Random Links 1/29/10

Another day, and some more links.

  • To start off this one, here is an article dealing with aid in disaster situations and when it is appropriate for us to go. While there are certainly exceptions to every rule, it does offer some good food for thought (including the fact that local people are well equipped to do a lot of the legwork and that it often acts as a healing agent for them to be involved).

  • Speaking of Haiti articles, here is a CRAZY one! You may or may not recall Chuck Baldwin as the Constitution Party candidate for president. I definitely wasn’t impressed then, and I’m even less impressed now. In the article, he questions the veracity of the quake (even if he fails to believe it, my brother felt it on the other side of the island). And why? Among other things:


I am personally convinced that certain members of the Bush and Clinton families have been involved in the international smuggling of illicit drugs for decades.



With the Citizens United ruling, the court revealed the depth of its contempt for judicial restraint, original intent, and deference to the legislature. The ruling is nothing short of a coup, a fundamental change in the structure of the America polity. It will work not only to the defeat of democracy, but to the destruction of what’s left of the small businessman. From this day forward, no one will hold office who does not have the approval of the corporations, no small business will exist save by their sufferance.


  • Speaking of big business and corporations, a documentary recommended to me by Sam D. called The Corporation is now on Hulu. I’ve watched the first 3rd and its good so far and I hope to finish it soon.

And now for some “revival warnings”; Todd Bentley is back in the game. If you don’t remember that name, he was the instigator of the Lakeland fiasco a year and a half ago. It crashed and burned when it came to light that he was having an affair with an intern. After the revival ended, he divorced his wife and married the mistress. Oh and no actual healings or other signs could be found true. World Magazine attempted to verify but everything came back as “not true/not really healed/currently dead.” There are some discerning people within the charismatic world and we’d do well to at least consider their words:


Self-preservation = our mission
Avoidance of the world and risk = wisdom
Financial security = responsible faith
Education = maturity

Die daily to who we are
Empowerment of others (not self) is our life
Acceptance of risk is normative
Theology is not just knowledge, but practice
Hold tight to Christ with an open hand for everything else.

Avatar: Reviewed

I had the opportunity to see several movies over break. Unfortunately I haven’t yet taken the time to review them. That needs to change. And so I’ll start with the first one I saw (which happened to be the best).

We have a tradition in my family. On Christmas Day, we generally always have symphony beef and then go to a matinee. This is how we saw the three Lord of the Rings movies. This year we saw another epic fantasy (with a definite sci-fi flair): Avatar. By now everyone reading this has likely already seen the movie or heard enough about it to decide whether they want to or not; I don’t really expect this review to change any minds.

Visually it’s stunning, and worth seeing for this reason alone. Few movies immerse you enter their environment like Avatar was able to. Particularly the 3d version draws you in and makes you feel like you are right there. This is made all the more incredible by the world — Pandora — that the filmmakers developed. It’s unlike any we’ve seen or known. The plants are colorful and fluorescent and intriguing, and the wildlife exciting and fearsome. It’s done so well that you quickly forget all the computer animation involved.

As for as the story goes — it’s not going to win any awards for originality. I saw the plot played out in Dances With Wolves, Pocahontas, and others. It doesn’t really drift from this stereotype (in fact there is a funny summary of Pocahontas “corrected” to be for Avatar floating around the ‘net). As long as you don’t expect a groundbreaking script, though, you won’t be disappointed in this regard. Particularly if you liked the aforementioned movies, the Avatar script won’t be troublesome to you.

The message is what a lot of people have been talking about. I’ve heard many upset by the portrayal of a marine that turns on his fellow soldiers in order to help the Navi people (to the supposed point of renouncing humanity). Or the not so subtle critique of US military presence in Iraq. Or the denouncement of seemingly all powerful corporations exploiting anything (and anyone) for their own gain. Or the pantheism of the Navi people. Frankly I’m surprised that some of these are the issues they are made out to be. Who for instance is really for a standing military (or mercenary band) that needlessly shoots and kills civilians? Or the exploitation of natural resources leading to the genocide of a people? We should be ready and willing to renounce such extreme greed (and that is what the movie goes after — not the military itself or even corporations). I can understand a raised eyebrow or two at the pantheistic threads. But I think it’s probably too simple to label the spirituality of Avatar as pantheistic though. The world itself is a giant bio-network. Everything, while independent, has the means of “plugging in” (for the Navi, it’s a fiber optic cord patch in their hair). There is a deity worshipped and unlike traditional pantheism (which is by its nature deistic in the sense of a non-interventionist god/goddess) she does intervene in the end on behalf of the people. That doesn’t necessarily change the pagan ties, but it is a made up world, in a made up future, with an entirely different earth history and is something that lots of movies (including the Lord of the Rings) gets a pass for by the same people critiquing Avatar; that makes the “spiritual” critique ring kind of hollow to me. That’s all personal opinion though.

Anyways, I started by saying this was the best movie I saw this past holiday break and it definitely was. My wife and I, and my parents all thoroughly enjoyed it. I still remember when the star, Jake, flies in on a tamed dragon — the biggest on Pandora — and unites the Navi in order to try and save them. It’s epic in that it presents a world never seen and an adventure never experienced (if you discount the recycled plot elements). If you haven’t seen it, I definitely would say it’s worth it.

Random Links 1/25/10

I find I collect links fast now that I’m out of a day job. So — if you are bored and looking for some reading material — check some of these out!


I taught that, while Mennonites have traditionally tended to be preoccupied with keeping hell out of their communities and have thus tended to be a bit reclusive, Jesus is calling them (and all of us) to boldly take the Gospel into the world and aggressively storm the gates of hell (that is, areas that are under the dominion of Satan rather than God). And so, it just seemed appropriate to conclude this section of my talk by telling them to “Go to Hell!” It seemed they appreciate it!


I like Greg Boyd a lot. As I began discovering the anabaptist roots God planted within me, his work was able to help me navigate new territory. One particular tension I had was the anabaptist/mennonite tendency toward separation and seclusion; I didn’t see it at all as appropriate for a people on mission and Greg Boyd succinctly says why.

And two close out another link post, two aged-yet-still-delightful Shane Claiborne posts:


I have a friend in the UK who talks about “dirty theology” — that we have a God who is always using dirt to bring life and healing and redemption, a God who shows up in the most unlikely and scandalous ways. After all, the whole story begins with God reaching down from heaven, picking up some dirt, and breathing life into it. At one point, Jesus takes some mud, spits in it, and wipes it on a blind man’s eyes to heal him. (The priests and producers of anointing oil were not happy that day.)

In fact, the entire story of Jesus is about a God who did not just want to stay “out there” but who moves into the neighborhood, a neighborhood where folks said, “Nothing good could come.” It is this Jesus who was accused of being a glutton and drunkard and rabble-rouser for hanging out with all of society’s rejects, and who died on the imperial cross of Rome reserved for bandits and failed messiahs. This is why the triumph over the cross was a triumph over everything ugly we do to ourselves and to others. It is the final promise that love wins.

It is this Jesus who was born in a stank manger in the middle of a genocide. That is the God that we are just as likely to find in the streets as in the sanctuary, who can redeem revolutionaries and tax collectors, the oppressed and the oppressors… a God who is saving some of us from the ghettos of poverty, and some of us from the ghettos of wealth.



The streets turned silver. Our “pedestrians,” “tourists,” “homeless,” and “business people” began pouring out their change. We decorated the place with sidewalk chalk and filled the air with bubbles. Joy was contagious. Someone bought bagels and started giving them out. People started sharing their winter clothes. One of the street sweepers winked at us as he flashed a dustpan full of money. Another guy hugged someone and said, “Now I can get my prescription filled.”

Why aren't we talking about the new accusations of murder at Gitmo? - By Dahlia Lithwick - Slate Magazine

The fact that three Guantanamo prisoners—none of whom had any links to terrorism and two of whom had already been cleared for release—may have been killed there and the deaths covered up, should be front-page news. That brand-new evidence of this possible atrocity from military guards was given only the most cursory investigation by the Obama administration should warrant some kind of blowback. But changing what we allow ourselves to believe about torture would change the way we have reconciled ourselves to torture. Nobody in this country is prepared to do that. So we have opted to ignore it.
via slate.com

On this sanctity of life Sunday, may we truly remember that life is precious, that we were all created in the image of God and that if not today, one day justice truly will reign and that we will no longer choose to ignore the injustices surrounding us daily.

For more on this story, please see this excellent story.


On June 9th, 2006, [Aamer] was beaten for two and a half hours straight. Seven naval military police participated in his beating. Mr. Aamer stated he had refused to provide a retina scan and fingerprints. He reported to me that he was strapped to a chair, fully restrained at the head, arms and legs. The MPs inflicted so much pain, Mr. Aamer said he thought he was going to die. The MPs pressed on pressure points all over his body: his temples, just under his jawline, in the hollow beneath his ears. They choked him. They bent his nose repeatedly so hard to the side he thought it would break. They pinched his thighs and feet constantly. They gouged his eyes. They held his eyes open and shined a mag-lite in them for minutes on end, generating intense heat. They bent his fingers until he screamed. When he screamed, they cut off his airway, then put a mask on him so he could not cry out.

The treatment Aamer describes is noteworthy because it produces excruciating pain without leaving lasting marks. Still, the fact that Aamer had his airway cut off and a mask put over his face “so he could not cry out” is alarming. This is the same technique that appears to have been used on the three deceased prisoners.

The United Kingdom has pressed aggressively for the return of British subjects and persons of interest. Every individual requested by the British has been turned over, with one exception: Shaker Aamer. In denying this request, U.S. authorities have cited unelaborated “security” concerns. There is no suggestion that the Americans intend to charge him before a military commission, or in a federal criminal court, and, indeed, they have no meaningful evidence linking him to any crime. American authorities may be concerned that Aamer, if released, could provide evidence against them in criminal investigations. This evidence would include what he experienced on June 9, 2006, and during his 2002 detention in Afghanistan at Bagram Airfield, where he says he was subjected to a procedure in which his head was smashed repeatedly against a wall. This torture technique, called “walling” in CIA documents, was expressly approved at a later date by the Department of Justice.

Disappearing Glaciers?

Much has been said about the the errors regarding Himalayan glacier data in the latest UN climate change reports. It’s important to keep in mind that while unfortunate (things should have been double checked to make sure i’s were dotted and t’s crossed) they don’t significantly alter the point. Numbers are boring to look at though, so how about some photographic evidence of receding glaciers in the past century? Whether it’s man-caused or not (cyclical nature of the earth per chance?) can still be up for debate, but change has and is happening.

Random Links

I tend to post quite a few excerpts. I come across a lot of articles and such I find worth sharing and am going to try weekly to do a link post that collects a few I haven’t excerpted to share with everyone. This is the first (of hopefully many to follow).


Immediately for me, more language from the New Testament comes to mind. What would it mean, in this context, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds? What is the primitive brain but what Paul called “the flesh” – and what liberates us from it but the Spirit? What would it mean to “let this mind be in us that was in Christ Jesus?” What would it mean to put primitive ways behind us, and mature from the primitive brain’s fear-driven reacting to the “more excellent way” of love-inspired living? What would happen if we stopped listening to the religious leaders who play to fear and instead began listening to those who lead us to higher ground?



Yep, so here we have a bunch of rich Christians dropping thousands of dollars on a conference about missions and justice, and the one homeless guy who is invited to attend gets kicked out because, dammit, the church is going to get the money for recycling those cans. Sadly, while this is atrocious, I don’t find it altogether surprising.



Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress; let them drink and forget their poverty, and remember their misery no more. (Prov 31:6-7)


Now, if you find yourself bored, there are a few links to peruse and ponder.

Oh, no! Scott Brown has incoherent and appalling economic ideas—just like almost all of his congressional Republican colleagues. - By Daniel Gross - Slate Magazine

Irresponsibility is one of the perks of being in the minority. You don't have to pass anything or govern. But there are limits. If you're for tax cuts and you're against cutting spending on Medicare and defense, you shouldn't be able to call yourself a deficit hawk. And if your reaction to the biggest financial crisis and the deepest recession since the Great Depression was to refuse to assist the rescue efforts, you shouldn't be taken seriously as a policy thinker.

Brown is entirely in tune with his future Republican colleagues. He has railed against the proposed $500 billion cuts in Medicare and opposes the proposed tax on banks. In this op-ed, he says that the stimulus has failed to create a single job, rages about the rising debt, and advocates an across-the-board tax cut while offering no specifics on how to reduce the debt.

Nothing constructive, nothing coherent, nothing concrete, and no support for anything President Obama has done or plans to do. Brown will fit right in.

via slate.com

Thought provoking article. I've wondered the same thing. It's telling that they can call congressional offices and ask for specifics on what the officials would like to do and get nothing.

Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

In 1957 a sensitive American official overseas said that it seemed to him that our nation was on the wrong side of a world revolution. During the past ten years we have seen emerge a pattern of suppression which now has justified the presence of U.S. military "advisors" in Venezuela. The need to maintain social stability for our investments accounts for the counterrevolutionary action of American forces in Guatemala. It tells why American helicopters are being used against guerrillas in Colombia and why American napalm and green beret forces have already been active against rebels in Peru. With such activity in mind, the words of John F. Kennedy come back to haunt us. Five years ago he said, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." Increasingly, by choice or by accident, this is the role our nation has taken, by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investment.

I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. When machines and computers, profit and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.

A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. A true revolution of values will soon look easily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say: This is not just." It will look at our alliance with the landed gentry of Latin America and say: " This is not just." The Western arrogance of feeling that it has everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them is not just. A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war: "This way of settling differences is not just." This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice, and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.

via commondreams.org

In honor of MLK Jr, a timely selection from one of his many speeches.