Fun, Intellectually Stimulating Ways to put off work...

1. Read Ariah Fine's blog.

2. Find some parallel thoughts to some disquieting thoughts you've had recently (that make friends shake their heads and tell you to shut it).

3. Share your own disquieting thoughts on your blog...

It is my contention that the American system of capitalism, while it is the most radically profitable system of economics this world carries at this present moment, it also is the most radically inequitable system of economics this world has ever seen, short of straight despotic tyranny. I'll simplify it down to one thought, because any attempt to make a sweeping comment about this would drain too much brain energy from my sermon-writing right now and would probably ramble like...someone who rambles a lot.

Capitalism is driven primarily by the profit motive. Thus, companies are judged to be successful or unsuccessful ultimately by their ability to make lots of bucks. In the process of the pursuit of this profit, corporations act like greedy individuals in this profit maximization pursuit, not caring about the impact of their actions on the third-parties that aren't directly involved in the company/client business.

As a result, we have situations like East St. Louis (drawn out most powerfully by Jonathan Kozol in his book Savage Inequalities...which I highly recommend despite some big-time biased investigation on Kozol's part), and the mercury-infested waters of the South River in Waynesboro 15 minutes away from me thanks to DuPont, etc etc.

Basically, in a vacuum, companies don't give a rip about the ripple-effect of their actions (called externalities) if their main pursuit is the profit motive. Even principled companies find themselves pushed into this rat race of pursuit of profit if they proceed uncritically. As a result, the people in the economic system apply the same thinking to their lifestyles (most food, staple items for the least money to maximize their money, etc etc). Hence, Wal-Mart.

And in all this process, we could assume that capitalism is the best we've got. I say the church is a model society that tells capitalism to take its pursuit of profit (and the earth it chews up and spits out when its done with it) and shove it where the sun don't shine. I say the church is meant to be a socialist system where the lives of individuals are NOT forgotten for the sake of the affluence of the whole. But maybe I'm stupid. You read the first five chapters of Acts and tell me what YOU see. You know, I just don't think it's possible as a human in our limited vision to suggest we love the whole and act for the health of the whole by ignoring or sweeping under the rug those who the system leaves behind.

I'm tired of this thinking in my life, and I will fight it. And this is longer than a short statement, but oh well.

4. a link to Ariah's disquieting thoughts.

p.s. I just saw Ariah's widget that suggests Savage Inequalities on his sidebar. Cool coincidence...he didn't have that book up last I looked.

Response to Lewis on the backburner...sermon on the front

I'm (supposed to be) working on my sermon today...and I am. I'd like to spend some time going deeper with C.S. Lewis' stuff from a couple days ago for my own therapeutic interests, but I gotta hammer this sermon finishing up the three week journey through Haggai I've been walking with my church.

I did have time today, though, in a break, to read an interesting (challenging) article from a fellow named Bob Fisher. Have a look-see. Compelling stuff. It's all about Best Buy restoring humanity to business practices (in what is largely an impersonal and cold environment), and what that can look like in the church (that is in many ways more profoundly influenced by capitalism than the gospel)

"A ROSE by any other Name"

Article here.

Flashback to a little over a month ago...

Let this be an example of hyper-obsession with a certain hobby. The funniest example is at the end of this video. You'll see what I mean. The flashback title refers to what my friends and I saw upon emerging around 9 at night from a restaurant to find a guy hanging out in a dark alleyway practicing his choreographed moves with his green and blue ridiculously-realistic-looking-and-sounding light sabers. Upon finding an audience in us, he proceeded to stop, step to the side, and pick up a more longish object, and light that baby up. That's right. Darth Maul. I was speechless, and didn't know whether to stand in awe at his commitment as he danced and spun with that saber or cry at the amount of time he had poured into that dance.


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I guess I could use this time to make fun of my friend John Daubert, who heard the "Halo" movie was coming out sometime, and proceeded to scheme about what costumes he and Neil and Fong would wear to the movie, eventually deciding that they would come as a red guy and a blue guy, with the third one being the "flag" that they tried to capture from one another. Yes, John Daubert, Neil Thorne, and Dan Fong. Please make fun of them to their faces.

Ariah's good point...

"Missions Cruise an Oxymoron?"

"...It’s also disappointing to see all the musician’s and speakers willing to join in this disgusting display of privilege. Starting at $695 per person, I wonder if anyone is going to be raising support for this mission trip from their church."

Rest of Ariah's post here.

Thoughts from a big fan of the concept here.

The "Vision" of Praisefest Ministries for this idea:

Vision

The vision of PraiseFest Ministries is quite extensive. It all revolves around reaching people for Christ. We seek to bring Christians of all denominations, races, and various backgrounds with one purpose. That is to reach people for Christ. We plan to do this through outreach crusades all over the United States and abroad and through efforts like the Cruise with a Cause. This may even involve multiple mission cruises at some point.

We would like to be able to host 10 crusades per year plus the Mission Cruise. That would be one crusade per month, excluding December and the month of the cruise. To do this, we would need to operate by raising at least $2 million dollars per year. This would enable us to offer a mission cruise at reasonable prices and then to take 10 two night crusades to areas all over the United States . We actually go into a community and invest a minimum of $100,000 into a two night crusade outreach effort. For information, please click PRAISEFEST CRUSADES. It seems like a lot, but we are believing God for this. Again, all money donated goes straight to reaching people for Christ."

My thoughts.

I have a major problem with this statement: "More than 1700 people saved through the efforts of the inaugural cruise with a cause." And this one "Thousands of people saw God face-to-face as a result from the mission opportunity they provided. Many souls were won for Christ and those who already were part of the family of God grew closer to the Maker during the week."

Why? One, for the reason Ariah mentions in his post. You're paying $695 dollars to listen to Josh McDowell, Kutless, hand out some flyers about Jesus, and give toys to people that come to listen to a crusade...and you're calling that mission!??!! This is a major problem on the scale of Bruce Wilkinson's Dream for Africa that's handled well here. One of my housemates was a missionary working with orphans in Swaziland who said Wilkinson's "Dream" was putrid, culturally insensitive, and had the long-term effect of numbing citizens of Swaziland to Western missionary efforts.

My problem stated quite simply is this: Missions efforts that define their successes by sheer numbers of folks who "come forward" at an event to be "saved" are inadequate and ultimately skewing the message of the gospel. I like that Billy Graham integrated a strong local effort over time to connect those who came forward to "make a decision" with local churches...and this "PraiseFest" organization seems to be doing this in evangelistic efforts in the U.S. But if the gospel is narrowly defined as several verses from Romans and "souls saved" through said message, we are dealing with a terribly inadequate understanding of the gospel.

A simple suggestion for PraiseFest ministries for your whole "Cruise with a Cause" crusade. Link up with a cut-rate airline organization to shuttle your folks down to the Bahamas instead of a coddling cruise down and back. Link up with local Christian organizations working to solve the problems of homelessness and poverty on a grassroots level in the Bahamas, and organize and push seminars for your participants where they get a chance to hear the reality of missions on a daily basis there. Plug your people in with what these missions are doing. And maybe throw a concert or ten where you share what you see Christ doing in the world and celebrate. Do this for ten years. Gain the trust of the populace. And once you've gained their trust, work to spread the message of Christ through the local contacts who are there...listening to their input on what is most effective over the long-haul for the spread of the gospel in the Bahamas and trusting their judgment.

(Ex. of a lack of cultural sensitivity from the website: "My group was given the assignment of canvassing the lower income areas of Grand Island. We walked from house to house, inviting residents to the crusade, passing out flyers, and telling them about Jesus. Each Bahamian met us with a smile and a few even sang songs for us. We talked about where we were from and why we were there, all while being received with an incredible spirit of hospitality.")

And keep this in mind:
The presentation of the gospel will deeply affect the concept of what means to be a Christian more than you will ever know.

Now think: how does a $700 cruise, listening to Sting, handing out flyers and talking about Jesus without taking time to understand what makes Bahamians tick, and pushing for "decisions" at a concert affect the concept of missions you build in the heads of those who participate?

This "missions" effort is typical these days of the perpetuation of the separation of the importance of the "soul" from the daily physical existence of humanity.

It is INCOHERENT (in my flawed opinion) to try to separate one's soul from their embodied existence today. This ridiculous emphasis on "souls" comes almost directly from the apocalyptic evangelistic message of D.L. Moody, who said,

"I look on this world as a wrecked vessel. God has given me a lifeboat, and said to me, "Moody, save all you can." God will come in judgment and burn up this world, but the children of God don't belong to this world; they are in it but not of it, like a ship on the water. This world is getting darker and darker; its ruin is getting nearer and nearer. If you have any friends on this wreck unsaved, you had better lose no time in getting them off."

Essentially what Moody is doing is giving a giant "F you" to the world and making sure people are "saved" from this darkening, nasty, sinful world. So let's all sit on our hands after we're saved, because there's no use in the gospel affecting anything else in this sinking ship. Let's all wait for the sweet by and by.

Dead. Freaking. Wrong. Moody. Deal with all of what Jesus says.


Rant. Over.

C.S. Lewis suggests...

"Not many years ago when I was an atheist, if anyone had asked me, 'Why do you not believe in God?' my reply would've looked something like this:

'Look at the universe we live in. By far the greatest part of it consists of empty space, completely dark and unimaginably cold. The bodies which move in this space are so few and so small in comparison with the space itself that even if every one of them were known to be crowded as full as it could hold with perfectly happy creatures, it would still be difficult to believe that life and happiness were more than a byproduct to the power that made the universe. As it is, however, the scientists think it likely that very few of the suns of space- perhaps none of them except our own- have any planets; and in our own system it is improbable that any planet except the Earth sustains life.

And Earth herself existed without life for millions of years and may exist for millions more when life has left her. And what is it like while it lasts? It is so arranged that all the forms of it can live only by preying upon one another. In the lower forms this process entails only death, but in the higher there appears a new quality called consciousness which enables it to be attended with pain. The creatures cause pain by being born, and live by inflicting pain, and in pain they mostly die. In the most complex of all the creatures, Man, yet another quality appears, which we call reason, whereby he is enabled to foresee his own pain which henceforth is preceded with acute mental suffering, and to foresee his own death while keenly desiring permanence. It also enables men by a hundred ingenious contrivances to inflict a good deal more pain than they otherwise could have done on one another and on the irrational creatures. This power they have exploited to the full. Their history is largely a record of crime, war, disease, and terror, with just sufficient happiness interposed to give them, while it lasts, an agonized apprehension of losing it, and, when it is lost, the poignant misery of remembering.

Every now and then they improve their condition a little and what we call a civilization appears. But all civilizations pass away and, even while they remain, inflict peculiar sufferings of their own probably sufficient to outweigh what alleviations they might have brought to the normal pains of man. That our own civilization has done so, no one will dispute; that it will pass away like its predecessors is surely probable. Even if it should not, what then? The race is doomed. Every race that comes into being in any part of the universe is doomed; for the universe, they tell us, is running down, and will sometime be a uniform infinity of homogeneous matter at a low temperature. All stories will come to nothing: all life will turn out in the end to have been a transitory and senseless contortion upon the idiotic face of infinite matter." (The Problem of Pain)

It might be a temptation to write these comments off as the thoughtless beliefs of a cynic, but I don't think an honest look at this approach to life allows that conclusion. And while Lewis couches these thoughts in being the approach he carried when he was an atheist, I'd suggest they're immediately relevant for spurring all of us (whether Christian, atheist, Buddhist, or Muslim) on to deeper thinking about our existence and the effect of our lives on each other and this world we coexist in...some of his comments strike me as pure, unadulterated truth; not just the rambling thoughts of an uncritical thinker.

The quote, I think, will serve a the genesis (the muse, if you will), of some of my thoughts in the coming days. Some possible themes...

Entropy, Depth of definition of love, purpose, remembering, death...

Awesome off-the-cuff poem...

...by my friend Matt Murphy. Seriously.



Her Sullied Name

Her sullied name is sex,
And to see her best, I suggest
You ask her to please undress.
You see, it seems we've clothed her
In disrespect.

Give it up for MEEEEE!!!!

This is Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, and I have three things to say about these videos before you watch them:
1) If this guy was the CEO of my company, I'd either ridiculously love working for the company (because my CEO doesn't have to "keep up appearances") or be incredibly freaked out. Maybe both. I think I'd err more on the ridiculously love side (you'll see what I mean with the pit stains in the second video), if the company wasn't Microsoft, a modern-day example of the continual need for anti-trust watchdog organizations.
2) He reminds me of the youth pastor in the movie Saved!, which was a much more incisive criticism of the institution of Christianity than many would be willing to admit. (one great guy whose blog I read said only partly tongue in cheek "If I hadn't seen the Microsoft logo, I'd have sworn this guy was a worship leader *hehe*), and
3) He dances like every member of my family (including me); it is clear he is white and has zero (maybe negative) rhythm

Here it is in all its glory...as well as a remixed version that includes some of his other work (and the sweet pitstains) you simply MUST see. Oh, how I love Youtube.

Jesus is my boyfriend

I just read an article that jogged my memory of a conversation I had with one of my good friends the other day centered on the phrase above. I not only think the phrase carries a dripping, overly emotional and sentimental Francine Rivers or Danielle Steele feel to it, I personally am repelled as a heterosexual guy by its connotations. And though my friend disagreed with me on this point, I think the reality that the church is the "bride of Christ" should only be employed in speaking of the church as a whole, not me as an individual. At any rate, I don't want to comment too much on this article, but it's the first real solid, even-handed look I've seen at the emotionally-charged, erotic relationship with Jesus stuff. It's not like this is new (see: Teresa of Avila), but it is rapidly gaining steam in the more conservative, Max Lucado-addicted crowd...and some of the examples the author of the article highlights seriously made my jaw drop to the ground.

There are two main dangerous effects (in my mind) of this overly sentimentalized emotional love towards our relationship with Jesus if engaged in uncritically:


1) It reduces Jesus to a subjective "friend" (buddy Jesus) without the equally true reality that he is Lord of the Universe. Jesus is not just some smarmy "I looooooove you" concept without serious expectations for our lives that demand we subordinate his friend status to his Lordship status. A simple look at what Jesus represents on the white horse in Revelation (as well as a couple conversations with Pharisees or the times he dresses down his disciples) wouldn't really fly in a Danielle Steele novel. Instead of asking "What is Jesus to YOU?" I think we should ask "Do we carry an understanding of Jesus that reveals ALL of who he was and is?" (because I'm accountable for the picture of Jesus I portray through my thoughts and actions). That way, we can see that Jesus not only is merciful and willing to help when we screw up, but also has eyes that flash with his commitment to righteousness and expectations for his followers. One without the other could lead to some twisted conclusions about Jesus.


2) Focusing on our emotional "feelings" of love towards Jesus without integrating other elements of love (consistency, commitment no matter what, trust, sticking it out through the hard times as well as the good) can create a situation where a girl (or guy I guess) can be terribly confused and feel terribly unloved when the highly charged emotions aren't there. Or, any challenge to their lives and their relationship with God becomes a personal attack on their private relationship with Jesus; and they reject out of hand anything that might ask of them commitment in the midst of a hard situation.

Just a couple thoughts. Here's the beginning of the article.

Dating Jesus: When 'lover of my soul' language goes too far. Agnieszka Tennant

"God loved the world with an extravagant tenderness. He spun into our genes a strand of divine DNA. Imago dei, this God with us—it's an astonishing intimacy..."

Read the rest of the article here.

John Piper is a good man.

And I highly respect him as a leader and a committed disciple of Jesus. And agree with him much of the time (much does not mean all). And this happens to be one of those times. He's written a good article on the Islam/Christian/Muslim conversation that also digs deeper into his disagreement with NT Wright (another man I deeply respect) on the New Perspective on Paul (NPP). You'll have to read the article to understand what he's saying, because I'd like to simply post the link to the article, and if you have a comment or opinion, just post one and we can talk.

I think the article is even-handed and clear. I especially like the yearbook analogy.

Jesus, Islam, Pharisees, and the New Perspective on Paul.

Truth. Speaking. Is. Unpopular.

Excerpt from video below in this post, "One of the things that 's always perturbed me...as we come to celebrate the life and living of Martin Luther King Jr, one of the things we can say with alarm since the legalization of the holiday is that Dr King has been reduced to the syrupy sweet Hallmark Card where he is no longer prophetic and he no longer speaks to the nation and he no longer causes us to speak to the nation in ways that shake the foundation of this nation's immorality..."

All my friends who are not Christfollowers do not need to listen to the following flash video. Feel free, but this message is mainly a convicting reminder that those of us who dare to claim that we are disciples of Jesus are expected to be peacemakers.

Peacemakers.

And that's not peacemaking as defined by Nathan Myers, or Jane Doe, or whoever else. It's peacemaking as defined by Jesus.

What was his example? What did his life scream to us about how to confront evil as a faithful disciple? How did his disciples live this out?

If you are a Christfollower, you and I don't have a choice with whether we "want" to be a peacemakers or not. We don't. Oh, we justify it...we say this and that....define peacemaking like this or that...in short, interpret peacemaking the way we do much of the Bible...seize onto the "For I know the plans I have for you" and "fearfully and wonderfully made" and "I call you my friends" passages while ignoring the "love your enemies" and "those who seek to protect their life will lose it" and "he was faithful to the point of the death, even death on a cross" and "for our battle is NOT against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities" passages because they challenge us too much.

As I watched this simple little flash from a simple speech, I was deeply convicted and tears welled up in my eyes as I thought about how often I shrink back from clear statements on truth when I'm around my fellow Christfollowers in church because I'm afraid they'll leave or reject me or hate me for that position. My friends that don't know Christ are begging to see me live like I love them and will give my life, my finances, my energy, and my prayers for them no matter what...they're CRYING out! And I'm often a shuddering, emasculated Christian who's ok with false unity in church in the name of comfort and "family" and all the easy Scripture; and I say I don't, but I really DO want you to look like me, dress like me, like the same things I like, hate the same things I hate...or at least PRETEND you do so our relationship doesn't challenge me. I'd rather not be called to take most of what I've learned in my life and unlearn it through pain and struggle and cyclical addictions to various things. I'd rather be comfortably numb in my self-centeredness, thank you very much.

But, MLK, for all his struggles, was a man who spoke truth...he would not let us sit in our seats and just nod along and afterwards say, "Good speech. Good delivery. Your voice intonation was tremendous." *pat on the back* "See you next week, Marty." Wouldn't let us do it. He chose to say what he said and live like he did and give himself like he did. He knew his life was in danger, and he wasn't afraid to confront the status quo and whoever stood to continue reaping the rewards from it. And for that, I am grateful. Because the status quo was and is continuing to rip us apart as humanity.

"Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies - or else? The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation...He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it. " -MLK Jr.

I'm tired of cooperating. I'm tired of my smarmy proof-text-quoting-Scripture-life that exists because I'm not disciplined enough to grow beyond it and don't have the stones to challenge my friends and church family and neighbors to take that step with me. But still I settle for recycling the same verses, saying the same prayers, and talking about the same issues I did a week ago...all the while, I'm spinning my tires and going nowhere! I'm TIRED of that life. I want MORE. There has to be MORE than where I am now. And we are now. And I don't really care that the beginning of this video has a strong message about Bush. Watch it all the way through. Give it a fair shake. Sit back and think a little about what it means to follow Jesus the way he told us to...no matter what.

And challenge me. Forgive me. Let me rant like this from time to time. Help me to love more, give more, forgive more, expect more, pursue more.

And if I'm going to hold the leaders of the United States to a high standard of truth-telling as I am by endorsing this flash video, I sure as heck better be pursuing it myself, or I'm a flat hypocrite.

Click on play, lower left corner.
http://www.djpauledge.com/wewillnotbesilenced/#

ht on video: Ariah

A couple thoughts on individualism and governance.

Two friends and I have had a healthy conversation that I've been thinking about more recently. Their names are Matt and Paul, and I continue to deeply appreciate their perspectives on life...and that appreciation leads to good conversations sometimes over our similar and different perspectives on life. Penny for your time (and responses, if you so wish). Matt's the guy on the left, and Paul on the right.


The link to the original place of conversation (Matt's Myspace blog) is here. It may be a bit easier to follow there.

Matt originally made a suggestion that sparked all this, saying

"This is an offshoot of thoughts inspired by a sermon (his pastor) Kevin preached on the movie Crash, which has left me devestated and yet determined. You should listen to it. It's more than racism, and one of the parts that affected me most was his discourse and slight criticism of his own struggles with prejudice and especially most Americans' prejudices against foreigners.

It's been since about forever since altruism gained more Cash-Flow than greed. It's been about forever since the whole United States Knew the meaning of Philanthropy and how it feels to be part of the solution, not the problem; I'm not sold on the American Dream. Now, the media and government work together to make you feel worse and more afraid; and more afraid and more afraid, and more insistent on American Policies and Politics in the living rooms of our "enemies.." or so they're telling me. Guilt. Shame. The fuel that feeds political gain, but they're only the ethanol to the gasoline that is fear - without they're protection we're bound for destruction, but I'm not convinced that most of these enemies have a problem with me so much as my country and the coroporate greed it seems to feed with the blessings of the media and pork-belly policy. So we torture detainees in GitMo and we withhold love from border crossers: failing to see that's not our mission, which is to love God and love people. Just because I wear a cross does not mean I ride the elephant, or the donkey for that matter. Supporting policies does not mean withholding love and when you support policies, make sure they don't inherently prevent love, and make sure not to give away your only hope. Make sure the things you get upset about are worth it and make sure you don't become a machine, a wheel in the machine, or eventually you'll break down. He'll still pick you up though."

I originally responded with,

"Has the whole United States ever grasped the concepts of altruism, philanthropy, and how to be part of the solution rather than the problem?

Donald Miller said it best, I think, when talking about a conversation with his atheist friend Laura.
"One day Laura brought up an odd topic: racism in the history of the church. She had moved to Portland from Georgia where, though she is an atheist, she told me she witnessed, within a church, the sort of racial discrimination most of us thought ended fifty years ago. She asked me very seriously what I thought about the problem of racism in America and whether the church had been a harbor for that sort of hatred...

I told her how frustrating it is to be a Christian in America, and how frustrated I am with not only the church's failures concerning human rights, but also my personal failure to contribute to the solution. I wondered out loud, though, if there was a bigger issue, and I mistakenly made the callous comment that racism might be a minor problem compared to bigger trouble we have to deal with.

'Racism, not an issue?!' she questioned very sternly.
"Well, not that it's not an issue, only that it is a minor issue.'
'How can you say that?' She sat back restlessly in her chair. 'Don, that is an enormous problem.'
I was doing a lot of backpedaling at first, but then I began to explain what I mean. 'Yeah, I understand it is a terrible and painful problem, but in light of the whole picture, racism is a signal of something greater. There is a larger problem here than tension between ethnic groups.'

'Unpack that statement,' Laura said.

'I'm talking about self-absorption. If you think about it, the human race is pretty self-absorbed. Racism might be the symptom of a greater disease. What I mean is, as a human, I am flawed in that it is difficult for me to consider others before myself. It feels like I have to fight against this force, this current within me that, more often than not, wants to avoid serious issues and please myself, buy things for myself, entertain myself, and all of that. All I'm saying is that if we, as a species, could fix our self-absorption, we could end a lot of pain in the world.' "

That's from Blue Like Jazz, and I agree. I think it's important to acknowledge, also, how broken we are, that even though we're inherently selfish as people, somehow we buy into the ideas of nationalism and racism that extend "me" beyond myself to other whites and other Americans...so instead of being individualistically self-absorbed (or, more accurately, on top of the dominant reality of my self-absorption), I become absorbed into thinking other races or nationalities are inherently a threat to me because they're "them." We hate brainwashing, but we're all hopelessly enculturated by where we grow up, aren't we? Plenty of fodder to identify, subvert, and kill for the rest of our lives.

Racism, nationalism, and individualism are probably good places to start.

I'd say, in addition, I guess, that this clearly isn't an American problem only. America just happens to be at the top of the heap right now, so its self-absorption is all out there for the world to see. 70, 80 years from now, the globe will be obsessed with the self-absorption of China or the EU or something.

Either way, our commitment to being a global people as Christfollowers, together with the foundational expectation that we are to reject the artificial boundaries we put up for comfort and safety...called to serve instead of rule...should blow this whole selfishness and fear crap right out of the water.

The problem is, we're gutless...so, like Don talked about, we whine about the issue without dealing with the root. I'll be the first to stand up and say I pass the buck to someone else instead of living into my calling to the Kingdom of God first and foremost...I talk a big talk, but I end up buying into the same materialism, individualism, and artificial boundaries that Joe Schmoe beside me who doesn't know Christ does. And that's pathetic. The root of the issue is my pride and self-absorption. Everything else spins off it. Gotta strike at that root. I like your rant."

To which Paul responded,

"Nate wrote: "Has the whole United States ever grasped the concepts of altruism, philanthropy, and how to be part of the solution rather than the problem?"

Prolly not. Depends who you ask. For example, some would criticize the US on philanthropic grounds for not having entered WWII against the Germans soon enough. Perhaps an awkward example for this post, but it is a fact that that a strong undercurrent fueling American isolationism at that point was the significant amount of American investment in German industry (i.e., $ fueling the German war machine). It seems even our "peace" has been rooted in greed and self-absorption.

Sadly, the US's track record is not the exception, it's the norm. Like Nate said, it's just at the top of the heap now, but the clear problem is that it is populated with people. I, too, lay the problem at the feet of human selfishness.
For, "Has the whole [insert country, past or present, here] ever grasped the concepts of altruism, philanthropy, and how to be part of the solution rather than the problem?" Again, prolly not.

It seems a "wholly altruistic" nation will need at least a majority of components (people) that are likewise altruistic. My confidence is low that this will take place without individual moral renovation because we can do away with all the isms we want, but I've never needed the help of an ism to be a selfish prick. Indeed, it seems it's my selfishness that spawns self-serving rationalizations akin to racism, etc.

With that said, isms do seem to have the power to dull, paralyze, or misguide altruism, allowing injustice to thrive, so it still seems we must be as innocent as doves and as clever as serpents, and not the other way around.
True: "Make sure the things you get upset about are worth it."

Some relevant Police lyrics:
There is no political solution
To our troubled evolution
Have no faith in constitution
There is no bloody revolution

Our socalled leaders speak
With words they try to jail you
The subjugate the meek
But it's the rhetoric of failure

Where does the answer lie?
Living from day to day
If it's something we can't buy
There must be another way
We are spirits in the material world"

And I know this is getting far too long and you may have already abandoned ship, but I responded by saying,

"Paul said, "We can do away with all the isms we want, but I've never needed the help of an ism to be a selfish prick. Indeed, it seems it's my selfishness that spawns self-serving rationalizations akin to racism, etc. With that said, isms do seem to have the power to dull, paralyze, or misguide altruism, allowing injustice to thrive."

I see what you're saying, Paul, but I think you're underestimating the power those -isms exert on your life and mine. It's clear that the apostle Paul, the early church, and Jesus existed in a society with a much stronger emphasis on communalism. Their identity was found not as an empowered, free-thinking individual (our society's bent), but as a part of a movement or family or people that defined them much more than their thoughts or conscience.

Today, however, the dominant philosophy of individualism has its dirty paws all up in all our bidness...Whereas in Jesus' day you could find unfaithful comfort in being a Jew (or in NOT being a Samarian) or in being a member of the class of the wealthy elite (and NOT poverty-stricken); today the scope has been widened to the unfaithful comfort of the "rights" of the individual joining that whole mess. What seems to matter less is what others think or want: it's what I want, I "need," I think life should be all about...

It's just hopelessly fragmented and really unpredictable. I'm the one I care about most of the time, but if something happens where another race or nationality challenges my comfort within my own race or nationality, I personally invest in "my" people's struggle (immigration, English language, economic status, etc) to protect us from them...but when the crisis situation passes (or recedes to a low boil), I return to my self-centered existence until another crisis situation threatens.

So, in essence, in order to govern effectively in our day and age and move people beyond their inherent self-centeredness, leaders must get the society they lead to a consistent state of being on their toes...they need to identify a common "evil" enemy, they need the people to be sufficiently afraid to accept his/her definition of the enemy as evil, some sort of concrete action (war...limited to keep public outcry low and stories of heroism high) to unify the people, and an open-ended commitment to said enemy so the goal is always just...out...of...reach. War on terror, anyone?

It doesn't take much study of modern democracy to see that war or some degree of conflict is needed on a regular basis to move the people beyond their individualism to a common goal and identity. So, as a leader, you need to find a good enemy upon entering office to unite the people, if you want to be effective.

So the ism of individualism is so potent and defining that leaders need to be fully conscious of how to subvert it in order to effectively govern the whole.

That's insidious, very self-centered (if we can think of the modern nation-state as a freaking huge "self")...can I say sinful? Is it possible that the governance and discipline of the church (only possible with the power of the Holy Spirit and committed followers of Jesus) is in fact the highest form of "government" this world has ever seen? That heightens the importance of cultivating the atmosphere we are called to as the church...the world is crying out for people who would live like this and a system like this. It looks like the early church did this well. For a ridiculously short period of time."

Ok, I'm a dork. I admit it.

I admit, I've posted nothing of substance for awhile. In fact, I haven't posted for over a week. One would think this would spur me to some great height of musing.


It hasn't. But seeing my friend John in Fredericksburg (the guy on the left below) introduced me to the beauty of the mindless game called Linerider.



Plus, Aaron in the picture below was like a kid in a candy store playing the game. But I'm not making fun of him, cause I was too.


And today I found this video. It is here for you. It is awesome. Don't persecute me for not thinking. I'm sensitive. I may cry. It is called "Jagged Peak Adventure," and don't ask me how he got all the other stuff in the picture. Wait for the sweetness at the end. It's worth it.