Words, Words, Words

Tags

blogging, C.S. Lewis, Humor, logophile, loquacious, obscenity, quotes, words, writing

Today is the 800th post in the life of this blog–so with such a preponderance of verbiage I started reflecting on words and their usage. I don’t know if I qualify as a logophile but I certainly live in the world of words. I believe it is true that people judge you by the words you use. Therefore whether I am preaching, teaching, blogging, writing, or conversing using the right word is important. For the same reason learning and using new words can be a very good discipline. This is an area that I work at as often as I can.

When my daughter and I were watching “Hugo” just recently we realized that one of the things that made the Isabelle character so compelling was her use of language–repeatedly introducing wonderful new words that kept Hugo regularly perplexed. We found it to be reminiscent of Anne of Avonlea since both of these girls were so splendidly loquacious.

C.S. Lewis remains popular because of his unique use of language. He had the ability to take a common thought and word it in such a way as to almost persuade the reader it was brand new. As part of some advice to writers he cautioned against something which I am afraid I am quite guilty of–“In writing. Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, “Please will you do my job for me.”

When I think about words and language enough my thoughts will drift to our society’s use of the obscene. Why do we speak the way we do? It seems that it must either signify verbal laziness or simply a debased audience. In other words, in daily conversation why are such words being used? Is it not because there is such a dearth of vocabulary that we have difficulty expressing ourselves void of these verbal crutches?

We see this magnified in much of what passes as humor? What is it that makes an obscenity funny? Can the joke not stand on it’s own? Why is it that if I hear a joke of which the weight of it rests upon some coarse vocabulary that I do not find it funny but that many other people do? Is it that I have no sense of humor? Anybody that knows me personally will tell you that is the farthest thing from the truth? It can only mean that for the person who finds the obscenity full of levity that it must connect with them at some level. Which is also the reason that I believe the best comedians are the clean ones because their performance does not rest upon such superficial supports.

Words can be evocative, provocative, angering, poignant, engaging, compelling, humorous, hurtful, inspiring, demoralizing, divisive, inflammatory, and healing. Therefore, let us be both attentive and deliberate in the words we use. Remember the adage, “keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.”

The Confident Darwinist

Tags

agnosticism, Atheism, Darwin, evolution, Giles Fraser, God, Humor, Origin of the Species, quotes, religion, Richard Dawkins, Telegraph

This won’t be long but if you have not seen this it is absolutely priceless. This came out of “The Telegraph.” Richard Dawkins was being interviewed on the radio by Giles Fraser who is a Priest with the Church of England–pretty leftist at that. You will hear in the interview that Dawkins was addressing a recent study done by Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science and the results could certainly be interpreted as a lack of knowledge on the basic facts (or at least foundational information) regarding Christianity which seemed to indicate, at least to him, that they were not really Christians. This prompted Fraser to make a connection between that same lack of knowledge of that of evolutionary proponents. From there we will pick up the audio clip:

From “The Telegraph” we get the following transcript:

Fraser: Richard, if I said to you what is the full title of The Origin Of Species, I’m sure you could tell me that.

Dawkins: Yes I could.

Fraser: Go on then.

Dawkins: On the Origin of Species…Uh…With, oh, God, On the Origin of Species. There is a sub-title with respect to the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life.

I’m not sure which is more encouraging–Dawkins not knowing the title to the Darwinist’s equivalent of the Bible, or his crying out to God in the midst of it. Dawkins had said before that he is a 6 out of a 7 when it comes to atheism. In other words, while he would not say he is absolutely sure there is not God, he says it is highly probable that He doesn’t exist. Maybe Dawkins is even beginning to question that.

Holiday wishes interpreted

Tags

Christmas, conservative, Democrat, Humor, Liberal, New Years Eve, political correctness, quotes, Republican

Even though this quotation has been around for some time and it travels the internet circuit every year around this time, it seems appropriate to post it once again.

To All My Democrat Friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or explicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.  I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2012, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great.  Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country, nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere.  This wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishes.

To My Republican Friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  In God We Trust & God Bless America!

SNL, Tebow, and Jesus

Tags

blasphemy, christianity, God, Humor, Jesus, SNL skit, sports, Tim Tebow

First disclaimer–I have not seen Saturday Night Live for decades (literally). However, as I was looking for some scores on ESPN yesterday I saw a little clip of a SNL skit about the Broncos, Tim Tebow, and Jesus. So I pulled it up and watched it. Before I go on you should probably watch it if you have not already seen it. You will notice a few things right off the bat. First, it simply is “not that funny” (quote from an Associated Press article of all places) from any level. Secondly, if you are a Christian it will probably get your blood pressure up. But take a look and then I would like to reflect on it.

Since I am a Christian my response to this example of high-brow and esoteric humor is the only one that I can accurately describe. So if you find this slightly humorous that I can appreciate. If you find it really well done and rather hilarious–you will have to diagnose that for yourself. Let me take some time to talk about the skit from my perspective.

First, it is rather cheap and cowardly humor. We live in a time in the history of our country when it is safe to make fun of Christians and make them the butt of the joke–there is nothing very “edgy” about that at all. In fact, it has become rather stereotypical and hackneyed. I am fairly certain that Jesus is one of the few religious leaders that SNL would be “fearless” enough to parody like this.

Secondly, it is rude–but that’s OK. In other words, when Tim Tebow puts himself and his unabashed witness for Christ out there the way he has this kind of response can be expected. Do I find it offensive? Of course I find it offensive but that is not a good enough reason for SNL to stop doing this kind of thing. Tebow and his team are fair game for this kind of treatment along with the Christianity that he lives and professes. As Christians it is important to keep this type of response in perspective and not overreact which we can be quite prone to do.

Thirdly, and more importantly, it is blasphemous. This is the point where it crosses the line. While it may be disrespectful to treat Tim Tebow that way it does, it is not blasphemous of him. It is not even possible for any message to be blasphemous of him or any other human being. The charge of blasphemy is reserved for that which is said or done against God. Here is where the problem really lies–what it communicates about Jesus. I can just hear someone saying something like, “Oh Pastor Jeff, will you lighten up? It’s funny.” I would have to say that is not really the point. It is not the content of the humor that is the problem–it is the object of the joke.

Let me put this in terms that we understand very well–a racially tinged joke–which, of course, is very politically incorrect–when somebody tells an ethnic or racial based story attempting to be funny, it is normally found to be offensive as it should. What we all know about that attempt at humor is that the problem is not in the joke itself, but in who is being made fun of.

While I am certainly no proponent of racial humor and will condemn it when given the opportunity, it pales in comparison to blasphemy thinly cloaked as humor. In this specific case, because it takes the infinite, eternal, holy God and attempts to portray him as being like you and me. Come to think of it, it may not be so cowardly after all.

Philippians 2: 5-11

 ”5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Steeler Country

Tags

Hines Ward, Humor, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Steelers, Strip District, Sunseri brothers, travelogue, vacation

As I mentioned in my last post we are on the road and yesterday we found ourselves in the midst of Steeler country. We were right around the block when Hines Ward was “bringing back” his “Dancing with the Stars” trophy to Pittsburgh. One does begin to wonder how many trophies one town needs. I came across a couple of t-shirts that seem appropriate to mention at this point. The first one had the the number 86 on the back and emblazoned above it were the words “Twinkle Toes.” The other posed the question as to whether a town with so many “rings” ought to be it’s own planet.

If you are familiar with the great town of Pittsburgh then you know of an area known as the “Strip District” or as it is affectionately referred to by the locals, “the strip.” If you are not a “Pittsburgher” then you may be wondering why a Pastor would be wandering around this kind of place with his wife and teenage daughter. It is actually one of our favorite places.

Allow me to enlighten you. This is an area of downtown (dawntawn in the local vernacular) Pittsburgh about 5 blocks long and 3 blocks wide riddled with shops and restaurants of every size and type with numerous ethnicities being represented (Chinese, Greek, Syrian, Mexican, etc., with Italian most prevalent). Foods are being cooked on the sidewalk, in the buildings, the aroma of coffee’s are wafting through the air. The Pennsylvania Macaroni Company (Penn-Mac) sells most meats and cheeses any good Italian (or wannabe) could want. And then about every second shop is a place (maybe outside, maybe inside) to buy almost anything Steelers/Penguins/Pirates.

Since this is always a must visit area whenever we return to here we found ourselves making numerous “Steeler” purchases, walking through Penn-Mac realizing in some frustration that most of the things we wanted to buy could not last all the way home, and then trying to narrow down the many choices of where we might like to lunch. If you have been to “the Strip” then you know this is not an easy decision. We eventually made a very wise choice and decided on sandwiches from Sunseri’s. If that means little to you–don’t worry–it’s a Pittsburgh thing-you wouldn’t understand.

What a great day!

A Perfect World

Tags

bumper sticker, dream of a better world, Humor, motivation, quotes

This is not so much a post as something my daughter saw on the back of a van that I just had to share:

A little help?

Tags

C.S. Lewis, christianity, faith, God, Humor, Joseph Heller, Psalm 121, quotes, self-made man, The Bible

Most of us have been playing baseball, football, soccer, tennis, etc., when a ball goes away from the game and there happens to be someone close to the ball and instead of running over there we may call out to that person with the question, “a little help?,” by which we are asking them to save us a little time and energy by retrieving the ball for us. I got thinking today about this whole area of help and I would like to “ramble” on about it for a while.

Most of you know the joke about the guy that fell over the cliff and was able to catch himself by one hand on a protruding branch. The ground was hundreds of feet below him and his handhold was slipping fast. In this precarious situation he began to scream for help and suddenly a voice spoke to him from heaven. “Son, I am willing to help you but first you must trust me.” The man was quite desperate and said, “Sure, what do I have to do?” God simply replied, “You need to let go.” The man quickly responded by yelling, “Is there anybody else up there?”

On a more serious note–When we are in need of help where do we turn? I can think of at least a couple of options. The first answer comes out of the Bible in Psalms 121. While the whole Psalm is a song of poetic encouragment I will share only the first two verses:

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
         From whence comes my help?
 My help comes from the LORD,
         Who made heaven and earth.

Of course for many readers that will only cause them to repeat the sentiment of the young man suspended between “a rock and a hard place”–“Is there anybody else up there?”

Then there is a second option. This is the individual who will “pull himself up by his own bootstraps.” I am not sure if you have ever stopped to consider what that picture might look like but I am sure it is a rather humorous one. This person would fall into the same category as the “self-made man.” Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22, captured it well when he said, “He was a self-made man who owed his lack of success to nobody.”

It was C.S. Lewis who wrote, “To what will you look for help if you will not look to that which is stronger than yourself?”

The Children Got It Right

Tags

children's view of love, Humor, love, marriage, quotes, what is love?

Having pastored as long as I have means that I have officiated at a lot of weddings. As many pastors do I have a requirement that a couple will go through a number of sessions of premarital counseling with me. A tool that I have made much use of is an inventory made up of a series of statements (195 to be exact) that the couple (they complete the inventory separately) responds to from 1-5 (from strongly agree to strongly disagree).

As you might guess this leads to some great discussion. While there are varied responses to a number of statements there is one statement that receives the exact same answer every time. Keep in mind that I have used this inventory well over 50 times so I am talking about over 100 individual responses. The statement reads like this–“There is nothing that could ever make me question my love for my partner.” And the response is always the same–“strongly agree.” The couple that is before me is enraptured in the throes of romantic “love.” They are in what I like to call “the moonlight and roses” phase of relationship. I am quite certain they believe what they just marked on that answer sheet. However, when we begin our first session together I spend some time talking about some of the implications of “nothing.”

Here is the problem. Most marriages in our country today take place because of “feelings.” Over half of those marriages end in divorce for the exact same reason–”feelings.” One of the things we miss is that love is not based on feelings. Love is based on commitment. And while verbal expressions of love are wonderful, actions speak a whole lot louder than words.

You probably have heard the story about the couple that had been married for 25 years and the woman was complaining to her husband that he never told her that he loved her anymore. He responded, “I told you I loved you 25 years ago and if I change my mind I’ll let you know.” Love is action oriented. While some adults can be prone to forget that, I came across some kids that seem to have it right.

“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.” – Danny, age 7

“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.” – Tommy, age 6

“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” – Elaine, age 5

“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.” – Rebecca, age 8

“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” – Jessica, age 8

See the whole list at

http://blackgod.tumblr.com/post/4156949727/actual-childrens-answers-to-the-question-what-is

Cell phone pet peeves

Tags

cell phones, dogs on lap, loud cell phone conversations, pet peeves, phone etiquette, talking while driving, texting, texting while driving

I have a couple of these that I would like to discuss. Here is #1–you have seen any number of versions of this bumper sticker around:

By the way I did really like this one:

Here is my problem with this sentiment. While I must admit to talking on the phone while driving occasionally I have also been known to hang up due to traffic congestion, traffic speed, or weather conditions. I also believe this behavior can be a real hazard for the inexperienced driver. However, I do not agree that talking on the phone while driving is the singular worst distraction there is. I have yet to see campaigns against tuning the radio/ipod, putting on makeup, reading, lighting a cigarette, etc., while driving. But I am wondering why I hear so little about the one that bugs me the most. The idea that dogs on the lap of a driver, standing on the seat behind the driver, jumping around in the car while the car is in motion is somehow not as distracting as carrying on a rather subdued conversation on a phone is beyond me.

On to cell phone pet peeve #2. While I have never considered this idea before, I have come to the conclusion that I might mount loudspeakers on each corner of my house which would be hooked to my telephone so that my phone calls could be broadcast in high volume to the entire neighborhood. As I am riding on the stationary bike at the Y this morning attempting to read a book which I had to stop doing because of an individual close to me felt that the entire fitness center needed to listen to his conversation with a co-worker about another co-worker. Or the other day when I am in the car waiting for my daughter to come out of the school and in the car next to me on the phone is a woman speaking to her doctor (I must presume) in great detail about the physical symptoms she is experiencing. Can somebody please explain this to me?! First, I do not grasp the rudeness factor of having phone conversations within earshot of every person in the immediate vicinity. Second, why would someone desire such a small amount of privacy or modesty regarding the content of the conversation they are involved in? Third, have we actually become that connected that we cannot even work out at the gym without having one foot firmly planted in cyberspace? Just some thoughts. Which brings up one of my favorite commercials with which I will leave you.

Rudeness in the Right Lane

Tags

complaining, courtesy, selfishness, turn signals

I am going to surmise that most of you have seen the bumper sticker hearkening toward the John Lennon utopia–“Visualize World Peace.” My favorite “rear of the automobile” adornment has a similar message–“Forget about world peace. Visualize using your turn signal.” There are many reading this that share my sentiments (and by many I mean all those people that actually do know how to use their turn signals). The ability to drive without making use of this complicated mechanism of alerting other drivers to what you are about to do seems to be beyond the mental acumen of the average driver.

I have often wondered if we could segregate this group of driver-manual illiterates and ask them what it was that renders them helpless as they approach a turn to operate this stick type appendage on the left side of the steering wheel what they would say. I do not believe they would feign ignorance. They had to mimic this procedure at least once in their life–either in Drivers Ed. which they had to pass or during their driving test. The favorite answer I presume would be either they simply got out of the habit or they just don’t think about it–both of which are really the same answer and come out of the same root cause–selfishness/rudeness.

What is the purpose of the turn signal? It is to alert other drivers as to what you are about to do. That can have safety motivations or courtesy motivations. Here is what I mean. Let’s begin by pointing out that there are those times when it really doesn’t matter–for instance when there is no one around or you are in an obvious turn lane and you have no other option–it is still a good idea to use it there just to stay in the habit.

When is it a safety issue? Times when you are driving at high speeds on an interstate and are about to change lanes. When you are traveling down a two land road and traffic is behind you to alert the driver(s) behind you that you are about to slow down (assuming you will do that prior to turning ). Maybe when you are at an opposing stop sign since it might matter to the driver across from you that you are turning instead of going straight. When is it a courtesy issue? When you are approaching the street you are going to turn right onto and there is a car about to pull out and would able to pull out instead of waiting on you since he doesn’t know you are about to turn.

So why don’t we use turn signals? I think the answer is pretty easy. It is the same reason we drive against the arrow in a parking lot and the reason we feel free to park as haphazardly as we choose thus taking up as many places as we like. It is because the only person I think about is me. It is pure selfishness. Lest you misunderstand I am not suggesting we are actively and maliciously selfish–I don’t think we make a conscious decision to drive as rudely as possible. I am hoping that we do not consider putting on our turn signal and decide against it out of spite.

Where the selfishness rears it’s head is in the fact that I don’t even think about the other driver. It doesn’t even cross my mind to drive in a way that is courteous–many times just the opposite is true–we drive in a way that is both rude and reckless and it does not bother us at all. Maybe I was just venting today or maybe it was a good reminder–for you and me both.