Book of Hours

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:48:55 GMT

"Religionless Christianity" by Susan Brooks Thistlewaite (www.washingtonpost.com)

Lately, I've thought a bit about the paradox of the sacred manifesting in or being pointed to by the profane, as well as extent to which dogma contains truth in the typical sense of the word or rather is "true" in the sense that it is spiritual beneficial by pointing toward a realization of the divine beyond doctrinal formulations (thank you, Wikipedia article on Mahayana Buddhism for this notion of truth as that which is spiritually beneficial, versus truth in the conventional sense as that which is factually accurate). In one of the Zen traditions, the koan ("the problems") are riddles likened by one author to a brick that one uses to break down the door; once the door is broken in, he/she says, you throw away the brick. It goes without saying that such a notion is largely foreign to traditional Christian orthodox teaching (at least insofar as I understand it). So much of Christian doctrine, at least as I presently understand it, hangs on questions of Christology and soteriology.

I'm particularly struck by the following portion of the linked article:

Yet, it is also true that “form” and “content” are not neatly compartmentalized. The forms of religion and the relationship of faith influence one another. And we human beings are finite. We can’t do without some form of religion to hold the content of faith.

It reminds me of a similar statement that C. G. Jung made in regard to psychological theories. Although, as one of my text books says, he strove to rid himself of all unexamined presuppositions, he ultimately concluded that a theory was essential for understanding, even bearing in mind that it was an imperfect model. Gerald May made a similar remark in one of his books when he opined that some sort of theory of the divine (I believe it was the divine to which he was referring) was necessary to talk meaningfully about the subject (citation needed, but I'm too lazy to look up the book).

I'm currently reading Zen and the Birds of Appetite by Thomas Merton, the American Trappist (Roman Catholic) monk. Having leafed through the book a bit, I'm looking forward to his thoughts on the nature of religious tradition, dogma, etc. and Zen.

The Guild

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:09:43 GMT

Season 3 of The Guild has begun!

Rejoice!

Blackwater Mercenary Company

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:21:35 GMT

Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder by Jeremy Scahill (www.thenation.com)

'...Briefed on the substance of these allegations by The Nation, Congressman Dennis Kucinich replied, "If these allegations are true, Blackwater has been a criminal enterprise defrauding taxpayers and murdering innocent civilians." Kucinich is on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and has been investigating Prince and Blackwater since 2004.

"Blackwater is a law unto itself, both internationally and domestically. The question is why they operated with impunity. In addition to Blackwater, we should be questioning their patrons in the previous administration who funded and employed this organization. Blackwater wouldn't exist without federal patronage; these allegations should be thoroughly investigated," Kucinich said.'

Ren Fair/SCA

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 09:44:50 GMT

Ali, didn't these two show up at an event in NY? ;)

"Cheap Grace..."

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:48:57 GMT

Cheap Grace in Senate's Apology for Slavery by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite (On Faith section of the Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer's name has come up several times during the past few years during sermons in two churches that I've attended, one evangelical and the other very liberal. The few things that I know about the man suggest that he was remarkable: a Christian theologian, a Nazi resistor, a participant in a plot to assassinate Hitler that resulted in his execution by hanging, and something of a Renaissance man (if I remember correctly). I'm curious to learn more about the man, his thinking, and his beliefs.

Brains!

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:22:46 GMT

re: Your Brains

ROFLMAO

It's Not All Fire and Brimstone

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:47:51 GMT

An interesting short essay concerning different views of the afterlife by one of my favorite contributors to the On Faith section of the Washington Post. If you read the below linked article at all, please read all the way through the end. Stopping only part of the way through misses the better part.

Edit: Having read Sasha's comment and realized that I nowhere state that the author writes exclusively from the perspective of his own faith tradition (in this case, liberal mainline Protestant Christianity), please note that he does so. The On Faith section of the Washington Post provides a forum for authors of different religious and philosophical persuasions to respond to questions from the perspective of their own traditions. The below short essay is not intended to nor does it constitute anything like an exhaustive survey of the afterlife as understood by the major religious traditions of the world. ~S~

“The Man upstairs, if any, will be kind to me. Never mention God to me again.” by Willis E. Elliot (www.washingtonpost.com)

If anyone would like to read all of the panelists' responses, please click here. The majority of the contributors are Christians of some persuasion, but several belong to other faith traditions or are secular in their outlook.

Fire Spec + Good Tank = WIN

Sun, 03 May 2009 08:19:12 GMT

The above data reflects a complete run of Mana Tombs.

I'm the blue bar in second place just beneath the DK tank. I confess that I over-aggroed about three times and got stomped into a sin'dorei-flavored puddle of goo, but it was so worth it. =D

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:56:01 GMT

Relativism does not imply subjectivism and skepticism. It is not evident that the man who is forced to confess that his view of things is conditioned by the standpoint he occupies must doubt the reality of what he sees. It is not apparent that one who knows that his concepts are not universal must also doubt that they are concepts of the universal, or that one who understands how all experience is historically mediated must believe that nothing is mediated through history.

- Richard Niebuhr, Meaning of Revelation (18-19)

Respecting Religious Diversity

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:52:17 GMT

General Napier, the British officer, responding to the Indian custom of suttee:

"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."

Look at those shifty eyes! Guilty! ::shakes finger at goat::

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 04:02:44 GMT

see more pwn and owned pictures

The mystery of Ireland's worst driver

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:39:36 GMT

The mystery of Ireland's worst driver (news.bbc.co.uk)

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 09:07:04 GMT

'All reality is iconoclastic. The earthly beloved, even in this life, incessantly triumphs over your mere idea of her. And you want her to; you want her with all her resistances, all her faults, all her unexpectedness. That is, in her foursquare and independent reality. And this, not any image or memory, is what we are to love still, after she is dead.'

-C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

Glitch (and not the cool sort from "Reboot")

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:58:41 GMT

"You're one of the lucky few."

Thus did the chair of the psychology department speak unto me concerning my missing grade. Evidently, MCC experienced a computer systems glitch that resulted in some students' grades not being properly saved after being entered by the instructors.

I now have a shiny new grade in my transcript, and life is good.

Fantastic...

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:58:23 GMT

For reasons unknown, my PSY290 instructor has not seen fit to post my grade for that class. According to the Records Office, this ought to have been done some time ago.

Meanwhile, my readmission application to ASU, lacking a complete final transcript, languishes in bureaucratic limbo even as the spring semester draws ever closer...

Early Rising

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:03:51 GMT

I arrive at work at 0700 this morning after not falling asleep until 0200 or so. I punch the time clock only to discover that I work from 1300 to 2200 today.

FAIL.

On a related note, I felt exhausted to the point of mild nausea at 2100 yesterday evening, but could not fall asleep after going to bed at 2300 to save my life. Yet, I felt relatively awake and alert at 0130. Why does my circadian rhythm hate me so?

Update: I was able to fall back asleep after getting back home from my failed attempt to work, something that I'm typically incapable of doing. I'm am glad, very glad. =D

YYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:55:19 GMT

An American president publicly supporting labor union workers demanding their earned wages and benefits?

Yes, indeed! Hail to the chief, baby!

::does Tauren victory dance, complete with "raising the roof" movement::

Chicago workers' sit-in becomes a rallying point by Rupa Shenyo (www.washingtonpost.com)

Movie Night

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:22:17 GMT

Who would like to go to see the movie "Frost/Nixon" sometime this weekend or next week? It looks fascinating, and you can read a review of the film in Variety by clicking the link below.

Frost/Nixon by Todd McCarthy (www.variety.com)

A Call for Papers (Specifically, My Paper)

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:44:57 GMT

My friends (insert creepy McCain smile here), are you willing to complete a 10-15 minute survey on attachment style and romantic relationship history by Friday of this week? All of your results are 100% anonymous (even from me), and I will make your results available to you via your test number, which only you will know, should you wish to see them.

As part of a research project for my Research Methods class, I'm administering a survey, the first part of which consists of the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) Adult Attachment Questionnaire (Fraley, Waller, and Brennan (2000)), an attachment style assessment tool available in the public domain. Should you agree to participate, I will give you more information regarding the test and the meaning of the results after you've completed the survey.

Unfortunately, I've rather let this go longer than I should have. I had meant to bring the surveys with me on Friday, but didn't get around to finishing them in time. Thus, for all who're willing, I'll try to deliver them to you by hand on Monday or Wednesday.

Thanks for reading this over.

Party

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:05:14 GMT

How does everyone's late afternoon look on this upcoming Friday for a get-together at Zach and Ali's place to hang out and celebrate Sasha and I's birthday? Ali has offered to bake a cake or two, and Zach has expressed his willingness to employ his grill-fu. The rest of us can bring a dish or some such.

What do you say?

Ahoy! The Pirates of Wall Street!

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 02:45:20 GMT

Doesn't Anyone Care About Moral Hazard Anymore? by Dan Mitchell (www.npr.org)

What I find so frustrating about the situation described in the above article, in which tax payers wind up involuntarily insuring ultra-risky investments, is that the epic-scale financial institutions guilty of frittering away their depositors' money hold the entire economy hostage against the threat of their businesses being allowed to fail. Investment banks and hedge funds, and to a lesser extent some holding banks, have demonstrated that they can and will take advantage of depositor insurance and the federal government (read: the tax payers) as ways of shifting the risk for their idiotic attempts to make money with money by leveraging the market beyond all reason. It is my considered opinion that if depositor insurance serves a useful purpose as the safety net of last resort (and I think that it does) and financial institutions frequently invest depositor money in manifestly foolish ways and then expect the tax payer to assume the burden of their debts, but not to share in the profits ("socializing the risk and privatizing the profits"), then closer regulation of financial institutions and markets becomes an essential part of protecting the economic wellbeing of the country.

I doubt that the author of the above article would agree with my conclusion regarding the role of regulation, but I'm no libertarian. As for libertarianism and the financial crisis, please see the below article. As the title indicates, it's quite polemical and paints with a broad brush. Even so, I agree with his basic conclusions.

The End of Libertarianism: The financial collapse proves that its ideology makes no sense by Jacob Weisberg (www.slate.com)

Sarah Palin: Giving Intelligent People Aneurysms Since 2008

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:07:28 GMT

Sarah Palin's War on Science: The GOP ticket's appalling contempt for knowledge and learning by Christopher Hitchens (www.slate.com)

::Drools::

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:34:51 GMT

So...much...World of Warcraft. Can't remember...real life.

::crash::

No More Stolen Elections!

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:47:38 GMT

No More Stolen Elections by John Nichols (www.thenation.com)

How do you know that there's an election approaching?

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:05:48 GMT

Because steam is rising from my ears. That's how.

Ohio Election Activists Fight GOP Dirty Tricks by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasseman (www.thenation.com)

For those of you who, like me, are unfamiliar with the "caging list," please see the Wikipedia entry here.