Good News: Chris Tilling Has Safely Arrived in London

I was wondering about his state so I emailed and am happy to disclose that he safely arrived and is settling in.  He’ll doubtless be back online soon, spreading his vile Wrightianity and spewing his Pauline bilge.  I can’t wait.

Divine Judgment: A Thought Experiment

When Katrina smacked into the Gulf Coast there were folk who described it as an act of God’s judgment.  Many protested such a theological reading of the events.  With Gustav hovering, It occured to me that the same sort of reading may soon crop up.  Perhaps rightly, perhaps wrongly.  My concern just now isn’t the rightness or wrongness of seeing various and sundry events as divine punishment.  Instead, I’d like to do a little thought experiment from another direction.

My starting point is the exchange between God and Abraham in Genesis 18:17ff.  It’s a well known passage, or should be.  If you aren’t familiar with it trot off just now and read it.  I’ll get some tea and be right back.

[n.b.- I'm getting tea- 'Plantation Mint' by Bigelow.  It's fantastic]

Now that you’re up to speed- here’s my observaton: if natural disasters are the manifestation of divine judgment, the surprising thing isn’t that judgment occurs from time to time; the surprising thing is that it doesn’t occur with astonishing regularity.

If the criterion for the avoidance of judgment is righteousness in a particular locale’s population, it seems reasonable to assert that every hamlet, village, town, and city is hanging even now on the edge of disaster because of a lack of the required righteous amongst their citizenry.

How many towns or cities are there where the word ‘righteous’ really is an honest descriptor of any of its citizens?  If ‘righteousness’ is by definition ‘1- a thing examined and found to be in order, just’ or ‘2- persons whose conduct will be checked and found irreproachable, innocent, in the right’ or ‘3- morally in the right, innocent’ or ‘4- social justice’ or ‘5- just, upright, devout’.  In any town or village are there as many as 10 persons who can truthfully be described as irreproachable or innocent?

Natural disasters may or may not be God’s judgment.  But a lack of utter and complete worldwide destruction is surely a sign of God’s grace.

[n.b. 2- It's just a thought experiment.]

Gustav is ‘Denagerous’ Says President Bush

Ah yes- thanks Mr. President.

President Bush says Sunday that Hurricane Gustav is “denagerous” and Gulf Coast residents should evacuate.

That’s the caption of the photo (at least for now- who knows if they will change it) on the CNN site. Beware those ‘denagerous’ storms folks. And dangerous ones too.

He Had to Fake Cancer Because He’s A Porn Addict?

Now that’s an extremely bizarre defense of behavior isn’t it? It’s like a 3 year old caught breaking a lamp and saying “I only did it because my invisible friend Bruno dared me to.” Scott’s got the video link of Mike Guglielmucci’s ‘confession‘ ‘attempt at evasion’ ‘selfish desire for absolution‘. Scott astutely notes

I liked the irony of Guglielmucci claiming that he is not that good of an actor right before the reporter tells how he deceived tens of thousands of people.

Yup- Academy Award quality. But then again he was duping the ‘I want to be duped’ crowd, so he only gave them their hearts desire.  If he were truly penitent, he would stop making excuses for his wickedness.

Baptists Are Ready

To feed 600,000 people in the aftermath of Gustav, should it become necessary. Say what you will about Baptists, it’s we who respond first and in force when natural disasters strike. Indeed, though the Red Cross never fails to take credit for feeding folk after a disaster, it’s Baptist Disaster Relief who prepares the meals. We Baptists can be proud of our immediate intervention.

Blog Day

David’s asked us to mention 5 noteworthy yet not quite well known enough blogs on this Blog Day. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as blog day- but then again, I didn’t get a card. Anywho- here are 5 blogs that are worth your noting.

Brian LePort- he’s interesting because he’s interesting. Need there be another reason to mention him?

James Spinti- I know – he’s already pretty well known among a select core of bibliobloggers- but he deserves wider notice because he combines insightful spiritual commentary and book notes. Who else does that?

Jan Pieter van de Giessen- He writes in Dutch and he is clever.

David Ritsema- David’s a learned lad who doesn’t post as regularly as he should. If he posted more frequently, you’d be thrilled to click on his blog daily. As it is, you have to settle for infrequently.

Last, but by no means least, Roland Boer- You won’t agree with him all the time- but then again, who agrees with anyone all the time? But you will find him to be incisive and Pythonesque.

Those are the 5 blogs you ought to check out. Here are 5 blogs that don’t yet exist but which should and, heaven willing, will by next Blog Day:

Hans Küng: Blogging Theology Contra Rome
Philip Davies: In Search Of Whatever I Find Interesting or Amusing
Keith Whitelam: Meticulous-osity
Amy-Jill Levine: Reading My Mind- It’s A Treasurehouse!
James Crossley: Blogging More Than Once A Quarter

[n.b.- I know James has a blog- but he doesn't post enough]

Roland Boer’s Fantastic Forthcoming Calvin Book

Don’t miss Roland’s post from today describing his forthcoming book and offering some of the things Calvin wrote that make him the delight to read that he remains 500 years after his birth. How many theologians can say that?

I’m Thinking of New Orleans…

And hoping everyone down there gets out.  And not just there, but all along the path of Gustav.  You can almost feel the horror to come.

State Mandated Bible Classes in Public Schools

Where else but Texas? Next, In New York, state mandated Qur’an courses and in California, state mandated Queer Bible courses and in Colorado state mandated Tao courses.

Attorney General Greg Abbott decided today that Representative Warren Chisum’s bill (H.B. 1287) requires all Texas public schools to offer instruction on the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. The 80th Texas Legislature passed into law Rep. Chisum’s bill that requires all Texas school districts to provide instruction in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and New Testament.

As always my complaint is twofold: first, mandating instruction in religious literature is unconstitutional. Second, what qualifications will be established for those teaching the courses? Are you going to have the p.e. coach teach biblical studies? Why? What qualifies her to do so?

It’s just completely improper to legislate bible study. Voluntary? Sure, with properly qualified instructors. Mandatory? Never- even with qualified teachers.  You see, it’s only a small step from mandated courses to mandatory student participation.

News of the Bizarre

I don’t know why they would want to do it- but a group of South Africans decided it would be fun to read the Bible through- under water.

About 35 divers continued on Saturday, with their efforts to complete 64 hours of reading the Afrikaans translation of the Bible under water, SABC reported. The Handwritten Bible and Underwater Bible Reading Marathons were some of the activities lined up by the Bible Society of South Africa to mark the 75th anniversary of the Afrikaans Bible in Bloemfontein. The readathon started on Wednesday at the Bible House in Bloemfontein, in an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of world records. One of the divers, Eckhard Hesse said they have already set a record, as it is the first time that a bible is read under water.

Yes, pages don’t hold up well in those conditions! Biblio-stunts. So odd.

[Calm down, I know they didn't use a regular Bible. Geesh.]