Safe Haven

On the eve of the two-year anniversary of the attacks on our country, I should say something. First, we're going to hear a lot of blather about how President Bush uses overtly religious language to cast his foreign policy in favorable terms. Supposedly how he really believes in the American Civil Religion, that we have a special place in the world, how Americans think we are a "chosen people" like we are God's very own...yadda yadda yadda, blah blah. Look, people: We happen to live in the modern day equivalent of the Roman Empire. Nations rise and fall in this time based on what the United States does, and does not do. If that makes you squirmy, it should. It doesn't change the fact. Now, with all that power comes obligation. You want some religious language, here's some. To whom much is given, much is expected. You had better believe we're going to make sure people understand the gravity of the choices we make. And if you were in posession of this power, ...

Speaking of John Calvin, sometimes good things do come out of France.

I'm nursing a Coke, dreaming up belligerent comments to spew at Captain Hall when he reads the last post, and e-mails me to say that Maddux is overrated. Bring it then, untutored wretch! (I stole that insult from John Calvin)

Greg Maddux won his 14th game of the season the other day. If you don't watch baseball, Maddux may be the best pitcher of his era. He wins without throwing hard, or striking out many. He is noted for having the fewest pitches per start of any pitcher in baseball, yet his total innings reflect an ability to go deep into games. In short, he's efficient. Greg has won at least 15 games for 15 consecutive seasons, a record only matched by Cy Young (the greatest pitcher ever). Maddux has won 287 games. 300 wins means automatic Hall of Fame entry. Furthermore, modern pitchers pitch every fifth day. It was thought that none from this era would approach 300, so special exceptions for wins would be made. But Roger Clemens accomplished this, and Maddux will do so next season. These facts show the utter, complete dominance of Maddux (and Clemens) over his peers.

I put "I'm not even sure I understand what I just said" as comic relief. It's pretty heavy stuff. Folks don't like it when you sound too sure of yourself. There is an intuition among Christians (and teaching to back it up) that knowledge is not owned. Nothing I say is truly mine, even as people might say, "What you said made sense." Have you ever been amazed at the words from your own mouth? Truly, God is at work to speak His love to us, and through us.

Let me clarify creeds, and what they are. If Christianity is the true religion (big IF, I know) then there will be A) clearly indentifiable, consistent teachings, and B) clear irrefutable evidence of those beliefs in practice. Core teachings are those that survive, and transcend the various disagreements between those who claim Christianity as their faith. The Reformation (whether viewed in a positive or negative light) shows how this works. If you are a member of a Bible church in the backwoods of Kentucky, your Scriptural exegesis will never go beyond, or violate, the basic creedal confessions of the early church. Because they represent the battle for the most crucial aspects of Christianity. (Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, Chalcedon) You can't be on the wrong side of these, and still be a Christian. Even among those who reject creeds, the core doctrines are safely within those bounds. The reason is that the Protestant impulse is to reaffirm the core doctrines with Scripture...

It's good shorthand, that's why have creeds! If somebody asked you, "What do you believe?" what will you do, drag them through an exegesis of the whole New Testament? Right. Sure you will.

We were talking about memorials in my Religious Studies class today. I think a key feature of memorials is hope and joy. Death must have meaning. And not by itself. There's two ways this goes: First, you can have a notion of "salvation by death." That is, if someone dies, they're automatically in a better place. This is really popular these days. No one likes to hear that their loved ones either stopped existing, or they are in Hell. Your second choice is earthly existence only. This one is dumb. Our hearts cry out how unfair that is. Read the aforementioned Psalm 73. "The wicked better get theirs!," we cry. You may be wondering, "Jason, why can't people just believe anything they want? Aren't all religions the same?" If you can seriously look at the testimony of history, and current events, telling me they're all the same, you're bold indeed. Now, I know how they love to focus on witch hunts, and Inquisitions to avoid the plainly o...

Let's talk about the Anglican Church. Having a gay bishop is the least of their problems. I hope Episcopalians here in America, going off the deep end in doctrine, poisoned by political correctness, get separated from the larger faithful community around the world. Those who advocate such lawlessness cause a once proud communion to be no church of Christ.

A lot of noise about Justice Moore lately. The ACLU crowd is probably right, but I also think they can deal with it. God rules and reigns over this country, and every other one. And no, I don't mean that generically. The God of Israel wrote those laws. He is the only true God. Tolerance is an idol, and like every other one, it will burn. I'm not going to apologize for the Christian past of many American leaders. There's been preference, and rightly so. We're right, that's why.

Psalm 73 is a great one. It speaks of how we notice the wicked, the selfish, the arrogant, getting ahead, while we have chosen a harder road of following God. And it doesn't really seem worth it. God says it will be worth it when He comes again and makes a new heavens and new earth, but be honest. Can you imagine that? Can you wrap your mind around such a far-off promise? Sometimes, we've got to grab onto smaller things first. Like Him getting us through this day.

I went to a concert last night. A really cool Norwegian guy opened up. Then Liz Phair. Then Jason Mraz. You've got to listen to this guy; he was amazing. There were no throwaway songs. It was a great show. He's got this great jazz-pop sound that I like. Wonderful voice.

Yes, Captain Hall, I am aware of Lidle's post-All Star break performance. But this year, I don't think it will happen. I'm Cory's biggest fan in Missouri at least, and he's just not getting it done. I traded him in my fantasy league. (Lidle and Manny Ramirez for Andruw Jones and Pedro Martinez) I'm still going to root for him.

Let me clarify some thoughts on marriage, and the words I used. Marriage is seen in Genesis 2, and God shares a bit of His design for it there, as well as other places. When I say "Christian" I'm applying it retroactively, shortening Judeo-Christian. It belongs to God's people. When other people (non-Christians) do it, they are participating in something spiritual, and in a particular way, whether they know it or not. Why do people get married in churches? Why does every guy qualified to marry someone say, "We are garthered here today in the sight of God..." Many people aren't religious in any sort of way, yet they often desire these things. If the United States of America wants to give other unions the same kind of monetary benefits, legal status, etc. as marriages, it may do so. It is true that Christianity has preferential treatment within our law. Christians and others heavily influenced by the gospel founded our nation. We shouldn't apologize fo...

And another thing: Bush knows he'd better not mess with the Kingdom of God, which is infinitely more powerful than the United States. The church isn't going anywhere.

Tomorrow doesn't mean tomorrow, I guess. Sorry. Let's get real for a minute. President Bush has indicated his support for current law defending marriage as that between a man and a woman, and seems to be supporting a Constitutional Amendment to that effect. I happen to think it's quite necessary. Marriage belongs to the Christian church. It is a testament to the power and influence of Christianity that everyone else gets married, and calls it that. But I can think of no way that the rights of people can be enhanced by calling every kind of union a marriage. A lot of folks aren't even satisfied with granting legal standing to civil unions. The only result of changing the definition of a marriage (and that is what it is, make no mistake) is to undermine the right of free association of Christians. Basically, this is a free speech right of citizens to believe whatever they wish, and to hang out with those who believe similarly. Even if the end result of that belief, if put...

More tomorrow. The Lord bless you on His day, as you meet him in worship Sunday!

I heard the St. Louis Cardinals were interested in Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Cory Lidle. The Jays asked for J.D. Drew in return. If Lidle's ERA wasn't 5.00, I'd do it. I also think Drew is worth a Greg Maddux or Russ Ortiz. Let me digress: If Maddux wants to sign with the Cardinals prior to next season, they'd find the money. Fernando Vina, peace. Stephenson, pack your bags. Tino would take a pay cut. But I love Tino Martinez, so they'd have to keep him. Greg Maddux is the man.

And another thing: I hope they don't find any WMD in Iraq. I want to hear Bush say, "Oops! I really thought he had them!" That roughly translates to, "I needed some selfish reason to do it, since simple humanity isn't a good reason for some of my political foes." Ha Ha.

Right now, my beautiful internet radio station is playing "You Were Mine" by the Dixie Chicks. You're saying, "Why are you listening to those commies?" Don't lie. Because I adore the Dixie Chicks. Yes, I'm an arch-conservative who doesn't give a rat's appendix about Natalie Maines' opinion of Bush. If I got rid of all the music I owned made by liberals, all I'd listen to is audio transcripts of Neal Boortz. Geez. Anyway, I was flipping through the channels last night, and this Joe Scarborough guy was on. Ed Asner was blathering about McCarthyism and unpopular opinion. That guy wouldn't know censorship if it smacked him in the head. I think folks have been extraordinarily patient with all those anti-Bush predictions that turned out wrong. It's not antiwar, the war had nothing to do with it. Yeah, the media classified what Natalie Maines said as antiwar. She said she was ashamed our President was from Texas. Does that have anything ...