In Case There Was Any Doubt

Well I'm trying to be more deliberate about updating my blog, which hasn't worked out so well the past few weeks. It's not for a lack of things to say, but more because my ADD (self-diagnosed) mind can't stay on one thing long enough to write it down. Anyway, I wanted to be sure and get this most-important post out there for all to see...

I just want to say that I have the most wonderful wife in the world. Of course you all already know that, but it's good to be reminded of it every once in awhile. Not only is she brilliant (future Dr. Mrs. Paul's Wife), but she's beautiful and fun and kind and so many more things. Anyway, we've had a great past couple of weeks and I am reminded about something. I am a much better person today than I was last week or last month or last year and it has a lot to do with her. And not only that, but I know that I will be a better person next week, next month, and next year because she makes me a better person.

So, I just wanted to tell her in front of everyone that I love her and am sooooooo glad that she said YES when I asked that crazy question a few years back. I love you!! It's the greatest joy of my life to be married to you.

A South Dakota Effort in Futility

I'm a little late to the party on this one but since I'm in training this week my unfettered access to a computer is limited. However, on such an important issue I wanted to be sure and respond.

Earlier this week the South Dakota legislature enacted into law the toughest restrictions on abortion in the country. According to the new law, abortions are illegal in all cases except where the mother's life is at risk. Now, first and foremost, this law will never go into effect. That wasn't the purpose for which it was created. Soon, if not already, a judge will temporarily halt the law from taking effect. It will be appealed up the line and ultimately the 10th circuit court of appeals will overturn the law. Following that it will be appealed to the Supreme Court but the court will not choose to take the case. In other words they will just ignore it, and here's why. First, at this point in time a majority of people in our country still favor a woman's right to choose. Some may say that it depends on who you ask and how you frame the question but if it's not a majority then it's very, very close. Second, a ruling regarding a person's right to abortion has already been established by the court and it would take a groundswell of anti-abortion fervor to cause them to overturn that, far more than we have today.

So, even though the possibility exists withy a now more conservative court for the right to an abortion to be overturned it's not going to happen soon and it's not going to happen like this. The justices are too wise to do this. It's amazing that even in such a serious situation morality gives way to politics, but frankly that's just the way it has to be.

Now, I may be "progressive" or "moderate" by the definition of some but I do believe that abortion is morally wrong. I believe it is a terrible act and in many cases (though not all) a supreme act of selfishness. I believe that abortion should be illegal just as murder is illegal however I don't believe it's going to happen to a lasting degree no matter how much we stack the court. While not exactly the same, we saw a similar situation in our country in regards to the equality of all people. Slavery was abolished in our country in the middle of the 19th century by enactment of a constitutional amendment. The foundation of that amendment was the equality of all people (or all men I suppose). However, as history has revealed, equality for all people wasn't something that could be legislated or even enforced by the courts. Ultimately it took changing the hearts and minds of people. It took time. In fact we have yet to see this issue resolved in a Christ-like way as statistics seem to show that white Southern Baptist men are the most racist people within our country.

The same change will be true regarding abortion as well. Change is going to come through changing the hearts and minds of people. It will come as people understand the full value of human life, as God intended it. It's not going to happen strictly through electing like-minded legislators or presidents. It's not going to come through the Supreme Court. It's going to come when Christians exemplify and demonstrate the love of God BEFORE they condemn other people. And honestly, it's going to happen one person at a time, not through guilt or fear, but through acceptance and love.

So I guess what I'm saying is, don't expect too much to come out of this South Dakota law. And don't wait around for your government to do something. Start figuring out ways that you can make a difference, such as loving and esteeming the girls who are continually told by our culture that they aren't pretty enough or don't have the perfect figure and who so often find acceptance in the words of a guy who want nothing more than physical gratification. Another more controversial idea is to provide means of contraception for those who are going to have sex anyway. Doing so does not throw open the doors of promiscuity. It simply acknowledges that a "greater" tragedy is the loss of a life because a girl doesn't think she has another option.

The Effective Rights of Jimmy

I'm doing computer training all week in Tulsa. I'm learning "everything" there is to know about Windows Server 2003. Riveting, I know. Of course if you're a nerd like me then you actually enjoy the stuff. I'm filling my head with all the complexities of this particular Microsoft application. Now, I'm a relatively smart guy and I do really well at thinking analytically so you would think this would make pretty good sense to me. I can't tell you though how many times I've watched the demo or read the book or done the exercise and wondered, "What in the world were these people thinking when they did this, and what the heck were they smoking?" Let's just say its a bit verbose.

Today, I've been learning about the effective rights of Jimmy. You see I can implicitly deny or explicitly deny rights to Jimmy however I can only explicitly grant rights to Jimmy. Explicit grants overwrite implicit denies and explicit denies overwrite explicit grants. If Jimmy is a member of a group that has rights explicitly denied then it doesn't matter how much I grant him personally because he is DENIED! It's crazy stuff. You can apply it to files and folders and folders and files inside of folders.

This afternoon I think I'll explicitly deny Jimmy the right to go to the bathroom and explicitly grant him the right to drink a 64 oz. Coke and see what happens. Oh the God-like powers of Windows Administrators.

What Am I Thinking?!?!

I really don't know why I do this to myself. I finally get to the place where I'm starting to think that maybe all Evangelical Fundies aren't bad, that maybe some of them have a few redeeming qualities. Then I do something stupid like switch over to the Bott Radio Network for some "quality Christian programming. " One minute everything is fine and the next minute I'm screaming at D. James Kennedy and my blood pressure is off the charts. Not too long after that I'm ready to take the whole lot of them and chunk them out the window. Here's how it went down.

I'm on the way to Sonic to pick up a Coke for my wife (I'm a really great husband). There's nothing good on any of the local channels (classic rock, easy listening, grunge, NPR, even K-Love) so in my desperation I decide to switch over to 800 AM just to see what's going on. I get Dr. Kennedy talking about the holiness of God. So far I'm with him. Then he makes the comment, "The judgment of God starts with the House of God." At that point I'm really with him. He's challenging the people of God to holiness, reminding us that God wants to purify us in the first place. Then he launches into a discussion about sexual promiscuity, homosexuality, and the like. Now...While I'm sure that some sub-set of the Church population is struggling greatly with these sins, I don't think we're being overrun by sexual fornicators in the church.

My immediate thought was, if you're talking about the judgment of God coming to the Church to bring about purity and holiness, don't you think you're going to hit a higher percentage of your upper-middle class congregation by talking about pride, complacency, materialism, gluttony, or divorce? I mean, how many of the Coral Ridge Fellowship are struggling with homosexuality or gross sexual sins? Clearly he's not really talking about Christians, even though he insinuates that he is. He's talking about "other people." He's ripping the founders of the sexual revolution and talking about those ignorant ones that listened to their enticing words and will now be judged and face hell. I guess what he really meant when he talked about judgment starting with the Church was that the judgment comes from people in the Church towards those outside the Church, as if they should no better and be holy.

Needless to say it's just more of the same. I can't tell you how many times I've sat in churches and listened to pastors rail against the same types of gross immorality, followed by hearty amens from people in the crowd. We love to hear preachers rail against sins that we don't happen to struggle with. What a joke. And what a disservice to the people of God, from whom God really does desire holiness and righteousness. I don't ever recall my pastor railing against gluttony or materialism. In fact, he's actually insinuated that those things are part of the "abundant life of Jesus Christ."

It got no better after Dr. Kennedy. Before I make it back to the safety of my home I get the weekly griping of conservatives about judges and how horrible they are. Apparently we should be removing them from the bench for cussing or being mean to witnesses, but that's a whole other story. I guess it's time for another round of the fundamentalist detox program.

Unappreciated Talent

I got the chance to go the Rascal Flatts concert last night in OKC. It was a first for me, as I am generally opposed to country music. However, I actually enjoyed myself and I came away with some appreciation for people that I had never had before. Here are a few things which I think merit some recognition:

1. The ability to carry cups of beer filled to the rim without spilling a drop - This is quite an impressive talent. I mean, let's be honest, the room they give you to maneuver at these sort of places can't exactly be categorized as spacious. In fact precarious is probably a more descriptive term. This particular talent gets even more impressive throughout the night as people are still able to manage a full cup even after getting two or three into their systems. You'd think they were carrying cups full of plastic explosives. Never, ever underestimate the value of beer.
2. The shamelessness of country music fans - I have never been to a concert where people sang along, word for word, so much. I mean these people knew every word of every song, and sang it with the perfect twang. Most of these people were tone-deaf and drunk, which just adds to my appreciation for their shamelessness.
3. The ability to wear jeans that are three or four sizes too small - Now, I don't think this one is as common as it once was, and since Rascal Flatts can only marginally be called country anyway, this was a rare sighting, but a sighting it was. I'm just amazed that people are able to stand, sit, and carry out other necessary movements required of human-beings in that state. I learned to appreciate this particular talent while in one of the restrooms. As I was washing my hands I saw this guy (estimated weight - 275) out of the corner of my eye that I thought had just gotten shot in the stomach. It turns out he was just sucking in with all his might and holding himself just right so that he could get his pants buttoned again after relieving himself. Of course, knowing how impressive this was he decided to do it in front of all of us, rather than in a stall where no one would appreciate his talent. It probably would have been okay if he wasn't able to get his on because he could have borrowed mine as they appeared to be about two sizes bigger than his.
4. The poetry that is country music - Who would have thought that after seven decades of singing about their trucks, their women, and their dip they could still come up with such creative lyrics, but alas, they can. Case in point, Blake Shelton. He sings this song about "some beach." He keeps referring to it in the song. Every time somebody does him wrong or does something bad to him in the song he just launches into singing about "some beach." Only the most cultured would realize that this "some beach" is a creative allusion to a hicking, slang way of calling someone the offspring of a female dog.

So as you can see, I learned a lot from my new experience. I was even treated to some covers of Van Morrison, the Eagles, Elton John, and AC/DC. Sure never would have expected that at a country music concert. Wonders never cease.

You've Got to See...er...Hear This

This is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It had my awed and cracking up at the same time. Just follow the link below. It will take you to the Honda Civic UK website. Click the link that says "Watch" at the bottom or "Watch Civic" inside the window. Watch the film first and then watch the rehearsal. Sometimes I think myself pretty creative. Then I see something like this:

http://www.honda.co.uk/civic/

Don't Forget to Repent Today

Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the period of Lent. It is also a day that is specifically set aside to remember the frailty of humanity and the need for repentence. I was reading through the Lectionary this morning, listening to the words of Joel and David as they called out for personal and corporate repentence. Both passages are often quoted but so easily glossed over in my own life. As a Southern Baptist I've never even given Lent a thought, much less attempted to apply any of the principles to my own life but since I'm currently "dating around" in the spiritual realm I decided it would be a good time to check it out. So for me today is a day of soul-searching as I consider my own frailty and sinfulness (both of which are great). I hope to carry out that soul-searching throughout the next forty days as well as trying to use this time to cultivate some of the spiritual disciplines in my own life.

I have to admit, I sort of raise an eyebrow to the thought of a "period" of discipline or repentence such as Lent is meant to be, especially when it follows the nearly sacred holiday of Mardi Gras. However, I think a time of re-focusing and re-commitment is healthy. Not to mention the fact that it's easy for me to be judgmental but if I were honest I probably couldn't even claim twenty individual days of discipline in my own life in a given year.

So...Happy Lenting!