As proof of God's sense of humor, the sky in Dallas, this morning, was a perfect Simpsons-Opening-Credit-Blue-Sky-Greyish-White-Little-Clouds-Parting. I didn't see a giant "The Simpsons" title credit floating out there but I could hear the chorus singing in my head...
Thaaa Siiiiimpsoooooons [dah dah duh daaah daaah dah duh duh duh daaaaah]
So, for your Opening Day enjoyment, I present two fantastic videos.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
The Realty of Being Friends with the Diety
Finished Stricklin's "A Genealogy of Dissent," last night. Good stuff. Should be required reading for Baptists. We've lost our memory of history and this will help recover that. Stricklin wrote this book in 2000 and I would love to see a 2nd edition that discovers what has happened since the Baptist Faith & Message 2000. The plot definitely thickened after that.
Greg Horton, at The Parish, is continuing his theme of "problems with be-friending Jesus/God." You can read about it here, if you're so inclined. Here's a teaser...
Greg Horton, at The Parish, is continuing his theme of "problems with be-friending Jesus/God." You can read about it here, if you're so inclined. Here's a teaser...
The problem as I see it is that there is no way for anyone to differentiate "the Spirit" from intuition, whim, impression, thought, hallucination, or projected desire. Talking to God at this point becomes a game of deciding which impressions are the Holy Ghost and which ones are random thoughts that flit through my head. This was especially treacherous in my charismatic days when everyone thought they had a "word from God." If there are no criteria by which to judge the Ghost's activity, then any inclination or desire can be read as "the Ghost." Borat made this painfully obvious in the scene where Cohen gets "saved and filled with the Spirit" at a charismatic church. No one knew they were being played, so everyone agrees to play along: Borat is therefore momentarily a charismatic Christian.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Good Report, Books & Stuff
I have been very preoccupied lately. Lack of posts are due to my equating it with this blog being a low priority. I'll try to stop that.
Doctor Visit - I got a good report on my 29th birthday. My blood work from the Fall of '06 showed some elevated liver function but it seemed to be normal during this round of testing. When I told the doctor that I needed to lose about 20-25 pounds, he told me about this great program: eat less, exercise more. He's got a book coming out soon and it's sure to make millions.
Books - I parlayed the reading of Bass' "Christianity for the Rest of Us" into a book study for our Logos Sunday School class. Actually, Jill Hill was responsible for that decision. I merely shared it with the class. As for Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle?" I turned it back into the library without getting past page 10. You have David McCollough's "1776" to blame for that. I started reading it over the July 4th week, as a way of re-familiarizing myself with the Revolutionary war and to feed my patriotism. Mission Accomplished. Alas, it set me back on Kingsolver's book and, then, I was forced to turn it back in because it was a "Non-renewable" at the library. I'll get back to it someday.
I'm currently reading David Stricklin's "A Genealogy of Dissent: Southern Baptist Protest in the Twentieth Century." It's the account of progressive leaders in Southern Baptist life during the Civil Rights Movement and beyond. It has really help shed some light on my Baptist heritage during that last century. I, now, realize what the origins are behind a contemporary group of influential moderate Baptist ministers in the South. Namely, Ray Vickrey and his friends "The Neighborhood." They were all brought together by their reverence for Carlyle Marney (1917-1978), a Southern Baptist minister to FBC Austin and Myers Park Baptist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina. Good stuff. A must-read for any Baptist.
Cheers.
Doctor Visit - I got a good report on my 29th birthday. My blood work from the Fall of '06 showed some elevated liver function but it seemed to be normal during this round of testing. When I told the doctor that I needed to lose about 20-25 pounds, he told me about this great program: eat less, exercise more. He's got a book coming out soon and it's sure to make millions.
Books - I parlayed the reading of Bass' "Christianity for the Rest of Us" into a book study for our Logos Sunday School class. Actually, Jill Hill was responsible for that decision. I merely shared it with the class. As for Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle?" I turned it back into the library without getting past page 10. You have David McCollough's "1776" to blame for that. I started reading it over the July 4th week, as a way of re-familiarizing myself with the Revolutionary war and to feed my patriotism. Mission Accomplished. Alas, it set me back on Kingsolver's book and, then, I was forced to turn it back in because it was a "Non-renewable" at the library. I'll get back to it someday.
I'm currently reading David Stricklin's "A Genealogy of Dissent: Southern Baptist Protest in the Twentieth Century." It's the account of progressive leaders in Southern Baptist life during the Civil Rights Movement and beyond. It has really help shed some light on my Baptist heritage during that last century. I, now, realize what the origins are behind a contemporary group of influential moderate Baptist ministers in the South. Namely, Ray Vickrey and his friends "The Neighborhood." They were all brought together by their reverence for Carlyle Marney (1917-1978), a Southern Baptist minister to FBC Austin and Myers Park Baptist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina. Good stuff. A must-read for any Baptist.
Cheers.
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