Broken Glass

National Religious Campaign Against Torture

2006-10-14T15:24:00.000-04:00

Questions for Candidates on U.S. Torture Policy and Practices

We want to know where you stand on U.S. torture policy and practices. We would appreciate your answers to the following questions:

1. The U.S. Congress approved Senator John McCain’s amendment last year to ban torture by all U.S. government agencies. This move recognized that a ban on torture is not only a moral necessity but also essential to ensure the same protections for U.S. soldiers. Recent legislative action, however, allows harsh interrogation techniques to be used by non-military interrogators. Will you support future legislation that bans all U.S.-sponsored torture, with no exceptions and directs all U.S. agents to abide by the Geneva Conventions?

2. The federal War Crimes Act of 1996 defines a war crime as any “grave breach” of the Geneva Conventions’ Common Article 3. This standard ensures that those who commit such abuses, including against our own troops, do not go unpunished. Do you believe the United States should maintain an unwavering commitment to Common Article 3?

3. The president acknowledged the existence of a CIA program that indefinitely detains “enemy combatants” in secret sites outside the rule of law and without access to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Individuals detained in such locations are afforded no safeguards of due process and may be subject to unchecked abuses. Will you call upon the United States to cease all secret detentions and provide the ICRC access to all U.S. prisoners, as required by our international treaty obligations?

4. Under the practice of “extraordinary rendition,” the United States transports individuals from one country to another without judicial oversight to face criminal charges in the receiving country. Diplomatic assurances from the receiving government are designed to protect the human rights of the detainee, but many officials have confirmed that the U.S. has no capacity to ensure humane treatment under these circumstances. Do you support a prohibition on transfers of individuals in U.S. custody to other countries where they are likely to be tortured regardless of assurances otherwise?

5. Recent legislation will permit—for the first time in the history of the United States— individuals to be convicted based on evidence obtained through abuse or torture (admitted through hearsay evidence). Will you oppose this practice, even for trials involving terrorism suspects?

6. By making War Crimes Act changes that are retroactive to Sept. 11, 2001, Congress has immunized all top government officials and CIA agents against prosecution for interrogation policies that resulted in the abuses at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and in secret government torture cells around the globe. Should top government officials, private contractors, and CIA officials be given blanket immunity for their past conduct?

7. More than two years after the Abu Ghraib photos were published — and nearly four years after the first abuse-related deaths in U.S. custody as part of the “war on terror” — we are still not in a position to say that we know how this situation came about so that we can ensure that such abuses never happen again. Do you support the establishment of an independent commission to investigate U.S. detention and interrogation policies and practices since Sept. 11, 2001, and to hold those who authorized and carried out abuses accountable?

8. Under recent legislation, the president will be permitted to authorize acts that are prohibited by Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and the Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogations, without the possibility of court review of this authority. This strips the courts of their historical and constitutional role as a check on the executive branch. Do you oppose this broad expansion of executive powers, allowing the president to choose to follow or not follow international treaties, and that will side-step the authority of our courts system?

Microloans!

2006-10-13T11:53:00.000-04:00

Microloan Pioneer and His Bank Win Nobel Peace Prize

Now that you could be labeled an enemy combatant…

2006-10-07T09:50:00.000-04:00

Excellent article, if this doesn't get someone outraged, I don't want to know what would.

What the Military Commissions Act of 2006 means for you

I've Been Published!

2006-09-18T19:46:00.000-04:00

I have begun submitting articles to Associated Content and my first article was published today. Whoohoo! At least three more will be on-line soon. This one is a short piece about home schooling but the others coming are on a variety of things from worm farming to depression.

Check out my first one at:
10 Reasons to Homeschool Your Kids

My payment for future articles depends on how much traffic my articles draw, so please read and then pass the word! :-)

raspberry pink makes me smile

2006-08-27T21:30:00.000-04:00

My entryway shelf/mail organizer/skateboard holder is done! Yay!

Sabbath Economics

2006-07-20T22:42:00.000-04:00

I came across this website that I thought you'd like, which is an attempt to theologically ground our political economy.

http://www.sabbatheconomics.org/content/page.php?section=4

Blogs From Baghdad

2006-06-07T11:15:00.000-04:00

The Daily Absurdity Report
This is a very interesting blog, it does contain some graphic content, be warned.

Iraqi Screen
Don't read this blog if you want to maintain some level of sanity! The content is quite disturbing but very informative. Iraqi Screen seems to be much more graphic than Absurdity Report.

Baghdad Burning
A blog by Riverbend, you'll see some repeat content from 'Absurdity' and 'Screen,' but it's always nice to have multiple sources and a second opinion.

Stephen Colbert is fearless!

2006-05-09T13:03:00.000-04:00

This has to be one of the most important comic acts of our time.
Go to http://www.c-span.com to watch Stephen Colbert perform at the Press Association's Dinner.

~Chris

From Generous Orthodoxy

2006-05-07T14:19:00.000-04:00

Who Is Jesus Christ For Us Today?

George Hunsinger recently delivered a pointed sermon in response to Dietrich Bonhoeffer's question, "Who is Jesus Christ for us today?" I found it quite upsetting. You probably will, too.

If you're interested in contributing to Hunsinger's campaign against torture, go to Church Folks for a Better America.

Hunsinger's Sermon:

Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me (Matt. 25:40).

The question that Dietrich Bonhoeffer asked himself, his students, and his readers remains as urgent now as when he first raised it: Who is Jesus Christ for us today? Bonhoeffer by no means intended to challenge the authoritative biblical answer. What he confessed with the prophets and the apostles, he attested at the cost of his life. He affirmed that Jesus Christ is the Risen Lord who had become incarnate for our sakes in order to die for our sins and liberate us from the power of death. That was the answer presupposed in every other possible answer to his question. It was the one answer that contained all others within itself.

But Bonhoeffer knew that other answers were indeed included within that one answer. He knew that in dying for our sins, Jesus Christ had made the sufferings of the world his own. He knew that discipleship to Christ meant participating in Christ's sufferings in the present time. "The hungry need bread," he once wrote, "and the homeless need a roof; the oppressed need justice and the lonely need fellowship; the undisciplined need order and the slave needs freedom." Because Jesus had entered into our world of sorrows, and because he had taken up the cause of those in need, making their cause to be his own, Bonhoeffer could continue: "To allow the hungry to remain hungry would be blasphemy against God and one's neighbor, for what is nearest to God is precisely the need of one's neighbor" (Ethics, p. 137).

That was Bonhoeffer's great insight. "What is nearest to God is precisely the need of one's neighbor." On this profound basis he saw that it made no sense to choose between evangelism and social action. He saw that evangelism without social action was empty, and that social action without evangelism was blind. Both were key to the church's mission, since both were ways of bearing witness in the world to God's love for the world in Jesus Christ. Social action against crying injustice was an indirect form of evangelism, while evangelism that led unbelievers to know and love Jesus remained an indirect goal of social action. In different ways they both proclaimed that God's love extends to the whole person at every level of human need. Feeding the hungry, as Bonhoeffer once said, prepared the way for the coming of grace.

"What is nearest to God is precisely the need of one's neighbor." This statement provides a real clue to how Bonhoeffer answered his own question. The Risen Lord, he believed, confronts us here and now precisely as the neighbor in need. That is who Jesus Christ is for us today: he comes to us in the form of the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the prisoner locked away. The neighbor in need is revealed as an incognito form of Christ's presence. This epiphany does not mean that Christ and the needy are simply identical, but it does mean that by divine grace they are inseparably one. It is impossible to serve Christ here and now without serving one's neighbor in need. As you did it to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me (Matt. 25:40).

Since what is nearest to God is the need of one's neighbor, and since Christ has made himself to be one with those in dire need, Bonhoeffer drew the right conclusion. He recognized that Christians have a special obligation to those in any society who are being persecuted, humiliated and abused. "Only those who cry out for the Jews," he wrote, "have the right to sing Gregorian chants." For the church in the Third Reich, Bonhoeffer perceived, the presence of Jesus Christ could not be separated from the plight of persecuted Jews. Whoever would serve Christ had to enter into solidarity with that despised and mistreated group, crying out by word and deed.

But that was then, and this is now. Who is Jesus Christ for us today? Who are those who are being persecuted, humiliated and abused in our particular society? Sadly there are many contenders, and too many to be mentioned here, yet chief among them, I would suggest, are the victims around the world today of U.S. sponsored torture.

April 2006 marks the second anniversary since shocking photos were released from Abu Ghraib. These photos are difficult to look at yet impossible to forget. How can we view them without thinking of Christ? How can we view the wrenching scenes of nude male bodies stacked in postures of sexual humiliation without remembering the saying: I was naked and you clothed me? How can we gaze on the shackled man kneeling in an orange jumpsuit with terror in his eyes as a ferocious German shepherd strains at the leash only inches from his face without recalling: I was in prison and you visited me. Where is the outcry? Why the silence of the churches? Can we learn what Dietrich Bonhoeffer has to teach us? Or will we be "good Germans" all over again? Who is Jesus Christ for us today?

"The thought of Jesus being stripped, beaten and derided until his final agony on the cross," wrote Pope John Paul II, "should always prompt a Christian to protest against similar treatment of their fellow beings. Of their own accord, disciples of Christ will reject torture, which nothing can justify, which causes humiliation and suffering to the victim and degrades the tormentor."

The torture-abuse scandal, as first revealed by the photos from Abu Ghraib, has by no means gone away. According to recent human rights reports:

· Detainee deaths at the hands of U.S. soldiers continue around the world.

· Aggressive, painful force-feeding has been instituted at Guantanamo where prisoners are so desperate that many would prefer to commit suicide.

· Secret CIA prisons, rife with torture situations, remain scattered across the globe.

· Thousands of persons have been subjected to what is called "extraordinary rendition," whereby suspects are essentially kidnapped and sent to countries that use torture as a means of interrogation. Yet who can deny that outsourcing torture to other regimes is the moral equivalent of practicing it ourselves?

· Finally, the department of defense has admitted to the Red Cross that "70-90 percent" of the Abu Ghraib prisoners were entirely innocent. Similar if somewhat lower figures have been estimated for other U.S. detention centers, including Guantanamo.

Not a single major human rights organization in the world believes that these abuses can be explained merely as the actions of a few bad apples at the bottom of the barrel. Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell, has stated that top officials -- up to and including the president -- have given a green light to soldiers to abuse detainees. "You don't have this kind of pervasive attitude out there," he observed, "unless you've condoned it." Yet no officials at the higher levels have seriously been been brought to account.

The photos from Abu Ghraib make one thing clear. Working against torture as sponsored by our government must begin at the local and congregational level. As dismaying as it may seem, polls show that at least 73 percent of the American people believe that torture may be used at least rarely, and 15 percent say it is "often" permissible. The figures for Christians in particular are, sadly, no exception.

The terrible stain of torture -- which is not only morally wrong but has many harmful consequences even from the standpoint of self-interest -- will not be removed from our nation until we learn to act from higher motivations than blinding fear, narrow self-regard, and ugly resentment -- to say nothing of cultural racism. If torture is not evil, then nothing is evil, for torture is the very essence of evil. Only those who cry out today for the detained Muslims and Arabs have a right to sing Gregorian chants.

Let me close with these words from Holy Scripture.

Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured (Heb. 13:3).

Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen (I John 4:20).

This verse might be glossed to read: Those who say, "I love God," and torture their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who torture a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen -- and the same holds true for those who turn a blind eye to torture or otherwise condone it.

Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me (Matt. 25:40).

Bonhoeffer's searching question thereby remains: Who is Jesus Christ for us today?

Posted by KevinHector in Political Theology

Evening Prayer

2006-05-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

I've been checking out the Episcopal Daily Office over at the Mission St. Clare website. I came upon this reading for today, May 3rd, which I thought I'd share with you. May God bless the reading of His Word:

Psalm 119:25-48

Daleth Adhaesit pavimento
²⁵	My soul cleaves to the dust; * give me life according to your word.
²⁶	I have confessed my ways, and you answered me; * instruct me in your statutes.
²⁷	Make me understand the way of your commandments, * that I may meditate on your marvelous works.
²⁸	My soul melts away for sorrow; * strengthen me according to your word.
²⁹	Take from me the way of lying; * let me find grace through your law.
³⁰	I have chosen the way of faithfulness; * I have set your judgments before me.
³¹	I hold fast to your decrees; * O LORD, let me not be put to shame.
³²	I will run the way of your commandments, * for you have set my heart at liberty.
He Legem pone
³³	Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes, * and I shall keep it to the end.
³⁴	Give me understanding, and I shall keep your law; * I shall keep it with all my heart.
³⁵	Make me go in the path of your commandments, * for that is my desire.
³⁶	Incline my heart to your decrees * and not to unjust gain.
³⁷	Turn my eyes from watching what is worthless; * give me life in your ways.
³⁸	Fulfill your promise to your servant, * which you make to those who fear you.
³⁹	Turn away the reproach which I dread, * because your judgments are good.
⁴⁰	Behold, I long for your commandments; * in your righteousness preserve my life.
Waw Et veniat super me
⁴¹	Let your loving-kindness come to me, O LORD, * and your salvation, according to your promise.
⁴²	Then shall I have a word for those who taunt me, * because I trust in your words.
⁴³	Do not take the word of truth out of my mouth, * for my hope is in your judgments.
⁴⁴	I shall continue to keep your law; * I shall keep it for ever and ever.
⁴⁵	I will walk at liberty, * because I study your commandments.
⁴⁶	I will tell of your decrees before kings * and will not be ashamed.
⁴⁷	I delight in your commandments, * which I have always loved.
⁴⁸	I will lift up my hands to your commandments, * and I will meditate on your statutes.

Amen.

Barth on Generous Orthodoxy?

2006-04-20T17:20:00.000-04:00

This is a wonderful quote by Barth, which relates to the talk I gave at Dead Sea Cafe a few weeks ago:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/4700547

Dea Agent video

2006-04-15T12:35:00.000-04:00

Sorry guys, but this is just too funny! A DEA agent is giving a presentation on gun safety, when suddenly . . .
http://media.putfile.com/03084899

hmm. true or not?

2006-04-11T17:15:00.000-04:00

wow, i just read this article on a christian skateboarding forum. so i went off and found a link to the story,, and here it is. im not sure if its true though. interesting.

http://amightywind.com/hell/aboutsounds.htm

Should Christian Peacemaker Teams Stay in Iraq?

2006-04-07T01:08:00.000-04:00

From Sojourners:

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Should Christian Peacemaker Teams stay in Iraq?

"I would feel bad if something happened to you, but I would be angry if you disappear. If you care for us just in the good times, I will forget you. If you take care of us in the bad times, I will remember you. You die when you do nothing, but live when you do something. Everyone dies, but not everyone lives."

- An Iraqi Christian leader responding to CPT's question as to whether members should leave because their presence might make it unsafe for other Christians.

Source: CPT

Barth on Secular Parables

2006-04-02T17:20:00.000-04:00

Last night at Dead Sea Cafe I gave a 20-minute summary of Barth's understanding of the phenomenon known as "secular parables," found in the first half of CD IV/3. Here we see Barth explaining more fully how it is that "God may speak through Russian Communism, a flute concerto, a blossoming shrub, or a dead dog. (CD I/1, p. 55).

Please email me if you would like my powerpoint presentation and notes for this lecture.

Interview with Bono on Bush

2006-03-26T13:47:00.000-05:00

Check out this interesting article with Bono talking about George Bush. Very insightful, as always.
http://lauro.blogs.com/farcountrytell/2006/03/bono_on_bush_an.html#more

Rowan Williams interview

2006-03-21T19:48:00.000-05:00

Check out this interview with Rowan Williams with The Guardian. Williams is Archbishop of Canterbury.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,,1735404,00.html

This is absolutely hilarious!

2006-03-21T08:44:00.000-05:00

Check out this voice message left on a pastor's machine:
http://ship-of-fools.com/Signs/blunders/hello_pastor.html

Barth Meeting in Amherst tonight

2006-03-20T16:36:00.000-05:00

Hello friends,
It's spring break, so please take advantage of your "supposed" free-time tonight and join us at my house for some "Barth-Wars" (as Hilja likes to call them) at 7:30pm. Tonight we discuss "The Word of God as the Speech of God." There's shall be yummies too!

Derek Webb's new album: Mockingbird

2006-03-15T15:55:00.000-05:00

Derek Webb has sung with Jars of Clay and Caedmon's Call, two Christian bands I have deep respect for. Here's some lyrics from one song:

My Enemies Are Men Like Me

(vs. 1)
i have come to give you life
and to show you how to live it
i have come to make things right
to heal their ears and show you how to forgive them

(pre-chorus)
because i would rather die
i would rather die
i would rather die
than to take your life

(chorus)
how can i kill the ones i’m supposed to love
my enemies are men like me
i will protest the sword if it’s not wielded well
my enemies are men like me

(vs. 2)
peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication
it’s like telling someone murder is wrong
and then showing them by way of execution

(pre-chorus)

(chorus)

(bridge)
when justice is bought and sold just like weapons of war
the ones who always pay are the poorest of the poor

(chorus)

The Secret War in West Papua

2006-03-13T14:18:00.000-05:00

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030906D.shtml

The Next East Timor

2006-03-13T12:17:00.000-05:00

There's a secret war being waged in West Papua, very similar to what happened in East Timor.
http://www.westpapuaaction.buz.org/

in-fraction: the personal ecclesiastical apology, part 1

2006-03-13T11:55:00.000-05:00

in-fraction: the personal ecclesiastical apology, part 1

The Church in Iraq

2006-03-10T11:55:00.000-05:00

Here's an interesting history of the Church in Iraq.

The Blog of Douglas Knight

2006-03-10T11:49:00.000-05:00

Check out Resources for Christian Theology as well as Knight's own blog

Interview with George

2006-03-10T09:11:00.000-05:00

Found this cool podcast:
http://faithfulamerica.org/podcasts/hunsinger.mp3

Bush impersonator

2006-03-07T13:05:00.000-05:00

http://www.wimp.com/bushcomedy/

Check this out! you'll laugh hard!

Homeless blog

2006-03-07T11:40:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,
Bill Meeks sent me this blog from a homeless guy. He goes to the public library to blog.
http://view-sidewalk.blogspot.com/

Bagram: Son of Guantanomo

2006-03-06T15:09:00.000-05:00

SON OF GUANTANAMO

By William Fisher

3/1/06

Legal, diplomatic, religious and human rights authorities are struggling to be heard on what many consider to be the "Son of Guantánamo" -- a secret prison in Afghanistan where the U.S. military is said to have been holding some 500 "enemy combatants" for as long as three or four years without access to lawyers.

The existence of the prison, located at Bagram airbase near Kabul, was reported last week by The New York Times. But the story was quickly relegated to back pages by the revelation that Dubai Ports World (DPW), a company owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates, was about to take over the management of as many as six major U.S. seaports.

On the Bagram prison issue, the views of David Cole, one of America’s foremost authorities on constitutional law, are typical of reactions obtained by us. Cole, a professor at Georgetown University law school in Washington, said, “The Bagram story raises serious questions about the Bush administration's unwillingness to be bound by law. The administration chose Guantanamo in the first place because it thought it was a law-free zone. Now that the Supreme Court has said that the administration is actually accountable to legal limits at Guantanamo, it is turning to other avenues to avoid accountability. The only real solution is to conform its conduct to the law, not to continue to evade legal responsibility for its actions.”

Times reporters Tim Golden and Eric Schmitt, who broke the Bagram story, wrote, “Some administration officials acknowledge that the situation at Bagram has increasingly come to resemble the legal void that led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling in June 2004 affirming the right of prisoners at Guantánamo to challenge their detention in United States courts.”

They added, “Bagram has operated in rigorous secrecy since it opened in 2002. It bars outside visitors except for the international Red Cross and refuses to make public the names of those held there…From the accounts of former detainees, military officials and soldiers who served there, a picture emerges of a place that is in many ways rougher and more bleak than its Cuban counterpart. Men are held by the dozen in large wire cages, the detainees and military sources said, sleeping on the floor on foam mats and, until about a year ago, often using plastic buckets for latrines. Before recent renovations, they rarely saw daylight except for brief visits to a small exercise yard.”

The Times reported that the detainee population at Bagram rose from about 100 prisoners at the start of 2004 to as many as 600 at times last year, according to military figures, was in part the result of a Bush administration decision to shut off the flow of detainees into Guantánamo after the Supreme Court ruled that those prisoners had some basic due-process rights under United States law.

Bagram has often been described by the U.S. military as a temporary “screening center” from which some detainees would be released and others transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But as Guantanamo became a lightning rod for worldwide criticism of Bush Administration detention policies, transfers to Cuba were cancelled.

William Rugh, retired U.S. ambassador to Yemen and the United Arab Emirates, told us that, while he has “no idea if the report is correct,” he believes that “all prisoners held by the United States, whether in Guantanamo or elsewhere, ought to be brought promptly to trial of some kind and afforded the right to be represented by an attorney. If the U.S. government persuades the judge that material evidence to be presented at the trial is legitimately classified, the trial could be closed to the public but there should be a trial.”

The views of the U.S. human rights community were typified by Deborah Pearlstein, Director of the U.S. Law and Security Program for Human Rights First, a major advocacy group. She told us, “Apart from the ongoing harms to human rights, one of the most remarkable features of the U.S. detentions at Bagram and elsewhere is that four and a half years after September 11, the Administration continues to hold nearly 15,000 detainees worldwide without rights recognized under any domestic or international legal regime, and without a plan for how it might begin detaining people legally in what the Administration now calls the ‘long war’ going forward.”

And Amnesty International USA told us, “Because of on-going and unresolved reports of torture and ill-treatment at Bagram Air Base, we continue to assert the necessity for open and honest investigations of all prisoner abuse cases and renovations of current prison facilities. We are concerned about reports that the base has been expanding in its current form, primarily because practices of secrecy such as the restriction of access to the International
Committee of the Red Cross and the denial of detainee's rights are still
known to be prevalent there.”

Noah S. Leavitt, an attorney who has worked with the International Law Commission of the United Nations in Geneva and the International Court of Justice in The Hague, took issue with the U.S. military's chief spokesman in Afghanistan, who is quoted as saying the U.S. is “providing the best possible living conditions and medical care in accordance with the principles of the Geneva Convention.”

That statement, Leavitt charged, “highlights the Administration's ignorance of or cavalier attitude toward long-established international law.”

He added, “The world will always be in catch-up mode when it comes to investigating, discovering and challenging the many ways the Bush Administration has undermined international legal norms. Just as they did for Guantanamo, concerned lawyers, journalists and researchers will have to figure out how to gain access to Bagram in order to bring the harsh treatment of the prisoners to the attention of the U.S. judicial system and the international community before any improvements are seen.”

Leaders of the religious community have also weighed in on the Bagram issue. George Hunsinger, McCord professor of theology at Princeton Theological Seminary and coordinator of Church Folks for a Better America, told us, “America must lead by example. If we continue to shame our country through secret prisons, torture and abuse, the world will no longer look to us as a beacon of hope, but as a dungeon of despair. The only way to defeat terrorism is by upholding our ideals not by trampling on them.”

Meanwhile, in a related development, a new round of reviews of the Guantánamo Bay detainees is set to begin, but attorneys say the U.S. government is flouting military and international law by preventing any meaningful consideration of proposed evidence and denying information to the detainees' lawyers. Experts from the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), which is currently overseeing 450 pro-bono attorneys representing the detainees, expressed “outrage about this violation of due process” and pointed to a new federal court decision vindicating their calls for transparent and fair hearings.

Last week, a U.S. District Judge ordered the Defense Department to release the names of hundreds of Guantanamo detainees and uncensored transcripts of their hearings by March 3.The CCR called the ruling “a major blow to the government's attempts to maintain total secrecy over its detainment process”. The Pentagon has said it will comply.

It is difficult to know whether the Bush Administration’s penchant for shooting itself in the feet is the result of incompetence or arrogance. After Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, the Pentagon should have learned that getting out ahead of bad news is far better than waiting for its inevitable disclosure by the press. That’s Public Relations 101!

Guantanamo Interview

2006-03-03T08:52:00.000-05:00

Listen to this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4769604.stm

Pre Katrina Warnings

2006-03-01T19:43:00.000-05:00

I'm sure most of you have seen this already. But just in case:

www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,186525,00.html

Cool Prayer

2006-02-28T20:08:00.000-05:00

Bruce McCormack, professor of systematic theology at Princeton, opened a recent lecture with the following prayer:

"Our Lord and our God,
You are indeed the source of our life in Christ Jesus. Of what then could we boast? And yet, we seek constantly to lord it over each other. Even in the darkest questions, those in which the information available to us is scant, we assume that we know enough to dismiss those who disagree with us with a curt 'He doesn't get it.' We laugh, we criticize, and we talk about each other in ways that demean, in ways that give evidence of the pathetic attempt to elevate ourselves above all others. Forgive us our sin. And drive us to the cross. For beneath the cross, the ground is completely level. There is no room for boasting unless it be that boasting in the Lord whose power was made complete in weakness. For he alone is worthy of our praise, our veneration, our adoration, and the complete devotion of our hearts and our minds.
It is in his name that we pray.
Amen."

Cool Church

2006-02-28T18:58:00.000-05:00

Popular name: ;-)

http://jacobswellchurch.org/

Cool Website

2006-02-28T16:23:00.000-05:00

http://www.streetprophets.com/

Broken Glass

2006-02-27T17:16:00.000-05:00

Broken Glass

Hey everyone! (this is actually carrie under josh's name-can't remember my password, heh)
March 9th next thursday night Is josh's Birthday!!! I am not exactly sure what we shall do to celebrate, however I do know his one request was that he be surrounded by friends and beer. So we shall.
I am up for ideas if anyone has any. we will plan to get together at 7:00. Let me know if you would like to celebrate with us ASAP, so I can plan accordingly. Everyone is invited and please pass the news along!

Theological Definitions

2006-02-27T09:15:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder how words like "Revelation," "Scripture," "scriptures," "Bible," and "Holy Scripture" relate with one another? What should our definitions be? Come to Barth tonight at 7:30pm at Glen's house and find out!

prewar predictions

2006-02-26T15:40:00.000-05:00

Who made the most accuarte predictions about the Iraq war?

http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2006/02/who_made_the_mo.html

One thing leads to a BeDe

2006-02-23T12:08:00.000-05:00

I had a debate with someone as to whether or not asking a girl out is ceding the power in the relationship and therefore surrendering male spiritual leadership in the relationship. So, I wrote a Haiku and married it to an image (and a title) and made this thing, then someone suggested superimposing Christ to the idea (as a further example of one who maintains leadership while giving us the choice), so I suddenly found myself fast approching BeDe.

WARNING! Too much prose! Not enough poetry! PULL UP! PULL UP! EJECT! EJECT EJECT!

I'm in . . .

2006-02-18T17:28:00.000-05:00

Now what?

Bush's Budget Just Like Cheney's Buckshot

2006-02-15T15:45:00.000-05:00

Check This Out:
http://www.cbpp.org/2-6-06bud.pdf

Jakob's Well Gathering

2006-02-14T15:50:00.000-05:00

Hi, everyone- This coming Monday the 20th we will be
having a Jakob's Well gathering to pray, eat , and
discern an intentional future structure for Jakob's
Well Community which seeks to respect the places that
God has brought us so far and which will help us to
grow in love for God, each other, our friends and the
stranger. We will be meeting for prayer in Grace
Church Amherst's sanctuary and eat and hang out in the
adjoining room (the connector).

We are open to any suggestions that people have,
however we are not working from a blank slate and some
of us have become interested in the "New Monasticism."
For those like me for whom the word "monastic" can
set off alarm bells let me say that we are not trying
to do away with marriage or the Reformation, both of
which I am personally very fond. There is a whole
website devoted to this movement at
www.newmonasticism.org. See especially the 12 Marks
of a New Monasticism. These are jumping off points and
there is considerable variety in how this plays out
but it a possible starting place. If this sounds
really fishy to you I especially encourage you to come
as challenging dialog is healthy. If you can't make it
feel free to comment via email or the phone.

The evening begins with Evening Prayer at 5:30,
however those of you how are around in the morning are
also welcome to come to morning prayer at 8:30. I
would also like to invite you to stop in anytime
during the day as the church will be open and pray
especially for the coming and revealing of God's
Kingdom in this valley.

Spouses, children and significant others are welcome
(I didn't have everyone's emails). Dinner is potluck
so if you can bring something that would be great.
Mostly, however, we want to see you.

in Christ's love,

Leah and Scott

Please let me know if I have neglected to invite
anyone you think should be there. I don't have Ben's
email. Could someone please forward this to him?

How My Visit to Princeton Went

2006-02-12T14:18:00.000-05:00

Hey ya'll,
So Anneli and I visited Princeton Theological Seminary on Thursday. We decided to come home a little early because of the storm, so we got in Saturday evening. Overall, I can say that Princeton remains my top choice. They were incredibly hospitable to pay for our housing and meals during the weekend. It's amazing that they do this for anyone who wants to come visit, since most schools only do it for those who've been admitted already, if at all. Once we arrived (it was a four hour trip, so about half a tank of gas as the Geo Prizm flies), we checked in and immediately went to lunch. Afterwards we sat in on Professor George Hunsinger's class on The Holy Spirit in the Reformed Doctrines. This class was looking at the Holy Spirit as working both within the human mind (intellect) and the human heart (piety) in the work of John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion (considered to be the first "systematic theology" work as we know it in modern times). Hunsinger was pleasing to watch, as he reminded Anneli and I of her father Dan Terry in many ways. A student noticed how in explicating Scripture in two different places, Calvin seemd to be making circular arguments. Hunsinger pushed back, defending Calvin's "biblicism" to the death of logic, suggesting that this student might have some kind of "foundationalist" motivations for wanting Scripture to be logically consistent (and indirectly Calvin as well). Hunsinger said that Calvin is devoted to explicating Scripture that he's not concerned with making it fit into a tight, neat logical framework. Of course, all this stuff was said a lot more elaborately than I'm making it sound. Overally, I thought this was an interesting point - one that doesn't surprise me coming from Hunsinger. I was curious if the "circularity-critique" might constitute a misreading of Calvin by the reader, but not having read the Institutes.
Sorry about the tangent there. Anyways, the visit consisted of many seminars w/ 3rd-year M.Div students as our hosts. One of the highlights was when VIctor Alloyo, director of admissions, gave a talk on "Vocation." There were about 40 people visiting, and we all went around the room stating our names, our home locations, and any question we have about the seminary. Many people asked about the spiritual component of seminary in light of the high academic reputation that Princeton has. Others asked how they can pay for such a place. Victor was delicate but firm. He stated at the beginning of his talk that this seminary's mission statement is clear that it equips its student for MINISTRY, in order to serve the Church of Jesus Christ. He was unapologetic about it. He said, "If you want strict academics, there are other places to go."

Evangelicals Take A Stand on Climate

2006-02-12T13:47:00.000-05:00

Check it out!
http://www.christiansandclimate.org/signatories

New essay on Torture Scandal

2006-02-08T17:00:00.000-05:00

http://www.pres-outlook.com/tabid/500/Article/929/Default.aspx

And here is an article from the New England Journal of Foreign Policy called "Cruel Science: A History of Torture in the CIA"

Scholar tells internet-addicted theologian to pull the plug!

2006-02-06T12:44:00.000-05:00

I couldn't help but think "Ow!" when I read this. Couldn't have read it without the web though . . . hmmm . . .

see http://www.divinity.duke.edu/faculty/theological/huetter/links.aspx

John Webster, the new up-and-coming theologian

2006-02-05T02:07:00.000-05:00

“One of the grand myths of modernity has been that the operations of reason are a sphere from which God’s presence can be banished, where the mind is, as it were, safe from divine intrusion. To that myth, Christian theology is a standing rebuke. As holy reason at work, Christian theology can never escape from the sober realization that we talk in the terrifying presence of the God from whom we cannot flee (Ps. 139.7). In Christian theology, the matter of our discourse is not someone absent, someone whom we have managed to exclude from our own intellectual self-presence and about whom we can talk away safely and undisturbed. We speak in God’s presence. When we begin to talk theologically about the holiness of God, we soon enough discover that the tables have been reversed; it is no longer we who summon God before our minds to make him a matter for clever discourse, but the opposite: the Holy God shows himself and summons us before him to give an account of our thinking. That summons – and not any constellation of cultural, intellectual or political conditions – is the determinative context for holy reason. There are other contexts, of course, other determinations and constraints in the intellectual work of theology…. But those determinations and constraints are all subordinate to, and relativized by, the governing claim of the holy God, a claim which is of all things most fearful but also of all things most of promise” (John Webster, Holiness, 15).

Artists for God

2006-02-05T01:58:00.000-05:00

http://www.art4god.com/ncac/

Awesome website for ya'll. Also, check out Ben Myer's link to Essential People to Visit for Theologians at http://faith-theology.blogspot.com

Engineers Are Turning Turkeys and Plastic into Gasoline

2006-02-02T00:06:00.000-05:00

This is the kind of thing that makes me want to be an engineer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_depolymerization

Finished . . .

2006-02-01T15:59:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,
So I finished my applications for Princeton and Yale. Please keep Anneli and I in your prayers, that we'll know what God wants us to do for the next step. We'll hear back on March 15th whether I got in or not.
Thanks a bunch for all your help and support! :-)

Why Talking About the Church Starts with Christ

2006-01-28T12:19:00.000-05:00

Found this essay:
http://www.ptsem.edu/grow/barth/church_as_witness.htm

Another cool blog

2006-01-28T11:45:00.000-05:00

It's called For God's Sake, Shut Up!
http://forgodssakeshutup.blogspot.com/

Cool Hunsinger quote

2006-01-28T11:41:00.000-05:00

In a post entitled Meaning of Life? Caring for All Creation, Mischievous writes the following:

"My best teacher of theology in seminary was George Hunsinger. I thought I might start today’s blog with a quote from him: 'Because there is more grace in God than sin in us, we need not give up hope for anyone, not even for ourselves.'"

You can read more at http://misfitchristian.blogspot.com/

CPT'ers still alive

2006-01-28T10:53:00.000-05:00

While you can call it pure speculation, I believe that the fact these guys are still kickin' is a sign that something incredible is happening between them and their captives, and I dare to speculate that as Christians they are witnessing their own personal peace with Jesus Christ. If they are ever released, they will pardon their captors. They will not enable any retribution by our military because they do not want it. Thank God they do not desire retribution, as tempting as it may be. Pray for their strength, especially Norman who's 74 (although I somehow envision this man as a Ron Loescher type).

Great Barth site

2006-01-28T05:46:00.000-05:00

If I actually had HTML skills (along with my bo staff skills and nunchuk skills), then I would have some neat list of cool barth sites on the right hand side of the screen. But since that is not the case, make due with whatcha got.

Here's a 3rd year MDIV student at Pittsburgh Seminary:

http://wallybarthman.blogspot.com

Cool cat!

Hunsinger to the rescue of Chalcedon

2006-01-28T05:11:00.000-05:00

Just read this post from another Princeton student:

http://dbcoleman.blogspot.com/2005/09/thoughts-on-theology-today.html

Creationsim British Style

2006-01-27T23:19:00.000-05:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4648598.stm

The Painful and Rewarding Process of Writing

2006-01-27T08:49:00.000-05:00

Hilja came over last night and managed to totally transformed this application essay writing experience, even after a hellish day at work. She's such a good coach! And there was my wife, cheering me on from the couch, making hilarious comments along the way.

We got the white board out and brainstormed my experiences to fit into three categories that princeton wants to know about: 1. My commitment to Jesus Christ and His Church. 2. My gifts, previous education, and experience that indicate potential for leadership. 3. My capacity to undertake serious academic preparation for the ministries of the Church.

We looked around for a theme, a foil, a guiding metaphor or narrative to hang all this stuff on. Then she had me look over everything that was on the board and take a half hour to walk outside and process. Then I came back, set the timer for an hour, and wrote whatever I could get down. Unfortunately, I only got through half of the material, with a 1 1/2 pages single-spaced. It needs to be three pages, and for all the things I have to say it needs to be single-spaced. So I stayed up an additional hour to finish it. I'll show the final product to you when it's done. Frankly, as much of a pain as it has been to reflect on myself, yielding mixed and ambiguous results, it has been good on many levels - both in terms of thinking of future goals but also realizing that my commitment toward Jesus Christ remains the center of my life. And Hilja's helped me to say it in way that is tactful and not just this given reality, i.e. "I converted at age __, and from then on I was committed to Jesus Christ." Instead it's taken the form of a crisis that has made me realize how incapacitated I am to solve, rescue, or save myself and the church from its sins.
Perhaps there shall be a public reading of this someday.

What A Full Plate at Princeton Can Look Like

2006-01-27T01:22:00.000-05:00

Here's a post I found from a princeton seminary student that gets me excited:

Saturday, September 17, 2005

A Full Plate

Those of you who know me know that during the last few days I've been a tad stressed out. My mind is about as still as a three year old after four candy bars; and my back is already beginning to give, it seems, due to a very heavy workload. What's on tap?

Systematic Theology II with Ellen Charry and George Hunsinger
So far it looks to be promising. We'll be reading Karl Barth via Hunsinger on Christology. Then in the second half of the course, Dr. Charry will lead us through the pitfalls of pneumatology and the third article of the Nicene Creed into the doctrine of the Church (ecclesiology) and issues in world religions.
The Doctrine of Election with Bruce McCormack
Dr. McCormack will guide us from the early church's conception of election/original sin into that concept's development by reformed theologians Calvin and Zwingli and into the theology of Karl Barth. **Salivating**
Foundations of Missional Theology with Darrell Guder
As Nick said to me last week, when the Pope (of missional theology) teaches a class, you sign up. Dr. Guder, now the newly appointed Dean of Academic Affairs, is teaching a class on something he wrote the book on. This class will help me get what I learn in Systematic II out into the real world of 21st century culture...er....I hope. Should be amazing.
Exegesis of Romans with Beverly Gaventa
Now this is the class that you all know I'm most excited about. Reading Romans with Dr. Gaventa, who just finished a 15 month sabbatical during which all she did was study this classic New Testament work, will be, as Paul might say, beneficial.
Introduction to Islam with Mr. Ibrahim (Pass/Fail)
This is what it says it is: an introduction to the history of the religion of Islam. Fairly pertinent, I think....
Introduction to Preaching with Sally Brown
That'll preach.
Now. All of the above constitutes a pretty full workload -- 17 hours to be exact. In addition to this during the week, I'll be working at Old Pine Presbyterian church in the heart of Philadelphia. Today I did what I'm going to be doing every Saturday: pastoring a Saturday for Seniors lunch program at the community center sponsored by Old Pine. I'm there from 10 a.m. till 1 p.m. every Saturday to listen to the stories of the elderly, to help them cope with old age, to pray for and with them, and to be their counselor. I'm twenty three. It's daunting.

On Sundays at Old Pine I will lead worship -- read prayers, read Scripture, and preach. I'm looking forward to all the challenges, triumphs, failures, and glories that come with this. But please, you who read this, pray for me. It's not going to be easy for me, and your thoughts and prayers are most needed.

Oh, and I almost forgot. In addition to all of that, I'm precepting introductory Greek at the Seminary! It's a job, so I get compensated (and handsomely!), but it will involve four more hours of class time a week plus grading quizzes and preparation. And did I mention I'm getting married in June? Yeah, it's going to be a full year....

....But our Lord is the one who gives us life, and life abundantly. I'd be a fool to lament the burden I bear for the sake of my calling, when only by the grace of God I'm not there.

Peace be with you all....

(taken from http://plax.typepad.com/fear_trembling/2005/09/a_full_plate.html)

Did you hear the one about the Communist Ducks ?

2006-01-25T21:09:00.000-05:00

So Anneli's reading this book on water resource management in the West of the U.S., and the factors which contributed to them having a severe crisis. One funny example she just shared with me was that apparently the Army Corp of Engineers and Internal Affairs (both pseudo-government) were competing for congressional money and would often start projects (especially dams) just so that the other wouldn't get the job first. Apparently one army engineer proposed building a dam in Alaska. The dam had no justification that would constitute as normal. It would harm the salmon population and provide no help to the people since no one lives there. But this engineer defended his theory, citing the building of a dam on the other side of the peninsula in the Soviet Union as reason enough! "Surely we cannot let the Reds get the upper hand on us. Our dam would be much larger than theirs. As for the effect on wildlife, it appears that the harm would mostly be done to ducks. However, these ducks have migrated from the Soviet Union and settled at the site. We might as well kill 'em Commie ducks!"

this kids got pop

2006-01-24T00:19:00.000-05:00

need i say more?

New Addition to the Rubero Family

2006-01-23T19:51:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,
So this is Fred. He is an 8 foot tall armless abominable snow monster.
Have a good day
-Josh

Princeton Seminar on Torture and Law

2006-01-23T12:07:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,
George Hunsinger recently convened a seminar at Princeton on torture and religion from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim perspectives. Here's a few quotes:

"Danner said the often cited "ticking time bomb theory" (the scenario that a terrorist holds the key to an imminent plot to unleash a nuclear attack on New York City and torturing the terrorist could theoretically avert the attack and thus save millions of lives) is not only unrealistic but also situated "in an utterly bleak world of utilitarian ethics which I think has very little relation to the world we live in." But the utilitarian argument against torture -- that it has not been proven to extract useful intelligence -- concerns Danner as well. Rather than argue about torture's usefulness, he urges those opposed to the practice to argue that it reduces human beings to mere means, which is exactly the point of the terrorism that coercive interrogation techniques are meant to prevent."

"Torture's degradation of the torturers, who are stripped of their capacity both for sympathy and for empathy, and the way torture encourages the broader culture, through self-deception and rationalization, to think the unjustifiable is justified troubles ethicists, philosophers, and religious thinkers. Based on his study of the Holocaust, David Gushee, professor of moral philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, said he is convinced that torture morally destroys the perpetrators. "Some people feel so guilty and ashamed of what they've done, it's very hard to recover. Even worse, some end up succumbing to sadism that is almost inevitably a byproduct of routinely inflicting that misery on someone else. The idea is to break down the morality of the captive, but it ends up breaking down the morality of the torturer."

"Gary Haugen, president of the human rights agency International Justice Mission, said that evangelicals are largely unaware of the problem and trust the president's good faith. "They are not scared of their government. They are scared of the terrorists," he said. They are also wary of arguments against torture that appear politically motivated. To convince evangelicals to oppose torture, said Haugen, "clear, unadorned, precise facts" uncovered by journalists and human rights organizations linked to theological reflection will work better than broader critiques of the Iraq war, the Bush administration, or presidential power. "The factual stuff -- it is building a huge case" against torture, Haugen suggested, and "it is undermining the confidence" of torture proponents. "The administration is trying to hold a precise policy position that has zero support in Christian ethics," he added, saying that the Bush administration is itself divided over pursuing a policy of torture. "What we don't need is new theology or new metaphors," said Haugen. For evangelicals under 30, "it's just 'Jesus doesn't torture.'"

"The Princeton conference's final statement, endorsed so far by 35 members of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh communities, condemns torture as violating the "basic dignity of the human person that all religions hold dear. ... It contradicts our nation's most cherished ideals. Any policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally intolerable." It declares that "nothing less is at stake in the torture abuse crisis than the soul of our nation. What does it signify if torture is condemned in word but allowed in deed? Let America abolish torture now -- without exceptions." Organizers of the religious campaign against torture hope to get 100,000 signatures by the end of 2006."
Read more at:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week921/exclusive.html

2006-01-22T01:04:00.000-05:00

worship and food (Scott says "why call it refreshments, when its really just food?") at the flywheel tommorow at four. check out ubicaritas.blogspot.com for more info.

My teeth and Catholic on Iraq

2006-01-20T00:04:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,
So I was put under pretty good. It did make me quite queasy though, and I threw up four times today. The bleeding has stopped thankfully, and I'm on percosettes (sp?) for painkillers. Chris Carlisle visiting me tomorrow at 11am, which should be fun. Also Aaron Blodgett is coming over to watch Firefly episodes on DVD, which my dad let me borrow. You're all welcome to join me for some high quality matinee sci-fi! :-) I also have The Constant Gardener, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, and Dr. Strangelove (which is in Gary Moorehead's top ten movies of all time). Please keep me company!

Oh, and I got this cool quote from Sojourner's online.
"Our nation cannot afford a shrill and shallow debate that distorts reality and reduces the options to 'cut and run' versus 'stay the course.' Instead we need a forthright discussion that begins with an honest assessment of the situation in Iraq and acknowledges both the mistakes that have been made and the signs of hope that have appeared.... Our nation's military forces should remain in Iraq only as long as it takes for a responsible transition, leaving sooner rather than later."

- Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando, Florida, in a statement on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Also, found out that the Vatican agrees with me on the intelligent design debate, which was nice to hear.

Cutting and running?

2006-01-19T11:34:00.000-05:00

Why is it that we presuppose that if we discontinue our occupation of Iraq, then it will necessarily lead to instability and civil war? I feel like the picture of Iraqis being painted is one of people who just can't wait to kill each other! Where do we get that from?
However, we should not "cut and run." We are responsible for the mess, and cannot necessarily right the wrong by just leaving. Anti-war protesters need to come up with SOME sort of positive answer. Otherwise the administration is right to tell us that we owe it to the Iraqis not to cut and run! The extremists who would use violence for their own agenda are in the minority, but they still exist. Thus, there needs to be a UN peacekeeping force present. Security is important for the Iraqi people. It cannot be our occupying force though. It needs to be international, and therefore credible.
Okay, I shall now get my wisdom teeth out now. Pray for me.

Hearts and Minds Bookstore

2006-01-18T18:30:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,
Hilja got me into this website.
http://www.heartsandmindsbooks.com/index.htm

Good books reviews for sure. Perhaps helpful to LAOS Bookstore!
~Chris

Serenity

2006-01-15T00:49:00.000-05:00

Rent the movie called Serenity. It is awesome! And watch the FireFly episodes that were just released on DVD. Serenity was based on FIreFly (FOX cancelled the show after a season, those morons!).

Ben Myers: On the virtue of heckling preachers

2006-01-14T21:31:00.000-05:00

Here's what Ben posted on his blog, Faith and Theology (http://faith-theology.blogspot.com)

"This morning my family decided to visit a quaint little Protestant church down the road. We’ve never been there before—and I don’t think we’ll be back any time soon. The preacher spoke on the beatitude, “blessed are the meek.” And to my great surprise, he spent half the sermon praising Ian Paisley as a model of the Christian virtue of meekness.

Anywhere else, the crowd might have heckled him. And I reckon it’s unfortunate that there’s no tradition of Christian heckling. We should have booed and jeered. We should have thrown fruit. It would have done everyone a world of good: the preacher would have been held accountable for his words, and the congregation would have taken a stand for humanity.

But instead we all sat in silence, our hands folded meekly in our laps."

A Confession of the Cross

2006-01-14T00:42:00.000-05:00

Alan Torrance handed me a cool book by Tom Smail called "Once And For All." It is a book about the atonement. I'll be posting a few quotes here and there.

"The wounded surgeon plies the steel
That questions the distempered part;
Beneath the bleeding hands we feel
The sharp compassion of the healer's heart." - T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

The new macs are here...

2006-01-11T11:29:00.000-05:00

...6 months ahead of schedule. It's amazing. Replacing the PowerBook is the Mac Book! Check it out!

Karl Barth Meeting at Glen's this Monday, 7:30pm

2006-01-08T14:23:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone.
We shall meet at Glen Franklin's house in Shutesbury (94 Leverett Road) at 7:30pm. Please call me at 413-374-4834 if you want to carpool up with me. Glen's number is 413-259-1711 if you get lost.
See you tomorrow. I'll bring the readings.

What Karl Barth Told His Daughter about Creation and Evolution

2006-01-03T08:49:00.000-05:00

Karl Barth wrote the following letter to his niece, who had written to him asking about creation and evolution:

Basel, 18 Feb. 1965

Dear Christine,

You have had to wait a terribly long time for an answer to your letter of 13 Dec.—not because of indifference, for I am sincerely interested in your welfare, and in that of your mother and sisters, and am always pleased to have good news from Zollikofen [near Bern, Switzerland].

Has no one explained to you in your seminar that one can as little compare the biblical creation story and a scientific theory like that of evolution as one can compare, shall we say, an organ and a vacuum-cleaner—that there can be as little question of harmony between as of contradiction?

The creation story is a witness to the beginning or becoming of all reality distinct from God in the light of God’s later acts and words relating to his people Israel—naturally in the form of a saga or poem. The theory of evolution is an attempt to explain the same reality in its inner nexus—naturally in the form of a scientific hypothesis.

The creation story deals only with the becoming of all things, and therefore with the revelation of God, which is inaccessible to science as such. The theory of evolution deals with what has become, as it appears to human observation and research and as it invites human interpretation. Thus one’s attitude to the creation story and the theory of evolution can take the form of an either/or only if one shuts oneself off completely from faith in God’s revelation or from the mind (or opportunity) for scientific understanding.

So tell the teacher concerned that she should distinguish what is to be distinguished and not shut herself off completely from either side.

My answer comes so late because on the very day you wrote, 13 Dec., I had a stroke and had to spend several weeks in the hospital.

With sincere greetings which you may also pass on to your mother and sisters,

Yours,
Uncle Karl

(borrowed from http://faith-theology.blogspot.com by Ben Myers)

In Light of Foolishness....

2006-01-01T21:59:00.000-05:00

Fun night this evening, eating, hanging with others and reading a one act play by Stephen Broyles together. Stephen is convening a series of evening together, as he says, "Exploring Christian thoughtfulness, foolishness, industry, repose, outrage, wisdom, community, solitude, and soup," at his and Sharon's home in Greeenfield, aka The Andreas Center, 2 Friday eves per month, on the opposite weekends of the DSC nights. Check out his web site (and linked blog) for more information.

Andreas Center

Marigold Fund...check it out!!

2006-01-01T12:14:00.000-05:00

Marigold Fund

is a new non-profit in Afghanistan, founded by our long time friend Gary Moorehead. Gary will be at the DSC in 3 weeks (Jan. 21). Meanwhile check out the brand new web page. Incredible photos of Afghanistan and great info on what he and others are doing there.

Coffee!!!

2005-12-30T10:41:00.000-05:00

Jules Michelet said: "Coffee, the sober drink, the mighty nourishment of the brain, which unlike other spirits, heightens purity and lucidity; coffee, which clears the clouds of the imagination and their gloomy weight; which illuminates the reality of things suddenly with the flash of truth."
(from Peter Leithart's blog at http://www.leithart.com/archives/001597.php)

Come by this Monday for Karl Barth

2005-12-29T19:26:00.000-05:00

Now I know most of you aren't in school now, so come by the TerryNelson household this Monday night at 7:30pm for Karl Barth reading! Email me at teologia@hotmail.com or call at 413-256-1875. No need to read ahead, just swing by and we'll read together!
~Chris

Broken Glass

2005-12-26T14:44:00.000-05:00

Check out this awesome cartoon I found!

UH HUH

2005-12-25T09:06:00.000-05:00

YAY!! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!! I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME!!! :)

WOOOT

2005-12-24T13:29:00.000-05:00

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE EVERYONE!!!!! I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE FUN :)

RED TEA TAKE OVER

2005-12-21T21:29:00.000-05:00

Rooibos is red tea and it is awesome. No caffeine. All nutrients. Why are these babies drinking milk instead of Rooibos? I just don't know. Merry Christmas.

DSC: Chrsitmas edition

2005-12-18T20:07:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures from the Dead Sea Cafe #6. This might have been the most rockin' DCS yet! We had a Christmas tree, lots of yummy food, and I think everyone left with glitter stuck to them. Oh yeah, and there was a dance party. Thanks to Baird and everyone else who helps put this shin-dig together! Merry Christmas.

Free of Charge ~ are we cheerful givers?

2005-12-16T19:21:00.000-05:00

Just read about this new book out of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture. Sounds challenging (in a good way).
Here is an excerpt from the YCFC e-letter:

The director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture, Miroslav Volf, has a newly published book that may help take us beyond the “Happy Holidays” quandary to something deeper and more meaningful.

The book is called Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace (Zondervan, 2005). Free of Charge is an invitation to the Christian faith as a way of life, as seen through two everyday practices: giving and forgiving. Volf writes that in the face of our neediness, "we want God to be our heavenly Santa Claus” – to give us everything and demand nothing. It is true, Volf notes, “God is an inexhaustibly fertile source of everything” that comes our way. “But,” he continues, “is it true that God demands nothing?” In the face of all the holiday shopping and other pressures, we can rejoice that God gives – even the gift of Jesus – “so that we can become joyful givers and not simply self-absorbed receivers.”

Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, commissioned the book as “The Archbishop’s Official 2006 Lent Book.” In the foreword, Williams says Volf “offers us a unique interweaving of intense reflection, vivid and painfully personal stories, and sheer celebration of the giving God.” Perhaps this book will become a treasured part of your library and help you think afresh about giving and forgiving in a culture stripped of grace.

Dead Sea Cafe: Saturday, 6 PM!

2005-12-16T08:38:00.000-05:00

Yes, that's right DSC is at 6PM this week (12/17). Why? Because the DSC Caterer is making soup and serving bread and cheese in addition to her scrumptious Christmas cookies... yum yum yum! So, you all come! DSC curator wil also brign lots of supplies for making Christmas BeDe cards to send your fam and friends.

What? Hectic time for you? Studying, finals, busy with Christmas prep? Yes, we know, but you do need to eat.... and you also need to take at least a brief break from it all to re-generate your energy and what better way to do that?

So, see you at the Ark-- bring some friends....

Karl Barth is at Glen Franklin's house this Monday!

2005-12-14T18:31:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,
Just a reminder that KB is at Glen's from 7:30pm-9:00pm this Monday.
Please come! If you want the readings beforehand, call me.
~Chris

Narnia Trivia

2005-12-12T00:02:00.000-05:00

Reading an Entertainment Weekly article and found some interesting tidbits about the new Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe.
1. In 2001, Walden Media, paid $70 Million dollars for rights to the 7 book series. Walden is owned by Philip Abnshutz, who is known for his Christian faith.
2. Adamson, the director is from New Zealand. He directed Shrek. He says he's "interested" in spirtuality... His parents, Methodist missionaries, gave him the Narnia series when he was a child and he "stayed in that world for months."
3. Susan is played by Anna Popplewell, who played the female lead in "The Girl with the Pearl Earring."
4. Edmund is played by Skandar Keynes, the 14 year old great-great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin.
5. The budget for the movie was $180 Million (and possibly more).

2005-12-11T09:05:00.000-05:00

Christian Peacemakers and the Failure of the Left

2005-12-10T21:53:00.000-05:00

Awesome piece here. While upset that politicians throw others into the front lines of death for a cause instead of themselves, few anti-war people have gone to seek solidarity with the Iraqis. Being against war can't just be about protecting ourselves, our reputation, nor even the lives of our soldiers (though we are all precious). One must be FOR people, and in this case IRAQI people, before one is against war in principle. If our soldiers are really willing to die for Iraqis, and we want them to come home, perhaps it is time we took over the job of the soldiers, by bringing our bodies without weapons to stand in between occupied and occupier, between Sunni and Shia, between insurgent and soldier, between Iraqis and Coalition Forces.

Jesus said: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
Matthew 5: 44 (NIV)

CP asks the bold question: "What would happen if Christians devoted the same discipline and self-sacrifice to nonviolent peacemaking that armies devote to war?"

The simple answer is persecution, suffering, and following of Christ, while sitting at the right hand of the Father in Him who is our Savior. How hard it is to put oneself in the line of fire, yet how hard it is not to.

I found this quote very moving: "It's hard to count how many times I've seen CPT members get in between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians--often too young, old or infirm to protect themselves--and stop an act of violence that would have scarred both perpetrator and victim for the rest of their lives. Indeed, it is precisely because CPT acts on the recognition of and desire to preserve the humanity of both the occupier and occupied, that it has been able to work small miracles in the Occupied Territories, and why it has made many friends in Iraq despite its small presence."

http://electroniciraq.net/news/2221.shtml

We are led into violence as a last resort, because we often wait for the last resort to happen. In these moments, sometimes violence is our own suffering, and in this way I'm a just-war theorist. But as a pacifist, I believe that only by actively seeking peace can we avert the situations that lead us into "the last resort." It is by waiting for the last resort, by earnestly waiting for it because it offers such a simple answer, that we render it the "only resort."

God bless them and their work. I'm only sad I didn't come across it sooner. I pray that we consider what this means for our own lives, and how we can be a light to the world in this way. Again, as Aaron said, one always loves another at the cost of one's self.

Beautiful Night in Shute-Ho

2005-12-09T19:29:00.000-05:00

It snowed a ton up here today. Beautiful!
Time to put the bikes away, wouldn't you agree?
:-)

Praying for a Miracle in Iraq Today

2005-12-09T17:43:00.000-05:00

Jim Wallis writes about the Christian prisoners of peace in Iraq...

Tomorrow is the day that the so-called Swords of Righteousness Brigade have set for the peacemakers' execution if U.S. forces do not release all detainees held in Iraq.

Their survival would be a miracle. And yet, statements of support from the likes of Hamas and cleric AbuQatada, a suspected al Qaeda terrorist imprisoned in the U.K., are already miraculous. Our enemies - by any conventional definition - have appealed for the release of our friends. The cynic will say that support from such quarters merely confirms that CPT must be as anti-American as the terrorists. But hints of parable permeate: The Samaritan, a despised foreigner and outcast to Jesus' audience, disregards religious and ethnic division to aid one in need, while countrymen preoccupied with their own purity pass by.

Indeed, Rush Limbaugh is glad these "leftist feel-good hand-wringers" are being "shown reality." To follow his version of the parable, they'd never have fallen among thieves if they hadn't been walking on the road to Jericho in the first place. His reference to reality is intriguing, coming in support of an administration now widely regarded as out of touch with the reality in Iraq.

I could denounce the Swords of Righteousness Brigade for threatening to kill the people who have defended the very detainees they demand be released, but that doesn't seem productive at this moment. Instead, I stand astonished as other Muslims - militants, politicians, and religious leaders - defend these captive Christians, and Jesus' upside-down kingdom glimmers. CPT's risky Christianity, broadcast by al Jazeera, has done more to promote mutual understanding and goodwill than any ham-handed tour by Karen Hughes, the U.S. State Department's head public relations envoy.

This week's advent theme is promise - the promise that a true and trustworthy savior is coming. We are called to cast aside false prophets and anticipate a messiah who was willing to become vulnerable, to enter dangerous territory, to put his life in the hands of those who couldn't tell enemies from neighbors, and taught us to love them all. 1 John 2:17 tells us, "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." If this seems unrealistic, we now have four more witnesses to the contrary. While in a spirit of Advent anticipation we wait and pray that tomorrow will bring a new promise of life, I am confident that as they walk in his steps, the Christ who defeated death will work more miracles regardless of grim realities.

Science and Theology News

2005-12-09T09:44:00.000-05:00

So I subscribe to weekly emailings from STN, and found this op-ed piece rather interesting in its critique of Behe, who wrote Darwin's Black Box:
http://www.stnews.org/commentary-2439.htm (Sorry, I don't know how to attach hyperlink to text on this thing, Ben).

Basically, it says that if ID wants to be like the Big Bang theory today (which also suffered early rejection because of it's "supernatural" implications), then it needs to actually have science confirm it. For now, it suffers from being essentially a negative critique of the "weak-links of evolution."

Join Us! LAOS Evening Hours 2 Thursdays! AND Announcing the Winter Wonderland Flight Raffle

2005-12-07T22:41:00.000-05:00

On TWO special Thursdays, Dec 8 and Dec 15, LAOS Interfaith Bookstore will be open from 6-9 PM for Christmas Shopping. A few of us, who post on this blog, will be hosting these evening shopping hours. There will be Christmas music & refreshments to enjoy as you shop for some special presents. Cheryl Summa will also be there selling her beautiful candles which she decorates petal by petal with dried flowers. LAOS is located at Immanual Lutheran Church, just north of the UMass campus.

For you big spenders: Anyone who buys $100 at one time will automatically be entered to win a Winter Wonderland Flight over the Valley, drawing in February 2006. One of the LAOS Board members is a pilot and owns a plane and has donated this incentive to benefit LAOS. The raffle goes until early February so if you can't purchase $100 right now you can plan for early next year. (ps. by law, the raffle is not open to LAOS Board members or their families...sorry)

The Challenge of Loving the Ones Right Next to Us

2005-12-07T22:38:00.000-05:00

"It is not love in the abstract that counts. Men have loved a cause as they have loved a woman. They have loved the brotherhood, the workers, the poor, the oppressed - but they have not loved [humanity]; they have not loved the least of these. They have not loved "personally." It is hard to love. It is the hardest thing in the world, naturally speaking. Have you ever read Tolstoy's Resurrection? He tells of political prisoners in a long prison train, enduring chains and persecution for the love of their brothers, ignoring those same brothers on the long trek to Siberia. It is never the brothers right next to us, but the brothers in the abstract that are easy to love."

- Dorothy Day, social activist and founder of the Catholic Worker movement. Nov. 29 was the 25th anniversary of Day's death.
(quote courtesy of SoJo Mail)

The Ethics of Blogging Relationships

2005-12-06T16:26:00.000-05:00

Thought this might be of interest as we seek to talk to one another on this thing.

http://www.adrian.warnock.info/2005/11/peace-to-allprinciples-for-god.htm

Free the Peacemakers

2005-12-06T10:27:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,
This is an awesome letter to the captors to free their prisoners, explaining that they are not spies but peacemakers living among the Iraqis.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1202-15.htm

Please sign the petition for their release.

2005-12-06T09:55:00.000-05:00

The Technocacaphone has struck again.

Now they had forgotten to bring bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."
Mark 8:14-15

Lynne Baker...

2005-12-05T23:53:00.000-05:00

Most interesting talk today by Lynne Baker at the reception to award her the Distinquished Faculty Award for 2005-2006.

Others on this blog could do her talk better justice than I am able (so add on!!).... but basically.... what I heard were her views on when life begins and ends based on her ideas of a person being more than just a biological organism. Her perspective is called Constitution View.... in that we are constituted of our bodies but are more than that.... just as a statue is constituted of marble..yet a statue is more than just marble.

She also talked about First Person Perspective as essential to being human... and the 3 essentials which make up First Person Perspective. Even a newborn baby has them..tho they go from being Rudimentary at birth to Robust by adulthood. One needs to have all three in at least a Rudementary stage plus to be from a "kind"( or species??) which eventually develops them into a Robust state, in order to be considered human. This has implications for both ends of the life spectrum..when human life begins and ends. She said a human organism has these by birth and likely shortly before birth, but that they do not develop at any one set pre-natal point. She also said they certainly do not exist in an embryo or pre-implantation (at 2 weeks after fertilization) ... so... according to this view... embryonic research (stem cell and such) does not deal with "human life." Same logic for end life questions such as Terry Shaivo.

Well.... wow.... lots to think about.... all very interesting. I don't know if I can agree that life which has even the potential to be "human" can be seen as equal to non-human life forms (and hence expendable). That seems like a big leap to me... but... I did like her foundational idea that human life is more than just a biological or neurological identity.

I Think This is the Real Deal.

2005-12-05T22:53:00.000-05:00

TerryNelson, this came in the mail today. I think this is the real deal.

DSC #5

2005-12-04T19:09:00.000-05:00

Dead Sea #5 was cookin' last night at the Ark. We heard preliminary ponderings about Bibliolatry the Authority of Scripture and Hypertext from Ben Greene and Ian Callahan and about Steiger International from Mark Johnson who was visiting from Minneapolis. There was a toasty fire in the fireplace (a la Sam B), plenty of discussion thanks to participants and lots of good food kudos to the many contributors, Josh's organization and the good planning of our DSC baker, who was out of town.

Updates and...

2005-12-03T14:47:00.000-05:00

Updates on the Big Dig of Shutesbury are on Musings from Shute-Ho. Septic dig was yesterday.

On a lighter note: Awesome play at UMass this and next weekend. House of Desires. Written by a female (a nun actually!) in the mid 17 th century in Mexico! It is performed as translated to English...funny and thought provoking...and very well acted by all...especially that Alec Nelson guy!! What a riot!!! Costume Assistant was Sarah Nelson (as in the wife of the actor). Next weekends shows are Thurs and Friday, Dec 8 & 9, at 8 PM (Rand Theater in the FAC) and Saturday, Dec 10, at 2PM. Students $5, adults $10. We may just go again..it is that good!

Alan Torrance Giving a Sermon

2005-12-02T12:29:00.000-05:00

Here's the guy that made Scotland so awesome for me. I took his class on Karl Barth. He took me out for coffee, and I introduced my wife to him. Positively one of the nicest gentlemen I've ever met . . .

http://www.viewmaps.com/ppac/getvideo.php?s=461