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18:54:54 12/16/11
Machinima Realm - 12/16/11 (Holiday Gift Guide! Kitty! Maple Story!)
[LESS INFO] 5 VIEWS | ADDED 18:54:54 12/16/11
Machinima Realm - 12/16/11 (Holiday Gift Guide! Kitty! Maple Story!)
www.youtube.com Click here to watch the previous episode of Realm! Machinima Realm - 12/16/11 (Holiday Gift Guide! Kitty! Maple Story!) The holidays are practically upon us and Kitty and Hundar are here with some last minute gift ideas for your loved ones, your enemies and even yourself. Also, Joel talks to Crystin Cox, a producer on Maple Story, about the 3 new classes in the game. Come, prepare for the Long Night of winter with Realm! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This Realm video will show you: How to pick out some cool holiday presents How to play a new class in Maple Story How to make deals out on the streets - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Like Machinima Realm on Facebook! facebook.com Enlist in the Respawn Army! therespawnarmy.com FOR MORE MACHINIMA, GO TO www.youtube.com FOR MORE GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE SPORTS GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE MMO & RPG GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE TRAILERS, GO TO: www.youtube.com Tags: yt:quality=high Machinima Realm Hundar ZBOT Grit Ian Joel Kitty RPG MMO Epic Win Fantasy "role play" Games Massively "How to" Multiplayer online PC "Science Fiction" Uncharted "Uncharted 3" Drake ring LOTR "One Ring" "lord of the rings replicas" MOLESKINE threadless 6dollarshirts thinkgeek thisiswhyimbroke pac-man portal minecraft snuggie batman "jedi bathrobe" "maple story" Legends "legends update" cannoneer pirate ... From: MachinimaRealm Views: 23981 145 ratings Time: 12:21 More in Gaming
2 Views
19:11:00 08/14/11
RnRTV #252: RIP Jani Lane and Megadethetallica?
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 19:11:00 08/14/11
Rock n Roll TV gives you the rock news week after week hosted by Share Ross - Why did Van Halen cancel their Australia comeback tour; RIP Jani Lane; Portugal the Man have gear stolen; Greenday play secret gig for a cause and Megadeth's Dave Mustaine looking to form a supergroup!
Everyone is speculating who's to blame for Van Halen canceling their comeback tour of Australia. First Limp Bizkit was called out on the rug but Fred Durst says they were never even on the bill for any festivals down under. Then Aerosmith were blamed as promoters said negotiations for a co-headliner broke down. Then a radio station probably called it like it is… poor ticket sales. Doncha love how all that spin was used to distract us from the truth?
Former Warrant singer, Jani Lane was found dead in a Comfort Inn hotel in Woodland Hills on Thursday night. His friends and family will face a long wait to discover how he died after the initial tests revealed no conclusive cause of death. Warrant dedicated their North Dakota show to Jani the day after he died. RIP Jani.
Alaskan rockers Portugal, the Man had their touring van and trailer which were full of musical gear stolen in Chicago after playing at Lollapalooza. The band's singer, John Gourley says, every bit of money Portugal The Man has made over the last five years was in that trailer.
Former Deep Purple keyboard legend Jon Lord is fighting cancer.
Gogo's get a star on hollywood blvd.
Greenday played a not so secret secret gig in Costa Mesa last week with all proceeds going to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
The Answer have a new album coming out in October. Titled Revival and produced by Grammy nominated Chris Frenchie Smith.
WHATEVER:
Justin Bieber's favorite tv show The Hard Times of RJ Berger got canceled.
Lindsay Lohan may be the new spokesperson of Cheaterville - the website devoted to anti-cheating.
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Due to a band member illness, Megadeth had to cancel their gig in Oklahoma City on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. Meanwhile, rumors are flying that James Hetfield is actually considering Dave Mustaine 's persistent hammering to form a supergroup along with Lars Ulrich. Dave says it's on his bucket list. So look out for THAT!
Speaking of old school rockers like Van Halen, did you know you can get an old school discount with our Angie's List coupon code ROCK? Yes, you will save 25% off your membership. It's easy to use and you'll have more time to crank the tunes and blow up the speakers instead of looking for an electrician. Join today - www.angieslist.com/rock !!
46 Views
23:18:37 07/22/11
Communicating with Aliens: A Complicated Science
[LESS INFO] 46 VIEWS | ADDED 23:18:37 07/22/11
Does intelligent life exist on other worlds? If so, how would we communicate with it? Astrophysicist Martin Rees discusses the complicated science of contacting extraterrestrial species.
Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2010/08/02/Martin_Rees_Lifes_Future_in_the_Cosmos
President of the Royal Society, England's Astronomer Royal, Lord Martin Rees brings a lifetime of cosmological inquiry to a crucial question: What if human success on Earth determines life's success in the universe?
He thinks that civilization's chances of getting out of this century intact are about 50-50. He is hopeful that extraterrestrial life already exists, but there's no sign of it yet. But even if we are now alone, he notes that we may not even be the halfway stage of evolution.
There is huge scope for post-human evolution, so that "it will not be humans who watch the sun's demise, 6 billion years from now. Any creatures that then exist will be as different from us as we are from bacteria or amoebae."
Appropriately, Rees's Long Now talk was at the Chabot Space and Science Center in the hills above Oakland, in the planetarium. - The Long Now Foundation
Martin Rees is Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics and Master of Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. He holds the honorary title of Astronomer Royal and also Visiting Professor at Imperial College London and at Leicester University.
After studying at the University of Cambridge, he held post-doctoral positions in the UK and the USA, before becoming a professor at Sussex University. In 1973, he became a fellow of King's College and Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy at Cambridge (continuing in the latter post until 1991) and served for ten years as director of Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy. From 1992 to 2003 he was a Royal Society Research Professor.
0 Views
00:28:19 12/02/10
Gotta Serve Somebody
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 00:28:19 12/02/10
http://guitarharrisy.blogspot.com/ Other cool sites http://www.roarnomore.com/ http://therisingseed.blogspot.com/ http://worshipguitarriffs.blogspot.com/ Gotta Serve Somebody You may be an ambassador to England or France You may like to gamble, you might like to dance You may be the heavyweight champion of the world You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed You’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody You might be a rock ’n’ roll addict prancing on the stage You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage You may be a businessman or some high-degree thief They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed You’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk You may be the head of some big TV network You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame You may be living in another country under another name But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed You’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody You may be a construction worker working on a home You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome You might own guns and you might even own tanks You might be somebody’s landlord, you might even own banks But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed You’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side You may be workin’ in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair You may be somebody’s mistress, may be somebody’s heir But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed You’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed You’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray You may call me anything but no matter what you say You’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed You’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
1 Views
21:17:21 09/10/10
Hitler Glenn Beck And The Church Part 5 American Christianity
[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 21:17:21 09/10/10
For more information click the link below: http://roarnomore.blogspot.com/2010/09/church-hitler-and-glenn-beck.html American Christianity You may be wondering, what all this has to do with Glenn Beck and the Restoring Honor rally? The answer is, "everything." Listen to the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace. Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjack wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. . . . In such a Church the world finds a cheap covering for its sins; no contrition is required, still less any real desire to be delivered from sin. . . . Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner . . . it is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. No let me ask you, "What kind of grace is Glenn Beck selling?" Don't get me wrong, I agree with much of what Glenn Beck says about politics, and I'm not in anyway saying he's Hitler. Nevertheless, he is both offering and revealing something damning that has already taken place in our churches. Russell D. Moore ties everything together with this statement from His syndicated blog. Too often, and for too long, American “Christianity” has been a political agenda in search of a gospel useful enough to accommodate it. There is a liberation theology of the Left, and there is also a liberation theology of the Right, and both are at heart mammon worship. The liberation theology of the Left often wants a Barabbas, to fight off the oppressors as though our ultimate problem were the reign of Rome and not the reign of death. The liberation theology of the Right wants a golden calf, to represent religion and to remind us of all the economic security we had in Egypt. Both want a Caesar or a Pharaoh, not a Messiah. Moore goes on to say, Any “revival” that is possible without the Lord Jesus Christ is a “revival” of a different kind of spirit than the Spirit of Christ (1 John 4:1-3). . . The answer isn’t a narrowing sectarianism, retreating further and further into our enclaves. The answer includes local churches that preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and disciple their congregations to know the difference between the Kingdom of God and the latest political whim. I second one of Moore's opening lines. "It’s taken us a long time to get here, in this plummet from Francis Schaeffer to Glenn Beck." Francis Schaeffer repudiated the pietistic compartmentalized version of Christianity that plagued the church of the Nazis and plagues ours today. The church must be involved in the political process as salt and light, but it must not compromise the fact that it is the church. In America we have both extremes. We have the hundreds of evangelical leaders- including the entire upper echelon at Liberty University- who have decided to look for revival from an ecumenical Mormon, and then we have the churches that stay completely out of the political process. One side says, "We're willing to compromise in order to be salt," in which case they loose their saltiness, and the other affirms, "We're not willing to compromise anything, you can't have your salt." Either way the salt is never truly injected into the culture. We have bought into cheap grace in America. Doctrine doesn't matter anymore. What matters is a "personal relationship," which saves me from hell, society be damned! What we need is a yellow Gadsden Flag (i.e. the "Don't Tread on Me" flag) which instead of a snake in the background, pictures the Holy Scriptures. If we compromise on the Gospel for the sake of politics, how are we any different than the "German Christians?" We're simply "American Christians," and in that order. We have bought into a right wing type of fascism where the military and our exceptionalism come before the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I fear we will follow in the footsteps of Germany, only time will tell. All it takes is a "conservative" to rally the churches into a frenzy over something of temporal importance. Christ said it best in Matthew 6:20-21. "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Where's the heart of American Christianity. Is it with the Gospel or Glenn Beck? Does it resemble Germany 1933 or Rome 35 A.D.? More importantly, where's your heart?
13 Views
17:42:49 02/15/10
Living Healthy and Long Pt1 - Ps Martin 7-Feb-2010
[LESS INFO] 13 VIEWS | ADDED 17:42:49 02/15/10
Many people seek the Lord for healing. But how many seek him for health? It is God will for you to live a healthy life. Watch as Pastor Martin Daly ministers this challenging Word
11 Views
03:50:19 01/31/10
Mark Thomas Mtcp 02 03 Sellafield And Mice
[LESS INFO] 11 VIEWS | ADDED 03:50:19 01/31/10
The friendly face of genetic engineering, DuPont's Onco mouse, radioactive pigeon shit at Sellafield, Burston Marsteller and Mark does his impression of Lord Simon. * British o The car that broke the land speed record was British o What is the point of a car that goes 800 miles an hour in Britain? We're not even 800 miles long! * Genetic modifications o Mark's not a Luddite he likes science, computers and mobile phones o Can now genetically choose your child's hair colour etc. * The Onca Mouse o Licensed by DuPont, the Onca mouse has been genetically altered so that it will automatically get a cancerous tumour o Mark takes a mouse along to the DuPont UK HQ to complain that it's well but should be sick. o Mark calls up Public Affairs Manager Gerald Lander in Geneva to complain. * Stand-up o Routine about Norfolk o Mad cow disease - theory that the reason cows developed it was because they were fed cow in their diet. o The other theory is that it comes about because of organo-phosphates. o This is already in the food chain o Mad onion disease, perhaps * Monsanto o Wouldn't talk to us o Statement for broadcast from them + "While the subject of genetic modification may be a matter of public concern, we do not feel that addressing the issue through comedy is hte best way to ensure that the public is fully and properly informed. Regrettably, we must therefore decline the offer to participate on your programme." o We paid them a visit anyway in High Wycombe. + Reports from three US states say that Monsanto's Bovine Growth Hormone when given to cows has caused serious bladder infections and even death. + Monsanto produced Agent Orange, the defoliant used in Vietnam that caused mass starvation + They also produce dioxins and PCBs + They are now the biggest GM researchers in the food industry o Mark takes along a cow and a Vietnam veteran o Spoke to Alex Woolfall of Lowe Bell Good Relations o Was their non-involvement due to Burston Marsteller's advice so "stay off hte killing fields" o They were giving PR advice to GM manufacturers o Your best way of avoiding problems is to use "Symbols not logic". * Lord Simon o Companies are collecting and copyrighting human genes o Lord Simon was the head of BP and now works for the DTI as Minister for Trade and Competitiveness. o He will approve the copyrighting of genes. o While Lord Simon goes to Brussels to pass a proposal for the Life Patent Directive. Mark is dressed up as him and goes to London as his clone. o Asks for his secretary to send down his itinerary as he's forgotten where he's supposed to be. o Then heads to TV centre and tries to get on Newsnight o Also went to his house where he left a note for himself * Sellafield seagulls o Contract workers there had been told to cover up their forearms because the seagull shit was radioactive o Got some tested, it showed traces of Caesium 137 and 134, but come from Sellafield o Made up a display exhibit showing how the contamination gets out and bum-rushed the Sellafield visitors centre with it o Got it on display in the main gallery o last 8 minutes until they are told it is a fire risk o So it's moved to the Fire Exit o Educates a few folk to the possible dangers of seagull droppings o Then speak to John Barbour the centre's Corporate Affairs Manager o He's very nice and tries his best to help o He admits tests have taken place on seagull droppings o "There are acceptable levels of radiation dropping out of seagulls bottoms"? o He answers "Yes". o Then goes to put the display up in the town centre at Whitehaven, gives out posters, "Just say Gua-NO!" o Have an air raid warning on hand in case any seagulls fly overhead o Go around to Burston Marsteller's offices. They helped promote last years biotech conference. Other clients have included: The givernments of Nigeria and Romania, Exxon Valdez, Union Carbide and Bhopal o Takes a seagull in a bucket along. o All of a sudden the person that they had been told they could talk to was in a meeting elsewhere.
2 Views
22:54:37 11/12/09
twitter dish: Lucifer, Satan, DontHackBritney, Lou Dobbs, New Moon, Carrie Prejean, Which 1
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 22:54:37 11/12/09
Today’s top twitter trend:
Lucifer and Satan.
Why is the Lord of Darkness trending? How about this:
#DontHackBritney
Turns out that Miss Spear’s twitter account was hijacked. The tweeting ne’er-do wells posted Illuminati diatribes and the following:
@britneyspears:I give myself to Lucifer every day for it to arrive as quickly as possible. Glory to Satan!
Maybe it’s just me, but put a reggaeton beat under that, and Britney’s got her next hot single. Ok, all together now:
LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!!!
Fnord.
Twitter Trend number two:
Lou Dobbs
The last remaining original CNN host is emigrating away from his news desk. So long, Lou! The world will be a sadder place without your jingoistic rants to warm our cockles.
Twitter trend number three:
New Moon
The sequel to Twilight is out in 8 days! 8! Time to break out the vamp fangs and werewolf mullets and get in line now! Go!!! Now!!! More news on this trend once something actually happens.
Twitter trend number 4:
Carrie Prejean
It was a banner day for CNN yesterday. First, Lou left, and then the former Miss California threatened to walk out of her live interview with Larry King. Tweeters on both sides of the political spectrum are fuming. Here at twitter dish, we don’t take side, but we do love twits!
And our final twitter trend:
Which 1
The Reverend Run hits us with this much re-tweeted wisdom: Its much easier 4 people to be critical than to be creative.. Which 1 will u choose?
I choose: cheesecake. Yummmy.
1 Views
01:12:41 11/02/09
Us Fallen Week Ending Oct 31 2009
[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 01:12:41 11/02/09
Week ending Oct. 31, 2009 the US Department of Defense released the names of 27 military personnel who Died, while serving in the United States armed forces. Welcome viewers. These weekly episodes pay tribute to brave men and women who served our country with honor. This video and your respectful comments are memorial tributes to our fallen soldiers. Please visit USFallen.org website for previous episodes, military funerals and homecomings. On Wednesday,18 Americans came home. President Obama was at Dover Air Force Base, Del. – the first time a president has been present when remains of fallen military arrived. The president’s presence was significant. He will soon decide how to continue pursuing the war in Afghanistan. Welcoming home the 18 dead Americans and meeting with family members – when their grief and loss was still raw – will surely weigh on his decision. Obama acknowledged as such after the Dover ceremony: “The burden that both our troops and our families bear in any wartime situation is going to bear on how I see these conflicts.” The president was photographed participating in the arrival of the casket of one Fort Lewis soldier, Sgt. Dale Griffin, whose family had given permission for media coverage of his return. Because of the welcome change in military policy, which allows families to decide on coverage at Dover, more Americans are able to witness – at least from a distance – the price paid by soldiers and their loved ones. This has been the worst month for U.S. fatalities in Afghanistan since the United States invaded the country in October 2001. As long as U.S. troops are on the ground in such dangerous places as Afghanistan and Iraq, the grim ceremony at Dover will be repeated again and again. Fallen Description: Maj. David L. Audo, 35, of Saint Joseph, IL., Pfc. Brian R. Bates, Jr., 20, of Gretna, LA., Staff Sgt. Keith R. Bishop, 28, of Medford, N.Y., Spc. Robert K. Charlton, 22, of Malden, MO., Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, 24, of Alamo, TX.. Cpl. Gregory M.W. Fleury, 23, of Anchorage, AK. Spc. Joseph L. Gallegos, 39, of Questa, N.M., Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, 27, of South Ozone Park, N.Y. Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, 29, of Terre Haute, IN., Pfc. Kimble A. Han, 30, of Lehi, UT., Sgt. Josue E. Hernandez Chavez, 23, of Reno, NV., Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, 27, of Plattsburg, MO., Capt. Eric A. Jones, 29, of Westchester, N.Y., Spc. Eric N. Lembke, 25, of Tampa, FL. CWO Niall Lyons, 40, of Spokane, WA., Staff Sgt. Shawn H. McNabb, 24, of Terrell, TX.. Sgt. 1st Class David E. Metzger, 32, of San Diego, CA., Pfc. Devin J. Michel, 19, of Stockton, IL. , Capt. David "Seth" Mitchell, 30, of Loveland, OH., CWO Michael P. Montgomery, 36, of Savannah, GA., Sgt. Nikolas A. Mueller, 26, of Little Chute, WI. Spc. Jared D. Stanker, 22, of Evergreen Park, IL., Lance Cpl. Cody R. Stanley, 21, of Rosanky, TX., Spc. Brandon K. Steffey, 23, of Sault Sainte Marie, MI., Capt. Kyle R. Van De Giesen, 29, of N. Attleboro, MA., Pfc. Christopher I. Walz, 25, of Vancouver, WA., Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson, 24, of Broussard, LA., Sgt. Eduviges G. Wolf, 24, of Hawthorne, CA., Music: Time to Say Goodbye – Texas Tenors Mansions of the Lord Sgt. MacKenzie TAPS Photos/Resources afghanistan.pigstye.net defenselink.mil kvue.com thesunchronicle.com thonline.com militarycity.com USFallen.org Video Production Jerry CastILo Producer
2 Views
03:17:55 10/14/09
Abusive Relationships A Sermon By Pastor Nelson Turner Of Www Av1611 Reformation Com
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 03:17:55 10/14/09
Pastor Nelson Turner of www.AV1611Reformation.com preaches from the infallible word of God in the English language, the AV1611 King James Bible, on the subject of ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS. This sermon was originally delivered on the Lord's day October 4, 2009, and is available as a free .mp3 format audio download at: http://av1611reformation.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/abusive-relationships-pastor-nelson-turner-10-4-2009.mp3 . What is an "abusive relationship"? It is any interaction by human beings in or with this world which violates the laws of God and/or the laws of nature. These violations, which in our nation especially are being multiplied in number and sheer depravity, enkindle and invite the wrath of God in just retribution. The history of other cultures and nations which have been similarly disoriented proves that contemporary western civilization, led by the United States, likely does not have long to wait to see the justice of God wrought upon all wickedness. Ignoring the lessons found in the histories of Noah and Lot, modern day universalists (especially exemplified by Arminian "Christians") have made an idol of their imaginary god, who is indifferent to sin and embraces all beliefs and behaviors in diverse, relativistic confusion. Through indifference and tolerance of evil the purported servants of the Lord have welcomed the enemies of God into their camp. The pure doctrine found in God's word is forsaken for feel good psychobabble that has no power to build up the saints and serves only to advance the corruption and satisfy the urge for filthy lucre. But we read this concerning how the TRUE GOD sees it, and how He will deal with it: "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the LORD shall hold them in derision.Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure..Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel." Psalm 2:4-5,9
0 Views
21:14:13 06/16/09
"How Long O Lord?"
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 21:14:13 06/16/09
Rev. Bill Heersink explores II Peter 3 to answer the question of how long until Jesus returns and discusses what we should be doing until His return.
0 Views
01:07:59 11/14/08
Slam Over Yo" (C)2008jls Jimm Y Six Strin Gtm
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 01:07:59 11/14/08
This is kinda supposed to be humorous, but in the real world (I myself am a driver) I see people all day long being careless while talking on their cellphone, checking text messages, ect. and attempting to drive their car, I don't really think anyone who is doing this knows how the other drivers around are being put in a dangerous situation that could result in dangerous accidents. I mean after all the Lord did say WATCH...http://www.jimmysixstring.comhttp://cdbaby.com/all/jimmysixstring
2 Views
17:06:51 10/28/07
Part 3 Scholar/Author On Greed Environment 10 Commandments Old Testament Stories
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 17:06:51 10/28/07
Part 3: Bible Scholar:/Author talks about the Bible and how it relates to greed, the environment, the 10 Commandments and Old Testament storiesWell-known biblical scholar Dr. Walter Brueggemann of the Atlanta area spoke to Northern Michigan residents in early October 2007 about the 10 Commandments, greed, the environment and other social topics.In part three of a four-part series, Earth Keeper volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson reports from Northern Michigan University.Time: 9:50 ---Some of the verbatim from Dr. Brueggemann’s talk - follow along - then a full story:Dr. Brueggemann:"So that the theological question - that we don't answer easily - the logical question is that is there really a connection between the violation of the commandments - written broadly - and the well being of the earth."---Reporter:In October 2007, Dr. Walter Bureggemann, an expert on the Old Testament, spoke at Northern Michigan University.---Dr. Brueggemann:Hosea's poem is an anticipation of Wendell Berry - perhaps you know Wendell Berry - the critic of agribusiness who has written in many places that distorted social relationships inescapably will distort the environment - a distortion that is caused by greed and acquisitiveness and self-indulgent entitlement because the commandments articulate the restraints that are necessary for the maintenance of the environment.- and when there is excessive greed, when the land is overused, when the horizon is abused or the oceans are over fished, when the forests are stripped, the whole creation becomes dysfunctional.---Reporter:Brueggemann said the Lord has an indictment with the inhabitants of the land," Brueggemann said.That lead to an nteresting exchange with a member of the audience:---Dr. Brueggemann:Fifth text is in Hosea four verses one-three"The Lord has an indictment with the inhabitants of the land.The inhabitants of the land are abusing the land so Yahweh is taking them to court.Here is the indictment - see what this makes you think of.."There is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, adultery, bloodshed."What does that make you think of - Audience member: "Iraq?""I meant in the Bible - I don't want to get into anything contemporary. "There is lying, sealing, killing, adultery - the ten commandments."The indictment is - Israel in its acquisitiveness has violated the ten commandments.."Now from what I have told you - what do you think comes next - therefore."Now I want you to get this: Therefore the land mourns."This is a Biblical idiom for drought.That's what they said - when you violate the ten commandments you get a drought.- and then it says - because of the drought - the beasts and the fields and the birds and the air and the fish in the sea - What's that supposed to make you think of?Creation are perishing." This is an extraordinary three verse poem.The indictment is you break the ten commandments - the connection is the therefore - and the threat is that creation will be undone and won't grow anything anymore ."The logic of the poem is that the violation of the ten commandments will lead to the dismantling of creation.""I heard a Rabbi once say - that in Auschwitz all ten commandments were systematically violated - and then he said whenever you violate all ten commandments then you get Auschwitz.""Oh I would not suggest that our ecological crisis is of Auschwitz proportion - but if you fill the therefore with moral passion - you have got to believe that the violation of God's commandments eventually jeopardize and risk the good gift of creation."---First Kings 21 - Naboth's Vineyard - King Ahab wanted vegetable garden that Naboth had "who could not sell because the land was not a possession it was inheritance The land did not belong to him rather "He belonged to the land."Ahab and wife Jessiebell eventually frame Naboth as a traitor and got him executed..All Land owned by Traitors fall to the crownThat's when the prophet Elijah arrived on the scene.- who Ahab identified as enemy of his regime of acquisitiveness.Ahab - God's death sentence?---Fourth text in Mica two versus one thru five :"Alas for those who devise wickedness and evil deeds on their beds.""They start scheming and plotting before they get out of bed - and when they get out of bed they have a cup of coffee and while they are still in their bathrobe they call their broker and take some more land away from somebody."When the morning dawns they perform it - they covet fields and seize them, houses and take them away - they oppress household and house - people and inheritance.""The power class schemes about how to take over real estate before they every get out of bed in the morning - they covet - the poet uses covet which as you know comes right from the tenth commandment - thou shalt not covet - thou shalt not be acquisitive - thou shalt not gather more commodities t one's self."They buy up houses and fields and they violate the neighborhood and they take advantage of those who do not have sharp lawyers.The comes - it won't surprise you - the therefore."Therefore says the Lord - I am devising evil against this people and you shalt not walk haughtily for an evil time will come.""And then the poem goes on to say: ‘You will say oh we are utterly ruined. Oh help us God help us' and it will be too late because your land will be owned by foreigners."------Full Story:---Biblical scholar warns about consequences of greed, overindulgence, and abuse of the environment - says northern Michigan sulfide mine is losing proposalDr. Walter Brueggemann: Christians are in denial over past religious violence, must own antisemitism(Marquette, Michigan) - Speaking to packed audiences at two northern Michigan events, noted theologian Dr. Walter Brueggemann warned that today's world should change its ways because the "creator will not tolerate the ultimate despoiling of creation."Speaking to over 400 people in Ishpeming and Marquette, Dr. Brueggemann said historically greed, disregard for the environment and "the violation of the ten commandments will lead to the dismantling of creation."An expert and prolific author on the Old Testament, Brueggemann quote numerous biblical verses and described the prophets of the time as "poets" who warned about the greedy abuse of nature because people must "view the environment as God's gift that requires responsible management."Bringing humor and simple explanations to complex scripture, Dr. Brueggemann's animated translations invoked passion, laughter, and stunned silence that was often punctuated with crescendos, whispers and dramatic gestures like a fist in the air or hands clutching his head."Every national security state works itself to destruction - never learning in time the limits to acquisitiveness and giving full rein to satiation," Brueggemann said Monday night (Oct. 8, 2007) at Northern Michigan University in Marquette.Dr. Brueggemann's ecumenical public talks are reflected in his personal life. Brueggemann is a member of the United Church of Christ, teaches at a Presbyterian Seminary, and worships in an Episcopal congregation.The standing room only crowd clapped when he tied abuse of the environment to the proposed sulfide mine near Lake Superior in Marquette County by stating abused land will not produce in the future."What this poet knows is that absentee ownership and agribusiness - and you can extrapolate the word mining - I don't know much about it but I know that much - will simply refuse to produce when the land becomes a tradeable commodity and is no longer caressed, and honored and treated with its own particular creation magic," Brueggemann said. "The land requires ownership that is partnership and without such partnership creation loses its interest in fruitfulness."In an interview following his talk, Brueggemann said while he doesn't know the all the details about the proposed sulfide mine he has done "some reading on the crisis of the proposed mining initiative" in Michigan's Upper Peninsula."It is obviously a case in which the well being of the environment and the well being of the neighborhood are being subordinated to economic interests," Brueggemann said."In the bible, the economy is, according to the Torah, kept subordinated to the well being of the neighborhood," Brueggemann said. "This seems to me a case in which economic interests want to overpower the concerns of the neighborhood.""From the perspective of biblical faith, that is always a loser," Brueggemann said.Speaking to about 200 people Tuesday night (Oct. 9) at the Bethany Lutheran Church in Ishpeming, Brueggemann said in the New Testament Jesus fed people with loaves of bread warning his followers about the evil ways of greedy pharaohs.Brueggemann said "for the sake of the common good - for good health care policy, good schools, for better housing - the work of the neighborhood depends upon the power of the dream to dream outside the pharaoh's regime of anxiety.""One way to understand the worship of the church, is every time we gather - we gather to dream the dream of God's abundance that powers us to the neighborhood," Brueggemann said.Rev. Warren Geier, pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in Ishpeming, said in all Dr. Brueggemann's talks the theologian "highlighted that God's intention for the world, as articulated in the Ten Commandments, is that we live in relationship with God and with the neighbor."This can't be done without respect and care for the ‘neighborhood' which is the earth, God's gift of creation," said Geier, who organized Brueggemann's U.P. visit. Brueggemann "emphasized the need the tell the truth, not to deny reality and pretend things are other than they are," Geier said."This is done in order to get to hope, the realization that there is another way that counters ways that seem unchangeable - to use Dr. Brueggemann's words: ‘The data on the ground is not the final truth; it's outflanked by the fidelity of God. There are new gifts to be given'," Geier said.Describing a story about land abuse in the book of Isaiah, Brueggemann said the text warns about coveting land and "exercising eminent domain and buying up the property of neighbors until there is no one left but you.""You are left to live alone in the midst of the land - woe you," he said.An Atlanta resident, Dr. Brueggemann said a verse that states "these many houses shall become desolate - large beautiful houses without inhabitants" reminds him of the once prosperous southern cotton plantations."When I read about large beautiful houses that become desolate without inhabitants I think of Tara in Gone with the Wind," Brueggemann said in Marquette. "You know that the cotton industry in the south was the wealthiest economy in the world and nobody paid any attention."Describing an agricultural economic crisis, Brueggemann said "the text goes on in this poem to imagine that when the land is organized so that it destroys a neighborhood that the land simply refuses to produce.""God has said to the land ‘be fruitful' and the land simply says ‘I won't do it - I won't grow anything'," Brueggemann said.Brueggemann's talks were co-sponsored by Lutheran Campus Ministry, the interfaith NMU EarthKeeper Student Team, the NMU departments of Philosophy and English, the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Bethany Lutheran Church in Ishpeming.Brueggemann's visit "was another way we like to continue our (environmental) work and invite other people into our community so that we can learn from them and continue to grow in our knowledge about theology and creation and the environment as well," said Jennifer Simula, the NMU EK project director and a student leader with NMU Lutheran Campus Ministry.Understanding the audience was filled with supporters of the environment, Brueggemann said he is "aware of the work of the Earth Keeper's Covenant and so I already know that you are into these issues" describing his talk "simply as a reinforcement footnote to what all of you have already thought."Dr. Brueggemann said you know when the poets (prophets) are about to make a point - and interject "moral passion" - when they use words like "therefore" or "alas.""When you read a ‘therefore' in this poetry you must duck," said Brueggemann - in one example of his wit that evoked laughter sometimes adding levity to an intense Biblical lesson."I believe the gap between consumer indulgence and the consequences of that in our society has to be filled with moral passion and not with explanation," Brueggemann said.The poets, Brueggemann said, warned of the possible outcomes of human behavior and were used in the Bible "as an interface between the power of acquisitiveness - on the one hand - and the poetry of alternative on the other hand.""All through the heady years of Jerusalem there were ad-hoc protests and dissents and warnings," Brueggemann said of the poets who today would be considered liberal.The poets were "not social action liberals - which they were - they were poets - they wrote poetry so that the world could be imagined outside the domain of (King) Solomon."In the book of Hosea, "the Lord has an indictment with the inhabitants of the land," Brueggemann said."The inhabitants of the land are abusing the land so Yahweh (God in the Old Testament) is taking them to court," he said.Brueggemann crafts his messages to have a direct bearing on today's world while sticking to Biblical history - thus causing the audience to think and draw their own conclusions of time."Here is the indictment - see what this makes you think of," Brueggemann said leading the audience to a purposely indirect point. "There is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, adultery, bloodshed. What does that make you think of?"An audience member said: "Iraq?""I meant in the Bible - I don't want to get into anything contemporary," said Brueggemann - delighting the crowd."There is lying, stealing, killing, adultery - the ten commandments," Brueggemann explained bringing home a Biblical lesson with contemporary impact. "The indictment is - Israel in its acquisitiveness has violated the ten commandments.""Now from what I have told you - what do you think comes next - ‘therefore'," Brugeggeman said. "Therefore the land mourns - this is a Biblical idiom for drought.""When you violate the ten commandments you get a drought.- and then it says - because of the drought - the beasts and the fields and the birds and the air and the fish in the sea - What's that supposed to make you think of ? Creation is perishing. This is an extraordinary three-verse poem.""The indictment is you break the ten commandments - the connection is the therefore - and the threat is that creation will be undone and won't grow anything anymore," Brueggemann said. "The logic of the poem is that the violation of the ten commandments will lead to the dismantling of creation.""The poet only knows that the land that is being abused is God's creation and the poet knows there are limits to be honored and respected, restraints to be exercised and trusts to be cared for and when self indulgence overrides limits, restraints and trusts - creation has a way of circling back and bringing death," Brueggemann said."I heard a Rabbi once say - that in Auschwitz all Ten Commandments were systematically violated - and then he (Rabbi) said ‘whenever you violate all ten commandments then you get Auschwitz'," Brueggemann said."I would not suggest that our ecological crisis is of Auschwitz proportion - however you have got to believe that the violation of God's commandments eventually jeopardize and risk the good gift of creation," Brueggemann saidDuring a meeting at the Lutheran Campus Ministry house, Brueggemann said the American "Christian community has been overly pre-occupied - for a long period of time - with personal salvation and redemption - and the result of that is that we have reneged on the Creator - Creation question."Brueggemann said "you can't just turn it (the environment) into a commodity""I believe that our work in scripture study and teaching is to reread the Bible away from those personal questions toward the large questions of creation and creator so we learn to view the environment as God's gift that requires responsible management," Brueggemann said.With the exception of noted Lutheran theologian Joseph Sittler, Brueggemann said that "Lutherans are notorious for not having had a very vibrant Doctrine of Creation."Brueggemann said many fundamentalists just "want to talk about me and Jesus, and being saved by the blood and all that kind of business."Fundamentalists "have no understanding of creation at all" and don't "understand that our reception of the reality of God also has to do with honoring the Earth differently," Brueggemann said."Those categories have almost been lost in the way the church conducts its teaching."Many churches refuse to face antisemitism and past religious violence and instead are "sort of pretending" that Christian-related atrocities did not happen, Brueggemann said."I think we invite people to engage in wholesale denial about their own lives," Brueggemann said.As a result of denial, the communication to churchgoers, Brueggemann said, is "well if you feel violent - talk about it somewhere else - don't do that here because we are all nice people here."It is "better to say we have a long history of antisemitism - we've go to own that," Brueggemann said. "I think that good recovery of the Bible is like good psychotherapy."At Bethany Lutheran Church in Ishpeming, Brueggemann said one of the saddest quotes by Jesus is in the New Testament book of Mark.After Jesus feeds ten thousands people at two events with loaves of bread to spare - he's out in a boat with two disciples who don't understand his frustration over why they forgot the bread, Brueggemann said."The paragraph ends with what I think must be one of the saddest statements of Jesus in the new testament - Jesus says to them ‘do you not yet understand?' He says to his disciples ‘you don't get it, do you?'," Brueggemann said."What's to get - is - wherever Jesus is - the power of anxiety has been broken - and there is an abundance that lets us get our minds off ourselves," Brueggemann said."So the disciples - the church - is invited to get its mind off itself - off its scarcity - off it's narrow budget - off its parsimony."The disciples "did not understand that Jesus is in the bread business," Brueggemann said."Watch out for the bread of the Herodians and the bread of the pharisees - he says watch out for the bread of the pharaoh because if you eat the bread of the pharaoh your stomach will be filled with anxiety," Brueggemann explained.Brueggemann said Jesus then "gets a little reprimanding and he says to them ‘do you have eyes and not see - do you have ears and not hear and do you have hearts and not understand - don't you know what we have been doing'?"Brueggemann added that Mark says Jesus "took the bread, he blessed the bread, he broke the bread, he gave them the bread.""These are the four great verbs in the church for abundance - he took, he blessed, he broke, he gave - these are the four verbs of the Eucharist," Brueggemann said."These are the verbs whereby the gospel takes the stuff of the earth and transforms it into a wondrous abundance.""So what Mark is telling us is - that the disciples know the numbers but they haven't any idea what the numbers mean," Brueggemann said.Brueggemann participated in Bill Moyers acclaimed PBS television series on the Book of Genesis. A graduate of Elmhurst College, Professor Brueggemann studied at Eden Theological Seminary, receiving his Doctorate of Divinity from Union theological Seminary, New York, and a Ph.D from Saint Louis University. Brueggemann was professor of Old Testament at Eden before joining the faculty at Columbia Theological Seminary in 1986. He is currently William Marcellus McPheeters Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia.
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00:58:10 10/28/07
Part 2 Theologian On Antisemitism Christian Violence And Environment
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Old testament scholar and prolific author Dr. Walter Brueggemann spent a couple days in northern Michigan in early October 2007 speaking to the public, clergy, church leaders and Lutheran Campus Ministry students and board members.Earth Keeper volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson has the second of a four part look at Dr. Brueggemann’s opinions on how the Bible relates to protecting the environment and many other social issues like antisemitism.Time: 9:55Here is some of the verbatim (follow along) from the theologian’s talks in Marquette and Ishpeming, Michigan followed by complete story.Violence and antisemitism in Christian church history and denial:And I think by sort of pretending about that - I think we invite people to engage in wholesale denial about their own lives. So what we communicate that way to people in church: ‘Well if you feel violent talk about it somewhere else - don’t do that here because 'we are all nice people here.'Better to say we have a long history of antisemitism - we’ve got to own that.I think that good recovery of the Bible is like good psychotherapy.” ---All the fundamentalists who want to talk about me and Jesus, and being saved by the blood and all that kind of business.They have no understanding of creation at all - so you would never understand that our reception of the reality of God also has to do with honoring the Earth differently. Those Categories have almost been lost in the way the church conducts its teaching.---“Solomon is popularly celebrated as a very wise king - until you read the text - if you read the text - which people tend not to do - you begin to see that Solomon is essentially a practitioner of foolishness.”— “... regime of economic commodification to be penultimate and not the ultimate source of wealth or well being ... ”“So what this poem does is to describe incredible self indulgence of the consumer economy in the northern capitol of Samaria - Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory and lounge on their couches and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the stall, who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves divine.”“He’s describing the urban elite who have an enormous amounts of money for their well being for their amusement and their self indulgence - he’s describing the power class at the club with frivolous music and body care and extravagant oil and getting their hair done every three days and I don’t know what all ... "“But who are not grieved over the rule of Joseph - but who do not notice - in the midst of a flourishing economy that their society is going to hell in a hand basket.”---“When you read a therefore in this poetry you must duck.”“But because of this self indulgence - therefore - they shall be the first to go into exile.”“I believe the gap between consumer indulgence and the consequences of that in our society has to be filled with moral passion and not with explanation .”“The poet only knows that the land that is being abused is God’s creation and the poet knows there are limits to be honored and respected, restraints to be exercised and trusts to be cared for and when self indulgence overrides limits, restraints and trusts creation has a way of circling back and brining death.”---Third text is in Isaiah five eight - series of woe again:“Ahhh, You who join house to house, and field to field, - with regentrification - exercising eminent domain and buying up the property of neighbors until there is no one left but you - and you are left to live alone in the midst of the land - woe you.”“Then he says the Lord of hosts has sworn - in my hearing - that these many houses shall become desolate - large beautiful houses without inhabitants.Now I live in Atlanta so when I read about large beautiful houses that become desolate without inhabitants I think of Tara in Gone with the Wind.You know that the cotton industry in the south was the wealthiest economy in the world and nobody paid any attention.He’s describing an agricultural economic crisis but the text goes on in this poem to imagine that when the land is organized so that it destroys a neighborhood that the land simply refuses to produce.”“God has said to the land ‘be fruitful’ and the land simply says ‘I won’t do it - I won’t grow anything.’”“So the poem says it will take - we don’t know how big these measures are - something like it will take ten acres of grapes to produce a small measure of wine. It will take huge amounts of land because the land is not going to be fruitful if you continue to acquire and covet.”---Fourth text in Mica two versus one thru five :Now this is not logic, this is not economic analysis, this is poetry.“The logic of it is that the creator will not tolerate the ultimate despoiling of creation.”And of course the connection that the prophet makes is outrageous - it is as outrageous as if a contemporary poet were to say about our society that if you abuse poor people long enough you are going to evoke a terrorist threat. No poet would surely say that now."Fifth text.""I am not making this up."---Full Story:---Biblical scholar warns about consequences of greed, overindulgence, and abuse of the environment - says northern Michigan sulfide mine is losing proposalDr. Walter Brueggemann: Christians are in denial over past religious violence, must own antisemitism(Marquette, Michigan) - Speaking to packed audiences at two northern Michigan events, noted theologian Dr. Walter Brueggemann warned that today's world should change its ways because the "creator will not tolerate the ultimate despoiling of creation."Speaking to over 400 people in Ishpeming and Marquette, Dr. Brueggemann said historically greed, disregard for the environment and "the violation of the ten commandments will lead to the dismantling of creation."An expert and prolific author on the Old Testament, Brueggemann quote numerous biblical verses and described the prophets of the time as "poets" who warned about the greedy abuse of nature because people must "view the environment as God's gift that requires responsible management."Bringing humor and simple explanations to complex scripture, Dr. Brueggemann's animated translations invoked passion, laughter, and stunned silence that was often punctuated with crescendos, whispers and dramatic gestures like a fist in the air or hands clutching his head."Every national security state works itself to destruction - never learning in time the limits to acquisitiveness and giving full rein to satiation," Brueggemann said Monday night (Oct. 8, 2007) at Northern Michigan University in Marquette.Dr. Brueggemann's ecumenical public talks are reflected in his personal life. Brueggemann is a member of the United Church of Christ, teaches at a Presbyterian Seminary, and worships in an Episcopal congregation.The standing room only crowd clapped when he tied abuse of the environment to the proposed sulfide mine near Lake Superior in Marquette County by stating abused land will not produce in the future."What this poet knows is that absentee ownership and agribusiness - and you can extrapolate the word mining - I don't know much about it but I know that much - will simply refuse to produce when the land becomes a tradeable commodity and is no longer caressed, and honored and treated with its own particular creation magic," Brueggemann said. "The land requires ownership that is partnership and without such partnership creation loses its interest in fruitfulness."In an interview following his talk, Brueggemann said while he doesn't know the all the details about the proposed sulfide mine he has done "some reading on the crisis of the proposed mining initiative" in Michigan's Upper Peninsula."It is obviously a case in which the well being of the environment and the well being of the neighborhood are being subordinated to economic interests," Brueggemann said."In the bible, the economy is, according to the Torah, kept subordinated to the well being of the neighborhood," Brueggemann said. "This seems to me a case in which economic interests want to overpower the concerns of the neighborhood.""From the perspective of biblical faith, that is always a loser," Brueggemann said.Speaking to about 200 people Tuesday night (Oct. 9) at the Bethany Lutheran Church in Ishpeming, Brueggemann said in the New Testament Jesus fed people with loaves of bread warning his followers about the evil ways of greedy pharaohs.Brueggemann said "for the sake of the common good - for good health care policy, good schools, for better housing - the work of the neighborhood depends upon the power of the dream to dream outside the pharaoh's regime of anxiety.""One way to understand the worship of the church, is every time we gather - we gather to dream the dream of God's abundance that powers us to the neighborhood," Brueggemann said.Rev. Warren Geier, pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in Ishpeming, said in all Dr. Brueggemann's talks the theologian "highlighted that God's intention for the world, as articulated in the Ten Commandments, is that we live in relationship with God and with the neighbor."This can't be done without respect and care for the ‘neighborhood' which is the earth, God's gift of creation," said Geier, who organized Brueggemann's U.P. visit. Brueggemann "emphasized the need the tell the truth, not to deny reality and pretend things are other than they are," Geier said."This is done in order to get to hope, the realization that there is another way that counters ways that seem unchangeable - to use Dr. Brueggemann's words: ‘The data on the ground is not the final truth; it's outflanked by the fidelity of God. There are new gifts to be given'," Geier said.Describing a story about land abuse in the book of Isaiah, Brueggemann said the text warns about coveting land and "exercising eminent domain and buying up the property of neighbors until there is no one left but you.""You are left to live alone in the midst of the land - woe you," he said.An Atlanta resident, Dr. Brueggemann said a verse that states "these many houses shall become desolate - large beautiful houses without inhabitants" reminds him of the once prosperous southern cotton plantations."When I read about large beautiful houses that become desolate without inhabitants I think of Tara in Gone with the Wind," Brueggemann said in Marquette. "You know that the cotton industry in the south was the wealthiest economy in the world and nobody paid any attention."Describing an agricultural economic crisis, Brueggemann said "the text goes on in this poem to imagine that when the land is organized so that it destroys a neighborhood that the land simply refuses to produce.""God has said to the land ‘be fruitful' and the land simply says ‘I won't do it - I won't grow anything'," Brueggemann said.Brueggemann's talks were co-sponsored by Lutheran Campus Ministry, the interfaith NMU EarthKeeper Student Team, the NMU departments of Philosophy and English, the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Bethany Lutheran Church in Ishpeming.Brueggemann's visit "was another way we like to continue our (environmental) work and invite other people into our community so that we can learn from them and continue to grow in our knowledge about theology and creation and the environment as well," said Jennifer Simula, the NMU EK project director and a student leader with NMU Lutheran Campus Ministry.Understanding the audience was filled with supporters of the environment, Brueggemann said he is "aware of the work of the Earth Keeper's Covenant and so I already know that you are into these issues" describing his talk "simply as a reinforcement footnote to what all of you have already thought."Dr. Brueggemann said you know when the poets (prophets) are about to make a point - and interject "moral passion" - when they use words like "therefore" or "alas.""When you read a ‘therefore' in this poetry you must duck," said Brueggemann - in one example of his wit that evoked laughter sometimes adding levity to an intense Biblical lesson."I believe the gap between consumer indulgence and the consequences of that in our society has to be filled with moral passion and not with explanation," Brueggemann said.The poets, Brueggemann said, warned of the possible outcomes of human behavior and were used in the Bible "as an interface between the power of acquisitiveness - on the one hand - and the poetry of alternative on the other hand.""All through the heady years of Jerusalem there were ad-hoc protests and dissents and warnings," Brueggemann said of the poets who today would be considered liberal.The poets were "not social action liberals - which they were - they were poets - they wrote poetry so that the world could be imagined outside the domain of (King) Solomon."In the book of Hosea, "the Lord has an indictment with the inhabitants of the land," Brueggemann said."The inhabitants of the land are abusing the land so Yahweh (God in the Old Testament) is taking them to court," he said.Brueggemann crafts his messages to have a direct bearing on today's world while sticking to Biblical history - thus causing the audience to think and draw their own conclusions of time."Here is the indictment - see what this makes you think of," Brueggemann said leading the audience to a purposely indirect point. "There is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, adultery, bloodshed. What does that make you think of?"An audience member said: "Iraq?""I meant in the Bible - I don't want to get into anything contemporary," said Brueggemann - delighting the crowd."There is lying, stealing, killing, adultery - the ten commandments," Brueggemann explained bringing home a Biblical lesson with contemporary impact. "The indictment is - Israel in its acquisitiveness has violated the ten commandments.""Now from what I have told you - what do you think comes next - ‘therefore'," Brugeggeman said. "Therefore the land mourns - this is a Biblical idiom for drought.""When you violate the ten commandments you get a drought.- and then it says - because of the drought - the beasts and the fields and the birds and the air and the fish in the sea - What's that supposed to make you think of ? Creation is perishing. This is an extraordinary three-verse poem.""The indictment is you break the ten commandments - the connection is the therefore - and the threat is that creation will be undone and won't grow anything anymore," Brueggemann said. "The logic of the poem is that the violation of the ten commandments will lead to the dismantling of creation.""The poet only knows that the land that is being abused is God's creation and the poet knows there are limits to be honored and respected, restraints to be exercised and trusts to be cared for and when self indulgence overrides limits, restraints and trusts - creation has a way of circling back and bringing death," Brueggemann said."I heard a Rabbi once say - that in Auschwitz all Ten Commandments were systematically violated - and then he (Rabbi) said ‘whenever you violate all ten commandments then you get Auschwitz'," Brueggemann said."I would not suggest that our ecological crisis is of Auschwitz proportion - however you have got to believe that the violation of God's commandments eventually jeopardize and risk the good gift of creation," Brueggemann saidDuring a meeting at the Lutheran Campus Ministry house, Brueggemann said the American "Christian community has been overly pre-occupied - for a long period of time - with personal salvation and redemption - and the result of that is that we have reneged on the Creator - Creation question."Brueggemann said "you can't just turn it (the environment) into a commodity""I believe that our work in scripture study and teaching is to reread the Bible away from those personal questions toward the large questions of creation and creator so we learn to view the environment as God's gift that requires responsible management," Brueggemann said.With the exception of noted Lutheran theologian Joseph Sittler, Brueggemann said that "Lutherans are notorious for not having had a very vibrant Doctrine of Creation."Brueggemann said many fundamentalists just "want to talk about me and Jesus, and being saved by the blood and all that kind of business."Fundamentalists "have no understanding of creation at all" and don't "understand that our reception of the reality of God also has to do with honoring the Earth differently," Brueggemann said."Those categories have almost been lost in the way the church conducts its teaching."Many churches refuse to face antisemitism and past religious violence and instead are "sort of pretending" that Christian-related atrocities did not happen, Brueggemann said."I think we invite people to engage in wholesale denial about their own lives," Brueggemann said.As a result of denial, the communication to churchgoers, Brueggemann said, is "well if you feel violent - talk about it somewhere else - don't do that here because we are all nice people here."It is "better to say we have a long history of antisemitism - we've go to own that," Brueggemann said. "I think that good recovery of the Bible is like good psychotherapy."At Bethany Lutheran Church in Ishpeming, Brueggemann said one of the saddest quotes by Jesus is in the New Testament book of Mark.After Jesus feeds ten thousands people at two events with loaves of bread to spare - he's out in a boat with two disciples who don't understand his frustration over why they forgot the bread, Brueggemann said."The paragraph ends with what I think must be one of the saddest statements of Jesus in the new testament - Jesus says to them ‘do you not yet understand?' He says to his disciples ‘you don't get it, do you?'," Brueggemann said."What's to get - is - wherever Jesus is - the power of anxiety has been broken - and there is an abundance that lets us get our minds off ourselves," Brueggemann said."So the disciples - the church - is invited to get its mind off itself - off its scarcity - off it's narrow budget - off its parsimony."The disciples "did not understand that Jesus is in the bread business," Brueggemann said."Watch out for the bread of the Herodians and the bread of the pharisees - he says watch out for the bread of the pharaoh because if you eat the bread of the pharaoh your stomach will be filled with anxiety," Brueggemann explained.Brueggemann said Jesus then "gets a little reprimanding and he says to them ‘do you have eyes and not see - do you have ears and not hear and do you have hearts and not understand - don't you know what we have been doing'?"Brueggemann added that Mark says Jesus "took the bread, he blessed the bread, he broke the bread, he gave them the bread.""These are the four great verbs in the church for abundance - he took, he blessed, he broke, he gave - these are the four verbs of the Eucharist," Brueggemann said."These are the verbs whereby the gospel takes the stuff of the earth and transforms it into a wondrous abundance.""So what Mark is telling us is - that the disciples know the numbers but they haven't any idea what the numbers mean," Brueggemann said.Brueggemann participated in Bill Moyers acclaimed PBS television series on the Book of Genesis. A graduate of Elmhurst College, Professor Brueggemann studied at Eden Theological Seminary, receiving his Doctorate of Divinity from Union theological Seminary, New York, and a Ph.D from Saint Louis University. Brueggemann was professor of Old Testament at Eden before joining the faculty at Columbia Theological Seminary in 1986. He is currently William Marcellus McPheeters Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia.









