too. A lonely person doesn't want to be told their isolation is a blessing anymore than someone with terminal cancer does. Someone who is truly upset because they are lonely is so because they feel it too is terminal; there is no relief in sight.

Later in the chapter Lucado emphasizes that whatever the problem we are facing (see economy) God is with us. These are reassuring words, despite the earlier part of the chapter that I find unfortunate.

On the whole, the book accomplishes it's task of relating the 23rd Psalm into today's vernacular. Take comfort in the Shepherd that so many have heard of, and trust him to guide us throughout this day.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Connections

Once upon a time, I was watching the learning channel on a Saturday afternoon, and a rerun of this show called "Connections" was on. See what I'm talking about on youtube here. The premise is exploring technology and seeing what causes in history which seem unrelated actually are related.

So I was having a chat with my brother, who is en route to Omaha, Nebraska to pick up a friend at the airport. This is a little farther away than the expected airport in Sioux Falls.

Wikipedia's article on Omaha lists the city clerk as one Buster Brown.

Buster Brown is also a cartoon character from the early 1900s.

This character was named after vaudeville child actor Buster Keaton.

Buster Keaton was well known for wearing pork pie hats.

The pork pie hat had a resurgence in popularity after Gene Hackman’s character Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle wore one in The French Connection, a film released in 1971.

Gene Hackman does the voice of Lowe's Hardware Commercials.

Lowe's is based in Moorseville, North Carolina.

Mooresville is also known as Race City, USA for its 60 NASCAR teams based there.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. resides in Mooresville.

AMP Energy is on his car.

AMP has Taurine in it.

Urban legends surrounding the source of taurine have included bull urine extract and bull semen. While it's true that taurine is found in both sources, it is not the source of taurine in the pharmaceutical or food industry.

Another Urban Legend indicates that carjackings happen frequently in broad daylight in Omaha Nebraska.

So there your have it, we've gone full circle back to Omaha. Wasn't that fun?

Matt