Christianity is pro-sex -- David Wayne likes sex: "Somehow, those of us who want to preserve sex for marriage need to come up with a more compelling picture of marital sex than we are doing...Yes, those out there in the world are doing sex all wrong - engaging in all kinds of immoral relationships. But at least they can smile when they say the word 'sex.'"
A Worldview Problem -- I remain skeptical about the emergent “conversation”, a movement that appears to want to scrap the church’s modernist underpinnings and replace it with a hypermodernist foundation (often referred to, mistakenly, as post-modernism). But while they provide the wrong answer, the emergent church raises valid concerns about modernism. Meghan from Stepping in Faith examines this problem and looks at how our methods differ from those of Jesus:
Look for example at the way Jesus built the church. He discipled. And He didn’t follow, or set up, a discipleship program. He met each man where he was, and dealt with him on a personal level and at a personal pace, whether that meant offering concrete proofs of His miracles (like with Thomas), allowing lessons to be learned the hard way (like with Peter) or developing the sort of intimate friendship that one imagines included long talks by the fireside (like with John).
“Whether it’s modernity or postmodernity, the underlying problem is the same,” adds Meghan, “by absorbing cultural worldviews the church treads dangerous ground.”
The Haditha Incident -- David Smith: “Some of the best people I have ever known were and are United States Marines. However, some of the most despicable people I have ever known were also United States Marines.”
I love the Corps and love my fellow Marines, but David is right. And while I'll wait until the verdict is in before I pass judgement, I won't be surprised if these Marines are found to be innocent. I also won't be surprised if they are found guilty. Alongside the brave and virtuous stand the cowardly and wicked. They are fewer in number but they are always there and its not always easy to tell which group a Marine belongs.
It's an Honor -- I've never been honored with a Warnie or been King for the Week. So it was quite a thrill to be recognized as the Baloney Buster of the Week, an award given for, well, I’m not exactly sure why. But having been passed over for lunchmeat awards in the past, I'm honored to be this week's recipient.
1
Just want to thank you for getting the use of postmodern/hypermodern (or just plain modern--I don't think hypermodern is really useful, still) right, here. The vaunted "postmodern" conversation thingie is really almost never actually informed by any actual post-modern cultural criticism or post-structuralist sociolinguistic analysis. They are, indeed, just using "post" for vogue reasons, and the sooner that fades, the better for all--not least those of us who seriously study post-structuralism.
And I like the sex post over at JollyBlogger, too.
Cheers,
PGE
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Joe
As a fellow Jarhead, I sit with 'bated breath for the results of the Haditha investigation. I strongly suspect (hope?) that we're getting biased media reporting on this. What has not yet been widely reported is the insurgents' willingness to kill civilians if it can in any way be blamed on the Americans. I have this on the word of a corporal who served with 1st Battalion, 5th Marines in both Fallujah and Ramadi, a fine Christian man whose word I don''t doubt.
At the same time, I sadly suspect the story is true. (Definition of ambivalence: seeing your mother-in-law drive over a cliff in your new car.) I know the incredible pressure these guys are under, the constant attacks by IEDs, the inability to find someone to shoot back at although you know he's probably watching you as you search. In my war, Vietnam, it was similar, constantly dealing with booby traps, mines and punji stakes outside of villages where everyone swears the VC had never been around.
posted on 06.02.2006 10:20 AM3
Joe,
Not sure if you got your review copy of my book on this topic....you had expressed interest, if memory serves, in reviewing it.
Blessings,
Alex Chediak
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Whoops! The topic I was referring to was the Jollyblogger post of "sex is good."
I agree with your smile comment, Joe...that's why I thought you'd like my book.
Alex
posted on 06.02.2006 12:55 PM5
“but David is right”
That reads a whole lot better than what I usually see, “David is right, but…”
I sure hope this incident is not as bad as it seems. Incidentally, even the chosen 12 included 1 bad apple. Every group has a few; the Marine Corps probably has much fewer than a normal distribution.
6
I can neither confirm nor deny that I like sex. Well, actually I can, but I've probably said too much already.
posted on 06.02.2006 3:54 PM7
If Jesus showed up in today's times, would he even need disciples? Couldn't he just have a blog?
posted on 06.02.2006 6:41 PM8
having been passed over for lunchmeat awards in the past
Joe, you are definitely deserving of any lunchmeat award in existence!! ;-)
posted on 06.02.2006 10:06 PM9
Christianity views sex as a dangerous, combustible thing - it's like the 10 commandments in the ark, and can only be pulled out by those that are ritually pure, etc. That simply doesn't fit with the banality of sex that is produced by our hypermedia world.
posted on 06.04.2006 10:22 AM11
"Haditha, though rare, is probably not an isolated incident. " David Smith
"I sadly suspect the story is true." tom
Do you guys know something the rest of us don't? Unless you do know something we do not, your statements are just ignorant, malicious, and slanderous. Do you think you're being helpful?
I pray our warfighters "over there" do not read your irresponsible, careless, and unsubstantiated comments. Marines already have Cong. Murtha kicking them around in public, they don't need anymore former Marines to pile on. Shameful and dishonorable.
Wait until the investigation is complete before you add anymore noise.
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Hi Darryl,
I really was trying to be helpful in explaining the Marine Corps to those who may not know the real Marine Corps. My piece was about the nature of the Marine Corps and marines, not the specifics of the Haditha incident. I knew when I first heard about Haditha, many Americans would assume the marines were guilty of war crimes and many Americans would automatically defend the marines. My reaction was to want to defend the marines involved, but I know enough about the Marine Corps, although not as much as Joe and others, to know a massacre could have happened. Marines are not choir boys. There are some really bad apples in the Marine Corps. Good marines know this and will not be affected by what I write.
Since I wrote my piece, I have heard from a Marine who knows some of the accused soldiers. He does not believe some of the soldiers involved are bad apples, but he knows something bad happened in Haditha. He also believes the accused Marines will get a fair hearing. I’m not so sure.
The incident happened in November. The facts are known to the Marine Corps leadership. There is no investigation left to complete. The only thing left is the application of military justice, the political considerations, and the amount of detail to make public.