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Since moving to Rapid City I've been driving quite a bit. Coupled with the local public radio's love of music means that for the first time in my life I've spent some time listening to...sports radio. Most of it is inane and crazy and full of complete BS, but BS can be fun to listen too in small doses. Anyway, a couple of days ago I was at the store and purchasing some shaving cream. I was sick of supporting Gillette and scanned the shaving cream row until my eyes settled on Barbasol. I had never heard of Barbasol until I listened to sports radio. So what did I do...well, I succumbed to the capitalistic system, and me some Barbasol.

Your Tax Link of the Day

We are in tax season, and all the drudgery that comes with it. To lighten the load, here is a link to a description of state tax oddities. And to have more fun, here is your Tax Freedom day, the day of the year when (on average) you've earned enough income to pay all your taxes that year.

Your Wild-Eyed Prophet of the Day

It's no secret that some of the Old Testament prophets have a bit of that crazy in them. The mere fact that you'd stand up to kings and nobles and proclaim their coming doom requires a certain amount of unnerving certainty. Nevertheless, certain prophet give off the crazy vibe much more than other prophets. For example, Elijah performs miracles and signs of wonder and dukes it out the Ahab (one of the best scenes in the Bible) yet seems sane. He is man fulfilling God's strange call. Isaiah, to some degree, fits that same category. Sure, he has visions, but his calling to repentance and justice rings true to this day.

On the hand, we have Ezekiel. Like any decent prophet Ezekiel had visions, but he was also called by God to act out God's words, like some ancient performance art (from Ezekiel 12):

"Therefore, son of man, pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. During the daytime, while they watch, bring out your belongings packed for exile. Then in the evening, while they are watching, go out like those who go into exile. While they watch, dig through the wall and take your belongings out through it. Put them on your shoulder as they are watching and carry them out at dusk. Cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel."

So I did as I was commanded. During the day I brought out my things packed for exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands. I took my belongings out at dusk, carrying them on my shoulders while they watched.

It's a reminder that God's call is not necessarily a sane call, or a proper call, or a call to tell your grandma about over a cup of tea.

The Creek: March 8

The ice has broken on the creek. For three months the ice strangled my little bit of the creek, turning flowing water into a coughing stream. Six-inch ice shelves still hug the shore, but spring is here. And with spring comes thoughts of death. For my part of the world was death, but now life is on the breeze. The trees are beginning to breath again. The bush branches contain a bit more strength as I plow through the forest. The death of the winter has passed, and though much has perished, life all around me has survived.

With these thoughts I continue my Lenten journey. With mud replacing snow I remember my initial state. For dust we are, and dust we shall return. But before that return, life has come and will come to those muddy puddles, as life has come to me. Around me I see tentative shoots of green amidst the stubborn banks of snow. Warmth and cold, life and death, wrapped together within and without.

Your LaRouche Crazy of the Day

When I went to George Washington University in DC I'd often run across these random folks singing political songs, holding signs calling out various political leaders as Nazis. This strange brew were followers of Lyndon LaRouche, a left-wingish nutter political group that has at times accused both President Bush and Obama of following in the steps of Hitler.

Anyway, a LaRouchie has recently won the Democratic nomination for Texas House District 22. From her website (now taken off her website):

The victory in the 22nd Congressional District yesterday by LaRouche Democrat Kesha Rogers sent an unmistakable message to the White House, and its British imperial controllers: Your days are numbered. Kesha's campaign hit relentlessly at a single theme, that President Obama must go, that his attacks on this nation – with his dismantling of the manned space program, his efforts to ram through a fascist, killer “health care” policy, his endless bailouts for Wall Street swindlers, while demanding budget cuts which will increase the death rates among the poor, the sick, the elderly and the unemployed – are not acceptable, and will not be tolerated.

Skeptics said that LaRouche's approach is impractical, it won't work, that Democrats will never support someone who is calling for the President's impeachment. Obviously, the voters of the 22nd district disagreed with those skeptics, as Kesha received 53% of the vote against two opponents. As Kesha told the Galveston Daily News last night, when a reporter asked if she expected support from the Democratic Party in the fall election, “I am leading a war against the British Empire. I'm not worried about what Democratic Party hacks say or do.”

HT: Ezra Klein

Another Reason to Like Tolkien

From the Jewish Review of Books:

Although it might seem unlikely that anyone would wonder whether the author of The Lord of the Rings was Jewish, the Nazis took no chances. When the publishing firm of Ruetten & Loening was negotiating with J. R. R. Tolkien over a German translation of The Hobbit in 1938, they demanded that Tolkien provide written assurance that he was an Aryan. Tolkien chastised the publishers for “impertinent and irrelevant inquiries,” and—ever the professor of philology— lectured them on the proper meaning of the term: “As far as I am aware none of my ancestors spoke Hindustani, Persian, Gypsy, or any related dialects.” As to being Jewish, Tolkien regretted that “I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people.” 

Happy Birthday Old Man

My old man turns 62 today. Happy Birthday. It's also Saint David's day in Wales. The nation's patron saint. He's got a fantastic flag. I guess one of the benefits of being both a saint and a national patron saint.

Constantine Christianity

In recent years much criticism* has been heaped upon Constantine Christianity as a distortion of Jesus and Christianity. Folks criticize this 1700 year old deal with the devil that allowed official, Roman recognition of Christianity at the expense of Christians (particularly the hierarchy) expounding the Gospel. In short, the critics argue that in the battle between truth and power, power won out. Eventually (over a 100 years) Christianity become the state religion, and thus lost its ability to speak, "truth to power." Since that time Christian Bishops and Popes and Patriarchs sacrificed the Gospel for the world.

Some of the criticism of this decisive moment in history is true and right. By willingly aligning itself to the official Roman order, the Christian hierarchy lost some of it's ability to fulfill the Gospel. However, too much of the frustration with Constantine Christianity is based on a poor understanding of history, culture, and Christianity.

First, what was the church suppose to do when Constantine the Great declared that Christianity was one of the state religions? Should they have said, "nah, we don't need that, please keep persecuting us"? Should they have said, "boy, we really need less people to believe and live the Gospel so that we won't be noticed by the Roman authorities and thus won't set Christianity down a path of destruction"? No, they did what any reasonable folks would do, they breathed a sigh of relief and thanked the Lord for their deliverance.

Second, was the devil in the deal or is there a little devil in all of us? Much of the justifiable criticism of Church leaders is because those leaders (popes, bishops, etc...) were venal, greedy, and corrupt, and used the church for their own ends. Plenty of church leaders throughout the middle ages and beyond acted with integrity, and used their power and money for good and justice. For example, Ambrose, a rich and powerful man, became Bishop (from deacon to bishop in a week), then sold his possessions, and more often than not advocated for the poor and the dispossessed. Meanwhile, he was an advisor to Emperors and part of the "inner circle."

The criticism of Constantine Christian System is more a criticism of human nature. I believe that State sponsored church ain't a good thing, nevertheless, we ought to be slow to criticize those decisions that saved people from persecution.

*I know I didn't link to any of the critics on the web, but that's because I'm lazy and tired. Just trust me that they are out there. 

Reason #22 That you are Happy you live in the 21st Century

I'm currently reading an abridged history of the Byzantine Empire. The writing is so-so, but the history is fantastic. For over 1100 years a Byzantium Emperor or Empress was on the throne in Constantinople. Too often we glaze over numbers as we read about this war and that plague and that invention. But to put that number into context, 1100 years would bring us back before the Normandy Invasion or is the difference in time between Kind David and Jesus.

Despite Byzantium's great achievements in art (beautiful icons), philosophy (the keepers of the greco-roman tradition), war (inventor of Greek Fire, and the only Empire to hold off the Arab Muslims for 800 years) you would not have wanted to live back then. Even if you knew you wouldn't die from disease, there was a chance some Slavic tribe would overrun your city and kill all the inhabitants or that your empire would destroy your town in taking it back or just the random extreme violence if you found yourself on the wrong side of an internal dispute. Not good. Also, thank the Lord for plumbing.

I'm Back...

...from greasing the wheels in DC. More posts to come.