Dear Lord,
Thank you for loving me though I deserve it not,
Thank you for healing me though I deserve it not,
Thank you for fufiling me though I deserve it not,
Thank you for guiding me though I deserve it not,
Thank you for forgiving me though I deserve it not,
In the days, weeks, months, or years ahead please fill me with Your Spirit, and give me the strength and wisdom to do Your will in all things.
Amen
From the Independent. It turns out that 666 is not the number of the beast. It is actually 616. Does that mean anyone in that area code is going to hell? The best line in the story comes from the satanists.
...satanists responded coolly to the new "Revelation". Peter Gilmore, High Priest of the Church of Satan, based in New York, said: "By using 666 we're using something that the Christians fear. Mind you, if they do switch to 616 being the number of the beast then we'll start using that."
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Yahoo! News - Korn Guitarist Finds God, Leaves Band
"I had it in my heart to come here and explain to you," Welch said. "I'm good friends with Korn. I love those guys, and they love me, and they're very happy for me."
It is nice to see someone stand up and do something difficult for faith. It is hard to live your beliefs.
It may be semantics, but I know nothing about God. I think and feel plenty, but I know nothing. Anyone (Christian, Muslim, Jew, Agnostic, or Athiest) who tells you otherwise is a fool or charlatan.
Knowing comes from objective proof. There is no objective proof of the existence of God. Where there is no proof there is only faith. I know this might scare some people, but it is true. It doesn't mean I think God doesn't exist. I think God is there. How do I know? I can't tell you. I just know HE IS. I also think that when I need guidance he is there. Does this mean I think God is a chessmaster? No! I believe that God gave us freewill, just as a parent gives an adult child freewill to make their own decisions (and mistakes). That doesn't mean God isn't there. I think that if you stop, pray, meditate, and ask God for guidance and help he will. It is not a burning bush. It is a sense of peace. It is a subtle nudge. The hard part is stopping, asking, and listening.
BBC Radio 4 is having a series of Lenten talks that look good. Each weekly talk has a theme (Temptation of genius, Temptation to test God, etc.) I really enjoyed last years series. Please check it out.
Ed at Captain's Quarters is in need of prayers for his wife and family.
We got great news -- the transplant team has found a good pancreas for the First Mate. This pancreas has a five-antigen match for Marcia (six would be an identical-twin match, and two is usually good enough for transplant). The procurement team in South Carolina says the pancreas looks "absolutely normal", according to the transplant team here, and
we were first on the list.
An Invitation To Prayer - A Prayer of St Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is discord, vision.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Prince Charles announced plans to marry Camilla. This has started a media storm, and on the surface this story is another case of dumb media hype.
In this case there is a deeper story. If Charles were to ascend to the kingship he will then be the head of nation, but also the head of the Church of England. This is a big problem.
Here is what the C of E says about marriage:
Christians believe that marriage is a gift from God. In the marriage ceremony, a couple make a public declaration of lifelong commitment to love each other, come what may.
The Bible compares married love with the love Jesus has for his followers. He expressed his love by being prepared to sacrifice himself, even to die for the people he loved. This is amazing, unconditional love. Jesus never said 'I love you, but …'. In our marriages we can try to follow his model by loving our partners in a self-sacrificial way, putting their needs before our own.
The marriage ceremony gives you a new legal status as husband and wife and a new stability within which your relationship can flourish and grow. Christians believe that marriage offers the right place for the fulfilment of our sexuality and that it provides a stable and secure environment for bringing up children.
Hmmmm.... That might cause a problem. A divorced man as the head of the church.... It gets worse:
Q| What if one of us is divorced?
A| The Church of England teaches that marriage is for life. It also recognizes that, sadly, some marriages do fail and, if this should happen, it seeks to be available for all involved. The Church accepts that, in exceptional circumstances, a divorced person may marry again in church during the lifetime of a former spouse.
Some ministers may be willing to conduct such a marriage in church and it is wise to make an appointment to speak to your parish priest before setting a date. The minister will want to talk to you frankly about the past, your hopes for the future and your understanding of marriage (a form and explanatory statement, Marriage in church after divorce, is available or can be ordered from Church House Bookshop, phone 020 7898 1300, www.chbookshop.co.uk). If it is not possible for your proposed marriage to take place in church, your priest may consider other alternatives with you, such as a Service of Prayer and Dedication after a civil ceremony.
Sure enough the Prince is planning a civil ceremony. Why is a secular King/Queen head of a church.
Disestablishmentarianism!
and to dust we shall return. That was the theme last night at the Ash Wednesday service. What does this mean?
It does mean that we are all mortal, but it also means we are all equal in the end. The lords of the Earth die and molder as well as the poor.
It is the limited lifespan of man that is both a curse and a boon. It means we are limited in time, but it also drives us. It drives us to make our mark.
I have been contemplating why we have Lent and what it means. Lent is a 40 day period of repentance and introspection. We are essentially makeing the paths straight in preparation for Easter. This is not mandated by the bible, but it makes sense to me. It is a journey to Easter we all need to make. Easter is not one day or a weekend. What do I plan to do for Lent?
1. I will not eat dessert. I needed this anyway for my health, but I also want to set an example for the kids.
2. We are reading the daily Forward Day By Day as a family before dinner.
3. Find at least one opportunity for charity each week and sieze it.
Pax!
First, I apologize for the dearth of posts last week. I was in RedHat training for my RHCE certification. I took the test on Friday and passed!!!! The first time pass rate is pretty low. I am proud. It was a tough test.
Second, with lent coming I am planning (smiles) on doing a daily lenten diary. I will try to write at least once a day on my thoughts, and how my lenten fasts and changes are going. My wife and I are both trying to figure out what we are giving up and taking on.
Walk with me on the lenten path if you care to.
From the Washington Times:
Prayer request
We received this request for help from Capt. Lyle Shackelford, a
chaplain with a transportation battalion that will be delivering voting machines to villages and cities throughout Iraq for the upcoming elections. Election day is expected to be violent as insurgents and terrorists try to disrupt the elections with attacks on voting stations and voters. "Our convoys are prime targets for the insurgents because they do not want the equipment to arrive at the polling stations nor do they want the local Iraqi citizens to have the chance to vote. "Encourage your friends and family members and those within our churches to pray specifically for the electoral process," Capt. Shackelford said.
The chaplain noted that Saddam Hussein's regime did not allow people a democratic vote and that "democracy will not be realized in Iraq if intelligent and competent officials are not elected to those strategic leadership positions within the emerging government; freedom will not have an opportunity to ring throughout this country if the voting process fails." "I will pray with my soldiers before they leave on their convoys and move outside our installation gates here at Tallil" air base, he said. "My soldiers are at the nerve center of the logistic operation to deliver the voting machines and election ballots. They will be driving to and entering the arena of the enemy. This is not a game for them. It is a historical mission that is extremely dangerous. No voting machines or ballots. No elections. "Your prayer support and God's intervention are needed to give democracy a chance in this war-torn country," he said.
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where
thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also."
A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 17:17
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Matthew 13: 44
Shrinkette opines on the meaning of Christmas.
Although it is generally silly to speak of transcendence and cartoons, I've always felt that there was one very important exception to this rule, namely, Linus' recitation of Luke 2:8-14 in "A Charlie Brown Christmas". Even as a kid, I recognized that there was something very special about the moment when Linus walks out to the front of the stage, the lights go dim around him, everything is hush and he begins to speak in calm, measured tones:
Il Papa has weighed in on Christmas commercialism.
"The message of the Christmas tree is that life is always green if you give, not many material things, but of yourself through friendship and sincere affection, through help and forgiveness, by spending time together and listening to each other."
One of my favorite editorialsts Charles Krauthammer has weighed in on the deemphasizing of Christ in Christmas. Charles (who is Jewish by the way) makes the case that America's religious pluralism is unique in the world, and that it has caused the Christian majority to do everything possible not to offend religious minorities. He makes the point that while this is understandable it does no one good.
I'm struck by the fact that you almost never find Orthodox Jews complaining about a Christmas creche in the public square. That is because their children, steeped in the richness of their own religious tradition, know who they are and are not threatened by Christians celebrating their religion in public. They are enlarged by it.
It is the more deracinated members of religious minorities, brought up largely ignorant of their own traditions, whose religious identity is so tenuous that they feel the need to be constantly on guard against displays of other religions -- and who think the solution to their predicament is to prevent the other guy from displaying his religion, rather than learning a bit about their own.
To insist that the overwhelming majority of this country stifle its religious impulses in public so that minorities can feel "comfortable" not only understandably enrages the majority but commits two sins. The first is profound ungenerosity toward a majority of fellow citizens who have shown such generosity of spirit toward minority religions.
The second is the sin of incomprehension -- a failure to appreciate the uniqueness of the communal American religious experience. Unlike, for example, the famously tolerant Ottoman Empire or the generally tolerant Europe of today, the United States does not merely allow minority religions to exist at its sufferance. It celebrates and welcomes and honors them.
From the CSM:
Christians call it 'the Golden Rule,' and it is found in every major world religion:
Christianity: Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
- The King James Bible, Matt. 7:12
Judaism: That which you hold as detestable, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Law; the rest is but commentary.
- Talmud, Sabbat, 31a
Islam: None of you is a believer if he does not desire for his brother that which he desires for himself.
- Sunnah
Brahmanism (orthodox Hinduism): Such is the sum of duty: Do not do to others that which, to you, would do harm to yourself.
- Mahabharata 5:1517
Buddhism: Injure not others in the manner that would injure you.
- Udana-Varga 5:18
Confucianism: Here certainly is the golden maxim: Do not do to others that which we do not want them to do to us.
- Analects 15:23
Taoism: Regard your neighbor's gain as your gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss.
- T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger.
Mathew 23:2-4
A quote from ESV Bible Online: Passage: 1 John 3:2
2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears [1] we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
I have been interested in learning more about our Orthodox brothers and sisters. This started after hearing an interesting story on Sunday on BBC Radio about Prince Charles and the Greek orthodox church (5/16)
Here are some additional resources of note I found:
The Old Jordanville Prayerbook
The Orthodox Church in America
The Greek Othodox Church
Orthodox Christian Information Center
How to Pray in Church
Just found my first Black Widow spider at the new house. It was outside near the kids playhouse. Coincidentally, this happened as I was spraying for bugs around the perimeter of the house.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/001782.php has a further update.
from http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/001712.php
...theorists of jihad throughout Islamic history and today have taught that jihad must be fought to establish the hegemony of Sharia — under which Jews, Christians, and other non-Muslims will have second-class status as dhimmis.
From Cronana:
It looks like the "Muslimification" of Europe continues. They are now trying to regain access to a former Mosque in Spain. I tell you what if they let us worship in the Hagia Sofia. or in these other churches that were captured and converted to mosques:
St Nicholas Cathedral
St. John the Baptist in Syria and Ibn Tulun Mosque
St Helena's Cathedral in Aleppo
The main point being that we can't change history. We need to move forward not back. Why would you want to allow another religion into your house of worship, especially when that religion wants to wipe you out and create the "Great Caliphate" of "Eurabia"
More details from the Guardian
An interesting suggustion for worship music. My favorites lately have been:
Sanctus
Agnus Dei I and II which are probably the best around. The Beatitudes on Agnus Dei II just gives me chills. You can beat both of these for contemplative prayer.
and finally Choral Moods. Is another great CD.
From PoMoMuSINgS
Lord Jesus Christ, by your death you took away the sting of death: Grant me to so follow in faith where you have led the way, that I may at length fall asleep peacefully in you and wake in your likeness; for your tender mercies’ sake. Amen.
And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any one; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Mark 11:25
An interteresting quote from our savior Mel Gibson:
Mel Gibson has come under fire for being hard on Jews in his film The Passion of the Christ, but apparently, he feels that Protestants are also doomed to damnation. In fact, it looks as if Gibson, a conservative Catholic, believes that his Episcopalian wife could be going to hell.
Gibson, interviewed by the Herald Sun in Australia, was asked if Protestants are denied eternal salvation. "There is no salvation for those outside the (Catholic) church," Gibson replied. "I believe it."
He elaborated: "Put it this way. My wife is a saint. She's a much better person than I am. Honestly. She's, like, Episcopalian, Church of England. She prays, she believes in God, she knows Jesus, she believes in that stuff. And it's just not fair if she doesn't make it; she's better than I am. But that is a pronouncement from the chair. I go with it."
from http://www.worldmagblog.com/archives/001229.html:
Father in heaven, help us to want life your way. Following you is worth the cost of disobeying our sinful thirsts. Please give us the grace to obey what we try to overlook, our deep thirst for you. Image is nothing compared to the freedom you give us when we drink in the mercy of Jesus Christ. Please push us to read the Bible throughout the week, and not substitute for it our own selfish and vain words. In Christ's name, amen.
Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
Luke 12:2-3
An interesting post on pomomusings.
Two interesting headlines from Simon Sarmiento. One is that there are not more Muslims actively attending services than there are Anglicans. That is astounding! There are at least ten times as many baptized Anglicans as there are Muslims in the UK.
The other is that former Archbishop Carey stated at the WEF in Davos that the "servants of God should be employed to keep watch on those of Mammon." I am not sure what I think about this. I will have to ruminate. The churched sure have made a mess of politics. Is it business' turn? ;-)
An interesting read from Christianity Today.
It seems that Paris Hilton is not low enough. Now they have to torment the Amish for fun. The Amish have a concept Rumspringa(which literally means "running around"). It was documented in the great movie Devil's Playground. When an Amish young person turns sixteen they are allowed to live free from the rules that govern most of Amish society. This allows them to get to know the outside world before making a commitment to be baptized into the Amish church and return to Amish society.
From the article:
At age 16, Amish youngsters are allowed to break free of the religions strict code of conduct to decide whether they want to be baptized as adults. During the period of "rumspringa," a Pennsylvania Dutch term that means "running around," they often date, drink, drive cars and move away from their homes.
The majority return to the faith.
For UPN, the series is vaguely reminiscent of corporate cousin CBS' ill-fated attempt to make a real-life version of "The Beverly Hillbillies." Both networks are owned by Viacom.
I am still of two minds on this. I really think the right thing to do would be to wait until the Church resolves the issues of homosexual marriage. I do not like to see clergy in non-married sexual relationships. When the Church decided one way or the other on Gay marriage then that would point the way on actively homosexual clergy. This seems like a divisive end around.
As an episcopalian I disagree about the comments about the Eucharist in this article, but it is very enlightening. The Eurcharist is central to episcopalian worship and I do not understand the Mary centric nature of SOME Catholics. I walked through a hispanic market the other day and there were hundreds of shirts, blankets, rugs, statues or the blessed mother and maybe 4 or 5 of the Son of God. I think there are plenty of people that keep Mary in perspective, but there are also plenty who I think may venerate her above where they should. I wonder if this is because Jesus is intimidating to them. I am not sure why. I think all in all this is a very good reflection on how Mary (and all Saints) could be better reflected on in churches in the Protestant tradition.
Italy's courts have ruled that crucifixes in state schools are to be banished. I think this is a good thing. I must preface by saying I am a practicing Anglican. I have seen how state churches have killed Christianity in Europe. I think decoupling God from the state and even state funding would be a great thing. I think you would see a huge refocusing of faith in Europe.