Name Recognition or God's Image.

HI! It's good to be back. I have been off pursuing my new hobby again .

The Barna Group published a new survey while I was gone. This one compared name recognition of several movie stars, political figures, and Christian leaders. The conclusion was that many American Christian Leaders are widely unknown, even among Christians. Evangelicals included in the list included T.D. Jakes, Tim LaHaye, James Dobson, and Rick Warren. All of them fared poorly. Perhaps Christians were more interested in Cultural literacy than in Biblical literacy, the study noted.

As always this was an interesting study. I do have some questions about methodology, however. The Barna Group serves primarily Evangelical and Born Again Christians. Nevertheless, doing a name recognition survey of Christian religious leaders that does not include the Pope, is pushing "validity" awfully hard!

Further, all the highly rated individuals are known more for their work than for their personalities. A notable exception was Britney Spears whose personal life has been rather a mess and who rated poorly. It seems to be the case that when public figures become well known for themselves it is usually because they have been washing their dirty linen in public. Most Christians I know would just as soon not see any more of that.

"For actors and artists, awareness facilitates potential sales. For ministers, awareness fosters influence on lives. A favorable image provides access to people’s minds and hearts more readily." So, concludes the survey.

This worries me. For one thing it is contrary to the plain word of Scripture which says "By their Fruits you will know them," not by their image. For another, name recognition is not one of the fruits of the Spirit. Why do we put our Pastors' names on the bulletin boards outside our Churches?

The Orlando Sentinel misses the point

The Orlando Sentinel published last Sunday a column by David Steinmetz, a professor of History of Christianity at Duke. He began by saying "Anglican problems began in 2003 when the Episcopal Church decided to consecrate an openly gay man as bishop...." He concluded with a nice little lecture on why Anglicans really ought to get along better. The whole article had the tone of a wise father seeking to calm a squad of quarrelling children. The problem in that he was wrong at both ends of the column.

Steinmetz is wrong about when Anglican problems began - 1974, when the unlawful ordination of women took place might better be described as a starting point as far as the Episcopal Church is concerned. Anglican theological disputes began with the Reformation continued under Bloody Mary and Elizabeth. These disputes were at the root of Cromwell's rule, and have continued to this day.

Steinmetz has missed the crucial point: Mrs. Jefferts-Schori does not believe the same creed as other Anglicans do. She made that clear in her first address to the assembled General Convention, citing God our mother and Jesus our sister. In the midst of this battle, homosexuality will probably prove to be only a skirmish.

Steinmetz is hardly qualified to lecture Anglicans on how they ought to behave. He is a Professor, someone who studies the Church life as an academic discipline. He does not appear to identify himself as a believer - Anglican, or even Christian. The learned professor who studies the earthworm has absolutely no idea what it means to actually be one.

The key underpinning of Anglican Theology is found in Article 6 of the 39 Articles of Religion:

Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.

The problems of the Episcopal and Canadian Anglican churches today stem from the simple fact that three generations of clergy, beginning in the 1950's have been taught about Scripture rather than to read, mark, learn, and digest Scripture. This has been the academic approach. It is no wonder the Anglican Communion has problems. Anglicans can survive squabbling. What the communion may not be able to survive is substituting academic perceptions for the Faith once delivered to the Saints.

Rosie and Relevance

The folks at the Barma Organization have me thinking again. For one thing they help me to realize that I miss a lot of stuff. Apparently, sometime in September Rosie O'Donnell made a comment that radical Christianity was just as dangerous as radical Islam in a country like ours. Apparently this caused some up roar among the brethren. All this, you understand, is hearsay as far as I am concerned. Rosie and her opinions are far out beyond Pluto on my list of concerns. In a very quick Google search I was able to find a couple of reference to the incident. One was a one of those "radical" Christians expressing his displeasure and the other a Republican site expressing displeasure at Rosie's contributions to the Democrats.

All of this seems to confirm Barma's findings that most Christians, like me, missed the whole thing and the rest really didn't much care.

Having said that, it is worth noting that there is something in Rosie's remarks worth chewing on. Radical Islam and Extreme Right Wing Christianity do have some things in common. Both these movements support the imposition of their moral values by law and enforcement of them by severe civil penalties. More centrist thinkers in both groups recognize that the regulations the radicals would impose are neither scriptural nor particularly consistent with the principles of scripture. Instead they are cultural values drawn out of the failure of the radicals to live successfully in a world which rejects them.

For Christians the battlefield of this issue stretches through centuries. The accounts of the early councils disclose a strikingly un-Christian approach to conflict resolution. The battle continued through the middle ages, the Inquisition, the Reformation, The Council of Trent, The Klan and right into this present day. It is strewn with the bodies of saints who didn't think or act the way others thought they ought to!

For Islam there was an early period of war followed by a long and glorious period of cultural, intellectual and artistic growth and progress. Gradually the more conservative prevailed and the overall cultural development of Islam slowed and virtually stopped. Only where a secular Islamic culture developed did progress take place.

This, of course, is exactly what has happened to us also. Because we are in the midst of it we don't see it as clearly as we do when looking half way around the world. Out society has become increasing secular, and that secular society is responsible for the progress. The Barma Organization has done some interesting research about what Christians really think and believe.

The radicals in both Christianity and Islam denounce secularization. Their concern that it turns people away from God is very real and very valid. The truth that neither group seems to have grasped is that you really can't force people to turn to God. You can kill them, but you can't force them to be good!

No one really knows how many Christians are Right Wing, Centrist, or Liberal. I think it is fair to say that both left and right are real minorities. None of them are truly radical Christians. The really radical Christians are those who wake up some morning; take a look at their lives; and realize, "Hey, this stuff really works!" Then, they go on with their daily lives seeking to know and do God's will; trusting Him to make all things right; and finding that it continues to work.

God, Grant me the Serenity
to accept the things I can not change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And Wisdom to know the difference,
that, Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Seeking to know and do your will;
Taking this world as it is, not as I would have it;
and trusting you to make all things right;
So, I may rejoice to serve in your Kingdom,
and in Life everlasting,
through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen

Apologies and Thanks.

I have spent the past week in Doctor land; not as a resident but as one stranded in an airport over night. Occasionally my hobby gets out of hand.

In any case, my sincere apologies to any who have come to read and found only emptiness, and my most sincere thanks to all those who ministered to me and who supported me with their prayers.

God bless and keep you in the hollow of his hand.

Voices crying in the Wilderness

Voices crying in the wilderness.

Throughout this world of ours there are a number of folks trying to tell us something important.. They are like voices crying in the wilderness. Some are shouting "Prepare ye the way of the Lord."Others are somewhat less strident, more of the "You better watch out; you better not cry," variety. A few of us are just grumpy old men and women griping and complaining. All of us are trying to direct your attention to some idea we believe is important for all of us in this society.

It is probably fair, however, to say that most of the Voices Crying in the Wilderness are doing so because we believe it is God's will for us to do so. It is , so to speak, our job. Your job is to listen and to discern what God is saying to you through us. Our prayer is that you may not finiish before we do!

After all those cautionary remarks let me introduce my friend and Father in God, Bishop Philip Weeks, whose blog is now underway at

http://pepweeks.blogspot.com

Over the years he has had many good things to say to me and I commend him as a voice in the wilderness worth listening to.

Remember too, that some of the things we most need to hear are said by those who consider us their enemies. For example, many have cringed when they have heard the mega church movement attacked. Apart from those condemning the movement, there have also been voices questioning whether the whole concept accords with God's will. Anyone who enjoyed the opportunity to worship and be part of one of these communities unually dismissed any and all criticism. And then we have a Haggard flaming burnout. Academics are now wisely stroking their beards and pronouncing the likely (or unlikely) demise of mega churches.

Now we listen, but what we hear is mostly gossip, a lot of it erudite, academic gossip, but gossip none the less. Ought we not to have listened better to the Voices Crying in the Wilderness?

He who has ears to hear, let him listen.

Getting the Vote Out - Getting the Vote Right

The elections are at hand. Can you put aside all the negative advertising? Try. It is all designed to distract from the candidates and issues. Remember, this sort of thing is a Red Herring.

Early voting is available in Florida where I live. I will probably vote this week and avoid the lines on election day.

Probably the most effective thing we can do in an election is pray for guidance in our candidate choice and decision making. God probably won't wake you in the middle of the night to tell you how to vote, but prayer will clarify your thinking, and the guidance will be there.

If you have gone over your sample ballot and scratched out the scoundrels and incompetents; if you have set aside the Red Herrings they are trying to feed you; and, if you have focused on the character of the persons running for office, now you are ready for decision making. Now take a look at the real issues and make up your mind about them. Then vote!

Remember

The Hermeneutic of Voting

1. Pray for guidance.

2. Throw the Scoundrels out.
3. Identify and eliminate the Incompetents.

4. Choose the Party or the Person
5. Beware of the Red Herrings
6. Decide the issues
7. Pray for guidance.
8. VOTE

God bless and keep these United States of America.
Amen.

Early Voting

I voted today, using our early voting opportunities. It was an interesting experience. After being identified I was taken to one of the new electronic voting machines. The poll worker entered my precinct and id number and showed me how it worked. I found the machine easy to use. On the way out another poll worker explained how the paper trail worked and how the voting machines were electronically protected.

Of course, this is only Orange County. I don't know what machines are used elsewhere. All of this still requires faith, but it does seem to be an improvement over 2000, 2004, and the vote early and often tactics of my days in Chicago.

Vote - your vote matters!

Have we missed something?

Last night the Bishop visited our local parish for Confirmation. It was a cool service. About fifteen persons were confirmed. The Bishop preached a good sermon. I remembered my own confirmation and the text which was assigned: "Seek those things which are above," Col3:1). The Bishop didn't assign a text and I missed that.

All this got me thinking about the service, preparation for it and the content of it. We tell people that it is about their receiving the Holy Spirit. What we do, however, is focus their preparation on doctrine, church history, and liturgics.

No matter how hard I try I can not find any Scriptural authority for this. Nowhere are we told that we must be knowledgeable, liturgically graceful or orthodox in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Where in the training do we find the meaning of discipleship, of following Jesus in our daily life, of developing and deepening our relationship with God?

Have we missed something here? I know we are teaching a contemporary version of what we have always taught, but is that teaching people to follow Christ?

A Doctors's Visit is Half a Day

Remember when we were told how wonderful the future would be? We would live in a time when no one worked more than 30 hours a week. In this prosperous society people working part time so that their employers would not be responsible for health benefits, vacations, sick days and the like would not be a problem.

In this best of all possible worlds I would have a paper free office. Everything would be computerized. The computer would actually work. Viruses, worms, and crashes were not prophesied.

And best of all, I would have leisure time to pursue all my interests; but one thing was left out: a mandatory new hobby that consumes much of my leisure time. That hobby is personal medical care.

There are the medical specialists: the foot doctor, the joint doctor, the plumbing doctors (GI, Kidney, Urology), the heart doctor, the lung doctor, the nose doctor, the eye doctor, and perhaps the most important of all, the primary care doctor, whose job it is to to keep track of what is happening with the other doctors. This list does not include the various technicians and support persons such as audiologists, nor does it include the dentist, or dentists. Over all there must be at least 15 such caregivers.

Each doctor must be visited. A doctor's visit, my friends, takes half a day. Surely not, you say! After all they only spend ten minutes with you. True, but you must consider the other factors:

Travel time - No doctor is less than 30 minutes away. Usually the travel time is closer to an hour, especially if you must be on the roads during rush hour. On average? Probably 45 minutes each way or a total of one and one half hours.

Waiting time - In the outer office, if you are lucky 30 minutes, more likely 45. Then you are taken to an inner examination room, where you take your clothes off and freeze for another 15 to thirty minutes.

Consultation time - 10 to 20 minutes. If consultation time is any longer, you have some various serious problem which will involve adding other doctors, more appointments, etc.,etc., etc.

Recovery time - Remember when you went right back to work following a doctor's appointment? Now you get back home and have to rest for 30 minutes until you are able to continue your day.

Add it all up. It is usually three hours, often four. Dancing this dance with fifteen or more health care professionals can easily take a week or two out of each month.

The cost of all this is incidental. You just use the money you had set aside for all those leisure activities for which you don't have time because you are visiting doctors.

Hermeneutizing

I got a great email from Pastor Don Moore.

He says" I have always seen hermeneutics in a way very much like you do. It is communications with a purpose interpreted by the listener, or by the one who overhears.I was taught that there are three things to learn from what is heard. First, what does it say; what are the words and what do they mean when they are used and connected this way? ...Second, what does it mean; what is the force of what is said? ...Third, what does this mean about the communicator and about the intended listener...."

"...It is also really hard not to add opinions while interpreting the communication, but rather to go on evidence and assume the best possible construction (but not without wisdom and experience in play). This way is godly, but awfully hard to do."

Isn't that right on target? We have had some chats and I know from experience that Pastor Moore doesn't have any trouble telling me where he is coming from.

It is hard distinguishing my opinions from what I am hearing and to avoid muddying the communication. I am not sure, though, about giving the best possible construction to the words of others. If my goal is to avoid conflict, that is probably a wise choice. If, however, I want to really understand what is being said to me, I have to recognize that what it said may well be construed very negatively. This is probably a case of being wise as serpents and mild as doves.

So, what does this say about Hermeneutics and Hermeneutists? It says that thinking and understanding can be hard work. One of the people who taught me said, "It requires clarity of purpose and consistency of effort."

The Pope, the Ayatolas and me

All the publicity Pope Benedict has received because he quoted a Byzantine Emperor during an academic lecture has given me a lot to think about. Essentially his message was that violence as a tool for spreading the Faith doesn't make sense and is contrary to the way God does things. The reaction in the Muslim world appears to stem from their being insulted that the Emperor didn't think much of the Muslim religion and from the Pope's disclosing that those thoughts several centuries later.

Of course, that wasn't really it. What happens in the Muslim world is that men whose interest is to seize power create an enemy where none exists. They do everything to stir people by proclaiming insults where no insult exists. This technique of Propaganda was developed to a high level by Dr. Joseph Goebbels for the support of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. Every would-be great leader uses the technique in order that ignorant people may recognize the leader's greatness as he leads them to war and/or destruction. The techniques of politicians seeking power don't vary much from culture to culture!

How do people in the Muslim world think we see them? We see men who act like fools, rioting, burning and destroying their own communities because someone told them some Infidel insulted the Prophet, or the Koran. They act foolishly without knowing whether the leader told them the truth or merely interpreted something in such a way as to stir the soup.

Then I wondered, how do they see us? Certainly they see us as very thoroughly involved in an utterly material world. Our values appear to be focused on things: autos, electronic toys, luxurious living. To them we appear to be fools led by leaders who create enemies where none exist and start wars to destroy those enemies.

I don't want to insult. Each party to this brouhaha proclaims his innocence and blames the other.

All this, however, reminds me of a quote attributed to the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen:

The trouble with the world is that I am no different.
If I were different the whole world would be changed.

Power and Glory

I spent yesterday in the clutches of the medical profession. This was a necessary, but not necessarily pleasant activity. Thank God all is well!

While my back was turned all sorts of things occurred: successful surgery for a close friend, a military coup in Thailand, the bankruptcy of our daughter"s employer. Robberies, Murders, Stolen and Lost Children, Automobile Accidents, Financial Ups & Downs of local businesses. All these things and many more took place without my supervision, control, or for that matter, my interest. I was focused on me!

I am not upset with my behavior. I think it is appropriate to care for oneself and to be focused on oneself when that is necessary.

What amazes me again is how this world goes on without any of us having any real influence, let alone control of the process. Yesterday I was really just along for the ride. I wonder how many days are really any different?

Truly, Father, yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory.

Voting Principles - Beware of Red Herrings

Campaigning politicians try to keep us focused on broad generalities they really can't do anything about.

Cutting taxes is a favorite red herring. Of course no one wants to pay taxes and especially not more taxes. The trouble is that the tax supported budget of the government is no different from the paycheck supported budget you have to live with. Lower your income, you have to spend less. There comes a point where income and spending can't drop any more. We know this. We deal with it every month. Governments are notoriously inefficient and careless with our money. When was the last time you heard a politician running on his record of controlling and cutting spending?

Politicians like to promise things they can't do anything about. Candidates for governor promise, "I will cut taxes. I will increase police services. I will lower insurance costs....." None of these are things over which the Governor has any control. The Legislature controls the appropriations and taxes. The insurance commissioner has control of rate approvals. Presidential candidates are also prone to promise what they can not deliver. A real red herring will get you all excited about some issue that the politician stirring the pot can do nothing about.

Slogans are usually red herrings. Be careful of them. "Stay the Course." "Fear and Smear." "Honest Government." "Proud American." All sentiments designed to increase the heat and reduce the clarity of political discussion.

What are the real issues? What are realistic answers to problems? If you can't identify them then the speaker is sending you chasing after red herrings.

The Hermeneutic of Voting

Voting Principles (so far)

1. Throw the Scoundrels out.
2. Identify and eliminate the Incompetents.

3. The Party or the Person
4. Beware of the Red Herrings

Who blessed Me?

September 16, 2006

Well, I counted a total of 13 . My wife, the valet parking attendant, seven health care persons, a cafeteria worker, a woman waiting in line, a man who shared his ground cheese and a mail carrier who bent double over his cart to keep the elevator door open.

Me? I tipped the valet parking guy!

Who blessed you today - Who did you bless?

We can always tell who cut us off in traffic, who cheated us,or who jumped the checkout line in the supermarket. Can you tell who did something for you today, who went out of their way, of who simply said some comforting or supportive words?

Who blessed you today?

Tonight, before you go to bed, take a few moments to remember those to whom you spoke, or did business, shared a moment, or simply encountered.

If you have time, remember those who you blessed today. Which list is longer? Are you sure?

Voting Principles - Joining a Party

I'm a member of the Democrat/Republican/Libertarian/Green/Whatever party. We are a group of like minded people who unite our efforts in order to make this a better society and a better country in which to live.

Let's get real. Political parties are about political power not about like minded people, platforms, or agendas. Maybe the welfare of the country and a better society are in there somewhere, but they aren't even close to political power in importance.

If you are actively involved in government an community affairs and you want to associate with a party to further your goals. Go for it. Being a committee of one and trying to change the world is a non-starter. Or, to put it in Southern lingo, "That dog won't hunt!"

If you are a voter who wants a better country, you would do well to look carefully at the character of the persons to whom you are giving power. The question "Is this someone you'd buy a used car from?;" is a good starting place. If you have already ruled out the scoundrels and the incompetents, character is the next thing to consider.

Yes, I know you really care about the war and the economy and taxes and human rights, but these things aren't going to matter if the wrong hand is on the wheel.

The Hermeneutic - Voting Principles (so far)

1. Throw the Scoundrels out.
2. Identify and eliminate the Incompetents.

3. The Party or the Person

Terrorism in America - 3

Does the fact that we are being attacked by Muslim Fundamentalist Terrorists mean that we should fear all Muslims? Should I give up the physician who has saved my life, or the family that runs the dry cleaners I patronize, or teacher that helps my grandchild to read. Obviously not!

Again we must turn to a familiar experience of our recent past. Many of us grew up in neighborhoods where organized crime was a dominant force. Depending on the neighborhood they might be an Italian gang (Catholics); an Irish gang (usually Catholic, but often Protestant, too); or a Jewish gang. Today we have Latino gangs and Black gangs. All of these share two characteristics: First of all they are terrorists and second they are criminal. The jihadists are a Muslim gang who try to cloth their terrorism in religious doctrine. The simple truth is that they are criminals.

We know how to deal with criminals. We stop romanticizing their behavior. These people are not Robin Hood and his merry band. We work closely with law enforcement. We report criminal, terrorist behavior when we see it. We don't excuse criminal, terrorist behavior as a result of discrimination or other civil unfairness. Those are real problems and we need to address them, but they do not justify criminal behavior or terrorist acts.

Above all, we accept our obligation to be Americans, and to act like Americans. Our ancestors came here because they wanted freedom. If anyone comes here today and does not want and support that freedom, he or she is free to leave and go elsewhere. Shape up or ship out!

Terrorism in America -2

Given that we Americans should really understand the basics of terrorism, what is there about Muslim Fundamentalist Terrorism that should be familiar to us?

We ought to recognize the familiar sound of sharia - Muslim religious law. Some American Christian fundamentalists regularly advance the idea that this country should be governed by biblical principles. Elected leaders, they believe, should subscribe to such principles and commit to governing by them. Inevitably such governments encounter the problem of interpreting or understanding ambiguous scripture passages. For guidance they turn to religious leaders. Then, we would have what the Muslims have in their sharia: not government of, by and for the people, but government by religious leaders. It is because of this dynamic that many Christians oppose Christian Fundamentalist efforts to govern by biblical principles.

Muslim fundamentalists declare a deep hatred for the United States and for its culture. This should not surprise us, either. Many Christians object to the values Hollywood and TV project. Many of us see our society as overwhelmingly secular. We object to the sexuality which pervades advertising. And that group includes those of us who are not particularly puritanical in our approach to life. Others are even more vehement in their opposition to our cultural values. Because Muslim fundamentalists are, from our point of view, extremely puritanical in their value system, their reaction to our values is stronger than ours.

We also ought to remember that Christianity is a missionary religion. So is Islam. The difference between the two is that the method used by fundamentalist Muslims is jihad - war against those who do not believe - the infidels. We are the infidels and the jihad is against us.

The principle of religious freedom which we hold dear guides us not to interfere with any person's religious practice - as long as that practice does not endanger the welfare of the nation. A jihad - a holy war - against us certainly endangers with the welfare of our country!

So let us not be fuzzy minded about this. These people are trying to kill us!!! They don't need to be understood, or pitied because of their poverty, not do we need to minimize their threat to us. All our law, our culture, and our religious values ask of us, other than that we defend ourselves, is that we pray for our enemies. There is an old Irish prayer that is appropriate to this situation:

May God bless our enemies and may he turn their hearts; and, if he cannot turn their hearts, may he turn their ankles, so that we may know them by their limping. Amen.

9/11

God grant rest to all who died on 9/11, and peace and healing to those who survived and mourne.

Terrorism in America

I don't know why we in America have so much trouble understanding the Moslem Fundamentalist Terrorists. We experienced a similar phenomena here in the 1920's and 1930's. The Ku Klux Klan dressed up and rode through mid-western and southern states. They were Christian, Fundamentalist Terrorists.They preached a message of hate of Blacks, Jews, and Catholics.The KKK burned crosses and homes and killed and terrorized people. They sought political control with the goal of forcing everyone to believe as they did. They were quite successful, completely controlling the State of Indiana at one point.

The 60's, 70's, and 80's were an era of Irish Terrorism. The Provisional IRA bombed and killed and terrorized in Northern Ireland and England, seeking political control, and preaching hate of Protestants and the English. Amazing amounts of money were collected in the United States and carried to Ireland secrdtly. Most of us Irish Americans either looked the other way or cheered the IRA on vocally and financially.

We know a lot about terrorists among us, we just haven't had a lot of experience with being the subject of terrorism.

Voting Principles - Eliminate the Incompetent

The next important principle of voting in elections is identify and eliminate the incompetents. What has the incumbent actually accomplished? This is particular useful in evaluating congressmen, senators, state and local legislators. All of these men and women are elected to maintain the welfare of the people, not to enrich themselves, nor to sponsor frivolous legislation, nor to support the party at all costs, but to maintain the welfare of the people. If they are not doing that, they are not doing the job for which they were elected.

Remember, however, that meeting the needs of the individuals in their home district is a valuable indicator. Not everyone can be a great leader, but everyone can work their district! That is a good reason to vote for someone.

The Hermeneutic - Voting Principles (so far)

1. Throw the scoundrels out.
2. Identify and eliminate the incompetents.

Voting

The silly season is now over in Florida. The Primaries are done and the real campaigning will be on us in full force.

The basic Hermeneutic principle of preparing for the fall elections is

Throw the Scoundrels out.

This is a thought worth your serious consideration.

The Laborer is worthy of his hire.

Some more thoughts on Labor Day.

I live in Orlando where our primary industry is tourism and most jobs offer only the minimum wage or something close to it. We talk about a "living wage" which ends up being a couple of bucks more than minimum.

The reality is that with employees there are certain unavoidable costs. Let's enumerate them: a place to live (shelter), food, clothing, utilities, transportation, health care. If you live in an area like ours, where the public transportation is minimal, you must have an automobile. All of these things add up and they must be paid for, if not in wages, then in taxes and donations.

When people have no insurance or resources they must turn to tax supported clinics and the emergency rooms. These things have to be paid for one way or the other.This means we can't run around saying no more taxes, when taxes are needed to pay for services provided for those whose wages are too low to pay for them.

This is a real problem and we have to get real and stop ranting the political slogans of the right and left. We need leadership that will focus on solving the problem.

Labor Day

Today is Labor Day. Yesterday the CBS magazine show, Sunday Morning, did a segment on workaholics and on those who had to work 2 jobs just to make a living. Both of these raise moral issues.

It was interesting that the workaholics often described themselves as addicts, unable to stop working 70 -90 hours a week. For some, it was clear that nothing - family - society - social responsibility - or even the vast sums of money they gained from their work was more important than working. We know how to arrest the addictions, but you do have to want to stop. None of these folk were remotely interested in stopping work.

You can tell what God you worship by looking at your life. Well?

Having to work two jobs just to make a living raises another whole stream of questions. What should the doing of work provide for the worker? This is not a free market, supply and demand issue. The free market concept is not a moral one, but one of power. Morally speaking, someone is profiting from the work. The one who profits from the work of others needs to pay them accordingly. If you don't make a profit, you probably ought to go out of business. The problem, of course, is not this simple, but those are the moral battle lines.

Did you ever think to ask whether what you do and how you do it is God's will for you? Honor the workern in you by asking and answering the question.
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R&R

I took the afternoon off today. Watched a movie - Into the Woods, a Sondheim musical. It was beautifully done. It had a moral which I could spend any number of days examining. But above all the music, though excellent, was not memorable. Not a song in the lot that will have me humming it tomorrow.

God's will - doing right and feeling good?

Some years ago I was given a plaque for my office. The wording was more or less like this:

We have not succeeded in answering all of your problems. The answers we have found only serve to raise a whole set of new questions. In some ways we feel we are as confused as ever, but we believe we are confused on a higher level and about more important things.

If ever there was a warning about counselors being overconfident, that certainly is it. If you were considered to be successful, all your clients left feeling better but confused. You consoled yourself with the thought that at the very least they were confused on a higher level than they were when they first came to you.

But, in the real world this approach just won't do. People are looking for answers that work. They are less concerned about feeling good than they are about really messing their lives up by following advice they have been given. If, as we work together, we concentrate on learning God's will, and not on people, places, things, and other side issues, we won't become more confused. And, most of us probably won't have to become involved with more important things.

We do the best we can to learn God's will for us and then we do the best we can to carry it out in our lives. That may be scary. It requires Faith. Faith is not about intellectual correctness, or about doing good, but absolute trust, and God will not take us anywhere He can't protect us.

I'm right - you are wrong!

Those of us who think about such things have had to trudge a long, hard intellectual road to reach our understanding of the Faith Once Delivered to the Saints. Because we worked so hard and were so careful, we became absolutely convinced that our understanding is definitive. A similar process takes place on an institutional level, also. Therefore, anyone who thinks differently must be (at best) misguided, or (at worst) a damned heretic. Often there is no gray area. However, some groups have sort of a lazy, daisy, practice of enforcement, so some deviance is allowed.

There are two major problems with this approach to doctrine.

• First, nowhere in Scripture is there a requirement for intellectual orthodoxy in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. Heresy is man made!
  

• Second, Look at your own relationship with God and your own understanding of God. Has it changed in the past 20 years? Past 10 years? Past 5 years? The past year? Don't you now have a deeper and fuller understanding of God than you used to have?

• Of course you do!

All of our carefully and painfully worked theologies are merely the very best we could do at that time and in that place. That is not bad. It may, in fact, be outstandingly good, but it is still only the best we could do today.

If it is true of us, can it not also be true of others?

What do you mean when you say "Christian"

Rejoice! Our hurricane fizzled out!

I spent some time today on the site of The Barna Group http://www.barna.org. They are a Christian research organization. They survey Christians and others to obtain a picture of what people are saying and believing. Their methodology appears sound, and their conclusions are stated rationally. If you are looking for an excellent example of being Christian and being thoroughly professional The Barna Group is a good one.

In a recent survey they discuss how Americans see themselves. They contrast the responses of Born-again Christians with those who don't acknowledge that status. If you think you know what your community or congregation is thinking, reading the results of this survey may be enlightening. the closing paragraphs of each report disclose the criteria which were used in defining and reporting the results.

When you have finished reading the Research Details section of a report you will have a clear understanding of how The Barna Group defines Christian and Born-again and Evangelical. The meaning of their research will be clear. This can not be said about a lot of what is called Christian thought. They should be commended!

When you have finished reading the few paragraphs of Research Details ask yourself how well they apply to you. Would you have answered the questions the same way? Does the clear cut definition your reading describe you? A lot of us describe ourselves as Christian or Born-again or Evangelical or Charismatic or Pentecostal, but the criteria we use to define those terms are really quite sloppy.

What do you mean when you say "Christian"? How's your hermeneutic?

Self Image

We were talking today about the principles of developmental psychology. The discussion focused on the need to learn developmental tasks in the proper sequence. One well-known example of this principle is the need of adolescents to learn and gender interaction. Simply put: if you don't learn how to get along with girls in adolescence, you are going to have trouble all your life long.

Actually, we were talking about screwing up the same things over and over again. One of the things that frustrates most adults is repeating the same mistakes over and over again. We wonder on our good days why we do this. On our bad days we wonder how could we be so dumb?

It is all a matter of how we view ourselves; if you will, our personal hermeneutic. If you see yourself as a mature adult you will surely encounter numerous occasions to trip and fall flat on your face. If you think of yourself as immature you will lose yourself in continuing anxiety sessions. Paul, the Apostle, talks about not thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought (Rom12:3). He implies that putting ourselves down is just as bad. The mean - real self honesty - is the answer.

So, if I am honest with myself today, I see a number of uncompleted developmental tasks. I see that I need to grow up! How about you?

A mighty, rushing wind

We sit here in Central Florida awaiting hurricane Ernesto. Ernesto has had definite developmental difficulties. He has gone from tropical storm with winds of 35 miles per hour to hurricane with winds over 75 mph and now is reported to be blowing at 40 mph. This definitely downgrades him from Mighty Rushing Wind to merely a Rushing Wind. His course, too, has changed. Instead of heading for New Orleans, or, later, Tampa, he currently is expected to roll up the east coast of Florida. Oh! How the might have fallen! Perhaps by the time he gets there he will be merely a tropical breeze.

I know we are talking about a hurricane, but doesn't this all sound familiar. Could it be your life or mine?

Most of us have developmental difficulties. We each face a set of tasks we must master in order to tackle the next more advanced set. Both our own efforts and external forces over which we have no control contribute to our development. For example, it you don't learn the alphabet you won't be able to learn to read. If we hear the alphabet song we are probably more likely to succeed than if we hear Peter and the Wolf. The example is crude, but you get the idea. Are you still wrestling with some basic concept you should have learned in kindergarten or first grade?

What difference does all this make? Considering it is good for our self-esteem or for our compassion!

Saturday - Rest or Labor

Even when we were both working, Saturday was the day for administrative chores. You know, chores like laundry, house cleaning, shopping, yard work, and the like. We both shared a world view in which Saturday was the fitting day for these activities. My wife still adheres to this view which she firmly believes is the orthodox one. I, on the other hand, have begun to think more of baseball games, and other spectator activities; recliner chair, feet in the air, beverage at hand, perhaps a few munchies.

This is clearly a heretical hermeneutic. Some weeks its manifestation is treated with scorn, on others with patience. Occasionally there is vigorous opposition and condemnation. Sometimes our great ideas and activities are opposed because they require change and people don't know how to change.

In this case, my answer is outsourcing - dry cleaners and laundry, cleaning crew, yardman, etc.

Would that it were always so easy!

And then there is Augustine

Love God and do as you please.

There's an hermeneutic for you!

The Elephant in the Room

You probably have heard the story of the five blind men who were taken to see an elephant. They were placed in oval around the beast and each tried to experience it. Later they were asked to describe the elephant.

• The first said, "It was like great snake hanging down from a tree and feeding itself.'
• The second disagreed, "No. It was like a huge bird, flapping its wings."
• The third said, "You are both wrong. It was like a forest. I could put my arms around the tree trunks."
• For the fourth it was even more different, "The elephant was like a large fly whisk, swing back and forth."
• And the fifth, "It was like a great wall. I could raise my hands and feel the height and width of it."

Of course, they were all right. One experienced the trunk, another the ears, the third the massive legs, the fourth the tail, and the fifth the sides of this huge animal. And, of course, they were all wrong because each of them had only experienced a part of the elephant.

It shouldn't surprise us to learn that we, too, are blind men. At best we only see a part of the problem. If what we see is too big for us to really understand, we chose our best understanding and call it definitive. The truth is that, individually or collectively, we are like the blind men. We can only proclaim as much as we have experienced and our best understanding of it.

God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at mine end, and at my departing.

Sarum Primer, 1538.

PBPGINFWMY

This post actually started about a year ago, but was never finished because of ESRD. Thanks to the blessing of Peritoneal Dialysis, I am up and running again - just not as rapidly.

About thirty years ago I visited a church in Miami. At the door everyone was given a pin-on badge with the letters PBPGINFWMY. No explanation was given and we sat through the first part of the service wondering what was going on. With the sermon came the explanation:

Please Be Patient - God Is Not Finished With Me Yet

It was a good sermon about forgiveness of yourself and others. I still remember it. Think about it..... How many sermons do you remember?

Anyway, God s apparently not finished with me yet. Welcome to this blog.