Equipping grassroots theologians for creative thinking, engaging, and living.
I saw this video on TED and thought it was an ‘idea worth spreading’ … it’s from a 1972 talk by holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl.
My dad's plane
Having flown in a kit aircraft my dad built, I’m familiar with what it’s like to be a passsenger landing in crosswind. So here’s a video of some gnarly crosswind landings just for fun:
Here’s a video from my Church‘s Open Mic night. Enjoy!
There have been a bunch of theological and philosophical responses to Richard Dawkins and company’s New Atheism. Last year we had Eric Reitan on the Podcast to discuss his book ‘Is God a Delusion?’ Eastern Orthodox Theologian David Bentley Hart goes for the jugular with Nietzsche and Nicaea in his work ‘Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies.’ Recently I read Keith Ward‘s book ‘Why There is Almost Certainly a God: Doubting Dawkins‘ and found it an entertaining and enlightening page turner. Ward and Dawkins were both teaching at Oxford at the same time and debated a number of times. This book and the lecture posted below present a very committed philosophical idealists’ response to Dawkins’ materialism. Enjoy the video! I made some delicious Banana Bread while I watched it.
Keith Ward: ‘Why There Almost Certainly Is a God: Doubting Dawkins from Metanexus Institute on Vimeo.
The all around enormity of what we as both a nation and world face right now is mind-boggling. If it’s not a debt crisis in some form, it’s an unprecedented environmental disaster (with a looming climate catastrophe on the horizon). I think the buildup of these contemporary and simultaneous disasters will test Democracies to their core, whether they can actually work. Are people either willing or able to act and vote against their short-term interests for the sake of longevity? Right now, it seems we’re not doing so well. The problem is, I want in no way to lose the relatively free and open societies democracies allow.
Extending these crises more deeply, we have no clue whom we can trust anymore to help bring about long-term solutions. Whom do we go to in order to find plausible answers to these troubling questions? Every politician is in the pocket of someone or something dubious, at least to some extent. So called ‘experts,’ at least of the economic variety (and I would be willing to extend it beyond them) give us imperatives on par with divine commands; yet these ‘experts’ end up being wrong more often than they’re right. On top of that, to combat a myth currently circulating in Tea-party (and really all populist) circles, the ‘people’ aren’t to be a priori trusted either. ‘We’ are as shortsighted as anyone else, demanding oil and jobs at any cost. And, we keep our politicians fearful when they attempt to look at longer-term problems because (1) we honestly don’t trust them, and (2) we often times don’t honestly want them to change the status quo.
That said, the U.S. democracy is operating in a climate of absolute distrust, where everyone thinks that everyone else is actively conspiring against the other (and this belief might be held for good reason, frankly). I’m the first to admit that a certain amount of mistrust is necessary in a democracy, namely, that anyone who claims to act benevolently and without particularized interests in mind is the one to be least trusted. I’ll even make a theological point of this: to claim that one’s motives are pure, for the good of all, universal, is to claim a will on par with God’s, that we can actually will, as individuals, what is best not merely for ourselves but for everyone. This is self-idolization, in my book, and frankly this is the one place that Tea-partying anti-government arguments work; governments, which are made up of individual persons with individual wills, do not necessarily and really seek a common good and must be held to account.
However, mistrust (as I’m using it) also has the connotation of some active trust. That is, we may know that everyone skews the good and the just by means of self-interested ends (conscious or unconscious), but we can also trust that they’re doing their damnedest not to. That makes a huge difference, I think; it at least puts a pragmatic program in place to use mistrust as a way to hold open public dialogue for democratically acting on real solutions to our long-term problems.
Jeremiah 2
The word of the Lord came to me, saying: 2Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord:
I remember the devotion of your youth,
your love as a bride,
how you followed me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.
Activist steps through oil on a beach along the Gulf of Mexico on May 20, 2010 near Venice, Louisiana. (John Moore/Getty Images)
3Israel was holy to the Lord,
the first fruits of his harvest.
All who ate of it were held guilty;
disaster came upon them,
says the Lord.
Natural gas from the damaged Deepwater Horizon wellhead is burned off by the drillship Discoverer Enterprise May 16, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast Louisiana. (Patrick Kelley/U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images)
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. 5Thus says the Lord:
What wrong did your ancestors find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?
6They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that no one passes through,
where no one lives?’
A young heron sits dying amidst oil splattering underneath mangrove on an island impacted by oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in Barataria Bay, along the the coast of Louisiana on Sunday, May 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
7I brought you into a plentiful land
to eat its fruits and its good things.
But when you entered you defiled my land,
and made my heritage an abomination.
8The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who handle the law did not know me;
the rulers transgressed against me;
the prophets prophesied by Baal,
and went after things that do not profit.
Oil is seen on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico about six miles southeast of Grand Isle, Louisiana May 21, 2010. (REUTERS/Sean Gardner)
9Therefore once more I accuse you,
says the Lord,
and I accuse your children’s children.
Bridget Hargrove of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, her four-year-old son Ayden and one-year-old daughter, Emma, wade in baby pools away from the oil contaminated Gulf of Mexico on Grand Isle beach in Grand Isle, Louisiana on May 21, 2010. Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle said the town has closed its beach effective from noon Friday due to the presence of oil on the beach. (REUTERS/Sean Gardner)
10Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
send to Kedar and examine with care;
see if there has ever been such a thing.
11Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
for something that does not profit.
12Be appalled, O heavens, at this,
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
says the Lord,
13for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living water,
and dug out cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns
that can hold no water.
A ship's wake cuts through a pattern of oil near the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico Monday, May 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
14Is Israel a slave? Is he a home-born servant?
Why then has he become plunder?
15The lions have roared against him,
they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.
16Moreover, the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have broken the crown of your head.
17Have you not brought this upon yourself
by forsaking the Lord your God,
while he led you in the way?
18What then do you gain by going to Egypt,
to drink the waters of the Nile?
Or what do you gain by going to Assyria,
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
19Your wickedness will punish you,
and your apostasies will convict you.
Know and see that it is evil and bitter
for you to forsake the Lord your God;
the fear of me is not in you,
says the Lord God of hosts.
A helicopter flies over surface oil in this aerial view over the Gulf of Mexico, May 18, 2010. (REUTERS/Daniel Beltra/Greenpeace) #
20For long ago you broke your yoke
and burst your bonds,
and you said, ‘I will not serve!’
On every high hill
and under every green tree
you sprawled and played the whore.
21Yet I planted you as a choice vine,
from the purest stock.
How then did you turn degenerate
and become a wild vine?
22Though you wash yourself with lye
and use much soap,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,
says the Lord God.
Boat captain Preston Morris shows the oil on his hands while collecting surface samples from the marsh of Pass a Loutre, Louisiana on Wednesday, May 19, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
23How can you say, ‘I am not defiled,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way in the valley;
know what you have done…
a restive young camel interlacing her tracks,
24 a wild ass at home in the wilderness,
in her heat sniffing the wind!
Who can restrain her lust?
None who seek her need weary themselves;
in her month they will find her.
25Keep your feet from going unshod
and your throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless,
for I have loved strangers,
and after them I will go.’
Specks of oil stick onto the foot of Maggie Grace Hurdle, 8, of Rosedale, Louisiana, as she walks along a beach in Grand Isle, Louisiana May 21, 2010. (REUTERS/Sean Gardner)
26As a thief is shamed when caught,
so the house of Israel shall be shamed…
they, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets,
27who say to a tree, ‘You are my father’,
and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their backs to me,
and not their faces.
But in the time of their trouble they say,
‘Come and save us!’
28But where are your gods
that you made for yourself?
Let them come, if they can save you,
in your time of trouble;
for you have as many gods
as you have towns, O Judah.
Oil is scooped out of a marsh impacted by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in Redfish Bay along the coast of Louisiana, Saturday, May 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
29Why do you complain against me?
You have all rebelled against me,
says the Lord.
30In vain I have struck down your children;
they accepted no correction.
Your own sword devoured your prophets
like a ravening lion.
31And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord!
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
or a land of thick darkness?
Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,
we will come to you no more’?
32Can a girl forget her ornaments,
or a bride her attire?
Yet my people have forgotten me,
days without number.
The sun rises over an oil-soaked beach on May 23, 2010 on Grand Isle, Louisiana. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Does science eliminate the possibility of divine revelation? Can God do anything in the world? Is the resurrection even reasonable anymore?
Keith Ward, philosopher and theology, answers Yes. Below is an outstanding lecture he gave as part of a series with Metanexus (who has tons of other sweet lectures for free). Keith is an outstanding lecturer and a wonderful author. If you want a ton of Keith Ward MP3s for free go here and download whole series on religion\science, philosophers on God, and contemporary ethics.
Check Out Keith Ward’s Books
Keith Ward: ‘Does Science Allow for Revelation and Divine Action?’ from Metanexus Institute on Vimeo.
‘Keep Theology Weird!’ In Jurgen Moltmann’s newest book, Sun of Righteousness, Arise!, he begins by setting a unique goal for himself…’to bring out what is specific, strange, and special about the Christian faith.‘ For Moltmann, ‘what is distinctively Christian is the confession of Christ and belief in his resurrection.’ Despite the tendencies since the Enlightenment to establish a general one-size fits all notion of ‘religion’ that can be justified scientifically, historically, and philosophically, Moltmann takes as his goal a development of a doctrine of the resurrection in these disciplines which amounts to a ‘Christianization‘ of the thought for those in the church.
He lists 3 fundamental Christian insights that carry him through the book:
1. God is the God of Christ’s resurrection.
2. God is the righteousness which creates justice and puts things to rights. 
3. The traces and signs of God give the world meaning.
To emphasize the resurrection in such a way, really keeps theology weird. Today many Christians begin thinking about theology having already made a commitment to other truths at the outset. Often times these are not consciously chosen beliefs but ones accepted either from one’s church tradition, culture, or academic work. Moltmann’s desire for a resurrection drenched theology leads him to reject those who…(1) pretend all religious people believe in the same God, (2) see divine judgment as either a dated theological idea OR an act of annihilation instead of salvation, (3) reject the need for an atoning work of God for the world, (4) understand the atonement of God without specific attention to the Victim, and (5) see science as a means to mark the boundaries of all discussions of meaning, purpose, and value.
I do digg me some Moltmann so I imagine as I finish this book a couple more blog posts will roll out. Check out the book if you are on the look out for a good summer theology read (and have already read Transforming Christian Theology!).
Few theologians get as much attention these days as Jurgen Moltmann, let alone have Danielle Shroyer running his fan club!
CLEARLY YOU SHOULD ALL WATCH THE VIDEO OF MOTLMANN, Tony Jones, and Myself talking!!!!
Dear Texas Board of Education,
I’m a Christian first, and a Texan a close second. I know I live in California now, but I’m still a Texan at heart. I might have posted a snarky thing or two about Gov. Perry, but I love my home state.
I’ve been following the stories about the Board of Education’s concern over the liberal bias in our history textbooks. As a Baptist, I was a little, OK a lot, upset that you want to rewrite our nation’s history to exclude Thomas Jefferson from the curriculum because of his championing of the separation of church and state. Baptists historically have fought for religious liberty for all, because we believe that coerced faith does not equal true faith in Jesus.
But now I read that you are changing the words ‘slave trade’ to ‘Atlantic triangular trade.’
And this doesn’t just affect Texas … a big portion of the country will be studying this curriculum.
Human history is filled with Texas-sized epic fails. Pretending they don’t exist only makes it more likely to repeat these terrible acts.
Texas is known for two things: it’s independence and enormity. Let’s be independent of this kind of pride and enormous in humility, love, and our willingness to learn, giving us true reason to be proud Texans.
It is easy to get swept away by the vision of God’s dream for the world. Unlike the brokenness of the present, it is whole. Unlike the violence of the present, there is peace. Unlike, well, what is actual, something more is possible. The Holy Spirit is God’s continuous gift to the present that protests what is with what could be. She is the always-active agent of God’s coming. Life in the Spirit then, is one that dreams God’s dream during the day.
This was my contribution to a theo-blogger challenge over at Patheos. Go check out all the other contributions which include too many awesome people to list! Thanks to Deborah for putting this together.
Tripp and I had a great visit with Bishop Tom, and the episode is destined to become a Homebrewed classic.
In case he needs an introduction, NT Wright is the Bishop of Durham for the Church of England, leading New Testament scholar, and has been featured on ABC News, Dateline, and the Colbert Report, but today he receives the famous ‘Homebrewed bump.’
Bishop Tom tells us about his experience as Bishop of Durham, and we discussed his new book, After You Believe, on Christian virtue. He even humored us when we threw out names of New Testament scholars and theologians he has interacted with, and asked him to respond however he wants.
In other news, a devoted listener we share with the Nick & Josh Podcast once prophesied that whoever gets both Walter Brueggemann and NT Wright as guests will ultimately rule the theological podcast universe. Mission accomplished.
Books by NT Wright:
Simply Christian
Surprised by Hope
After You Believe
The Challenge of Jesus
The Meaning of Jesus (co-authored with Marcus Borg)
