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06:57:41 02/10/12
Outlive Your Life, Part 5: Do Good Quietly
[LESS INFO] 3 VIEWS | ADDED 06:57:41 02/10/12
Part 5 from the Outlive Your Life (formerly Bigger Than You) Series at Oak Hills Church San Antonio. This series takes a walk through Chapters 1-12 of the Acts of the Apostles. “When Jesus was preparing to return to his father, he commissioned his friends to go—to astronomically expand the impact of their lives. He called them to action in Acts 1:8; to a mission that spanned the globe. “You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” Our mission is the same today, though our individual areas of impact vary. So I invite you to ponder your place in the mission: Where is your Jerusalem? Your Judea? Your Samaria? Are we reaching “the ends of the earth?” Are we being witnesses of Jesus in our towns, our nations, and our world? The world is waiting for the witness and presence of God’s people. Billions of people live below the poverty line, millions of children go hungry around the globe, and preventable disease claims thousands of lives daily. But we each have the opportunity to make a difference. What would happen if we seized the moment? ~ Max
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http://maxlucado.net/_catalog_107242/Out_Live_Your_Life
0 Views
19:14:16 10/31/11
Christians: Don't Join Occupy Wall Street - Pat Robertson
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 19:14:16 10/31/11
Christians: Don't Join Occupy Wall Street - Pat Robertson
Conservative televangelist and 700 Club host Pat Robertson says that Christians should not take part on the Occupy Wall Street movement. What would Jesus do? The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down. www.rawstory.com Subscribe to The Young Turks: bit.ly The Largest Online New Show in the World. Google+: www.gplus.to Facebook: www.facebook.com Twitter: twitter.com From: TheYoungTurks Views: 31926 1080 ratings Time: 02:30 More in News & Politics
9 Views
19:00:00 10/03/11
#OccupyWallStreet Protester Lets Fox News Have It
[LESS INFO] 9 VIEWS | ADDED 19:00:00 10/03/11
This is just wonderful to see. Jesse LaGreca, also known as the Daily Kos blogger MinistryOfTruth , gets in front of a Fox News reporter and lets him know what he and the other 99 percent think of their news coverage.
Here's the transcript: >
Fox: Jesse, so Ray, your partner here, your ..
Ray: comrade.
Fox: Your colleague, she’d seen the protests in Greece and Europe and elsewhere. Did you guys take your cue from that? Are you hoping to cite certainly what was a lot of the tension, if not police activity. I know over the weekend there were over 100 arrests and you guys got things fired up. Are you taking your cues from the international movement and how do you want to see this? If you could have it in a perfect way, how would it be?
Jesse: Well I don’t know, its really difficult to answer questions leading to those conclusions. I’d say that we didn’t take our cue leading off of anybody really. It became a more spontaneous movement. As far as seeing this end, I wouldn’t like to see this end. I would like to see the conversation continue. This is what we should have been talking about in 2008 when the economy collapsed. We basically patched a hole on the tire and said let the car keep rolling. Unfortunately it’s fun to talk to the propaganda machine and the media especially conservative media networks such as yourself, because we find that we cant get conversations for the department of Justice’s ongoing investigation of News Corporation, for which you are an employee. But we can certainly ask questions like you know, why are the poor engaging in class warfare? After 30 years of having our living standards decrease while the wealthiest 1% have had it better than ever, I think it’s time for some maybe, I don’t know, participation in our democracy that isn’t funded by news cameras and gentlemen such as yourself.
Fox: But, uh, yeah well, let me give you this challenge Jesse.
Jesse: Sure.
Fox: We’re here giving you an opportunity on the record […] to put any
message you want out there, to give you fair coverage and I’m not
going to in any way
Jesse: That’s awesome!
Fox:…give you advice about it. So, there is an exception in the case, because you wouldn’t be able to get your message out there without us.
Jesse: No, surely, I mean, take for instance when Glenn Beck was doing his protest and he called the President, uh, a person who hates white people and white culture. That was a low moment in Americans’ history and you guys kinda had a big part in it. So, I’m glad to see you coming around and kind of paying attention to what the other 99 percent of Americans are paying attention to, as opposed to the far-right fringe, who who would just love to destroy the middle class entirely.
Fox: Alright, fair enough. You have a voice, an important reason to criticize myself, my company and anyone else. But, let me ask you that, in fairness, does this administration, President Obama, have any criticism as to the the financial situation the country’s in…?
Jesse: I think, myself, uh, as well as many other people, would like to see a little but more economic justice or social justice—Jesus stuff—as far as feeding the poor, healthcare for the sick. You know, I find it really entertaining that people like to hold the Bill of Rights up while they’re screaming at gay soldiers, but they just can’t wrap their heads around the idea that a for-profit healthcare system doesn’t work. So, let’s just look at it like this, if we want the President to do more, let’s talk to him on a level that actually reaches people, instead of asking for his birth certificate and wasting time with total nonsense like Solyndra.
[h/t Observer.com ]
5 Views
16:21:53 06/08/11
Former Governor Arne Carlson On The Budget Impasse And The Problems Inside The Republican Party
[LESS INFO] 5 VIEWS | ADDED 16:21:53 06/08/11
Former Governor Arne Carlson on the Budget Impasse, and the problems inside the Republican Party. "If you look today at the Minnesota stalemate that has occurred--the two most important people in that contest are the governor of the state of Minnesota Mark Dayton and Tony Sutton. And the big difference is, we the people elected one of those."--Arne Carlson. On May 27th in Minneapolis City Hall, hundreds met to celebrate the birthday centennial of Hubert Humphrey. Arguably one of the most effective legislators of our time. Authoring countless iconic bills, and producing them with the help Senators on the other side of the isle. Famous relationships developed between Humphrey and Republicans Everett Dirksen, Barry Goldwater and others. Humphrey, is also credited with breaking the longest running filibuster in Senate history. How did he do this? How did he perfect the "art of the compromise?" Minnesota, can look to Humphrey for solutions to today's problems, and that includes the current budget impasse. Former Governor Arne Carlson spoke strongly against the "no-compromise" strategy of the current Republican Party and its Chairman Tony Sutton here at the Humphrey Centennial, here are 3 clips assembled from an afternoon panel on "Civility in 21st Century Politics" that he sat on along with Hubert (Skip) Humphrey III, former Vice President Walter Mondale, and moderated by Federal Judge John R. Tunheim. Clip 1 : "Nowadays it's sit down, be quiet pass the bill, the flow of moneyed interests etcetera... Now we have in the state legislature is something that bothers me enormously, and that is the brazen attitude of the chairman of the Republican Party bringing legislators in and if you will "persuading them" of the virtues of no compromise. What bothers me about that kind of position is you can not govern in a democratic society if you're not willing to give and take--there is no governance. Now I realize I've got a bit of a partisan audience here, but my point is simply this : All these jobs, be it the governor, be it a member of the legislature, all of these people get tugged in different directions by different interests for different purposes. Their job is to broker the concerns, but much more importantly it's to broker the concerns within the confines of what you and I understand the role of government to do. Government in this particular instance brokers between the concerns of those who have power and those who do not. That requires a sense of judiciousness, a sense of fairness, a sense of decency. The good senator usually came down on the side of those who lacked power. But the system as a whole be it democrat, republican, liberal, conservative by in large has been protective of things like growing the middle class, making sure that there's opportunities for those who lack opportunity. Those are the normal struggles that will take place in a democratic society. And what we see here is increasingly the influence of money coming into politics to buy more power for those who have power at the expense of those who do not have power and do not have access to power. And nothing symbolizes that battle more, than what's happening in Minnesota and nationally on the issue of health care. Over 80 some odd thousand people, will be off of Minnesota Care, which is a modest health program, a kind of program we should be expanding year after year, that should be our discussion point, not how you whittle it back. But here they want to voucher-ize the system, but at the same time when I ask that they place themselves in that same system, and they become the experimentees of that system, and then report back to us in two years about how well the system worked, and how they enjoyed the high deductibles that they're willing to impose on poor people, then if it works for them, it stands to reason it's probably a pretty good program. But instead we have "Oh no"; let me promulgate a goody for you, but it's not sufficiently good for me. And that to me violates all concepts and all parameters of decency in public service. The only way we're going to change the lack of civility in our political discourse, is frankly by wining elections. It's not going to happen by having forums like this. As much as this is an enjoyable experience, we are not going to change the world because we agree that lack of civility has no place in American politics. But the moment the lack of civility becomes a political detriment, that element in the Republican party that has adopted as its mantra will immediately drop it. And so it compels in this case the Democratic party to realize that its best will not come out until such time as the Republican can match them in talent. When the two political parties compete for ideas, as they did in the Humphrey days, as they did in the Mondale days, as they did in the days of Skip Humphrey, if they can compete and have a collision of ideas, we the public win. But when one party questions the truthfulness, the patriotism and the person carrying the message and demonizes the person over the message, and that works and becomes part of the stream of media, we the public lose. We lose big. And so if we want decency, we the broad we, and I would ask you as Democrats to reach out to moderate Republicans, to all those of us who have been excommunicated if you will, and to independents, and build a positive agenda that actually wins elections, and allow this minority to assume a smaller minority status in our society. And with that I think we can bring back civility, during the process of this discussion I'll be happy to put more meat on that proposal. But I do want us to start to think about : Can we build a broad coalition as Humphrey did with the farmer labor group and the democratic group, can we build an informal kind of a coalition that focuses on the Constitutional Amendments that are coming before the people, and build the bridges necessary to coalesce support from all disaffected wings, and make sure the majority of Minnesotans and that their voices are truly felt?" 6:30 Clip 2 : "But I'll end if I may on this political note, and it's critical of the Democratic Party : I would argue that when one party significantly over-reaches, it can only over-reach with the permission of the other party. The other party has an obligation to fully participate to the fullest extent of it's capacity. If there's anything that we can remember of Senator Hubert Humphrey it's not one single human being on this planet ever accused him of not participating in debate. Even when it was on a topic when he was not sufficiently expert. And I won't digress, but there was delightful debate over botany and particularly as it effected the capitol grounds, and little did the good senator know that Everett Dirksen was an expert botantist. It was a long tough debate for the good senator. But suffice it to say, he taught us to participate. When a political party sits back, protects its own individual self-interests, the other party will over-reach as the Republican Party has. And it's up to the moderates, those of us who are moderate in the Republican Party to fight back, and to fight back publicly. It's up to Independents to fight, because if we're going to have a two party system, we're want to make sure that both political parties are producing the best and the brightest. And it's up to the Democratic Party to fight, and I think in the last several weeks we finally have seen some life on that side. That's good--and I hope it continues--but the way it can continue is coalescing this kind of a group, bring together these kinds of leaders, and say : "O.K.; we will go out and campaign throughout all of Minnesota; we will define what is in the best long term interests of the people of this state, and at the same time, defines our quality of life." And I think when we coalesce behind these kinds of issues, I think we the public win. And then both political parties are invigorated. If you go back to the hallmark years of Minnesota, it was the years when the Republican party woke up and started to compete finally in the 60's and the 70's. And you look at those days, those were hallmark days. They truly were. It was a competition of ideas. I remember when we came in the legislature together, all four caucuses worked day and night to be the first to complete their policy initiatives and then rushed to the cameras to announce what they were for, and then beat the other team. Now there's no rush. No, I want to see every single 201 members of the legislature remember that they represent the well being and the long term good of their constituents. And the idea that a political party can pull them in for an internal threatening session, I find offensive. And it's not something that any of us, in any way shape or form, allow to occur. Let me close on this final note : If you look today at the Minnesota stalemate that has occurred--the two most important people in that contest are the governor of the state of Minnesota Mark Dayton and Tony Sutton. And the big difference is, we the people elected one of those. And I would strongly urge Republican legislators to remember who it is that they represent. And once that recognition occurs then they begin to realize that any proposition involving the governor, also involves compromise, and compromise contrary to the Chair of the Republican Party is not an evil, it's an essential positive ingredient of a democratic society. Thank you." 11:00 Clip 3 : And we've always joked about never watch the legislature in process because it's sort of like watching sausage being made, and there's truth to that. It never was a smooth process. But the sad part is, it has gotten increasingly worse, and a large part of the reason is the nominating process. The traditional politeness says well the left is skewed to the left, the right is skewed to the right, it's kind of like two bad boys got together and had a fight, you know that's kind of American. But the reality is--that it's not. When you look at the Republican side, and you wonder why so many capable candidates have dropped out? And I thought today's cartoon in the Star Tribune depicted it very well, and that is there is no-way a moderate or a traditionally conservative Republican make it through the nominating process. Look back and ask yourself the question : Could Robert Taft who was the conscience of the conservative movement for decades in the United States Senate, and for the United States, could he be a Republican today and the answer is "no". Could Barry Goldwater? Clearly Mr. Republican, could he, no and as a matter of fact in his declining days it was known, he was not and could not be. Could Dwight Eisenhower, the last Republican to balance the federal budget, could he succeed in today's environment? Probably not. The last piece of irony is Ronald Reagan. Who on one hand is the god, or held up as the god of the movement but his record would make certain that he could not get through the process. Let's suppose his name were John Johnson, and he instituted eleven tax increases. Appointed a pro-choice female to the Supreme Court of the United States, strongly opposed proposition 6 in California, which was an anti-gay proposition sponsored by the Republican Party. Could he be nominated today--or would he be demonized? I would argue he would be open to a lot of demonetization. And so what has happened is that not just the moderate wing of the Republican Party, but anybody who disagrees with the agenda that's set forth by people who have never run for dog-catcher, will be rigidly applied. And so competence is one of the first things to go along with truthfulness. Now forget about our individual biases, but when you look at the array of candidates that are now before us, can you honestly truly as an American say that they represent our best and our brightest? When you look at the survey by a national legislative groups, on finances two of the worst financial records go to the states of Alaska and Minnesota, both of whom may have horses in the race. I'm not going to pick up on that one. Now the question that you may raise is--well why should we Democrats care? The answer is, why you should care, is because you are first Americans. Secondly, none of us today can predict what will transpire a year and a half from now. Thirdly, any person who is on the ballot could be elected. And we in Minnesota have some history on that. (Why are they looking at me!) But suffice it to say, as Skip [Humphrey] has pointed out, we continue to take our best and our brightest and our most competent and put political theater ahead of political substance... One, we as a nation will not continue to be a first rate international power; two, we will not grow those kinds of quality employment opportunities that we like to think are part of our heritage; and thirdly we will find ourselves being dictated to rather than as Walter Mondale has said being a government of the people, by the people and for the people. We have a splinter wing in the Republican Part, that I believe comes across as wanting to create a theocracy. That is frightening. As a person who minored in religion, I never realized that Jesus was for greed, that Jesus was for the well-to-do and the powerful and had disdain for those who were sick or impoverished. But what's sad about that is we the people have allowed others to define religion, to define their mission in the context of a higher power, blessing that mission and we do it without proper fight back. We have to learn as the good senator taught us, we have an obligation to participate, to speak out, to be truthful, and when need be, to throw the rascals out, and frankly I think the time has come for that."--Arne Carlson.
4 Views
07:45:28 02/15/11
Welcome To MeetYourAngels.com...
[LESS INFO] 4 VIEWS | ADDED 07:45:28 02/15/11
"In Your Heart, Work Miracles, It Is Your Duty.
'Are You Ready For A Miracle?'
Ask & You Shall Receive & It Is So!"
There Is One Thing That God Wants... For Us To Live Up To Our Greatest Potential & To Live In His Loving Embrace. We Each Experience God's Love In Different Ways. We Each Have Angels Which God Has Given Us To Guide Us Along Our Path As We Serve God & Live Up To Our Divine Purpose.
Sometimes We Need Help!
The Information On This Website Will Help You Learn More About Your Angels & To Live The Life Of Love, Happiness & Joy That God Wants For You!
Articles & Angel Messages...
* Email Reply : Thoughts on Recent Energy Shifts ? - 2/14/11
* Video: SHUV - Turn Around and Face God, You're Looking in the Wrong Direction - PART 1 - 4/1/10
* Video: SHUV - Turn Around and Face God, You're Looking in the Wrong Direction - PART 2 - 4/1/10
* Video: LOVE is Blind - 3/31/10
* Article: The Punishment of Sin & Wrath of God - 11/24/2008
* Article: The Silence is Broken, Or Is It??? - 11/17/2008
* Video: How Much More Time Do You Think You Have TO LIVE???!!! - 7/31/07
* Video: Healing With The Angels - 6/5/07
* We Are The Balancing Force of the Universe - 5/20/07
* Testimonial: "Its a Delightful Day!" - 5/20/07
* Q%A: A Question about the movie "The Secret" - 5/2/07
* Video: Remember Who You Are - 4/27/07
* Video: Paul... My Child Is A Drug Addict (Parents & The Addict Should Watch) - 4/19/07
* Video: Individual Responsibilities - Stewards of the Earth - 4/19/07
* Video: Hello From The Desert - 4/19/07
* Premier Video Podcast: What is the Gift You Want To Receive? - 3/21/07
* There Is Nothing To Worry About - 3/21/07 1:27 pm
* Stargaze - 3/21/07 1:14 am
* Your Physical Environment Locks In Energy Patterns - Updated 1/19/07
* Theme for 2007 - FORGIVENESS - 1/18/07
* Where is Your Light Focused? - 1/17/07
* Betrayal, Pain, Emptiness... What the Heck is Going On???!!! - 12/8/06
* Q%A: Would God, Jesus or the Angels try to teach me something? - 12/8/06
* Katie's Dream... Manifestation in Progress - 12/8/06
* Q%A: What Does God Think Of Controversial Movies? - 12/4/06
* Act Upon Your Nudges - 8/8/06
* The Last Day - 4/20/06
* "April Showers Bring May Flowers" - 4/1/06
* Maribeth - 4/1/06
* Amazing Dreams - 4/1/06
* Why You Deserve Love - 3/6/06
* Mary, "Queen of the Angels" - 3/1/06
* A Voice From The Streets - 2/17/06
* A "Needle In A Haystack" - Part 2 - 2/12/06
* Call Your Friends... They Need You! - Part 2 - 2/9/06
* A "Needle In A Haystack" - Part 1 - 2/8/06
* Listen... Listen To The Silence... - 2/6/06
* Call Your Friends... They Need You! - Part 1 - 2/3/06
* Healer, Heal Thyself - 2/1/06
* Give Yourself A Voice - 1/22/06
* Listening To The Angels - 1/20/06
* Ghosts... Wandering Spirits... "Poor Souls in Purgatory" - 1/10/06
* Audio: "Manifestation... Dream Big & Ask the Angels for Help!" - 9/28/05
* Audio: "Career & Life Purpose" - 9/14/05
* Audio: "Infidelity - Turn Around and Face God, You're Looking in the Wrong Direction" - 9/14/05
* Audio: "Abortion - The Angels' Message" - 9/14/05
* Audio: "Angels, Science & Miracles in the Operating Room" - 9/8/05
* Audio: "Clear Your Space" Angel Oracle Card Discussed - 9/6/05
* Audio: "Spread Your Wings" Angel Oracle Card Discussed - 9/5/05
* Audio: "Prosperity" Angel Oracle Card Discussed - 9/4/05
* Audio: "Nurture" Your Child Within Angel Oracle Card Discussed - 9/3/05
* Audio: "Courage" Angel Oracle Card Discussed - 9/1/05
* Audio: Intro to Paul Gordon & "Meeting Your Angels"
* Coaching Video: Becoming A Vessel of Light - Intro To Life Coaching
* Coaching Video: Becoming A Vessel of Light - Week 1
* Coaching Video: Becoming A Vessel of Light - Week 2
4 Views
18:00:09 12/21/10
The Tea Party Nation's War On Christian Churches
[LESS INFO] 4 VIEWS | ADDED 18:00:09 12/21/10
Clearly, Tea Party Nation's Judson Phillips has his own ideas about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I didn't realize that when the teabaggers held up signs saying "We want our country back", they meant back to 1790. Explain to me why African-Americans want to be part of this group? It's not like that era worked out well for them.
But now that the tea party groups have made inroads into Congress and have the Republican Party kowtowing to them, Phillips has a new target for the Tea Party Nation. In this time when we remember the birth of Christ, Phillips is going after the Methodist Church for their "socialistic" leanings. No, I'm not kidding. >
Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips has a dream: "No more Methodist Church."
A blog post on his Tea Party Nation page says that on Friday he walked by the United Methodist Building in Washington D.C., which had a sign that said, "Pass the DREAM Act." Phillips wrote: " I have a DREAM. That is, no more United Methodist Church."
Phillips explains that he was formerly a member of the church, but he left because it's "the first Church of Karl Marx," and "little more than the "religious" arm of socialism."
"The Methodist church is pro-illegal immigration," he continues. "They have been in the bag for socialist health care, going as far as sending out emails to their membership "debunking" the myths of Obamacare. Say, where are the liberal complaints on the separation of church and state?"
"In short, if you hate America, you have a great future in the Methodist church," he says.
Lord, protect us from your idiot followers. To say that he's obviously unfamiliar with the Constitution to subvert the First Amendment in that way would be kind. But he's also very, very unfamiliar with the teachings of Christ himself to find the teachings of the Methodist Church to be religious socialism. Seriously, dude?
In one of the proofs of His divinity, Jesus multiplied loaves and fishes to feed everyone, spreading his wealth to all, without regard to their ability to pay. He healed the sick (our first universal health care plan!) and railed against the money changers and advised the wealthy that their material status in this world gave them no guaranteed access to the next . >
Jesus spoke remarkably often about wealth and poverty. To the poor he said, "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God," (Luke's version). To the rich he said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth," and "go, sell what you have, and give to the poor." When the rich turned away from him because they couldn't follow his command he observed, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
For Jesus, helping the poor and the outcast is not optional: it is the essence of what it means to love God. In the parable of the last judgement he welcomes the righteous into heaven saying, "I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me." When the righteous answered that they didn't recall doing any of these things, he said, "as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me."
We are to "forgive our debtors" and "give to every one who begs from you." But don't handouts contribute to moral decay? Jesus was more concerned about the moral decay in those who are so attached to their wealth that they would hoard it for themselves. In our better moments most of us recognize that giving does not corrupt. We sacrifice to give good things to our children and do our best to provide them with years of carefree existence as they grow up. We do this to give them a sense of security and a foundation for growth. People who have been devastated by misfortune, or for whatever reason are down and out, may need even more help because they may not have what it takes to recover on their own. Many of us will help a friend in hard times, even though we know we will never be repaid. It is when dealing distantly with people in the abstract that we fall back on the "moral decay" argument.
Frankly, I think the Methodist Church is probably better off with Judson Phillips out of their flock. His understanding of Christianity is sadly wanting.
2 Views
21:07:06 09/10/10
Hitler Glenn Beck And The Church Part 4 Hitler's Church
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 21:07:06 09/10/10
For more go to : http://roarnomore.blogspot.com/2010/09/church-hitler-and-glenn-beck.html To order "Hitler's Cross" go to: http://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-Cross-Revealing-Christ-ebook/dp/B00394UCMK?ie=UTF8%tag=thesde0a-20%link_code=bil%camp=213689%creative=392969 The Church of Hitler To understand the core of my concern with Glenn Beck, American Exceptionalism, and the Restoring Honor Rally, you must understand the most important institution of society, the church, and its history under Nazism. Be prepared for some shocking moments as we examine the church under Hitler, and the current church under Obama. To comprehend the implications of what happened to the church under Hitler, we must first gain an understanding of the context in which the church was surviving. As Erwin W. Lutzer writes in Hitler's Cross, If the First Reich prepared the way for Hitler by unifying church and state, the Second Reich contributed to the paralysis of the church by teaching that there must be a split between private and public morality. . . . The state, it was argued, would not be judged according to conventional law because its responsibilities went beyond ordinary human values. For a long time the church in Germany had been very nationalistic. "During the Prussian dominance the king was the head of the church. The clergy were servile to the political head of state." However, this nationalistic church was prohibited from judging the state. The American societal structure featured a church that was answerable to God and a state that was likewise answerable. Each however possessed separate realms of responsibility before Him. This was not so in Germany. Fredrick the Great boasted that "salvation is God's affair, everything else belongs to me!" Georg Hegel, the chair of philosophy at Berlin University in the early 19th century taught that war "was the great purifier that was necessary for the ethical health of the people. As for private moral virtues such as humility and patience, these must never stand in the way of the state's agenda' indeed the state must crush such 'innocent flowers.'" The German church, even before Hitler, was in the dangerous position of being answerable to the state and possessing the pietistic notion that its only job was to cultivate "personal relationships" which had no bearing on culture. Sound familiar to anyone? "With a thicket of swastika flags surrounding the alter of the Magdeburg Cathedral, the dean, Dr. Martin, declared in 1933, 'Whoever reviles this symbol of ours is reviling our Germany . . . the swastika flags around the alter radiate hope' hope that the day is at last about to dawn.'" Now think about the American flags we so often see in conservative churches. As you can probably imagine, it wouldn't be a stretch to hear a pastor speaking in America about its flag the same way in which Dr. Martin spoke about Germany's symbol. Aside from being nationalistic and culturally prideful, the German churches were also liberal in the theological sense. The historic faith had primarily been abandoned in favor of higher criticism. Those who attended the churches didn't necessary believe God's word was inspired and infallible. They were simply good Christians because they had been baptized as a child and after all, in order to be a good German you should be a good Christian. This was the reason that Hitler, although he despised the church, made it a point to come off as a religious person to the masses. The churches that were conservative abandoned the intellectual debates surrounding Biblical authority and instead focused on the Gospel and the Gospel alone having little effect on the world around them. In addition, the German culture itself was saturated with occultism. So then, what were the effects of this pietism? Lutzer outlines a number of changes to the education system which should cause us to shudder as we notice the parallels that exist between "them and us." - In 1935 prayers ceases to be obligatory in schools - Christmas was turned into a totally pagan festival. . . Carols and Nativity plays were banned from the schools. . . Christmas was changed to "Yuletide." - Crucifixes were eliminated from classrooms - Easter was turned into a holiday that heralded the arrival of spring Regarding these changes Hitler stated, "Your child belongs to us already. . . what are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community." In another speech he reinforced, "This new Reich will give its youth to no one, but will itself take youth and give to youth its own education and its own upbringing." Private schools were abolished, textbooks were rewritten, and those who didn't fall in line were reprimanded. Regarding law Goring put it best, "The law and the will of the Fuhrer are one." It wasn't long until the National Reich Church was formed to consolidate the church into further obedience to the government. A thirty point program outlined the chilling impositions. Complete control was given to Hitler, the Bible was forbidden from being published and disseminated, the church was required to declare Mein Kampf as the greatest of all documents (over the Bible), crucifixes, symbols of saints, Bibles, and the cross were required to be removed and in their place Mein Kampf, the swastika, and a sword were to be placed. From 1934 on, a battle enraged between the "Confessing Church" lead by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Niemoller, and the "German Christians" who were headed up by different Nazi officials. The Barmen Confession, adopted by the Confessing Church rejected the doctrine of the "two spheres" (Christian pietism) by stating, "We reject the false doctrine that there are realms of our life in which we belong not to Jesus Christ, but to other masters, realms where we do not need to be justified and sanctified by Him." Unfortunately, because of political pressure and the lust for peace, the confessing church all but disbanded with Hitler arresting those who refused to join the "German Christians." Niemoller was arrested in 1937, though he lived through the war. Bonhoeffer was hung by the Nazis a couple weeks before it ended. He had been in the process of formulating a plan for the assassination of Hitler. Their story, and the story of the other confessing Christians should be read. This is why I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Hitler's Cross. Simply click the preceding link and order it off of Amazon. Their stories will provide inspiration for how to stand firm amidst the America of tomorrow.
20 Views
14:32:00 08/22/10
firestarter bible study: John 8:12-30
[LESS INFO] 20 VIEWS | ADDED 14:32:00 08/22/10
READ: John 8:12-30
FIREuSTARTER
THINK: A lot of people talk about God, claiming to believe in Him. Many say they pray. Some even give God credit for their abilities and accomplishments%mdasheven if those accomplishments compromise Biblical principles. Yet, for all of the talk about %ldquoGod,%rdquo Jesus%rsquo name seldom comes up in the same context. So where do they get their perception of God? If you get it from the Bible, it%rsquos tough to miss the fact that we can%rsquot relate to the Father apart from Jesus. As God%rsquos only Son, Jesus is the One who reflects and reveals what His Father is like. In fact, Jesus is himself God, with all the author- ity and attributes of His Father. You can%rsquot take Jesus out of the God equation without arriving at the wrong answer.
RESPOND: What does Jesus mean when He says, %ldquoI am the light of the world,%rdquo and that those who follow Him will never walk in darkness? (See 8:12 note.) Since Jesus already stated that His Father has entrusted all judgment to Him (cf. John 5:22), what did He mean when He said, %ldquoI pass judgment on no one%rdquo? (See 8:15 note.) What does Jesus imply by saying, %ldquoIf you knew me, you would know my Father also%rdquo (v. 19)? In what ways does it challenge and inspire you when Jesus says, %ldquoIf you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins%rdquo (v. 24)? What can you take personally from the fact that Jesus said, %ldquoI do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me%rdquo (v. 28)? Even though Jesus is God and equal with His Father, why did He have to depend completely on the Father? In what way does this challenge you? In what way does verse 29 present both comfort and challenge?
PRAY: Thank Jesus for providing spiritual light in your life. Pray that you remain dependent on God for guidance regarding what to say and do so you can influence others to accept and depend on Christ.
ACT: Practice going through the day with your spiritual eyes and ears open, looking for God%rsquos direction and listening for His voice. Go with a sense of being in constant communication with God, praying silently when necessary and audibly when possible. But keep in mind that the most vital part of communicating with God is listening and responding to His guidance. Say and do whatever you sense God telling you to do.
7 Views
21:31:18 06/08/09
Hard Times Pt2: Persecuted for Doing Good
[LESS INFO] 7 VIEWS | ADDED 21:31:18 06/08/09
What would I do in the situation where I don't think God has done His part when I did everything right? In Hard Times do you run away from God or to God?
0 Views
13:18:07 05/20/09
Kobe Got Baptized On Sunday!
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 13:18:07 05/20/09
Saturday afternoon Mark called and asked if we wanted to have Kobe baptized that Sunday! Kobe has been asking to be baptized for a while now and is very sure of his salvation experience. When he first went into K4 he came home and told me he asked Jesus into his heart. I wasn't sure if he fully understood what that meant (even though after talking to him he seems to have a pretty good grasp of it) so I didn't say anything to anyone. Then Kobe was with Ben and Mark (I was gone some where) and he told them he had asked Jesus into his heart. I got in some trouble after that because Ben asked Kobe if he had told me and he said yes. :) After hearing that he had told them I felt a little more reassured that he knew what "being saved" was. One morning during this school year Kobe was talking to me about heaven, hell, being saved and all of that and told me he didn't remember when he asked Jesus into his heart. So, we prayed together that morning and he committed himself to Christ. After that he was ready to get baptized! The funny thing was the thing he was most worried about when it came to getting baptized was that he thought he was going to have to sit in his wet clothes all during church! After I told him I would bring clothes for his to change into he was very excited! Mark asked Ben if he wanted to be part of Kobe's baptism. It was so awesome to see those three all together as Kobe was being baptized! Thanks Mark for doing such a great job, it meant so much to Ben & I!!!
0 Views
01:53:04 10/31/07
Part 4 Scholar/Author At Bethany Lutheran Church Ishpeming Mi
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 01:53:04 10/31/07
Part 4: Scholar/author Dr. Walter Brueggemann at Bethany Lutheran Church in Ishpeming, Michigan on Oct. 9, 2007 during visit to northern MichiganWell-known Biblical scholar and author Dr. Walter Brueggemann brought a modern meaning to Old Testament scripture during an October 2007 talk to hundreds of people at the Bethany Lutheran Church in Ishpeming, Michigan.Dr. Brueggemann makes a compared the anxiety and scarcity caused by Egyptian leaders - the Pharoahs - to the consumerism and greed of today. An Atlanta area resident and theologian spoke of what he considers “one of the saddest” passages in the Bible:Earth keeper volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson has the latest in a series of reports on Dr. Brueggemann message on modern messages found in the Bible.Time: 10:00Dr. Brueggemann's Upper Peninsula 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.---During his visit to northern Michigan, noted Biblical Scholar Walter Brueggemann spoke at Bethany Lutheran Church in Ishpeming.Dr. Brueggemann spokes about various traditions in different Christians churches - like the tradition of “passing the peace” - and in this case Brueggemann was at a Lutheran church.That’s when people pause during their worship service and shake the hands of people who are sitting in the same area - and say: "The peace of the Lord be always with you. Let us greet one another with a sign of peace."Or - “The peace of Christ be with you."However the passing of the pace is sometimes shortened to four simple words: “Peace be with you.”The passing of the peace - comes after the assurance of pardon (The Assurance of Pardon is a recitation of promises directly from Scripture on the basis of which the assurance of pardon can be given to the confessors, normally by the ordained pastor).The greeting is meant for anyone but most likely designed as an outreach to people at the service whom you have never met - tho - more often than not the greeting goes to fellow church members you have known for a long time.Never-the-less - these simple greetings - Breueggemann says - are important and serve an essential purpose.Here are some audio excerpts from Dr. Brueggemann’s talk Dr. Walter BrueggemannTheologian/AuthorOld Testament ScholarBruggemann also discussed Holy Communion - also known as the Eucharist - a symbolic act during the worship service of sharing bread and wine representing the blood and body of ChristBrueggemann explained the anxiety placed on the common people by the that Pharaohs, who were the rulers of Egypt.He said the Pharaohs in the Old Testament were purveyors of a regime of anxiety.And that’s why the disciples were happy to proclaim they would follow the Ten Commandments even before they knew what the Commandments were.----The Pharaohs scheme of scarcity and dreaded anxiety - that hung around the necks of the people - was defeated by the hope brought by the Torah.God’s gift of enormous abundance took the power away from the pharaohs regime of anxiety and kingdom of scarcity.Brueggemann makes a comparison to that anxiety and scarcity to the consumerism and greed of today. Dr. Brueggemann’s talk included what he calls one of the saddest passages in the Bible:---Mark 8 beginning of verse 1#4 - The Disciples feed the masses, but don’t understand Jesus’s message:---Because Jesus is always the teacher - he teaches what we call in the seminary ‘the critical incident to help his disciples reflect.So he takes his disciples and it says hey were on a boat - and the next sentence says ‘and they forgot the bread."They did not understand that Jesus is in the bread businessWatch 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.And then he 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?And the disciples are like good seminarians and they know the strategic response is to avoid eye contact.Jesus is a good teacher so Jesus knows when you are to far out in front of your class you have got to pull back into separate questions and what he has got on his hands is a bunch of concrete operation people - so you got to ask them concrete operational questions---
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.
3 Views
00:58:10 10/28/07
Part 2 Theologian On Antisemitism Christian Violence And Environment
[LESS INFO] 3 VIEWS | ADDED 00:58:10 10/28/07
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.
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23:10:22 10/19/07
Part #1 Noted Theologian Walter Brueggemann Delivers Environment Warning In Michigan
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Dr. Walter Brueggemann got his Marquette, Michigan audience involved in his talk about the bible and the environment often resulting in laughter and stunned silence - hundreds turned out for his talks at Northern Michigan University and Bethany Lutheran Church in Ishpeming, MichiganThis is the first of several videos on important message delivered by famed theologian and author Dr. Walter Brueggemann during October 2007 in northern Michigan - other videos include Christians must face up to involvement in antisemitism and religious violence .Biblical scholar warns proposed U.P. sulfide mine is losing idea that puts economic interests over environment & local concerns At the Northern Michigan University Lutheran Campus Ministry house, Theologian Dr. Walter Brueggemann shows an Earth Keeper Shirt he was given while sharing a laugh with Marquette Baha'i Spiritual Assembly leader Dr. Rodney Clarken, one of the 10 Earth Keeper Initiative faith communities.Dr. Walter Brueggemann describes consequences of greed, overindulgence, and abuse of the environment(Marquette, Michigan) - Noted theologian Dr. Walter Brueggemann warns that the proposed sulfide mine in northern Michigan is a losing proposition that puts economic interests over concerns of local residents and the environment.In an interview following his Upper Peninsula visit, Brueggemann said while he doesn’t know the all the details about the proposed sulfide mine near Lake Superior in Marquette County he has done "some reading on the crisis of the proposed mining initiative" in northern Michigan. Opponents of Michigan sulfide mine are worried that the Salmon-Trout River in Marquette County will be polluted like another sulfide mine did to this river (Save the Wild UP photo)"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.On Monday night (Oct. 8, 2007), a standing room only crowd clapped when he tied abuse of the environment to the proposed sulfide mine 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."Speaking to packed audiences at two northern Michigan events, Dr. Brueggemann warned that today’s world should change its ways because the "creator will not tolerate the ultimate despoiling of creation."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. Northern Michigan University Earth Keeper (NMU EK) Student Team Project Director Jennifer Simula spoke during the event at NMUBrueggemann’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. Northern Michigan University Earth Keeper (NMU EK) Student Team Project Director Jennifer Simula turns podium over to Professor Don Dreisbach of NMU Dept. of Philosophy who introduced biblical Scholar Walter BrueggemannUnderstanding 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."Earlier in the day, Brueggemann was given an Earth Keepers shirt. Noted author and Bible scholar Dr. Walter Brueggemann holds an Earth Keeper shirt at Lutheran Campus Ministry on Monday Oct. 8, 2007Speaking 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. Walter Brueggemann got his Marquette, Michigan audience involved in his talk about the bible and the environment often resulting in laughter and stunned silence - hundreds turned out for his talks at Northern Michigan University and Bethany Lutheran Church in Ishpeming, MichiganDr. 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.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. Rev. Warren Geier, right, who organized Dr. Walter Brueggemann's northern Michigan appearances, takes notes during the theologian's talk at Bethany Lutheran Church in Ishpeming, Michigan"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." Lutheran Campus Ministry Director Rev. John Magnuson, right, talks with author/biblical scholar Dr. Walter Brueggemann who visited with students and boards members at the LCM home on Oct. 8, 2007 near Northern Michigan University in Marquette, MIDescribing 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.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 said.During 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. Noted author and theologian Dr. Walter Brueggemann at Lutheran Campus Ministry in Marquette, MichiganWith 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." It was standing room only at NMU for the talk by scholar Dr. Walter Brueggemann"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.Dr. 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.--- Dr. Brueggeman sites of interest:The Words:http://www.thewords.com/articles/walterabout.htmPBS:http://www.pbs.org/wnet/genesis/bios.htmlGuest speakers:http://www.januaryadventure.org/Public/Speaker%20Page.htmLinks to his schools:http://www.januaryadventure.org/Public/Speaker%20Page.htmJanuary 2008 event:http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong/calendar/index.asp?strMonth=subCurr%CURDATE=1/1/2008#January18Faith & Reason:http://faithandreason.org/ab_wbrueggemann.htmStory:http://www.fourthchurch.org/downloads/FP0606.pdfBrueggeman tribute book by Timothy Beal (scroll down):http://www.timothybeal.com/Books.htmunofficial fan site:http://sunflower.com/~uman/long list books:http://www.thewords.com/articles/walterbooks.htmBrueggemann backgroundhttp://www.thewords.com/articles/walterabout.htmBrueggemann lecture:http://www.mayfieldsalisbury.org/index.php/BrueggemanLectureWicki:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_BrueggemannBooks:http://www.amazon.com/Walter-Brueggemann-Color-Scholarship/lm/289P1QDUQSBH5Christian/Jewish site: "The end"http://www.icjs.org/news/vol8/memorial.htmlBrueggemann on hunger:http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1191---Dear Rev Warren Geierrevwgeier@charterinternet.comRev. Warren Geier604 N. Third St.Ishpeming, MI---Prof. Don Dreisbach NMU Dept. of Philosophy208 Cohodas BuildingPhone: (906) 227-2512Fax: (906) 227-2229 Prof. Don Dreisbach ddreisba@nmu.edu
