2 Sam. 21:8-9

"But the king took the two sons of Ripah, the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal, the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel, the son of Barzallai, the Meholathite; and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the Lord. ..."

Things just got worse for Michal. She had despised the rejoicing of David before the Lord (2 Sam. 6:20) and as a result he basically put her under house arrest and denied her children of her own. Then the sons of her sister, whom she had taken under wing and raised as her own, were sacrificed to the Gibeonites. Though Michal was bride to the king, she was still the daughter of Saul, and she showed no fear of the king, instead believing she could get away with anything. Then she paid the price. "But preached ... that they should repent and turn to God, and do works fit for repentance." (Acts 26:20)

Wise quack

Raise a stink for Christ

Here's an interesting article. I can't condone the San Franciscan (wow, that's ironic, isn't it) officials' attitude, but I can't help but think the Christians aren't accomplishing anything either.

Kiss the Son

The greatest crime committed by man is revealed his greatest blessing,
Yet still the atrocity of mankind rages.
A universe wrought for wonders accomplished upon a hill,
Where the world mocks her Creator.
Who does divide, and draw men’s swords from their scabbards?
Hearts cold and necks stiff —
Weakness drains the strong idol, and foolishness mocks the wise shadow:
Bend to Love’s wrath.
Reject, deny, despise! Spit upon the hand that begs for the heart.
Kiss the Son.
Gold’s sheen lost to tarnish, white spattered with the dung of corruption —
Light exposes
And hope twists upon the night, falls headlong into the pit of the abyss.
Truth.

Peace and politics

Today three Canadian peace activists from Christian Peacemakers were rescued in Iraq in a military action completed by coalition forces. They had been held hostage for some three months, and a fourth (an American) had been killed by their captors. The reason they were in Iraq in the first place was to protest the presence of American forces there. Here is their official press release about the rescue.

Please note that nowhere do they express gratitude toward their rescuers; indeed, they use language that suggests their captors let them go out of the goodness of their hearts. The statement doesn't even acknowledge the military action. The soldiers who went after them were putting their own lives at risk, and followed up by giving the captives all the medical attention they needed. So what was the military's response to the lack of appreciation shown — throw them back to the terrorists? No, I'm sure that thought never crossed their minds. I don't know if these folks really are Christians, and I'm not about to make that judgment, but I will say this is about the sorriest display of puny ingratitude I've ever seen.

More Meanderings

Last night i was watching the Lady Vols embarrass themselves and some other poor team, and one of the announcers said about a player, "She brings a ton of game." What is the deal with these people, that English just isn't good enough for them? I bring a ton of barf.

In other basketball news, Sunday Bradley was playing Pittsburgh. The on-screen scoreboard said "Brad Pitt".

Islamic democracy

There is a school of thought that Muslims living in the Middle East can't deal with democracy, because they have no cultural background for it. This school may be right, because nations didn't even exist through most of that region until the 20th century, and the various peoples for centuries lived under the loose leadership of tribal chiefs, dictators, colonial powers and whatever else you can think of that's not representative. Karl Marx said every culture goes through a series of systems: feudal, then capitalist, then socialist. (A thinking socialist would claim that's why the Soviet Union failed: It went directly from feudalism to socialism. But there are no thinking socialists.) So by that model the MIddle East is definitely still stuck in their version of feudalism.

Another school of thought says this first attitude is just racist, and that the western world must do everything we can to bring this better way of life to oppressed people wherever they are. This school may be right as well, particularly since Muslim populations have not been shy about visiting the West, imigrating there and/or getting Western educations. They are perhaps even more interested in making a buck than westerners. So there is quite a large portion of Middle Eastern Muslims who are educated, sophisticated and want a better material life, and it's reasonable to expect them to be the ruling class of a representative government. The real challenge in this scenario would be to keep corruption under control, as that has been the problem in keeping an elected government in power in Pakistan and other third-world nations.

While Bill Clinton was president (remember? it's hard to imagine, isn't it) conservatives made a big stink about how the U.S. shouldn't be involved in nation building, and for the most part they were right. It's not really rational for us to think that cultures that have existed for thousands of years want to throw everything out the window and be just like us. Now, though, there's a cadre of conservatives in power (Bush/Cheney/Rice/Rumsfeld/&c.) who appear to be doing just that. And they are right to do so. Why am I being such a hypocrite? Because the people of Bosnia or Serbia were not hell-bent on killing us; Islamic fascists are. If we wipe out one dangerous government and leave a vacuum in its place, an even worse bunch of leaders will take over. This is literally what happened in Afghanistan in the 1980s-90s. So to take out an enemy government is not enough; we must replace it with a friendly government. Fortunately, we have finally learned that a West-leaning strongman is not a good solution, and we're certainly not going to convert all the Muslims in the Middle East to Christianity. The only other alternative is to try democracy (or constitutional republic, actually). Democracies are the only governments that do not try to take over the country next to them. It may not work, and it certainly will not work if we give up on it too soon, but it seems to be our best hope while we wait for Christ.

Lk. 10:27-29

"And (the lawyer), answering, said, 'You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.' And (Jesus) said to him, 'You have answered right; this do, and you shall live.' But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?' "

This lawyer was not a particularly evil guy, and Jesus himself testified that he understood the law. But the lawyer's first thought was, "Yeah, I know the law, but how can I prove that I do it?" So his question to Jesus really was, "Who can I exclude as my neighbor, thereby justifying my failure?" I do this all the time. He (and I) would be better off just responding, "I can't do it."

Wars of the Aoten

It’s done! It’s done! It’s done, it’s done, it’s done!
It’s finished! It’s done! So stick a fork in its bum!
It’s done! It’s done! IT’S DOOOONNNNNNNE-NUH!
130,000 words of Golden Prose. Now all I have to do is set it aside for a month then edit it. Ugh! I don’t even remember the beginning.

EXCERPT:

Lauræl kicked off her shoes and began her ascent. It should come as no surprise that Rufoux women were encouraged to be fit and strong. Slowly she made her way up the standancrag, pulling with her hands, pushing with her feet, Artur close behind, until both were sitting in the little enclave. Scattered leaves and straw covered the dry, smooth floor, and a small row of stones acted as a low wall around the ledge. The edges of the opening rose gently sloping outward, until they merged again into the side of the standancrag. The whole space was no more than the size of an oxcart.


“This is my private retreat, my haven. Today I give it to you as well,” he said.

“It is like a castle in the sky. Like a Raspar city,” she replied.

“Never has there been a day like today. I feel like all of creation is in my lungs,” said Artur, beaming at his beloved.

“Oh, Artur, I love you so. Why were we born the same year? Could anyone be more blessed than to be born the same year?” Lauræl gently caressed his head with both hands, letting his hair run through her fingers.

“Who can say? Why did my father have another child at his great age?”

“I don’t know, but I’m glad he did. It is wonderful that only Rufoux of the same age are betrothed.”

“True, that, or you might have gone to another. I would have had to kill him, poor chap. Father says I am to be the greatest of his sons.”

“I already believe that. You are a sight in that armor. I have never seen anything like it.”

“Yes, it is a glorious gift.” Artur leaned back upon his hands and looked down at his gleaming breastplate, but of course from his angle he couldn’t see its designs. “How does it look?”

“Just the most dazzling thing a girl could ever see, that’s all,” Lauræl said playfully. “Just the most impressive show of manliness ever. But I know your weak spot.” With her finger she traced the delicate engravings at Artur’s chest.

“Oh, do you? You think you could hurt me?” Artur returned, smiling slyly.

“That armor will do you no good against me,” and she kissed him lightly.

“Come on, then, give it your best shot,” said Artur, not letting go of the game.

“What?”

“Give me your best, wench, or I’ll have you for a scullery maid,” he said with overdone bravado, puffing out his chest as best he could. He gave the breastplate a couple of raps with his knuckles.

“All right then, have that!” Lauræl threw a couple of small stones at him lightly.

“Is that all the better you can do? Really, how can I do battle for the Rufoux if this is all the training I am to get?”

Lauræl grinned mischievously and stood up. “All right, then, Sir Artur, prepare to meet your destiny.”

She looked about for another small stone, and found one the size of an egg. She took it in her right hand and let it fly, throwing awkwardly from her elbow and off-balance. The stone bounced off Artur’s armor and flew back at Lauræl, catching her just upon her eyes.

The next second proceeded in slow motion before Artur’s unbelieving gaze. Lauræl stumbled at the blow and twisted her ankle badly on one of the larger stones. “Artur!” she cried out as she lost her balance. Her arms reached desperately into the empty air, and then she disappeared.

Artur lunged for her, reaching, pleading with both hands, landing heavily on his chest and scattering stones off the ledge. He lay there like a wet rag. His head and outstretched arms hung limply over the edge of the grotto, his haven, his sanctuary, as he stared at the broken body of Lauræl below him.

Quick Quack

Lk. 7:27

"This is he of whom it is written, 'Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.' "

This is cool. In Lk. 3:4 John the Baptist quotes from Isaiah 40:3 to declare his role: "As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah, the prophet, saying, 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." ' " In Lk. 7:27, Jesus is talking about John and quotes Malachi 3:1, the same prophecy but from the point of view that emphasizes His role. Did these guys know scripture or what?

Ps. 89:27

"Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the Earth."

This is obviously a reference to Christ; in fact, Paul comments on this verse in Col. 1:15. But it's more than a second advent prophecy. Jesus appeared upon the Earth at the time of Augustus, the head of the most powerful empire the world has ever known, but God declares that the Christ will be greater than any earthly king. Indeed, lesser kings serve the will of any more powerful king, so the greatest of all Caesars served the still-unborn almighty King by declaring the census that put Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem.


"Wars of the Aoten" update: One chapter to go!

Meanderings

Do you ever stop and think, "What if I could step out of myself and see me from a distance -- would I like me? Would I recognize me? Do I really appear to others the way I think I am? Or would I say, 'Wow, I'm not like me at all.' " Sometimes I wonder.


Wars of the Aoten update - 3 chapters to go, and I'm on a roll.

Lk. 1:76

I was talking with a friend the other day about the sentence, "Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." (Lk. 7:28) What does it mean, that John was the greatest of all born among women? He lived in the open and ate locusts, served as kind of a sideshow for the skeptical and ended up in prison and beheaded at the behest of a nymphet. And what about even the least in the kingdom of God will be greater than him? How can you compare John's life to the kingdom? Some of the Church fathers wrote that what made John great was nothing he did or said, but the mere fact that he was announcing the Messiah; in other words, it was his relationship to Christ, ministering to the One whom all the other prophets could only long for, that made him great.

So look back at Zacharias' Benedictus, and there it is. This poor old guy hadn't spoken in some nine months, and he was busting his seams after living for three months with the Holy Fetus. Suddenly his tongue is loosed, and his first words are of praise - not for John, the miraculous child of his old age, but for the still-unborn Jesus. He goes on for eight verses, and then finally gets to his own newborn son. "And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest ..." John is great only because of his relationship with Messiah, who comes first.

As for the other point, though John ministered to the Christ in humility, those in the kingdom of God will serve Him in His glory, elevating them above anything that could think of existing in this fallen creation.

Scripture in the workplace

David Gushee speaks

For those of you who (like me) do not know or don't have much contact with Dr. Gushee, he speaks about his daughter Holly's accident and recovery here.


"Wars of the Aoten" update: 4 chapters to go

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