Saw this through a retweet from Lenoard Sweet and liked it. The artist behind the comic is Richard Jacobson. If I had seen it earlier I would have included it in my D.Min project report/diss.
Tapestry 2013
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The Google+ Android App has a feature called Auto Awesome that will take your photos and videos and do certain automatic to semi-automatic edits to them. This is what it did with the photos from my phone that were tagged “tapestry.” Overall I think it reflects a not bad year for Tapestry.
May God do so much more in and through us in 2014.
Tweet – A Church for Jesus' Birthday
https://twitter.com/churchanarchist/status/415853184079253504
C.S. Lewis On Christmas
The central miracle asserted by Christians is the incarnation. They say that god became man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this…
In the Christian story god descends to re-ascend. He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity…
But he goes down to come up again and bring the ruined world up with him.
– C.S. Lewis via Drew
Steve Taylor Just Called Me
2 Quick Things
FIRST, tonight Adam showed Pam and I the above t-shirt that he bought from Threadless. Yeah, we are quite proud to have raised a son who has excellent taste in clothes. At least I think we’re proud of his taste in clothing. Okay, well at least we’re proud of him for lots of other reasons. 🙂 Pam worries that you can’t really see all of the above photo of the sloth in an astronaut suit so here’s a link to the full photo so you can see it in all its glory.
Celebrities + Controversy = Blog Post Reads
SECOND, the above graph shows the daily views of my blog for the past 5 years. I write a piddly little blog that is read by about 40 people per day. No complaints here. I basically write for myself. I enjoy the act of typing something out and hopefully use it to think through some things every now and then. I also write for a very pragmatic reason and that is so that people who are considering Tapestry can have someway of knowing me before they give Tapestry a try. Then two days ago I wrote a brief post on my thoughts concerning the uproar about Phil Robertson’s statements and my little blog blew up. Well at least it blew up for my standards. In two days my little blog was viewed by almost 800 new people. The only other time something close to this has happened was when Mark O linked to me years ago. Of course, today the number dropped back to 50.
Ahhhh, it feels good to be back where I belong.
Neanderthal Diet
In light of the popularity of the Paleo diet and other “eat like your ancestors” diets I have decided that I am going to create the Neanderthal Diet (provided of course that no one else has already created it). Based on my basic non-existent knowledge of Neanderthals I have decided that the way the Neanderthal’s stayed so healthy (because, after all, my basic non-existent Neanderthal knowledge informs me that they were in great physical condition) was by only eating what they were able to steal from others. Therefore, from this point until I decided otherwise (probably in about 15 minutes) I will only eat food that I have stolen from someone else. This should be pretty easy around the house, I’ll just quickly grab food from family members’ plates. I tried it during supper tonight and it worked fine. Pam and the boys were slightly perturbed but not super angry. I consider that a win. Going out to eat at restaurants could pose more of a problem. I think stealing food off random strangers’ plates will probably be looked down upon by the authorities. Of course, once I trademark my Neanderthal diet I am sure that people will understand and respect me for stealing food from their plates in order to maintain my good health.
I will only eat what I can steal off another’s plate
The good news is that by following my assumed Neanderthal eating patterns I will assuredly gain perfect health quickly. The bad news is that the constant food thievery will most definitely lower my morals. Good health has its cost.
Limiting God's Love
“This much is certain, that we have no theological right to set any sort of limits to the loving-kinness of God which appeared in Jesus Christ. Our theological duty is to see and understand it as being still greater than we had seen before.”
Karl Barth, The Humanity of God, p. 62.
My Thoughts on the Phil Robertson Thing
I’ll begin by admitting that I like Duck Dynasty and before I ever saw the show I used Duck Commander calls (they are quite good). Also, I’ll say that while I don’t agree with his wording or the possible implication in his words that he thinks homosexuality leads to bestiality, I do believe that the Bible teaches that homosexual sex is outside of God’s will for sex (this is alongside premarital, extramarital sex, and some other sexual endeavors). Most of my friends who are gay or lesbian know I think this way and I believe, and hope, that they know that I love them and want the same joys for them that I want for the rest of my friends. I’ll end my opening remarks by saying that I am more disturbed by Mr. Robertson’s apparently favorable view of the life of pre-civil rights African Americans and I don’t entirely know what to do with those remarks.
Here’s what I believe will most likely be the result of the whole kerfuffle. Many conservatives, regardless of their religious convictions and practices, will use this interview for their own agenda and many progressives, again regardless of their religious convictions and practices, will use this interview for their own agenda, and there will be little real discussion, conversation, and understanding that actually takes place. That’s the thing that saddens me the most. This will likely just lead to people standing behind their own barriers shouting names at the people on the other side. It will be even worse if the church, the community of God and God’s partner in spreading the gospel of His kingdom, gets sucked in by fear to thinking there is an “us” and a “them” in this whole thing.
Instead I hope to approach all of this with humility, knowing that my sin is just as great, if not greater, than anyone else’s. If I can remember that then I will better be able to discuss with gentleness and love what I believe to be other people’s sin. Neither neglecting the truth, nor falling into the temptation to define another person, who is also created in the image of God, by what I see as their sin rather than as another person loved by God.
If I can do this, then I think I will be focused more on Jesus’s agenda than on the agenda of the left or the right. His agenda seems to usually tick off people on both sides.
Karl Barth, The Word of God and the Task of Ministry, page 196
“One cannot speak of God simply by speaking of man in a loud voice.”
Karl Barth, The Word of God and the Task of Ministry, p. 196