it's funny. i've never met these folks in real life but their writing speaks to me. i feel like i know these cats and even when we disagree, we follow the thoughts of the other rather closely.
i think it was Jason who coined the phrase The Canon.. since all four of us have names that line up with various books in the bible and we tend to have each other's back while providing our own opinions.. just like the real canon! so here are these ab fab. peeps:
Representing the TaNaK (and in her mind, THE CANON period) Yael. Even though i can't pronounce her name correctly, she's helped challenge Christian assumptions i have when reading the TaNaK (that's the book we Christians rearranged to form our "Old Testament"). we met on Jason's blog when discussing the historical evidence of the Exodus and Joshua stories. She's well versed, firey, and just plain awesome.
Now aside from myself (Luke) and John T, i can't remember whether it was Jason who was Matt or was it Doug? anyways.. we represent the Gospels:
Jason or SocietyVS, is the glue that holds the group together. I met him on the Naked Pastor's website and really enjoyed his writing style and thought process. he brings a whole progressive bent and is funny, articulate and thoughtful. his perspective helps me name my beliefs. we don't agree on everything but the whole listening process has been such a wonderful experience!
Doug or freestyleroadtrip, RAWKS. he's a marathon runner who has recently come out of the Nazerene denomination. he's searching, struggle'n, wrestling, and finding a new faith and is incredibly honest about it. plus any sporty dude who likes pizza and Mt Dew is a friend of mine!
John T or Tit4Tat, is the wisest dude i've ever not met. his ability to see the issue at hand and write 5 words or less on it is outstanding... each word he types weighs a pound. i just hang around him to see what he'll say next! John and I share a curiosity about the world and the unusual approach we both take i think bonds us.
i hope one day we can meet! we'll have to pick a place close to all of us and hang out for a few days. like i wrote on Yael's blog, "i’m happy to have found you all.. now i’m trying to capture this pride in a post about the canon and finding words fail… plus i’m afraid to name what we have here. it’s pretty kick ass."
8 comments:
"now i’m trying to capture this pride in a post about the canon and finding words fail… plus i’m afraid to name what we have here. it’s pretty kick ass." (Luke)
I feel the same way - I actually follow these 4 blogs more closely than any other blogs I hover upon. Why? I sense some kin-ship - some learning - some friendship - and in debates (oddly enuff) we all kinda go to the same spot in the room and 'fight' from there. Were like Joshua - kickin down walls one post at a time!
The glue - you know I have called myself this in the past just amongst all the people I know and how I help to keep them connected in small, but nice ways.
For me, Yael is the wisdom of the Tanakh - the person I turn to for help in scriptures from there. Doug is the 'fresh' seeker - (and Matthew was what I coined him - can't have a Doug in the canon - don't sound right lol) - he is in the process - hell he even got Schaeffer out to his blog (pretty neat).
You are the seminarian - the learner - building from day to day - paper to paper what u know. You are the only one connected to a church - which means you are 'our hope Obi Wan'. John is cut-throat - IMO - but nice enuff about it. He doesn't mice words - he comes in guns blazing - and I can admire that approach - and I feel on the same page with him many times. He's Dirty Harry.
Me, I am the lyricist.
I am humbled over and over again to have been included. Not really sure what I did to gain acceptance, but glad I did it. Ran into John over on Decon I believe and from there found Luke who I also recall seeing on Decon. Found Jason from John and Luke and got into a big fighting match with Yael on Jason's sight. It all mushroomed from there. I see Luke as the solid who has really helped me see Christianity differently and I am very much interested in his universality ideas. John has impressed me by being someone who believes in a creator not because he came from religion but because that is what the evidence says to him. Intriguing, and I almost wish I could have come at it from that direction. Yael completely challenges my thinking. It was her that helped me see how even my now liberal view of my faith was still exclusive to her faith. I really enjoy you all and learn from you daily. I try to check out all your blogs at least once a day and eagerly await your comments on mine. I completely agree that we need to meet face to face, all of us together. Luke, I responded to your Paul F query in the comments on my blog.
Bleh! It's getting mushy in here!
To all of you who don't know Luke in "real life"...Nanny-nanny-boo-boo! I DO and he's awesome! LOL!
Luke, you got some kewel peeps.
John is cut-throat - IMO - but nice enuff about it. He doesn't mice words - he comes in guns blazing - and I can admire that approach - and I feel on the same page with him many times. He's Dirty Harry.(Jason)
Sometimes the ones who are most sensitive have the hardest shell.
I came upon this group through Societyvs. I wasnt sure what I was looking for but I am positive of what I have found. Now I know this is going to sound mushy, but I feel within this group of individuals I have found Love. I feel accepted for who I am and also appreciated for some of the things I bring to the table. I have not met any of you, but many of my real time friends and also individuals whom I have association know all about you guys. You have brought a wealth of knowledge, wisdom and some down right hilarious moments. I would consider you all to be my friends. I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Denise and I plan on meeting all of you in the flesh before the end of 2009. Hopefully that will include your wives as they complete the picture. Thanks for sharing some of the deepest parts of you.
John T and Wifey Denise
So you take that subject line and add in the recent post about how a comet is about to hit your house....
Am I the only one who was half-expecting baby photos? (Canon has multiple meanings after all.)
OK, so maybe it's just me.
But it's good to know that Kate has some extra help in keeping Luke from getting into too much trouble.
there are some good people out there.. love the perspectives and yes, it did get mushy in here... and why shouldn't it?! we're all too often a little calloused by the world... so spread that mushy love around ;-)
yay for you, yay for me, yay for the canon, yay for the bloggers and friends and family, and yay for the world.
Sorry I'm late to comment....cleaning for Pesach, Pesach, Shabbat, computer broke...I've got lots of excuses!
Firey? No way! I am totally meek and pleasant, always, well almost always...except if you're a guy trying to push me around....or you're someone trying to tell me what Tanakh says using your favorite English translation....people trying to convince me my soul needs saving irk me...oh and we mustn't forget the messianic not-Jews who annoy the hell out of me....other than this, I'm really, really nice, unless you start dissing 'the law' or talking about those Pharisees...LOL as my list gets longer....oh and if you're a member of my bio family it goes without saying that I'm just plain mean....people sometimes get that way when you threaten to kill them over religion....
OK. I've had my fun. Time for some more!!!
Luke is going to make one heck of a pastor. I will never go to church unless it's a funeral I can't get out of attending, but for him I might stand outside just to see the kind of people who would go listen to him! I'm betting no prune faces in the bunch.
John a cut-throat? No way! He's the angelic looking one who likes to stir the pot now and then for his amusement. Believe it or not, I like that! Anyway, he's really a teddy bear.
Jason is my adopted little brother. My own is psycho so I needed someone to fill that role. Maybe someday he'll trade that cross for a kippah, who knows? Boy, would that piss off a few. You think they don't like you now when you just speak positively of Judaism, wait until you see how they treat you if you become living, breathing Judaism...Ooohhh doggies...
Doug's background is probably the most similar to my own, minus the psychotic relatives with guns I hope, so I think I can relate to him best. I like that we're at the point where we can talk about anything and not worry about being taken the wrong way. Kind of cool considering how we started.
Anyway, the Canon is great, even if four of them are impostors....Only I am the real deal you know.
OK. Besser spat als nie. Just don't take this too seriously now. I'm in a fine mood this morning because the day after tomorrow I can have a vegetarian burrito at Chipotle's after 8:30 pm!!!! Then no more matzah for a whole year again! Just think, we started off our wilderness adventure by eating this stuff...No wonder things went wrong so quickly. Can you imagine? Starting off some big adventure by eating stuff that tastes like stale paste? I think I'd be wondering a bit about what was ahead if matzah was considered the big send-off!
Irreverently, reverently yours, Yael
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