I'm excited for this. Although, I can't see Conan doing as well on the Tonight Show, he's just a little to goofy.
Check it out.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Blogalogue- Ehrman and Wright
Saw this today (ht: Jake Bouma)a back and forth blog posting between Bart Ehrman (professor, author of God's Problem/Misquoting Jesus)and N.T. Wright (bishop, author of Surprised By Hope/Simply Christian).
More on this to come, a couple weeks ago I picked up Ehrman's book and am about 80 pages in.
More on this to come, a couple weeks ago I picked up Ehrman's book and am about 80 pages in.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Expelled: What is all comes down to
(anyone else start singing Alanis Morrisette when they read that?)
In my third post about Expelled I want to lay out what I believe is the crux of human existence. The battle of pride.
To me, perhaps the hardest element of Christianity is submission- to someone else's will over your own. Isn't this the definition of Love? So part of what is essential to being a Christian is to submit to Christ's kingship, to lay down your pride and admit that you're not in charge- to in fact accept and behave as if are accountable to more than just yourself, that you can't just do whatever you want. I think we see this evident in the first temptation: to be like God.
But to the naturalist this is not so. There is no design to the universe other than a cold, relentless 'natural' process. Odd that nothing set this order in place, that it just is; and that elsewhere in science do we not see order emerging out of disorder.
To me this has very clear moral implications. Without God, you can do whatever you want. When you ascribe to atheist dogma (see: The Dawkins Delusion) then you can pick and choose what your ethics will be based on emotion, pragmatism (whatever works), or randomness.
I will resist quoting C.S. Lewis ad nauseum here. But to me, this is the essential divide in worldview: either there IS order in the universe, and thus, right and wrong or there is NOT and you should stop reading this blog and go do whatever you feel like. I believe a big reason people subscribe to option number two is that pride doesn't like the implications of the first.
In my third post about Expelled I want to lay out what I believe is the crux of human existence. The battle of pride.
To me, perhaps the hardest element of Christianity is submission- to someone else's will over your own. Isn't this the definition of Love? So part of what is essential to being a Christian is to submit to Christ's kingship, to lay down your pride and admit that you're not in charge- to in fact accept and behave as if are accountable to more than just yourself, that you can't just do whatever you want. I think we see this evident in the first temptation: to be like God.
But to the naturalist this is not so. There is no design to the universe other than a cold, relentless 'natural' process. Odd that nothing set this order in place, that it just is; and that elsewhere in science do we not see order emerging out of disorder.
To me this has very clear moral implications. Without God, you can do whatever you want. When you ascribe to atheist dogma (see: The Dawkins Delusion) then you can pick and choose what your ethics will be based on emotion, pragmatism (whatever works), or randomness.
I will resist quoting C.S. Lewis ad nauseum here. But to me, this is the essential divide in worldview: either there IS order in the universe, and thus, right and wrong or there is NOT and you should stop reading this blog and go do whatever you feel like. I believe a big reason people subscribe to option number two is that pride doesn't like the implications of the first.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The JP3 Factor
I really hope this summers Indiana Jones installment doesn't ruin the series. Sort of like...
Jurassic Park 3- not even an hour and a half long. Shouldn't have gone to the well for The Lost World, not to mention another time after that. Ugh.
Back to the Future III- This one was rough for me. The whole wild west thing didn't really work. Again, it felt contrived even as an 8 year old.
Star Wars, all of the new ones- Hayden and a terrible script almost wrecked my favorite childhood memories of pretending I had a light saber and almost wearing out the original trilogy VHS tapes; something I never would have thought possible.
Batman & Robin/Batman Forever- As a kid, loved them. It was Batman! But the box set that I own reminded me of how bad those last two were. Batman Begins redeemed the franchise for the next 15 years, yes! Nice recovery.
So here's hoping that Lucas pulls together a quality film, so he doesn't ruin one of the best franchises in movie history, and certainly one of my top favorite movies. I remember Temple of Doom scarring the crap out of me as a child...and adolescent, and still pride myself on my impression of the scary heart ripping out guy with the horns and painted face.
So the Jurassic Park 3 factor is when Hollywood gets greedy and cranks out a terrible film that is simply riding the coat tails of true greatness but only is a hollow shell. Can't wait to find out if Indy can avoid this great danger.
Jurassic Park 3- not even an hour and a half long. Shouldn't have gone to the well for The Lost World, not to mention another time after that. Ugh.
Back to the Future III- This one was rough for me. The whole wild west thing didn't really work. Again, it felt contrived even as an 8 year old.
Star Wars, all of the new ones- Hayden and a terrible script almost wrecked my favorite childhood memories of pretending I had a light saber and almost wearing out the original trilogy VHS tapes; something I never would have thought possible.
Batman & Robin/Batman Forever- As a kid, loved them. It was Batman! But the box set that I own reminded me of how bad those last two were. Batman Begins redeemed the franchise for the next 15 years, yes! Nice recovery.
So here's hoping that Lucas pulls together a quality film, so he doesn't ruin one of the best franchises in movie history, and certainly one of my top favorite movies. I remember Temple of Doom scarring the crap out of me as a child...and adolescent, and still pride myself on my impression of the scary heart ripping out guy with the horns and painted face.
So the Jurassic Park 3 factor is when Hollywood gets greedy and cranks out a terrible film that is simply riding the coat tails of true greatness but only is a hollow shell. Can't wait to find out if Indy can avoid this great danger.
Most Annoying Singers?
Here is a rather smug blog about the 10 most annoying singers ever. My pick was not on the list so here it is:
Michael McDonald. Ugh. This is worsened by the fact that when I hear his music I'm at Hobby Lobby or something.
Michael McDonald. Ugh. This is worsened by the fact that when I hear his music I'm at Hobby Lobby or something.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Movie Review>Expelled
Just got back from Ben Stein's documentary. After some poking around on the internet, here's some things I should link to:
www.getexpelled.com (already on the sidebar)
Rotten Tomatoes rating- 9% ouch!
www.expelledexposed.com- a rebuttle site created by the National Center for Science Education
When I was in 2nd grade, I would get very frustrated when eating tacos at home (a meal and method all good midwestern homes should employ) at how difficult the tacos were to manage while arranging ingredients inside the shell. I thought to myself, "they should make a kickstand like aparatus to make this process easier". Low and behold years later, Old El Paso comes out with a taco shell that can stand up by itself. Obviously, when I recently saw these at the grocery store, I was thrilled.
Thats a little bit like what seeing this movie was like for me. Obviously, I'm going to be a fan of a movie that as a whole expounds upon smaller parts that have already occured to me. It doesn't take itself too seriously, although there is maybe a bit much Moore-esque old movie footage/campy cartoon cut scenes.
Stein investigates how free inquiry, a foundational component to academia is being stiffled around the country: by universities denying tenure or outright firing professors who so much as mention a remote possibility that intelligent design could be "on the table", by gate keeping grant organizations, and by the media characterizing people from all over the religious and political spectrum as fundy-religious-rightors.
The problem is, it doesn't appear that everything was kosher. The expelled exposed website documents dishonesty in the production process. If this stuff happens, its not cool; but still has no effect on the subject matter. For instance, if the producers seemed “pro-science” and “sympathetic to science and evolution” (taken from here)why would you only do interviews with people who are friendly towards your cause?
More on this later. I could see myself beating this into the ground, so I'll try not too. At any rate, I think its a great way to get people thinking and get conversation going. See the movie for yourself, check out the dissenting websites for yourself. I thought it was great.
www.getexpelled.com (already on the sidebar)
Rotten Tomatoes rating- 9% ouch!
www.expelledexposed.com- a rebuttle site created by the National Center for Science Education
When I was in 2nd grade, I would get very frustrated when eating tacos at home (a meal and method all good midwestern homes should employ) at how difficult the tacos were to manage while arranging ingredients inside the shell. I thought to myself, "they should make a kickstand like aparatus to make this process easier". Low and behold years later, Old El Paso comes out with a taco shell that can stand up by itself. Obviously, when I recently saw these at the grocery store, I was thrilled.
Thats a little bit like what seeing this movie was like for me. Obviously, I'm going to be a fan of a movie that as a whole expounds upon smaller parts that have already occured to me. It doesn't take itself too seriously, although there is maybe a bit much Moore-esque old movie footage/campy cartoon cut scenes.
Stein investigates how free inquiry, a foundational component to academia is being stiffled around the country: by universities denying tenure or outright firing professors who so much as mention a remote possibility that intelligent design could be "on the table", by gate keeping grant organizations, and by the media characterizing people from all over the religious and political spectrum as fundy-religious-rightors.
The problem is, it doesn't appear that everything was kosher. The expelled exposed website documents dishonesty in the production process. If this stuff happens, its not cool; but still has no effect on the subject matter. For instance, if the producers seemed “pro-science” and “sympathetic to science and evolution” (taken from here)why would you only do interviews with people who are friendly towards your cause?
More on this later. I could see myself beating this into the ground, so I'll try not too. At any rate, I think its a great way to get people thinking and get conversation going. See the movie for yourself, check out the dissenting websites for yourself. I thought it was great.
Friday, April 18, 2008
5.4!
Everything is fine, but its 5am and there was just an earthquake!!!!!!!!
Holy crap!
I woke up at about 4:40...my bed was shaking, I could hear some stuff rattling around. I thought, "What the heck, is this an Earthquake?"
Then I turned on the TV...nothing on there. So for about 10 minutes there I thought I was dreaming or insane. Then the weatherman comes up on FOX news and says "Yes, that was an earthquake".
5.4 on the richter scale, so not huge I guess. Wow, its not everyday you experience something completely new! It was about 10 or 15 seconds long. Out of public school reflexes I felt compelled to get under my kitchen table or something.
So, fear not I think everything's ok here! Plus, I'm not nuts!
Holy crap!
I woke up at about 4:40...my bed was shaking, I could hear some stuff rattling around. I thought, "What the heck, is this an Earthquake?"
Then I turned on the TV...nothing on there. So for about 10 minutes there I thought I was dreaming or insane. Then the weatherman comes up on FOX news and says "Yes, that was an earthquake".
5.4 on the richter scale, so not huge I guess. Wow, its not everyday you experience something completely new! It was about 10 or 15 seconds long. Out of public school reflexes I felt compelled to get under my kitchen table or something.
So, fear not I think everything's ok here! Plus, I'm not nuts!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Cards Game: good seats, good company, and GIANT CORNDOGS
Last night I had the first game of the season. It was a delight. I had on some sweet birthday cardinals gear too. In the pictures are myself, my fellow staffmember and friend Katie, my sister, and my friend Jeremy. Also it should be noted that I originally made fun of my sister for bringing not just one blanket but two...and then shamefully asked for the spare. I believe the Cards are off to one of their best starts in over 20 years, and currently atop the NL Central Division.
Expelled Preview
Ben Stein is hosting a documentary that comes out tomorrow.
Check out the extensive trailer here. It's a big file, so be patient!
Check out the extensive trailer here. It's a big file, so be patient!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Book Review>The Most Important Year In a Woman's/Man's Life
Well, emails are being sent, google spreadsheets are being created, websites are up and running, and I'm reading pre-marital books. Its absolutely crazy. After being engaged for close to a year and a half we're gonna do this thing!
This book was excellent. The format is kind of cool. It's written by two couples but the narrative is as if primarily one person is talking. The two husbands write for the men, and the wives write for the ladies. The book is "a two-in-one, flip-over-format volume aimed at newlywed Christian couples." One side for grooms, one side for brides. It was very cool.
Sarah and I found that this book was a good balance of practicality and theology. Personally, I found a lot of the couples/marriage books at borders to be almost nauseating. I gravitated towards the more abstract principals important in marriage, and Sarah wanted to make sure things were concrete and practical. This book does both well.
I would recommend this for any newly wedded or about to be newly wedded people. The authors are down to Earth, not to cheesy, and very frank about things. The discussion was very much rooted in scripture, but you don't have to know how to spell "hermeneutics" to keep up.
There is also a section in the middle for couple to go through together. All in all, a very well conceived book that was very well executed. Even someone as flawless as me learned at least a little something.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Nomadisicm- Bad or Good?
63555, 65240, 63376, 63701, 65248, 65101, 64034, 77004, 65301, 63011
Those are all the zip codes I've lived in. Some were just for summers, but I'd say that counts.
I've been a part of my church for almost 3 years, 2 full time. I have two favorite things, that might seem lame but are profound for me:
-the feeling of turning down your street
-seeing people you know at the grocery store
There was a time in college when I pretty much lived out of my car. But now being in the same location for a while has really been a great thing in my life. Then again, I have so many connections from all over the country because of who I've been fortunate to meet in my varying circumstances.
There was some discussion of itineracy (the system of "moving pastors") over at Andy's blog and Brad's blog and the subject of pastor's having to move brought up a greater question in my mind:
What are the pro's and con's of staying in one place for a sustained period of time?
Those are all the zip codes I've lived in. Some were just for summers, but I'd say that counts.
I've been a part of my church for almost 3 years, 2 full time. I have two favorite things, that might seem lame but are profound for me:
-the feeling of turning down your street
-seeing people you know at the grocery store
There was a time in college when I pretty much lived out of my car. But now being in the same location for a while has really been a great thing in my life. Then again, I have so many connections from all over the country because of who I've been fortunate to meet in my varying circumstances.
There was some discussion of itineracy (the system of "moving pastors") over at Andy's blog and Brad's blog and the subject of pastor's having to move brought up a greater question in my mind:
What are the pro's and con's of staying in one place for a sustained period of time?
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Birthday Rundown
9:30- got up, microwaved some leftover pizza hut
10:00- headed to the Galleria, where they have the only store that sells "XXL" cardinals hats, bought one.
11:45- ate a wonderful birthday lunch with Sarah's fam, well, our fam
2:00- went to the mall, bought some shoes
4:00- got a much needed haircut and beard trim
5:00- headed down to the pageant
6:00-7:45- enjoyed time talking with Sarah and defending saved seats (she's good at it)
8:00-11:00- saw "Hayden" and Feist. Feist's show was stunning. Her voice is like a true instrument. I thought it would be cool and I would feel artsy, but at the risk of being cheesy, at one point I was quite moved at the beauty of the music. Had some other friends there as well, which was really great.
11:30-12am- Post-show Q'Doba.
A great ending to a great birthday. Calls and texts were received intermittently, I feel loved!
10:00- headed to the Galleria, where they have the only store that sells "XXL" cardinals hats, bought one.
11:45- ate a wonderful birthday lunch with Sarah's fam, well, our fam
2:00- went to the mall, bought some shoes
4:00- got a much needed haircut and beard trim
5:00- headed down to the pageant
6:00-7:45- enjoyed time talking with Sarah and defending saved seats (she's good at it)
8:00-11:00- saw "Hayden" and Feist. Feist's show was stunning. Her voice is like a true instrument. I thought it would be cool and I would feel artsy, but at the risk of being cheesy, at one point I was quite moved at the beauty of the music. Had some other friends there as well, which was really great.
11:30-12am- Post-show Q'Doba.
A great ending to a great birthday. Calls and texts were received intermittently, I feel loved!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Birthdays were never a giant deal at my house growing up. Don't get me wrong, I always got a present, and cake, and got to pick what or where we ate. Oh, and whoever's big day it was ate from the coveted "You are special today" plate. Usually the big deal was I got to have TWO friends spend the night, which was unbelievable. So, maybe to some the Mustoe family birthdays had plenty of hoopla, but for us, it was fun, but not the biggest deal in the world.
So now as an adult the birthday is a funny thing, particularly 24. At 18, you can vote and register for the draft. 21, you can buy booze and R-rated movie tickets for minors (Ah, the legal limits of youth ministry. I found this out when I took my Pastor's two sons to see "American Gangster. That was a poor decision on my part).Even at 25 my car insurance will drop, and I won't have to pay extra when I rent vehicles; so thats something to look forward to.
But 24? All this means is that I move from my early-20's to my mid-20's. I was a bit miffed as to what to do for the birthday as well. Dave and Busters? Dinner out? Sit around and watch Top Chef? (Oh wait, I can't, because you guys DELEATED them from the TiVo!!!!)
I just wish that having two friends spend the night was still enough to be a huge deal ya know? I was reminded of the first time I didn't go trick or treating, the year was 1998. For some reason that was a very formative night for me. Cause I thought "I'm growing up, and it blows".
But, there is plenty of birthday fun to be had. Once I stopped waddling in mid-20's misery I saw the bright side: I got some awesome cards from my co-workers, my Grandma signed her card "xoxo" aaawww, thanks Grandma, my woman is coming in town, and she lets me know last night that we got a hold of Feist tickets at the Pagent Saturday night, my actual birthday.
So, here's to boldly facing my mid-20's!
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
The Problem With Love
Had an interesting conversation today about relationships and boundaries. This wasn't the first time this week. The problem with love is that there is a possibility you could get hurt. There is inherent risk in being in relationships with others (not just romantic ones, although thats huge) in that those relationships can be severed, or be painful to maintain. But what are we to do? Hole up and never really put ourselves out there? Insulation could seem like a safe thing to do, because hey, at least you'll never get hurt.
Ah, but here comes the obligatory 20'something guy with glasses and facial hair U2 quote, are you ready for it?
I feel so inspired I'm about to explode, howabout you?
Ah, but here comes the obligatory 20'something guy with glasses and facial hair U2 quote, are you ready for it?
But you can’t be numb for loveThe only pain is too feel nothing at all. So there is so much to Jesus' command to love one another. This means that we're putting ourselves at risk. But love is worth the risk.
The only pain is to feel nothing at all
I feel so inspired I'm about to explode, howabout you?
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Brief Check In
College basketball is awesome. Tonights game was definitely a classic. OT! (Sarah asked me once in an effort to connect with me through sports, if when they go in to double overtime if they call it "dot" for short. My response "....no". She was trying though!) So to my friend Lee, congradulations. I'm pretty sure you won't read this, but my picking Georgetown to upset KU didn't pan out to well.
Also, we had our first Sunday in the new building on Sunday. It was awesome, more on that another time.
Another also, I turn 24 on Saturday. More on that later as well.
Peace!
Also, we had our first Sunday in the new building on Sunday. It was awesome, more on that another time.
Another also, I turn 24 on Saturday. More on that later as well.
Peace!
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Life ≠ HGTV
So you know on all those home improvement shows how they make it look so easy and everything seems to just go so fast?
Thats not how life works.
We've been working for 2 weeks straight getting our new youth room situated. Man, sometimes it is slow going. Everytime we go to Home Depot it never seems to take less than 2 hours. I know I don't know jack about tools. But I also know not to try and work at a home depot.
I guess theres something to be said about slow goings sometimes. It will definitely pay off. But things don't just magically come together like on the shows where all the lady designers wear heels and the guys are all models with flowing hair. In reality, you go to home depot for a certain steel beam, they tell you they don't have it. Then you search around in defiance of the 88 year old dude. Then you go to Lowe's and spend an hour looking around and asking there. They have it. Then the next day you go to Home Depot for something else and see the thing you were looking for the day before. Thats how real life works.
No edit buttons!
Thats not how life works.
We've been working for 2 weeks straight getting our new youth room situated. Man, sometimes it is slow going. Everytime we go to Home Depot it never seems to take less than 2 hours. I know I don't know jack about tools. But I also know not to try and work at a home depot.
I guess theres something to be said about slow goings sometimes. It will definitely pay off. But things don't just magically come together like on the shows where all the lady designers wear heels and the guys are all models with flowing hair. In reality, you go to home depot for a certain steel beam, they tell you they don't have it. Then you search around in defiance of the 88 year old dude. Then you go to Lowe's and spend an hour looking around and asking there. They have it. Then the next day you go to Home Depot for something else and see the thing you were looking for the day before. Thats how real life works.
No edit buttons!
Right now I'm typing this on the wireless network at our new building (Living Word Church). I'll post some photos of the youth room when it's done, which Mr. Caldwell and I have dubbed:
Chuck E Jesus
First we hit em with the Chuck E Cheese- pool, arcade, coffee, air hockey, foosball (sp?), music, lights
Then we hit em with the Jesus.
Chuck E Jesus
Chuck E Jesus
First we hit em with the Chuck E Cheese- pool, arcade, coffee, air hockey, foosball (sp?), music, lights
Then we hit em with the Jesus.
Chuck E Jesus
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Ten Embarrasing Things
Alrighty. Maybe I can start a blog trend: Here's 10 things that I'm embarrassed to say that I like or do:
1. That new Miley Cyrus song
2. If I leave a funny voicemail on someone's phone, sometimes I'll play it back and laugh at myself (Dru actually called me on this one, pretty amazing)
3. I get through most trainings at church by listening for "Thats What She Said" opportunities.
4. I recently Decopaged (day-co-poj, I don't know how to spell it)
5. My friend once "walked in" on me jamming to Hanson's Mmmbop
6. I looked forward to watching American Gladiators every week, and I wish it was still on now.
7. Most of the time I wash my hands in the bathroom just in case someone asks me if I washed my hands, and I say yes, and they want to see if my hands are indeed a bit damp just to make sure
8. I cried in every Lord of the Rings movie
9. I feel very awkward when I see someone I know at the mall, chat, then we say bye, and start walking the same direction
10. Its worth repeating, that I can sing all the words to Miley Cyrus' "See You Again"
1. That new Miley Cyrus song
2. If I leave a funny voicemail on someone's phone, sometimes I'll play it back and laugh at myself (Dru actually called me on this one, pretty amazing)
3. I get through most trainings at church by listening for "Thats What She Said" opportunities.
4. I recently Decopaged (day-co-poj, I don't know how to spell it)
5. My friend once "walked in" on me jamming to Hanson's Mmmbop
6. I looked forward to watching American Gladiators every week, and I wish it was still on now.
7. Most of the time I wash my hands in the bathroom just in case someone asks me if I washed my hands, and I say yes, and they want to see if my hands are indeed a bit damp just to make sure
8. I cried in every Lord of the Rings movie
9. I feel very awkward when I see someone I know at the mall, chat, then we say bye, and start walking the same direction
10. Its worth repeating, that I can sing all the words to Miley Cyrus' "See You Again"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)