Chimps and Champions

If you have been reading blogs for very long you know how easy it is to lose complete track of time in them. If you have a favorite blogger that mentions his or her favorite blog, you're very likely to click a link and go see for yourself what the attraction is. We adults trade links to blogs like kids trading or playing a game of cards. If someone doesn't have a blog that addresses the issue you are looking for there is always Google so you can 'go fish.'

One of my dear friends gave me a link the other night and I clicked it. I feel a bit like Cypher in The Matrix, I wish I had taken the blue pill. The world that opened when I clicked that link catapulted me out of the safety of my naive little world and plunked me into the middle of a controversy. I wasn't shocked but I was dismayed and saddened. It wasn't the topic of the conversation that bothered me, it was the tenor of it. While this medium leaves entirely too much interpretation to the reader regarding tone of voice and such, meanness and blatant attempts at hurtfulness are difficult to disguise. Much to my horror the participants were, for the most part, professing Christians.

I wish I could take a class in the social psychology of blog readers and those who post comments. It would be a fascinating observational study. I keep poking my head in and watching the participants and making mental notes. It reminds me a bit of an assignment I had as a physical anthropology student at a secular college. I was asked to go to the San Francisco zoo and spend several hours observing various primate behaviors. It meant sitting for hours and waiting for something to happen and then documenting the activity. We were told to look for particular behaviors; play, posturing, aggression, dominance and the like. The chimpanzees put on quite a show for me.

A couple of the chimps decided to play and then others joined in. Soon frolicking got rough and somebody became angry. Hoots and hollers turned to screams. Then the beatings started happening. The whole troop became involved. Suddenly those chimps who weren't game enough to join in before found themselves in a position to either join in the fight or run for cover. Displays of teeth and terror came next and almost as suddenly as it started, the two chimps at the center of the fray were done. They had been stared down by an old chimp, regained their sense of chimp propriety and sat quietly. Some of the onlookers carried on for a bit and managed to get in a couple cheap shots at the two and some others in the group they weren't too friendly with. Soon even they settled down and order was restored. It occurs to me when I compare the two incidents, is it any wonder the world thinks we evolved from apes? We tend to act just like them.

There are people I love and admire on both sides of this cyber donnybrook. Mercifully, not all comments were sinful. Sadly, some were. As heartbreaking as it is to see the hurtful things being posted, there was a incredible thing that I might have missed the full significance of if it hadn't been pointed out to me. First, one of the participants asked for forgiveness. I wish I could say that the cacophony of chaos and nasty words ceased at that moment. Alas, people still shot words like poison arrows dipped in the venom of their own opinions and pride. But there in the middle of it one brother asked for forgiveness and was heard by another brother who not only granted forgiveness but asked for it in return. These two men modeled the gospel like champions right before our eyes. A beautiful symphony of grace that will be missed by those who cannot seem to remember their responsibilities as recipients of the gospel.

Ephesians 4:1-3
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love,
3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4 Love is patient, love is kind, {and} is not jealous; love does not brag {and} is not arrogant,
5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong {suffered,}
6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Philippians 1:27
27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
(NAS)

Super Church a song for the Emergent-sy

In the early 70s I was in a youth choir at my church. Our youth pastor was a musician and his way of connecting with us as a group was through the choir and music. Somehow there was an affiliation between him and The Continental Singers, New Hope and Jeremiah People. He was worked with Moishe Rosen of Jews for Jesus too, I think. Are any of these names familiar to you? Though I remember the church fondly I was a profoundly lost and troubled young woman during my years there. That and time have muddled the memories quite a bit. Today I was digging through some old paperwork and one of the books to the musical we did. It's Getting Late For the Great Planet Earth, a folk rock oratorio by Cam Floria. Yes, that's right. Cam Floria put Hal Lindsey to music. There's a lot to laugh about and some to groan about but as I was looking through the songs and remembering, I found this little ditty and I only wish I could sing it for you. Just remember that this is circa 1972 and even th...

It's all part of growing up

Today is my birthday. I am 51. I have officially lived longer than my mother. I have survived several major earthquakes, three fires, five floods, uterine cancer, having my infant body burned by percolating coffee and a childhood from hell. I have been stalked by a madman, been asked to be interviewed for the Australian version of 60 Minutes, received a bronze medal and helped foil a kidnap attempt of a celebrity. In my short 51 years, I have had an incredible life. I was asked by a former student what advice I would give a 30 year old that I have come to value now that I am in my 50s. The list of things that I value now that I didn't value then and vice versa is huge. Since my current topic is discipline, I would have to say that I wish I had cultivated discipline at an earlier age. Much earlier than my 30s. I wish I had learned the difference between need and want sooner. I have tried too hard to fulfill wants as if they were needs. The want vacuum just moves, it doesn...

Review Part Two of Voices of the True Woman Movement A Call to the Counter-Revolution

It is a glorious day in Kentucky. The humidity is gone. Mornings are crisp, evenings cool and it is toasty warm during the day. This morning I sat out on my front porch enjoying the birds, flowers and gentle breeze. I took with me an outstanding cup of Colombian coffee and my Voices of the True Woman Movement book. Before I started reading I took a moment to think about my stereotypical idea of the perfect Christian woman. In my mind she is perfectly dressed, perfectly coiffed, and demure. She speaks in dulcet tones and only when she has something encouraging to say. There is no doubt that her make-up is the perfect shade and she uses just enough to allow her to radiate a pleasing angelic glow. Her nails are manicured. Her feet are Barbie-like. She is Jackie O and June Cleaver combined with an encyclopedic knowledge of Scripture and a repertoire that includes a series of perfectly timed, perfectly targeted encouragement statements. She and I look nothing alike. As I inventor...

rambling rosemarie

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