Jane Austen was born December 16, 1775 (exactly two years after the Boston Tea Party, apropos of nothing) I found a huge website devoted to everything Austen and had to link to this page of jokes, parodies, lists, and general Austen silliness. Here’s a sample joke:
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Because it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single chicken, being possessed of a good fortune and presented with a good road, must be desirous of crossing.
*What do you believe is necessary for true racial reconciliation to take place in American society?
*Does your solution involve coercive governmental remedies?
*Do you believe that Churches have an important role to play in this process?
This is the Homespun Bloggers’ question posed by Marc at Hubs and Spokes this week.
My answer is fairly simple. I don’t think we’ll ever have “true racial reconciliation” until we lose the useless concept of “race” altogether. The word is essentially meaningless. I looked it up in the dictionary and got this definition:
1. A local geographic or global human population distinguished as a more or less distinct group by genetically transmitted physical characteristics. 2. A group of people united or classified together on the basis of common history, nationality, or geographic distribution: the German race. 3. A genealogical line; a lineage. 4. Humans considered as a group.
A more or less distinct group? A group of people classified together? Humans considered as a group? Well, that’s as clear as mud. My race is Baptist, I guess. Or if we’re talking about physical characteristics, then I’m a member of the short race.
The government and churches can both help in this process by refusing to classify people by physical characteristics, except for the obvious male/female classification. That’s the only meaningful or useful physical distinction that I can see between different kinds of people. When asked for my ‘race” on forms, I write “human.” And I teach my children to treat all people as humans.
This is not just a semantic discussion. As long as we continue to classify people by skin color, even with the best of intentions, we say that there is some essential meaning to “being Asian” or “African” or “Hispanic” other than country of origin or ancestral origin. And we tacitly continue to perpetuate the myth that dark-skinned people are somehow different from light skinned people. Middle Earth (a fictional place) had races: dwarves, humans, elves, and hobbits, among others. These groups were different kinds of beings with essential diffenences that went way beyond skin color. In our world, there are only humans. The sooner we all learn that fact the better. After that, we can begin to discuss cultural differences between people of different backgrounds and how those can be bridged, understood, or tolerated.
My two iTunes purchases for this week:
I’ll Never Fall in Love Again by Dionne Warwick
Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love) by Waylon Jennings
I have very eclectic tastes in music.
Dancer Daughter, Organizer Daughter, and I: Ann Rinaldi She writes great historical fiction, and each book has this warning on the back cover: “WARNING: This is a historical novel. Read at your own risk. The writer feels it necessary to alert you to the fact that you might enjoy it.” So far, I’ve read two of her books, and I’m impressed. The girls have read more, and they’re hooked.
Brown Bear Daughter: Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden. I read both when I was her age, and I can’t say it ruined my taste in literature. I really liked Trixie better than Nancy.
Karate Kid: Hardy Boys. He saw BB Daughter reading Nancy Drew and wanted something like it for boys.
Bee and Z-Baby: Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans. They checked out about three or four Madeline books from the library. We like Madeline. “She was not afraid of mice–she loved winter, snow, and ice. To the tiger in the zoo, Madeline just said, “Pooh-pooh.” She’s definitely a positive role model–brave, bold, and adventurous.
I don’t know what Eldest Daughter and Computer Guru Son are reading. Eldest Daughter just finished her finals, so maybe she’ll have time for some reading. And Computer Guru Son is supposed to have read Huckleberry Finn by January, so he’d probably better be reading that.
I wrote this short piece for an Advent devotional booklet that my church printed several years ago:
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:6
I used to read my second grade classes the story by Laura Ingalls Wilder, “Mr. Edwards Meets Santa Claus.” The story describes Laura’s and Mary’s Christmas gifts in these words:
“They never even thought of such a thing as having a penny. Think of having a whole penny for your very own. Think of having a cup and a cake and a stick of candy and a penny. There had never been such a Christmas.”
I always had to try to explain to my second graders that Laura and Mary were happy about their gifts. I’m fairly sure that many of those seven year olds never did understand how anyone could possibly be happy about a Christmas where the gifts were, in their eyes, so pitifully small and insignificant.
I think there’s a similar communication gap between Christians and the rest of the world. When you get right down to it, the birth of a baby in a stable is a fairly insignificant event. The fact that the baby grew up to be a man, taught and healed people for about three years, and then was killed, is not all that impressive, especially when you ignore or disbelieve certain parts of the story such as the resurrection. We Christians say that the birth and life of this particular child, Jesus, was a unique event, the focal point of human history. The rest of the world, perhaps not taking much time to investigate the matter, is mystified over all the joy and hope we Christians say we derive from our faith in Christ.
It’s a matter of values and expectations. To make at least some of my second graders begin to understand Laura Ingalls’ Christmas, I asked them some questions: “What do you expect to get for Christmas? What gifts have you received before that made you happy? Why did those gifts make you happy?” I got some interesting answers. Maybe, if we want others to begin to understand our faith and joy in Christ, we could ask some questions: “What gives you joy? Why do these things make you happy? What do you expect God to be like? Who do you think Jesus is?” We might get some interesting answers–and close the communication gap just a little.
While searching for more information about Solzhenitsyn, I came across an article at Bruderhof Communities about dating and courtship. I was trying to say this very thing to one of my children a couple of days ago, but I didn’t say it well.
We teach our young people that Christ must be the center of every relationship. For this reason, any relationship leading toward marriage naturally comes under the spiritual guidance of parents and pastors. Without this it is extremely difficult for two people seeking to build such a relationship to keep their priorities straight. Emotional and physical desire, which have their rightful place, can too easily take the upper hand and skew one’s judgment.
A healthy, growing relationship cannot be rushed. It takes time to see whether it will blossom or not and what kind of fruit it will bear. Because parents know their children best, they especially can help two young people discern if they are really meant for each other. Therefore, before spending much time alone, a couple is urged to spend time with each other’s families. They are also encouraged to write to each other and in this way begin to share their hearts openly and honestly. Only when the couple—and those they have confided in—feel that God has drawn them together for marriage are they ready to become engaged.
Young people should form friendships and spend time together in groups and as families. Then “courtship” can best be done within communities of like-minded believers, and it takes time and seeking of wisdom from others who are praying for God’s will to be done. Community and family are meant, not to be restrictive, but rather to support and protect young people as they grow into marriage and families of their own. There is no exact pattern for courtship, but some general rules are:
1. Young people should not “pair off” until and unless parents and families are aware of the special friendship that is developing and approve.
2. Families should get to know each other as families before two young people spend significant time alone together.
3. Everyone concerned should take enough time to be sure the relationship is honoring to God and enriching to the couple involved.
4. The couple and their families should share similar values and ideas.
George Macdonald was born December 10, 1824. He wrote At the Back of the North WInd, The Light Princess, The Princess and the Goblin, and The Princess and Curdie, all fairy tale/fantasies for children. I’ve read all four of these, and I like best The Light Princess, the story of a princess who was cursed at birth with “no gravity,” both in the iteral and the figurative sense. I tried to read one of Macdonald’s romances a long time ago, but I don’t remember finishing it. C.S. Lewis was quite fond of Macdonald’s adult fantasies, Phantastes and Lilith. I think I also tried one of these long ago but didn’t understand it (which proves that I’m not C.S. Lewis’ intellectual equal, not that I ever thought I was). Macdonald also had a long and successful marriage which produced six sons and five daughters.
Some people think it is not proper for a clergyman to dance. I mean to assert my freedom from any such law. If our Lord chose to represent, in His parable of the Prodigal Son, the joy in Heaven over a repentant sinner by the figure of “music and dancing’, I will hearken to Him rather than to man, be they as good as they may.” For I had long thought that the way to make indifferent things bad, was for good people not to do them.
I wonder how many Christians there are who so thoroughly believe God made them that they can laugh in God’s name; who understand that God invented laughter and gave it to His children… The Lord of gladness delights in the laughter of a merry heart.
Certainly work is not always required of a man. There is such a thing as a sacred idleness – the cultivation of which is now fearfully neglected.
What things are we Christians “making bad” by not participating in them? Should we not be involved in all the “indifferent” aspects of our culture in order to redeem them and bring them under the Lordship of Christ?
Engineer Husband and I had a good laughing time tonight; it was good to laugh together.
And why can’t we all just sit still and be sometimes? I wish Engineer Husband and I could try a little “sacred idleness.” Alas, we can laugh sometimes, but true idleness seems to be beyond our abilities.
Milton was born December 9th in London. He graduated from Cambridge in 1632, and a few years later he went on a tour of the Continent. When he returned to England, he became a Puritan and a follower of Oliver Cromwell. In 1652 he became completely blind, and his first wife died. He later remarried. He wrote much of his poetry after he became blind.
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music. L’Allegro It seems to me that there a quite a number of people who cannot hear the music these days. He who has ears to hear, let him hear—and dance.
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. Samson Agonistes There is good reason to be silent and let some people talk themselves and their ideas into oblivion. Who has the time to argue with the wind, and why?
Here we may reign secure, and in my choice
To reign is worth ambition though in Hell:
Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven. – Paradise Lost
Familiar, but still true. I hear people say all the time–in one way or another–I will not submit. I will do what I want to do. I WILL–no matter where it leads.
Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties. And this is true liberty, not license. If we do these things, are free to do these things, according to conscience, we will surely come to the Truth , and the Truth shall make us free.
Who overcomes By force, hath overcome but half his foe. Paradise Lost Which is why the job in Iraq is only half-finished. We must leave Iraq better than we found it, and we must demonstrate democracy amd the peace of God before we leave.
Join voices, all ye living souls: ye birds, That singing up to heaven-gate ascend, Bear on your wings and in your notes his praise. Paradise Lost Great idea.
Today is the birthday of one of my favorite musicians. See if you can guess who?
1. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
2. He began his musical career by playing the penny whistle as a small child.
3. He is 65 years old today.
4. He tours extensively playing both classical and popular music.
5. He has collaborated with such musicians as Henry Mancini and John Denver and with actor Liam Neeson.
6. He also performs on several tracks from the soundtrack for “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” in a score composed, orchestrated and conducted by Academy Award-winner Howard Shore.
7. Twice Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England has honored him, in 1979 with an Order of the British Empire and in 2001 with a Knighthood for services to music.
8. He reminds me of Sean Connery for some reason. I guess it’s the beard.
9. I used to try to play the same instrument that this man plays, but I was a flop.
David Brooks calls us “natalists,” people who are having three, four and even more children.
All across the industrialized world, birthrates are falling – in Western Europe, in Canada and in many regions of the United States. People are marrying later and having fewer kids. But spread around this country, and concentrated in certain areas, the natalists defy these trends.
They are having three, four or more kids. Their personal identity is defined by parenthood. They are more spiritually, emotionally and physically invested in their homes than in any other sphere of life, having concluded that parenthood is the most enriching and elevating thing they can do. Very often they have sacrificed pleasures like sophisticated movies, restaurant dining and foreign travel, let alone competitive careers and disposable income, for the sake of their parental calling
And he says, “People who have enough kids for a basketball team are too busy to fight a culture war.” Not quite. I believe I am fighting a culture war every day as I raise my children. I am doing my dead level best to teach them to be “spiritually, emotionally and physically invested in their homes” and to “sacrifice pleasures” for the greater good of the kingdom of God. I pray for them, nurture them, teach them, and love them every single day, and this is how I “fight a culture war.” Culture is made up of people, and a Godly, Christlike culture is made up of people who are committed to living out the life of Christ in all areas of culture. Together we “natalists” can change the culture–peacefully, non-violently–but it’s a struggle nevertheless.