Beware of wardrove malfunctions such as this:
An Australian man built up a 40,000-volt charge of static electricity in his clothes as he walked, leaving a trail of scorched carpet and molten plastic and forcing firefighters to evacuate a building.
The House Church Blog has some interesting excerpts from the upcoming book by George Barna entitled Revolution. Of particular note is the quote:
“Whereas “Christian community” has generally been limited to the relationships facilitated within a congregation, the Revolution is bursting open the walls of the worldwide Church to birth a truly international network of relationships…”
I agree and disagree with this statement.
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I find it hard to imagine what it’s like to live in a country without freedom of expression or to work every day just so I can eat that day. I can’t imagine having a war rage in my country, live in fear of warlords, and still go on with life, hoping for better education, a stable government, and a better life for my children. I have never known what it’s like to be a country at the mercy of several larger and more powerful ones. I found some glimpses into the countries of Afghanistan and Iran on the BBC this past week and got a taste of this world so far from my own, but in many ways, so similar.
One BBC feature highlights a day in the life of numerous people from Afghanistan. Other articles on the BBC about the allegedly corrupt Iranian election (that brought a conservative leader into power after a period of reform) prompted me to search out Iranian blogs to read what the people had to say about it. Finding a gold mine at www.blogsbyiranians.com, I was saddened to read of the disappointment of so many.
Loving people in the midst of a disagreement can be a super-human feat. It’s even harder when the other person is mean, obnoxious, or just plain wrong. Love is most difficult when we have absolutely nothing to gain and quite a bit to lose. Love is costly and demands much of us. And that is why division has been the ticket for so many in the church today.
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<%image(20050914-fight.jpg|73|99|fight club)%> After two full days of hanging out with Barry Taylor, an expert on Christianity and pop culture who romps around the L.A. area, I have had my world mildly rocked by his ETREK class. Nothing major as far as the big stuff, but I certainly have walked away from the first meeting of his class with my fair share of surprises. For instance, in Barry’s opinion the movies Fight Club and Josie and the Pussycats are incredibly important films that comment on our culture. The crazy thing is that after watching some clips and discussing them, I’m pretty sure that he’s right. I’ve also learned that I don’t get out much to watch movies . . . well maybe 2-3 movies a year . . . tops.
Maybe it was a case of too little too late, but George W. finally took responsibility for something that went wrong on his watch. His guarded comment that made the headlines:
“To the extent the federal government didn’t fully do its job right, I take responsibility,”
It would have meant a heck of a lot more a week ago, but at least he acknowledged that he didn’t do all that he could when the Hurrican struck.
<%image(20050910-mt equinox.jpg|108|81|equinox view)%> It’s not the biggest mountain that I’ve ever hiked, but it sure did wear me out. Following a change of plans this afternoon due to the lower temperatures (in the 60’s), we decided to hike Mt. Equinox. We did the 3.3 (or whatever it was) mile trail in 2 hours, completely sapping us of energy. After enjoying an amazing view of the southern Vermont valley all the way down to Massachusetts, New Hampshire in the East, and the Adirondacks of NY in the West, we bounced down the mountain in about half the time. When stopping for a break on the trip down, my knees wiggled uncontrollably! With the view at the top as the apex (literally) of our time, it was a really great hike.
<%image(20050909-matrix of meanings 3.jpeg|88|130|the matrix!!!)%> It’s certainly not due to a lack of ideas that I have been silent for a few days. I’m getting ready to go to an ETREK class with Barry Taylor (I think Spencer Burke of theooze.com will be there too). It’s a class that explores the nuances of pop-culture. Barry is quite a bright fellow and he’s out at Fuller Theological Seminary in CA. He co-authored a book called A Matrix of Meanings (link).
I can forgive him for having the word Matrix in his title because it’s a pretty interesting book so far. He really has a powerful understanding of culture and how it interacts with Christianity, something that I am very interested in.
<%image(20050905-buses.jpg|203|152|buses)%> As relief, rescue, and resettlement operations continue in the wake of hurricane Katrina, there has been a lot of outrage directed at George W. While not his number one fan by any stretch, I have grown weary ofthe way every politician is taking a shot at someone, leveling blame. I understand that this situation has bred a lot of outrage and frustration, but fingers truly cannot be pointed until a closer investigation is ordered. Now is the time to focus on aid and reconstruction, the time for blame will come. The BBC does a very good job of painting a picture of some places where blame may reside and the topics that future investigations may need to cover. Read the article here . . .
<%image(20050902-houses that change.jpeg|81|130|houses)%> I am insanely jealous of all the people who are attending the house church conference out in Colorado. Last year they had it in Texas. The south, the midwest, what’s the deal? Somebody needs to tell these people that the East Coast sets the trends!
Seriously though, there are some great things going on. A guy named Bill Reed is generously posting all kinds of good stuff from the conference. He has a real jewel from Mike Steele:
As explosions rock New Orleans, people starve, suffer, murder, are murdered, and flounder in the flood waters, the blame is beginning to be passed around. The New Orleans mayor is mad at the Federal Government for its slow response. Others are mad at the local government for not taking the hurricane seriously and evacuating people. But some of the most interesting critique comes from around the world. I hope that we can hear what the world is saying to us and about us. Here’s one example:
Taipei’s Taiwan News
New Orleans may go down in history as the first major city in an advanced country to be lost to the process of global warming… We sincerely hope that the Bush administration will take the call from Hurricane Katrina and reconsider its energy and environmental policies and replace ostrich-like escapism with leadership in the global effort to deal with the crisis of global climatic change.
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According to Daniel Rubin of Philly.com, yesterday was the official blog day. So even if I have missed out on the linking festivities, I would at least like to, in the spirit of blog day, provide a link to his site. He has a series of links to various sites that provide helpful information about the hurricane damage, some sites about the gas price going up, and of course a few odd ones, including the CNN weather man losing his temper with the anchor (but don’t try that link unless you have a zippy computer and high speed internet!). The most tragic parts of the hurricane clean up is the search for missing relatives and the wide-spread looting in the city, both of which he documents on his blog.
It should be noted that today many blogs are helping in the fundraising efforts for victims of Katrina. Here’s a link to the American Red Cross. They seem to be one of the main groups on the front lines of the crisis.
::INAMIRRORDIMLY:: A theology and culture blog with the Bible in one tab and a news feed in the other. Ed Cyzewski is a freelance writer, theologian, and a nonprofit employee in southern Vermont.
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