So How is YOUR theology of giving?
November 30, 2004
From a news article I read about Ken Jennings, newly-vanquished Jeopardy all-time grand champ (74 wins; $2.52 million winner):
“Jennings, a Mormon, will donate 10 percent of his winnings to his church — and a European vacation is planned, “probably a really nice one.” He’ll hardly slip back into anonymity; he’s visiting David Letterman and Regis Philbin this week, has a book deal and is open to any commercial sponsorship opportunities.”
Here’s my question: if you had won $2.52 million on Jeopardy, would you be obeying God to give 10% of it to your church?
My answer is absolutely, positively, unequivocally, no.
Something ELSE Jim Wallis is up to…
November 30, 2004
Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners, is a lightning rod figure, coming as he does from the meager “evangelical left”. My buddy Bob has quoted Jim approvingly–and Jim does have some good things to say, no doubt. Here’s what he’s up to these days–and I hope that this is a sobering thing for some of us “emerging church” devotees, given that Jim is highly-regarded in the “EC” movement.
Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A.
An injudicious ecumenicism that believes it can cross such diverse lines for the goals listed below is not going to be a help to the cause of Christ, but a massive step backward. I’m sorry that Jim Wallis and Ron Sider felt compelled to sign their names to this boondoggle.
With excitement we began to sketch the outlines of a new level of relationship and action that offer a common witness for Christ to the world. This common witness will be visible through our:
· Celebrating a common confession of faith in the Triune God.
· Seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit through biblical, spiritual and theological reflection.
· Engaging in common prayer.
· Speaking to society with a common voice.
· Promoting the common good of society.
· Fostering faithful evangelism.
· Seeking reconciliation by affirming our commonalities and understanding our differences.
· Building a community of fellowship and mutual support.
“On the verge of a true spiritual awakening”?
November 30, 2004
In a nutshell, this paragraph describes why I disagree with Dr. Falwell on a lot of things these days. I’ll let you read it, and then comment; it comes from Agape Press.
“…The founder of a new grassroots Christian organization says America is on the verge of a true spiritual awakening. Dr. Jerry Falwell says the Christian Church in America made its voice heard during the recent presidential election, and now it is important for those values voters to build on what he calls a growing base. “A large turnout usually works against the conservative pro-family candidates,” he notes, “but that is not true anymore because the church of Jesus Christ is now standing tall, and we have the ability. If we’ll pursue the task and not assume we’ve won and become complacent — if we will press the battle now — in the next four, eight, or twelve years, we can bring this nation back to the faith of our fathers.” According to Falwell, America has been undergoing a quiet spiritual awakening during the past two decades. He believes the recent popularity of the popular Left Behind end-times book series, the rise of contemporary Christian music, and the increase among those who describe themselves as Evangelicals point to a modern-day great awakening. Falwell is hoping his new activist group, the Faith and Values Coalition (http://www.faithandvalues.us), will be able to build on the momentum of this spiritual movement.” [Allie Martin]
I appreciate a lot of what Dr. Falwell has done, and the influence he played in my life in the formative years of my spiritual development. Here though, briefly, are my issues with this statement:
1. The “recent popularity of the popular Left Behind end-times book series” says little about spiritual awakening and more about the ability of the “Christian”publishing industry to market the sensational.
2. The “rise of contemporary Christian music” may well be more a bane than a blessing to the evangelical movement. It is an unaccountable, profit-driven industry marketing, all too often, shallow semi-Christian songs to, largely, our own evangelical sub-culture. Just look at what sells–and what doesn’t. Songs that are solid theologically, particularly ones that are weighty, theologically, find little market, while the catchy songs and the ones sung by sexy, hip Christians do well. Michael Card and Steve Camp do some of the best stuff going. Wonder where they placed on the “charts” (that’s another subject for another day; the Dove Awards might just be the worst “Christian” invention of the 20th century) compared to Avalon, Point of Grace, Stacie Orrico, and Tait?
3. George Barna says that only 9% of our evangelical young people have a Christian worldview. Nine stinking percent. Nine. I don’t care if 100% of Americans profess themselves to be “evangelicals”; the fact of the matter is that we are losing the minds of a generation. Thankfully, at least they’ll be well-acquainted with Tim LaHaye’s view of prophecy… 
4. “Falwell is hoping his new activist group, the Faith and Values Coalition (http://www.faithandvalues.us), will be able to build on the momentum of this spiritual movement.” This is the reincarnation of the Moral Majority, which is all well and fine, I suppose, but are we talking about spiritual renewal or political renewal–or have we lost the discernment to be able to tell the difference? Recently, I saw Dr. Falwell’s listing of some of his “allies” in this fight; among the names were John Hagee and Rod Parsley (and Joel Osteen might have been on the list, I don’t remember). These people might have political sympathies that align with Dr. Falwell’s, but they are borderline heretics.
So, do we have a “true spiritual awakening” when we elect conservatives/Republicans to office, or when we “do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with (our) God”? Yes, maybe we can do both at the same time, but which are we shooting for the hardest?????:!:
Cooperstown Musings
November 29, 2004
OK, I really pretty much lost interest in baseball in 1994, when the greedy owners and greedy players and the worst commissioner in all of sports managed to cancel the World Series (okay, okay, I still pay some attention, such as this year when the Bosox and Cards played in the WS, but compared to what I used to do attention-wise, I care little). At any rate, the one thing that will continue to interest me for awhile yet is speculation about who does or does not belong in the Hall of Fame. Having read a lot of Bill James, who knows more about baseball than any man alive, I have some opinions. My attention was piqued today because Darryl Strawberry showed up on the ballot for the first time; can it be five years since the StrawMan played the game? What a waste of talent. At one time, I was one of the world’s foremost collectors of Straw memorabilia (a fact verified by the operator of www.darrylstrawberry.org, where many pictures of my collection appear). What a waste, what a waste. 
At any rate, my opinions upon those under consideration, as well as a couple of other thoughts:
Wade Boggs is on the ballot for the first time. He belongs in, no question about it. A wonderful leadoff hitter, who not only hit the ball well, but would take walks. He was all about getting on base, and On-Base Percentage is a FAR more important stat than Batting Average; he excelled at both.
Ryne Sandberg remains on the ballot. He too belongs in Cooperstown. A tremendous fielder, a great hitting second baseman, he is so much better than Bill Mazeroski that it isn’t even worth mentioning, and Maz made the Hall of Fame (dubiously, in my opinion).
A tougher call is Bruce Sutter and Goose Gossage. It all sort of depends on what you think of relief pitchers. I know this: when the game was on the line, Goose was the last guy you wanted to see. Sutter was dominant as well. If I could only take one or the other, I’d take Gossage; if I were voting, I’d vote for them both.
Then, taken as a pair, are Andre Dawson and Jim Rice. These were similar players in a lot of ways, except that Dawson had speed and Rice didn’t. That said, Dawson’s stats were padded by playing in Wrigley, and his one MVP award was bogus as all get-out. Rice won two MVP’s, and was for a time the most-feared hitter in baseball, something Andre Dawson never was. Tough call, but Rice is on my ballot, and Dawson isn’t.
Willie McGee is on the ballot. How nice. I love Willie McGee, what a funny little character. He could hit a baseball, won two batting crowns, could look as bad as anyone at the plate and then step up next time and lace a double in the gap. If, however, Willie McGee finds a spot in the Hall of Fame, I hope Fibber McGee does as well (and Molly, too).
The article I read says, “The other holdovers on the list are Bert Blyleven, Dave Concepcion, Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Lee Smith and Alan Trammell.” I like two names off that list, and it’d probably surprise some: Bert Blyleven and Dale Murphy. Blyleven still ranks among the top ten in all-time strikeouts, and he was a great pitcher with some fairly crummy teams. His curveball is one of history’s best, and though he’ll probably never get in, I’d give him my vote. Dale Murphy won two MVP’s with the Braves, finished two homers shy of 400, and spent some time catching. He was a great hitter, better than the stats even indicate, I think, and I’d give him my vote.
Finally, for a guy who is not on the ballot because he received about 20 votes his one time out and was dropped–but who I’d put in Cooperstown in a heartbeat. No, I’m not going to give his name, partly because I’m going to see if anyone is reading this and then can actually venture a guess as to who this guy is. There are only two catchers in MLB history who have hit 300 doubles; this guy is the all-time leader, and he hit well over 400. Playing catcher most of his career, he accumulated nearly 2500 base hits, if memory serves me. He was a regular All-Star, toiling on some poor teams. He was considered a below-average catcher, but Bill James proves that he was actually statistically just a hair ABOVE average–though admittedly, defense wasn’t his strong suit. He didn’t have great power, but he had decent power, well better than most catchers who played in his era. He is one of the most underrated backstops of all time. Any guessers out there (actually, you don’t much have to guess in these days of the internet, but guess anyway if you want to…).:cool:
Another fun site, recommended by my sister in Japan
November 23, 2004
Know how funny it is to see how fer’ners mess up the English language? Here’s a site dedicated to the mangling of the language:
Thankful, maybe, but to whom?
November 23, 2004
By now, perhaps you've heard of the news that in Maryland, students in public schools are forbidden to be taught that the Pilgrims were thankful to God; the “G” word is, effectively, banned in teaching about Thanksgiving. Here's the story:
Students Free to Thank Anybody, But God
So much for teaching history, so much for academic freedom, etc. This shouldn't surprise us, though; the public school system, in most places, is the greatest impliment for the secular indoctrination of our young people that exists today (although TV has to rank a close second). No wonder Chuck Colson and George Barna report that only 9% of our Christian teens have a Christian worldview.
But there is another thing here: we as Americans will gather around dinner tables and stuff ourselves with turkey and the trimmings, preceded by the obligatory prayer in many cases, prior to engaging in serious NFL-watching, on Thursday of this week. And we will hear stories on TV about thankfulness; we'll read editorials in our newspapers telling us that we have much for which to be thankful (even with the re-election of George W. Bush, some will snottily add). But missing will be the object to Whom we ought to be thankful. We as Americans have this vague sense that we need to be thankful for the many great blessings we enjoy, but many can't bring themselves to really say publicly just Who it is we ought to be thanking. How 'bout this: “every good and perfect gift comes from the Father”–translated, God!
Liberals fleeing to Canada in droves…
November 22, 2004
This is hilarious; enjoy a good laugh today!
Illegal Immigrants
The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration.
The re-election of President Bush is prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they’ll soon be required to hunt, pray and agree with Bill O’Reilly.
Canadian border farmers say its not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night.
“I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn,” said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota. “The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn’t have any, he left. Didn’t even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?”
In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields.
“Not real effective,” he said. “The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn’t give milk.”
Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals Near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves.
“A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions,” an Ontario border patrolman said. “I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though.”
When liberals are caught, they’re sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about the Bush administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer and watch NASCAR.
In the days since the election, liberals have turned to sometimes ingenious ways of crossing the border.
Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers.
“If they can’t identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, We get suspicious about their age,” an official said.
Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies.
“I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can’t support them,” an Ottawa resident said. “How many art-history majors does one country need?”
In an effort to ease tensions between the United States and Canada, Vice President Dick Cheney met with the Canadian ambassador and pledged that the administration would take steps to reassure liberals, a source close to Cheney said.
“We’re going to have some Peter, Paul & Mary concerts. And we might put some endangered species on postage stamps. The president is determined to reach out.”
This phrase comes from the 1978 "Jonestown massacre" in which most members of the Peoples Temple cult, blindly following their leader Jim Jones, committed suicide by drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid.
Osborne: A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God
Schlossberg: Idols For Destruction
