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it’s not 2008 yet, is it??
Part of the downside of the 24-hour news cycle is that what wouldn’t pass for news 10 years ago passes for news now. The air, the pages, and the Web sites have to be filled with something.
I thought of this while noticing a recent article in the New York Times about the supposed “splintering” of evangelicals as it pertains to the 2008 presidential election, and cultural issues overall. I find the article to be a mixture of accurate understanding of history, yet also an ignorance of evangelicals overall.
This ignorance of understanding evangelicals happens a lot in the media, and it’s nothing new. Other religious groups no doubt experience this as well, the attempt by various media outlets to effectively label and fit the values of people into 250 words or less. It was in 1993 that a Washington Post reporter labeled evangelicals as “poor, uneducated, and easy to command.” Other labels have not been this insipid, but labels regardless abound.
(And before you prepare to comment, I recognize that evangelicals label folks just as much as anyone else.)
rest the rest
I love to water ski. I was a kid when my Grandma first taught me how to ski. Don’t laugh, she’s pretty tough, and she herself was skiing well into her 70’s. I hope I am like that when I am that age.
Anyway, with water skiing, she taught me that there are all sorts of rules to follow to keep from falling. Keep the front of the skis pointed a little inward. Don’t pull on the rope. Keep your knees bent a little bit. Don’t lock the elbows. Don’t lean too far back or too far forward. Don’t try to do too much.
But the most important tip in water skiing was to rest on the skis, and let them do their work for you. They’re meant to support you.
I think about this every so often, resting on those skis. There’s a unique feeling in graduate school, and I suspect, in the remainder of life as well. We can all relate to the feeling that even if we could foresake sleep for days on end, working nonstop on different projects and challenges, we would still never be finished. It never ends.
Ever.
emergent laughs
I’ve heard that one of the ways one can gauge the strength of Christianity is how well Christians are able to poke good fun at themselves. So it is with great joy that I present to you this gem of a find.
I submit this satirical article here, from Lark News. It’s hilarious, and awfully indicative of some of what I hear in seminary. Let’s face it, the Christian sub-culture can be pretty silly sometimes, but it’s pleasing that we can afford to laugh about it in good fun.
Enjoy!
american justice
I’ve sometimes heard that with respect to public figures, the established stereotype is far from how they actually are as a person. In American politics, there are few people as polarizing as Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas. Just mentioning his name may make you think of what you think about him. It certainly does to me. Liberals hate him. Many African Americans misunderstand him. But who is he?
Thomas recently wrote his memoirs titled My Grandfather’s Son, and also recently sat down for a fascinating interview with 60 Minutes. This is possibly his first interview of this depth he’s given since the U.S. Senate approved him to the Supreme Court.
He discusses many aspects of his life, including time spent studying at a Roman Catholic seminary. He later left the seminary due to how he perceived the school’s indifference to civil rights issues, but came back to his faith later in as an adult. I wish they had spent more time on this, but with so many other topics to consider in his life, it’s understandable.
I won’t spoil the rest of the interview, but it is an intriguing look at someone that so many carry opinions about, but few actually know. Regardless of how you feel about him, you will be better informed for watching this. See for yourself, and tell me what you think after watching it.
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