As a young pastor I first heard the joke as to why so many pastors are overweight. “It’s because we have outlawed everything else!” The meaning of this was clear. We were not supposed to drink, dance, smoke, play cards, etc, so food was the only place to “let things go,” so to speak. The fact is that very attitude reveals an idolatry we are loathe to admit: the worship of food revealed in the sin of gluttony. Gluttony is not merely about the amount of food we eat; it is about our attitude toward food. Thin people who submit to the siren’s song at the buffet can be just as guilty of gluttony as a morbidly obese person who polishes off a half-gallon of Blue Bell after dinner every night. Genetic predisposition to thermonuclear caloric burn rates does not allow for wriggling off sin’s baited hook.
Rain in Hermitage, Tennessee, July 14, 2012 [VIDEO]
This is nothing like the Nashville 1,000-year flood of a few years back, but it rained a lot in Hermitage this morning. I had to get out for a brief drive and had the opportunity to record a couple of flooded roads. Driving in this kind of wet mess is still a blast to me; it never gets old. No one was harmed in the making of these videos. This one was on Central Pike in Mt. Juliet. I was not anticipating the oncoming cars, but there they were. This was on Tulip Grove Road near my house.
President Obama expands government power over all communications
In his latest Executive Order, dated July 6, 2012, and entitled “Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions”, President Obama, under the auspices of organizing communications responsibilities in times of national crises, has expanded government reach. He writes: Section 1. Policy. The Federal Government must have the ability to communicate at all times and under all circumstances to carry out its most critical and time sensitive missions. Survivable, resilient, enduring, and effective communications, both domestic and international, are essential to enable the executive branch to communicate within itself and with: the legislative and judicial branches; State, local, territorial, and tribal governments; private sector entities; and the public, allies, and other nations. Such communications must be possible under all circumstances to ensure national security, effectively manage emergencies, and improve national resilience. The views of all levels of government, the private and nonprofit sectors, and the public must inform the development of national security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) communications policies, programs, and capabilities.
Farmageddon [VIDEO]
Frequent readers of this blog know my appreciation for government over-reach into the lives of American citizens can be measured in negative light years. This can be easily seen in the use of drones to surveil the innocent, harassment of law abiding citizens, abuse of the legal systems, the “war on drugs” and other places. Few places may this over-reach be more evident than in regulations of family farms and co-ops. The federal government, embodied in the activity of the Food and Drug Administration, has, on multiple occasions, sent armed SWAT teams onto small farms, inhabited by children, to confiscate raw milk, cheese and yogurt. This all happens under the auspice of public health. The greater likelihood, though, is these regulations prevent a fully competitive marketplace, allowing the upper hand to remain with “Big Ag.” Big Ag is the industrialized farming system that has expanded over the last several decades in the U.S. as family farms have gone under. One estimate holds the total number of U.S. farms has decreased from 7 million to 2 million from 1935 until today.
Student loan debt: New bubble, new burden or both? [VIDEO]
Is student loan debt the next economic bubble to burst in the U.S.? Will most of these studious young adults ever find the kind of employment commensurate with their degree or the amount of money payed/borrowed to obtain it? Will college costs revert to pre-easy debt levels? Yes, maybe and not likely. We (Sonya and myself) are at the stage of life to have seen two kids through college age. Our oldest used a combination of cash and scholarships to finish a 4-year degree in philosophy with no student debt. Our second born attended college for a couple of years before changing directions and entering the workforce. (More on that later.)
Sinners or saints?
Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. –Oscar Wilde I am pretty sure Oscar Wilde will never gain anyone’s “Favorite Theologian” status. His quote, however, is a good launching point for this post. A large number of pastors and theological types spend time on Twitter. Some of their tweets are retweeted hundreds or even thousands of times. Recently I noticed a fair number of tweets having to do with sin. Here are a few: Christians sin daily and much, and need to hear the Gospel of Christ’s forgiveness just as much as unbelievers do. [Original tweet] When I attach God’s acceptance to my performance, the Gospel becomes the Okay News. My sin ruins me, not His love of me. [Original tweet] To be in constant awe of the gospel is to be in constant despair of my sin but constant delight of my loving Savior. [Original tweet] I do not mean to imply what these have written is unbiblical as the thoughts contained in these three tweets are, I believe, true. These three are representative of many I have seen with the same sentiment.
Highest level Penn State officials knew of Sandusky actions
The New York Times report on an independent, trustee ordered investigation into the Jerry Sandusky matter at Penn State demonstrates damning evidence against president Graham B. Spanier; the athletic director, Tim Curley; the official in charge of the campus police, Gary Schultz; and former head football coach, the late Joe Paterno.