Rhythms vs. Schedules
"At the beach, life is different. Time doesn't move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides and follow the sun."
This is a very unscientific post – it is about feelings more than facts – observations more than measurements. I have been struggling for over a year trying to live my life by rhythms rather than schedules. I experienced this idea of rhythms when I visited the monastery last year and felt the tranquility of the monks as they went through their day of prayer and work. On a few days I have succeeded and it truly felt good and natural. Early this week I discovered the above quote while looking for fun sayings about the beach. It definitely has a resonance with me. There is a certain peace we feel in our spirits when we are in tune with the rhythms God created in us. There is tension, frustration, and a lack of completion when we live by artificial schedules. I observed this while spending time with people in Africa. Our group was on a “schedule” and everyone around us was on “Africa time.” Guess who was experiencing more of God’s peace and joy?
Friday, April 23, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Earth Day 2010 – Sustainable
When the first Earth Day was celebrated, I was working for the Tennessee Stream Pollution Control Division. Those of us working for the Division viewed this celebration with mixed emotions. We were definitely in favor of an increased emphasis on the environment but we were a little skeptical – many of leaders were “hippies” and some of the immediate goals were technically unachievable. We assumed that when these goals were not met, the Earth Day movement would die as so many other American fads in the past. The movement did not die, though it has morphed and divided through the years. So here are my Earth Day thoughts as one who is still working in the environmental field and one who tries to view all of creation from a Biblical perspective.
The job with the state was not my best offer coming out of college. A national manufacturer of air pollution equipment offered me a very good job with a much higher starting salary. The problem: the only openings were either in Cleveland or Pittsburgh. In 1969 those two cites were characterized by gray-to-black skies and technicolor streams. We were just not interested in living there.
The Stream Pollution Control Law under which we operated was passed in 1947. The strongest penalty permitted by that law was a $50 per day judgment which had to be approved by a local General Sessions Court. The first time a fine was ever assessed was in 1971 and it made the front page of every major paper in the state. Our strongest weapon against pollution was to convince industry that treating their wastewater before discharging it into the stream was to their long-term advantage. Surprisingly, many did just that. There were times when we felt like toothless wonder-workers.
The environment in the United States is so much better this Earth Day than it was 40 years ago. That is something that we should truly celebrate. These improvements have come about because of increased public awareness, stronger laws, corporate sensitivity to public opinion, and a subtle understanding that the old ways threatened our way of life because they were not sustainable. Today the term “sustainability” has become a buzz word for many in the environmental movement, some of them holding radical beliefs. As Christians we should not reject sustainability just because it is embraced by some radicals. Rather, we should work to define it in ways consistent with our responsibilities to steward God’s creation. This can mean some radical things. For example, “industrial farming” is probably not sustainable in the long run and movements promoting the production of safe, local, and organic foods should be encouraged. At the same time, we should not rush to embrace the unproven and significantly unscientific “climate change” agenda. There are ways that mankind is leaving a big footprint on the earth but climate change does not appear to be one of them. Further, we should de-politicize our air and water pollution control laws and replace them with laws based on good science which protects both human health and the environment. In my opinion, this would mean things like stronger laws requiring “clean coal” technology and promoting the development of nuclear power using technology already developed by the French and Koreans. It would also mean changing the allowable air emissions formulas to allow the construction of new, heavy industrial facilities like an integrated steel mill (which current regulations prohibit). It is impossible to have a sustainable environment if we don’t have a sustainable economy.
“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” – Psalm 24:1. Consider this: what if, on Judgment Day, God asks us how we cared for His creation as well as asking how we loved one another?
When the first Earth Day was celebrated, I was working for the Tennessee Stream Pollution Control Division. Those of us working for the Division viewed this celebration with mixed emotions. We were definitely in favor of an increased emphasis on the environment but we were a little skeptical – many of leaders were “hippies” and some of the immediate goals were technically unachievable. We assumed that when these goals were not met, the Earth Day movement would die as so many other American fads in the past. The movement did not die, though it has morphed and divided through the years. So here are my Earth Day thoughts as one who is still working in the environmental field and one who tries to view all of creation from a Biblical perspective.
The job with the state was not my best offer coming out of college. A national manufacturer of air pollution equipment offered me a very good job with a much higher starting salary. The problem: the only openings were either in Cleveland or Pittsburgh. In 1969 those two cites were characterized by gray-to-black skies and technicolor streams. We were just not interested in living there.
The Stream Pollution Control Law under which we operated was passed in 1947. The strongest penalty permitted by that law was a $50 per day judgment which had to be approved by a local General Sessions Court. The first time a fine was ever assessed was in 1971 and it made the front page of every major paper in the state. Our strongest weapon against pollution was to convince industry that treating their wastewater before discharging it into the stream was to their long-term advantage. Surprisingly, many did just that. There were times when we felt like toothless wonder-workers.
The environment in the United States is so much better this Earth Day than it was 40 years ago. That is something that we should truly celebrate. These improvements have come about because of increased public awareness, stronger laws, corporate sensitivity to public opinion, and a subtle understanding that the old ways threatened our way of life because they were not sustainable. Today the term “sustainability” has become a buzz word for many in the environmental movement, some of them holding radical beliefs. As Christians we should not reject sustainability just because it is embraced by some radicals. Rather, we should work to define it in ways consistent with our responsibilities to steward God’s creation. This can mean some radical things. For example, “industrial farming” is probably not sustainable in the long run and movements promoting the production of safe, local, and organic foods should be encouraged. At the same time, we should not rush to embrace the unproven and significantly unscientific “climate change” agenda. There are ways that mankind is leaving a big footprint on the earth but climate change does not appear to be one of them. Further, we should de-politicize our air and water pollution control laws and replace them with laws based on good science which protects both human health and the environment. In my opinion, this would mean things like stronger laws requiring “clean coal” technology and promoting the development of nuclear power using technology already developed by the French and Koreans. It would also mean changing the allowable air emissions formulas to allow the construction of new, heavy industrial facilities like an integrated steel mill (which current regulations prohibit). It is impossible to have a sustainable environment if we don’t have a sustainable economy.
“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” – Psalm 24:1. Consider this: what if, on Judgment Day, God asks us how we cared for His creation as well as asking how we loved one another?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The Privilege to Pay Taxes
Most of us pay our taxes. We may think they are too high. We may think that government fails to do what our families have to do – live within our means. We may still agree that living in our country is a blessing . . . but it is unlikely that we believe only the "privileged" should have to pay taxes to the Federal government. But that is just what columnist E. J. Dionne, Jr. of the Washington Post implies in his column on April 19, 2010. In an article titled “The Tea Party: Populism for the Privileged” he predicts the failure of the Tea Party movement because it is not a true “populist” movement. He describes the Tea party as a political exercise for the "privileged." This term privileged is used because a recent survey indicated (as reported in a New York Times article) that supporters of the Tea Party movement are wealthier than the average American. If your income is 1% above the national mean, then you are a member of the privileged class. It is interesting that another recent survey found that 47% of Americans pay no income tax. One interpretation of these surveys could be that only 4% of Americans pay income tax and are not considered part of the privileged class. According to the Washington Post, those of us who are privileged have no right to claim the term “populist.” And, according to Mr. Dionne, if a movement in America is not populist, it is destined to fail. I’m not looking for a fight over the term populist but I do think the Tea Party is a reasonable and democratic reaction against the policies of the Obama administration and the Democratic controlled congress. It is a ground swell of the people – people who see their liberty being compromised by progressive fascists. The Tea Party movement may not be the definitive answer but it certainly could be the town crier calling us out to man the barricades – and that sounds populist to me.
Most of us pay our taxes. We may think they are too high. We may think that government fails to do what our families have to do – live within our means. We may still agree that living in our country is a blessing . . . but it is unlikely that we believe only the "privileged" should have to pay taxes to the Federal government. But that is just what columnist E. J. Dionne, Jr. of the Washington Post implies in his column on April 19, 2010. In an article titled “The Tea Party: Populism for the Privileged” he predicts the failure of the Tea Party movement because it is not a true “populist” movement. He describes the Tea party as a political exercise for the "privileged." This term privileged is used because a recent survey indicated (as reported in a New York Times article) that supporters of the Tea Party movement are wealthier than the average American. If your income is 1% above the national mean, then you are a member of the privileged class. It is interesting that another recent survey found that 47% of Americans pay no income tax. One interpretation of these surveys could be that only 4% of Americans pay income tax and are not considered part of the privileged class. According to the Washington Post, those of us who are privileged have no right to claim the term “populist.” And, according to Mr. Dionne, if a movement in America is not populist, it is destined to fail. I’m not looking for a fight over the term populist but I do think the Tea Party is a reasonable and democratic reaction against the policies of the Obama administration and the Democratic controlled congress. It is a ground swell of the people – people who see their liberty being compromised by progressive fascists. The Tea Party movement may not be the definitive answer but it certainly could be the town crier calling us out to man the barricades – and that sounds populist to me.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Book Review - Hunter's Moon
I liked this book. This is my friend Don Hoesel’s second novel (Elisha’s Bones was the first) and I have enjoyed both. This is the story of a writer, CJ Baxter, who is successful as an author but not as a husband nor as a relative to his estranged family in his home town. CJ is from upstate New York where his family has had prominence in a small town and rural county for generations. CJ left to attend Vanderbilt and never returned . . . until his grandfather dies. There is a tragic family secret that has dominated CJ’s life for almost 20 years and eventually leads to a dramatic, and almost deadly, confrontation at the end. In his books CJ has used stories from his past that family and hometown residents recognize and understand that he is peeling back some of the veil from their little community. While they are proud to have a native son who is famous, they seem a bit anxious about what CJ may reveal in future novels.
In the book, CJ has recently come to faith but has not been “healed” of all his vices, resentment, and lousy attitude toward his wife. I think the story is a realistic look at how God uses time and experiences in some believer’s lives to mature them and bring them to a deeper understanding of how their faith is to be lived out. We would like to believe that becoming a Christian instantly transforms all aspects of our lives. Most of us know better.
Don does a good job in creating an expectation that something big is going to happen . . . and it does. There are some really tense moments (although I did not like it when CJ’s dog, Thor, is kidnapped) and the confrontation at the end is dramatic, though maybe not as satisfying as this violent-addicted culture would want. This is a good read and I gladly recommend it.
In the book, CJ has recently come to faith but has not been “healed” of all his vices, resentment, and lousy attitude toward his wife. I think the story is a realistic look at how God uses time and experiences in some believer’s lives to mature them and bring them to a deeper understanding of how their faith is to be lived out. We would like to believe that becoming a Christian instantly transforms all aspects of our lives. Most of us know better.
Don does a good job in creating an expectation that something big is going to happen . . . and it does. There are some really tense moments (although I did not like it when CJ’s dog, Thor, is kidnapped) and the confrontation at the end is dramatic, though maybe not as satisfying as this violent-addicted culture would want. This is a good read and I gladly recommend it.
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