tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-250304792024-03-07T10:35:52.180-08:00zimmermania<i> In the kingdom of his humanity and flesh, in which we live by faith, [Christ] makes us of the same form as himself and crucifies us by making us true humans instead of unhappy and proud Gods: humans, that is, in their misery and sin."</i><b> -Martin Luther</b>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-12267263103862673482009-09-22T07:51:00.000-07:002009-09-22T07:54:43.947-07:00A Poem by Adrian Mitchell<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsZli4vA2heBSAkKSjDt2ZrtYaazbpEfo3gthHv31twOS0yc5ZqhtAHxzvUu10HJVcx1K8l025o33ckoYsWD4PQw-KItqYeSCnNDtTIqhf48yabGruUUYXb000X_P3bB29yq_/s1600-h/adrian-mitchell.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 245px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384304971286716194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsZli4vA2heBSAkKSjDt2ZrtYaazbpEfo3gthHv31twOS0yc5ZqhtAHxzvUu10HJVcx1K8l025o33ckoYsWD4PQw-KItqYeSCnNDtTIqhf48yabGruUUYXb000X_P3bB29yq_/s320/adrian-mitchell.jpg" /></a><br /><div><br /><br /><strong>Quite Apart From The Holy Ghost </strong></div><div><strong></strong><br />I remember God as an eccentric millionaire,<br />Locked in his workshop, beard a cloud of foggy-coloured hair,<br />Making the stones all different, each flower and disease,<br />Putting the Laps in Lapland, making China for the Chinese,<br />Laying down the Lake of Lucerne as smooth as blue-grey lino,<br />Wearily inventing the appendix and the rhino,<br />Making the fine fur for the mink, fine women for the fur,<br />Man’s brain a gun, his heart a bomb, his conscience – a blur.<br /><br />Christ I can see much better from here,<br />And Christ upon the Cross is clear.<br />Jesus is stretched like the skin of a kite<br />Over the cross, he seems in flight<br />Sometimes. At times it seems more true<br />That he is meat nailed up alive and pain all through.<br />But it’s hard to see Christ for priests. That happens when<br />A poet engenders generations of advertising men.</div><div> </div>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-38549956717781182732009-09-02T06:36:00.000-07:002009-09-02T06:40:34.382-07:00Good Thoughts from New Anglican Bishop Todd Hunter<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwRG4Hhmci73LV5Xu_3D0kV_nHcczLPJ5IFKClINH6cVyvjvLE6Irb-haKx-eshQXMs1McxtUvXp2TR2k9wLxTjCxF0Fi4dIy5j5C_rcqx0L-J54l6EfySbcvpC6Fh0aPdbhJF/s1600-h/todd.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwRG4Hhmci73LV5Xu_3D0kV_nHcczLPJ5IFKClINH6cVyvjvLE6Irb-haKx-eshQXMs1McxtUvXp2TR2k9wLxTjCxF0Fi4dIy5j5C_rcqx0L-J54l6EfySbcvpC6Fh0aPdbhJF/s320/todd.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376864212080907714" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:11px;"><p class="text" style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 14px; font: normal normal normal 11pt/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15pt; ">Todd Hunter, recently made a bishop in the new ACNA, was <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/september/11.66.html">interviewed</a> in this month's issue of <i>Christianity Today</i>. I really liked what he had to say. Here's what I like the most:</p><blockquote><p class="text" style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 14px; font: normal normal normal 11pt/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15pt; "><i>I'm working mostly with the de-churched—people who had been in church and had some kind of bad experience. Here's my real vision: I feel I really understand the postmodern, post-Christian angst of the 16- to 29-year-olds. I know people this age who are sleeping with whomever they want and are vaguely spiritual but not sure they want to be religious. I have a vision of them praying the prayer of confession week after week, and me doing spiritual formation with them, not saying, "Bad dog, you can't sleep with him or her," but saying, "Why don't you come to church every week and just pray this prayer, and then come back and see me in a month?"</i></p><p class="text" style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 14px; font: normal normal normal 11pt/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15pt; "><i>Some of these people honestly don't know what they can believe. I have a vision of saying to them, "Don't worry about it. I want you to come to church every week for six months. Just say the Creed, and let's connect every few weeks over coffee." And we'll ask, "So, what are you stumbling over?"</i></p><p class="text" style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 14px; font: normal normal normal 11pt/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15pt; "><i>I have a vision of liturgy as a tool for evangelism and discipleship, a tool that is grounded in Scripture</i>.</p></blockquote><p class="text" style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 14px; font: normal normal normal 11pt/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15pt; "></p></span>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-7484148865574714082009-07-10T06:46:00.000-07:002009-07-10T06:54:29.216-07:00Youth Pastor ParodyThis is hilarious. A send up of "hip" styles of ministry. The guy in the video is a youth pastor, but he's an incarnation of the kind of ministry used for all age groups and demographics. Best quote: "The Word of God... is living... and active... it is powerful... it is more... than I... can deal with... at this stage... of my life..." The video offers a pretty concise critique of some of the problems in the consumerist, market-driven, emotionally manipulative, expression of evangelical Christianity today. No prayer lattes for me!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wLGLBVSpBzY&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wLGLBVSpBzY&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-36749230572869820162009-07-10T06:45:00.000-07:002009-07-10T06:46:00.157-07:00Must read: Mark Galli in Christianity TodayI was floored when I read Mark Galli's recent <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/julyweb-only/126-42.0.html">blog post</a>. Galli is the Senior Managing Editor of <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/"><em>Christianity Today</em></a>, the flagship magazine of the evangelical world. And in a day when most Christians--from pulpit to pew, liberal to conservative--present the religion of Jesus as one mostly about what you do and your self-driven improvement, Galli tells the truth: The Gospel is about what God does, not what we do. And he tells the truth about the widespread myth among Christians that we believers have "something different" about is. Read what Galli says. Think about it. Agree? Disagree? Either way, you have to respond to the points he raises. The future of the church will be largely determined by how people respond to this issue.Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-15303860049461813522009-05-20T08:47:00.001-07:002009-05-20T13:23:32.729-07:00Silly Atheists<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicYe2w8q1lsd4lnKpQhppd8qJUGL8fcgYR29PsDUmcYK2VgMBLt9mYEjbCr_eRAT_3LX6kcPbveP09jZ1PbqajvLTyYsX8Nh9rXFcwFWPgDNEJmN-bIrm_wLXA4zOKjPVuNQZK/s1600-h/Hitchens_Smoking.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 250px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337937430047545106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicYe2w8q1lsd4lnKpQhppd8qJUGL8fcgYR29PsDUmcYK2VgMBLt9mYEjbCr_eRAT_3LX6kcPbveP09jZ1PbqajvLTyYsX8Nh9rXFcwFWPgDNEJmN-bIrm_wLXA4zOKjPVuNQZK/s320/Hitchens_Smoking.jpg" /></a><br />I've been a reader of outspoken atheist Chris Hitchens for a long time. I actually like his wit and his contrarian spirit. But his atheism is long on self-righteous pride and short on understanding. I have often felt like the Christianity he condemns is nothing like what I understand Christianity to be. The same could be said for the writings of the other Super Atheist out there, Richard Dawkins.<br /><br />Thomas Hibbs, in a fantastic <a href="http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=1435">article</a> in <em>First Things</em>, reviews Terry Eagleton's new book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reason-Faith-Revolution-Reflections-Lectures/dp/0300151799">Reason, Faith, and Revolution: Reflections on the God Debate</a>. Eagleton says the views of Dawkins and Hitchins are so similar, you can just lump them together into an entity he calls "Ditchkens."<br /><br />Here's my favorite part:<br /><div><br /><blockquote><em><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOBN5DAbUAfvpwy2SlriDGCoGgzarrifSbtKOk5J8hvYUHbP6Hun1c9oTFuX1p2teRxIJ0JRH8jrsAdWHweeaxQM6Z3qiXujFz6oo_HYkf_TEpGc_k9NZ08jiasufwx8NfpJ09/s1600-h/_42552487_nessie416.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 219px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 172px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337937079021242194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOBN5DAbUAfvpwy2SlriDGCoGgzarrifSbtKOk5J8hvYUHbP6Hun1c9oTFuX1p2teRxIJ0JRH8jrsAdWHweeaxQM6Z3qiXujFz6oo_HYkf_TEpGc_k9NZ08jiasufwx8NfpJ09/s320/_42552487_nessie416.jpg" /></a>From Ditchkens, one would never know that there are forms of Christianity reducible neither to fundamentalism nor to effete Unitarianism. There has been a sustained Christian tradition of scriptural commentary that acknowledges the autonomy of science and is quite self-conscious about its own hermeneutics. Ditchkens reduces God to a sort of Loch Ness Monster for whose existence there is no convincing evidence. As Eagleton clarifies with help from Thomas Aquinas and contemporary interpreters such as Herbert McCabe, God is not the big, bad daddy in the sky, “the largest and most powerful creature.” Neither is theology intended to explain the operations of nature. But it does respond to questions concerning “why there is anything in the first place, or why what we do have is actually intelligible to us.”<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi78UcpBDOcDk9Ub_xcxvl-_znU6dfeCCOLMRFNpGzdgPkMD85tRvlMwa4S4Qqd9sJ8wb-3Z0u1vh11tt4FjhO8ZnqMYzmMDuCWZpTCpk80_CM70DmbQXnu_FmCfXSHbtyUnJt6/s1600-h/JesusInMall.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337938118472477330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi78UcpBDOcDk9Ub_xcxvl-_znU6dfeCCOLMRFNpGzdgPkMD85tRvlMwa4S4Qqd9sJ8wb-3Z0u1vh11tt4FjhO8ZnqMYzmMDuCWZpTCpk80_CM70DmbQXnu_FmCfXSHbtyUnJt6/s320/JesusInMall.jpg" /></a>Of course, some contemporary Christians are easy targets for Ditchkens. They are not spared Eagleton’s wrath: the comic irrationality of the “young earth” movement; the theological despair of those who care more about securing a religious America than about their own religion; and the advocates of a Gospel of Success that skips Good Friday and turns Easter Sunday into a shopping spree at an upscale mall. By contrast, what Eagleton sees in the gospels are a persistent reminder that the “truth of history” is a “mutilated body” of a “tortured innocent.” There is “no self-fulfillment that is not a self-divestment.”<br /></em></blockquote><br /><div></div><div>Basically, Eagleton does two things: he reveals the shallowness of Ditchken's attack on a Christian strawman and, second, he points out why Christians' entanglement with politics and bad theology have exposed themselves to widespread discrediting. </div><div></div><br /><div>Personally, I long for a day when people can hear the message of Jesus absent hot-button political debates and cultural stereotypes. </div></div>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-31414191433900437572008-12-17T07:03:00.000-08:002008-12-17T07:13:56.933-08:00Money, God, and Kids<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYL74B_RQvxXuP9Z5GgnXFBvhRVbrV-lQMJKuSfNCrb99Aeh5_D2NRnWWoow1HazSid3IQWX7pGNBcADmMAa2ZCqYIkYTQQCAw-jlk_Q1XFzS4ZNf2yHFBN6ImUYNApoh2LzS/s1600-h/17moth_opart.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280777483128044434" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 151px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 151px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYL74B_RQvxXuP9Z5GgnXFBvhRVbrV-lQMJKuSfNCrb99Aeh5_D2NRnWWoow1HazSid3IQWX7pGNBcADmMAa2ZCqYIkYTQQCAw-jlk_Q1XFzS4ZNf2yHFBN6ImUYNApoh2LzS/s320/17moth_opart.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I found this <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/12/17/opinion/20081217_opart.html">little comic strip </a>in the New York Times this morning (an "op-art" piece) quite touching. It's an autobiographical look at how one family copes with the economic pressures of life. There is a lot here to comment on--the reality of suffering, the ways couples fight, playing the "religion card" in arguments, and the sheer terror of not having enough money. Overall, it's a picture of a cruciform life. Most people are fed a theology of glory--whether religious or secular. Work hard, play your cards right, and things will always get better. What the New Testament shows us (and life confirms) is that the real world is cross-shaped. In other words, do your best, and you will be slaughtered. Dark, I know. But the life of Christ and the teaching of the New Testament shows that life only comes through death. As St. Paul said, "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." In contrast to this, many Christians have a victory mentality. Theologically, this is called an over-realized eschatology. That is, they don't realize we're still in the in-between time--Christ has reconciled people to God, but the world is still very broken. Victory theology only works in times of plenty. Now, in the midst of this recession, I have a feeling God is turning many theologians of glory into theologians of the cross.</div>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-76777101181554290692008-11-30T18:06:00.000-08:002008-11-30T18:12:22.555-08:00"Jesus walks into a bar..."<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRdVZZgsR6W4VXYZ6OAWb2Rgm_5yrHMujoOcUWnqbwJpoWG1wJYM5Z5aB6L9_ln_TlWsbhZ7PIzSdpoPzaeTbLsNzaiQtNgbYST7rdg1-1UVig7KlcMQ52B2tmKp-fqJ2x76Z/s1600-h/theologyontap_websafeSM.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 116px; height: 116px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRdVZZgsR6W4VXYZ6OAWb2Rgm_5yrHMujoOcUWnqbwJpoWG1wJYM5Z5aB6L9_ln_TlWsbhZ7PIzSdpoPzaeTbLsNzaiQtNgbYST7rdg1-1UVig7KlcMQ52B2tmKp-fqJ2x76Z/s320/theologyontap_websafeSM.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274637925295016898" /></a><br />So, part of my job is running Anchor, a community for people in their 20s and 30s at St. Stephen's Church. This week, we begin a three-week series called <b>Theology on Tap</b> at Pizza Roma. The idea is simple:<br />1. Meet great people.<br />2. Get dinner and grab a beer.<br />3. Hear a great speaker talk about issues of faith and life (this week: the Fabulous Vicar of Grace Anglican Church, Slippery Rock, the Rev. Ethan Magness).<br />4. Discuss.<br />5. Go home enlightened.<br /><br />For those of you in the Pittsburgh area, check out the info <a href="http://www.yoursewickley.com/event/young-adult-event-theology-tap-pizza-roma">here</a>.<br />See you there!Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-56131459830141510562008-11-30T18:01:00.000-08:002008-11-30T19:08:40.900-08:00That'll preach!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-QKTWpNz_wmehDlQxTFdr-JI9rwepZmwk4HDWr26VtpbYSFtZIb5IjZGzKwowPeuhEgpQOEhKZTfmy8oVH4PqCaD8YCJrjxppH2ZE_TvGD3aB7Vd7XoYZ6CBYEEpVKWASgoq9/s1600-h/Preacher_Jesse_Custer.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-QKTWpNz_wmehDlQxTFdr-JI9rwepZmwk4HDWr26VtpbYSFtZIb5IjZGzKwowPeuhEgpQOEhKZTfmy8oVH4PqCaD8YCJrjxppH2ZE_TvGD3aB7Vd7XoYZ6CBYEEpVKWASgoq9/s320/Preacher_Jesse_Custer.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274641039952186818" /></a><br />The radio show "This American Life" is one of my all-time faves. I subscribe to the free podcast and listen each week. (If you see me walking around, headphones in, laughing to myself, it's probably because I'm listening to the show.) Each week, the host, Ira Glass, picks a topic or theme and then explores it through amazing personal stories and interviews. A recent show, called "The Devil in Me," talked about people battling personal demons. The whole show is worth a listen, but Act Two, "Vox Diaboli," will knock your socks off. Talk about amazing insight into the brokenness of the human condition! As we say at the church where I work, "That'll preach!"<br />To listen, go <a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1259">here</a>.Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-30325566303152606322008-10-31T11:36:00.000-07:002008-10-31T11:43:57.051-07:00Happy Reformation Day!Oct 31 is not only Halloween, but also Reformation Day. Thanks to my friend Jacob for these awesome clips. The first is a cartoon that uses song to tell the story of the Reformation. It begins with the famous hymn written by Martin Luther, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." The second clip adds a so-bad-it's-awesome rap to clips from <em>Luther</em>, the biopic starring Joseph Fiennes.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/b4TeJJmQJqU&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/b4TeJJmQJqU&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uHey8fExPxo&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uHey8fExPxo&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-53809457133754677772008-08-08T07:32:00.000-07:002008-08-08T07:48:08.079-07:00David Brooks Nails It!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRz921koe7MO5GTno2dOV2GzEsP69SjCS_l80lYDRW9dBBUqUEmyUKB1Wz2k3Igy5Lh_QO1qnIFTTfoI-ZHv-NOZsw3Zdo4xqmRORxnjib5HhULFtPpomAQr-fnvhxRfqXAVI/s1600-h/Beyond%2520the%2520Law.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232158668999282530" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRz921koe7MO5GTno2dOV2GzEsP69SjCS_l80lYDRW9dBBUqUEmyUKB1Wz2k3Igy5Lh_QO1qnIFTTfoI-ZHv-NOZsw3Zdo4xqmRORxnjib5HhULFtPpomAQr-fnvhxRfqXAVI/s320/Beyond%2520the%2520Law.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>David Brooks has another insightful and right-on <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/08/opinion/08brooks.html">piece </a>in the NYT about the ways pseudo-intellectuals have tried to make everyone feel inferior for the last 500 years. We've all known people who name-drop philosophers to show they know more than us. We've known snobs who parade their knowledge of art or literature to show how refined they are. Now, Brooks says, the new way to establish one's superiority is to be an early adopter of electronic media and media-delivery systems. That is, join the latest social networking site, get the new iPhone, etc. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Case in point: I am a member of about 5 social networking sites. A lot of these were actually job networking sites or contact management applications that I joined in the late 1990s/early 2000s when I was looking for a job. They have now all morphed into ever more exclusive social networking sites. They all tout how exclusive they are, and how special you are to be a member.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>What Brooks is hitting on is, in theological terms, the power of the Law. The Law is a theological (and Biblical) way of talking about the conditional terms of any relationship. Follow these rules, and you will be accepted. The 10 Commandments are a perfect example. Of course, the Law exists in many forms. And we are all trying to follow various laws to some degree. There are tons of laws about physical appearance and social class. There are laws specifically for the evangelical Chrsitian subculture. And there are laws for the hipster-elite-Manhattan-tehcno-savvy subculture that Brooks references. And wherever we fall, we're all trying to follow the rules. Our identity and sense of well-being depends on it. That's why we join facebook, not MySpace. We wear plain front, not pleated, khakis. We use an iPod, not a Zune. We listen to "Christian" music, not "secular" music. We say "darn" and "shoot" instead of the words they are obviously designed to replace. We carry a baby in a sling, not a baby carrier. We go green. Or we join the country club. Or the NRA. We buy an SUV. We are all following the Law as it is defined in our little world. </div><br /><div>Jesus Christ said he fulfilled the Law (Matt 5.17). St. Paul said Christ was the end of the Law (Rom 10.4). The implications are enormous.</div><br /><div></div>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-73798416691684079712008-07-16T06:22:00.000-07:002008-07-16T20:26:48.772-07:00<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"><strong>Back in the office... and Hawaii Chair Hilarity</strong></span><br /><br />Well, after a long hiatus called seminary, I am now a full-time pastor (go <a href="http://www.ststephenschurch.net/Serve/pastoralteam.htm">here </a>and scroll down). Which, actually, in some ways is less nuts than full-time school. For now, at least. Which means, dear reader, that I can now post things here again. For starters, from the Department Unbelievably Ridiculous Things on Infomercials (infomercials were a recent sermon topic of mine), here's a clip from Ellen. Regardless of what you think of Ellen (please do not construe this as an endorsement), this is pretty funny. I give you the Hawaii Chair.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DHiqVygN-w0&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DHiqVygN-w0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-56116403628658266802007-08-22T17:07:00.000-07:002007-08-22T17:08:13.088-07:00<div id="badge" style="position:relative; width:240px; height:120px; margin:0px; padding:10px; background-color:white; border:10px solid #ff9933;"> <div style="position:absolute; top:10px; left:10px; padding:0px; margin:0px; width:118px; height:100px; line-height:116px; text-align:center;"> <a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/28945/?utm_source=badge&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=280x160" target="_blank" style="margin:0px; border:0px; padding:0px;"> <img src="http://www.blurb.com//images/uploads/catalog/50/30350/28945-8b3fd0f7094f2c6599eaa7bef66a82ad.jpg" alt="creó Dios los cielos y la tierra" style="padding:0px; margin:0px; border:1px solid #a7a7a7; width:116px; vertical-align:middle;"/> </a> </div> <div style="position:absolute; top:58px; left:138px; overflow:hidden; margin:0px; padding:0px; border:0px; width:120px; text-align:left;"> <div style="width:105px; overflow:hidden; line-height:18px; margin:0px; padding:0px; border:0px;"> <a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/28945?utm_source=badge&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=280x160" style="font:bold 12px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #fd7820; text-decoration:none;">creó Dios los ...</a> </div> <div style="font:bold 10px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#545454; line-height:15px; margin:0px; padding:0px; border:0px;"> Photographs from t... </div> <div style="font:10px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#545454; line-height:15px; margin:0px; padding:0px; border:0px;"> By Aaron M. G. Zimmerman </div> </div> <div style="position:absolute; bottom:8px; left:138px; font:normal 10px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#fd7820; line-height:15px; margin:0px; padding:0px; border:0px;"> <a href="http://www.blurb.com/images/uploads/catalog/50/30350/28945-0e37d780e7bf606894ec294896d933ac.pdf" length="954114" rel="alternate" style="color:#fd7820; text-decoration:none;" title="Book Preview (931.8Kb PDF)" type="application/pdf">Book Preview</a> </div> <div style="position:absolute; top:10px; right:10px; padding:0px; margin:0px;"> <a title="Visit Blurb.com" href="http://www.blurb.com/?utm_source=badge&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=280x160" target="_blank" style="border:0; padding:0px; margin:0px; text-decoration:none;"> <img src="http://www.blurb.com/images/badge/blurb-logo.png" style="border:0; padding:0px; margin:0px;" alt="Visit Blurb.com"/> </a> </div> <div style="clear: both; border: 0px solid black;"></div></div>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-74062750934141978892006-12-20T05:00:00.000-08:002006-12-20T05:03:58.069-08:00<span style="font-weight: bold;">My Book</span><br />My book of photographs,<a href="http://www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/28945"> creó Dios los cielos y la tierra</a>, is now available <a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/28945">here</a>.<br />The collection shows images from my travels this summer in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Couples old and young, architecture, Mayan ruins, Cathedrals, children, food, life, religion, art. It's all there. Enjoy.Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-1166533274765193902006-12-19T04:53:00.000-08:002006-12-19T05:06:07.483-08:00<b>Rene Girard and the Theology of the Cross</b><br />I have recently found an English tranlsation of a 2004 review of Mel Gibson's <span style="font-style: italic;">The Passion of the Christ </span>by Rene Girard. His thought on the myth religions vs. Christianity seems to speak to the truth of the theology of the cross. A theological of the cross sees a thing for what it is.<br />The full text (in English) is <a href="http://www.anthropoetics.ucla.edu/ap1001/RGGibson.htm">here</a>.<br />Here is a significant excerpt:<br /><p style="font-style: italic;">Almost all religions are, I believe, rooted in collective violence analogous to that which is described or suggested not only in the Gospels and the book of Job, but also in the songs of the Suffering Servant in second Isaiah, as well as in many Psalms. Pious Christians and Jews have wrongly refused to reflect on these resemblances between their sacred books and myths. An attentive comparison reveals that beyond these resemblances, but also because of them, we can observe a difference, at once subtle and gigantic, between the mythical on one side, and the Judaic and the Christian on the other, which makes the Judaeo-Christian incomparable with respect to the most objective truth. Unlike the myths that systematically adopt the point of view of the crowd against the victim, because they are conceived and told by the lynchers, and thus they always see the victim as guilty (as in the incredible combination of parricide and incest that Oedipus is accused of, for example), our Scriptures, the great biblical and Christian texts, acquit the victims of the crowd, and this is exactly what the Gospels do in the case of Jesus. This is what Mel Gibson shows. </p> <p style="font-style: italic;">Whereas myths incessantly repeat the murderous delusions of crowds of persecution (which are always analogous to those of the Passion), because this illusion satisfies the community and furnishes an idol around which it can come together, the greatest biblical texts, culminating in the Gospels, reveal the essentially deceptive and criminal character of crowd phenomena, on which the mythologies of the world are based. </p> <p style="font-style: italic;">In my view, there are two principal attitudes in human history: there is the mythological, which tries to dissimulate violence, because in the final analysis, it is on unjust violence that human communities are founded. This is what we all do when we give in to our instincts. We try to cover the nudity of human violence with Noah’s cloak. And we turn away if necessary, in order not to expose ourselves to the contagious force of violence by looking at it too closely.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">This attitude is too universal to be condemned. This is in fact the attitude of the greatest Greek philosophers, in particular Plato, who condemns Homer and all the poets because they take the liberty of describing in their works the violence that the myths attribute to the gods of the city. The great philosopher sees in this brazen revelation a source of disorder, a great danger for the entire society.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">This is certainly the religious attitude that is the most widely shared, the most normal, the most natural to man. And today it is more universal than ever, for modernized believers, Christians as well as Jews, have at least partially adopted it. </p> <p style="font-style: italic;">The other attitude is much rarer; it is even unique. It is found only in the great moments of biblical and Christian inspiration. It consists not in chaste dissimulation but, on the contrary, in the revelation of violence in all its injustice and all its delusion, everywhere where it is possible to observe it. This is the attitude of the book of Job, and it is the attitude of the Gospels. It is the bolder of the two attitudes, and in my view, the greater. It is the attitude that has allowed us to discover the innocence of most of the victims that even the most religious people over the course of history have never ceased to persecute and kill. This is the common inspiration of Judaism and Christianity, and it is the key, one must hope, to their future reconciliation. It is about the heroic inclination to put the truth above even the social order. It is to this enterprise, it seems to me, that Mel Gibson’s film makes every effort to be faithful.</p> <p>Translated by Robert Doran</p> Also: There is a fantastic recent article abour Girard's view that Europe is on the verge of a new Christian renaissance. Philosohies and ideologies are dead, he says. Relativism has failed. Only religion offers anything. Here's a quote:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"In my opinion, Christianity proposes a solution to these problems precisely because it demonstrates that the obstacles, the limits that individuals put on one another serve to avoid a certain type of conflicts." </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The French academic continues: "If it was really understood that Jesus is the universal victim who came precisely to surmount these conflicts, the problem would be solved." </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">According to the anthropologist, "Christianity is a revelation of love" but also "a revelation of truth" because "in Christianity, truth and love coincide and are one and the same." </span><br />Click <a href="http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=100064">here</a> to read all.Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-1158860226328782592006-09-21T10:29:00.000-07:002006-09-21T10:37:06.330-07:00<span style="font-weight: bold;">Christianity Today </span>recently published an article that, I believe, shows in part how real apologetics works. The articles is by Preston Jones, a Christian college professor who really likes punk rock. His story: He writes the (atheist) lead singer of Bad Religion. A lengthy correspondence ensues on issues of science, faith, life, etc. Now published as a book. What I appreciate about the prof's approach is his eschewing of debate and the idea of "winning." He also rejects the silly manipulative "listening" that is now supposed to be evangelistic.<br />A neat piece.<br /><br />Some highlights...<br /><br />On "Debate":<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />I've tried to resist the construal of our correspondence as a "debate." Yes, we disagreed and went at each other, but we didn't debate.</span> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="arttext">Debate is about winning, and that's important in many contexts. But I didn't care about winning. Nor did I care about "listening" in the gushy, politically correct sort of way associated with people-friendly evangelism.</p> On Evolution:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">In those months of dialogue I also saw the devastation wrought by the passion for pseudo-scientific theories on natural history among some Christians. Many of my students believe that six-day creationism is an essential Christian belief—that if the first chapters of Genesis can't be taken literally, then the whole Bible is a fraud. What tragic nonsense!</span> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="arttext">Before Greg and I corresponded, I didn't care. "You wanna believe the earth was created six thousand years ago? Whatever." But Greg helped me see that this kind of gaping ignorance promotes the perception that theologically conservative Christians are the enemies of learning.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="arttext">I don't believe that scientists, the overwhelming majority of whom conclude that some evolutionary process has been underway, are part of a great demonic plot to undermine the Bible. I don't believe that scientists are lemmings, chirping the same supposedly anti-God tune. Greg's own doctoral dissertation shows that most leading evolutionary biologists don't think that religion and evolution are incompatible.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="arttext">Yes, there are materialist fundamentalists like Richard Dawkins and William Provine (Greg's advisor) who claim to be stating facts when they're really stating atheistic opinions, but they are easily matched by Christians of high academic stature who acknowledge the evolutionary workings of the natural world—I'm thinking of John Polkinghorne, Kenneth Miller, Owen Gingrich, and Francis Collins.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="arttext">I really think that Christians need to get over being hung up on evolution, mainly because it seems to have happened, and because there's nothing anti-God about it. And our theologians need to face the implications of evolution for how we think about the Fall and providence, among other things.<br /></p> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="arttext"><a href="http://lists.christianitytoday.com/t/4929250/3861775/120571/0/">Read it all</a>. (PS--From the Gratuitous Name Dropping Department: Owen Gingerich was my undergraduate thesis advisor.)<br /></p>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-1158859688435197252006-09-21T10:25:00.000-07:002006-09-21T10:28:08.446-07:00<span style="font-weight: bold;">Spaceballs Returns!<br /></span>This movie was a formative influence on my childhood. Lines frequently spring to memory ("I can see your Schwartz is as big as mine."). Just saw today that Mel Brooks is turning Spaceballs into a cartoon to debut in 2007. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/21/television.brooks.reut/index.html">Read it all</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-1157207283897230712006-09-02T07:27:00.000-07:002006-09-02T07:28:03.913-07:00Where I've been.<br /><img src="http://www.world66.com/community/mymaps/worldmap?visited=CAUSBZHNMXATDKFRDENOSEUKJPKZKGTH" /><br/><br /><a href="http://douweosinga.com/projects/visitedcountries">create your own visited countries map</a>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-1153488342582000912006-07-21T06:17:00.000-07:002008-07-16T20:24:44.983-07:00<u><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">Bono on Grace</span></strong></u><br />I've just finished reading <i>Bono in Conversation</i> (Riverhead 2005), a collection of interviews between the U2 frontman and his long-time friend Michka Assayas, a French writer. It is a wonderful read, with much to ponder. Many passages made me laugh out loud, and others made me think. Lots of revealing stuff about the history of U2. Bono's childhood, and his work in Africa. But I was most struck by Bono's profound understanding of the difference between the theological concepts of Gospel and Law, which he names Grace and Karma, something I've been thinking a lot about lateley. Bono is deeply aware of his own need and just as aware of God's remedy. I'm posting the exchange here (Assayas's questions in bold):<br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Assayas: As I told you, I think I am beginning to understand religion because I have started acting and thinking like a father. What do you make of that?</strong><br /><br />Bono: Yes, I think it’s normal. It’s a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the Universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma.<br /><br /><strong>I haven’t heard you talk about that.</strong><br /><br />I really believe we’ve moved out of the realm of Karma and into one of Grace.<br /><br /><strong>Well, that doesn’t make it clearer for me.</strong><br /><br />You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It’s clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the Universe. I’m absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that “As you reap, so will you sow” stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff.<br /><br /><strong>I’d be interested to hear that.</strong><br /><br />That’s between me and God. But I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going it finally be my judge. I’d be in deep trouble. It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity.<br /><br /><strong>The son of God who takes away the sins of the world. I wish I could believe in that.</strong><br /><br />But I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says: <em>Look, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there’s mortality as part of your very sinful nature, and let’s face it, you’re not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions.</em> The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world so that what we put out does not come back to us, that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That’s the point. It should keep us humbled… It’s not our own good works that get us through the gates of Heaven. </span>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-1148047270808072022006-05-19T06:58:00.000-07:002006-05-19T07:03:54.903-07:00Lauren Winner's winner of a piece on evangelical abstinence pledges. She rightly sees that "law" doesn't cut it, and only grace and a loving community will affect the transformation the law demands.<br /><br />Here's an excerpt:<br /><em><br /><em>So why is the church's approach to teaching chastity falling short? Consider the popular "True Love Waits" virginity pledge: "Believing that true love waits, I make a commitment to God, myself, my family, my friends, my future mate and my future children to a lifetime of purity including sexual abstinence from this day until the day I enter a biblical marriage relationship."</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>This pledge and others like it are well meaning but deeply flawed. For starters, there's something disturbing about the assumption that teenagers are passively waiting for their future mates and children, when the New Testament is quite clear that some Christians are called to lifelong celibacy. (Paul, for example, did not have a mate or children, and Dan Brown's fantasies notwithstanding, Jesus's only bride was the church.) Chastity is not merely about passive waiting; it is about actively conforming our bodies to the arc of the Gospel and receiving the Holy Spirit right now. </em><br /><em><br />Pledgers promise to control intense bodily desires simply by exercising their wills. But Christian ethics recognizes that the broken, twisted will can do nothing without rehabilitation by God's grace. Perhaps the centrality of grace is recognized best not in a pledge but in a prayer that names chastity as a gift and beseeches God for the grace to receive it.</em><br /><em><br />The pledges are also cast in highly individualistic terms: I promise that I won't do this or that. As the Methodist bishop William Willimon once wrote: "Decisions are fine. But decisions that are not reinforced and reformed by the community tend to be short-lived."</em><br /><em><br />During our first year of marriage, my husband and I lived in a small apartment inside a church. On Tuesdays, Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon met downstairs. As I got to know some of the regulars, I began to wonder if there wasn't something the church could learn from the 12-step groups in our midst.</em><br /></em><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/19/opinion/19winner.html?ex=1148702400&en=a7dfb173eadffdb2&ei=5070">Read it all</a>.Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-1147353088306516752006-05-11T06:09:00.000-07:002006-05-11T06:11:28.316-07:00Refreshing in its humorous honesty comes this quote from the NYT. The article on stemless wine glasses features a conversation between the writer and Hildegarde Heymann, viticulture professor at UC-Davis:<br /><em>"Emboldened, I made a confession. 'Riedel recommends only filling the glass one third of the way to enhance aromas,' I told her. 'But I have lots of children, and I drive a lot of car pools, and I have a job. And at the end of the day, sometimes I fill the glass, um, a little higher so I can feel like I am only having one glass.'"</em><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/11/fashion/thursdaystyles/11Online.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=login">Read it all.</a>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-1147276937071378902006-05-10T09:01:00.000-07:002006-05-10T09:02:17.083-07:00Great Doonesbury comment on Harvard.<br /><a href="http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html?uc_full_date=20060503">Click here.</a>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-1146753084759100102006-05-04T07:28:00.000-07:002006-05-04T07:31:24.770-07:00Another lifestyle choice! From the NYT on couples who live apart ("Living Apart Together," or LAT):<br />"As much as anything, though, the rise in L.A.T. relationships may be due to a growing unwillingness to compromise, particularly among members of a generation known for their self-involvement."<br /><br />One wonders what love means when there is no mutual submission and sacrifice. "I love you, but only if you don't ever get in my way."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/04/garden/04lat.html?8dpc">Read it all.</a>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-1146573986013956862006-05-02T05:40:00.000-07:002006-05-02T05:46:26.023-07:00I've been following the crisis in Zimbabwe for a while, with a mixture of dismay, sadness, and simmering anger. Mugabe gives more evidence for the human capacity for self-deception and staggering ego. People who think the human race is improving, or that people are fundamentally good, need to take a look at Zimbabwe.<br />Toilet paper in Harare is now over $400... <em>per sheet</em>!<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/02/world/africa/02zimbabwe.html">Click here to read all</a>.Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25030479.post-1144809514925485702006-04-11T19:37:00.000-07:002006-04-11T19:38:34.933-07:00From Stephen Metcalf at Slate:<br />"I often wish I could be a good Kantian, motivated only by the moral law, the same way I sometimes wish I could be a believing Christian, motivated only by agape. It would be equal parts terror and joy, and as a nice secondary effect, it would sweep away forever the ability of David Brooks or Tom Wolfe to draw any conclusions about a human being from his or her Visa bill or ZIP code."<br /><a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2139688/">Read it all.</a>Aaron M. G. Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04780985725016537350noreply@blogger.com0