Pity the Poor Atheist
 
If you’re at the corner of Gillam and Bellevue this weekend, you may notice this week’s sermon title, “The 34^th Man,” posted on the signboard. The reference is to the comment made by Chilean miner Sammy Sanchez, the youngest of “Los 33.” Just one day before his rescue, Sammy wrote his sister in reference to all the talk of “Los 33.”  “There are actually 34 of us, because God has never left us down here," he said.  Continue reading →

Tasting and Seeing the Goodness of the Lord –an interactive post!
 
Psalm 34 is a one of those Psalms of David with a short historical introduction that has been preserved in the ancient text itself. We are told that it is “Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.”
 
The reference is to 1 Samuel 21 which tells a strange story from David’s Robin Hood days when Saul was still king. David is fleeing the wrath of the insane Saul and persuades the priest Ahimelech to give the holy bread of the Presence to feed his hungry men. The priest agrees so long as David will vouch for the sexual purity of his marauders. David does so and the men are fed. Continue reading →

On Campus: Technological Sophistication and Moral Chaos
 
You are probably familiar with the disturbing story of the suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi. If you are not aware of what happened in the past two weeks just 40 miles up U.S. 1, you need to be. The story is unfolding and is couched in terms of "alleged" and "apparent," but some things are clear. Tyler Clementi was a Rutgers freshman, bright and a gifted musician. His assigned and not known until a month ago roommate was Dharun Ravi, also an 18-year old freshman, also intelligent with a promising future. Ravi is from Princeton and Clementi from Ridgewood, NJ. Continue reading →

God Never Sleeps
 
Twenty-three years later Michael Douglas is returning to his role as Gordon Gecko, a corporate raider last seen in the film Wall Street. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps opens tonight.
 
You can read the reviews and watch the trailers all over the Internet. I haven’t seen the movie, though whether it is at the theater or when Netflix delivers it, I probably will. 
 
No spoiler here, but apparently the plot revolves around Douglas’ Gecko character, newly released from prison for some crime of the Bernie Madoff/Martha Stewart sort, and a young Wall Street player, Jacob Moore, played by Shia LaBeouf. The Atlantic magazine review describes Jacob Moore as “a young trader teetering between idealism (his fiancée calls him "Mr. Green Energy") and avarice ("the only green is money," he retorts).” Continue reading →

Why (We Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
 
We live in a “give me” culture. We speak in the imperative with self as direct object. That is, we want what we want and we want it now. Not only do we want it, we are pretty sure that we are entitled to it. Advertisers and politicians, preachers and snake oil salesmen all play to our “give me” culture. And we buy, vote, worship and are suckered because “what’s in it for me?” is question that the message of the day is crafted to answer.  Continue reading →