Mother Teresa

Many people are talking about the recent Time article Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith. I wanted to include some links as much for myself as for anyone.

• Mother Teresa's "Crisis of Faith"
• Mother Teresa and the Crisis of Faith
• Mother Teresa and the Mystery of God's Absence
• Mother Teresa's Redemption

"Lost on Gilligan's Island"

Thanks to Cindy Swanson for this clip.

the mournful beast

She looks a little sad. Is she depressed?

the latest "one to watch" at the U.S. Open

Ahsha Rolle. She's on to round 3, after defeating 17-seed Tatiana Golovin.

UPDATE: Rolle didn't survive the 3rd round. She's out. :(

"Become a Better You"

Back in April, I mentioned that Texas pastor Joel Osteen was about to publish another book, Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life. I haven't read the book, of course (it will be released on October 15), but I can only imagine what it contains: various self-help platitudes sided with Bible verses to make it seem more Christian. Honestly, what more can he bring to the self-help/self-improvement aisle that hasn't already been brought? Peruse this list and see how many books are there that offer advice on ways for one to improve one's life. You'd think everyone in America would be self-actualized millionaires by now.

Michael Spencer, never one to mince words, writes a letter to CBD about their endorsement of Osteen's latest book.

the lowdown (or downlow) on jeans

In a growing number of communities, a person wearing sagging jeans can be charged with a criminal offense.

JAMARCUS MARSHALL, a 17-year-old high school sophomore in ansfield, La., believes that no one should be able to tell him how low to wear his jeans. “It’s up to the person who’s wearing the pants,” he said.

Mr. Marshall’s sagging pants, a style popularized in the early 1990s by
hip-hop artists, are becoming a criminal offense in a growing number of communities, including his own.

Starting in Louisiana, an intensifying push by lawmakers has determined pants worn low enough to expose underwear poses a threat to the public, and they have enacted indecency ordinances to stop it.

Males in Delcambre, Louisiana who are charged with this crime (let's be honest, these are males that are doing this - I've never seen a female wear their pants below their hips) may have to pay a $500 fine or spend six months in jail. The Louisiana town of Mansfield has lesser fines and a reduced time in jail.

The article mentions that the phenomenon of sagging pants began in prison, when inmates often wore baggy clothes without belts (this was done out of fear of suicide). It doesn't mention, however, that inmates often took someone wearing sagging pants as a sign that he wanted sexual relations. We've all learned this week that tapping one's foot in a bathroom stall can be seen as a sign of sexual desire. In today's world, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find something that isn't associated with sexuality.

Castro votes Democratic?

Okay, not really. He's just saying that he believes a Clinton-Obama ticket would be "invincible." However, he wanted to make sure his fellow Cubans knew he is no fan of democracy.

"Both of them feel the sacred duty of demanding 'a democratic government in Cuba,'" Castro wrote. "They are not making politics: they are playing a game of cards on a Sunday afternoon."

Castro went on to say he prefers playing Clue on Sunday afternoons.

what is his marital status again?

Devlin Barrett, a writer for the Associated Press, has written this article about Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City: Bloomberg: unwed fathers boost poverty.

Barrett must really want his readers to take notice of Bloomberg's marital status, because he mentions it twice: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a divorced, billionaire dad..., and Fathers have been missing from the table," said the mayor, a divorced father of two who made a fortune creating an eponymous financial data firm. Apparently Barrett didn't think his readers would catch it the first time, so he had to type it again.

the puppet master dance

You can learn a new dance from Frodo Baggins himself. You can dance like the little hobbit, or you can dance like the green-striped guy (which is how I usually dance) - it's entirely up to you!

life lists

Do you have one? If so, what are some of your life goals?

A handy resource guide, at least for the traveller, is this book, specially made for such lists.

we had a lunar eclipse this morning

Did you see it?

Hoosier politics

I sometimes think I don't spend enough time talking about things pertaining to Indiana, my current home state. So that I may remedy the situation, I direct your attention to two political Hoosier stories.

1. Mayor Bart Peterson does indeed have a challenger for the fall - Greg Ballard. He has a website and a blog (through Blogger!).

2. U.S. Rep Julia Carson announced her plan to run for office in 2008. Even though she's been plagued with health problems and has missed votes on the House floor, she thinks she should still be able to drive around Washington.

the parting of the Whites

I want to say from the beginning that this story saddens me. I'm not linking to it because I want to make any proclamations, declarations, or condemnations. There are certain sites in the Christian blogosphere that seem to relish reporting these kinds of stories, if only to show how "their" kind of Christianity is so much better and more true than "some other kind." I'm linking to it because I think it stirs up many issues with which Christians must wrestle. I have many questions about this, and no answers.

Randy and Paula White, the founders and co-pastors of what has been one of the nation's biggest and fastest-growing churches, plan to divorce.

Members of Without Walls International Church reacted with tears and a chorus of "Oh, no's" after the Whites' announcement at Thursday night's service.

Randy called Paula to the podium about an hour into the service. He was somber; Paula appeared choked up.

I'd be interested in knowing about the sermon that Randy preached. What do you speak about just before you tell your congregation that you're divorcing your wife? Did Randy think, Well, these people are here for a sermon, so I'll give them one and then we'll tell them we're divorcing?

"It's the most difficult decision I've ever had to make in my entire life," he told the congregation, describing Paula as an exceptional woman, mother and preacher.

She pledged to return frequently to preach.

Randy had been married before, so is he saying that divorcing his first wife was not a difficult decision?

If Randy is going to continue to pastor at the church (and I see no biblical basis for him to be able to do so), why would Paula return every so often?

The Whites, who've been married nearly 18 years, said in interviews that the split is amicable and comes after visits to counselors over several years.

They blame two lives going in different directions.

If they've been married for so many years and have done so much together, how do their lives go "in different directions?"

He and Paula said the split involves no third party on either side.

What biblical basis enables them to continue their "ministry" if they are divorcing for reasons other than adultery?

(Without Walls church board member Alick Clarke) partially blamed the couple's breakup on their devotion to preaching a prosperity message, exhorting followers to give more money to the church in order to be blessed with greater wealth.

"Too many ministries have become big business. That message is desecrating the church today," said Clarke, adding that he was disturbed to learn that with revenues at $40 million last year, the church was $22 million in debt.

"That's just not right."

Well said, Mr. Clarke.

For the first time in human history, the images’ power and allure have supplanted that of real naked women. Today, real naked women are just bad porn.

Great article by Naomi Wolf on the subject of porn. A sample:

The reason to turn off the porn might become, to thoughtful people, not a moral one but, in a way, a physical- and emotional-health one; you might want to rethink your constant access to porn in the same way that, if you want to be an athlete, you rethink your smoking. The evidence is in: Greater supply of the stimulant equals diminished capacity.

After all, pornography works in the most basic of ways on the brain: It is Pavlovian. An orgasm is one of the biggest reinforcers imaginable. If you associate orgasm with your wife, a kiss, a scent, a body, that is what, over time, will turn you on; if you open your focus to an endless stream of ever-more-transgressive images of cybersex slaves, that is what it will take to turn you on. The ubiquity of sexual images does not free eros but dilutes it.

Of course, the Christian can not escape the moral implications and soul-destroying power of pornography.

He loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah

Were the Beatles talking about Jesus? The pastoral staff at this church seems to think so. If you can't make it to the Tulsa church to hear the series, consider reading this.

Decision Card

The decision card at my church doesn't look like this one. Click on the various options.

(TY, BHT)

Open season

Yes, kids, the U.S. Open has come once again. The last of the Grand Slam tennis tournaments starts later today in not-quite-NYC Flushing Meadows. The fun of Arthur Ashe Kid's Day has faded with the sunset, and the athletes will now get down to business.

With the still-strong Venus Williams, the formidable Justine Henin, and the lovely Maria Sharapova, the women's draw should prove to be very entertaining television. As for the men.... well, I have to admit that I've grown bored with Roger Federer. I admire his abilities and accomplishments, but let's face it - perfection just isn't exciting.

the believer's blessing in Christ

Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things and heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guaranteer of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:3-14 (ESV)

the buff presidency

What do you want your national leaders to look like? Do they need to be fit? Does it matter if they have "let themselves go?" William Howard Taft was our heaviest president, and I don't think his weight would make him electable in these modern times. With the exception of Bill Clinton, our recent presidents have been fairly physically fit. George W. Bush jogs regularly, and it shows. However, I don't think that "W" would do what the 54-year-old Russian president Vladmir Putin has done: take off his shirt to pose for cameras.

of the making of many books, there is no end

How many books did you read last year, if any? This article claims that one of every four adults didn't read a single page of a book.

The survey reveals a nation whose book readers, on the whole, can hardly be called ravenous. The typical person claimed to have read four books in the last year — half read more and half read fewer. Excluding those who hadn't read any, the usual number read was seven.

There seems to be two ways to take this information: snarky or serious.