Category: Having My Say

Having My SayLeave a comment

All Theology Is Local….

RJ Walters

Today I will continue my discussions of a book by Tony Jones entitled The New Christians; Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier.  I’m sure if there are any pastors or theologians who accidentally come across the blog post their first reaction is to adamantly disagree with the title that all theology is local. Here is what Tony Jones says about that: theology is not universal, nor is it transcendent. The God about whom we theologize is transcendent, but our human musings about God are not. To think that our theology is not local and specific is a falsity that has been … Continue reading All Theology Is Local….

Having My Say2 Comments

With Teeth & Compassion….

RJ Walters

“Can we make legislation with enough teeth in them for conservatives and compassion for liberals?” I heard the above phrase, or at least something close to it, from a news commentator recently. I wish I could cite the source but I really don’t remember who it was.  But the phrase struck me as maybe a primary difference between these two groups. Conservatives seem to be much more concerned about “law and order” than about being altruistic. They want to make sure that no one gets anything that they haven’t worked for or at least earned in one way or another. … Continue reading With Teeth & Compassion….

Having My Say2 Comments

Using Drugs….

RJ Walters

Source:  Whitney Houston’s mom ‘angry’ the star died alone – TODAY Entertainment. The Grammy-winning singer was found dead, face down in her bathtub, at the Beverly Hills Hilton on Feb. 11, 2012, the night before the Grammy Awards. The final coroner’s report listed the cause of death as accidental drowning and “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use.” The document also indicated that Houston had cocaine, marijuana, Xanax, Benadryl and muscle relaxants in her system when she passed away. I know Whitney Houston’s death is old news but when I started to putting down some thoughts on drug use in … Continue reading Using Drugs….

Having My SayLeave a comment

I Don’t Have Adobe Flash….

RJ Walters

Banner - Aside 2

FlashFor those of you who don’t know what Adobe Flash is it is an add-on to your web browser that allows you to view all the videos around now. But, it also is used to make many of those flashy things that distract you from reading content. Those just bug me to no end! Maybe being deaf I am more sensitive to that flashing than most people are?  To remove this pain I have purposely chosen to do without Flash.  I can tell you my web viewing life is simpler now. I used to have a large post-pad handy to cover up all those flashing ads; that did a pretty good job but it was cumbersome. Continue reading “I Don’t Have Adobe Flash….”

Having My SayLeave a comment

It Is Not Just “All Talk”….

RJ Walters

  Source: Republican Re-Branding: The ‘Happy Party’? – ABC News. “We want to build a massive party that’s exciting, that smiles, has a good message across America, and that’s what you’re going to see,” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus told reporters at a news conference on Friday shortly after he was re-elected to another two year term. Sharon Day, a GOP activist from Florida who serves as co-chair of the RNC, put the party’s new approach even more bluntly: “I will talk to a head of lettuce if I can get them to vote Republican.” I am glad to see … Continue reading It Is Not Just “All Talk”….

Having My SayLeave a comment

Thomas Edison hologram chats at Detroit Auto Show…

RJ Walters

Source: Thomas Edison hologram chats at Detroit Auto Show – CBS News. Past met present at the auto show Monday when a holographic image of Thomas Edison was used to promote vehicles from electric truck and van maker VIA Motors. Bob Lutz, the retired General Motors executive who led development of the Chevy Volt, took to the stage at the North American International Auto Show to listen as a hologram of a person portraying the inventor gave advice about the potential for electric vehicles. “Thank you very much, Mr. Edison, and I assure you we will not let you down,” Lutz … Continue reading Thomas Edison hologram chats at Detroit Auto Show…

Having My SayLeave a comment

Emergent Church… Good Theology … Bad Theology

RJ Walters

From Tony Jones in his book The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier: Good theology begets beautiful Christianity. And so it follows that Bad theology begets ugly Christianity. That may sound supremely arrogant, but hear me out. A lot of us, emergents included, are disheartened by the complexion of Christianity in America. We’re embarrassed by the Jesus junk we see in stores, by the preachers we see on TV, and by the ill-fated marriage of faith and politics. We’re equally saddened by the $75 million evangelical megachurch campus in the suburbs and the shuttered mainline church in the city. While … Continue reading Emergent Church… Good Theology … Bad Theology

Having My SayLeave a comment

Republicans and Innate Goodness….

RJ Walters

Source: https://rjscorner.net/2012/02/27/where-are-you-john-sherman-when-we-need-you/ It seems literally impossible for another Republican to take charge of these types of matters (controlling fraud and abuse). Most of those folks are just too beholding to big business to ever try to reign them in. So, currently that leaves the Democratic party to take up the mantel. I don’t see that as much of a possibility either. Where all this “too big to fail” will end I just don’t know. I don’t find myself quoting myself very often but when I re-read this post from almost a year ago about how Republicans have been the party of … Continue reading Republicans and Innate Goodness….

Having My Say3 Comments

Why Pentagon won’t say how it would cut $55 billion

RJ Walters

  Source: Why Pentagon won’t say how it would cut $55 billion starting Jan. 1 – CSMonitor.com. One reason is because the Pentagon would then have to show its cards, some argue. That is, it would have to tell Congress how it would reallocate funds from its lesser priorities to its higher priorities, says Todd Harrison, senior fellow for defense budget studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), warned back in August. “Once you show people there are higher- and lower-priority items in your budget, then the lower-priority items become the target, and they’re likely to get cut … Continue reading Why Pentagon won’t say how it would cut $55 billion

Having My SayLeave a comment

Wordle….. Behind The Speeches….

RJ Walters

Source: Behind Inaugural Speeches, Meaningful Words | History & Archaeology | Smithsonian Magazine. Wordle is an application that takes text from any source and enlarges words that appear more frequently. Conversely, words that are smaller appear less frequently. Small words, like the or of, are not included in the Wordles above. (www.wordle.net) Wordle is a new word for me. I suspect it will be commonly used in the not too distant future.  When I came across this article in the Smithsonian Magazine – electronic edition it got my immediate attention. The article basically covers nineteen inaugural address ranging from Washington to … Continue reading Wordle….. Behind The Speeches….

Having My Say4 Comments

The Emergent Church….. They Love Everyone….

RJ Walters

I am going to spend the next few posts giving you some more info about the emergent church movement now taking place around the world. The source for these posts is a book by Tony Jones entitled The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier. Tony is one of the original leaders of this movement so his words have an insight into the beginning thoughts about just what is the emergent church today.  I am not going to give you a front-to-back look at this book but instead will be jumping around to fit the theme I have chosen for each post. … Continue reading The Emergent Church….. They Love Everyone….

Having My Say8 Comments

A Sign Of The Times….

RJ Walters

When we moved into our 1925 farmhouse almost 13 years ago there was not much of its original charm left. The previous owner had pretty much stripped it out and did a pretty poor job of even that. Fortunately the porches around two sides of the house were still intact. It looked like there had been about three additions added since the house was originally built. The biggest addition, and probably the last one before our ownership, was obviously built by what is known in the trade as a hack. There were numerous areas around the perimeter that had no … Continue reading A Sign Of The Times….

Having My SayLeave a comment

Assault Weapons…

RJ Walters

Yesterday, Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation (S. 150) that offers a big step toward reducing gun violence in this country. Senator Feinstein’s bill, which already has 17 cosponsors, would renew and expand the ban on military style assault weapons. Despite the mass slayings of children in schools, moviegoers in theaters and students on college campuses, and the daily gun violence that plagues communities across our country, some lawmakers from both major political parties are expressing opposition. Please urge your senators today to cosponsor this legislation and work for final passage quickly. If your senators have already cosponsored the bill, then please … Continue reading Assault Weapons…

Having My Say3 Comments

Leaving Some Things Unsaid….

RJ Walters

Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. ~ Ben Franklin I have read several books about Ben Franklin. He is certainly a fascinating character  but he is generally not one of my favorite founding fathers. He led a pretty pretentious life and was probably one of the original “dirty old men” ;)  But his words above do inspire me. More importantly they help me keep my mouth shut on occasion. On this blog, and in life in general, I seek … Continue reading Leaving Some Things Unsaid….