A Rose By Any Other Name

Chameleon asked where the new title comes from: truthfully, I was experimenting, seeing if changing the title of the blog would change all the page headers. It doesn't. The only way to fix it would be to go in and tweak all the html, I guess. Don't know if it's worth that.

And what is hymns from the wood? Well, it's kind of silly really. There is an old album by jethro tull called 'songs from the wood.' I've never even heard it, though with napster I think I might just bring it up. Hang on....

Ooh, this begins quite pretty. I was never really a tull fan; they were before even my white-bearded time. But I enjoy this opening track. Kind of Bach-like, kind of Renaissance.

Anyway, I write about my faith up here so much I thought hymns from the wood would be better than songs, as I do live in the woods! My house is surrounded by towering cedars and white firs, the occasional dogwood and black oak, but mostly big, tall trees. So, hymns from the wood. For now, I guess, it will stick.

I've been working a lot lately; I'm still not done grading all these online essays! There are many things I want to write about: Schweitzer (Uncle Albert deserves more than one post), what to make of the adam/eve creation story (this is very challenging to me), the eucharist/communion, those are the three that are in my head right now. But not this afternoon. Maybe tonight.

The situation at work is not resolved but looks hopeful. I'm doing all I can and I do have allies, but it will come down to a department vote, and I will have to be slick as Dick (Cheney) next Tuesday when I present my idea.

****

I find my faith alternates between a sense of truly finding myself in the community of the church, in the direction and mission that provides, and at the other extreme, floundering in panicked states of doubt. That 's just how it is for me. Maybe how it's always been. That's why I love this blog so much: I can take those panicked doubts and work them out on paper (is this paper?) and it helps. And I do try to ask Jesus for help whatever state I'm in, but I'm still not very good at this. I wrote sometime way back that Christianity was reliance on Christ, and I believe it; but that's a reliance I'm still learning. I don't like to rely on anyone, frankly; though I do feel as though I'm moving forward and not sitting stagnant. The Christian faith is more beautiful than any religious system I've studied (though of course it has its darker side in practice). I am quite convinced that either Jesus was the legitimate emissary of God or no one was. There are things of value in other religions, but only one Jesus. And either, as Schweitzer argues, he was sincerely mistaken in who he was (and all the miracle stories fabrications/naive exaggerations), or he was telling the truth. There are no other options I find tenable.

Ah, you see! I'm starting already and I need to grade essays. See you all soon.

t

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