Bat-Melek's Often Theological Ramblings

Encouragement for Fasting

2012-01-16T20:51:00.001-08:00

A word of encouragement to my Christian sisters and brothers, especially my CHC family.

When you start a running program, you feel like you're going to die and you wonder why you ever thought it would be a good idea to start running. Your heart feels like it will beat its way out of your chest, your lungs would scream at you if they could get enough air, and your joints creak their protest with every bone jarring pound from your feet meeting the pavement. BUT! But, but, but--if you push through, if you endure the pain, if you psych yourself up each morning to wake up and get running, then you reach a point where it is fun! You reach a point where once you push past that first mile of each run, you feel exhilarated and you think you could run that 10k no problem! You're still exerting yourself, you're still dog tired when you get home, but you're grinning ear to ear from the joy of it.

Fasting is like running. When you start, you feel like you're going to die. When normally you might forget to eat breakfast, on the day you start fasting you're somehow hungry before you wake up. Your stomach tells your brain there is no food and your brain protests by squeezing your head with a monster head ache. You're cold, tired, and cranky. BUT! But, but, but--if you push through, if you endure the pain, if you pray yourself up each morning and night, I promise you that you reach a point where it is fun! It is still hard, like running. It still requires effort. But, like running, once you push through that wall, there is nothing like it!

So, when you are called to a fast, be encouraged! I won't say, "You can do it!" because YOU can't. But that's the point of fasting, isn't it? Realizing our dependence on Jesus. It's a fun place it be! Honest! You'll be grinning ear to ear. :o)

(As always, I welcome questions or comments. Feel free to post below or send me a message!)

Chocolate Conflict Resolution

2011-11-30T22:18:00.001-08:00

If you're looking for something fun to read, Alexander McCall Smith is the perfect author to turn to. I've devoured the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series and the 44 Scotland Street series. His books are sweet, you care about the characters, and there are satisfying story arcs. And there are gems of wisdom or fresh perspective liberally scattered about. Below is one of the gems I ran across recently in The Importance of Being Seven, page 220. For context, Bertie is a six year old boy with a controlling mother, to put it mildly. Stuart is his dad, who is taking on his first fishing trip. They are at a gas station, filling up with gas and provisions for the day.

'A good choice, Bertie,' said Stuart, as he came in to pay for the petrol. 'And how about some chocolate?'

Nobody had ever said that to Bertie before. How about some chocolate? It was not a complex phrase, but its power, its sheer, overwhelming sense of gift and possibility filled Bertie with awe. Well might more of us say these words to others, and more frequently--how healing would that prove to be. 'Look, we've had our differences, but how about some chocolate?' Or: 'I'm so very sorry, how about some chocolate?' Or simply: 'Great to see you! How about some chocolate?'

Now, I am a great lover of chocolate (65-70% cacao, with dried cherries or hazelnuts please), but I don't think that I truly realized its potential for greatness. That chocolate carries with it a power, an "overwhelming sense of gift and possibility" that fills one with awe--beautiful!

I say we start a movement. Before the opening of the UN General Assembly, we place a chocolate bar at every seat. We airlift chocolate to North Korea and Iran. We urge Hershey's to make corporate donations of chocolate in equal proportions to Republicans and Democrats! It's not just Charlie's rare golden ticket in the wrapping that fills us with a "sheer, overwhelming sense of gift and possibility"--it's the chocolate in every one! I, for one, will be working on future conflict resolution with my new found tool, chocolate.

Underneath

2011-11-21T18:18:00.001-08:00

Since I wrote about axioms, I’ve been trying to reduce myworld view down to its barest parts. What are the foundational axioms upon which everything I believe rests? How can I succinctly state the beginning fromwhich I start to view and interact with the world? It’s difficult.

Which leads me to an interesting side thought—that we can’tlive our lives like a geometry class. (Which some people rejoice about!) We don’t come out of the womb and are instantly handed our set ofaxioms. Imagine the picture—baby comesout, doctor whacks your butt to make sure you’re breathing, cut the umbilicalcord, and says, "Here are your four to six foundational principles, start figuring outthe world outside the womb. Have a nice day!" We don’tlive a dry, clear cut, systematic theology. You can’t. Life is messy. We even come out messy, covered in blood. You have to start in medias res, in the middle of things, and work out your worldview from there.

But, what if we are handed our axioms from the moment weexit the womb? Do our surroundings andhow we are brought up stamp our world view on us, like a plastic play doughmold? I think so. At least, our initial world view. Hopefully we reach a point where we thinkabout what we think about—come to the point of living an examined life. At which point we choose to accept or rejectthe axioms of our parents, friends, teachers, media, leaders.

So, tracing my way back from that rabbit trail—when I firststarted to try to encapsulate my axioms, I thought of an exercise to help boildown what you truly believed.

First, take out a blank piece of paper (or blankspreadsheet) and write out your schedule, every single thing you do in a day,adding what you do weekly, monthly, yearly. Nothing is too mundane (really), just get it all down.
Second, next to each item, write why you do it. Write the first thing that comes to you mind,don’t think too hard about it. You cango back later and philosophize. :o)
Third, re-list the items on your list in the order of thetime you spend on each one.
Finally, evaluate if the order in step three matches whatyou think your priorities should be.

My idea behind this is that we will spend our time on whatis important to us. And what isimportant to us reveals what we truly believe. With some reflection, we should be able to get to the axiomsunderneath. What this exercise alsoshows is the difference between what we think we believe, and what our actionsshow that we believe.

So what say you? Care to join me in this exercise? For a lot of us this is Thanksgiving week, soin between turkey comas and crazed pre-dawn deal hunting, see if you can findsome time to try the exercise out. Letme know if you’re going to give it a go, and we’ll see what we find out!

Dogs and Fences

2011-11-14T17:38:00.001-08:00

I didn't finish the blog post I was planning for today. Here's why:

Meet my dog Stewie. I got him from the pound, and they told me he was a black lab mix. I'm guessing he's mixed with kangaroo, because he jumped my SIX FOOT HIGH fence a record four times this week! (He also jumped the fence at the dog park twice, but he came back on his own in under two minutes each time.) So this week I've spent a lot more time than I planned with my dog, the farm store, and my fence.

I'm thinking about putting up an electric fence, but they are a.) costly and b.) complicated. So while I weigh the pros and cons and feasibility, I'm putting about 18 inches of chicken wire on the top of my fence, all the way around (oh boy, won't my neighbors love me!). I've been playing the proverbial whack-a-mole, putting chicken wire up in places where he has succeeded or tried jumping. So I'm cutting to the chase and putting it up everywhere--and praying he doesn't figure out how to dig under the fence!

While I'm finishing the full implementation of the Stewie Containment System©, Stewie is always on the leash or tie out. He's really pathetic on the tie out, just sitting at the end of it, looking at me pleadingly, with those big brown eyes. I have to say, "No! You can't pull the cute card on me! This is for your own health and safety!"

While I was wrestling with the bamboo, chicken wire, and staple gun, thinking I should have grabbed my safety goggles so my eyes don't get poked out, it is interesting what verse popped in my head.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
   I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
   which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
   or it will not stay near you.
Psalm 32:8-9

In response to this verse, I think, "Exactly! If only Stewie would stay put, or learn to come when called, we could be out walking and playing, instead of me bleeding from bamboo splinters and chicken wire pokes. Hmm, when was my last tetanus shot, anyway?" Then I remember this is a psalm of David, not Dr. Doolittle, and it's addressed to me, not Stewie. And I think, "Ouch," and not (only) because of splinters. The horse and mule is without understanding, but it is implied that I am to have understanding. What fences, what heavy handed hemming in of circumstance, do I try to escape? How much more fun could God and I have if I yielded sooner? Hmm. I'll let you know how Stewie does with his fences, as I ponder how I'm doing with mine.

Crappy Mercy

2011-11-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

A friend recommended a book, God Behaving Badly: Is the God of the Old Testament Angry, Sexist, and Racist? by David T. Lamb. In it, the author answers the seeming contradictionsin God’s character between the Old Testament and the New. (A great book so far, by the way.) In the chapter I’m on, Lamb is answering thequestion of God being angry or loving. And he’s talking about my favorite Hebrew word, hesed, which can betranslated as steadfast love or mercy. It’smy very favorite word, so Lamb’s walking close to my heart when I read this:

“Yahweh also waited to punish the Canaanites because, eventhough they were guilty already, their sin was not yet finished (Genesis15:16). So God waited four hundred yearsto punish the Egyptians and the Canaanites, and during this period his ownpeople paid the price. Because Yahweh isslow to anger, his people were not only homeless but also slaves and victims ofoppression. Eventually, Yahweh got angryat the crimes of Egypt and Canaan, and he finally delivered Israel fromenslavement and provided them with a homeland. However, for four hundred years in Egypt, they paid the price for Yahweh’sslowness to anger.” (p41)

The thought flashes across my mind that some of the crap Iendure might be because God is showing mercy—hesed—to other people.

Well that sucks.

– is my first, not sosaintly reaction. I always try to figureout why or where the crap in my life came from, in order to get rid of it as quickly aspossible. None this four hundred yearstuff, thanks. So I ask, “What did I dowrong? What lesson is God trying to teach me?” Because if I can identify the wrong, then I can correct it. If I can identify the lesson, then I canlearn it. And then the crap leaves. Or that’s how I’d run things. But the crap in my life might be God showingmercy to someone else. In which casethere is nothing I can do to get rid of it any faster!

While these thoughts are hitting home, I remember that Godtells us to be like Him—“be holy as I am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:14-16) We’re to imitate Christ. The word Christian even means "little Christ". Some parts of God’s character are that Heis long suffering, slow to anger, and merciful. Which means that I am suppose to be long suffering, slow to anger, and merciful. And I think, "I just want to not have to dealwith crap. I don't want to be long suffering."

So I wonder, well, how can my crap be related to another’smercy, anyway? And I decide that I don’t know. In the midst of it, the Israelites didn’t knowthat their period of four hundred years of slavery was actually God showingmercy to the Egyptians. On the flip side, neither did theyknow that at the end of it they’d have their own country. Which is amazing, since before ending up inslavery, the Israelites were nomadic foreigners, with no land they could calltheir own. Next I remember the verse that tells us to trust inthe Lord and not rely on our own understanding of things. With this new take on God's mercy, trusting is abit more difficult. In the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, one of the girls asks if Aslan is safe. She’s told, “'Course he isn't safe. But he's good.” Trusting God isn’tsafe, but He is good. Trusting God doesn’tmean that I get to be comfortable.

After Jesus said something particularly difficult for peopleto swallow, He asked Peter and the disciples if they were going to leave himlike the crowd did. Peter said, “Wherecould we go? You have the words of life.”

I just figured out that God thinks showing mercy to people ismore important than my comfort—to the point where His “chosen people” aresubjected to four hundred years of harsh slavery so that He could extendmercy! So I could choose not to followthis God who sacrifices my comfort, my happiness even, so that He can showmercy to others. He may even have meendure crap so that he can show mercy to people who won’t respond to thatmercy! But where else could I go? I amconvinced that this God has the words of life. It’s not worth it to go elsewhere. And, on a practical level, there is no guarantee that I wouldn’t sufferif I didn’t follow Him. At least here Ihave the assurance that the crap will have meaning.

So if you’re dealing with crap in your life, there could bemany reasons for it. I know that I’vehad a hand in creating a lot of the crap I’ve had to deal with. But one reason I had never considered was thatthe crap in my life and yours, may just be because God wants to show mercy tosomeone.

What do you think? Does ring true to you? Am I fullof crap? :o) Leave a comment and let’s dialogue.

Of Hair Dryers and Geometry, Part 3

2011-10-31T12:30:00.000-07:00

“Ok, Sarah, “ I hear yousaying, “so it’s pointless. Atheists andtheists can’t talk to each other. Awesome. Thanks for thedespair. Now what?” So, is dialogue between people holdingdifferent axiomatic systems/world views impossible? No, I don’t think so. But we first have to acknowledge thedifference is deeper than the level at which we usually discuss, and examineour own axiomatic systems. Otherwise,you’ll just end up preaching to your choir.

Here’s an example, which a friend of mine thought of. It was my experience that I didn’t reallylearn English grammar until I started to study a different language, in mycase, Latin. English is my nativelanguage, so I think in English. Inorder to understand how Latin worked, I first had to understand how Englishworks. I had to go beyond the intuitiveunderstanding of English that I absorbed through growing up speaking English,and really learn the rules and mechanics. Once I understood how English worked, I could understand and appreciatethe difference in how Latin works. And,most importantly, this native English speaker could begin to understand thingswritten in Latin.

Saying listening to God isthe intellectual equivalent of listening to a hair dryer will be thought cleverby atheists and dismissed out of hand by religious people. Quoting the Bible to prove why God is notlike a hair dryer would be respected by Christian religious people butdismissed out of hand by atheist. In spite of their validity within their own circles, therewill be no dialogue using these methods.

The importance ofunderstanding axiomatic systems/world views is similar to the importance oflearning grammar. First, you need tounderstand your own axiomatic system, so you know how you view the world. Examine what you accept as authority. You may need or want to change things. Do what you think you believe—what you acceptas axioms—line up with how you live your life? Second, you need to understand other people’s axiomatic systems. Understand how they think and reason, andwhat they accept as authority. Understand how someone who accepted those axioms would live their lifeif they applied them.

I am not equating dialoguewith winning or losing, but a useful analogy is video games. The rules and game play of Super MarioBrothers is different from Zelda, and is even more different from Words withFriends. You won’t find a fire flower inZelda, and a sword is only useful in Words with Friends because a W is worthfour points. You have to know the rulesof the game you’re playing. Just becauseyou can beat Super Mario Brothers in an hour doesn’t mean you’re awesome atWords with Friends. If you know andunderstand the rules of how you think and believe, and put the effort intoknowing and understanding the rules of how others think and believe, then andonly then can you start true dialogue.

The goal of dialogue isunderstanding, not winning. The goal ofunderstanding is to reveal and know more Truth. I personally hold that objective, capital T, Truth exists. Dialogue is one tool to discover and learnmore of it.

Some closing thoughts.

Knowing your world view islike stating your bias when you are reporting or researching. It is much more honest—and useful—to statethat bias, than to assume erroneously that you do not have one. Because that’s silly, if you breathe, youhave a bias.

People, myself included, needto be prepared to discard or change their axioms, their givens, if theydiscover that they don’t work. Just likewith Euclidean geometry and planes flying over the poles.

Lastly, I don’t believe thatall axiomatic systems are created equal. Some reflect reality and Truth better than others. Nor do I believe that Truth is unknowable. Can we know Truth exhaustively? Remember that chick at the end of Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull? If we had exhaustive Truth downloaded into our heads, I think they'd explode. But can we know part of Truth truly? Yes, absolutely. I invite you to interact with me and otherson this blog as we search for what Truth we may find. Please do leave comments!

The Truth is out there. –Fox Mulder, X-Files

Seek, and you will find. –Jesus Christ, Book of Matthew

Of Hair Dryers and Geometry, Part 2

2011-10-24T22:43:00.000-07:00

To sum up the last entry, an atheistblogger said that Hair Dryer = God. Ireigned in my instinctive reaction to vigorously pontificate, thinking betterof ranting in light of a deeper problem at hand. That of Axiomatic Systems.

I could just say World View,but I think axiomatic systems better illustrate a concept that we all think weknow. Everyone has world views, but noteveryone knows what their own one is, let alone what other people’s are. World views are very much like axiomaticsystems (AS). AS’s are mathematicalconcepts. Here’s a great, thoughtechnical, article describing AS’s. Thedefinition given on that article is, “An axiomatic system consists of someundefined terms (primitive terms) and a list of statements, called axioms orpostulates, concerning undefined terms.” If you ever took geometry, you have been exposed to AS’s. The geometry you studied was Euclideangeometry, based on the axioms posed by an ancient Greek, Euclid. Axioms cannot be proven. They must be granted, taken as givens. Euclidean geometry is based on five axioms,and everything you learned in geometry can be proven from those five axiomsalone. I think that’s pretty neat.

But do you want to know asecret? That geometry you had to learndoesn’t completely line up with the world in which we find ourselves. Everything works if the world is flat. But we in on a roundish planet. Euclid’s fifth postulate, the parallelpostulate, has some difficulties with it (see here for a technical explanation). Here’s a simple example of the practicalapplications of those difficulties with this axiom. Take out an atlas, and tell me the shortestway to fly from Portland, OR, to Frankfurt, Germany. You’ll use a ruler and draw a straight line. Now take out a globe and tell me the shortestdistance—it’s by going over the pole, not straight across the Atlantic.

The vast majority of thegeometry you learned is still useful. Some of it doesn’t apply to the world we live in, our reality. But all of it is true in its own system, inthat it is all proven from the initial five axioms. The axiomatic system of Euclidean geometry isa cohesive system, where everything can be proven based on the five statedaxioms. It’s just that one of thoseaxioms doesn’t match up with reality.

Now, back to our hairdryer/authority problem. The problem isour individual axiomatic systems—the things we accept as givens, and can’tprove. These are what we base our worldviews on, and from that, what we base our lives on.

The problem with the Atheistvs Religious person argument is that the two axiomatic systems are not thesame. Both accept or do not acceptdifferent things as unprovable givens. One of the typical axioms of the atheist’s world view is that thematerial world is all that there is—there is nothing above the material/naturalworld, no supernatural. One of thetypical axioms of the religious person’s world view is that there is a super-naturalbeing(s) that interacts with matter and nature. Both are unprovable givens—axioms—around which their entire world viewsare based.

Thatlast sentence was a purposefully inflammatory sentence. I hear you say, “You’retelling me I base my life on things I can’t prove? Yeah right.” You’re probably thinking about some links youwant to post in the comment section below, which reference the best argumentyou’ve ever read for pure materialism or for the existence of God. However, before you start to prove something, anything, you must start withsome givens. Before you build a house, you must first lay yourfoundation. You must have a startingpoint. Your axioms, your givens, arethat starting point. As in geometry, if the underlying axioms of a system arenot accepted, the proofs based on the axioms are not accepted. If youreject Euclid’s first postulate, which essentially defines a line, you’re notgoing to get very far in geometry. It’s a fundamental assumption, and itmust be accepted before you can move forward and reason anything out.

Also, when you are discussingwith someone and trying to prove something, you both must agree that each stepin the reasoning is true. If one of youthinks that one of the steps is false, you end up not agreeing to theconclusion. Here’s a kind of a nonsenseexample. You ask me what two plus twoequals, and I say six. You tell me thatit’s actually four. We both look at eachother like we think the other is silly, since we know our answers arecorrect. What you don’t know is that Ihad parents with a weird sense of humor who taught me to count, “One, three,two, four, five, six.” The axioms inthis example are the values of the names of numbers. For me, I associate “Two” with 3, not 2 likeyou do. So when you ask me what two plustwo is, I say 6. The example breaksdown, because unless I’m amazingly stubborn, you can teach me that “Two”actually is the name for 2 not 3. Butthe point is that we disagree on what the word “Two” means, so we can’t agreeon any problem that involves “Two”. Ouraxioms are different.

So an atheist and a deistwalk into a bar and start talking. Howdo they overcome their differences, instead of yelling, getting into a fistfight, and getting kicked out of the bar? Tune in next week for the final gripping installment, of Hair Dryers andGeometry! ♪♫ Dun dun dun. ♪♫

Of Hair Dryers and Geometry, Part 1

2011-10-17T22:47:00.000-07:00

In college I was a religious studies major and took a good number of philosophy classes, too. So when a friend posted a link to an atheist blog post entitled, Listening to the Hair Dryer: Why Nice Religion is Still Problematic, Reason #37,476, I was intrigued. Here’s an excerpt:

Let’s say Person 1 thinks their hair dryer is talking to them, and is telling them to shoot every redhead who gets on the 9:04 train.

And let’s say that Person 2 thinks their hair dryer is talking to them, and is telling them to volunteer twice a week at a homeless shelter.

Is it better to volunteer at a homeless shelter than it is to shoot every redhead who gets on the 9:04 train? Of course it is.

But you still have a basic problem — which is that you think your hair dryer is talking to you.

The blogger does a word swap of “Hair Dryer” for “God” or “Deity”, where she demonstrates that one is whacko for taking direction from a Hair Dryer—whether that direction is good or bad. The blogger goes on to say,

You are still getting your ethics from a hair dryer. You are still getting your perception of reality and your ideas about how to live your life, not from the core moral values that most human beings seem to share, not from any solid evidence about what decreases suffering and increases fairness and happiness, not from your own observations and experiences of what does and does not work to make the world a better place… but from a household appliance.

The source of direction, not the substance, is pointed out as the problem. Now, I must say, my first reaction is to pontificate on why “core moral values that most human beings seem to share” is a very poor standard, and the philosophical difficulties in defining objectively “what does and does not work to make the world a better place.” But, after I calm down from getting all riled up, I know in my gut that that’s not a very effective way to go about it. So I wanted to put words to that gut feeling. There is a greater underlying misunderstanding or problem that my pontificating wouldn’t get near. See, by equating “Hair Dryer” and “God/Deity” and then going on to state what one should listen to for your perception of reality, the blogger is showing that she recognizes a different authority. The Hair Dryer is a linguistic and rhetorical tool and it is this linguistic swap that reveals that deeper misunderstanding or problem.

Hair Dryer is a household appliance --> inanimate, created tool
Hair Dryer does not talk --> does not give direction
Hair Dryer = God

And now, without needing to explicitly state it, the definition of Hair Dryer as an inanimate, created tool that doesn’t give direction, is transferred to God/Deity/Religion.

Therein lies the leap, and therein lies the problem. This rhetoric/logic issue points to the true problem at hand—that of axiomatic systems.

Axioma-what-ic? Huh?

Tune in next week for Part Two, where I reveal the scandal of your high school geometry class!

Mondays and Bodies

2011-10-11T00:26:00.001-07:00

My goal is to have a substantive blog post up each Monday. I've been working on a blog post, but it's not coming together. Had I started working on it, say, before ten pm Monday night, it probably would have been ready, but oh well. Instead, here is someone else saying something substantive:

"The divine Architect designed our male and female bodies in the very lines and curves of our flesh and bones to proclaim the mystery of Christ and his life-giving union with the Church. This, ultimately, whether we realize it or not, is why we are drawn to the human body--why we are deeply stirred by the mystery of it's masculine and feminine beauty and why we yearn for intimacy and communion."

--Christopher West, "The Theology of the Body Explained: a Commentary on John Paul II's Gospel of the Body", p8

As always, please feel free to share your thoughts.

Blog Reboot

2011-10-03T22:52:00.000-07:00

So, my last post was over two years ago about Basil, my late hampster. She happily lived out her full, but short, life expectancy. After a pet-less and blog post-less year and a half, I now have a dog, Stewie, and a renewed interest in blogging. Stewie is a fun, three year old black lab mix, who is my puppy dog, and it just so happens my friends think he is fun, too. That should be the same thing with my blog--I'm going to have fun writing out the interesting-to-me things I'm thinking about, and it just might happen that others have fun reading it. So I raise my chocolate soy milk mug in salute to the great twenty-eleven Blog Reboot!

As a preview of things to come, here's a quote that has stuck in my head like peanut butter to the roof of your mouth--there's a lot there, and it's going to take some work to get it all out.

"Therein lies the purpose of the body: it provides the context for how and what we can and will know of God, now and in the life to come."

--Susan A. Harvey, in the collection, Theology and Sexuality

Just as I'm delighted to have friends come over and play with Stewie, I'm delighted to have you come over and play with my blog comments. Any preliminary thoughts on theology of the body? Directions to be explored? Tips on better analogies? :o)

Elastic Slumber

2009-07-21T17:08:00.000-07:00

My hamster
breathing as she sleeps
looks like a little furry
balloon.

Taking the Long Way Home

2009-07-03T10:52:00.001-07:00

Taking the Long Way Home

Sunset fringes linger on wet sand.
A triumvirate of gulls glide by.
I'm overtaken by an ocean of saline drops.

Sex Sells

2009-06-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

Here's what happened the other night:

Before bed my mind is too awake to sleep
words wonder around my head
forming edges of ideas
begging exploration.

Then, I started pondering the adage "sex sells" and the following poems were the offspring.

Marketing Intimacy

Into-me-you-see
With TV it's: into-you-we-all-see
With commercial masturbation we've all gone blind

Value Added?

The soda sits,
Fizzing it it's cold can.
Want some carbonated-high-fructose-corn-syrup?
If a pretty scantily clad woman
      or a muscular sweaty man
           is holding that can,
                --you bet we do!
Using sex to sell soda,
have we depleted all value from intimacy?

Gao Zhisheng--Imprisoned and Tortured for 108 Days

2009-05-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

Hebrews 13:3 compels us to "Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body." The organization The Voice of the Martyrs is drawing attention to Gao Zhisheng, a Christian attorney who has been taken hostage and tortured for 108 days as of today. Please go to www.freegao.com to learn more.

Here I am offering a letter that you can personalize and send to government officials. If you are in the US, you can find out who your representaives are and their address at this site: www.congress.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Your name and registered voting address]

[Date]

[Recipient's info here]

Dear [Title] [Name],

I would like to draw your attention to the plight of Gao Zhisheng. Gao Zhisheng is a 2008 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Chinese army veteran and prominent Christian attorney. He cares deeply for the nation of China, and is a loyal citizen. On February 4, 2009, Chinese authorities detained Gao Zhisheng. He was at the home of relatives in his hometown in Shaanxi province when more than a dozen Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers forcibly took him away. He is being held at an undisclosed location.

Since 2005, Gao has been repeatedly kidnapped, arrested, imprisoned and tortured by Chinese authorities for his work defending those persecuted for their faith. He, his wife, and two children have been monitored and tormented by authorities for more than two years. I am deeply concerned about Gao Zhisheng's welfare and why he is being detained. This act of arbitrary detention itself is in violation of the Chinese rule of law. As of this writing, Gao has been held hostage for [check number] days. More detailed information can be found at www.freegao.com.

The Chinese government responds to international pressure on human rights issues. As a prominent member of the United States government, whatever pressure and influence you are able to exert on the Chinese government on behalf of Gao Zhisheng would be deeply appreciated by his family and friends.

Thank you for your hard work, dedication, and service.

Sincerely,

[Your signature]
[Your printed name]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you live in Vancouver, WA, your representatives are:

President Barack Obama
The White House,
District of Columbia, 20500

Senator Patty Murray
173 Russell Senate Office Building,
District of Columbia 20510-4704

Senator Maria Cantwell
511 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
District of Columbia 20510-4705

Representative Brian Baird
2350 Rayburn House Office Building,
District of Columbia 20515-4703

My Little Basil

2009-04-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

My Little Basil

My little Basil, how I love thee. Let me count the ways!
Your little pink nose spasmodically twitches in greeting as I peer into your pink igloo.
Your ears are slightly crumpled, not quite erect, like bed-head when you wake up.
Your great yawns showing your tiny tongue and big, pointy teeth.
Your folded front paws as you stand erect on your back feet.
Your odd habit of insisting on the corners of your cage being free of shavings.
How you deliciously relish stretching your front paw and opposite back paw.
Our game that I hand you food and you store it away.
How you look like a doughnut peach when you have your cheeks stuffed to maximum capacity.
You seem to be training for a marathon--hamster ball division.
And if I could enter you in that marathon, I know you'd win.
Uncannily, you come out of your igloo and look at me, just as I'm heading to work.
Full of character, cautious, cute, quirky--my little Basil.

Excerpts From the Survival Kit

2009-04-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

Excerpts From the Survival Kit

Toilet paper
Tolkien's books
Truffles, chocolate
Trusted friend

Friday

2009-04-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

Friday

NaPoWriMo's been fun fun fun.
Yay, writing poems in the sun sun sun!
Yet to Friday to I look look look,
I'll sleep 'n read a book book book.

Sleepless

2009-04-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

Sleepless

What if they--
Or maybe I should have--
Really thought that it was--
Rather would have done--
You said, I said--

Chicken Poem #31

2009-04-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

This was from yesterday, if you're keeping track.

Chicken Poem #31

Cooped up hens
run right back in
for cracked corn.
Treats win out over freedom.

How Very Odd

2009-04-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

I didn't miss a day! This is yesterday's poem, I just didn't have access to a computer last night.

How Very Odd

The chick chirps out its protest
against being hoisted,
held upside down
and having its butt wiped
indignantly.
Flapping, flaying, it struggles to free itself.
If it had its way
it's excrement would become increment
and it would die
indignantly.
How very odd it is
to fight the hand that heals
to hold the toxins in
to insist on a false dignity
to the point of death.
How very odd I am.

The Process

2009-04-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

The Process

Tarzan swings
Grasping in air,
lands a sure grip.

Exhilaration and terror produce movement.

Longing

2009-04-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

Um, yeah, it's late. Whoever chooses to read this, please forgive me!

Longing

How I miss you!
I miss everything--
My knees going weak
from the weight of your presence.
The lightheadedness.
Holding you to me, as if for dear life.
Breathing together,
it felt you were part of my heartbeat.
I've never danced that close with anyone.
How long my lips tingled after we parted.
I miss you--
my dear Tuba.

The Life Locate

2009-04-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

So, today's poem comes out of what I've been doing for five hours each day at my two week working interview. Using www.callbeforeyoudig.org, I describe the route the utility locator needs to follow so that the crews digging on site will know what's in the ground and not hit it. This is a poem in the style of a Digsafe order ticket. I'm writing to a pretty small audience (um, basically me) but that's ok. :o)

The Life Locate

Address: 29 years 9 months 15 days
Cross Street: Career Move
Location is just after the intersection on the Interview side of Layoffs. Live a life of Destiny and the Fulfillment of Promise, following a path of Obedience, then following Perseverance. At the point parallel to Decision Time, turn and follow directly to Listen. Creator requests call first to be on site at time of work.

Ode to the Gipp Farm

2009-04-21T21:28:00.000-07:00

Ode to the Gipp Farm

Chicken butt, chicken butt
poop poop poop.
Don't get plugged up
running 'round your coup.
Don't eat the rubarb,
don't eat the peas.
Do weed the backyard
'specially 'round the trees.

Rabbit Buck, Rabbit Shy,
munch munch munch.
Breeding you should try
or you'll be lunch.
Would you like to hop out
maybe you could talk.
Please eat the brussle sprouts,
the left over stalk.

House sitter, house sitter,
look look look,
after all the animals,
then read a book.
Moisten all the seedlings,
lock all the doors.
In the fridge go looking,
what you find is yours.

Controlled substance

2009-04-20T23:12:00.000-07:00

A 4 & 20, for 4/20.

Controlled substance

just a plant, this weed
you fight for it's legal right
it'll take the legal ground you offer
controlling you

Effects of Sunlight

2009-04-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

Effects of Sunlight

My lack of thoughts are
reflected on the unmarred pulp.
The pen, so comfortable in my hand,
chooses not to move.

Seeking a muse in a change of medium,
Qwerty rests in silence.
Blogger autosaves the sparse html.
Nothing hyper here today.

Letting the Outside In

2009-04-19T00:35:00.000-07:00

Letting the Outside In

Us and them
Inside and out
Familiar and other
Lines demarcating me and you

Heated winter homes
stuffy, airtight warmth
Windows keep the heat in
but the spring out.
Let the outside in
--give me air to breathe
sweet air to smell.

Here is safe
Here is comfortable
Here is not enough

What heat would I lose opening the windows?
I need to let the (w)holy other in.

The inspiration for this poem comes from one of Hillary's FB status updates. The first sign of Spring on April 6th, she opened a bunch of windows in the house and said, "Hillary loves letting the outside in." The phrase struck me and I wanted to make a poem out of it. This is rough sketch.

October 10th

2009-04-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

October 10th

About pie
-
crust
gooey filling
tastes
sweet and comforting
Pecan is my father's favorite

Take That, Bambino

2009-04-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

Take That, Bambino

$1.6 billion stadium
5,000 fewer seats
2 to 10 losing opener
Sweet proof that the Yankees suck

My inspiration for this emotional poem comes from my Red Sox roots and this article in the Boston Globe.

Representation

2009-04-15T17:43:00.000-07:00

Today's poem is a senryu, which is in the same form as a haiku, but is not about nature. This particular poem does, however, reference a specific season.

Representation

Infrastructure, armed
forces, research, foreign aid--
here comes the tax man.

Diurnal Eloquence

2009-04-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

Diurnal Eloquence

Average beings chatter.
Diurnal eloquence flabbergasts.
Gloomily harvesting interest
jocular kinfolk languish.
Multitudes neutralize ovations
parking quietly recumbent.
Solace temps umbrage
vexing weaned xenophobes--
yearning zephyrs.

Bad Pizza

2009-04-13T21:17:00.000-07:00

Bad Pizza

What ailment arises
from the bowels of my being
that compels me to communicate?

Dedicated to Pastor Bob.

Michael Ananda

2009-04-12T21:26:00.000-07:00

Michael Ananda

Who is like God?
Who brings such delight?
Who bestows such blessings?
Who's very name inspires joy?

Listen for the answer.
Follow the taste of freedom.
Test the way of true life.

Where you've toiled in empty duty,
there is refreshing fulfillment of purpose.
Where you've seen only stagnant puddles,
there are vast unfathomable depths of oceanic love.

Who is like God? Who is like God?

Hesed Shel Emmanuel

2009-04-10T22:24:00.000-07:00

Hesed Shel Emmanuel

Betrayal, mockery, abandonment
Fists, whips, chains, thorns,
Nails, nakedness, shame

What would you endure for love?

The title of this 4 & 20 style poem is transliterated Hebrew of my favorite Hebrew word and my favorite name for God. The translation is, "The steadfast love of God-with-us."

Dress Deferred--an OULIPO

2009-04-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

Dress Deferred

What happens to a dress deferred?

Does it dry up
Like a rake in the sup?

Or fester like a sorrow--
And then run?

Does it stink like rotund meconium?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a systaltic swig?

Maybe it just sags
like a hebdomadal lobby.

Or does it explode?

This poem is an OULIPO--which stands for the first letters in some French phrase. (I recommend following the link to learn more.) The basic idea is to take a poem already in existence and apply a formula to the poem to produce a new poem. Dress Deferred takes Langston Huges' Dream Deferred and for each noun, substitutes the seventh unique noun found the the dictionary after the original word. It also takes each adjective and substitutes the first unique adjective found in the dictionary after the original word. Thus, if we let Dream Deferred be represented by L and Dress Deferred be represented by S, we get:

(N_L+7)(A_L+1) = S

A mathematical approach to poetry!

Synaptic Synopsis

2009-04-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, I confess. I missed a day in the NaPoWriMo. I offer this 4&20 style poem as penance and explanation.

Synaptic Synopsis

Like a dropped fly ball--
Like that thing that almost happened, but didn't--
Is communication between
my brain and me.

Deadline Approach-eth

2009-04-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

Deadline Approach-eth

Putting words
On paper
Expertly
Monday night

A Psalm of Sarah, daugher of the King

2009-04-05T21:11:00.000-07:00

A Psalm of Sarah, daughter of the King

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,