more about stonington

more about stonington

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Stony (or Stony Bear as he is affectionately called) continues to bring us much joy. Today he successfully mastered two new tricks: 1) catching a tennis ball in the air when thrown to him, and 2) shaking hands (paw to hand!). He is enrolled in obedience classes and is doing well with walking by my side and sitting when I stop moving, and with the “sit” and “down” commands. He is a smart dog, a beautiful dog, and a most affectionate dog. Of course, I am an entirely unbiased observer!

Stonington with his star toy

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the immigration dilemma

the immigration dilemma

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I have to admit to mixed feelings about the debate over immigration policies.

On the one hand, the biblical message of welcome for the foreigner, of ready hospitality offered to one’s neighbor, any neighbor, “neighbor” by the broadest definition of the word, is clear and strong. God’s bias toward kindness and generosity and non-discrimination is unmistakable.

On the other hand, I believe in following the law. I try to “do the right thing,” to “do it by the rules.” It is difficult for me to rouse sympathy for those who intentionally violate the law and then expect to be excused.

On the other hand, ignoring the law may well be the just thing to do if the law is unjust. Is immigration law itself a “fence” around the United States, a law that requires years and years and years before even entertaining the possibility of gaining citizenship? We call ourselves “a land of opportunity,” but turn back the ones seeking opportunity.

… unless of course we have need of their cheap labor. Illegals are illegal, unless they are good for business, in which case we are ready to look the other way!

I would be interested in your comments, especially from those of you who may know more about immigration law than I do.

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benediction

benediction

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Heard a great benediction this morning at the Festival of Homiletics in Atlanta, Georgia, delivered by William Willimon:

People of God, the Holy Spirit is with you … Watch out!

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so what do i think of the da vinci code?

so what do i think of the da vinci code?

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Not much.

Which means both that I don’t think much of it, and that I don’t think much about it. I have neither seen the movie nor read the book, though I’ve read reviews and talked with folks who have. I do not feel the same sense of threat that some Christians and Christian organizations seem to. I feel no need to make a reply to the assertions of The Da Vinci Code. I believe without reservation that truth will outlast any passing fancy or cultural buzz.

I did not see The Passion of the Christ for the same reasons. In that instance, too, I felt that the fanciful (and largely self-serving) fabrications of one man’s imagination did not merit serious debate. The story itself — the story of the God who came among us and shared our common lot — holds far more wonder, far more mystery, far more beauty, than any “revised version.” The story does not re-telling. It needs re-hearing!

Both the recently discovered Gospel of Judas and The Da Vinci Code appeal to human pride, our fondness for being among the “insiders,” for being numbered among those “in the know.” We like to think the truth is so complex, so impenetrable, that only the elite few (including ourselves, of course) can discover its secrets. A story so simple as a God who loves us completely and desires nothing more and nothing less than our complete love in return may not excite the book publishers or movie producers, but to me, it is far more compelling and simply rings true.

For another well-written take on the gnostic tendencies of The Da Vinci Code, see Novel faiths, an editorial column in the May 16, 2006 issue of The Christian Century.

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one small step for the earth

one small step for the earth

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Get your TerraPass!

TerraPass decal

I discovered a link to this website while reading an article about global warming. TerraPass is a program that provides a way to offset the global warming impact of your vehicle’s CO2 emissions by investing in clean energy projects that reduce industrial carbon emissions. They call it cleaning up after your car.

I bought my TerraPass. Visit the TerraPass website and clean up after your car!

(And read a May 3 article by Andrew Revkin of the New York Times: Federal Study Finds Accord on Warming.)

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we must not look the other way

we must not look the other way

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Amnesty International has just filed a report citing the ongoing use of interrogation tactics by the government of the United States that would be labeled “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” under any reasonable definition.

“Although the US government continues to assert its condemnation of torture and ill-treatment, these statements contradict what is happening in practice,” said Curt Goering, Senior Deputy Executive Director Of Amnesty International USA. “The US government is not only failing to take steps to eradicate torture it is actually creating a climate in which torture and other ill-treatment can flourish — including by trying to narrow the definition of torture …

“The heaviest sentence imposed on anyone to date for a torture-related death while in US custody is five months — the same sentence that you might receive in the US for stealing a bicycle. In this case, the five-month sentence was for assaulting a 22-year-old taxi-driver who was hooded and chained to a ceiling while being kicked and beaten until he died.”

We must enforce the laws which define us as a law-abiding state. We must enforce the recently-enacted ban on torture by any agent of the US government, anytime, anywhere. We must not look the other way! We must not place blind and unquestioning trust in our leaders, empowering them to do whatever they have to do to keep us safe. We cannot defeat terrorism by terrorism.

We must not look the other way, and we must not be silent.

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mike nobel

mike nobel

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I had the privilege yesterday of meeting Mike Nobel and the privilege of hearing a group of talented and enthusiastic elementary school students perform some of his songs. Mike Nobel is a singer/songwriter/composer from Gorham, Maine, near the place in Maine we used to call home. When we still lived in Maine, my wife used his stuff with her primary students and my daughter grew fond of singing his songs at home.

Mike Nobel has produced a number of different collections of songs for school children: songs about smoking prevention, songs about abuse prevention. But the songs I know and love, the songs my daughter still sings are the songs from Color Me Green, a collection of songs about environmental awareness and environmental activism. Here’s an excerpt:
Color Me Green album cover

Come on people all around the world
Mommas and daddies, boys and girls
This old planet’s in a terrible state
Getting more polluted day by day

In every city, in every town
You gotta stand up (Stand up!) and look around
The earth is in trouble, you know that it’s true
Well this is the future talkin’ to you

You got to stand up (Stand up!) for mother nature
Stand up (Stand up!) for a greener future
Got to stand up! (Stand up!) Stand up! (Stand up!)
And help the world to be pollution free (Pollution free) Pollution free!

For the birds and the bees, for the fish in the sea
For the fuzzy little animals hiding in the trees
For the earth and the water, for the air we breathe
Don’t wait ’till we face an emergency

Hand to hand, and brain to brain
Little by little we can make a change
Across the nation, around the globe
Workin’ together, ’till everybody knows ….

You got to stand up (Stand up!) for mother nature
Stand up (Stand up!) for a greener future
Got to stand up! (Stand up!) Stand up! (Stand up!)
And help the world to be pollution free (Pollution free) Pollution free!

The music is fun and often exquisite; the message is powerful and passionate; and the subject matter — this beautiful earth, God’s good creation — is a subject near and dear to my heart! Thank you, Mike, for sharing your passion for the earth with us through your music. Thank you, Lynne, for bringing him to Iowa. Thank you, children of Price Lab School, for making the songs (and I hope the passion for the earth they express) your own!

You may find out more about Mike Nobel and his music at http://www.freewebs.com/mikenobel/.

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fighting terror … a different way

fighting terror … a different way

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“I realize now how precious life is,” said Anthony Aversano, whose father, Louis, was killed in the World Trade Center. “How I fight the terror in me today is to live my life well.”

That quote comes from a Los Angeles Times account of the witnesses called yesterday by the defense team for Zacarias Moussaoui. Each of the six witnesses provides powerful personal testimony of a journey from grief to forgiveness, from fear to faith, of living the truth of Paul’s admonition in the letter to the Romans: Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good. They give me hope!

The article begins this way:

Defense attorneys for Zacarias Moussaoui on Wednesday presented their own group of Sept. 11 victims, whose message of forgiveness was strikingly different from what had been heard in the courtroom so far.

None of the half-dozen defense witnesses — parents who lost children, a wife missing her husband, a son without a father — was asked whether the jury should spare the life of the admitted Al Qaeda terrorist. They spoke instead of the changes in their lives over the last 4 1/2 years and their refusal to, as one put it, “get caught up in a whirlpool of frustration and sadness and anger.”

Whereas family members testifying for the government had described broken lives and monumental despair, those called by the defense said they were finding ways to move past their grief …

Read the entire article: Families of 9/11 Victims Testify for Moussaoui, Los Angeles Times

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