_awakening

Glenn Beck on the DSS.

Seriously. No joke. Check out this little beauty from a recent radio program:

Beck: You know the… Dead Sea Scrolls. You know what they are? Stu, do you know what the Dead Sea Scrolls are? …

Stu: Well, of course I do.

Beck: No, come on. Most people don’t. I’m not…

Stu: I heard of them. I don’t really know.

Beck: You don’t really know, do you. You have no why they were there.

Stu: Nu uh.

Beck: Sarah, average person doesn’t know. Any idea? Take a guess on what, why the Dead Sea Scrolls are there, anything else.

Sarah: Something religious.

Beck: OK good. Even though I’ve explained this on this program a couple of times, I’m glad to see that, I’m glad to see that even the people that work with me everyday don’t even listen.

Stu: Well, there’s, we were actually talking about American Idol last night. The guy won! It was unbelievable.

Beck: All right. So here’s what happened. When Constantine decided he was going to uh… cobble together an army, um, he did the uh… Council of uh… Nicaea, right, Pat?

Pat: Yea.

Beck: Council of Nicaea. Um… and what they did is brought all of the religious figures, uhh, together, all the Christians and then they said, “Ok, let’s uh, put together the Apostles’ Creed, let’s, you know, you guys do it.” So they brought all their religious scripture together, and that’s when the Bible was first bound and everything else. And then they said, “Anybody that disagrees with this is a heretic and… off with their head!” Well, that’s what the Dead Sea Scrolls are. The Dead Sea Scrolls are those scriptures that people had at the time that they said, “They are destroying all of this truth.” Whether it’s truth or not is, is up to the individual, but that… at that time those people thought that this was something that needed to be preserved and so they rolled up the scrolls and they put ‘em in clay pots and they, they put ‘em in the back of caves where no one could find them. They were hidden scripture because everything was being destroyed that disagreed with the Council of Nicaea and Constantine. That’s what those things are.

[Speechless, mouth hanging open.]

Where does one begin? This is just another example of Beck trying to speak of that which he does not know. He should just stop, really.

[HT: Robert Cargill. His response is brilliant and worth the read.]

Seriously?

Apparently Glen Beck is now urging people to leave their churches if their leaders begin to speak about social justice. [Seriously, I'm not making this up.] To make matters... 'er... worse, he notes that the term "social justice" is really just a code word for Communism and Nazism.

You can read more about this here and here.

Honestly, I find this kind of heartbreaking. The scriptures are filled with references to what could be deemed as "social justice" - both the Hebrew Bible, as well as the New Testament. The message of the gospel is something that changes society, bringing about justice and hope. It is about bringing heaven here, and praying, "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." To devoid the gospel of it's social justice component is to cheapen the gospel itself, reducing it to a personalized message of self-help.

My hope is that someone would help Beck nuance his thoughts and rhetoric a bit, as he seems to be quickly becoming the Pat Robertson of political punditry.

[HT: Zach]

America's Addiction.

Thoughtful and wise words from Parker Palmer:

Money quote: "Violence is what happens any time we violate the integrity of the other."

[HT: Mike Todd]

The Age of Stupid.

At a recent global premiere of The Age of Stupid, Thom Yorke performs an acoustic version of Reckoner. It's flat out amazing. The mark of a great song is to be able to alter the arrangement and still have something of substance and beauty. Enjoy.

Amazing Grace?

Mark Galli recently tackled the issue of recent Christians in the news in his article, The Scandal of the Public Evangelical. The article was thought-provoking, but once again the comment section proves to be much more entertaining. [Apparently grace is still a controversial topic...]

I would add one more thing to Galli's thoughts. I don't think society at large is looking for followers of Jesus to be perfect. I think they are looking for them to be authentic, approachable, honest, and responsible. All too often, they get just the opposite.

The Whole of Scripture?

Once again, James McGrath points out the painfully obvious:

Perhaps the most important point to note, however, is how those who claim to be "defending traditional marriage" or "defending Biblical morality" in fact are picking and choosing in ways that suggest ulterior motives on their part. This part of Leviticus includes laws about honesty in business, payment of workers' wages, and treatment of foreigners living in one's territory. Why are such topics ignored by some in favor of a focus on homosexuality? Clearly it is not a desire to be faithful to the Bible that is at the heart of this, since the other matters mentioned are scarcely less pressing issues today. Why do those claiming to "defend marriage" not focus more on divorce, which is the subject of much clearer Biblical teaching and is more obviously a threat to heterosexual marriages? It seems obvious that there must be other motivating factors than those claims. Indeed, one possibility is that this simply reflects an instinct we all have, if we are honest, namely the tendency to focus on that which others are doing, to shift blame, find scapegoats, and see the shortcomings of others more clearly than our own. But on this matter the teaching of Jesus is clear: our focus ought to be on the beams in our own eyes, not on the splinters in others'.

This once again brings us back to a central question. Why is it that some issues have become a sort of "canon within a canon" so to speak? Why are some issues given voice, while others are left silent? We do ourselves, and the scriptures, a great disservice when uncritically and rigorously apply one portion of scripture without the thoughtful engagement of other texts. Simply put, it makes us look like we have an axe to grind, not to mention a lazy hermeneutical approach. If we want to engage culture, we must be more thoughtful it seems to me.

Financial Advice from CNBC.

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Case in point:

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

CNBC Gives Financial Advice

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

[HT: Zach]

44.

You can read the speech in it's entirety here.

Possibilities.

As I spent the morning watching the Inauguration, I kept coming back to the image of Obama's hand on the Lincoln Bible. The only other time this Bible has been used was for Lincoln's Inauguration as President of the United States. I wonder what Lincoln would have thought about this moment. The image captures so much about this moment. Change. Possibilities. A faith in something better, something higher. A vision for America and for the people of this nation - to journey together toward something brighter...

[Timothy Clary/AFP/Getty Images]

Obama's Letter to His Daughters.

Thanks to Scot McKnight for pointing out this letter from our President-Elect to his two daughters. Better days are ahead.

Dear Malia and Sasha,

I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have. But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart. I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me-about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.

I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential-schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college-even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.

I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.

Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country-but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free-that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.

That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something.

She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better-and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be.

I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you've had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much-although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.

These are the things I want for you-to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure.

I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.

Love, Dad