Winter 2008 News & Comment

"At a cost of nearly $42 million, the IRS wants you to know: Your check is almost in the mail. The Internal Revenue Service is spending the money on letters to alert taxpayers to expect rebate checks as part of the economic stimulus plan. The notices are going out this month to an estimated 130 million households who filed returns for the 2006 tax year, at a cost $41.8 million, IRS spokesman John Lipold confirmed. That works out to about 32 cents to print, process and mail each letter. It doesn't include the tab for another round of mailings planned for those who didn't file tax returns last year but may still qualify for a rebate." (USA Today, Monday)

God has a job for government, according to the Apostle Paul: to bring the wrath of God in the form of punishment on evildoers. A government that can even approach getting that right is doing a great job. Then there is everything else governments try to do, which typically turns out to be bumbling stupidity. Of course, this "rebate" maneuver is not quite as stupid as it first appears. First the government taketh away from some people, and then the government giveth to other people. Then the government claims that it is a benevolent institution that is doing good to us all. According once again to the Apostle Paul, the "good" that God wants government to do is the by-product of punishing those who do evil. But our government thinks doing good means schemes like this one. And who are the truly stupid here? Those of us who continue to vote for legislators who sign on to these schemes.

This past weekend, RiverTree Christian Church (Massillon, OH) challenged worshipers to bless others by removing their shoes as they left, dropping the shoes in boxes by the door, and wearing plastic booties to their car. RiverTree donated all the shoes to local charities.

In his blog, senior pastor Greg Nettle admits, “When we planned this, we weren't anticipating the 18 inches of snow that would fall.” Nor did the church anticipate needing to cancel Saturday night services because of the blizzard. But the outreach was a success.

“[One] lady actually walked back in after going out to her car,” he writes. “She said, to no one in particular, ‘I love these shoes’ (and they really were nice shoes). She smiled at me and threw them in the box.”

Kent comments:

Does anyone else think this sounds, well, stupid? It is dramatic, perhaps, but still dramatically stupid. If you know people who need shoes, why not just buy shoes to fit the people in need, rather than collecting a bunch of used shoes that might not fit the people in need of shoes? Also, what about various foot diseases that are transmitted by contact with other people's shoes? This is no laughing matter. It's not just athlete's foot, but more serious things. I suppose you could somehow disinfect the used shoes. But, again, why not just buy new ones? This "senior pastor's" log goes on to say:

"As I walked to my SUV, in my socks and thin layer of plastic, I couldn't help but think of the words of the Lord to whom I have given my life, "I needed clothes, and you clothed me." (Matthew 25:36) Somehow, walking through cold snow so that I could give my shoes to Jesus seemed more like a privilege than an imposition."

Again, it all sounds very dramatic. But if you want to give shoes to Jesus, don't you think he deserves a new pair, not just your old castoffs?

The burning sulfur that rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah, described in Genesis 19:24, should have left a telltale destructive layer for modern archaeologists. But identification of the cities of sin has been salted with controversy. Steven Collins, dean of the college of archaeology and biblical history at Trinity Southwest University, is the latest to announce discovery of the cities. Other archaeologists have suggested sites along the southeastern shore or underneath the Dead Sea, but Collins looked to the northeast of the sea.

Based on his reading of Genesis 13, Collins believes Sodom is located at Tall al-Hammam in Jordan. "The Bible makes it very clear," Collins said. "Sodom is the largest Bronze Age city east of the Jordan River, north of the Dead Sea." Collins's excavation at Tall al-Hammam has uncovered massive destruction dated to the 18th and 19th centuries B.C., a time traditionally associated with the patriarch Abraham and his nephew, Lot. More significantly, the archaeological layer atop the destruction reveals no evidence of human habitation; there are no pottery shards or remains of buildings or walls for about 700 years, possibly indicating that the area was seen as cursed or uninhabitable following its obliteration. That timeline accords nicely with the biblical account, which records a desolate wasteland at Sodom's former location when Moses and the Israelites crossed over it hundreds of years later. . .
In response to critics of his research, Collins pointed out that very few biblical sites have been confirmed by inscriptional evidence of the kind that Cline calls compelling. Geographical information is equally important, he said. "We probably have more geography embedded in the text for Sodom than we do for just about any other city in the Old Testament."

Kent comments:

This is all very interesting, but it cannot possibly be true. For one thing, the whole idea of a place called Sodom that has any relationship to the account in the Old Testament can be nothing more than mythology. Why, you ask? Because it has negative connections to homosexuality. Such thoughts are simply impermissible, and intolerable. We all know that homosexuality isn't a bad thing at all. Just ask the Episcopalians. As Barack (middle-name-cannot-be-mentioned) Obama.

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. - Students at a New Jersey middle school were punished, then forgiven, for a protest that included paying for their lunches with $2 in pennies. Twenty-nine students paid for their $2 lunches last week using pennies -- at first calling it a prank and then a protest -- about having only 30 minutes for lunch, The (Newark) Star-Ledger reported Monday. Administrators called using the 5,800 coins disrespectful of cafeteria personnel and fellow students, punishing the protesting pranksters with two days of detention. Media scrutiny, parental communications and student protests prompted a change of heart. The offending seventh- and eighth-graders later learned they wouldn't have to serve the detention, as long as their parents approved, the newspaper reported. "If we had knowledge of a protest, we would have reinforced with the students the importance of not being disrespectful and would have begun discussions about the issue," Superintendent Jorden Schiff said in a message posted on the district's Web site.

I know this isn't religious news per se, but it is amusing. I suppose that's what you can expect once you teach junior high kids the meaning of "legal tender." But, after all, pennies do have a certain "disrespectful" aspect about them. Perhaps that is why the Treasury Department would like to get rid of them - to cut down on disrespect!

[from the Christian Standard, February 17, 2008, "CHRISTIAN STANDARD Interview: Cam Huxford By Brad Dupray]

What would you say to someone who has become disenchanted with the convention for theological reasons?

The genius of the Christian church is that for hundreds of years we have said that if we can agree on the lordship of Jesus and the authority of the Word of God, we can have fellowship. I don’t think we can agree on every doctrinal element, but we can agree on the lordship of Jesus and that’s what we will be celebrating at the North American.

While this sounds warm and fuzzy, it does not bear close scrutiny. In theory, "the lordship of Jesus" would include sound doctrine, and one could only hope that the NACC would celebrate that. But Mormons would claim to be celebrating "the lordship of Jesus" as would Jehovah's Witnesses and many others. So if the only things "we" agree on at the NACC is simply the phrase "the lordship of Jesus" and not any other doctrinal statement, we might expect some VERY interesting speakers in the future. I am hoping that this is NOT what Cam Huxford really intended to say. What some of us would like to know is if there are ANY doctrinal requirements for those making presentations at the NACC beyond the mere phrase "the lordship of Jesus." I realize this is not an easy question, but side-stepping the question is no real answer to the question.

ECO-PALMS
Make social and environmental justice part of your parish's Palm Sunday celebration

Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem was accented by the jubilant waving of palm branches is re-enacted each Palm Sunday in Lutheran and other Christian congregations worldwide as our observance of Holy Week begins. Unfortunately, for the communities where these palms are harvested, palm fronds do not always represent the same jubilation they do for us.

Harvesting palm products is an important source of supplemental income for many indigenous families and communities in Guatemala and Mexico. However, over-harvesting palm can threaten the livelihood of these communities as well as the forests where the palm plants thrive and provide the shade required by the palms.

Called eco-palms, the palms are harvested in a more sustainable way, whereby the harvesters are paid on the quality of the palms they harvest rather than the quantity, which helps to limit the amount of palms taken from the forest. These communities have taken upon themselves to learn about harvesting practices that minimize impact on the natural forest where the palm grows, and ways to protect this wild species of palm.

In fact, in Guatemala, the palm harvesters have received SmartWood certification from the Rainforest Alliance, a “seal of approval” that ensures consumers that the wood products they purchase come from forests managed to conserve biodiversity and support local communities.

More than 300 million palm fronds are harvested each year for U.S. consumption alone—most of them for Palm Sunday, but also for floral displays for church-related events. Your parish's commitment to purchase eco-palms plays an important role in protecting forests, local jobs, and sustainable livelihoods in the harvesting communities.

I'm thinking of how Lutherans might want to change some of their hymns. For example, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" can become "With Eco-justice Come Our Palms." And don't forget, should you decide to trim the trees in your backyard, don't forget to check with the Rainforest Alliance. After all, you wouldn't want to be labeled "eco-unjust" would you?

House Carbon Offsets Merit Scrutiny, Lawmakers Say
By Monisha Bansal
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
February 07, 2008

(CNSNews.com) - As part of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's "Green the Capitol" initiative, the House of Representatives bought $89,000 worth of carbon credits in November. House Republicans, however, want more oversight for what they see as a program subject to "deception, waste and fraud."

In announcing the initiative in June 2007, Pelosi said buying carbon offsets would balance out about 24,000 tons of carbon emissions from House operations. "Offsets are credits that are purchased -- in this case, from the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) -- to offset carbon emissions through investment in other U.S.-based environmentally friendly projects," the California Democrat noted.

In other words, to supposedly offset or mitigate the 24,000 tons of carbon emissions from the U.S. House, the money is spent to invest in "green" industries that do not produce 24,000 tons of carbon emissions.

Kent comments:

There is stupidity, and then there is stupidity using other people's money. Congress is expert at the first, and unexcelled at the latter. The only really helpful carbon emission "offset" would come when Nancy Pelosi would stop breathing. I wonder how long she could hold her breath? If nothing else, it would keep her mouth shut!

Miss. Law Would Ban Serving Obese Diners
Feb 4, 4:04 PM (ET)

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A state lawmaker wants to ban restaurants from serving food to obese customers - but please, don't be offended. He says he never even expected his plan to become law. "I was trying to shed a little light on the number one problem in Mississippi," said Republican Rep. John Read of Gautier, who acknowledges that at 5-foot-11 and 230 pounds, he'd probably have a tough time under his own bill. More than 30 percent of adults in Mississippi are considered it obese, according to a 2007 study by the Trust for America's Health, a research group that focuses on disease prevention.

The state House Public Health Committee chairman, Democrat Steve Holland of Plantersville, said he is going to "shred" the bill. "It is too oppressive for government to require a restaurant owner to police another human being from their own indiscretions," Holland said Monday. The bill had no specifics about how obesity would be defined, or how restaurants were supposed to determine if a customer was obese.

'Give Us a Shot': N.C. Church Hands Out Shot Glasses at Bars

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — To get people to attend his new church campus, Robbie McLaughlin is sending his message out to where the people are.

Next Friday, staffers from Next Level Church of Matthews will go to bars in the Ballantyne area of Charlotte to hand out shot glasses which ask patrons to "give us a shot" and bear the slogan, "Real church for real people." The idea is to draw people to the Ballantyne campus, which opens next month. McLaughlin is the pastor, and said he is confident that it will be controversial, but he said the goal is not necessarily to impress people who already go to church. He said it's to impress people who don't.

Next Level is a nontraditional church that encourages members to dress casually and snack on coffee and doughnuts during services. McLaughlin said the idea has caught on, and in two years, the church has grown from a handful of members to more than 700.

Which just goes to show that if churches can turn themselves into culture-copy-cat entertainment centers, people will come rolling in. It "works" so obviously, it is the will of God! Party on, oh saints of God. And while you're at it, have a shot or two on us! [Thanks to Lyle Lipps for the article lead.]

IRS Will Spend Millions Announcing the Tax Rebate

'Give Us a Shot': N.C. Church Hands Out Shot Glasses at Bars