methodist musings

“Pope Benedict XVI greeted with 21-gun salute and National Anthems” is the caption reading on cnn during the pope’s speech at the white house.

national anthems…plural? did i miss something?

this show, at times, is really encouraging. the idea of a show based on giving back to other and society seems like a fantastic idea…but the more i watch it, the more aggravated i become. the message i take from the show is that money fixes everything. a couple contestants have had wonderful really great moments when they gave with their hands and hearts rather than with dollar bills.

i hope as the show draws to a conclusion in the next week, that they send a final message about serving on another, as jesus did…to give with hands, heart, and soul…to teach americans that giving is more than handing over cash or signing a check.

i picked up this map about social networking from tensegrites, a blog i frequent.

i’m not taking the time to analyze it, but maybe one of my readers will. i found it interesting anyway.

this is one of those cool moments that make you smile.

Bill Buckner’s Fenway Park Comeback: “Bill Buckner’s Fenway Park Comeback”

(Via Daring Fireball.)

here’s a fun article about apple. now, not only is it generally thought to be be true, but science is supporting the belief that mac users are…well, just read the article.

Shout to the Lord

last night american idol put together an “ok” show with “idol gives back”.

to close the show the contestants appeared on stage singing “shout to the lord”. apprently, though i didn’t catch it, they changed the lyrics from “my jesus, my savior” to “my shepherd, my savior”. while some folks on the radio this morning were all over the lyric change, something more severe happened, which completely ruined the closing of a show with such special meaning. ben stiller appeared in an empty american idol studio, alone on stage, and proceeded to be bleeped as he cursed ryan secrest for”tricking” him into appearing on an empty stage. was it acting? i’m sure. there’s no doubt in my mind that it was pre-recorded, but that’s not the point.

to close a show with such a moving, worshipful song as “shout to the lord” would have been a perfect ending. but cutting to a “surprised” ben stiller swearing in a studio completely ruined the moving rendition of powerful song.

this video was posted by pomomusings. i watched and was interested. not sure how much i agree with it, but it certainly is worthy of some thought and research. they almost appear to say that the catholics are attacking the protestant churches. give it a watch, and post some feedback here, i’m sure this will create some good discussion. (view comments from pomomusings under the video).

“Renewal or Ruin?” from Steven D. Martin on Vimeo.

I’d heard of the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) because during my freshman year of college, I contacted a representative from the organization to comment on the persecution of Christians in Sudan. I was writing a paper on the topic, and I had found some information on the web courtesy of the IRD, and wished to learn more. Since then, I hadn’t really heard anything from the IRD until I received an email yesterday letting me know about a documentary that has been put together discussing, basically, the IRD’s intention to bring about the demise of mainline Protestant denominations (Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopals, etc).

I just finished watching the 20-min documentary “Renewal or Ruin?” detailing the ways in which the IRD consistently attacks the mainline church and its leaders and serves as a front for the Religious Right. I also did some more looking around the IRD’s website and you get a pretty good sense of what the organization is about when you look at their top two issues: marriage (meaning homosexuality) and life issues (meaning abortion). It was also pretty revealing to take a look at their staff bios, and see some familiar faces (at least when it came to some contentious Presbyterians). Jim Tonkowich, current President of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, wrote in an article entitled “Religion Without Foundations” that “This same confusion over truth is rapidly infecting the evangelical world as churches drink the ‘emerging church’ Kool-Aid.”

So if you have 20 minutes or so, you should watch the above documentary and become more informed on what the Institute on Religion and Democracy is about. And if you want more info, check out ird-info.com for more information on the documentary, “Renewal or Ruin? The Institute on Religion and Democracy’s Attack on the United Methodist Church.”

an interesting case is on it’s way to the supreme court on april 16. from pew research comes a fantastic article about the legality of putting someone to death for rape, especially chid rape. read the article. it will definitely give you something to think about…

wow!! check out hulu, it’s a website featuring free movies and tv clips/shows sponsored by some bit time corporations. it’s legal too…and if you’re really a tech nerd, check out the high-def movie clips. imagine high-def all over your computer too.

over 700 posts to read since i was on last. i know what i’m doing with the next hour of my day…

picking up my dog at the vet today, i noticed a framed, autographed handkerchief from mike ditka and it made me think…why do we, as a society, care so much about glorifying the individual? at what point did a person’s writing turn into such a big deal? he’s just a guy who happened to be great at playing a game…when did that turn into people spending millions of dollars on things he touched, places he sat, pieces of paper he signed?

and it isn’t just ditka, almost any author, actress, actor, musician, or athlete has people swooning over their merchandise. what if people didn’t pay for those sort of silly things, and instead, spent that money on feeding and caring for the poor of their community? what kind of difference would that make?

do you have anything autographed in your home? consider selling it and giving the money to a needy cause…

shane claiborne was a speaker at the youth retreat we just finished, and to say the least, he challenged me thinking.

i think i wrote about this once before a few months ago, but it’s struck another chord with me. i’m working on a workshop i’m doing during a sr. high retreat this weekend called “living in an imperfect world”, and i’m using shane and shane’s “embracing accusations”. give this link a look

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