Faith Online

Here are the slides for the class I'm teaching on Christian Community Online.  I'd like to do more on this topic in the future...

Christian Community and the Internet

Michelle is on Facebook now.  She loves it!  Within a few weeks she's found nearly a hundred friends and is adding new ones each day.  It's her new (or is that "old"?) community.

It's got me thinking...and in fact I'm teaching a class on it this Sunday at church.  Can the Internet foster and sustain meaningful religious community?  I have a lot to say about this, and I'll post it here over the next few days.  But for starters, take a look at Chapter Six in this book, Religion Online (the link will take you to a preview of the text from Google books.  You can read much of the book here for free).

Just over one week...

Next week is the election.  Those of you who have cable/satellite/local TV must be delighted to be near the end of the protracted campaign season.  Yesterday I watched the Redskins game with a friend and was amazed at the number of ads for various CA propositions and offices.

With one final week to go, I thought this op/ed piece from the NYT was well-timed.  Why can't we create a simpler ballot process?  It's insane.

Death, War and Families

This morning before 6AM my 11-year old came to our bed crying.  Hard.  Balling really.
He had waken from a bad dream. 

In his dream, our country had gone to war and needed soldiers.  His mother and I did not have to go, because we were parents and our national leaders somehow recognized we had more important responsibilities.

However, he was so shaken because his grandparents had been drafted and one of them was killed in the war.  He was near tears all morning until he left for school.

This made me think about the thousands of Americans, and tens-of-thousands of Iraqi's who have died over the past five years in this awful war.

According to the DoD, over 30,000 Americans have died in Iraq since 3/19/03, and nearly half of them in combat.

I've been opposed to this war since well before t began.  However, this morning I was struck anew by the incredible sacrifice of these 30,000 fellow citizens.  Each of them has left parents, children, siblings, and friends waking at night with tears imagining the life that could have been.

I am so depressed...

Holy cow.  I just can't quite shake the feeling that the economic events of this week have forever changed the future of our country.  I simply can not believe we are nationalizing the financial system and bailing out those who have made record profits for the past eight years while the working person's wage has remained flat.  UGGHHHH!!!

I am too frustrated to say anything coherent about this mess.  So, let me just post a few related links:

We're all French Now: This article from this week's Time Magazine compares our current situation to the socialized capitalism France has endorsed for the past 20 years.  Arguably, we are even more socialized now...and it has been to benefit the richest Americans.  Ugh.

Bonus Heaven at Goldman-Sachs: This article from 2006 gives a bit of an image how much money was being made by these Wall St. fat-cats over the past decade of decadence (up to $50 million in one year by some traders).  Incredibly, we are now rushing to give them another $700,000,000,000.

Bailout would take away change: This podcast from NPR discusses how this enormous economic burden will essentially eliminate the opportunity for change that McCain or Obama have before them.  With the additional economic burden here, they simply can't do much with healthcare, social security, tax change, or social programs.

A great choice! (I think...for now at least)

First, I confess I know almost nothing about Sarah Palin (including if that's the right spelling of her name).  But based on what little I know (mostly from here (which btw, I never read that paper)), McCain hit the nail on the head with Palin.  Here are some of the things I like about the pick.

• She's younger than dirt (which is 15 years younger than McCain).
• She's a she.
• She's conservative fiscally.
• She's an "outsider".
• She brings new ideas and hope to contrast the "four more years of Bush" mantra we've been hearing from Obama's camp.
• She's willing to criticize her party leadership (just like McCain prior to 2007).

In short, she's a great choice!  Without question, this is a GREAT year to be an independent voter.  Both parties have put together strong tickets with excellent candidates.  I'm glad I am not affiliated with either party so I can sincerely weigh the policies, personalities, and visions of these two potential administrations and do my part to move our country forward.

WWJD? Really? HDYK?

Recently, I posted a long comment on a friend's blog about something I've been thinking a lot about lately. The basic issue is this...being at a "Christian University" (whatever that is), and having served full-time as a "professional minister" (whatever that is), I've run across a fair share of people who are skeptical of "organized" religion (whatever that is).

A common line-of-argument is,

The church is hypocritical because it does X (whatever that is). If Jesus were here, he would absolutely positively not do X. In fact, he would do Y.

Now, I think I know where these people are coming from. I appreciate that they disagree with something that the church is doing and are willing to root that debate in their understanding of the nature of Christ. In fact, many times I agree with them on the issue.

However, I find the argument to be rather superficial. Their logic seems to be that they have some special knowledge of Jesus that has escaped all the "irrational, organized religion folks" and is only apparent to them...in their private, mystical setting.

I just don't get it.

Why do people feel that they a clearer understanding of Jesus simply because they haven't bothered with the challenges of gaining agreement with others in an organized fashion? Two quick examples here...

• one friend recently posted their perspective on the Lambeth Conference of the Episcopal/Anglican Church. At issue here was that the Anglican Church asked the first openly gay bishop to stay home from the conference to reduce some of the hostility that was already present over the issue. My friend argued that what "Jesus would do" is to accept and embrace the bishop, not shun him.
• Another friend recently forwarded an email from a very conservative political organization that argued that Sen. Obama was unfit for the Presidency because he took too liberal a view of scripture. The material on the related web-site had one quote that especially troubled me. "I can assure you, Sen. Obama. Christ would never turn the other cheek to terrorists and enemies of America".

I will leave it to your discretion to agree or disagree with either position here, but that is not really the point.

The point is that both of these lines of argument--though taken from opposite sides of the political/social spectrum--are rhetorically the same.

They both argue that the "real Jesus" would behave differently than other believers think he would. This is a very weak argument that merely plays to the audience's emotional desire to "be like Jesus" with any evidence or rhetoric that supports the intellectual journey to arrive at the preferred destination.

So the next time you feel passionately about a subject, try to avoid the "WWJD" (What Would Jesus Do) type of argument...after all, "HDYK" (How Do You Know)?

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Nicholas Carr has an excellent article in this month's "Atlantic" that describes the impact of the Internet on our ability to concentrate.  I recommend reading it...

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

How the rich get richer

This week's Word for Word has an interesting speech by David Cay Johnston about how the US tax system is one of the most regressive in the world. Interestingly, he notes that professional sports team's owners essentially buy their franchises for free after tax rebates.

The Brain Thrashing Threshold

OK...Facebook must have reached critical mass this summer.  It seems that what started as a social app for college students a few years ago has somehow become the platform of modernity. 

Over the past eight weeks several friends and family (some who would be classified as Luddites) have suddenly shown up on FB.  Surprisingly, this has had an impact on my own productivity.  I find myself checking their status throughout the day and commenting on their interests.  Totally a distraction.  I'm nearly at the point of "Brain Thrashing". 

Here is a wonderful article about the direction this is heading...

Really good "Christian" fiction...

I'm not a big fan of "Christian" fiction.  I guess that's mostly because I can't stand going into "Christian" bookstores.  It just drives me crazy to see the crass commercialization of the simple message of Jesus.  Anyhow...that's another soap box for another blog entry.

Today, I want to hawk a great book that I just finished.  Silence by Shusaku Endo.  The book was written in 1966 and it's really wonderful.  I suspect every person who has ever been drawn to missions, or who has participated in missions in some way (even a short-term missions trip) will connect with this book.  It was originally written in Japanese and it portrays the missionary journey of a Portuguese Catholic Priest to Japan in the 17th Century during a time of intense persecution. 

I don't want to give away the story, but let's just say it's a tragedy of sorts.  Albeit a very redemptive one.  It is not a feel-good, God is awesome, and give-me-some-of-that-Touchdown-Jesus! type of book.  Rather, it's a thoughtful exploration of the faith challenges inherent in suffering, missions, and loving Jesus while serving institutionalized religion.  I highly recommend it.

PS - Thanks to my favorite Republican Political Scientist for recommending this to me.

I Love our Neighborhood...

One of the highlights of our neighborhood is the sense of community we share with one another.  This community is reinforced by frequent social events (cookouts, birthday parties, pool parties...).  Last week about 10 of the neighborhood men went to see Hancock.  It was a fun night out for the guys.

The movie itself was entertaining and unexpectedly thoughtful.  I was expecting it to be completely mindless blowing stuff up.  Instead, it was sort of a mix between Superman Returns, Dogma, and Mystery Men.  I think you'll like it...

Get Smart...

Wife and I saw Get Smart last night.  Very funny and well-done.  It's a good night out with the family or friends.  There are some very funny moments, and IMHO it's as family-friendly as live-action gets.  I'm happy to take the kids to it.  Son #1 will especially enjoy it!

The Coming Economic Shift...

EJ Dionne recently wrote about the "biggest political story of 2008"...the eminent shift underway from a laissez-faire approach to economic regulation towards a more rational view of how markets reflect human nature (aka., greed and corruption).

I think Dionne's point is well-made and cuts to the heart of much of our current economic anxiety.  It's clearly time for us to reconsider the role government must play in controlling the run-away greed of corporate managers intent on constantly growing profits with no regard to social costs. 

Flip-Flops and Sound-bites

We don't have TV.  No cable, satellite, or broadcast TV at our place.  Generally, I'm happy about that, although I do miss watching sports.

But I'm most happy because I'm not submitted to the endless parade of sound-bites that serve as "news".  This weekend at the conference hotel and airports I've caught CNN several news cycles. 

Yuck.  It's as if the pressure to have 24-hour news has created a monster that can not possibly be fed with worthwhile content.  So, the network has to generate "news" by finding any "interesting", "controversial", or "surprising" thing said by anyone even tangentially related to Sens. McCain, Obama or Clinton. 

I mean, does anyone really think McCain or his people WANT another terrorist attack on US soil simply to give him a bump in the polls?  I can't imagine that is true.  And, I think it's generally agreed that McCain's foreign policy/military experience exceeds Obama.  So, why is it "news" that one of McCain's "people" suggested a terrorist attack would help McCain? 

Or, even worse, how is it news that Gen. Wesley Clark suggests McCain's military background is not exactly a qualification for President?  I concur with the Op/Ed in today's Post...enough focusing on minor policy changes and inconsequential comments by surrogates.  There are serious and fundamental issues on the table for this election.  Let's get down to the hard work of analyzing the very different alternatives presented by McCain & Obama and quit looking for the "faux-pas de jour". 

Conferencing with Friends and Evangelicals

The purpose for my recent trip to Washington was to take in the National Faculty Leadership Conference.  This is the second time I've attended this conference and DMS, SLS and I have established a nice tradition of alternating between NFLC and the Christian Scholar's Conference.  Both conference are the same weekend but NFLC is bi-annual.  So it makes sense to rotate. 

This year's conference was wonderful in many ways.  The plenary speakers were Ken Elzinga from UVA (Economics) and JP Moreland from Talbot School of Theology.  Richard Pratt of ThirdMill.org lead morning devotionals on Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday was a wonderful day at the Conference.  After a challenging sermon from Dr. Pratt, we broke into "Ministry Tracks" for a potpourri of presentations related to ministry in the academy.  I found this to be the highlight of the Conference.  I heard Ken Elzinga discuss how he uses the Lecture Method to teach classes of over 1,000 (ONE THOUSAND!) students at a time at UVA.  I couldn't believe his classes were that big.  It made me very happy to be at Pepperdine where a "large" class is 30 students. 

Next I heard James Painter give an introduction to Food Psychology 101.  It was terrific! He presented years of research that indicate portion control is the biggest factor in weight management.  Check out his web-site.  It's helpful, informative, ad-free, and filled with sound scientific research.

Finally, Robert Kaita from the Particle Physics Lab at Princeton taught a session on balancing the demands of the academy with your personal and spiritual life.  It was very encouraging.

The afternoon was separate tracks for different academic areas.  The business and economics track was attended by about 20 faculty from all over the country.  SLS, DMS & I presented our "Virtue and Commerce" course and it was very interesting.  While some within the audience were appreciative, we had one or two more conservative attendees who pushed us to make the course more openly evangelistic.  It was quite interesting to see this more fundamentalist impulse within the Evangelical community.  For some reason, I had not anticipated this type of response at NFLC.  I suppose I should have. 

One final observation...the first thing I wrote in my notes at NFLC this year was something like,

I am not an "evangelical".  I appreciate much of what they contribute to the faith, but they are not my "tribe". 

I feel a sense of belonging in the Churches of Christ.  I recognize they aren't perfect...in fact some components of the CoC drive me batty.  But they are my people.  I continue to come to terms with what that means.  But spending time within other Christian traditions helps me to better understand and appreciate my own.

 

PS - In case you can't tell from the photo above...I never could make up my mind about which team to root for...so I wore a Nats T-shirt and an O's hat. :-)

The Rich Get Richer...

Recently, one of my traditionally more conservative (and contrarian!) friends and I enjoyed an evening together at home. It was delightful to talk about our families, faith, and politics with a dear friend.

One area that we clearly agreed on was that the current economic situation in the US has benefitted the richest Americans while harming the vast majority of the country. Granted, both of us may qualify as "rich", but we are clearly not in the top 5% of income-earners.

Today, I found a recent study from Economists at UC Berkeley that indicate the shift towards deregulated, "free-market" control over the economy has empirically stratified the income distribution dramatically. I recommend you read their summary paper linked above. However, if you don't have time...here is their conclusion...

The labor market has been creating much more inequality over the
last thirty years, with the very top earners capturing a large fraction of
macroeconomic productivity gains. A number of factors may help explain this
increase in inequality, not only underlying technological changes but also the
retreat of institutions developed during the New Deal and World War II - such
as progressive tax policies, powerful unions, corporate provision of health
and retirement benefits, and changing social norms regarding pay inequality.
We need to decide as a society whether this increase in income inequality
is efficient and acceptable and, if not, what mix of institutional reforms
should be developed to counter it.

Kmiec on Obama...

This is an interesting Op/Ed piece about faith, politics, and issues of current interest.

A fun summer read...and more on the flu and plague...

I've blogged before about the Flu Epidimic of 1917. Well, I recently finished one of the more enjoyable books I remember. Ken Follet's World Without End. It's long (1100+pages), but is was super fun. I started it before flying to Europe a few weeks ago. I read it on the plane while Michelle slept there and back, and then finished it on the plane to OKC. I highly recommend it (Bort-you'll love it!).

One of the interesting plot devices in the book is the plague. It comes on like a whirlwind killing 1/2 the population of Europe in the 13th Century. Interestingly, they have no theory of germs, or contagion and simply can't understand what it is. Their existing world-view assumes it must be the judgment of God on their sin. It's fascinating to imagine the sense-making that goes on around this time.

I was thinking of this last week when I saw the preview for this new movie. Sounds like the same premise put to modern sensibilities. I can't wait to see it!

Ode to the 534, or The Joys of Public Transit

A recent column by Robert Reich about Public Transit is spot on about the economics of public transit. Having lived in nearly every type of urban/suburban combination in the US (major East coast cities, & nearby suburbs, small isolated college towns in the mid-west & southwest, and LA), and traveled to many countries in Europe and South America, I've got some perspective on the role of public transit.

My perspective is this...

It's nice.

I like it.

We should have more of it.

This summer, one of my goals was to explore the public transit in LA. Since then, I've taken the LA bus system a few times...to meetings in West LA and a conference at USC. I even took it to the Valley one day for shopping. While it is certainly a bit inconvenient having to accomodate my life to a public schedule, it's very nice. A few observations...

• For $3 I can take the bus from the entrance of Pepperdine to a meeting 22 miles away by the airport ($5 round-trip). If I drive that same trip, the IRS estimates the cost at $22 ($.51/mile).
• For a 9am meeting in West LA/Culver City, I need to leave at 8:15 if I'm driving. If I take the bus, I have to leave at 7. That is a bit earlier. But, the entire time on the bus is productive. I can read, make phone calls, even grade papers. Not bad.
• The bus system is horribly complex. The website makes it simple to figure out a single trip, but if you miss a bus, you're screwed. Last week I missed a bus at USC by 5 minutes. The next bus was about 15 minutes later...no big deal. But, 15-minutes was enough to make me miss the bus back to Malibu--which only comes once an hour. So, those five minutes cost me an hour. If the system had been a bit easier to understand, I would have been sure to catch that first bus.
• I prefer rail to bus transit. But both beat driving myself.