Playing Catch Up...

It's been a while, so I'll catch you up on the going on's in the life of Ron:

- Getting ready to write papers and take finals. One of my papers is going to be called, "The Kingdom is at Hand and You Won't Believe Who's There". It will be about who is really "in" the kingdom of Heaven. If you have any resources, I would like to borrow them. So far I have Kraybill's "the upside down kingdom", McLaren's "the secret message..." (would like to use "generous orthodoxy" if you have it), and some Gustavo Gutierrez writings.

- Writing more papers. One on the verse, "Be Still and know that I am God": is it a meditation, or is God speaking out against the war that is going on? Another on Kierkegaard (the shizness), and one that's due next week on something that I have no idea what to write about.

- Signed up for classes. Summer classes will be 1)Moral Christian Theology and 2)Digital Recording. Fall Classes will be 1) Catholic Spirituality in the Modern World, 2) Contemporary Christianity, 3) Developing a Christian Worldview, 4)Sociology of Religion, 5) Popular Physics and 6) Basketball.

- After taking these classes, my chances of graduating in december are good to great.

- Going through the rocky quintology before I watch Rocky Balboa again. Also watching scrubs through netflix.

- listening to Van Morrison. Why didn't anybody tell me about this guy before...well one of my prof's did, but he's kind of a tool.

- Will be planting Roosevelt Community Church on Easter. A day of new beginnings and liberation. Free at last, Free at last, Thank God Almighty we're free at last.

- trying to get in shape again. Lost 15 pounds in a month. It's my once a year thing I do. I'll probably stop at the end of the summer again only to start again in the new year.

How are you doing?

ron

seriously...simpsons rule.

Influential Christian Thinkers

Kurt and I are both in Influential thinkers together. It is a long class (6:00-9:30). If you don't like "rabbit trails" within conversations, this class would drive you nuts. During our break, Kurt and I walked out in a sort of daze and asked "what the nuts was he talking about?".

We discussed Abolition of Man and now the book is starting to take shape. I'm actually enjoying it a little more, but this seems like a book tht you would have to discuss or else you are screwed. The prof kept quoting Nietzche, Plato, Augustine, and Aristotle along side the book. Matt would be excited, because we will be discussing Heidegger next week.

My Christianity and Culture class is the balls. I'm pretty much finished with "Myth of a Christian Nation". It was an interesting book. The premise of the book is that it looks at Christianity and thier involvement in war and conflict, and how un-christian that is. Basically throughout christian history, beginning in the third and fourth century with Constantine's conversion, christianity has been involved with war in some way. From the reformation to the New World to many of today's conflicts within the last 15 years, Christianity has been involved. There was a wonderful quote describing christianity and their actions saying,

"love is patient and kind; enslaving and torturing people is neither. Love is never rude; burning people alive is. Love does not insist on its own way and is not irritable or resentful when others disagree; compelling people to agree with you by using force is the direct antithesis. Love doesn't rejoice in wrongdoing, even if (especially if) those rejoicing credit God, who supposedly gave them the power to do it. Love bears all things while believing the best in others and hoping the best for others; imprisoning, enslaving, and killing others inthe name of your religious views is not bearing their burdens, believing the best about them, or hoping the best for them."

Hmmm. Interesting thought. I wonder if we christians have lost our voice in our culture? With our ugly past and loss of imagination, how does christianity regain a voice in culture without trying to take it over? We already took america away from one culture, and now it seems that the church rallies around the battle cry to "take back america for God". I don't think that christians want to take back america for god, but instead for Christians. It's like we are striving for everybody to think like us because we can't stand to be around non christians. How many times do christians get excited to find out that somebody of some kind of importance is christian (sports stars, both popular and unknown musicians, doctors and nurses, presidents of a country, etc.). It's like the spirit is thought to move more through these people rather than ourselves and brings us closer to christian thought by changing laws, thoughts and sports.

I'm rambling. I'll stop. Let me know what you think.
ron

disappointed

I finished reading "the abolition of Man" yesterday. All I can say is, "I don't get it". I mean I understood most of it, but there were times I would be reading it and literally feel my eyes begin to glaze over. I thought that this was supposed to be Lewis' best work! I didn't feel that way about it. It seemed like a bunch of big words given for the sake of using a bunch of big words. At least it wasn't a big book to read.

Now reading: Myth of a Christian Nation by Gregory Boyd. Just started this one. Seems pretty interesting, but usually when you agree with the premise of the book it turns out pretty interesting.

I added my friend Colin Potts to the mix. Check out his blog. He's trying to keep up with it on the regular, plus he started a blog called "Books that don't suck" that never got past one post.

Peace,
ron

School is in...

and I get to buy new books!

Here are some of the books for my future reading fun:

(Influential thinkers of the Twentieth Century)
Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis
Pensees - Blaise Pascal
Confessions - Augustine
On Christian Doctrine - Augustine
Birth of Tragedy and the Case of Wagner - Frederich Nietzche
Fear and Trembling - Soren Kierkegaard
The Present Age - Soren Kierkegaard
Technology and Justice - ???
Closing of the American Mind - Bloom
Epistle to the Romans - Karl Barth

Then in my other class:

(Christianity and Culture)
Living Thoughts of Kierkegaard - W.H. Auden
Myth of a Christian Nation - Gregory Boyd
A Peculiar People - Clapp
The Grand Inquisitor - Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Secret Message of Jesus Christ - Brian McLaren
Geneology of Morals - Frederich Nietzche
How (not) To Speak to God - Peter Rollins

I also have a class on Psalms and the Wisdom books, the History of Christianity from the reformation up to the present and my music theory class. This semester will be filled with a lot of reading and paper writing. I'm excited for that and I feel nerdy about it. Oh well.

peace,
ron

Finally Done

...For now. I still have a year at TWU. Yep, a year from now, I will be trying to figure out where to go for a vacation, but for now I just break for the winter. Just finished a paper on the need for the prophetic voice in the contemporary church. Now I just study for a couple of finals and write a paper on the movie "big fish" and how it relates to apologetics and my life is on holiday.

Here is what I plan on doing on my break. A few of my friends wanted to start a group called "hot tub theology", but instead it kind of fell through. My plan is to take this group and start a "film theology" group for 6 weeks to see what it will look like. In this group we will read works of theologians and philosophers and then comparing them to movies and discussing this. I think that the movie is much like the modern day parable. the discussion group is not new by any means, but I think it may be fun.

Any thoughts or suggestions?
ron

~different thoughts~

***Warning: This may sound crazy and even heretical at times, but this is what I've been thinking about.***

I am writing a paper on Gay Marriage, arguing from the point that marriage in today's culture is not sacred, what with the ease of divorce and adultery in today's society, why shouldn't same sex marriage be allowed. THe funny thing is, though I think that SSM should be allowed, I would not perform a SSM if I was a religious leader of somekind. From my own moral standpoint, I see that it is wrong, but I am not going to condemn them for it. Pretty contradictory, huh? I guess I wonder, "what if marriage was viewed as a civil ceremony rather than a religious, would it then be okay?"

This is where I stand at a crossroad. Is SSM truly wrong? Christians quote scriptures from the Old Testament condemning gay relations, and then we can argue that Jesus brought a new covenant which erased the law of the old testament. ANd when Christians quote Paul in Romans 1:18-19; 22-23, what if paul is saying that you should either choose to be gay or not, but don't flounder between the lines (hot or cold, not luke warm). Be faithful to one person, not many.

Side note:
I began thinking about the Samaritan woman during this process. Here she was, viewed as a samaritan - only half of a human being. Sucked to be her, but isn't this how we view homosexuals today? What about the African Americans from the time of Slavery until only recently when we ended segregation (or at least attempted to). WHat about women? Since the beginning of time women have been oppressed by men, and only recently have had the hand that holds them down lightly lifted for them to breathe. I think that in about 50 years same sex marriage will be legal, the gay community will be more accepted by western culture, and instead of a lifestyle they will be viewed more as a minority.

ron

paper questions

I am getting ready to write a paper for my Apologetics class. I am thinking about writing about Apologetics seen as a literal apology rather than a defense of the faith. I was inspired by Donald Millers, "Blue Like Jazz" confessional tent he set up. My only thing is that this is my only resource. Does anybody have any suggestions?

ron

Top 5

Top 5 American Rock albums and runners up:
Almost all iconic rock bands are from europe or recorded their major alvums in Europe (even Hendrix). Here is a list of my top 5 american rock albums and the runners up after them.

1)Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley
-The album that started the movement.

2)Blonde on Blonde - Bob Dylan
-"Don't let anyone know that you don't own blonde on blonde!"

3)Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
-Quintessential Americana? After listening, I agree.

4)Nevermind - Nirvana
-If kurt cobain had lived, would Nirvana have been so influential? No, but this album began a new movement in rock itself. A classic and a monster.

5)Ramones - Ramones
-Tired of all the other music out there, these guys started their own genre. Genius.


The runners up:

The Doors - The Doors
White Blood Cells - The White Stripes
Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
The Stranger - Billy Joel
Hotel California - the Eagles
Harvest - Neil Young
Appetite for Destruction - Guns n' Roses

I Was Hit by a Car...

...and I live to tell about it. Yesterday as I was riding my bike home from Cornwall Church, coming down Northwest by the baptist and lutheran church, I was hit by a car who was trying to get on the road. The paramedics came, but I was alright. I just had a banged up knee. I was sitting there for about an hour or so with police and paramedics, answering questions and what not, and then I got on my bike and rode home. Seriously, it was crazy but I am okay. RIght now, I'm icing my knee and watching Magnum P.I.. Don't worry about me, but if you would like to know more, we can go for coffee and I will tell you about this latest adventure.

ron

Alanis was right yet again...

I went to a Leadership conference this past week expecting to hear dribble and non sense, but I left amazed and inspired to change the world. I was pleasantly amused by people who I don't really care for and people who I felt had nothing to say to the church. I laughed as every speaker was speaking straight into the heart of the church and it felt like nobody was listening. I felt that it was ironic at the same time because everything they were saying that the church (or buisnesses) should look at doing, a lot were not doing at all. I was inspired to think and pray. I prayed for future leaders who are being brought up int he church and current leaders who are hopefully going to begin investing. I prayed for God's guidance in my own direction. I hope that God will enable me to attend and work with a community that I will know and not a congregation which looks like a sea of unfamiliar faces which I currently work. I don't want to be famous, I just want to introduce peace into my community and spread it into the world.

pearl jam thoughts

I went to see Pearl Jam at the gorge this past month. It pretty much rocked. It was 103 degrees and the beauty of the Gorge defined God’s goodness as it always does. As the concert had started and the band played well into their set, I stood sweating amongst the hordes of people throughout the concert wondering what God will say to Pearl Jam’s lead singer, Eddie Vedder, when he dies. As he stood up on stage and performed in front of 20,000 people, he did not say anything about peace or love or joy although he did speak about wine a little. I was not expecting a Christian message by any means, but with the ears of 20,000 fans listening to his every word I had hoped for a mission of some sort for the droves of Pearl Jam allegiance to set out on after the concert.
This is where I began to think to myself, “Do we as Christ followers do this?” Are we using our influence as the church to speak into society? The church used to be the most influential part of society, speaking into what happens and why. Now it seems that the bride of Christ’s arms and legs have been cut off only to lie down and let the river of pop culture dictate where it will go.
Though we as cornwall church do not have the opportunity to speak into the lives of tens of thousands of people in a single night, we do have people around us that we can influence. People consistently look to the Christian life to see what we do or say, but it is up to us to pray that God will give us the words and actions that will properly speak into their lives and help them find what they are looking for. I pray for the Holy Spirit to fill us as worship leaders to reconnect the limbs of Christ’s body and speak into people’s lives leading them to hope and appreciation of the life they have been given and the life that God gave for them.

Ron, what have you been up to this summer?

Well, I have been busy with summer type activities. I have been running the middle school group at Ray of Hope - a camp for socially and financially challenged kids -, working at the church, and playing softball.

This past sunday I realized why I don't play in a church league. We played against a church, and in the midst of having our butts handed to us, they continually mocked and made jokes at my team. Needless to say, I was pissed. I joined a rec league so that I could meet people outside of the church and let them know that God loves them and the people of his church do also, but here we were playing a church team who were doing the exact opposite and all the "progress" (for lack of a better term) I made with my team being taken away. It sucked, because the people on my team don't go to church because most of them don't see God in the christians of this world...and so it continues. Deep inside, I wanted to go tell this team exactly what they were doing, but I didn't because I am a wussy with a p.

crap.

Tim Ansorge

Tim died on thursday morning at 1:25 a.m. after a year long battle with Melanoma. Sucky, but thinking about where he is is baffling to me. I was sitting in the funeral today wondering what he was doing today, and then I began wondering if there is even "time" in heaven. Is there lunch time in heaven? Is there a schedule of some kind? Is there sleep, because we all learn in sunday school that we get to do what we like most in heaven...sleep is mine.

Tim was a sarcastic, dry, hilarious, caring man of God. He loved his family and friends, and he loved Jesus. He made new musicians at cornwall church feel welcome and old ones feel like brothers and sisters. I will miss Tim. We had a lot of laughs together and a lot of tears. He truly lived by God's word, and embraced it with everything he had. He also knew the meaning of Hawaii's "spirit of Aloha", and continually lived by it in his interactions with strangers.

I was honored to sing at his funeral today, but more so, I was amazed to see old relationships begin to be rekindled. It never ceases to amaze me how in the midst of pain and hurt, God still shows up and is able to show us how he will continue to work in these times. Tim had us play a song at his funeral, which he asked me a year ago to sing, called "Who says you can't go home" - a duet with Bon Jovi and Sugarland. I walked in and asked Mike, our worship pastor, if he thought that this might be Tim's final joke on us by getting us to play a country song (which most of the peopel on stage dislike). I'll always remember Tim and I'm going to miss him, but I know that I'm going to see him again some day.

Crazy

I met with a friend of mine who is dying of cancer. Basically, he came back home to die. We talked about music, family, and "old times" that we've spent together. It was a good time, but so weird because he and I both know that he's going to die soon. He's scared, but excited.

It is a strange thought that we always say that we are "going to be with the Lord", but we also know that he is near always. My friend kept telling me that he feels so near to God and so close to God. Do we say this to reassure ourselves? Maybe there is a peace that falls on us when we know that we are dying.

Please pray for my friend, that GOd will ease his pain and that he will know that he is loved by his God, his family and his friends.

ron

Blaine Damaged

My friend Kurt has a new blog that you should check out. Kurt and I attended TWU summer classes last year, but I feel like I've known him for my whole life (Cable Guy reference anybody?). He is a Young life guy for Northern county here in Whatcom county and and resides in Birch Bay, Wa (Everyone thinks he lives in Blaine, but Birch Bay is not Blaine). Kurt also has an amazing discussion on our theology as compared to the beer we drink that was written on March 22nd that you should check out.
Below is a clip taken from an article from my hometowns paper, the Northern Light in Blaine Wa, in which the city council is trying to decide what bricks to use as they are constructing a boardwalk in hopes of attracting more tourists to teh town. "Liebert", which means lover in german, is the mayor of Blaine and my old high school history teacher.


"Council member Charlie Hawkins suggested to Ely perhaps it was a job better suited for his wife. Liebert, however, added it will be difficult to please everybody. “Contemplate all you want. Once it goes on, someone will be bitching about it,” Liebert said."

I think that:

1. what the blaine city council is forgetting is that you cant polish a turd

2. I also think that the funniest part is that the paper printed it word for word. It shows the class of Blaine. You stay classy borderites.

and

3. Blaine High School Football rules!

random thoughts

I've realized that I am growing old. I'm only 29 but, as I posted earlier, I threw my back out and even today I am having troubles with it. I may as well throw in the towel and start using those rascal scooters when I go grocery shopping...actually, that would be pretty cool.

I finished recording some scratch tracks this week. Now I listen to them and the other songs I recorded last year and figure out what I want to do with them. It's kind of scary though because if I record a CD of some kind, then I will have to play out again. Hopefully that won't mean waiting until 2:00 am to get paid for a show that no one went to, but it probably does. I'll begin recording in June.

My NCAA bracket is going well. My small group does one every year, and last year I won lunch. THis year I hope to repeat because I am a hungry man...a hungry old man.

Currently studying about Martin Luther and his writing hymns. Before the reformation, the worship was a show for the people and was non-participatory. Martin Luther wrote hymns to help bring worship back to the people so that they could worship God and worship would be for God instead of for the people. I have 10 pages to write about this, and then 10 pages to write about Jesuit missions. fun.

peace,
ron

listening to: Bedouin Soundclash. A reggae band from Toronto. You should listen to them because they make me smile. It makes me long for the sun to come out at about 70 degrees in the mid morning. then I can wear shorts again.

What has Ron been doing...

Well...

I've been hating school. I'm in a couple classes that are some real snoozers as I keep saying throughout this semesters blogs, but I have one instructor who is really a cool guy. Dr. Klassen is an old guy, but the kind of person that you know you can learn from. Usually anybody who talks about when he saw Karl Barth lecture is a) really old and b) really cool.

I've been working out. Yes, I've been pumping the iron. Actually it's all a ploy so that I can lose weight. I have lost about 15 pounds and have thrown my back out. If I believed in Karma, I would think that this was because of all of the fat jokes I make about myself and others.

I'm addicted to Lost. Cynthia and I began watching season one on DVD and we cant stop. We're almost finished, but I don't want it to end.

I'm amused by myspace. Yes, I have a myspace. I think that the people who are really into it are very funny though (the people who take the time to photograph themselves making kissy faces at the camera or without their shirts on). It has been cool though, because I have found people from school who have myspaces and have been able to try and catch up with them. Also, people who want to "add" you as a friend but don't know you are pathetic.

I'm writing a few songs. Tomorrow, 3/13, I will be recording and beginning toward a full length album. it should be fun.


That's it for right now. School is out for summer in the middle of April. that's cool. THen I can get drunk and dance on campus.

ron

I'm ruined

I continually tell monkey that school is ruining me. When I hear talks, the "red light keeps coming on in my head as people take scriptures out of text, or don't even use them. I hate it, because I want to just come to church and be told the best way to live my life is through jesus and serving him. Isn't that what church was intended to be for our generation?

All sarcasm aside, I really do hate this dilema. Oh well, I'll just continue to be critical and have my wife rebuke me for it.

ron

Listening to: I have a version of the worship song "Blessed be Your Name" in my head set to John Mayer's "Love Song for No One". From teh bridge to the end, it goes into a Reggae feel. It is incessant in my head...that and Madonna's song that she did on the Grammy's last night. I won't leave me alone!!!

Oh Boy-

My classes are some snoozers. Reformation Europe is very boring, and so is Religion in Canada. I bought my books online, and haven't recieved them yet, so I am behind on my readings. Argh. I can't wait until late febuary, because then I will have a break from school work...but I'll probably be working on papers.

I bought a couple books the other day at school: A hymn book, and "War and Christian Ethics". Both of them for $1.50 canadian, which equals out to about 1.25 in US. I felt good as I screwed the man over once again. HAHAHA, I am so clever. I also got a "Book of Common Prayer" in a downtown used book store. It was pretty cool.

I also visited the Brendan Center, which is a Christian Non Profit here in BHam, which stands against Social Injustice and has a library of Christian history and theology books. Monkey, seriously, we need to go there so you can see the books. This place is tucked away in bellingham, past the soapbox, and right across the hall from teh Democratic office here in Btown.

That's about all that's happening as of late

ron

Theme album of the day: Justin Timberlake: Justified
Book I am reading: Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross...snore