Plants Grown Up
January 31, 2005
This morning my 12 year old son did not want to go to school. He had spent the weekend on a school sponsored ski trip and was exhausted. He'd come home and was in bed by 8:30 pm and had a good 9 hours of sleep. Matt informed me that LOTS of kids were staying home and sleeping in.
Later - I found this was true. Many students didn't show for school.
I think there are two ways of looking at childhood. One is that childhood is a protected time with special privileges and few responsibilities. This is characterized by "your only a child once", "let children be children", "soon they'll be adults, and they won't have this chance", etc...
The other way is your child is a young plant, a seedling. He must be cared, nourished and provided for. He also must be pruned occasionally and shielded when the sun gets too hot. But basically he is a plant waiting to grow up. It is a continuum.
Biblically, I feel parenting should draw from the later philosophy. Our responsibility as parents is raise young men and women of God. There is no magic switch to adulthood that happens when you cannot sleep in, you must be responsible, you must deny yourself for a greater good. These lessons are learned slowly from birth on - just as a seedling is nourished to maturity.
In Psalm 1 David speaks about the blessed man who is "a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."
Right now I have to put my young plant to bed so he does not wither tomorrow - that whatever he does he prospers - because he is growing up to be a Blessed Man.
Academy - Hope is Lost
January 30, 2005
I didn't post about the omission of the Passion of the Christ as a nominee for Best Picture. I agree with Mel Gibson - "no surprise". But after seeing two of the nominees this weekend Sideways and Million Dollar Baby I am appalled!!!!
How, how could these two morally bankrupt, meaningless, vacuous movies compete with the Passion of the Christ.
Guess it's back to Netflix for us.
Update: Hotel Rwanda received a nod with Don Cheadle's magnificent performance. This is a GREAT picture - everyone should see it and skip the rest.
Million Dollar Tragedy
January 30, 2005
Warning: If you want to see Million Dollar Baby don't read further. What is Hollywood up to now? Surprise, surprise they now add euthanasia to their list of acceptable choices. After all "it's all about choice" isn't it? Wittenberg Gate has a thoughtful post on euthanasia that should be read before rooting for the Academy Awards (guess which movie doesn't get my vote). This review by Emanuel Levy goes even further - Hollywood now takes shots at spiritual redemption and euthansia all wrapped up in one movie.
Million Dollar Baby is a spiritual, even religious, movie about the search for redemption of an old Irish Catholic who's become disillusioned with the church and the lack of significant family relationship. Through his relationship with Maggie, Frankie redeems himself and experiences a moral and emotional rebirth at the most tragic circumstances.
Tragic - you can say that again!
A Historic Day in the Control Room
January 30, 2005
What a historic day! After seeing 60% of jubilant Iraqis turn out to vote in their newfound democracy I decided to finally watch Control Room. The film gives an inside look at the running of Al Jazerra, and through that medium a look at what the Arab world is thinking.
What a nice contrast - between then and now. Al Jazerra must be perplexed. There "hold a gun to their head until they agree to democracy" understanding of the the United States was turned on its head. Control Room was shot just before and after the fall of Baghdad. Granted a lot has happened since Saddam's statue was torn down. But I think Al Jazerra would find it hard to say we are there just for OIL!.
Where Silence Is Golden
January 29, 2005
I recently started a refresher course in American Sign Language. More than 30 years ago (yes, that long) I learned sign language at my high school. My school was a mainstream magnate school for the deaf/hearing impaired in the western suburbs of Chicago. There were over 100 deaf students. Some of the students took advanced science and math classes - I interpreted for those classes. Many of my friends were hearing impaired. They could speak and sign, we communicated using voice, gestures, lip reading and sign. We signed word for word what we spoke. Hearing and deaf could communicate easily, what you lost in sign you could make up with voice or lip reading. This was termed Total Communication. I had many hearing impaired friends. I was Maid-of-Honor for my best friend who was hearing impaired. My world was richer - I hope their world was richer as well.
On the other hand, a change was sweeping through the deaf community. The profoundly deaf students used a particular type of new sign language called American Sign Language (ASL). ASL is a complete language in itself. It has its own grammer, vocabulary and cueing. It is NOT signed english. I had learned signed english. ASL was in its infancy in my school. Signed english is an exact word for word translation of every english word, even its tense is exactly signed.
In 2005 signed english is like speaking King James english to pre-teens. It is so ollllld!
More importantly, signed english is now termed offensive. It does not recognize Deaf Culture.
A new book Where Silence Is Golden reviewed by the WSJ (subscription required) highlights the war for and within the deaf world. It worries about Deaf Culture. It worries about the loss of ASL. The authors while condemning deaf schools of old, charterizing them "as an asylum where their bodies are managed and rendered powerless." probably abhor the mainstream model that my progressive high school modeled. Deaf schools - manage with power and control: Mainstream schools - slowly dilute the power of Deaf solidardity and uniqueness by intergrating students into a hearing community.
New worries now assualt Deaf Culture. The Orlando Sentinel in this article highlights these worries. The deaf worry about losing Deaf Culture through technology. Today the deaf can use email, text messaging, SMS, video relay and closed captioning to communicate with each other and a hearing world. To many deaf people are choosing to communicate with these new methods and not come together as a Deaf community. ASL is on the decline.
I find this debate interesting. Are the deaf to be "in the world and yet not of the world", or are they to be a protected minority - isolated in their solidarity.
I plan on blogging about this more. Its an important question for all minorities that face technolgical advances and medical miracles.
Syncretism and Pi
January 29, 2005
Syncretism has been in the news lately. First we had the Lutheran minister accused of syncretism at the 9/11 event held in Yankee Stadium, than we have George Bush accused of syncretism when he speaks of the Muslim god and our God as the same god, a god of peace. This was brought home as I finished reading Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. The young Pi becomes a good Hindu, Christian and Muslim; all at the same time.
He goes to Friday prayers and knows the Holy Qur'an. He is regularly
seen at the Hindu temple coming for darshan and performing puja. And of
course he goes to Mass on Sunday and meets regularly with the priest to
discuss the gospel. When Pi is out with his family one Sunday he is met
by the priest, the imam, and the pandit. A fight for his soul insues as
each holy man makes claims for his religion.
In the end the pandit says
Pi's piety is admirable. ""In troubled times it's good to see a boy so keen on God. We all agree on that." The imam and the priest nodded.
"But he can't be a Hindu, a Christian and a Muslim. It's impossible. He
must choose.'"
When Pi was asked about the choice he must make, Pi said, "'Bupu Gandhi said, 'All religions are true.' I just want to love God.'"
The Father's reply echoes what I so often hear today, "I suppose that's what we're all trying to do--love God."
Syncretism in a time of trouble and turbelence is insidious. It's beguiling call is harmful - yet alluring. The desire for peace is understandable.
Paul says in Romans "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Chris." Peace can only be found with God, through the Lord Jesus Christ.
September 11th - Through the Eyes of Children
January 28, 2005
Michelle Malkin points us to this site September 11, 2001, Documentary Project - (American Memory from the Library of Congress). I clicked on the photo gallery and tears came to my eyes. Why is it that when we see the world through the eyes of children that we often see the clearest?
It Takes A "Puny Man"
January 28, 2005
Tod Bolsinger writes at It Takes A Church.... that John Calvin said we receive spiritual blessings when we hear the word from a "puny man". Read the quote, it will make you listen differently on Sunday mornings.
Reformed Eye
January 21, 2005
A great idea Reformed Eye for the Arminian Guy .
