Yet more thunderstorms

May the Farm be with you!
Perhaps next week will provide greater opportunity to elaborate on my frustration with the question of "free will."
But maybe not: it's not really in my hands, now is it?

Decompensation station

I'll keep this as short as I can:
we don't have free will, at least not in the sense that most people think.
Perhaps that's too short... but no one seems to be reading (or posting) these days.

Multifaceted and complex reasons

I wanted to write something about why I changed my emphasis, and also the story about why I need to tell a bit about the story of changing my emphasis, but first: You Duped Me Lord (which features such recent post as, "The Holy Spirit is Wrong Wrong Wrong.") Who knew Jesuits read Lester Bangs? (Don't let Plain Man see the picture of Lester on the right-hand side of the above-linked web-page!)
Anyhow: I like hyperbole, and often use it to comic effect (or at least make the attempt). Recently I was at a gathering of people where I said quite bluntly that I changed my emphasis for one unambiguous reason which need not be repeated here, partly because, as indicated by the title of this post, there are many reasons: scheduling at this institution, profound miscommunication with the liaison at another institution, and a general sense that I need to modify my life's direction (or rather, that Spirit is leading me down a path other than the one I originally thought). Many reasons, not just one. I'm sorry I ever indicated it was as simple as I suggested.
Actually, I'm just sorry that I said it to one particular person. It's not that I don't like this person: on the contrary, she's quite nice. But I belatedly realized that she was perhaps the worst person I could have made a hyperbolic attempt at humor concerning the changing of my emphasis, precisely for the reason that she's also the most likely to repeat it in inappropriate circumstances.
Maybe this is Spirit working in an entirely unexpected way: keep your mouth shut! (James 1:19)

Jewels and Binoculars

I've been meaning to write about the similarities between fundamentalists of all stripes--particularly Christian and Muslim--but it's too humid to do much other than sit.
I should have added at least one link to the previous post: thank you Julie for tracking down something on Aristotle's conception of friendship. A friend is another self, a true friendship is part of what makes life worth living; but you can't just go up and ask someone to be your friend.

I followed her to the station...

Here's the missing cartoon.
I hope everyone is having a better Thursday than I am.

Iatrogenic

No cartoon, but I do have a word for the day: "iatrogenic."

Oil consumption

If we really want to end the U.S.'s dependence on foreign oil, we need to ratchet up the level of xenophobia and hostility.

Now, that's not my usual approach: I'm a pacifist and tolerant to a fault. However, how do we get the people with oversized pickups and SUVs, hauling around their motorboats and ATVs--the "Git-R-Done!" people--to realize the importance to reducing our oil consumption? Given the history in this country, making it a racial issue is probably the best choice. The trick is to firmly connect the "camel-f***ing towelheads" with gasoline in the minds of the average redneck. I don't understand how can they continue to waste gas as if there was an unlimited supply of oil, even as they constitute the part of the population most likely to die in Iraq or elsewhere? I don't understand how can they exhibit so much racial hostility towards Arabs (among others) while sending so much money their way? And have people forgotten that bin-Laden is from Saudi Arabia, and thus benefits more or less directly from our oil-consumption? Screw the sand-n*****s: buy a Prius!

I don't want to give anyone the wrong impression: Don't take any of my racial epithets seriously. I think you have a moral obligation to both love our neighbors and to take care of the earth, and that kind of xenophobia is a big part of the problem. But this seems to be the language of the people who listen to John Boy and Billy, and we need to get them on board if we're going to do anything. (I keep forgetting about NASCAR, though: maybe we need to bring back gladitorial combat.)
And of course, you're reading a tax-raising, latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading, body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, left-wing freak show of a blog. What do I know?

Drumming for the mud-people

The highlight of my summer so far came this past Saturday evening:
I was sitting by the campfire, strumming some Grateful Dead, when the mud-people arrived and demanded a drummer. Not wishing to disappoint, I put down my guitar and started drumming (I'm not sure why, but there was a djembe nearby). And then they began to dance as the night slowly fell. I probably drummed for over an hour. Good times.
A few notes: first, I realize that some people use the term "mud-people" as a racial epithet. I'm not using it in that sense here. These were mostly middle-class whites; I just don't know how else to describe them--there were perhaps 20 of them--covered from head to toe in mud. Except for one little sprout, who kept her dreadlocks and glasses mud-free.
Another note: I was eventually by two other drummers. Two of us had PhDs, the other was a PhD candidate. I usually don't equate intelligence with education (I mean, really), but of course there is some correlation, and I thought it wise to particpate by drumming rather than actually immersing ourselves in mud. Some might say this shows the dangers of academia, watching rather than participating. But that's my personal vice: I'm a 5, remember? And, none of the drummers had to run off to take a shower before going to bed; since they're solar-powered showers (I can see Matt smirking now), they weren't very warm by 10PM.
Last, but not least, and not related to the mud-people: my friend Terry has finally launched his website: Philosophy in the Service of the Good. There is much more content there than I expected--it's no mere blog!--so I haven't fully investigated it myself, but I trust Terry (most of the time).
Oh, the cartoon: I tell people that I take notes by drawing cartoons, and usually they evoke a complete picture of what was happening at the time. I have absolutely no idea why I drew this particular cartoon, but I thought it was vaguely amusing.

Just a quick note

It seems like I shouldn't go this long without an entry, even if few people are reading the blogs right now...
What have I been up to lately? Pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth. No, wait, those are the seven deadly sins I said I was going to look up last week. As it turns out, they have their own website. Who knew?
I've been getting chemical burns and assorted cuts, and my hands are black as tar (and no, not because of my sins). And playing guitar, although not quite as much as I had imagined I would these past two weeks.
Have a safe and happy 4th of July; I'll be cringing under a table somewhere. No, wait, that's my dog Biscuit.

Long weekend

I'm back, although chances are you didn't even know I was gone. Julie has inspired me to post an old cartoon... I'm a universalist, but that doesn't mean I like everyone. In fact, it doesn't necessarily mean I like anyone.


But I like you, of course.

"Well, someone has to spy on the beachcombers..."

Last night, the bugbear that stalks me reappeared: the question of free will. I did get a nice, concise explanation of "Arminianism," which is very good to have (also, some Thai food, which is also good to have, but is probably unrelated to the question of free will); but the question of grace and our relationship with God is only a small part of free will.
As it so happens, Tony Campolo has recently written a short essay about free will. I won't go into a full-fledged dissection of this piece, but I want to bring attention to a common error Tony commits here.
He starts by saying that God is self-limiting in order to give us free will: just as a parent must allow a child the freedom to make mistakes in order to mature, God has granted us an even greater freedom in order to achieve spiritual maturity. The problem comes in the next move: Tony switches from human freedom--and thus, sin and suffering borne out of that freedom--to cancer, hurricanes and tsunamis. Some people argue that those things (sometimes called "natural evils") are the product of human sin, but Tony (thank goodness!) doesn't make this argument (at least not in this article). But he doesn't offer an alternative connection between human freedom and natural evil, which is necessary in order to connect them at all. Can we imagine a world that had no hurricanes or tsunamis, and little girls didn't die of brain tumors? This doesn't have anything to do with free will at all: it's a question of theodicy. Despite centuries of trying to explain the latter in terms of the former, it still doesn't work.
I had hoped that Tony would offer something more satisfying... oh well.
Back to beachcombing.

Brush with fame!

Local celebrity sighting: James Todd Smith! Well, it wasn't really him, just someone having problems with her pants... but I have it on good authority that at least one Lady Loves Cool Tonda...

And I suppose I should explain a bit about the previous post, with more "old news":

"Mr Miro is the highest-ranking official to visit since ties were severed over support for Iran in its 1980-1988 war with Iraq." And:
"Mr Miro - who is accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and businessmen - is expected to sign various cooperation agreements."

Also,
"I know that every time Mr. Miro would call him, regardless of whether he was available or not, he would always respond and go to Mr. Miro. And Mr. Miro used to leave with him the keys to the storage where there were a lot of goods, very important significant goods."
[Much of this document has been redacted in closed session--sorry!]

I hope that helps to clarify things, particularly the question of whether I really am "mad, bad, and dangerous to know."

Old news, new cartoon.

This is from the Middle East Economic Survey, 04 August 2003:
'Before arriving in Turkey, Mr Miro suggested to the Turkish daily Sabah that Syria, Turkey and Iran should make common cause to fight American plans for the region, saying that “the whole world knows about America’s policy to establish a new order in the Middle East. Therefore I think Turkey, Syria and Iran as well as other countries need to act more and more together, because if we stay alone it becomes easier to do what has been done to Iraq.” The very fact that Mr Miro could openly propose such a common front is one indication of the parlous state of US-Turkish relations.'

Mr. Miro commonly proposes various thing that, in hindsight, seem like profoundly bad ideas, but only rarely do they indicate the parlous state of US-Turkish relations.

A Chat with iGod

I realize this site has been linked before, but I went there again today and had this exchange with God:

Me: What about a job?
God: I will think about it and get back to you.
Me: I'm not expecting you to employ me, just to help out
God: I am surprised to hear that you are not expecting me to employ you just to help out.
Me: I realize you already have a lot of people working for you
God: You are not the boss of me.
Me: Um, no, I'm not.
God: Excuse me! I heard you are.


Even with my liberal theology, I don't really think I'm the boss of God.
I bet the pay for that's pretty good, though.

{blank}

More on Tuesday

I ran across this quote recently:
'I told him I had been that morning at a meeting of the people called Quakers, where I had heard a woman preach. Johnson: "Sir, a woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all." '
I suspect that people who continue to hold this view would call themselves 'traditionalists,' and would be happy to see this quote if they're not already familiar with it. I can't quite believe that people would still hold such a view; while it's true that some women don't have the gift of preaching, others certainly do. I'm sure I could come up with others as well, but the point is a more general one: Johnson reflects an unwarranted prejudice that persists for no apparent reason. This isn't really my soapbox, but it strikes me as odd that I would be more accepted in a many pulpits than people who actually have gifts in that area and a desire to be there.

Tuesday - in color!

Well, sort of color.
I continue to ponder the profound, but keep coming up short. Maybe it's the blue sky and the happy little clouds... or the fact that I'm once again wondering what I'm going to do with my life, with the Rollings Stones as my soundtrack--to the wondering, not my life--and not really coming up with much.
I was reminded of Sequin Socks a couple weeks ago, but have forgotten to add the link; this will have to do for now. One of the dancers in the Roanoke Ballet Theater's production of 'Goodnight Moon' (based on Margaret Wise Brown's book) told me that they continued to sew sequins on the costumes of the socks up until the last minute (for the "goodnight, socks" portion of the performace).
An odd way to be reminded, but I guess no stranger than someone thinking of this cartoon as they toured the Albuquerque Museum of Art & History.

Here's to Peace and Justice!

Today's Dennis the Menace has Dennis and his little friend walking away from a buffet; Dennis says, "Buffet must be French for 'Get up an' Get it Yourself!'" Ha ha ha, don't you just love Dennis?

Well, maybe not. I don't know about the etymology of the word "buffet," but it has occurred to me that it's better than asking a waitress (or waiter), "Please just bring me plates filled with random food, until I'm ready to puke." That would be embarrassing; thus, we have the buffet (or better yet, the "All-you-care-to-eat buffet").

Julie has posted a bit about her experience with a clearness committee; I won't go into the level of detail she does, but I have also gone through one recently. It was the third I've been the focus of, although the experiences have been very different from one another. It was very good and affirming, and possibly has reopened some doors that I had already closed.
Not that working at a soup kitchen was one of them, but I though Lonnie might appreciate this cartoon.

Considerate Idealist

I'm hopping on the bandwagon.

Not profound

I feel the need to post more cartoons, to make up for my recent absence. (Matt, take note!)
The cartoon requires some explanation: technically speaking, philosophers don't "just make stuff up." However, in searching for a definition of philosophy that could capture all the different things that have fallen within the bounds of the discipline, from Thales' speculation that everything was water, to Descartes' Cogito ergo sum, to Isaac Newton's "natural philosophy," to J.L. Austin's How to Do Things with Words, and so on... (this list is intended to show how wildly disparate the subject matter can be, not list favorite philosophers), I've come up against the following question: what do they all have in common?
Each is trying to answer a question that can't be "looked up" or tested. (Newton's laws are an interesting case in point: they still seem true, even though Einstein showed that they weren't). In the absence of an empirical method to test the theories (or divine revelation, which is typically discounted by philosophers), we use can reason in order to form a hypothesis to answer our question. Hypotheses must meet certain criteria, including offering a plausible answer that adequately explains the subject in question. But the subject doesn't matter as much as the method, thus, this method of approaching questions is the essence of philosophy. (It also explains why the "perennial questions" never get answered, and why philosophy as a whole is so easy to spoof: anything that gets a concrete answer ceases to be within the realm of philosophy.)
I guess all of this is merely a long, unnecessarily footnoted way of saying, 'yes, philosophers do just make stuff up; but they do so within a certain framework, according to rules that have been refined and handed down over thousands of years.'
Of course, that doesn't make what we say true.