I heard this question posed on the radio this morning: Do test tube babies have souls?
Uh, yes. Next question?
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Intelligent design and other tidbits this week
"Beta" body parts -- While talking with my doc this week (just a check-up) we went through the laundry list of ailments and oddities that seems to grow with each year and I made the comment that if there really was such a thing as intelligent design, we would have been given cheekbones with hinges to accommodate swollen sinuses. He agreed saying no offense to God and all that, but from his viewpoint there were a lot of body parts that didn't seem to have moved beyond the beta version. We both had little chuckle about the foibles of the human body and moved on through the rest of the exam, but it got me to thinking that it must be simultaneously easy and hard to be a medical professional and be a person of faith. Daily there are those "gee whiz" moments where doctors and nurses encounter life's big and little miracles. Yet, at the same time, on the same days oftentimes, they also see those moments where they must wonder what kind of a God would have anything to do with horrible diseases, accidents and demons in people's heads and lives. I admire those medical folks and am grateful for their ministry (yes, they are ministering to humanity, which is a very real way of honoring creation).
Roe v. Wade -- There was an anniversary of this ruling last week. Abortion is one of those things where words have really gotten in the way of the heart of the matter. Words I've seen and heard surrounding the anniversary include: pro-life, pro-abortion, pro-choice, celebrate, mourn, and more. I can't really say that any of these words speak to me. Bob and I have done everything in our power to avoid pregnancy, yet, we decided years ago that should I ever get pregnant, we would be having a baby. Thankfully, our efforts to thwart pregnancy have succeeded. But, that doesn't mean that I land in the camp that says that you should practice birth control, but if you get pregnant, well, too bad. I don't think any woman wakes up in the morning and says "by golly, I think I'll go out and get me one of them abortions, since they're legal and all that." No, I don't think it's an easy decision and my heart goes out for those who despite their best efforts (or not) end up pregnant and choose a pretty invasive medical procedure for reasons that are their own. There's a group I've heard about at the seminary that's called something along the lines of religious people for reproductive rights (or something like that). I've picked up the occasional flier at info tables, but for my own sanity, I just can't get involved in one more thing right now.
Dogs are people, too -- We had some wonderful house guests this weekend and it sounded as if the two of them had been having an ongoing discussion about whether dogs have feelings or not. I don't think that the one who was scoffing at the notion was necessarily implying that dogs don't have some sort of a reaction to what's going on around them, but I think the thought was that they aren't human, so don't attribute human emotions to them. I often think along those same lines when it comes to God. When we get to trying to impose human emotions and reactions on God, we've crossed the line of creating God in our own image. I often stumble when I read the bits that go along the lines of "I am a jealous God...blah, blah, blah..." I get to those parts and my ability to see the inspired word of God tunes out. People have this weird tendancy toward anthropomorphism, rather than appreciating creation (and the creator) for what it is. But, still, aren't dogs people, too?
Roe v. Wade -- There was an anniversary of this ruling last week. Abortion is one of those things where words have really gotten in the way of the heart of the matter. Words I've seen and heard surrounding the anniversary include: pro-life, pro-abortion, pro-choice, celebrate, mourn, and more. I can't really say that any of these words speak to me. Bob and I have done everything in our power to avoid pregnancy, yet, we decided years ago that should I ever get pregnant, we would be having a baby. Thankfully, our efforts to thwart pregnancy have succeeded. But, that doesn't mean that I land in the camp that says that you should practice birth control, but if you get pregnant, well, too bad. I don't think any woman wakes up in the morning and says "by golly, I think I'll go out and get me one of them abortions, since they're legal and all that." No, I don't think it's an easy decision and my heart goes out for those who despite their best efforts (or not) end up pregnant and choose a pretty invasive medical procedure for reasons that are their own. There's a group I've heard about at the seminary that's called something along the lines of religious people for reproductive rights (or something like that). I've picked up the occasional flier at info tables, but for my own sanity, I just can't get involved in one more thing right now.
Dogs are people, too -- We had some wonderful house guests this weekend and it sounded as if the two of them had been having an ongoing discussion about whether dogs have feelings or not. I don't think that the one who was scoffing at the notion was necessarily implying that dogs don't have some sort of a reaction to what's going on around them, but I think the thought was that they aren't human, so don't attribute human emotions to them. I often think along those same lines when it comes to God. When we get to trying to impose human emotions and reactions on God, we've crossed the line of creating God in our own image. I often stumble when I read the bits that go along the lines of "I am a jealous God...blah, blah, blah..." I get to those parts and my ability to see the inspired word of God tunes out. People have this weird tendancy toward anthropomorphism, rather than appreciating creation (and the creator) for what it is. But, still, aren't dogs people, too?
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
When I grow up, I'm gonna be...
It's funny, for a blog by a seminarian, I spend very little time talking about life after seminary. Perhaps that's because I don't have a friggn' clue what I'll be doing. Most often, I think about doing a chaplaincy somewhere, most compelling to me is hospice chaplaincy. Still, there are some things about the parish ministry that appeal to me.
As a lay person, I'm no slouch when it comes to church administration. I've made my way around the block when it comes to council meetings, reading financial statements, writing policies and even drafting and ratifying a constitution and some bylaws. While this sort of thing puts most people into a coma, I've found I've been able to further my lefty agenda under the radar, yet within plain viewing, by how things are put into a congregation's constitution or other important, but boring-sounding documents.
I would love the visitation part. I loved doing home visits in my past life when I was schlepping insurance for a "faith-based organization." Hanging out with the elderly has never been an issue for me. These folks deserve our time, and we have lots to learn from them, if we'd only slow down and be patient.
The writer in me would actually appreciate the exercise of writing a weekly sermon. I say this as I'm coming down from the high of delivering one of my better sermons to date -- at my old home congregation, no less. Without sounding all big on myself or anything, I think it went pretty well. It was a little light on the academic side of theology, but it was pretty strong in terms of pointing out what this particular congregation is doing well and challenging them to do more.
So, what's holding me back from embracing the idea of a full-time parish ministry? A lot of things. Some people are still surprised to hear I'm an introvert, but just because I can sometimes fake it doesn't mean I can consistently do so. I can seem aloof and uncaring sometimes. I think my personality probably wouldn't be great for a long-term relationship with a church community.
But, I have been toying with another idea...I mentioned it over a couple of beers after last semester's finals to some of my classmates, and they seemed to think it might work, too. I sometimes think being an interim minister might be a good solution. I can do a lot of the things I'm interested in, yet I can keep a little distance from some of the things that make me nuts (or at least be able to point them out to the congregation and know that I won't be there forever). I need to do more investigating about what I can do in this vein in my current denomination. I know the "other" denomination has "intentional interims" but I also know I'd probably lose my mind if I went back to that tradition on a full-time basis.
This particular posting isn't really going to be too interesting to others, but it dawned on me that I needed to spend at least a little time thinking through this question before the insanity of working full-time and going back to school part-time begins again. After all, I'm spending a ton of money and time to do this. I really should have at least a bit of a clue what I'm going to do with this education when I'm done, shouldn't I? Then, why do I have this funny feeling that any preconceived notions are going to be chewed up and spit out by the time I'm done?
If I were a believer in intercessory prayer, I'd ask you to say a prayer for me. What the hell, if you're the praying type give 'er a whack!
As a lay person, I'm no slouch when it comes to church administration. I've made my way around the block when it comes to council meetings, reading financial statements, writing policies and even drafting and ratifying a constitution and some bylaws. While this sort of thing puts most people into a coma, I've found I've been able to further my lefty agenda under the radar, yet within plain viewing, by how things are put into a congregation's constitution or other important, but boring-sounding documents.
I would love the visitation part. I loved doing home visits in my past life when I was schlepping insurance for a "faith-based organization." Hanging out with the elderly has never been an issue for me. These folks deserve our time, and we have lots to learn from them, if we'd only slow down and be patient.
The writer in me would actually appreciate the exercise of writing a weekly sermon. I say this as I'm coming down from the high of delivering one of my better sermons to date -- at my old home congregation, no less. Without sounding all big on myself or anything, I think it went pretty well. It was a little light on the academic side of theology, but it was pretty strong in terms of pointing out what this particular congregation is doing well and challenging them to do more.
So, what's holding me back from embracing the idea of a full-time parish ministry? A lot of things. Some people are still surprised to hear I'm an introvert, but just because I can sometimes fake it doesn't mean I can consistently do so. I can seem aloof and uncaring sometimes. I think my personality probably wouldn't be great for a long-term relationship with a church community.
But, I have been toying with another idea...I mentioned it over a couple of beers after last semester's finals to some of my classmates, and they seemed to think it might work, too. I sometimes think being an interim minister might be a good solution. I can do a lot of the things I'm interested in, yet I can keep a little distance from some of the things that make me nuts (or at least be able to point them out to the congregation and know that I won't be there forever). I need to do more investigating about what I can do in this vein in my current denomination. I know the "other" denomination has "intentional interims" but I also know I'd probably lose my mind if I went back to that tradition on a full-time basis.
This particular posting isn't really going to be too interesting to others, but it dawned on me that I needed to spend at least a little time thinking through this question before the insanity of working full-time and going back to school part-time begins again. After all, I'm spending a ton of money and time to do this. I really should have at least a bit of a clue what I'm going to do with this education when I'm done, shouldn't I? Then, why do I have this funny feeling that any preconceived notions are going to be chewed up and spit out by the time I'm done?
If I were a believer in intercessory prayer, I'd ask you to say a prayer for me. What the hell, if you're the praying type give 'er a whack!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Giving to Caesar
19Show me the coin used for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. 20Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ 21They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ ~Matt 22:19-21
I'm usually freakishly on top of our personal finances, but since going back to school, I've let some things slip. No, I still hold my four decades and holding track record of no bounced checks, but I didn't take Thanksgiving weekend to start doing pre-work for our taxes. I didn't even do it on New Years Eve. Nope, here it is January and I haven't even started to organize tax-related stuff. Well, that's not entirely true -- I did have a minor meltdown on my birthday and ran a quick report from Microsoft Money to see where we were standing in terms of charitable giving. To be sure, with two of us in seminary, the number was low, but I just couldn't stand the thought of 2008 go by without "throwing more money away" to charity.
My 40th birthday present to myself was to give a not-so-insignificant chunk of change to the local food shelf. This was our second gift this year. We were absolutely sickened at the thought of taking that cash rebate late this spring and gave half of it to the food shelf. Selfishly, we took the other half and used it to pay for part of another class for Bob. Yeah, we're THAT kind of liberal couple. We actually pay our taxes and wonder why it is we're not paying more.
Okay, here's a little confession about the above statement. When I say we pay our taxes without much of a fight, it's because we have this sort of Disney-esque vision of what happens with our tax dollars. Ours don't go to one of the zillions of government-backed activities that we don't agree with. Nope, our tax dollars are magically carried by little bluebirds to things like roads, schools and health care. We have the magic electronic funds transfer in which our money goes only to things we back.
I know our thoughts on taxes puts us WAY far out there. Heck, even my wonderfully socialist mother, who I've used without much irony the phrase "good for the collective," started having issues with taxes in the past two presidential terms, saying she could understand sheltering some money so "Bush couldn't get it to buy more bombs." But, lest you think we wouldn't funnel money to the military, our little bluebirds made sure that at least a portion went to things like sufficient equipment to protect the soldiers and sailors who were ordered to put themselves in harm's way for reasons we disagree (and if you asked them, I suspect at least a few of those service folks would also have their doubts).
So, when I finally start doing my preliminary work tomorrow to get our financial house in order, I'll remember the reason I have a Monday in January off in the first place. MLK Day marks a day of remembrance for not just one individual but for the actions of many who sacrificed to further the cause of equality to ALL people. If at the end of the day, I find I'm going to give a little something back to Caesar, I'll give a quick prayer for the leadership, who will be overseeing the gigantic ledger of funds coming in from the millions of bluebirds across this nation, to have the wisdom to spend it wisely. I'm hopeful that my annual exercise in paying my share will shift from wishful thinking to doing real good. I'll see your Caesar and raise you another.
I'm usually freakishly on top of our personal finances, but since going back to school, I've let some things slip. No, I still hold my four decades and holding track record of no bounced checks, but I didn't take Thanksgiving weekend to start doing pre-work for our taxes. I didn't even do it on New Years Eve. Nope, here it is January and I haven't even started to organize tax-related stuff. Well, that's not entirely true -- I did have a minor meltdown on my birthday and ran a quick report from Microsoft Money to see where we were standing in terms of charitable giving. To be sure, with two of us in seminary, the number was low, but I just couldn't stand the thought of 2008 go by without "throwing more money away" to charity.
My 40th birthday present to myself was to give a not-so-insignificant chunk of change to the local food shelf. This was our second gift this year. We were absolutely sickened at the thought of taking that cash rebate late this spring and gave half of it to the food shelf. Selfishly, we took the other half and used it to pay for part of another class for Bob. Yeah, we're THAT kind of liberal couple. We actually pay our taxes and wonder why it is we're not paying more.
Okay, here's a little confession about the above statement. When I say we pay our taxes without much of a fight, it's because we have this sort of Disney-esque vision of what happens with our tax dollars. Ours don't go to one of the zillions of government-backed activities that we don't agree with. Nope, our tax dollars are magically carried by little bluebirds to things like roads, schools and health care. We have the magic electronic funds transfer in which our money goes only to things we back.
I know our thoughts on taxes puts us WAY far out there. Heck, even my wonderfully socialist mother, who I've used without much irony the phrase "good for the collective," started having issues with taxes in the past two presidential terms, saying she could understand sheltering some money so "Bush couldn't get it to buy more bombs." But, lest you think we wouldn't funnel money to the military, our little bluebirds made sure that at least a portion went to things like sufficient equipment to protect the soldiers and sailors who were ordered to put themselves in harm's way for reasons we disagree (and if you asked them, I suspect at least a few of those service folks would also have their doubts).
So, when I finally start doing my preliminary work tomorrow to get our financial house in order, I'll remember the reason I have a Monday in January off in the first place. MLK Day marks a day of remembrance for not just one individual but for the actions of many who sacrificed to further the cause of equality to ALL people. If at the end of the day, I find I'm going to give a little something back to Caesar, I'll give a quick prayer for the leadership, who will be overseeing the gigantic ledger of funds coming in from the millions of bluebirds across this nation, to have the wisdom to spend it wisely. I'm hopeful that my annual exercise in paying my share will shift from wishful thinking to doing real good. I'll see your Caesar and raise you another.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
The morality of cars
Figured I'd finish this post that I started several days ago before it's totally outdated...
*** ***** ***
Let me just start by saying I'm fully aware that it is only because I have the privilege of being firmly in the middle class that I can even have such a "dilemma" as this. "What's the issue?" you ask. (No, no one really asked, I like the rhetorical device.)
Well, here's the deal. Bob and I are both quite uncomfortable about owning a new car. The phrase we've used is that we don't "deserve" a new car. We don't mean this in the sense of my mother-in-law who will sometimes use the phrase "I'm not deserving" of XXX. We're not saying that we have low self-esteems and believe that we as individuals don't deserve a new car. We're looking at it more as a societal thing. With so many out there with substandard homes and erratic modes of transportation, do any of us deserve to have a leather-wrapped steering wheel and lots of buttons and such so that one need not move her hands to turn up the satellite radio?
That's not to say that I don't appreciate having reliable transportation on one of the coldest weeks of the last decade. After having a breakdown last week and waiting for what felt like an eternity, I did think there might be something more fiscally sane in getting a newer car with a warranty, rather than dumping thousands of dollars into another used car and the subsequent repairs, only to find myself again sitting on the side of the road in the dark. (Yes, I fully understand depreciation of vehicles and all that, but I also understand that I'm a person who stops watches merely by wearing them -- I'm an anomaly when it comes to mechanical things and have always been the one who's gotten my money's worth out of warranties.)
Still, we do have a little bit of that "liberal guilt" over having something a little more than we need (or maybe a lot more) when there are so many who have way less. But on the same token, I don't want to be one of those people (and we all know them) who works themselves into a bitter old age where they've never fully appreciated what they have because they've been too busy trying to square up some artificial construct of what they see as their "debt to God."
It's not like God issues a bill and there's a bean counter at the pearly gates with an adding machine who's going to see if you've paid off your share. Well, at least, I don't think there is. But, still, I wonder what the going "do-gooder" rate is for a volume control on the steering wheel?
*** ***** ***
Let me just start by saying I'm fully aware that it is only because I have the privilege of being firmly in the middle class that I can even have such a "dilemma" as this. "What's the issue?" you ask. (No, no one really asked, I like the rhetorical device.)
Well, here's the deal. Bob and I are both quite uncomfortable about owning a new car. The phrase we've used is that we don't "deserve" a new car. We don't mean this in the sense of my mother-in-law who will sometimes use the phrase "I'm not deserving" of XXX. We're not saying that we have low self-esteems and believe that we as individuals don't deserve a new car. We're looking at it more as a societal thing. With so many out there with substandard homes and erratic modes of transportation, do any of us deserve to have a leather-wrapped steering wheel and lots of buttons and such so that one need not move her hands to turn up the satellite radio?
That's not to say that I don't appreciate having reliable transportation on one of the coldest weeks of the last decade. After having a breakdown last week and waiting for what felt like an eternity, I did think there might be something more fiscally sane in getting a newer car with a warranty, rather than dumping thousands of dollars into another used car and the subsequent repairs, only to find myself again sitting on the side of the road in the dark. (Yes, I fully understand depreciation of vehicles and all that, but I also understand that I'm a person who stops watches merely by wearing them -- I'm an anomaly when it comes to mechanical things and have always been the one who's gotten my money's worth out of warranties.)
Still, we do have a little bit of that "liberal guilt" over having something a little more than we need (or maybe a lot more) when there are so many who have way less. But on the same token, I don't want to be one of those people (and we all know them) who works themselves into a bitter old age where they've never fully appreciated what they have because they've been too busy trying to square up some artificial construct of what they see as their "debt to God."
It's not like God issues a bill and there's a bean counter at the pearly gates with an adding machine who's going to see if you've paid off your share. Well, at least, I don't think there is. But, still, I wonder what the going "do-gooder" rate is for a volume control on the steering wheel?
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Message from God in the form of a broken down Saturn?
Remember the earlier post about mosquitoes? The precipitating event was my car breaking down while I was driving it. Well, it happened again last night. The car that is, not the mosquitoes. This time, it didn't restart, and I had to cool my heels (literally) for nearly 2 1/2 hours waiting for a tow. (Fortunately, Bob managed to arrive about an hour into the ordeal, so I got to sit in a sorta warm car for the second half of the wait.)
Well, I know a lot of people who try to superimpose God's hand on everything. I'm not one of them, but I kinda like the mental exercise involved with that line of thinking, so what would last night be saying about me and about God? Hmmmm...
God's pissed at me -- While I have no doubt the almighty has a bone or two to pick with me, I don't think the punishment would be meted out via a decrepit Saturn. Not enough symbolism.
God wants me to be more thoughtful -- Uh, I dunno. I do tend to find the cheapest alternative out there and live with the consequences. I buy the cheapest house on the market when I'm looking and live with the repair bills. (But I also don't have any real fears of not being able to make my mortgage payments which are awfully low.) I take cheap vacations and while I don't have the cushy seats on the plane or the fluffiest comforter, I manage to get to my intended locale and sleep reasonably well. So it's the cars. Yeah, I suck at buying cars. But I don't know how much more thoughtfulness would play in. I've had more luck with my impulse bargain purchases than the ones I've researched. I take pretty good care of my cars, yet as Bob gleefully points out, he gets an oil change about twice a year, and he's had relatively few problems. Maybe instead of being too thoughtful in the car department, I over think it. But then, I have to go back to wondering why God would give a monkey's butt about my decision making process for car purchases.
God wants me to know I have friends -- Maybe. I certainly am fortunate to have a spouse who was willing to drop what he was doing and drive out to keep me company during my long, dark wait. This isn't the first time he's come to my rescue. Not only is he a good spouse, he's a good friend. That's cool and maybe I needed to be reminded of it. Maybe. Then, after more than two hours in the car, on a fluke, I turned on my Palm Pilot and scanned for a wifi signal. Darned if there wasn't a pretty decent signal. So I posted a note on Facebook and got a number of responses to my comment and even a couple of notes in my in box. There was a lot of kidding, but also some concern. I most certainly wasn't fishing for reinforcement that I have friends, but it was nice to be reminded of it. So God takes an active role in making sure I know I have friends? Not so sure. It's not like I was down and could really use a morale boost. I was simply trying to go home and have a bite to eat. So, I ended up a little hungry, but not in a state of despair. It seems to me that God would be more concerned for those who are hopeless and in real need to give that reminder. Seems like a bit of squandered grace to me.
But, maybe that's the point. I willy nilly purchase cars, sometimes with great thought and care and it doesn't pan out. Other times, on a whim I make a purchase that seems like it's squandering money only to find later on that it worked out pretty well in the long run. Is there a connection? Who's to say what's a squandered effort, anyway? Maybe there's something to be said for throwing caution to the wind. Maybe I should over-think that for a while.
Well, I know a lot of people who try to superimpose God's hand on everything. I'm not one of them, but I kinda like the mental exercise involved with that line of thinking, so what would last night be saying about me and about God? Hmmmm...
God's pissed at me -- While I have no doubt the almighty has a bone or two to pick with me, I don't think the punishment would be meted out via a decrepit Saturn. Not enough symbolism.
God wants me to be more thoughtful -- Uh, I dunno. I do tend to find the cheapest alternative out there and live with the consequences. I buy the cheapest house on the market when I'm looking and live with the repair bills. (But I also don't have any real fears of not being able to make my mortgage payments which are awfully low.) I take cheap vacations and while I don't have the cushy seats on the plane or the fluffiest comforter, I manage to get to my intended locale and sleep reasonably well. So it's the cars. Yeah, I suck at buying cars. But I don't know how much more thoughtfulness would play in. I've had more luck with my impulse bargain purchases than the ones I've researched. I take pretty good care of my cars, yet as Bob gleefully points out, he gets an oil change about twice a year, and he's had relatively few problems. Maybe instead of being too thoughtful in the car department, I over think it. But then, I have to go back to wondering why God would give a monkey's butt about my decision making process for car purchases.
God wants me to know I have friends -- Maybe. I certainly am fortunate to have a spouse who was willing to drop what he was doing and drive out to keep me company during my long, dark wait. This isn't the first time he's come to my rescue. Not only is he a good spouse, he's a good friend. That's cool and maybe I needed to be reminded of it. Maybe. Then, after more than two hours in the car, on a fluke, I turned on my Palm Pilot and scanned for a wifi signal. Darned if there wasn't a pretty decent signal. So I posted a note on Facebook and got a number of responses to my comment and even a couple of notes in my in box. There was a lot of kidding, but also some concern. I most certainly wasn't fishing for reinforcement that I have friends, but it was nice to be reminded of it. So God takes an active role in making sure I know I have friends? Not so sure. It's not like I was down and could really use a morale boost. I was simply trying to go home and have a bite to eat. So, I ended up a little hungry, but not in a state of despair. It seems to me that God would be more concerned for those who are hopeless and in real need to give that reminder. Seems like a bit of squandered grace to me.
But, maybe that's the point. I willy nilly purchase cars, sometimes with great thought and care and it doesn't pan out. Other times, on a whim I make a purchase that seems like it's squandering money only to find later on that it worked out pretty well in the long run. Is there a connection? Who's to say what's a squandered effort, anyway? Maybe there's something to be said for throwing caution to the wind. Maybe I should over-think that for a while.
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