Holiness of God...

I'm working on my Statement of Faith right now (so that I can graduate from Bethel), and a thought occurred to me. I would love to get feedback from others who like to wax theological.

Are the attributes 'holy' and 'unchangeable' really just two ways of saying the same thing when used in reference to God?

After all, God ordered the universe and set it up according to the laws and principles which he deemed right/just/good. Thus, God's adherence to the maintenance of everything in accordance with rightness/justness/goodness which we often call 'holiness' is nothing more than consistent adherence to the system He created.

Basically, then, God's 'holiness' boils down to nothing more than this: God always plays the game by the rules.

It's just a musing...thought I'd cast it out there and see what ya'll think.

So This Is The New Year...

*strums guitar*

"...and I don't feel any different."

Seriously--how else was I going to start my first post of 2008? Besides, Death Cab for Cutie deserve my advertising--and they've got a new album set to release in May of this year.

Lots of other things to say, many of which could fill a post of their own..but who's got the time? So, without further ado, here's another edition of the Speckled Mind's often-imitated but never duplicated "Bits and Pieces."

1. Jess and I celebrated our five year anniversary yesterday. She makes me happy in ways I can't express in words. My speechlessness should be evidence enough of how remarkable a woman she is.
2. Speaking of Jess, she was typing an email the other day that referenced 'Bethel.' The dictionary didn't recognize that word, and in its place suggested she change it to 'Brothel.' This confirms many of the suspicions I had about the undergrad female dress code while I was employed there.
3. I got a lot of comments on my post about meeting Bono. But none of them funnier than this one from Peter:
   

   tim - i don't know you, i'm friends with matt glatzel. but i have to say that meeting bono is cool, even if you did end you post with some of the worst writing bono's ever done. that's the shittiest u2 song ever.
   

   Well, 'Peter whom I don't know', there were a number of U2 song titles that just didn't make the thematic cut. "Where the Streets Have No Name" seemed silly because it happened on the corner of F and 2nd. "Mysterious Ways" was also a bad choice--Bono seemed like a pretty normal guy. "With or Without You" seemed a bit melodramatic for the occasion. "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" would have been odd because the incident happened on a relatively peaceful Friday afternoon. I could go on and on here Peter. The point is that the title fit the theme I was shooting for, regardless of the song's relative 'shittiness' in comparison to others Bono has written.
   
4. Thanks to all who read and commented on my Best of 2007 music blog. I enjoyed all of your comments immensely and appreciated those of you who took time to craft a list of your own. 2007 was a great year for music; I'm looking forward to many new releases in 2008; among them--Anathallo, Death Cab for Cutie, and Counting Crows (first new LP in 6 years!).
5. I really hope the Twins trade Santana soon so I can get on with the rest of my life. Please, please, please don't blow this, Bill Smith. Please.
6. Speaking of Baseball, The first Twins spring training game is less than 8 weeks away. Not that my favorite squad will necessarily be a contender this year. I'm just glad it's gonna be baseball season again soon.
   
7. I bought a new battery for my laptop while I was in Minneapolis. It makes me smile--I went from 12 minutes of battery life to 5 1/2 hours of battery life.
8. Call it 'Tapas,' call it 'Dim Sum' or call it anything else you like. It's a fantastic way to have a meal. We had tapas with some friends tonight in Alexandria at a restaurant called 'La Tosca' and it was sublime.
9. The Daily show and The Colbert Report are coming back with new episodes (minus their writers, of course) on Monday. As luck would have it, Jess and I get comedy central in our apartment for free. It's good that something is free in this city.
10. Congrats to all my recently engaged friends, including Brad and Christine, Chris and Tara, Andrew and Emily, Rob and Mindy. Seems like a good summer for weddings. I *really* appreciate you all waiting until I moved thousands of miles away to plan an event those events...
11. I hope to do a 'New Year's Resolution' blog sometime soon, so I won't pull back the curtain on those just yet.
    

I guess that'll do for now. If you stop by here and read the posts, I'd love to get your feedback. Just say hello if nothing else. It's good to know who's on the receiving end of these blogs.

Tut, tut. It Looks Like Snow

For those of you keeping score at home, it's still snowing. We're hovering around 14" outside of my house right now, and I expect over 20" by the time I wake up tomorrow morning. The only thing in Minnesota exceeding the snowfall amounts today was (sadly) Carlos Silva's ERA--a whopping 22.50. Perhaps he was showing sympathy to his home state. That, or he's just a terrible pitcher. Logic and experience force me to lean toward the latter.

I'm soooooo not going to work tomorrow. But it's OK. I have The Departed and Syriana to keep me warm.

On Justice, Mercy and Customer Service

Anyone who has worked in a customer service position understands: the customer is always right...unless they're wrong. Unfortunately, they are often wrong. And when they are, it takes every ounce of restraint I have not to use the business end of my size 12's.

January and February at the bookstore always have a way of bringing about vindictiveness in me. I mean, there are plenty of good reasons to be angry, right? I was unjustly accused. I was yelled at. I was called a liar. I was stolen from. The Christian kids at Bethel should know better. They should know better.

And then it happens. I do something reprehensible...and I should have known better. And at that point, it's unthinkable to me that the offended party wouldn't immediately forgive me. Because, apparently, I deserve it...

And there is my double standard, my two-facedness, my hypocrisy. My natural reaction is to lobby for swift, definitive justice when others have done wrong and yet to invoke mercy when the error is mine. Certainly this is the opposite of Christ-like character and love. After all, Christ did not tell us to take up our cross so that we could impale others at will. Rather, we carry the cross so that we can die to ourselves--to our self-perceived rights and entitlement--that we might always view conflict through the lens of grace and mercy. I have so far to go.

One small step for women...

...one giant faceplant for gender equality

Actually overheard today at Bethel:

"Books are so expensive. I'm just gonna be a trophy wife."

Sigh...

Give a Man a Fish and He'll Deprive the Starving Street Kids of India...

...or, "How the Irony Was Not Lost on Me During Lunch Today."

The Bethel dining center is my eating establishment of choice for lunches every weekday. It is convenient, the price is low and the food is relatively good (said as one who ate 3 squares a day at the U of M dorm cafeterias for two years). But my taste in cuisine is hardly the point of this episode.

As I waded through the private school masses during lunch today I saw a sign that caught my attention: "FISH SANDWICH." Due to my wife's general distaste for seafood, I almost never make fish at home. Thus, even a lackluster piece of sea fare sets my mouth to watering like an overeager gardener in a greenhouse. I promptly got in line and was soon face to face with one of the kind-faced Sodexho employees.

"Could I just get a piece of fish without the bun?"

"No," she replied.

"Are you serious?"

At this point she directed my attention to the sign which (in her defense) clearly read FISH SANDWICH.

Never one to shy away from an argument, I persisted.

"I'm not going to eat the bun. Seriously, I'm just going to set it aside when I get to the table."

At this point, she gave me the finger. And by 'gave me the finger', I mean 'pointed once more at the sign' which, if you recall, clearly read FISH SANDWICH.

"I would seriously rather not throw the bun away. It seems wasteful. Can I just have a piece of fish"

"Here's your fish," she said as she handed me a plate which contained a bun-intact fish sandwich.

Puzzled and bewildered I took my tray to the table, dislodged the fish and set the bun aside. The fish was actually pretty good, if you were wondering. As I chewed though, I couldn't help but think of how wasteful my eating enterprise would be today. After negotiating with myself about how many carrots I had to endure before I could eat dessert, eating those carrots (12, if you were wondering) and eating the dessert, I got up to put my tray away. At the dish washing area I once again lamented wasting a quarter loaf of French bread, but then put the thought out of my mind.

Quickly (because, how else would I work off that dessert) I trotted down the stairs back to my office. Right after I exited the stairs, a well-designed display caught my eye. I walked over and silently read the bold print at the top of the sign, "WANT TO HELP FEED THE STARVING STREET KIDS OF INDIA?" A kind-faced sophomore audibly posed the same question as I stood there confused as to why someone else's voice had invaded my inner monologue. She repeated the question as I snapped out of my daze:

"Do you want to help feed the starving street kids of India?"

"Who...me? Sure," I said as I dislodged a dollar bill from my pocket and brushed away the lint.

I placed the dollar in the donation box and walked away as the kind young undergrad continued to smile, looking for the her program's next benefactor. On the way back to my office I couldn't help but wonder if at any point in the near future Bethel's right hand will figure out what its left hand is doing.

The Best Quote Yet

Well, my culture and ministry class still sucks. A lot. But I just wanted to share one last out of context quote, spoken directly from the professors mouth:

"You don't need this class."

I couldn't have said it better myself. I wonder when I will be refunded for 10 weeks of wasted time and effort. Bwah.

Oooh--one more, because he just said it:

"This is adult material."

Very funny given the "quality" of films shown in the class. Bwah again...

Quotes From Class Tonight

Here's a few things that were said in my class tonight--that's right, the same SEMINARY CLASS in which we watched a pseudo-porn last week. Where's my wife to cover my eyes when I need her? Oh, and in case you need some context, it is a Culture and Ministry class. Yeah, I don't get it either.

Alex G: What do Albanians have to offer me? NOTHING!

Professor: "I need you to stick your neck on the chopping block here. That's the point of the excercise."

Alex G: "We talked about the value of self-starter-ness."

Alex G: "Is there a bad rub?"

Micah: "So is it a stereotype or a sociotype to say that all Minnesotans sit on buckets and ice fish in the winter?"

Professor: "Female blondes are stupid."

Professor: "Blondes are more fun."

Professor: "Some of you would have a defensiveness about you."
Brad: "No I don't!!"

Professor: "The research can be a lot worse than this class."

Me: "The point is the gorilla, Micah."

Professor: "I just wanna deal with the gorilla."

A Few Random Bits

1. This is really funny, but only because it's a spoof. If it were real...oh wait, it is real and happening all over the country. Shame on you, Joel Osteen. I don't know about you, but I only make that face in the bathroom.

2. Though I've thus far avoided oozing progressive Christian admirational salve about Bono, I just can' t resist. No one else could have walked into the National Prayer Breakfast and said the things that he did. I could almost hear James Dobson fuming in the background--after all, he didn't use the words "homosexual agenda" even once when describing our countries greatest needs.

3. The Twins need a new stadium. The possibility of the Twins playing in Portland, North Carolina, or *gasp* Vegas in 2007 was almost enough to make me lost control of my bladder and emotions this morning. Just imagine how much trouble Lew Ford would get into in Sin City. Scary to think about. Keep our Twins here!! I'm talking to you, Pawlenty. Don't screw this up.

4. I watched an R-rated movie with a bunch of swearing and "sexual situations" in it last night. Guess where? That's right, in a seminary class. Of course, it was a class bout culture and ministry...so I can see...where that makes sense? It fit right in with the books we're reading about Black and Hispanic churches... I can't help but feeling something's amiss.

Life seems to be getting weirder by the day.