Wednesday, April 30, 2003
The Mysteries of God
It is said of Saint Augustine, when he was bishop of Hippo on the south shore of the Mediterranean in what is now Tunisia, that he promised his cathedral congregation a discourse on the Trinity which would make plain that mystery. Word quickly spread that their most learned and eloquent bishop would persuade the righteous and confound the heretical in this most complicated of Christian teachings. Augustine's bold promise soon came to preoccupy him, so he sought to clear his mind by taking a long walk along the beach, contemplating the mystery of God and wondering how he would express in words what his mind only dimly perceived in concepts. He happened to see a boy very busy with a little spoon trundling back and forth between the sea and a small hole he had dug in the beach. Augustine inquired of the boy what he was trying to accomplish. The boy answered with great enthusiasm, "I intend to bring all of the sea into this pit." Augustine replied, "Why do you attempt such impossibilities and waste your time?" The boy answered nonplused, "So do you, my dear bishop. I will as likely bring all the sea into this hole as you will bring all the knowledge of God into your head. They are equally possible. We have begun together, we shall finish together. But of the two endeavours, mine is more hopeful." The anonymous boy's concise rejoinder to the great African theologian has been preserved for future generations, which is more, unfortunately, than we can say of the bishop's sermon.
The above excerpt was taken from a sermon on the Trinity by Timothy Cooke.
It is said of Saint Augustine, when he was bishop of Hippo on the south shore of the Mediterranean in what is now Tunisia, that he promised his cathedral congregation a discourse on the Trinity which would make plain that mystery. Word quickly spread that their most learned and eloquent bishop would persuade the righteous and confound the heretical in this most complicated of Christian teachings. Augustine's bold promise soon came to preoccupy him, so he sought to clear his mind by taking a long walk along the beach, contemplating the mystery of God and wondering how he would express in words what his mind only dimly perceived in concepts. He happened to see a boy very busy with a little spoon trundling back and forth between the sea and a small hole he had dug in the beach. Augustine inquired of the boy what he was trying to accomplish. The boy answered with great enthusiasm, "I intend to bring all of the sea into this pit." Augustine replied, "Why do you attempt such impossibilities and waste your time?" The boy answered nonplused, "So do you, my dear bishop. I will as likely bring all the sea into this hole as you will bring all the knowledge of God into your head. They are equally possible. We have begun together, we shall finish together. But of the two endeavours, mine is more hopeful." The anonymous boy's concise rejoinder to the great African theologian has been preserved for future generations, which is more, unfortunately, than we can say of the bishop's sermon.
The above excerpt was taken from a sermon on the Trinity by Timothy Cooke.
Thursday, April 24, 2003
Forget about Weapons of Mass Destruction...
It's stories like this which justify our going into Iraq.
Likewise, it's reasons like this that North Korea should be next.
It's stories like this which justify our going into Iraq.
Likewise, it's reasons like this that North Korea should be next.
Public Education Hypocrisy
The liberal agenda that drives most school boards nowadays is blatantly obvious. One of the biggest agendas pushed is that of the acceptance of gay practices. They want teachers to speak to their students about the normalcy of homosexuality, how it is normal and beautiful and should be accepted.
All this talk of acceptance, yet then we see this story. Now, it's ok to accept gays, but it's not ok to accept Christians? I'm even more offended by the fact that the Pennsylvania schoolboard links Christianity with witchcraft!
Supposedly the schoolboard doesn't want people to be offended by the cross pendant, which is a load of bull-turd if you ask me. If exposing children to multi-cultural and multi-ethnic opportunities is such a priority, why exclude the largest factor in those cultures and ethnicities? Religion is the backbone of life, cutting it out only gives students maybe half of the picture.
Instead of broadening the minds of our youth, these schools are doing their best to narrow them.
The liberal agenda that drives most school boards nowadays is blatantly obvious. One of the biggest agendas pushed is that of the acceptance of gay practices. They want teachers to speak to their students about the normalcy of homosexuality, how it is normal and beautiful and should be accepted.
All this talk of acceptance, yet then we see this story. Now, it's ok to accept gays, but it's not ok to accept Christians? I'm even more offended by the fact that the Pennsylvania schoolboard links Christianity with witchcraft!
Supposedly the schoolboard doesn't want people to be offended by the cross pendant, which is a load of bull-turd if you ask me. If exposing children to multi-cultural and multi-ethnic opportunities is such a priority, why exclude the largest factor in those cultures and ethnicities? Religion is the backbone of life, cutting it out only gives students maybe half of the picture.
Instead of broadening the minds of our youth, these schools are doing their best to narrow them.
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
Who said that just cats had nine lives?
There might be reason to think that dogs may have nine lives too. Or, at the very least... four.
There might be reason to think that dogs may have nine lives too. Or, at the very least... four.
Tuesday, April 22, 2003
Sorry ma'am... open the *$%#!@ door yourself!
Doormen to go on strike.
Yes, God forbid that some people should get off their lazy asses and do their own work. Now, I realize that these men and women will be out of a job if they go on strike, but the whole thing strikes me as perverse. Why does anyone, except for certain circumstances, need someone to open doors for them?
Post-Script: How hard is it to "man an elevator"? Is there something else besides pushing a button that I'm missing here?
Doormen to go on strike.
"We're going to take out the trash and man the elevators and help open the door," said Susan Zander as she walked into her tony Fifth Avenue building. "If it happens, it happens."
Yes, God forbid that some people should get off their lazy asses and do their own work. Now, I realize that these men and women will be out of a job if they go on strike, but the whole thing strikes me as perverse. Why does anyone, except for certain circumstances, need someone to open doors for them?
Post-Script: How hard is it to "man an elevator"? Is there something else besides pushing a button that I'm missing here?
Man bites dog... no, really
That was the front-page title of this article over at CNN. It elicited a chuckle from yours truly when he read it, though I am concerned for the pooch. They never do say what happened to Renny.
That was the front-page title of this article over at CNN. It elicited a chuckle from yours truly when he read it, though I am concerned for the pooch. They never do say what happened to Renny.
