Where I'll be living come the end of the month

This is Christus House's website. It looks like it hasn't been updated in a while.
Peace,
Chris

Christians for Kerry

I thought this looked like an interesting site.
In other news I can now take off my splint thing when I'm just hanging out, which is nice.
Peace,
Chris

I know where I'm going to Seminary at!

I'm going to go to Philadelphia! It was perfect. I had liked Wartburg, but it had no Urban emphasis. I had liked Chicago, but it was very impersonal. Philadelphia is really good at the Urban thing, even has a UTE (Urban Theological Education) program, it also has a really serious community, worshiping together 1-2 times daily, etc. And finally there are tons of right out of College students there! I'm really happy.

Info about the Luther movie on DVD

I have yet to see this. When it comes out I'll check it out.

Check this out, kind of odd

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Good article about patriotism, yeah, I like slate's editorials

I will have a car in Eugene!

I get to have a car when I go back to college! It should be mad fun, not having to walk to the grocery store up a hill in the rain! Mmm.

Sermon from Sunday

As we all know after a brief period of religiousrebellion in his thirties (youthful indiscretions helater called them) the good man Jesus settled down,became a Pharisee, married Mary Magdaline, had threenice kids, a dog named Scooter, and lived in a nicesuburb of Jerusalem. Eventually, he gained his Romancitizenship, ran, and won a Roman Senate electioncampaign stressing family values and uninterruptedprosperity, and he lived to the ripe old age of 102.XXX No. Wait. He DIDN'T.Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the very Son of God,lived, preached a message of uplifting the poor andsalvation for all. He pointed out the hypocrisy of thereligious authorities of his day, he was betrayed by afriend, was crucified by the Roman occupiers, died,and was buried. It would seem when it was said, "See,I have set before you today life and prosperity, deathand adversity," he chose death and adversity.When we look at the scriptures, we do not see God'speople, God's disciples, as living an easy life.Abraham was called to leave the land of theChaldeans, the land of his ancestors, the land of his family. He was called to leave everyone he knew andloved.During the Exodus God's people had to bear up thecapstones of misery in Egypt.The Israelites were scattered, separated, anddispersed during their exile in BabylonIn the midst of his ministries John the Baptist wasimprisoned by King Herod, and beheaded.Stephan was martyred in the streets of Jerusalem,stoned to death.While proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ Paulwas imprisoned, suffered, and died.As Christians let's not kid ourselves, let's enterinto our faith with no illusions, let's keep our eyeswide open. Living out Christianity isn't an, if you doX you'll be rewarded with Y, kind of religion, insteadit is like completing a tower, it's like going into abattle with 2:1 odds stacked against you. When we putour God before all thing; before our family, beforeour possessions, and yes, even before our life, thereis going to be adversity.Jesus says to us today, "Whoever comes to me and doesnot HATE father and mother, wife and children,brothers and sisters. Can not be my disciple." HATEour family! Hate Valerie, Hate Jerry, Hate my littleDog Baby! It's not quite as vicious as that. It turns out whenone looks at the Greek the actual word is acomparative word. In this case we are weighing Jesusup against our family. In comparison to how much youlove Jesus, the love you have for your family is hate.Still, this isn't easy. Look at how the Phariseesfumed when Jesus disregarded his connections with hispeople, the Jewish family, by hanging out withnon-Jews in Sumeria and elsewhere. And think of theanger he invoked when he would berate the Phariseeswith parables like the one about the good Samaritan.Think of the heartbreak he must have felt when he saidthat his mother and brother were not his relatives,but instead those who followed him were. Think of theanguish he felt when he left Galilee to preach hismessage, and when he left even his disciples to comebefore Pontious Pilate.Think about when Abraham left those he loved. Thinkabout the defining moment when you left your family.It could be going to a sleepover at a friends. Itcould be college. It could be going off to war orgetting married. For me it was about two years ago when I went off toEugene to college for the first time. I remember thatfirst night in the dorms. It was kind of scary.Outside my room were a horde of very. hyper track boysthat just realized the dorm was co-ed by room. Insidemy room was my roommate. All I knew about him was thathe was from Alaska, was more introverted than I was,had a strange obsession with maps, and didn't take offhis blue baseball cap even to go to sleep. I think ofthose first few weeks on campus, trying to find anitch for myself. I remember the riot that took placeafter a basketball game, they lit a portion of themain street on fire and drove a metermaid cart intothe flames. In short, leaving your family, being adisciple of Jesus, pulls you out of your comfort zone.Still, what is the good news in that? The good newsis that when we love Jesus to the point that our loveof family is likened to hate we may close our eyes toour biological family, and open them up to see all ofhumanity. We can look at anyone and everyone andremember that we all contain the breath of God wereceived through God's breathing into that clay manAdam. We are all redeemed through that last dyingbreath Jesus took on the cross, and that gloriousbreath of resurrection he took inside the tomb. And weare all united in that blast of Holy Breath that wasPentecost.In the movie "A Beautiful Mind" there is a scene thatcatches at least a pinch of this idea. John Nash, thefamous mathematician, is at a bar drinking with someof his friends. A group of women enter, one of thewomen is a stunning blonde. Nash and his friends allplan to ask out the blonde. At that point he realizesit would be in all their best interests if they askedout the other girls, so all of them would have a date,instead of all of them competing against one anotherfor that one girl and none of them having a date. Inshort, he realized it is better to give one anothermutual aid than to compete. As I said, an incompleteexample at best. Still, the point is well made thatinstead of looking out only for the best interest ofthe few, disciples of Christ look out for the wellbeing of everyone. We are able to shed our baseconnections of clan and country, kith and kin, to loveall and be loved by all.For a more biblical example look at today's letter ofPaul. Through loving Christ more than family thisrunaway slave, Onemus becomes family and is changedinto a son of the apostle Paul and a brother, no evenmore than that, a beloved brother, of Philemon. Whenwe throw out our attachment to family then people areno longer property, but fellow children of God.Jesus says to us today, "None of you can become mydisciple if you do not give up your possessions." Giveup our daily Starbucks coffee? Give up our nice shinycar? Give up our bed? Give up the roof over our head?Give up the food we eat? This is tough, every daycommercials tell us if we only buy Crest White stripswe will be loved. If we only eat at Chile's we'll behip. If we only get a new car a band will follow usaround and all our problems will be solved. Yet, to beDisciples of Christ Jesus we love him to the pointthat our love of our possessions is like hate. Thisundermines the message of this world and leads us toexamine our needs, and recognize that a lot of thestuff we strive for is not necessary, and, not onlythat, they may be unhealthy and unhelpful.Again, what is the good news in that? First, it meanswe are able to stand in solidarity with the poor,since, without our precious possessions where do westand? Where does economic prestige go? All of asudden we are all buck naked hominids without fancyclothing or a shiny white smile. Just like when wedisregard our biological connections, when we ax oureconomic reputation, our differences evaporate. Werealize people are more than their possessions orjobs, a tax collector decked out in gold is just ashuman as a prostitute in a cheep hotel room or apriest with a nicely pressed roman collar. A homelessperson looking for food and a job is just as human asa CEO in a private jet or a sales clerk eating atWendy's.As proof of this miracle of love let's look again atPaul's letter to Philemon. Paul, a man imprisoned,shackled in chains/ a dude in jail/ is able to effectthe status of Onemus. Think about that, a prisoner hasthe ability to make a man free. When we stop lookingat Paul, as a man with no home, wandering the worldpreaching, making and mending tents for a living, andstuck in the slammer, then we can see him for who andwhat he really is, a messenger of God preaching withthe authority of God.Secondly, being a Lutheran, and believing we aresaved by grace, through faith, for works, I can'tleave the question of possessions at that, I'm goingto push things a little farther. What if we don't justabandon our earthly possessions, but also abandon ouridea of earning heavenly possessions? What if we putChrist at the center of our life to such an extentthat we truly humble ourselves before him, and realizethat nothing we do can earn the kingdom of God? Whatif we trust in Christ so much that we admit that thegates of Hell have already been stormed, and salvationis already ours? Then all the actions we commit, allthe good things we do, all the love and kindness weshare with the world is done of our own free will, notbecause we have been bribed with a room in heaven, orthreatened with a thundering God of judgment. Then,like our brother and fellow disciple Philemon, ourgood deeds can be voluntary.Jesus says to us today, "Whoever comes to me and doesnot hate. even life itself, cannot be my disciple.Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannotbe my disciple." Let us love Jesus to the point thatour love of life is like hate. Let us live life not tofurther our family name, nor for our own prosperity,but for the love of God.The good news is that Christ has bought our life withhis. The good news is that we have been freed from theslavery of sin to become servants of all. The goodnews is that Christ bore his cross, and calls us tobear ours. The good news is that Christ rose from hisgrave, and calls us to rise from ours. The good newsis that we can live a life in faith that theresurrection will happen.The good news is that Abraham went to the promisedland and through him came a people to be a blessingand bring a blessing to the whole world.The good news is that God heard his people's criesand called them out, led by Moses through the desertto the promised land.The good news is that the Israelites heard the voiceand made a path through the wilderness back to theHoly land.The good news is that John the Baptist was a voicecrying out in the wilderness, "make straight the pathof the Lord."The good news is that Stephan testified to the Son ofMan sitting at the right hand of God. The good news is that Paul preached the blessing ofAbraham to the whole world.Brothers and sisters in Christ, disciples of Christ,there are things we give up. There are things thatshall lessen in importance, but only so that Christ isamplified. A+A

The Bush twins were really bad last night

Really, not a good speech. They insulted their grandmother, groan. It was just bad in general. I really didn't want to think of Bush and Laura shaking it "like a polaride photo." I don't think they really reached their generation, instead they just insulted the past generations. Why were they up there?

Some thoughts on Bush' flip-flops

Check out the Slate article, but also think about it. He was anti-nationbuilding now pro-nationbuilding. He was against Homeland security, then he was for it. He wanted to have the security council vote about using force in Iraq, then he decided he didn't want it. He said we will win the war on terror. Now he says we can't win the war on terror.
Just some thoughts. I really need to get back to Theology.
Peace,
Chris

My former band instructor is running for a House Seat here in Wyoming. Help him win.

If you could throw a couple of bucks to his campaign I would appreciate it. Here is his website:<http://www.barbreforhouse.com/ />You can send him money online here:<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr >or<http://www.barbreforhouse.com/donate.html >I'll be stuffing envelopes for him, I hope to hear he got some money from people who look at my blog. Last election we only lost his district by 100 some votes. I believe Mr. Barbre can win.Thanks, Chris

Garrison Keillor goes hog wild

Something has gone seriously haywire with the Republican Party. Once, it was the party of pragmatic Main Street businessmen in steel-rimmed spectacles who decried profligacy and waste, were devoted to their communities and supported the sort of prosperity that raises all ships. They were good-hearted people who vanquished the gnarlier elements of their party, the paranoid Roosevelt-haters, the flat Earthers and Prohibitionists, the antipapist antiforeigner element. The genial Eisenhower was their man, a genuine American hero of D-Day, who made it OK for reasonable people to vote Republican. He brought the Korean War to a stalemate, produced the Interstate Highway System, declined to rescue the French colonial army in Vietnam, and gave us a period of peace and prosperity, in which (oddly) American arts and letters flourished and higher education burgeoned—and there was a degree of plain decency in the country. Fifties Republicans were giants compared to today’s. Richard Nixon was the last Republican leader to feel a Christian obligation toward the poor.
In the years between Nixon and Newt Gingrich, the party migrated southward down the Twisting Trail of Rhetoric and sneered at the idea of public service and became the Scourge of Liberalism, the Great Crusade Against the Sixties, the Death Star of Government, a gang of pirates that diverted and fascinated the media by their sheer chutzpah, such as the misty-eyed flag-waving of Ronald Reagan who, while George McGovern flew bombers in World War II, took a pass and made training films in Long Beach. The Nixon moderate vanished like the passenger pigeon, purged by a legion of angry white men who rose to power on pure punk politics. “Bipartisanship is another term of date rape,” says Grover Norquist, the Sid Vicious of the GOP. “I don’t want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.” The boy has Oedipal problems and government is his daddy.
The party of Lincoln and Liberty was transmogrified into the party of hairy-backed swamp developers and corporate shills, faith-based economists, fundamentalist bullies with Bibles, Christians of convenience, freelance racists, misanthropic frat boys, shrieking midgets of AM radio, tax cheats, nihilists in golf pants, brownshirts in pinstripes, sweatshop tycoons, hacks, fakirs, aggressive dorks, Lamborghini libertarians, people who believe Neil Armstrong’s moonwalk was filmed in Roswell, New Mexico, little honkers out to diminish the rest of us, Newt’s evil spawn and their Etch-A-Sketch president, a dull and rigid man suspicious of the free flow of information and of secular institutions, whose philosophy is a jumble of badly sutured body parts trying to walk. Republicans: The No.1 reason the rest of the world thinks we’re deaf, dumb and dangerous.
Rich ironies abound! Lies pop up like toadstools in the forest! Wild swine crowd round the public trough! Outrageous gerrymandering! Pocket lining on a massive scale! Paid lobbyists sit in committee rooms and write legislation to alleviate the suffering of billionaires! Hypocrisies shine like cat turds in the moonlight! O Mark Twain, where art thou at this hour? Arise and behold the Gilded Age reincarnated gaudier than ever, upholding great wealth as the sure sign of Divine Grace.
Here in 2004, George W. Bush is running for reelection on a platform of tragedy—the single greatest failure of national defense in our history, the attacks of 9/11 in which 19 men with box cutters put this nation into a tailspin, a failure the details of which the White House fought to keep secret even as it ran the country into hock up to the hubcaps, thanks to generous tax cuts for the well-fixed, hoping to lead us into a box canyon of debt that will render government impotent, even as we engage in a war against a small country that was undertaken for the president’s personal satisfaction but sold to the American public on the basis of brazen misinformation, a war whose purpose is to distract us from an enormous transfer of wealth taking place in this country, flowing upward, and the deception is working beautifully.
The concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the few is the death knell of democracy. No republic in the history of humanity has survived this. The election of 2004 will say something about what happens to ours. The omens are not good.
Our beloved land has been fogged with fear—fear, the greatest political strategy ever. An ominous silence, distant sirens, a drumbeat of whispered warnings and alarms to keep the public uneasy and silence the opposition. And in a time of vague fear, you can appoint bullet-brained judges, strip the bark off the Constitution, eviscerate federal regulatory agencies, bring public education to a standstill, stupefy the press, lavish gorgeous tax breaks on the rich.
There is a stink drifting through this election year. It isn’t the Florida recount or the Supreme Court decision. No, it’s 9/11 that we keep coming back to. It wasn’t the “end of innocence,” or a turning point in our history, or a cosmic occurrence, it was an event, a lapse of security. And patriotism shouldn’t prevent people from asking hard questions of the man who was purportedly in charge of national security at the time.
Whenever I think of those New Yorkers hurrying along Park Place or getting off the No.1 Broadway local, hustling toward their office on the 90th floor, the morning paper under their arms, I think of that non-reader George W. Bush and how he hopes to exploit those people with a little economic uptick, maybe the capture of Osama, cruise to victory in November and proceed to get some serious nation-changing done in his second term.
This year, as in the past, Republicans will portray us Democrats as embittered academics, desiccated Unitarians, whacked-out hippies and communards, people who talk to telephone poles, the party of the Deadheads. They will wave enormous flags and wow over and over the footage of firemen in the wreckage of the World Trade Center and bodies being carried out and they will lie about their economic policies with astonishing enthusiasm.
The Union is what needs defending this year. Government of Enron and by Halliburton and for the Southern Baptists is not the same as what Lincoln spoke of. This gang of Pithecanthropus Republicanii has humbugged us to death on terrorism and tax cuts for the comfy and school prayer and flag burning and claimed the right to know what books we read and to dump their sewage upstream from the town and clear-cut the forests and gut the IRS and mark up the constitution on behalf of intolerance and promote the corporate takeover of the public airwaves and to hell with anybody who opposes them.
This is a great country, and it wasn’t made so by angry people. We have a sacred duty to bequeath it to our grandchildren in better shape than however we found it. We have a long way to go and we’re not getting any younger.
Dante said that the hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who in time of crisis remain neutral, so I have spoken my piece, and thank you, dear reader. It’s a beautiful world, rain or shine, and there is more to life than winning.

A question on heart surguries

The Terrible Swede has asked for a brief description as to why I have had to have my heart surguries. In layman's terms (and that's all I'm really good for) I had a hole in my heart (not the romantic kind) between two chambers. Along with that the valves going out of my heart were really small. I had my first correction when I was 2 days old, they took some veins from my left hand and strung them between my lungs and my heart so I could get enough oxygen, to do this they took out a rib (once again I'm missing a rib, but not in the romantic/biblical sense) and cut up my back pretty well, there is a good sized spot on my back that has no feeling in it (If I bend down in a certain way I can make it look like I have a hump in my back). Then when I was three I had a full correction where they replaced my valve with another valve (I am thinking one of the valves may have been pig... yeah I'm an unclean animal). Then when I was ten they had to do another operation, then when I was 13 they put in a stent, then when I was 18 they did another full correction. Each of these full corrections involve cracking open all the ribs in my chest, and replacing valves. The recovery time for each of these is about 6 weeks plus another 3 months or so on Didgoxen.
Hope that was helpful, maybe even entertaining.

By the way, I turn 21 on the 20th of sept.

Over at my bizzaro blog, BIFA, they are contemplating what should be my first drink.
Chris

I thought this was cute

Last Thursday, my organization, People Reluctant To Kill for an Abstraction, orchestrated an overwhelming show of force around the globe.
At precisely 9 in the morning, working with focus and stealth, our entire membership succeeded in simultaneously beheading no one. At 10, Phase II began, during which our entire membership did not force a single man to suck another man's penis. Also, none of us blew himself/herself up in a crowded public place. No civilians were literally turned inside out via our powerful explosives. In addition, at 11, in Phase III, zero (0) planes were flown into buildings.
During Phase IV, just after lunch, we were able to avoid bulldozing a single home. Furthermore, we set, on roads in every city, in every nation in the world, a total of zero (0) roadside bombs which, not being there, did not subsequently explode, killing/maiming a total of nobody. No bombs were dropped, during the lazy afternoon hours, on crowded civilian neighborhoods, from which, it was observed, no post-bomb momentary silences were then heard. These silences were, in all cases, followed by no unimaginable, grief-stricken bellows of rage, and/or frantic imprecations to a deity. No sleeping baby was awakened from an afternoon nap by the sudden collapse and/or bursting into flame of his/her domicile during Phase IV.
For the rest go to the link