the chunky british power chords of Oasis echoing across the amphitheater will be filling my soul in 8 hours.
Coldplay and Oasis in a month, I just shivered.
9.30.2005
More politics
So I believe that we needed to go to war with Irag when we did, I don't believe much foresight was given as to what we would encounter when we arrived. Despite the lies about WMD's I think it is a great thing that we were able to free the people from an unjust dictator who mercilessly took the lives of many. However, as we have continued on I keep hearing reports that the majority of our troops will be out by such and such date only to have that continue to be prolonged and more money requested from Congress. Do I believe we can just pull out? No. Do I believe we've done some lasting good in Afghanistan and Irag the last 4 years, yeah (much more than gets reported). that quote I posted the other day We confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no large ones.- Francois de La Rochefoucauld, I feel like this has happened a lot with our situation in Iraq and we just keep uncovering more and more issues as we go along.
I will give Bush props for the clean air policy that is in place. The air is cleaner, it is a healthy balance of guidelines and some shoddy reporting has been done causing his administration to look like they actually want to poison the air when in fact America is in pretty good shape there right now.
I will give Bush props for the clean air policy that is in place. The air is cleaner, it is a healthy balance of guidelines and some shoddy reporting has been done causing his administration to look like they actually want to poison the air when in fact America is in pretty good shape there right now.
9.28.2005
Thoughts on George Bush
So what do you think of this? I've really been wrestling through Geroge Bush's presidency and how I should view/speak of him...
There are so many conflicting reports and opinions and it is hard to separate the two, but I tend to agree with Frederick's thoughts.
September 19, 2005
THIS SHALLOW, reckless, monolithically complacent man who touts his belief in the philosophy of Jesus but advocates tax cuts for the richest of the rich instead of succor for the poorest of the poor, who has entangled us in an unnecessary, unwinnable, and increasingly murderous war against shadows, who consistently favors the interests of big business over those of the imperiled environment, and appoints an official of the International Arabian Horse Association to be in charge of managing horrors like Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, surely the second George Bush is not the only one to blame for his insane and tragic chapter in our history, but it is hard to imagine a more appropriate symbol of it than the never-to-be-forgotten Mission Accomplished dance he did on the carrier's deck for all the world as though he really believed it.
FREDERICK BUECHNER
Pawlet, Vt.
There are so many conflicting reports and opinions and it is hard to separate the two, but I tend to agree with Frederick's thoughts.
September 19, 2005
THIS SHALLOW, reckless, monolithically complacent man who touts his belief in the philosophy of Jesus but advocates tax cuts for the richest of the rich instead of succor for the poorest of the poor, who has entangled us in an unnecessary, unwinnable, and increasingly murderous war against shadows, who consistently favors the interests of big business over those of the imperiled environment, and appoints an official of the International Arabian Horse Association to be in charge of managing horrors like Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, surely the second George Bush is not the only one to blame for his insane and tragic chapter in our history, but it is hard to imagine a more appropriate symbol of it than the never-to-be-forgotten Mission Accomplished dance he did on the carrier's deck for all the world as though he really believed it.
FREDERICK BUECHNER
Pawlet, Vt.
your weekly dose of O'Brien
"Yesterday, President Bush made his fifth visit to the area that received the most damage form Hurricane Katrina. In other words, the White House."
9.27.2005
From the Greek Orthodox DAILYREADINGS - Wednesday, Sep 28, 2005
Greek Orthodox Lectionary
"With the rivers of your tears, you
have made the barren desert fertile. Through
sighs of sorrow from deep within you, your
labors have borne fruit a hundred-fold. By
your miracles you have become a light,
shining upon the world."
"With the rivers of your tears, you
have made the barren desert fertile. Through
sighs of sorrow from deep within you, your
labors have borne fruit a hundred-fold. By
your miracles you have become a light,
shining upon the world."
The Cyborg Name Generator: Part 2
If Pastor Zippay had a cyborg name it would be......
width="240" height="180"
alt="Zombie Intended for Potential Peacekeeping and Accurate Yelling"
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width="240" height="180"alt="Zombie Intended for Potential Peacekeeping and Accurate Yelling"
border="0">
The Cyborg Name Generator
This comes from the Cyborg Name Generator, discover your own!
width="240" height="180"
alt="Journeying Electronic Device"
border="0">
width="240" height="180"
alt="Journeying Electronic Device"
border="0">
quote of the day
We confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no large ones.
- Francois de La Rochefoucauld
I've seen this true in my life way too many times.....
- Francois de La Rochefoucauld
I've seen this true in my life way too many times.....
9.26.2005
solid: part II
so a couple of weeks ago I wrote about the encouragment that comes from sitting down with women of God who have walked with him for years.
another encouraging but hard element of being in the community of God is when older men sit down with you and challenge you. when they aren't afraid to call foolishness, foolishness, and leave you feeling convicted but still a man. I got that twice tonight. God knows what I need I guess and it was good. It makes me want to keep my eyes focused on Jesus all the more, because he is the author and perfector of my faith and there is nothing I long for more than to continue to grow close to him, to live in the love of the father, the way of the son, and the strength of the spirit.
if you don't have older men and women in your life, get them, now! and let them into your world , remove your masks - change will be inevitable.
another encouraging but hard element of being in the community of God is when older men sit down with you and challenge you. when they aren't afraid to call foolishness, foolishness, and leave you feeling convicted but still a man. I got that twice tonight. God knows what I need I guess and it was good. It makes me want to keep my eyes focused on Jesus all the more, because he is the author and perfector of my faith and there is nothing I long for more than to continue to grow close to him, to live in the love of the father, the way of the son, and the strength of the spirit.
if you don't have older men and women in your life, get them, now! and let them into your world , remove your masks - change will be inevitable.
9.24.2005
teaser post
i just underwent the most ethically challenging night of my life.... more to come later when I get home from Maryland.
9.22.2005
Ich bin ein Londoner
Chris' link in my friends section was wrong - I'll fix it soon, here is his first update from the Simon Community in London.
Ich bin ein Londoner
Ich bin ein Londoner
9.20.2005
The Charity of Mr. T
Mr. T has announced that he's going to stop wearing his signature gold chains because it seems inappropriate after Hurricane Katrina. Mr. T's exact words were, "I pity the fool who wears bling in a time of national tragedy."
Conan
Conan
9.19.2005
time to engage
could it be that as Americans we have always defined freedom as space?
We began because of a people wanting to overcome oppression, so they escaped across the Atlantic and have continued to move west ever since. Well now we don't have the same amount of open space to just run to (and it doesn't look like living in outer space is going to happen anytime soon), so what are we doing for freedom? We are esccaping into the world of entertainment. Anything we can do so that we don't have to confront the oppressive powers of this world and the pain which encapsulates so many even within our country. We can't just leave and start something new, now we need to begin something new here , a revolution built from within with an anticipation of God fulfilling his promises, a hope that He is living and active and desires justice now.
We began because of a people wanting to overcome oppression, so they escaped across the Atlantic and have continued to move west ever since. Well now we don't have the same amount of open space to just run to (and it doesn't look like living in outer space is going to happen anytime soon), so what are we doing for freedom? We are esccaping into the world of entertainment. Anything we can do so that we don't have to confront the oppressive powers of this world and the pain which encapsulates so many even within our country. We can't just leave and start something new, now we need to begin something new here , a revolution built from within with an anticipation of God fulfilling his promises, a hope that He is living and active and desires justice now.
more moltmann
this is a good passage from Moltmann, you can definitely see the truth in his statement regarding the Islamization of Christianity.
We enter into the trinitarian history of Christ through baptism. It is for this reason that the first confessions of faith are baptismal confessions. The life "in the Spirit" and in "discipleship" is the practice of faith in the triune God. In both faith and in life, everything depends on the God-sonship of Christ. Those who lose sight of this lose their ability to be children of God. Those who forget this lose their future in God, which Paul states is a "hereditary right" of the future world. It is sonship that binds together God and Jesus and provides the foundation for trinitarian faith. If this connection were broken, then Jesus is merely one more good person and God is merely the unfeeling Lord of Heaven. In the 19th century, this led to a "Jesus-humanism." Today it leads to an "Islamization" of Christianity. It is only through the recognition of the triune God that Christian dialogue with Jews and Moslem’s becomes interesting and dialogue-worthy.
We enter into the trinitarian history of Christ through baptism. It is for this reason that the first confessions of faith are baptismal confessions. The life "in the Spirit" and in "discipleship" is the practice of faith in the triune God. In both faith and in life, everything depends on the God-sonship of Christ. Those who lose sight of this lose their ability to be children of God. Those who forget this lose their future in God, which Paul states is a "hereditary right" of the future world. It is sonship that binds together God and Jesus and provides the foundation for trinitarian faith. If this connection were broken, then Jesus is merely one more good person and God is merely the unfeeling Lord of Heaven. In the 19th century, this led to a "Jesus-humanism." Today it leads to an "Islamization" of Christianity. It is only through the recognition of the triune God that Christian dialogue with Jews and Moslem’s becomes interesting and dialogue-worthy.
the dynamic, eternal dance of God
Been thinking a lot about the Trinity lately and why/how that theology developed and whether or not my concept of the trinity built mostly by reformed evangelical teachers is a healthy one that truly engages the scripture.
I've been starting to digest the works of Jürgen Moltmann...here is a smattering of his thoughts regarding the trinity.
Moltmann rejects traditional Western trinities as “modalism” or “monarchial monotheism” and instead adopts the Eastern conception of God as a perichoresis, or an enduring and mutually interpenetrating fellowship of divine love between three persons. For instance, the Holy Spirit is not merely the power between the Father and the Son, but is instead a unique subject (Moltmann strongly rejects the creedal addition of the “filioque clause”). One characteristic of Moltmann’s perichoretic Trinity is that of openness: the fellowship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is “other than” creation, but it is open to embrace creation into itself. Thus, Moltmann argues that all of history is actually a part of the Trinitarian history of God, and he also defends his own panentheistic tendencies.
Moltmann thus proposes a Trinitarian hermeneutic for all of theology. Contra Barth, who saw all of history the work of a single subject (Jesus and the crucifixion/resurrection event), Moltmann sees the identification of Jesus Christ as the “Son” defining his identity relationally. The history of God is not of a monolithic and unchanging Lord but the history of the living relationship between the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and all of creation. Moltmann goes on to argue that “monarchial monotheisms” – those that prescribe a hierarchical relationship in the Godhead and throughout creation – result in political and ecclesial dictatorships, with human monarchs and popes ultimately reflecting a dictatorial Lord. Instead, the political ramifications of the social Trinity are national democracies and small, communal, egalitarian churches...
ps - this may be my first blog that could match Tim's
propensity for unique vocabulary.
I've been starting to digest the works of Jürgen Moltmann...here is a smattering of his thoughts regarding the trinity.
Moltmann rejects traditional Western trinities as “modalism” or “monarchial monotheism” and instead adopts the Eastern conception of God as a perichoresis, or an enduring and mutually interpenetrating fellowship of divine love between three persons. For instance, the Holy Spirit is not merely the power between the Father and the Son, but is instead a unique subject (Moltmann strongly rejects the creedal addition of the “filioque clause”). One characteristic of Moltmann’s perichoretic Trinity is that of openness: the fellowship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is “other than” creation, but it is open to embrace creation into itself. Thus, Moltmann argues that all of history is actually a part of the Trinitarian history of God, and he also defends his own panentheistic tendencies.
Moltmann thus proposes a Trinitarian hermeneutic for all of theology. Contra Barth, who saw all of history the work of a single subject (Jesus and the crucifixion/resurrection event), Moltmann sees the identification of Jesus Christ as the “Son” defining his identity relationally. The history of God is not of a monolithic and unchanging Lord but the history of the living relationship between the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and all of creation. Moltmann goes on to argue that “monarchial monotheisms” – those that prescribe a hierarchical relationship in the Godhead and throughout creation – result in political and ecclesial dictatorships, with human monarchs and popes ultimately reflecting a dictatorial Lord. Instead, the political ramifications of the social Trinity are national democracies and small, communal, egalitarian churches...
ps - this may be my first blog that could match Tim's
propensity for unique vocabulary.
9.17.2005
old friends
a lot of you know my friend Chris who just went to London to work with a homeless community, if you want to keep up with him his blog is now listed in my links section and right here
9.15.2005
all falls down
"Yesterday a spokesperson for NBC said that Kanye West's recent comment that President Bush doesn't care about black people does not reflect the opinion of NBC. Actually, it's NBC's primetime line-up that suggests NBC doesn't care about black people." Conan
prayer and solitude
my cell phone is almost broken, I don't get my new computer til Monday now, and I am about to drive my car to the mechanic, your prayers for my patience and God's provision would be appreciated.
ps - we simply can't maintain a radical God centeredness under an unbroken barrage of human interaction. The depth and value of what you bring in your heart to other people will depend on what you do with your solitude. Piper
ps - we simply can't maintain a radical God centeredness under an unbroken barrage of human interaction. The depth and value of what you bring in your heart to other people will depend on what you do with your solitude. Piper
9.13.2005
solid
there isn't a whole lot in this world thats more encouraging than sitting down with women who have served God faithfully for many years who also share a heart to disciple young women.
the perspective older women of God bring to the table challenges me all the more to raise up Godly women from our high school girls at Heritage.
Thanks Jesus, and please help this to happen.
the perspective older women of God bring to the table challenges me all the more to raise up Godly women from our high school girls at Heritage.
Thanks Jesus, and please help this to happen.
9.11.2005
i'm going to start typing and see what flows, seriously.
i AM INCREDIBLY PASSIONATE AND COMPETITIVE AND INCREDIBLY UN DILIGENT, THAT IS A BAD MIX - IT FRUSTRATES ME SO MUCH SOMETIMES AND WHEN I FAIL I AM OVERWHELMED WITH ANGER BECAUSE i SO DESIRE VICTORY. SOMEHOW I NEED TO LET MY PASSION DRIVE ME WITHIN THE PROCESS.
woops, hit the caps lock, anyways - i am getting more and more excited about this year at CT and the team that is coming together. everyone seems to be really maturing and taking steps forward. I've noticed a real growth in the awareness of the adult leaders. awareness to the needs of kids, the church, parents, and me. there are some incredible servants on our team.
I need to begin to pray more for God's energy in my friendships, I have felt so tired at the end of each day that i am passing up opportunities to connect because I hate just doing it on a surface level, but I am too tired to really engage.
i am still horribly frustrated at the the last 4 months cinematic offerings.
butt kicking proverb of the day
....Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished,
but those who are righteous will go free....11:21
I need to look and see if Proverbs ever says "be sure of this," anywhere else.....
one more place, Proverbs 16:5 The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.
that's tough
woops, hit the caps lock, anyways - i am getting more and more excited about this year at CT and the team that is coming together. everyone seems to be really maturing and taking steps forward. I've noticed a real growth in the awareness of the adult leaders. awareness to the needs of kids, the church, parents, and me. there are some incredible servants on our team.
I need to begin to pray more for God's energy in my friendships, I have felt so tired at the end of each day that i am passing up opportunities to connect because I hate just doing it on a surface level, but I am too tired to really engage.
i am still horribly frustrated at the the last 4 months cinematic offerings.
butt kicking proverb of the day
....Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished,
but those who are righteous will go free....11:21
I need to look and see if Proverbs ever says "be sure of this," anywhere else.....
one more place, Proverbs 16:5 The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.
that's tough
9.10.2005
"...And Andre are here to stay and never go away....."
andre agassi is electric, I remember watching him on CBS in my Grandad's basement when I was 8 and being amazed. Today, it carries on...he is 35 and heading to the finals of the US OPEN! It must have something to do with marrying Steffi Graf. The match went 5 sets and his last service game was impeccable. It was great to watch him bubbling with joy after the victory like a little boy who just hit his first homerun or Poindexter after he came back from his first Coldplay concert. Watching excellence unfold before your eyes is an incredible thing, even his opponent knew it, the words he spoke of Agassi after the match showed his understanding of being in the presence of someone remarkable.
9.08.2005
same old symphony
my laptop is dead, that happens when you spill a drink on the keyboard. I'll be back next Thursday at the latest. good stuff happening and hard things pressing in on me - bittersweet as always and I wouldn't want it any other way.
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