From a Newsweek commentator, interviewed by CNN...
CNN: Does [the selection of Sarah Palin as VP candidate] make you concerned about Sen. McCain as a president?
Zakaria: Yes, and I say this with sadness because I greatly admire John McCain, a man of intelligence, honor and enormous personal and political courage. However, for him to choose Sara Palin to be his running mate is fundamentally irresponsible. He did not put the country first with this decision. Whether it is appropriate or not, considering Sen. McCain's age most people expected to have a vice presidential candidate who would be ready to step in at a moment's notice. The actuarial odds of that happening are significant, something like a one-in-five chance.
Here's a link to Zakaria's artical at Newsweek, "Palin is Ready? Please." Frankly, a better title, there isn't.
September 30, 2008
September 28, 2008
September 27, 2008
"Everyone Has Their Dan Quayle"
I love my best friend, JLowe. But I can't, CAN NOT, see how we can let this person be a heartbeat away. I'm no state governor, and I'm certainly no vice presidential candidate, but I'd argue that putting this person in line to be president is reason enough to vote against John McCain.
Sarah Palin seems like a great lady. But she's not presidential, she's not vice presidential, and she's not the person to put in the batter's box.
Sarah Palin seems like a great lady. But she's not presidential, she's not vice presidential, and she's not the person to put in the batter's box.
September 23, 2008
SOAP Notes
September 23, 2008
Daniel 11-12; Luke 6
S: Luke 6:27-35
“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.”
O: The Beatitudes section, where Jesus lays out desirable traits and, in the midst, offers a profound challenge to everyone who claims to follow Him.
A: It is amazing how often you can read the same section of the Bible and yet always find something new. I’ve read the Beatitudes numerous times. We all know the “blessed are the poor, the meak,” and so on. We all know the Beatitudes as a place that talks about turning the other cheek. We all know it as a place of some quaint blessings that can be inspiring or can be great throw-away lines in a Christian conversation.
I hadn’t noticed the challenge in them, though. I mean, I imagine I’ve seen it before, but on this night it really hits me. Jesus spends a fair amount of time confronting people who live a good life with the fact that they do it on easy terms.
As I look at others around me, and as I look at myself, I find that it is very easy to feel self-satisfied and pious after doing little things for others. Particularly when they are people that don’t offend, people that we think deserve our kindnesses and our time. We are kind to those who we like, or who we at least don’t have something against. We give to those who we know will share with us as well, or we give with the knowledge that our charity will be rewarded in another way. We act in kindness toward those who we feel kindness towards.
But the challenge is so much greater, and lays bare the failure that is inherent in us all. I sit at work, or at home, or in my car, and sometimes find myself plotting and scheming against perceived enemies. And the feeling in my heart is malice; there is no kindness there. I can think of a number of people who I dislike such that I would never lend them a pencil, let alone reach out to support them or speak out a kind word to them. I can think of a number of times in the past that I’ve failed the challenge.
I think of myself, and others think of themselves, highly for the kindnesses they do to those they care about, but Jesus makes it clear: how does that make me any different? My calling in this world, my purpose, isn’t to be just more of the same. I’m to be different, a reflection of something greater, and in simply upholding the status quo, I am failing monumentally.
The end of the passage deals with an ultimate reward. I don’t think that’s the point, though people always seem to need to feel that their labor isn’t in vain. What I know is this: I want to be better, not for an award, but for the difference I would be, and for the difference that would make in me. The ultimate reward is nice, but the immediate gain is just as important.
P: Lord, please help me to go beyond what everyone does. Help me to be a reflection of Your greatness. Help me to be different and to exhibit something more. Amen.
Daniel 11-12; Luke 6
S: Luke 6:27-35
“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.”
O: The Beatitudes section, where Jesus lays out desirable traits and, in the midst, offers a profound challenge to everyone who claims to follow Him.
A: It is amazing how often you can read the same section of the Bible and yet always find something new. I’ve read the Beatitudes numerous times. We all know the “blessed are the poor, the meak,” and so on. We all know the Beatitudes as a place that talks about turning the other cheek. We all know it as a place of some quaint blessings that can be inspiring or can be great throw-away lines in a Christian conversation.
I hadn’t noticed the challenge in them, though. I mean, I imagine I’ve seen it before, but on this night it really hits me. Jesus spends a fair amount of time confronting people who live a good life with the fact that they do it on easy terms.
As I look at others around me, and as I look at myself, I find that it is very easy to feel self-satisfied and pious after doing little things for others. Particularly when they are people that don’t offend, people that we think deserve our kindnesses and our time. We are kind to those who we like, or who we at least don’t have something against. We give to those who we know will share with us as well, or we give with the knowledge that our charity will be rewarded in another way. We act in kindness toward those who we feel kindness towards.
But the challenge is so much greater, and lays bare the failure that is inherent in us all. I sit at work, or at home, or in my car, and sometimes find myself plotting and scheming against perceived enemies. And the feeling in my heart is malice; there is no kindness there. I can think of a number of people who I dislike such that I would never lend them a pencil, let alone reach out to support them or speak out a kind word to them. I can think of a number of times in the past that I’ve failed the challenge.
I think of myself, and others think of themselves, highly for the kindnesses they do to those they care about, but Jesus makes it clear: how does that make me any different? My calling in this world, my purpose, isn’t to be just more of the same. I’m to be different, a reflection of something greater, and in simply upholding the status quo, I am failing monumentally.
The end of the passage deals with an ultimate reward. I don’t think that’s the point, though people always seem to need to feel that their labor isn’t in vain. What I know is this: I want to be better, not for an award, but for the difference I would be, and for the difference that would make in me. The ultimate reward is nice, but the immediate gain is just as important.
P: Lord, please help me to go beyond what everyone does. Help me to be a reflection of Your greatness. Help me to be different and to exhibit something more. Amen.
September 02, 2008
SOAP Notes
September 2, 2008
Ezekiel 17-19; Revelations 7
S: Ezekiel 18:20 & 30a
"The person who sins will die The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.
"Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct," declares the Lord GOD.”
O: The Lord clarifies accountability; we are each judged by our own actions and aren’t judged by the conduct of others.
A: Two separate trains of thought for the day.
1) It is sometimes easy to try to pass through Christian life like we pass through so much of our life, on appearances and not on substance. One of those appearances is the company we keep. If I hang with Christian people, I’m a Christian. If I spend my time with people who love and obey God, I’m assumed to be like them, and (in fact) I internalize that assumption into a belief that I’m doing just fine.
In the past, I’ve focused on a saying I picked up from a sports talk guy I like to listen to. “You are who you roll with.” For me, that means that a person can be judged (at least to a certain extent) by the company that they keep, without taking the time to evaluate the person on their own merits. That dovetails nicely with a bit of intellectual laziness that I’ve always, quietly, held dear and close. That stereotypes exist for a reason, and that very often they are somewhat grounded in truth. So, therefore, it’s okay to embrace them and approach people through the applied stereotypes that fit with who they are. Racial, sexual, whatever.
While it may be true that people gravitate towards groups they identify with, or that stereotypes can be a useful tool in social interaction if properly (and judiciously) used, it is important to note that each person is special, is their own wondrous creation. To discount them or, worse, disregard them based upon our judgments of who they are based on where they’re from is a sin. Not a deep thought, but a thought nonetheless.
2) Deeper question: How does this passage relate to other parts of the Bible?
“You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.” (Exodus 20:5)
I cheated here. I was looking for the verse and found a sermon someone wrote about it here. I don’t know who this Ray Fowler is, but he distinguishes between the idea that we are doomed by our forefather’s sins, which is false, and subject to certain consequences of them, which is true.
One can misread the Bible to say that we are bound. We are bound by God’s will. We are bound by a certain destiny. We are bound by the evil that others have done before us. We are doomed to failure if God wants us to be, or destined for success if that’s what God’s plan is.
The support is found in verses like Exodus 20:5. If our father’s sins are passed down, I’m subject to the damnation, and there’s no point in trying. But this is not what the verse means.
We should not be so foolish as to believe we live in a vacuum. Like the butterfly in China whose wing-fluttering creates the gust of wind elsewhere, we are each affected by the behavior of others. We are more affected by the people we are more bound up with. The things that my father (and mother) do (or don’t do) have an affect on me, whether I perceive it or not. I am a part of the world in which I lived, and my actions are informed by that which occurs around me. Likewise, my daughter is subject to what I do, and the example I set, and the behavior I portray, and will live a life which mirrors or responds or portrays that. Which is not to say that she’s doomed to repeat my mistakes. Indeed, she may learn and grow from them, or avoid them, or whatever. But the hurdles I lay out will be hurdles she has to clear. How she lives her life, the decisions (or, more importantly, The Decision) she makes will be her own, and will be the sole basis of her judgment. But I can either help or hinder her, and that is what to take away from today.
P: Lord, help me to consider people on their own merit and to see them for who they are in and of themselves. And help me to think about my actions globally, not just in the moment, but in the aftermath as well. And help me to help my children to make wiser choices than me, even if they are stuck in the wake of the bad ones I’ve made. Amen.
Ezekiel 17-19; Revelations 7
S: Ezekiel 18:20 & 30a
"The person who sins will die The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.
"Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct," declares the Lord GOD.”
O: The Lord clarifies accountability; we are each judged by our own actions and aren’t judged by the conduct of others.
A: Two separate trains of thought for the day.
1) It is sometimes easy to try to pass through Christian life like we pass through so much of our life, on appearances and not on substance. One of those appearances is the company we keep. If I hang with Christian people, I’m a Christian. If I spend my time with people who love and obey God, I’m assumed to be like them, and (in fact) I internalize that assumption into a belief that I’m doing just fine.
In the past, I’ve focused on a saying I picked up from a sports talk guy I like to listen to. “You are who you roll with.” For me, that means that a person can be judged (at least to a certain extent) by the company that they keep, without taking the time to evaluate the person on their own merits. That dovetails nicely with a bit of intellectual laziness that I’ve always, quietly, held dear and close. That stereotypes exist for a reason, and that very often they are somewhat grounded in truth. So, therefore, it’s okay to embrace them and approach people through the applied stereotypes that fit with who they are. Racial, sexual, whatever.
While it may be true that people gravitate towards groups they identify with, or that stereotypes can be a useful tool in social interaction if properly (and judiciously) used, it is important to note that each person is special, is their own wondrous creation. To discount them or, worse, disregard them based upon our judgments of who they are based on where they’re from is a sin. Not a deep thought, but a thought nonetheless.
2) Deeper question: How does this passage relate to other parts of the Bible?
“You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.” (Exodus 20:5)
I cheated here. I was looking for the verse and found a sermon someone wrote about it here. I don’t know who this Ray Fowler is, but he distinguishes between the idea that we are doomed by our forefather’s sins, which is false, and subject to certain consequences of them, which is true.
One can misread the Bible to say that we are bound. We are bound by God’s will. We are bound by a certain destiny. We are bound by the evil that others have done before us. We are doomed to failure if God wants us to be, or destined for success if that’s what God’s plan is.
The support is found in verses like Exodus 20:5. If our father’s sins are passed down, I’m subject to the damnation, and there’s no point in trying. But this is not what the verse means.
We should not be so foolish as to believe we live in a vacuum. Like the butterfly in China whose wing-fluttering creates the gust of wind elsewhere, we are each affected by the behavior of others. We are more affected by the people we are more bound up with. The things that my father (and mother) do (or don’t do) have an affect on me, whether I perceive it or not. I am a part of the world in which I lived, and my actions are informed by that which occurs around me. Likewise, my daughter is subject to what I do, and the example I set, and the behavior I portray, and will live a life which mirrors or responds or portrays that. Which is not to say that she’s doomed to repeat my mistakes. Indeed, she may learn and grow from them, or avoid them, or whatever. But the hurdles I lay out will be hurdles she has to clear. How she lives her life, the decisions (or, more importantly, The Decision) she makes will be her own, and will be the sole basis of her judgment. But I can either help or hinder her, and that is what to take away from today.
P: Lord, help me to consider people on their own merit and to see them for who they are in and of themselves. And help me to think about my actions globally, not just in the moment, but in the aftermath as well. And help me to help my children to make wiser choices than me, even if they are stuck in the wake of the bad ones I’ve made. Amen.
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