Coke and the CBO - Take Your Medicine

I am often asked how one goes about being truly informed when we live in such a world that is dominated by shallow reporting, reactive politics, and news as entertainment rather than journalism.  Admittedly, this is difficult to do.  But below is one step that helps.

Today, not just the news, but many  "advancements" in science, education, philosophy, sociology, religion and other disciplines are no longer driven by a desire to know, but instead, are driven by advocacy (and the funding that comes with it) and political correctness.  For many, it is more important to be right, or to win an election, or to receive attention (especially the kind that comes with funding) than it is to make authentic and helpful discovery.

Even worse, our culture is content to spread falsehood simply because we believe it passionately and have even acted faithfully according to those false beliefs.  We are a "willfully ignorant" society, as CS Lewis would say, and too often we are so convinced of the truth, we don't think it's necessary to look at the facts.  I'm amazed at how many people repost hateful and ignorant posts from anonymous and unresearched Facebook Pages, for example.   More incredibly is how often someone proudly tweets out thier own shallowness and ignorance in less than 140 characters.  How many people have been fired recently for their tweets?  #HasJustineLandedYet

This willful ignorance is enslaving and destructive - and its getting worse.  Truth only resides in reality;  other residents include fact and consequence.  Unfortunately, fewer and fewer people can even find it on the map.

Anyway, I can go on and on about that.  But that's not why I'm writing.  Here's an exercise that I use which I believe helps give a better idea of what is true about a situation or idea.   I deliberately try to find some sources that have clear biases, yet, call out their own side for being outright false or misleading.  Its a great discipline, and risky in the modern environment, to point out that your own side might just be wrong, or hateful, or ignorant, or a bully, or racist, or whatever the negative label du jour is.

So, as an example, there are two articles published today that I think you should read.  One is from a conservative publication, the other is from a liberal publication.  Both are critical of their own side, without rejecting their respective ideologies.

To make this useful, try this:   If you are a conservative, you may want to focus on what the author of the liberal National Journal writes about the Obama Administration.  But don't do that.  Likewise, if you are a liberal, you may be tempted to focus your attention on what the conservative Commentary says about Glenn Beck and other conservatives.  Again, don't.  Focus instead on your own ideological preference and consider how your side can do better.

I realize the issues discussed by these articles are far deeper than just a TV ad or one report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).  A good defense can be made for both because of the complex and deeper issues of poverty and its roots.  But that's not what this exercise is about.  It's about this:

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." - Jesus Christ from Matthew 7.

Funny thing is, this works.  When conservatives correct conservatives about what it means to be an American by using Ronald Reagan, it carries a lot of weight and improves the discussion.  But when liberals correct conservatives about what it means to be an American, and engage in name calling, no one listens, and it just makes things worse.

Likewise, when liberals correct liberals about the facts and figures of Obamacare, and they use the words of President Obama against himself, it tasks liberals to reject their own political spin.  But when conservatives correct liberals about the facts and figures of Obamacare, and engage in name calling, no one listens, and the political spin is simply adjusted to obscure the truth even further.

So, some recommended reading for today:

From the conservative Commentary:

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2014/02/04/a-disturbing-conservative-reaction-to-the-coke-ad/

From the liberal National Journal:

http://www.nationaljournal.com/white-house/truth-and-consequences-of-obamacare-distortion-20140205

PSF

JFK - What a Leader Used To Be

I’ve watched and read quite a bit about the Kennedy Assassination this week, which happened 50 years ago today.  I have learned quite a bit, and recommend a couple of programs.  PBS’s American Experience series is usually very good, and the JFK edition just broadcast is no exception.  I also enjoyed PBS’s Frontline, where, much to my amazement, they appeared to scientifically prove that the “magic bullet” was not so magic after all, and that bullet was indeed fired by Oswald and it definitely passed through the President, into Governor Connally, just as the Warren Commission said it did.  Oliver Stone was not available for comment.

I also took some time to read some of Kennedy’s speeches, including his famous inaugural where he challenged us to “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”  I quoted the entire speech below, but I warn you, it will get you thinking.  I find it quite alarming when I compare the ideology behind it to what is so often expressed today by our leaders and educators and even churches.

Liberals and Conservatives today try to claim Kennedy as their own, but this is laughable in light of the lack of principle and depth that has enslaved our modern discourse and has left us directionless, rudderless, tossed to and fro by the enemies of freedom, both from afar and also from within.  JFK doesn't fit either ideology today.  But the desire of each side to say he would be one of them is an indicator of a great problem.  Whatever we think, we know we are not what we should be.  We are a nation that needs a leader, but we have forgotten how to find one.  We are a nation that needs to compete in a new world, but we lack the education and edification to do so.  We are a nation that needs spiritual repentance, but we don't know what direction to be penitent toward.  This was not so much the case in Kennedy's time, although many of the seeds of our current crop had already been sown and taken root.

This is not to say that JFK was a great President or a poor one, truly we will never really know.  But regardless, a real leader he was; not because of his office and not because of crafted words in a speech, but because he had the personal courage to lead a nation, rather than the tragic cowardliness that both parties lord over us in this hour.

I pray that we as a people return to the values of truth and sacrifice and responsibility, and leave behind forever our current admiration of mere intentions and articulate deception.  Let us stop asking what our country can do for us.  Let us stop fretting over the opinions of foreign tyrants.  Let us stop finding fault in others.  Instead, let us ask again what we can do for our country.  Let us truly help the poor serve the people of the world.  Let us remove the plank from our own eyes so that we can regain the moral standing necessary to lead.

For those who think freedom is fixed, for those who think tyranny is not crouching at our door, for those who think someone else is their brother's keeper; they are ignorant of history.  History is not forgiving of such attitudes and we will not escape the all too foreseeable calamities that mankind has brought upon itself time and time again.  We must reject such attitudes and set a new course before the long train of abuses in our bureaucracies and institutions is too difficult to overcome and freedom is lost forever.

Another President was celebrated this week.  He reminded us 150 years ago that we should not despair, but that this nation, under God, can have a new birth of freedom.  This is still true because to date, government of the people, by the people and for the people has not yet perished from the earth.  I pray that We The People will inform and educate ourselves, and not simply repeat the propaganda that misinforms our culture in every way, and has divided our common house.

John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom — symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning — signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe — the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.

We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans — born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage — and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

This much we pledge — and more.

To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do — for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.

To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom — and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.

To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required — not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge — to convert our good words into good deeds — in a new alliance for progress — to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbours know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.

To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support — to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective — to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak — and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.

Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.
We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.

But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course — both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.

So let us begin anew — remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.

Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belabouring those problems which divide us.
Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms — and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.

Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.

Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah — to "undo the heavy burdens -. and to let the oppressed go free."

And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavour, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.

All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.
In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.

Now the trumpet summons us again — not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are — but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation" — a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.

Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shank from this responsibility — I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavour will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.

PSF

The Lost Blogger

So, why did you stop blogging?   I get asked that from time to time.

Have you ever spent long hours on a project where you neglect to click "save," then something happens and you lose all of your work and have to start over, but you can't recover emotionally, so you just quit and walk away from it for a while?  That's what happened to this blog in May of 2010.  Something happened.

It was going along better than ever:  regular posts, increasing readership, creative juices flowing.  At the time, I was writing often about the television show Lost and the themes and subject matter it presented.  I had found the show particularly fascinating because it was brilliantly incorporating religion, science, philosophy, literature and all of the tensions between them.  It wasn't the usual tripe on television.  It was smart and it appeared to be going against the usual shallow television world of action without consequence.  The show posed good questions that real people struggle to answer, but need to explore anyway.  Lost could have been a show for the ages, to be debated and discussed for generations.

But behind all of my excitement about the cultural phenomenon I was writing about was a sense of foreboding, a dark feeling of impending doom, a nagging notion that the show would fall short of it's potential.   Still, as the show was coming to an end, I wrote a series of blogs entitled "Why I love Lost."

Before the finale, a friend asked me what I thought would be the most disappointing ending.  I said the worst case scenario is that the show would betray all of it's themes and just have some disconnected ending where mysteries are not resolved, where characters are inconsistent, conflicts are minimized, and have some kind of amateur plot turn where it turns out that everyone had always been dead and they all go to heaven or whatever and live happily ever after.  "Any show on TV can end like that," I said to him, "It would be the ultimate cop-out from cowardly writers who chickened out when they had the opportunity to draw conclusions about right or wrong, truth or falsehood."

Let's make sure we offend everyone in the name of not offending anyone...

Horrified, I sat on the couch and watched the finale with my supportive wife, and my worst fear was realized.  It was exactly like the worst case scenario I described to my friend. 

The finale concluded, Kristy and I just looked at each other, turned off the TV and didn't say a word.  We went upstairs and got ready for bed, still in stunned silence.  I remember brushing my teeth for a seemingly endless time as I tried to recover from what whatever it's called when you get assaulted by a television show.  My friend who I shared my worst case scenario with sent me a text, "I am so, so sorry..."  With toothpaste dripping from my mouth and my toothbrush clamped between my teeth, I grabbed my phone and texted back,  "I don't even want to talk about it."

More to the point, I didn't want to blog about it.   Nor did I want blog about anything else.  Except for a copy of an article I was asked to write for someone else's blog, I didn't write anything.

For six years, I had been a Lost evangelist, helping people see what really was going on in the show.  I was one of those people, who could waste your whole evening explaining to you why you should watch it.  I was excited that there was a show that would actually suggest there is right and wrong, that certain things in life are black and white.  It was a show that would demonstrate that there are consequences for our actions, and a need for redemption and forgiveness outside of our own abilities.  For a time, it was a rare admission from Hollywood that there are actual truths about human society and behavior that we need to stop ignoring in deference to political correctness or whatever the reason.  But the way the show ended betrayed all of that, and in fact, it betrayed any intellectual or artistic value the show may have had.  It became corny, and well, lost.

I sold my Lost DVDs for cheap at a garage sale and have never watched any part of it again.   Today, I cannot recommend the show to anyone.  Don't rent it, don't buy it.  You are better off renting something silly like Cops and Robbersons instead.

One unexpected result of the Lost debacle is that it cured me of television.  At first, I didn't want to watch any show that the Lost actors would later appear in.  But, even now, there are no shows that are on the "must watch" list for me.  Sure, there are a couple of enjoyable shows out there that I watch if it fits my schedule.  But if I miss an episode or two, it doesn't matter.   I don't Hulu them, I just move on.  I don't care.  There are better things to do.

Occasionally, I get a random email from someone I don't know asking me to update this blog. Often, they are asking me to finish my comment on Lost.  So there you have it.  There's the update.  I will blog of it no more...

PSF

My View of the Berlin Wall: Ideology Has Consequences

With this week's 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, I am reminded that one of the most important experiences I've had in my life is that I got to see and feel that wall - and I don't mean just the powerful museum pieces at certain Presidential Libraries. I mean the real deal, in Germany, separating West and East Berlin. I will never ever forget it. Its stench is palpable to me even now.

When I saw it, I was in high school, in Germany on a church mission trip (another story for another day.) But the impact for me wasn't the mission in this case, it was my tour of what was then still East Berlin.

We got off our West Berlin tour bus at Checkpoint Charlie, and got onto a special East German tour bus. Before being allowed to enter East Germany, each one of us was questioned and frisked by machine gun toting military personnel. They did this right on the bus, row by row, keeping everyone confined until they were done.

After a bunch of threats related to rule keeping and staying with the tour group, verification of our identities, and finally being approved for entry, we were assigned a special government sanctioned tour guide. He was a large man with a friendly, yet intimidating way about him. I don't know if they were allowed to have bowling leagues in his country, but if they were, he was definitely a part of one. He wore the right shirt, anyway. I think he sincerely loved his job as tour guide. By the time we returned, I decided that he had the best job in the Eastern Bloc.

As we entered into East Berlin, the sun became blocked by a thick gray cloud cover that was mysteriously not present on the West side. Many of us remarked about this, and then the bus full of casually dressed tourists got quiet as we drove further into the country. The cloud gave the promise of rain, but didn't let out a drop. It merely provided a gloomy atmosphere that matched the looks on the faces of the East Germans we would encounter.

The tour guide had a well prepared script, filled with sometimes laughable communist propaganda. He proudly noted that there were ten building projects going on in East Berlin as part of a Gorbachev initiative with the East German government. Ten building projects didn't seem like a big deal to me. But, looking out the window of our rickety tour bus, it was clear why this rather hopeful statement was being made.

We were driving past these construction projects that were supposedly the first major projects since the end of World War II, more than 40 years earlier. Construction workers were clearing debris piles that had been left there since the end of the Nazi regime. For decades, citizens had lived among the bombed out buildings with who knows what under the piles. No wonder ten building projects was a good sign.

It is these workers that drew my attention the most. First of all, there were very few of them around, for what appeared to be large projects. Leaning on shovels, slowly tossing mix into cement mixers, these workers were hardly working. I remember their faces vividly to this day. Dirty and sad. They were moving slow and all had pronounced frowns as they looked longingly toward us free people on the bus. Every one of us noticed; no one said a word.

We eventually stopped for lunch at a government approved tourist break area. They had a western looking soda and ice cream shop, and a western looking bar and lunch stand. They even had western looking employees who wore the only smiles I saw outside of our bus.

I wasn't hungry.

It is at this point that one friend and I decided we'd like to visit some of the "non-tourist approved" locations, so we wandered off. We shouldn't have left the tour group. I'm also sure the tour guides shouldn't have allowed us to sneak off so easily. But somehow, we slipped away unnoticed.

We walked along a river that ran through the city until we came to a dock with some small rowboats tied to it. We stepped out and attempted to rent a boat from a recreational rental shack at the end of the short pier. The sad man inside clearly needed some business as no one was in a boat or riding a bike anywhere that we could see.

Now, I'm not sure where exactly we thought we would row, or what we would do when we got there. We had to know that we would eventually get caught and thrown into some gulag, but this didn't deter us at all. Instead, it seemed like we were doing something right, something important, something that might undermine the entire communist system, if we just rented a boat and paddled around for a while in defiance of the strict rules we had been given.

Looking back, I think I must have seen too many James Bond movies. I probably figured that if something went wrong and we were left behind by our tourist group, I could get out of East Berlin on my own. Someone would help me, either some old inventor like Q hiding out in some catacomb under a pile of rubble, or perhaps some Felix Lighter with the CIA already working on the inside. More likely, it would be some inappropriately named woman who would invariably be sent to kill me but would have been swept off her feet by my charm and wit. She'd help me get back over the wall like some modern day Rahab. Regardless, I wasn't worried that I couldn't escape.

What about my buddy who wandered off with me? Well, let's just say I was 007 and he was, well, 008, and we all know what always happens to 008, usually before the opening credits...

Oh, the row boat...

As we approached the hut where one would actually rent a boat, the man inside looked at us and closed the shutters and sealed himself inside. This seemed like an odd thing to do. But as we walked down the streets along the river, we got the same treatment from each shop owner. Apparently, they were not allowed to sell merchandise to naive free people who had wandered from their tour. They were business people just following orders. They behaved as if they were not happy about it, but my friend and I suspected that they knew they were being monitored and had no other choice. This suspicion led us to believe that we were also being monitored, so the James Bond fantasy ended. We made it back to our tour and back on the bus without anyone commenting on our disappearance.

We stopped next at the Soviet War memorial, Treptower park, full of graves and monuments to the massive Soviet war dead during WWII. There were huge statues and sayings of certain famous thinkers with great academic ideas that didn't account for human greed and corruption or reality in general. Notions of a society where each person would contribute according to their ability and need; an interesting ideology. Its the way of thinking that led to the building of the Wall - a wall not to keep people out, but to keep people in.

I left some illegal literature around the park that I sneaked in to the country. Opium, the statues would call it.

I don't remember much else of the surreal experience, except that somewhere along the way, I found some East German coins and I smuggled them out in my socks.

Before we could get off the tour bus, we were all individually quizzed again about our identities and the information in our passports. This took quite a while to accomplish. They were much more aggressive this time than when we had arrived.

Everyone got the same questions, except for my buddy and me. We were the last two on the bus and got the third degree from a couple of machine gun toting scruffy looking military men. According to the translator, they wanted to know where we went when we left the tour group, why we wanted a boat, who we talked to, and what, if anything they gave us. They threatened to strip search us but reluctantly let us go, because it was time to do their fancy goose step changing of the guard thing.

So I have some worthless East German coins, and a valuable dose of the fear of tyranny.

The sun appeared again as we re-entered the West. Our western tour guide immediately took us to see the memorials on and around the wall of people who had been shot by their machine gun toting countrymen as they tried to go over the wall and enter freedom.

We then stopped at the spot where just one week earlier, President Ronald Reagan asked Mr. Gorbachev to "tear down this wall." The tour guide was in tears as were many of us, as he quoted the great speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The Berlin Wall was truly a monument to the focus of evil in the modern world. It belongs on the ash heap of history.

No, it belongs in museums. It belongs in the public view, in free cities, reminding us that freedom cannot be taken for granted, that our fellow human beings are capable of the most ruthless things. And its not just the communists or the ones everyone already call "bad guys." Hitler was elected freely and legally by the people. Even after it was clear he was a crazy thug and had consolidated power to himself, the shortsighted and selfish electorate still voted to approve his policies to a tune of 85%.

The memory of the wall should remind us of a simple truth:

Ideology has consequences.

It matters what our leaders actually believe. Tyranny and war follow when smart people don't ask independent questions they know need to be asked, but are afraid the answer might contradict their academic position or political gambling. So they don't ask, figuring its not really about life or death, its about who wins and who loses. Until everybody loses.

So, here's to those leaders in the 20th century, and there are several, who had the courage to question and expose the ideology of the enemy for what it was, in the face of controversy and criticism. They are why the Wall came down.

I wonder what leaders will do that in the 21st century? I hope those people come onto the scene soon.


SCF

Obligatory Bible in 90 Days Plug

According to a recent poll, 75 million Americans have a lifelong goal of reading the entire Bible. Its a worthy goal for anyone - not just people to go to churches that teach the Bible. After all, its the best selling book of all time, its the most researched document there is, and it is the foundation of western thought.

Did you know that in less than an hour a day, you can read the entire Bible, cover to cover in 90 Days? 12 pages a day. That's it. The whole thing. 3 months and you are done.

I've asked our church to do this with me. Starting yesterday, June 7, by the Labor Day weekend, people who keep up will have read the entire Bible (you can start anytime you want of course.) Not a bad answer to the question "What did you read this summer?"

Too many Christians never bother to read it, which is why they misuse it and fall for the tricks of the TV preachers... and worse. Every person who claims to be a Christian needs to read this book, which shouldn't have to be said, but it has to be said. Christians who do read through the Bible experience amazing life change, sometimes dramatically.

The troubles and errors of the Church in history do not come from the Bible; they come from a misreading and misapplication of the Bible, usually caused by a fruit salad approach to it - pulling verses you like out of context to make a point or defend a bad position. This is also the source of most people's trouble with the Bible who don't believe it. They take a verse here or there out of the greater context and make a falsely informed decision about God. Sometimes they believe a Christian's interpretation that is wrong in the first place. The book is meant to be taken as a whole, not as a collection of glib religious suggestion and gobbledygook.

And for my agnostic friends out there - you can't be a good agnostic and not read the Bible. Don't be a hypocrite agnostic! Read it.

Atheists? Well, a recent Pew Research poll suggests 21% of atheists believe in God. No joke. Guess you better read it too and then decide whether you are an atheist who believes in God or not.

A few years ago, someone gave me a Three Year Bible. I was instantly amused... and somewhat disturbed. The advantage of the 90 day approach is that you can enjoy the story that is told all the way through the Bible, rather than a disconnected bits and pieces you would get in a 3 year approach. When read straight through, its an epic drama, with heroes and villains, sex and violence, fall and redemption, struggle and victory. And in the end, good defeats evil - love wins!

The Bible is a scholarly book, but it isn't written for scholars. Its a collection of stories and history and poems and songs written most often by the worst of sinners. So, while some of it is hard to understand, most of it is easy to understand. Reading quickly, you can just keep moving - the story has its slow moments, but there is a great payoff for each difficult passage.

As well as a good story, this is a book that also makes bold and certain claims about God and our relationship to him, purpose and meaning of life, and eternal destiny. At minimum, its worth an open read, wouldn't you say?

So, this is not intended to start a debate or even to push buttons. Its just to say that this is a great way to read through the Bible, a goal everyone has a good reason to accomplish.

Here are some helps:

A daily reading plan bookmark

My own 3 minute daily podcast with my reading reflections (cheesy music included!) (iTunes required)

You can use any Bible translation you want, however, lots of Bibles have study notes and small fonts and other things that make the task seem much bigger. Additionally, a modern translation will help so you don't feel like you are reading Shakespeare for 90 Days. Please note that "The Message Bible" is not a Bible, its a commentary, so it doesn't count. I recommend the New International Version. (If you are using a Catholic Bible, the "apocrypha" is not included in the 90 Day plan, so you could tack on another month if you really want to.)

There is a Bible published that is specifically designed for the 90 Day plan, reading plan included, as well as some other supplementary material (audio versions, group study materials, etc.) I am setting up a link for these items through our church that will pay a commission that we will donate 100% to a San Diego charity, likely the Rescue Mission. You can find these items here for the time being.

Enjoy your summer reading... let me know if you have any questions.

SCF

Blogging Angst

Angst - |a ng (k)st; ä ng (k)st| noun
a feeling of deep anxiety or dread, typically an unfocused one about the human condition or the state of the world in general. (from whatever dictionary is loaded onto my MacBook)

I have angst. I've had it for nearly a year. Its not the worried or stressful or hand-wringing kind of angst. Its not causing me to lose sleep and its not creating distraction in a detrimental way. Its not the kind that results in not trusting God. But there is a constant angst in me caused by discernment which seems to be suggesting some very big things are afoot.

I appreciate this definition above because my angst is "unfocused." I can't exactly put my finger on it, but it is related to the human condition and the state of the world in general. That's a big subject. And there are very big things going on. I believe a lot of people have this same angst right now.

I think this angst is somehow related to the fact that while I believe most people have this angst to some degree, and most people also believe that most people share this angst, it doesn't seem like anyone knows how to effectively discuss and respond to this angst over these big things going on, and the people who should be talking about these big things going on don't seem to have a clue that big things are going on. Someone needs to address this angst in a productive way. It seems to just linger, like a storm visible off shore threatening to create destruction, yet promising to relieve drought; but the weather channel won't acknowledge its presence.

Are you following me? If so, it can only be because you have this angst too. I think this angst is emotional and spiritual. There are big things going on.

Why am I telling you this, my faithful yet dwindling blog audience?

I think this angst of mine is the biggest block to my blogging. Because it is unfocused, it is difficult to even know where to start working it out. Every day, I have something I feel like I could blog about, but its difficult to get started because of focus - where do I start? It gets overwhelming and time consuming. My blogs could easily be thousands of words on a subject, whatever it is, and I don't have time to type all of that. This makes it especially hard to blog on serious subjects where I want to be thorough. If you know me, you understand that I can be a bit wordy (I recently preached a sermon that clocked in at an hour and six minutes. Take that Rob Bell!)

Another block is that some of my readers are people from my church where I pastor, which means some readers will take very seriously things I have to say about serious matters. So I need to becareful to post disclaimers, indicating whether my thoughts are strong conviction or mere speculation or commentary, especially when dealing with unspoken angst that many people are feeling but not expressing. Have no fear, remaining faithful readers, I'll still post some fun and an eventual exhaustive explanation about why Lost is the best show on TV.

I have some angst that Lost is not going to end well next year, but that's another issue.

Why am I inspired to blog now all of a sudden?

Well, another blogger, another pastor, found a way to express some of the angst he is feeling about changes coming to the church world. This is only a part of the angst I feel, but its relevant to it and a good place to start. Even if you aren't familiar with church terms or how church works, the issues discussed impact our culture significantly, whether you go to church or now. This relatively unknown blogger posted an article was picked up my major news magazines and websites and has caused a lot of buzz, especially in church circles. So I thought I would use his articles, entitled The Coming Evangelical Collapse to spur some writing of my own. We'll see if this works...

Disclaimer: These articles will cause you to think about your angst. Also, I don't necessarily agree with all of what is written, and my perspective is more optimistic - the changes he suggests are coming will lead to very good things in my view. But change is a comin', and I don't mean the political slogan tomfoolery we think of currently.

You can read all three parts at the link below. Feel free to comment on my blog if you wish to express your angst. I'll use this to inspire some blogs in the coming days.

If I can keep it short...

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/the-original-coming-evangelical-collapse-posts

SCF

PS: "Tomfoolery" was not in my MacBook dictionary. A moment of angst about whether I should have stayed with a PC soon followed, but was quickly resolved.

Truth - Independent from Ideas

I have much to write about concerning issues observed during our recent election. Mostly, I an troubled with how unconcerned we are about what is actually true, and how reality governs what actually happens. I recently made this statement in an email conversation with a similarly concerned person in my church:

"With the decline of investigative journalism, the politics of scientific funding, and the corruption in the education system, “truth” is left to be revealed only by consequence rather than wisdom and aforethought. Sadly, the Church has not risen above the culture in these matters, and the truth remains hidden until it wreaks havoc with people and the nation."

I'll write more on this, particularly on the role of the Church in society at a later date (read: as soon as I have time to get my thoughts together on this.) Below is a video someone sent me that illustrates this point to some degree. Looks like Peter Schiff took a lot of heat for being right.



Truth - "conformity with fact, or reality."

Reality - "something that exists independently of ideas concerning it."

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