"Christians Should Keep Scripture Out Of Politics" by Uwe Siemon-Netto

Man, it's been a while. Found this article that caught my eye, if for no other reason, (a) it's election season, and for nutcases like me, it's always interesting this time of year, and (b) the article draws a lot from the philosophy and theology of fellow Lutherans Martin Luther and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I've added my comments, and highlighted them in red, just like this. Pretty, ain't it...

"Christians Should Keep Scripture Out Of Politics"
by :: Uwe Siemon-Netto
Posted 4:00 AM ET, Friday, April 18 at http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080418/cm_csm/ysiemonnetto;_ylt=An5e1XLenT5Z1xXdemmkz7X9wxIF

St. Louis - What is Christianity's proper role in American presidential politics? This question has gripped the 2008 campaign. From the dispute over the acceptability of Mitt Romney's Mormonism, to Mike Huckabee's musings about conforming the US Constitution more to the Bible and the controversy over Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor, the spiritual and secular realms have collided fiercely. Just this week, Senator Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton fielded questions from US religious leaders at a special forum broadcast on CNN.

More broadly, arguments over public policies – from war to illegal immigration – are increasingly being infused with scriptural justifications.

The media, of course, relish such controversy. So do many religious leaders, who use the occasion to offer the "real" interpretation of what Scripture says about a particular issue. As a result, religion and politics aren't just mingling – they're being wedded to the same goal: redeeming America's body politic.

A largely Protestant nation that can trace its theological taproot to Martin Luther ought to know better. As the original Reformer, Luther understood how critical it was to separate church and state and, in a more important sense, the spiritual kingdom of Christ and the secular realm where God reigns in a hidden way through humans using reason as a guide.

This is new -- I didn't know that Luther was such a separatist. But since quite a few of the world's princes and kings held their religious allegiance to the Vatican, whose level of influence would greatly increase if Luther would disappear under their watch, it wouldn't surprise me that Luther wouldn't mind keeping kingdoms of earth and heaven a little bit further apart. I wouldn't mind seeing something in the Book of Concord, or the Augsburg Confessions to back that point up...

That is not to say that Christians today shouldn't let their Christianity inform their political values and action. They should. But the Bible is not a political playbook. Christians, or adherents of any religion for that matter, should refrain from using holy text to fight politically over human concerns. Using Christian doctrine to push a political agenda is not just rude – it is a dangerous departure from the core message of Christianity: salvation by grace through faith.

Watching the primaries, I would never confuse the Bible with a how-to guide from Carville or Rove. But why not gauge political decisions against God's word? True, I look with extreme skepticism on laws, rules, and policies whose sole justification is one man's/groups interpretation of scripture. But the central message of "faith alone in God's grace alone, and God's word alone" isn't the only message in the Bible. You could make a strong argument that this message runs at the same level of importance as the Great Commandment

Jesus said, "The first in importance is, 'Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these." Mark 12:29-31, MSG

Believing that the Bible isn't any sort of answerbook or guide book to how one should live life here on earth, I believe, leaves a LOT of the Bible out. How else to describe the book of Proverbs?

Christ Jesus was not crucified to make society nicer or fairer; no, he suffered to redeem the believer from sin.

Did not Christ tell Pontius Pilate: "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36)? Which of these seven words is so hard to understand?

Possible the part where Jesus is telling Pilate that, while he has the ability to "veto" whatever decision he, or the Pharisees, or the shouting mob makes, this isn't God's kingdom, it's the kingdom of mortal, flawed man -- whose decision will stand. I see this as the result of what may be the second greatest gift God gave human kind (aside from justification, of course!) -- the gift of free will. God could very well make us mind numbed robots -- but doesn't. He wants us to love him, but that is only possible if we have the ability and choice not to. Pilate's decision wasn't Christ's to make.

Yet the clarity of Christ's statement hasn't stopped mankind from trying to bring heaven to earth ever since – mostly through political tyrannies of the collectivist utopian variety.

Luther understood these temptations. "The devil never stops cooking and brewing these two kingdoms together," he wrote, referring to the spiritual and the secular realms. With these words in mind, Lutherans – or at least Lutherans strongly committed to the confessional writings of their church – shake their heads over the misuse of Scripture in American politics on both sides of the political divide. (Emphasis mine -- GR)

Whodathunk? Flawed, sinful, mortal men misusing scripture? Yes, the devil is constantly at work, turning us against ourselves, and against God. And what better tool than objects that are given to us by God? That doesn't mean we throw the baby out with the bathwater -- we look at issues with a discerning eye, and use our knowledge, wisdom, as well as prayer, to make our decision.

How, then, should Christians engage in political affairs? Through the language of reason in the framework of natural law.

Citing Paul, Luther reminded Christians that natural law is "written with the finger of God" on people's hearts, a fact to which their conscience "bears witness." Thus, Christians who want to publicly oppose the practice of abortion and same-sex marriage do not need to quote the Bible to do so. Instead, they can appeal to logic and universal principles that exist, not by man's decree, but by, as the Declaration of Independence puts it, "the Laws of Nature and Nature's God."

Unfortunately, "natural law" isn't always the same as the United States Code, or the Official Statutes of (insert your own state here...). Natural law, in my own, humble, lay person opinion, would say you don't kill your own children. It would say that a man and a woman would be joined in a marital union. It's through our political system, flawed and full of pitfalls as it may be, which we write our own laws. By using the Bible as a guide, we might just get our laws close to "natural law."

Sadly, natural-law thinking became unfashionable in the two centuries after Jean Jacques Rousseau. This philosopher behind the French Revolution extolled instead man-made "positive law," which was detached from the universal ethic usually attributed to divine authorship.

In this context it is worth noting how the 20th-century Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer judged the French Revolution, whose utopian dream was the liberation of man from all constraint. To the martyred Bonhoeffer, this Revolution was "the laying bare of the emancipated man in his tremendous power and most horrible perversity," a false liberation that leads only to man's self-destruction. He saw both Communism and Nazism as the French Revolution's heirs. (Emphasis mine - GR)

Does "the liberation of man from all constraint" mean the liberation from the evil kings and emperors of the world? Or does it also imply the liberation of man from all rules, including those set down by God? Please remember, that in past experiments with Communism, the church (Christian and otherwise) were either banned or, in the case of China, handled closely by the government. In the church's place was the government.

Natural law is the "operating system" in what Luther called the "left-hand kingdom," where God reigns in a hidden way "through good and bad princes," who in a democracy include the voters. In this secular realm, "reason is the empress," Luther said, describing reason as a gift from God that enables humanity to manage this temporal world.

Bonhoeffer considered the inability to distinguish between the spiritual and earthly kingdoms a major flaw of American theologies that manifest themselves as organized struggles against some particular worldly evil. "It is necessary to free oneself from the way of thinking, which sets out from human problems and which asks for solutions on this basis. Such thinking is unbiblical," he asserted. "The way of all Christian thinking leads not from the world to God but from God to the world."

My church last year underwent what for us was a major project -- building a "fishing village" in Haiti. This was inspired by Matthew 25:31-46: a portion of which -- "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (vs. 40) So, by using the Bible to guide our thoughts, goals and missions to serve our fellow man, these efforts were unbiblical? Should I adopt an "I believe, I'm saved, that's good enough for me" attitude? Or should I reach out, extend a helping hand, and share God's love. Last week's sermon held this quote from Rev. Tony Campolo: "We dare not talk about the love that was expressed on Calvary unless people feel that love coming from us in acts of compassion." I'll finish this thought in just a moment...

Luther proclaimed a liberating message "that society need not be run by the Church in order to be ruled by God," according to the late William Lazareth, a former Lutheran bishop of New York. Yet too many Protestants have a hard time grasping the breathtaking implication of this insight.

To be sure, it would be desirable if more people turned to the Bible more often for everyday guidance. But the Gospel has nothing to say about traffic rules, illegal immigration, the price of gasoline, or the Iraq war.

Oops. The 11th commandment? "Thou shalt not run red lights, nor photograph any driver who runs a red light"? "Thou shalt have a green card?" I'll ask my pastor this Sunday, but I don't think that Jesus ever got around to writing the Driver's License Manual. But it gets a little bit more serious once you start talking about wars, though. Here, we're talking about justified homicide writ large. Here we're talking about preservation of liberty, free will. And in some cases (World War II for starters) we're talking about good vs. evil. "All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing." (I wish I remembered who said that...) And how do good men find out what to respond to, which fights to fight, and how to fight them?

The Gospel – the good news of salvation through Christ – is the Christians' highest good. Thus it is difficult to fathom why so many of them insist on exposing this magnificent treasure to public derision by using it for the wrong purpose. The Gospel can illume the believer's reason in his secular pursuits but is not meant to be a script for them.

Now we're getting close to agreement here.

Half a millennium after Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church of Wittenberg, it makes sense to ponder his down-to-earth comment that in politics, as in all other aspects of secular life, Christians must act reasonably according to natural law. The Gospel has freed them to do just that; it must not be perverted into a weapon to be slapped around other people's heads.

• Uwe Siemon-Netto, a former religion editor for United Press International, is director of the Center for Lutheran Theology and Public Life in St. Louis. This essay was adapted from a longer version originally published by Christianity Today.

I'm going to have to read the whole version and educate myself a bit better before digging my grave any deeper. But what do you think?

Bush Whacking At A Wall...

Came across this op/ed, titled "Bush Whacks the Wall of Separation," by John Nichols from The Nation, courtesy of yahoo.com. It made some comments about President Bush's weekly radio address. Some of it struck me as slightly odd, so I thought I'd post some insights here as we go along.

Thomas Jefferson observed in his January 1, 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists that America was not a church state.

As such, he explained, it was the president's duty to refrain from displays of religious devotion."

Wha...? OK, so we need to require that someone check their Christianity, Islam, Judaism, or whatever at the door before they're sworn in as president? Quite frankly, the fact that they believe in something higher than themselves plays a substantial role in who I vote for.

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god (sic), that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state," wrote Jefferson. "[Congress thus inhibited from acts respecting religion, and the Executive authorized only to execute their acts, I have refrained from presenting even occasional performances of devotion presented indeed legally where an Executive is the legal head of a national church, but subject here, as religious exercises only to the voluntary regulations and discipline of each respective sect.] Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties."

Note the phrase: "I have refrained from presenting even occasional performances of devotion presented indeed legally where an Executive is the legal head of a national church..."

Keep in mind, that at this writing, King George of England was the leader of the Anglican Church. Absolute monarchs throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance were seen as divinely chosen -- God put them there, and therefore, should be obeyed as such. In the case of Great Britain, the King was also the equivalent of "pope" in the Anglican Church. Hence, the potential source of Jefferson's viewpoint where "an Executive is the legal head of a national church." This is true in very few other places, if any at all. (I'm excluding a ruler, dictator, despot, or any other governmental systems that try to set themselves up as god.) Continuing...

Now, note, George W. Bush's Easter Weekend radio address, in which the Jefferson's successor as president of the United States, quoted from and repeatedly referenced the Christian Bible. The address was more religious in tone and text than those delivered today even by the executives of states that identify as having a national church.

I hate to let you in on a dirty little secret, but the clear majority of Americans are Christians. And Easter is a pretty important celebration in Christianity. President Bush is more likely than not a Christian. So it should surprise no one that President Bush's address this weekend would include a few quotes from the Bible. Would we similarly chastise the President for quoting the Declaration of Independence right before July 4?

Sounding more like a pastor than a president, Bush spoke of remembering remember "a sacrifice that transcended the grave and redeemed the world" and "the gift that took away death's sting and opened the door to eternal life."

See above. These are some of the basic tenets of Christianity. Toss in the forgiveness of sins and John 3:16, and you've got a pretty good entry into Christianity 101.

Bush even declared, with a bias more toward the "Onward Christian Soldiers" camp than the "thou shalt not kill" teachings of the faith, that "America is blessed with the world's greatest military..."

If President Bush took more of a "thou shall not kill" approach, would we also criticize him about talking about abortion? Respect for life? Beating back the culture of death? Nah, that's not as headline grabbing as criticism over the Iraq war...

Perhaps, in light of that final comment, it is best to close with another quote from our third president.

"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just," wrote Jefferson, "(and) that His justice cannot sleep forever."

Interesting... The reasons why Jefferson "trembles for his country" could be an interesting discussion. Could it be for our many transgressions, or for the hope we represent -- a shining beacon of freedom for the world. Of course, if we're not supposed to talk about the Easter message outside our churches, temples, and synagogues, we probably shouldn't talk about the fact that THE reason a perfect, sinless, son-of-God Jesus came to earth, lived, died by (what I believe is STILL) the most horrific, brutal means of execution, and rose again was FORGIVENESS of ALL SINS. Could Jefferson be trembling because of what he saw our role in the world being, and fearful that we may not be up to the task?

"Put down your Bible, and slowly back away, Junior..."

This caught my eye...and made me LAUGH, laugh, laughlaughlaugh!
Here the link to the story from stltoday.com (byline has this as a Chicago Tribune story)

Now, a few comments on things that caught my eye...

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman made the decision Wednesday afternoon in a hearing on a lawsuit brought by local activist Rob Sherman, who has sued over issues related to the separation of church and state. Sherman filed suit against Township High School District 214, where his daughter is a freshman at Buffalo Grove High School....

Gettleman said the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act isn't specific enough about what is a "moment" and when it should take place. It also may cross the line into unconstitutionality by giving students a choice to pray in its language.

The statute states that students shall be given an opportunity for silent prayer or reflection on the anticipated activities of the day.

That is so vague, a teacher might simply be compelled to read the statute when the moment of silence is to begin, the judge said. That would in essence tell a child "you've got to think about praying" the judge said, and that likely violates the establishment clause.

Gettleman said he also was concerned about whether a child could or would do something physical in an act of prayer, such as take out a Bible or a Muslim prayer book.

There are only two choices given by the statute, he said. "One is an endorsement of prayer," he said. "If that's the way it's being interpreted, then I think we have a problem."

(emphasis mine)

1. Ohmigod, ohmigod, OHMIGOD --- What is this world coming to!!!! Ok, I could see teachers in public school not leading students in prayer, as that could be construed as an endorsement or establishment of religion. But now, we can't even dare afford students the choice to pray?!?!?!?!? I can see it now, monitors and proctors, prowling the cafeteria, waiting, lurking, searching for Johnny or Jane at the 2nd grade table dare to defy authority by bowing their heads in a little silent table prayer they always say at evening meals! C'mon........ I try teaching my munchkins the difference between good choices, and not so good choices. The key word here is choice. My little "mini-me-s" learn (hopefully) that their actions are based on their choices, and that those choices have consequences. What am I supposed to do now, eliminate their power to learn from the choices?
   
   
2. Please keep in mind -- the First Amendment (for those of us who have forgotten the nuances...) reads...
   

   Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
   

   
   
   Wouldn't it follow logically that either (a) promoting a time to pray, or (b) PROHIBITING students the CHOICE to pray would both be a violation?


3. Last thing -- if the biggest thing worrying the poor lit'l hairs on Sherman's and Gettleman's head is a student pulling a Bible, Koran, or prayer book out of their desk, boy, can I join them in that little bit of Erehwon! This is a dangerous slippery slope -- as it doesn't take too much of a leap in my mind for small golden crosses or Stars of David on necklaces, a cool Sunday School handout that a student brings for a friend, or pencils with little Christian fish on them? What about dreidles brought into class for "show-and-tell?" Just like I find it impossible to completely and totally insulate and isolate my children from all the cultural influences and forces surrounding us (uhhh...Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, most of MTV...) if Sherman/Gettleman believe that they can kill the "dragon" of Christian/Islamic/Jewish symbols throughout the American culture, I urge them to follow their mentor, Don Quixote on that quest. Just don't take the bench and gavel with you.

I'll keep an eye on this, and see if common sense can prevail. Until then, I'll keep my kids in LUTHERAN SCHOOLS. What do you think?

Random thoughts...

"Anybody out there happen to know in what fire
we experienced the greatest loss of life in US history?
Yes: the great Chicago fire.
It started when a cow kicked over a lantern.
And nobody claimed back then that the cow was upset over global warming."

:: Rush Limbaugh,
Show on 25 Oct 2007

"Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions."

:: G. K. Chesterton
found on littlegreenfootballs.com

Keep in your prayers...

Sally, Ellen's oldest sister, her husband Jeff, and their family, haven't had the best of times since they moved out west. She's had some medical concerns, which has hampered her ability to land good employment. Jeff is following a calling into the acting field, so until George Lucas finds him in his latest carpentry gig (ala Harrison Ford), he's not raking in the multi-million dollar deals just quite yet.

Oh, yes, they live in Santa Clarita, CA, just north of Los Angeles. The LA Times' website has a great interactive map of the recent firestorms here. Santa Clarita is the town with four wildfires surrounding it. Some are contained, some aren't.

Needless to say, they'll take all the prayer help they can get. Please keep them in yours.

Commentary on Walt Jockety -- This is a great compliment...

Read this guest commentary as I was perusing the website of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, www.stltoday.com. As I was reading it, I couldn't help but tell myself -- this is a great sort of goal to aim for, and achieve.

Of course, Jocketty was with the Cardinals. The same class outfit that gave us Stan Musial (who keeps giving and giving to Cardinal nation. And Schoendist, and Smith, and Pujols... So it shouldn't surprise me too much.

Enough intro. If it's still on the stltoday.com website, it'll be here. Otherwise, it's below.
-----

Reaching out to ordinary fans

By Paul Turner

10/08/2007

CHICAGO

Last week, my brother-in-law called at the steakhouse where I work on Wednesdays to tell me the Cardinals had fired general manager Walt Jocketty. I was stunned. Team chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. and president Mark Lamping had kicked to the curb the person most responsible for assembling the talent for one of the most successful eras in St. Louis baseball history. I thought it was a slap in the face to a man who deserved better treatment.

Jocketty's record speaks for itself. Let the baseball experts, columnists and fans in the sports pages, blogs and chat rooms ruminate on it. Yes, I mourn Jocketty's firing for on-field reasons, but I regret more deeply the loss of someone I thought was not only a tremendous baseball man, but also a tremendous man, period.

I'm a native of southern Illinois who lives in Chicago and, who, thankfully, has retained my passion for the Cardinals. Like many others pursuing careers in acting and writing, I have supplemented my income for years by working in restaurants.

Over the last decade or so, I happen to have worked in places frequented by members of the Cardinals organization. That has allowed me to serve and talk to and get to know people I worshipped as a child. I mean, listening to Mike Shannon, Red Schoendist and long-time Cardinals traveling secretary C.J. Cherre tell baseball stories and getting paid for it? On days when the Redbirds have been in town, I've sometimes felt as though I were attending a kind of baseball fantasy camp.

These people have indulged my questions and love of the team, but no one ever has asked to be seated in my section more times than Walt Jocketty — even though he had to know I was going to talk his arm off.

I don't know about the reported behind-the-scenes divisiveness in the Cardinals front office, but I do know what I've experienced personally: Walt Jocketty is one of the most decent and classiest people I've ever encountered.

At the restaurant few years ago, Jocketty asked me if was planning to come down to St. Louis anytime soon and invited me to be his guest for a game at Busch II. I casually mentioned that my next trip to St. Louis was going to be for an extended-family reunion in conjunction with a particular baseball game, so I'd have to take him up on his offer some other time. He said he'd call me anyway.

No big deal, right? It would be easy enough for him to leave me a couple of tickets.

Not long afterward, a package arrived from him in the mail: 12 tickets to a private suite and six more tickets behind home plate, four rows up. He had given me the use of his family's luxury box, the whole thing, for a night. It was a night the members of my family will remember for the rest of our lives.

Who does that kind of a thing for a guy he knows only casually, a guy who waited on him in a restaurant maybe a dozen times? And who does that while trying to run a baseball team in the middle of a pennant race? The same person who was dumped unceremoniously last week by his employer: "Thanks for the nice run, Walt. There's the door."

I'll continue to be a Cardinals fan. I can't help it. It's in my blood. But with $6 beer, legal in-house ticket scalping, the radio fiasco and that shop behind the bleachers that sells used game balls and bases at outrageous prices, I've started wondering how much the current ownership group considers its average fan base.

Right now, I'm thinking about this extremely nice guy who worked for the team until last week, someone who showed kindness and consideration to ordinary people who love those birds-on-the-bat. He was incredibly successful, too — maybe the best at his job in the business. And he was a really good tipper.

Thanks for all of it, Walt.

Paul Turner is an actor and writer who lives in Chicago. He was born in Cairo, Ill., and immediately was whisked off to St. Louis as a medical precaution. He has returned to the city as often as possible ever since.

Article is (c) 2007, by www.stltoday.com, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, L.L.C. All rights reserved, and used by permission.

Sorry, I've been away for a while...

Well, most of the dust has settled from our antics on Friday the 12th. I'll try and touch on it a little later. A few things to clear off the deck before I get to that, I'll try to get them up as I can today. So expect a few posts today.

I HATE FRIDAYS!!!

Here's how today's went.

7:38 a.m. :: Left our home in the van with Mackenzie (to go to school), Zachary and Madelynne (to go to my parent's house for the morning while I went to work.) Typical Friday, except now that it's gotten cool (but if you ask anyone else in the house, it's downright cold.)

7:50 a.m. :: Stop by a gas station, put $7 worth of gas in the van. I usually don't do that when I start to run tight on time, but since the van was telling me it only had 6 miles worth of fuel left, I figured it'd be better to get enough gas in the van to get through the morning rounds. Back on William St., heading smartly to school.

7:52 a.m. :: Getting ready to turn off of William and on to Pacific -- about 3/4 mile away from the school. Then, I get a panicked call from Ellen on my cell phone - she's been in an accident. She's ok, but it sounds like the car's hurt bad.

7:53 a.m. :: Call my parents, arrange to drop off Zach and Madelynne a little faster than usual.

7:54 a.m. :: Mackenzie's at school. Heading over to my parents.

8:02 a.m. :: Other two at my parents. Head to the accident scene.

8:07 a.m. :: Get to the accident scene -- the on-ramp/off-ramp intersection of I-55 at William St. The car's hurt bad. (pictures to follow). Ellen's ok. She tells me her side of the story, and it sounds like the other person blazed through a red light going 45 mph (the speed limit), and did a number on our car's front end. 9 year old car, 114k miles. Not looking good.

8:30 a.m. :: The two drivers talk to the officer. Apparently there's a discrepancy in the stories. The apparent difference in views as to how our car got sent via wrecker (appropriately named in this instance) and her car got slightly bent doesn't sit will with she-who-must-be-obeyed. We leave in the van.

9:45 a.m. :: I go to take a look at the car. Not pretty. Call my dad, he joins me at the dealership with a camera. We take several pictures. I clean out the car, fully expecting not to see it again. After talking with several trusted friends, I decide to take Ellen to the doctor to get checked out. Now that the adrenaline is ebbing and nerves are settling down, stressed and strained muscles will start to ache.

10:08 a.m. :: Call the doctor's office to make the appointment. Come to find out that despite the fact that Ellen's been a patient of their's for the past 7 years, and myself for the past 14, they handle accident check-outs as new-patient visits. Meaning that I need to shell out $200 up front and in advance before the visit. I'm not too happy, but what am I going to do now. I make the appointment for 1 p.m.

11:30 a.m. :: Grabbed lunch, the first meal of my day. A glass of juice, and five rolled tacos. And the rest of Ellen's sweet potato pie. The jice and tacos were ok, but the pie takes the cake. Ellen needs to make this more often...

12 noon :: Go to pick up kids, grab lunch, get money for drs. visit.

12:45 p.m. :: Start to head over to the doctor's office. Heading east on William, over the interstate, heading past Popeye's, and coming up on Panera at the corner of William @ Mt. Auburn.

A bit of explanation here. Eastbound William St. at Mt. Auburn breaks into 5 lanes. Going from left to right, there's two lanes that turn left (northbound), two lanes that head straight, and one lane that is a "right turn only" lane that breaks into a yield ramp onto southbound Mt. Auburn. Right now, again going left to right, the first turn lane only has 1 car in it, the second turn lane is completely full (about 5-7 cars), and the rest of the turn lanes are empty, since they all have green lights. I'm wanting to turn left, so I bear to the left to become the second car in that first turn lane. I'm driving about 40-45 mph (speed limit again is about 45.)

Out of the entry/exit of Panera comes a SUV, cutting across all the lanes, and it looks like they're going into the full turn lane. Then they turn a bit further...

I swerve, barely missing the SUV. Barely means that we swapped paint.

12:54 p.m. :: Cops are called to the scene of our SECOND accident of the day. Fortunately, this lady said that it was her fault. No debate here. Best part about this was that after hearing about Ellen's ordeals in the morning, the ladies gather for a little "Oprah" session. In a turn lane, in the middle of the busiest road of the town. It does Ellen well, though, and lets her unload. You never know exactly where God's gifts'll turn up.


1:15 p.m. :: While waiting for the CGPD to show up, I call the doctor's office, letting them know that we'll be late. They tell me that the Dr.'s dance card is filled up for the day, and want to reschedule for next Tuesday. I ask about the other doctor, knowing that while it may not make Ellen happy, it's better than waiting for 4 days to get checked out. I get put on hold, then I'm told that they stopped doing those types of appointments a full year ago!

Y'know, typically, this would really make me angry and frustrated. Today, all I can do is laugh. I'll deal with my dissatisfaction later.

1:20 p.m. :: CGPD show up - it's the same two officers that responded to our first accident! I passed a church sign earlier in the day that said "Coincidence is when God wishes to remain anonymous." I kinda wished how this fell in His playbook...

1:30 p.m. :: We head over to the ER at St. Francis. I call our insurance agent with the update. We both agree that we all ought to be thankful for what this day DIDN'T bring.

4:15 p.m. :: We FINALLY leave the ER. Spending over 2 1/2 hours at the ER with a 3 year old and a 1 year old is NOT FUN.

5:00 p.m. :: After a few errands, picking up Ellen's paycheck, we head down to the airport to take part in a delicious, all-you-can-eat catfish dinner with my parents and grandma.

6:45 p.m. :: We get home, thankfully in one piece. You can't put enough emphasis on those last four words for a day like this. Waiting for us are a few friends, who we further debrief. I fire up the computer to debrief myself...

At least it's not 100 degrees and miserable inside the house.

And after much work, a 19th century house moves into the 21st century...

I've been off the blog a little over the past few weeks -- for a couple of reasons. One was the death of my grandma, (which got me out of the habit...more on that later...), and a few projects at work that sucked up a lot of time (which kept me out of the habit...). And there was this problem that really didn't make it any easier to keep this little resolution to myself...

Two years had passed since we last signed a contract for cellular service. And my phone was looking a little beat up (Ellen takes better care of her stuff...). So, we headed to the local Cingul--- ooops, I mean, AT&T store, and take a look around.

Now for the past year or three, we've lived out at my mother-in-law's place, just outside of town. A beautiful brick home, and in brickwork on the front is the date "1888." Yep, it's about 120 years old. Tall ceilings, plenty of windows, a steam radiator heating system that's pretty darn nice in the winter, and pretty good ventilation for the summertime. But the electrical system dates to about 1930-1940 (which is a pretty good reason why we haven't installed air-conditioning), and since we live "just outside of town," DSL and cable are unavavilable. We tried dial-up, but after two years of broadband speed in our previous house, that wasn't going to work. The satellite internet connection advertized on DirecTV constantly might work well, but coming up witl the $600 up front just for equipment posed a little bit of the problem. That, and our "view of the southern sky" is a little obstructed by trees half the age of the house. I'd try to do what I could at work (with it's beautiful 100 Mbps connection), but blogging on the clock after a little while is kinda frowned upon, even in a church!

Soooooo......we went to see if there'd be a way to access the internet through my spankin' new cell phone. And sure enough there was. And after about 3 weeks of troubleshooting, it's finally up and running. And so here we are. Or, more correctly, here I am. And hopefully, here I'll stay. At least for a little while...

Yep, it's August. And yep, it's hot...

AMEN!!!

by :: R.J. Matson
From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,

Tuesday, August 7th, 2007.

Time to say good bye, for a little while...

Funeral today at the funeral home, 10am.

Funeral Arrangements made

Visitation will be at Braun Funeral Home in Cahokia, from 4 until 8 p.m tomorrow (Sunday, June 24). The funeral will most likely be at the funeral home as well, but I don't have that time in front of me.

Any questions, let me know.

A sad way to begin the weekend...

Greetings, y'all:

Just wanted to let you all know that at about 12:30 this morning up in Columbia, IL, my grandma's brief battle with cancer ended as the Lord decided to take her home.

Funeral arrangements are, as far as I know, not yet set. The good thing is that Brandon and Renee are in Cape Girardeau, visiting family as Brandon is heading from to his new posting in Phoenix. The tricky thing is that he's due in Phoenix on the 30th. They were planning to leave Cape Sunday morning or early afternoon. So, to avoid a long drive (and a lot of logistical problems for Brandon and Renee), the visitation may be as early as tonight (Friday, June 22nd), with the funeral on Saturday, June 23rd. Or, the visitation may be on Monday, June 25th, with the funeral on Tuesday, June 26th. I'll keep things updated here on my blog. The only thing I'm fairly sure on is that visitation (and possibly the funeral) will be at Braun Funeral Home in Cahokia. But I'm not even 100% sure on that. And most of these conclusions were decided on while Ellen and I were hanging up the phone at 1:00 this morning. (w/o the benefit of coffee or chocolate, but with the benefit of quiet, sleeping children. Kinda balances out...)

Like I said, check the blog, give me a call, and I'll give you the latest.

Greg

For the first time, and for the last time it'll be true...

Happy 29th Birthday, Renee!

Daily Thought :: June 19th, 2007

Extraordianry people visualize
not what is possible or probable,
but rather what is impossible.
And by visualizing the impossible,
they begin to see it as possible."

:: Cherie Carter-Scott

Daily Thought -- June 18th, 2007

Iron rusts from disuse;
stagnant water loses its purity
and in cold, becomes frozen.
Even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind.

:: Leonardo da Vinci

Yep, this one describes me...

From my favorite wake-up morning show, "John Boy and Billy", this lit'l tune from "Married Man"...

"DAD TO THE BONE" :: Married Man
(To the tune of "Bad To The Bone" by George Thorogood)

I Get Up In The Mornin'
And I Go Off To Work
I Don't Like My Job
Cause The Boss Is A Jerk
But I Gotta Make That Money
Gotta Take It On Home
I'm Here To Tell You Buddy
That I'm Dad To The Bone
Dad To The Bone

Make A Thousand Bucks
But Still I Am Blue
Need A Thousand More Baby
For The Bills That Are Due
I'm In The Hole Pretty Baby
Sinkin Just Like A Stone
Got A Wife And Four Kids
I'm Dad To The Bone
Dad To The Bone...

Got Two Kids With Jelly
All Over Their Faces
One Who Needs A New Bike
And One That Needs Braces
Got A Wife Pretty Baby
With A Brand New Cellular Phone
I'm Bout To Go Broke
I'm Dad To The Bone
Dad To The Bone..

I Hear So Much Talk
My Ears Are Bleeding
My Life Is A Mess
And My Hairline's Receding
I'm A Wreck Pretty Baby
Makes Me Wanna Moan
I'm Here To Tell You Honey
That I'm Dad To The Bone
Dad To The Bone...

Happy Father's Day. And thanks.

Daily Thought -- June 17, 2007

Think that day lost whose descending sun
Views from thy hand no noble action done.

:: Jacob Bobart

"Freedom of Religion" :: A freedom to choose, not to "leave vacant"

One of the things we include in our weekly worship bulletins at church are often small thoughts and bible verses that serve either to focus and prepare our minds for worship (called "As We Gather"), or conclude the service with a thought to take home, a sort of punctuation on the end of the service (called "As We Depart"). Regardless on how creative we've been on titling these features, they often work rather well with the general message of the day. Many more times often than not, our worship coordinator and designer comes up with these, but sometimes, I surf the web, seeing what I can dredge up to serve in one of these two roles.

I was looking for something for our July 1st bulletin this past week, and as we always do, the Sunday before Independance Day takes a very patriotic flavor. In my web wanderings, I came across this from the Acton Institute,a a group up in Michigan that focuses on the writings of Lord Acton ("Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely...") It added some support to my thinking that a religion is necessary to a free society.

Here's a link to the article if you want to read it now, or save it until later...
http://www.acton.org/publicat/books/religion/hmention2.html

I've thought for some time that there's no way to "legisltate morality." (I've also thought for sometime that everyone has the unalienable, unstoppable, and unmutable "freedom to be as stupid, ignorant, and moronic as you can survive to be, which somehow ties into this...) But, in a sence, we need to inorder to have a free society. Why is it illegal to kill other people? To cheat? Lie, slander, steal from others? "Because it's morally wrong." Who says? In a society guided by a religion, it's a god (in most western cultures, the Christian God.) who holds the moral authority to set what is right and what is wrong. But in a society without a religion, who has the authorty to "play god"? That would be the state. See the USSR and Communist China for details on how that goes over.

But the thought that a religion, much less the Christian faith, as essential to a free society? It does make sence -- where in virtually every other religion, works, sacrifices, or some other duties are required to gain the favor of their god in order to please him/her/it, in an attempt to gain salvation and an eternal reward; in Christianity, all the "doing" stuff has already been done. (See any of the Gospels for that story). And later on, in the book of Epheisans...

Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (MSG)

So, it's either be a "slave" to fear (i.e., the State is the society's god), a slave to duty (i.e., religions that require you to do something in order to gain favor with god), or free people called to a duty to help others...

He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

Ephesians 2:10 (MSG)

Am I saying that in order to enjoy the rights and liberties of the United States, you must be a Christian? Absolutely not. As an American, I can't justly say that if your not a Christian, you have no right to speak, assemble, bear arms, to testify against your self in a court of law, to be free, voting citizens of this country. That's what, as an American, I stand against. But I do find comfort that in this society, in this country, I have the right to exist, to make my own choices, and to seek out and pursue my calling ("life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"). But here's the tough part. Nothing ever comes free, least of all freedom. Part of being free is living within the guardrails. And part of living free is a call to duty: to serve others and, in turn, serve my God and my country. This means, as I go speeding down the freeway of life, if I see someone out of gas, with a flat tire, or in need of directions to a great lit'l place to eat, I pull over and offer a helping hand.

Being an American isn't easy. It isn't cheap. And it's not a life for the lazy. But, the payout at the end of the day makes it all worth while.

What do you think?

Daily Thought II -- June 16, 2007

Found this in an article about the way the Sopranos ended it's run. It's a good view on the end of Tony, and in life in general:

Life doesn't have tidy little endings.

:: Steven Van Zandt
"Silvio Dante"
(and a side gig playing in
Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band)