The Vomit Eaters

"As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly."

This weekend I have a special weekend link roundup for you, and its nature is one that is serious enough that I don't think it would be appropriate to clog up my post with pictures of cattle rustlers or send out funny emails this time.

A number of the blogs I read regularly (or learned about from a link from a blog I DO read regularly) have had touching accounts of struggles with sexual addiction. Sexual brokenness is such a tremendous struggle both within the Church and outside of it that I would argue that its effects may be analogous to a cultural Black Death. Lust, like the bubonic plague, had long afflicted humanity, but societal changes may allow it, like the plague, to sweep over hill and dale and into the homes of all people, tearing them asunder. In the 1300's, longer winters reduced food supplies, and widespread malnutrition weakened immune system responses, just as trade with the Orient brought plague-infested rats aboard merchant sloops. Between one and two of every three people perished.

Our culture today suffers from hunger. The old cultural mores are fading fast and indifference to God dulls many. The relentless pursuit of perfection (Lexus's motto, by the way) and wealth erodes what little substance remained, as rainwater washes away the earth from fallow fields. How many are raised by absent fathers--more shadow than flesh--or driven mothers--who clutch rather than hug?

Amidst this societal brokenness, pervasive cable television and interactive internet carry an old disease but unleash a new epidemic. And we barely have the strength to fight. See this, and read the comments, too.

Here are the stories of those who have been infected--but they are also stories of healing, as well. But before you read them, I'd invite you to pray. Repent, if need be. I don't want this to be some light reading nestled in between ESPN and Drudge Report. If you don't treat this topic with respect, I'd rather you not read at all; sexual addiction feeds on numbness to tragedy, and I will do all I can to prevent my blog from furthering any such numbness. My prayer is that this would convict the indifferent, encourage the despairing, and bless the recovering. It is why each of these three chose to share their stories, and they have been a blessing to me.

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Anne Jackson, Flowerdust.net

Anne is one of my favorite bloggers, probably because she has personality--she says: "Anne Jackson is a big dork who loves God, her husband, people, the church, and writing. Oh, and dark chocolate." If you've ever read my emails instead of deleting them, you know I'm a fan of self-deprecating humor.

Anyway, here are links to struggles she shared, with a quick excerpt after each.

An Emotional Affair

Something happened not long after Chris and I got married. There was a guy we both knew and for whatever reason, I began getting tons of attention from him. Now that we were married, the whole conviction thing crept in and I told Chris what my mind and emotions were doing. It was THE scariest thing I have ever done. But I promise you. It is possible. You can tell your spouse what you’ve been going through.

Pretty Woman - My Battle with Beauty and the Beast

Something I have always battled is comparing myself to other women. It’s almost natural for me to see someone and think, “If I were that skinny…that tall…that confident…if my teeth were that white…my skin that clear…” but on the flip side, I also think, “I’m glad I’m not that fat…that short…that gangly…that wrinkled…”

Truth and Sex

So..I know this has been a really scary thing to write about. Honestly, I’m still debating whether I should post this or not. But I don’t think I have a choice. This is a real problem and if we keep hiding it - like I did for so long - we will always be a slave to it.

Cindy Beall

I learned about Cindy because her posts were cross-listed on Anne's blog right before Christmas (they evidently know each other and will be working at the same church in Oklahoma City).

Our Story, Chapter 1

I heard the cracking of my heart as he spoke and felt the devastation setting in almost immediately.

Our Story, Chapter 2

Our Story, Chapter 3

Our Story, Chapter 4

Our Story, Chapter 5

It Takes Two...

Do I Trust Him Yet?

But it’s not really Chris I trust…it’s the Jesus in him that I trust. Isn’t that the way it is with all of us?

My Boys

Be sure to see that link to her boys...it's a treasure.

Tim Yeager, Truth Isn't Sexy

I found Tim's blog also via comments from Anne's blog, and I've been reading his long and arduous struggle towards recovery. It's been difficult and not without stumbles, but if God can make a dead man live, he can restore his son. Here are some various posts.

The Breakthrough (12/1/05)

The Pain in Healing (12/8/05)

The proper way for a broken man with a deep wound of brokenness to be healed, is to allow God to heal you from your root, slowly and steadily. Everyone’s root is different, but it is where all addictions are based. I have needs inside of me that long to be met. If I may quote somebody, who quoted another somebody, “”Unmet Needs get Met, it is our choice who meets them”". I chose the wrong desire for many years to meet my needs, and it left me empty and emotionless (I know I will be talking about the loss of emotions in a later blog). The only one who can meet your unmet needs is God. I mentioned earlier that I wasn’t sure if packing a wound hurts, but I can tell you that the process of God healing me
hurt my flesh, greatly. It is a slow process, one that is still going on now, but is the only way to be truly healed. It has been likened to the process of refining gold, one that requires fire, patients and time.

Alright, Here it Is (2/22/06)

This past month I have:
Call Adult Chat lines
I have called strippers, posing as a guy interested in ordering there services
I have lied.
Somewhere deep in my soul I tried to justify all of this by not masturbating. God doesn’t care about what I do or don’t do, He cares about my heart. I have been selfish; I have kept my heart to myself, away from God and my wife.

I Am Broken (3/29/06)

I am full of shame, self-hate and I feel hopeless. I am scared to find out that God’s plan for my wife is for her to be happy far away from me...So here I am, hurting because of the hurt that I have caused my wife by the selfish choices that I have made. fearful that my honesty will be the end of the only thing I have left, and terrified that I will be alone...

A Month for the Books (6/13/07)

I am not sure if I may ever say that am free from any past temptation, but I can say that I am definitely at a healthier place in my life. My relationship with Christ has seemed to turn into one of dependency on Him, and intern seems to be adding depth to a relationship that was at one time living or dying at the surface...My wife and I are closer than we have ever been. Still separated, but honestly much better off than any other time in our life. We still aren’t free of struggle, but our ability to to resolve has definitely improved.

Our Deepest Fear (10/1/07)

We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

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That is it for now. Feel free to comment, and as always, I would be happy to pray for y'all if you tell me.

Preview for next time: Quick thoughts on politics and religion, coming Wed, Jan 2 (or thereabouts).

In Hoc Anno Domini

This is a Christmas Eve editorial from the Wall Street Journal by the late Vermont Connecticut Royster, a long-time columnist who passed away a little over a decade ago. (His family also had the peculiar habit of naming children after states. Among his relatives were Arkansas Delaware, Iowa Michigan, Wisconsin Illinois, and Oregon Minnesota Royster. I think naming after cities could be even better: Chippewa Falls, Hampton Roads, or Muscle Shoals. But then again, maybe that's why I'm weird and you're, um, not.)

In any case, this editorial was first published in 1949, and has been published annually ever since. You might enjoy it, so I quote it in full:

* * * * * * *

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.

Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so.

But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression -- for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the legions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people. There was the impressor to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the Emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?

There was the persecution of men who dared think differently, who heard strange voices or read strange manuscripts. There was enslavement of men whose tribes came not from Rome, disdain for those who did not have the familiar visage. And most of all, there was everywhere a contempt for human life. What, to the strong, was one man more or less in a crowded world?
Then, of a sudden, there was a light in the world, and a man from Galilee saying, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.

And the voice from Galilee, which would defy Caesar, offered a new Kingdom in which each man could walk upright and bow to none but his God. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And he sent this gospel of the Kingdom of Man into the uttermost ends of the earth.

So the light came into the world and the men who lived in darkness were afraid, and they tried to lower a curtain so that man would still believe salvation lay with the leaders.

But it came to pass for a while in divers places that the truth did set man free, although the men of darkness were offended and they tried to put out the light. The voice said, Haste ye. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

Along the road to Damascus the light shone brightly. But afterward Paul of Tarsus, too, was sore afraid. He feared that other Caesars, other prophets, might one day persuade men that man was nothing save a servant unto them, that men might yield up their birthright from God for pottage and walk no more in freedom.

Then might it come to pass that darkness would settle again over the lands and there would be a burning of books and men would think only of what they should eat and what they should wear, and would give heed only to new Caesars and to false prophets. Then might it come to pass that men would not look upward to see even a winter's star in the East, and once more, there would be no light at all in the darkness.

And so Paul, the apostle of the Son of Man, spoke to his brethren, the Galatians, the words he would have us remember afterward in each of the years of his Lord:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

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I can't find a link to the original on the Journal's website, but because I am somewhat apprehensive in posting a complete editorial without understanding copyright restrictions for blogs, I'll oblige you with this shameless plug:

Subscribe to the Wall Street Journal today! It features some of the finest news, financial analysis, and commentary you'll find anywhere! Go to WSJ.com now to sign up!

And now that I have let a blatant commercial message sully my blog on this special day, I bid you all,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Joyfulness We Reject

Hi everybody

A few brief words from me, then the quotations begin.

Briefly, I struggle mightily with joyfulness, or rather, NOT having it. It is easy for me to assume the worst motivations in people and events, or to expect them. It is even easier to presume the worst in myself--that I have failed, or will fail in the future, that I will garner the disapproval or ignorance of others, that I will be hurt. There's a lot that goes in to that, and I would be glad to discuss that with you, but if you bring it up with me, I must warn you--I may assume you are just trying to lecture me. Be forceful enough I can't run away, but gentle enought that I won't want to.

That being said, I have a few thoughts, and some other blessed resources you may find especially nifty.

First, in some ways, my worst fears are correct. None of us are worthy, least of all myself. But we have no reason to leap from failure to despair. A few simple words have broughy joyfulness to my heart:

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you would go and bear fruit and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, he would give to you." Jn15:16 (NASB)

What an encouragement! How often we assume that we must please God and curry favor. To earn his love. To choose him. But this is not what He desires, nor is it what is best for us. Remember: He chose you. He appointed you. Moreover, he has appointed us to serve Him and bear fruit for Him for His Kingdom. Much can be said about this (and if you want to leave your thoughts in a comment, do so please!!) but the germane point here is this:

We are not the victims of a careless cosmos or a capricious (or malevolent) deity, a far-away terror manifest only in our troubles. Indeed, He is just the opposite: an tremendously close Presence who assumed our troubles upon Himself, who manifest sorrow within Himself, that we would no longer be alone and afraid.

And yet, how often do I turn away! The words written down by John so many centuries ago mean little if I disbelieve them. I am slowly learning just what Christ meant when He called himself a stumbling block, and blessed those who do not take offense at Him. It is too easy to dismiss those scoffers as bitter atheists or secularists, and look at what the do, and call them proud, and spiteful.

I am convinced more and moer that Christ did not say those words to them, but even more so to us. We are the proud! We are the spiteful! We are the scorners! Chief of all myself.

The truth is that I so rarely live like Christ's words hold much promise, that they are water that takes away the thirst. I so rarely believe I am appointed or chosen. I so rarely freed from the burden of trying to earn it.

I keep trying because I want to earn it.

And that is the stumbling block. That is the key. That is the offense. That in spite of all our fears and insecurities, that we still try to do it ourselves. We can only carry either the fruit of the cross, or the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. We choose wrongly.

Here are some super-duper resources I've read in the past few days when not studying biochemistry...

The Captivity of Negativy, by Kara Scwab, at Boundless. Recommended heartily, with two thumbs up--right and left!! (Was that a dumb joke? Oh wait, no more negativity! Dang I almost forgot!)

The next one I will quote in its entirety. It is at spiritdaily.com, a website with Catholic theology and a curious eschatological bent (consult Mr. Webster if you must), but nice little homilies that are only up for a day or so, so to make sure y'all read it, it gets stuck here.

ONLY THROUGH PURITY CAN WE SEE ALL WE NEED TO SEE AND IN THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE

Do you see what is really there? Do you see the truth, the full truth, and othing but? Are you sure there are not distortions in what you observe -- even things imagined?

We go through life with a vision that's imperfect. Sometimes it is more imperfect than at other times. Sometimes, it's outright distorted, as through a prism (or the mirror of a funhouse). Sometimes, we're outright blind. And the reason is that truth is seen in proportion to our purity, our goodness, and our honesty. That's a heavy remark but the eye is the window of the soul and when the soul is murky, when it is blocked, so is what we see.

Sin after sin pile up to block us. We imagine that someone doesn't like us. We imagine they are talking behind our backs. We imagine they have done all kinds of things they may not have done. We fret about what will happen to us. Remember what it says about the "log"? There is the log in our eyes and there are also the logs we dump into our living waters (the part of us that flows from God). Look at what happens in the Northwest when they're lumbering. Logs pile up, obscure the water, and almost halt it.

The same is true with us. Sin. Bad habits. Negative thoughts. Pride. These are all logs that stop the water and thus the tree that could bear fruit alongside it.
It's also like a spring: Clear water allows us to see the bottom (and the fullness of
a creek) while water that's muddy can hide what is in it (even danger: did you
every notice where alligators live?). The truth is clear only when the soul
is pure, and so purify this Christmas and see like you have never seen! See the
truth. See the full picture. Stop imagining the worst.

Ask Our Blessed Immaculate Mother to give you immaculate vision. Purify yourself by elevating yourself into a mindset of love. Go to Confession. Fast before the feast.
This will help you observe matters in a new, fuller way -- and that can be
the source of what Christmas is all about: comfort and joy. Go for it!
It is the time of year when matters can be unusually lucid and you should take
advantage of it: "Lord, let me have new eyesight. Let me see what I should see,
clearly. Let me see reality in more fullness."

"Let me see what is backstage." Remember how when you opened to God you suddenly saw things differently? There are further vistas to open. But sin trips us up. Sin --
even minor sin -- distorts. It darkens. So do bad habits. We stir up the muck
when we are anxious, when we have anger, when we have lust, when we are tapping
into a frenzy of the soul. When our thoughts are "dirty."

When we're lustful, we see only through that lust. It clouds us. It skews our thinking. And when we're jealous, our vision stops at the object of our jealousy.
Deceive others and you deceive yourself! When you're selfish, meanwhile,
it's like trying to walk while holding a mirror in front of you (seeing not what
is in front of you but only yourself, or what is behind you and should stay
there).

On the other hand, when we have purified -- when we're clear, when we're humble -- we get the living waters from Heaven. St. Teresa of Avila once said that the light of Heaven is like "a very clear stream, in a bed of crystal, reflecting the sun's rays," while Sister Lucia of Fatima described the angel she saw as "whiter than snow, transparent as crystal when the sun shines through it."

It is with that light that purity sees. Look at the Infant. Look at the chaste father. Look at the immaculate mother. Invoke them. They will help you purify. They will help you see. They had the foresight of the Holy Spirit. The eye is the window of the soul and impurities cloud it. We see worries that we really don't have to worry about. We argue with members of the family when there really is not something there to argue about. This happens especially at Christmas (when the devil is so active).

If we lie, or cheat -- if there is a bit of deception in us -- our vision is limited in proportion to our deception (or negativity). The same is true if we lack love. Love brings the clearest waters. Good water is clear and bad water is murky from
pollution or algae or some other imbalance. In the maintenance of a pool is
the need for the right pH, the right chlorine, and the right filter that keeps
the water from obscuring what we can see. So too in our lives. This is why
we must remove the "log" to see what we really can see. How often we try to form
judgments based on partial perceptions!

The answer is living and thinking
rightly. The answer is in being a blessing to everyone. The answer is in rising
above the tugs of worldliness through purity. This holiday season -- this season
that is so pure -- resolve to cause everyone around you to feel better. Give
everyone a blessed day. Watch your interior life closely (every thought). Do you
know how it is when you have a day where everything goes right -- when all seems
to flow with grace? Pray that everyone you come across has that experience: give
everyone the gift of a day's blessing.

Such will elevate you. Such will purify. Christmas is a terrific time to purify! Make it the gift to God this holiday -- and to yourself. And see like you have never seen before -- all the way to Bethlehem.

Now this last is a link I found on spirit daily. It is the True Knights, a website against pornography that is "Defending the Family, Defending the Faith" and whose mission is to fulfill the "need for a crusade of manliness and purity to counteract and nullify the savage work of those who think man is a beast. And the crusade is your work."

How flippin-sweet is that?! Plus, the website plays (I kid you not and I am so excited my fingers are trembly) BAROQUE GUITAR CONCERTOS!!! Great googly-moogly! Or, as my jazz-guitarist room mate says when he gets new guitar strings, "Hot Diggety Dog!"

Christmas Message from Jesus

Hi everybody

Someone posted a comment as Jesus on another blog I enjoy, David Kuo's J-Walking. I reproduced it here because we all need a little bit more shameless plagiarism.

Dear Children, It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn't
actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival. Although I do appreciate being remembered anytime. How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.
Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.
If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list.
Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.
2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.
3. Instead of writing George complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.
4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.
5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.
6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.
7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families
8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary--especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.
9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.
10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.
Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do.
I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time
is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most
blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember : I LOVE YOU, JESUS

How often do we focus on the wrong things this Christmas season! Even well-intentioned calls to "put the Christ back in Christmas" are often
a best a showy display, and usually just cause a bunch of fights. What
if we made a conscious effort to put the Christ back in our lives?

Also, my favorite's #6---"warm smiles." What's yours? And don't forget, Google invented comment boxes for a reason, folks. Don't make me threaten you with coal in your stockings. Cause I'll do it. Really. With a warm smile, of course.

The Aftermath

Here's some quick updates dealing with the same stuff I talked about last week...

Black Friday's Flaming Shroud @ The American Scene

Here's the money quote:

The logic of democratizing luxury features not just the practical hurdle of
near-bankruptcy in the middle classes but the emotional hurdle of near-satiety.

Entertaining Ourselves to Death @ Crunchy Con

Money quote:

We can't acquire a sense of community with our faces intent on the pocket-sized
screen in the palm of our hands. We can't admire the unexpected beauty of a
robin's song when the pellet-shaped buds in our ears deafen us to his presence.
We can't experience even a moment of peace, when the voice on the other end of
the line constantly demands our attention, our focus, our energy.

And finally, here's what you missed on TV last night:

Sermon of Reverend Van Pelt @ Charlie Brown Christmas.

I'll let you figure out the highlights for yourselves.

And after you do, read the comment by Doug on the Charlie Brown blog entry.


I would wish you all a Merry Christmas, but it isn't even December yet, so I'll defer to the usually irascible Lucy Van Pelt: "It's too early..."

And if you didn't get that quote, you should have watched Charlie Brown Christmas last night.

Weekday Link Roundup and Greater Franklin County Turkey Corral-O-Rama '07!

Hi loyal readers! (Should that be plural?) Anyway, I wish you all a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving this fine fall Thursday. Right now I am waiting for some extended family to show up, and then the eating begins, but right now I am getting a quick fix for my burgeoning internet addiction. Just kidding. Kind of.

Anyway me and mah pardner Tom Turkey here have rustled up some good links for ya, and then I'll have some nice commentary for ya later.





First the fun lins! Do any of y'all remember Sesame Street? And that little man with the gruff voice was stuck inside a cup or something? Really, I am not making this up, so stop giving me that look you are giving right now...he was the best! Here's some links:
"It'll be a full life!"
"Robert Begins with the Letter R, and W Begins with the Letter W"
"I Asked with Adroit Concern..."

Anyway, now that that's out of the way, time for the real meat....

I've been thinking quite a bit about what gratitude...what we should be thankful for, and whether we live that way.

Thursday we had a celebration of thankfulness. You would think that this would be born from a spirit of humility, an understanding of blessedness, that our lives and our possessions are in the hands of One who is greater. And yet the very next day, everyone goes shopping. Everyone needs more. Even the celebration of Thanksgiving itself is skewed. How much time did you spend praying in thanks, and how much did you spend eating? How much of our culture is characterized by gratitude, and how much by gluttony? Do you see the same irony I see?

I am not saying the feasting is wrong, but what kind of an audacious message would it send if we spent Thanksgiving Day fasting?

My dad came back from China a week or two ago. His comment: the first thing you notice as soon as you set foot in an American airport is just how overweight everyone---everyone---is here. And he told me this over dinner, just as I had gotten back from the library, having rented a big stack of Seinfeld episodes, because, y'know, I just had to get my goodly dose of entertainment.

Right? What's going on here?

I've read several things about, in essence, gaining the whole world and losing your soul. Links are interspersed throughout, with some comments by Yours Truly. But remember that my commentary and excerpts are just a little preview---y'all should really read them for yourself. Or as LeVar Burton would say, 'Don't take my word for it...find out for yourself!"

†††

Phil Dillon - The Poverty of El Norte.

Went to Mexico to help build (expand, rather) a church. Saw great wealth in unlikely places. Returned to American, and saw great spiritual need. Quote:

...it’s impossible to say what the high points were...Was it being able to see a nineteen year old young man named Antonio, who had overcome so many obstacles in life, lead seventeen people to living faith in Jesus Christ as he and I wandered around the city square in Axtla on a beautiful Sunday afternoon? Was it seeing a woman who had been tortured by pain and unable to even stand rise by the power of the Spirit and walk, leap, and praise God? Was it seeing the desperate hunger and need filled as Jesus lovingly responded to the desperation and hunger? Was it seeing a little lame girl, Griselda, ask us to pray with her for a pair of shoes so that she could go to school and for a Bible so that she could read all about Jesus? Was it seeing the gratefulness etched on the faces of the Nahuatl (pronounced nah-what) men and women cupping their hands as they received the gift of a small bag of frijoles at the close of the meetings? Was it witnessing the power of the Holy Spirit as it surged in waves through the crowd?

And later on...

I’m struck by the powerful temptation to get back into the American routine of
wealth and complacency. Why not just let CNN and Fox News and CSI and American Idol and IPODS and Tommy Hilfiger and fast food get us back into the rut of
American normalcy?

...

I see this and I’m becoming convinced that Victory Fellowship and other little beacons of light are being called to be those small pockets of spiritual wealth and generosity in what is becoming a spiritual wasteland, a place where the prayers offered aren’t for the IPOD we just can't live without or the designer outfit to die for, but for the fire of the Spirit to fall and hide our nakedness, a place where our cry is not “Give me!” but “Here am I Lord, send me,” a place where repentance replaces demands for things that cannot soothe the hunger or satisfy the thirst.

Wow. Mr Dillon has some very strong words, and I do think there is great emptiness in our wealth. I was verystruck by the "iPod we just can't live without" because the very next thing I read was:

Josh Harris: Jerry Bridges' New iPod

Excerpt:

Jerry is a dear friend of Covenant Life. He's been teaching at the Sovereign Grace Pastors College for the past eleven years and nearly every time he's done so, he has also preached at our church. This year we wanted to do something a little special to honor him. We decided that the man needed an iPod.

Hmmmm. Now I am not going, "A-ha! So Josh Harris is really an agent held by the deadly clutches of Mammon!" Giving a gift to a good friend is by no means discouraged (what has the Word taught us about generosity?) but it is remarkable how broadly our mindset is focused on things, and not on God.

Victor Davis Hanson: "The Chains of the Past" -- See Prisoner of Memory

"A Few Good Men" - See the Agrarian Life

I thought this would make a great counterpoint to the rat-race/consumerism mentality so prevalent today. Classicist and erstwhile political pundit, Victor Davis Hanson spent time at his family's old farm growing up, and reminisced about the old days.

On his grandfather's hard-working habits:

He seemed to think hard physical work was somehow spiritual, and rarely worried about labor-saving devices or doing things differently that might save additional labor Calluses, sweat, soreness were all a sign of moral betterment, something deeply resented by me and my siblings when we were forced to join him for hours in shoveling or tying up vines on our knees, but later appreciated for teaching how the mind can tolerate hours of rote rugged toil.

My biggest worry? The loss of knowledge I inherited about the physical world. My
grandfather could smell a storm on a southern September wind. He looked at the way birds nested to sense rain, and daily marked the phases of the moon, and tides and kept a precise diary for 50 years. He could judge the year by stunted or rich grape foliage, and weekly measured the water table, and checked the direction of the wind and the cloud formations. He had what I’d call a “sense”, the ability to know by intuition the impending physical world and the way humans would react to it, a Thucydidean in the fullest sense.

He had absolutely no interest in profit other than staying alive, and being able to farm and support his family. The appearance of his farm, not its profitability, was the key, since the aesthetics were a reflection of his own character. Shortfalls and farm losses were made up out of his hide, by avoiding expensive meat, and living off most of the things grown on our farm from persimmon bread to pomegranate juice.

What if we lived that freely by the grace of God?

Shaun Groves - "Is It Really This Simple?"

Truly giving.

†††

I am sorry if this comes off as a but of a carmudgeonly rant, but I think we need to be absolutely serious here. I see the burden of materialism everywhere--in my culture, in my family, in my friends, in myself. And it's so hard to see the sickness until it's nearly too late---with the mortgage, car payments, 3 televisions, 2 cellphones, 223 cd's, decorative cookware, an italian sofa, double-breasted, pinstriped, worsted-wool suits, and $10,000 in credit card debt. You'll look back and ask, "How did I get here? And why do I feel so alone?"

We never know how completely materialism poisons us, because it gives us such a delirious high. And like the junkie in the ghetto, when we find ourselves confronted with pain we inflected upon ourselves, and yet still walking down those alleys, we can easily console ourselves:

"Only one more time..."

But we know when we lie.

But many, many people, in their brokenness, follow this lie up with another, and say that since they've seen so many lies, there must be no truth. But even after great spells of consumption, and the loneliness and emptiness it begets, I remember:

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

That is the greatest consolation. And that is what I am thankful for.

Weekend Link Roundup! ON HIATUS

Sorry everybody, but I am studying for my last anatomy exam (skull and assorted cranial viscera). But here is a picture to keep you occupied until next time. And yes, I look that grumpy when I am studying.

PS. Just so I don't fall into legal trouble, the picture is the fine work of Zachary Pullen, some artist-guy on the internet whom I found via Google. If you like the painting, you can buy it for $5000. Plus $20 shipping and handling.

Weekend Link Roundup!

Hi everybody!

It's now time for the first weekend link roundup! The cowboy on the left is ready...how about you?

I know posting is a bit erratic, so here is the way I will try to work things around here...

Every Saturday, or there abouts, I will a Weekly Link Review, where I'll post links to things you might find interesting--or at least I find interesting.

This way, when you're on the internet, you won't waste it as I do (reading the best of Buckeye blogs) or in some of your favorite ways: pretending you're John Elway, reliving your favorite Star Trek moments, listening to 80's pop hits or their modern reinterpretations. Actually, those are some of my favorite ways to waste time, but I am too embarassed to admit them. Our little secret, ok?

Anyway, here are some interesting things you may want to check out:

The Porn Myth
Don't miss this one, but be forewarned! It gets a little PG-13 at times. It is a recent article by Naomi Wolf, a renowned feminist, who concludes that perhaps the sexual liberation of the 1960's wasn't all that groovy. The contrast between her Orthodox Jewish friend and the university student on the last page is remarkable. Perhaps there is more to church teaching on sex than prudery and repression.

The Pleasures and Perils of Fermentation
This is the one you want to read second, especially YOU, fellow college student! How do we have a God who is the Vine, but is not the god of debauchery? More to the point, how can we be people who enjoy the broadest freedom--the freedom to drink, and the freedom to abstain?

What Little Girls Should Get to Do
About girls freed from sex slavery in India...and yes, I know it is hosted on the blog of Jim Wallis, who can be fairly left-leaning, and that may cause some of you to hurl your breakfast. But please, try to read it before you spew Cap'n Crunch all over your keyboard, 'cause I bet that's hard to clean up.

God-cool Stuff
Another tale of outside-the-box ministry. See my other post Holy Smokes! for more good things.

One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (of Atheism)
Noted philosopher Anthony Flew (whom I read in my one-and-only philosophy 101 course) recently became a theist due to the claims of intelligent design.

Well that is all for now. I will try to write something original in the next few days here.

Church Controversy

A recent Churchwide Assembly meeting of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, of which I am a member, has caused quite a stir. The Chicago Sun-Times declared "A Huge Victory for Gay Clergy," and Reuters News Service explained, "Lutherans to Allow Pastors in Gay Relationship." What actually happened?

At the biannual Churchwide Assembly in Chicago in August, the following resolution was passed:

Resolved, that in an effort to continue as a church in moral deliberation without further strife and pain to its members, the Churchwide Assembly prays, urges, and encourages synods, synodical bishops, and the presiding bishop to refrain from or demonstrate restraint in disciplining those congregations and persons who call into rostered ministry otherwise-qualified candidates who are in a mutual, chaste, and faithful committed same-gender relationship; and be it further

Resolved, that the Churchwide Assembly prays, urges, and encourages synods, the synodical bishops, and the presiding bishop to refrain from or demonstrate restraint in disciplining those rostered leaders in a mutual, chaste, and faithful, committed same-gender relationship who have been called and rostered in this church.

At a recent meeting at my home church, Upper Arlington Lutheran, Senior Pastor Paul Ulring expounded on the details of the resolution and what it means for UALC.

The resolution itself passed in part due to calculated maneuvering. Proponents of the resolution were supported by a $2 million lobbying effort, complete with five professional parliamentarians. Late Saturday evening, when the Assembly was winding down and approximately 100 delegates (delegates were 40% ordained and 60% lay) had left, the resolution was brought to a vote and passed in a fairly close (42-vote spread) vote.

Ulring also stated that of the 65 bishops in the ELCA, 45 oppose the measure, and 10 more are on the fence. The other 10 support it, and in many cases, their support is in part a response to "family situations" where someone close to them has declared themselves a homosexual. Pastor Ulring is a member of the Lutheran CORE, a collection of concerned ELCA clergy, laity, and congregations. The CORE ranges from "farmers from Minnesota to East Coasters who, I am pretty certain, sleep in their collars--in fact, a few of them joined us here for worship, and they genuflected when they entered the pews, and I didn't know what they were doing...." This rather diverse CORE, Ulring said, is already preparing for the next Assembly in 2009.

The question remains of what direction UALC should follow. Many different viewpoints on the church's relationship to homosexuality are present in the UALC congregation, Ulring noted. Some are fed up, and want to leave, and others would acquiesce, because, to them, denomination has never been particularly important. Others have themselves left UALC because their own children came out of the closet and they no longer felt comfortable. Still others want to stay, "for history, for tradition, for family"; to leave the ELCA would be unconscionable to them.

For Pastor Ulring, the question must be answered: "What do we want to accomplish?" Leaving the denomination would make a statement, but would it be effective in anything other than satisfying ourselves or assuaging the trauma? Ulring doubts it. He was "sad, angry, disappointed, and surprised," but he has not given up.

First, the situation should force to consider our own behavior. Have we, he asked, prayed for the ELCA and for our bishop? Ulring admits that he himself failed to do so for far too long, until the Lord convicted him to call upon Him in hope, rather than grumble in bitterness. He challenged us to do the same.

Second, the pressing issue is not any particular view of human sexuality, but the authority of the Word in our own personal lives and in the church as a whole. And merely professing its truth is woefully inadequate. Confidence in Scripture is unimportant if the Bible is never applied. Ulring notes, "I know some people who will talk up and down about the infallibility, the inerrancy of the Word of God, but they never read it."

Third, a contentious discussion within the congregation over leaving the ELCA would distract from the true mission of the church: to reach out to the lost and preach the power of Christ's crucifixion and Word. This is not to say the church's response to homosexuality should not be discussed, but a cantankerous split, at this time, would cost too much and gain too little. Instead, he has written a letter to ELCA leadership expressing his dismay over the resolution, excerpted here.

"We believe this resolution violates both the authority of Scripture and God's will....Where in this church is there now real, viable room for conservative Christians who read the Bible for what it is: God's revealed Word? Alongside the ancient Councils of the Church, we reject the notion of two or more ‘equally valid’ ways of taking what Scripture says. The authority of the Word is not something upon which we take votes...I convey to you, on behalf of the members of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, our strenuous objection and profound dismay over the decisions and directions emerging under your leadership. We call on you, in Jesus Name, to turn from this course....Already the call to leave the ELCA is strong. That would be a huge step for us. I would like to think it would matter to you and to the ELCA, as well."

In short, Pastor Ulring concluded that this resolution, although troubling, does not warrant dissociation with the ELCA. But he did warn that, if "a line is crossed," he is prepared to offer the leadership necessary to guide UALC through a potential dissociation, which, he added, would not be constrained by a potential loss of property, since all would remain in possession of the congregation regardless.

Finally, Pastor Ulring warned the UALC congregation as well against pride. "We must be careful to guard our hearts against anger, self-righteousness, and lovelessness...it is a high responsibility to be right, or at least to think you are, and we would be wise to remember the verse that says that the anger of man never works the righteousness of God."

My two cents: First, I am pleased we decided not to leave the ELCA at this time. I am hesitant to cut off a relationship without any attempts at reconciliation, and pray that peace would return between our congregation and the ELCA.

Second, we must be always be aware--indeed, intently focused--on the witness we present to the outside world. A quick way to paralyze a church with malaise is to turn inward, expending one's energy on internal struggles and bickering, regardless of the importance of the conflict. To neglect our witness is to starve the church. Most importantly, we must never forget that the gay community is included in those we are trying to reach.

What a victory for evil if we forget them. What a victory for darkness if we believe standing up for truth means ignoring the lost. I believe that if we do reach out to gays with the same fervor that we oppose misguided interpretation of Scripture in ELCA leadership, we will lose our opportunity to reach them, and be viewed as yet another example of a church that condemns and of a god who hates. If we do not guard ourselves just as strenuously against self-righteousness concerning our relationship with the gay community as we must do in our relationship with the ELCA, we will end up judging gays, rather than loving them. We must never use our vigilance for the truth as an excuse to deny their humanity and their value.

We must be wise, and recall who wanted Christ crucified. Certainly there are many in our culture, and many in the ELCA, who would oversee the death of morality and bury righteousness. Many echo the indifference of Pilate, asking, "What is truth?" But theirs was not the only evil that drove the nails into Jesus; the pride and the self-righteousness of the Pharisees could not bear the One who dared to love the condemned.

On the day that Christ died, there were many who did not know of Him and what He stood for. Men who gave up belief, men who saw the decay of a decadent and brutal Imperial regime, men who saw that righteousness had no place in a world of power and greed. Men who asked, "What is truth?"

But still other men thought they knew the truth, but they were not set free. Men who knew only condemnation from the elders, and found what they felt was love through homosexuality among outcasts like themselves.

Both these groups did not know Christ when He died. But He died that they might know of Him soon--that they would know of truth, and that they would know of love.

As a church that bears Christ's name, we must fight against the indifference of Rome. But we must guard as vigilantly against pride, as well. We must not regard ourselves as holier than anyone else. We must not disdain those who remind us of our own brokenness. We must not hate those who dare to love. We cannot take up the pride of the Sanhedrin, and carry thirty pieces of silver to pay traitors, and three pieces of iron to pierce flesh.

We cannot proclaim Christ by crucifying Him again.

Holy Smokes!

Smokey's Bible Fellowship, that is...

If only all bible studies could be like this one...

World Watch Update

Update in Zimbabwe:

Please check the following two links. Apparently the discord continues...

Inflation Hits Record as Mugabe Tightens Grip

Arrests in Price Campaign

World Watch -- Zimbabwe

Hello everyone, sorry posting has been sporadic during the last month and a half. In any case, I am starting a new periodic series in the blog called "World Watch," which will highlight news from around the world you may find intriguing or valuable, but possibly under-reported, especially here in the west.

Today after church, as I was driving home, I was listening to AfroPop Worldwide, a radio program on NPR that focuses on the music of Africa, much of which is quite beautiful.

In between songs from Madagascar and Zimbabwe, host Georges Collinet delivered some sad news from Zimbabwe.

As I had already known, the nation is ruled by strongman Robert Mugabe, who has overseen the descent of the Zimbabwe economy from among Africa's strongest into a decrepit morass. Inciting racial strife, he has taken--by force--white-owneed farms, and collectivized them, and agricultural output has been collapsed. Massive starvation has ensued. Unemployment is at 85%. Inflation is the highest in the world, reaching 11000% per annum this summer. Opposition political leaders have arisen, culminating in the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which was defeated by Mugabe in 2002 in elections tainted by violence and oppression.

Collinet reported that Mugabe has now bulldozed the houses of MDC leaders in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare. Some now estimate that the number of homeless is two million, out of a population of thirteen million. Many have fled into the countryside to relatives, and this is during the coldest winter in recent memory.

Pray for the people of Zimbabwe.

Photo caption: A demonstration at the Zimbabwe Embassy in Great Britain on August 12, 2006. (photo by TwoWings, license CC-BY-SA)

Welcome to Finches and Sparrows

Hi everyone.

My name is Tyler, I am a Christian, and this is my blog, Finches and Sparrows.

I don't exactly know how it's going to end up, or where this is going to take me, but I plan to write about culture, news, and religion, and possibly college athletics, if the mood strikes. I also might put photos I take up here if applicable, which I do sometimes as a hobby. I will try not to ramble on about frivolous things; just call me if you want to hear about what I ate for breakfast.

Right about now, you are probably wondering, "Wait a minute, wait a minute...news? religion? finches? Tyler, unless you have a hidden interest in bird-watching, I think you misnamed your blog...."

The name's a bit cryptic, but it does make sense.

I am referring to the finches of the Galapagos Islands, off the Pacific coast of Ecuador. These islands were the site of some of the discoveries that led to Darwin's development of his theory of natural selection and evolution. He was travelling the world in 1835 on the HMS Beagle as the companion of its commander, Captain FitzRoy.

On the high seas, the decisions made by a captain could mean life or death for the sailors aboard, and because of this responsibility--and the conflicts of interest that could arise--captains could never establish meaningful friendships with the crew. Sea-faring captains were prone to isolation, depression, and suicide, and often another person would be selected to serve not on the crew, but as a friend for the captain during long voyages. On the Beagle, this was Charles Darwin.

While the Beagle was moored at the Galapagos, Darwin disembarked and studied the local plant and animal life. He noticed that many animals, especially the finches, differed from island to island, and these differences conferred advantages upon the particular finch. For instance, an island with many large, hard nuts also had finches with large strong beaks to crack the nuts, but an island with smaller seeds had finches that were smaller and could grasp seeds more easily. Other islands were home to finches with long slender beaks that could poke through holes to grab at members of the large local insect population.

A few decades later, in 1859, Darwin released his findings (along with many others) in the seminal On the Origin of the Species. His work began the scientific inquiries that ultimately coalesced into the modern theory of evolution. This framework can be summarized into several statements.

• Differences between living creatures are the result of differences in their genes, their set of instructions on how to do what they do. When its genes are copied to make offspring, they may not be copied perfectly; mutations can delete, duplicate, flip, move, or otherwise change the genetic information.
• All life is a struggle to survive, and some genetic information lets its organism to cope better with the situations it faces.
  
• Offspring with the mutated genes may (but not always) do better than the cousins with the normal gene. The mutants will compete better for food, compete better for mates, and have more babies.
• Over time, the mutants may dominate the normal creatures, and the species may change.

This is a cursory summary of evolution, but it will do. So, why care about Darwin's finches? Not because this blog will focus on evolution, or because I think it is the fundamental root of society's problems, but because I am using the finches as an emblem for the sickness of our society.

What kind of a world--what kind of a humanity--do we know? Like the finches, whose character, whose identity, were formed by the meaningless process of genetic mistakes, many of our brothers and sisters bear similar scars in their souls. They are hurt, and their ideas and their actions are shaped by a viewpoint of pointlessness, or the sins--the mistakes--of those close to them.

Like the finches, whose lives were marked with struggle--the evasion of lurking predators, the ceaseless fighting for food, the pursuit of a mate, all in a few short years before they die, many of our friends and family struggle. Many try to elude their predators--those who threaten them, or those who hurt them long ago. Many scratch and claw their way for food, the trappings of a materialist lifestyle, but still are hungry. Many long for the sweet taste of true love, but have only found the bitterness of love corrupted. And many spend their final years with more questions than answers, more doubts than confidence, and more fears than hopes, stumbling about like a traveler by night, watching the moon wane like their days here, wondering what they will do when all is dark.

Our job as believers, and my hope for this blog, is that we could present a different story, and tell of a different songbird. Remember the Gospel of Luke?

"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God...don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Luke 12:6-7 NASB

Can we realize that "the lost" is not just a term of convenience, but one of a brutal reality? Can we look upon them, like Christ, and "have compassion"? Can we share with them the faith, the hope, and the love of knowing God?

Can we sing the sparrows' song in the finches' forest?