MLB 2008 predictions

The only real reason this post exists is to say that more than ever before, I believe this is the Cubs’ year. It’s time.

American League:
West: Seattle Mariners
Central: Detroit Tigers
East: Boston Red Sox
Wild Card: Cleveland Indians

National League:
West: Arizona Diamondbacks
Central: Chicago Cubs
East: New York Mets
Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies
MVP: Derek Lee, Chicago Cubs
Cy Young: Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs
Rookie of the Year: Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs
Manager of the year: Lou Piniella, Chicago Cubs

World Series: Cubs over the Tigers in 5

• Jesus said, “If anyone would… take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well” (Matthew 5:40). Social worker Julio Diaz takes Jesus seriously.

  As the teen [robber] began to walk away, Diaz told him, “Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you’re going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm.”

  If you’ve ever wondered what the gospel “looks like”, I’m fairly certain this is it. 03/28/2008
• John Mayer doesn’t just write heart-wrenching music. You need to read this. “This is about us all. Every one of us. Who all seem to know deep down that it’s incredibly hard to be alive and interact with the world around us but will try and cover it up at any cost. For as badass and unaffected as we try to come off, we’re all just one sentence away from being brought to the edge of tears, if only it was worded right.” 03/27/2008

Help me make a theology mixtape

Muxtape is a new web service that brings back the old school pastime of mixtape creation, and they make it really easy to create and share mixes with one another. See thelongbrake’s mix, for example.

I’ve created a Muxtape account with the sole intent of storing a stellar mix of theological-type lectures. This is where you come in. I need you to leave a comment with a link to your favorite theological lecture in mp3 format. I’ll compile all of them into a sweet theology mixtape that can be shared with everyone you know. After I’ve uploaded all of the mp3s, I’ll post it here.

Whaddya say? Help me out here!

• The Seattle University School of Theology and Ministry has a bunch of audio available on iTunes U from their Public Lecture Series, including a gem from Jürgen Moltmann — The Crucified God: A Modern Theology of the Cross (link opens in iTunes). 03/25/2008

Easter and environmentalism

I figured that since I posted quotes for the previous two days of Holy Week, I’d post one more. Besides, this one is too juicy to pass up.

“Those who do not understand the link between the Easter message and ecological problems, do not understand anything of either. Environmentalism in itself is of course no utterance of Easter faith. Many non-Christians are concerned about this. That is only right and proper. A monopolizing of these earthly cares by Christians is out of the question. There is environmentalism without Easter faith, but no Easter faith without environmentalism.” Herman-Emiel Mertens, Not the Cross, But the Crucified: An Essay in Soteriology, p.207)

I came across that passage over at Sustainablog. Although the quote is taken out of context (which makes it difficult to understand Mertens’ argument), I find the connection between Easter (i.e., the risen Christ) and environmental action compelling. What do you make of it?

A Holy Saturday experience

Something to ponder this Holy Saturday:

“The believer who encounters serious doubt does not renounce his or her faith but rather uses it as an opportunity to affirm it. We may call this acknowledgment of doubt a Holy Saturday experience (a term that refers to the 24 hours nestles between the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ). This day marked a movement of great uncertainty and darkness for the followers of Jesus. Yet it is precisely in the midst of a Holy Saturday experience that the decision to follow Christ becomes truly authentic. A faith that can only exist in the light of victory and certainty is one which really affirms the self while pretending to affirm Christ, for it only follows Jesus in the belief that Jesus has conquered death. Yet a faith that can look at the horror of the cross and still say ‘yes’ is one that says ‘no’ to the self in saying ‘yes’ to Christ. If one loses one’s life only because one believes that this is the way to find it, then one gives up nothing; to truly lose one’s life, one must lay down that life without regard to whether or not one finds it. Only a genuine faith can embrace doubt, for such a faith does not act because of a self-interested reason (such as fear of hell or desire for heaven) but acts simply because it must. A real follower of Jesus would commit to him before the crucifixion, between the crucifixion and the resurrection, and after the resurrection.” – Peter Rollins, How (Not) to Speak of God. Brewster: Paraclete Press, 2006. p.34.

When Good Friday is just okay

I have a problem with Good Friday.

Here’s the question: Have we, as citizens of one of the most powerful empires the earth has ever seen, lost the “good”-ness of Good Friday? Would Good Friday seem more “good” to me if I wasn’t part of the 20% of the world population that consumes 80% of earth’s resources?

Don’t get me wrong, I understand why Good Friday is good. But Good Friday forces me to confront my affluence and challenge my own theology. I can’t help but wonder if the goodness is getting harder to see through the building fog of wealth, excess, and power on our collective glasses. This fog on our glasses and the inherent goodness Good Friday are, I believe, inversely proportional.

This means that for most of us, Good Friday is just okay. We have money, we have homes, we have jobs, we have families, we have status in the world, and we have security. While these things may feel good, they are not capital-g Good.

Here’s what one theologian has to say:

“We take comfort…that we are citizens of the greatest, most powerful nation in the history of the world. Doing so, we are tempted to support exercises of American might and wealth that may be unjust but are assumed to be necessary to secure our nation’s power. To be a citizen of such a nation at least suggests our lives will not be forgotten. When the history of history is written, America, like Rome, cannot be forgotten; as Americans we will have a place in history. Is it any wonder that a people so formed believe that what is happening in this man Jesus’ life is something about our significance? Is it any wonder that we find the lean and gaunt account of the life and crucifixion of Christ so unsatisfying?” – Stanley Hauerwas, Cross-Shattered Christ: Meditations on the Seven Last Words, 41-42 (ht)

May we look past our own hedonistic desires to see a truly satisfying Christ on the cross; the One who is tremendously Good for the whole world.

What are your thoughts? What does it mean to say that this day is Good?

• Jonathan Brink contemplates the correlations between modernity/postmodernity and left brain/right brain. “The right brain is about connectivity and relationships. What draws us together, not divides us. And much of the postmodernity movement/era I think is a response to the long drawn out centuries of living exclusively in the left brain world that can’t operate in relationships.” 03/20/2008
• That speech Obama gave about race in America? He wrote it himself. “The last time a major speech was written without the aid of a speechwriter by a president or presidential candidate was Nixon’s ‘Great Silent Majority’ speech delivered on October 13, 1969.” Wow. 03/19/2008

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