theology | Need Something To Read?

I'm currently in the Chicagoland area. Still working on my dissertation, but with some home cooking thrown in. Not much to share, but thought that I'd share a link in case you're looking for a little light theological reading.

Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (click to download the .pdf), which grew out of the World Council of Churches meeting in Lima, was published by the WCC in 1982 (Faith and Order Paper No. 111, aka the “Lima Text”).

This famous text explores the growing agreement – and remaining differences - in fundamental areas of the churches’ faith and life. The most widely-distributed and studied ecumenical document, BEM has been a basis for many “mutual recognition” agreements among churches and remains a reference today. It weighs in at a mere 30 pages and is a great read. Definitely manageable on your next train ride.

.: tolle lege :.

[AYT][Theology][Baptism]

poem | Marry Me

I came across a link to this poem on my friend's blog. I liked it. I'm sharing it. Check out American Life in Poetry if you're not familiar with it.

Marry Me
a senryu sequence

when I come late to bed
I move your leg flung over my side
that warm gate

nights you're not here
I inch toward the middle
of this boat, balancing

when I turn over in sleep
you turn, I turn, you turn,
I turn, you

some nights you tug the edge
of my pillow under your cheek,
look in my dream

pulling the white sheet
over your bare shoulder
I marry you again

--Veronica Patterson

[AYT][Poetry]

quote | Where Is Jesus Hidden?

"But where is [Jesus] hidden now? With God, at the right hand of the Father? in His Word and sacraments? in the mystery of His Spirit, which bloweth where it listeth? All this is true enough...[but] He is no less present though hidden, in all who are now hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick and in prison. Wherever in this present time between the resurrection and the parousia one of these is waiting for help (for food, drink, lodging, clothes, a visit, assistance), Jesus Himself is waiting...They represent the world for which He died and rose again, with which He has made Himself supremely one, and declared Himself in solidarity...This is the test which at the last judgment will decide concerning the true community which will inherit the kingdom: whether in this time of God's mercy and patience, this time of its mission, it has been the community which has succoured its Lord by giving unqualified succour to them in this needy world."

Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, III.2, 508.

Happy Sunday!

[AYT][Theology][Barth]

blogging | Link Of The Day

My friend Reno is posting again on his blog and links to a wonderful little video from the Guardian. It's my link of the day.

politics | H.R. 6304 (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 )

H.R. 6304: A bill to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to establish a procedure for authorizing certain acquisitions of foreign intelligence, and for other purposes.

Bowing to President Bush's demands, the Senate sent the White House a bill Wednesday overhauling bitterly disputed rules on secret government eavesdropping and shielding telecommunications companies from lawsuits complaining they helped the U.S. spy on Americans.

The relatively one-sided vote, 69-28, came only after a lengthy and heated debate that pitted privacy and civil liberties concerns against the desire to prevent terrorist attacks. It ended almost a year of wrangling over surveillance rules and the president's warrantless wiretapping program that was initiated after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

I for one am not thrilled this passed, and for those who are interested, here are the here are some of the votes:

Clinton - Nay
Obama - Yea
McCain - Not Voting
Kerry - Nay
Durbin - Nay
Dodd - Nay

Obama may be getting a letter from me.

misc | 4th Of July: Part I

why must itself up every of a park

why must itself up every of a park

anus stick some quote statue unquote to

prove that a hero equals any jerk

who was afraid to dare to answer "no"?

quote citizens unquote might otherwise

forget(to err is human;to forgive

divine)that if the quote state unquote says

"kill" killing is an act of christian love.

"Nothing" in 1944 AD

"can stand against the argument of mil

itary necessity"(generalissimo e)

and echo answers "there is no appeal

from reason"(freud)--you pays your money and

you doesn't take your choice. Ain't freedom grand

--e.e. cummings

misc | 4th Of July: Part II

Have you ever had the thought that like Canada, Australia, and India, yes, the U.S.A would have become independent without the so-called Revolutionary War? Well, we got our political independence, but let's not say freedom. How can we say freedom when we're corporately enslaved? How can we say free when political apathy is rampant? Back then, at least one knew who the enemy was; now the assumption of freedom makes our dependence all the more debilitating. I'm glad, however, that there are always voices on the margins:


Maybe the most patriotic thing one can do is listen to voices from the underbelly of the American experiment and of the world, Emma Lazarus' huddled masses, the wretched refuse, and the homeless. Maybe it would be to celebrate the recent immigrants and aliens among us, those who most exemplify the spirit of escaping tyranny (economic or political) in search of freedom and opportunity. Maybe it means shuttering our military bases abroad in the spirit of combating our own colonial whims or sharing a meal with someone of a differing race, religion, orientation or class. There is plenty to celebrate in the United States and there are plenty of ways to be patriotic which go beyond unfurling flags and the lighting of bottle rockets. We probably need more patriots and less patriot blood.

[AYT][Theology][America][4th]