Free Will?

as discussion on Jason's Post: Mistakes and Evil

“I tend to think free will is an absolute truth” SVS

i think i tend to agree… however, our choices are restricted, both consciously (i.e., by not doing things that are societally unacceptable but psychologically we could) and subconsciously, through psychological conditioning and upbringing, as well as cultural pressure, instinctive pressure, etc.

All that said, determinism’s thesis isn’t empirically demonstrable (or at least, it’s extremely difficult to demonstrate it), so I personally prefer to think of our ability to make decisions as heavily constrained, but still nominally free (i.e., not determined in a deterministic way, meaning, one could make a choice other than the one they made in a particular set of circumstances). to make things perfectly clear, humans are rather unpredictable in any given circumstance

“evil is from the heart of humanity” SVS

and the question then becomes how did it get there? i can’t believe in orignal sin… my take is more Eastern Orthodox that we are born into a world where sin is already present.. plus our evolutionary nature has a build in self-preservation response. i’ll have to post this on my blog as it’s something i’ve been working on in the past few weeks in my doctrine class… pluses and minuses of the doctrine of original sin, who was right Augustine or Palagian? such like things… these are the things one does while waiting on a child to be born

“Free will………. Bah Humbug… So rather than me having my own free will, I like to think its a collect will that determines our outcomes” T4T

and yet we humans can really chuck off all of these notions and run nakkid into the forest.. something completely unexpected and nonpredetermined. or maybe it was. causality is a messy, messy thing. chicken or the egg? largely we’ll find it’s the common ancestor!

but i like the idea of a collective will. we have that! sometimes it’s good “all men are created equal… life, liberty, pursuit of happiness” and all that jazz and sometimes it’s bad “jim crow and segregation.” i think if we throw in some divine will and try to follow that (namely we’re all connected and must live in harmony with our differences!) we’ll be in a better state.. yet we are still free within limitations. and sometimes even within the limitations a truly creative person can come up with new ways of continue’n.

as Erasmus of Rotterdamn stated ": The Bible is filled with God’s demands and there is an implied assumption that human will can choose for or against God. If there is an ought from God there must be a can from humans." (On The Freedom of the Will)

My Lord and My God

i'm in a poetic mood... so i'll keep going.

tell me about your God,
is it a he, she or other,
does it tell you to embrace your sister
or shun and kill your brother?
does it like babies and children
does it ever show it's face
did it write a book
or with science keep pace
does it keep on forever
can it be worshipped any place
would you dare to name it
is it a Sue, Bob, or Mars
would it walk among us
and hang out in some bars?
would it answer prayers
would it speak in confusing riddles
the voice so musical
like a cello or a fiddle?

i can't tell about mine
it's just too big for words
i try with all my might
with nouns, adjectives and adverbs
and nothing seems to stick
it's too close for comfort
and no doubt that it exists
it's not that often
i get glimpses just sometimes
here and there and everywhere
something terrible and kind
i wish i could say more but
these glimpses they are fleeting
this God can be found
in anything with meaning
a mother and a father
creator of the human race
a source of hope
a giver of unending grace.

The Impending Zombie Apocolypse

Apparently, we can use landscaping to defend against zombie attacks. Not only is this a mighty catchy tune, it is also very practical in helping you pick the best plants that would fit your environment.



it's not a question of "if" zombaggendon will hit, it's "when". be prepared! those screen-door sheild ones and the dolphin ones look pretty fierce.

Grey Area

a man walked up and said
"i've studied the scriptures and i need to decide,
my grandma so recently dead,
what happens when we die."

now i'm a skeptical man,
who thinks the grey areas should be mined,
i said "i dunno, but maybe so,
things tend to turn out fine."

this man, a scientist and all,
said "show me evidence of your find."
"what good is evidence," I said in reply,
"when aeronautics and science can't say,
why a bumblebee should fly."

i cannot tell you nor should i say,
it is up to you to decide whether
from what you feel and what you know
if there's an otherside, and if we'll be there together.

now he's a skeptical man,
no grey areas are fine,
everything must be backed up
every reason to the rhyme.

he said he concludes
life is linear like a horizontal line,
from birth to death with no deviation,
where it stops on a dime.

that's a perspective but for me
i must disagree
i simply don't see it so
each life is a raging river
each with an ebb and flow
and everyone reaches the sea.
for life is concentric circles,
and this here you can test,
that reality defies categories
and each circle is enmeshed.

and the wind when it blows,
it's older than Cairo,
more ancient than the sands,
or our joy or our sorrow.

and from this talk well he just walked,
but got to thinking...
of all the truth and what's the use,
what's worth believing?
since all our lives can't be verified
is truth still worth seeking?
life's not a test but still do your best
search for ideas worth keeping.
and when we die we might just fly
all along on the wind that's breeze'n.

A good quote and some thoughts on it.

"A man may either move westward through life, following the light, or eastward toward the ever gathering darkness. It is a kind of orientation of temperment that is set in our earliest years; an emotional compass. One either pursues one's dreams or memories and it's an exceptional man who, once his compass is set, can alter it even a point or two."

-Halden: Essays.

i found this quote in a notebook of poetry i wrote in high school. the poems aren't very good, but some quotes in there really ring true... i look upon that time and i was always angry, sad, and morbid. now i'm usually described as an incurable optimist and having a sense of infectious hope.

maybe our compasses aren't set. maybe we not as conditioned as we seem. i mean Doug and myself have altered our compasses more than a point or two... maybe others have as well...

or maybe i was always like this.. i just went through a phase... or my memory is faulty... i dunno...

but memory is nothing more than a receptacle of our past; the future a fabric of dreams. And the much vaunted present, that which we are all to seize with a passion, is but the smallest measure of an instant, the single tick of a clock, a medium for translating the future into the past, dreams into memory.

i'm going to try to stay in the present and live on hope. hope for my future and for Eve's future as well... memories are there, experience has brought me this far and taught me much, but the present is the place to be.

Eve Elizabeth

here's your first look at Eve E.



everyone said that having a baby changes you, changes your world, changes everything! and they're right! i'm more astonished at life and the wonder of it all... it's amazing.

i really can't fathom anyone being an atheist now. like i could sorta see it, but now i think i've been pushed over the edge by the birth of my first child. this kid has aspects of me, aspects of Kate, and some combination of the two... or even stuff that we have no idea where it came from! (and this is only day 5!!)

it's all too perfect of a system, too well designed, thought out, it functions pretty awesomely. and since everyone has been born, you'd think we know everything about it... but we don't. we have the chemicals to induce birth, but have no idea how these things occur naturally. we have no idea why women have Group B streptococcus (GBS), nor why it kills some babies and not others.

just like the world... we can figure out a lot of things in it.. but we can't account for it's existence. we can't account for why things are they way they are, why humans act like they do, why gravity is and how it acts (because it's no where near as uniform as we once thought).

anywho... i love this child. i stare at Eve, i take joy in her even when she's wailing to beat the band. i can't account for how she is or what she will become, but i will take joy and soak up the wonder and awe of it all.. i will be a witness.

IT'S A GIRL!

EVE ELIZABETH LINDON! WOOT! I'm in awe of my wife and her uterus of steel. i'll post pix on here shortly, but until then check out my cousin's website, The Extreme Alpha Geek, or facebook.

until then, enjoy some words to live by from Kahlil Gibran from "The Prophet" (read the full poem on this site)

They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

We are feeling tired but grateful.... speaking of which.. here's a song!

Scheduled

all things are set to go... tonight, Tuesday the 14th, we go in to give Boogie his/her womb eviction papers.

i will update y'all as soon as i can. keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Rule of Three:

Movie: Tudors: Complete First Season

Music:


and also this song:



Book: Brisingr by Christopher P. i needed a break from all the theology...

but check out Voltaire's The Philosophical Dictionary: Religion

Easter Thoughts

Jesus came into the world to save it.. so the Christians want you to believe.. but what has changed? did this peasant from some back water town, who got himself killed on a tree by an imperial power as well as a religious institution he was a part of do any good? Uncle Globie paints a picture here:

Uncle Globey & Friends | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Jesus lost.. he was dead, buried, and abandoned by his followers.. these followers who never really got what their teacher was saying to them, these followers who swore that they would follow him anywhere... gone as soon as the going got tough. then they soon discover that the tomb was empty. Jesus walked the earth again.. this wasn't just a resurrection for Jesus, it was FOR THE DISCIPLES AS WELL! hope resurrected... those who lived in fear, trapped in their upper room devoid of faith, those who pledged publically one thing and then did another, those who were imprisoned and all but dead from their lack of hope... they soon began to speak fearlessly about what they believed, they left their upper room, they began to live as they said they would and fulfilled their promises... and above.. .they never lost hope.

so despite what Uncle Globie says... i still have hope.. and here's another picture of what hope can do for everyone (thanks to RJ for the find!)



HAPPY EASTER! and to those of you who aren't Christian... please accept my wish and prayer for you to have a resurrection... not of faith so that you believe like me.. no. but a ressurection of hope! so that you may overcome whatever obsticles you are facing in your life. be well. proclaim your hope boldly and loudly.

may we all do the happy dance together, with all of our different ways and thoughts on dancing. peace to you!

Know Your Canon

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."

The Baby Comet... i mean cometh!

so Boogie is due soon...

Kate and I feel like we're standing on our front porch and watching a comet come at our house. we're pretty sure it's gonna hit us, we just don't know when. we think we're prepared for it, but who know what the aftermath will look like.

craziness.

but have you seen a better looking mom-to-be? i don't think you can get better than my wife here!



can't wait to meet this little person i've been talking to for 40 weeks or so... i'm a little nervous about becoming a dad, but i figure that since Kate and I are decended from the most successful parents in human history.. our caveman and women ancestors survived long enough for us to get here, so that relieves some of the pressure.

i'll keep y'all posted on when Boogie arrives.

Rule of Three:

Listening:

Watching: Joan of Arcadia, the complete second season.

Reading: UnChristian, what a new generation really thinks about Christianity and why it matters by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons.

Friends on the Side

Just a run down of some of the peeps on the side over there >

Cody Crashes the Last Supper
he was a peer mentor this past summer, is in undergrad in phila and is a wonderful person and chef. his blog i think is the only one to offer theological recipes.

the DeCons at De-Conversion may seem like an odd choice for a seminarian to have. this is not a "keep your friends close..." sorta move but more of a "you learn the most from your harshes critics" deal.

Blair Divides by Zero is a sci-fi fan who introduced us to Firefly. we met him when Kate and I were part of the Gaithersburg Germantown Jaycees. He's full of mischief that one!

KT askes does God Have A Nose, Chris romps in the Garden of Eden, Greg is an NT Geek, and Sally Yields to Pedestrians. I attend seminary with all of these folks and they all provide wonderful perspectives on this shared trainwreck called seminary. Greg is one of the conductors, the prof of New Testament here at LTS. great blogs all!

I'll cover more later, but for now, enjoy!

Battlestar RULES

best. show. ever.

here's the Admiral of the Battlestar Galactica (Edward James Olmos) talks about race as I understand it.



thanks to Bryce for the find.

In the Midst of Enemies

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Life Together:

"Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. In the end all his disciples abandoned him. on the cross he was all alone, surrounded by criminals and jeering crowds. he had come for the express purpose of bringing peace to the enemies of God. So christians too belong not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the midst of enemies. there they find their mission, their work."

i don't understand the idea of Christian music, movies, etc etc. i can find a christian message in pulp fiction or fight club or marilyn manson. is this so hard?! the "secular" movie and music makers don't hide their struggles with their faith. they don't try to separate their faith and their life. too many christians just visit their faith on sunday and leave it in the hands of their pastor and then they get on the beltway and act like a jerk for the rest of the week. i don't understand this separation. it is to me a false separation. people of faith are never separated from it, albiet they sometimes let their emotions get the better of them.

Befriend your enemy, be nice to those who wish you harm.. this is a hard lesson to learn. but just as soon as one learns this, one finds that one has no enemies. if you are constantly turning the other cheek, the enemies cannot harm you. as soon as you love your enemy, that enemy is no longer, but is now a friend.

get out of your confort zones. life awaits you there. this is why kate and i loved the jaycees so much, you're never in your comfortzone. always doing something different and always meeting new people. these people could be your enemies! they could judge you! you're just putting yourself out there for a let down! sure they could be, but they're not.

kate always says, "Dance! Everyone else is too concerned with themselves! Get down!" and she's right. everyone is too nervous about themselves but when someone breaks out of their own self-consciousness and gives themselves the right to have fun, that's when the party begins. so too with faith and all things good. sin is thinking that you're not allowed, that you're not good enough. God loves you, get over yourself and spread the message! volunteer! dance! dress up like leprochuans and run down the street! live like you have no enemies and you won't.

Trees and Quantum Entanglement

Today was a sad day for my field education site. Trinity lost a pillar of their community this past Sunday and the community came out today to say goodbye. I had only known John Hess for a few months, i was blessed to meet him.

John Hess had a non-anxious presence. He had an easy manner, attentive. Around him, I really felt my youth, yet sitting next to him, I had the sense that things would work out. I think the best way to describe how I experienced John in these moments would be like this:

John is like a solid, old, and wise oak tree. Firmly rooted and watching, taking it all in. I was like the jittery squirrel scampering around. But it was in John’s presence, his shade, his branches that I found stability and I would think his family and friends would agree.

You may pass trees every day of your life, they’re unmoving and they don’t attract too much attention… but you notice when their gone. I’m happy to have noticed him while he was here. Trinity sure did. During the good times and bad times, John was there through it all. John was a pillar of this community that won’t soon be forgotten. I’m thankful for my short time with John. I am happy and blessed to know that there are such men in the world as John Hess.

Pastor Nancy talked about how we humans get confused and think that stuff and money are wealth. They aren't. Wealth is measured in relationships and memories. It reminds me of Wilco, when they sing on "Jesus Etc" that our love
our love
our love is all we have
our love
our love is all of God's money
everyone is a burning sun



we're all entangled. we're at the molecular level, through Quantum Entanglement and economically, emotionally, and any other way. the people we meet on the street, on our blogs, all are burning suns. we are colliding all the time with people who give light to the universes of their friends, relatives, children, and sometimes, sometimes we get glimpses of this light.

let your light shine! collide!

Zombie Invasion

a poem based on this post a while back...

i move, duck and cover.
under siege and outnumbered.
the only weapons are my books, my mind, and this pen.

the invasion comes and i am beset!
fighting on all fronts.
zombie assignments sent from Sorcerouses and wizards with doctorates.

i decapitate a NT112 paper in a moldy business suit,
i wield Brueggemann like a shot gun,
peppering the paper with citations.

CH113 takes more time, but i systematically
eviserate with a combo of Gonzalez and primary sources.

i grab some pizza and Mt Dew
in an abandoned pub when pastoral care attacks
without warning.
family systems is wielded with finesse and the
ambush is over.

bruised and blooded and one more year to go.

is the pen mighter than the prof? that is the question.

but the reality is that these zombies
aren't half as dangerous than
the ones that will be sitting
in our pews.

Historical Ways of Being Christian

1. Early Church: variety of ways, Gnostic, Pauline, Montanist, Arian, Docetist, and many others. Saw that gospels didn't present one view of Jesus. Matt and Luke show virgin birth but Mark, John, and Paul don't mention it.

2. Roman Catholic: formed around 300 C.E. and came out of a reaction against the Arian and Docetists. Drew up the Nicene and Chalcedonian Creeds. Also built on views of Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, affirms virgin birth and immaculate conception, sin is transmitted biologically.

3. Orthodox, Lutheran and Calvinist: Affirm Nicene and Chalcedon as well as virgin birth (not I.C.) and use lots of bible references.

4. Oriental Orthodox: like the Egyptian Copts or Armenian church. Affirms Nicene NOT Chalcedon.

5. Free Church: Bible Fundamentalism and Virgin Birth. Jump over 15 centuries to get to first century. Baptists, Evangelicals, Congregationalists, Pentacostals and nondenoms all here. my assumption is most of the DeCons came out of this tradition.

6. Rationalist: Christianity conveys universal ideas and morality. no creeds adopted.

7. Liberal Christianity: Jesus is the teacher of love, kingdom of God, and an apocalyptic prophet. No Nicene or Chalcedon. uses the "Modern Criticisms" to study the bible.

8. Pietist: Ignores the Enlightenment of the Rationalists and Liberals as well as the dogmas of the past. Emphasis on Jesus as personal Lord & Savior. Methodist and Anabaptist movements.

9. NeoOrthodox/Emergent: Karl Barth and others: Ecumentical and Christocentric. Nicene and Chalcedon creeds translated into modern and personal language. Rejects both virgin birth and adoptionist ideas and states "To Know Jesus is to know his benefits" God present in Christ and fidelity of God is so perfect, one could say God is in Christ. very postmodern, sees that modernity is debunked, not about secularization, institutions are debunked. looking for honesty and transparency.

books to read on #9 which is where i feel i fall into would be: A Generous Orthodoxy: Why I Am a Missional, Evangelical, Post/Protestant, Liberal/Conservative, Mystical/Poetic, Biblical, Charismatic/Contemplative, Fundamentalist/Calvinist, Anabaptist/Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, Green, Incarnational, Depressed-yet-Hopeful, Emergent, Unfinished CHRISTIAN by Brian McLaren
and the Phoenix Affirmations by Eric Elnes as well as any Barth or Matthew Fox

IDENTITY! (?)

I love seminary! i get to hang out and talk God-talk all day long and get a TON of views backed up with personal experience and denominational doctrine. it's pretty cool! i'd say darn near heaven for someone who loves talking. God is truly bigger than what i think and i'm considering a lot of things i never had to before. from my political views to my philosophical and theological views. it can be scary for some, but i just absolutely love it.

Chris Eden sent me a great article and we had a discussion about it. The article was called "Are You A Christian Hipster?" and at first glance i was all about it!

then Chris pointed out that we pretty much love to label and categorize things, but that is largely on what we NOTICE and THAT is an entirely subjective exercise. The article proves a framework and it's flawed. heavily in some places. but i think it responds to our human need to label & categorize in the hopes of finding identity. our basic need is to belong and be affirmed.

Like i loooove most of the authors listed, i definately don't like anything labeled "Christian" before my music and movies, and i'm idealistic. I LOVE thinking and acting Catholic but have no respect for the institution of the church (patriarchy on crack). i don't have any tattoos and i don't smoke. but i WANT TO belong.. i just don't fit the mold.

and here's the secret... none of us do perfectly. we're individuals who want to be a community. we are finding that we can only establish our identity only if we're comparing ourselves to something else... i don't think you can define yourself without using a relationship. and here's what it's all about:

IDENTITY! I am apart from all these other slobs! just look at how i fashionably blend goodwill with Lucky and Gap clothes and put that with some Adidas sneaks and my iPod with a collection of bands NO ONE ELSE HAS!

i am me. and the sooner you recognize this the better off we'll be.... never mind the fact that a whole bunch of other people are doing the exact same thing and listening to the same bands just not in the order i have... just never mind that!

it's our American INDIVIDUALITY! and reliance on self that keeps butting up against our need to be in relation with one another. and the only way to get individuals into a group is through good marketing. at least.. that's the answer the church is going for (whether be fundie or liberal settings). and this too will fail. but it's how we're trying to frame the situation now.

so what's the answer?

Cussing where appropriate

okay.. y'all should know two things about me. i LOVE NPR's RadioLab and i also like to cuss. it's something i'm working on, but i really can't explain things any other way sometimes. i really need to start reading the dictionary or something...

well imagine my surprise when RadioLab cussed! my two loves found each other! this caused a minor uproar, so i decided to send an email:

Dear RadioLab Email Reader,

I LOVED when Jad said "bitches" at the end of one of the segments of "Choice." Jad had to defend himself (was it on the Obama Effect?) and cited "generation" as his defense and he apologized. Although his apology was nice, Robert wasn't buying his reasoning. I will stand up to defend him. I LOVED it! As a 27 year old, I was right there and felt happy that RadioLab was in touch with the culture. It's why I listen to the show.

Here are two proofs to show that "Bitches" is part of my generation, I'll resort to some nasty means: Paris Hilton. She must be a listener or Jad is.. but I don't want to assume.
Proof 1:
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/64ad536a6d/paris-hilton-responds-to-mccain- ad-from-paris-hilton-adam-ghost-panther-mckay-and-chris-henchy

Proof 2:
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/06ae3d8563/paris-hilton-gets-presiden
tial-with-martin-sheen-from-paris-hilton

Thank you Jad, for reaching out to the neglected twenty-something crowd.
Bravo!

And I must say RL is my all time fave show on TV, radio, and pretty much anything else. I even used y'all in a sermon I gave at my church.
I hope I did y'all justice: http://toothface.blogspot.com/2008/12/god-in-unexpected.html

Peace, bitches!

-Luke

AND THEY WROTE BACK!!!

Thanks, Luke. I'm now imagining Paris Hilton listening to Radio Lab.

Jad appreciates all the support in these difficult times. Thanks for listening.

Best,
Emma, Radio Lab

yup.. that confirms it. i'm a RL Nerd. a label i'm happy to own!

ALMOST SPRING POETRY SLAM!

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