Word of the Day - 2/21/2008

Conflagration

A conflagration is a destructive fire, usually an extensive one.

The LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with a conflagration from heaven. (Genesis 19:24) Two less notorious cities of the plain were extinguished as well, Admah and Zeboiim. (Deuteronomy 29:23, Hosea 11:8)

In Eckleburg's Eyes - 2/21/2008

Last night, MPW and I returned to our seats in 315A to watch our Vols annihilate Auburn. I was very pleased with the result as I had driven all the way to Auburn last year only to watch us lose.

We corrected two mistakes from our previous trip and I made another huge one. On the plus side, we did not “upgrade” our seats for this game and I actually wore a hoodie to combat the cold weather. Believe it or not, people were actually in our seats when we got there. I guess they realized that we have the best seats in the house.

The dumb thing I did was go to the game. I had been bedridden all day with a flu-like symptoms. I really wanted to go though as this was the last game of the season that was untelevised. So I took enough medication to numb Secretariat and we were on our way. I actually felt okay except for the hike up to our seats. I really thought I might collapse right there in front of God and everybody.

Tennessee dominated on the court. My analysis is filed under the “View from 315A.”

The only downside was that in a year of sub-par halftime programs, Tennessee hit an all-time low. A so-called band called the Sons of Bruce performed a song called “The Bruce is Loose.” Their video introduction was longer than the performance itself. The only time I have ever heard of anyone flopping that bad was in a Sunday School performance in which SMA, CEH, and I performed a self written song about LEJ. I know good and well the look on someone’s face when they are simply embarrassed for you as you do something and that was the gaze plastered across 20,000 faces last night. You can check out the video at http://www.bruceisloose.com/.

You will notice on their web site, that CBC-Bearden member Chase Pattison is in the group. Sorry, Chase. You are very talented and a redhead on top of that but this was a debacle.

If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times, just bring out little kids playing basketball or a geriatric chiropractor shooting three-pointers.

Amazingly, just after they performed, senior point guard Jordan Howell did a recorded performance of Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get in On” on the big screen. He sang and played the piano. He was surprisingly good. Still, MPW and I could not help but think about the fact that this crooning little man gave 6'9" Wayne Chism a concussion earlier in the season.

After the game, and with me getting increasingly congested, we went to Applebees for half priced appetizers in a never ending meal as our waitress “did not see” us at first and then must have forgotten our existence entirely. While there I ran into my old high school buddy, MLW. More importantly, I get numerous phone calls relating to the breakup of the six-year relationship of PAT and WRK. Please keep all involved in this relationship in your prayers.

Prayer Blog - 2/20/2008

RP aka "Elvis" is very ill. You know it is serious when a grown man voluntarily consults a doctor. I pray for a speedy recovery.

Bible Trivia - 2/20/2008

Question: What did the first recorded woman thief in the Bible (other than Eve) steal?

Answer: Household idols (Genesis 31:19).

Comments: Rachel, daughter of Laban and wife of Jacob, steals her father's household gods (teraphim) as she and her family are fleeing her father’s household.. When her father corrales the escapees searching for the goods, Rachel avoids interrogation as she shrewdly informs her father that "the manner of women is upon me." (Genesis 31:35)

On the surface it appears that Rachel is hedging her bets in regards to her devotion and she seems to suffer no consequences for her theft.

Rabbis offer two suggestions as to her motivation, both presenting the matriarch in a positive light. Some contend that she was attempting to conceal residue of her and her family's escape route. Others claim she was simply trying to end her father's pagan ways the best way she knew how and in her presumably last opportunity to do so.

She may have suffered some consequences for this indiscretion as her husband put a curse on the perpetrator not kniwng his beloved wife was the culprit. Rachel is the only one of four Jewish matriarchs not buried in the family's burial plot in the Cave of Machpelah. Further her descendant Saul has only a brief reign as ruler over Israel whereas her sister Leah's descendants, David, Solomon, etc. maintained the throne.

Word of the Day - 2/20/2008

Degust

To degust is to taste or savor carefully or appreciatively.

Before administering his blessing, Isaac wished to first degust a fresh, home cooked meal(Genesis 27:3-5).It appears a preoccupation with food ran in the patriarchal family as Esau was rooked first out of his birthright by his own appetite (Genesis 25) and then his blessing by his father’s (Genesis 27). His brother Jacob’s duplicity did not help the cause either.

In Eckleburg's Eyes - 2/20/2008

Tuesday night was spent celebrating the end of WAM’s convalescence. He had been quite ill and, in my estimation, his recuperation was means for revelry. (As I get older, the cause that necessitates celebration diminishes.) So WAM, KLTW, KJW, RAW, and myself gathered at RAW’s home. KLTW cooked us a large breakfast for dinner, even cooking WAM French toast at his request. Her cooking was wonderful as usual.

While KLTW cooked, I undertook the futile task of cleaning KJW’s room. I estimate that she will have the room back to its typical state of disarray in fifteen minutes or less. I later learned not to place the noisy toys near the door as her mother tripped on a singing vacuum cleaner after finally getting KJW to sleep. Lesson learned.

Who on earth developed the concept of a singing vacuum cleaner?

KJW’s fascination with fashion is evident as she tends to try on any accessory that happens to be within her grasp. On this night, she modeled her own shades (left) as well as her mother’s (right). Heidi Klum’s got nothing on KJW!

I am thisclose to convincing her mother into entering KJW into a baby contest at Wal-Mart, solely to merit the gift card awarded the winner. I confess, that I had also thought about rooking her out of the title by not telling her, scavenging the web for Jessica Alba’s baby pictures, and winning by virtue of them. Nowhere in the contest rules does it say that I ever have to produce the child in the photo. I am sure other ministers had the same idea when seeing the contest...

Little did we know that the night would represent a major milestone in the life of KJW. It was the day that she discovered the "duh-dun-duh-dun!" At the dinner table we exhausted the supply of paper towels, leaving only the cardboard tube. It was then that she learned she could use the tube to amplify her voice. The "duh-dun-duh-dun!" was named by her cousin, CJT, because of the sound he made when he used it. I am honored to have been there for KJW’s first ultrasound, her birth, her first birthday, etc. but this was an especially significant turning point in her life.

We let WAM, as the guest of honor, select the night’s entertainment and he picked the movie 300. I did not make it through the film as when KJW went to bed, I took advantage of the pause to call it a night as well. I was so tired from an exhausting day. It reminded me of a 1965 episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" in which he is unjustly arrested and his only alibi is that he implausibly slept through The Guns of Navarone at the time of the crime. For my pride’s sake, I did want to stay up later than the toddler.

I will say, I had already seen 300 and enjoyed it. I would recommend "The History Channel Presents Last Stand of the 300 - The Legendary Battle at Thermopylae", now available on DVD. As a self respecting nerd, I am totally biased towards the History Channel’s version. Besides, fact is usually better than fiction.

Yestertday also marked the 30th birthday of my high school friend CAR. I did not forget!

Associated Baptist Press - 2/19/2008

Associated Baptist Press
February 19, 2008 (8-20)

IN THIS ISSUE:
Post-Covenant criticism comes from left, right
Ed Young says he didn’t argue with Clinton about Bible literality
Opinion: Emerging evangelical center may decide 2008 election

Post-Covenant criticism comes from left, right
By Hannah Elliott
NEW YORK (ABP) -- Although organizers hailed a recent pan-Baptist gathering as a success, a handful of critics have leveled a wide array of charges against the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant.
The critics of the event, held in Atlanta in late January and early February, include conservatives who continue to accuse it of having a thinly veiled liberal political agenda. But they also include moderates and liberals who say the gathering was not inclusive enough of ethnic and sexual minorities.
The Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant drew an estimated 15,000 Baptists to discuss working together despite denominational, ethnic, political and economic differences. Its headline organizers were the two living Baptists who have held the presidency: Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
Many observers praised the event as a momentous occasion that generated new unity, energy and focus for Baptists across North America. It earned rave reviews from secular and religious media outlets alike as a crucial first step in the walk toward racial reconciliation in the Baptist faith.
Covenant leaders like Leo Thorne, associate general secretary of American Baptist Churches USA, even said the diversity of political opinion actually adds quality to the discussion.
“It doesn’t make any difference what decision you make or action you take, there are always people who use their freedoms to express disagreement,” Thorne said. “That’s rich. That’s energizing. That’s wonderful that we can have a diversity of opinions of issues.... If there are those who disagree, that is okay with me.”
But Carter and Clinton’s involvement in the event and the lack of official participation by the Southern Baptist Convention on a denominational level led many conservatives to criticize the celebration soon after it was announced in 2007. Although organizers made an effort to include prominent Baptist Republicans in the program, some conservatives have continued to criticize it. Paul Proctor, in a Feb. 11 column for the Nashville Tennessean, said the celebration achieved only an “image of unity,” which validated conservatives’ critique that liberals tend to promote “symbolism over substance.”
“As far as I'm concerned, outgoing SBC president Frank Page, who incidentally declined the invitation to attend, was right on calling the meeting a ‘smoke-screen left-wing liberal agenda,’” Proctor wrote. “Carter can preach Christian unity all he wants, but he was the one who spurned the Southern Baptist Convention back in 2000. If anyone is guilty of promoting division among Baptists, it is the presidential peanut farmer from Georgia.”
More progressive Baptists also criticized the event for insufficiently displaying unity amid diversity.
Laura Cadena, a graduate of George W. Truett Theological Seminary and a member of Peachtree Baptist Church in Atlanta, said the meeting’s rhetoric of Baptist unity appealed to her, and she attended to observe it as well as see friends from her Texas seminary days. But, she added in a Feb. 7 opinion column for EthicsDaily.com, the meeting proved to be a letdown when it came to representing all Baptist groups.
“I think that we could have done better, but it’s a beginning,” Cadena, 33, said. “I think that if the planning committee could have been more diverse -- and by that I mean including more women, more young people, more Asian Baptists, maybe more Ghanaian Baptists -- that would have been good.”
On the other hand, in a Feb. 8 Wall Street Journal column, Naomi Schaefer Riley described the event as a “liberal answer to the Southern Baptist Convention.” She said it showed how difficult it is for progressive evangelicals “to unite, let alone get under the same tent with secular liberals and become a political force….
“The New Baptist Covenant is supposed to be more ‘inclusive’ than the SBC. It's OK to rail against abortion, as long as you mention the problem of uninsured children in the same breath,” she said. “The group also wanted to distinguish itself from the SBC on the issue of homosexuality. But to get all of these church groups to sign on, the language of the agreement had to be chosen very carefully.”
Todd Thomason, pastor of Baptist Temple Church in Alexandria, Va., wrote in a column to be published by Associated Baptist Press that he’s not convinced there is much new about the covenant celebrated at the meeting, especially when it comes to the issue of homosexuality.
Organizers decided not to allow the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists or the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America -- two pro-gay groups -- to participate in the event in an official manner. That decision, Thomason said, smacks of the “top-down exclusionary action” used by Southern Baptist leaders during the narrowing of the group’s policies in the last 20 years.
Champions of the New Baptist Covenant “cried foul when the leaders of the so-called ‘conservative resurgence’ seized the reins of power within the SBC and then circled the wagons, forcing out all who wouldn’t accept their narrow ideology or who dared to ask questions,” he wrote. “For these same Baptists to turn around now and disenfranchise other Baptists in much the same way (if not on the same scale) is the height of biblical hypocrisy.”
Covenant leaders “didn't think they could hold together the large coalition of Baptists needed to create a new Baptist voice in North America while addressing the issue of sexual orientation at the same time,” wrote Ken Pennings, director of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Event organizers have said homosexuality is to be “tolerated,” though not necessarily “affirmed.” While the pro-gay groups were not involved on an official level, many of their members attended, and they used exhibit-booth space provided by the Alliance of Baptists -- another pro-gay group -- to display materials at the meeting.
Cadena -- a fifth-generation Texan of Hispanic background – also wondered why participants from her ethnic group were not better represented at the meeting. She asked whether there is “room in the family photo for Latino Baptists?”
“Where do we fit? Here in the South, Latinos are relatively new … there are not enough people that speak Spanish, there are not enough doctors that speak Spanish, there are not enough teachers that speak Spanish,” she said. “So what does a Hispanic church look like? I don’t know.” Cadena said the meeting should have included specified time for networking between people from the same region or affinity group. That way, Latinos could have seen more clearly whether they should wait to be included in leadership of the larger Baptist family or create their own group.
Schaefer Riley, for her part, pointed out that one thing attendees did have in common was their age, which skewed to the older end of the spectrum. And that doesn’t bode well for the movement, she said.
“The reason for the overrepresentation of seniors may be that young people have increasingly been moving to non-denominational churches or because they are often more conservative than their parents on issues like abortion,” she wrote. “Either way, it doesn't bode well for the Covenant. Or for the left.”
Thorne said Covenant leaders will continue to address such concerns, especially through the efforts of the North American Baptist Fellowship, which played a large role in organizing the meeting. The body is the umbrella group for all North American Baptist bodies that belong to the Baptist World Alliance.
Leaders at NABF “are serous about continuing to strengthen relationships and efforts in networking for missions,” Thorne said. “They are committed to that. So this event … is not going to be a program that is a be-all and end-all.”
-30-
--Robert Marus contributed to this story.

Gay-friendly Baptist groups excluded from New Baptist Covenant event (7/24/2007)
SBC officials reject Carter, unity talk, but not all Southern Baptists join chorus (1/12/2007)
Ed Young says he didn’t argue with Clinton about Bible literality
By Hannah Elliott
NEW YORK (ABP) -- Bill Clinton may have had Ed Young confused with another Southern Baptist pastor or may simply have chosen to remember a 1993 encounter falsely when he spoke to a group of Baptists several weeks ago, according to the Houston pastor.
Young, pastor of Houston’s Second Baptist Church, sent a letter to Clinton’s foundation disputing the former president’s recollection, which he mentioned during the recent Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant meeting in Atlanta. It concerned a meeting between the two that Clinton said involved a morning run and a White House breakfast.
Young, a former Southern Baptist Convention president, said he greatly enjoyed the time with Clinton, former vice president Al Gore and several other pastors. But it simply was nothing like Clinton described in the speech.
“I just think he pulled it out of the fantasy file. I really do,” he said.
In a keynote address Feb. 1, Clinton told the crowd that in 1993, Young, then-president of the SBC, had requested a meeting with Clinton and Gore. After a 40-minute run on the National Mall and breakfast on the White House’s Truman Balcony, Clinton said, Young asked him, “Do you believe the Bible is literally true?”
Clinton told the crowd he said, “Reverend Young, I think that it is completely true, but I do not believe that you or I or any other living person is wise enough to understand it completely. He said, ‘that’s a political answer,’ and I said, ‘No it’s not. You asked a political question.’”
Young said he was shocked when one of his aides showed him the transcript from Clinton’s speech.
“I was stunned. I said, ‘You’re kidding me.’ I thought they set me up,” Young said. “The point is, I don’t go to the White House every day. That’s a big thing for me. [The conversation] didn’t happen. So many of the things he said weren’t true.”
The former president also told the crowd that the men had “a remarkable breakfast” while they debated several issues. Gore allegedly told Young, “You know I love my Baptist roots, but I have three daughters and a son, and I don't think it’s right that only my son can become a minister.” Clinton said Young and Gore then “argued” about the subject of women in ministry.
But Young said Feb. 14 that he never solicited a meeting with Clinton. Rather, he contended, a Clinton aide invited him to Washington.
“For the record, we did not have a meal together,” Young wrote in the Feb. 8 letter, sent to Clinton’s New York-based foundation office. “The next morning after our meeting on the Truman Balcony, we did jog the Washington Mall. … Vice President Gore did ask about women in the ministry. Your account of his question was right on target. But there was absolutely no argument. There was nothing to argue about.”
Young said he told Gore and Clinton he opposed women serving in pastoral roles, but respected the autonomy of local Baptist churches to ordain women if they so chose.
Young said the most egregious of Clinton’s errors in his speech regarded the question of whether the Bible is literally true.
“I do not believe the Bible is literally, in the normal definition of the word, true,” Young wrote to Clinton. “Jesus said, ‘I am the door.’ No one takes that ‘literally.’ As you know, sir, in the Bible there are metaphors, parables, hyperbole, poetry, apocalyptic language, etc., and the Bible cannot be understood by anyone who would be foolish enough to think that you can take the Word of God literally. Also, at no time during our visit did I use the pejorative phrase, ‘slick political answer.’”
Representatives from the William J. Clinton Foundation did not respond to requests from an Associated Baptist Press reporter for a response to Young’s contentions.
Young, for his part, said the exchange with Clinton has not soured his take on the New Baptist Covenant event, which he had not followed closely prior to its meeting. Several of his conservative Southern Baptist colleagues had decried the historic meeting of several different Baptist groups. They alleged that it was a narrowly-veiled attempt to rally support for a liberal political agenda, even though prominent Baptist Republicans participated.
“I think there is a tendency from all around the whole controversy in Baptist life to take the right wing or the left wing or the moderate wing and try to put [words] into their mouths and interpret what they believe in a pejorative way,” he said. “That is a tendency of all of us.
“My philosophy and theology can be summed up very simply: In essentials unity; in nonessentials diversity; in all things love. In all things there are non-essentials, and that’s where the controversy lies.”
As a member of the board of directors of the Greater Houston Partnership, which hosts a presidential debate prior to the Texas primary, Young in his letter invited the former president to meet with him in Texas, should Clinton accompany Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) to the debate.
He does not expect to receive a response to the invitation, he said.
-30-
Respond to critics with 'spirit of love,' Clinton tells Baptists (2/2)
Opinion: Emerging evangelical center may decide 2008 election
By David Gushee
Last summer I completed a book arguing that an evangelical center is emerging in American life and that it shows signs of displacing the vaunted but fading “Christian right” in the hearts and minds of American evangelicals--especially among younger and non-white Christian believers. Events occurring during this presidential campaign demonstrate this is happening already.
The factual argument of my book, The Future of Faith in American Politics, is that the American evangelical community shares core Christian beliefs but does not (and never did) exhibit political consensus. I argue that besides the widely recognized evangelical right, symbolized by figures such as James Dobson and the late Jerry Falwell, and the evangelical left, symbolized by activists such as Jim Wallis and Tony Campolo, today there is emerging a visible and increasingly powerful evangelical center, whose most influential figures are probably the megachurch pastor Rick Warren and the lobbyist Richard Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals. My book names dozens of figures who can be placed in the various camps.
The evangelical center shares with the right its deep opposition to abortion, concern about the decline of marriage and the eroding well-being of children in our society, worries about the moral content of mass media, and rejection of the morality of sex outside of heterosexual marriage. It rejects, however, the right’s entanglement with and loyalty to the Republican Party, its relatively narrow focus on issues primarily related to sexuality, and its mood of angry nostalgia and aggrieved entitlement about the Christian role in American society.
The evangelical center, in turn, shares with the evangelical left a strong emphasis on the plight of the poor, attention to racism as a moral and policy issue, opposition to the routine resort to war by the United States, a high priority to creation care and acceptance of the seriousness of climate change, commitment to finding a humane solution to the immigration issue, and conviction that human-rights commitments require wholehearted opposition to torture in the U.S. war on terror. It tends to differ from the left in its more careful commitment to political independence, its stronger and more thorough attention to issues of abortion, family, and sexuality, and its willingness to support the moral legitimacy of some (though not all) U.S. military actions.
In some ways the towering presence of the evangelical right has made it difficult until recently for any kind of alternative voices to gain a broad cultural hearing. For many, the word “evangelical” has equaled “Christian right.” For just as long as there has been an evangelical right (about 35 years), a small and largely ignored evangelical left has sought to carve out an alternative. Now it is time for all cultural observers to acknowledge that the evangelical political landscape is fragmented along right/center/left lines -- just like, for example, Catholics, females and Hispanics.
Polling data already available when I wrote the book led me to argue that non-white evangelicals and younger evangelicals definitely skewed in a centrist or more liberal direction overall than did older white evangelicals. This led me to project that generational change and increasing demographic diversity among the evangelical population in the United States would lead to the emergence of a strong and visible evangelical center, a more muscular evangelical left, and in some cases a center-left coalition representing half or more of American evangelicals.
These days everyone is talking about the presidential campaign and especially how evangelical voting behavior has been evolving. Though there is a long journey awaiting us between now and November, outcomes so far seem to confirm at least parts of the argument I am proposing.
On the Republican side, the evangelical right was unable to coalesce around a candidate who reflected their classic positions. Perhaps the closest ones were the long-forgotten Sam Brownback and Alan Keyes. Only now is the evangelical right showing signs of closing rank around Mike Huckabee as an alternative to John McCain. But it was a long time coming, and this was no doubt because the pre-2008 Huckabee record exhibited centrist or progressive strains on such issues as immigration, the death penalty, and economic inequality. Even during the campaign he has made what are to centrists promising comments about issues such as climate change and ending torture. As it stands, the two remaining Republican candidates reflect at least a number of commitments that point toward the center rather than the right, much to the frustration of the right.
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both offer policy stances rooted in moral commitments sometimes openly traced to Christian values. Their positions on such issues as torture, poverty, health care, immigration, war and climate reflect stances held by both the evangelical center and left. To the extent that either or both offer clear statements on the moral tragedy of abortion and concrete policies to reduce the number of abortions, they may well succeed in gaining the support of many centrist evangelical voters who are genuine independents and could consider supporting a candidate of either party. It is not clear whether the homosexuality issue will prove as salient to evangelicals, especially centrists, as it did in 2004.
It is quite possible that the votes of centrist evangelicals—perhaps representing as many as one-third of our nation’s massive evangelical community—will decide the election this fall.
I believe that the emerging evangelical center represents a maturing of the Christian public voice in American life. This is a more peaceable, forward-looking, holistic and independent approach to politics than what has come to carry the evangelical label. Its emergence is good for our nation and for evangelicals. Centrist evangelicals bear watching in this election and beyond.
-30-
-- David Gushee is distinguished university professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University. http://www.davidpgushee.com/

Separated at Birth?

Current University of Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl (left) and WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Don Muraco (right).

Prayer Blog - 2/19/2008

KLTW's niece, SM, is pregnant. At age 21, this is the eighth child she has carried. None of the children have been carried to term, and only two have survived thus far. Earlier in the year, she lost twins. She seeks a large family to compensate for the lack of her own growing up.

Let her body endure another pregnancy. Grant her Your wisdom concerning future pregnancies. Provide something to fill the space of family in her life.

Bible Trivia - 2/19/2008

Question: To which tribe of Israel did Paul belong?

Answer: Benjamin (Philippians 3:5).

Comments: Paul was originally known as Saul, the name of the first king of Israel. Both Sauls were from the tribe of Israel.

The only other Biblical Saul is a king of Edom referenced in Genesis 36:37, 38. The King James Version and its successor (NKJV) render his name Saul while most other modern translations call him “Shaul” (CEV, ESV, NASB, NIV, NLT, NRSV, RSV).

Word of the Day - 2/19/2008

Dissolute

Dissolute means indifferent to moral restraints; given to immoral or improper conduct; licentious; dissipated.

Members from the church at Corinth informed Paul that some of its members were dissolute (I Corinthians 5:1). From the tone of I Corinthians, that may have been an understatement.

In Eckleburg's Eyes - 2/19/2008

Monday went by quickly. After a smash and grab breakfast with SMA at Shoney’s, I set out to purchase Built to Spill’s 1994 CD “There’s Nothing Wrong With Love.” This is newsworthy as I rarely buy new CDs (or anything else new for that matter). This is the first of many times I will lament the Disc Exchange West’s closing as Borders was sold out and I was forced to make the trip to South Knoxville to the original Disc Exchange to purchase the album. Several of the employees from the West Store have relocated there, so at least I had the same feeling of musical ignorance that engulfed me at the old store.

I spent Monday night eating with my parents at a very crowded Calhoun’s (it’s Burger Monday, man!) and after stopping to see JTH, I spent the evening with RAW, KLTW, and KJW. They had asked me over for tacos but I already had dinner plans with my family. It is a good thing to as the girls far exceeded their usual taco intake and there would not have been enough for me anyway. They both need to put on some weight. Problems I wish I had...

We just hung out, or as we Baptists say had fellowship. We did not watch any television or movies, play games, etc. It was nice. We did have great entertainment in the form of KJW.

My mother loves KJW as much as I do so I asked KJW if she wanted to call her. Since she loves my cell phone, she said, “Oday” (her standard form of consent). When I got my mother on the line, KJW got shy. She rapidly and definitively said “No!” to anything I would ask her. I thought I would play this to my advantage, so after a dozen negatives, I asked her, “Do you want your Uncle Chan to change your diaper?” She responded, “Oday.” Comedic timing like that cannot be taught.

We also found great amusement when RAW clipped her Valentine’s Day balloon to the back of her shirt. It is a large (relative to her) mylar balloon. We convinced her that the balloon was chasing her and she ran for minutes around the house looking back, batting at it, etc. trying to evade it as RAW and laughed. Though as I type this it sounds strangely like torture, all we could think was - “why have we not thought of this before?”

The floor show also included dancing, her staple Fast Feet™, and several costume changes (some unplanned and in front of the audience). The highlight of the impromptu wardrobe switches was her deciding to wear her favorite hat, a Winnie the Pooh bucket hat. I could go on and on and bout that kid, and in fact I have.

Despite KJW’s precociousness, the best news of the day is that BCA secured tickets for the SEC basketball tournament in March for SMA and me. She was worried that we would be disappointed that the seats were in the rafters. Was she kidding? I have always wanted to go. The Vols have never done well in the tournament and I am hoping our presence will break the trend.

Bible Trivia - 2/18/2008

Question: How did Rahab make a living?

Answer: As a prostitute. (Joshua 2:1)

Comments: Rahab was a prostitute who housed Israelite spies on a reconnaissance mission to Jericho, prior to the conquest of the Promised Land. Her house provided a strategic location as it was built into the city wall, giving the investigators a bird’s eye view fo the city.

So it can be said that the spies stayed at a prostitute’s home to get the lay of the land.

Word of the Day - 2/18/2008

Impuissance

Impuissance is feebleness, weakness.

Paul said that he would boast of his impuissance so that the power of Christ might dwell in him. (II Corinthians 12:9)

In Eckleburg's Eyes - 2/18/2008

My weekend activities centered around another road trip following Tennessee basketball, this time to Athens, GA. Our last trip was to Starville, MS. Either I am a big fan of the Vol basketball team or I just like looking at people in Bulldog costumes. You be the judge.

The fact that I intended to go to the game on Saturday was the extent of my planning. I assumed I would meet my friends, SMA and MPW, who were each driving separately, perhaps in Atlanta. This all changed Friday morning when SMA, who lives in Birmingham, made an unexpected visit to my house, choosing to ride together. The fact that this was unplanned is evidenced by his going commando. This fact unnerved me and I wanted to spread that sentiment.

On Friday morning we left Knoxville with no map, no hotel reservation, and no tickets to the sold out game. You may hear this and think that this is a recipe for disaster. We prefer to regard it as a blueprint for adventure.

We broke the trip up by first stopping in Chattanooga. This allowed me to make my obligatory stop at McKay Used Books and CDs as well as a jaunt to Wal-Mart for SMA to purchase underwear. I am not sure which was a bigger concern - for me.

I nixed SMA’s suggestion of eating at Five Guys in Chattanooga as I like to eat in places I cannot at home while on road trips. After scavenging a crowded sector of Chattanooga and getting back on the interstate, we ultimately ate at the Cracker Barrel in Dalton, GA. I suppose my hunger outweighed my desire for adventure.

We next stopped in Atlanta for a Horseman Reunion with MHD and his wife LD. It was the first time we have gotten together since their wedding last April. MHD is one of our all-time favorite people and we were a little concerned that our married comrade with a corporate job had outgrown us. When we arrived we soon learned that the couple had celebrated Valentine’s Day by attending Step Up 2 the Streets as a humorous endeavor and their plans for St. Patrick’s Day were to throw a Protestant party to rebel against LD’s job at a Catholic school. Our fears were clearly unwarranted.

We toured their home, near their alma mater, Oglethorpe. MHD was especially proud of his basement, which we are pretty sure was the basis for the Saw movie series. We discussed all of the important issues - professional wrestlers (real and fake), crazy story concepts (featuring obelisks, zombies, his basement, etc.), and the once unfathomable concept that my hair is longer than MHD’s. LD was so understanding as we laughed, reminisced and talked of nothingness. The visit was great and I had already decided that if Athens was a bust, the trip had already been a success.

I had hoped to see my seminary friend CAB on Friday night, but she was in South Carolina celebrating her mother’s birthday. So, after a brief nostalgic look at my seminary’s campus, we decided to spend the night in Athens.

I have been to Athens several times, most notably for two football games and chauffeuring PRJ throughout the city, but this is one of the first times I really had time to tour it.

Our first stop in Athens was the 40 Watt Club. It is a historic venue that launched many careers, including numerous "Athens bands" such as R.E.M., Drivin' and Cryin', and the Indigo Girls. The Krush Girls were performing on this night. Disinterested in their act, we opted to view the building from the outside. The structure itself is not overly impressive, situated in an average corner building, but a great venue’s magic is not in the brick and mortar. Despite its unimpressive exterior, we were glad we saw it.

We then got our hotel room at a Howard Johnson Express. It was my choice as, to my knowledge, I had never stayed at a HoJos and I liked the 1980's baseball player of the same name. Unbeknownst to us, we were staying at a modern marvel. I have no idea how such thin walls were structurally sound. Our “neighbors” were a young family. This was probably the second worst scenario behind a newlywed couple, as at least children have bedtimes. Then again, I would really have pity on anyone honeymooning at the Howard Johnson Express in Athens. The hotel served its purpose though and we were pleased enough that it strangely resembled the hotel featured in the movie Bottle Rocket

After checking in, we ate at a nearby Applebees, primarily out of convenience and to a lesser degree my affinity for their appetizers. Unfortunately, in Georgia, Applebees franchises do not carry potato skins. Why!?!?!

My only other complaint regarding Friday was the fact that I missed a party held every February in Knoxville of our old friends from Newport. I missed you guys.

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On Saturday, we ate at a small restaurant called the the Basil Press. It was very nice, lodged in an old downtown building with stained glass windows. We liked everything about it. Upon the recommendation of the server, I had the mutton French dip. It was one of the best sandwiches I have ever eaten. The service was wonderful as well. The manager’s brother actually manages the Tomato Head restaurant in Knoxville.

After lunch, we went about the task of securing tickets. We quickly learned that the box office would be of no use to us, so we went to an ATM. Before processing his request, the ATM machine asked us if a $2 service charge was going to be acceptable for the withdrawal. We thought about cancelling the transaction and just driving back to Knoxville at that very moment.

Unlike any game we have been to in some time, we could not find a scalper anywhere near Stegeman Coliseum. It was about an hour and a half before tip-off and we were getting a little concerned. Then, by chance, we met a nice couple who had season tickets. Seeing me enquiring about tickets from a passerby, they offered us to sit with them in their season tickets at a very reasonable price. We wound up sitting in the eleventh row. I honestly think we reminded them of their children. Dumbstruck by our good fortune, at that moment, I decided not to be obnoxious during the game. I tried. Honestly, I did. As the intensity of the game escalated, so did my obnoxiousness. I am not sure they did not regret their decision to sit by us.

There is a natural tendency to want to compensate for the home fans by being louder. It is a license to be obnoxious, if you will. The problem is, when you are already obnoxious to begin with, it can become excessive. We did have fun though.

A chance encounter with a former president of Tennessee’s Atlanta Alumni Association gave me a new perspective on the ticket situation. It seems she tried to order tickets for her group, but a Knoxville group had already bought up four hundred seats. The ticket office would not sell her any. The game was “sold out” but a good portion of the stadium was empty. Tennessee had a huge throng of fans and at times, it seemed like a home game. I suppose Georgia would rather have empty seats than Vol fans.

Before the game, Tennessee sophomore J.P. Prince’s father talked to us. He actually initiated the encounter. Camaraderie at road games never ceases to amaze me. I was also agape that I actually knew what our player’s father looked like. I really am a groupie...

My thoughts on the game were posted in the “View from 315A.”

After the game, we met up with MPW and JeML for the Bruce Pearl Show. This was largely to cheer the Vols as they came out because we had no audio connection. At one point in time, 107.7's speakers were brought to road games so that the fans in attendance could follow the program. Bob Kesling told the large group of supporters that we could blame Vanderbilt for our predicament as they had lodged a formal protest and the WIVK speakers were now banned on the road. He was cheered loudly as he lamented, “...another reason I hate Vanderbilt.”

The highlight of the post-game show came when Chris Lofton arrived to be interviewed by Kesling, as he had been awarded player of the game honors. Lofton was inundated with a wide range of objects to sign. Amidst the deluge, a woman emerged and handed her baby, adorned in a UT hat, to Lofton so that she could get a photo. An obliging, but uncomfortable Lofton posed for a picture with the child. Somewhere in the sea of Tennessee fans, someone yelled out “Shoot it!” That could be interpreted many ways, none of which would be in the baby’s best interests.

No, the fan was not one of us!

We then embarked on the ride home. Thankfully, the trip was completely uneventful. The time flew by as SMA’s iPod played a steady stream of Built to Spill, The Decemberists, and The Pogues. We both sang the entire “Picaresque” album, which is one of my all-time favorites.

The only regret I had about the trip, was that I missed a photo op with JuJuan Smith and his mother. The thought of taking this picture gives me great amusement and I hope I will get another opportunity.

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On Sunday, I visited with JCN and KFN and met their newborn baby, DTN. The trip was delayed as I had forgotten that they had moved from Deane Hill to Rocky Hill. They were, however, pleased to know that their old home was being well kept.

He is an extremely beautiful boy. He is also a big boy - weighing nine pounds, eleven ounces at birth! I did not think babies came that big outside of Texas. For whatever reason, they both acknowledged that in his entire life (all 17 days of it), he had never cried as much as when I visited. I sometimes have that effect on people so I will not hold it against him.

JCN has been keeping a blog since last June, chronicling the pregnancy through the present. More importantly it has great photos of his beautiful child. Check it out at http://babyneely.blogspot.com/.

Sunday night was spent watching the movie Speak with JTH. JTH has been on a real Kristen Stewart kick of late, repeatedly watching In the Land of Women. While I probably should not encourage his fascination with a seventeen-year old, I had read good reviews of the film and thoroughly enjoyed it. My review is posted under “A Veiled Tell: Nil Soli.”

After eating at Applebees the third straight night (by choice), we called it a night. Can you say “addictive personality?”

I hope all of you had great weekends too.

Separated at Birth?

Is it just me or does Kristen Stewart look like a young Nicole Eggert?

If you know my opinion of Eggert, you know that is high praise.

A Veiled Tell: Nil Soli - 2/17/2008

Speak (2004)

JTH and I watched the movie Speak tonight. The film, an adaptation of Laurie Halse Anderson’s book of the same name, originally aired as a television movie in 2004. It stars Kristen Stewart, who has starred in the more recently released In the Land of Women and The Messengers. JTH was drawn to the film by Stewart and I was drawn to its having been featured at the Sundance Film Festival.

The premise of the film is a look at the freshman year of a girl named Melinda Sordino (Stewart) after a traumatic, misunderstood experience over the summer. Watching the character gradually regain her voice throughout the film is powerful.

Kristen Stewart carries the film wonderfully. The script is structured in such a way that it lives and dies with her and she thrives. This is especially impressive considering how much she must convey without the benefit of dialogue and the fact that she was thirteen years old when the movie was filmed. The supporting cast is also good. Steve Zahn is especially endearing as Stewart’s concerned art teacher.

Much like In the Land of Women Kristen Stewart’s character has great artistic ability. Is there a real life interest there?

Both JTH and I loved the film and when two opinions as diverse as ours agree on a film, it is quite the endorsement.

Current IMDB rating: 8.0/10. Chanalysis: 8/10

7Q Bible Study - 2/17/2008

Text: Luke 5:33-39

How does the behavior of the disciples reflect upon Jesus? How does ours?

What does this text say about fasting? When should modern Christians fast, if ever?

Presuming fasting is a pretext for a greater issue, what is the real accusation?

What does this say about Jesus’ life and reputation?

How would you re-tell the parable using modern examples?

What modern circumstances do the parables in vv. 36-39 speak to?

What does this text say about God?

Danes-worthy Anecdotes - 2/17/2008

These are the best stories I heard this week:

It’s All The Same

In Janson’s History of Art, Anthony Janson discusses a classical painting of a dinner scene involving Jesus. In this painting, Christ is portrayed as dining with buffoons, drunkards, Germans, and dwarfs. The Italian painter, Paolo Veronese (1528-1588) created the work in 1573 on a canvas 42 feet long and 18 feet tall.

The painting was Veronese’s interpretation of the Lord’s Supper. Not surprisingly, the Inquisition took exception to its irreverence. While they did defend the painter's right to “take the same licence as poets and jesters take,” they objected to the painting nevertheless. Veronese eventually changed the title rather than changing the artwork itself. Its new title “Supper in the House of Levi,” changed it content to a meal Jesus had with a reputed tax collector and his friends (Mark 2:13-15, Luke 5:26-28). Janson notes that Veronese really did not care. For him, there was little distinction between the house of Levi and the Last Supper.

The painting now hangs in the Academy, Venice. (History of Art, 381).

Shoot it

This is my favorite story of the week. I like it so much I have included it in the three places it could go as it makes me smile each time I tell it.

During the post-game radio broadcast after the UT-Georgia game, Chris Lofton arrived to be interviewed. Lofton was bombarded by fans wanting a variety of things from him One woman handed Lofton her baby so that she could get a photo of the two. An obliging, but uncomfortable Lofton posed for a picture with the child. Somewhere amidst the Tennessee partisans, a voice cried out, “Shoot it!” That could be interpreted many ways, none of which would be in the baby’s best interests.

The Ridiculous Facts of Life

MLM is leading a married retreat this week titled “The Facts of Life.” I supplied him with some information on the 1980's television show of the same name, some of which I knew for no apparent reason. One anecdote concerns the decision Lisa Whelchel made to not only abstain from premarital sex, but also have her character do so. The situation is very dated, but the conversation on premarital sex remains and Whelchel is more in the minority now than she was twenty years ago. Now a popular Christian living author, I admire Lis Whelchel and the stance she took. Here is the story:

In the series’ ninth and final season, the producers of “The Facts of Life” wanted one of the four primary characters to loose her virginity. Director John Bowab stated, "It was one of those things that you knew had to happen, but not to a ‘Facts of Life’ girl." It was a different era and sex was taboo. The original script called for Blair Warner to lose her virginity. Lisa Whelchel (who played Blair) objected because it was everything she was opposed to, "They said it was just a normal part of growing up. I didn’t believe that and I certainly didn’t want to have that rested on my shoulders of some girl contemplating that and saying you know Blair did it so it must have been ok." Mindy Cohn (who played Natalie Green) interjected, "I mean it is ridiculous all of these cute, great girls and no ones getting laid. I mean it is ridiculous. It is ridiculous. I volunteered I totally opted Natalie for the job, I thought she would be perfect." On 2/6/1988, “The First Time” aired with Natalie and her boyfriend Snake becoming intimate on their one-year anniversary.

I wish more people were ridiculous like Lisa Whelchel.

I would like it noted that though this television show has been referenced in two blogs this week, I had not thought about in some time prior. Seriously.

The List - 2/17/2008

WIVK (FM 107.7) in Knoxville advertises that section 107.7 offers the best seats at Thompson-Boling Arena for UT basketball games. I take offense to this claim as I believe my season tickets in 315A, high atop the rafters, are far superior. This was all but confirmed earlier this week when my tickets were “upgraded.” So without further ado,

The Top 10 Reasons why Section 315A offers the best seats in Thompson-Boling Arena

10. Making the hike up all of the stairs is great exercise. One supplements their workouts simply by being a season ticket holder. The money saved on a Stair Master or gym membership alone almost pays for season tickets.

9. 315A offers seats high enough to avoid participating in the annoying “Vol Spell Out,” held each game during the second half. No one in your section criticizes your lack of spirit in this event either as the t-shirts, awarded to the “winning section” will never reach 315A anyway. On the plus side, “Vols” is one of the words that all Vol fans can spell and I am a firm believer in education.

8. The seats are high enough to where you can see the entire game. You can see the motion of the offense and know when a player is open. In Tennessee’s half court game, movement may be limited, but at least you know that.

7. The seats are out of view of TV cameras. This way the spectator in 315A can act as ridiculous as one wants without being immortalized. This grants freedom that the lower levels simply cannot afford.

6. On a related note, you do not have to worry about being on the Kiss Cam. This is especially important as I tend to attend with guys and I am straight. It also seems to coerce affection, which defeats the purpose. (I will admit, my eyes are always glued to the Kiss Cam and cheer for the participants I know. I think it is fun - for other people.)

5. Unlike section 107.7, Vol Radio network color analyst Bert Bertkelkamp does not sit in 315A. Actually, as a fan he would be great - a fan in real time. As an announcer, he is a fan with a three-second delay.

4. In 315A, you can speak freely without fear of a player’s family overhearing. For instance, you can cringe when Prince attempts a 3-pointer or Chism blows a lay up without fear of insulting a loved one. No player would give their family seats that high up and if they did, it would mean that they did not like them in the first place.

3. A sizable donation to the university is unnecessary to obtain season tickets. I feel I gave the university enough money during my 5½ years there as a student at UT.

2. No one in 315A wears a sweater vest.

1. We sit in Section 315A. Enough said.

View from 315A

SMA and I attended the Tennessee-Georgia game in Athens on Saturday.

We arrived at Stegeman Coliseum early and watched the team warm up, largely because there was nothing else to do. JuJuan Smith, fresh off a 32-point game, had one side of the court to himself for quite awhile as the rest of our team congregated on the other half of the court. We were amazed at the shooting exhibition he put on. He was flawless, having a personal rebounder, and hitting shot after shot. Naturally, he scored only two in the game and missing all six of his three-point attempts.

The Vol contingency was unbelievable, both in number and volume. Just prior to the game, Georgia coach Dennis Felton fields three "Hot Seat" questions from the UGA student section. The Georgia fans were visibly upset when he had to pause for some time when the Vols hit the floor. The Vol fans cheered throughout his interview, making it almost inaudible. I had no sympathy as the timing of this segment seemed inappropriate.

The game itself unfolded strangely as Tennessee continually worked the ball inside against a Georgia press, instead of relying on their typical barrage of three-pointers. The game did ultimately end in a shooting duel between Tennessee’s Chris Lofton (22 points) and Georgia’s Sundiata Gaines (23). Tennessee fans were so appreciative of Gaines that he received a standing ovation when he returned to the court during the post-game radio broadcast. Bruce Pearl acknowledged the class of the gesture but also said, "you probably wouldn’t be feeling that way if he had knocked down that three."

Tennessee won the game, 74-71. We were thankful to win. With our lofty national ranking, we now get everyone’s best game.

Half-time was dedicated to remembering the twenty-fifth anniversary of Georgia’s Final Four team. In addition to the 1983 team, many former starts were there. Current Detroit Piston Jarvis Hayes was announced during the pre-game. We were disappointed that Georgia’s most famous basketball alumnus, Dominique Wilkins, was not there. We saw him on television later that night commenting on the NBA dunk contest.

My favorite moment of the trip came during the post-game "Bruce Pearl Show." Before being interviewed as the player of the game, Chris Lofton was inundated with a wide range of Tennessee paraphernalia to autograph. Somehow, a woman got her baby through the masses to pose for a photo with Lofton. An obliging, but uncomfortable Lofton held the child. Somewhere in the sea of Tennessee fans, someone yelled out "Shoot it!" It was priceless. That could be interpreted many ways, none of which would be in the baby’s best interests.

As an aside, "Sic ‘Em" is one of Georgia’s themes and is posted on the walls in the stadium. In editorial terms, [sic] indicates improper grammar. Could this be part of Georgia’s game plan - to infuriate rival teams and fans with poor English. As an example, their guard Zac Swansey clearly misspells his own last name. Everyone knows his surname is properly spelled Swansea. I can just picture Ramar Smith puzzled by this misspelling the entire time he was guarding Swansey. This would account for Swansey’s otherwise inexplicable ability to get past out defenders. Think about it. (But not too long.)