I’ve never liked walking into an office and seeing everyone plugged into their own personal headphones. Seems so cut off and individualized. I’d rather the music blair through the department–even if we don’t like everything that’s playing. Jeremy has some interesting comments on this topic at e-community.
Category: Uncategorized (Page 20 of 22)
Kelly and I just finished watching Roman Holiday. This magical film takes the dream of being queen for a day in reverse: briefly allowing a princess to escape her responsilbities for an experience in the real world. The film raises some interesting questions about responsibility vs. self fulfillment. While our culture often encourages us to follow our dreams, maybe sometimes we are challenged to lay aside those dreams and choose something higher than self satisfaction.
FOUND Magazine offers a fascinating glimpse of the things we throw away.
I recently discovered a fascinating early African American poet: Phillis Wheatley. She has an interesting history: captured and enslaved at a young age. In spite of her conditions, Wheatley rose above learning to read and write and eventually receiving her freedom.
Ed Rosen recomended 9Marks. Interesting site. Excellent articles and interviews from a Reformed perspective.
I was looking for some ideas for reading the Bible. Found an interesting resource today. Bible Reading Plans offers several possiblities.
Thomas Friedman is a columnist of the NY Times and I find his articles thoughful and worth reading. Today he responded to the election of GW Bush by characterizing pro-Bush voters as follows:
It seemed as if people were not voting on his performance. It seemed as if they were voting for what team they were on.
This was not an election. This was station identification. I’d bet anything that if the election ballots hadn’t had the names Bush and Kerry on them but simply asked instead, “Do you watch Fox TV or read The New York Times?” the Electoral College would have broken the exact same way.
This disappointed and I wrote him and told him so. I don’t know if he’ll ever read my note, so I thought I might just post here:
Mr. Friedman,
Your columns regularly offer thoughtful commentary on trade, politics and other issues impacting this nation and world. In fact, your time away from the “Times” this summer was like a long walk in across a dry wilderness.
Even your endorsement of G H Bush was thoughtful and made important points that should play a role in our public conversation. In spite of this, I was somewhat disappointed with your column today.
Your tendency to objectify all those who voted for GW is a denial of the uniqueness of personhood. While quantified research may give some slight indicators as to the reasons why people voted en masse for Bush to assume a simplistic notion like you represented is simply bad science and poor reasoning. You caricature Bush voters and then claim they represent a different America then the one you defend.
This disappoints me. I would think someone like yourself, with the nuanced thinking that is clearly evident in your columns would recognize the complexity behind why people act or vote in specific ways.
I am amazed at how often people praise diversity until someone disagrees with them. Now more than ever, our public discourse needs a good dose of Martin Buber and his call for genuine dialogue.
If we might take the risk of turning and facing some of those with whom we seem to vehemently disagree, we might be profoundly challenged and changed. And we might be surprised that these are real, living human beings who embody far more than a few social or political ideas that offend us, and in the process discover the amazing depths of commonality between us.
Keep writing. I look forward to keep reading.
Following the election has often been like sports to me. I like keeping up with the pundits, the bloggers, the polls, the strategies, and more. Even as I am fascinated by this game, I am concerned that we might take it a bit too seriously. The psalmist continually reminds us to trust in the Lord not in the strength of the horse or the arm of man.
We have such confidence in systems and structures that are mere illusions of power. Jacques Ellul studied the political history of France and wrote a book questioning political power called The Political Illusion. He suggests that as people begin trusting political power as their source of hope there is a tendency toward centralization of power which ultimately takes power away from the people.
Ellul refers to himself as a Christian Anarchist. In 1987, Vernard Eller developed Ellul’s ideas in a book entitled Christian Anarchy. This book is published online in its entirety and is worth reading. I am still processing their ideas, and they challenge many basic assumptions of modern Evangelicals, but these are ideas worth wrestling with even if you may not fully agree.
Regardless of who you support or oppose in this upcoming election, I would argue that your future has virtually nothing to do with leader of this nation compared with the Creator of this world.
Last weekend I saw the movie Hero. Following the innovative storytelling techniques of Akira Kurosawa, Hero explores the multi-faceted mystery in the stories of this world. We think we understand so much, and we fall so short. In some ways, this film makes me think of the Eastern Orthodox notions of apophatic and cataphatic. The cataphatic is our attempt to make sense of God and the world around us. It is the way we categorize and label and explain. But the apophatic is direct encounter and it always shatters our cataphatic illusions. This film takes on our illusions of a Hero and forces us to question what is a Hero?
The Hero of Christianity is a big loser. Despised and rejected by everyone–even his closest friends. Are we willing to embrace the way of a hero or do we simply want to be perceived as heroes? And do we even really know who we are and what role we are playing in this world.
Beautiful film.
Seems they found the throne of Luther’s contemplation. Turns out this may be the secret to Luther’s profuond insights.
