The Persona of John Boehner….

Ok, I have been working day and night to try to find the right persona for John Boehner and I finally have it. After outing Mr. Cantor as the Lone Ranger I am here to do the same for Mr. Boehner. His persona is Rodney Dangerfield. I’m sure anyone over fifty knows that Rodney Dangerfield was a comedian who’s most famous line was  “I don’t get no respect” Although I like to go by the name RJ my first name is Rodney so I was always painfully familiar with Mr. Dangerfield. My family and people I knew during my childhood … Continue reading The Persona of John Boehner….

Do What I Say….

Let’s get back to Luke 6 for our study today. “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is … Continue reading Do What I Say….

Who Do We Owe Our Allegiance???

Today I want to look at some words from Brian D. McLaren in his book A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith Our faith is vain and self-centered if it only brings blessing for us or to us. It also must result in blessing that flows through us to the world….. If we locate Jesus primarily in light of the story that has unfolded since his time on earth, we will understand him in one way. But if we see him emerging from within a story that had been unfolding through his ancestors, and if … Continue reading Who Do We Owe Our Allegiance???

Man’s Inhumanity To Man…..

Man was made to mourn: A Dirge Many and sharp the num’rous ills Inwoven with our frame! More pointed still we make ourselves Regret, remorse, and shame! And man, whose heav’n-erected face The smiles of love adorn, – Man’s inhumanity to man Makes countless thousands mourn!   By Robert Burns  1784 I always wondered where the phrase “Man’s inhumanity to man” came from. I didn’t realize it is generally attributed to Robert Burns. I’m not sure what the difference between a poem and a dirge is? They look pretty much the same to me. Wikipedia, as usual, has several other references … Continue reading Man’s Inhumanity To Man…..

The Persona of Eric Cantor…..

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Lone RangerThe number two Republican in the House of Representatives almost tanked the recent compromise on making some tax breaks for the middle class permanent. The reason, he says it does not solve all our fiscal problems. Mr. Cantor seems to think that every bill that goes through the House must be the be-all and end-all for the problems being addressed. Particularly those involving our safety net. He must think every problem has a silver bullet. Continue reading “The Persona of Eric Cantor…..”

Not to Confuse Jesus With the Packaging….

I want to spend this post telling you a little more about today’s emergent churches. No, this is not just a different denomination coming onto the scene but instead is a paradigm shift taking place in the church itself and many times within existing church structures, even at the individual congregational level. Let’s look as some more words about this from Harvey Cox in his book The Future of Faith Emergent congregations are especially well equipped to live creatively in the newly post-Western Christianity. They are careful not to confuse the life and message of Jesus with the “Western” elements … Continue reading Not to Confuse Jesus With the Packaging….

Spread Out Over The World…

  In order to prepare some posts over at RedLetterLiving I have been studying some about the why the Roman Empire collapsed. Of course everyone seems to have an opinion about that. The anti-Catholic folks say it is the pope’s fault. The maker/taker folks claim it is because the empire became a welfare State.  But I kind of align with a majority view that they just had to spend too much money to keep their armies spread out among most of the world.  Their military expenses accounted for almost one-half of all their spending and that included building the coliseum … Continue reading Spread Out Over The World…

Some Advice From A Liberal Friend…

  I sympathize with my conservative friends. 2012 was just not a very good year for you in the political realm. So, in the spirit of cooperation I want to give you a very serious (well sort of serious) New Years Resolution. Quit Being The Party Of The Rich That one thing alone probably cost you the presidency and several other of your recent political defeats. Let’s face it Paul Ryan’s drastic budget cuts to the nation’s safety net in order to give millionaires bigger tax breaks was the death knell of your hopes for the White House.  Mr. Romney’s … Continue reading Some Advice From A Liberal Friend…

Paul as Usurper of Christianity?

Source: Paul as Usurper of Christianity? « Common Treasury. I am aware that there has been much discussion in the past on the alleged contrasting visions of Jesus in the gospels (especially Matthew, Mark, and Luke-Acts) and the message in the Paul’s letters. There is something to the charge I think (not that I have studied this in great detail); I have on a couple of occasions tried to get into Ludemann’s examination of the issue in Paul: The Founder of Christianity but have never really got past the first chapter, perhaps I’ll try again in due course…. [W]e would be … Continue reading Paul as Usurper of Christianity?

Olympia Snowe leaving the Senate….

  I have been feeling gloomy lately; I wonder why?  Everything runs in cycles, but our congress it seems, so hopefully my outlook will swing back to something more normal soon. There are not many in Washington that I look up to anymore but Olympia Snowe was one of them.  Those two ladies from Maine always given me hope that there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel. Senator Snowe usually put the country above party when it came to  the many partisan votes of recent years. She has become a rare breed in that respect. She was … Continue reading Olympia Snowe leaving the Senate….

Take Care of Yourself, and Let Your Kids Do the Same…..

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I got the above title from one of my blogging friends over at Living Richly in Retirement.  It was a rather innocuous  sentence embedded in a post about selling her house. But it did strike me as part of my philosophy of life. Since I have no kids the following could be coming from total ignorance but I don’t think any of us should leave anything but a pittance to our heirs when we leave this earth. It would just spoil them anyway.  Let them take care of themselves as they expect us to take care of ourselves.

This is very contrary to all the latest trends going on in this country now but I am a contrarian so you should have seen this coming. We want to eliminate the inheritance taxes entirely in this country so that all the wealth can pass from one generation to another unscathed.  We say a couple million bucks is just not enough for our kids. They need it all. Being that if nothing changes we will be a plutocracy in a couple more generations this makes sense.

Continue reading “Take Care of Yourself, and Let Your Kids Do the Same…..”

Rekindled By A Spark….

  At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.   —  Albert Schweitzer I must admit that in some ways I am not a very creative person. I have often times in my life needed a spark from another person to get me headed down a path.  So, I certainly appreciated the quote above from Albert Schweitzer.  I have deep gratitude for those who have lighted the flame within me. I am a … Continue reading Rekindled By A Spark….

Those Non-Western Christians…

Anyone who has read much of this blog knows that I take the creeds of the Christian church to have done more harm than good.  Here are some words about that by Harvey Cox in his book The Future of Faith: Creeds were always something theologians invented, often to stake out spheres of authority. The vast body of lay Christians knew little about them and cared less. Their faith was embodied in stories, saints’ days, baptisms, weddings, and funerals. But these everyday people constituted, after all, the vast majority. The priests and theologians always remained a tiny minority. Consequently the … Continue reading Those Non-Western Christians…

Congress’ Approval Rating….

I see that the latest poll shows approval ratings for congress is about 18%. In my mind that is about where it belongs. Those yahoos just don’t know how to play together. They are more dysfunctional than most marriages today! So 82% of us don’t approve of how they are doing their jobs.  After thinking about it the most alarming thing about this latest statistic is that 18%  think congress is doing a great job!!! I don’t think I have ever come across any of those 18%ers. Just who are these guys? I don’t know them but I think they … Continue reading Congress’ Approval Rating….