Tony Jones: December 2008 Archives

Of course, it's the time for Top 10 lists.  Here's my contribution, a listing of the best new blogs I discovered (or re-discovered) this year:

10. Gmail Blog: Of course you use Gmail, so of course you want the latest news.

9. GraphJam: So, so funny.

8. Spiritual Politics: Mark Silk shoots straight.

7. Lessig Blog: Law prof Lawrence Lessig fights unnecessary copyright laws (and Sarah Palin).

6. MinnPost: This might be the future of newspapers -- online and non-profit.

5. Get Religion: The MSM doesn't "get" religion.

4. Presentation Zen: No bullet points. Ever.

3. Religion Dispatches: Smart, newsy, progressive writing about religion.

2. Zen Habits: Simplify your life.

1. Lifehacker: How to do everything better, cheaper, easier.

Well, if Andrew can take a week off, then any of us can.  I'll be blogging lightly through the weekend, focusing instead on time with my kids.  Then, next week, I'll unplug entirely, for the first time since I-can't-remember-when.  I do, however, have three first-class guest bloggers to ring in the new year at The New Christians.  I'll introduce them to you on Monday.

Until then, I hope that you, too, will have a great weekend with loved ones.

By St. John Chrysostom, December 25, 386, in Antioch

I behold a new and wondrous mystery! My ears resound to the Shepherd's song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn.

The Angels sing!

The Archangels blend their voices in harmony!

The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise!

The Seraphim exalt His glory!

All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised.

Bethlehem this day resembles heaven; hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices; and in place of the sun, enfolds within itself on every side the Sun of Justice.

And ask not how: for where God wills, the order of nature yields. For He willed, he had the power, He descended, He redeemed; all things move in obedience to God.

This day He Who Is, is Born; and He Who Is becomes what He was not. For when He was God, He became man; yet not departing from the Godhead that is His. Nor yet by any loss of divinity became He man, nor through increase became he God from man; but being the Word He became flesh, His nature, because of impassibility, remaining unchanged.

And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him Angels, nor Archangels, nor Thrones, nor Dominations, nor Powers, nor Principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb.

Yet He has not forsaken His angels, nor left them deprived of His care, nor because of His Incarnation has he departed from the Godhead.

And behold,

Kings have come, that they might adore the heavenly King of glory;
Soldiers, that they might serve the Leader of the Hosts of Heaven;
Women, that they might adore Him Who was born of a woman so that He might change the pains of child-birth into joy;
Virgins, to the Son of the Virgin, beholding with joy, that He Who is the Giver of milk, Who has decreed that the fountains of the breast pour forth in ready streams, receives from a Virgin Mother the food of infancy;
Infants, that they may adore Him Who became a little child, so that out of the mouth of infants and sucklings, He might perfect praise;
Children, to the Child Who raised up martyrs through the rage of Herod;
Men, to Him Who became man, that He might heal the miseries of His servants;
Shepherds, to the Good Shepherd Who has laid down His life for His sheep;
Priests, to Him Who has become a High Priest according to the order of Melchisedech;
Servants, to Him Who took upon Himself the form of a servant that He might bless our servitude with the reward of freedom;
Fishermen, to Him Who from amongst fishermen chose catchers of men;
Publicans, to Him Who from amongst them named a chosen Evangelist;
Sinful women, to Him Who exposed His feet to the tears of the repentant;

And that I may embrace them all together, all sinners have come, that they may look upon the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sins of the world.

Since therefore all rejoice, I too desire to rejoice. I too wish to share the choral dance, to celebrate the festival. But I take my part, not plucking the harp, not shaking the Thyrsian staff, not with the music of pipes, nor holding a torch, but holding in my arms the cradle of Christ.

For this is all my hope, this my life, this my salvation, this my pipe, my harp. And bearing it I come, and having from its power received the gift of speech, I too, with the angels, sing:

Panthera, Larry, Celsus, and others continue to have at on yesterday's COTD, but it's Christmas Eve, so I'm going to refrain from re-posting one of theirs here -- they're not particularly gentle.

However, here's a comment by Panthera on yesterday's post about Ted Haggard's return to the spotlight (BTW, be sure to read Patton's post on this subject).

Take a deep breath, no matter what side of the same sex marriage divide you're on, and read this (my added italics):

Noted, Lee - my family lives just down the road from Colorado Springs. I may, perhaps, be forgiven a touch of sourness on mega-church pastors.

Speaking of which, my dear brother waited until after Christmas was set for his house to announce that my partner and I would not be welcome. True Christians, only.

My parents are feeling about as low as, well, you can just imagine...knowing this may be their last Christmas with the family, and now it must be split.

That, Lee, is the type of "Christians" who I must deal with - ones who can not even set aside their hatred for one single, solitary afternoon to make their own parents happy. Whoops! Forgot...all that talk about honoring one's parents is soooo OT and stuff that long-haired Jewish guy, what's his name, well never mind, he was only the Son of God would find important.

Can you point out any mega-churches which do not preach hatred towards me as a homosexual? I am not aware of any, tho', as I mentioned above, my acquaintance with this American phenomenon is limited to Colorado.

The AP's fine religion reporter, Erik Gorski, this weekend dropped a story about the re-emergence of Ted Haggard, once-powerful president of the National Association of Evangelicals, now struggling insurance salesman.  Much to the chagrin of his former church, Haggard, his...

The Comment of the Weekend, continuing the conversation on homosexuality, has drawn a bit of response.  Larry and Panthera exchanged comments that hovered just on the border of civility and then, I'm afraid, crossed that border.  We join the conversation...

When Justin Vernon's band and love relationship both broke up, he moved from Raleigh, NC, back to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and for three months he took up residence in his father's cabin in the woods -- three cold months: December...

Over the weekend, I wrote a post giving three options as to why the story of Rick Warren's inauguration prayer has hung on so long (and, as far as my blog reading this morning, it's not going away just yet). ...

Steve Waldman asked each of the Bnet bloggers to nominate the best spiritual or religious book we've read this year.  He'll post them all in the next week or so.I confess that I'm ending the year having read much less...

Then do yourself a favor and read the Zen Habits post about Twitter.  Even if you never join, you won't look like such a fool at dinner parties.(BTW, you can see my latest tweet on the right sidebar -----> )...

From the poem, "Advent, 1955" by John Betjamen:The world seems traveling into space, And traveling at a faster pace Than in the leisured summer weather When we and it sit out together, For now we feel the world spin round...

Love seeks one thing only: the good of the one loved. It leaves all the other secondary effects to take care of themselves. Love, therefore, is its own reward.-Thomas Merton...

Methinks the biggest story this week is not BO's choice of Papa Rick to give the inaugural invocation.  The biggest story this week is how big this story is.  It won't go away.  I'm sure BO's people thought it might...

To my post, Penn Gillette Loves Him Some Gideons, PerpetualDreamer replies,Even though I'm no longer a Christian, I find the Gideon bibles very useful - they're free and very effective getting missionaries off my property when I threaten to burn...

Christianity Today, never a great fan of the emergent movement, seems to think that said movement is in need of revitalization, at least according to the subhead of their article on my exit as national coordinator of Emergent Village.  Final...

The first time I saw the little green version of the Gideon's Bible was in college.  (Not a Bible really.  More like 1/3 of a Bible.  It's got the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs.)  I was driving my car along...

This morning, on NPR, Michael Pollan expressed his deep ambivalence about Obama's Ag Sec pick, Tom Vilsack.  Contrary to what one commenter expressed on my earlier post about this, I have and will continue to criticize BO when I disagree...

Well, color me astonished.  Mega-commenter A Walker shows us all that he's not just a one-trick (SSM) pony.  He's not only familiar with Walter Rauschenbush, but he favorably quotes the social gospeler in response to my Rick Warren post of...

There's a bit of an in-house dust-up here at Bnet over Steve Waldman's extensive interview with Rick Warren (VIDEO / TRANSCRIPT). Steve's posted on it a few times, as have others around the blogosphere.But here in the friendly confines of...

Let me agree with Rod, Ezra, and Matt that Tom Vilsack is a very disappointing pick by Obama for Secretary of Agriculture.  As someone who lives in corn-producing state, I've seen my otherwise level-headed governor pander time and time again...

Some of you have asked what happened to the Same Sex Marriage Blogalogue between me and Rod Dreher.  Well, between Thanksgiving, an email snafu, Rod's vacation and lingering stomach flu, then my stomach bug, we've taken a month hiatus.I'm currently...

From Basil, responding to Quote of the Weekend:I appreciate the civil tenor of all of these comments. I am a gay man, who is exploring my own religious beliefs, via Quakerism, and enjoy my worship greatly. I am very interested...

I was emailed this beautiful YouTube last week, and I only just watched it today:A note about the creator of this short music video: Filmmaker Mark Johnson traveled around the globe getting street musicians and others to record part of...

I'm calling in sick this morning to the blogosphere.  I'll try to rally by this afternoon......

File this in the "could've seen this coming" file.I remember watching the Hour of Power on TV in January, 2006, and seeing, amid great pomp and ceremony, Robert Schuller pass on the gold medal (?!?) that signifies leadership of the...

As someone who travels to speak 2-3 times per month, I have a simple memorandum-of-understanding that I ask my hosts to sign.  It covers things like travel and reimbursements.When I was a youth pastor, I also booked a couple Christian...

To the post, The Newsweek Same Sex Marriage Kerfuffle, Dr. O'Hanlan writes, Galileo (science) was right and the Catholic Church was wrong and we finally had to admit it 500 years later. Science has some weighty evidence for us and...

HT: Mike Morrell...

Rowan Willams has the honor of leading us in an Advent meditation:...

According to Men's Health Magazine, men from Minnesota rank highly in the 25 Meanest Things Ever Said by Men and the 11 Smartest Things Ever Said about Fatherhood.  Included in the lists, Minnesotans Prince, Hubert Humphrey, Harmon Killebrew, and Garrison...

We're starting a new weekly feature here at The New Christians.  It's the Quote of the Week.  Nominations are always welcome -- just post them in the comment section.Our inaugural quote:"God is both the shit and the fan."-Phyllis Tickle...

Newsweek editor Jon Meacham gambled this week, and he gambled big.  In what is, by any measure and extraordinary piece of journalism, Newsweek religion editor Lisa Miller wrote a cover story that basically says, the Bible does not define marriage...

Sam comments on my Rich Cizik post:I thank God for Rich Cizik's courage. He was just out here at Azusa Pacific University where I now work and spoke some good words. I am like him, for civil unions for homosexual...

On Fresh Air with Terry Gross, National Association of Evangelicals vice president of governmental affairs Rich Cizik admitted that his views on same sex unions are shifting.  While he made it clear that he does not favor same sex marriage,...

When I was a youth pastor, my church occasionally hosted an "ecumenical" worship service that moved around the Twin Cities in an attempt to unite Christians in worship.  (Truth be told, the monthly service was dominated by Pentecostals who danced,...

From Harpers Magazine, 2005:...

Last summer, Marcus Goodyear interviewed me for The High Calling, an online magazine of Laity Lodge in Texas.  (In fact, I can remember exactly where I was: sitting next to Michael Toy's pool during a day off from the Church...

Adam Walker-Cleaveland's posts have lessened in both frequency and profundity since he graduated from Princeton Seminary and entered the workaday world of church ministry.  But occasionally he drops a gem that reminds us of why Pomomusings charted the course for...

Thanks to David Crumm for the heads-up that most PBS stations will this weekend show Soul Searching: The Journey of Thomas Merton.  Today, Crumm interviews the filmmaker, Morgan Atkinson at Read the Spirit.  Money Q&A:DAVID: People talk about The Seven...

"Duh-sciple" has quickly become one of my favorite commenters.  under the post, Is Rick Warren a Centrist, s/he writes,Remember that when we draw the line between "us" and "them" between the "pure" and the "depraved" between the "saved" and the...

Christine Sine, medical doctor, futurist, new monastic, mustard seeder, has produced a little Advent meditation that's worth three minutes of your time: HT: Bob Robinson...

From Darin Peterson this morning: Call for visions and voices in our premier issue. DATE:  Spring 2009 (March) GENERAL THEME:  Resurrection Stories WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR: At the core of all Christian belief is this bizarre, astonishing, and absurd claim: ...

Church of the Beloved is an Anglimergent church in North Seattle and a daughter church of Church of the Apostles.  They've produced a wonderful album called Hope for a Tree Cut Down, and it's available for free on their website. ...

Two in a row for Dr. Science!Wow, I just checked back to see if the old thread had died, and what do I find! Thank you, Tony. BTW, the pronoun used for me is "she", not "he"."A Walker" -- Who...

Friday and Saturday of last week marked the inaugural event of JoPa Productions, a partnership between Doug Pagitt and me.  Doug and I are involved in the publishing industry both as authors and as editors/consultants/gadflies.  And just when it seems...

To my post regarding Zach Lind's support of SSM, over against the arguments Dan Kimball noted that it may lead to the legalization of polygamy, Dr. Science writes,Civil marriage is a legal contract between two persons. Same-sex marriage acknowledges that...

Many seem to think so, especially in light of works of compassion in Africa, but Andrew is not falling for it.  It seems that Rick went on Fox News and agreed with Sean Hannity that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should...

Here are the assembled Tweets from The Great Emergence National Event:...

My editor extraordinaire at Jossey-Bass, Sheryl Fullerton, pointed me to a depressing post from Chip McGregor (a well-known literary agent) on the Black Friday (December 3) in the publishing industry.Some of the lowlights:Simon & Schuster cut 35 people (2% of...

The conversation continues my most-read Beliefnet post to date: Same Sex Marriage Blogalogue: How I Went from There to Here.  Ben contributed this:Yes, The Holy Bible is very clear on a lot of things. Circumcision, for instance. And what about...

On the eve of our Great Emergence National Event in Memphis comes news of a new denomination of breakaway Episcopal dioceses.  While this is no surprise, it is unfortunate, methinks.  It's also a sign of the death of denominations, which...

The next thing I hope tackle with Rod in our Same Sex Blogalogue is the "slippery slope," which keeps coming up in the comments.  The argument usually goes like this: if we allow gay marriage, the next thing we know,...

As I wrote this summer on the Church Basement Roadshow, every place south of the Mason-Dixon line seems to think that they have the best BBQ.  IMHO, Kansas City and Memphis lead the pack (although Texas Brisket deserves a spot...

There's a really fascinating string of comments under Tuesday's post, Are You an MIE (Multi-Issue Evangelical)? regarding abortion.  It's hard to pick just one comment, but RJohnson's stood out to me as particularly thoughtful:"A fetus should not legally be considered...

I've never claimed to be an evangelical, which will make many evangelicals happy.  However,  others do pin that term on me, including my friend, Keith DeRose.  Keith is a philosopher at Yale and a Class-A blog lurker and commenter (he...

I leave Minneapolis today for Memphis, Tennessee, in advance of The Great Emergence National Event with Phyllis Tickle.  My posts in the next few days will likely be focused on bar-b-que.  And, I suppose, on the content of the event...

Dr. Science weighs in on the question, Is There a Religious Left?As "Your name" demonstrates, the answer to Tony's question is "Yes".Back in November 2004, Jeff Sharlet confessed it quite clearly, talking about questions he and Peter Manseau were asked...

Not yet, according to Jeff Sharlet.  Sharlet was recently asked to contribute to a book on the supposed Religious Left, and he has posted the draft of his chapter at The Revealer (to which you all should subscribe).This is a...

Over at Presbymergent, Leon Bloder has posted an open letter to his congregation, First Presbyterian of Eustis, Florida.  In it, he urges calm among congregants who are either ecstatic or in despair over BO's election victory.  Money quote:As the Church,...