There is a new essay about democracy up at "The Foundation"

It is by the ever radical and ever Bible spouting Allen "Stonewall" Jackson.
Peace,
Chris

Random bits from my February newsletter

"I perceive that we here, we TFG volunteers, have been forever marked out, forever changed by our time for God. We have come face to face with the world wide body of Christ in action. Like the patriarch Jacob we are wrestling with God in the night, and will come out of this limping, renamed, leaving for our respective countries, made into new people by our experiences, hardships, and relationships."

Teaching Children
Little androgynous faces
Face me, like cherubs
Yet louder, and less good at listening
Unlike those silent angels that we pray
Watch over us under the Divine auspices
And we too are called to a similar task
Watching over these cherubs
Facing us

My blog, cleaned up

As you can tell I've cleaned up my blog a bit, cut off the dead links, filed people in proper
categories (including moving some former Lutherans from the Lutheran column and putting a Lutheran who I didn't know was a Lutheran into the Lutheran column).
Check things out, I'd added some new links as well. If anyone wants to be added, taken off, etc just let me know.
Peace,
Chris

I don't know how far my readership goes

But anyone who has Sam Brownback or Joe Biden as their Senator should be praising them for their creation of Resolution 383 which will call on NATO's getting involved in stopping the mess in Darfur. Also if your senators are Dick Lugar, Barack Obama, Chris Dodd, or Russ Feingold thank them for supporting and co-sponsoring resolution 383!
For the first time ever I'm feeling hopeful about Darfur's fate.
Peace,
Chris

Biographies… Is everyone insane?

It has been only recently that I’ve started reading biographies and autobiographies, but I’ve noticed a real trend in them. They make the person out to be loco in the cabesa! The sanest figures I’ve read about are St. Paul and Bill Clinton. Per their biographers; all of Emma Goldman’s philosophical ideas are attempts to compensate for her personal life, Tolkien created his world to regress to a point in his life when he was with his mom in the English countryside (an idealic place to be I might add), Jung and Freud were both just plain nuts and anti-semetic and anti-aryian respectively, and Rousseau by his own admission was a pervert.
In short I’m seriously asking is that the point of the genre of biography to prove that someone is nuts? Or is it more the case that the biographer wants to say something new? Or is it just that if one analyses the totality of someone else’s life their inconsistencies are quite glaring? Or even are all great people, all those who seriously impact the world, a little off kilter?
Peace,
Chris

Good job Bush!

Yes, you heard me, the President did something pretty darn good. In his budget proposal he gives 300 million bucks toward peacekeeping in Darfur. Send the man a thank you note!
In other news the latest Foundation article is up.
Peace,
Chris

Redefining liberalism

Check these folk out, they seem quite interesting!
Peace,
Chris

Pope's Sermons on Creation

Read the current Pope’s sermons about Creation. He writes on the subject of Sabbath like Abraham Heshel, which is absolutely brill. His environmental ethics are a little unclear, he seems to be against exploiting the earth, as well as for using it as humans see fit as long as we recognize we are creature not Creator. One disturbing thing is that he talks a lot about Nazism, and not always in the negative. He uses a Nazi slogan to exposit a point about man being dust. On the plus side he points out that an ethic of "anything is possible" coupled with the idea that ascetics and efficiency are automatically good (sort of the idea of… Plato or Aristotle I don’t remember which, where doing what you are good at the best you can is the purpose of life) ends up with Openhimer and Auschwitz. He also talks about chronology of scripture, texual redaction, stuff like that, which surprised me.
In short people quit listening to all this "he's a Nazi" "He's the Anti-Christ" "he's absolutely conservative" etc and read what he's writen, if nothing else you will realize he's a very bright man.
Peace,
Chris

What will we do about Darfur

Protests and Counter-protests

Check out he link above. Two pro-free speech Frenchmen launch a counter-protest. (Video)
I have to say I'm siding with the West on this one, while the cartoons were in bad taste and insulting to a large section of Islam, Western Governments should in no way shape or form appologize for what some newspapers within their country do.
Peace,
Chris

A book to read "Miracle at Sant' Anna" by James McBride

I've been meaning to write about "Miracle at Sant' Anna" for a while. Then my mom came, then I had to write a newsletter, then I was at a confrence in London and now I have to give the book back to the library before they hunt me down and stake me to a church door (they actually used to do this to invading vikings (aka my relatiks from way back) in this area of England). I read it for my book club "Novel Approach" and was blown away. It is by James McBride, who happened to speak at the U of O's new students convocation when I was a Freshman!
"Miracle" is the story of a group of Buffolo soldiers in Italy who get seperated from their platoon and find themselves amongst the Italians, and with a little extra luggage, a small crazed Italian boy. It is a story of real fleshyness, yet filled with a certain spirit and even religion. It exposites the personal quirky faiths of each character then throws these ideals out into the reality of the world and see how they survive. McBride captures the accent and exact quality of Italy in a very profound way!
So, read Miracle at Sant' Anna!
Peace,
Chris

Three poems

So, most of the my January Newsletter has already been on this site in some way shape or form, so here is the only really new thing for those who are regular readers.

Three poems to sum up our tour ofBath/Windsor/Stonehenge

Stonehenge
Old ruins
Knocked down by Rome
Like the Temple of old Jerusalem
All that remains, a circular wailing wall
Cordoned off, gawked at
Speculated about
Old ruins
Yet fascinating still

Windsor
Ah, Queen, here we sit
Surrounded by sabres of conquered foe
The Empire’s glory encased in glass
Large rooms encasing
You dear Queen
In a splendor
That is now curated by young women
And fashionable men
Dressed as of old

Bath
The Romans were here too
Syncretism run amuck
You water gods
Dryads, nymphs
Crumbled Gorgon’s head adorned with Celtic wings
Stone embracing water bubbling
Toss in a prayer (though archeologists find morecurses than prayer)
Kneel in the water (be healed)
And now, now we, like those of old
Throw in our own valuable refuseI see them all,
Dollars, Pounds, Rial, Dinar, Euro,Shekel
All of it goes into the bubbling, bubbling, water.

Emergent Church

There is a newish movement out there call the Emergent Church. I've been hearing about it quite a bit as of late. Here is some information about it. I'm not quite sure what to make of it yet.
Peace,
Chris
PS
The new issues of the Blogozines, The Foundation and Universal Bones are up. Check them out.

Call Bolton about Darfur!

I did my dogooder's deed of the day, calling Bolton asking him to try to stop the genocide in Darfur.

"Please join today’s National Call-In Day organized by Africa Action by calling the U.S. Mission to the United Nations at (212) 415-4050, and asking U.S. Ambassador John Bolton to introduce a Security Council resolution calling for a multinational intervention in Darfur in support of the African Union with a mandate to protect civilians."

Peace,
Chris

Mum's pics of Saffron Walden, Bath, Windsor, Stonehenge, Cambridge, Audley End... England world tour.

Mom leaves in the morning, but has uploaded the pictures from her time here. Enjoy!
Peace,
Chris