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December 31, 2004
Yikes!
Check out this piece on Daily Kos - if you can take a little gay-bashing-anti-Europe bit in God's name (helpful Bible commentary included).
Posted by pgutwin at 7:54 AM | Comments (0)
December 30, 2004
I hate it when that happens
I went running with Becca today, and she used her GPS gizmo. After making fun of her gadget filled life (she walked in to the house holding the GPS, her iPod (mini) and heart rate monitor), we went running. The darn GPS thing was really pretty neat - (sigh) - it's really hard being a Luddite with all this cool stuff floating around...
Posted by pgutwin at 2:50 PM | Comments (3)
Fight for what you believe
A piece on NPR a few days ago included an excerpt of a conversation with some teenage evangelical Christians about their motivation and preparations to debate their faith. What stuck in my mind was one kid who said something like “we have to prepare to fight for what we believe” referring to their training as debaters. The idea of fighting seems to be amplified in evangelical thought (“Fight for Christian values”), but what really got me thinking is why evangelical Christians feel a need to fight those around them?
The gospels are somewhat ambiguous on the topic of fighting. Jesus did use a form of physical power to communicate his disapproval of the use of the temple (Matt 21:12), but this was limited to turning over a few tables and benches. A clearer lesson on the use of force came during Jesus’ last hours, instructing his disciples to eschew the sword even in defense (Matt 26:52).
Saint Paul makes further references to fighting – but typically to admonish his disciples to “fight the good fight of faith” or “struggle against the unbelievers”. However, as with Jesus, these images of fighting are (almost) always juxtaposed with Love (e.g. Rom 15:29-31).
So the question remains, why fight? It seems that evangelical Christians have never had it so good – the opportunity to practice their faith in the United States is unrivaled. What fuels the evangelical Christian in his or her intent to change the world around them?
Simplistically one can view this as a fear (stress) response (fight or flight). The evangelical Christian fear response has been compared to other (radical) religious movements when they believe the future of their beliefs are threatened.
Being a Christian takes practice and courage to live a life full of love (Luke 6:32-35). It is very easy to shrink back from this daunting task, and project our own fear onto other’s – making them responsible for our own failures. This is the “fight” Saint Paul was referring to – the inward fight to be a more loving person. The future of Christianity is threatened, but it’s the treat of relevance, not “secularism”. As a Christian I am completely committed to living as Jesus did. But I am also completely committed to building a faith community that’s relevant in today’s world, not waste precious time and resource fighting.
Posted by pgutwin at 12:10 PM
December 21, 2004
A great place to be alone
I'm not the only one that thinks Manhattan is a great get away from people (Lake Wobegon? It's Where Men Are Persistent). Beth thinks I'm nuts (she escaped years ago), but I fantasize about the splendid isolation the city that never sleeps offers.
Posted by pgutwin at 5:49 AM | Comments (0)
December 20, 2004
All Right
A softball game in Berkeley, California comes to a climax in the 9th inning – the Tofu Turkeys runner slides into home plate and the umpire shouts “he’s safe”. The Soy Knuts team burst into pandemonium and the coach storms out onto the filed. “He’s OUT” shouts the Soy Knuts coach, and the Tofu Turkeys coach runs out onto the field shouting “SAFE, SAFE SAFE!”. As the melee continues a peaceful looking gentlemen strolls out to the two arguing coaches, and walking up to them, he drapes his arms over both their shoulders and says “Boys, boys, relax. This is Berkeley – you can both be right…”.
The reason that never really happens is that it’s a total let down – no clear winner, no resolution, two teams still wondering who has won and lost. It’s the reason Berkeley (as an icon of the progressive lifestyle) is the butt of the joke – it’s a crazy place where people can live any way they want. The “real world” doesn’t work that way.
But the joke touches us because in some way we want life to be like that – to have a contest, to test ourselves, to strive, but in the end to be OK with who we are, and not carry the burden of winning or loosing.
Softball and politics can, at it’s best, be like that joke – allow us to strive, test ourselves and others, and in the end be OK as who we are, no matter if it’s winning or loosing. But at it’s worse, it can be destructive – demeaning for the losers as outsiders, not included, and for the winners, setting up an obsessive need for not loosing, becoming a winning machine, abandoning humility and humanity for the sake of not loosing.
I’m probably the last blogger on the planet to say it: The political dialog has become destructive. The conservatives have adopted the metaphor and reality of war (both religious and secular) to frame our national dialog. The conservatives won’t be in power forever – there is no safety where they are trying to go. The only thing guaranteed is pain.
We can be “all right” – but it will take a radical reframing of the dialog in our country.
Posted by pgutwin at 8:43 PM | Comments (0)
Note to self: Run more.
Note back from self: I don’t want to run any more. It makes my knees and back hurt. Besides, it was ten zillion degrees below zero this morning – what kind of nut do you take me for?
Note to self: What do you mean you don’t want to run any more? I gotta get ready for the marathon, and it’s not going to get any shorter. And it was not “ten zillion degrees below zero this morning” it was about 10 below zero. I’ve run when it’s colder.
Note back from self: Oh – so you’ve been stupid enough to run when it’s COLDER than 10 below zero? What a wing nut. And just because you’ve spent your hard earned money on punishing yourself in a marathon, this means I have to be in pain for the next six months?
Note to self: I understand that the pain not fun. But there is a purpose to it, and you have admitted in the past that it can be fun – the feeling of being out in the open, the freedom, the rhythm. It’s not all bad.
Note back from self: Your right, it can be fun. But I’m not running when it’s ten bizillion degrees outside. I just won’t!
Note to self: OK, no running when it’s lower than 10 below zero. Actually it was about 12 below this morning, so today didn’t count. Change the training schedule to reflect that.
Note back from self: Run tomorrow?
Note to self: You bet!
Posted by pgutwin at 8:26 PM | Comments (1)