We took our younger son to a evaluation and treatment center for his bi-polar disorder. He will be there for a while. In the mean time we are going to put our world back together.
Sometimes it does make me wonder if my wife and I really are adequate parents, but then I remember that there are other situations. You wouldn't wonder if you could parent correctly when your kid comes down with appendicitis and you take him to a surgeon to get him fixed. In the same way, when it turns out your child has a recognized mental illness, you shouldn't feel guilty about taking her for professional help.
At any rate, keep my family in your prayers.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Pray for us
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Speaking Truth to. . . Whom?
Of course I believe in speaking truth. There's a popular saying out there, "Speak truth to power." Hitting Google:
"speak truth to power": 324,000
"speaking truth to power": 367,000
"spoke truth to power": 27,200
Total: 719,985
One thing I've always wondered, though, is "Does all power need to have truth spoken to it?" Would the people who make use of this phrase speak just as much truth to power if it agreed with them? Or does power not need any truth spoken to it if it's on the right side?
As I've stated earlier, I am a Christian. What is the ultimate, final power in the universe? Would that not be God Himself? Does God need the truth to be spoken to Him? If the saying doesn't work in the ultimate case, perhaps it needs some re-examination.
Total: 63
Only a few orders of magnitude difference.
Which phrase should we be using? Not all power needs truth spoken to it. Power that is used for good is on the right track already. Power that is used for evil most definitely needs a strong dose of truth. Even powerless evil needs truth spoken to it. When your child says, "I hate you!" his powerless protest is evil and needs to be countered with scriptural truth.
Let us be precise in our speech so that we may be best understood.
Hat tip to Mark Davis for introducing me to this phrase.
Monday, March 5, 2007
You Should... You Must...
Natural law is easy to legislate. You shall not murder. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. These laws can be derived from the second greatest commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." They stop you from doing something wrong.
Positive laws aren't so easy to legislate. "If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother." While this and similar laws are also based on the second greatest commandment, instead of stopping you from doing something wrong, they command you to do something that is right.
I have no quibble with God doing so. He is fully within His rights to do so. I have an intellectual problem with a government of man doing so. Barry Goldwater once said, "A government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take away everything you have." In the same way, a government big enough to force you to do good is also big enough to force you to do evil. We can see this in that while the government sponsors welfare, it also sponsors Planned Parenthood.
What is the intellectual justification for a secular government strong enough to force the doing of good? The libertarian in me screams that there really isn't one. The Christian in me, in some ways, wants there to be one. What are your thoughts?
Sunday, March 4, 2007
A capella music
I go to a church of Christ that has inherited the a capella tradition of singing. Personally, I think it is a beautiful thing when hundreds of voices join together to praise God. It can really raise the roof when all the parts are being sung and the chords come together so wonderfully. I know the praise in Heaven will be even more excellent. When it's excellent, it's fun to participate in making that praise—even if your part in it is only a joyful noise.
Orthodox Christians use a capella music in their worship because "human voices are capable of uttering rational praise" and instruments are not. I can take the tune of "Salvation Belongs to Our God" and it becomes "I Like My Hamburgers With Cheese" without the words of rationality attached.
Over the years, I've come to have three rules for music in church so that I can not only be comfortable with, but trust that it fulfills what God ordained it for:
- The music must have words.
There isn't anything special about So-La-So-Mi-Do-La-So until you add "Rock of Ages, cleft for me" to it.
- The words must be intelligible.
"How will they hear without a preacher?" It is also difficult to hear without clear words. I once heard a rendition of "A Mighty Fortress" sung in a church where there were so many echos the words turned to mush. After one verse, the preacher who was expounding the hymn exclaimed, "Wasn't that a great verse?" I couldn't help but think that I couldn't know because I hadn't understood a word that was said.
- The volume must be reasonable.
I've been in church services where earplugs were required to stand the music service not because it was so bad you didn't want to hear it, but because it was so loud and you wanted to hear afterwards. This is not only offensive, but physically dangerous to the congregation.
One reason I stay with the church I do is because of the music. Hymn choice is another matter, but that is for a different post.
Until next time, may His peace be with you.
Introduction
OK, here we go. Like the world needs another ruminator, but I figure I may as well toss my own opinions out there.
I am a Christian. I am married with four children. See what that tells you when you read my perspectives.
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