Further up, further in, and running wild

Michael Moore Fails to Make Cut with Writers Guild

No Oscar.

No WGA award.

Oliver Stone and Michael Moore deserve each other.

Ann Coulter turns down the heat from her usual style and makes a lot of sense in her article entitled WHERE’S THAT RELIGIOUS FANATIC WE ELECTED?

The point is that only a minority support widespread availability of abortion, so why is it still the law of the land? It’s time to change that.

I have concluded that is is possible for a Christian and for a church to starve to death, that is, to be so bereft of spiritual food that rigor mortis sets in without the realization that anything is even wrong.

There seems to be an anti-intellectual component to the belief system of most Christians I know. They don’t seem to want to learn and grow. They are quite satisfied with the received truth they already possess, and can’t imagine there is anything more worth getting. Or at least getting if it takes any effort from them.

Perhaps this odious tendency comes from the “just pray this little prayer” version of becoming a Christian. Perhaps it is just laziness. Or perhaps I am a victim of the bandleader syndrome and just want others to want to be as intellectually challenged as I want to be. But I think it is a real problem.

This observation is troubling me, and I want to do something about it. I’m not sure what I want to do or what I ought to do, but surely there is an appropriate response to what I see around me. I know it can’t be done on the web. It has to be done where we live. God help me.

Senate Confirms Rice As Secretary of State

I am sad to report that my Democratic Senator, Evan Bayh, has joined the likes of Kennedy and Kerry and Boxer in voting against the president’s nomination. The good folks of Indiana cannot be pleased by that announcement.

I’m afraid that isn’t a good start for one who hopes to be the next Democrat candidate for president. Evan might pull an Al Gore and not win his own state.

MSN Search is bringing tons of hits to my website.

People are searching for stuff and MSN Search is finding disparate posts of mine and placing them high on the hitlist, often on the first or second page.

I think the phenomenon is tapering off, but still, my low days now have more hits than my high days used to have. Weird.

I mean, just search for “Randy” and I show up at the top of the second page, ahead of Randy Newman, Randy Johnson, and Randy Travis. I kinda wonder is MSN Search is granting special status to weblogs.

I also wonder if anyone else out there is seeing similar phenomena. And I wonder if multiple mentions of MSN Search in this post will have any effect.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. (Mark 14:22-24, NIV)

Simple words.

“This is my body. This is my blood.” Shocking.

We could get distracted by trying to figure out what the words mean. We would do better to simply accept them for what they symbolize.

Jesus died for many. Jesus died for you. For me. He offers us his body and blood. He offers himself.

Like those with him at the historical last supper, I sit and ponder the significance of this offer. I don’t know what to think. I don’t know how to respond. I am overwhelmed. No one ever did this for me before. How do I accept such a gift?

I want to say, “Don’t do that for me. I’m not worth it.” But it is already done. I’m too late with my advice.

This wine he offers covers a multitude of sins. Good thing–I have a multitude to cover.

Jesus, I thank you for your overkind offer. I humbly accept.

Twenty-nine years ago today I met the love of my life for the first time. Since then, we’ve been through lots of trials together, and our love has been refined in the fire.

Today our love is of the purest gold and our greatest earthly joy.

I love you, honey.

Brad Boydston addresses the question of eternal security. He answers the question by reframing it, and he does a nice job of it.

The debate about “once-saved-always-saved” will continue, I suppose, but mostly we end up discussing stuff that doesn’t matter. We think of salvation as a commodity that one may possess, and that is simply wrong.

I’m tempted to republish Brad’s entire post, I shall refrain and ask you to go read it for yourself.

Do you like to Read the Greek New Testament?

The site linked above is set up for regular reading with parsing and interpretation help included. It will lead you through the GNT in five years.

If your Greek is a bit rusty, this is just what you need.

I am getting an abnormally high number of hits. Anyone know why?

You simply must bookmark The Holy Observer – #1 Source for Christian News. Maybe you already have and I’m way behind the times.

This must the be Christian version of FARK.com.

Thanks to Rev. Mike for the link.

We are trying to get involved in our new church. We’ve been there for about six months now, but our development has been retarded by circumstances in our family life which have caused us to stay too withdrawn from our new acquaintances. We are going about changing that now.

I’ve been co-teaching an adult Sunday School class for several months now. I’m not certain this is the right class for me. I like to do pretty much straight Bible studies, based on discussion of questions designed to bring out the meaning and application of the text. This class is pretty well tied to a denominational quarterly and a more lecture-based teaching style; not my forte, for sure. We’ll see what we can do about this problem. It seems a little ticklish to me. I don’t want to seem uncooperative, yet I’m really not at my best in this setup.

Carol is the practice pianist for the choir, and is doing a great job. Although I had no intention of being in the choir, I’ve been singing with them in order to help Carol feel more comfortable in her role. I’m backing out of that now that she is in the routine.

I’m getting involved in the media end of things, which is real big at our church. As far as I can tell, most of the guys in the media division (and it’s all guys except for a couple of gals who help out occasionally) are gnurds like me. In high school we would have all been involved in the A-V stuff. Because I have shown so much promise, I’ve been asked to learn the sound board. Scared stiff about that. I mean, I am so aware of the potential for screwing up. I’ve never done sound before, but I have a good ear and some technical savvy. I’ll give it my best shot.

Carol went to her first women’s ministry meeting last night. Small group, but I think she had fun. She wants to get involved, also, with ministry in the state young women’s prison.

For me, I guess it will be mostly media and golf. And teaching, I guess, if I can find the right spot. Does that sound shallow?

Football season is finally over for us in Indiana. Bad end to a good year. It will probably take awhile before we can remember the good part. The house across the street is dark; I suspect that James Mungro is already off on a Caribbean vacation, much deserved.

Pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers on Feb 17. The rest of the team shows up on Feb 21. The Red Sox will have a lot of fun and a few challenges defending their World Series title. This will be a fun year with a lot less pressure.

The PGA Tour is underway. Stewart Appleby won the Mercedes Championships and Vijay Singh won the Sony, both in Hawaii. Both came from behind for their victories and both were surprise winners. If Vijay is ever a surprise winner. Tiger played well and putted poorly at the Mercedes. I imagine he has been working with the putter and will be a force to reckon with this year.

I have won every tournament so far in the 2006 PGA Tour. (This after being the biggest money winner on the 2005 tour and having won the legends tournament as well.) I’ve been player of the month for January and February and have already won the first tournament in March. Total career winnings (including other lots of other matches besides tour events) is almost $110 million. Carol already has the money spent. We’re talking Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005, of course.

I have set up a putting green in my office at home. (We’re talking real life now.) I’m pretty deadly from eight feet and in. No Tiger-proofing, of course, but the stroke is relatively smooth. I have reasonable confidence that I can still be the bogey-or-a-little-better golfer I have always been. I’m old enough for the champions tour; they should let me go from the short tees. Stamina will be the main problem–it’s pretty strenuous getting in and out of the cart all day.

Thanks to Jake (one of my ten favorite nephews) for this link: Man survives 4-inch nail in skull

At our house we all agree that we wouldn’t want this to happen to us, but that if it did we would probably realize it had happened.

Mark 14:1-12 (NIV)

Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. 2 “But not during the Feast,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

12 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

R. T. France points out a double-layer sandwich here:

1a Reference to Passover, symbolic of Jesus’s impending death
…..1b-2 Chief priests looking for an answer to the Jesus problem
………….3-9 Main disciples don’t get it; unknown follower does (reversal)
…..10-11 Judas provides the answer to chief priests
12 ff Passover prepared

Reversal is a theme throughout the NT. The first will be last and the last first.

Thomas Friedman, of the NYTimes explains how he came to the conclusion that the Iraq elections cannot be postponed.

Here’s the heartcut:

It is on the basis of these rules that I totally disagree with those who argue that the Jan. 30 Iraqi elections should be postponed. Their main argument is that an Iraqi election that ensconces the Shiite majority in power, without any participation of the Sunni minority, will sow the seeds of civil war.

That is probably true – but we are already in a civil war in Iraq. That civil war was started by the Sunni Baathists, and their Islamist fascist allies from around the region, the minute the U.S. toppled Saddam. And they started that war not because they felt the Iraqi elections were going to be rigged, but because they knew they weren’t going to be rigged.

They started the war not to get their fair share of Iraqi power, but in hopes of retaining their unfair share. Under Saddam, Iraq’s Sunni minority, with only 20 percent of the population, ruled everyone. These fascist insurgents have never given politics a chance to work in Iraq because they don’t want it to work. That’s why they have never issued a list of demands. They don’t want people to see what they are really after, which is continued minority rule, Saddamism without Saddam. If that was my politics, I’d be wearing a ski mask over my head, too.

This is encouraging. Of course, it isn’t the first time Friedman got it right, particularly on a situation in the Middle East.

On the other hand, Maureen Dowds op-ed column today is pretty good evidence that she is totally falling apart and that the reason is frustration over not having a man in her life. If she wants to know why that is, I’m sure we could all give her some advice.

That is, my top five favorite commentary items by David Feherty from Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 by EA Sports:

5. Well, there’re no flies on that.
4. That’s just a remarkable shot.
3. Uh, no. No.
2. That’s the best shot you’re ever likely to see.

and

1. That’s in the first cut. And we all know that’s the deepest.

Michelle Malkin writes about the Armstrong Williams scandal. You might be surprised at her conclusions. I’m not, and I agree with her.

Dick Morris writes about the latest Hillary Clinton scandal. You might not have heard of this one. You might not ever hear about it if you don’t read this article.

I’ve heard it said that all politicians are crooked, but it’s a matter of degree. I don’t want to believe it, but these scandals make me wonder.

I’ve been preparing to teach a lesson this week on James 1:1-18. That’s a lot to try to get into one lesson, but that’s the way the quarterly is structured. That is also the reason I dislike teaching from a quarterly. You just can’t do justice to a passage like this in the time allotted.

Anyway, in my reading I noticed a little phrase (underlined below) that I am pondering:

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5, NIV)

That is just a wonderful picture of God, much different than the picture many of us have of God, and really, almost counter-intuitive. A God who does not find fault.

I grew up thinking that God was a killjoy who was just waiting for me to screw up so he could punish me. I’m not really sure how I got that idea, but I suspect it was because of all the “rules” that were considered to be crucial to victorious Christian living in my childhood church. I have two dominant memories of what I received from the pulpit as a child: fear of Communists, and fear of God. Not a healthy respect, but a paralyzing fear. God was out to get me if I didn’t manage to live up to a long list of rules without messing up.

I think that I did not see the error in my perception of God until I was an adult. Many adults I know today have not progressed beyond this mistaken idea about who God is. This little phrase from James helps us move toward getting it right.

God does not want to harm us; he desires good things for us. In fact, everything good comes from God. If there is something in your life that you enjoy or admire, it came from God. If there is something in your life that is causing you grief, don’t blame it on God.

And God is not a fault-finder. I know very few people, myself included, who fit that description. God is willing to overlook a lot of stuff about me that would turn your stomach. Stuff that turns my own stomach. God just chooses not to see it. This is a transforming idea: God overlooks stuff.

I realize that these truths on my mind today are capable of being twisted. These truths need to be balanced with other truths; that is always the case. I’m not teaching health-and-wealth as proof of God’s approval. That can only lead to disillusionment with God. People who see God in this wrong way stumble when an earthquake kills thousands of people, because they think God failed to fulfill his promise, that God doesn’t care, that God is impulsively vengeful. We cannot allow our faith to be shaken by natural disaster. Faith in God than cannot survive adversity is not really faith in God, I think. It is, rather, faith in a false god, one who does not and never did exist.

My faith is in the God who is. My faith isn’t always real strong, but strong faith is not a requirement. Any little bit of faith will do, as long as it is placed in the God of the universe. Tiny little weak faith can move a mountain, or more properly stated, God can move a mountain, and will if I place my puny faith in him. I just need to be sure it is pointed in the right direction.

God is generous to a fault. He is love.

Americanism–and Its Enemies by Yale’s David Gelernter, looks to be an interesting read. Here is a small sample:

Americanism is potent stuff. It is every bit as fervent and passionate a religion as the anti-Americanism it challenges and rebukes.

I hope to spend a little more time on this subject later. For now, read the article and blog about it.

New York Times Mulls Charging Web Readers

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Times Co. is considering subscription fees to the online version of its flagship newspaper, which now is available for free, but it has no immediate plans to do so, the company said on Friday.

Let’s see, could I live without reading Maureen Dowd?

Yes. Yes, I could.

Did you know there is a Pocky Gallery?

There is.

From the great observer of real life, Howlin’ Wolf:

Now looka here…
I did not say I was a millionaire…
But I said I have spent more money than a millionaire!
Cause if I had kept all my money that I’d already spent,
I would’ve been a millionaire a looong time ago…
And women? Great Googlie-Mooglie!!

Douglas Bass shares his resolutions For 2005.

1) I will rehearse my blessings instead of my problems. I will pay more attention to my blessings instead of my grievances, complaints, etc.

2) I will do what I can. I’m reminded of the quote from Helen Keller, “I am only one, but I am still one. I cannot do everything but still I am one. I cannot do everything but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”

3) I will recall that God uses the foolish things of this world to shame the wise, and the weak things of this world to shame the strong.

Couldn’t go wrong with these ideas.

Richard Gere Speaks ‘For Entire World’ To Palestinians

I’m not saying I disagree at this point, but I don’t really want Richard Gere speaking on my behalf. How about you?

Today is the first day back at work after twelve days off. It doesn’t feel too bad to be back on a normal schedule.

2005 is going to be a great year; I can feel it.

This is the year the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.