AaaaaaaaaaaaHhhhhhhhhhhh, How things been with you?
Hey, Bub, You need a house to go with this door knob?
What a trip! What a trip! Blizzards all the way! Now 20 feet deep! But we had to get that serum through! I was mush, mush, mush all night! Come on, mush, mush, mush, mush. Mush! Suddenly the glacier cracks! There’ a roar! Ton of ice! No escape!
On Politics
Yes, the Supreme Court’s healthcare ruling surprised me, and I remain in shock from Chief Justice Roberts being the crossover vote. Interestingly though, he wrote the opinion. Here’ my bottom line: Justice Roberts shifted through all the political crap and judged the law for what it is.
Now, Congress needs to make the law better. Unfortunately, I can’t see that happening for some time.
After the ruling, I changed the channel or hit Mute when a representative or senator was commenting on the health care ruling. Blah, blah, blah, blah.
Earlier in the week, the high court ruled in the immigration case (Arizona v. United States). Justice Scalia (in his written opinion) clearly demonstrated judicial activism by going outside the merits of the case and into policy and politics.
Only Gov. Brewer (R-AZ) could declare victory in the immigration case after the court slams the Arizona law 3 of 4 times. Governor, baseball considers a .250 hitter as respectable, but far from great – and you aren’t playing baseball.
On Headlines from The Onion
Republicans, Leukemia Team Up to Repeal Health Care Law
Evolutionary Biologist Discovers Common Human Ancestor at Cousin’s Wedding
Pea Farmer Say They Alone Keep Peas from Overrunning Planet
Phil Mickelson’s Shower Caddy Recommends Sudsy 9-Iron
Bonsai Tree Finally Dies after Four-Year Battle with Student
Scientists to DNA Test Bigfoot Evidence
On Potpourri
I started the week in Dubuque, Iowa – a small city (50K) on the Mississippi River.
Oh no! My first-place Cincinnati Reds are on a west-coast swing – which past history screams Oh Crap!
Sadly, it seems Ann Curry has taken the fall for NBC’s Today show rating dip. Meanwhile, I have not watched the weekday show since producers paid Sarah Palin to guest host – and that was not Ann Curry’s fault!
A classic cartoon post will go up for your Saturday morning.
This Top 10 list (below) from David Letterman cracks me up. 310 is good, but #6 is my favorite; thus those words come to mind every time I hear the song.
Have a safe weekend everyone. In the words of Garrison Keillor; Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.
Mentioned on more than one occasion on these pages, our church has a wine tasting group. Our practicing mantra is a group for fun and fellowship with wine as vehicle. I know keep saying this, but I need to write a post about this group because others may want to try it.
One part of the event is a devotional, something that I had to do at the last event. I search the net and put together the following words. (Before starting, I asked participants to have some wine in their glass for a toast.)
Our wine, which art in heaven, hallowed by thy legs. They will be drunk, I will be drunk, at home, as in thy cellar. Give us this day, our daily glass, and forgive us our spillage, as we forgive those who spill against us. And lead us not to incarceration, but deliver us from hangovers. For thine is the Chardonnay, the Merlot and the Cabernet. Forever and ever. Amen. [Posted 8th August 2011 by Lynfred Winery (Illinois)]
Wine is a symbolism of life.
The twisted vines represent the strength we need in life
The roots anchor to the soil that is the source of stability and nourishment
The sun represents the power source carrying hopes of yielding good fruit
The grapes represent our childhood, our immaturity
Fermentation represents our challenges and struggles
Barrels carry our hope
The cup is the vessel we can hold in our hands for hope
The wine is the final product of the new life
The full cup of wine is an appreciation of the joys we hold
The toast is for the good in life
Wine is something we share.
Wine brings people together as it does here, at a wedding, and at the altar
Wine’s sweetness represents the joy of the occasion, the gladness in our heart, the mask of the bitterness in life
Wine is a symbol of friendship and love
Wine is symbolic with faith.
For Jews, red wine represents the blood on the door of the houses that protected them from the Angel of Death before the Exodus
For Christians, wine represents the blood of Christ
Jesus is the new wine – the good wine He provided at Cana
Wine is to bread as faith is to a full life
Filling the cup to the brim with wine represents the completeness that one’s commitment of life needs to be
Wine is symbolic of life
So tonight, as we share the cup of wine, we undertake the sharing of all that the future may bring.
Blessed art Though, Lord our God, King of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine. (a Jewish wine prayer)
And let us raise our glass to toast the spirit of wine.
A crazy week for me so far. I left Sunday to fly to a small city in Iowa. Tuesday morning I got up at a ridiculous hour to start the return trip home so I could be back in time for golf league. Flights and the drive were fine, but the golf is the worst I’ve played in some time. Maybe being tired affected my game, but I felt fine. I hate lousy golf!
Well, being in Iowa is why I have been at many of your sites in a few days. Nonetheless, let’s get some mid-week satire. A few weeks ago I shifted through the archive at The Onion looking for dog headlines. Well, cats have demanded equal time. Enjoy the mid-week chuckle. Any favorite?
Owner Pleads with Cat to Respect Fuzzy Object
Cat Taught not to Sleep in Wok
Independent Bookstore Acquires Cat
Inspiring Cat Overcomes Prejudice to Win Westminster Dog Show
Local Cat Attempts World Record for Things Sat On
Area Cat Allergic to Area Man Named Kevin
Raccoon, Cat, Can’t Remember What They Were Fighting About
Evil Genius Cat Subpoened
Cat Fancy Magazine Blasts Area Kitten
Cat Prepare for Anal Display in Owner’s Face
Papal Apartment Found Filled with Old Newspapers, Empty Pill Bottles, and Mangy Cats
I find it interesting when hearing Christians say one has to choose between religion and evolution. Another spark of interest is when atheists and/or agnostic say that because one is a Christian, that person must take the Genesis account of creation literally.
To add to the fray, not long about I did this post about evolution without mentioning religion, yet numerous comments mentioned religion. Does all this imply or assume a natural conflict between religion and theology? – Especially because one relies on facts about the natural world and the other relies on an inward faith in something outside the natural world that science cannot prove or disprove.
Faith is a complex, yet bold and loving trust about God, God’s grace, and God’s creation that changes our heart, thoughts, and actions. Faith is not proof and does not require proof. It is through this gift from God (Ephesians 2:8), the unconditional trust of faith, that Christians place themselves into the hands of God for care, comfort, reassurance, strength, and protection. Faith is also the trust Christians place in God for the positive future when God reveals himself to us in eternal life. (1 Peter 1:3-5, John 11:26-27)
I appreciate this description of faith by Lutheran Theologian Dr. Ted Peters:
I describe science as a way of knowing, but not the only way. Although science and theology examine different realms of human life, integrating the two leads us to a newer and deeper perspective of nature. Using science, theology, philosophy, psychology, history, ethics, and other social sciences enhances our understanding as each provides a layer of information and perspective into a quest for meaning; however, science cannot detect or measure faith. Science cannot test a God is everywhere hypothesis. Besides, these statements are outside the boundaries of science. Again, from Dr. Peters (2009):
Believing faith is justified by appeal both to the story of Jesus we find in God’s Word and to reason as well. Reason supports faith, even if this support never completely expunges all doubt. Scientific reasoning provides helpful knowledge of the created world in which we live, to be sure; but its method restricts itself to looking for natural causes. Modern science is blind to transcendent reality. This blindness is not proof that no transcendent reality exists. People with strong Christian faith can work quite happily in scientific research.
The way science opens our eyes to nature, we can get a broad perspective of creation. As the United Church of Christ states, “We are seeing nature with new eyes, and what we see fills us with wonder and praise.”
Dr. John Haught (Georgetown University) describes how science and theology together enhances a two-dimensional Flatland into a multi-dimension view.
It is our own attachment to Flatland that leads us to an either/or rather than a both/and way of thinking about natural and divine creativity. Thus, we think we have to make a choice between explaining the diversity of life in terms of either natural selection or divine creation. (Responses to 101 Questions on God and Evolution, 2001)
Faith is a spirit. Faith is confidence. Faith is a power of hearing and understanding the word with the hope of living by the word. Faith is a belief in a presence of unconditional love, forgiveness, and eternal life. Faith is a confidence of God at work in our lives, including our ability to discover and understand the world through science. Faith is a trust to never let go.
Image from John Haught’s book Responses to 101 Questions on God and Evolution (Paulist Press)
