Inappropriate Conversations

October 31st is an excellent example of how some Christians who use spiritual warfare to oppose Satan actually act as his allies.  Forces of evil need only suggest that Christians react to something and many of us Christians immediately over-react. Is Halloween evil, inherently? No more than Easter or Christmas, if you only regard roots in pagan ceremony. Do ancient Halloween rituals represent a flawed understanding of science and spirituality? Of course, as did many decisions by Christian leaders in the Middle Ages -- just from astronomy alone! Should we take an essentially harmless social ritual and up the devil's ante by "making it evil"?  OK, evil deeds are done on this day. Evil deeds are done on every other of the 364.25 days, too, and that evil does not involve kids in costumes collecting candy. Why deny them? Here is the point: will Satan shed a tear if we ban all storytelling or performance involving zombies, cannibalism, vampires, ghosts and spirits, or other tales of supernatural forces intervening in our world in ways that expose our human frailty?  Tears of joy, perhaps. Censorship has consequences.  If you know Satan is a schemer, then why fall into this trap?  It's one thing to speak truth into the mockery that the evil one attempts to make of the gospel.  It's either naive or sinister for so-called Christian leaders to pave the way for future laws or judicial rulings that absolutely ban sharing the gospel as "occult." After all, as a Christian I believe that a man has risen from death and walked among us, that rituals involving ceremonially eating his body are a means of experiencing God's grace, not to mention drinking his blood, that a symbolic simulation of drowning (coming out of the water) is a sign of inviting the Holy Spirit to live within our hearts and guide us, until Christ comes again in supernatural power called "glory" to assume control of this fallen world. These concepts -- zombies, cannibalism, vampire feedings, ghostly possessions, supernatural activity -- don't have to be scary if we share the good news boldly and properly.  The most evil thing about Halloween today may be conservative efforts to ban it.  You want to stand up to the devil's lies and mockery of our Lord? Just tell the story and let the truth set things right.

Part of the mourning process, I suppose, of leaving music retail a decade ago has been losing much sense of "current."  I went from being responsible for knowing what was new and what was coming, to being ... unimpressed by anything I was hearing on radio ... quite annoyed at the methods of record labels and the inevitable results ... disinterested in new releases altogether. That is all to say: it is really significant for me to get excited -- or even take notice -- about a new release. Here I am, though. Only days ago, Craig Bevan released a debut CD called I Think We've Made It. His CD is almost all I'm listening to these days, with podcasts being the only exception. http://www.craigbevanmusic.com/ Musically, this is almost a man and his guitar. It certainly falls in the singer-songwriter genre. Even when Bevan is joined by other musicians, their roles are clearly "accompaniment." These are his songs. You can tell by the heart and soul that shines through, even in cases where the execution is simple ("straightforward" seems like the wrong term ... "simple" is more profound). One of the key tracks may still be available for a free download on the Craig Bevan Music website: "Feelings I Find Hard To Show." The title track is available as a music video directed by Tristan Ofield. You can watch it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCraigBevan Being a lover of lyrics who has never played guitar, I am less able to discuss the particulars of the music itself. The words have much to do with why I've cited those songs. I'd add "Watching Over Me" and "Moments" for the same honesty, exploring relationships. I would mention one track, though, for the music in particular. In "Always" the lyrics speak to memory, but the acoustic guitar does even more to express a lingering longing. Again, dissecting guitar technique is not my strength. I just can't ignore the image in my head of a drop creating concentric circles as it ripples through a calm pool of water. Consider the things I've intended to share on Inappropriate Conversations. I believe in eternity. I value the memory of relationships more than some might say that I should. I'm certain that we are connected to others at levels that naturally function beyond our understanding. I believe in "Always." Tell me if you think I'm wrong, but this is a sparkling debut. Simple in all the best ways, but also clearly the start of something. Could I one day point back to this post as a speculation about a future Different Drummer? Tick.

How a poem appears on the page can be just as important as how the words "sound" at a reading.  For "Chapter And Verse" the obvious choice was to show the verse as scripture.

So, what are we now? 229 for the fifth year in a row? One of the things we should do on birthdays is evaluate our growth during the past year and check to see if we’ve fallen off track. We may do that as individuals, ruefully, for our own birthdays. As citizens, though, we fail this standard. As I’ve said, this day is now much more “Fourth of July” and much less “Independence Day.” It’s all about the fireworks and very little about our nation. Since July 4^th fell on a Sunday this year, I enjoyed a message on this topic today. In fact, the pastor addressed some of the same issues that I’ve been raising. Here are the 3 major points from this morning’s sermon:

1. Do we enjoy the fruits of our freedom without tending to the tree of liberty?  Perhaps we take for granted the world our forefathers worked so hard to leave for us.
2. Do we enjoy the benefits of free-market capitalism while ignoring our (collective national) conscience?   In his writing on democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville suggested that our country would only be a “great nation” if we continued to be a “good people.” In other words, morality would matter most for whether our system of government would succeed or fail. Can we point to numerous instances of corporate recklessness as a dire sign for our future?
3. Do the Christians among us primarily seek “Christianity without commitment” now rather than what Jesus specifically sought? This ties in with the type of Christian political candidates we see so often … casual rather than committed.

America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self control, Thy liberty in law.

"You sounded so upset. I had to come over," Valerie said. Peter nodded and invited her in. "Where's Susie?" "She's down. Fell asleep before I called you, in fact." "What's wrong?" "It's Melanie." "Pete ... Pete," she said, imploringly. "I don't blame you for thinking that I should have put all this behind me months ago." Valerie ran her hand through the hair above his neck and started rubbing. "More like weeks, Peter. Seven months isn't forever, you know. You are overcoming quite a lot." "It's not so much her death, though." "Is it your boy, then? Um ... um. ..." "Clint. We were going to call him Clint." "Susie's all right?" "Yeah. She's doing better than I am." "So, is it Clint?" "No." Peter started crying. He fought the initial teardrops, but soon began sobbing. Valerie dropped her coat and hugged Peter closely. "You're going to have to say it," she told him softly, "because I don't know what's wrong." "I'm not sure," he said, fighting to regain his composure. "I'm not so sure I know either." Valerie waited quietly. "I was thinking about the house today, comparing taxes from this year to last and adjusting for the insurance," he said. "So, what's wrong?" "Little things. It's just a bunch of little things." Peter followed Valerie to the kitchen. She poured him a glass of water and fumbled in her purse for a tissue. "I haven't been happy at work lately. Maybe it's just me. But I wasn't happy with the way the board handled my leave. Plus, I'm not feeling the same spark -- not there, not anywhere." "And the house?" "Part of me feels like it might be time to, I don't know, move on. Thirty-four is not too old to change career directions. Finances may not be this secure next year. Susie starts school in just over a year. There are lots of good reasons to shift gears, cash in the house, try to move away from my problems, maybe move into some new problems." "How far away?" Peter smiled. "Not out of your grasp, I promise you that." "Have you talked with Susie?" "No. I just thought about it for the first time this weekend. Anyway, how is she supposed to understand?" "What about your family?" "No. After mom died, dad hasn't exactly been a fountain of information. Melanie's parents are on top of things, but I just wouldn't feel comfortable." "Granted." Peter started crying again. "These are the decisions I used to make with Melanie! How can I possibly get on with my life without her to point the directions?" Valerie's eyes started to well, too. "Mel and I used to ... I don't know ... bounce these kinds of ideas ... off each other." "I'm here. Here today, and any other time. Can I help?" "It's her house," he said.

I meet very few people who believe that they have any real choice in how they respond to sexual attraction -- myself included. There is a choice that I have made, though, quite intentionally. I refuse to be a person who: (1) feels like I'm "made this way" in terms of being attracted to women in a seemingly involuntary manner, but (2) treats other people like their human sexual responses are all completely planned and totally within their control, and especially (3) when "their choice" is fundamentally different than any "choice" I would have made. I don't want to be that inconsistent, perhaps even hypocritical. The good news is that guidelines like The Golden Rule (do unto others) and The Great Commandments (love God and neighbor) really should make it easier to love people genuinely -- meaning, love them as they are. One of the biggest lies you will hear in some churches is that the Bible teaches us to "love the sinner but hate the sin." Not Biblical. Not True, unless you are following the gospel according to Mohandas Gandhi. The Bible says that God behaves that way in a couple of places -- Psalms, in particular -- but we are not gods. Our instructions stop at love your neighbor as you should love yourself. I think part of this church-based confusion comes from another all-too-easy slogan: WWJD. The best preachers I have known wince a little at that expression because it is only almost right.

• "What Would Jesus Do" really only matters if you are Jesus.
• "What Would Jesus Have Me Do" is a much better question if you are a Christian.

Political Spectrum in America today Approaches to Truth across spectrum