Why Is There a Church?

Anna Fleming at Asbury Theological Seminary has been reading Bonhoeffer's Life Together. So has the writer of Downshore Drift. Bohoeffer has a very powerful message about the meaning the foundation of Christian community; it's worth an exerpt here:

By sheer grace, God will not permit us to live even for a brief period in a dream world. He does not abandon us to those rapturous experiences and lofty moods that come over us like a dream. God is not a God of the emotions but the God of truth. Only that fellowship which faces such disillusionment, with all its unhappy and ugly aspects, begins to be what it should be in God's sight, begins to grasp in faith the promise that is given to it. The sooner this shock of disillusonment comes to an individual and to a community the better for both. A community which cannot bear and cannot survive such a crisis, which insists upon keeping its illusion when it should be shattered, permanently loses in that moment the promise of Christian community. Sooner or later it will collapse. Every human wish dream that is injected into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be banished if genuine community is to survive. He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial.

Your author has been pondering the purpose of a Church, of the Christian "community". It seems that it could be a hinderance to spriritual growth rather than a vital ingredient. This concern goes beyond the bickering and discord caused by the well-known political and doctrinal disputes that plague the main Christian churches (homosexuality, charismatics, ordination of women, "liberation theology", "social justice", or "Christian values", creationism and Bibical literalism, the presence of Christ in bread and wine, the frequency of communion, stewardship and tithing, and so on) . Is one's spiritual growth stunted when lulled into the belief that being in a church and attending worship services is the principal component of God's presence in our lives, with little contact or experience of God outside of this context? Is our experience of God only through Word, Prayer, and Sacraments? Is this belief necessary for a Christian? Is there yet another way to feel God's presence (but not charismatics), or is asking for such a betrayal of faith? Is such a desire just another wish dream? Your author, with his feeble powers, has finally stumbled upon these ancient questions, and hopes to rediscover a few answers as supplied by the better brains of time.

Fontinalis Paradise.

A few weeks ago I fished a river in NW Michigan (that will remain nameless) that possessed the most spectacular brook trout fishing that I have ever experienced. The water was cold and clear (Coke Bottle Blue Pools!) and the myriad of sunken logs and sweepers was quintessential brookie habitat. It was nonstop action for three hours. All the fish measured under 10", but they were healthy and full of fight. The river revealed what the Michigan brook trout fishery could be throughout the state.

(you can purchase this lovely print by Homer at AllPosters.com)

The Senate's All-Nighter.


Last night's discussion featured some eloquence advocating defeat of the Levin-Reid Amendment, most notably McCain and Lieberman. Supporters of the amendment appear to have no substantial reply to the question "then what happens?" after a scheduled withdrawl.


The discussion pales in comparison to previous debates in the Senate (see figure).

Another Opinon about Iraq.

Rick Lynch, the commanding general of the historic Third Infantry Division, talks about the progress on the ground.

Keepers of the Flame.

Is the name of the best cigar blog out there (our opinion). Indeed, it is the paradigm for cigar blogs: thorough, well written reviews on cigars. Highly recommended!

Also, check out the National Cigar Museum.

An Axiom of Nature.

When a deer fly finds you, it becomes a epic struggle that can only result in one of three outcomes: (a) she bites you, (b) you kill her, or (c) she bites you and you kill her. They are the Kamikazes of Nature, and are justifiably loathesome.

Footnote: The feminine description is used because it is the females that bite. The males appear to be content with collecting pollen.

Saving Internet Radio.

On March 2, 2007 the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), which oversees sound recording royalties paid by Internet(IR) Radio services, increased IR's royalty burden between 300 and 1200 percent. IR royalties were already double what satellite radio pays: the 2005 royalty rate was 7/100 of a penny per song streamed; the 2010 rate will be 19/100 of a penny per song streamed. In particular, the agreement by which small-scale webcasters who had paid royalties as a fraction of revenue was abolished, and royalties will be paid on a per listener (stream) basis-per song basis. No such "per listener" charge is applied to over-the-air performances, nor for satellite broadcasting. These payments would also be applied retroactively to January 2006.

Now, is this the market in fair play? Well, artists are entitled to fair compensation for the performance of their work, and is the availability of on-demand entertainment is not a civil right. If these are the arguements, then there should be a uniform rate for recorded performances, be they played by broadcast radio, satellite radio, or IR. IR stream capture is thievery and threatens fair compensation, but then so does HD radio or any diversion of speaker output from any radio to an A/D recorder. The lopsidedness of the rate schedule against IR strongly suggests that the goal of the high rate is to kill it off, or to reduce its participation to very large scale entities that would allow the recording industry some control over their playlists. And that may zero out the royalty compensation for many small label artists that do not get air or satellite playtime. The impact goes beyond indie and small label artists. Any artist or performance that does not pass the profit-metric threshold for commerical broadcast radio, or is considered too small of a market for "push" by the recording industry, will not be heard. There is other fallout such as the narrowing of playlists for a given artist - the repetition of one or two tracks from a given album (ah, to hear all of "Wish You Were Here". Those were the days!). These efforts reduce both choice for listeners and opportunity for artists.

On the July 15th the first royalty payments (including retroactive charges) were to be made to SoundExchange (the collection agency for the recording industry). This has now been postponed while negotiations continue.

Liberty and Tolerance.

Well aware that the opinions and belief of men depend not on their own will, but follow involuntarily the evidence proposed to their minds; that Almighty God hath created the mind free, and manifested his supreme will that free it shall remain by making it altogether insusceptible of restraint; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments, or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, who being lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do, but to extend it by its influence on reason alone; that the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavoring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and through all time...

We the General Assembly of Virginia do enact that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities. -

Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom Draft for a Bill to Establish Religious Freedom in Virginia , 1779.

...these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States...

A Glorious Independence Day, and give full honor to it: when Man asserted that rights were a natural endowment from his Creator, and not portioned out by one man to another!

Need some mood music?

A Noteable Publication.

Check out The Claremont Review of Books.

Victory in Congressional Accountability.

Under the Mainstream Meatpacker radar, Porkbusters reports that earmarks in bills will be disclosed in full in the House.

What is Meatballism?

Meatballism is a term coined by Jean Shepherd (of radio, PBS, and A Christmas Story fame). It can be defined as the loss of individuality by uncritical acceptance of statements, designations, and claims of fact.

As an example, Shepherd used the noxious substitution by businesses of the the word "employee" with "associate" - which apparently plagued America as early as 1957. This habit continues, where Wal-Mart has "associates", Starbucks has "baristas", other businesses use "partners", "team members", "hosts", etc. Where in the heck does the word "barista" even come from? It's Italian, and supposedly it designates an expert at expresso making. This term is a sop to the English major whose pushing the buttons on the coffee machine at Starbucks (no offense intended, it's honest work) as if the guy has been endowed by the Starbucks elders with The Secret Coffee Wisdom. And it's supposed to make the rest of us feel truly blessed and honored to pay $3.50 for some expresso, milk, and froth: my Barista made it just for me!

Meatballism is the tap root of political correctness, fear mongering (e.g. cancerous BBQ), and the hemlock of modern life - euphemizing evil.

The Fearmonger's 4th.

Just in time for the celebration of Independence Day are the appearance of hysterical articles on the deadly effects of BBQ. The highlight in the retread "news" article: no standards for exposure to carcinogenic grillchar have yet been established. So let's all play it safe: stay in your hermetically sealed vestibules, and engage only in virtual grilling on YouTube. But just in case, limit that to avoid eyestrain.

The Grouchy American.

The Anchoress tells two stories that illustrate how we are becoming boring, intolerant, ideological slobs.

A Failure of Leadership.

But not as the New York Times asserts. The real failure of leadership in the immigration reform effort was the astonishing lack of common sense in enforcment provisions, the lack of focus on the principal goal of the reform - national security, the insult it delivered to those resident aliens who have followed the letter of the law in applying for citizenship, and the arrogance displayed by the backroom bill crafters toward the legitimate concerns of citizens. The Times editorial explicitly calls out the Cornyn amendment with an accusation against it that is just nonsense. (The Times calls the amendment to establish a permanent bar for gang members, terrorists, and other criminals "strip[ing] confidentiality protections for immigrants who apply for legal status, making them too frightened to leave the shadows." Ye Gods - what bombast).

The Four Freedoms.

It is important to remember what the promise of freedom means to the people of the world. Here is a clear articulation of what this struggle is all about:

"In the future days which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

The first is freedom of speech and expression — everywhere in the world.

The second is Freedom of worship. That is, freedom of every person to worship whomever (be it God, or any other deity/deities) in his own way — everywhere in the world.

The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants — everywhere in the world.

The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor — anywhere in the world.

That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called "new order" of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb."

— Franklin Delano Roosevelt, excerpted from the Annual Message to the Congress, January 6, 1941

Believe It Or Not!

These guys were Democrats, and they did not cower when threatened by totalitarianism!

Is the ELCA anti-Israel?

I attended our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Synod Assembly, where one of the resolutions that was adopted was the call for a "two state" solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Well, fair enough perhaps, but this is a substantial political ante by Israel. Did the resolution explicitly call for a similar concession by the political authority of the Palestinians, namely the recognition of the right of Israel to exist, and renounciation of terrorism? Nope.

Another major theme at the meeting was the "Separation Wall" that Israel is erecting between West Bank Palestinian regions, Jewish settlements, and Israel. The ELCA is calling for the immediate halt to construction of the wall, citing the hardship that it creating for many Palestinians. Attendees were shown a well-crafted video documenting the plight of Palestinian families, and appeal by the Jerusalem Bishop of the ELCA for American Lutherans to join in the opposition to the wall, and a comments by an official of the Israeli government.

Yes, it's causing such hardship. It's also helped to reduce the number of suicide bombings in Israel. And this seems to be the 800-pound gorilla that the ELCA leadership will not acknowledge in the discussion. Peace in the Mideast must begin with cessation of sixty years of Arab hostilities toward Israel. It's a simple request: stop the terror killings of Jews and abandon efforts to annihilate Israel. Simple - but not easy. The ELCA's reluctance to clearly recognize this essential ingredient to Mideast peace is baffling.

The ELCA's positions on advocacy in the Middle East can be found here.

A Reagan Perspective on Today's Challenge.

Today's threat may be different in details, but Reagan's resolve is still the right medicine.

Opening Day, 2007.

Beautiful weekend, and tough fishing. A sudden drop in water temperature put the fish off their chow. The occasional brookie could be seduced by a Borcher's, Pheasant Tail, or Olive Bead Head Hare's Ear. Quite a few Hendricksons and BWOs were popping off the water, but the fish just weren't interested.

The Mystery of the Trout remains unsolved.