Saturday, July 21, 2007

Email: Weight bias [EH]

No one should ever tell a stranger they should lose weight (however nicely they think they have couched it about the eyes, etc.). It's simply rude. There is rank anti-weight bias out there; one friend tells me people have wrinkled their noses at her and said out loud "Let's keep away from *that*!" Just move on; stop focusing on the negative and look for the positive. The negative will freeze you up and even kill you in the end.

Email: Netflix Support

Title request: The Daytrippers (1996)

Email: Netflix Support

Title request: The Misadventures of Margaret (1998)

Email: Full vs. simplified faith [EH]

I DIDN’T SAY YOUR FAITH WAS SIMPLISTIC. This is what I was talking about though: The challenge of having a philosophical or theoretical discussion with someone who takes things personally not rhetorically. I was only saying: There is A and there is B -- and don’t forget there is C and D, and they’re all different -- though personally I prefer A. I wasn’t saying you were in any one of those camps -- I wouldn’t presume and I certainly wouldn’t have initiated the discussion to place you in the lowest category.

You’ve explained the tapestry of your faith quite well and I appreciate that. I enjoy discussing theology and ecclesiology and learning about about the faith of others. The Catholic Church does tend to be the elephant in the living room, though, because it does go back to Peter and it does include all the history and tradition and theology since Christ. It’s a human institution, though, and I think the Church’s focus should be on the loving and teaching action of God rather than the dizzying array of human activity in his wake. Let’s focus on the prow of the ship, not the leavings of the chumbucket (sorry for the bad metaphor — it’s been another Spongebob day).

I am saying there is a kernel of belief common to nearly all believers, and that is probably “Jesus is Lord.” The rest is just finessing -- and fenestration (window dressing).

Email: Full vs. simplified faith [EH]

Yes, belief in Christ is what matters and beyond that, church issues are a matter of human preference. Speaking purely for myself, however, if I have the choice between a casual approach to Christianity and a fully historical and disciplined approach to Christianity, my psychological and spiritual makeup prefers the latter. The details matter to me, because I notice them -- that's all. I'm not saying anything about anyone else, just what makes me feel at home. I think I have always maintained an openness to be able to speak with anyone about the commonalities of faith in God -- beyond even Christianity -- however, I recognize that a person needs a church home, so there has to be some place I call mine. I think listening and communicating more than reacting is the key to understanding each other in Christ. I [know] how difficult [it] can be when two believ[ers] differ on the full-vs.-simplified faith question.

By the way, like a parent's love for a child and a child's love for a parent, full faith includes simple faith, however, simple faith is not the same as simplified or simplistic faith.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Stories: Hello, Tall Dark and Stormy

It was a dark and stormy night--but even as he crept through alternating patches of darkness and flashes of lightning towards the open library door, he was unafraid, because he clutched in his hand a sturdy Cross pen, ready to prove that the pen could be as lethal as the sword--if delivered with a sharp jab to the left occipital lobe in a pitched battle with whoever was rifling through Jeremiah Johnston's rare books and papers, doubtless by order of someone who was willing to kill for them.

(Please feel free to write the next paragraph.)

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Email: Netflix Support

Title request: The Left Hand of God (1955)

Email: Matchin' [CM]

NO ONE with any brains (in the social sense) -- that means most women but few men -- WELCOME re-entering the dating scene. Yes, someone would scoop you up, but would he be a good match for you -- esp. spiritually?

Media: Comics - Dilbert - "Evil makes my buttocks tingle"

I think Scott Adams has an fresh, insightful take on why bad management does what it does.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Media: TV - Simpsons - Protestant vs. Catholic Heaven

Gotta love The Simpsons!