Greetings from Experiment House

Moving in Next Door

2007-01-10T23:31:00.000-05:00

Hi, all. This is the last post I'm making at this blog address. I will continue to blog, just at a new address. Please point your web browser to:

The New Adventures of Experiment House.

The group blog thing doesn't play well with my new Facebook account.

Reborn

2007-01-02T12:49:00.000-05:00

On the cusp of seeing the dream
become the reality of where I'm waking.

On the edge of taking the chance,
like walking on water or
new steps to that dance.

On the cusp of waking from pain
to see my own life being born again.

Drinking in life and exhaling hope.
Delivering new moments that are yet to be wrote.

Taking in air to sing once more,
This time the melody won't whisper -
I'll roar.

This is where I'm at...

2006-12-26T22:14:00.001-05:00

teach me how to see

hey
broken
one

hey
you
who
hurt
look
at me

let
your eyes
lock on to mine
and shed
the hidden secrets of
your troubled journey
your interrupted innocence
the muddied waters
of your broken memories

teach
me how to see
teach me how to see
because i am blinded
by my dollar bills
and the light
of my impending career
but i want to see
i want to see
who you are
who God created you to be
who He wants you
to become

so
take my trembling finger
and place it
gently
on that part of you that hurts
that lurks in darkness
that suffers in silence
because i want to
feel
your pain

but
i have ignored my own pain
for so long
i have forgotten how to feel
but my desire
shrouded in frustration
my desire is to see
and feel
that broken space
because i am confident
that my healer
the wonderful counselor
the pierced one
can come
and heal
as he's done
for me

so
would you give me your eyes?
lend me your heart?
i want to feel
i want to see
i want to
LIVE
and
i want to say
in my own stuttering way
that God knows
that God cares
that God sees
that God can
that God
will

------------------
by Andrew Jones, 1996

Waiting

2006-12-26T18:03:00.001-05:00

I had hoped to hear some good news earlier this week. I have come to realize how important this matter has become to me.

I'm blessed in so many ways, why is it that this ONE thing has seem to overshadow all the great things in my life?

Some of my myspace friends would say I'm being "emo"about this, because I feel as if I could write many, many sad poems while I continue to wait for this issue to be worked out.

I'm tired of the word - Issue.

So many of us have them and we become so wrapped up in them - it's impossible to see anything else but - the issue.

This situation isn't what I thought it would be, but it is. It is. It is.

I want to be wise, thoughtful and patient in this whole matter... but I'm not. I feel so tired of waiting.

As the dawn of a new year approaches, I desire for freedom - progress and movement.

This is my prayer. As I wait. As I trust. Open the doors that seem stuck - help me to become unstuck - help me to not be the issue anymore.

The Journey

2006-12-23T05:21:00.000-05:00

I have a vague recollection of people during the early 1980s wearing buttons emboldened with the words, "I FOUND IT!" Whether it was a conversation starter for evangelization or a promotional item for a pyramid scheme is still unclear. It would have served either purpose quite ably in the Reagan years. Today—not so much. The most significant development in my spirituality has been the recognition over time that life is a journey rather than a destination in which I have arrived.

At the end of a busy and stressful week, my wife's car broke down on her long commute home from work tonight. There was nothing more that she wanted to do than to continue to her destination without hindrance, but found herself waylaid by the roadside. All she could do was wait.

I feel similarly stuck in many aspects. Our family had every indication that we were going to receive some long-awaited good news on Monday, but it never materialized. A family member is going through a serious personal crisis that is not easily resolved. The flu that I thought I was over and done with earlier in the week came back stronger than ever today.

The Israelites were guided throughout their passage by God who appeared as a "Cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night" (Nehemiah 9:12 NIV). What I would give for that kind of moment by moment guidance right now. Yet it is the same God that beckons me forth on my journey—even if I'm not sure of the precise direction at the moment.

The Conqueror Worm

2006-12-17T14:50:00.000-05:00

I love the Edgar Allan Poe cycle of films directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price. After Corman departed after six or seven films, American International Pictures kept the series going with a series of different directors. Most genre fans -- myself included -- consider that a big mistake. Corman had a real vision and flair for the material that the other directors lacked.

The one notable exception is the 1968 film, The Conqueror Worm, directed by Michael Reeves. It's a gruesome and unrelenting tale of witchhunting in civil war England. Vincent Price plays Matthew Hopkins, the "Witchfinder General", in a cruel and humorless manner that is a million miles away from his usual campy screen portrayals. The fact that Hopkins is convinced that he is a humble servant doing "the Lord's work" makes him all the more menacing.

I watched it on panned-and-scanned VHS last night and was convinced that it ranks up with Night of the Living Dead and The Wicker Man as one of the few truly great horror films. Why isn't this gem on DVD?

Life is Good Part Two

2006-12-15T23:38:00.000-05:00

I ended part one with the words, "I can't wait to find out how the next four weeks of class turn out!" The answer turned out to be, "Better than I could have ever imagined!"

The last month was a time of unprecedented spiritual growth in my life. I don't know how to explain it any better than that—for once my words fail me. All I can say is that my life is significantly different than it was when I began this course in spiritual direction. I will do my best to at least record my experiences, even if I can't fully articulate how it all occurred. But be prepared for some fumbling around!

I began to squawk as soon as I was born and have never really taken a break in the ensuing 38 years. Personally and professionally I spend much of my time "making noise": writing, making videos, recording radio shows, designing websites, and public speaking. God used this class as a tool to develop some necessary balance in my life. The recurring theme of the last four weeks can be summed up in one word: listen.

My prayer life has changed significantly. I approach God with a holy expectation. It's not some feeling that I've mustered up on my own. I just now have faith that there is two-way communication going on and it is the most natural thing in the world. I have seen a number of specific prayer requests answered during the last month. I don't mean to imply that I've unlocked some secret way of prayer that gets God to do my bidding, rather it is more like I am finally am "in tune" with God after all these years.

I was somewhat overwhelmed by my coursework during the first four weeks and I found that my journaling suffered. My interest in journaling grew during the final month of the course. I found myself approaching it more as something I enjoyed rather than as yet another item on my to-do list. Plus, I had more to write about!

Meeting with my spiritual director was helpful. Direction continues to help me clarify issues related to my rule of life and discerning a call to ministry. Feelings of vulnerability continue to be a concern to me and I will address this with my director. Really!

God is directing my attention towards the harsh realities of life. It is becoming apparent to me that much of the way we live in the 21st century is destructive and unsustainable. I haven't received some huge plan from God or anything about how I'm going to stop global warming or unjust economic systems, but at least opening up my eyes is a start.

I finished my last assignment for Spiritual Direction tonight. It was sad to complete this class that has been such a catalyst for spiritual growth. Of course, the disciplines practiced and lessons learned will continue to impact my life even though the course is over!

Confessions of an Introvert

2006-12-09T02:32:00.000-05:00

My life is characterized by busyness, noise, and distraction.

FERGALICIOUS! I am jolted out of sleep by the sounds of what passes for pop music these days. It is still dark, but my home is quickly filled with activity: someone let out the dog, you can't wear that to school, other people need to use the shower too you know, if we're out of milk make toast, who's turn is it to shovel the walk, and we are leaving in 5 minutes and that's final!

Then the day gets busy.

I have e-mail, voice mail, meetings, the internet, a cell phone and a PDA to keep me on task at work. I use the phrase "on task" in the loosest sense of the words. I find that the lines of communication that keep me so well connected to the world of business and industry often tangle, twist, and constrain me. For every one item checked off my to-do list, three tasks are added.

Evenings find me taxiing my children to and from activities, doing household chores or church activities, and keeping up with my school assignments. Somewhere in between this I gulp down some food and sneak in some conversation with my wife and kids before collapsing into bed to restart the whole cycle in seven hours.

Fergalicious, indeed.

I read in my devotions that Jesus said, "…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10 NIV). I wade out into a stream of living water and am dragged away by the undertow of the urgent, routine, and predictable. I am drowning but am distracted by the frenetic flailing of my arms and legs.

The thought of this terrifies me. The Old Testament recounts how God had to send prophets to rouse his chosen people out of their complacency. The New Testament records how the Pharisees—maybe the most staunchly devout people ever—utterly missed God when he was right there staring them in the face: "'When evening comes, you say, "It will be fair weather, for the sky is red," and in the morning, "Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast." You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times' (Matthew 16: 2–3 NIV). God's word makes it abundantly clear that my religious pedigree is no guarantee against spiritual blindness.

Moon and Benner point out that "…many in the Christian world have recently awakened to the truth that wearing the label 'Christian' is not synonymous with experiencing the intimate, moment-by-moment relationship with God that souls were designed to enjoy" (13)… Yet, my blindness is not strictly a private matter. As my practice of lectio divina regularly reminds me, "I exist in a web of relationships—links to nature, people, God" (Sacred Space 9). My inaction and disengagement can costs the people of this world dearly, the people Christ came to redeem.

Right now as I write this it occurs to me that millions of individuals are in slavery right now throughout the world. A third of the world is at war. Humankind is rapidly heading for a massive ecological crisis and no one has a clue how to wean ourselves off of the lifestyle which is causing it. The Third World gets stuck with holding the tab for our low, low prices.

I am overwhelmed and do not know where to start.

The good news—great news—is that God knows and his plan is more wonderful than I could ever imagine! "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV). The first step in becoming engaged in this plan is to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying. Spiritual Direction is helping me in this endeavor.

William A. Barry and William J. Connolly penned the most common definition of spiritual direction: "We define Christian spiritual direction as the help given by one Christian to another which enables that person to pay attention to God's personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of this relationship" (Moon 15).

For all the esoteric baggage that its name carries, spiritual direction is really a rather simple proposition. Tony Jones explains, "The belief implicit in spiritual direction is that God's Spirit is alive and active in the world, constantly moving in the believer's life. The second premise is that believers who are experienced in life and faith and who are committed to spiritual disciplines themselves may be able to help others to notice the movements of the spirit" (123).

While never referred to as "spiritual direction" in the Bible, it is nevertheless evident in the relationships of Eli and Samuel, Jesus and the disciples, and Paul and Timothy, just to name a few examples. Christian history abounds with influence through the Desert Fathers and Mothers, John Wesley, and even in the prolific correspondence of C.S. Lewis.

Protestants are the individualists of the church and I am no exception. When I first heard of spiritual direction I had a hard time comprehending what it could accomplish that my own personal prayer time could not. The answer is perspective. As Reginald Johnson writes in Your Personality and the Spiritual Life, "We really do need each other in the body of Christ. Our experience of the Lord is always partial and it is inevitably impoverished when we keep ourselves from the contributions which others could bring to us…In this way our understanding and experience of God can be expanded" (165). Jeremiah 17: 9 puts it this way: "The heart is deceitful above all things" (NIV)…

A spiritual director can be a ministry professional or a lay person. They may or may not be formally educated and trained in soul care. God can use people from many different walks of life to accomplish his purposes: "Although a spiritual director may have many natural gifts, trusting in their competency or expertise is not our main objective. Instead, we seek to trust God in them, and in the Holy Spirit through them. The most helpful qualities they have to offer are a heart surrendered to God and a willingness to listen to God with us" (Bakke 73-4).

I believe that I have found a spiritual director with these qualities, yet I find that I often struggle with really opening up in the sessions. Growing up, my family never really shared their feelings. My church valued answers and shunned questions. While logically I don't fear judgment from my spiritual director, I am overcome with an irrational fear of being rejected. I have much growing to do in this area.

M. Robert Mulholland suggests a relation between openness with other people and God:

"When we are in control of our relationship with God, when we try to maintain a privatized spirituality, we have to maintain a defensive posture towards others. We have to protect ourselves against them because we sense, unconsciously if not consciously, that there is a fatal flaw somewhere in our privatized spirituality—and anyone might disclose it. I have to keep you at arm's length lest you reveal the weakness, the flaw, in my privatized spirituality. …if I can release that obsessive self-control of my relationship with God to God, then I no longer have to fear you. I can welcome your insights into my incompleteness, because you can be a means of God's grace to awaken me to the blind spots in my life and my relationship with God. I can receive the gifts of your temperament preference and openly share mine with you. I can disclose to you the growing edges of my spiritual pilgrimage, the tender places of my brokenness and the hard places of my bondage, and receive God's healing, liberating grace through you. You can become a means of transforming grace, and I can welcome you. I can also commit myself to you in your brokenness and bondage and allow God to work through me in God's way, not my manipulative one" (Mulholland 154-5).

It may be a painful process by which to submit, but I am committed to working through this issue of vulnerability. The results of spiritual direction are far too vital for me to forgo: "Discernment of spirits is necessary for the sake of the People of God, so that they may recognize and participate in the act/work of God in their midst as this relates to the unfolding of His great plan of salvation; in effect, it is God's gift of 'spiritual sight' which helps identify the critical path of our pilgrimage to God" (Stravinskas 312).

There is no denying that this world needs Christ. There are places where he wants me to be his hands and feet. I only need listen and spiritual direction is vital to this goal. W. Paul Jones writes in The Art of Spiritual Direction, "Without lifelong support and disciplined accountability within the context of Christian vision, Christianity does little more than justify, make palatable, and provide coping skills for a life that is intrinsically secular and often un-Christian" (29) May we all experience a deep, vital relationship with God. This planet is depending on it.

WORKS CITED

Bakke, Jeannette A. Holy Invitations. Grand Rapids MI: Baker, 2000.

Johnson, Reginald D. Your Personality and the Spiritual Life. Gainesville FL: Center for Applications of Psychological Type, 1999.

Jones, Tony. Soul Shaper. Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan, 2003.

Jones, W. Paul. The Art of Spiritual Direction. Nashville TN: Upper Room, 2002.

Life Application Bible: New International Bible. Wheaton IL: Tyndale House, 1991.

Moon, Gary W. and David G. Benner (eds). Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls. Downers Grove IL: InterVaristy, 2004.

Mulholland, M. Robert. Invitation to a Journey. Downers Grove IL: InterVaristy, 1993.

Sacred Space. Notre Dame IN: Ave Maria, 2006.

Stravinskas, Peter M.J. (ed). Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia. Huntington IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 1991.

Does psychology help or hinder spiritual formation?

2006-12-05T17:35:00.000-05:00

Being informed about human psychology is almost a requirement of contemporary soul care. It informs us of the workings of the human psyche and the mind’s relationship to the body. Understanding the techniques of counseling can assist us in our dealings with people and our ability to provide a compassionate response to people in crisis. (I’m going to use the terms psychology and counseling like they’re interchangeable during this post even though they aren’t.)

Psychology can be helpful in making a person self-aware. For instance, people can learn about stimuli that trigger certain behaviors in themselves. It can help them understand the stages of life and characteristics of a crisis. Behavioral counseling in particular can be very helpful in changing behavior. These are just a few of the beneficial aspects of counseling and each of them can have “Christian” applications.

Psychology can be misused, too. A person can say “That’s just the way I am” as a way of avoiding responsibility for their behavior. (Actually, come to think of it that’s more of a misunderstanding of psychology.) We can all be “victims” forgetting that we’ve all done our share of victimizing.

It’s critical to keep in mind that we don’t rely on counseling techniques any more than our business expertise in working with sinners. We rely on God and our work is Spirit inspired and Spirit empowered.

Full Circle

2006-12-05T16:21:00.000-05:00

The Bible doesn’t exactly say how long our parents dwelled together in the garden before the fall, but my feeling is something along the lines of five minutes. A break in fellowship with God quickly became a break in fellowship with each other as minimization, denial, and blame befell the day. I don’t think the behavior of humankind has changed that much in the subsequent years.

Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer imparts much spiritual wisdom about how we relate to God, each other, and ourselves. It is an uncomfortable book to read because the theologian so precisely calls out our sins. But it ultimately serves a redemptive purpose for the brave souls who are willing to submit to the examination. A reader will no longer be satisfied with a pale imitation of community life.

Bonhoeffer early on defines the objective of Christian community, which is to “…meet one another as bringers of the message of salvation” (23). The final chapter, Confession and Communion, appropriately concludes with a vivid description of that purpose actualized: “As the members of the congregation are united in body and blood at the table of the Lord so will they be together in eternity” (122).

There are no shortcuts to realizing that unity. We must look at the Christian community as “not an ideal but a divine reality” (26). Our lives must be bathed in scripture, prayer, and ministry to each other. After all, if those conditions are not met, a safe environment for confession and communion will never exist.

Work Cited

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich and John W. Doberstein (trans). Life Together. SanFrancisco CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 1954.

Spiritual Formation is good for the church

2006-12-01T18:10:00.001-05:00

I attribute the current interest in spiritual direction to a hunger for God that isn't being satisfied in our parishes. Actually, I would widen the scope of interest beyond spiritual direction to include other spiritual formation activities and even things like praying the liturgy.

I shudder to think where I would be in my relationship with the Lord if I would have left my spiritual nurture up to my church. There are no corporate disciplines, no meaningful expectations or boundaries, Sunday School functions as a support group, and I get to listen to downloaded prep for a sermon every week. Perhaps if there were more growth opportunities available in my local congregation, God wouldn't have fostered in me an interest in spiritual formation. Who can say?

I've written much about my leanings towards isolation and how I initially carried that preference into my practice of spiritual formation. The good news is that the practice of the disciplines has steered me back into the corporate life with a greater love, devotion, and understanding. I bring back those experiences and way of doing things into the life of the body.

Candle Lighting Ceremony Remembers Children

2006-12-01T15:27:00.000-05:00

I thought this might be of interest to those in Jamestown, NY or Warren, PA.

Friend to Friend Support Group invites you to join with tens of thousands of families around the globe for the tenth annual Worldwide Candle Lighting Ceremony to remember all children who have died. The event is free and will be held at First Lutheran Church of Warren, corner of Third Ave. and East Street on Sunday, December 10 at 6:30 pm.

“This is truly a worldwide event that allows bereaved families everywhere the opportunity to unite following their combined loss and to show the world that while a child may have died, that child was important and will never be forgotten,” says Carna Chamberlin, LSW, who facilitates the support group on behalf of Family Services of Warren County. “Whether someone has suffered the personal loss of a child, brother or sister, or grandchild, or simply wants to show compassion to those who have, we encourage all to join with us in remembering those children who are no longer here.”

The names of loved ones will be read during the ceremony. Participants can bring a picture or memento of their loved one to display. A time of sharing and refreshments will be held after the candle lighting.

Family Services of Warren County provides comprehensive and professional counseling, drug and alcohol services, and youth programs. It is a United Fund Member Agency. For more information about this special event or any of its other services, please call (814) 723-1330.

Community & Early Methodism

2006-11-28T21:44:00.000-05:00

Spiritual direction is defined by Barry and Connolly as "…help given by one Christian to another which enables that person to pay attention to God's personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of this relationship" (Moon 15).

John Wesley's connexionalism, as described in the book Covenant Discipleship, appears to serve the same goals. Connolly describes the bands as "a process of mutual confession" (Lowes 30). The class meeting is explained as a "supportive structure for discipleship, grounded in the realities of daily living in the world, and undergirded by common sense" (Lowes 41). I get the impression that connexionalism blurred some of the lines between mentoring and spiritual direction. That is perhaps a consequence of its more rigid structure.

I won't say that spiritual direction and connexionalism are twins as much as cousins… But anyways, early Methodism rocks!!!

The Mulholland and Johnson texts last semester helped me recognize the importance of others in my spiritual development. This class is examining the theme in greater detail and I find myself with a desire for corporate spirituality that is quite unlike anything I've experienced before. (Which is really saying something—remember, I'm so introverted I'm actually invisible.)

I find that I'm agreeing with much of what Lowes is writing about in Covenant Discipleship, but don't have a clue how to implement any of it in today's church. The extent of individualism in the Christian experience today is staggering. (And I type this realizing that I'm often part of this problem.)

I would guess that there is a lot of spiritual direction that goes under the radar in our churches. Many "spiritual directors" probably have never heard the term. It's got me thinking about ends and means. New trends continually snake through our churches. It's often hard to remember a few years later why a particular program or method was even attractive. But if we keep the ends in mind—discipleship and service—much spiritual direction will occur no matter what it's called.

Works Cited

Watson, David Lowes. Covenant Discipleship. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 1998.

Moon, Gary W. and David G. Benner (eds). Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity, 2004.

Disconnected and Connected

2006-11-28T13:29:00.000-05:00

Least Connected is how I feel when all the rushing to duties
removes the possibility of time to steal a chat, a smile, a hug or a look.

Most Connected is how I feel when the friend that I'm thinking of digits
are on my caller id blinking.

Least Connected is what happens when my life has lifted,
out of my hands and placed within reach of someone that would be happy to see:
me pushed, shoved and locked into their controlling, cold, dark closet.

Most connected is what happens when walking down a November street -
a resturanteur friend I know shouts, "Hey Tara come in, relax and take the world off your feet.

Inhale
Exhale
Connect and Release.
Connections that teach me how to live are the ones that I keep.

Most connected is the "Wow" moment when I realise
that the people that try to confine me
are really the helpless captives in disguise.

Isolation and division break the foundations of a plan.
Purpose, excitement, encouragement and vision
help me to stay focused and stand-
when others refuse to see the connections before them
they miss the Promised Land.

Inhale
Exhale
Connect and Release.
Connections that teach me how to live are the ones that I keep.

A better way of doing church staff meetings?

2006-11-26T15:59:00.000-05:00

I recently spoke with a friend of mine after a long absence. Both our families had attended church together in the 1990s but had lost touch after we both moved on to new congregations. I recognized the church he said he was now attending as one with a great reputation in the community. I asked him how things were going.

"Great!" he replied. "I stay away from committees and boards and just enjoy myself now!"

We shared a chuckle at the expense of our previous church. In its denomination, that congregation is known as one of the most traditional churches in the nation. My friend and I were both veterans of the "worship wars" of the mid 90s. We joked about numerous wasted evenings wrestling with critical issues like the color of carpeting and the menu of the annual church picnic.

I have lived through my share of crazy power struggles, too, so I empathize with my friend. However, I also feel sad for him and his church. He is an individual at the "top of his game" and the congregation would surely benefit from his experience and insight.

Mark Yaconelli, founder of the Sabbath retreats and co-director of the Youth Ministry and Spirituality Project, addressed the need for a more contemplative approach to the staff meeting in a 2003 Youthworker Journal article. Although Yaconelli never directly states the words "spiritual direction" he describes a group discernment process.

The process doesn't fit into either the informal or business models in practice at churches today. Rather, it "...seeks to assign prayer, relationships, and discernment as the primary tasks of a Christian meeting."

The beginning of the meeting features a short opening ritual that consecrates the meeting, changing the context from ordinary to sacred time and space." The meeting then proceeds into steps of relating, receiving, ruminating, and reflecting. These steps will be familiar to anyone who has ever practiced lectio divina, except that it is played out in a group setting. Only after this process are the business items on the agenda addressed. The meeting ends with prayers of thanksgiving and blessing. It is suggested that the leadership of the meeting is shared or rotated. Yaconelli states that two criticisms of taking this approach over more common models will be "lack of productivity" and "wasted time."

Anticipated criticism aside, I am interested in participating in a meeting with this structure. There is no denying that current models leave much to be desired, so why not try something that may allow for a better discernment process? An attitude of expectation may go a long way in snuffing out the sometimes adversarial relationships that are often evidenced on boards. It may also have the benefit of coaxing good people like my friend back into leadership!

Work Cited
Yaconelli, Mark. "Staff Meetings: A Contemplative Approach." Youthworker 2003.

Secret Squirrel

2006-11-26T09:41:00.000-05:00

Lamont decided to try her hand at vlogging. This is her first effort, documenting the girls' trip to State College to see Last Tuesday. I thought it turned out pretty cool, especially when you take into account that Lamont has never touched iMovie before!

Step Into The Ooze

2006-11-24T17:03:00.000-05:00

I really can't stand the way stuff overshadows the Light of the World during the holiday season. So I wrote an article about it and the good folks at The Ooze published it on their website. Check it out here!

Sisters

2006-11-24T11:39:00.000-05:00

I watched Brian De Palma's 1973 film Sisters this morning. It's a real jem from the vaults of American International Pictures. A reporter witnesses a murder through a window and the police don't believe her. There is a definite Hitchcock influence throughout, but the story develops in some disturbing and wild directions in a way that the master would have ever thought. Recommended!

It was interesting picking up on the cultural and social background of the film, especially in some dialog regarding group homes for the mentally ill, which would have been a novel concept at the time. The reporter attributes the police detective's apathy to racism. I hadn't actually noticed that the man was black and his lover was white -- I guess I was watching it with 2007 sensibilities.

Rumor has it that this is yet another classic seventies thriller getting the remake treatment. Do yourself a favor -- skip the multiplex and rent the original on DVD!

Turkey Legs O' thanks

2006-11-21T15:25:00.000-05:00

I was pondering the turkey leg image above wondering if i could come up with something for each letter that I'm thankful for. I don't want this to be just another list, quiz or forward... I just want to become more aware of the care God has given to me over the last thirty-something years.

A- Apples that are crisp and not too sweet.
B- Babies that smile and wave at me.
C- Cars that get me to work and home again.
D- Donuts on Saturday morning ( Angel filling chocolate frosted Krispy Kremes!)
E- Energy to create new things.
F- Family
G- Grace to try again each day.
H- Help that I can give and not being afraid to ask for help.
I- Insights into what really matters.
J- Joy in the midst of struggle.
K- Keeping the lines of communication open.
L- Love, life and light.
M- Making up and working problems out.
N- Needing each other.
O- Open doors to new adventures.
P- Presence of God everywhere I go!
Q- Quilts that I can cuddle under with my kids.
R- Reading my Sacred Space.
S- Soup that I get to make from scratch.
T- Time with family.
U- Unconditional love of family and friends.
V- Vast potential for the future and the vison to chase after.
W- Welcome of new friends. Thanks to WPC and all the members that have shown their support and care for me since we met this summer.
X- X-ray glasses and silly toys that my son loves. It reminds me of his laughter.
Y- You - for reading and commenting.
Z- ZZZZZZZ... Sleep precious sleep at the end of a long day.

Thanks to God for all this and more.

Finding My Balance

2006-11-20T21:26:00.000-05:00

When I read the Gospels I am often surprised at how many situations just intrude on Jesus as he goes about his life. One interruption after another -- how did this guy ever accomplish any ministry? Yet the Gospels record that Jesus took time away, too, even though there were many urgent needs everywhere he went.

I can't offer you any great insight, but I'm praying that God shows us how to achieve the balance in life that we so often lack!

The Ministry of Meekness

2006-11-20T21:22:00.000-05:00

In chapter four of Life Together, Bonhoeffer describes a few ministries not commonly found in spiritual gifts inventories, like The Ministry of Holding One's Tongue and The Ministry of Bearing. While I found the whole chapter constructive, the section that impacted me the most was The Ministry of Meekness. I was convicted by the statement, "He who would serve his brother in the fellowship must sink all the way down to these depths of humility. How can I possibly serve another person in unfeigned humility if I seriously regard his sinfulness as worse than my own" (97)? Before reading that, it never occurred to me how much how much pride I have in my own lifestyle and accomplishments. Bonhoeffer's words often cut me to the quick, but make me want to strive for more in the journey.

Cult Film Sunday

2006-11-20T18:14:00.000-05:00

You don't catch a cold -- you earn one. Well, I earned mine this weekend via a packed work and school schedule. I spent Sunday drifting in and out of sleep while watching a VHS tape of cult movies that Mister Oblivious dropped off.

I started out with the delightfully bad Plan 9 from Outer Space...

...then watched Ed Wood's "other" epic, The Bride of the Monster...

...then went onto Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! I can honestly say I've never seen anything like this... And don't ever expect to again...

...and ended the mini-fest with George A. Romero's neat little thriller The Crazies.

Lamont sat in on Faster Pussycat, but I was on my own for the rest of the films.

"If it's the worst movie ever made, why should we watch it?" asked my son in reference to Plan 9. He has so much to learn about cult movies!

Life is Good

2006-11-18T01:22:00.000-05:00

I was reminded of God's care and attention as I looked over my journal entries from the last four weeks. It has certainly been a time of reflection and spiritual growth.

I am learning very much in my current class, but even more than that, the assigned reading and discussion of the text on the message board has been a source of ministry and encouragement to me. It has helped me develop an awareness of God's presence in my life in a more "real" way that before. I also find that I am approaching prayer and circumstances of life expecting to meet God in those experiences.

It has been a challenge to keep up with my journaling requirement this last month. This doesn't greatly concern me as my time for personal writing always recedes when school is in session. A good thing about my journaling is that I find it being more true to life and heartfelt than it has been in some time. I think this is connected to being more aware of the presence of God.

The school schedule made it impractical to take this class before securing a spiritual director. But God is faithful and I couldn't have found a better spiritual director, despite being ignorant of some of the necessary qualities of this role. Spending an hour a month together to "listen" is very different from anything in my spiritual background, but I am finding it to be one of the most beneficial disciplines for me right now. I anticipate continuing on with spiritual direction after I graduate.

My Rule of Life has been the topic of discussion with my spiritual director and a matter of much personal reflection. It is currently a great compilation of the classical disciplines, but I am sensing that God is calling me to focus more intentionally on a few items than trying to "do it all."

I want to encourage certain qualities and virtues in my life, such as letting love rule my interactions with others. I also want to be more intentional about building relationships. I want to attach these ideas to some specific goals, but I need to be careful that I choose goals that cause me to stretch without becoming an unworkable burden. My director and I are going to talk about this at our next meeting.

I am incorporating aspects of spiritual direction into my Sunday School class. I now put a greater emphasis upon prayer for my classmates during the week and before class begins. A byproduct of this is that I feel a greater sense of expectation during our time together. I have incorporated some silence at the beginning of class. I also find that I have stopped being such a know-it-all with my class, preferring rather to ask people how they think God is leading them in a particular area.

I can't wait to find our how the next four weeks of class turn out!

Holiday Help for Grieving Families

2006-11-13T11:57:00.001-05:00

This may be of interest for those in the Warren, PA or Jamestown, NY regions...

Any day can be difficult for a parent who has lost a child, but the upcoming holidays can be especially difficult to manage because of the many strong feelings associated with the season.

The Friend to Friend support group from Family Services of Warren County is holding a free seminar entitled Holiday Survival Tips for Grieving Families, Thursday, Nov. 16 at 7 pm at First Lutheran Church of Warren, corner of 3rd Ave. and East St.

“There’s a song that says It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. But the festive holiday season can find the bereaved feeling acutely alone in their grief,” says Carna Chamberlin, LSW, who facilitates the support group for the charitable agency. “This seminar will help grieving families discover ways to manage the difficult days ahead.”

Topics of discussion will include: Creating a “new normal” to address old traditions, maneuvering “well-meaning” family and friends, walking at your own pace on your own path, and how to handle holiday spirit filled people.

Family Services of Warren County, Inc. provides comprehensive and professional counseling, drug and alcohol services, and youth programs. It is a United Fund Member Agency. For more information about this seminar or any of its other services, please call (814) 723-1330.

Ethics and Spiritual Direction

2006-11-10T16:13:00.000-05:00

Trust must be established for a relationship to work properly. In a professional association between individuals such as psychotherapy, pastoral counseling, or spiritual direction, procedures and standards of conduct must be established to provide soul care that will be beneficial to the client.

In Spiritual Direction and Psychotherapy: Ethical Issues, a chapter from the book Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls, Siang-Yan Tan presents his award winning address about the topic that was delivered to the American Psychological Association (187). As both a Professor of Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary and Senior Pastor at First Evangelical Church Glendale, Tan is uniquely qualified in this subject area (249).

The need for ethical guidelines for spiritual direction is becoming increasingly important as interest in the discipline continues to grow among individuals. It is possible to conceive of a time in the future when spiritual direction will be as equally regarded as a profession as it is a ministry today. For this transition to occur, a standard for the ethical behavior of spiritual directors must exist and be followed. (Educational standards and perhaps a certification process of directors will become necessary as well, but that is another topic for another paper!)

Of course, a more pressing reason for ethical guidelines is the recognition of the rights of directees and a standard of behavior that directors must observe on their behalf. In common language, a person seeking spiritual direction must be informed and protected. Tan highlights a variety of issues that have arisen out of the integration of spirituality and psychotherapy. These are valid propositions for the practice of spiritual direction as well:

"Therapist-religious leader associate dual relationships should be avoided" (192).
Collaboration with a client's religious leaders may be beneficial. "[W]ritten informed consent to contact" (192) must be sought, and it is a client's right to decide if that permission shall be granted.

Ecclesiastical boundaries must be maintained (192).

Client values must be respected (192).

There are some other important ethical considerations that were not mentioned at all or only briefly inferred by Tan, but would be important to consider in regards to the ethical practice of spiritual direction:

Case notes should be documented. (This actually protects both the client and the director.)

A standard of confidentiality must be maintained, except in the case that a client is a danger to themselves or others, or a disclosure of child abuse. The client must be informed of this upfront before their first session.

A formal intake or screening process is to be performed on a client to determine if spiritual direction is the most appropriate service for their needs. If not, to what service will a client be referred?

In a formal practice of spiritual formation, the needs and rights of the client must always be maintained for a beneficial soul care experience. It is the right thing to do.

WORK CITED
Moon, Gary W. and David G. Benner, eds. Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2004.

Missing the forest for all the trees...

2006-11-09T22:51:00.000-05:00

"Begin with the end in mind" is a phrase often heard in my workplace as we work on strategic plans for the new year. That wisdom is why I page ahead each chapter to read about a particular tradition's indicators of spiritual maturity—I like to know where I'm going…

The author of the section of the Reformed tradition is hesitant to commit to a precise definition of being conformed to the image of Christ. I think there is some wisdom that some of us in the Wesleyan-Methodist tradition could heed: "Cause-and-effect thinking leads to cause-and-effect practices, resulting in a self-generated spirituality that depends on us instead of God" (107).

I am sometimes frustrated at myself for not being as conscientious about observing my rule of life as I would like. It is a good to remind myself that I'm in pursuit of God and not a set of practices.

WORK CITED

Moon, Gary W. and David G. Benner. Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2004.

Differences in role of Spiritual Director

2006-11-08T20:15:00.000-05:00

I was blessed reading about the practice of spiritual direction in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions. What rich and varied expressions of the Christian faith! The most striking contrast I noticed was the different role of the spiritual director between traditions.

Spiritual direction in the Roman Catholic tradition was described as a "… relational process in which the director and directee develop attentiveness to the actions of the Holy Spirit in this particular directee" (56). The Orthodox description appeared to describe something more along the lines of a mentoring or discipleship relationship: "The spiritual guide is to teach and advise, to answer specific questions and give specific direction for how we are to live our life" (43).

In the Roman Catholic tradition, spiritual direction is intended "… to be a free relationship, not a master-disciple relationship" (67), whereas the St. Simeon of the Orthodox tradition described a much different dynamic: "[a director] whom you ought to obey as though he were God himself, whose instruction you must carry out without hesitation, even if what he enjoins on you appears to be repugnant and harmful" (43).

Spiritual direction in the Roman Catholic tradition is a clearly delineated role and process. The Orthodox tradition appeared to overlap the roles of director, mentor, and discipler. Interesting reading!

WORK CITED

Moon, Gary W. and David G. Benner. Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2004.

Out of the Cold Tour

2006-11-08T13:48:00.000-05:00

I have been working on a benefit concert for my local soup kitchen and have had a great deal of help with getting this graphic and project together.

Thanks to Audio Closet for working so flawlessly on the booking and planning for the OOTC Tour.
Thanks to Jamie for listening to me dream and rant on and on about it.
Thanks to Michael and Tim Johnson for the finishing touches on the flyer.
Thanks to Westminster for sponsoring the event and having the vision to see the opportunity for such projects as this concert. Thanks to God for putting all the pieces together with the venue ( Reg Lenna Studio/Tonic Production), WRFA in Jamestown and St. Susan Center.

Please try to make it to this event, but if you can't come to this event, I hope you will be willing to pray for us and the hearts of the people that will be with us on December 4th.

I hope that you're holiday season is cheery and bright and that you will be kept out of the cold physically, emotionally and spirtually as well.

Peace on Earth

Helter Celtic

2006-11-07T20:58:00.000-05:00

I appreciate all things Celtic, so my spirit perked up when I noticed the mention of the anmchara or soul-friend in tonight'slecture. The role fulfilled many of the same functions as a spiritual director, but in many aspects resembled more of a peer relationship. As the lecture noted, it was a ministry of lay people.

One of the neat things about the Celtic expression of Christianity was how it fit into the already existing culture, rather than trying to impose a Roman-style culture among the people. An interesting book about this topic is The Celtic Way of Evangelism by George C. Hunter III, a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary.

There are some interesting folks in Hamilton, Ontario who run a coffee house that is also their church. The staff and congregation take turns as baristas and engage hundreds of people each day. Could the missional or emergent church emphasis upon engaging the community where one worships be a modern day expression of the anmchara?

Holy Clubs

2006-11-03T20:28:00.000-05:00

I find that I am rather intrigued by the idea of group spiritual direction as described in Holy Invitations. This may be a nudge from the Spirit, as my personality preference is as introverted as they come!

It is possible to attend a holiness church week in and week out and never be challenged in our spiritual growth. We more often possess a belief in sanctification rather than its daily lived out reality. We need reminded that holiness is an experience that proceeded its doctrine.

I am no expert on the early Methodist movement, but I am impressed with what I've read. There is something powerful about a group of individuals who united around a common goal. I think a group of "Holy Clubs" devoted to seeking the presence of God would be transformative to the life of the church.

Rose Mary Dougherty is quoted in the text, "Members must agree to commit themselves to 1) an honest relationship with God; 2) wholehearted participation in the group processes through prayerful listening and response; and 3) opening their spiritual journeys to the consideration of others" (139). I know that I would benefit from this sort of interaction with my peers! And aren't these guidelines something the church could benefit from?

Confidentiality appears to me to be the biggest issue in group direction, but maybe that says more about me than the process! I also wonder how appropriate a group would be for the paid staff of a church—for instance, I can't imagine a pastor exploring a call to a different church with the group! There are other issues related to running a church that couldn't be discussed either and I wonder how effective a group would be with one or more members having to watch what they say!

I guess the question to ask concerning the need for group spiritual direction is, "When and where else can I share these longings with my brothers and sisters?"

WORK CITED

Bakke, Jeamnette A. Holy Invitations. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000.

Wrapped in a blanket of love...

2006-11-02T00:04:00.001-05:00

I am becoming more and more convinced that there is nothing better in life than spending time with the people you love.

I suppose after being in a self admitted funk for a week or so that its time for me to remember that even in the hard timesGod gives wonderful blessings if only we would take the time to look for them,or listen for them in this case.

It's been a tough couple of weeks. Lots of rain, lots of work and not enough "time" for the loved ones in my life.

Tonight was so fun to go to the WASU and be greeted by the ever loving Pam with a huge hug. Walk into the movie room to find Phantasm still playing ( I was working until 8:30 so I thought I would miss them - I didn't :)! ) Next my girl Heather turned around and reached her hands out to me and smiled one of her winning smiles - I love her! Jackie, Mary almost all saw me at the same moment and the girls hugged me and shouted, "Tara's here!"

Steve overheard and shouted over the PA - "Hey, I glad you made it, we were afraid you wouldn't make it". So the band continued to play until about 9pm. The tour they were on showed as the music was really tight and together. Good show boys!

So I danced, sang and blew off all the stress and anxiety and let the music wrap me up in a blanket of vocals, bass. guitar, scratching and percussion. Everybody was dancing, singing and wrapped up in the blanket of music as well - it was a precious blessing to my tired spirit.

Kaddisfly had played earlier in the evening - sadly I missed another performance by them, but I picked up their new cd and am listening to it as I'm typing. I looked at their shirts and other merch for sale and my eyes fell upon a phrase on one of the tee's.

"Without tears, is to be void of love."

These words really seemed to connect with the fact of life bringing a mix of both sadness and joy. You really can't have a "life"one without the other.

I've had so many friends and family facing tears daily lately and I know that life is a mix of both good and bad, but it was truly wonderful to have a moment, an hour or two with folks that I love so much and I know love me in return.

You all are in my heart - and you make my life filled more with blessing and less tears. Unless you count the happy ones!

Mostly, I need to thank God that in the midst of trials - there is always a fountian and oasis to be found; no matter the desert you are traveling through.

'1 Corinthians 13:13
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.'

Wherever you are, whatever you face - hold onto God and he'll wrap you up in a blanket of love that can't compare to anything else. Just ask, he's waiting in the wings for all of us to invite him in.

I will open the door. Help me never to shut you out.

Peace and Joy,
Tara Lamont

Finding a Spiritual Director

2006-11-01T20:51:00.000-05:00

A requirement of the learning community was to participate in spiritual direction on a regular basis. I don't recall receiving much, well, direction in the process of choosing a spiritual director, but then again, those first few weeks were quite a blur…

I didn't really understand the nature of spiritual direction at the time and imagined it was more akin to mentoring or even giving advice. So I definitely was going to proceed very cautiously into a relationship where somebody was going to tell me what to do.

In the end I chose a pastor that I have known for years. I don't attend his church and he is not a part of my denomination. The qualities that influenced my decision were as follows:

He has a solid reputation among people.
He is involved in both the religious community and the wider community life as a whole.
He's educated.

It turns out that I was completely wrong about the nature of spiritual direction, but the spiritual director is working out just fine.

I think the Bakke text offers some well thought out guidance in the selection of a director. The quality that stands out to me the most is "depend on the Spirit's leading in the direction relationship and want to listen to God rather than be guided by agendas set by themselves or directees" (105). I've already had my quota of pat answers and wrongheaded advice in the name of God, thank you…

Knowing what I do now, I probably would have asked him about his philosophy of spiritual direction and his own pursuit of the inner life. But like I said, the choice of director is working out great regardless.

WORK CITED

Bakke, Jeannette A. Holy Invitations. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000.

Contemplation

2006-10-31T20:06:00.000-05:00

School work goes regardless of trick or treating. But at least I got an interesting lecture and discussion out of it!

My professor posed the question, "Richard Foster describes the contemplative life as 'the steady gaze upon the God who loves us.' Is such a steady gaze possible, practical or realistic?"

I believe a steady gaze upon God is possible. After all, people fixate their attention on what they love—be it their career, hobby, politics, sports, or Star Trek. So I can say, "I love God and my attention is naturally drawn to him" and I would be truthful in a sense.

Contemplation, however, implies a thoughtful observation. It is my experience that this kind of observation does not often come naturally. But we can train ourselves to be observant. When I first began directing television programs it seemed impossible that I could pay attention to the output of multiple cameras, VU meters, waveform monitor, vectorscope, and the clock simultaneously. Over time I found that it came easily and could carry on a conversation at the same time with my camera operators.

The quality most helpful to me in the practice of thoughtful living was noted in this evening's lecture: “living the tensions of life reflectively rather than avoiding them." I missed out on a lot of spiritual growth in the past because I tried to make my life fit an ideal of Christian living where no tensions existed and every issue could be easily resolved. (Oddly enough, I didn't learn about living life reflectively so much from any of the works I read on spiritual formation as I did by catching a glimpse of this quality in the writings of Frederick Buechner.)

Roger Corman Double Feature

2006-10-29T20:30:00.000-05:00

Can I just take a moment to point out that television's treatment of Halloween is pretty poor this year? Unless of course, your idea of horror is Ghost or The Butterfly Effect... Sheesh...

I decided to scope out the new Family Video store in Jamestown, NY to see if I could find anything more suitable for my weekend viewing. To my surprise, they had a large collection of Roger Corman films. Jackpot!

First up was Death Race 2000, a cross country car race where racers score points for killing people. This is a film that played endlessly on cable TV in the 1970s and it was just as fun as I remembered it!

The second film was Pirahna. Although the poster and concept would lead one to believe that it's a takeoff on the previous year's Jaws, Pirahna is actually a pretty original little horror/adventure flick. The big bag U.S. Goverment develop a highly-intelligent mutant strain of Pirahna which are accidentally let loose to munch on summer campers and scuba divers.

Neither of these films fit into my beloved category of so bad they're good, because both films avoid the pitfalls common to most low budget pictures of this type. The films are very action packed and the directors accomplish some high production values on a shoestring. Thank you, Roger Corman, for saving my weekend!

Warning Signal

2006-10-27T19:50:00.000-04:00

What do you do when you feel restless?

We often distract ourselves from restlessness. We can turn on the TV, surf the net, smoke some weed, take a nap, go shopping, eat a Whopper, listen to the iPod—well, you get the drift. Anything to not feel the restlessness. As if being restless is inherently bad.

I think anesthetizing the restlessness is akin to pulling the batteries out of a wailing smoke alarm and probably just as dumb. We short-circuit a warning system that is pointing out that all is not well with our soul.

I'm writing this from experience. (Except the weed part in case my mother is reading this.) A lot of spiritual growth began to occur in my life when, instead of trying to snap out of a mood, I began to ask myself questions like:

Why am I feeling restless/sad/angry, etc?
What does this mean?
When did I start feeling this way?

Interesting thought about discipleship & evangelism

2006-10-27T18:18:00.000-04:00

I am reading Organic Church by Neil Cole right now. I picked it up at the Missional Church conference we attended a few weeks ago. The author, in his commentary on the parable of the sower and the seeds, points out that the majority of soil does not bear fruit. He writes:

"One might find this parable discouraging, as only one out of four soils actually bears fruit. I find it encouraging and life-affirming, because it reflects my true experience. I have now come to expect two-thirds of those who accept the message of the Kingdom to fizzle out and not bear fruit. This has given me hope. Why? Because I no longer feel responsible for the fruit, or lack thereof, in the lives of disciples. If ten people accept the Gospel and only two bear fruit, I no longer babysit the unfaithful eight. Instead, I invest my life in the two. These two will bear much fruit" (69).

WORK CITED

Cole, Neil. Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005.

Two Texts About Spiritual Direction

2006-10-26T21:41:00.000-04:00

I am enjoying reading the assigned texts, Holy Invitations and Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls. I think the concurrent reading of two books about the same topic will result in a more balanced understanding of the art and discipline of Spiritual Direction.

In Holy Invitations, Jeanette Bakke defines spiritual direction as a "particular kind of helping relationship whose primary objective is to discern how God is inviting someone to be, to live, to appreciate, and to act in the midst of life" (11).

In Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls, Gary W. Moon and David G. Benner do not offer their own definition of spiritual direction. They rather endorse a definition by William A. Barry and William J. Connelly: "…[a] help given by one Christian to another which enables that person to pay attention to God's personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequence of this relationship. The focus of this type of spiritual direction is on experience, not ideas, and specifically on religious experience, i.e., any experience of the mysterious Other whom we call God" (15).

The former definition emphasizes discernment while the latter emphasizes a lived out experience in addition to discernment. In my opinion, that makes the latter statement a more complete definition of spiritual direction. (However, Bakke does address obedience in her book.)

A difference that particularly stands out to me is how the authors saw spiritual direction in the greater scheme of things. Moon and Brenner view it as a component of soul care, which involves a wider group of relationships such as pastoral care, pastoral counseling, and clinical psychotherapy. Bakke, however, sees spiritual direction as "…a part of many elements of faith life" and states it is most closely related to "pastoral counseling, mentoring, and discipling" (27). I will withhold my verdict until the end of my reading, but preliminary indications point to Moon and Brenner placing spiritual direction as a discipline that can be learned, whereas Bakke indicates that it is a ministry more along the lines of a spiritual gift.

WORKS CITED

Bakke, Jeanette. Holy Invitations. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000.

Moon, Gary W. and David G. Benner (editors). Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2004.

All Christians need spiritual direction

2006-10-25T20:13:00.000-04:00

Our lecture tonight included a quote by Douglas Hardy, a professor at Nazarene Theological Seminary. Professor Hardy indicated that all Christians need spiritual direction and gave several reasons in support of his claim. I agree. Listening and responding to God's spirit is a characteristic that desperately needs to be nurtured in Christians today.

We have largely lost a sense of the supernatural in our faith. In the void has grown a subculture that substitutes routine for surprise and wonderment. We no longer participate in God's dreams, but rather shrink our image of God to fit ours. We have systemized a love affair into rules and regulations.

We all have routines with which we have to comply. People have expectations of us that we feel obligated to live out. Our good intentions consistently outnumber our productive hours. All of these things can drown out that still, small voice, which ironically, is the only voice that matters in the end.

Spiritual Direction, for me at least, provides a place for those half-heard or un-reflected upon conversations to be revisited. Sometimes I can easily recall a statement and other times I struggle to piece together the words or the meaning. But the process eventually gets it all out there.

Spiritual Direction makes time to heed the still small voice. My director helps bring clarity to the situation. Sometimes he only acts as a sounding board. But it's important to have someone to keep me accountable to this kind of introspection—otherwise I would probably have a full calendar and a lot of regrets.

I wonder what it would take to get our churches from here to there? Perhaps a good place to start would be to introduce some of the concepts of Spiritual Direction into already existing aspects of the church. Maybe we could pursue some group guidance for a start in Sunday Schools or with a ministry team. An old tradition that might be revived in churches is the question, "How is your soul?"

An important aspect to keep in mind is that direction should be part of the life of the church and not just the domain of the "experts".

One of the most detrimental things for young people today is that we have fooled ourselves into thinking that professionals and programs are the only people capable of working with youth. A lot more good would be accomplished at a fraction of the cost if adults just became engaged with kids where they are. (Learning the names of kids in the neighborhood, volunteering for youth programs, etc.) I'll get back of my soapbox now.

The point is, we can't let the same thing happen in the church. Looking back I can see where I've had plenty of mentors in my Christian walk, even if they didn't carry any official title. As I've been reading through this week's assigned text I've become convinced that my friend Brad and I were already doing mutual spiritual direction even if we didn't know it!

Spiritual Direction is an important but by no means the only aspect of spiritual development. Spiritual Direction needs to be part of a well-rounded program that includes corporate worship, Christian education, discipleship, mentoring, and service.

Spiritual Direction

2006-10-24T22:46:00.000-04:00

I began my new class tonight. It's called Spiritual Direction: Seminar for Spirituality and Ministry. I'm not sure yet if spiritual direction is something that can be taught or if it is a spiritual gift, but I'm looking forward to finding out over the next 8 weeks.

A few years back I heard an individual from my old church describe himself as the spiritual director of a particular ministry in town. To be honest, the title seemed a bit "Gothardy" to me. Plus I knew from my previous experience with this individual that he was in no way, shape, or form trustworthy to give direction to anyone under any circumstances.

Ahem.

So that's my lovely story of the first time I heard about spiritual direction. Of course, later I read about the topic in Celebration of Discipline and understood it in the wider context of guidance. A year or two ago I started attending some programs at a monastery in my region, but never quite got around to taking advantage of spiritual direction.

I began sessions with my spiritual director last semester as a requirement of the MARSF program. I chose a pastor in town who has a good reputation and whom I personally admire. It's a good experience seeing this relationship unfold.

My understanding of spiritual direction at this point is that it is an encouraging relationship between two Christians. The relationship is a formalized mentor/mentee relationship. (Is mentee a real word or did I just make that up?)

Actually, the mentor description isn't totally apt. It's more like the spiritual director is a sounding board for the thoughts and feelings about God that I have kicking around inside myself. He asks questions and helps bring that stuff up to the surface.

Spiritual Direction is a positive experience for me–-how else can I so intently focus my attention on the things of the spirit?

Quote of the Day: Names

2006-10-20T10:47:00.000-04:00

“Names are not always what they seem. The common Welsh name BZJXXLLWCP is pronounced Jackson.” — Mark Twain

Little Hands

2006-10-18T15:29:00.000-04:00

I was away from home for a few days again, and I missed my family terribly. The time I have with them is too short, too packed with things to do and places to be. I find myself longing for the salad days when my kids were babies and I had time to actually read a book for fun every now and again.

It may be that as soon as Halloween get here I automatically begin to feel the pressure of the Holiday season bearing down on me. The hoopla that comes along with it; either the kind we create or the kind that others establish as necessities makes it difficult to appreciate really what we're celebrating.

This morning, I awoke to my son snuggled in bed beside me. He was so happy to just be with me that he smiled and said, "I missed you." from his still closed eyes. I rolled over and hugged him, told him I missed him too and then took his hand in mine.

He squeezed my hand in return.

How many times have I held my son? How many times have I held his hands as I used to sit in the rocking chair with him when he was so small. It struck me this morning as he squeezed my hand just how blessed I am. My husband loves me, my daughter loves me, my son loves me - so much love surrounds me. God love me, more than I can even imagine. God loves me! Then I could go on to all the extended family and friends that are there for me, that care for me, and that love me. But by now, I'm sure you get the idea - there are alot of people that love me and I see that and appreciate that so much.

Mary the mother of Jesus probaby held her child's hand, rocked him and saw and felt how he missed her if she had been away for a day... she was a Mom just like me. Her son's love for her was so big that he was willing to miss a great deal in life. I can't imagine the loss she felt when she saw his hands injured and bleeding. They were her little one's hands'.

Jesus gave himself as a ransom for the world. Jesus sacrificed his life so that others could live. Jesus essentally took the world by the hand and said, "I missed you - so I gave myself up to make a way for us to be close."

Jesus had little hands once, but his hands grew up and became the hope for all of us. So as the holidays rush towards me, I hope to remember that Christmas can be a time where I reach out to others: family, friends, strangers; with my heart and hands. It can be a time where I can say, "I missed you." or "Get out of my way - I'm in a hurry."

What lessons we can learn from little hands. They now how to get to the heart of the matter and stay there.

You can sit with us

2006-10-18T13:23:00.000-04:00

I have this habit of going to meetings and conferences by myself. Not that I dislike going with friends, it's just that calenders and personal schedules make it difficut to make a group trips happen. So I sometimes make the trip flying - well, driving solo.

This week marks trip number 3 to the Pittsburgh area for such meetings. Last fall I attended the Youth Specialties National Conference, this year Emergent Mission Conference and finally the Alph Course Conference. (All of which would be well worth the time and money - I'm rather thrifty concerning both resources.)

Two of the three (ys and Alpha) I attended by myself. There are some things that make attending anything in the Pittsburgh area helpful - a live navigatior to look at your mapquest print out or a GPS system. I have driven in New Jersey area and had an easier time finding my way around than I did in the Mkeesport and Pleasant Hills area of Pittsburgh. Between the landscape and road built on hills perfect for a mountian goat and the various belt colors (orange, yellow, blue...)its a miracle that I found my location two days in a row and in one collective piece. Be prepared with maps a plenty if you are heading to Steel City anytime soon.

Alson, it can be very tiring always talking about: 1. Who you are, 2. Why you are there, 3. Are you there alone (gasp!) 4. and Did you drive here? (gasp! gasp!) Maybe it's because I'm a woman, or maybe it's because I'm a woman in a field primaraly filled by men - but I felt somewhat a spectacle and a tired one at that. It helps to ask other people these questions as soon as you get in conversation. This is the only talking rest that occurs in these circumstances that I've found. Also, I'm a talker. There are times when it is nice to have people that know you already with you. Thankfully, I stayed with my parents so when I go back in the evening it wasn't necessary to recycle my conversation yet again.

Sometimes, if you are lucky you will find people that a genuine and kind and willing to include you in their group. Sometimes you get stuck in a never ending cycle of conversation that you know by heart and are bored to tears with, but is all new to the audience.

Thankfully there were three wise men that asked if they could sit with me during coffee break the first morning. They asked the typical questions and carried on with polite conversation, but they took it one step further...

" You are welcome to sit with/ hang out with us during the conference if you like - you don't have to feel like you have to, but we'd like it if you would."

So let me make something clear. No they were not hitting on me. No they were not Jeff Dahlmer wanna bes. Yes they were three nice guys from a Vineyard church in the Philadelpha area. It was their kindness and hospitality that helped a frustrated, directionally challenged, and road weary traveler feel at home.

Thanks guys - your friendship was greatly appreciated! You can sit and have coffee with me anytime.

Peace.

"42"

2006-10-15T00:14:00.000-04:00

What does it mean to be human?

It is to have a conscience and free will.

Conscience is defined as "the sense or consciousness of the moral goodness or blameworthiness of one's own conduct, intentions, or character together with a feeling of obligation to do right or be good" (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). I argue that conscience is not merely the result of socialization; it is something that inherent and unique to humankind.

Nietzsche believed that it made no sense to speak about right and wrong, to wit: "No act of violence, rape, exploitation, destruction, is intrinsically unjust, since life itself is violent, rapacious, exploitative, and destructive and cannot be conceived otherwise" (Pojman 188). Yet, humankind does conceive of life differently all the time.

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis gives a few examples of everyday quarrelling and then delves into the assumptions behind them: "Now what interests me about all these remarks is that the man who makes them is not merely saying that the other man's behavior does not happen to please him. He is appealing to some standard of behavior which he expects the other man to know about. And the other man very seldom replies: 'To hell with your standard.' Nearly he always tries to make out that what he has been doing does not really go against the standard, or that if it does there is some special excuse…It looks, in fact, very much as if both parties had in mind some kind of Law or Rule of fair play or decent behavior or morality or whatever you like to call it, about which they really agreed. And they have. If they had not, they might, of course, fight like animals, but they could not quarrel in the human sense of the word. Quarrelling means trying to show that the other man is in the wrong. And there would be no sense in trying to do that unless you and he had some sort of agreement as to what Right and Wrong are; just as there would be no sense in saying that a footballer had committed a foul unless there was some agreement about the rules of football" (Lewis 17-8).

Saint Augustine said much the same thing in his Confessions some millennium-and-a-half earlier: "Theft is punishable by Thy law, O Lord, and by the law written in man's hearts, which not even ingrained wickedness can erase. For what thief will tolerate another thief stealing from him" (Pojman 73-4)?

It may be argued that this sense of right and wrong is something learned through the process of socialization. Although it is true that behavior is taught and modeled to others, there are also many cases where this kind of instruction is inadequate. Even so, "A person might be badly informed about what the right and wrong are; yet conscience is an urge to do the one and avoid the other" (Grider 238).

Another analysis might be that morality is a function of the state to keep people in line. Morality is nothing more than adherence to the law. The weakness in this view is that societies are remarkably similar in their approach to right and wrong: "There have been differences [in] moralities, but there has never amounted to anything like a total difference. If anyone will take the trouble to compare the moral teaching of, say, the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Hindus, Chinese, Greeks and Romans, what will really strike him is how very like they are to each other and to our own…[I] only ask the reader to think of what a totally different morality would mean. Think of a country where people were admired for running away in battle, or where a man felt proud of doublecrossing all the people who had been kindest to him…Men have differed as regards what people you ought to be unselfish to—whether it was only your own family, or your fellow countrymen, or everyone. But they have always agreed that you ought not to put yourself first. Selfishness has never been admired. Men have differed as to whether you should have one wife or four. But they have always agreed that you must not simply have any woman you liked" (Lewis 19).

A people with a radically different sense of right and wrong will never emerge because it is an impossibility. One might just as well search for an island where waterfalls run upwards and people can taste purple.

A human being possesses a conscience. A human being also possesses the ability to obey or disobey its impulse. Free will is defined as "the power of making free choices that are unconstrained by external circumstances or by an agency such as fate or divine will" (Yahoo Online Dictionary).

The biological determinist would disagree with the previous statement, as "…every act and event in the universe is caused by antecedent events" (Pojman 250). In other words, everything, including human behavior, is determined by other events. Free will is an illusion. But biological determinism grossly oversimplifies the complexity of human behavior. As Steven Rose, Richard Lewontin, and Leon J. Kamin point out in their critique of sociobiology, "Humanity cannot be cut adrift by its own biology, but neither is it enchained by it" (Stevenson 311).

The materialist is also in opposition to free will, believing that "…what we call a mind is really a function of the brain" (Pojman 234), which is to put all of our decisions down to instinct. A cursory survey of history demonstrates that humans have higher capacities in their thinking: "Animals may seem to make decisions at times, but they are only acting on the basis of stimulus-response programming. They make decisions, but not moral ones. They make decisions, but not costly ones. Human history shows that moral decision is a capacity of ours" (Grider 237).

C.S. Lewis illustrated the difference between instinct and a moral conscience: "We all know what it feels like to be to be prompted by instinct—by mother love, or sexual instinct, or the instinct for food. It means that you feel a strong want or desire to act in a certain way. And, of course, we sometimes do feel just that sort of desire to help another person: and no doubt that desire is due to the herd instinct. But feeling a desire to help is quite different from feeling that you ought to help whether you want to or not. Supposing you hear a cry for help from a man in danger. You will probably feel two desires—one a desire to give help (due to your herd instinct), the other a desire to keep out of danger (due to the instinct for self-preservation). But you will find inside you, in addition to these two impulses, a third thing which tells you that you ought to follow the impulse to help, and suppress the impulse to run away…But at those moments when we are most conscious of the Moral Law, it usually seems to be telling us to side with the weaker of the two impulses. You probably want to be safe much more than you want to help the man who is drowning: but the Moral Law tells you to help him all the same" (Lewis 22).

This impulse to do the noble, the altruistic, and the courageous when it would be more expedient to cut and run is a compelling argument against animalistic instinct. As Immanuel Kant put it, "When we have the course of nature alone in view, "ought" has no meaning whatsoever. It is just as absurd to ask what ought to happen in the natural world as to ask what properties a circle ought to have" (Pojman 133).

To be human is to know the difference between good and evil and to have the ability to choose between the two. This can inform the process of spiritual formation in many different ways.

First, it is an important reminder that humankind knows the difference between right and wrong. That is not to say that the decisions that life thrusts upon us are easy, but neither are they perhaps as complex as the culture of today would have us believe. So often an issue is covered in layer after layer of debate and point/counterpoint when a simple and direct examination would lead to clarity.

There is an increasing shift in our religious communities to use the language of psychology, business, education, and social work to explain the problems of humankind. While these sectors contribute a lot of insight to life, it is also important to be reminded that good and evil still exist. Good people will lead to thriving neighborhoods and communities. People behaving in right relation to each other will alleviate poor social conditions.

Free will means that we aren't victims of fate or circumstance. We have choices. Knowing good and evil isn't enough—it is important to act on those "oughts" too.

WORKS CITED

Grider, J. Kenneth. A Wesleyan-Holiness Theology. Kansas City: Beacon Hill, 1994.

Lewis, C.S. Mere Christianity. New York: Macmillan, 1960.

Pojman, Louis P. Who Are We?: Theories of Human Nature. New York, NY: Oxford, 2006.

Stevenson, Leslie (ed). The Study of Human Nature. New York: Oxford, 2000.

Life together

2006-10-12T22:21:00.000-04:00

We've been discussing the merits of small groups and Sunday School in regards to people's spiritual growth. Personally, I think you can call it whatever you want, but the important thing is that people are sharing life together. You can't love your neighbor in a vacuum.

One of the missional churches my wife and I scoped out in Pittsburgh last week was the Open Door. One of the covenants of spiritual formation that they've made is to eat together with people:

"We strive to eat with at least 2 people we don't live with (1 from the Open Door and 1 not) each week.

"Jesus regularly ate with friends and strangers. He culminated his ministry in the last supper, where he told us to do likewise. Eating with others is a place of conversation, community and hospitality and it is practiced throughout scripture in regular celebrations, feasts, sacrifices and gatherings of the people of God. Whether with one or many, whether coffee or a feast, whether serving or being served, sharing a meal together provides an opportunity to grow in relationships, to build trust, and ultimately for Christ to work through us in those relationships" (The rhythms and practices of the Open Door).

If eating counts as spiritual formation, just call me Thomas Merton!

Spiritual Formation and Groups

2006-10-11T22:27:00.000-04:00

My wife and I participated last week in a conference about the Missional Church organized by Emergent Pittsburgh. On Thursday evening I took part in a conversation about Missional Rhythms and Practices. The session was unique because it emphasized the neglected role of community in the process of spiritual formation. I only mention this because tonight's readings and last week's experiences are all stirring together in a stew.

Matt Ridley points out in his interesting essay about trust, "Utopia is impossible because society is an uneasy compromise between individuals with conflicting emotions" (326). While I wouldn't state it quite that starkly, I think it is important for individuals involved in a group process of formation to address those emotions, attitudes, and behaviors that work against cohesiveness. The only way that we're ever going to be able to love our neighbor is to be in relationship with our neighbor, conflicts and all.

The authors of Not in Our Genes went after biological determinism and demonstrated that if you go far enough left or right that you'll end up in a big circle. Some people use biological theories to explain the superiority of traditional values. I would caution against this in group formation, despite how ingrained is the vision of a superior past in many faith communities. Faith development is about conforming to what God is up to in the world now, not trying to resuscitate the church of the 1950s. As Rose and company point out, "Humanity cannot be cut adrift by its own biology, but neither is it enchained by it" (311).

The description of the "New Left...[as seeing] human nature as infinitely plastic, to deny biology and acknowledge only social construction" (311) reminded me of some unpleasant churches I've observed, where spirituality somehow trumped "real life" as if the two could be separated. Discipleship should challenge people to stretch, but do so in a way that takes into account the stages and rhythms of life. For instance, a youth program is not composed of fifteen-year-old "adults".

WORK CITED

Stevenson, Leslie (ed). The Study of Human Nature. New York: Oxford, 2000.

It's about time you get to work...

2006-10-10T11:18:00.001-04:00

I've been greatly frustrated lately by situations that I have no power to change. I've tried to express my thoughts and feelings, but all the response I get is "Be patient, pray about it, try to understand where that person is coming from..."

I've had it.

I was discussing the importance of community and how the church could access so many more connections if it were willing to adapt it's approach by being relationship/people centered instead of building centered. In the midst of this conversation, I was derailed by a phone call. On my way to address the call an individual said to me, "It's about time you got up and did something."

At first I was ticked. Every day it seems this person has to comment on the why, how, and what I could be doing to be "working". It became apparent that this person has no clue of what my kind of work is, so that takes the sting away from all the sarcastic remarks. In fact, I have no issue with this person at all, because my eyes were opened to something rather important by the continual commentary on my work ethic.

I've been functioning in the wrong system.

Community, hospitality, worship, creativity, social action and relationships are at the heart of who I am and who I was created to be. It is when these aspects of my life are used that I have a sense of well-being, effectiveness and peace. So back to the comment about getting back to work.

The work I need to get back to is the work of building community, hospitality, creativity, worship, relationships and social action into my everyday life. The repeated comments on my work ethic are the expression of others seeing the short circuit of what I'm trying to attempt in a system focused on program, numbers and time clocks. The two worlds are difficult to merge.

So instead of being offended, I will take the comments as conformation of the work that is to come. I've had it living and working in my current shoebox - it's time to break down the walls and live in community. God help me rebuild and move into the place you intended all along.

It's time to go back to work..

Today's topic: Sex and Race

2006-10-09T22:44:00.000-04:00

The soul is the essential distinctive of humankind. That makes sex and race so much window dressing... Sadly, we have a tendency to notice differences between the sexes and races rather than how we are similar. Henry M. Braken recounts a sad history of racism where "...we get into the ranking business in the first place because we want to justify...our pushing people around" (269). Who says philosophers can't get to the point?

John Stuart Mill's assessment, "...what is contrary to women's nature to do, they will never be made to do by simply giving their nature full play" (161) is interesting as it reveals the philosopher's gender bias -- it is implied that man's nature is the mean. (And he was advocating for women's rights!) That said, the essential point he was making is still valid. Women have more opportunity than they've had in the past and are thriving. That would indicate to me that the "weakness" or "differences" of the past had more to do with the way society functioned than a distinctive female nature.

WORK CITED

Stevenson, Leslie (ed.). The Study of Human Nature. New York: Oxford, 2000.

Darwinism, Part Two

2006-10-08T21:09:00.000-04:00

My professor asked me to follow up my comments on Darwinism with my assessment of the theory. However, this may turn out to be more of an assessment of myself than the theory!

I've discovered that I'm inconsistent in my opinion of science. That is to say that I'm quite content to let scientists be the authority on all things scientific, except this one particular theory. (Similar to fundamentalists who hail archeological discoveries that lend credence to the Biblical account but then criticize or try to undermine the integrity of archeology when it digs up dinosaur bones.)

The theory, for the most part is almost universally recognized. Wide acceptance isn't a proof of anything -- just look at the continued popularity of Adam Sandler -- but it is a good barometer of its worth among people who understand the methodology.

One approach to take is that God is the creator and it doesn't really matter how it happened. But isn't that kind of like the story of the Gremlin and the watch (247)? Does Occam's Razor indicate that the most obvious answer is usually the best?

Another approach is that God formed Adam as an adult, so perhaps the earth was created as a certain age? The fossil record, oil deposits, etc. were already there. Is this just another variation on the Gremlin?

Teilhard de Chardin got put away by the Catholic church for suggesting that religion and science were compatible. Still, I don't have a lot of faith in his Omega Point, in which "humanity...[evolves] toward perfection...where it will be fit for the Kingdom of God" (209). (Maybe I should write my final on this guy.)

Another opinion, which I alluded to in another post, is just to pick and choose what I like from a variety of philosophies, which doesn't make me any different from the other six billion people on the planet. This just doesn't sound intellectually honest anymore after this course.

The final thing is that my personal experience with God is so powerful that no philosophical arguments can chip away at it. There's something "burning bright" that keeps me connected. I can't explain it, but I live it. Maybe in the end that's the best account I can give of the hope that is in me.

WORK CITED

Pojman, Louis P. Who Are We? New York: Oxford, 2006.

Road Trip for 2

2006-10-07T23:19:00.000-04:00

We got to go to Pittsburgh for a conference called "Heart of the Missional Church". What a great group of people to bounce ideas off of and share our hearts and what we feel God is calling us to.

Go here to see what we had a chance to be a part of...
www.emergentpittsburgh.org

Also we met on the East side of Pittsburgh at the Union Mission -- the building is beautiful and has been converted from a delapidated old Baptist catherdral to a community center, pottery and stained glass art center, cafe' and more.The church that meets there is called, "The Open Door"--- here's the url.
http://www.unionproject.org/

http://www.pghopendoor.org/

One other location we met at in the burbs was called Fountain Park Church...http://www.fountainpc.com/

We're home and feel refreshed knowing that there are other Christians out there that see the church in this new light.

Peace,
Lamont

Free Will, Determinism, and an inappropriate use of a Matrix quote

2006-10-05T22:54:00.000-04:00

Tonight's million dollar question is: are humans free?

I found the assigned reading tonight challenging, but enjoyable. There are many good arguments both for free will and determinism. I'm not trying to sidestep the question, but is it possible to be as free as we perceive ourselves to be?

My options in life are a result of my experiences and my current environment. If I want to quit my current job, I'm reasonably sure that my education and work experience will make it possible for me to find a new one in a similar career field. I am free to make a change.

I know a genuine millionaire. If he looked at my life, he may see me as having little to no options at all. His options in a similar situation might be to not work at all, travel the world, go back to school, or any number of other choices. Similarly, an unwed 16-year-old mother may feel that I have a world of opportunities awaiting me.

It's kind of like the part in the Matrix where Cypher says: "I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious."

What do you think: Sense, no sense, or nonsense?

Soul Man

2006-10-04T23:18:00.000-04:00

Boy, is my C-fiber ever firing in quadrant D11 of cerebral cortex LP! Translation: today's assigned reading is making my brain overheat!

Dualistic Interactionism is defined as "the view that there are two types of substance or reality in conscious beings, mind and matter, and that these interact with each other, the body producing mental events and the mind leading to physical action" (282).

This explanation makes common sense. As Pojman points out, "Intuitively, there seem to be two different types of reality: material and mental...Bodies are solid, material entities, extended in three-dimensional space, publicly observable, measurable, and capable of causing things to happen in accordance with the invariant laws of mechanics...mental entities have no shape, weight, length, width, height, color, mass, velocity, or temperature...Yet, common sense tells us that these two entities somehow interact" (225-6).

Rene Descartes believed that "the mind interacts only with the brain" which is "the classic expression of dualastic interactionism" (230).

However, there are also some compelling arguments against Dualistic Interactionism. First, no one has identified how the mind/soul and brain interact or pinpointed where the exchange takes place. Secondly, it is not easily reconciled with physics. The third objection is philosophical in nature: "How can the idea of two realities, body and mind, be reconciled with Occam's Razor, the principle of simplicity (231)?

Materialism -- "the metaphysical view that only physical matter and its properties exist" (284) -- holds that "what we call a mind is really a function of the brain; that when the brain is injured...or diseased, the effect is seen in behavior and impaired mental functioning" (234). Medicine can present us with a number of these scenarios. Alas, the opposing view appeals to my common sense, too!

According to a Handbook of Theological Terms, "soul...in traditional Christianity, referred to the originative seat of reason and will in the human person. Created by God, it is regarded as a spiritual entity that survives physical death" (Harvey 226).

The soul/mind could easily be a function of the brain/body. As a Christian, I believe in a resurrection of my soul and body someday. Is that a simple and elegant answer or am I dodging the question?

WORKS CITED

Harvey, Van A. A Handbook of Theological Terms. New York: Touchstone, 1992.

Pojman, LouisP. Who Are We. New York: Oxford, 2006.

Take a load off

2006-10-04T11:01:00.000-04:00

Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

I've read this verse amillion times. In fact, I have it on my fridge right now- in the Message translation. It's hard to imagine something that is placed around the neck to be light (ie. yolk) .

Something struck me about this image in a new way today.When observing cattle wearing a yolk- they are in pairs.

So if Jesus is saying Come carry this- he's not telling us to do it alone. He's yolked with us, if we let him help.

I'm saying loudly, "Here's my neck. Will you help me carry life your way. In your time?"

Jesus answers yes.He will help me and give me rest in the midst of the labor. I will accept his rest so my soul can reap His harvest.

Blessings for autumn.

Evolution Working Man Blues

2006-10-03T23:31:00.000-04:00

I looked forward to this class because I knew it would stretch my thinking. It hasn't disappointed. It's been good to dig into Darwinian theory this week because, frankly, I had never really explored it. (I went to a Christian private school.) Isn't that kind of sad that I've dismissed something I've never examined?

The main thrust of Darwin's theory is that "humanity gradually evolved over time by natural selection through chance (genetic mutation) and necessity from less developed life forms" (207). Darwin proposed that the mechanism for this change was "natural selection under conditions of scarcity" (205) and this was confirmed by Watson and Crick's 1954 "[discovery] of the structure of DNA" (206).

Other key points of the theory is that the universe is "15 billion years old", everything originated from one single source of nonliving matter, and that life developed from simpler life forms to more complex (206).

There is a large amount of circumstantial evidence to support the theory: "the fossil record"..."embryonic replication"..."vestigial organs"...and "biochemical characteristics" (207).

I'm a little light on the commentary tonight and that's intentional. I don't want to make the same mistake I made with Nietzsche last week: Tonight I'm just laying out the basic ideas of the theory. I have the rest of the week to reflect.

WORK CITED

Pojman, Louis P. Who Are We? New York: Oxford, 2006.

My Weight is My Love

2006-10-01T00:02:00.000-04:00

"Spiritual Formation", writes M. Robert Mulholland, "is the process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others" (15). It occurs "primarily at the points of our unlikeness to Christ’s image” (37). Individuals will not get far in a spiritual formation or discipleship program without topics like sin, obedience, temptations, and conflicting desires being discussed.

Saint Augustine was no stranger to the struggle. Perhaps no one else has written so extensively on this topic, and in the case of his Confessions, with such candor! The contemporary reader will find many of the same issues and temptations at work despite the intervening centuries. As Malcolm Muggeridge noted, "The similarity between his circumstances and ours is striking, not to say alarming. There is the same moral vacuity, leading to the same insensate passion for new sensations and experiences; the same fatuous credulity opening the way to every kind of charlatanry and quackery from fortune telling to psychoanalysis; the same sinister combination of great wealth and pointless ostentation with appalling poverty and unheeded affliction" (28).

Centuries of Greek philosophy set wisdom, knowledge, and reason as the pinnacles of human experience. This worldview led to the belief that "no one would purposely choose evil because it is bad for us. All evil is chosen under the guise of the good through ignorance. However, Augustine, following St. Paul makes the will, rather than reason, our dominant feature" (Pojman 75). Augustine writes of himself in the Confessions, "…when I willed to do or not do anything, I was quite certain that it was myself and no other who willed, and I came to see that the cause of my sin lay there" (Augustine 109).

Owning up to our own actions is a critical aspect of spiritual growth. We often attribute our actions to circumstance, moods, misunderstanding, coercion, and any number of other creative excuses to avoid our own complicity. A domestic abuser will say he lost control of his temper, when in truth he lost control of his wife and willed violence upon her to reassert his control.

Not everyone performs the same action when confronted by the same circumstance. That indicates free will. We can fan any number of smokescreens to avoid our responsibilities, but the reality is that human beings choose the particular course of action that they believe will attain the results they most desire. So the will is not directed by logic, but by love:

"A body finds its own place by entrusting itself to its own which carries it not to the place which is lowest but to the place that is its own. A flame rises and a stone falls…My weight is my love. By love I am drawn to wherever I am drawn" (Augustine, as quoted in Meagher 100-1).

If people could have made themselves pleasing to God through the law, there would have been no need for a savior in Jesus Christ. Louis Pojman points out in his introduction to Augustinian thought: "Morality does not consist in following rigid rules against one's nature but having a transformed character whereby one does the right thing out of a moral motive" (78). This idea—minus the transformed character, of course—is similar to the logic of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: "...someone who does not enjoy fine actions is not good; for no one would call a person just, for instance, if he did not enjoy doing just actions" (11)... and "an end pursued in its own right is more complete than an end performed because of something else" (7)...

Human nature, in Augustine's estimation is "…a fictitious fabric of will, a web of self-made, self-imposed loves" (Meagher 131). In other words, "One's love determines one's person, and one's person determines one's love. What I love is both constitutive and expressive of who I am, of what kind of person I am" (Meagher 100).

Just as those schooled in Greek philosophy thought it impossible for people to choose a wrong course of action if they knew it was harmful, we may find it hard to comprehend how love can direct an individual to sinful acts. Alas, that is the paradox—and tragedy—of addiction: the behavior that throws a life into chaos is the very same behavior that an individual most cherishes and is compelled to do.

Augustine observed this at work in his African congregation in regards to making oaths: "'In our present state, we do have the free power to do or not do anything, before we are caught up in any habit. When we have used this freedom to do something, the sweetness and pleasure of the act holds our soul, and it is caught in the sort of habit that it cannot break—a habit that is created for itself by its own act of sin. We see around us many men who do not want to swear, but, because their tongue has picked up the habit, words escape from their lips which they are just unable to control…If you want to know what I mean, start trying not to swear: then you will see how the force of habit goes its own way'" (quoted in Brown 150).

There is an old saying that goes, "Watch your habits—they become your character." That is what Augustine is getting at here. Robert Meagher explains, "One's own loves, whether appropriate or not to what one is, fashion and fit who one is. One's own life or word, whether finally a lie or not, acquires a certain personal truth. Although nature places no necessity upon person, person generates a necessity of its own. Although the fact that I am a human being does not force me to be this or that kind of person, the fact that I have become a particular sort of person somehow necessitates that I live a corresponding kind of life. This personal necessity, the momentum of one's loves, is what Augustine calls habit or custom (consuetudo). Habit, though originating in the will, a creature of the will, becomes virtually natural. In fact, 'there are as many contrary natures [in human being] as there are wills which resist one another'" (105).

People will sometimes risk anything to satisfy a sinful craving. Reputations are ruined. Ministries fold. Families deteriorate. Self-respect is lost. Sin retains just enough allure to keep a soul coming back for more. We mistake a mirage for the Promised Land in more ways than one.

God reigns gloriously supreme in Augustine's reckoning. Running away in denial is futile, as the saint writes: "…where does he go or where does he flee save from Thee to Thee—from God well-pleased to God angered" (Augustine 58)? Greek thought characterized people as searching for perfection. Augustine indicates that what we are all really searching for fulfillment. We seek to fill our appetites with the pleasures of sin, but the appetite is misdirected. It is in reality a hunger for God: "Seek what you seek, but it is not where you seek it. You seek happiness in the land of death, and it is not there. For how shall there be happiness of life where there is no life" (Augustine 60)?

In Book Two, Chapter IV, Augustine describes a long list of sins and explains how each of them are a shallow reflection of an attribute of God. He states: “…the soul is guilty of fornication when she turns from You and seeks from any other source what she will find pure and without taint unless she returns to You. Thus even those who go from You and stand up against You are still perversely imitating You” (Augustine 29). The great tragedy of our sin is that we are trying to fulfill a genuine desire with a counterfeit that can never satisfy.

What can we do to conquer habit and redirect the will? Nothing in and of ourselves, but God can set us free. Augustine relays his futile experience with self-reliance: "[I] did not think of [God's] mercy as a healing medicine for that weakness, because I had not tried it. I thought that continency was a matter of my own strength" (Augustine 101). A lesson for Christians who think they can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps!

The Confessions of Saint Augustine demonstrates a number of activities and attitudes that are related to spiritual formation. The first, and most important, is that Augustine recognizes his need for transformation and that it is God who does the transforming. "It was pleasing in Your sight to reshape what was deformed in me" (115). Confession is a process that must be entered into because "I should only be hiding You from myself, not myself from You" (173). Book Ten is mostly about (and the result of) meditation and study. He describes the importance of holy leisure and meditation on God's word, specifically the Psalms (152-5).

Sin is the result of a desire for blessedness horribly misdirected. A program of spiritual formation must keep individuals directed to God as the object of their love and fulfillment.

WORKS CITED

Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Trans. Terence Irwin. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1999.

Augustine. The Confessions of Saint Augustine. Trans. F.J. Sheed. Kansas City, MO: Sheed & Ward, 1970.

Brown, Peter. Augustine of Hippo. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1967.

Meagher, Robert E. An Introduction to Augustine. New York: New York University Press, 1978.

Muggeridge, Malcolm. A Third Testament. New York: Ballentine, 1976.

Mulholland Jr., M. Robert. Invitation to a Journey. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993.

Pojman, Louis P. Who Are We?: Theories of Human Nature. New York: Oxford, 2006.

I'm a WHAT?

2006-09-29T12:56:00.000-04:00

free enneagram test
So I re=took the the enneagram test after a year or so away from it. I'm (according to the free short test) the "reformer" type and then "helper".
I thought I would be the enthusiasist or something...

Ascetic Polemic

2006-09-28T22:04:00.000-04:00

An ascetic is "a person who renounces material comforts and leads a life of austere self-discipline, especially as an act of religious devotion" (Yahoo Dictionary). It is to this topic that Nietzsche turns his analysis in his Third Treatise.

Asceticism, most commonly thought of as abasement, is viewed by Nietzsche as "a holy form of excess" and a priest's "best tool of power" (67). It is a life of selfishness rather than selflessness. People that pursue it are actually "thinking…of what is most precisely indispensable to them" and "the truest and most natural conditions of their best existence, of their most beautiful fruitfulness" (76).

Asceticism is viewed as "life against life" (85). A practitioner "treats life as a wrong path that one must finally retrace back to the point where it begins; or as an error that one refutes through deeds" (83).

Richard J. Foster addresses this topic in the book Celebration of Discipline. "Scripture declares consistently that forcefully that creation is good and is to be enjoyed. Asceticism makes an unbiblical definition between a good spiritual world and an evil material world and so finds salvation in paying as little attention as possible to the physical realm of existence" (84). A better pursuit of freedom is found in simplicity, which sets "possessions in proper perspective" and "knows contentment in both abasement and abounding" (84).

WORK CITED

Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline. New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1988.

Nietzsche, Friedrich. On the Genealogy of Morality. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1998.

Nietzsche & Sartre -- two great tastes that taste great together!

2006-09-28T13:42:00.000-04:00

The language and style of Nietzsche really pushes my buttons. I often miss out on the big picture because I am hung up on some of his individual -- and incendiary -- statements.

Sartre's writing on atheistic existentialism is much easier for me to understand, and is helping me piece together Nietzsche. Nietzsche can mention the word "rape" and he's easy to refute as an extremist. Sartre, not so much!

My professor asked me how I would argue against Nietzsche's view without appealing to scripture. I honestly don't know how I would argure against atheistic existentialism without appealing to scripture. One person presupposes the existence of God as a starting point and, another doesn't. How is that gap bridged? Any ideas out there?

Sartre!

2006-09-28T00:20:00.000-04:00

I'm finding the Sartre reading to be little bit easier going that that of Nietzsche.

World religions offer people meaning and purpose. Spiritually is something seen as preceding humankind. Existentialism, as described by Sartre, inverts this idea: "Man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world—and defines himself afterwards" (187). People created God in the quest for meaning.

It is an empty quest, because "Man simply is. Not that he is simply what he conceives himself to be, but he is what he wills...Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself" (188). The sooner the idea of God is abandoned, the better, in the thinking of the French existentialist: "...what man needs is to find himself again and to understand that nothing can save him from himself" (206). Heaven is an idea that distracts from the real goal of "a future to be fashioned, a virgin future that awaits him" (192)...

Significance is not something to be found because it is not something that exists in and of itself. He states, "Life is nothing until it is lived; but it is yours to make sense of, and the value of it is nothing else but the sense you choose" (204).

As a Christian, my knee-jerk reaction* would be to critique existentialism as an "anything goes" description of life. After all, Sartre describes man as free, but he also describes him as "responsible for everything he does" which implies some sort of morality (192). I was intrigued by his description of existentialism as an optimistic philosophy of life. It is only by Christians "self-deception, by confusing their own despair with ours that Christians can describe [existentialists] without hope" (206).

* The knee-jerk reaction is a frequent malady of the Christian subculture that is often attributed to excessive time kneeling in prayer.

Nietzsche

2006-09-26T23:08:00.000-04:00

I find much of Nietzsche repulsive and obscene.

Nietzsche describes a world without God and bereft of objective truth. He states in Genealogy of Morals, "To speak of right and wrong per se makes no sense at all" (188).

What Nietzsche describes as "pursuit of affirmation" sounds more like extreme narcissism to me (186). To wit, "No act of violence, rape, exploitation, destruction, is intrinsically unjust" (188). This isn't a philosophy to build a society -- it's a blank check for a "Superman [to] overcome the herd" (187).

Good is "all that enhances the feeling of power" (188). Every week I work with men who have exerted power over other individuals. We don't refer to their actions as good, we call the actions as they are, namely, abuse.

WORK CITED

Pojman, Louis J. Who Are We. New York: Oxford, 2006.

Missing?

2006-09-26T01:46:00.000-04:00

Missing the sand betwwen my toes.
Missing the faces I used to know.
Longing for the heat of the summer sun.
Longing for peace - not the undone.

Why does the spinning never pause?
When the season is lost to a cause?
Where can you find what you'd like like to be-
How can the future be so clear to you and not me?

Missing the hands the held me so tight.
Missing the dreams that just fall out of sight.
Longing for happiness and the light of day.
Longing for shadows to to run far away.

Who can I call in in wind and in rain?
How can you know my loss and my pain?
Where can you stop and take so much time?
What love is so beautiful, patient and kind.

Spinning lives and racing places -
mold my time, my heart and my paces.
Stand close to me and hold me upright.
You alone understand both my dark and my light -
and I will hold on, hold on, hold on
so tight.

Guess WHO's back?

2006-09-24T18:54:00.000-04:00

I'm taking a break from recording my quest for the meaning of life so I can plug my favorite TV show.

The second season of Doctor Who premieres this Friday night, Sept. 29, at 8pm on Sci-Fi Channel. It's a mixture of science fiction, adventure, comedy, and soap opera which somehow results in one of the most consistently entertaining programs on television. Check it out!

(Sci-Fi is also running a marathon of season one episodes earlier that day from 8 am - 4 pm.)

Time Out

2006-09-22T21:59:00.000-04:00

I went to a seminar today regarding autistic disorders and the presenter talked about possible reactions to stimulus that are hard to imagine: a sound triggering a taste in the mouth, a touch triggering a color, or eye contact being physically painful.

As Louis J. Pojman writes in Who Are We, "We can imagine a world with different physical laws--where Einstein's laws do not govern, where water is not wet nor fire hot, where mice are smarter than humans, and babies are born from elephants--but we cannot imagine a world without time."

It's funny, isn't it? We can't see time, taste it, feel it, or smell it. Even our "measurement" of it is arbitrary -- what is a minute? Or a second? Yet we all orient our lives around time.

Marxism

2006-09-21T07:31:00.000-04:00

Interesting reading last night on one of the most influential thinkers of history -- Karl Marx.

The theses of Marxism appear so strange. A system that seeks to overthrow oppression via a dictatorship? Society eliminating the crime and greed of all individuals? Class struggle being THE determining factor in human history? It's hard to believe how much these ideas continue to influence the world today.

Pojman poses the question, "...could a nation's religious tradition affect its economic-political development?" (165) I would answer in the affirmative, giving no other evidence than the evening news. It also made me think of an investigation conducted by sociologist Max Weber: "…capitalism thrived in only certain parts of Europe…he concluded that religion held the key, for it was in Protestant countries that capitalism flourished, while Roman Catholic countries held on to tradition and were relatively untouched by capitalism" (Henslin 171).

I think Marx had some interesting things to say about religion. "Religion is the sigh of an oppressed culture, the sentiment of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people" (Pojman 161). Religion is indeed a painkiller for a harsh world, especially when it keeps its adherents disconnected from reality. Often the church is used to mop up the mess left by society. (Example: soup kitchens in a country where the minimum wage hasn't been raised since 1997.)

Marx wanted change and abandoned religion in the process. "The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of men, is a demand for their real happiness" (Pojman 161). I wonder what he would have made of Christian activism that strives to make "His will done on earth as it is in heaven?"

WORKS CITED

Henslin, James M. Sociology: A Down to Earth Approach. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1995.

Pojman, Louis P. Who Are We?: Theories of Human Nature. New York, NY: Oxford, 2006.

A Recurring Theme

2006-09-19T20:56:00.000-04:00

Choosing the good for it's own sake is becoming a recurring theme in my reading. I took note of Pojman's description of Immanuel Kant's view of true goodness:

"One must perform one's moral duty solely for it's own sake"..."Some people conform to the moral law because they deem it in their own enlightened self-interest to be moral because they do not act for the sake of the moral law"..."unless he performs these acts because they are his duty, he is not acting morally, even though his acts are the same ones they would be if he were acting morally" (Pojman 129-30).

Last week I read in his commentary of Augustine: "Morality does not consist in following rigid rules against one's nature but having a transformed character whereby one does the right thing out of a moral motive" (Pojman 78)...

To go back even earlier, Aristotle wrote in Nicomachean Ethics: "...someone who does not enjoy fine actions is not good; for no one would call a person just, for instance, if he did not enjoy doing just actions..." and "an end pursued in its own right is more complete than an end performed because of something else..."

I guess this could all be looked at as splitting hairs -- after all, the same action can be performed, despite one's motive or disposition.

But this line of thought is causing me to examine my own moral choices/lifestyle. Do I choose the good because it's culturally enforced or because its worthy in and of itself?

The Minister's Black Veil Review

2006-09-18T23:18:00.000-04:00

Veils are things most people associate being worn by brides in weddings or by women and men of specific religious groups. Today the selection of a bridal veil is left to the discretion and fashion taste of the bride. Over time the covering of a persons face, either through a veil or mask can be seen as an act of protection or the hiding away of identity. Veils have been used for religious purposes since before Biblical times, but one example of veil usage stands out in the book of Exodus.

"The Radiant Face of Moses
34:29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai.

33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the Lord's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD. (Bible Gateway / www.biblegateway.com)"

Moses, the leader of the Israelites wears a veil to protect the eyes of his people from the brightness of his face after spending time in the presence of God. It seems that Moses reveals his face before God to assure that there is nothing separating him form God's presence, but his concern for his family and friends causes him to shield them from this uncanny glow.

The Minister in Hawthorne's short story is also a man of God determined to wear a veil, but his motivation was one to induce fear and control over his congregation instead of shielding them from something they could not absorb.

" Such was the effect of this simple piece of crape, that more than one woman of delicate nerves was forced to leave the meeting house. Yet perhaps the pale-faced congregation was almost as fearful a sight to the minister, as the black veil to them. (Pg 105, Charters)"

Perhaps the minister could have been fearful of his congregation and possibly desired to make up for the own human insecurity he carried in is heart by placing a holy veil between him and them. If he retained such a distance, he might possibly be a more effective minister than if he relied upon his own personality and wits. Was it possible that the minister was afraid to be himself, unguarded and imperfect as it might jeopardize his effectiveness as a young minister as well?

The effect of his veil did prove to make him a more powerful speaker. His words were no louder or spirited, but the veil he wore spoke volumes to the hearts of the people that listened. The reaction of the congregation was visible: ladies left the room in fear and listeners raised their hands to their chest in conviction. After the message, the Minister was usually swarmed with crowds of people desiring to walk with him, speak on a one-on-one basis, or invite him to Sunday dinner. No one came near him. No one begged his attentions. He simply retired to his home and closed the door.

The villagers that had been so quiet in the minister's presence began to mutter out loud as to what could be the reason for this sudden change in his clerical attire. Was he ill? Was he trying to teach them something? Was he hiding some secret sin? The questions to this abrupt change stewed in the kettle of controversy and fear.

Fearful rumors concerning the minister only increased as he continued carrying on his duties. Before the funeral of a young village woman, a parishioner was said to witness the minister leaning over the body of the dead girl and her body was said to shudder at the closeness of his revealed face. Other witnesses at the girl's funeral looked backwards in the funeral procession almost expecting, "that the minister and the maiden's spirit were walking hand in hand. (Pg. 108, Charters).

The minister had always been a joyful asset to happy occasions, but his presence at weddings now placed a shroud of death over what should have been lively and exciting event. His presence turned the rosy-cheeked bride pale with dread. Some even thought the spirit of the recently buried maiden had taken residence in the once blushing bride. Even his own demeanor proved to be distressing as he gave the wedding toast to celebrate the nuptials.

"At a that instant, catching a glimpse of his figure in the looking glass, the black veil involved his own spirit in the horror with which it overwhelmed all others. His frame shuddered his lips grew white he spilt the untasted wine on the carpet and rushed forth into the darkness. For the Earth, too, had on her Black Veil. (Pg 108, Charters)"

Gossip was the only means of communication within the village concerning the reasons why the veil had taken residence upon the minister's face. The oppressive nature of the veil kept all from asking him the reason for the wearing of it. Even the elders and leaders of the church were unable to confront the minister Mr. Hooper concerning the details of the black veil.
Mr. Hooper seemed to enjoy the discomfort caused by his higher-ups. Perhaps the young minister had taken some abuse or criticism from the church leaders in the past and now they were powerless to even look him in the eye. The black veil that initially had separated him from humanity was now providing him with the power and control that had previously been missing in his life.

The only person that had more concern for Mr. Hooper than for personal discomfort of approaching the veiled face was his wife. She was not afraid of the crepe divider, not at first.

Elizabeth holds hope out to Mr. Hooper; "there is nothing terrible in this piece of crepe, except that it hides a face which I am always glad to look upon. Come, good sir, let the sun shine from behind the cloud. First lay aside your black veil; then tell me why you put it on. (Pg. 109, Charters)"

Mr. Hooper refuses the hope she offers and insists that she or no one else can come behind it until he dies. Mr. Hooper mourns that his spirit is faulty and unable to visible to the world due to its weakness. The minister rejects his wife and the hope she offers to him. The secrets of his heart he wishes to be comforted, but his inability to be vulnerable to her confidence closes the last door of human intimacy. Elizabeth once hopeful is now taken over by the terror of the black veil and she leaves him to his own delusions. Mr. Hooper can't comprehend why his dear Elizabeth could not abide the veil and takes no responsibility for the loss of his loving wife.

Mr. Hooper was an excellent minister. The black veil he wore provided him with the kind of power over men and women that many desire. He used that power to gain disciples and grow a faithful and obedient congregation. Sadly, the minister had to sell all happiness to succeed in station in life.

Simple pleasures like taking a daily walk became impossible as the people that he wished to see would flee form his presence and those he had no desire to see would chase after him like his shadow. Children ran from him as soon as they caught sight of him. Slowly but surely the black veil he thought would empower him, had become a prison allowing no light, hope or love entrance. Mr. Hooper had lost his life, his sanity to a swatch of fabric. It is a common ailment of mankind though, to sacrifices everything that makes them human in order to attain a bizarre sense of perfection.
Mr. Hooper did gain many converts, but the power to convict sin and offer grace was an offer only available to his flock and not to his own heart.

Death for most believers is a time that is focused upon release form mortal chains and transfers citizenship to heavenly residence. Heaven is a place of forgiveness and release from the sin of life but Mr. Hooper holds close to his fear and his black veil even in death.

"Why do you tremble at me alone?...Tremble also at each other! Have men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled only for my black veil? What, but the mystery which it obscurely typifies, has made this piece of crepe so awful? When the friend shows his inmost heart to his friend; the lover to his best-beloved; when man does not vainly shrink form the eye of the Creator, loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin; then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die! I look around me, and lo! On every visage a Black Veil! (Pg. 114, Charters)"

Mr. Hooper is buried with the black veil upon his face, how sad an ending for a man obsessed with living perfectly. In one aspect Mr. Hooper was correct, mankind wears many different kinds of veils to hide the inner man. Some men and women pursue selfish goals, while attempting to wear a veil of false humility. Other people live in secret sin, while walking about pointing at the weakness and visible sin in the lives of their peers. All humanity wears one mask or another. The saddest of veils are the ones that steal, kill and destroy like the black veil Mr. Hooper wears eternally.
Mr. Hooper offered salvation to other but was numb to the salvation he needed in his own life. His mistake was wearing his "cross" instead of bearing it. His ideal of perfection made it impossible for his to expose the needs of his own heart - forgiveness of sin. Being tied up in performance and success are sure means of either falling on your face or putting a mask on to hide the imperfections.

The minister in this short story should have followed after Moses' veil example in being transparent before God and protecting his people from fear. Manipulating peoples' behavior by force with fear only creates a congregation of puppets and players. Perfect love cast out fear it doesnt wear it around his face.

Works Cited:
1. The Bible Gateway/ www.biblegateway.com, Exodus
Chapter 34:29-35

2. The American Short Story and Its Writer, Ann Charters:Copyright 2000 by Bedford/St. Martins. Boston, MA 0211

Only 3 favorite books?

2006-09-18T18:57:00.000-04:00

I have to say that choosing just three favorite books is very difficult, but here are a few of they many favorites I have!

Watership Down by Richard Adams

"CHORUS: Why do you cry out thus, unless at some vison of horror?
CASSANDRA: The house reeks of death and dripping blood.
CHORUS: How so? Tis' but the ordor of the alter sacrifice.
CASSANDRA: The stench is like a breath from the tomb.
Aeschylus, Agamemnon
The primroses were over."

The overwhelming darkness in the opening of Watership Down compelled me to discover the root of the problem. In the meadow of life, why so much reference to death and sacrifice? It may be a morbid beginning that caught my attention, but the first time I read it I was about thirteen years old and had recently gone through the ongoing illness and death of my older sister. There was comfort in this book knowing that someone else knew about death and the effects it has on a person, a family and a community. This book was on my bookshelf then and it remains there now as a reminder of the lives encountered along the way.
------------------------------------------------------------

The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

"Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the un fashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninty-eight million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green plant whose ape-descented life forms are so amazingly primitave that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea...."

The immediate tone of the writer made me want to say, "Earth is not insignificant!". "We are more sophisticated than loving our digital toys!" Or are we? The sarcastic humor of this book carried me thorugh the entire series at a time that reading for entertainment had been lost to me. The story of relentless man against the world, the universe really, had a way of drawing my imagination back to life. This book made reading fun again after a self induced dry season.
---------------------------------

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

"We have been lost to each other for so long. My name means nothing to you. My memory is dust..."

How may people have felt their story is lost, nothing or something to be cleaned up - like dust. The Red Tent retells Dee-nah's story ( she was the daughter of Leah, Rachel,Zilpha, and Bilhah - the wives of Jacob of the old testament). Although much ficional leway is taken with the story, Diamant succeeds in telling womans story with more realistic truth about the ancient daily struggles faced and makes them situations any woman can relate to in the present day. This story is every womans story. It embraces the full experience of life and teaches the reader how to carry on in hope and faith for the future.

Rome if you want to

2006-09-17T08:54:00.000-04:00

"Rome wasn't built in a day", was a phrase my Dad aways used to say ( and still does). I have always been fascinated at his focus and ability to accomplish what I thought were impossible tasks. As a police officer, he wore a uniform to work everyday. That act of conforming always seemed too restrictive for me to abide. Ironically, I've worked for the Salvation Army for the last seven years and every Sunday morning what do I wear? I wear a navy blue uniform to church. There I go conforming to something I thought I never would.

Rome though reminds me of my life in general. There are always errands to run for my family and myself. There are always houshold projects, cleaning and laundry to be done. There are long work hours, time spent on college projects and many things that need "builidng" everyday.

So everyday I try to build Rome a little more. I seek to do and excellent job in ministering to the youth of my church. I always do at least two loads of laundry a day in order to keep Rome from becoming buried in whites. I am in my last sememster of my BA program and I can't even begin to procees the days that have gone into buliding that part of Rome.

Rome wasn't built in a day and my life wasn't either. At times I wish my life looked perfect like a pristine, white gallery in Rome, but the truth of the matter is I don't live there. That kind of house would look funny in my neighborhood.

I remember asking my Dad when I was a small child, "How long did it take to build Rome then?" He would just smile and tell me to look it up in an encyclopedia.

Some projects are bigger than we can understand, just as I couldn't understand the vastness of Rome as a small child. My life and Rome have a great deal in common, I just need the patience and persistance to see it built in full.

Rockin' at The Salvation Army?

2006-09-15T15:56:00.000-04:00

Call it alternative, punk, emo, screamo, or hardcore. Whatever you call it, it’s not music you would normally associate with The Salvation Army. But a youth group in Warren, Pennsylvania may change all that with its unique concert outreach.

Warren County is located in rural Northwestern Pennsylvania. An active Salvation Army corps helps out its most needy residents by providing food, clothing, and utility assistance. Embers Youth Group is an integral part of its ministry to the community, too, since one out of four people in the county is under the age of eighteen.

“Our corps wants to see young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible,” says youth ministries director Tara Eastman. “We look at religious education as something that provides an education for living. The emphasis is on putting what we believe into action.”

Teenagers get together every Friday night for a recreation time where they can choose between video games, shooting hoops, pool, ping-pong, surfing the web, or just hanging out. The last part of the night finds the group over snacks talking about faith and how to apply it with each other, and at home, school, and work. Youth also participate in morning worship, Sunday school, volunteer activities, youth councils, and summer camp.

It’s a well-run program that has experienced growth over the last eighteen months. But when a survey of Warren County high school students revealed that only about fifty-six percent participate in weekly religious activities, Eastman began to pray for an opportunity to connect with some of the young people who weren’t connected to a church.

Enter Annie Chaos, a 17 year-old high school student that the youth ministries director met during a round of visitation at the local student union. Well-connected to the local music scene, she was interested in organizing some sort of fun community event for her peers.

“There aren’t a lot of activities offered for teens. And always hanging out at restaurants can get expensive,” says Ms. Chaos. “I suggested putting on a punk show because it would give young people something they would want to do at a price they could afford.”

Convinced that this opportunity would meet both of their objectives, the high-schooler and youth director went to work. They chose a Sunday night during a long weekend off school, when they knew nothing else would be going on. They secured the services of four Christian punk bands for the event. Chaos got commitments from fellow students to run the PA system and take tickets at the door. Eastman asked for adult volunteers from the corps to run a snack bar and mix in with students during the show. Public Service Announcements for the show were run in the local paper and radio. Posters were displayed around town. Many more invites were sent via e-mail and myspace.

All the hard work paid off during a cold January night. Over 160 young people packed themselves into The Salvation Army gymnasium to hear the music and message of Last Tuesday, Staple, The New Ending, and Clearview. The basic needs of eight children living in the third world were sponsored through a special collection. Youth received a corps calendar of events. Many people believe that the corps and the young people of the community were brought closer together that night.

“We were surprised at the number of adults who showed up to support us,” says Chaos. “Sometimes adults assume young people are bad because of their clothes or hairstyle. But I was accepted at The Salvation Army.”

The adults were impressed with the teens, too. Eastman explains: “I had a few skeptical volunteers who were afraid that I secretly invited them to be there as bouncers. But once they saw how well the young people behaved, they wanted to know how soon I could plan another youth event.”

The benefits of the unique outreach continue to this day. New young people have found a church in The Salvation Army and are present at youth group and in morning worship. Existing corps members are more aware of the young people in the community and are looking for ways to lend a hand. Another two or three shows are planned for the next year.

Embers Youth Group would encourage other youth groups to follow suit and try an outreach event. As one teen was overheard to say during the show, “What good is the best youth group in the world if people don’t know about it?”

The punk movement is known for a do-it-yourself tenacity, creativity, and discontent with the status quo. All characteristics, Eastman is quick to point out, it shares with The Salvation Army. “Teens are hungry for something real to base their lives on. They want to make a difference and be involved. The Salvation Army can help young people meet those needs.”

My Soul is Blessed Tonight

2006-09-13T22:01:00.000-04:00

I'm so glad that class has moved on from Greek philosophy to Augustine. There were some things about Aristotle that really engaged my mind, but Augustine blesses my soul. (I catch myself neglecting my notes from time to time because I'm so caught up in the reading.)

God reigns gloriously supreme in Augustine's reckoning. Running away in denial is futile, as the saint writes: "…where does he go or where does he flee save from Thee to Thee—from God well-pleased to God angered?" (58) We seek to fill our appetites with the pleasures of sin, but the appetite is misdirected. It is in reality a hunger for God: "Seek what you seek, but it is not where you seek it. You seek happiness in the land of death, and it is not there. For how shall there be happiness of life where there is no life?" (60)

Despite all the talk of grace, we Christians often want to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, don't we? (That is supposing we even have bootstraps…) I identified with Augustine's reliance on himself for self-control. I think of how long I struggled with different sins in my life for so long thinking I could overcome by my own sheer force of will. I, like the saint, "… did not think of [God's] mercy as a healing medicine for that weakness, because I had not tried it. I thought that continency was a matter of my own strength" (101)…

The readings put me in mind of the wonderful testimonies of our learning community. Such desires to cut through it all just to know and be known by God in an ever-deepening love affair...

WORK CITED

Augustine, F.J. Sheed (trans.). The Confessions of Saint Augustine. Kansas City, MO: Sheed & Ward, 1970.

The Folly of Sin

2006-09-13T01:15:00.000-04:00

I wasn't sure what I would make of Augustine after reading the short introduction to his life and thought in Who Are We. On one hand, transitioning from philosophy to "...the will, rather than reason, [as] our dominant feature" (Pojman 75) found me at ease in familiar territory. On the other, I wasn't sure what to make of the Great Chain of Being and Just War theory.

There is a warmth and candor present in The Confessions despite the passage of time and translation of the original language. As Augustine recounts his spiritual journey, I couldn't help but get the sense that he is telling the story of the whole human race. He must have been a great man.

Sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same. Augustine's description of adolescence isn't that different from what young people go through today: "My one delight was to love and be loved" (Augustine 23) illustrates the question am I capable of love. "Someone cries 'Come on, let's do it'—and we would be ashamed to be ashamed" (31) is a great description of peer pressure if I ever heard one.

In Book Two, Chapter IV, Augustine describes a long list of sins and explains that each of them is a shallow reflection of an attribute of God. He states: “…the soul is guilty of fornication when she turns from You and seeks from any other source what she will find pure and without taint unless she returns to You. Thus even those who go from You and stand up against You are still perversely imitating You” (Augustine 29).

The great tragedy of our sin is that we're trying to fulfill a genuine desire with a counterfeit that can never ever satisfy.

WORKS CITED

Augustine, F.J. Sheed (trans.). The Confessions of Saint Augustine. Kansas City, MO: Sheed & Ward, 1970.

Pojman, Louis P. Who Are We?: Theories of Human Nature. New York, NY: Oxford, 2006.

"Excuse me Ms. Liberty is you light going out?"

2006-09-11T01:29:00.000-04:00

The New Colossus 1883
By: Emma Lazarus
Poem Review

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Outside the reach of the welcoming arms of the statue of liberty and Ellis Island lie gates that separate and guards that keep watch over the borders of the land behind the golden door: America. It is perplexing to comprehend the contrast of the attitude of the lady in this poem to that of many Americans today.

Once upon a time, America - the melting pot, was a country known for its freedom, democracy and openness to immigrants; but this unique freedom seems to be dimming from plain view. There is much debate within the United States on what makes an individual American. Those individuals that have immigrated into this country legally in recent years often feel a sense of disgust for those people that break through the borders illegally. Some legal immigrants sense that border runners have cheated their way into the country, but there is little consideration as to why the border runners are so intent to make their way into the U.S. While some dismiss the poor living conditions, non-sustaining wages, and government oppression as poor reasons for flight to America. It is interesting that legal immigrants often relocate to the U.S. for the very same reasons. The difference simply being that some individuals have the resources or connections to be processed legally, while others may not.

The New Colossus, written by Emma Lazarus in 1883; seems to be writing about a much different country than we live in 2006.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

The United Kingdom seems to match this description at the time this poem was penned, but the atmosphere and global appearance of the United States is currently alike this image of an impassable, aggressive entity that the writer so negatively portraits. Its as if our county has become like an imposing, uncaring parent tied up in nominal details of their childs life while turning a blind eye to their basic daily needs.

Compassion, strength and hope are the words that come to mind as Lazarus describes the Mother of the Exiles in the next phrase.

Here our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged Harbor that twin cities frame,
Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp! cries she

Imagine the warmest most steadfast welcome an individual can receive and before them stands, Mother of the Exiles. Her arms are open to the world, inviting the weary world entrance into two cities (and an entire country) full of possibility. Her wish is that the excessive, wealthy and privileged people of the world would stay in the lands that they had succeeded so to provide a new land of opportunity for those that had no splendor in life.

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

This Mother of the Exiles was not interested in welcoming people into her land that could provide something for her benefit. She was intent on accepting, caring for and welcoming those people that no one else desired.

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tosses to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

I cant help but wonder where I would be (and if I would be) had my great-great grandmother and grandfather had not been permitted to enter this county from Wales over a hundred years ago. What was it that drew my distant relatives to come to this country? For most immigrants then, it was the hope for a better present and future for themselves and their families. Today it is the same desire, to have the life that is only possible in America: a life full of opportunities, potential and the American dream.

The Mother of the Exiles raised her lantern to the huddled masses even before a segment of Lazaruss poem was placed on the base of the statues platform. Her poem was found after her passing by a New York arts patron in a collection of writings gathered to raise funds to purchase the platform for the statue in 1883. Upon the discovery, the last five lines of the poem were placed upon the platform that Lazarus had prior to the death had helped to raise funds for. After twenty years of visitors to the statue, school textbook accounts of the poem and the inclusion of the sonnet in a Berlin Broadway musical; the entire poem was placed over the main entrance to the statue in 1945.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/LIBERTY/lazarus.html)

In this country, there is great debate over what makes a person an American. Some strictly say citizenship is the key, association of a particular religion for some holds some importance, others it is a commitment to pledge allegiance to the flag, and still others say that training and education are critical to acquire citizenship. (In the Monitor, 8/21/06;USA Stories: World Wide Web) While it is important to consider the effects that overpopulation could possibly have upon individual opportunity and the stability of the countrys economic structure, it is the dramatic turn in attitude towards potential immigrants that raises some serious questions.

In the year 1883, Lazarus a wealthy New Yorker, wrote a poem to welcome a population of individuals that in 2006 that many privileged political or socially important individuals would refuse to consider becoming Americans. It would be naïve to assume that all American citizens were pleased by the great influx of immigrants to American in the 1800s. The bias that many Mexican and Iranian immigrants face today is very similar to the difficulties faced by the Welsh and Irish immigrants of Lazarus day, but many Welsh and the Irish did immigrate successfully into America.

The current attitudes of many Americans concerning present day immigration policy cause me to wonder if the new immigrants will succeed in even gaining the opportunity to attempt the American dream? It is the fluidity or multicultural diversity that has provided America to be a country that is unique to all others. It is the willingness to open the golden door and absorb the ideas and perspectives of new blood that has always kept our county vital and progressive. If this country, often referred to as the melting pot is taken off of the stove due to fear of who and what we dont know or understand, we are in danger of become stale and spoiled by our own self absorption.

Emma Lazarus poem The New Colossus is a reminder of the optimistic, compassionate heart that yearned for people, all people, to be free. It is that free America that I desire to live in, learn in and pledge allegiance too. Light you lantern America, the world is watching and praying to see the light of hope shining bright.

Aristotle & Spiritual Formation

2006-09-10T03:04:00.000-04:00

I will examine the key philosophical concepts of Aristotle, as recorded in Nicomachean Ethics, and propose applications for their adaptation in the practice of Christian spiritual formation.

The use of a Greek philosopher to inform Christian practices may be questioned by some, and justifiably so. After all, an authority no less than Saint Paul warned that, “…the wisdom of the world is foolishness in God’s sight” (1 Corinthians 3:19 NIV). A closer examination of this verse within the context of the epistle, however, makes it clear that he is addressing divisions in the Corinthian church caused by immature individuals who were idolizing different teachers. Saint Paul was evidently schooled enough in philosophy to address the Areopagus in Athens. Furthermore, he demonstrated a willingness to use Greek philosophy to explain some aspects of the Gospel in a way that the Athenians could understand. (This is recorded in the Book of Acts, chapter 17.)

It is true that Aristotle’s thought differs in some respects from traditional Christianity. This is reason enough to disqualify his body of work entirely in the estimation of some Christians. This need not be. As Michael Joseph Brown wisely points out, “Scholars do the best they can in analyzing the evidence at their disposal, but sometimes their analysis is wrong…Regardless of the reasons for a mistaken analysis, being wrong on some issues does not make one wrong on all issues” (128-129).

Perhaps the most compelling reason for practitioners of soul care familiarize themselves with Aristotle is that perhaps no one else in history has so extensively explored and defined the philosophy of human nature. As Richard J. Foster addresses in Celebration of Discipline, “Superficiality is the curse of our age…The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people” (1). In a culture where wearing a Christian t-shirt passes as an example of righteous living, we desperately need the seminal writings of Aristotle to both challenge and inform our thinking about virtue and moral knowledge.

The meaning of life is a riddle that people have pondered throughout history. Perhaps the answer has become even more elusive in our postmodern age. Aristotle offers a response to the age-old question: happiness (Aristotle 3). That answer may appear too simplistic, or maybe even naive, but this most likely results from a misunderstanding of the philosopher’s definition versus a contemporary colloquial understanding of the term. Happiness—eudaimonia in the original Greek—means “living well and doing well” (Aristotle 3). It is “a life directed toward worthwhile goals” (Pojman 64) and is characterized by excellence.

Incorporating the Aristotelian view of life’s purpose into a spiritual formation context could be transformative for Christians. An unfortunate characteristic of Evangelicalism is that it often utilizes guilt as a motivating factor for change in its adherents. This has resulted in a kind of deficit thinking norm among Christians in whom there is much obsession with defeat and inadequacy. However, adopting a vision of life motivated towards excellence in all things would result in a thriving individuals captivated more by the possibilities of new life in Christ than the prospect of “slipping up.” It is the difference between putting a car in drive versus just sitting there staring in the rear view mirror. After all, Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10 NIV). A life devoted to Christ should be one characterized as living well and doing well!

Often Christians appear to value altar experiences and beliefs more than the actual lived out experience of obedience. Aristotle argues that the highest good is a lived out reality. “…It matters quite a bit whether we suppose that the best good consists in possessing or using…For someone may be in a state that achieves no good—if, for instance, he is asleep or inactive in some other way—but this cannot be true of the activity; for it will necessarily act and act well. And just as the Olympic prizes are not for the finest and strongest, but for the contestants—since it is only those who win…The same is true in life…only those who act correctly win the prize” (Aristotle 11). The philosopher’s deliberations can inform and enlighten our teaching on holy living, as we, like Saint Paul encourage people to “Run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24).

Nicomachean Ethics is not an easy read, but the diligent reader will be rewarded with much insight into subjects such as justice, friendship, truthfulness, and generosity. The book exposes how shallow is much of our thinking. Often people hold beliefs without ever delving beneath the surface of a topic. In the context of religion, this often results in a faith that sounds great in the confines of the church but is inadequate for the complexities of life. Incorporation of this kind of introspection should be a goal of every spiritual formation program.

George Barna writes in Growing True Disciples that, "...most born-again adults are limited in their ability to grow spiritually because they have failed to set any goals for their spiritual development..." (36) Adopting Aristotle's concept of excellence (living and doing well) as the goal of life is an excellent strategy for stimulating Christian growth.

WORKS CITED

Barna, George. Growing True Disciples. Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook, 2001.

Brown, Michael Joseph. What They Don’t Tell You. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2000.

Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline. San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row, 1988.

Life Application Bible (NIV). Grand Rapids, MI, 1991.

Pojman, Louis P. Who Are We? Theories of Human Nature. New York, NY: Oxford, 2006.

Aristotle and Irwin, Terence (tran.). Nicomachean Ethics. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1999.

Live Long and Prosper

2006-09-09T12:39:00.000-04:00

I'm not a big television watcher and rarely schedule an evening around a program. But I made an exception last night. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Star Trek, TV Land played 4 episodes in a row from the original series.

I'm glad I took the time. Star Trek brought me so much enjoyment as a child and it was fun to see that the magic was still there. It made me nostalgic for my old Mego figures and model kits!

Bucky is not Robin Hood

2006-09-08T22:30:00.000-04:00

It is difficult to even bring up the entire situation concerning the Bucky persuit and apprehension without many people simataniously shouting "Shut Up" at me.

But I will try to make a point that is derived out of the situation, but not directly about Bucky himself.

Here's the situation. Bucky was in jail because he had broken the law/and had an "extensive" criminal record. If you don't mind, take a look at this statement concerning his repeated attempts to escape.
____________________________________________________

"Phillips, who is 43 and has an extensive criminal record, ... escaped from the Alden jail by using a can opener to pry open a kitchen ceiling. This was not the first time Phillips tried to escape from a jail. Phillips was an inmate at Chautauqua County Jail in 1992 when authorities there learned his then-girlfriend planned to smuggle a handcuff key to him during a visit, Deputy Douglas E. Walter said in an interview."

Deputies intercepted the girlfriend when she arrived at the jail, found the key and thwarted the escape plot, Walter said." - online artice ( no url))
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There are many people that don't like cops in general. Some may have personal reasons for such feelings, but I find myself becoming frustrated by the nastsy and negative language being used to describe the police.
I have a simple suggestion. Think about all the men and women that have worked round to clock in heat, rain and darkness all to protect the community at large from an allegedly violent criminal. How can their efforts to protect cause so many to react agressively?

Why are people calling the police names and then speaking about Mr. Phillips like he's Robin Hood? The cops are just doing their job. Would you rather have violent people running around shooting at you or the people you care about; or would you prefer to consider the time, energy and effort devoted to the protection of the community?

I realise that everyone is tired about hearing about this entire situation, but I;m haveing a difficult time processing the angst and suspicion againt the police - specifically the two officers that were injured last week. Some think that they shot at Mr. Phillips first - or that the actions of CPS (removing his grandchildren from thier mother's home) aggrivated and caused him to shoot the police in revenge. First off CPS (child protective services) and the police are two seperate entities. In all cases, CPS seeks to maintain a family unit unless they feel that the children are being abused, neglected or in a situation that is too dangeous for thier presence to continue in a home. If that safety can't be established or maintained in the home, CPS with "temporarily" remove the children from the home until the situation is resolved.

Back to my point, Bucky killed that police officer by shooting him in the leg. The bullets from the high powered rifle severed the main artery in his leg ( in most cases when shot in a main artery the person will bleed out within 3 minutes - essentailly the person will be legally dead.) So the officer bled to death within 3 minutes - the paramedic arrived about 25 minutes after the incident, he was then was revived by paramedics, sent to a hosptial in Buffalo,later the doctors attempted to save his life by amputating his injured leg, but this was not enough to save his live. The officer died - all because he was trying to protect people like us.

I don't mean to come on so strong - but human life is treated too carelessly anymore. At least this cop cared enough about other humans to risk and give his life - for us. He was only 32 years old he had a family. He was human too.

"Tony Longobardo of Schenectady told Capital News 9 that he and his family initially thought Joe, a 32-year-old member of the state police Mobile Response Team, would survive the gunshot wound that first cost him a leg, then his life.
... Longobardo died three days after being shot in western New York while on surveillance duty in the search for escaped convict Ralph ``Bucky" Phillips....Before joining the state police, Joe Longobardo served in the Marines and then in a Schenectady County-based unit of the New York Air National Guard. ...
Tony Longobardo told the Albany television station that everything his son did was aimed at serving the community....

Joe Longobardo is survived by his wife and their one-year-old son. His funeral is Monday morning in Saratoga Springs. (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-09-07-06 1056EDT".

Forgive the length of this rant, but it seems weird to me that the person that should be seen as a hero is being looked at by many as a thing, an instigatior or a killing machine.
Weird when he was the one that was killed.

So do me a favor, show some respect. Even if you don't care for policemen, try to look at the man who died as a young married man who by his death leaves his wife as a widow and his 1 year old child without a father.... because he thought about and cared for his community.

This whole situation is going to continue to be a media circus. People are going to talk about it alot. I suppose my hope would be that all the families hurting because of it would receive some comfort. I hope that Mr. Phillips' grandchildren can rest knowing that he wasn't harmed when taken into custody and I hope that the police officers that have been working around the clock and go home to be with their families. I hope that the people injured or the family of the officer that was killed can know that no one else will be in danger and that their sacrifices were noticed by someone, somewhere. ( I noticed)

Good night Pennsylvania and New York - get some rest, you've earned it!

I need Fishermans eyes.

2006-09-08T11:46:00.000-04:00

I need Fishermans eyes.
I was just reading the account of Peter last night.He and his frineds were out fishing but there were no fish to be caught. Jesus appears and tells them to try again so they do and the nets are overflowing with fish. In fact the net is so full that another boat has to be called out to help, the nets start to tear and the boats start to sink with the weight of the load.

Peter cowers in Jesus presence when he realises this situation occured by Jesus doing. Peter tells him he's not worthy to be in his persence. Jesus tells him to get up - "Now you are going fishing for people".

Peter had to come to God as he was ( dirty, sweaty, salt fo the earth fisherman) and God did amazing things in and through him. God purposed his life to seek out, catch and bring souls home to God. What some may have considered to be an unlikely candidate for Godly work was used for a divine purpose.

May I not be afraid to come to God, as I am. It's necessary that I accept that the things I may not like about myself (ie. cowering like Peter) as that "thing" may be the very tool that God is planning to help seek after hurting, weary and hopeless souls. In this moment and every moment may I say, "Okay, lets go fishing."

Thank you that you love me, take me and teach me as I am. Help me to look at others with fisherman's eyes

I Survived Nicomachean Ethics!!!

2006-09-07T21:44:00.000-04:00

Reading Nicomachean Ethics hasn't been without its challenges. More that once I felt like the kid in the Far Side cartoon who raises his hand and says to the teacher, "May I be excused? My brain is full." I do, however, think I got the gist of Aristotle's philosophy in the end. (I'll find out for certain when I get my 2nd essay paper back!)

There are a few aspects from Nichomachean Ethics that I will incorporate into future spiritual formation/mentoring activities.

George Barna wrote in Growing True Disciples that, "...most born-again adults are limited in their ability to grow spiritually because they have failed to set any goals for their spiritual development..." (36) Aristotle's argument for excellence (living and doing well) as the goal of life was well argued. Stimulating individuals towards excellence in all things is a far cry from a list of dos and don'ts. It will result in a more holistic growth in the end.

Sometimes Christians value our belief in sanctification more than the actual lived out experience. But faith without works is dead -- "activity" actualizes "the state". Aristotle can add a lot to teaching on faith and works.

Words & Meaning

2006-09-07T07:42:00.000-04:00

It's inevitable that languages change over time. Often we don't actually learn the definition of a word -- we infer its meaning by its usage and the other words around it. So we're often a little fuzzy on the precise definition of a word. Sometimes the process can completely bungle the meaning: my learning cohort was surprised last semester when we looked at the dictionary meaning of prodigal.

I heard one time that English has something like a quarter of a million distinct words, but the average adult only has a vocabulary of approximately 50,000 words. How does that affect us when we're trying to convey something so important as the Gospel? I think this can create some real hurdles. I wonder how many people sitting in churches this Sunday will get the meaning that the pastor intends? It's so important to define words like holy, sanctify, grace, etc...

Cutting Corners

2006-09-07T07:38:00.000-04:00

How many wrongs occur, not because people have chosen to be out and out evil, but because they've taken a shortcut to having a good result. You know, the idea of the ends justifying the means and all that. (Think King Saul doing most -- but not all -- of what he was commanded to do. He was genuinely surprised at his rejection.)

I can recount from my own life -- but won't -- the number of times I've created a big mess because I "cut corners" for an expedient resolution to something.

But the fruit looks so pleasing to the eye sometimes...

Summer Dreams and moonbeams

2006-09-07T02:17:00.000-04:00

This summer working at camp was a time to get out of my world, make new friends and best of all meet him…
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The moment was one that she had replayed over and over again in her mind’s eye. His strong muscular arms enfolded her waist. His hands rested upon her hips as he leaned in pausing with his face so close that she could feel his breath.
This summer working at camp had been a time to meet new people, make new friends and best of all meet him…

If she had known that he was promised to another maybe she would not have kissed him in the moon- light. If she knew he was motivated out of lust and not love would she restrained her heart from beating too fast as he walked past her every day. She had the choice to go on that walk with him that cool summer evening. Her mind may have said no, but her heart refused to listen to reason. Romance had made the choice for her.

She fell in love. He kissed her in the moonlight and left at the end of the week to go home to his girlfriend. Her mind hated her heart for betraying her so foolishly. Romance is unpredictable. Loving couples spend their entire lives attempting to maintain romantic love in the midst of reality. Love is the ordered form of organized chaos and romance is chaos unrestrained. Although the heart and mind of this girl felt betrayed, it was romance that really made her a fool.

Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream is a mystical play focused only on the way that love and the race into it is a road full of confusion, emotional outbursts and chaos. It is necessary to define the different aspects of romance and love in order to find truth in the whole matter of romantic relationships. Simply put some romances are meant to be short lived, others are strewn with spats, jealousy and conflict, and then there are the “true loves” that endure forbidding family members and insincere rivals, It is only possible for “true love” to endure when it is lived out honestly in the reality of daily life.

The background of this play falls upon the wedding festivities of Theseus (the Duke of Athens) and Hippolyta (the Queen of the amazons). In the midst of their preparations the Duke is drawn into a dispute between a father (Egeus) and daughter (Hermia) regarding the decision of allowing her to marry for love or to brush aside her feelings to concede to the tradition of marrying the spouse decided upon by her father. Hermia’s father desires that she marry the man he has chosen, but she is not in love with him. Hermia is forced to decide to marry a man she does not love (Demetrius) or be sent away to live as a nun or be put to death. Hermia and her true love Lysander decide that the only way they are to be wed is to run away through the forest and seek sanctuary with Lysander’s aunt. Helena, a young woman obsessed with Demetrius and the romance they once had, overhears Herima and Lysander’s plan of escape. She realizes that this may be an opportunity to regain his affection and tells Lysander of Hermia and Lysander’s plans to run away together. Lysander no longer has any affection for Helena, but follows her directions out of his spite towards Demetrius.

Upon entering the forest, the two couples are no longer alone in their conflict. In fact, their lives are about to be tested and toyed with by Oberon (King of the Fairies), Titania (the Fairy Queen), and Puck the wood fairy. The forest is brimming with activity as a group of laborers also gather to secretly rehearse a play they hope to perform for the wedding celebration of Theseus and Hippolyta.

The king and queen of the fairies have a great difficulty in keeping the peace in their relationship as they quibble over the rights each one has over an orphaned boy.
In his frustration, the king accuses the queen of loving the mortal Duke and she in turn accuses the king of being in love with the Amazon bride to be. Their argument can’t be settled and she goes off to be attended to by her court before she goes to sleep. The king decides to trick the queen into loving someone ugly in hopes that she will loose interest in the orphaned child and release him to become the king’s page.

Magic and potions are introduced when Puck, the fairy king’s servant, is called to retrieve a charmed flower from cupid to control who loves whom. When the petals of this flower are touch the eyes of a sleeping victim they are helpless to fall in love with the first person or thing that their waking eyes see. Upon witnessing a dispute between Helena and Lysander, the king of the fairies instructs Puck to touch Lysander’s sleeping eyes with the charmed flower in order that Helena will have her love and the other couple would be free to marry without interference form Lysander. Puck confuses Demetrius with Lysander and creates more chaos as Hermia realizes her true love no longer loves her. Her feelings are more hurt when she sees Demetrius gazing lovingly upon Helena, her newfound rival. Love is found, love is lost and the once adored Hermia now understands the feelings of rejection experienced by the overwhelmed Helena.

The king of the fairies is unaware of Pucks error as he is wrapped up in his own scheme of revenge and trickery. Puck comes across the laborers rehearsing in the woods and chooses to turn Bottom, the most charismatic actor of the group, into a donkey-faced suitor to be viewed by the flower altered eyes of the Fairy Queen. The Queen falls in love with the donkey faced Bottom and his every whim is attended to by the fairy court. Bottom is enthralled by the beauty surrounding him but is confused by the unaltered affection of the fairy queen despite his ugly appearance.

Puck has realized now that he has cast a spell upon the wrong man’s eyes and seeks assistance from the fairy king to restore the couples to rights. Oberon causes a thick fog to fall upon the wood so that the lovers can’t find each other. All four lovers fall into a deep sleep. Puck is sent to touch the eyes of Demetrius with a correcting potion and correctly carries out the task.

Meanwhile, the king of the Fairies sees that his plan to trick the queen is resulting in her paying absolutely no attention to him and grows jealous of her attentions towards donkey- faced Bottom. He casts a deep sleep over Titania and Bottom and uses the eye remedy to restore her love toward him. In his sleep, Bottom is restored to his normal form and sleeps on the edge of the wood until morning. The king and queen of the fairies are reconciled and are once again happy in the love they hold for each other; and the quarrel is forgotten.

Demetrius, Hermia, Lysander and Helena are found sleeping on the edge of the forest by Ergus, the duke and his fiancé’ Hippolyta. The Duke and Hermia’s father listen attentively as Lysander makes a pledge of his love to Helena and Demetrius restates his ongoing devotion to Hermia. In this odd turn of events, the Duke grants permission for them to marry for love and invites the two couples to join him and be wedded at the upcoming festivities. Ergus is not pleased at this decision, but does nothing to interfere with his daughter’s wedding plans.

Bottom wakens to find his mind full of images and dreams from the night before, but rushes off to find his fellow actors in order to attempt a performance for the wedding of the duke. The actors assemble and hurry off to the court in order to be considered by the wedding party as a source of entertainment and are chosen by the duke to perform their short comedy tragedy.

The play performed by Bottom and his friends tells a tale of love between separated lovers that when finally given the chance to meet are met with disaster. The girl goes to the garden and is pursued by a lion that injures her and she flees. The man goes to the garden to meet his love only to find her bloodstained scarf and kills himself thinking his love dead. She returns, to find her love dead and takes his sword and in grief ends her own life.

The players bumble through the tragedy, but their errors in execution of the play turn this tragedy into a comedy as the wedding guests take the errors as intentional farce. The newly wedded Duke gives his approval of their efforts and they are rewarded with tokens of appreciation.

The couples climb the stairs to bed at “fairy time” (midnight) and go to sleep in the arms of their true loves arms. Bottom returns home and looks to the night sky to ponder the night in the woods and the love he received from the Queen of the fairies.
Puck wraps up the story and tries to make good on the chaos of the entire Dream and
states,

“Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:”

Puck enjoys all the meddling with the foolish mortals relationships, but he’s willing to mend things given a little direction and help. Puck really could be considered the risk in all the romances explored in this play. Romance is composed of risks, hope and excitement. If romance is to last, the conflicts of romantic relationships must be balanced with grace forgiveness and unselfish love. We have to be willing to “mend “ if romance is going to live a long life.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summer camp is a place where love can grow, bloom and die at such a fast pace. It is a greenhouse of social and cultural societies. Various people are thrown together to work, live and play together; they are tossed together and create this magical microcosm functioning apart from but still touching the lives and macrocosm of the outside world.

While summer camp romances and friendships live or die by the interest or whim of the members of that “camp world”, the couples in Midsummer Nights Dream are initially limited in their reality by the authorities in their daily lives. It is only when the “fairies” have a chance to take action, however bumbling the efforts, that the couples are freed to marry for love. This reversal of control is much like the first year camp staffer experiencing the freedom to make his or her own bumbling choices their first time away from home.
The first time away from home is an opportunity to create your own life. Demetrius and Hermia simply wanted to start their life together. Helena desired to mend her relationship with Lysander and regain the love they once had. Egeus hoped to make the best decision to provide for his daughter’s future. Theseus and Hippolyta were committed to each other and through the festivities of their marriage were able to bring two other couples into loving committed relationships.

Not everyone is looking for the same things from their relationships. In this play, the whim of romance could have turned all the characters lives upside down. Demetrius could have lost his love to death by her decision to choose him. Hermia could have been put away in isolation due to the decision to commit to Demetrius. She could have also made the choice to follow her father’s wishes and marry a man she did not love, in order to save her own life. Helena, Demetrius, Hermia and Lysander all would have suffered if Hermia had chosen to marry out of obedience and not for love. Her father may have had the satisfaction of making that decision; but he wouldn’t have to live with the consequences of it.

Love is unpredictable, even the King and Queen of fairies knew that. While most of the love relationships in this play bounced around between courtly love, erotic love, puppy love, lust love, unrequited love, romantic love and instantaneous love; it is obvious that true love was the inspiration for the creation of this play. So many of Shakespeare’s plays focus on the tragedy of love lost or love unrequited so it’s wonderful to read and watch a play (in the midst of it’s frivolity) have a truly happy ending.
______________________________________________________________________

My summer at camp may not have had a happy ending, but it was my hope for true love that eventually helped it to be delivered into my real life. Love is a risky proposition. There are risks for looking foolish, living with heartache or losing your love to another. True love is worth all of the risk to invite moonbeams on cool summer evenings, to welcome romance into the everyday and to live magically in fairy time and the real time of my life.

Introspection and a free groaner at no charge!

2006-09-05T22:00:00.001-04:00

There was a lot to chew on in tonight's readings in Nicomachean Ethics. I hope my post doesn't come off as too fragmented.

"After spending the largest amounts, he will refuse a small amount, and so destroy a fine result" is a quote I'm going to pull out the next time I serve on an allocations committee at church.

I enjoyed the sections on the virtues such as mildness, friendliness, truthfulness, etc. I like the way Aristotle delves so deeply into each subject. I wonder how much time Aristotle spent just in contemplation about these topics?

It makes me wonder how to incorporate this kind of introspection in a spiritual formation program. So often we rush into defining an answer to every issue before really delving into the subject. The result is too often a faith that sounds great in the confines of the church but is inadequate for the complexities of life.

I did a small group once that was just magic. It was the right mix of inquisitive individuals in a very loving environment. We would go through only a couple of verses from the Sermon on the Mount every week. (Occasionally I still run into some of these people around town and the subject of the small group still comes up.)

The section about justice is begging for a second read. One idea that impressed me was justice being pictured as the mean between doing injustice and suffering injustice.

I'll leave you all with a real groaner:

"...it is more proper to the generous person to give to the right people than to take from the right sources..." reminds me of an old joke. A parishioner complains to his pastor that a donation to the church came from gambling winnings. "We can't accept that money because it's tainted," argues the parishioner. "The only thing that's tainted about that money," replies the pastor, "is that there 'taint enough of it!"

The Importance of Creative Activities for Youth

2006-09-05T17:07:00.000-04:00

I was on vacation last week and didn't spend a lot of time browsing the news. As I caught up on the local newspaper today at work I discovered that I had a letter to the editor published last week. How cool is that?

Thank you for your editorial of August 23, Supporting art, music, which related the protective factors associated with student involvement in band and orchestra.

The 40 Developmental Assets framework, promoted by Healthy Communities-Healthy Youth of Warren County, has long recognized the importance of creative activities in youth development. Artistic expression is extremely valuable for young people. It provides them with constructive ways to spend time. It develops their skills, which builds their self-esteem. Perhaps most importantly, it gives them a way to transform difficult feelings into something meaningful and life affirming.

Parents may find it interesting that our most recent survey of adolescents reveals that creative activities is the least reported developmental asset out of a list of 40. Only 18% of young people in Warren County spend three or more hours a week involved in creative activities.

Summer vacation is quickly coming to a close and young people will soon be adjusting to a new routine. It is a wonderful time for families to discuss what kinds of creative activities appeal to their children. Find out about artistic opportunities that match their interest at school and in the community. If you discover that you share a common appreciation, consider making it a family activity once a week.

Art, music, writing, dance, and drama are all fun hobbies that can help young people develop in healthy ways.

Surviving or Thriving?

2006-09-04T20:26:00.000-04:00

I’m entering my third week of class finally feeling like I’m finally getting it. Professor Rob’s lecture served as a good overview of Aristotle, and Nicomachean Ethics has turned out to be quite readable. Life is good. And speaking of good…

Aristotle argues that the “highest human good [is] happiness, also identified with ‘living well’ or ‘doing well’.” Virtue results from an individual’s character, and care must be taken to develop one’s character. Pleasure is the result of doing good and not an end in itself.

There are a lot of wonderful applications here for spiritual formation in my current situation. I attend a Salvation Army corps where the overwhelming majority of people we come into contact with live in poverty. With the poverty come other associated problems, such as lack of education, neglect, addiction, health problems, learning disabilities, and physical abuse.

We Sallies have a tendency to address the more obvious black and white (evangelical) sins, while never getting around to promoting thriving behaviors in individuals. In other words, we’ll encourage you to quit smoking, but may never get around to addressing your need to get a GED. (I’m not making a generalization of the whole worldwide denomination, just my little corner of it.) This has really been bothering me for the last year, but Aristotle finally showed me why.

Virtue has to grow out of one’s own character development and I think that could be better emphasized in our programs that address the formation of individuals. (Now I AM talking about the whole denomination!) Often our mentality is like that of, well, an army where we just tell people what to think and do. In the long run we do a disservice to both our members and the denomination by not teaching people why to do the right thing -- for the right reason -- at the right time. Thriving members will lead to a thriving denomination, if I’m following the philospher’s line of thinking correctly...

Finally, I need to wrap my head around the concept of pleasure being the result of doing well, because I need to be able to articulate it to others. I met a young man from inner city Pittsburgh at a recent youth camp who questioned the logic in working at McDonald’s for a few bucks a week while other young people in the neighborhood were living the good life by selling drugs.

Where the heck did Kahunaville go?

2006-09-03T00:08:00.000-04:00

I was greatly suprised when the anchor resturant at the Walden Galleria Mall was totally and completely gone when I went to visit it today. I suppose it is more than the idea of the resturant dissappearing and more the dissappearing of my old life that is bothering me.

My family and I used to take our old church and family on daytrips to the Buffalo Museum of Science ( which thank god is still there), Niagra Falls, The Freeway in Hamilton, Ontario, Fort. Niagra, Niagra University, and the Genessee Country Museum (thank god they were all is still there). After a visit at one of the above attractions we would almost always go to Kahunaville for dinner. The food was ok, but the atmosphere was fun. Water and light shows, game arcade, animated oversized turtles (my son used to be afraid of them), and memories galore.

If you had never been to the mall before, you never would have know what you were missing.

I knew though.

I miss the people that we used to pack into the white maxi van, I miss the friendships that grew out of those times, I miss the days that my kids were little and amazed by everything they saw and did on those trips. Happy memories for all of us.

"The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of God stands forever." This is one of my favorite verses from the Bible - it is so true. Things change, people change, but God - he's the rock I need to hold on to.

I hope that the relationships that were built on all those "Kahunaville" trips don't fade like the flowers. I know that many people have moved on from Gen Next - in so many ways.

It is my hope that they havent' moved away from God and that they haven't forgotten all the ways God reached out to them and others.

May the days we spent together be remembered for more then the places we used to go - but the lives that were changed and the difference we tried to make. Yeah we still "Got your back". We love you and we miss you...
Cheers to Kahunaville and you.

Missing Gene, Grandpap and Annie

2006-09-02T23:00:00.000-04:00

I don't know what it is. Possibly it's a part of getting older and look back to see the people that have made such an influence on you throughout life, but I find myself missing certain people lately. Oddly enough they are all influences in the area of music...

1. Grandpap Dunn - He always had time to sit with me, sing to me and sing with me while we puttered in his garden. I miss him as I felt such a connection to him even though I grew up 3 hours away from him. His last words to me were - "Keep working till Jesus comes."

2. Annie Immordino - Annie and I were friends, neighbors and band mates. She could play anything instrument she set her mind to and never allowed the cancer she battled to affect her joy in performing. Annie passed away less than one week of when Grandpap passed - one funeral to the next... how I miss singing with her - joy, energy and sweet harmony.

3. Gene Eugene - I never met Gene, but the music he created, produced and worked on was such a part of who I was and was to become in the 90's. Honest lyrics, honest faith and stiving to grow closer to God all in tune with the melodies he wrote - from the heart.

Read a bit about him - listen to his music - let it reach your heart like it has and continues to touch mine.

The rain makes me melancholy,
Tara

Gene Eugene
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gene Eugene

Born April 6, 1961
Canada
Died March 20, 2000
Huntington Beach, California
Gene "Eugene" Andrusco (April 6, 1961 - March 20, 2000) was a Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musician. Andrusco was best known as the leader of the funk/rock band Adam Again, a member of The Swirling Eddies (credited as Prickly Disco) and as a founding member of the roots music supergroup Lost Dogs.

Acting

Andrusco was a child actor who appeared in such programs as Bewitched (where he played young "Darrin Stevens"), The Screaming Woman (TV Movie), Gidget Gets Married (TV Movie), Jake and the Fatman, The Bold Ones and Cannon. Eugene was also a voice actor, lending his voice to several animated series, including Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, The Barkleys and The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (1972-1974).

Music

Many years later, Gene would form a funk/rock band called Adam Again and become the owner of the Green Room recording studios in Huntington Beach, California. Gene recorded and produced hundreds of albums at the Green Room including albums by the Aunt Bettys, The Choir, Daniel Amos, Michael Knott, Crystal Lewis, Plankeye, Starflyer 59, and others.
In 1987, Eugene, Ojo Taylor and another investor formed Brainstorm Artists International (B.A.I.), which became an important label in the development of the West Coast Christian alternative music scene. Though the record label focused primarily on modern rock artists, B.A.I also released significant contributions from early rap and hip-hop artists like Dynamic Twins and Freedom of Soul. It was also at this time that Eugene discovered future Myrrh Records artist Anointed and went on to produce their first few albums.
In 1990, Eugene joined the rock band The Swirling Eddies, where he was known as "Prickly Disco". The following year, Gene, along with Terry Scott Taylor, Derri Daugherty, and Michael Roe, formed the alt-country supergroup, the Lost Dogs. Some of his most innovative work was with CCM pioneer Jon Gibson on the albums "Love Education" "Jesus Love's Ya" which is featured in TIME/LIFE'S "100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music".
Gene Andrusco died in his sleep on March 20, 2000 in his studio. Friends said that Eugene hadn't been feeling well in recent weeks and complained of headaches the day before his death. Eugene divorced singer Riki Michele in 1994, but the two remained close until the time of his death.
[edit]
Influence and Tributes

In July of 2000, several artists joined together with Eugene's old band Adam Again, to pay tribute to the artist at the Cornerstone Festival in Bushnell, Illinois. Performers including The Choir's Derri Daugherty and Steve Hindalong, The 77s' Michael Roe, Mike Knott, Riki Michele and others performed over two hours of Eugene's music. The show was recorded and released as a 2 CD set the following year.
Also in 2000, The Choir recorded "Hey Gene," a song written about their friend, for their Flap Your Wings album.
In 2001, Daniel Amos released their 2 CD album, Mr. Buechner's Dream, which included a song written about Eugene entitled "Flash In Your Eyes."
Also in 2001, Northern Records released a tribute album called A Live Tribute Recording For Gene Eugene, which featured artists like Starflyer 59, D.A.S., The Violet Burning, Undercover, Michael Knott, Steve Hindalong, Altar Boys and The Prayer Chain.
In 2002, the rock band Jars of Clay recorded one of Eugene's songs, entitled "Dig", for their Furthermore - From The Studio: From The Stage album,
Also, in 2002, singer-songwriter and session-musician Richard Swift (Starflyer 59) recorded Eugene's song "Jimmy", originally featured at Lost Dogs second album Little Red Riding Hood, for his 7" entitled Buildings in America.
"Jimmy" was also recorded by Jesse Sprinkle (Poor Old Lu) on his 2006 solo release The Corner of an Unlit World (Blind Record).
In 2004, for the 20th anniversary of the Cornerstone Festival, a DVD was released entitled 20 Years and Counting, which includes a tribute to several artists that regularly performed at Cornerstone and had recently died, including Eugene, Mark Heard, Vince Ebo and Rich Mullins.
In 2005, Daniel Amos released their DVD documentary, The Making of Mr. Buechner's Dream. The video, shot mostly in Eugene's Green Room studio during the recording of the band's Mr. Buechner's Dream CD, includes a tribute to the late friend and engineer. Archive footage of Eugene in the studio is also shown.

In philosophy class news...

2006-09-02T09:18:00.000-04:00

I find that while my appreciation of different philosophies has grown, I still can't honestly say that I am moving any closer to having a definitive opinion as to the state of humankind.

For instance, I posted a response to a classmate that was critical of Aristotle's view of society. I believe that a ruling class of elitists will become oppressive, no matter how noble the purpose they start out with. So it would appear that my opinion of mankind is that it is bent towards evil. But I also strongly believe that everyone in society should at least have a shot at realizing their potential as they see it -- and that sounds like a pretty optimistic view of humanity. I keep thinking myself in circles.

I'm beginning to wonder if these reading assignments aren't meant so much to give the class a smorgasbord of philosophies to choose between as a primer on how different philosophies have influenced (and are influencing) Christianity.

Inegalitarianism and Deliberative Abilities

2006-09-01T20:15:00.000-04:00

Aristotle is profound, but my classmates and I are really struggling with his ideas regarding natural slaves and woman's inferiority to man. I couldn't help but chuckle when I read the description of Aristotle's ideal society which (naturally) put philosophers at the pinnacle. His inclusion of slavery in his plan wouldn't have raised an eyebrow because that's just the way the world worked back then. But I do think it would have been refreshing for Plato, Aristotle, etc.to ask the slaves what they thought about the whole arrangement...

It makes me wonder what inegalitarian systems are in operation right now which we don't see because they've been in operation our whole lives? How about appalling working conditions in the third world so we can enjoy "low, low prices"?

Does promoting college to some students while promoting technical training to others come from an honest assessment of their abilities and/or potential or is it just another example of the deliberative view of Aristotle's day?

Forms and Archetypes

2006-09-01T18:46:00.000-04:00

The assigned readings are fostering a growing appreciation in me for Plato and Aristotle. I found the text regarding Islamic and eastern thought very interesting, but I feel like the sheer number of different worldviews I’ve surveyed over the last two weeks has made it hard for me to settle my mind and evaluate the “truthiness” of each one. (To steal a word from the Colbert Report.)

Plato’s Theory of Forms has been occupying my thoughts as of late. I initially dismissed the theory because it sounded so farfetched: Outside of space and time exist words and objects in perfect forms. These forms are discernable to our souls.

If I am following the philosopher’s thoughts correctly, humankind can recognize the relative goodness of a particular action because the soul can access the perfect Form of the Good. I have a harder time swallowing his example of a slave boy who was able to do geometry in his soul. (I wish I had a soul like that in junior high--it would have made math period a much more pleasant experience!

It was an interesting enough theory, but it just seemed a little “far out” for me. But something about it continued to nag at me. Then it finally occurred to me this morning--archetypes!

In creative writing and literature classes I learned about archetypical types: the traits and motivations that define characters. Whether you analyze the latest Hollywood blockbuster or an ancient epic poem, you’ll find that a hero fits a particular template, as do villains, mentors, sidekicks, etc. (Plots also follow similar patterns.)

Are archetypes in literature just another example of Plato’s Forms?

Glass Family?

2006-08-31T23:34:00.000-04:00

Glass Menagerie by: Tennessee Williams
Review by Tara L. Eastman

There is a tightrope that all families walk upon. Mothers and Fathers dance upon a narrow support to care and provide for the needs and desires of each other and their dependent children. Some families have the benefit of both parents to make a tag team tango of us against the world. Many families are carried upon the shoulders of an individual single parent with faces intent upon the goal while their legs and hearts tremble from the load of responsibility. No matter the number of supporting parents or guardians in a family, it is the perfect image of family that challenges many to work tirelessly for an unattainable goal.

There are always clothes to be washed, jobs to go to day in and day out, rooms to be tidied, bills to be made out and children to be cared for. In the midst of our daily dance of life, our children call to us with cheery voices saying; “Dad, will you come play super heroes with me?” or “Mom, can’t you come watch cartoons with me yet?” The childlike requests of our children reflect the lyrics of Harry Chapin’s song “ Cat’s in the Cradle”.

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him".

Our children see who and what we about more than the people we work with or the friends that we may occasionally go out for coffee with. They follow the steps that we take with unflinching attention and before we comprehend it they are grown and have taken on and internally impressed the life they saw lived through us. Our children become like us.

In Tennessee William’s play, The Glass Menagerie, the effect of parent upon children is seen and shared from the perspective of Tom Wingfield. Tom is a young and restless warehouse worker, living with and supporting his southern-born mother Amanda and his crippled and meek sister Laura. Amanda and her children were abandoned by her husband early in their marriage, leaving her to support her children in a time when most women would never had entered the work force – unless widowed or abandoned by their husband as she had been.

A straightforward look into this family can allow the reader to criticize Amanda for her overbearing nature, or Tom for his escapism into movies, drink and books, or Laura for her weakness of spirit and self esteem; but at a more careful view the reader can begin to see themselves and potentially their own family reflected by the characters of this play.

Tom is a young man yearning for adventure and that is something sadly lacking in the occupation he holds as a stock boy in a shoe warehouse. In fact, how many spirited individuals go to work every day while their dreams of creativity and adventure dance just out of reach due the requirements of reality. There is some empathy and understanding for Tom if the reader has ever held a job out of duty to his or her family. Tom desires to be like his father, footloose and fancy free, but the conflict of the care necessary for his Mother and sister jolts him back to the drudgery of the shoe warehouse; at least for a little while.

Laura is a meek and handicapped young woman that desires nothing more in life than to gaze at beautiful things. Had Laura been born into a family of privilege, she would have had the possibility to go to museums and possibly even been trained as an artist. But the circumstances of her birth allow her no place in the world outside of her apartment. While her mother expects her to go to business college or have men calling on her every evening; Laura’s only desire is to look lovingly and care for the glass creatures in her lighted curio.

Laura is like any member of a family that may be emotionally or physically handicapped. Parents can be an advocate for their challenged child and provide opportunities or goals that are attainable. Parents can also become a great hindrance by looking at what they desire and then laying an impossible path to follow at their feet. In fact, this kind of “living through your child” is something that happens no matter the child’s natural ability or desire. Laura’s relationship with her mother is a classic representation of a mother trying to re-live her own youth through the actions and potential of her own daughter.
While Amanda presses her wishes upon Laura’s life and future, Tom understands that Laura just won’t be or become what her mother desires. Laura doesn’t defy her mother’s wishes out of rebellion like her brother Tom. Laura simply isn’t capable of living outside of the world her mother and brother had created for her. Amanda desires Laura to be a savvy businesswoman or a socialite. Tom knows Laura can’t be the debutante his mother desires but never stops to think what Laura could become with a little help and encouragement. The very people that desire to make something more out of Laura’s life have created a trap that she will never escape.

Amanda, Tom and Laura’s mother, is an aging and frustrated woman. Amanda is frustrated by her inability to keep a husband, to birth and raise healthy, happy and successful children, and her own inability to pursue her dreams. Amanda focuses on the grandeur of her youth. Wealthy men used to call on her every night. The townspeople from her southern home used to talk about and look up to her because beauty and abilities. She used to go dancing in beautiful gowns and never think about the cost of the evening. Amanda recalls her youth from the rose colored perspective of decades past, only touching upon regret when mentioning her weakness for the looks and charm of Tom and Laura’s father. Amanda believes that she fell in love with the wrong man and that one decision became the all influencing and damming decision of her entire life. If she wouldn’t have married him she could have married that man who became so wealthy. Then she and her children would not be in a tiny apartments living week to week on her son’s meager wages.

So many people base the making or breaking of a life on one decision. One wrong turn or perhaps that one lucky streak made their life the heaven or hell that is their current situation.

Mr. O’Conner, Tom’s friend from the shoe factory is invited to dinner as a last ditch effort to marry Laura off before she turns one day older. Mr. O’Conner is a lively, outgoing man that had been an old school mate of Tom and an unrequited crush of his sister. Mr. O’Conner fills the place of the eternal optimist in this family dynamic. He is working, going to school to improve himself, and trying to encourage others along the way. Tom expresses his plans to move away and go adventuring and Mr. O’Conner encourages Tom to join him on his own dream of getting into television production. Tom shrugs off the offer, as it’s not the adventure he’s hoping for.

Mr. O’Conner is delighted by the conversation at dinner with Amanda and at this moment the audience can see a glimmer of who she used to be before she abandoned her dreams to would of, should of and could of. As Amanda and Tom exit to the kitchen, Mr. O’Conner and Laura have an opportunity to visit. Laura is shy and stiff but as the conversation carries on she begins to open up and share more of her thoughts and ideas then with any other character in the play.

It is ironic that this visitor that stops merely on an informal invitation has such a great affect upon each member of the family. Amanda expresses more charm and hospitality than ever before and Laura finally sees herself a pretty as he kisses her. The engaged to be married Mr. O’Conner kisses Laura when caught in the moment of overwhelming concern, care and appreciation of her simple sweet nature. He accidentally breaks Laura’s favorite unicorn statue. He unknowingly pushes Tom to make the decision to leave home for good. Mr. O’Conner does apologize for his moment of passion, for the breaking of the glass statue and he sadly departs from the apartment knowing he did all he could to make things right and that it couldn’t possibly have been enough to make any positive permanent change. The glass menagerie was broken before he arrived as he carries the once unicorn now horse away in his pocket as a sad souvenir of the evening.

Mr. O’Conner’s departure from the apartment snowballs into many departures. All of Amanda’s hopes for her children leave with him, Laura departs by simply fading into the scenery and Tom finally leaves to pursue his adventure. While some would say this one man was the catalyst for all these changes, it is more likely that Mr. O’Connor’s character was full of opportunities that the characters just weren’t able to see. One more choice was made after thousands had been made. Tom, Amanda and Laura choose to become overcome by the impossible instead of looking for the potential right in front of them.

Children mimic their parents from a very early age. Laura thought all there was to become was something she couldn’t - a southern belle with many men callers and balls to attend. Amanda thought that she was to be the revered southern mother – wise with the years of her life and respected by her children. All Tom had of his father was a photo, a post card and stories of how charming and adventuresome he was – so he chased after that image, that dream of what he thought he should be. Sadly, Tom does become like his father. Tom is always on an adventure, but he can’t escape the guilt of leaving his mother and especially his sister behind.

The circumstances of life are influenced by more than one decision or choice. Amanda’s future was not set in stone the moment that her husband and son left her. Laura’s ability to succeed in life was not imprisoned by the brace she wore upon her leg and Tom wasn’t locked into abandonment of his family in pursuit of adventure. Instead of dancing when the opportunity presented itself, this family allowed themselves to be paralyzed by tiptoeing around a glass menagerie that they had created.

“I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then.”

Imagine if this family and all the families represented by this play had the freedom to play ball when their children were small and spend time visiting when they were old. The freedom to love each other and play might make up for the handicaps we all have. It is necessary in the complexity of family life to understand that certain chores need to be done. Those daily chores have their place, but what if we were more interested in the people than the chores?
Asking people to live in a museum isn’t really fair – unless the people who live there are just ornaments or images to look at. Families are supposed to make messes, clean them up and then start all over again and again and again. Amanda, Tom and Laura needed to learn how to start over but starting over only works when everyone is willing to see the possibilities instead of the shortfalls. It is only when the potential of the O’Conner perspective is adopted that they will become the beautiful, awkward, imperfect human creation called family.

Good or Bad?

2006-08-31T14:19:00.000-04:00

Is humankind inherently good or evil?

I've spent enough weekends chaperoning the junior high boys cabin at camp to state that human nature is inherently evil!

Actually, I'm not sure if my whirlwind tour of worldwide philosophies gives me a conclusive answer to that question. It appears as if people are awed by both cruelty and kindness, as if they are exceptions to the normal routine. The readings keep giving me an impression that humankind is incomplete, and that's what keeps it striving for God, nirvana, self-awareness, wisdom, perfect abs, etc.

Relatively speaking...

2006-08-30T17:54:00.000-04:00

Relativism came up in our virtual class discussion today. Relativism can run the whole gamut from denying that there aren’t certain kinds of universal truths to believing there is no such thing as a universal truth.

There's a famous Abraham Lincoln quote that goes, "When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion." I don't think that's a terrible motto for people to live by until its adopted by someone narcissistic. That’s where subjective relativism breaks down for me. It only appears to work for people who already have a highly developed moral compass.

I don’t much buy conventionalist relativism, either. Societies may differ in the fine print, but nobody celebrates the liar, the thief, or the murderer. (C.S. Lewis addresses this in Mere Christianity. I’d post a quote but I’m out of town right now.)

Dissapointed with lemonaid and brownies

2006-08-30T01:02:00.000-04:00

I had a plan today. We all worked together to make it happen. It didnt' happen.

At least not the way I had thought.

I had an important person coming to help me with some home projects, so I made red beans and rice. Prepared tilaipia and breaded flounder. My hubby helped me put away the clothes that had taken over the dining room and he also helped me to make brownies. (This is the first time he's baked to my knowledge - so you know this must have been important).

The person arrived on time, observed the project I was finishing. I told them that dinner would be ready as soon as I finished, but they said, "Sorry, if I had known I wouldn't have eaten at Wendys."

I responded, "Well, Ian and I made brownies - I'll make coffee and you can relax for a few minutes."

"No thanks, I have Iced Tea in the car." he responded.

As you can imagine I was rather stunned. In fact I figured that I could set the food out as they worked on the least involved project on the front porch - and the food would be there, the lemonaid would be dancing irrisistably with several ice cubes in a tall cool glass and he surely would change his mind.

"Oh why don't you guys go ahead and eat, I'll just walk some measurements out on the front porch and I'll be on my way..."

The lemonaid didn't work and the tag team brownies held no leverage. He got into his car.

My son ran home from playing at the neighbors and was out of breath. He excitedly asked," If the company here yet?"

To my dismay and frustration ( with myself for not thinking faster), I said - " Oh honey he just went to leave, maybe if you run out right now you can catch him."

The eyes welling with tears and the redenss of my son's face told me that the company had driven away. He had just missed seeing him.

My son had woken up excited to see the company. He had helped me put things away ALL DAY to get ready for the company. He even helped plan what I would make for dinner - in case the company hadn't had a chance to eat dinner yet.

Dinner turned into tear fest. My husband tried to make light of the situation - but we were all so disappointed.

It's not even as if I had asked him to dinner beforehand, but don't you think you'd at least have a glass of lemonaid if it was offered? I know I would.

I let my son go watch a movie with the neighbor - as a way of distraction. I worked for now.

I even called and tried to set something up so my son could visit with the company tomarrow. It's all maybes and we'll sees.

I wish that either I communicated better so I knew what to expect and didn't end up drawing my kids hopes and feelings into situations like this. I wish I had a magic wand that would help "company" see or feel what we feel when they show up, make you feel connected and leave before you can pour the lemonaid.

I wish my Dad was less company and more , well Dad.

I love you Dad and I wish you would slow down to see all the people that love you -
I wish that you could sit and have a glass of lemonaid.

Blessed are the cheesemakers

2006-08-29T11:22:00.000-04:00

The assigned selections in Who Are We and The Study of Human Nature left me with a rather great AHA moment. Despite the diversity of worldviews surveyed so far, every one of them shared a common belief that humankind is somehow lacking.

Judeo-Christians view it as sin. The philosophers would say we do not understand truth enough. A Hindu or Buddhist sees suffering as the problem. (That’s three different diagnoses of the problem and we haven’t yet surveyed the psychologists and social revolutionaries!)

While we are not in agreement regarding the specific problem, much less the solution, I find it interesting that at the very least we’re all are in agreement that something is not right with humankind. There is some other action or awareness required to bring an individual to wholeness or full potential.

(People obviously do live unexamined lives in which they are not aware of any lacking on their part, but does any one know of a religion/philosophy of life that sees humankind “just fine as it is”?)

The worst philosophy paper ever!

2006-08-27T00:21:00.000-04:00

I have a philosophy paper due at midnight. As I type these words I am less than three hours away from the deadline. I have spent the last three days mulling over the question what does it mean to be human and I confess that I am no closer to the answer than when I began.

Sure, I can churn out any number words regarding love and family, appreciation of beauty and nature, and human achievement. Although I am personally satisfied with those explanations they will not hold up to philosophical scrutiny. After all, there are people who never experience a loving family but I could not (and would not) argue that the lack of this characteristic somehow makes them less than human. The same goes for human achievement. Who can say what contribution (if any) an individual has made to human progress?

Since I couldn’t come up with anything by way of personal observation, I decided to go to the Bible. Then it occurred to me that appealing to scripture is a weak argument because it presupposes that anyone reading this paper is in agreement with me regarding the authority of the Bible. So once again I came up with an explanation of human nature with which I am personally satisfied but isn’t adequate for the purposes of this assignment.

I have yet to define my thesis, but I have defined my problem: if I think hard enough about any statement about what makes a human, well, human, the whole thing collapses. I keep regressing the question the whole way back to I think therefore I am and certain that is not the intent of this exercise. I know that it may be expecting a bit much to come up with an airtight thesis, but it should at least be able to be reasonably defended.

I am going to have to look at this as a learning experience and take my first few baby steps into “doing” philosophy. The best I can hope for is that others in the cohort can assist me by point out the flaws in my thinking. So here goes:

My thesis:

Human beings possess a unique spark that connects their kind and makes them distinct from other living things.

Physical characteristics allow us to recognize each other, but even when there are variations in physical form we still can recognize a human being. In fact, even when a physical form is not present the recognition of the spark is still there. For instance, right now you are recognizing me as a human being even though “I” am solely represented by letters on a computer screen.

Sometimes there are cases where a human refuses to recognize this spark in another human being—say because of racial prejudice—but other people can and will make recognition. Much of the tension we experience with right to life issues stems from people debating when and in whom this spark exists.

We do not confuse other species for humans. Even when we feel a companionship to animals, it is often based on characteristics that mimic the human spark to some degree.

What this means in regards to spiritual formation is something I am still figuring out. It could be the groundwork to further make a case for the spark being the imprint of God.

Yahoo maps, Secret Squirrel, Shows, Mr. President, Dark Roast Coffee, Rubber Stamps and Tornados

2006-08-26T12:38:00.000-04:00

What a crazy non-weekend weekend it's been...

Yahoo? I have to write to yahoo maps, because the road trip to State College was great, but not due to their directions. I think they're as confused with the geography of western Pa as I am - which is why you need good direction in the first place. Anyhow, don't use Yahoo if you're driving through the woods = lost!

Secret Squirrels: You are so fun, loving and great to hang out with - being lost in Western Pa was the least stressful experience, because yoou were so cool about it. No complaining ( as long as we found a potty in time) was heard the ENTIRE trip! I can't tell you when that has EVER happened before. Thanks soooooo much for the great time!

The Shows: The venue in State College was called the Loft - really a chapel in an old Nazerine Church. It's really good to see many churches developing a ministry in music again. We've been trying in good old Warren, PA at the Sally Army; but overall --- it's as if there is a wave of adults or adult that are catch ing the wave --- of how the message of seeking after and carrying out a relationship with Jesus can be expressed in christian indy music. I've seen it in my generation and now many of the friends that were so encouraged in their faith in their late teens and 20's are now in their 30's and 40's trying to share the same message with the younger generation through the new generation's music. ( I've seen this wave in Bradford, Warren, and now State College. Let's keep it going guys!) This wave make's sense AS LONG AS THE MESSAGE IS BEING COMMUNICATED CLEARLY!

Last Tuesday was sandwiched between Run Kid Run and The Wedding. The Wedding was interesting to see. I'd have to learn more about them and their music to give more commentary. But the drummer for that band reminded me of a very young Tommy Lee, how funny is that.

But I digress.

Run Kid Run were very good at expressing their faith and capturing worship and rock in a new creative way - how so? We'll yes I bought thier Cd and not only do I like it, my teen daughter likes it, and my 9 year old son too. That is a large age spread and I think they have the makings to reach some various groups of people.

Last Tuesday I have to say is wonderful. Steve, Carl, Chris, Ben and Kristen are amazing people that really deserve some kudos. Not just for the fantastic music that they give to the masses, but for the sincere, caring people that they are. Sometimes in life we don't realize the importance our relationships hold - but I've seen young people encourged to keep up the good fight via the members care in lyrics, text messages and emails; as well as speaking to the fans/friends in person. Thanks so much for that. As a youth worker, I see all the things that bring my students down - you all are people that bring them up! The CD is great - thanks for "The Stand" remake - ahhh the good old days! Go buy the Last Tuesday CD now - no questions - just go get it and give it to a teen that needs to be encourged. That's all I have to say about that.

Mr President: We had the chance to catch up with a dear friend from Warren that is currently attending Penn State as a Political Science major (ie. Mr. President). He showed us around Penn State: Walmart, Northwest Savings Bank, Sheetz, Dennys at midnight and he gave us a place to stay for the night as I didn't want to tackle the Pennsylvania Quad at 3am. I really appreacte the hospitality and williness to be a friend to all the people I brought with me. You're a good guy, Mr. President.

Dark Roast Coffee: I have to say that Sheetz has the best Dark Roast European Coffee because the trip home seemed to speed by - caffine is great for that. We arrived home in under 3 hours thanks to correct directions and bypassing most fo the Pa. Quad.

Rubber Stamps: I spet most of my evening at the WASU show in Warren on Friday night. Some friends of mine had set up the show ( Annie Chaos, Jackie and Mary WOAH!) The managed to put 6 bands in the set! Whew - I was rather content to sit and greet people as they came in. Take their money and stamp their hand to get into the event. I got to visit with some new people, hang out with some of the Embers ( Deb, Carlie, Heather...) and relax until....

Last Band: Falling into Place was the last band to play and I was so happy to see them again. I got to meet the lead singer's fiance Katie and we got to have a nice talk getting to know each other. Isn't it funny that sometimes when you meet someone new it just clicks. Thei was one of those times. Thanks Katie! I once told the guys from FIP that I could tell that they were christians before they ever said, sang or told me they were. They just had a peace and joy about them that was uncontrollably God. It was a full circle moment when Katie told me last night - " I can tell you're a Christian. " Every day I pray that Jesus can been seen in my flawed life. That his love, power and grace can be seen in spite of my humaness. I'll keep praying for that to be seen. Wherever I go, whatever road trips I take, whoever I take with me, whatever bands I see, whoever I meet and build frindships with - I pray that the world sees Jesus. Before I open my mouth and after I speak - Let the world hear Jesus.

Tornado? - I was listening to the band enjoying the show and all the sudden I saw the crowd dissappear! The band started to laugh, thinking the kids lost interest. Later we found out that the funnel clouds had been spotted a few miles away. Parents wanted the kids home and they went.

I said my goodnights, picked up my son, picked up a pizza on the way home and realized it was after midnight. Now it's Saturday - it was the weekend that wasn't a weekend before the weekend - whew I think I'm going to sleep in on Saturday - well today.

Love and Caffine,
Tara

Blacula is beautiful, Frankenstein is ugly

2006-08-26T07:52:00.000-04:00

I believe that the universe conspires to distract me from my coursework. I don't think I've ever had a term paper due when the new issue of The Wittenburg Door hasn't appeared in the mailbox.

In this case it was a bag of DVDs left on my porch by misteroblivious. But they were a welcome distraction after wading knee-deep in philosophy for the last week. In fact, they just may have kept my brain from overheating.

Thursday evening I snuck in a viewing of Blacula. Don't let the title fool you. This film is a quite effective shocker with an above average script, only let down by the limitations of its low budget here and there. I couldn't help but compare it to another attempt at contemporizing the vampire legend, Dracula AD 1972. Even though my loyalty to Hammer Films is legendary, I have to say the nod for better picture goes to this blaxplotation effort by American International Pictures. Watch it and you'll agree: That's one strange dude!

Last night I watched the fifth film in Hammer's Frankenstein saga. For the uninitiated, the Hammer movies differed from the old Universal Pictures by following Doctor Frankenstein through a series of adventures -- not his more famous monster.

I guess its appropriate that the Doctor this late in the series has become more of a monster than any of his creations. Peter Cushing plays the part with a sinister edge that was mostly missing in the other films. Sure, the mad doctor was always willing to do horrendous things for the greater good of science, but this film finds him ruining people's lives with sadistic glee. It's not a great film, but it is an interesting twist on the Frankenstein theme -- you'll find yourself rooting for the monster! I watched it during a wicked thunderstorm which added to the fun!

Thoughts on... A Preface To Philosophy

2006-08-26T01:32:00.000-04:00

I had assumed that my previous study of cultural diversity, sociology, psychology, and religion had given me some sort of a head start on understanding the fundamentals of philosophy.

I was wrong!

A Preface to Philosophy by Mark B. Woodhouse isn’t a study of the history of the discipline. Rather, it is a guide to the practice of philosophy. The author’s love for the topic really comes through in the writing, which I found to be one of the key strengths of the book--his enthusiasm kept me engaged as a seemingly endless series of concepts were introduced.

I learned that philosophy seeks meaning and truth about issues by using reason to deduce the “most rationally defensible answers.”

I can’t honestly say that I’ve absorbed it all yet. The ideas became a little less distinct the further I went in the book. (I’m referring to my comprehension here, not the writing.) But I came away with the understanding that philosophy is something to be practiced and not just read. I’m hoping that as I exercise my critical thinking skills the less distinct concepts will come into focus.

Woodhouse has produced a brief guide to philosophy in straightforward language. The book also includes brief entries about key philosophers and an extensive glossary of philosophic terms. I would recommend it to anyone who would benefit from a handy guide to the topic—-I know I will certainly be referencing this book again!

Plato Fun Factory

2006-08-21T18:42:00.000-04:00

I really enjoyed Plato’s Apology. Reading it slowly yesterday afternoon helped me comprehend the language. Re-reading it today brought out a much greater meaning from the text.

I was especially surprised on the second reading how much humor was present in the text, such as when Socrates asks for the indulgence of speaking in his “native tongue” as a philosopher because he’s a stranger to being on trial. One crack – Meletus, that good man and true lover of his country, as he calls himself – wouldn’t have been out of place in a Dean Martin Celebrity Roast.

I think what impacted me the most was Socrates unswerving commitment to continuing his divine mission, even in the face of death: “…I shall obey God rather than you, and while I have life and strength I shall never cease from this practice and teaching of philosophy…” Passages like that couldn’t help but remind me of Saint Paul’s exclamation to the Corinthians, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16, NIV)

Popular culture, the media, the workplace, and the political parties are always ready to martyr people who don’t declare alliance to “the cause.” I think that the point to Socrates is that you have to be true to who you are and what you’re about. After all, “For wherever a man’s place is, whether the place which he has chosen or that in which he has been placed by a commander, there he ought to remain in the hour of danger; he should not think of death or anything but of disgrace.”

Shopski Sabbath

2006-08-19T23:50:00.000-04:00

Maybe it's all the polish food I ate last week at the fair, I don't know. But I woke up with the word "Shopski" embedded in my brain this morning.

Shopski I found after googling is ..."Shopski Cove (Shopski Zaliv ..'shop-ski 'za-liv..) is a 2.6 km wide cove indenting for 1.5 km the SW coast of Greenwich Island, Antarctica, between Triangle Point and the westernmost extremity of the moraine spit protecting Yankee Harbour. The cove is named after the Shoppe Region in Western Bulgaria."

It also is part of a title of bulgarian music - kinda bali/russian sounding. Anyhow, back to shopski. Shopski is where I have been all week - isolated on a wide cove, not able to accomplish a great deal due to the eye injury eariler this week, feeling frustrated and lazy, yet enjoying the rest all in the same. I think in a way "shopski" could be expressed as Sabbath.

Sabbath or "The Hebrew word ("habbat", .., Strong's H7676) means "the [day] of rest (or ceasing)", as it entails a ceasing or resting from labor." Sabbath is something we ALL need, even if we will never admit it. In a way, I think this particular shopski sabbath was one that God declaired for me. Maybe some won't understand the context here, but I often won't stop unless something stops me - I'm a figity wicket of a person. So even thought I'm not fond of the circumstances of this eye injury induced shopski - I am thantkful to have God in my life and appreciate that he knows the greater needs I have and often ignore.

Thanks for the shopski God. Bulgaria can be a beuatiful place.

The Return of the Prodigal Son

2006-08-19T08:58:00.000-04:00

A chance encounter with an inexpensive poster forever changes a person’s life. His desire for increased understanding of the image finds him studying the original work in St. Petersburg and delving deep into the scriptures and the recesses of his own soul.

In The Return of the Prodigal Son, Henri J.M. Nouwen created a work of staggering beauty, no less so that the painting that inspired the memoir. A sensitive and introspective author, Nouwen’s body of literature never fails to stir the reader. The Return of the Prodigal Son may be his masterpiece as he lays his soul bare as he identifies with each of the characters in the parable of the lost son.

Henri J.M. Nouwen was a priest, educator, social activist, and prolific author. Despite his many remarkable accomplishments, his writings often give the impression of a somewhat sad and lonely individual. Could this be why the image and story of the prodigal enchanted him so?

The parable of the prodigal son resonates with us even today because it depicts universal themes such as independence, failure, betrayal, loss, forgiveness, love and the search for meaning. The main body of story follows a similar structure to the archetypical masculine journey in literature.

“There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. (Luke 15: 11 - 12, NIV)

These verses correspond to the first stage of the masculine journey. Our protagonist, the son, lives in a world of opportunity and wealth. But he is fixated on the idea of making his own way in the world.

"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. (Luke 15: 13 - 16, NIV)

The second stage of the masculine journey is pictured in these verses. After finding some initial fulfillment (wild living) the son’s world comes crashing down around him. Not only does he lose his personal wealth, but the entire country experiences a famine. In other words, he is the poorest of the poor. The vile animals he is hired to maintain actually have a better standard of living than he does -- at least they have regular meals.

"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' So he got up and went to his father.

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'

"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate. (Luke 15: 17 - 24, NIV)

These verses illustrate the final act of the masculine journey. The son experiences an awakening as he comprehends the goodness of his father. His transformation is demonstrated by the prodigal expressing his willingness to be a hired hand. Of course, the victory is made complete by the restoration of his sonship by the forgiveness of his father.

Nouwen takes this powerful story and applies it to his inner life, "the home of God within [him]". This is the home where the truest communion with God takes place, stripped of any pretense. His insights are honest -- almost uncomfortably so sometimes -- and reflect his deep understanding and commitment to the spiritual discipline of study.

Nouwen has the courage to drag out into the light the darkest struggles of the human heart. When he writes, “It dawned on me that my best theological and spiritual formation had not been able to completely free me from a Father God who remained somewhat threatening and somewhat fearsome”, he is articulating the struggle of so many people.

Other insights are unique to the author, such as his precious image of Jesus as a prodigal son. Although not a perfect comparison to the son in the story, I personally found it brought out a new richness in my reading of the parable and added depth to my understanding of the life of Jesus.

Reading The Return of the Prodigal Son left me better understanding myself and more in love with God. It is astounding that one person’s attentiveness to a painting and a few lines of text can yield so much insight on the spiritual life. It has made me more committed to cultivating the discipline of study in my own life.

The prodigal son remained close to Henri Nouwen’s heart for the rest of his life. According to the official website of the Nouwen Society, the author passed away in 1996 en route to St. Petersburg to film a documentary about Rembrandt’s painting. The prodigal had returned home.

Things just don't seem to fit

2006-08-06T23:31:00.000-04:00

It's late and I should be working on homework, but I'm not. My mind is swimming in too many thoughts and feelings to concentrate on 100 year old poetry and novels.

I suppose some would say that I'm being too egocentric, or that I feel the world relvolves around me - It's not that either. It's just that things aren't fitting right now. (and I'm not talking about my jeans)

It may be that some friends are going "back to school" and leaving me at home, it may be the fact that summer is blowing past at lightening speed and I feel that I havn't had as much time with my family as I should, or it could be my own awareness of growing past some circumstances of my life.

I'm trying to be "content in all circumstances" - but it's hard when more than you're feet are feeling the pinch.

I think I need new shoes - in fact, I know I do.