‘You Trying to Say Jesus Christ Can’t Hit a Curveball?’
April 22, 2006
I point you to this one without comment.
‘You Trying to Say Jesus Christ Can’t Hit a Curveball?’ - Christianity Today Magazine
This five-time all star is too good to be true. And that’s the problem. You see, Sweeney has grown tremendously unpopular among Royals fans. The hometown Kauffman Stadium crowd booed last year’s Major League Baseball “Man of the Year” on Opening Day. The $11 million he will earn this year for a small-market ballclub make Sweeney an inviting target for fan frustration.
Dave, not sure he would make a good Royals fan.
Meet the Press excludes mainline church voices
April 21, 2006
Kruse Kronicle: Meet the Press excludes mainline church voices
Of course, the interesting question that so many of us mainline types refuse to ask is, “If we are so ‘mainline’ how is it that the media can be so dismissive without impunity?” Maybe it is because we have become the sideline instead.
Yep! When are we going to wake up?
Dave, not holding his breath.
Church leaders on global warming
April 20, 2006
Thanks to Michael Kruse for pointing me to this article. If scientists cannot agree on global warming, how can these evangelical church leaders be so sure?
WORLD Magazine | Weekly News, Christian Views
The Evangelical Climate Initiative (ECI), a statement signed by 86 prominent Christian leaders, outlines the catastrophic dangers of global warming and cites biblically mandated stewardship as the impetus for governmental restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions. Support from such highly visible sources as Purpose Driven Life author Rick Warren and Foursquare Church president Jack Hayford gives the ECI an unprecedented measure of credibility among those typically leery of environmental causes.
But how exactly did so many influential, responsible evangelicals untangle the convoluted web of climate change issues? How did they develop such certainty on such a complicated matter? Perhaps they didn’t.
One of the weaknesses of the institutional church is it’s penchant for pronouncing judgment on matters beyond its competence. A prophetic statement on stewardship of the environment is one thing, but in matters of Government policy, it would be much wiser for church leaders to remain silent.
The problem for many Christians is that both sides of the global warming issue have credentialed authorities who make convincing arguments. The Bible itself calls for environmental stewardship but emphasizes the importance of helping the poor and does not resolve the current debate. Most past evangelical calls to stewardship have focused on clear biblical principles, shying away from specific policy positions and generating little national media attention. The ECI’s attachment of moral imperatives to federally imposed limits on greenhouse gas emissions was new, and it generated prominent coverage from most every major news outlet in the country.
Global warming may or may not exist, and if it does it is not at all clear to many of us what should be done about it, if anything. There are even credible statements that a warmer climate may be beneficial. It’s true that industrialization and rising economic expectations have negatively impacted the environment, raising legitimate concerns. How governments respond is determined by many things, one of them being the prevailing worldview of their people. In the U.S., secularism prevails and Christian leaders would be well advised to choose another strategy if they hope to influence public policy.
Dave, not too hopeful for wise Governmental policies on anything.
Don’t Worry, Be Happy — Or Else
April 19, 2006
The science of happiness. What nonsense! And the Government should help us be happy? Like the IRS has done?
TCS Daily - Don’t Worry, Be Happy — Or Else
With research into subjective well-being, economists are making statements about what constitutes the good life. In doing so, we are encroaching on territory once claimed by philosophers and theologians — and, more recently, by self-help gurus. In the 70’s, it was I’m OK, You’re OK. Now, we are saying “I have positive net affect, you have positive net affect.”
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Still, I have a feeling that if happiness research proceeds far enough, it will serve merely to rediscover some eternal truths. For example, this New York Times story cites work by Claudia Senik, who found that “that when people aspire to a better quality of life within the next 12 months, the attempt to reach that goal alone — the anticipation independent of the outcome — seems to bestow happiness in the present.” Have the sages not been telling us this for centuries?Meanwhile, it may be too early to proclaim that “science” is going to inform government policy to lead us down the path to a good life. We have had many false starts with “science” in the past. Consider “scientific socialism” or the psychological “science” of Freud or of B.F. Skinner. The “science” of subjective well-being may be another chimera.
This is the result of the prevalent secular worldview. For now, I will simply suggest that a Christian worldview deals with mysteries like happiness (and unhappiness) in a much more satisfying and intellectually honest way. One of these days I’ll no doubt have more to say about that.
Dave, happy as a clam.
Those pesky gold bugs
April 17, 2006
I consider myself just a distant kissin’ cousin to the real gold bugs, but I confess that I have a smidgen of the yellow stuff tucked away somewhere just in case. Now, after years of obscurity, gold is again getting some respect. Or at least some press.
The bugs are back | Economist.com
AFTER some two decades of misery, it is only fair that gold bugs should enjoy themselves. Enthusiasts for the shiny, yellow, metal are delighted that gold futures passed $600 a troy ounce on Tuesday, April 11th, up by 16% so far this year. Adjusted for inflation, this price may still be nowhere near the highs producers once enjoyed. To match the peak, when the spot price hit $850 in 1980, gold would yet have to rise to about $2,200 in today’s money. But the bugs have excuse enough to cheer.
The article points out that it is not at all clear exactly why the price of gold is again rising but concludes that the the upward price trend is likely to be with us for a while. I morbidly reflect that the peak prices may come just in time for me not to enjoy them.
Dave, always ready to enjoy himself while he can.
Ephesians 4:7-10
April 16, 2006
4:7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 4:8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he took captives, he gave gifts to men.” (4:9 Now what is the meaning of “he ascended,” except that he also descended to the lower parts of the earth? 4:10 He, the very one who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.)
What was in Paul’s mind when he wrote about Jesus descending and ascending? Opinions of those who spend altogether too much time and energy expounding such things are all over the map, and I refuse to take sides. The only thing certain is that Jesus was raised from the dead and returned to be one with God. This fact is the hingepin of the Christian faith to be believed or disbelieved as God enables.
It is Easter Sunday, and I will shortly add my voice of praise and wonderment for the miracle of new life in Christ. -sdg-
Bulverism
April 14, 2006
Whether you are called upon to lead meetings or just go to too many of them, you will appreciate this great post by kindred soul Michael Kruse.
Kruse Kronicle: From Robert’s Rules to Bulver’s Rules
As I read this passage my mind drifted to Ezekiel Bulver. You may never have heard of Mr. Bulver but as C. S. Lewis pointed out half a century ago, he was the most important figure of the twentieth century when it comes to public discourse. Lewis writes:
In other words [in debate], you must show that a man is wrong before you start explaining why he is wrong. The modern method is to assume without discussion that he is wrong and then distract attention from this (the only real issue) by busily explaining how he became so silly. In the course of the last fifteen years I have found this vice so common that I have had to invent a name for it. I call it Bulverism. Someday I am going to write the biography of its imaginary inventor, Ezekiel Bulver, whose destiny was determined at the age of five when he heard his mother say to his father – who had been maintaining that two sides of a triangle were together greater than the third – ‘Oh you say that because you are a man.’ ‘At that moment’, E. Bulver assures us, ‘there flashed across my opening mind the great truth that refutation is no necessary part of argument. Assume that your opponent is wrong, and then explain his error, and the world will be at your feet. Attempt to prove that he is wrong or right, and the national dynamism our age will thrust you to the wall.’ That is how Bulver became one of the makers of the Twentieth Century.
Ain’t that prime?
Dave, vowing to always remember Ezekial.
Rights, Obligations and Justice
April 12, 2006
Here’s a great article by Michael Kruse about what’s behind the ubiquitous cry for “rights” of one sort or another.
Kruse Kronicle: Theology and Economics: Rights, Obligations and Justice
Human rights. Civil rights. Property rights. Reproductive rights. Right to Life. Gay rights. Immigration rights. States rights. Right to privacy. Everywhere we look today there we find “rights.”
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Often when we speak of “rights,” what we really mean is that we think something is important and good, and should be widely respected. This is different from what we call “unalienable rights.” These are rights that are inherent to us because of our humanity. Christians believe they are inherent to us because we are made in the image of God. The Declaration of Independence has what is still the most eloquent articulation of this idea of rights.
Interesting distinction, but I’m not too sure about the Declaration’s unalienable rights being inherent for the reasons given. I would argue (don’t I always?) that we creatures have no God-conferred right to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness. I have a problem finding any biblical basis for these rights.
God has given me life as a gift, cancellable by Him at will. The right to liberty, perhaps, but I doubt that the Declaration meant the same thing by liberty as did the Apostle in Galatians 5. I’ve ranted too much already about the absurdity of pursuing happiness. In short, God owes me nothing.
Dave, trying not to put too fine a point on it.
Mass Delusion on Health Care
April 11, 2006
Quick, before your eyes glaze over, take a look at this short article
EconLog, Mass Delusion on Health Care, Arnold Kling: Library of Economics and Liberty
The elected leaders of Massachusetts have come up with a novel solution for the vexing problem of paying for health care: abolish the laws of arithmetic…
In his Wall Street Journal article, Arnold Kling cites three numbers in the Massachusetts plan, saying they each represent one of the irreconcilable goals of health care policy. Companies must pay to the state $295 for each worker for which they do not provide health insurance. $0 is the deductible on the state-subsidized health insurance policy under the plan, and $6,000 is the average annual expenditure on health care for state residents. Kling says
* $295 represents the goal of affordability. We would like to be able to purchase health-care coverage for $295 a year. If that’s what it actually cost, my guess is that the problem of the uninsured would pretty much disappear.
* $0 represents the goal of insulation. As individuals, we would like to be insulated from health-care costs. That is why, instead of real insurance — which would have us pay for at least the first $10,000 of health care out of pocket — most of us have health-care policies with much lower deductibles.
* $6,000 represents the goal of accessibility. We want access to the best care that modern medicine can provide, whatever the expense.
Arnold Kling concludes his analysis of the Massachusetts approach to the health care problem thusly:
Even though private insurance companies will participate, I do not see this as a market-oriented approach. The insurance companies will not be providing market discipline. They are only there to stick their snouts in the trough.
Will I tell you the solution that will emerge to solve the health care mess? Not likely. I think it may take some surprise crisis that inflicts real pain on all of us before the politicos will get serious about fixing things. After all, they already have health insurance.
In the meantime, hospitals, clinics, and other providers will be forced to compromise quality in a desperate effort to stay solvent as the politicos lean on them harder and harder trying to reduce national health care expenditures. It’s not a pretty picture.
Dave, wondering what this means for future generations.
The wanton insult of Old Age
April 10, 2006
No, I’m not complaining about my own circumstances. Mark Twain wrote the words in The Five Boons Of Life, one of his many short stories. For the curious, the five boons are Fame, Love, Riches, Pleasure, and Death, being the choice of gifts offered by the good fairy to the story’s hero. Only one of the gifts is valuable. You’ll never guess how it turns out. Or maybe you will.
I won’t tell you more, because Mark Twain is the master story-teller, not me. I recommend the tale to you, as well as most of his remaining 59 short stories. Correct me if I’m wrong, but short stories as a genre are hard to find these days.
I have been reading The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain as an ebook on my little Palm, a boon of life for one who spends altogether too much time in Doctor and Dentist waiting rooms. I figure I have enough unread Twain short stories to last me for several years of future waiting room waits.
Dave, reading and waiting.
