(1008,1,'2011-10-23 01:07:12','2011-10-23 08:07:12','I am a Progressive Christian. I enjoy my connections with others who see themselves as Progressive Christians. One thing I have come to realize about the entire Progressive Conversation is that while we see something’s the same, there is no way to say “This is what <em>all</em> Progressive Christian believes” because on one, or group speaks for all Progressive Christians. To view the Progressive Conversation as some monolithic belief system is placing the Progressive Conversation into the same structure as the Evangelical Church, which seems to put the Progressive Conversation on some kind of linear thought pattern.\r\n\r\nThe idea that there is some pre-approved list of beliefs seems weird to me, because I see the idea of being in the Progressive Conversation as less of a “religious order” and more of a though pattern, an attitude of how we approach our life and faith; how we put our faith into action.\r\n\r\nWith all that being said, I would like to address a recent article brought to my attention by my friend George Koukouris and written by Carlotta Morrow on the Christocentric.com site entitled, <em><a title=\"Beware of Progressive Christianity: Jesus lovers are really Jesus haters\" href=\"http://christocentric.com/main/?p=3707\" target=\"_blank\">Beware of Progressive Christianity: Jesus lovers are really Jesus hater</a>. </em>Keep in mind, as I mentioned before, there is no one single voice that speaks for the Progressive Christian Conversation, simply a collection of voices – and I am but one voice in that collection.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst Point:\r\n\r\nLet me start with her point that Progressive Christians do not love Jesus. She writes, <em>“For a group that thrives on the scriptures that speak of loving one another, why would I say they hate Jesus? Along with their scriptures of loving God and one another, Jesus also makes clear who actually loves him…” </em>She then goes on to quote Jesus’ words in John’s recording of the life of Jesus in John 14:14-15 and 21 – where Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (I would quote each line, but they all say the same thing).\r\n\r\nI think she is trying to say we do not follow the commandments of Jesus. It is sad that she would think that way, because we do. What she seems to miss, and I am not sure I would say she did it on purpose to make her point, is that in John 14:17 Jesus says, “This is my command: Love each other.” And in John 15:12 Jesus says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” So, it seems simple enough, that if we love each other as Jesus loved us we are following his command. If there is one thing I can say about those I know in the Progressive Conversation is that they love others, very deeply.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSecond Point:\r\n\r\nThe second thing that caught my eye was when she wrote, “<em>Progressive Christianity (sometimes known as emergence Christianity) is a movement that is swelling in numbers day by day</em>.” It caught my eye because she is placing together two very different points of view – Progressive and Emerging.\r\n\r\nWhile they are not mutually exclusive of each other, and there are people who see themselves in both Conversations (as I do), there are many who call themselves Progressive who would not connect with the Emerging Conversation, as there are many in the Emerging Conversation who would not see themselves as part of the Progressive Conversation. Her point shows less of a connection between the two Conversations and more of her truly not understanding what those Conversations are about.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPoint Three:\r\n\r\nI agree with all the scriptures she quotes, but what she needs to remember is that while I agree with the scriptures, I do not agree with how she interpreters them. For example, she quotes 2 Timothy 4:2-4, “<em>Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” </em>I agree with her on this, but that is not to say I agree with her. You see, she is assuming that she, and those who follow her ideas, are the only ones preaching the word. Her view is a “power view” where she is saying that is you disagree with her understanding of scripture, you are not preaching the truth – as if she has the only truth worth knowing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPoint Four:\r\n\r\nThis point, I find rather sad. Not because it is a valid point, but because she discounts it when she writes, “This aberrant faux Christian movement’s primary scriptures to defend their love for people are found in the Bible and says, “<em>These things I command you, that you love one another.” John 15:17 or “Love your neighbor as yourself,“  Matthew 22:36-40.” </em>Can you see the disconnection? At one point in her article she accuses the Progressive Conversation of not following the commands of Jesus, and at the other end she accuses us of seeing those commands as the primary point in our faith journey.\r\n\r\nMost of the people I know in the Progressive Conversation filter everything they do, think, say, write and live through the command of loving each other. But this is what we are told to do by Jesus, to follow the command he gave us – to love each other. She tries to bring out the point that because we desire to love everyone, the idea of “sin” becomes offensive to us – and she is just so wrong. We see “sin” for what it is, “Hamartano” (in Greek) or “missing the mark.” It is not something that paralyzes us, or causes us to live in fear – it is not something we do, but it is part of who we are. It is not something we own, it is something we strive to work out in our walk with God. We see it as a way of living in community, where we help each other through issues facing our lives and not as something named and shunned.\r\n\r\n<strong><em> </em></strong>\r\n\r\nPoint Five:\r\n\r\nThis is a collective point, not a standalone point. In her article she list 9 examples of how people in the Progressive Conversation are not truly following the “true path,” and to be honest, she is missed the mark on this. Here are the points she brings out (Italic) and my response to what she offers.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>“<em>Progressives believe that Jesus is one of <strong>many</strong> ways to God</em>:” Keeping in mind that many in the Progressive Conversation have very different points of view, let me say this – I have found her to be very wrong on this point. I know of many in the Conversation who believe as I do, that Jesus is the truth, the way and the light – and to get to the Father we go through the Son. That being said, I also know of others who believe differently, and while I would disagree with them I respect their points of view. My prayer is that people see how I walk in Christ and they desire to share in that journey (kind of killing her 6<sup>th</sup> point) and walk with me.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that the Bible shouldn’t be taken literally:”</em> Not even close to where I am at, or what others I know believe. I believe Scripture should be taken, read and understood as the Holy Spirit directs the individual. I will admit that I am not a “bible literalist” in that parts of Scripture are to be read as a metaphor for life. Most of the people I know in the Conversation take the words of Scripture very seriously; they just may not take them the way she (and others) desire us to take them. When I read Scripture I filter all through the words or Jesus, not through the words of Paul or any particular political stance.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that one is eventually saved through good works:”</em> Most of the Progressives I know believe that salvation is through Jesus, and when we are saved our lives are changed and we seek to do what is right by God, and in turn to do right by the rest of humanity. I personally do not see that as “works” because what I do is based on my love of others through Jesus. If my faith does not cause me to want to help others I would have to say that my faith at that point is dead.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe all people are already children of God:”</em> They are, all people of God’s children and because they are, we love them and care for them – we speak against injustice, war, hunger, violence, pain and we seek to embrace those others have pushed aside. If we see people as anything less that the children of God we have lost the love Jesus desires us to share with the world.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe there is no absolute truth, but whatever your truth is considered the truth:”</em> I am still surprised that we are still in the conversation about “absolute truth.” The idea that people do not believe in a truth seems silly to me, because we all see our point of view as true and our views as “absolute truths.” I think her concern is that some may not see<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"> her</span></em></strong> truth as absolute.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that since only God can draw man to Himself (right), then we are not to be involved in converting people (wrong):”</em> This seems weird to me because if we actually had this view we would not be growing and we would not be talking to others about our faith.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives refuse to believe that the bible even teaches this belief. That somehow the scriptures are misunderstood and taken out of context; or that the admonitions against homosexuality don’t apply to our time:”</em> All Scripture is seen contextually. Now, I will admit that many in the Progressive Conversation have no issue with the LGBTQ Community, while others still wrestle with the Scripture and how we balance our command to love others as Jesus loved us.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that there are no boundaries in genders. Women are told not to submit to anyone:”</em> That is true, yet false. You see, as a Progressive Christian I believe everyone follower of Christ must submit to God. The idea of “submission” is seen by many as a power issue, where the male decides everything, with a “the buck stops here” mentality. Keep in mind, it is not that “women are told not to submit to anyone” it is that everyone is told to submit to Christ, and not to another human. Besides, what does her point of view do with the scriptures that says in Christ there are no male or female?</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe evolution is not incompatible to Christianity:”</em> Yea, that one is pretty much on spot – but the Progressive Conversation is not the only Follower’s of Christ that believe that.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe God’s word changes with societal changes:”</em> No, I think most are OK with the idea that God never changes, but we do – and our understanding of God does change. History is filled with changes to our Christian faith based on a new understanding of how God is working in our lives. If that were not the case, we would never have had the Reformation. We would have never experienced all the Enlightenments of the past – because God does not change.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPoint Six:\r\n\r\nHer language is rather hurtful and aggressive. Things like “Progressive Christians despise God’s word” and “watch the hate they spew once they find you don’t support their beliefs” and “I don’t consider progressive Christians true Christians…” Her point is made, and it is one of the foundations of being a Progressive Christian – that we love and speak kindly of one another.\r\n\r\nIn the past I have had disagreements with other Progressive Christians and I have never been insulted, or had “hate” spewed at me for disagreeing with them. Whenever I have had a conversation with those in the Progressive Conversation I have always had my points listen to, and sometime rejected – but I can say that I have also had conversations with those on the self-defining “Christian Right” and I have walked away hurt, damaged and insulted. It is funny that when she speaks of the “hate” spewed by the Progressives Conversation and then reading her words of hate – kind of makes me wonder.','Progressives Are Not One Voice','','inherit','open','open','','970-revision-7','','','2011-10-23 01:07:12','2011-10-23 08:07:12','',970,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/970-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(1010,1,'2011-10-23 11:33:45','2011-10-23 18:33:45','','super_connector','','inherit','open','open','','super_connector','','','2011-10-23 11:33:45','2011-10-23 18:33:45','',1009,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/super_connector.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1011,1,'2011-10-23 11:38:27','2011-10-23 18:38:27','In a connected world, the skill of connecting people is worth it\'s weight in gold.  But do you have what it takes to be a super connector.  Tech Crunch\'s James Altucher <a href=\"http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/23/9-skills-super-connector/\" target=\"_blank\">highlights</a> 9 skills it takes to be a super connector.  Some are very simple like \"introduce two other connectors\" and some are are actually important like \"time\".  Take a <a href=\"http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/23/9-skills-super-connector/\" target=\"_blank\">look</a>.\n\nWhich one do you wish you could master?','Are You A Super Connector?','','inherit','open','open','','1009-revision','','','2011-10-23 11:38:27','2011-10-23 18:38:27','',1009,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/1009-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1012,1,'2011-10-23 11:38:27','2011-10-23 18:38:27','In a connected world, the skill of connecting people is worth it\'s weight in gold.  But do you have what it takes to be a super connector.  Tech Crunch\'s James Altucher <a href=\"http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/23/9-skills-super-connector/\" target=\"_blank\">highlights</a> 9 skills it takes to be a super connector.  Some are very simple like \"introduce two other connectors\" and some are are actually important like \"time\".  Take a <a href=\"http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/23/9-skills-super-connector/\" target=\"_blank\">look</a>.\r\n\r\nWhich one do you wish you could master?','Are You A Super Connector?','','inherit','open','open','','1009-revision-2','','','2011-10-23 11:38:27','2011-10-23 18:38:27','',1009,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/1009-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1013,1,'2011-10-23 11:51:39','2011-10-23 18:51:39','Fox News is <a href=\"http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/23/air-force-veteran-angry-over-plan-for-daughters-schools-to-recite-pledge/\" target=\"_blank\">reporting</a> a rather strange case of irony.  An air force veteran is angry that her daughter\'s school requiring students to say the pledge of allegiance every day.  Her reason is rather provoketive.\r\n<blockquote>\"It pains me to think that at a school that emphasizes thinking globally we would institute something that makes our children think that this country alone is where their allegiance lies,\" said Sides. \"This has no educational value for young children. Absolutely none.\"</blockquote>\r\nHow do you feel about a veteran thinking outside the bounds of the country she served?','Angry Mother Confronts Pledge Of Allegiance','','publish','open','open','','angry-mother-confronts-pledge-of-allegiance','','','2011-10-23 11:52:17','2011-10-23 18:52:17','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1013',0,'post','',13),(1014,1,'2011-10-23 11:48:38','2011-10-23 18:48:38','','pledge_allegiance','','inherit','open','open','','pledge_allegiance','','','2011-10-23 11:48:38','2011-10-23 18:48:38','',1013,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pledge_allegiance.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(1015,1,'2011-10-23 11:51:05','2011-10-23 18:51:05','Fox News is <a href=\"http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/23/air-force-veteran-angry-over-plan-for-daughters-schools-to-recite-pledge/\" target=\"_blank\">reporting</a> a rather strange case of irony.  An air force verteran is angry that her daughter is being required to say the pledge of allegiance.  Her reason is rather provoketive.\n<blockquote>\"It pains me to think that at a school that emphasizes thinking globally we would institute something that makes our children think that this country alone is where their allegiance lies,\" said Sides. \"This has no educational value for young children. Absolutely none.\"</blockquote>\nHow do you feel about a veteran thinking','Angry Mother Confronts Pledge Of Allegiance','','inherit','open','open','','1013-revision','','','2011-10-23 11:51:05','2011-10-23 18:51:05','',1013,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/1013-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1016,1,'2011-10-23 11:51:39','2011-10-23 18:51:39','Fox News is <a href=\"http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/23/air-force-veteran-angry-over-plan-for-daughters-schools-to-recite-pledge/\" target=\"_blank\">reporting</a> a rather strange case of irony.  An air force veteran is angry that her daughter is being required to say the pledge of allegiance.  Her reason is rather provoketive.\r\n<blockquote>\"It pains me to think that at a school that emphasizes thinking globally we would institute something that makes our children think that this country alone is where their allegiance lies,\" said Sides. \"This has no educational value for young children. Absolutely none.\"</blockquote>\r\nHow do you feel about a veteran thinking outside the bounds of the country she served?','Angry Mother Confronts Pledge Of Allegiance','','inherit','open','open','','1013-revision-2','','','2011-10-23 11:51:39','2011-10-23 18:51:39','',1013,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/1013-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1017,1,'2011-10-24 12:37:45','2011-10-24 19:37:45','Fox News is <a href=\"http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/23/air-force-veteran-angry-over-plan-for-daughters-schools-to-recite-pledge/\" target=\"_blank\">reporting</a> a rather strange case of irony.  An air force veteran is angry that her daughter\'s school requiring students to say the pledge of allegiance every day.  Her reason is rather provoketive.\n<blockquote>\"It pains me to think that at a school that emphasizes thinking globally we would institute something that makes our children think that this country alone is where their allegiance lies,\" said Sides. \"This has no educational value for young children. Absolutely none.\"</blockquote>\nHow do you feel about a veteran thinking outside the bounds of the country she served?','Angry Mother Confronts Pledge Of Allegiance','','inherit','open','open','','1013-autosave','','','2011-10-24 12:37:45','2011-10-24 19:37:45','',1013,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/1013-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1018,1,'2011-10-23 12:00:46','2011-10-23 19:00:46','<object id=\"ep\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"wmode\" value=\"transparent\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&amp;videoId=world/2011/10/22/ahmadinejad-nuclear-era-over.cnn\" /><embed id=\"ep\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&amp;videoId=world/2011/10/22/ahmadinejad-nuclear-era-over.cnn\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" wmode=\"transparent\" /></object>\r\n\r\nIranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad <a href=\"http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/10/22/ahmadinejad-nuclear-era-over.cnn#/video/world/2011/10/21/lister-gadhafi-last-moments-alive.cnn\" target=\"_blank\">says</a> \"those who stockpile nuclear bombs are mentally retarded.\"\r\n\r\nWhat do you think of a man like Ahmadinejad, who is known for advocating violence, making such a statement?','Ahmadinejad: Nuclear Bomb Era Is Over','','publish','open','open','','ahmadinejad-nuclear-bomb-era-is-over','','','2011-10-23 20:43:07','2011-10-24 03:43:07','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1018',0,'post','',0),(1019,1,'2011-10-23 11:54:42','2011-10-23 18:54:42','<object id=\"ep\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"wmode\" value=\"transparent\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&amp;videoId=world/2011/10/22/ahmadinejad-nuclear-era-over.cnn\" /><embed id=\"ep\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&amp;videoId=world/2011/10/22/ahmadinejad-nuclear-era-over.cnn\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" wmode=\"transparent\" /></object>\n\nIranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says \"those who stockpile nuclear bombs are mentally retarded.\"\n\nWhat do you think of a man who is known for war ma','','','inherit','open','open','','1018-revision','','','2011-10-23 11:54:42','2011-10-23 18:54:42','',1018,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/1018-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1020,1,'2011-10-23 11:55:10','2011-10-23 18:55:10','<object id=\"ep\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"wmode\" value=\"transparent\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&amp;videoId=world/2011/10/22/ahmadinejad-nuclear-era-over.cnn\" /><embed id=\"ep\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&amp;videoId=world/2011/10/22/ahmadinejad-nuclear-era-over.cnn\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" wmode=\"transparent\" /></object>\r\n\r\nIranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says \"those who stockpile nuclear bombs are mentally retarded.\"\r\n\r\nWhat do you think of a man like Ahmadinejad, who is known for advocating violence, making such a statement?','','','inherit','open','open','','1018-revision-2','','','2011-10-23 11:55:10','2011-10-23 18:55:10','',1018,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/1018-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1021,1,'2011-10-23 11:56:52','2011-10-23 18:56:52','<object id=\"ep\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"wmode\" value=\"transparent\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&amp;videoId=world/2011/10/22/ahmadinejad-nuclear-era-over.cnn\" /><embed id=\"ep\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&amp;videoId=world/2011/10/22/ahmadinejad-nuclear-era-over.cnn\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" wmode=\"transparent\" /></object>\n\nIranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says \"those who stockpile nuclear bombs are mentally retarded.\"\n\nWhat do you think of a man like Ahmadinejad, who is known for advocating violence, making such a statement?','Ahmadinejad: Nuclear Bomb Era Is Over','','inherit','open','open','','1018-revision-3','','','2011-10-23 11:56:52','2011-10-23 18:56:52','',1018,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/1018-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1022,1,'2011-10-23 20:45:55','2011-10-24 03:45:55','<object id=\"ep\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"wmode\" value=\"transparent\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&amp;videoId=world/2011/10/22/ahmadinejad-nuclear-era-over.cnn\" /><embed id=\"ep\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&amp;videoId=world/2011/10/22/ahmadinejad-nuclear-era-over.cnn\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" wmode=\"transparent\" /></object>\n\nIranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad <a href=\"http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/10/22/ahmadinejad-nuclear-era-over.cnn#/video/world/2011/10/21/lister-gadhafi-last-moments-alive.cnn\" target=\"_blank\">says</a> \"those who stockpile nuclear bombs are mentally retarded.\"\n\nWhat do you think of a man like Ahmadinejad, who is known for advocating violence, making such a statement?','Ahmadinejad: Nuclear Bomb Era Is Over','','inherit','open','open','','1018-autosave','','','2011-10-23 20:45:55','2011-10-24 03:45:55','',1018,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/1018-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1023,0,'2011-10-23 12:19:09','2011-10-23 19:19:09','Family, Gender Equality, Spirituality/practices\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Mihee Kim-Kort\nAUTHOR EMAIL: Miheekk@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://Www.miheekimkort.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 24.1.105.103\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Mihee Kim-Kort\n    [Email] =&gt; Miheekk@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; Www.miheekimkort.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Family, Gender Equality, Spirituality/practices\r\n\r\n\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; Stumblingalong \n)\n','Mihee Kim-Kort - 2011-10-23 12:19:09','','publish','open','open','','529f60aaf1e4fbb501af0ee7bbc6e2f7','','','2011-10-23 12:19:09','2011-10-23 19:19:09','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=1023',0,'feedback','',0),(1035,75,'2011-10-22 23:49:08','2011-10-23 06:49:08','I spend a lot of time trying to hear from God. I read my Bible each day, have quiet prayer times, worship wholeheartedly, and so forth. So it surprises me when God chooses to speak to me while I am brushing my teeth. The more I think about it though, the more I like it. I think it’s a testament of our relationship. You don’t interrupt a man in the bathroom unless your relationship with him is pretty firmly rooted.\r\n\r\nSo there I am after work tonight scrubbing my molars with my Oral-B when God flips a light switch on in my head. He suddenly gave me a deeper understanding of a scripture I had read and thought about last week. But before I  share what He is teaching me I need to catch you up on what I taught myself.\r\n\r\nTwo thousand years ago when Jesus was walking around Israel, He was smashing through all these roadblocks that people thought were in their way of getting to God. Now the people who were perceived to be far along that road did not like this because they were in an elite category. There were so many roadblocks to God that not very many people were considered to be close to Him and chosen by Him. Jews believed that if you had any kind of physical handicap it was a product of your sin. They believed that if you did not follow the letter of the law set by Moses and the extra 300+ rules created in addition to the ones Moses delivered, then God would not speak to you. They believed that God controlled all the wealth in the Earth and if you were poor it was because God did not favor you. This last one sheds light on the scriptures I was reading.\r\n\r\nOne day a very rich man came to Jesus and asked Him what he had to do to be saved. Jesus told him the answer that applied to everyone who was listening, then Jesus told him the answer that applied to just him. He told him, “Go and sell everything you have. Give it to the poor and come follow me.”  The Bible says that the man went away very sad because he had many possessions. It’s at this point that Jesus turns to the crowd and utters the famous phrase that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. The crowd stood in disbelief. If richness was a sign of God’s favor and it was hard for rich men to make it to heaven then who could be saved? Jesus was trying to teach the people that God does not favor men who love their money more than God. Once I learned all this I thought I understood the situation completely. Then a week later I went to brush my teeth.\r\n\r\nStanding in front of my mirror God gave me a glimpse of what the rich man felt and his sadness was motivated by something totally different than I expected. In that man’s culture his wealth automatically gave him great influence and respect much like our culture today, but he received something that our culture does not attribute to the wealthy. People assumed that he was close to God. His riches were a symbol of spiritual condition to a people who believed that wealth was a sign of being one of God’s chosen few. I don’t think he was sad because he found happiness in all his stuff. Rich people will be the first to tell you that the things they buy can’t sustain their happiness. I think he was sad because he did not want to lose his spiritual place in the minds of everyone who knew him.\r\n\r\nThis is what God is teaching me. It is very popular these days to use the quote from Gandhi that says, “Be the change you want to see in the world”, but there are very few people actually being the change. We like to go to church so that people will see us and think we are faithful to God, but we don’t like to wake up early on our Saturday and go help the poor. We find ways to help our friends judge our walk with God based on what they see. If we are not careful we can begin to attend church, or raise our hands in worship, or even preach to assure people that we are one of God’s chosen few. God knows what we love more than following Him and He WILL ask us to give it up. God wants to have a close relationship with me whether people know it or not. When we become more concerned with people believing we are close to God than actually being close to God, then we have become Pharisees. When God showed me this I really began to check my motivation on everything I do. And I asked myself if I truly love God the way people think I do based on everything I don’t do. What I found out was that I have some work to do, but I know that now I can work on it caring only what Jesus thinks.','Moses and Oral-B','','inherit','open','open','','959-revision-9','','','2011-10-22 23:49:08','2011-10-23 06:49:08','',959,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/959-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(1024,0,'2011-10-23 12:31:08','2011-10-23 19:31:08','Spirituality, religion, philosophy, self-improvement, business, leadership\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Bill Huffhine\nAUTHOR EMAIL: billhuffhine@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://www.christiandropout.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 64.134.167.83\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Bill Huffhine\n    [Email] =&gt; billhuffhine@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; www.christiandropout.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Spirituality, religion, philosophy, self-improvement, business, leadership\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; BillHuffhine\n)\n','Bill Huffhine - 2011-10-23 12:31:08','','publish','open','open','','5059fd68901db92c9fb0e3ea7e2feb45','','','2011-10-23 12:31:08','2011-10-23 19:31:08','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=1024',0,'feedback','',0),(1059,38,'2011-10-23 19:48:40','2011-10-24 02:48:40','<em>This is post number three in my series about the six reasons why I left the church based off <a href=\"http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church\" target=\"_blank\">this article</a> by the Barna Group. I realize that there are vast differences between when and how guys and girls first experience sexuality, so this by no means is to be a blanket generalization. </em>\r\n\r\n<em>Miss the first two parts of this series? Read <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/where-the-church-lost-me-i/\" target=\"_blank\">part one</a> and <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/where-the-church-lost-me-ii/\" target=\"_blank\">part two</a>.</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #4: “Young Christians’ church experiences related to sexuality are often simplistic, judgmental.”</strong>\r\n\r\nOne of my favorite bloggers, Christian Piatt, wrote about this recently on <a href=\"http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christianpiatt/2011/10/sex-is-dirty-save-it-for-marriage/\" target=\"_blank\">his blog</a>:\r\n<blockquote>\"Amy and I speak to youth and young adults pretty often about something we call embodied spirituality. The idea is that, contrary to what you may have learned in the past, you do not have to de-sexualize yourself to be a good person – even at church. We’re told in some ways that sex is a dirty thing, and that our bodies are something to be ashamed of. But then we also get the message that sex is something special to save for marriage. Something about these two values doesn’t match up.\"</blockquote>\r\n<a href=\"http://behappyhealthywhole.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">My sister</a> and I were talking about this recently and she said:\r\n<blockquote>“There’s a difference between protecting and isolating.”</blockquote>\r\nUp until I was about 18 I was almost unaware that I was not simply a brain walking around. I don’t mean that literally, but things like lust and sexual thoughts were just theoretical issues. While <a href=\"http://www.soullikeaspider.com/blog/2011/8/5/the-debt-of-friendship-or-adam-fell-in-love-with-a-girl.html\" target=\"_blank\">Adam</a> and I were in our long-distance relationship, he sent me a picture of him wearing a new outfit. I don’t remember what it was exactly, but I think it was a new suit coat or something. I said he looked “snazzy”. He was immediately offended because he was looking for a word with a little bit more heat. He asked me one night why it wasn’t natural for me to use words like “sexy” and “hot”. I explained that I had essentially turned all that off because growing up in church I was always told that anything to do with the body was sinful.\r\n\r\nOnce a year, there was a three week long purity series where the Sunday school class was split up by guys and girls. (Funnily enough, nothing made me want the guys back together with us more than this annual series. <em>Just make it stop!</em>) This Sunday school course was the most awkward thing in church since clapping. (What is this \"rhythm\" you speak of?)\r\n\r\nFirstly, the female leaders who ran the series couldn’t say the word “sex”. For a while they said “ex” and then eventually avoided it all together by referring to it as “it”. This does not setup a good precedence for an honest conversation. I get it: it’s awkward to talk about that post-movie hotness you had with your spouse the other night with teenage girls that seem like little bright-eyed deer that shouldn\'t have to deal with this messy, acutely intimate thing called sex. And while church may not be the place to teach about sex, the youth sponsors talked as if they were not just taking on the role of our mentor in the church place but also in the rest of our lives. So, unfortunately, sex questions fall under that category. Aside from my parents, you are the set of adults I see the most. Lead with honesty and frankness.\r\n\r\nNext was the “modest clothing demonstration”. The girl they used to model the outfit was built just like me (six feet tall, thin frame). They bought a full outfit for her that was a size small. It fit her well; the outfit wasn’t too tight and it fit her frame nicely. But explained then the leaders demonstrated how this outfit was indecent because if you reach your shoulders and arms as high as you can with zero regard to your shirt it <em>may</em> show a tiny bit of skin. Or how if you bend in half with your legs straight (which no girl I know does this anyway) you<em>might</em> see a bit of her back. So then the model left the room and changed into the same outfit but with all the items one size up. This time the outfit clearly didn’t work. You could tell neither piece was the right size because it didn’t lay correctly or fit in the right places, but this outfit was praised as modest, beautiful, and how all good young women should dress.\r\n\r\nThe message was clear: the second, less fitting, one size too large outfit was much godlier. God doesn’t want your clothes to fit. Loose clothing, like cleanliness, is next to godliness! If you look and feel good in your own clothing you’re making the boys stumble. Cut it out.\r\n\r\nNot only were there messages of de-sexualization (women, your bodies are the manifestation of temptation so to be really godly you need to wear parkas), but there were very blatant mistakes in the material of the lessons. There was The List. The List detailed all the physical steps through to actual intercourse. It was a list of eight items starting at “hand holding”. It was designed to show that if you get to step number four with guy A, you are going to want to jump to step four with guy B. That makes sense. What didn’t make sense was that “heavy petting” was number six and the last physical step that two people commit before inserting tab A into slot B was “hugging”. HUGGING. (I wish I was joking.) If hugging is the last step before sexin’, then I have definitely been around (<a href=\"http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljj7z5fHsr1qdf6w8o1_250.gif\">if you know what I mean</a>).\r\n\r\nOutside of the purity series, this fear of anything sexual showed up in places like our non-dancing prom (because dancing requires you use your hips, and hips are sinful): Senior Banquet. We were endlessly told we were not allowed to wear strapless dresses. Reason being? “The boys will wonder where your bra is.” I told this to my friend <a href=\"http://theawesomeproject.net/\" target=\"_blank\">Drew</a> and he responded, “Well yeah, but that’s purely academic!” Plunging necklines? Fine. Dresses so tight they may as well have been air brushed? Fine. But don\'t you <em>dare</em> let those boys think that there are such things as strapless bras in this country or have a modest neckline by not showing cleavage!\r\n\r\nThe message was reinforced in literature as well. I specifically remember reading several sob stories about sex in the Christian girl’s magazine Brio (by Focus on the Family). The stories always included the following:\r\n\r\n- The phrase “all the way.” Example: “I never thought that I would go all the way with a guy.”\r\n\r\n- The <em>girl</em> must be uncomfortable or unsure and the <em>guy</em> must be pressuring her. Example: “I knew it was wrong, but he kept unbuttoning my shirt and told me to relax.”\r\n\r\n- The phrase “it just happened”. They are sure to insinuate that if you kiss someone, even just a little, your body will go into a frenzied auto-pilot and you will have manic sex against your will. Example: “I never thought I would get pregnant and I never thought I would have premarital sex, but it just happened…” Cue mournful voice. Like <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425210/\" target=\"_blank\">Slevin</a> said after his girlfriend claimed that her infidelity was an accident: “What like… He tripped, you fell?” (Maybe he Kansas City Shuffled his way into her pants. You never know with that movie.)\r\n\r\nIf these had all be isolated incidents it might not have been so bad, but altogether these things told me that my body was something to be ashamed of. Anything that made me feel confident or beautiful was me bringing my brother down. The only thing I knew to do was be afraid and suppress anything corporeal.\r\n\r\nNow, for all intents and purposes, this works to the leaders’ advantage. It did keep me from promiscuity through high school (and I am trying to learn to be thankful for that) but it did for all the wrong reasons. It wasn’t because I had been informed and was making smart decisions; it was because I was operating solely out of fear and ignorance. It’s fine when you’re 15 and you don\'t instinctively describe something as \"steamy\". What’s not okay is when you’re not far from getting married and you have to suddenly have to turn all of those signals back on that you spent the first 18-20 years of your life ignoring. After being told that your body is sinful over and over, how do you transition to wild, mind-blowing sex? Talk about major signal confusion. Through age 18: sex is sinful, God hates sex! By the time you get married: sex is great, have lots of it! This is a common problem for newlywed Christians. They have no healthy respect or understanding of their bodies and suddenly they are supposed to know what they like in bed and how to fulfill their partner’s desires too? (Some friends of mine started <a href=\"http://couplingforcouples.blogspot.com/?zx=3bbe204db1a81e96\" target=\"_blank\">a blog</a> about this very subject to help unprepared people work through this.)\r\n\r\nIf you have a kid in your life that’s approaching the age where you need to start talking about stuff like this, consider finding ways to express to them the following:\r\n\r\n- The body is an amazing thing. There are reasons why people create nude statues out of marble. It’s not because they love porn. It’s because the human body is an incredibly beautiful, intricate, glorious thing. Don’t be afraid of it.\r\n\r\n- Sex is biological. Like hunger and thirst, the need to be sexual and to have sexual encounters with another person is part of what you are made to do. This is absolutely normal.\r\n\r\n- Just because sex is biological doesn’t mean you need to exploit it or doing anything before you are ready to handle the consequences and how your life will be changed by it.\r\n\r\n- You are not just a body. While sexual thoughts and impulses are completely normal, you have the ability to control what you choose to do with them. Despite popular belief, the opposite sex can control all those things too.\r\n\r\nThis is just for starters, and I have no idea how I’ll handle this conversation with my kids, but I know I’ll start there because I don’t want them to get on the other side of this issue and feel unprepared. I want them to have healthy attitudes towards their own bodies and other peoples’.\r\n\r\n<em>Next I\'ll be talking about how the church is unfriendly towards those who doubt.</em>','Where the Church Lost Me: Part III','','inherit','open','open','','1052-revision-3','','','2011-10-23 19:48:40','2011-10-24 02:48:40','',1052,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/1052-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1060,0,'2011-10-23 20:27:18','2011-10-24 03:27:18','Movies\r\nPolitics and Economics\r\nQuestions\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Drew Proctor\nAUTHOR EMAIL: k.drew.proctor@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://theawesomeproject.net\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 74.98.166.93\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Drew Proctor\n    [Email] =&gt; k.drew.proctor@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; http://theawesomeproject.net\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Movies\r\nPolitics and Economics\r\nQuestions\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; partialbigots\n)\n','Drew Proctor - 2011-10-23 20:27:18','','publish','open','open','','7bcceffdcd2ed63ec5c8e15e85d09c37','','','2011-10-23 20:27:18','2011-10-24 03:27:18','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=1060',0,'feedback','',0),(1061,1,'2011-10-23 20:42:51','2011-10-24 03:42:51','','iran_nuclear','','inherit','open','open','','iran_nuclear','','','2011-10-23 20:42:51','2011-10-24 03:42:51','',1018,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/iran_nuclear.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(1062,1,'2011-10-23 12:00:46','2011-10-23 19:00:46','<object id=\"ep\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"wmode\" value=\"transparent\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&amp;videoId=world/2011/10/22/ahmadinejad-nuclear-era-over.cnn\" /><embed id=\"ep\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&amp;videoId=world/2011/10/22/ahmadinejad-nuclear-era-over.cnn\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" wmode=\"transparent\" /></object>\r\n\r\nIranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad <a href=\"http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/10/22/ahmadinejad-nuclear-era-over.cnn#/video/world/2011/10/21/lister-gadhafi-last-moments-alive.cnn\" target=\"_blank\">says</a> \"those who stockpile nuclear bombs are mentally retarded.\"\r\n\r\nWhat do you think of a man like Ahmadinejad, who is known for advocating violence, making such a statement?','Ahmadinejad: Nuclear Bomb Era Is Over','','inherit','open','open','','1018-revision-4','','','2011-10-23 12:00:46','2011-10-23 19:00:46','',1018,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/1018-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(1853,1,'2011-11-07 07:26:42','2011-11-07 15:26:42','','sheep','','inherit','open','open','','sheep','','','2011-11-07 07:26:42','2011-11-07 15:26:42','',1842,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/sheep.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(1852,57,'2011-11-09 08:00:27','2011-11-09 16:00:27','As the lead pastor of a contemporary worship service, I have had a lot of time to meditate upon the lyrics of Jeremy Riddle\'s song \"Sweetly Broken,\" which we sing perhaps every other weekend. The verses are a catechism of penal substitution theology: \"For on [the cross] my Savior both bruised and crushed / Showed that God is love / And God is just\" and \"I was under Your wrath / Now through the cross I\'m reconciled.\"\r\n\r\nI often cringe at the way that an overzealous worship of substitutionary atonement creates an account of divine justice in which God is way more invested in making humanity pay infinitely for every small infraction against Him than He cares about standing up for the widows, orphans, and aliens. I\'ve also spent many hours of my life wrestling with the Greek word <em>orge </em>which gets translated as \"wrath\" in English, but is also etymologically related to our word \"orgy.\" It seems like there is more going on with God\'s <em>orge</em> than just intense anger. I tend to think of God\'s <em>orge</em> as expressing the cataclysmic dissonance that occurs when God\'s all-consuming, infinite love confronts our stand-offish self-reliance and self-justification.\r\n\r\nBut what really makes me uneasy about this song is the chorus:\r\n<blockquote><em>At the cross You beckon me</em>\r\n<em> You draw me gently to my knees, and I am</em>\r\n<em> Lost for words, so lost in love,</em>\r\n<em> I\'m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered</em></blockquote>\r\nAm I the only one who sees this as an uncomfortably erotic image? Madonna\'s song \"Like a Prayer\" uses similar imagery: \"When you call my name, it\'s like a little prayer; I\'m <em>down on my knees</em>, I can take you there.\" Throughout Christian history, erotic language has been used to describe the mystical reality of our relationship with Christ. He is called the bridegroom of the church, and the steamy Biblical book <em>Song of Songs</em> has been interpreted as a description of what that bridal chamber looks like. Jesus certainly used language about his own body that was very uncomfortable for His original listeners to hear: \"Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.\" (John 6:53). Early Christians were accused by the Romans of cannibalism because of language like this.\r\n\r\nHere\'s my concern though. When the cross is eroticized in a song like this, do we forget that real blood was shed? As Mark Baker writes in his <em>Recovering the Scandal of the Cross</em>, the brutality of what was done to Jesus has been lost in an age when we\'re \"lost in love\" with the piety of our atonement theories. Certainly Paul used the cross metaphorically in his writings; it\'s an eternal mystery that transcends the temporal physical event itself, but has the cross lost its power when we are able to use words like \"gentle\" and \"sweet\" to talk about what happened to Jesus? Perhaps the problem is not so much the eroticism, but the fact that Jeremy Riddle isn\'t really \"lost for words\" before a cross that gets domesticated when it becomes the centerpiece of a love song.\r\n\r\nI will never completely understand the cross, though I will probably preach about it several hundred more times before I die. I understand that Riddle is grappling for a way to describe the mystery of atonement and that he\'s talking about his personal experience of redemption rather than what physically happened to Jesus. But it\'s also important to name the truly horrifying eroticism of the cross, since Jesus was <em>penetrated</em> by the world\'s nails. So I\'m not sure that \"gentle\" and \"sweet\" are the right adjectives to use when talking about the rape of the creator of the universe. I must confess I\'m \"lost for words\" myself, because I\'m not sure how I would write the song differently or whether we should be making pop love songs about the cross.','Eroticizing the Cross','','publish','open','open','','eroticizing-the-cross-jeremy-riddles-sweetly-broken','','','2011-11-07 10:05:23','2011-11-07 18:05:23','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1852',0,'post','',0),(1530,30,'2011-11-01 08:00:26','2011-11-01 15:00:26','Heh. Heh heh heh. Heh heh.\r\n\r\nThe smartest show about the dumbest people is back.\r\n\r\nLast Thursday night I cozied up with a wine cooler, some nachos and turned on MTV for the first time in years to watch the return of Mike Judge\'s Beavis and Butt-head.\r\n\r\nThe episode was funny and my husband and I spent those 30 minutes texting our favorite lines back and forth. From the insightful social commentary to the just plain absurd, we laughed our way through the full half-hour. After a fourteen year hiatus, it was good to have these snickering, smart-mouthed idiots back.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/2562959725.png\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-1612\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/2562959725-300x253.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"228\" height=\"192\" /></a>One of my favorite moments in the show was just two minutes in, when the screen turned to flame and Beavis began chanting \"fire!\" Those familiar with Beavis and Butt-head will remember that shortly after the show premiered back in 1993, there was an accident involving fire that was blamed on the show, resulting in the banishment of that phrase from further episodes. The glorification of destructive behavior on a satirical show for adults was held responsible for the actions of a five-year old child. This was around the same time of the infamous <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald\'s_Restaurants\">McDonald\'s coffee lawsuit</a>, and we began to hear a new buzz word emerge.\r\n\r\nPersonal responsibility.\r\n\r\nA good thing. Especially if we\'re talking about someone else.\r\n\r\nIf I\'m talking to my kids about keeping their room neat, personal responsibility is important. If it\'s my desk, I\'m just too busy writing to keep it neat. If I ask my husband to please put his socks in the dirty clothes hamper, I\'m just being a champion of personal responsibility. If I forget to launder said socks, it\'s because I\'m a liberated woman and I shouldn\'t have to be burdened with the task of making sure everyone else has clean socks. If I\'m driving and someone cuts me off, it\'s clearly a case of people needing to take more personal responsibility on the road. If I cut someone off, it\'s totally an accident because I was singing along to the song on my iPod and you can\'t blame me for Lady Gaga\'s ability to make me lose track of the road.\r\n\r\nIt can be difficult to apply personal responsibility personally. But that\'s where I need to focus my energy. I need to look at my life and see what things I need to change and make those changes. I need to have grace for the places where I don\'t live up to my own expectations, but I also need to be willing to examine my choices and make appropriate adjustments. To own up to my own mistakes, not point out how others are making mistakes.\r\n\r\nWhen I only apply personal responsibility to other people\'s lives, I end up sound like, well, a Butt-head.','Hey Butthead! It\'s about Personal Responsibility!','','publish','open','open','','hey-butthead-its-about-personal-responsibility','','','2011-11-01 07:43:47','2011-11-01 14:43:47','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1530',0,'post','',0),(1067,35,'2011-10-24 08:50:29','2011-10-24 15:50:29','<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Andrea-Yates1.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1072 alignleft\" title=\"Andrea Yates\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Andrea-Yates1-204x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"135\" height=\"199\" /></a>Ten years ago, on June 20, 2001, Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the bathtub, then laid them side by side on the bed.  She had been suffering for a long time from severe postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.  Her conviction of capital murder and sentence to life in prison was overturned on appeal in 2006 by a jury that found her not guilty by reason of insanity.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\">Is what she did wrong?  Yes.  Is what she had wrong?  No.  No one chooses to have severe depression, and I’m not here to argue the validity of “not guilty by reason of insanity”.  But I know what it feels like to go under in pain and despair.  I remember days when I was so depleted and burned out from living all day with three pre-schoolers that I wished I didn’t have them, wanted to leave, was dying for relief I couldn’t find.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\">Even in those times, I couldn’t imagine killing my children, but sometimes when depression swallowed me alive I wished I could give them back to God.  In that way, I have sympathy for  </span>Andrea Yates, June 20, 2001\r\n\r\n<strong> Killer Baby Blues by Joy Wilson</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>She was the first one to drown,</em>\r\n\r\n<em>married alive in a tub of tears,</em>\r\n\r\n<em>buried by babies that dominoed</em>\r\n\r\n<em>in a row laid out on the bed.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>It was said postpartum depression was to blame –</em>\r\n\r\n<em>another name for sleep deprivation</em>\r\n\r\n<em>while driving drunk on endless screams</em>\r\n\r\n<em>for more of something sapped from her</em>\r\n\r\n<em>without a break from giving</em>\r\n\r\n<em>until the well was empty,</em>\r\n\r\n<em>the tub was full of children</em>\r\n\r\n<em>that needed her no more.</em>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>And I understand</em>\r\n\r\n<em>she got what she wanted –</em>\r\n\r\n<em>the sweet little blessings</em>\r\n\r\n<em>that she adored,</em>\r\n\r\n<em>the husband, the house</em>\r\n\r\n<em>and the home-school room</em>\r\n\r\n<em>where she learned the limits</em>\r\n\r\n<em>of never enough</em>\r\n\r\n<em>for a good-mom-wannabe</em>\r\n\r\n<em>trying to fill the bottomless cup</em>\r\n\r\n<em>with sweat and blood.</em>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>No one had taught her</em>\r\n\r\n<em>that having it all</em>\r\n\r\n<em>means kisses and cat puke,</em>\r\n\r\n<em>measles times three.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>She felt betrayed</em>\r\n\r\n<em>by loving and loathing,</em>\r\n\r\n<em>felt her sanity drain away</em>\r\n\r\n<em>until the day she did</em>\r\n\r\n<em>what I\'ve dreamed</em>\r\n\r\n<em>and gave her children</em>\r\n\r\n<em>back to God in a literal way</em>\r\n\r\n<em>that stopped her serving</em>\r\n\r\n<em>family and home</em>\r\n\r\n<em>as she started serving</em>\r\n\r\n<em>time.</em>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Baby Killer Blues','','publish','open','open','','baby-killer-blues','','','2011-10-24 08:51:12','2011-10-24 15:51:12','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1067',0,'post','',8),(1079,1,'2011-10-24 08:50:29','2011-10-24 15:50:29','<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Andrea-Yates1.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1072 alignleft\" title=\"Andrea Yates\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Andrea-Yates1-204x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"135\" height=\"199\" /></a>Ten years ago, on June 20, 2001, Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the bathtub, then laid them side by side on the bed.  She had been suffering for a long time from severe postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.  Her conviction of capital murder and sentence to life in prison was overturned on appeal in 2006 by a jury that found her not guilty by reason of insanity.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\">Is what she did wrong?  Yes.  Is what she had wrong?  No.  No one chooses to have severe depression, and I’m not here to argue the validity of “not guilty by reason of insanity”.  But I know what it feels like to go under in pain and despair.  I remember days when I was so depleted and burned out from living all day with three pre-schoolers that I wished I didn’t have them, wanted to leave, was dying for relief I couldn’t find.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\">Even in those times, I couldn’t imagine killing my children, but sometimes when depression swallowed me alive I wished I could give them back to God.  In that way, I have sympathy for  </span>\r\n\r\nAndrea Yates, June 20, 2001\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe was the first one to drown,\r\n\r\nmarried alive in a tub of tears,\r\n\r\nburied by babies that dominoed\r\n\r\nin a row laid out on the bed.\r\n\r\nIt was said postpartum depression was to blame –\r\n\r\nanother name for sleep deprivation\r\n\r\nwhile driving drunk on endless screams\r\n\r\nfor more of something sapped from her\r\n\r\nwithout a break from giving\r\n\r\nuntil the well was empty,\r\n\r\nthe tub was full of children\r\n\r\nthat needed her no more.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I understand\r\n\r\nshe got what she wanted –\r\n\r\nthe sweet little blessings\r\n\r\nthat she adored,\r\n\r\nthe husband, the house\r\n\r\nand the home-school room\r\n\r\nwhere she learned the limits\r\n\r\nof never enough\r\n\r\nfor a good-mom-wannabe\r\n\r\ntrying to fill the bottomless cup\r\n\r\nwith sweat and blood.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNo one had taught her\r\n\r\nthat having it all\r\n\r\nmeans kisses and cat puke,\r\n\r\nmeasles times three.\r\n\r\nShe felt betrayed\r\n\r\nby loving and loathing,\r\n\r\nfelt her sanity drain away\r\n\r\nuntil the day she did\r\n\r\nwhat I\'ve dreamed\r\n\r\nand gave her children\r\n\r\nback to God in a literal way\r\n\r\nthat stopped her serving\r\n\r\nfamily and home\r\n\r\nas she started serving\r\n\r\ntime.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Baby Killer Blues','','inherit','open','open','','1067-revision-8','','','2011-10-24 08:50:29','2011-10-24 15:50:29','',1067,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1067-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(1068,35,'2011-10-24 04:05:49','2011-10-24 11:05:49','<span style=\"font-size: small\">Ten years ago, on June 20, 2001, Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the bathtub, then laid them side by side on the bed.  She had been suffering for a long time from severe postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.  Her conviction of capital murder and sentence to life in prison was overturned on appeal in 2006 by a jury that found her not guilty by reason of insanity.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: small\">Is what she did wrong?  Yes.  Is what she had wrong?  No.  No one chooses to have severe depression, and I’m not here to argue the validity of “not guilty by reason of insanity”.  But I know what it feels like to go under in pain and despair.  I remember days when I was so depleted and burned out from living all day with three pre-schoolers that I wished I didn’t have them, wanted to leave, was dying for relief I couldn’t find.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: small\">Even in those times, I couldn’t imagine killing my children, but sometimes when depression swallowed me alive I wished I could give them back to God.  In that way, I have sympathy for  </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">Andrea Yates, June 20, 2001</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">She was the first one to drown,</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">married alive in a tub of tears,</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">buried by babies that dominoed</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">in a row laid out on the bed.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">It was said postpartum depression was to blame – </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">another name for sleep deprivation </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">while driving drunk on endless screams </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">for more of something sapped from her </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">without a break from giving</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">until the well was empty, </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the tub was full of children </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that needed her no more.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">And I understand</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">she got what she wanted – </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the sweet little blessings</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that she adored,</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the husband, the house</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">and the home-school room</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">where she learned the limits</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">of never enough</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">for a good-mom-wannabe</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">trying to fill the bottomless cup</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">with sweat and blood.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">No one had taught her</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that having it all</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">means kisses and cat puke,</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">measles times three.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">She felt betrayed</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">by loving and loathing,</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">felt her sanity drain away </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">until the day she did</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">what I\'ve dreamed</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">and gave her children</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">back to God in a literal way</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that stopped her serving</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">family and home</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">as she started serving</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">time.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;font-size: small\"> </span>','Baby Killer Blues','','inherit','open','open','','1067-revision','','','2011-10-24 04:05:49','2011-10-24 11:05:49','',1067,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1067-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1070,35,'2011-10-24 04:10:58','2011-10-24 11:10:58','','Andrea Yates','','inherit','open','open','','andrea-yates','','','2011-10-24 04:10:58','2011-10-24 11:10:58','',1067,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Andrea-Yates.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1069,35,'2011-10-24 04:06:23','2011-10-24 11:06:23','<span style=\"font-size: small\">Ten years ago, on June 20, 2001, Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the bathtub, then laid them side by side on the bed.  She had been suffering for a long time from severe postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.  Her conviction of capital murder and sentence to life in prison was overturned on appeal in 2006 by a jury that found her not guilty by reason of insanity.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: small\">Is what she did wrong?  Yes.  Is what she had wrong?  No.  No one chooses to have severe depression, and I’m not here to argue the validity of “not guilty by reason of insanity”.  But I know what it feels like to go under in pain and despair.  I remember days when I was so depleted and burned out from living all day with three pre-schoolers that I wished I didn’t have them, wanted to leave, was dying for relief I couldn’t find.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: small\">Even in those times, I couldn’t imagine killing my children, but sometimes when depression swallowed me alive I wished I could give them back to God.  In that way, I have sympathy for  </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">Andrea Yates, June 20, 2001</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">She was the first one to drown,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">married alive in a tub of tears,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">buried by babies that dominoed</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">in a row laid out on the bed.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">It was said postpartum depression was to blame – </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">another name for sleep deprivation </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">while driving drunk on endless screams </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">for more of something sapped from her </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">without a break from giving</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">until the well was empty, </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the tub was full of children </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that needed her no more.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">And I understand</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">she got what she wanted – </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the sweet little blessings</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that she adored,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the husband, the house</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">and the home-school room</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">where she learned the limits</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">of never enough</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">for a good-mom-wannabe</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">trying to fill the bottomless cup</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">with sweat and blood.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">No one had taught her</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that having it all</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">means kisses and cat puke,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">measles times three.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">She felt betrayed</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">by loving and loathing,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">felt her sanity drain away </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">until the day she did</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">what I\'ve dreamed</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">and gave her children</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">back to God in a literal way</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that stopped her serving</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">family and home</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">as she started serving</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">time.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;font-size: small\"> </span>','Baby Killer Blues','','inherit','open','open','','1067-revision-2','','','2011-10-24 04:06:23','2011-10-24 11:06:23','',1067,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1067-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1071,35,'2011-10-24 04:08:19','2011-10-24 11:08:19','<span style=\"font-size: small\">Ten years ago, on June 20, 2001, Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the bathtub, then laid them side by side on the bed.  She had been suffering for a long time from severe postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.  Her conviction of capital murder and sentence to life in prison was overturned on appeal in 2006 by a jury that found her not guilty by reason of insanity.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: small\">Is what she did wrong?  Yes.  Is what she had wrong?  No.  No one chooses to have severe depression, and I’m not here to argue the validity of “not guilty by reason of insanity”.  But I know what it feels like to go under in pain and despair.  I remember days when I was so depleted and burned out from living all day with three pre-schoolers that I wished I didn’t have them, wanted to leave, was dying for relief I couldn’t find.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: small\">Even in those times, I couldn’t imagine killing my children, but sometimes when depression swallowed me alive I wished I could give them back to God.  In that way, I have sympathy for  </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">Andrea Yates, June 20, 2001</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">She was the first one to drown,</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">married alive in a tub of tears,</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">buried by babies that dominoed</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">in a row laid out on the bed.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">It was said postpartum depression was to blame – </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">another name for sleep deprivation </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">while driving drunk on endless screams </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">for more of something sapped from her </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">without a break from giving</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">until the well was empty, </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the tub was full of children </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that needed her no more.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">And I understand</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">she got what she wanted – </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the sweet little blessings</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that she adored,</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the husband, the house</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">and the home-school room</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">where she learned the limits</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">of never enough</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">for a good-mom-wannabe</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">trying to fill the bottomless cup</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">with sweat and blood.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">No one had taught her</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that having it all</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">means kisses and cat puke,</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">measles times three.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">She felt betrayed</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">by loving and loathing,</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">felt her sanity drain away </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">until the day she did</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">what I\'ve dreamed</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">and gave her children</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">back to God in a literal way</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that stopped her serving</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">family and home</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">as she started serving</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">time.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;font-size: small\"> </span>','Baby Killer Blues','','inherit','open','open','','1067-revision-3','','','2011-10-24 04:08:19','2011-10-24 11:08:19','',1067,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1067-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1074,35,'2011-10-24 04:14:25','2011-10-24 11:14:25','<span style=\"font-size: small\">Ten years ago, on June 20, 2001, Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the bathtub, then laid them side by side on the bed.  She had been suffering for a long time from severe postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.  Her conviction of capital murder and sentence to life in prison was overturned on appeal in 2006 by a jury that found her not guilty by reason of insanity.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: small\">Is what she did wrong?  Yes.  Is what she had wrong?  No.  No one chooses to have severe depression, and I’m not here to argue the validity of “not guilty by reason of insanity”.  But I know what it feels like to go under in pain and despair.  I remember days when I was so depleted and burned out from living all day with three pre-schoolers that I wished I didn’t have them, wanted to leave, was dying for relief I couldn’t find.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: small\">Even in those times, I couldn’t imagine killing my children, but sometimes when depression swallowed me alive I wished I could give them back to God.  In that way, I have sympathy for  </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">Andrea Yates, June 20, 2001</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">She was the first one to drown,</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">married alive in a tub of tears,</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">buried by babies that dominoed</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">in a row laid out on the bed.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">It was said postpartum depression was to blame – </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">another name for sleep deprivation </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">while driving drunk on endless screams </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">for more of something sapped from her </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">without a break from giving</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">until the well was empty, </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the tub was full of children </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that needed her no more.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">And I understand</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">she got what she wanted – </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the sweet little blessings</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that she adored,</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the husband, the house</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">and the home-school room</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">where she learned the limits</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">of never enough</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">for a good-mom-wannabe</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">trying to fill the bottomless cup</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">with sweat and blood.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">No one had taught her</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that having it all</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">means kisses and cat puke,</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">measles times three.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">She felt betrayed</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">by loving and loathing,</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">felt her sanity drain away </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">until the day she did</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">what I\'ve dreamed</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">and gave her children</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">back to God in a literal way</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that stopped her serving</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">family and home</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">as she started serving</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">time.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;font-size: small\"> </span>','Baby Killer Blues','','inherit','open','open','','1067-revision-5','','','2011-10-24 04:14:25','2011-10-24 11:14:25','',1067,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1067-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(1072,35,'2011-10-24 04:12:20','2011-10-24 11:12:20','','Andrea Yates','','inherit','open','open','','andrea-yates-2','','','2011-10-24 04:12:20','2011-10-24 11:12:20','',1067,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Andrea-Yates1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1073,35,'2011-10-24 04:11:31','2011-10-24 11:11:31','<span style=\"font-size: small\">Ten years ago, on June 20, 2001, Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the bathtub, then laid them side by side on the bed.  She had been suffering for a long time from severe postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.  Her conviction of capital murder and sentence to life in prison was overturned on appeal in 2006 by a jury that found her not guilty by reason of insanity.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: small\">Is what she did wrong?  Yes.  Is what she had wrong?  No.  No one chooses to have severe depression, and I’m not here to argue the validity of “not guilty by reason of insanity”.  But I know what it feels like to go under in pain and despair.  I remember days when I was so depleted and burned out from living all day with three pre-schoolers that I wished I didn’t have them, wanted to leave, was dying for relief I couldn’t find.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: small\">Even in those times, I couldn’t imagine killing my children, but sometimes when depression swallowed me alive I wished I could give them back to God.  In that way, I have sympathy for  </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">Andrea Yates, June 20, 2001</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">She was the first one to drown,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">married alive in a tub of tears,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">buried by babies that dominoed</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">in a row laid out on the bed.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">It was said postpartum depression was to blame – </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">another name for sleep deprivation </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">while driving drunk on endless screams </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">for more of something sapped from her </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">without a break from giving</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">until the well was empty, </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the tub was full of children </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that needed her no more.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">And I understand</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">she got what she wanted – </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the sweet little blessings</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that she adored,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the husband, the house</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">and the home-school room</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">where she learned the limits</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">of never enough</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">for a good-mom-wannabe</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">trying to fill the bottomless cup</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">with sweat and blood.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">No one had taught her</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that having it all</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">means kisses and cat puke,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">measles times three.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">She felt betrayed</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">by loving and loathing,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">felt her sanity drain away </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">until the day she did</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">what I\'ve dreamed</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">and gave her children</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">back to God in a literal way</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that stopped her serving</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">family and home</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">as she started serving</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">time.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;font-size: small\"> </span>','Baby Killer Blues','','inherit','open','open','','1067-revision-4','','','2011-10-24 04:11:31','2011-10-24 11:11:31','',1067,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1067-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(1075,35,'2011-10-24 04:15:19','2011-10-24 11:15:19','<span style=\"font-size: small\">Ten years ago, on June 20, 2001, Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the bathtub, then laid them side by side on the bed.  She had been suffering for a long time from severe postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.  Her conviction of capital murder and sentence to life in prison was overturned on appeal in 2006 by a jury that found her not guilty by reason of insanity.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: small\">Is what she did wrong?  Yes.  Is what she had wrong?  No.  No one chooses to have severe depression, and I’m not here to argue the validity of “not guilty by reason of insanity”.  But I know what it feels like to go under in pain and despair.  I remember days when I was so depleted and burned out from living all day with three pre-schoolers that I wished I didn’t have them, wanted to leave, was dying for relief I couldn’t find.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: small\">Even in those times, I couldn’t imagine killing my children, but sometimes when depression swallowed me alive I wished I could give them back to God.  In that way, I have sympathy for  </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">Andrea Yates, June 20, 2001</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">She was the first one to drown,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">married alive in a tub of tears,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">buried by babies that dominoed</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">in a row laid out on the bed.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">It was said postpartum depression was to blame – </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">another name for sleep deprivation </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">while driving drunk on endless screams </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">for more of something sapped from her </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">without a break from giving</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">until the well was empty, </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the tub was full of children </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that needed her no more.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">And I understand</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">she got what she wanted – </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the sweet little blessings</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that she adored,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the husband, the house</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">and the home-school room</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">where she learned the limits</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">of never enough</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">for a good-mom-wannabe</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">trying to fill the bottomless cup</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">with sweat and blood.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">No one had taught her</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that having it all</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">means kisses and cat puke,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">measles times three.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">She felt betrayed</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">by loving and loathing,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">felt her sanity drain away </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">until the day she did</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">what I\'ve dreamed</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">and gave her children</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">back to God in a literal way</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that stopped her serving</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">family and home</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">as she started serving</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">time.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;font-size: small\"> </span>','Baby Killer Blues','','inherit','open','open','','1067-revision-6','','','2011-10-24 04:15:19','2011-10-24 11:15:19','',1067,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1067-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(1076,1,'2011-10-24 08:52:18','2011-10-24 15:52:18','<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Andrea-Yates1.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1072 alignleft\" title=\"Andrea Yates\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Andrea-Yates1-204x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"135\" height=\"199\" /></a>Ten years ago, on June 20, 2001, Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the bathtub, then laid them side by side on the bed.  She had been suffering for a long time from severe postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.  Her conviction of capital murder and sentence to life in prison was overturned on appeal in 2006 by a jury that found her not guilty by reason of insanity.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\">Is what she did wrong?  Yes.  Is what she had wrong?  No.  No one chooses to have severe depression, and I’m not here to argue the validity of “not guilty by reason of insanity”.  But I know what it feels like to go under in pain and despair.  I remember days when I was so depleted and burned out from living all day with three pre-schoolers that I wished I didn’t have them, wanted to leave, was dying for relief I couldn’t find.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\">Even in those times, I couldn’t imagine killing my children, but sometimes when depression swallowed me alive I wished I could give them back to God.  In that way, I have sympathy for  </span>Andrea Yates, June 20, 2001\n\n<strong> Killer Baby Blues by Joy Wilson</strong>\n\n<em>She was the first one to drown,</em>\n\n<em>married alive in a tub of tears,</em>\n\n<em>buried by babies that dominoed</em>\n\n<em>in a row laid out on the bed.</em>\n\n<em>It was said postpartum depression was to blame –</em>\n\n<em>another name for sleep deprivation</em>\n\n<em>while driving drunk on endless screams</em>\n\n<em>for more of something sapped from her</em>\n\n<em>without a break from giving</em>\n\n<em>until the well was empty,</em>\n\n<em>the tub was full of children</em>\n\n<em>that needed her no more.</em>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<em>And I understand</em>\n\n<em>she got what she wanted –</em>\n\n<em>the sweet little blessings</em>\n\n<em>that she adored,</em>\n\n<em>the husband, the house</em>\n\n<em>and the home-school room</em>\n\n<em>where she learned the limits</em>\n\n<em>of never enough</em>\n\n<em>for a good-mom-wannabe</em>\n\n<em>trying to fill the bottomless cup</em>\n\n<em>with sweat and blood.</em>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<em>No one had taught her</em>\n\n<em>that having it all</em>\n\n<em>means kisses and cat puke,</em>\n\n<em>measles times three.</em>\n\n<em>She felt betrayed</em>\n\n<em>by loving and loathing,</em>\n\n<em>felt her sanity drain away</em>\n\n<em>until the day she did</em>\n\n<em>what I\'ve dreamed</em>\n\n<em>and gave her children</em>\n\n<em>back to God in a literal way</em>\n\n<em>that stopped her serving</em>\n\n<em>family and home</em>\n\n<em>as she started serving</em>\n\n<em>time.</em>\n\n&nbsp;','Baby Killer Blues','','inherit','open','open','','1067-autosave','','','2011-10-24 08:52:18','2011-10-24 15:52:18','',1067,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1067-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1077,1,'2011-10-24 08:50:02','2011-10-24 15:50:02','','Andrea_Yates','','inherit','open','open','','andrea_yates','','','2011-10-24 08:50:02','2011-10-24 15:50:02','',1067,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Andrea_Yates.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(1078,1,'2011-10-24 04:16:03','2011-10-24 11:16:03','<span style=\"font-size: small\">Ten years ago, on June 20, 2001, Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the bathtub, then laid them side by side on the bed.  She had been suffering for a long time from severe postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.  Her conviction of capital murder and sentence to life in prison was overturned on appeal in 2006 by a jury that found her not guilty by reason of insanity.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: small\">Is what she did wrong?  Yes.  Is what she had wrong?  No.  No one chooses to have severe depression, and I’m not here to argue the validity of “not guilty by reason of insanity”.  But I know what it feels like to go under in pain and despair.  I remember days when I was so depleted and burned out from living all day with three pre-schoolers that I wished I didn’t have them, wanted to leave, was dying for relief I couldn’t find.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: small\">Even in those times, I couldn’t imagine killing my children, but sometimes when depression swallowed me alive I wished I could give them back to God.  In that way, I have sympathy for  </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">Andrea Yates, June 20, 2001</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">She was the first one to drown,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">married alive in a tub of tears,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">buried by babies that dominoed</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">in a row laid out on the bed.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">It was said postpartum depression was to blame – </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">another name for sleep deprivation </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">while driving drunk on endless screams </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">for more of something sapped from her </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">without a break from giving</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">until the well was empty, </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the tub was full of children </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that needed her no more.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">And I understand</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">she got what she wanted – </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the sweet little blessings</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that she adored,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">the husband, the house</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">and the home-school room</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">where she learned the limits</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">of never enough</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">for a good-mom-wannabe</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">trying to fill the bottomless cup</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">with sweat and blood.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"> </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">No one had taught her</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that having it all</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">means kisses and cat puke,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">measles times three.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">She felt betrayed</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">by loving and loathing,</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">felt her sanity drain away </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">until the day she did</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">what I\'ve dreamed</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">and gave her children</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">back to God in a literal way</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">that stopped her serving</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">family and home</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">as she started serving</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Calibri\">time.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;font-size: small\"> </span>','Baby Killer Blues','','inherit','open','open','','1067-revision-7','','','2011-10-24 04:16:03','2011-10-24 11:16:03','',1067,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1067-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(1080,1,'2011-10-23 19:28:34','2011-10-24 02:28:34','Growing up in youth group, we were always lectured about how awful it was that kids would go off to college and then leave church. At the time I thought it was ridiculous that anyone would leave, but within three years I found myself standing on the stage in the sanctuary at my church graduation ceremony relieved that I wouldn’t have to enter those church doors for a long time.\r\n\r\nHow did that happened? Why did I have such a drastic change in heart? I’ve spent a long time trying to articulate what precisely pushed me away, so when the article “<a href=\"http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church\" target=\"_blank\">Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church</a>” by the Barna Group showed up in my RSS feed, it immediately identified with it because I lived their research.\r\n\r\nThis is the first of six posts breaking down the reasons given by the Barna Group talking about how my own experience reflected each of them.\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #1: “Teens’ and twentysomethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow.”</strong>\r\n\r\nI was born into a very Christian family, so from the moment I left the womb I was in church. Flannel graphs, Sunday School, Big Church, the whole nine yards. From the church nursery all the way up through most of high school I was at church every time the doors were open. (Towards the end of high school I was there six times a week.) As my father-in-law would say, \"They learned you well.\" By the time I was in early middle school I could give a full dissertation on any issue and perfectly repeat the canned answers about my faith that I had been fed from the moment I had been born. So, when I got to youth group (grades 9-12) and the lessons didn’t go any deeper than “stay in church,” “don’t listen to secular music,” “don’t do drugs” and “don’t have sex,” I had a difficult time staying connected. I had learned all of that back in elementary school. Why were we still talking about this?\r\n\r\nI really needed leaders who would help me work through the questions that come with adolescence. I was wrestling with reality, mortality, myself, my body, my parents, and faith, and all they could talk about was how I needed to do my \"devos\". All the questions that are a part of being a teenager went unanswered. Why am I here? (“Because Jesus created us.”  Yeah, thanks. That doesn’t help me. Why am I actually here? Why do I matter at all? Why should I even bother living?) Why does what I do even matter? Why should I believe any of this? Why can’t I just go be a monk?\r\n\r\nAnyone who remembers being a teenager understands that you go through a huge shift in how you understand life. Everything becomes much more important, serious, and you start to question everything. When no one addressed those kinds of questions or made room for us to at least dialogue about them, I started feeling discontent because no one cared about the questions, which caused me to believe that none of them really cared about what state of mind I was in.\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #2: “Churches come across as antagonistic to science.”</strong>\r\n\r\nThis, of the six reasons I\'ll be talking about, was the least influential for me, but it was still was important. The place this problem showed up the most was how incredibly dogmatic my church was about creation.\r\n\r\nOne of the reasons why I broke up with one of my ex-boyfriends was because of our differing views on creation. He believed in creation evolution, which is where views of evolution and creation can intersect. It was completely incompatible with my views on creation (a literal seven-day creation) at the time, so I blocked him out. I realize now how silly that was.\r\n\r\nI was not alone though because there was absolutely no room for that in the church I used to go to for other theories. There was zero discussion about them. If you didn’t believe in a literal 24-hour seven-day creation you may as well have said you weren’t Christian.\r\n\r\nThis extended into the rest of the science realm. For example, my church leaders were completely dismissive of things like global warming because they didn’t think \"God would allow us to do that to ourselves\". And don\'t even talk about the green movement because that was all hogwash by those tree-hugging environmentalists who had anti-god agendas. The blogger over from <a href=\"http://bigwhiteogre.blogspot.com/2010/09/christianitys-anti-science-conditioning.html\" target=\"_blank\">Prove Me Wrong</a> captured this perfectly:\r\n<blockquote>\"Climate change? Of course that was bunk. Just like evolutionists have some sort of God hating agenda and the scientific method is not capable of correcting for such biases, in the same way global warming types basically want to run our lives like Stalinist commissars. I will resist their encroachments on my liberty. [...] The lesson I\'ve learned from my past is that rejecting the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community is unlikely to lead to truth. Sure, it\'s possible that they can all be wrong, but is it likely? And what method of knowing truth is more reliable than following scientific consensus? They\'ll be wrong sometimes. But who won\'t be wrong sometimes?\"</blockquote>\r\nThe way I was taught displayed an unwillingness to listen to scientific advancements that make people slightly uncomfortable. They would simply brush them off and deny the need to protect our resources and respect the earth we live on. (It\'s not easy being green!) I mean, because God wouldn’t <em>actually </em>let us be our own demise, so on with bulldozing the rainforests!\r\n\r\nIt is one more area where the Christians I knew were aggressive and unwilling to have an intellectual conversation. This is well-known in secular circles as one of The Hot Button Topics that you shouldn’t bring up under any circumstances. There is something very wrong with that. When I started college I didn\'t understand why people thought fundamentalists were close minded. This is a reason among many others.\r\n\r\nCan\'t we be adults about this? Can\'t we sit down and hear each other out without attacking each other or immediately trying to shut down everyone else\'s arguments? Can\'t we engage and share our viewpoints and listen to each other? Can\'t we try to learn about other people\'s perspective and use that to understand other people better?\r\n\r\nContrary to the popular phrase, I promise your brain won\'t fall out of your head if you dare to talk to someone honestly about a different view of how we all got here.\r\n\r\n<em>Check back in for part II where I’ll be covering the difficulty of the exclusive nature of Christianity.</em>','Where the Church Lost Me: Part I','','inherit','open','open','','1037-revision-7','','','2011-10-23 19:28:34','2011-10-24 02:28:34','',1037,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/1037-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(1081,1,'2011-10-24 18:18:38','2011-10-25 01:18:38','Growing up in youth group, we were always lectured about how awful it was that kids would go off to college and then leave church. At the time I thought it was ridiculous that anyone would leave, but within three years I found myself standing on the stage in the sanctuary at my church graduation ceremony relieved that I wouldn’t have to enter those church doors for a long time.\n\nHow did that happened? Why did I have such a drastic change in heart? I’ve spent a long time trying to articulate what precisely pushed me away, so when the article “<a href=\"http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church\" target=\"_blank\">Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church</a>” by the Barna Group showed up in my RSS feed, it immediately identified with it because I lived their research.\n\nThis is the first of six posts breaking down the reasons given by the Barna Group talking about how my own experience reflected each of them.\n\n<strong>Reason #1: “Teens’ and twentysomethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow.”</strong>\n\nI was born into a very Christian family, so from the moment I left the womb I was in church. Flannel graphs, Sunday School, Big Church, the whole nine yards. From the church nursery all the way up through most of high school I was at church every time the doors were open. (Towards the end of high school I was there six times a week.) As my father-in-law would say, \"They learned you well.\" By the time I was in early middle school I could give a full dissertation on any issue and perfectly repeat the canned answers about my faith that I had been fed from the moment I had been born. So, when I got to youth group (grades 9-12) and the lessons didn’t go any deeper than “stay in church,” “don’t listen to secular music,” “don’t do drugs” and “don’t have sex,” I had a difficult time staying connected. I had learned all of that back in elementary school. Why were we still talking about this?\n\nI really needed leaders who would help me work through the questions that come with adolescence. I was wrestling with reality, mortality, myself, my body, my parents, and faith, and all they could talk about was how I needed to do my \"devos\". All the questions that are a part of being a teenager went unanswered. Why am I here? (“Because Jesus created us.”  Yeah, thanks. That doesn’t help me. Why am I actually here? Why do I matter at all? Why should I even bother living?) Why does what I do even matter? Why should I believe any of this? Why can’t I just go be a monk?\n\nAnyone who remembers being a teenager understands that you go through a huge shift in how you understand life. Everything becomes much more important, serious, and you start to question everything. When no one addressed those kinds of questions or made room for us to at least dialogue about them, I started feeling discontent because no one cared about the questions, which caused me to believe that none of them really cared about what state of mind I was in.\n\n<strong>Reason #2: “Churches come across as antagonistic to science.”</strong>\n\nThis, of the six reasons I\'ll be talking about, was the least influential for me, but it was still was important. The place this problem showed up the most was how incredibly dogmatic my church was about creation.\n\nOne of the reasons why I broke up with one of my ex-boyfriends was because of our differing views on creation. He believed in creation evolution, which is where views of evolution and creation can intersect. It was completely incompatible with my views on creation (a literal seven-day creation) at the time, so I blocked him out. I realize now how silly that was.\n\nI was not alone though because there was absolutely no room for that in the church I used to go to for other theories. There was zero discussion about them. If you didn’t believe in a literal 24-hour seven-day creation you may as well have said you weren’t Christian.\n\nThis extended into the rest of the science realm. For example, my church leaders were completely dismissive of things like global warming because they didn’t think \"God would allow us to do that to ourselves\". And don\'t even talk about the green movement because that was all hogwash by those tree-hugging environmentalists who had anti-god agendas. The blogger over from <a href=\"http://bigwhiteogre.blogspot.com/2010/09/christianitys-anti-science-conditioning.html\" target=\"_blank\">Prove Me Wrong</a> captured this perfectly:\n<blockquote>\"Climate change? Of course that was bunk. Just like evolutionists have some sort of God hating agenda and the scientific method is not capable of correcting for such biases, in the same way global warming types basically want to run our lives like Stalinist commissars. I will resist their encroachments on my liberty. [...] The lesson I\'ve learned from my past is that rejecting the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community is unlikely to lead to truth. Sure, it\'s possible that they can all be wrong, but is it likely? And what method of knowing truth is more reliable than following scientific consensus? They\'ll be wrong sometimes. But who won\'t be wrong sometimes?\"</blockquote>\nThe way I was taught displayed an unwillingness to listen to scientific advancements that make people slightly uncomfortable. They would simply brush them off and deny the need to protect our resources and respect the earth we live on. (It\'s not easy being green!) I mean, because God wouldn’t <em>actually </em>let us be our own demise, so on with bulldozing the rainforests!\n\nIt is one more area where the Christians I knew were aggressive and unwilling to have an intellectual conversation. This is well-known in secular circles as one of The Hot Button Topics that you shouldn’t bring up under any circumstances. There is something very wrong with that. When I started college I didn\'t understand why people thought fundamentalists were close minded. This is a reason among many others.\n\nCan\'t we be adults about this? Can\'t we sit down and hear each other out without attacking each other or immediately trying to shut down everyone else\'s arguments? Can\'t we engage and share our viewpoints and listen to each other? Can\'t we try to learn about other people\'s perspective and use that to understand other people better?\n\nContrary to the popular phrase, I promise your brain won\'t fall out of your head if you dare to talk to someone honestly about a different view of how we all got here.\n\n<em>Check back in for part II where I’ll be covering the difficulty of the exclusive nature of Christianity.</em>\n\n<em>Photo Credit: <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/roome/\">Lakewentworth</a></em>','Where the Church Lost Me: Part I','','inherit','open','open','','1037-autosave','','','2011-10-24 18:18:38','2011-10-25 01:18:38','',1037,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1037-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1082,1,'2011-10-24 08:56:07','2011-10-24 15:56:07','Growing up in youth group, we were always lectured about how awful it was that kids would go off to college and then leave church. At the time I thought it was ridiculous that anyone would leave, but within three years I found myself standing on the stage in the sanctuary at my church graduation ceremony relieved that I wouldn’t have to enter those church doors for a long time.\r\n\r\nHow did that happened? Why did I have such a drastic change in heart? I’ve spent a long time trying to articulate what precisely pushed me away, so when the article “<a href=\"http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church\" target=\"_blank\">Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church</a>” by the Barna Group showed up in my RSS feed, it immediately identified with it because I lived their research.\r\n\r\nThis is the first of six posts breaking down the reasons given by the Barna Group talking about how my own experience reflected each of them.\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #1: “Teens’ and twentysomethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow.”</strong>\r\n\r\nI was born into a very Christian family, so from the moment I left the womb I was in church. Flannel graphs, Sunday School, Big Church, the whole nine yards. From the church nursery all the way up through most of high school I was at church every time the doors were open. (Towards the end of high school I was there six times a week.) As my father-in-law would say, \"They learned you well.\" By the time I was in early middle school I could give a full dissertation on any issue and perfectly repeat the canned answers about my faith that I had been fed from the moment I had been born. So, when I got to youth group (grades 9-12) and the lessons didn’t go any deeper than “stay in church,” “don’t listen to secular music,” “don’t do drugs” and “don’t have sex,” I had a difficult time staying connected. I had learned all of that back in elementary school. Why were we still talking about this?\r\n\r\nI really needed leaders who would help me work through the questions that come with adolescence. I was wrestling with reality, mortality, myself, my body, my parents, and faith, and all they could talk about was how I needed to do my \"devos\". All the questions that are a part of being a teenager went unanswered. Why am I here? (“Because Jesus created us.”  Yeah, thanks. That doesn’t help me. Why am I actually here? Why do I matter at all? Why should I even bother living?) Why does what I do even matter? Why should I believe any of this? Why can’t I just go be a monk?\r\n\r\nAnyone who remembers being a teenager understands that you go through a huge shift in how you understand life. Everything becomes much more important, serious, and you start to question everything. When no one addressed those kinds of questions or made room for us to at least dialogue about them, I started feeling discontent because no one cared about the questions, which caused me to believe that none of them really cared about what state of mind I was in.\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #2: “Churches come across as antagonistic to science.”</strong>\r\n\r\nThis, of the six reasons I\'ll be talking about, was the least influential for me, but it was still was important. The place this problem showed up the most was how incredibly dogmatic my church was about creation.\r\n\r\nOne of the reasons why I broke up with one of my ex-boyfriends was because of our differing views on creation. He believed in creation evolution, which is where views of evolution and creation can intersect. It was completely incompatible with my views on creation (a literal seven-day creation) at the time, so I blocked him out. I realize now how silly that was.\r\n\r\nI was not alone though because there was absolutely no room for that in the church I used to go to for other theories. There was zero discussion about them. If you didn’t believe in a literal 24-hour seven-day creation you may as well have said you weren’t Christian.\r\n\r\nThis extended into the rest of the science realm. For example, my church leaders were completely dismissive of things like global warming because they didn’t think \"God would allow us to do that to ourselves\". And don\'t even talk about the green movement because that was all hogwash by those tree-hugging environmentalists who had anti-god agendas. The blogger over from <a href=\"http://bigwhiteogre.blogspot.com/2010/09/christianitys-anti-science-conditioning.html\" target=\"_blank\">Prove Me Wrong</a> captured this perfectly:\r\n<blockquote>\"Climate change? Of course that was bunk. Just like evolutionists have some sort of God hating agenda and the scientific method is not capable of correcting for such biases, in the same way global warming types basically want to run our lives like Stalinist commissars. I will resist their encroachments on my liberty. [...] The lesson I\'ve learned from my past is that rejecting the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community is unlikely to lead to truth. Sure, it\'s possible that they can all be wrong, but is it likely? And what method of knowing truth is more reliable than following scientific consensus? They\'ll be wrong sometimes. But who won\'t be wrong sometimes?\"</blockquote>\r\nThe way I was taught displayed an unwillingness to listen to scientific advancements that make people slightly uncomfortable. They would simply brush them off and deny the need to protect our resources and respect the earth we live on. (It\'s not easy being green!) I mean, because God wouldn’t <em>actually </em>let us be our own demise, so on with bulldozing the rainforests!\r\n\r\nIt is one more area where the Christians I knew were aggressive and unwilling to have an intellectual conversation. This is well-known in secular circles as one of The Hot Button Topics that you shouldn’t bring up under any circumstances. There is something very wrong with that. When I started college I didn\'t understand why people thought fundamentalists were close minded. This is a reason among many others.\r\n\r\nCan\'t we be adults about this? Can\'t we sit down and hear each other out without attacking each other or immediately trying to shut down everyone else\'s arguments? Can\'t we engage and share our viewpoints and listen to each other? Can\'t we try to learn about other people\'s perspective and use that to understand other people better?\r\n\r\nContrary to the popular phrase, I promise your brain won\'t fall out of your head if you dare to talk to someone honestly about a different view of how we all got here.\r\n\r\n<em>Check back in for part II where I’ll be covering the difficulty of the exclusive nature of Christianity.</em>','Where the Church Lost Me: Part I','','inherit','open','open','','1037-revision-8','','','2011-10-24 08:56:07','2011-10-24 15:56:07','',1037,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1037-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(1083,1,'2011-10-24 09:08:08','2011-10-24 16:08:08','Growing up in youth group, we were always lectured about how awful it was that kids would go off to college and then leave church. At the time I thought it was ridiculous that anyone would leave, but within three years I found myself standing on the stage in the sanctuary at my church graduation ceremony relieved that I wouldn’t have to enter those church doors for a long time.\r\n\r\nHow did that happened? Why did I have such a drastic change in heart? I’ve spent a long time trying to articulate what precisely pushed me away, so when the article “<a href=\"http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church\" target=\"_blank\">Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church</a>” by the Barna Group showed up in my RSS feed, it immediately identified with it because I lived their research.\r\n\r\nThis is the first of six posts breaking down the reasons given by the Barna Group talking about how my own experience reflected each of them.\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #1: “Teens’ and twentysomethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow.”</strong>\r\n\r\nI was born into a very Christian family, so from the moment I left the womb I was in church. Flannel graphs, Sunday School, Big Church, the whole nine yards. From the church nursery all the way up through most of high school I was at church every time the doors were open. (Towards the end of high school I was there six times a week.) As my father-in-law would say, \"They learned you well.\" By the time I was in early middle school I could give a full dissertation on any issue and perfectly repeat the canned answers about my faith that I had been fed from the moment I had been born. So, when I got to youth group (grades 9-12) and the lessons didn’t go any deeper than “stay in church,” “don’t listen to secular music,” “don’t do drugs” and “don’t have sex,” I had a difficult time staying connected. I had learned all of that back in elementary school. Why were we still talking about this?\r\n\r\nI really needed leaders who would help me work through the questions that come with adolescence. I was wrestling with reality, mortality, myself, my body, my parents, and faith, and all they could talk about was how I needed to do my \"devos\". All the questions that are a part of being a teenager went unanswered. Why am I here? (“Because Jesus created us.”  Yeah, thanks. That doesn’t help me. Why am I actually here? Why do I matter at all? Why should I even bother living?) Why does what I do even matter? Why should I believe any of this? Why can’t I just go be a monk?\r\n\r\nAnyone who remembers being a teenager understands that you go through a huge shift in how you understand life. Everything becomes much more important, serious, and you start to question everything. When no one addressed those kinds of questions or made room for us to at least dialogue about them, I started feeling discontent because no one cared about the questions, which caused me to believe that none of them really cared about what state of mind I was in.\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #2: “Churches come across as antagonistic to science.”</strong>\r\n\r\nThis, of the six reasons I\'ll be talking about, was the least influential for me, but it was still was important. The place this problem showed up the most was how incredibly dogmatic my church was about creation.\r\n\r\nOne of the reasons why I broke up with one of my ex-boyfriends was because of our differing views on creation. He believed in creation evolution, which is where views of evolution and creation can intersect. It was completely incompatible with my views on creation (a literal seven-day creation) at the time, so I blocked him out. I realize now how silly that was.\r\n\r\nI was not alone though because there was absolutely no room for that in the church I used to go to for other theories. There was zero discussion about them. If you didn’t believe in a literal 24-hour seven-day creation you may as well have said you weren’t Christian.\r\n\r\nThis extended into the rest of the science realm. For example, my church leaders were completely dismissive of things like global warming because they didn’t think \"God would allow us to do that to ourselves\". And don\'t even talk about the green movement because that was all hogwash by those tree-hugging environmentalists who had anti-god agendas. The blogger over from <a href=\"http://bigwhiteogre.blogspot.com/2010/09/christianitys-anti-science-conditioning.html\" target=\"_blank\">Prove Me Wrong</a> captured this perfectly:\r\n<blockquote>\"Climate change? Of course that was bunk. Just like evolutionists have some sort of God hating agenda and the scientific method is not capable of correcting for such biases, in the same way global warming types basically want to run our lives like Stalinist commissars. I will resist their encroachments on my liberty. [...] The lesson I\'ve learned from my past is that rejecting the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community is unlikely to lead to truth. Sure, it\'s possible that they can all be wrong, but is it likely? And what method of knowing truth is more reliable than following scientific consensus? They\'ll be wrong sometimes. But who won\'t be wrong sometimes?\"</blockquote>\r\nThe way I was taught displayed an unwillingness to listen to scientific advancements that make people slightly uncomfortable. They would simply brush them off and deny the need to protect our resources and respect the earth we live on. (It\'s not easy being green!) I mean, because God wouldn’t <em>actually </em>let us be our own demise, so on with bulldozing the rainforests!\r\n\r\nIt is one more area where the Christians I knew were aggressive and unwilling to have an intellectual conversation. This is well-known in secular circles as one of The Hot Button Topics that you shouldn’t bring up under any circumstances. There is something very wrong with that. When I started college I didn\'t understand why people thought fundamentalists were close minded. This is a reason among many others.\r\n\r\nCan\'t we be adults about this? Can\'t we sit down and hear each other out without attacking each other or immediately trying to shut down everyone else\'s arguments? Can\'t we engage and share our viewpoints and listen to each other? Can\'t we try to learn about other people\'s perspective and use that to understand other people better?\r\n\r\nContrary to the popular phrase, I promise your brain won\'t fall out of your head if you dare to talk to someone honestly about a different view of how we all got here.\r\n\r\n<em>Check back in for part II where I’ll be covering the difficulty of the exclusive nature of Christianity.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo Credit: <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/roome/\">Lakewentworth</a></em>','Where the Church Lost Me: Part I','','inherit','open','open','','1037-revision-9','','','2011-10-24 09:08:08','2011-10-24 16:08:08','',1037,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1037-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(1084,1,'2011-10-24 09:15:27','2011-10-24 16:15:27','','Why_The_Church','','inherit','open','open','','why_the_church','','','2011-10-24 09:15:27','2011-10-24 16:15:27','',1037,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Why_The_Church.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(1085,1,'2011-10-24 09:08:23','2011-10-24 16:08:23','Growing up in youth group, we were always lectured about how awful it was that kids would go off to college and then leave church. At the time I thought it was ridiculous that anyone would leave, but within three years I found myself standing on the stage in the sanctuary at my church graduation ceremony relieved that I wouldn’t have to enter those church doors for a long time.\r\n\r\nHow did that happened? Why did I have such a drastic change in heart? I’ve spent a long time trying to articulate what precisely pushed me away, so when the article “<a href=\"http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church\" target=\"_blank\">Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church</a>” by the Barna Group showed up in my RSS feed, it immediately identified with it because I lived their research.\r\n\r\nThis is the first of six posts breaking down the reasons given by the Barna Group talking about how my own experience reflected each of them.\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #1: “Teens’ and twentysomethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow.”</strong>\r\n\r\nI was born into a very Christian family, so from the moment I left the womb I was in church. Flannel graphs, Sunday School, Big Church, the whole nine yards. From the church nursery all the way up through most of high school I was at church every time the doors were open. (Towards the end of high school I was there six times a week.) As my father-in-law would say, \"They learned you well.\" By the time I was in early middle school I could give a full dissertation on any issue and perfectly repeat the canned answers about my faith that I had been fed from the moment I had been born. So, when I got to youth group (grades 9-12) and the lessons didn’t go any deeper than “stay in church,” “don’t listen to secular music,” “don’t do drugs” and “don’t have sex,” I had a difficult time staying connected. I had learned all of that back in elementary school. Why were we still talking about this?\r\n\r\nI really needed leaders who would help me work through the questions that come with adolescence. I was wrestling with reality, mortality, myself, my body, my parents, and faith, and all they could talk about was how I needed to do my \"devos\". All the questions that are a part of being a teenager went unanswered. Why am I here? (“Because Jesus created us.”  Yeah, thanks. That doesn’t help me. Why am I actually here? Why do I matter at all? Why should I even bother living?) Why does what I do even matter? Why should I believe any of this? Why can’t I just go be a monk?\r\n\r\nAnyone who remembers being a teenager understands that you go through a huge shift in how you understand life. Everything becomes much more important, serious, and you start to question everything. When no one addressed those kinds of questions or made room for us to at least dialogue about them, I started feeling discontent because no one cared about the questions, which caused me to believe that none of them really cared about what state of mind I was in.\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #2: “Churches come across as antagonistic to science.”</strong>\r\n\r\nThis, of the six reasons I\'ll be talking about, was the least influential for me, but it was still was important. The place this problem showed up the most was how incredibly dogmatic my church was about creation.\r\n\r\nOne of the reasons why I broke up with one of my ex-boyfriends was because of our differing views on creation. He believed in creation evolution, which is where views of evolution and creation can intersect. It was completely incompatible with my views on creation (a literal seven-day creation) at the time, so I blocked him out. I realize now how silly that was.\r\n\r\nI was not alone though because there was absolutely no room for that in the church I used to go to for other theories. There was zero discussion about them. If you didn’t believe in a literal 24-hour seven-day creation you may as well have said you weren’t Christian.\r\n\r\nThis extended into the rest of the science realm. For example, my church leaders were completely dismissive of things like global warming because they didn’t think \"God would allow us to do that to ourselves\". And don\'t even talk about the green movement because that was all hogwash by those tree-hugging environmentalists who had anti-god agendas. The blogger over from <a href=\"http://bigwhiteogre.blogspot.com/2010/09/christianitys-anti-science-conditioning.html\" target=\"_blank\">Prove Me Wrong</a> captured this perfectly:\r\n<blockquote>\"Climate change? Of course that was bunk. Just like evolutionists have some sort of God hating agenda and the scientific method is not capable of correcting for such biases, in the same way global warming types basically want to run our lives like Stalinist commissars. I will resist their encroachments on my liberty. [...] The lesson I\'ve learned from my past is that rejecting the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community is unlikely to lead to truth. Sure, it\'s possible that they can all be wrong, but is it likely? And what method of knowing truth is more reliable than following scientific consensus? They\'ll be wrong sometimes. But who won\'t be wrong sometimes?\"</blockquote>\r\nThe way I was taught displayed an unwillingness to listen to scientific advancements that make people slightly uncomfortable. They would simply brush them off and deny the need to protect our resources and respect the earth we live on. (It\'s not easy being green!) I mean, because God wouldn’t <em>actually </em>let us be our own demise, so on with bulldozing the rainforests!\r\n\r\nIt is one more area where the Christians I knew were aggressive and unwilling to have an intellectual conversation. This is well-known in secular circles as one of The Hot Button Topics that you shouldn’t bring up under any circumstances. There is something very wrong with that. When I started college I didn\'t understand why people thought fundamentalists were close minded. This is a reason among many others.\r\n\r\nCan\'t we be adults about this? Can\'t we sit down and hear each other out without attacking each other or immediately trying to shut down everyone else\'s arguments? Can\'t we engage and share our viewpoints and listen to each other? Can\'t we try to learn about other people\'s perspective and use that to understand other people better?\r\n\r\nContrary to the popular phrase, I promise your brain won\'t fall out of your head if you dare to talk to someone honestly about a different view of how we all got here.\r\n\r\n<em>Check back in for part II where I’ll be covering the difficulty of the exclusive nature of Christianity.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo Credit: <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/roome/\">Lakewentworth</a></em>','Where the Church Lost Me: Part I','','inherit','open','open','','1037-revision-10','','','2011-10-24 09:08:23','2011-10-24 16:08:23','',1037,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1037-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(1087,1,'2011-10-24 09:22:54','2011-10-24 16:22:54','','Why_I_Left_The_Church_Banner','','inherit','open','open','','why_i_left_the_church_banner','','','2011-10-24 09:22:54','2011-10-24 16:22:54','',0,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Why_I_Left_The_Church_Banner.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(2605,30,'2011-11-25 18:12:51','2011-11-26 02:12:51','<div style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a title=\"license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ - click to view more info about \'easy-turkey-thanksgiving\' or find free \'turkey meal\' pictures via Wylio\" href=\"http://www.wylio.com/credits/flickr/5176608082\"><img style=\"float: none;margin: 10px auto\" src=\"http://lh3.ggpht.com/-eFTdM9dASjc/TtBLGhccjoI/AAAAAAAAA3E/7YKGnQtXwdI/Flickr-5176608082.jpg\" alt=\"\'easy-turkey-thanksgiving\' photo (c) 2010, Steve Johnson - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" /></a></div>\r\nThanksgiving is now behind us, a day that for many is filled with one delicious food after another. Turkey. Mashed potatoes. Corn casserole. Jello molds. Pies, pies, and more pies. We fill our plates, we eat, we dive back in for more. We wear our stretchy pants and leave the belts in the closet for another day.\r\n\r\nEating turkey and mashed potatoes isn\'t something that is unique to Thanksgiving. Particularly here in America, we can have a large meal nearly any day of the year. So despite the fact that we tend to focus on the food, there must be more to this holiday than simply an opportunity to eat a large meal.','Soul Food','','inherit','open','open','','2598-revision-4','','','2011-11-25 18:12:51','2011-11-26 02:12:51','',2598,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/25/2598-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(1090,1,'2011-10-24 09:28:34','2011-10-24 16:28:34','','Where_The_Church','','inherit','open','open','','where_the_church','','','2011-10-24 09:28:34','2011-10-24 16:28:34','',1037,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Where_The_Church.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(1091,1,'2011-10-24 09:15:53','2011-10-24 16:15:53','Growing up in youth group, we were always lectured about how awful it was that kids would go off to college and then leave church. At the time I thought it was ridiculous that anyone would leave, but within three years I found myself standing on the stage in the sanctuary at my church graduation ceremony relieved that I wouldn’t have to enter those church doors for a long time.\r\n\r\nHow did that happened? Why did I have such a drastic change in heart? I’ve spent a long time trying to articulate what precisely pushed me away, so when the article “<a href=\"http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church\" target=\"_blank\">Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church</a>” by the Barna Group showed up in my RSS feed, it immediately identified with it because I lived their research.\r\n\r\nThis is the first of six posts breaking down the reasons given by the Barna Group talking about how my own experience reflected each of them.\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #1: “Teens’ and twentysomethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow.”</strong>\r\n\r\nI was born into a very Christian family, so from the moment I left the womb I was in church. Flannel graphs, Sunday School, Big Church, the whole nine yards. From the church nursery all the way up through most of high school I was at church every time the doors were open. (Towards the end of high school I was there six times a week.) As my father-in-law would say, \"They learned you well.\" By the time I was in early middle school I could give a full dissertation on any issue and perfectly repeat the canned answers about my faith that I had been fed from the moment I had been born. So, when I got to youth group (grades 9-12) and the lessons didn’t go any deeper than “stay in church,” “don’t listen to secular music,” “don’t do drugs” and “don’t have sex,” I had a difficult time staying connected. I had learned all of that back in elementary school. Why were we still talking about this?\r\n\r\nI really needed leaders who would help me work through the questions that come with adolescence. I was wrestling with reality, mortality, myself, my body, my parents, and faith, and all they could talk about was how I needed to do my \"devos\". All the questions that are a part of being a teenager went unanswered. Why am I here? (“Because Jesus created us.”  Yeah, thanks. That doesn’t help me. Why am I actually here? Why do I matter at all? Why should I even bother living?) Why does what I do even matter? Why should I believe any of this? Why can’t I just go be a monk?\r\n\r\nAnyone who remembers being a teenager understands that you go through a huge shift in how you understand life. Everything becomes much more important, serious, and you start to question everything. When no one addressed those kinds of questions or made room for us to at least dialogue about them, I started feeling discontent because no one cared about the questions, which caused me to believe that none of them really cared about what state of mind I was in.\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #2: “Churches come across as antagonistic to science.”</strong>\r\n\r\nThis, of the six reasons I\'ll be talking about, was the least influential for me, but it was still was important. The place this problem showed up the most was how incredibly dogmatic my church was about creation.\r\n\r\nOne of the reasons why I broke up with one of my ex-boyfriends was because of our differing views on creation. He believed in creation evolution, which is where views of evolution and creation can intersect. It was completely incompatible with my views on creation (a literal seven-day creation) at the time, so I blocked him out. I realize now how silly that was.\r\n\r\nI was not alone though because there was absolutely no room for that in the church I used to go to for other theories. There was zero discussion about them. If you didn’t believe in a literal 24-hour seven-day creation you may as well have said you weren’t Christian.\r\n\r\nThis extended into the rest of the science realm. For example, my church leaders were completely dismissive of things like global warming because they didn’t think \"God would allow us to do that to ourselves\". And don\'t even talk about the green movement because that was all hogwash by those tree-hugging environmentalists who had anti-god agendas. The blogger over from <a href=\"http://bigwhiteogre.blogspot.com/2010/09/christianitys-anti-science-conditioning.html\" target=\"_blank\">Prove Me Wrong</a> captured this perfectly:\r\n<blockquote>\"Climate change? Of course that was bunk. Just like evolutionists have some sort of God hating agenda and the scientific method is not capable of correcting for such biases, in the same way global warming types basically want to run our lives like Stalinist commissars. I will resist their encroachments on my liberty. [...] The lesson I\'ve learned from my past is that rejecting the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community is unlikely to lead to truth. Sure, it\'s possible that they can all be wrong, but is it likely? And what method of knowing truth is more reliable than following scientific consensus? They\'ll be wrong sometimes. But who won\'t be wrong sometimes?\"</blockquote>\r\nThe way I was taught displayed an unwillingness to listen to scientific advancements that make people slightly uncomfortable. They would simply brush them off and deny the need to protect our resources and respect the earth we live on. (It\'s not easy being green!) I mean, because God wouldn’t <em>actually </em>let us be our own demise, so on with bulldozing the rainforests!\r\n\r\nIt is one more area where the Christians I knew were aggressive and unwilling to have an intellectual conversation. This is well-known in secular circles as one of The Hot Button Topics that you shouldn’t bring up under any circumstances. There is something very wrong with that. When I started college I didn\'t understand why people thought fundamentalists were close minded. This is a reason among many others.\r\n\r\nCan\'t we be adults about this? Can\'t we sit down and hear each other out without attacking each other or immediately trying to shut down everyone else\'s arguments? Can\'t we engage and share our viewpoints and listen to each other? Can\'t we try to learn about other people\'s perspective and use that to understand other people better?\r\n\r\nContrary to the popular phrase, I promise your brain won\'t fall out of your head if you dare to talk to someone honestly about a different view of how we all got here.\r\n\r\n<em>Check back in for part II where I’ll be covering the difficulty of the exclusive nature of Christianity.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo Credit: <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/roome/\">Lakewentworth</a></em>','Where the Church Lost Me: Part I','','inherit','open','open','','1037-revision-11','','','2011-10-24 09:15:53','2011-10-24 16:15:53','',1037,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1037-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(1092,1,'2011-10-23 19:46:47','2011-10-24 02:46:47','<em>This is post number two in my series about the six reasons why I left the church based off of the article \"<a href=\"http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church\" target=\"_blank\">Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church</a>\" by the Barna Group.</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #3: “They wrestle with the exclusive nature of Christianity.”</strong>\r\n<blockquote>\"I came to the point that I realized my theology condemns 92% of the world’s population. There\'s something wrong with that.\"</blockquote>\r\nThis is a quote by <a href=\"http://crystalstmarielewis.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Crystal St. Lewis</a>, who I had a chance to hear speak at <a href=\"http://www.outlawpreachers.com/\" target=\"_blank\">The Outlaw Preachers</a> (re)Union 2011. With my strict Baptist upbringing it was more like 99% because anyone outside of our church was probably going to the bad place downstairs.\r\n\r\nFor me, the exclusive nature of the church did not come into conflict with reality in relation to the path of salvation (at least not really, more about this later); it showed up in the willful perpetuation of ignorance in regards to other religions, the denial of other denominations being in the family, and the indignation that flares up when you talk about finding beauty in other religions. Here is just a small slice of how other denominations and religions were <strong>stereotyped </strong>and <strong>viewed incorrectly </strong>by my particular sect:\r\n\r\n<strong>Presbyterians </strong>– Liturgy? Pfffft. They’re doing it wrong. All that repetition means empty hearts and empty prayers.\r\n\r\n<strong>Lutherans </strong>– They don’t drink coffee. It may as well be a different religion.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methodists </strong>– No one really talked about them, but we’re sure they’re weird too.\r\n\r\n<strong>Church of God</strong> – Female pastors!\r\n\r\n<strong>Episcopal </strong>– They like the gays. (This denomination was particularly deemed dangerous, though no one was ever any more specific than “They’re into some weird stuff.”)\r\n\r\n<strong>Pentecostal </strong>– They speak in tongues and like to dance. Do you need any more evidence?\r\n\r\n<strong>Non-denomination churches</strong> – They can’t pick sides so they try to make everyone happy.\r\n\r\n<strong>Catholics </strong>– “You do know they worship Mary, right?” And all they want to do is buy indulgences so they can sin. (Barely considered to be part of the Protestant branch. Get thee out of my Christian tree!)\r\n\r\n<strong>Seventh Day Adventists</strong> – Something about a Watchtower and they think they all can become god or something.\r\n\r\n<strong>Mormons </strong>– Salt Lake City, baby! They like to marry multiple women and the guy who wrote The Book or Mormon was a crazy.\r\n\r\n<strong>Anglicans </strong>– Something to do with the old church. And they’re more or less Catholics.\r\n\r\n<strong>Jews </strong>– We only like the Messianic ones. All the others only live by a bunch of rules and don’t love God, because you can’t love God through rules. (Please, let us all take a moment to guffaw or belly laugh at the incredible irony here!)\r\n\r\n<strong>Muslims </strong>– They worship Muhammad and are against everything you know and love.\r\n\r\n<strong>Wiccans </strong>– WITCHCRAFT.\r\n\r\n<strong>Buddhists </strong>– They worship the jolly fat guy statues in restaurants. Maybe something about reincarnation? The Dalai Lama is offensive anyway.\r\n\r\n<strong>Hindus </strong>– Reincarnation. Need I say more? Also all the weird, thousands of gods thing. Jesus doesn’t like that.\r\n\r\n<strong>Agnostics </strong>– Are in denial. They have that God-shaped hole but don’t want to commit.\r\n\r\n<strong>Atheists </strong>– Are angry people who just refuse to see the logic in our beliefs and don\'t want to give up control.\r\n\r\nSo even though there is a huge group of self-identifying group of Christians in the world, and even though most of the Protestant denominations are nearly identical in doctrine and differ only in a few preferences, we can safely knock about 80% of them out of the running for Heaven because they aren’t Baptists? There is something desperately wrong when we are knocking out members of our own group to feel more secure in our own salvation. (Survivor, anyone?)\r\n\r\nThe ignorance of other cultures and belief systems around me did a lot of damage. Not only had I condensed the Holy World down to a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the people on this planet, but I unfairly discriminated against people of other religions because of my ignorance. Once I left the church I stopped being <em>afraid </em>of humanity and I started to see how absolutely colorful, diverse, and beautiful it is.\r\n\r\nPerhaps you can identify with this. Maybe when you read one of the names of the groups above your stomach turns just a little bit. What you need to remember is their beliefs are as sacred to them as yours are to you. When it comes down to it, they are human and they want the same basic things you want out of life. You might be surprised if you take the opportunity to learn a little bit about one of the groups you have presuppositions about.\r\n\r\nIt\'s easy: go rent/buy a book by someone who is of a different faith. “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Muslim-Next-Door-Quran-Media/dp/0974524565/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1318469568&amp;sr=8-1-fkmr0\" target=\"_blank\">The Muslim Next Door: The Qur\'an, the Media, and That Veil Thing</a>” by Sumbul Ali-Karamali, is a great example.  Maybe find <a href=\"http://ramblingtaoist.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">a blogger</a> and read what they have to say from personal experience about their faith. If you\'re really courageous, send them an email and talk with them about it! Watch <a href=\"http://www.netflix.com/Movie/A-Life-Apart-Hasidism-in-America/70018988?strkid=1451695563_0_0&amp;lnkctr=srchrd-sr&amp;strackid=73420d99b57c05b6_0_srl&amp;trkid=222336\" target=\"_blank\">a documentary</a>. You don’t have to believe it, you don’t have to like it, and you don’t have to condone it. But hearing other people’s stories might help you understand someone else’s true heart and help you find nuggets of truth in other people, other denominations, and other faiths.\r\n\r\nOpen your heart and start to see people how Jesus sees them: incredible, intricate, amazing people with beautiful hearts. Fall in love with humanity.\r\n\r\n<em>Next I\'ll be talking about my church experience left me with a warped, simplistic and judgmental view of sexuality.</em>','Where the Church Lost Me: Part II','','inherit','open','open','','1045-revision-9','','','2011-10-23 19:46:47','2011-10-24 02:46:47','',1045,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/1045-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(2603,30,'2011-11-25 18:03:09','2011-11-26 02:03:09','Thanksgiving is now behind us, a day that for many of us is filled with one delicious food after another. Turkey. Mashed potatoes. Corn casserole. Jello molds. Pies, pies, and more pies. We fill our plates, we eat, we dive back in for more. We wear our stretchy pants and leave the belts in the closet for another day.\r\n\r\nEating turkey and mashed potatoes isn\'t something that is unique to Thanksgiving. Particularly here in America, we can have a large meal nearly any day of the year. So despite the fact that we tend to focus on the food, there must be more to this holiday than simply an opportunity to eat','Soul Food','','inherit','open','open','','2598-revision-2','','','2011-11-25 18:03:09','2011-11-26 02:03:09','',2598,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/25/2598-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(2604,30,'2011-11-25 18:12:17','2011-11-26 02:12:17','<div style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a title=\"license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ - click to view more info about \'easy-turkey-thanksgiving\' or find free \'turkey meal\' pictures via Wylio\" href=\"http://www.wylio.com/credits/flickr/5176608082\"><img style=\"float: none;margin: 10px auto\" src=\"http://lh5.ggpht.com/-pux1uq2WXhM/TtBK7vfCNTI/AAAAAAAAA28/4bgj2z9si5E/Flickr-5176608082.jpg\" alt=\"\'easy-turkey-thanksgiving\' photo (c) 2010, Steve Johnson - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/\" width=\"566\" height=\"378\" /></a></div>\r\nThanksgiving is now behind us, a day that for many is filled with one delicious food after another. Turkey. Mashed potatoes. Corn casserole. Jello molds. Pies, pies, and more pies. We fill our plates, we eat, we dive back in for more. We wear our stretchy pants and leave the belts in the closet for another day.\r\n\r\nEating turkey and mashed potatoes isn\'t something that is unique to Thanksgiving. Particularly here in America, we can have a large meal nearly any day of the year. So despite the fact that we tend to focus on the food, there must be more to this holiday than simply an opportunity to eat a large meal.','Soul Food','','inherit','open','open','','2598-revision-3','','','2011-11-25 18:12:17','2011-11-26 02:12:17','',2598,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/25/2598-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(2607,30,'2011-11-25 18:56:47','2011-11-26 02:56:47','<div style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a title=\"license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ - click to view more info about \'easy-turkey-thanksgiving\' or find free \'turkey meal\' pictures via Wylio\" href=\"http://www.wylio.com/credits/flickr/5176608082\"><img style=\"float: none;margin: 10px auto\" src=\"http://lh3.ggpht.com/-eFTdM9dASjc/TtBLGhccjoI/AAAAAAAAA3E/7YKGnQtXwdI/Flickr-5176608082.jpg\" alt=\"\'easy-turkey-thanksgiving\' photo (c) 2010, Steve Johnson - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" /></a></div>\nThanksgiving is now behind us, a day that for many is filled with one delicious food after another. Turkey. Mashed potatoes. Corn casserole. Jello molds. Pies, pies, and more pies. We fill our plates, we eat, we dive back in for more. We wear our stretchy pants and leave the belts in the closet for another day.\n\nEating turkey and mashed potatoes isn\'t something that is unique to Thanksgiving. Particularly here in America, we can have a large meal nearly any day of the year. So despite the fact that we tend to focus on the food, there must be more to this holiday than simply an opportunity to eat a large meal.\n\nI believe what makes Thanksgiving special is the opportunity that we have not only to feed our physical appetites, but to feed our spiritual and emotional appetites as well. To feed not only our bodies, but our souls.\n\nWe fix meals that are more complicated than we might normally make. We play games that usually gather dust on the shelves. We enjoy one another\'s company without feeling the need to rush to the next thing. After the hustle and bustle of preparing the meal, it\'s a day for slowing down and for spending time together with those whom you love.\n\nBut what might happen if we took the time to seek out this soul food more often? What would that look like?\n\nPerhaps we could take time to sit and really listen to a piece of music for a few minutes. Allow each note to penetrate the deep, hidden of our minds and hearts.\n\nPerhaps we need to take a moment and read some poetry. Let the words','Soul Food','','inherit','open','open','','2598-revision-6','','','2011-11-25 18:56:47','2011-11-26 02:56:47','',2598,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/25/2598-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(1246,1,'2011-10-26 09:06:53','2011-10-26 16:06:53','A five-part series exploring the tensions of church life, by <a href=\"../author/deannaogle/\">Deanna Ogle</a>.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wp.me/p1CKLQ-gJ\">Where the Church Lost Me: Part 1: Shallow and Antagonistic</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"../2011/10/26/where-the-church-lost-me-part-ii/\">Where the Church Lost Me: Part 2: Exclusivity</a>\r\n\r\nWhere the Church Lost Me: Part 3: Simplistic Sexuality\r\n\r\nWhere the Church Lost Me: Part 4:\r\n\r\nWhere the Church Lost Me: Part 5:','Where The Church Lost Me','','inherit','open','open','','1241-revision-4','','','2011-10-26 09:06:53','2011-10-26 16:06:53','',1241,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1241-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(1100,1,'2011-10-24 09:28:58','2011-10-24 16:28:58','Growing up in youth group, we were always lectured about how awful it was that kids would go off to college and then leave church. At the time I thought it was ridiculous that anyone would leave, but within three years I found myself standing on the stage in the sanctuary at my church graduation ceremony relieved that I wouldn’t have to enter those church doors for a long time.\r\n\r\nHow did that happened? Why did I have such a drastic change in heart? I’ve spent a long time trying to articulate what precisely pushed me away, so when the article “<a href=\"http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church\" target=\"_blank\">Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church</a>” by the Barna Group showed up in my RSS feed, it immediately identified with it because I lived their research.\r\n\r\nThis is the first of six posts breaking down the reasons given by the Barna Group talking about how my own experience reflected each of them.\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #1: “Teens’ and twentysomethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow.”</strong>\r\n\r\nI was born into a very Christian family, so from the moment I left the womb I was in church. Flannel graphs, Sunday School, Big Church, the whole nine yards. From the church nursery all the way up through most of high school I was at church every time the doors were open. (Towards the end of high school I was there six times a week.) As my father-in-law would say, \"They learned you well.\" By the time I was in early middle school I could give a full dissertation on any issue and perfectly repeat the canned answers about my faith that I had been fed from the moment I had been born. So, when I got to youth group (grades 9-12) and the lessons didn’t go any deeper than “stay in church,” “don’t listen to secular music,” “don’t do drugs” and “don’t have sex,” I had a difficult time staying connected. I had learned all of that back in elementary school. Why were we still talking about this?\r\n\r\nI really needed leaders who would help me work through the questions that come with adolescence. I was wrestling with reality, mortality, myself, my body, my parents, and faith, and all they could talk about was how I needed to do my \"devos\". All the questions that are a part of being a teenager went unanswered. Why am I here? (“Because Jesus created us.”  Yeah, thanks. That doesn’t help me. Why am I actually here? Why do I matter at all? Why should I even bother living?) Why does what I do even matter? Why should I believe any of this? Why can’t I just go be a monk?\r\n\r\nAnyone who remembers being a teenager understands that you go through a huge shift in how you understand life. Everything becomes much more important, serious, and you start to question everything. When no one addressed those kinds of questions or made room for us to at least dialogue about them, I started feeling discontent because no one cared about the questions, which caused me to believe that none of them really cared about what state of mind I was in.\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #2: “Churches come across as antagonistic to science.”</strong>\r\n\r\nThis, of the six reasons I\'ll be talking about, was the least influential for me, but it was still was important. The place this problem showed up the most was how incredibly dogmatic my church was about creation.\r\n\r\nOne of the reasons why I broke up with one of my ex-boyfriends was because of our differing views on creation. He believed in creation evolution, which is where views of evolution and creation can intersect. It was completely incompatible with my views on creation (a literal seven-day creation) at the time, so I blocked him out. I realize now how silly that was.\r\n\r\nI was not alone though because there was absolutely no room for that in the church I used to go to for other theories. There was zero discussion about them. If you didn’t believe in a literal 24-hour seven-day creation you may as well have said you weren’t Christian.\r\n\r\nThis extended into the rest of the science realm. For example, my church leaders were completely dismissive of things like global warming because they didn’t think \"God would allow us to do that to ourselves\". And don\'t even talk about the green movement because that was all hogwash by those tree-hugging environmentalists who had anti-god agendas. The blogger over from <a href=\"http://bigwhiteogre.blogspot.com/2010/09/christianitys-anti-science-conditioning.html\" target=\"_blank\">Prove Me Wrong</a> captured this perfectly:\r\n<blockquote>\"Climate change? Of course that was bunk. Just like evolutionists have some sort of God hating agenda and the scientific method is not capable of correcting for such biases, in the same way global warming types basically want to run our lives like Stalinist commissars. I will resist their encroachments on my liberty. [...] The lesson I\'ve learned from my past is that rejecting the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community is unlikely to lead to truth. Sure, it\'s possible that they can all be wrong, but is it likely? And what method of knowing truth is more reliable than following scientific consensus? They\'ll be wrong sometimes. But who won\'t be wrong sometimes?\"</blockquote>\r\nThe way I was taught displayed an unwillingness to listen to scientific advancements that make people slightly uncomfortable. They would simply brush them off and deny the need to protect our resources and respect the earth we live on. (It\'s not easy being green!) I mean, because God wouldn’t <em>actually </em>let us be our own demise, so on with bulldozing the rainforests!\r\n\r\nIt is one more area where the Christians I knew were aggressive and unwilling to have an intellectual conversation. This is well-known in secular circles as one of The Hot Button Topics that you shouldn’t bring up under any circumstances. There is something very wrong with that. When I started college I didn\'t understand why people thought fundamentalists were close minded. This is a reason among many others.\r\n\r\nCan\'t we be adults about this? Can\'t we sit down and hear each other out without attacking each other or immediately trying to shut down everyone else\'s arguments? Can\'t we engage and share our viewpoints and listen to each other? Can\'t we try to learn about other people\'s perspective and use that to understand other people better?\r\n\r\nContrary to the popular phrase, I promise your brain won\'t fall out of your head if you dare to talk to someone honestly about a different view of how we all got here.\r\n\r\n<em>Check back in for part II where I’ll be covering the difficulty of the exclusive nature of Christianity.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo Credit: <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/roome/\">Lakewentworth</a></em>','Where the Church Lost Me: Part I','','inherit','open','open','','1037-revision-12','','','2011-10-24 09:28:58','2011-10-24 16:28:58','',1037,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1037-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(1592,64,'2011-11-09 08:00:45','2011-11-09 16:00:45','Recently I had coffee with a young, new mom.  She told me that she quit her full-time job to be with her baby.  I listened to her talk glowingly about the bonding they were doing and how “right” this decision felt to her.  She said she would go back to work “one day” but “for now” she was doing exactly what she should.  Then, in the same breath, she admitted that she was not without<em> some</em> doubt, whispering sheepishly that she couldn\'t think of <em>one</em> woman that she admired as a role model, who was a stay-at-home mother.  (Ouch, I tried not to take it personally because this was her story and not about me.)\r\n\r\nAs I listened, I was happy for her because <em>there is nothing like</em> that first year of a parent and child’s life together, spent connecting and bonding.  The yeasty baby smells on your clothes and being present for the first belly laughs.  As they grow a little older, hearing their first word.  Eventually seeing their first steps.\r\n\r\nI know how meaningful they are because I missed many of those firsts.\r\n\r\nI was working fifty to sixty hour weeks, through three pregnancies in four years, when each of my kids were born.  And, other than the six weeks allotted I was right back to work again, <em>by choice</em>.  Yes, I electric-pumped in the bathroom at work, between meetings.  I double padded for the crazy moments a baby cries and I might leak or nearly exploded, because a meeting went over and I needed to pump! <em> I did all that and I don’t regret one minute of it, </em>even though I cannot remember my daughter’s first word or whether I saw her first steps.  If I didn’t write it down, I cannot remember much about those years but I don’t mind because I loved working!\r\n\r\nWhen I quit my job I didn’t know an S.A.H.M. from an M.O.P.S. and certainly didn’t understand why <em>any</em><em>one</em> with an interesting career would quit for kids.  In fact I did <em>not</em> quit for <em>any</em> of the reasons many stay-at-home moms do and I never aspired to be one.  I was just fed up with certain aspects of my job and what I perceived as a glass ceiling.  <em>And I was plumb exhausted</em> – so exhausted that I had become irritable and dissatisfied with much of life.  My faith was suffering.  When I walked away from my career I just wanted to take a long, uninterrupted nap!\r\n\r\n<strong>You know what I wanted to say to my young friend at coffee?  <em>Don’t do it!!!!  </em></strong>\r\n\r\nYes, the secret is out.\r\n\r\nI became a <em>reluctant</em> SAHM to get away from my job <em>and to rest.</em>  Additionally, as we looked at the idea of one of us being with our kids, or a Nanny doing it, my husband and I did the math and it just made sense.  Though I was making 40K+, by the time we paid our Nanny a living wage, paid the taxes, I purchased a wardrobe of work clothing and dry cleaned those clothes, ate the inevitable lattes and lunches out, and then ordering take out because both of us were too tired to cook, it added up close to zero dollars left over.   The other thing we considered was the fact that my husband’s job was more lucrative long-term than mine was at a non-profit.\r\n\r\nBut when I was thinking and praying about making a change, I should have thought through<em> other</em> career options perhaps even a shared job. I grew up in the organization that I worked for and though I had been quickly promoted up through the organization I was there my entire thirteen year career.  I lacked the confidence to go out a find another job.  I thought quitting was my only option at the time.\r\n\r\nAnd now that my kids are older and I’m <em>oh so ready</em> to work outside the home, I’m running into the prejudice of having spent all this time, it’s been more than ten years, at home with kids.   Katie Read, a writer at Salon.com, <a title=\"Wish I Hadn\'t Opted Out\" href=\"http://www.salon.com/2011/01/06/wish_i_hadnt_opted_out/\" target=\"_blank\">wrote</a>:\r\n<div>\r\n<blockquote>\"Research shows that mothers earn <a href=\"http://www.asanet.org/press/motherhood_penalty.cfm\" target=\"_blank\">4 to 15 percent less</a> than non-mothers with comparable jobs and qualifications, that as job candidates, mothers are perceived as <a href=\"http://www.unc.edu/courses/2006spring/geog/203/001/motherhoodpenalty.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">less competent and committed</a> than non-mothers (fathers, in contrast, rate higher than men without kids).  Heather Boushey, senior economist at the Center for American Progress, <a href=\"http://www.brainchildmag.com/essays/winter2010_read.asp\" target=\"_blank\">told me last year</a> that the outlook for an at-home mother returning to work in this economy “kind of makes my stomach drop a little bit.” I know the feeling.\"</blockquote>\r\n</div>\r\nI know the feeling too.  Unlike Read, who is a single divorced mother of two, I don’t<em> need</em> to work I just <em>want</em> to work.\r\n\r\nI recently interviewed for an entry-level job, very part-time, that honestly I could have done in my sleep.  I was hoping to ease myself into an organization that I liked and would like to work for long-term.  But I knew that I was doomed when I was asked to describe <em>one specific project</em> that I had managed beginning to end.  I honestly tried to but my job was managing multiple people, programs, ideas, and nearly half a million dollar budget.  When I was told I was \"overqualified\" I suppose I was just shocked that they had the gall to say so even thought they said it differently.  \"This job wasn\'t in my sweet spot of gifting.\"  Huh, I started my working life as an entry-level office person.\r\n\r\nAn insider later told me, “You are a stallion.  What we needed in that job is a pony.” Implication, you don\'t want this job.  Horse metaphors aside, I applied for the job so I\'m sure I wanted it and I was surprised to be rejected.  I had led and managed people, multiple departments, and had tons of responsibility.  Why<em> would anyone NOT want me?</em>\r\n\r\nThe fact is that I have joined the ranks of other stay-at-home moms who are marginalize and looked down upon, just as I did when I was working outside of home.  I can remember asking my boss who was a woman with incredulity and some derision, “Why would anyone want to be a stay-at-home Mom?” <em>Why indeed?</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>What God did in me.</strong>\r\n\r\nWhat remains true now is the knowledge of what I have learned by quitting my job and being at home.  It actually has little to do with my children and all to do with what God wanted to <em>do inside me</em>.\r\n\r\nMy identity had been too wrapped up in my work and when I left, everything fell apart.  It took more than a year, but eventually I dropped into a deep depression.  (I tell that story in <a title=\"Not Alone\" href=\"http://civitaspress.com/not-alone-stories-of-living-with-depression/\" target=\"_blank\">Not Alone: Stories of Living with Depression</a> and in various places on my blog.)  I needed to go through the experiences that I did.  Why?  Because I never knew I was a beloved child <em>of</em> God, no matter what I could do <em>for</em> God, until I fell down into that pit.\r\n\r\n<strong>Being a stay-at-home mom it is an incredibly complicated personal decision. </strong>\r\n\r\nWe must respect the difficult place women (so much more than men) are in. No one can make this choice for a woman or explain away her doubts and fears, the dreams and aspirations, the personal goals, or our need and desire for “accomplishments.”   And no one can understand, after making a choice to go back to work, why a woman may regret or is torn by her decision.  <em>And I cannot choose for my young friend.  She will have to walk that path and sort it out herself.</em>\r\n\r\nAt times I look back over the last decade of my life with huge regrets, but also with gratitude because <em>I am still learning!</em>  My experiences have opened me up to a new life.  Christ’s broken body for me is meaningful in a way that I never understood until my experience with depression and addiction.  And gratefully I can say, all of this drove me to my knees.\r\n\r\nI went from someone who felt competent, powerful, and knowledgeable -- quite puffed up with my own importance, to a <a title=\"bruised reed\" href=\"http://bible.cc/matthew/12-20.htm\" target=\"_blank\">broken and bruised reed</a>, hardly knowing up from down.   I am humbled by my husband\'s love and the fact that my children adore me and I do them.  And gratefully, I know what a gift this time at home has been to me.  Yes, I rested (not physically as anyone with babies, small children or middle school kids knows.)  <strong>But I rested in Yahweh and became more human.  </strong>As I consider what the future holds for me, admittedly I still want a productive and vigorous career.  However as I look back at the last decade of being at home, I am glad for what I have learned.  And I would not trade it in for a more lucrative career.  (Okay some days I would, I honestly would!)  But the investment in my children is an honorable one and a privilege at this point.\r\n\r\nYes, I was an accidental (and in some ways very unhappy) SAHM.  By the power of the cross I am being constantly renewed and I continue to hope in it!  I know that even beyond being the mother of four beautiful children, which is gratifying in and of itself, I have a contribution to make<em>!</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>My advice, finally, to my young friend?  <em>Th<em>ere</em> is no perfect plan.</em> You must trust while serving, not knowing the future.  Believe that you have a contribution to make in your children\'s lives, in your own career and in all the people God brings into your life. </strong>\r\n\r\nI hope and pray that I will <em>continue</em> to be grateful that I am a child of God.  That this simple truth is enough.\r\n\r\n(Most days.)','The Accidental Stay-at-Home Mom','','publish','open','open','','the-accidental-stay-at-home-mom','','\nhttp://civitaspress.com/not-alone-stories-of-living-with-depression/','2011-11-03 08:41:54','2011-11-03 15:41:54','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1592',0,'post','',0),(1601,1,'2011-10-31 11:55:58','2011-10-31 18:55:58','File this under, \"Shocker!\" And I promise not to do this very often, but I\'m covering this news for a reason.\r\n\r\n---------------------------------------------------------\r\n\r\nTMZ, the famous celebrity stalker site is <a href=\"http://www.tmz.com/2011/10/31/kim-kardashian-divorce-kris-humphries-files/\" target=\"_blank\">reporting</a> that reality star Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from husband Kris Humphries after just 72 days of marriage.  \"Keeping Up With the Kardashians\" executive producer Ryan Seacrest <a href=\"http://twitter.com/#!/RyanSeacrest/status/131039186609385472\" target=\"_blank\">broke the news</a> on Twitter.\r\n\r\n\"Yes @kimkardashian is <a href=\"http://tmz.vo.llnwd.net/o28/newsdesk/tmz_documents/1031_kim.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">filing for divorce</a> this morning. I touched base with her, getting a statement in just a few mins.\"\r\n\r\nTMZ is suggesting the reason for divorce is because, \"the couple were at odds over where to finally settle down. Humphries was reportedly passionate about settling down in his native Minnesota, and Kardashian simply wasn\'t going for it.\r\n\r\n---------------------------------------------------------\r\n\r\nIf you\'ve followed this couple for any length of time, and I\'ve seen them on magazine stands and watched ten minutes of their show, which just happened to be the moment he wondered if he was making a mistake in marrying her, you\'ll know it was reality television.  I have no judgment for Kim or Kris.  They are free to do as they please.  I don\'t know if they staged the marriage or not.  It\'s possible that it was, and its possible that their love was real.\r\n\r\nBut there is an ironic twist to this whole thing. If it was real, than Kim has lost that love. And she\'s the one who really suffers, to the tune of a broken heart and 10 million dollars (the cost of the wedding). If it\'s not, than Kim has turned the idea of marriage into something that she\'s willing to make a mockery of.  I hope she got what she wanted.','Kim Kardashian Shocker','','publish','open','open','','kim-kardashian-shocker','','','2011-10-31 12:03:51','2011-10-31 19:03:51','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1601',0,'post','',5),(1103,71,'2011-10-26 08:00:51','2011-10-26 15:00:51','\"Though I know the going to the gym is a good thing to do, I just can\'t make myself go as often as I would like.\"\r\n\r\nSuch was the sentiment of a conversation I shared recently with a member of my congregation\'s leadership council. And, I agreed with him. I too have the \"I can\'t make myself go to the gym syndrome.\" For as much as I know in my head that the health benefits of regular exercise long out weigh the inconvenience of finding time to schedule it in, I just can\'t seem to make myself go there as often as I know I should. Excuses are easy to come by, as they may be for several of you too.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HomeGym21.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HomeGym21-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"173\" height=\"173\" /></a>Welcome to the internal struggle within my pastoral life: a hospital visit must be made, so I can\'t go this afternoon. We might want milk for our cereal tomorrow so the grocery store might just be a more essential stop over after work other than meeting with a trainer. Catching up with tv on the couch with my husband sounds more exciting than the treadmill tonight. Or, the always appropriate and best excuse of all time: I am just tired and need sleep more. I exclaim, \"There is no way that I can go to the gym this morning.\" While even I see the gym membership fee debited out of my account month after month, not even the financial strain is enough to make this investment worth the bang for my buck.\r\n\r\nYet, as this church leader continued to talk and bonded over our lack of enough exercise, we also made a connection together that grew in me compassion for those who frequently tell me as a pastor, \"I want to come to church . . . I\'m coming this Sunday\" but then never show up.  As much as I hear these empty promises in a given month, it wears on me and frustrates my hopes for what I know a faith community can be if people simply attend.\r\n\r\nI am a pastor of a congregation that uniquely welcomes in those in whom regular church participation is new. Many of those who sit among the pews each Sunday are coming back to church again after decades and decades away for a variety of reasons but mostly because a  local church along the line hurt them by conveying the message that who they were was somehow not good enough for God.  So, when someone attends first time, likes the welcome they experience and then decides to stick around for a while, they are coming because they\'ve come to believe being a part of a faith community is good for their soul. They get that church is as good for the soul as the gym is for the body. Contrary to those for whom church attendance is part of the life and cultural rhythm in a week (with the percentages of these types decreasing all the time), those who come to <a href=\"http://www.washingtonplazachurch.com\">Washington Plaza</a> come because they have made a conscious decision to be here. But, even with this true, many only come on a every six weeks rotation basis. Out of town trips, football games, and Sunday brunch are things that come up.  And so it is hard to build a community of people who truly know and love each other well, when not everyone is here which is what I believe makes the sacrifice of  Sunday church worth it in the end.\r\n\r\nI have to think this unique pastoral challenge of mine-- getting butts in the pews as the old saying goes-- is not so unique to my context.<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ChurchPew0018.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-1115\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ChurchPew0018-300x264.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"264\" /></a> In our over simulated, over scheduled world especially among urban dwellers, attending to our soul through church involvement is often valued by the spiritual as important, but not important enough when sleeping in on Sunday morning seems all the better for life/ work balance.\r\n\r\nOne of my favorite authors, Pearl S. Buck is known for saying, \"I don\'t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.\" Yet, without intentional committment to anything, it is our moods that drive us all day long.\r\n\r\nMaybe one day soon, I will stop depending on my mood to get me to gym more often. And maybe, person by person, from some personal intention deep within, my congregants will make an appearance in worship more often.\r\n\r\nUntil then, I\'ll keep plugging away-- pastoring with all the energy I can muster up those who <em>are</em> around. And, as I do, continuing to see coffee meeting dates at Starbucks all across my neighborhood to those for whom church community is just too much to ask them yet as an important part of my calling as a faith leader.','I Can\'t Get to Either: the Church or the Gym','','publish','open','open','','i-cant-get-to-either-the-church-or-the-gym','','','2011-10-24 20:49:25','2011-10-25 03:49:25','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1103',0,'post','',1),(1104,1,'2011-10-23 19:55:31','2011-10-24 02:55:31','<em>This is part three in my series about the six reasons why I left the church based off of the article \"<a href=\"http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church\" target=\"_blank\">Six Reasons Why Young Christians Leave Church</a>\" by the Barna Group. Now, I realize that there are vast differences between when and how guys and girls first experience sexuality, so this by no means is to be a blanket generalization for anyone.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>Miss the first two parts of this series? Read <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/where-the-church-lost-me-i/\" target=\"_blank\">part one</a> and <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/where-the-church-lost-me-ii/\" target=\"_blank\">part two</a>.</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #4: “Young Christians’ church experiences related to sexuality are often simplistic, judgmental.”</strong>\r\n\r\nOne of my favorite bloggers, Christian Piatt, wrote about this recently on <a href=\"http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christianpiatt/2011/10/sex-is-dirty-save-it-for-marriage/\" target=\"_blank\">his blog</a>:\r\n<blockquote>\"Amy and I speak to youth and young adults pretty often about something we call embodied spirituality. The idea is that, contrary to what you may have learned in the past, you do not have to de-sexualize yourself to be a good person – even at church. We’re told in some ways that sex is a dirty thing, and that our bodies are something to be ashamed of. But then we also get the message that sex is something special to save for marriage. Something about these two values doesn’t match up.\"</blockquote>\r\n<a href=\"http://behappyhealthywhole.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">My sister</a> and I were talking about this recently and she said:\r\n<blockquote>“There’s a difference between protecting and isolating.”</blockquote>\r\nUp until I was about 18 I was almost unaware that I was not simply a brain walking around. I don’t mean that literally, but things like lust and sexual thoughts were just theoretical issues. While my ex-boyfriend and I were in our long-distance relationship, he sent me a picture of him wearing a new outfit. I don’t remember what it was exactly, but I think it was a new suit coat or something. I said he looked “snazzy”. He was immediately offended because he was looking for a word with a little bit more heat. He asked me one night why it wasn’t natural for me to use words like “sexy” and “hot”. I explained that I had essentially turned all that off because growing up in church I was always told that anything to do with the body was sinful.\r\n\r\nOnce a year, there was a three week long purity series where the Sunday school class was split up by guys and girls. (Funnily enough, nothing made me want the guys back together with us more than this annual series. <em>Just make it stop!</em>) This Sunday school course was the most awkward thing in church since clapping. (What is this \"rhythm\" you speak of?)\r\n\r\nFirstly, the female leaders who ran the series couldn’t say the word “sex”. For a while they said “ex” and then eventually avoided it all together by referring to it as “it”. This does not setup a good precedence for an honest conversation. I get it: it’s awkward to talk about that post-movie hotness you had with your spouse the other night with teenage girls that seem like little bright-eyed deer that shouldn\'t have to deal with this messy, acutely intimate thing called sex. And while church may not be the place to teach about sex, the youth sponsors talked as if they were not just taking on the role of our mentor in the church place but also in the rest of our lives. So, unfortunately, sex questions fall under that category. Aside from my parents, you are the set of adults I see the most. Lead with honesty and frankness.\r\n\r\nNext was the “modest clothing demonstration”. The girl they used to model the outfit was built just like me (six feet tall, thin frame). They bought a full outfit for her that was a size small. It fit her well; the outfit wasn’t too tight and it fit her frame nicely. But explained then the leaders demonstrated how this outfit was indecent because if you reach your shoulders and arms as high as you can with zero regard to your shirt it <em>may</em> show a tiny bit of skin. Or how if you bend in half with your legs straight (which no girl I know does this anyway) you<em>might</em> see a bit of her back. So then the model left the room and changed into the same outfit but with all the items one size up. This time the outfit clearly didn’t work. You could tell neither piece was the right size because it didn’t lay correctly or fit in the right places, but this outfit was praised as modest, beautiful, and how all good young women should dress.\r\n\r\nThe message was clear: the second, less fitting, one size too large outfit was much godlier. God doesn’t want your clothes to fit. Loose clothing, like cleanliness, is next to godliness! If you look and feel good in your own clothing you’re making the boys stumble. Cut it out.\r\n\r\nNot only were there messages of de-sexualization (women, your bodies are the manifestation of temptation so to be really godly you need to wear parkas), but there were very blatant mistakes in the material of the lessons. There was The List. The List detailed all the physical steps through to actual intercourse. It was a list of eight items starting at “hand holding”. It was designed to show that if you get to step number four with guy A, you are going to want to jump to step four with guy B. That makes sense. What didn’t make sense was that “heavy petting” was number six and the last physical step that two people commit before inserting tab A into slot B was “hugging”. HUGGING. (I wish I was joking.) If hugging is the last step before sexin’, then I have definitely been around (<a href=\"http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljj7z5fHsr1qdf6w8o1_250.gif\">if you know what I mean</a>).\r\n\r\nOutside of the purity series, this fear of anything sexual showed up in places like our non-dancing prom (because dancing requires you use your hips, and hips are sinful): Senior Banquet. We were endlessly told we were not allowed to wear strapless dresses. Reason being? “The boys will wonder where your bra is.” I told this to my friend <a href=\"http://theawesomeproject.net/\" target=\"_blank\">Drew</a> and he responded, “Well yeah, but that’s purely academic!” Plunging necklines? Fine. Dresses so tight they may as well have been air brushed? Fine. But don\'t you <em>dare</em> let those boys think that there are such things as strapless bras in this country or have a modest neckline by not showing cleavage!\r\n\r\nThe message was reinforced in literature as well. I specifically remember reading several sob stories about sex in the Christian girl’s magazine Brio (by Focus on the Family). The stories always included the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>The phrase “all the way.” Example: “I never thought that I would go all the way with a guy.”</li>\r\n	<li>The <em>girl</em> must be uncomfortable or unsure and the <em>guy</em> must be pressuring her. Example: “I knew it was wrong, but he kept unbuttoning my shirt and told me to relax.”</li>\r\n	<li>The phrase “it just happened”. They are sure to insinuate that if you kiss someone, even just a little, your body will go into a frenzied auto-pilot and you will have manic sex against your will. Example: “I never thought I would get pregnant and I never thought I would have premarital sex, but it just happened…” Cue mournful voice. Like <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425210/\" target=\"_blank\">Slevin</a> said after his girlfriend claimed that her infidelity was an accident: “What like… He tripped, you fell?” (Maybe he Kansas City Shuffled his way into her pants. You never know with that movie.)</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIf these had all be isolated incidents it might not have been so bad, but altogether these things told me that my body was something to be ashamed of. Anything that made me feel confident or beautiful was me bringing my brother down. The only thing I knew to do was be afraid and suppress anything corporeal.\r\n\r\nNow, for all intents and purposes, this works to the leaders’ advantage. It did keep me from promiscuity through high school (and I am trying to learn to be thankful for that) but it did for all the wrong reasons. It wasn’t because I had been informed and was making smart decisions; it was because I was operating solely out of fear and ignorance. It’s fine when you’re 15 and you don\'t instinctively describe something as \"steamy\". What’s not okay is when you’re not far from getting married and you have to suddenly have to turn all of those signals back on that you spent the first 18-20 years of your life ignoring. After being told that your body is sinful over and over, how do you transition to wild, mind-blowing sex? Talk about major signal confusion. Through age 18: sex is sinful, God hates sex! By the time you get married: sex is great, have lots of it! This is a common problem for newlywed Christians. They have no healthy respect or understanding of their bodies and suddenly they are supposed to know what they like in bed and how to fulfill their partner’s desires too? (Some friends of mine started <a href=\"http://couplingforcouples.blogspot.com/?zx=3bbe204db1a81e96\" target=\"_blank\">a blog</a> about this very subject to help unprepared people work through this.)\r\n\r\nIf you have a kid in your life that’s approaching the age where you need to start talking about stuff like this, consider finding ways to express to them the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>The body is an amazing thing. There are reasons why people create nude statues out of marble. It’s not because they love porn. It’s because the human body is an incredibly beautiful, intricate, glorious thing. Don’t be afraid of it.</li>\r\n	<li>Sex is biological. Like hunger and thirst, the need to be sexual and to have sexual encounters with another person is part of what you are made to do. This is absolutely normal.</li>\r\n	<li>Just because sex is biological doesn’t mean you need to exploit it or doing anything before you are ready to handle the consequences and how your life will be changed by it.</li>\r\n	<li>You are not just a body. While sexual thoughts and impulses are completely normal, you have the ability to control what you choose to do with them. Despite popular belief, the opposite sex can control all those things too.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThis is just for starters, and I have no idea how I’ll handle this conversation with my kids, but I know I’ll start there because I don’t want them to get on the other side of this issue and feel unprepared. I want them to have healthy attitudes towards their own bodies and other peoples’.\r\n\r\n<em>Next I\'ll be talking about how the church is unfriendly towards those who doubt.</em>','Where the Church Lost Me: Part III','','inherit','open','open','','1052-revision-4','','','2011-10-23 19:55:31','2011-10-24 02:55:31','',1052,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/1052-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(1105,1,'2011-10-24 11:34:49','2011-10-24 18:34:49','<em>This is part three in my series about the six reasons why I left the church based off of the article \"<a href=\"http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church\" target=\"_blank\">Six Reasons Why Young Christians Leave Church</a>\" by the Barna Group. Now, I realize that there are vast differences between when and how guys and girls first experience sexuality, so this by no means is to be a blanket generalization for anyone.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>Miss the first two parts of this series? Read <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/where-the-church-lost-me-i/\" target=\"_blank\">part one</a> and <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/where-the-church-lost-me-ii/\" target=\"_blank\">part two</a>.</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #4: “Young Christians’ church experiences related to sexuality are often simplistic, judgmental.”</strong>\r\n\r\nOne of my favorite bloggers, Christian Piatt, wrote about this recently on <a href=\"http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christianpiatt/2011/10/sex-is-dirty-save-it-for-marriage/\" target=\"_blank\">his blog</a>:\r\n<blockquote>\"Amy and I speak to youth and young adults pretty often about something we call embodied spirituality. The idea is that, contrary to what you may have learned in the past, you do not have to de-sexualize yourself to be a good person – even at church. We’re told in some ways that sex is a dirty thing, and that our bodies are something to be ashamed of. But then we also get the message that sex is something special to save for marriage. Something about these two values doesn’t match up.\"</blockquote>\r\n<a href=\"http://behappyhealthywhole.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">My sister</a> and I were talking about this recently and she said:\r\n<blockquote>“There’s a difference between protecting and isolating.”</blockquote>\r\nUp until I was about 18 I was almost unaware that I was not simply a brain walking around. I don’t mean that literally, but things like lust and sexual thoughts were just theoretical issues. While my ex-boyfriend and I were in our long-distance relationship, he sent me a picture of him wearing a new outfit. I don’t remember what it was exactly, but I think it was a new suit coat or something. I said he looked “snazzy”. He was immediately offended because he was looking for a word with a little bit more heat. He asked me one night why it wasn’t natural for me to use words like “sexy” and “hot”. I explained that I had essentially turned all that off because growing up in church I was always told that anything to do with the body was sinful.\r\n\r\nOnce a year, there was a three week long purity series where the Sunday school class was split up by guys and girls. (Funnily enough, nothing made me want the guys back together with us more than this annual series. <em>Just make it stop!</em>) This Sunday school course was the most awkward thing in church since clapping. (What is this \"rhythm\" you speak of?)\r\n\r\nFirstly, the female leaders who ran the series couldn’t say the word “sex”. For a while they said “ex” and then eventually avoided it all together by referring to it as “it”. This does not setup a good precedence for an honest conversation. I get it: it’s awkward to talk about that post-movie hotness you had with your spouse the other night with teenage girls that seem like little bright-eyed deer that shouldn\'t have to deal with this messy, acutely intimate thing called sex. And while church may not be the place to teach about sex, the youth sponsors talked as if they were not just taking on the role of our mentor in the church place but also in the rest of our lives. So, unfortunately, sex questions fall under that category. Aside from my parents, you are the set of adults I see the most. Lead with honesty and frankness.\r\n\r\nNext was the “modest clothing demonstration”. The girl they used to model the outfit was built just like me (six feet tall, thin frame). They bought a full outfit for her that was a size small. It fit her well; the outfit wasn’t too tight and it fit her frame nicely. But explained then the leaders demonstrated how this outfit was indecent because if you reach your shoulders and arms as high as you can with zero regard to your shirt it <em>may</em> show a tiny bit of skin. Or how if you bend in half with your legs straight (which no girl I know does this anyway) you<em>might</em> see a bit of her back. So then the model left the room and changed into the same outfit but with all the items one size up. This time the outfit clearly didn’t work. You could tell neither piece was the right size because it didn’t lay correctly or fit in the right places, but this outfit was praised as modest, beautiful, and how all good young women should dress.\r\n\r\nThe message was clear: the second, less fitting, one size too large outfit was much godlier. God doesn’t want your clothes to fit. Loose clothing, like cleanliness, is next to godliness! If you look and feel good in your own clothing you’re making the boys stumble. Cut it out.\r\n\r\nNot only were there messages of de-sexualization (women, your bodies are the manifestation of temptation so to be really godly you need to wear parkas), but there were very blatant mistakes in the material of the lessons. There was The List. The List detailed all the physical steps through to actual intercourse. It was a list of eight items starting at “hand holding”. It was designed to show that if you get to step number four with guy A, you are going to want to jump to step four with guy B. That makes sense. What didn’t make sense was that “heavy petting” was number six and the last physical step that two people commit before inserting tab A into slot B was “hugging”. HUGGING. (I wish I was joking.) If hugging is the last step before sexin’, then I have definitely been around (<a href=\"http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljj7z5fHsr1qdf6w8o1_250.gif\">if you know what I mean</a>).\r\n\r\nOutside of the purity series, this fear of anything sexual showed up in places like our non-dancing prom (because dancing requires you use your hips, and hips are sinful): Senior Banquet. We were endlessly told we were not allowed to wear strapless dresses. Reason being? “The boys will wonder where your bra is.” I told this to my friend <a href=\"http://theawesomeproject.net/\" target=\"_blank\">Drew</a> and he responded, “Well yeah, but that’s purely academic!” Plunging necklines? Fine. Dresses so tight they may as well have been air brushed? Fine. But don\'t you <em>dare</em> let those boys think that there are such things as strapless bras in this country or have a modest neckline by not showing cleavage!\r\n\r\nThe message was reinforced in literature as well. I specifically remember reading several sob stories about sex in the Christian girl’s magazine Brio (by Focus on the Family). The stories always included the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>The phrase “all the way.” Example: “I never thought that I would go all the way with a guy.”</li>\r\n	<li>The <em>girl</em> must be uncomfortable or unsure and the <em>guy</em> must be pressuring her. Example: “I knew it was wrong, but he kept unbuttoning my shirt and told me to relax.”</li>\r\n	<li>The phrase “it just happened”. They are sure to insinuate that if you kiss someone, even just a little, your body will go into a frenzied auto-pilot and you will have manic sex against your will. Example: “I never thought I would get pregnant and I never thought I would have premarital sex, but it just happened…” Cue mournful voice. Like <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425210/\" target=\"_blank\">Slevin</a> said after his girlfriend claimed that her infidelity was an accident: “What like… He tripped, you fell?” (Maybe he Kansas City Shuffled his way into her pants. You never know with that movie.)</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIf these had all be isolated incidents it might not have been so bad, but altogether these things told me that my body was something to be ashamed of. Anything that made me feel confident or beautiful was me bringing my brother down. The only thing I knew to do was be afraid and suppress anything corporeal.\r\n\r\nNow, for all intents and purposes, this works to the leaders’ advantage. It did keep me from promiscuity through high school (and I am trying to learn to be thankful for that) but it did for all the wrong reasons. It wasn’t because I had been informed and was making smart decisions; it was because I was operating solely out of fear and ignorance. It’s fine when you’re 15 and you don\'t instinctively describe something as \"steamy\". What’s not okay is when you’re not far from getting married and you have to suddenly have to turn all of those signals back on that you spent the first 18-20 years of your life ignoring. After being told that your body is sinful over and over, how do you transition to wild, mind-blowing sex? Talk about major signal confusion. Through age 18: sex is sinful, God hates sex! By the time you get married: sex is great, have lots of it! This is a common problem for newlywed Christians. They have no healthy respect or understanding of their bodies and suddenly they are supposed to know what they like in bed and how to fulfill their partner’s desires too? (Some friends of mine started <a href=\"http://couplingforcouples.blogspot.com/?zx=3bbe204db1a81e96\" target=\"_blank\">a blog</a> about this very subject to help unprepared people work through this.)\r\n\r\nIf you have a kid in your life that’s approaching the age where you need to start talking about stuff like this, consider finding ways to express to them the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>The body is an amazing thing. There are reasons why people create nude statues out of marble. It’s not because they love porn. It’s because the human body is an incredibly beautiful, intricate, glorious thing. Don’t be afraid of it.</li>\r\n	<li>Sex is biological. Like hunger and thirst, the need to be sexual and to have sexual encounters with another person is part of what you are made to do. This is absolutely normal.</li>\r\n	<li>Just because sex is biological doesn’t mean you need to exploit it or doing anything before you are ready to handle the consequences and how your life will be changed by it.</li>\r\n	<li>You are not just a body. While sexual thoughts and impulses are completely normal, you have the ability to control what you choose to do with them. Despite popular belief, the opposite sex can control all those things too.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThis is just for starters, and I have no idea how I’ll handle this conversation with my kids, but I know I’ll start there because I don’t want them to get on the other side of this issue and feel unprepared. I want them to have healthy attitudes towards their own bodies and other peoples’.\r\n\r\n<em>Next I\'ll be talking about how the church is unfriendly towards those who doubt.</em>','Where the Church Lost Me: Part III','','inherit','open','open','','1052-revision-5','','','2011-10-24 11:34:49','2011-10-24 18:34:49','',1052,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1052-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(1106,1,'2011-10-24 11:53:11','2011-10-24 18:53:11','Marketing Fail\r\n\r\n[Click on the image to view the full image.]\r\n\r\n<em>Photo Credit: Funnysign.com</em>','Get A Free One Night Stand','','publish','open','open','','get-a-free-one-night-stand','','','2011-10-24 11:53:11','2011-10-24 18:53:11','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1106',0,'post','',0),(1107,1,'2011-10-24 11:52:37','2011-10-24 18:52:37','','One_Night_Stand','','inherit','open','open','','one_night_stand','','','2011-10-24 11:52:37','2011-10-24 18:52:37','',1106,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/One_Night_Stand.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(1108,1,'2011-10-24 11:50:27','2011-10-24 18:50:27','Marketing Fail\n\nPhoto Credit:','Get A Free One Night Stand','','inherit','open','open','','1106-revision','','','2011-10-24 11:50:27','2011-10-24 18:50:27','',1106,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1106-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1109,1,'2011-10-24 12:13:58','2011-10-24 19:13:58','Several major media news outlets including <a href=\"http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2011/10/24/ncaa-weighs-proposal-to-give-student-athletes-up-to-2000-in-grants/\" target=\"_blank\">Fox News</a> and <a href=\"http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/7143961/ncaa-weighing-2000-payments-student-athletes\" target=\"_blank\">ESPN</a> are grabbing onto the news that the NCAA is considering giving student athletes a $2,000 grant to cover the increased costs of attending school.  The grant is in addition to student tuition and fees, so it could be considered a \"payment\".  I was a student athlete and would have loved an extra two grand to use.  The report acknowledges that most student athletes can\'t work a job while playing sports.  I will attest to this. It\'s virtually impossible and still be able to pass classes.\r\n\r\nBut isn\'t it time the NCAA recognized that students are essentially professional athletes? With the saturation across the major media outlets, these athletes make the schools millions of dollars.  I would ask, \"Is two thousand even enough if you are a running back for Auburn or Miami?\" Should the NCAA just open the doors and allow student athletes to get paid in Division 1 athletics, at least for the major sports like football, basketball, and baseball.  We already have different divisions, so not every school has to do it.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think?','Should College Athletes Get Paid','','publish','open','open','','should-college-athletes-get-paid','','','2011-10-24 12:13:58','2011-10-24 19:13:58','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1109',0,'post','',2),(1110,1,'2011-10-24 12:05:28','2011-10-24 19:05:28','','ncaa_athletes','','inherit','open','open','','ncaa_athletes','','','2011-10-24 12:05:28','2011-10-24 19:05:28','',1109,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ncaa_athletes.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(1111,1,'2011-10-24 12:13:23','2011-10-24 19:13:23','Several major media news outlets including Fox News and ESPN are grabbing onto the news that the NCAA is considering giving student athletes a $2,000 grant to cover the increased costs of attending school.  The grant is in addition to student tuition and fees, so it could be considered a \"payment\".  I was a student athlete and would have loved an extra two grand to use.  The report acknowledges that most student athletes can\'t work a job while playing sports.  I will attest to this. It\'s virtually impossible and still be able to pass classes.\n\nBut isn\'t it time the NCAA recognized that students are essentially professional athletes? With the saturation across the major media outlets, these athletes make the schools millions of dollars.  I would ask, \"Is two thousand even enough if you are a running back for Auburn or Miami?\" Should the NCAA just open the doors and allow student athletes to get paid in Division 1 athletics, at least for the major sports like football, basketball, and baseball.  We already have different divisions, so not every school has to do it.\n\nWhat do you think?','Should College Athletes Get Paid','','inherit','open','open','','1109-revision','','','2011-10-24 12:13:23','2011-10-24 19:13:23','',1109,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1109-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1112,1,'2011-10-24 12:15:04','2011-10-24 19:15:04','Several major media news outlets including <a href=\"http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2011/10/24/ncaa-weighs-proposal-to-give-student-athletes-up-to-2000-in-grants/\" target=\"_blank\">Fox News</a> and <a href=\"http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/7143961/ncaa-weighing-2000-payments-student-athletes\" target=\"_blank\">ESPN</a> are grabbing onto the news that the NCAA is considering giving student athletes a $2,000 grant to cover the increased costs of attending school.  The grant is in addition to student tuition and fees, so it could be considered a \"payment\".  I was a student athlete and would have loved an extra two grand to use.  The report acknowledges that most student athletes can\'t work a job while playing sports.  I will attest to this. It\'s virtually impossible and still be able to pass classes.\n\nBut isn\'t it time the NCAA recognized that students are essentially professional athletes? With the saturation across the major media outlets, these athletes make the schools millions of dollars.  I would ask, \"Is two thousand even enough if you are a running back for Auburn or Miami?\" Should the NCAA just open the doors and allow student athletes to get paid in Division 1 athletics, at least for the major sports like football, basketball, and baseball.  We already have different divisions, so not every school has to do it.\n\nWhat do you think?','Should College Athletes Get Paid','','inherit','open','open','','1109-autosave','','','2011-10-24 12:15:04','2011-10-24 19:15:04','',1109,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1109-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1113,71,'2011-10-24 12:24:33','2011-10-24 19:24:33','','HomeGym2','','inherit','open','open','','homegym2','','','2011-10-24 12:24:33','2011-10-24 19:24:33','',1103,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HomeGym2.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1114,71,'2011-10-24 12:25:39','2011-10-24 19:25:39','','HomeGym2','','inherit','open','open','','homegym2-2','','','2011-10-24 12:25:39','2011-10-24 19:25:39','',1103,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HomeGym21.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1115,71,'2011-10-24 12:27:02','2011-10-24 19:27:02','','ChurchPew0018','','inherit','open','open','','churchpew0018','','','2011-10-24 12:27:02','2011-10-24 19:27:02','',1103,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ChurchPew0018.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1116,71,'2011-10-24 12:26:38','2011-10-24 19:26:38','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HomeGym21.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1114\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HomeGym21-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"173\" height=\"173\" /></a>\"Though I know the going to the gym is a good thing to do, I just can\'t make myself go as often as I would like.\"\n\nSuch was the sentiment of a conversation I shared recently with a member of my congregation\'s leadership council. And, I agreed with him. I too have the \"I can\'t make myself go to the gym syndrome.\" For as much as I know in my head that the health benefits of regular exercise long out weigh the inconvenience of finding time to schedule it in, I just can\'t seem to make myself go there as often as I know I should. Excuses are easy to come by, as they may be for several of you too.\n\nWelcome to my internal struggle within my pastoral life: a hospital visit must be made, so I can\'t go this afternoon. We might want milk for our cereal tomorrow so the grocery store might just be a more important stop over after work other than meeting with a trainer. Catching up with tv on the couch with my husband sounds more exciting than the treadmill tonight. Or, the always appropriate and best excuse of all time: I am just tired and need sleep more. I exclaim, \"There is no way that I can go to the gym this morning.\" While even I see the gym membership fee debited out of my account month after month, not even the financial strain is enough to make this investment worth the bang for my buck.\n\nYet, as this church leader continued to talk and bonded over our lack of enough exercise, we also made a connection that grew in me compassion for those who frequently tell me as a pastor, \"I want to come to church . . . I\'m coming this Sunday\" but then never show up.  As much as I hear these empty promises in a given month, it wears on me and frustrates my hopes for what I know a faith community can be if people just simply attend.\n\nI am a pastor of a congregation that uniquely welcomes in those in whom regular church participation is new. Many of those who sit among the pews each Sunday are coming back to church again after decades and decades away for a variety of reasons but mostly because a  local church along the line hurt them by conveying the message that who they were was somehow not good enough for God.  So, when someone attends first time, likes what they experience and then decides to stick around for a while, they are coming because they\'ve come to believe being a part of a faith community is good for their soul as much as going to the gym is good for the body. Contrary to those for whom church attendance is part of the life and cultural rhythm in a week (with the percentages of these types decreasing all the time), those who come to <a href=\"http://www.washingtonplazachurch.com\">Washington Plaza</a> come because they have made a conscious decision to be here. But, many only come on a every six weeks rotation basis.  And, with commitment to the church as spotty as my gym check-ins, it is hard to build a community of people who truly know and love each other well which is what I believe makes the committment of church worth it in the end.\n\nI have to think this unique pastoral challenge of mine-- getting butts in the pews as the old saying goes-- is not so unique to my context. In our over simulated, over scheduled world especially among urban dwellers, attending to our soul through church involvement is often valued by the spiritual as important, but not important enough when sleeping in on Sunday morning seems all the better for life/ workbalance.\n\nOne of my favorite authors, Pearl S. Buck is known for saying, \"I don\'t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.\" Yet, without intentional committment to anything, it is our moods that drive us all day long.\n\nMaybe one day soon, I will stop depending on my mood to get me to gym more often. And maybe, person by person, from some personal intention deep within, my congregants will make an appearance at my church more than every six weeks. (It would be nice to have them all in church together other than Easter Sunday!)\n\nUntil then, I\'ll keep plugging away-- pastoring with all the energy I can muster up those who <em>are</em> around. And, as I do, continuing to see coffee meeting outreach at Starbucks all across my neighborhood to those for whom church community is just too much to ask them yet as an important part of my calling as a faith leader.','I Can\'t Get to Either: the Church or the Gym','','inherit','open','open','','1103-revision','','','2011-10-24 12:26:38','2011-10-24 19:26:38','',1103,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1103-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1117,71,'2011-10-24 12:27:39','2011-10-24 19:27:39','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HomeGym21.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1114\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HomeGym21-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"173\" height=\"173\" /></a>\"Though I know the going to the gym is a good thing to do, I just can\'t make myself go as often as I would like.\"\n\nSuch was the sentiment of a conversation I shared recently with a member of my congregation\'s leadership council. And, I agreed with him. I too have the \"I can\'t make myself go to the gym syndrome.\" For as much as I know in my head that the health benefits of regular exercise long out weigh the inconvenience of finding time to schedule it in, I just can\'t seem to make myself go there as often as I know I should. Excuses are easy to come by, as they may be for several of you too.\n\nWelcome to my internal struggle within my pastoral life: a hospital visit must be made, so I can\'t go this afternoon. We might want milk for our cereal tomorrow so the grocery store might just be a more important stop over after work other than meeting with a trainer. Catching up with tv on the couch with my husband sounds more exciting than the treadmill tonight. Or, the always appropriate and best excuse of all time: I am just tired and need sleep more. I exclaim, \"There is no way that I can go to the gym this morning.\" While even I see the gym membership fee debited out of my account month after month, not even the financial strain is enough to make this investment worth the bang for my buck.\n\nYet, as this church leader continued to talk and bonded over our lack of enough exercise, we also made a connection that grew in me compassion for those who frequently tell me as a pastor, \"I want to come to church . . . I\'m coming this Sunday\" but then never show up.  As much as I hear these empty promises in a given month, it wears on me and frustrates my hopes for what I know a faith community can be if people just simply attend.\n\nI am a pastor of a congregation that uniquely welcomes in those in whom regular church participation is new. Many of those who sit among the pews each Sunday are coming back to church again after decades and decades away for a variety of reasons but mostly because a  local church along the line hurt them by conveying the message that who they were was somehow not good enough for God.  So, when someone attends first time, likes what they experience and then decides to stick around for a while, they are coming because they\'ve come to believe being a part of a faith community is good for their soul as much as going to the gym is good for the body. Contrary to those for whom church attendance is part of the life and cultural rhythm in a week (with the percentages of these types decreasing all the time), those who come to <a href=\"http://www.washingtonplazachurch.com\">Washington Plaza</a> come because they have made a conscious decision to be here. But, many only come on a every six weeks rotation basis.  And, with commitment to the church as spotty as my gym check-ins, it is hard to build a community of people who truly know and love each other well which is what I believe makes the committment of church worth it in the end.\n\nI have to think this unique pastoral challenge of mine-- getting butts in the pews as the old saying goes-- is not so unique to my context.<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ChurchPew0018.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-1115\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ChurchPew0018-300x264.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"264\" /></a> In our over simulated, over scheduled world especially among urban dwellers, attending to our soul through church involvement is often valued by the spiritual as important, but not important enough when sleeping in on Sunday morning seems all the better for life/ work balance.\n\nOne of my favorite authors, Pearl S. Buck is known for saying, \"I don\'t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.\" Yet, without intentional committment to anything, it is our moods that drive us all day long.\n\nMaybe one day soon, I will stop depending on my mood to get me to gym more often. And maybe, person by person, from some personal intention deep within, my congregants will make an appearance at my church more than every six weeks. (It would be nice to have them all in church together other than Easter Sunday!)\n\nUntil then, I\'ll keep plugging away-- pastoring with all the energy I can muster up those who <em>are</em> around. And, as I do, continuing to see coffee meeting outreach at Starbucks all across my neighborhood to those for whom church community is just too much to ask them yet as an important part of my calling as a faith leader.','I Can\'t Get to Either: the Church or the Gym','','inherit','open','open','','1103-revision-2','','','2011-10-24 12:27:39','2011-10-24 19:27:39','',1103,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1103-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1118,71,'2011-10-24 12:35:01','2011-10-24 19:35:01','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HomeGym21.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1114\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HomeGym21-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"173\" height=\"173\" /></a>\"Though I know the going to the gym is a good thing to do, I just can\'t make myself go as often as I would like.\"\r\n\r\nSuch was the sentiment of a conversation I shared recently with a member of my congregation\'s leadership council. And, I agreed with him. I too have the \"I can\'t make myself go to the gym syndrome.\" For as much as I know in my head that the health benefits of regular exercise long out weigh the inconvenience of finding time to schedule it in, I just can\'t seem to make myself go there as often as I know I should. Excuses are easy to come by, as they may be for several of you too.\r\n\r\nWelcome to the internal struggle within my pastoral life: a hospital visit must be made, so I can\'t go this afternoon. We might want milk for our cereal tomorrow so the grocery store might just be a more essential stop over after work other than meeting with a trainer. Catching up with tv on the couch with my husband sounds more exciting than the treadmill tonight. Or, the always appropriate and best excuse of all time: I am just tired and need sleep more. I exclaim, \"There is no way that I can go to the gym this morning.\" While even I see the gym membership fee debited out of my account month after month, not even the financial strain is enough to make this investment worth the bang for my buck.\r\n\r\nYet, as this church leader continued to talk and bonded over our lack of enough exercise, we also made a connection together that grew in me compassion for those who frequently tell me as a pastor, \"I want to come to church . . . I\'m coming this Sunday\" but then never show up.  As much as I hear these empty promises in a given month, it wears on me and frustrates my hopes for what I know a faith community can be if people simply attend.\r\n\r\nI am a pastor of a congregation that uniquely welcomes in those in whom regular church participation is new. Many of those who sit among the pews each Sunday are coming back to church again after decades and decades away for a variety of reasons but mostly because a  local church along the line hurt them by conveying the message that who they were was somehow not good enough for God.  So, when someone attends first time, likes the welcome they experience and then decides to stick around for a while, they are coming because they\'ve come to believe being a part of a faith community is good for their soul. They get that church is as good for the soul as the gym is for the body. Contrary to those for whom church attendance is part of the life and cultural rhythm in a week (with the percentages of these types decreasing all the time), those who come to <a href=\"http://www.washingtonplazachurch.com\">Washington Plaza</a> come because they have made a conscious decision to be here. But, even with this true, many only come on a every six weeks rotation basis. Out of town trips, football games, and Sunday brunch are things that come up.  And so it is hard to build a community of people who truly know and love each other well, when not everyone is here which is what I believe makes the sacrifice of  Sunday church worth it in the end.\r\n\r\nI have to think this unique pastoral challenge of mine-- getting butts in the pews as the old saying goes-- is not so unique to my context.<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ChurchPew0018.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-1115\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ChurchPew0018-300x264.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"264\" /></a> In our over simulated, over scheduled world especially among urban dwellers, attending to our soul through church involvement is often valued by the spiritual as important, but not important enough when sleeping in on Sunday morning seems all the better for life/ work balance.\r\n\r\nOne of my favorite authors, Pearl S. Buck is known for saying, \"I don\'t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.\" Yet, without intentional committment to anything, it is our moods that drive us all day long.\r\n\r\nMaybe one day soon, I will stop depending on my mood to get me to gym more often. And maybe, person by person, from some personal intention deep within, my congregants will make an appearance in worship more often.\r\n\r\nUntil then, I\'ll keep plugging away-- pastoring with all the energy I can muster up those who <em>are</em> around. And, as I do, continuing to see coffee meeting dates at Starbucks all across my neighborhood to those for whom church community is just too much to ask them yet as an important part of my calling as a faith leader.','I Can\'t Get to Either: the Church or the Gym','','inherit','open','open','','1103-revision-3','','','2011-10-24 12:35:01','2011-10-24 19:35:01','',1103,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1103-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1119,24,'2011-10-25 13:35:37','2011-10-25 20:35:37','[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zpssk85XTQQ]\n\nSo as you watch this clip, who do  you associate yourself with? Is it Aragorn and his strength, Legolas and his skill, Gandalf with his power, Frodo with a mission or Gimli with his ferocity? Maybe I feel a little less noble and strong, maybe I can really relate to Boromir and his attempts to be noble, but his lust for power gets to him, or I feel like Sam the good friend of someone with a mission and I want to make sure they feel supported.  Many times, I feel like Merry and &amp; Pippin lost in self-gratification not knowing what to do.\n\nThis scene had a profound unexpected effect on me. I was shocked to see how my heart reacted to the characters. Instead of relating to the ‘main’ characters, I was caught off guard by the profound amount of emotion and empathy I felt for the \"Cave Troll.\"\n\nIn the scene you can see that this \"Troll\" has a chain around his neck. This brings up some questions.\nIs he someones pet?\nWhat was he like as a little cave troll?\nWhat did they do to him to shape him into this angry, violent monster?\nWhat if one of our \"heroes\" knew the troll language, or had some troll food. Could this enemy have been tamed, befriended or at least set free?\n\nThe real question for me was who or what is my enemy? I was told my entire life about a Devil who was out to destroy my life. I was told that he uses music, movies, seductive women, drugs and temptations of all kinds to seduce me into darkness. I needed to defend the faith, to battle the devil and his kingdom of darkness through prayer, scripture declarations and even fasting.\n\nJesus seemed at ease around these supposed enemies. Even during  his great temptation in the desert the enemy could find \"no place in him.\" He did not defend himself or argue doctrines or beliefs with this enemy. Jesus\' lack of defense revealed a supreme security.\n\nPersonally I have spent so much time in my life polarizing people, groups, beliefs into some sort of enemy. That way I know who I can criticize, judge, inflict punishment on. At the same time I have hidden and defended my pain, projected my judgements and fears on all sorts of people. Always imagining that I am Aragorn fighting for some lost freedom.\n\nMatthew 11:12 - From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.\n\nI don’t think Jesus in the above passage was approving of violence. Perhaps he was illuminating the struggle we are engaged in, one we have created. If I perceive you are keeping me from what I want, you then become my enemy. If Heaven has what I want then I will go in and take it.\n\nLetting go of the need to have enemies “out there” I realize, \"I\'m the Troll.\" I am the real enemy. My fear and pain have been my shelter, I have allowed myself to be used and abused to hopefully find somewhere to belong. I have a big chain around my neck, I\'m tired, hungry and dying. I use this anger toward my enemies to justify the violence I use on them.\n\nPerhaps my cry was for something I had never lost. I was taught to seek love and to withhold it from those I feared. This process had lead me to a world of chaos, blinded by need, lost in what is unacceptable.  I found myself incapable of accepting love and kindness. I was invested in my story of pain.\n\nIf you can relate to this story, I pray that you may find comfort and rest in the willingness to surrender all to God as you know him. Realizing your life is out of control, accepting you are being run by your feelings and thoughts is the first step in true spiritual growth.\n\nMay whatever you feel you need to defend find peace in giving up the need to have enemies. For if I love my enemies, I suddenly do not have any.\n\n\"Love is what we are born with.\nFear is what we learn.\nThe spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices\nand the acceptance of love back in our hearts.\nLove is the essential reality and our purpose on earth.\nTo be consciously aware of it,\nto experience love in ourselves and others,\nis the meaning of life.\nMeaning does not lie in things.\nMeaning lies in us.\"\n-Marianne Williamson\n\nNothing Real can be threatened.\nNothing unreal exists.\nHerein lies the Peace of God.\n- A Course in Miracles','Defense is the first act of War','','inherit','open','open','','497-autosave','','','2011-10-25 13:35:37','2011-10-25 20:35:37','',497,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/497-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1120,1,'2011-10-24 18:25:28','2011-10-25 01:25:28','I\'m not a music snob but I love to listen to a great tune.  I like pop as much as I like a great rock or even an alternative song.  Over the last twenty years music has morphed into so many categories that it\'s hard to categorize anything anymore.  But recently Time released the <a href=\"http://entertainment.time.com/2011/10/24/the-all-time-100-songs\" target=\"_blank\">Top 100 Greatest Popular Songs</a> since the magazine was first published, or roughly 90 years. Time describes the list as:\r\n<blockquote>\"Our critics pick the most extraordinary English-language pop recordings since the beginning of TIME magazine in 1923. Here are 100 (unranked) songs of enduring beauty, power and inventiveness.\"</blockquote>\r\nFor the sake of this article I\'m going to stick with this millennium and reflect.  The list is broken down by decade making it so easy to take pop shots at it.\r\n\r\n2010s - Janelle Monáe: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002ZFQD0E\" target=\"_blank\">Tightrope</a>\r\n\r\nSuffice it to say I\'ve never even heard of Janelle, and her music is not on any playlist I can find.  I\'m sure she\'s talented but to call her the greatest son of this decade, when no one has heard of her.  Please.\r\n\r\n2000s - Missy Elliot: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005J7GF\" target=\"_blank\">Get Ur Freak On</a>, Outkast: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AGWFX\" target=\"_blank\">Hey Yeah</a>, Jay-Z: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DZFL0\" target=\"_blank\">99 Problems</a>, Arcade Fire: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002IVN9W\" target=\"_blank\">Wake Up</a>, Kanye West: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009WPKY0\" target=\"_blank\">Gold Digger</a>, Lil Wayne: <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Iex5BEXR2w\" target=\"_blank\">Georgia… Bush</a>, LCD Soundsystem: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000M3452Y\" target=\"_blank\">All My Friends</a>, Beyoncé: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001GQACGE\" target=\"_blank\">Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)</a>, and Lady Gaga: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002W6Z0UK\" target=\"_blank\">Bad Romance</a>.\r\n\r\nLists like the inherently reflect the music tastes of the person picking the list, which means the list is actually a reflection of the critic.  And critics don\'t really like pop, which is to say that the title is inevitably not accurate.  The problem with lists like this is the title.  If we\'re looking at popular, it\'s would be important to really quantify the songs against charts and sales.  But it\'s not.  Only Hey Yeah, Bad Romance and Single Ladies were real chart listers. So it\'s clearly not about sales or charts.\r\n\r\nWhat surprised me about the list is that there is not one song by such influential artists as U2, Alicia Keys, Pearl Jam, Trent Reznor, Death Cab For Cutie, the White Stripes, the Killers, Eminem, or Linkin Park.  I know this gives away my rock tendencies, but the author suggests these are songs of inventiveness.  I would even suggest Lady Gaga\'s Poker Face was more inventive than Bad Romance. Sometimes I wonder if the relevancy of inventiveness has to be so esoteric in critics circles to avoid any backlash.\r\n\r\nBut my real point is to get you involved.  You listen to music.  What song in the last decade has been a song of beauty, power and inventiveness? What should have been on that list?','Time Releases 100 Greatest Popular Songs','','publish','open','open','','time-releases-100-greatest-popular-songs','','\nhttp://entertainment.time.com/2011/10/24/the-all-time-100-songs','2011-10-24 18:25:28','2011-10-25 01:25:28','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1120',0,'post','',0),(1121,1,'2011-10-24 17:38:46','2011-10-25 00:38:46','','all_time_songs','','inherit','open','open','','all_time_songs','','','2011-10-24 17:38:46','2011-10-25 00:38:46','',1120,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/all_time_songs.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(1123,1,'2011-10-24 18:19:47','2011-10-25 01:19:47','I\'m not a music snob but I love to listen to a great tune.  I like pop as much as I like a great rock or even an alternative song.  Over the last twenty years music has morphed into so many categories that it\'s hard to categorize anything anymore.  But recently Time released the <a href=\"http://entertainment.time.com/2011/10/24/the-all-time-100-songs\" target=\"_blank\">Top 100 Greatest Popular Songs</a> since the magazine was published, or roughly 90 years. Time describes the list as:\n<blockquote>\"Our critics pick the most extraordinary English-language pop recordings since the beginning of TIME magazine in 1923. Here are 100 (unranked) songs of enduring beauty, power and inventiveness.\"</blockquote>\nFor the sake of this article I\'m going to stick with this millennium and reflect.  The list is broken down by decade making it so easy to take pop shots at it.\n\n2010s - Janelle Monáe: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002ZFQD0E\" target=\"_blank\">Tightrope</a>\n\nSuffice it to say I\'ve never even heard of Janelle, and her music is not on any playlist I can find.  I\'m sure she\'s talented but to call her the greatest son of this decade, when no one has heard of her.  Please.\n\n2000s - Missy Elliot: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005J7GF\" target=\"_blank\">Get Ur Freak On</a>, Outkast: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AGWFX\" target=\"_blank\">Hey Yeah</a>, Jay-Z: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DZFL0\" target=\"_blank\">99 Problems</a>, Arcade Fire: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002IVN9W\" target=\"_blank\">Wake Up</a>, Kanye West: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009WPKY0\" target=\"_blank\">Gold Digger</a>, Lil Wayne: <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Iex5BEXR2w\" target=\"_blank\">Georgia… Bush</a>, LCD Soundsystem: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000M3452Y\" target=\"_blank\">All My Friends</a>, Beyoncé: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001GQACGE\" target=\"_blank\">Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)</a>, and Lady Gaga: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002W6Z0UK\" target=\"_blank\">Bad Romance</a>.\n\nLists like the inherently reflect the music tastes of the person picking the list, which means the list is actually a reflection of the critic.  And critics don\'t really like pop, which is to say that the title is inevitably not accurate.  The problem with lists like this is the title.  If we\'re looking at popular, it\'s would be important to really quantify the songs against charts and sales.  But it\'s not.  Only Hey Yeah, Bad Romance and Single Ladies were real chart listers. So it\'s clearly not about sales or charts.\n\nWhat surprised me about the list is that there is not one song by such influential artists as U2, Alicia Keys, Pearl Jam, R.E.M. or Linkin Park.  I know this gives away my rock tendencies, but the author suggests these are songs of inventiveness.  I would even suggest Lady Gaga\'s  Sometimes I wonder if the relevancy of inventiveness has to be so esoteric in critics circles to avoid any backlash.\n\nBut my real point is to get you involved.  You listen to music.  What should have been on that list?  What song in the last decade has been a song of beauty, power and inventiveness?\n\n&nbsp;','Time Releases 100 Greatest Popular Songs','','inherit','open','open','','1120-revision','','','2011-10-24 18:19:47','2011-10-25 01:19:47','',1120,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1120-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1124,1,'2011-10-24 18:25:05','2011-10-25 01:25:05','I\'m not a music snob but I love to listen to a great tune.  I like pop as much as I like a great rock or even an alternative song.  Over the last twenty years music has morphed into so many categories that it\'s hard to categorize anything anymore.  But recently Time released the <a href=\"http://entertainment.time.com/2011/10/24/the-all-time-100-songs\" target=\"_blank\">Top 100 Greatest Popular Songs</a> since the magazine was first published, or roughly 90 years. Time describes the list as:\n<blockquote>\"Our critics pick the most extraordinary English-language pop recordings since the beginning of TIME magazine in 1923. Here are 100 (unranked) songs of enduring beauty, power and inventiveness.\"</blockquote>\nFor the sake of this article I\'m going to stick with this millennium and reflect.  The list is broken down by decade making it so easy to take pop shots at it.\n\n2010s - Janelle Monáe: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002ZFQD0E\" target=\"_blank\">Tightrope</a>\n\nSuffice it to say I\'ve never even heard of Janelle, and her music is not on any playlist I can find.  I\'m sure she\'s talented but to call her the greatest son of this decade, when no one has heard of her.  Please.\n\n2000s - Missy Elliot: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005J7GF\" target=\"_blank\">Get Ur Freak On</a>, Outkast: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AGWFX\" target=\"_blank\">Hey Yeah</a>, Jay-Z: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DZFL0\" target=\"_blank\">99 Problems</a>, Arcade Fire: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002IVN9W\" target=\"_blank\">Wake Up</a>, Kanye West: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009WPKY0\" target=\"_blank\">Gold Digger</a>, Lil Wayne: <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Iex5BEXR2w\" target=\"_blank\">Georgia… Bush</a>, LCD Soundsystem: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000M3452Y\" target=\"_blank\">All My Friends</a>, Beyoncé: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001GQACGE\" target=\"_blank\">Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)</a>, and Lady Gaga: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002W6Z0UK\" target=\"_blank\">Bad Romance</a>.\n\nLists like the inherently reflect the music tastes of the person picking the list, which means the list is actually a reflection of the critic.  And critics don\'t really like pop, which is to say that the title is inevitably not accurate.  The problem with lists like this is the title.  If we\'re looking at popular, it\'s would be important to really quantify the songs against charts and sales.  But it\'s not.  Only Hey Yeah, Bad Romance and Single Ladies were real chart listers. So it\'s clearly not about sales or charts.\n\nWhat surprised me about the list is that there is not one song by such influential artists as U2, Alicia Keys, Pearl Jam, Trent Reznor, Death Cab For Cutie, the White Stripes, the Killers, Eminem, or Linkin Park.  I know this gives away my rock tendencies, but the author suggests these are songs of inventiveness.  I would even suggest Lady Gaga\'s Poker Face was more inventive than Bad Romance. Sometimes I wonder if the relevancy of inventiveness has to be so esoteric in critics circles to avoid any backlash.\n\nBut my real point is to get you involved.  You listen to music.  What song in the last decade has been a song of beauty, power and inventiveness? What should have been on that list?','Time Releases 100 Greatest Popular Songs','','inherit','open','open','','1120-revision-2','','','2011-10-24 18:25:05','2011-10-25 01:25:05','',1120,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1120-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1125,1,'2011-10-24 18:26:36','2011-10-25 01:26:36','I\'m not a music snob but I love to listen to a great tune.  I like pop as much as I like a great rock or even an alternative song.  Over the last twenty years music has morphed into so many categories that it\'s hard to categorize anything anymore.  But recently Time released the <a href=\"http://entertainment.time.com/2011/10/24/the-all-time-100-songs\" target=\"_blank\">Top 100 Greatest Popular Songs</a> since the magazine was first published, or roughly 90 years. Time describes the list as:\n<blockquote>\"Our critics pick the most extraordinary English-language pop recordings since the beginning of TIME magazine in 1923. Here are 100 (unranked) songs of enduring beauty, power and inventiveness.\"</blockquote>\nFor the sake of this article I\'m going to stick with this millennium and reflect.  The list is broken down by decade making it so easy to take pop shots at it.\n\n2010s - Janelle Monáe: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002ZFQD0E\" target=\"_blank\">Tightrope</a>\n\nSuffice it to say I\'ve never even heard of Janelle, and her music is not on any playlist I can find.  I\'m sure she\'s talented but to call her the greatest son of this decade, when no one has heard of her.  Please.\n\n2000s - Missy Elliot: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005J7GF\" target=\"_blank\">Get Ur Freak On</a>, Outkast: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AGWFX\" target=\"_blank\">Hey Yeah</a>, Jay-Z: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DZFL0\" target=\"_blank\">99 Problems</a>, Arcade Fire: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002IVN9W\" target=\"_blank\">Wake Up</a>, Kanye West: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009WPKY0\" target=\"_blank\">Gold Digger</a>, Lil Wayne: <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Iex5BEXR2w\" target=\"_blank\">Georgia… Bush</a>, LCD Soundsystem: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000M3452Y\" target=\"_blank\">All My Friends</a>, Beyoncé: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001GQACGE\" target=\"_blank\">Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)</a>, and Lady Gaga: <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002W6Z0UK\" target=\"_blank\">Bad Romance</a>.\n\nLists like the inherently reflect the music tastes of the person picking the list, which means the list is actually a reflection of the critic.  And critics don\'t really like pop, which is to say that the title is inevitably not accurate.  The problem with lists like this is the title.  If we\'re looking at popular, it\'s would be important to really quantify the songs against charts and sales.  But it\'s not.  Only Hey Yeah, Bad Romance and Single Ladies were real chart listers. So it\'s clearly not about sales or charts.\n\nWhat surprised me about the list is that there is not one song by such influential artists as U2, Alicia Keys, Pearl Jam, Trent Reznor, Death Cab For Cutie, the White Stripes, the Killers, Eminem, or Linkin Park.  I know this gives away my rock tendencies, but the author suggests these are songs of inventiveness.  I would even suggest Lady Gaga\'s Poker Face was more inventive than Bad Romance. Sometimes I wonder if the relevancy of inventiveness has to be so esoteric in critics circles to avoid any backlash.\n\nBut my real point is to get you involved.  You listen to music.  What song in the last decade has been a song of beauty, power and inventiveness? What should have been on that list?','Time Releases 100 Greatest Popular Songs','','inherit','open','open','','1120-autosave','','','2011-10-24 18:26:36','2011-10-25 01:26:36','',1120,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1120-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1126,1,'2011-10-24 18:45:47','2011-10-25 01:45:47','Several months ago Netflix released an announcement they were dividing the company into two divisions: Netflix, which would handle the streaming division, and Qwikster, which would handle the traditional and ultimately dying business of hard DVD shipments.  I remember thinking, \"That is a stupid idea.\"  And I didn\'t like the price increase that would come with such a change.\r\n\r\nThe New York Times just posted <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/technology/netflix-lost-800000-members-with-price-rise-and-split-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\">a rather ironic and telling story</a> of the ego that often defaults companies.\r\n<blockquote>Reed Hastings was soaking in a hot tub with a friend last month when he shared a secret: his company, <a title=\"More information about Netflix Inc\" href=\"http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/netflix-inc/index.html?inline=nyt-org\">Netflix</a>, was about to announce a plan to divide its movie rental service into two — one offering streaming movies over the Internet, the other offering old-fashioned DVDs in the mail.\r\n\r\n“That is awful,” the friend, who was also a Netflix subscriber, told him under a starry sky in the Bay Area, according to Mr. Hastings. “I don’t want to deal with two accounts.”\r\n\r\nMr. Hastings ignored the warning, believing that chief executives should generally discount what their friends say.</blockquote>\r\nThe rest they say is history.  The press and the public crucified Netflix on every major bulletin board and turns out they left like Israel left Egypt, in mass quantities; 800,000 to be exact.\r\n\r\nI wonder how many companies would still be around if the owner/President would have just listened to a good friend.','Netflix Gone Bad','','publish','open','open','','netflix-gone-bad','','','2011-10-24 18:45:47','2011-10-25 01:45:47','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1126',0,'post','',1),(1127,1,'2011-10-24 18:39:07','2011-10-25 01:39:07','','Netflix_Loses_800','','inherit','open','open','','netflix_loses_800','','','2011-10-24 18:39:07','2011-10-25 01:39:07','',1126,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Netflix_Loses_800.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0);
INSERT INTO `wp_posts` VALUES (1128,1,'2011-10-24 18:43:30','2011-10-25 01:43:30','Several months ago Netflix released an announcement they were dividing the company into two divisions: Netflix, which would handle the streaming division, and Qwikster, which would handle the traditional and ultimately dying business of hard DVD shipments.  I remember thinking, \"That is a stupid idea.\"\n\nThe New York Times just posted <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/technology/netflix-lost-800000-members-with-price-rise-and-split-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\">a rather ironic and telling story</a> of the ego that often defaults companies.\n<blockquote>Reed Hastings was soaking in a hot tub with a friend last month when he shared a secret: his company, <a title=\"More information about Netflix Inc\" href=\"http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/netflix-inc/index.html?inline=nyt-org\">Netflix</a>, was about to announce a plan to divide its movie rental service into two — one offering streaming movies over the Internet, the other offering old-fashioned DVDs in the mail.\n\n“That is awful,” the friend, who was also a Netflix subscriber, told him under a starry sky in the Bay Area, according to Mr. Hastings. “I don’t want to deal with two accounts.”\n\nMr. Hastings ignored the warning, believing that chief executives should generally discount what their friends say.</blockquote>\nI wonder how many companies would still be around if the owner/President would have just listened to a good friend.','Netflix Gone Bad','','inherit','open','open','','1126-revision','','','2011-10-24 18:43:30','2011-10-25 01:43:30','',1126,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1126-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1129,1,'2011-10-24 18:44:59','2011-10-25 01:44:59','Several months ago Netflix released an announcement they were dividing the company into two divisions: Netflix, which would handle the streaming division, and Qwikster, which would handle the traditional and ultimately dying business of hard DVD shipments.  I remember thinking, \"That is a stupid idea.\"  And I didn\'t like the price increase that would come with such a change.\n\nThe New York Times just posted <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/technology/netflix-lost-800000-members-with-price-rise-and-split-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\">a rather ironic and telling story</a> of the ego that often defaults companies.\n<blockquote>Reed Hastings was soaking in a hot tub with a friend last month when he shared a secret: his company, <a title=\"More information about Netflix Inc\" href=\"http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/netflix-inc/index.html?inline=nyt-org\">Netflix</a>, was about to announce a plan to divide its movie rental service into two — one offering streaming movies over the Internet, the other offering old-fashioned DVDs in the mail.\n\n“That is awful,” the friend, who was also a Netflix subscriber, told him under a starry sky in the Bay Area, according to Mr. Hastings. “I don’t want to deal with two accounts.”\n\nMr. Hastings ignored the warning, believing that chief executives should generally discount what their friends say.</blockquote>\nThe rest they say is history.  The press and the public crucified Netflix on every major bulletin board and turns out they left in\n\nI wonder how many companies would still be around if the owner/President would have just listened to a good friend.','Netflix Gone Bad','','inherit','open','open','','1126-revision-2','','','2011-10-24 18:44:59','2011-10-25 01:44:59','',1126,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1126-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1130,1,'2011-10-24 20:49:51','2011-10-25 03:49:51','\"Though I know the going to the gym is a good thing to do, I just can\'t make myself go as often as I would like.\"\r\n\r\nSuch was the sentiment of a conversation I shared recently with a member of my congregation\'s leadership council. And, I agreed with him. I too have the \"I can\'t make myself go to the gym syndrome.\" For as much as I know in my head that the health benefits of regular exercise long out weigh the inconvenience of finding time to schedule it in, I just can\'t seem to make myself go there as often as I know I should. Excuses are easy to come by, as they may be for several of you too.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HomeGym21.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HomeGym21-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"173\" height=\"173\" /></a>Welcome to the internal struggle within my pastoral life: a hospital visit must be made, so I can\'t go this afternoon. We might want milk for our cereal tomorrow so the grocery store might just be a more essential stop over after work other than meeting with a trainer. Catching up with tv on the couch with my husband sounds more exciting than the treadmill tonight. Or, the always appropriate and best excuse of all time: I am just tired and need sleep more. I exclaim, \"There is no way that I can go to the gym this morning.\" While even I see the gym membership fee debited out of my account month after month, not even the financial strain is enough to make this investment worth the bang for my buck.\r\n\r\nYet, as this church leader continued to talk and bonded over our lack of enough exercise, we also made a connection together that grew in me compassion for those who frequently tell me as a pastor, \"I want to come to church . . . I\'m coming this Sunday\" but then never show up.  As much as I hear these empty promises in a given month, it wears on me and frustrates my hopes for what I know a faith community can be if people simply attend.\r\n\r\nI am a pastor of a congregation that uniquely welcomes in those in whom regular church participation is new. Many of those who sit among the pews each Sunday are coming back to church again after decades and decades away for a variety of reasons but mostly because a  local church along the line hurt them by conveying the message that who they were was somehow not good enough for God.  So, when someone attends first time, likes the welcome they experience and then decides to stick around for a while, they are coming because they\'ve come to believe being a part of a faith community is good for their soul. They get that church is as good for the soul as the gym is for the body. Contrary to those for whom church attendance is part of the life and cultural rhythm in a week (with the percentages of these types decreasing all the time), those who come to <a href=\"http://www.washingtonplazachurch.com\">Washington Plaza</a> come because they have made a conscious decision to be here. But, even with this true, many only come on a every six weeks rotation basis. Out of town trips, football games, and Sunday brunch are things that come up.  And so it is hard to build a community of people who truly know and love each other well, when not everyone is here which is what I believe makes the sacrifice of  Sunday church worth it in the end.\r\n\r\nI have to think this unique pastoral challenge of mine-- getting butts in the pews as the old saying goes-- is not so unique to my context.<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ChurchPew0018.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-1115\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ChurchPew0018-300x264.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"264\" /></a> In our over simulated, over scheduled world especially among urban dwellers, attending to our soul through church involvement is often valued by the spiritual as important, but not important enough when sleeping in on Sunday morning seems all the better for life/ work balance.\r\n\r\nOne of my favorite authors, Pearl S. Buck is known for saying, \"I don\'t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.\" Yet, without intentional committment to anything, it is our moods that drive us all day long.\r\n\r\nMaybe one day soon, I will stop depending on my mood to get me to gym more often. And maybe, person by person, from some personal intention deep within, my congregants will make an appearance in worship more often.\r\n\r\nUntil then, I\'ll keep plugging away-- pastoring with all the energy I can muster up those who <em>are</em> around. And, as I do, continuing to see coffee meeting dates at Starbucks all across my neighborhood to those for whom church community is just too much to ask them yet as an important part of my calling as a faith leader.','I Can\'t Get to Either: the Church or the Gym','','inherit','open','open','','1103-autosave','','','2011-10-24 20:49:51','2011-10-25 03:49:51','',1103,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1103-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1132,1,'2011-10-24 12:39:51','2011-10-24 19:39:51','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HomeGym21.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1114\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HomeGym21-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"173\" height=\"173\" /></a>\"Though I know the going to the gym is a good thing to do, I just can\'t make myself go as often as I would like.\"\r\n\r\nSuch was the sentiment of a conversation I shared recently with a member of my congregation\'s leadership council. And, I agreed with him. I too have the \"I can\'t make myself go to the gym syndrome.\" For as much as I know in my head that the health benefits of regular exercise long out weigh the inconvenience of finding time to schedule it in, I just can\'t seem to make myself go there as often as I know I should. Excuses are easy to come by, as they may be for several of you too.\r\n\r\nWelcome to the internal struggle within my pastoral life: a hospital visit must be made, so I can\'t go this afternoon. We might want milk for our cereal tomorrow so the grocery store might just be a more essential stop over after work other than meeting with a trainer. Catching up with tv on the couch with my husband sounds more exciting than the treadmill tonight. Or, the always appropriate and best excuse of all time: I am just tired and need sleep more. I exclaim, \"There is no way that I can go to the gym this morning.\" While even I see the gym membership fee debited out of my account month after month, not even the financial strain is enough to make this investment worth the bang for my buck.\r\n\r\nYet, as this church leader continued to talk and bonded over our lack of enough exercise, we also made a connection together that grew in me compassion for those who frequently tell me as a pastor, \"I want to come to church . . . I\'m coming this Sunday\" but then never show up.  As much as I hear these empty promises in a given month, it wears on me and frustrates my hopes for what I know a faith community can be if people simply attend.\r\n\r\nI am a pastor of a congregation that uniquely welcomes in those in whom regular church participation is new. Many of those who sit among the pews each Sunday are coming back to church again after decades and decades away for a variety of reasons but mostly because a  local church along the line hurt them by conveying the message that who they were was somehow not good enough for God.  So, when someone attends first time, likes the welcome they experience and then decides to stick around for a while, they are coming because they\'ve come to believe being a part of a faith community is good for their soul. They get that church is as good for the soul as the gym is for the body. Contrary to those for whom church attendance is part of the life and cultural rhythm in a week (with the percentages of these types decreasing all the time), those who come to <a href=\"http://www.washingtonplazachurch.com\">Washington Plaza</a> come because they have made a conscious decision to be here. But, even with this true, many only come on a every six weeks rotation basis. Out of town trips, football games, and Sunday brunch are things that come up.  And so it is hard to build a community of people who truly know and love each other well, when not everyone is here which is what I believe makes the sacrifice of  Sunday church worth it in the end.\r\n\r\nI have to think this unique pastoral challenge of mine-- getting butts in the pews as the old saying goes-- is not so unique to my context.<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ChurchPew0018.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-1115\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ChurchPew0018-300x264.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"264\" /></a> In our over simulated, over scheduled world especially among urban dwellers, attending to our soul through church involvement is often valued by the spiritual as important, but not important enough when sleeping in on Sunday morning seems all the better for life/ work balance.\r\n\r\nOne of my favorite authors, Pearl S. Buck is known for saying, \"I don\'t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.\" Yet, without intentional committment to anything, it is our moods that drive us all day long.\r\n\r\nMaybe one day soon, I will stop depending on my mood to get me to gym more often. And maybe, person by person, from some personal intention deep within, my congregants will make an appearance in worship more often.\r\n\r\nUntil then, I\'ll keep plugging away-- pastoring with all the energy I can muster up those who <em>are</em> around. And, as I do, continuing to see coffee meeting dates at Starbucks all across my neighborhood to those for whom church community is just too much to ask them yet as an important part of my calling as a faith leader.','I Can\'t Get to Either: the Church or the Gym','','inherit','open','open','','1103-revision-4','','','2011-10-24 12:39:51','2011-10-24 19:39:51','',1103,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1103-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(1131,1,'2011-10-24 20:48:34','2011-10-25 03:48:34','','Exercise_class','','inherit','open','open','','exercise_class','','','2011-10-24 20:48:34','2011-10-25 03:48:34','',1103,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Exercise_class.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(1543,1,'2011-10-30 20:21:28','2011-10-31 03:21:28','<strong>About Provoketive Magazine</strong>: In a world saturated with people shouting at each other, it\'s rare to find a place where people can engage in conversation with each other.  Provoketive Magazine hopes to change that.  We\'re creating a space of rich conversation about life, faith, justice and culture without judgment.  Our desire is to provoke the reader\'s imagination through conversation and open up spaces of dialogue, learning, and hope.\r\n\r\n<strong>Current Categories</strong>:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Life: Business, Family, Growth, Humorous, Health, Sports, Technology, Work and World</li>\r\n	<li>Faith: Spirituality, Theology, Interfaith Dialogue, Spiritual Practices, and Questions</li>\r\n	<li>Justice: Social Justice, Gender Equality, Politics and Economics</li>\r\n	<li>Culture: Movies, Books, Music, Art, Poetry and Interviews</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIf you are a writer and want to participate with us in creating this rich space of conversation, we invite you to sign up today.  Use the form below to provide the following information.  We will respond to you in 1-3 days with instructions for participation.\r\n\r\n[contact-form subject=\"Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\" to=\"jb@civitaspress.com\"] [contact-field label=\"Name\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Email\" type=\"email\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Existing Blog or Website\" type=\"url\" /] [contact-field label=\"List the topic you are interested writing about\" type=\"textarea\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Current or New Wordpress Login Name (We\\\'ll send you a password.)\" type=\"text\" required=\"true\" /] [/contact-form]','Writing For Provoketive','','inherit','open','open','','358-revision-26','','','2011-10-30 20:21:28','2011-10-31 03:21:28','',358,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/30/358-revision-26/',0,'revision','',0),(1134,1,'2011-10-25 07:34:19','2011-10-25 14:34:19','<object width=\"500\" height=\"328\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"width=500&amp;height=328&amp;video=2074770753&amp;player=viral&amp;end=0&amp;lr_admap=in:pbs:0\" /><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"wmode\" value=\"transparent\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www-tc.pbs.org/video/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed width=\"500\" height=\"328\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http://www-tc.pbs.org/video/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf\" flashvars=\"width=500&amp;height=328&amp;video=2074770753&amp;player=viral&amp;end=0&amp;lr_admap=in:pbs:0\" allowFullScreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" wmode=\"transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" /></object>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Women, War &amp; Peace</em></a>, a five-part PBS special, premieres Oct. 11, 2011. The series continues on Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. through Nov. 8.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"font-size: 11px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #808080; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 500px;\">Watch <a style=\"text-decoration: none !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; color: #4eb2fe !important;\" href=\"http://video.pbs.org/video/2074770753\" target=\"_blank\">Women, War &amp; Peace Trailer</a> on PBS. See more from <a style=\"text-decoration: none !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; color: #4eb2fe !important;\" href=\"http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/\" target=\"_blank\">Women War and Peace.</a></p>','Women, War & Peace','','publish','open','open','','women-war-peace','','','2011-10-25 07:34:19','2011-10-25 14:34:19','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1134',0,'post','',0),(1135,1,'2011-10-25 07:33:19','2011-10-25 14:33:19','','Women_War_Peace','','inherit','open','open','','women_war_peace','','','2011-10-25 07:33:19','2011-10-25 14:33:19','',1134,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Women_War_Peace.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(1136,1,'2011-10-25 07:29:59','2011-10-25 14:29:59','<object width=\"500\" height=\"328\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"width=500&amp;height=328&amp;video=2074770753&amp;player=viral&amp;end=0&amp;lr_admap=in:pbs:0\" /><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"wmode\" value=\"transparent\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www-tc.pbs.org/video/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed width=\"500\" height=\"328\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http://www-tc.pbs.org/video/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf\" flashvars=\"width=500&amp;height=328&amp;video=2074770753&amp;player=viral&amp;end=0&amp;lr_admap=in:pbs:0\" allowFullScreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" wmode=\"transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" /></object>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Women, War &amp; Peace</em></a>, a five-part PBS special, premieres Oct. 11, 2011. The series continues on Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. through Nov. 8.\n\n&nbsp;\n<p style=\"font-size: 11px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #808080; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 500px;\">Watch <a style=\"text-decoration: none !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; color: #4eb2fe !important;\" href=\"http://video.pbs.org/video/2074770753\" target=\"_blank\">Women, War &amp; Peace Trailer</a> on PBS. See more from <a style=\"text-decoration: none !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; color: #4eb2fe !important;\" href=\"http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/\" target=\"_blank\">Women War and Peace.</a></p>','Women, War & Peace','','inherit','open','open','','1134-revision','','','2011-10-25 07:29:59','2011-10-25 14:29:59','',1134,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1134-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1137,1,'2011-10-25 07:33:39','2011-10-25 14:33:39','<object width=\"500\" height=\"328\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"width=500&amp;height=328&amp;video=2074770753&amp;player=viral&amp;end=0&amp;lr_admap=in:pbs:0\" /><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"wmode\" value=\"transparent\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www-tc.pbs.org/video/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed width=\"500\" height=\"328\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http://www-tc.pbs.org/video/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf\" flashvars=\"width=500&amp;height=328&amp;video=2074770753&amp;player=viral&amp;end=0&amp;lr_admap=in:pbs:0\" allowFullScreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" wmode=\"transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" /></object>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Women, War &amp; Peace</em></a>, a five-part PBS special, premieres Oct. 11, 2011. The series continues on Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. through Nov. 8.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"font-size: 11px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #808080; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 500px;\">Watch <a style=\"text-decoration: none !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; color: #4eb2fe !important;\" href=\"http://video.pbs.org/video/2074770753\" target=\"_blank\">Women, War &amp; Peace Trailer</a> on PBS. See more from <a style=\"text-decoration: none !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; color: #4eb2fe !important;\" href=\"http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/\" target=\"_blank\">Women War and Peace.</a></p>','Women, War & Peace','','inherit','open','open','','1134-revision-2','','','2011-10-25 07:33:39','2011-10-25 14:33:39','',1134,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1134-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1138,1,'2011-10-25 07:33:44','2011-10-25 14:33:44','<object width=\"500\" height=\"328\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"width=500&amp;height=328&amp;video=2074770753&amp;player=viral&amp;end=0&amp;lr_admap=in:pbs:0\" /><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"wmode\" value=\"transparent\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www-tc.pbs.org/video/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed width=\"500\" height=\"328\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http://www-tc.pbs.org/video/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf\" flashvars=\"width=500&amp;height=328&amp;video=2074770753&amp;player=viral&amp;end=0&amp;lr_admap=in:pbs:0\" allowFullScreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" wmode=\"transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" /></object>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Women, War &amp; Peace</em></a>, a five-part PBS special, premieres Oct. 11, 2011. The series continues on Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. through Nov. 8.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"font-size: 11px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #808080; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 500px;\">Watch <a style=\"text-decoration: none !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; color: #4eb2fe !important;\" href=\"http://video.pbs.org/video/2074770753\" target=\"_blank\">Women, War &amp; Peace Trailer</a> on PBS. See more from <a style=\"text-decoration: none !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; color: #4eb2fe !important;\" href=\"http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/\" target=\"_blank\">Women War and Peace.</a></p>','Women, War & Peace','','inherit','open','open','','1134-revision-3','','','2011-10-25 07:33:44','2011-10-25 14:33:44','',1134,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1134-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1139,1,'2011-10-25 08:03:55','2011-10-25 15:03:55','<object width=\"500\" height=\"328\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"width=500&amp;height=328&amp;video=2074770753&amp;player=viral&amp;end=0&amp;lr_admap=in:pbs:0\" /><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" /><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" /><param name=\"wmode\" value=\"transparent\" /><param name=\"src\" value=\"http://www-tc.pbs.org/video/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf\" /><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" /><embed width=\"500\" height=\"328\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http://www-tc.pbs.org/video/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf\" flashvars=\"width=500&amp;height=328&amp;video=2074770753&amp;player=viral&amp;end=0&amp;lr_admap=in:pbs:0\" allowFullScreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" wmode=\"transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" /></object>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Women, War &amp; Peace</em></a>, a five-part PBS special, premieres Oct. 11, 2011. The series continues on Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. through Nov. 8.\n\n&nbsp;\n<p style=\"font-size: 11px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #808080; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 500px;\">Watch <a style=\"text-decoration: none !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; color: #4eb2fe !important;\" href=\"http://video.pbs.org/video/2074770753\" target=\"_blank\">Women, War &amp; Peace Trailer</a> on PBS. See more from <a style=\"text-decoration: none !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; color: #4eb2fe !important;\" href=\"http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/\" target=\"_blank\">Women War and Peace.</a></p>','Women, War & Peace','','inherit','open','open','','1134-autosave','','','2011-10-25 08:03:55','2011-10-25 15:03:55','',1134,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1134-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1140,0,'2011-10-25 08:56:24','2011-10-25 15:56:24','Forgiveness and loving our enemies.\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Joel Rieves\nAUTHOR EMAIL: jrieves@butnotyet.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://www.butnotyet.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 24.148.132.165\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Joel Rieves\n    [Email] =&gt; jrieves@butnotyet.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; www.butnotyet.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Forgiveness and loving our enemies.\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; joerie1\n)\n','Joel Rieves - 2011-10-25 08:56:24','','publish','open','open','','e3de1a8f676b5bd6c268fea43b8d90c8','','','2011-10-25 08:56:24','2011-10-25 15:56:24','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=1140',0,'feedback','',0),(1959,1,'2011-11-08 14:42:14','2011-11-08 22:42:14','','The NBA Locket Mess Roundup','','inherit','open','open','','1957-revision','','','2011-11-08 14:42:14','2011-11-08 22:42:14','',1957,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/08/1957-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(2595,20,'2011-11-23 09:36:50','2011-11-23 17:36:50','It seems pretty clear that the most determining fact of our existence is <em>when</em> and <em>where </em>we are born, and into what family or social class.  This makes all the difference. Obviously there are exceptions and stories of social mobility that are part and parcel of the American identity, but the vast majority of the possibilities for our lives on average are nonetheless limited or expanded by these conditions.  And almost every story you hear that defies this has a back-story that illustrates how all these divergent pieces had to come together at just the right time for that person’s “rags to riches” dream to come true.  The most significant thing about our birth though is that we have absolutely nothing to do with it.  Contemplating this truth alone can bring even the most pretentious of us to our knees before God.  Yet we take so much pride in our accomplishments and are very quick to think that what we have is earned and achieved… is somehow ours to claim – despite that the very basis of those accomplishments is grounded in something utterly contingent and beyond our control.\r\n\r\nAt the same time, it’s also common to hear people in the church admit that everything is God’s and that we are just stewards of our money, but there can be a strong dose of superficiality even in this seemingly humble statement.  In fact, this idea can very easily serve to justify doing exactly what we want with 90% of our possessions, rather than to encourage us to take our God-given <em>collective</em> responsibility seriously and to make legitimate sacrifices.  Why?  Because this statement is almost always followed by a disclaimer like, “it’s not a crime to be ‘successful’ . . . as long what I’m doing doesn’t harm anyone, or as long as I give a tithe to my church, etc.\" etc.  But is this view not oblivious to why some “have” and others “have not”?  What are the social conditions that permit us to live in relative peace and to have the chance to accumulate wealth?  What is the history that gave us access to prosperity?\r\n\r\nWith all things held constant, with “perfect competition” as economists like to say, if all of us begin with relatively equal access to opportunity, and all basic resources are available in relative plenitude, than it might just be true that to accumulate excessively is not a crime.  The complication is, no such constants exist.  The point – which is definitely not a new one – is that in today’s world, it is <em>never</em> enough to just give money away and avoid “doing harm.”  We must work to transform the societal structures that perpetuate poverty and disability in the first place.  If our standard of living is at a level such that everyone in the world could feasibly live at that same level, then our wealth might justified – as long as we are doing our part to create that kind of world.  If most or all of our charitable donations go to a church, for instance, then additionally we’d better ask what our churches are doing to build such a world.\r\n\r\nSo yes, I submit that if there are those who are oppressed and dying by no fault of their own <em>at the same time</em> that there are Christians living in the world abundantly, then this situation itself is a crime.  But here is the key: our culpability for the death and destruction going on around the world is not primarily individual in nature.  Individuals ought not be exonerated, but I am not pointing to any one prosperous person and accusing them of ill intent.  Rather, there are structural and systemic forces at work that have long histories that have led us to this particular moment.  These forces amount to more than the mere sum of their parts and take on a self-preserving life of their own at the expense of the interest of society as a whole.  Great transfers of wealth occurred during the slave trade and various European (and more recently American!) colonial conquests whose consequences are still being felt today.  Generational sins are passed down, and we come into this world already conditioned by a past with which we are not very familiar and constantly take for granted.  This shortsightedness is kind of like what the philosopher Martin Heidegger liked to call “the forgetfulness of being.”  Christians everywhere, in the U.S. especially, are suffering from a fatal case of this forgetfulness.  The lesson to be learned is this: the essence of human life is one of thorough interdependency.  The second we fail to remember this, a foolish sense of entitlement creeps in, which, I suggest, produces the single greatest blind spot in American political and economic ideology.  Consequently, the most counter-cultural imagination available to Christians in the 21st Century is one that runs directly against the current of individualism - individualism being understood here as the values of liberty and independence gone awry.\r\n\r\nNow, it should go without saying that individual responsibility and the potential weight of the choices we make can still be affirmed.  Choices matter – just not nearly as much as a lot of people think they do.  Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the choices and the options with which we are presented are all-too-often already narrowed down before they get to us.  Our horizons are anything about limitless.\r\n\r\nWe <em>are</em> our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers, and we don’t get to ask, “oh but what did you do to end up in this situation?  Did you work hard like me?”  The arrogance of this sort of question is equal to the ignorance of the sinner who says to Jesus, “but when did we see you hungry?”  Admittedly, Jesus did not seem terribly concerned about necessarily changing the power structures of his day, but he was very intent on subverting and exposing them for what they were – especially when it came to social hierarchies.  He did this every time he healed or forgave people who were unclean and who, in the eyes of society, had brought certain misfortunes upon themselves.  What we’ve learned since Jesus, however, is that human beings are capable of being transformative agents in history working toward either a more just social order or a more disparate gap between classes.  The Bible doesn’t answer all of our contemporary questions when it comes to matters of faith and practice.  It does, however, give us the foundational principles, not the least of which is to plead the case of the afflicted and needy (Jeremiah 22:16).\r\n\r\nIn sum, individualism is not just one worldview to choose from among others with neutral value.  Individualism is an inherently illusory, naïve and pernicious perspective.  We must diagnose ourselves by taking off the rose-colored glasses handed to us by unmerited privilege - with their lenses that would otherwise give the status quo the benefit of the doubt.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo Credit: Oddsock</em>','The Myth of Individualism','','inherit','open','open','','2484-revision-6','','','2011-11-23 09:36:50','2011-11-23 17:36:50','',2484,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/23/2484-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(1144,80,'2011-10-25 14:29:48','2011-10-25 21:29:48','I think it’s safe to say that I’m on the left side of things when it comes most issues, both social and religious.  I’ve certainly made no bones about that on this blog, most of the articles point to that in one way or another.  I spend a lot of time “fighting the good fight” against the forces of judgmentalism, ignorance and fear that I believe permeate fundamentalism that characterizes the religious right in America.  Because of that, I should love an article on Addicting Info posted the other day called “<a href=\"http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/10/20/the-values-of-the-christian-left/\" target=\"_blank\">The Values Of The Christian Left</a>“.  But, I didn’t.  In truth, it made me distinctly uncomfortable.  Partly because it was as judgmental and accusatory as anything I’ve read from the right and partly because I feel the author took it upon himself to speak for all of us on the left.  I’ve done the same thing myself on several occasions and thought nothing of it.  Until I saw it from someone else, I didn’t realize how it came off.  It’s not good.\r\n\r\nI don’t have a problem with the characterization of the values that are enumerated here; it’s the way they’re laid out.  Take this quote, for example: “The Christian Left follows the true teachings of Jesus as written in the Bible and believe the Christian Right has their priorities wrong. Jesus consistently advocated for the poor and the helpless over the wealthy, the powerful, and the religious. If the Christian Right actually read the Bible, they would find that it contains over 300 verses on social justice, the poor, and God’s concern for both.”  Saying that the Christian Left follows <em>what</em> <em>we believe to be </em>the true teachings of Jesus is one thing, but the way this statement is written it arbitrarily discounts what a lot of good people might believe as false.  I know a lot of people who disagree with me on how to handle the problems of the poor and the needy and I can promise you they are nowhere near as callous as this article makes them sound.\r\n\r\nThat’s not to say that there aren’t big problems with the way Americans (not just the religious right) deals with issues of social and economic justice.  We live in a nation that was founded on the principle that everyone is created equal and that everyone has the God-given rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.  The reality of the situation is that too many people are deprived of those rights due the color of the skin, the circumstance of their birth or who they choose to love.  Over the years, the United States has been transformed from a place where even the poorest of the poor could improve their station and live a good life to one where the accumulation of “stuff” reigns supreme.  And, yes, there are churches and people of faith who, knowingly and unknowingly, contribute to this situation and that needs to change.  Demonizing them doesn’t help.\r\n\r\nWe on the left are great ones for talking about loving our enemies.  We do a pretty good job of it…, as long as that enemy is a radical muslim or someone of that ilk.  Let the enemy be someone like Rick Santorum or Michelle Bachman, both avowed, fundamental Christians and things turn nasty.  Santorum’s name has been used for a rather disgusting sexual innuendo and Bachman sanity is constantly questioned.  You may believe that there is reason for both of these ideas, the fact is there’s damn little grace involved in either.  If we on the Left are going to bring about a change in the way Christianity is viewed, both here and in the rest of the world, we’re going to have change our tactics and love <em>all</em> our enemies, not just the trendy ones.','Loving All Our Enemies','','publish','open','open','','loving-all-our-enemies','','\nhttp://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/10/20/the-values-of-the-christian-left/','2011-10-25 14:29:48','2011-10-25 21:29:48','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1144',0,'post','',0),(1145,80,'2011-10-25 09:47:51','2011-10-25 16:47:51','','jesus-wept','','inherit','open','open','','jesus-wept','','','2011-10-25 09:47:51','2011-10-25 16:47:51','',1144,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/jesus-wept.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1146,80,'2011-10-25 09:55:47','2011-10-25 16:55:47','','6060130185_8540989dde','','inherit','open','open','','6060130185_8540989dde','','','2011-10-25 09:55:47','2011-10-25 16:55:47','',1144,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/6060130185_8540989dde.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1147,80,'2011-10-25 09:37:29','2011-10-25 16:37:29','I think it’s safe to say that I’m on the left side of things when it comes most issues, both social and religious.  I’ve certainly made no bones about that on this blog, most of the articles point to that in one way or another.  I spend a lot of time “fighting the good fight” against the forces of judgmentalism, ignorance and fear that I believe permeate fundamentalism that characterizes the religious right in America.  Because of that, I should love an article on Addicting Info posted the other day called “<a href=\"http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/10/20/the-values-of-the-christian-left/\" target=\"_blank\">The Values Of The Christian Left</a>“.  But, I didn’t.  In truth, it made me distinctly uncomfortable.  Partly because it was as judgmental and accusatory as anything I’ve read from the right and partly because I feel the author took it upon himself to speak for all of us on the left.  I’ve done the same thing myself on several occasions and thought nothing of it.  Until I saw it from someone else, I didn’t realize how it came off.  It’s not good.\n\nI don’t have a problem with the characterization of the values that are enumerated here; it’s the way they’re laid out.  Take this quote, for example: “The Christian Left follows the true teachings of Jesus as written in the Bible and believe the Christian Right has their priorities wrong. Jesus consistently advocated for the poor and the helpless over the wealthy, the powerful, and the religious. If the Christian Right actually read the Bible, they would find that it contains over 300 verses on social justice, the poor, and God’s concern for both.”  Saying that the Christian Left follows <em>what</em> <em>we believe to be </em>the true teachings of Jesus is one thing, but the way this statement is written it arbitrarily discounts what a lot of good people might believe as false.  I know a lot of people who disagree with me on how to handle the problems of the poor and the needy and I can promise you they are nowhere near as callous as this article makes them sound.\n\nThat’s not to say that there aren’t big problems with the way Americans (not just the religious right) deals with issues of social and economic justice.  We live in a nation that was founded on the principle that everyone is created equal and that everyone has the God-given rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.  The reality of the situation is that too many people are deprived of those rights due the color of the skin, the circumstance of their birth or who they choose to love.  Over the years, the United States has been transformed from a place where even the poorest of the poor could improve their station and live a good life to one where the accumulation of “stuff” reigns supreme.  And, yes, there are churches and people of faith who, knowingly and unknowingly, contribute to this situation and that needs to change.  Demonizing them doesn’t help.\n\nWe on the left are great ones for talking about loving our enemies.  We do a pretty good job of it…, as long as that enemy is a radical muslim or someone of that ilk.  Let the enemy be someone like Rick Santorum or Michelle Bachman, both avowed, fundamental Christians and things turn nasty.  Santorum’s name has been used for a rather disgusting sexual innuendo and Bachman sanity is constantly questioned.  You may believe that there is reason for both of these ideas, the fact is there’s damn little grace involved in either.  If we on the Left are going to bring about a change in the way Christianity is viewed, both here and in the rest of the world, we’re going to have change our tactics and love <em>all</em> our enemies, not just the trendy ones.','Loving All Our Enemies','','inherit','open','open','','1144-revision','','','2011-10-25 09:37:29','2011-10-25 16:37:29','',1144,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1144-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1276,20,'2011-10-26 15:53:08','2011-10-26 22:53:08','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  Sometimes it just feels like the air we breathe.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which societal messages are able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a common anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon now going viral?  The issue is also called materialism, but this could be a misnomer.  Material-ism implies the absolutization of the material, when in fact the lie we are fed is that the material will bring much more - happiness, fulfillment, an \"experience.\"\n\nChristians confess that there is an inherent hunger in human beings that cannot be satisfied by what the material world offers.  The human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.  This does not have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.\n\nThe most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control.  Theologian and seminary professor <a title=\"Joerg Rieger homepage\" href=\"http://www.joergrieger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Joerg Rieger</a> argues that the drive to consume is sustained by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  Moreover, Rieger contends that economic and religious desires often parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the material world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  If desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society, this process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon though for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consumption as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable - but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to addictive desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.\n<div>\n\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\n\n<div>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n</div>\n</div>','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-11','','','2011-10-26 15:53:08','2011-10-26 22:53:08','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(1149,20,'2011-10-25 11:02:57','2011-10-25 18:02:57','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who and for how much, etc.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  In our environment it’s basically the air we breathe.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.  I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this perpetual cycle, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  What seems to be less understood though is the extent to which our society is able to increasingly produce in us the insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is a common anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon?\n\nOf course Christians confess that there is an inherent hunger in people which cannot be satisfied by what the material world offers.  The human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[i]</a>  This does have to be a bad thing.  Peter Rollins has called it the God-shaped hole.  But there is another level of desire that is artificial or at least less natural.  It’s the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.  It’s akin to what Marx called fetishism and Freud later described as the surrogate object of desire.\n\nThe most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control. In his book <em>No Rising Tide</em>, Perkins School of Theology professor Joerg Rieger discusses this very question.  The drive to consume is sustained by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  Moreover, Rieger contends that economic and religious desires parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the material world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  The German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach made a similar argument in the 19<sup>th</sup> Century.\n\nAs Rieger further explains, desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society.  This process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation.  Sadly it’s not uncommon for churches to be complicit in this game – albeit sometimes in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable, but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how it happens.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians can subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.\n<div><br />\n\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\n\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref1\">[i]</a> Wolfhart Pannenberg and Duane A. Priebe, <em>What Is Man? Contemporary Anthropology in Theological Perspective.</em> (Fortress Press, 1970), 8.\n\n</div>\n</div>','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision','','','2011-10-25 11:02:57','2011-10-25 18:02:57','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1148-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1150,20,'2011-10-25 11:07:46','2011-10-25 18:07:46','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who and for how much, etc.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  In our environment it’s basically the air we breathe.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.  I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this perpetual cycle, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  What seems to be less understood though is the extent to which our society is able to increasingly produce in us the insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is a common anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon?\n\nOf course Christians confess that there is an inherent hunger in people which cannot be satisfied by what the material world offers.  The human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[i]</a>  This does have to be a bad thing.  Some people have called it the God-shaped hole.  But there is another level of desire that is more artificial or at least less natural.  It’s the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.  It’s akin to what Marx called fetishism and Freud later described as the surrogate object of desire.\n\nThe most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control. In his book <em>No Rising Tide</em>, Perkins School of Theology professor Joerg Rieger discusses this very question.  The drive to consume is sustained by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  Moreover, Rieger contends that economic and religious desires parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the material world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  The German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach made a similar argument in the 19<sup>th</sup> Century.\n\nAs Rieger further explains, desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society.  This process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation.  Sadly it’s not uncommon for churches to be complicit in this game – albeit sometimes in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable, but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how it happens.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians can subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.\n<div>\n\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\n\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref1\">[i]</a> Wolfhart Pannenberg and Duane A. Priebe, <em>What Is Man? Contemporary Anthropology in Theological Perspective.</em> (Fortress Press, 1970), 8.\n\n</div>\n</div>','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-2','','','2011-10-25 11:07:46','2011-10-25 18:07:46','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1148-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1685,47,'2011-11-06 08:00:15','2011-11-06 16:00:15','<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">My wife and I were married in March 2007.  In the months and years leading up to the wedding, one subject was discussed more frequently than money, personality quirks, or food preferences.  Parenting.  We knew that if we weren’t on the same page when it came to parenting a blended family, our relationship both as parents and spouses would suffer.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the time we were married, my daughters were 11 and 8, and her son was 5.  During the time we were dating, our relationship with the kids was, outside of normal parenting issues, relatively stress free.  However, once we were married, my daughters turned on Charlotte.  All of a sudden she and Jake were permanent members of the family and the girls realized that they would not have Dad all to themselves anymore.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This change in their behavior caught us completely off-guard.  We thought we had prepared them well for this change and included all three children as part of the wedding service to emphasize that this wedding wasn’t just about us, but them as well.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fortunately, Charlotte and I had spent many months talking about parenting styles, expectations, and even discipline standards, which lessened the chaos that ensued following the wedding.  Over the last 4+ years people have asked us for advice about parenting stepchildren and we’ve managed to distill it down into a few simple rules:</p>\r\n1. Get On The Same Page\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nothing will create stress in a marriage than two parents who are not on the same page.  Disagreements over parenting styles, discipline standards, etc., will eventually become full-blown arguments when mixed with the stress of parenting.  Be sure the two of you work out any differences before you decide to get married and become a family.</p>\r\n2. Stay United\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Children love to play one parent off the other.  This is often taken to a whole other level when either the parents are divorced or in blended families.  It is vitally important to stay united in the face of the inevitable cries of “You’re not my <em>real</em> Mom/Dad”.</p>\r\n3. Respect Is Non-Negotiable\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When parents remarry, children will automatically assume that the new adult is attempting to take the place of the other parent.  This generates a natural level of animosity between stepparent and stepchild(ren).  In our house, I’ve explained this to my girls, telling them that they don’t have to love Charlotte, they don’t even have to like her, but as the other adult in the house, they do have to respect her.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"> 4. Avoid Even The Appearance Of Favoritism</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"> It is only natural that, at times, the stepparent will favor their natural child, even unintentionally.  When these situations arise, be sure to communicate your observations in a non‑confrontational manner.  Whatever you do, <strong>do not discuss this in front of the other child(ren).</strong>  Find a time to discuss the issue later or, if this is impractical, ask the other parent to speak to you behind closed doors.  Just the appearance of favoritism can lead to resentment, not only between the stepchild(ren) and the stepparent, but between husband and wife as well.</p>\r\n5. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Above all else, keep the lines of communication open.  Give the stepchild(ren) a safe place to come and talk, respectfully, about their feelings about the stepparent.  Talk with your spouse often and ask if there’s anything that you need to discuss with your natural children.  But most of all, keep talking to each other and to the children.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Parenting in a blended family presents its own unique set of challenges.  These five simple rules are not intended to be all-inclusive, and each blended family is unique.  They are simply intended to provide a simple, stable, consistent foundation for developing healthy parent-child and parent-parent relationships.</p>','5 Simple Rules For Parenting Blended Families','','publish','open','open','','5-simple-rules-for-parenting-blended-families','','','2011-11-03 08:41:46','2011-11-03 15:41:46','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1685',0,'post','',0),(1152,64,'2011-10-27 08:00:02','2011-10-27 15:00:02','<strong>I\'ve never really </strong><strong>felt a need to </strong><strong><em>prove</em></strong><strong> that God exists</strong><strong>.  B</strong><strong>efore today</strong><strong> that is, when my tawny-headed, freckle-faced</strong><strong> son looked </strong><strong>up </strong><strong>at me with his </strong><strong>enormous</strong><strong> blue eyes</strong><strong> and cried </strong><strong><em>If God is real, </em></strong><strong><em>Mom, </em></strong><strong><em>why doesn\'t he stop all the bad stuff?  Why Mom, why?</em></strong>\r\n\r\nFeeling like I\'d been slapped hard across my face by the earnestness and veracity of his question I realized I don’t want to even touch that question.\r\n\r\nHonestly I try not to dwell on that now as I sit here with all my advantages – I enjoy my life, drinking my expensive coffee, in my warm house, sitting in my comfortable chair, at my computer that is connected 24/7 to the world.   I try not to think about my fortunate life or those that have so much less.\r\n\r\nNo I don’t want to touch those questions.  But sometimes that awareness aches inside me and makes my comfortable life <em>not -- so – comfortable.  </em>I cannot escape the world when I turn on the radio or television or get online.  <em>It is there</em> that I find out about people being <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7iDZnkn1xo\" target=\"_blank\">beheaded</a>.  Women who had <a href=\"http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011101352120/National-news/scars-that-never-heal.html\" target=\"_blank\">acid</a> poured on their face.  That going for firewood in some places in the world will get you <a href=\"http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/east/Somali-Women-Face-Rape-Sexual-Assault-as-They-Flee-Famine----126598458.html\" target=\"_blank\">raped</a> or assaulted.  Or that being born a girl is still something <a href=\"http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html\" target=\"_blank\">unwanted </a>in many places in the world.   Much less and more importantly why God put me here.  Why I am so seemingly blessed?  And others appear less so?\r\n\r\nAt other times I try not to <em>feel</em> the hardship, injustice, suffering and pain of others.  I try to not <em>be</em> in that moment because it hurts.  And it makes me angry.\r\n\r\nIt makes me angry when repeatedly I have to tell my kids to “Eat their dinner and <em>be grateful</em>!”  Reminding them how very lucky they are to have something to eat and a glass of milk to wash it down.  And when they complain that there is no desert, I won\'t remind them, again, of how much we have.\r\n\r\nI feel indignant when my extremely bright, but bored children bring home reports of below average work, and then they complain about homework.  I will not scream at them about their lost opportunities.  Should I remind them of the children in many parts of the world that will never have an opportunity to even go to school?  Probably.  Or tell them that there are kids they know at school who didn’t have dinner last night.   And when they complain about walking less than half a mile to school, should I mention the many children in our country that cannot safely walk home from school?\r\n\r\nI try not to scream inside, I really do but when I let myself see and feel the pain that leads me back to my son -- proving God exists to my son who has so much, for the question remains <strong><em>why would a good God make life so easy for us and so unbearably horrendous for so many others in the world?   </em></strong>And is it random stupid luck that my kid is healthy, smart and born into a well to do home?\r\n\r\nI have -- no-- answer for my son when he asks me to prove God exists, because what <em>kind of God would set things up like that?</em>\r\n\r\nMy son, my children, were fortunate enough to be born into a white, upper-middle class home, with a life chock full of privilege and opportunity; a life thus far lacking the violence and cruelty that so many children around the world face.  My children, for no reason of their own, have power and wealth before they have even begun their lives.  They have been given <strong><em>opportunity and responsibility.</em></strong>  I believe God intends that they do something with this power and privilege, for others.\r\n<div>\r\n\r\nGod is gentle, good and powerful.  God gave us moral freedom, the power to choose and if we like we may choose to reject him, the creator.  (Isaiah 40:11, 12)  His intent is to rescue and redeem the world by giving his son.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\nThat is the tension.  We have the freedom to choose.  To see.  To hear.  To know.  We prove<em> God exists and that he cares about the suffering in the world by <strong>seeing and speaking out about injustice and prejudice, by a knowing awareness</strong> of those that have much less and by working against poverty and hunger and need in the world.  </em>\r\n\r\n<em>By hearing the cries of those born with less we prove God actually loves</em> the world.\r\n\r\n<em>We</em> are his love.  <em>We</em> are his hands and feet. We are a part of his answer to the evil and injustice in the world.  That is the paradox.  We who have been given much ... and no, not only me, my sons and daughters, but each of us reading my words and wondering about this today – <em><strong>We are God\'s love.</strong></em>  We prove God exists by our actions, choices, by our love.\r\n\r\nAnd something beautiful arises.','Needing To Prove God Exists','','publish','open','open','','needing-to-prove-god-exists','','','2011-10-26 04:51:45','2011-10-26 11:51:45','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1152',0,'post','',1),(1153,0,'2011-10-25 12:38:28','2011-10-25 19:38:28','Thanks for the tweeted offer to write for Provoketive Magazine. Was there something specific that you were considering I contribute?\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Jennifer Vaughn\nAUTHOR EMAIL: delesmuses@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: \nSUBJECT: [Provoketive Magazine] Contact Us\nIP: 76.194.230.226\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Jennifer Vaughn\n    [Email] =&gt; delesmuses@gmail.com\n    [Comment] =&gt; Thanks for the tweeted offer to write for Provoketive Magazine. Was there something specific that you were considering I contribute?\n)\n','Jennifer Vaughn - 2011-10-25 12:38:28','','publish','open','open','','5a336eb9cf25c6ccf555c86b3b8ef067','','','2011-10-25 12:38:28','2011-10-25 19:38:28','',16,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=1153',0,'feedback','',0),(1154,64,'2011-10-25 12:45:50','2011-10-25 19:45:50','','dylan','','inherit','open','open','','dylan','','','2011-10-25 12:45:50','2011-10-25 19:45:50','',1152,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dylan.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1155,64,'2011-10-25 12:48:44','2011-10-25 19:48:44','','dylan','','inherit','open','open','','dylan-2','','','2011-10-25 12:48:44','2011-10-25 19:48:44','',1152,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dylan1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1156,64,'2011-10-25 12:49:33','2011-10-25 19:49:33','<strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dylan1.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1155\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dylan1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" /></a></strong>\n\n<strong>I\'ve never really </strong><strong>felt a need to </strong><strong><em>prove</em></strong><strong> that God exists</strong><strong>.  B</strong><strong>efore today</strong><strong> that is, when my tawny-headed, freckle-faced</strong><strong> son looked </strong><strong>up </strong><strong>at me with his </strong><strong>enormous</strong><strong> blue eyes</strong><strong> and cried </strong><strong><em>If God is real, </em></strong><strong><em>Mom, </em></strong><strong><em>why doesn\'t he stop all the bad stuff?  Why Mom, why?</em></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFeeling like I\'d been slapped hard across my face by the earnestness and veracity of his question I realized I don’t want to even touch that question.\n\nHonestly I try not to dwell on that now as I sit here with all my advantages – I enjoy my life, drinking my expensive coffee, in my warm house, sitting in my comfortable chair, at my computer that is connected 24/7 to the world.   I try not to think about my fortunate life or those that have so much less.\n\nNo I don’t want to touch those questions.  But sometimes that awareness aches inside me and makes my comfortable life <em>not -- so – comfortable.  </em>I cannot escape with world when I turn on the radio or television or get online.  <em>It is there</em> that I find out about people being <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7iDZnkn1xo\" target=\"_blank\">beheaded</a>.  Women who had <a href=\"http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011101352120/National-news/scars-that-never-heal.html\" target=\"_blank\">acid</a> poured on their face.  That going for firewood in some places in the world will get you <a href=\"http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/east/Somali-Women-Face-Rape-Sexual-Assault-as-They-Flee-Famine----126598458.html\" target=\"_blank\">raped</a> or assaulted.  Or that being born a girl is still something <a href=\"http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html\" target=\"_blank\">unwanted </a>in many places in the world.   much less and more importantly why God put me here.  Why I am so seemingly blessed?  And others appear less so?\n\nAt other times I try not to <em>feel</em> the hardship, injustice, suffering and painof others.  I try to not <em>be</em> in that moment because it hurts.  And it makes me angry.\n\nIt makes me angry when repeatedly I have to tell my kids to “Eat their dinner and <em>be grateful</em>!”  Reminding them how very lucky they are to have something to eat and a glass of milk to wash it down.  And when they complain that there is no desert, I won\'t remind them, again, of how much we have.\n\nI feel indignant when my extremely bright, but bored children bring home reports of below average work, and then they complain about homework.  I will not scream at them about their lost opportunities.  Should I remind them of the children in many parts of the world that will never have an opportunity to even go to school?  Probably.  Or tell them that there are kids they know at school who didn’t have dinner last night.   And when they complain about walking less than half a mile to school, should I mention the many children in our country that cannot safely walk home from school?\n\nI try not to scream inside, I really do but when I let myself see and feel the pain that leads me back to my son -- proving God exists to my son who has so much, for the question remains <strong><em>why would a good God make life so easy for us and so unbearably horrendous for so many others in the world?   </em></strong>And is it random stupid luck that my kids healthy, smart and born into a well to do home?\n\nI have -- no-- answer for my son when he asks me to prove God exists, because what <em>kind of God would set things up like that?</em>\n\nMy son, my children, were fortunate enough to be born into a white, upper-middle class home, with a life chock full of privilege and opportunity; a life thus far lacking the violence and cruelty that so many children around the world face.  My children, for no reason of their own, have power and wealth before they have even begun their lives.  They have been given <strong><em>opportunity and responsibility.</em></strong>  I believe God intends that they do something with this power and privilege, for others.\n<div>\n\nGod is gentle, good and powerful.  God gave us moral freedom, the power to choose and if we like we may choose to reject him, the creator.  (Isaiah 40:11, 12)  His intent is to rescue and redeem the world by giving his son.\n\n</div>\nThat is the tension.  We have the freedom to choose.  To see.  To hear.  To know.  We prove<em> God exists and that he cares about the suffering in the world by <strong>seeing and speaking out about injustice, by a knowing awareness</strong> of those that have much less and by working against poverty and hunger and need in the world.  </em>\n\n<em>By hearing the cries of those born with less we prove God actually loves</em> the world.\n\n<em>We</em> are his love.  <em>We</em> are his hands and feet. We are a part of his answer to the evil and injustice in the world.  That is the paradox.  We who have been given much ... and no, not only me, my sons and daughters, but each of us reading my words and wondering about this today – <em><strong>We are God\'s love.</strong></em>  We prove God exists by our actions, choices, by our love.\n\nAnd something beautiful arises.',' ??? needs title','','inherit','open','open','','1152-revision','','','2011-10-25 12:49:33','2011-10-25 19:49:33','',1152,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1152-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1157,64,'2011-10-25 12:49:46','2011-10-25 19:49:46','<strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dylan1.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1155\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dylan1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" /></a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>I\'ve never really </strong><strong>felt a need to </strong><strong><em>prove</em></strong><strong> that God exists</strong><strong>.  B</strong><strong>efore today</strong><strong> that is, when my tawny-headed, freckle-faced</strong><strong> son looked </strong><strong>up </strong><strong>at me with his </strong><strong>enormous</strong><strong> blue eyes</strong><strong> and cried </strong><strong><em>If God is real, </em></strong><strong><em>Mom, </em></strong><strong><em>why doesn\'t he stop all the bad stuff?  Why Mom, why?</em></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFeeling like I\'d been slapped hard across my face by the earnestness and veracity of his question I realized I don’t want to even touch that question.\r\n\r\nHonestly I try not to dwell on that now as I sit here with all my advantages – I enjoy my life, drinking my expensive coffee, in my warm house, sitting in my comfortable chair, at my computer that is connected 24/7 to the world.   I try not to think about my fortunate life or those that have so much less.\r\n\r\nNo I don’t want to touch those questions.  But sometimes that awareness aches inside me and makes my comfortable life <em>not -- so – comfortable.  </em>I cannot escape with world when I turn on the radio or television or get online.  <em>It is there</em> that I find out about people being <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7iDZnkn1xo\" target=\"_blank\">beheaded</a>.  Women who had <a href=\"http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011101352120/National-news/scars-that-never-heal.html\" target=\"_blank\">acid</a> poured on their face.  That going for firewood in some places in the world will get you <a href=\"http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/east/Somali-Women-Face-Rape-Sexual-Assault-as-They-Flee-Famine----126598458.html\" target=\"_blank\">raped</a> or assaulted.  Or that being born a girl is still something <a href=\"http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html\" target=\"_blank\">unwanted </a>in many places in the world.   much less and more importantly why God put me here.  Why I am so seemingly blessed?  And others appear less so?\r\n\r\nAt other times I try not to <em>feel</em> the hardship, injustice, suffering and painof others.  I try to not <em>be</em> in that moment because it hurts.  And it makes me angry.\r\n\r\nIt makes me angry when repeatedly I have to tell my kids to “Eat their dinner and <em>be grateful</em>!”  Reminding them how very lucky they are to have something to eat and a glass of milk to wash it down.  And when they complain that there is no desert, I won\'t remind them, again, of how much we have.\r\n\r\nI feel indignant when my extremely bright, but bored children bring home reports of below average work, and then they complain about homework.  I will not scream at them about their lost opportunities.  Should I remind them of the children in many parts of the world that will never have an opportunity to even go to school?  Probably.  Or tell them that there are kids they know at school who didn’t have dinner last night.   And when they complain about walking less than half a mile to school, should I mention the many children in our country that cannot safely walk home from school?\r\n\r\nI try not to scream inside, I really do but when I let myself see and feel the pain that leads me back to my son -- proving God exists to my son who has so much, for the question remains <strong><em>why would a good God make life so easy for us and so unbearably horrendous for so many others in the world?   </em></strong>And is it random stupid luck that my kids healthy, smart and born into a well to do home?\r\n\r\nI have -- no-- answer for my son when he asks me to prove God exists, because what <em>kind of God would set things up like that?</em>\r\n\r\nMy son, my children, were fortunate enough to be born into a white, upper-middle class home, with a life chock full of privilege and opportunity; a life thus far lacking the violence and cruelty that so many children around the world face.  My children, for no reason of their own, have power and wealth before they have even begun their lives.  They have been given <strong><em>opportunity and responsibility.</em></strong>  I believe God intends that they do something with this power and privilege, for others.\r\n<div>\r\n\r\nGod is gentle, good and powerful.  God gave us moral freedom, the power to choose and if we like we may choose to reject him, the creator.  (Isaiah 40:11, 12)  His intent is to rescue and redeem the world by giving his son.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\nThat is the tension.  We have the freedom to choose.  To see.  To hear.  To know.  We prove<em> God exists and that he cares about the suffering in the world by <strong>seeing and speaking out about injustice, by a knowing awareness</strong> of those that have much less and by working against poverty and hunger and need in the world.  </em>\r\n\r\n<em>By hearing the cries of those born with less we prove God actually loves</em> the world.\r\n\r\n<em>We</em> are his love.  <em>We</em> are his hands and feet. We are a part of his answer to the evil and injustice in the world.  That is the paradox.  We who have been given much ... and no, not only me, my sons and daughters, but each of us reading my words and wondering about this today – <em><strong>We are God\'s love.</strong></em>  We prove God exists by our actions, choices, by our love.\r\n\r\nAnd something beautiful arises.',' ??? needs title','','inherit','open','open','','1152-revision-2','','','2011-10-25 12:49:46','2011-10-25 19:49:46','',1152,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1152-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1158,1,'2011-10-25 09:59:35','2011-10-25 16:59:35','I think it’s safe to say that I’m on the left side of things when it comes most issues, both social and religious.  I’ve certainly made no bones about that on this blog, most of the articles point to that in one way or another.  I spend a lot of time “fighting the good fight” against the forces of judgmentalism, ignorance and fear that I believe permeate fundamentalism that characterizes the religious right in America.  Because of that, I should love an article on Addicting Info posted the other day called “<a href=\"http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/10/20/the-values-of-the-christian-left/\" target=\"_blank\">The Values Of The Christian Left</a>“.  But, I didn’t.  In truth, it made me distinctly uncomfortable.  Partly because it was as judgmental and accusatory as anything I’ve read from the right and partly because I feel the author took it upon himself to speak for all of us on the left.  I’ve done the same thing myself on several occasions and thought nothing of it.  Until I saw it from someone else, I didn’t realize how it came off.  It’s not good.\r\n\r\nI don’t have a problem with the characterization of the values that are enumerated here; it’s the way they’re laid out.  Take this quote, for example: “The Christian Left follows the true teachings of Jesus as written in the Bible and believe the Christian Right has their priorities wrong. Jesus consistently advocated for the poor and the helpless over the wealthy, the powerful, and the religious. If the Christian Right actually read the Bible, they would find that it contains over 300 verses on social justice, the poor, and God’s concern for both.”  Saying that the Christian Left follows <em>what</em> <em>we believe to be </em>the true teachings of Jesus is one thing, but the way this statement is written it arbitrarily discounts what a lot of good people might believe as false.  I know a lot of people who disagree with me on how to handle the problems of the poor and the needy and I can promise you they are nowhere near as callous as this article makes them sound.\r\n\r\nThat’s not to say that there aren’t big problems with the way Americans (not just the religious right) deals with issues of social and economic justice.  We live in a nation that was founded on the principle that everyone is created equal and that everyone has the God-given rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.  The reality of the situation is that too many people are deprived of those rights due the color of the skin, the circumstance of their birth or who they choose to love.  Over the years, the United States has been transformed from a place where even the poorest of the poor could improve their station and live a good life to one where the accumulation of “stuff” reigns supreme.  And, yes, there are churches and people of faith who, knowingly and unknowingly, contribute to this situation and that needs to change.  Demonizing them doesn’t help.\r\n\r\nWe on the left are great ones for talking about loving our enemies.  We do a pretty good job of it…, as long as that enemy is a radical muslim or someone of that ilk.  Let the enemy be someone like Rick Santorum or Michelle Bachman, both avowed, fundamental Christians and things turn nasty.  Santorum’s name has been used for a rather disgusting sexual innuendo and Bachman sanity is constantly questioned.  You may believe that there is reason for both of these ideas, the fact is there’s damn little grace involved in either.  If we on the Left are going to bring about a change in the way Christianity is viewed, both here and in the rest of the world, we’re going to have change our tactics and love <em>all</em> our enemies, not just the trendy ones.','Loving All Our Enemies','','inherit','open','open','','1144-revision-2','','','2011-10-25 09:59:35','2011-10-25 16:59:35','',1144,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1144-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1159,1,'2011-10-25 14:30:54','2011-10-25 21:30:54','I think it’s safe to say that I’m on the left side of things when it comes most issues, both social and religious.  I’ve certainly made no bones about that on this blog, most of the articles point to that in one way or another.  I spend a lot of time “fighting the good fight” against the forces of judgmentalism, ignorance and fear that I believe permeate fundamentalism that characterizes the religious right in America.  Because of that, I should love an article on Addicting Info posted the other day called “<a href=\"http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/10/20/the-values-of-the-christian-left/\" target=\"_blank\">The Values Of The Christian Left</a>“.  But, I didn’t.  In truth, it made me distinctly uncomfortable.  Partly because it was as judgmental and accusatory as anything I’ve read from the right and partly because I feel the author took it upon himself to speak for all of us on the left.  I’ve done the same thing myself on several occasions and thought nothing of it.  Until I saw it from someone else, I didn’t realize how it came off.  It’s not good.\n\nI don’t have a problem with the characterization of the values that are enumerated here; it’s the way they’re laid out.  Take this quote, for example: “The Christian Left follows the true teachings of Jesus as written in the Bible and believe the Christian Right has their priorities wrong. Jesus consistently advocated for the poor and the helpless over the wealthy, the powerful, and the religious. If the Christian Right actually read the Bible, they would find that it contains over 300 verses on social justice, the poor, and God’s concern for both.”  Saying that the Christian Left follows <em>what</em> <em>we believe to be </em>the true teachings of Jesus is one thing, but the way this statement is written it arbitrarily discounts what a lot of good people might believe as false.  I know a lot of people who disagree with me on how to handle the problems of the poor and the needy and I can promise you they are nowhere near as callous as this article makes them sound.\n\nThat’s not to say that there aren’t big problems with the way Americans (not just the religious right) deals with issues of social and economic justice.  We live in a nation that was founded on the principle that everyone is created equal and that everyone has the God-given rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.  The reality of the situation is that too many people are deprived of those rights due the color of the skin, the circumstance of their birth or who they choose to love.  Over the years, the United States has been transformed from a place where even the poorest of the poor could improve their station and live a good life to one where the accumulation of “stuff” reigns supreme.  And, yes, there are churches and people of faith who, knowingly and unknowingly, contribute to this situation and that needs to change.  Demonizing them doesn’t help.\n\nWe on the left are great ones for talking about loving our enemies.  We do a pretty good job of it…, as long as that enemy is a radical muslim or someone of that ilk.  Let the enemy be someone like Rick Santorum or Michelle Bachman, both avowed, fundamental Christians and things turn nasty.  Santorum’s name has been used for a rather disgusting sexual innuendo and Bachman sanity is constantly questioned.  You may believe that there is reason for both of these ideas, the fact is there’s damn little grace involved in either.  If we on the Left are going to bring about a change in the way Christianity is viewed, both here and in the rest of the world, we’re going to have change our tactics and love <em>all</em> our enemies, not just the trendy ones.','Loving All Our Enemies','','inherit','open','open','','1144-autosave','','','2011-10-25 14:30:54','2011-10-25 21:30:54','',1144,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1144-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1160,64,'2011-10-25 12:50:11','2011-10-25 19:50:11','<strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dylan1.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1155\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dylan1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" /></a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>I\'ve never really </strong><strong>felt a need to </strong><strong><em>prove</em></strong><strong> that God exists</strong><strong>.  B</strong><strong>efore today</strong><strong> that is, when my tawny-headed, freckle-faced</strong><strong> son looked </strong><strong>up </strong><strong>at me with his </strong><strong>enormous</strong><strong> blue eyes</strong><strong> and cried </strong><strong><em>If God is real, </em></strong><strong><em>Mom, </em></strong><strong><em>why doesn\'t he stop all the bad stuff?  Why Mom, why?</em></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFeeling like I\'d been slapped hard across my face by the earnestness and veracity of his question I realized I don’t want to even touch that question.\r\n\r\nHonestly I try not to dwell on that now as I sit here with all my advantages – I enjoy my life, drinking my expensive coffee, in my warm house, sitting in my comfortable chair, at my computer that is connected 24/7 to the world.   I try not to think about my fortunate life or those that have so much less.\r\n\r\nNo I don’t want to touch those questions.  But sometimes that awareness aches inside me and makes my comfortable life <em>not -- so – comfortable.  </em>I cannot escape with world when I turn on the radio or television or get online.  <em>It is there</em> that I find out about people being <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7iDZnkn1xo\" target=\"_blank\">beheaded</a>.  Women who had <a href=\"http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011101352120/National-news/scars-that-never-heal.html\" target=\"_blank\">acid</a> poured on their face.  That going for firewood in some places in the world will get you <a href=\"http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/east/Somali-Women-Face-Rape-Sexual-Assault-as-They-Flee-Famine----126598458.html\" target=\"_blank\">raped</a> or assaulted.  Or that being born a girl is still something <a href=\"http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html\" target=\"_blank\">unwanted </a>in many places in the world.   much less and more importantly why God put me here.  Why I am so seemingly blessed?  And others appear less so?\r\n\r\nAt other times I try not to <em>feel</em> the hardship, injustice, suffering and painof others.  I try to not <em>be</em> in that moment because it hurts.  And it makes me angry.\r\n\r\nIt makes me angry when repeatedly I have to tell my kids to “Eat their dinner and <em>be grateful</em>!”  Reminding them how very lucky they are to have something to eat and a glass of milk to wash it down.  And when they complain that there is no desert, I won\'t remind them, again, of how much we have.\r\n\r\nI feel indignant when my extremely bright, but bored children bring home reports of below average work, and then they complain about homework.  I will not scream at them about their lost opportunities.  Should I remind them of the children in many parts of the world that will never have an opportunity to even go to school?  Probably.  Or tell them that there are kids they know at school who didn’t have dinner last night.   And when they complain about walking less than half a mile to school, should I mention the many children in our country that cannot safely walk home from school?\r\n\r\nI try not to scream inside, I really do but when I let myself see and feel the pain that leads me back to my son -- proving God exists to my son who has so much, for the question remains <strong><em>why would a good God make life so easy for us and so unbearably horrendous for so many others in the world?   </em></strong>And is it random stupid luck that my kids healthy, smart and born into a well to do home?\r\n\r\nI have -- no-- answer for my son when he asks me to prove God exists, because what <em>kind of God would set things up like that?</em>\r\n\r\nMy son, my children, were fortunate enough to be born into a white, upper-middle class home, with a life chock full of privilege and opportunity; a life thus far lacking the violence and cruelty that so many children around the world face.  My children, for no reason of their own, have power and wealth before they have even begun their lives.  They have been given <strong><em>opportunity and responsibility.</em></strong>  I believe God intends that they do something with this power and privilege, for others.\r\n<div>\r\n\r\nGod is gentle, good and powerful.  God gave us moral freedom, the power to choose and if we like we may choose to reject him, the creator.  (Isaiah 40:11, 12)  His intent is to rescue and redeem the world by giving his son.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\nThat is the tension.  We have the freedom to choose.  To see.  To hear.  To know.  We prove<em> God exists and that he cares about the suffering in the world by <strong>seeing and speaking out about injustice, by a knowing awareness</strong> of those that have much less and by working against poverty and hunger and need in the world.  </em>\r\n\r\n<em>By hearing the cries of those born with less we prove God actually loves</em> the world.\r\n\r\n<em>We</em> are his love.  <em>We</em> are his hands and feet. We are a part of his answer to the evil and injustice in the world.  That is the paradox.  We who have been given much ... and no, not only me, my sons and daughters, but each of us reading my words and wondering about this today – <em><strong>We are God\'s love.</strong></em>  We prove God exists by our actions, choices, by our love.\r\n\r\nAnd something beautiful arises.',' ??? needs title','','inherit','open','open','','1152-revision-3','','','2011-10-25 12:50:11','2011-10-25 19:50:11','',1152,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1152-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1163,1,'2011-10-25 16:45:22','2011-10-25 23:45:22','<strong>I\'ve never really </strong><strong>felt a need to </strong><strong><em>prove</em></strong><strong> that God exists</strong><strong>.  B</strong><strong>efore today</strong><strong> that is, when my tawny-headed, freckle-faced</strong><strong> son looked </strong><strong>up </strong><strong>at me with his </strong><strong>enormous</strong><strong> blue eyes</strong><strong> and cried </strong><strong><em>If God is real, </em></strong><strong><em>Mom, </em></strong><strong><em>why doesn\'t he stop all the bad stuff?  Why Mom, why?</em></strong>\r\n\r\nFeeling like I\'d been slapped hard across my face by the earnestness and veracity of his question I realized I don’t want to even touch that question.\r\n\r\nHonestly I try not to dwell on that now as I sit here with all my advantages – I enjoy my life, drinking my expensive coffee, in my warm house, sitting in my comfortable chair, at my computer that is connected 24/7 to the world.   I try not to think about my fortunate life or those that have so much less.\r\n\r\nNo I don’t want to touch those questions.  But sometimes that awareness aches inside me and makes my comfortable life <em>not -- so – comfortable.  </em>I cannot escape the world when I turn on the radio or television or get online.  <em>It is there</em> that I find out about people being <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7iDZnkn1xo\" target=\"_blank\">beheaded</a>.  Women who had <a href=\"http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011101352120/National-news/scars-that-never-heal.html\" target=\"_blank\">acid</a> poured on their face.  That going for firewood in some places in the world will get you <a href=\"http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/east/Somali-Women-Face-Rape-Sexual-Assault-as-They-Flee-Famine----126598458.html\" target=\"_blank\">raped</a> or assaulted.  Or that being born a girl is still something <a href=\"http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html\" target=\"_blank\">unwanted </a>in many places in the world.   much less and more importantly why God put me here.  Why I am so seemingly blessed?  And others appear less so?\r\n\r\nAt other times I try not to <em>feel</em> the hardship, injustice, suffering and pain of others.  I try to not <em>be</em> in that moment because it hurts.  And it makes me angry.\r\n\r\nIt makes me angry when repeatedly I have to tell my kids to “Eat their dinner and <em>be grateful</em>!”  Reminding them how very lucky they are to have something to eat and a glass of milk to wash it down.  And when they complain that there is no desert, I won\'t remind them, again, of how much we have.\r\n\r\nI feel indignant when my extremely bright, but bored children bring home reports of below average work, and then they complain about homework.  I will not scream at them about their lost opportunities.  Should I remind them of the children in many parts of the world that will never have an opportunity to even go to school?  Probably.  Or tell them that there are kids they know at school who didn’t have dinner last night.   And when they complain about walking less than half a mile to school, should I mention the many children in our country that cannot safely walk home from school?\r\n\r\nI try not to scream inside, I really do but when I let myself see and feel the pain that leads me back to my son -- proving God exists to my son who has so much, for the question remains <strong><em>why would a good God make life so easy for us and so unbearably horrendous for so many others in the world?   </em></strong>And is it random stupid luck that my kids healthy, smart and born into a well to do home?\r\n\r\nI have -- no-- answer for my son when he asks me to prove God exists, because what <em>kind of God would set things up like that?</em>\r\n\r\nMy son, my children, were fortunate enough to be born into a white, upper-middle class home, with a life chock full of privilege and opportunity; a life thus far lacking the violence and cruelty that so many children around the world face.  My children, for no reason of their own, have power and wealth before they have even begun their lives.  They have been given <strong><em>opportunity and responsibility.</em></strong>  I believe God intends that they do something with this power and privilege, for others.\r\n<div>\r\n\r\nGod is gentle, good and powerful.  God gave us moral freedom, the power to choose and if we like we may choose to reject him, the creator.  (Isaiah 40:11, 12)  His intent is to rescue and redeem the world by giving his son.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\nThat is the tension.  We have the freedom to choose.  To see.  To hear.  To know.  We prove<em> God exists and that he cares about the suffering in the world by <strong>seeing and speaking out about injustice and prejudice, by a knowing awareness</strong> of those that have much less and by working against poverty and hunger and need in the world.  </em>\r\n\r\n<em>By hearing the cries of those born with less we prove God actually loves</em> the world.\r\n\r\n<em>We</em> are his love.  <em>We</em> are his hands and feet. We are a part of his answer to the evil and injustice in the world.  That is the paradox.  We who have been given much ... and no, not only me, my sons and daughters, but each of us reading my words and wondering about this today – <em><strong>We are God\'s love.</strong></em>  We prove God exists by our actions, choices, by our love.\r\n\r\nAnd something beautiful arises.','Needing To Prove God Exists','','inherit','open','open','','1152-revision-5','','','2011-10-25 16:45:22','2011-10-25 23:45:22','',1152,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1152-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(1161,64,'2011-10-26 04:52:49','2011-10-26 11:52:49','<strong>I\'ve never really </strong><strong>felt a need to </strong><strong><em>prove</em></strong><strong> that God exists</strong><strong>.  B</strong><strong>efore today</strong><strong> that is, when my tawny-headed, freckle-faced</strong><strong> son looked </strong><strong>up </strong><strong>at me with his </strong><strong>enormous</strong><strong> blue eyes</strong><strong> and cried </strong><strong><em>If God is real, </em></strong><strong><em>Mom, </em></strong><strong><em>why doesn\'t he stop all the bad stuff?  Why Mom, why?</em></strong>\n\nFeeling like I\'d been slapped hard across my face by the earnestness and veracity of his question I realized I don’t want to even touch that question.\n\nHonestly I try not to dwell on that now as I sit here with all my advantages – I enjoy my life, drinking my expensive coffee, in my warm house, sitting in my comfortable chair, at my computer that is connected 24/7 to the world.   I try not to think about my fortunate life or those that have so much less.\n\nNo I don’t want to touch those questions.  But sometimes that awareness aches inside me and makes my comfortable life <em>not -- so – comfortable.  </em>I cannot escape the world when I turn on the radio or television or get online.  <em>It is there</em> that I find out about people being <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7iDZnkn1xo\" target=\"_blank\">beheaded</a>.  Women who had <a href=\"http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011101352120/National-news/scars-that-never-heal.html\" target=\"_blank\">acid</a> poured on their face.  That going for firewood in some places in the world will get you <a href=\"http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/east/Somali-Women-Face-Rape-Sexual-Assault-as-They-Flee-Famine----126598458.html\" target=\"_blank\">raped</a> or assaulted.  Or that being born a girl is still something <a href=\"http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html\" target=\"_blank\">unwanted </a>in many places in the world.   Much less and more importantly why God put me here.  Why I am so seemingly blessed?  And others appear less so?\n\nAt other times I try not to <em>feel</em> the hardship, injustice, suffering and pain of others.  I try to not <em>be</em> in that moment because it hurts.  And it makes me angry.\n\nIt makes me angry when repeatedly I have to tell my kids to “Eat their dinner and <em>be grateful</em>!”  Reminding them how very lucky they are to have something to eat and a glass of milk to wash it down.  And when they complain that there is no desert, I won\'t remind them, again, of how much we have.\n\nI feel indignant when my extremely bright, but bored children bring home reports of below average work, and then they complain about homework.  I will not scream at them about their lost opportunities.  Should I remind them of the children in many parts of the world that will never have an opportunity to even go to school?  Probably.  Or tell them that there are kids they know at school who didn’t have dinner last night.   And when they complain about walking less than half a mile to school, should I mention the many children in our country that cannot safely walk home from school?\n\nI try not to scream inside, I really do but when I let myself see and feel the pain that leads me back to my son -- proving God exists to my son who has so much, for the question remains <strong><em>why would a good God make life so easy for us and so unbearably horrendous for so many others in the world?   </em></strong>And is it random stupid luck that my kid is healthy, smart and born into a well to do home?\n\nI have -- no-- answer for my son when he asks me to prove God exists, because what <em>kind of God would set things up like that?</em>\n\nMy son, my children, were fortunate enough to be born into a white, upper-middle class home, with a life chock full of privilege and opportunity; a life thus far lacking the violence and cruelty that so many children around the world face.  My children, for no reason of their own, have power and wealth before they have even begun their lives.  They have been given <strong><em>opportunity and responsibility.</em></strong>  I believe God intends that they do something with this power and privilege, for others.\n<div>\n\nGod is gentle, good and powerful.  God gave us moral freedom, the power to choose and if we like we may choose to reject him, the creator.  (Isaiah 40:11, 12)  His intent is to rescue and redeem the world by giving his son.\n\n</div>\nThat is the tension.  We have the freedom to choose.  To see.  To hear.  To know.  We prove<em> God exists and that he cares about the suffering in the world by <strong>seeing and speaking out about injustice and prejudice, by a knowing awareness</strong> of those that have much less and by working against poverty and hunger and need in the world.  </em>\n\n<em>By hearing the cries of those born with less we prove God actually loves</em> the world.\n\n<em>We</em> are his love.  <em>We</em> are his hands and feet. We are a part of his answer to the evil and injustice in the world.  That is the paradox.  We who have been given much ... and no, not only me, my sons and daughters, but each of us reading my words and wondering about this today – <em><strong>We are God\'s love.</strong></em>  We prove God exists by our actions, choices, by our love.\n\nAnd something beautiful arises.','Needing To Prove God Exists','','inherit','open','open','','1152-autosave','','','2011-10-26 04:52:49','2011-10-26 11:52:49','',1152,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1152-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1162,1,'2011-10-25 14:56:32','2011-10-25 21:56:32','<strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dylan1.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1155\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dylan1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" /></a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>I\'ve never really </strong><strong>felt a need to </strong><strong><em>prove</em></strong><strong> that God exists</strong><strong>.  B</strong><strong>efore today</strong><strong> that is, when my tawny-headed, freckle-faced</strong><strong> son looked </strong><strong>up </strong><strong>at me with his </strong><strong>enormous</strong><strong> blue eyes</strong><strong> and cried </strong><strong><em>If God is real, </em></strong><strong><em>Mom, </em></strong><strong><em>why doesn\'t he stop all the bad stuff?  Why Mom, why?</em></strong>\r\n\r\nFeeling like I\'d been slapped hard across my face by the earnestness and veracity of his question I realized I don’t want to even touch that question.\r\n\r\nHonestly I try not to dwell on that now as I sit here with all my advantages – I enjoy my life, drinking my expensive coffee, in my warm house, sitting in my comfortable chair, at my computer that is connected 24/7 to the world.   I try not to think about my fortunate life or those that have so much less.\r\n\r\nNo I don’t want to touch those questions.  But sometimes that awareness aches inside me and makes my comfortable life <em>not -- so – comfortable.  </em>I cannot escape the world when I turn on the radio or television or get online.  <em>It is there</em> that I find out about people being <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7iDZnkn1xo\" target=\"_blank\">beheaded</a>.  Women who had <a href=\"http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011101352120/National-news/scars-that-never-heal.html\" target=\"_blank\">acid</a> poured on their face.  That going for firewood in some places in the world will get you <a href=\"http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/east/Somali-Women-Face-Rape-Sexual-Assault-as-They-Flee-Famine----126598458.html\" target=\"_blank\">raped</a> or assaulted.  Or that being born a girl is still something <a href=\"http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html\" target=\"_blank\">unwanted </a>in many places in the world.   much less and more importantly why God put me here.  Why I am so seemingly blessed?  And others appear less so?\r\n\r\nAt other times I try not to <em>feel</em> the hardship, injustice, suffering and painof others.  I try to not <em>be</em> in that moment because it hurts.  And it makes me angry.\r\n\r\nIt makes me angry when repeatedly I have to tell my kids to “Eat their dinner and <em>be grateful</em>!”  Reminding them how very lucky they are to have something to eat and a glass of milk to wash it down.  And when they complain that there is no desert, I won\'t remind them, again, of how much we have.\r\n\r\nI feel indignant when my extremely bright, but bored children bring home reports of below average work, and then they complain about homework.  I will not scream at them about their lost opportunities.  Should I remind them of the children in many parts of the world that will never have an opportunity to even go to school?  Probably.  Or tell them that there are kids they know at school who didn’t have dinner last night.   And when they complain about walking less than half a mile to school, should I mention the many children in our country that cannot safely walk home from school?\r\n\r\nI try not to scream inside, I really do but when I let myself see and feel the pain that leads me back to my son -- proving God exists to my son who has so much, for the question remains <strong><em>why would a good God make life so easy for us and so unbearably horrendous for so many others in the world?   </em></strong>And is it random stupid luck that my kids healthy, smart and born into a well to do home?\r\n\r\nI have -- no-- answer for my son when he asks me to prove God exists, because what <em>kind of God would set things up like that?</em>\r\n\r\nMy son, my children, were fortunate enough to be born into a white, upper-middle class home, with a life chock full of privilege and opportunity; a life thus far lacking the violence and cruelty that so many children around the world face.  My children, for no reason of their own, have power and wealth before they have even begun their lives.  They have been given <strong><em>opportunity and responsibility.</em></strong>  I believe God intends that they do something with this power and privilege, for others.\r\n<div>\r\n\r\nGod is gentle, good and powerful.  God gave us moral freedom, the power to choose and if we like we may choose to reject him, the creator.  (Isaiah 40:11, 12)  His intent is to rescue and redeem the world by giving his son.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\nThat is the tension.  We have the freedom to choose.  To see.  To hear.  To know.  We prove<em> God exists and that he cares about the suffering in the world by <strong>seeing and speaking out about injustice and prejudice, by a knowing awareness</strong> of those that have much less and by working against poverty and hunger and need in the world.  </em>\r\n\r\n<em>By hearing the cries of those born with less we prove God actually loves</em> the world.\r\n\r\n<em>We</em> are his love.  <em>We</em> are his hands and feet. We are a part of his answer to the evil and injustice in the world.  That is the paradox.  We who have been given much ... and no, not only me, my sons and daughters, but each of us reading my words and wondering about this today – <em><strong>We are God\'s love.</strong></em>  We prove God exists by our actions, choices, by our love.\r\n\r\nAnd something beautiful arises.',' ??? needs title','','inherit','open','open','','1152-revision-4','','','2011-10-25 14:56:32','2011-10-25 21:56:32','',1152,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1152-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(1164,24,'2011-10-25 17:50:28','2011-10-26 00:50:28','Pain invited my ear, \"Listen to me, for I have knowledge of Truth hidden in what you fear.\"\n\nFear roared, \"Do not look or listen to pain, it will only lead you to more discomfort!\"\n\nLove whispered, \"Go into this pain, it is safe. You will only discover more to love.\"\n\nShame whimpered, \"Remember everything that has happened to you, everyone despises you. This will not work.\"\n\nCourage invoked, \"All fear is an illusion, walk straight ahead!\"\n\nPride demanded, \"You have everything you need already, this is a waste of time.\"\n\nEver notice how throughout a day what you are  feeling will interpret reality for you. As you follow these feelings they usually lead you to thoughts. These thought are ideas about your self, others and how life is playing out. Few questions these thoughts, few face the idea\'s of being separate, alone and unwanted. We tend to settle for a hope of one day getting what we want so we can be happy.\n\nWhat would life be like if we embraced all of it? What would like be like if we stopped avoiding pain and ran into what we have been taught to fear.\n\nWhy do we stop going to the gym? Because we no longer engage with the benefits the pain brings us. This benefit is strength.\nWhy do we fear the dentist? His cleaning, shots and drilling give our teeth longevity.\nWhy do we fear conflict or confrontation with people? Will it not expose the lies and assumptions we hide behind\n\nWHY BADSTUFF HAPPENS\n<em>by Elsa Joy Bailey</em>\n\nIf it weren\'t for my beautiful sad mother\ndrinking a beaker of cold cyanide when I was three,\nI wouldn\'t have learned\nshe could both love and abandon me\nin one hot severe breath.\nNor would I have grown flowers in my heart\nfor people who urgently want to die.\n\nIf I had not broken my leg in a wild fall,\nI wouldn\'t have learned that stark physical pain\nis, to my great surprise, not permanent.\n\nIf I hadn\'t fallen in love with someone\nwho didn\'t love me,\nI would never have realized that unrequited love\nis still an ecstatic dance of the heart.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered praise and blame,\nsuccess and failure, heat and cold, darkness and light,\nblows and kisses, pain and bliss,\nnever would I have found out that through it all\nthere is a Spirit within me\nwhich remains unceasingly alive and loving.\n\nIf I hadn\'t received the gift of knowing you,\nI would not have come to realise\nthat our stories are different in details,\nbut never in essence.\n\nIf I hadn\'t lived through an era of hurting\nI would never have met the miracle\nof being fed with kindness by a friend.\n\nIf I hadn\'t discovered that you and I\nare two threads in the same vast cloth,\nI would have remained forever lost and imprisoned\nin my separate universe.\n\nIf I hadn\'t seen both good and evil\noccupying space in the same event,\nI would never have met the hand of humour\npainting over these polarities\nwith new clarity and light.\n\nIf I hadn\'t wept a thousand tears\nover the loss of a beloved,\nI would never have been driven inward\nto find the eternal companion,\nmy Soul.\n\nIf I had not witnessed cruelty\nand man\'s inhumanity to man,\nI would not have been forced to look\nbeneath the ugliness of fear,\nand encounter the common Heart\nthat lies beneath it.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered our myriad differences,\nI would never have discovered that you and I\nare not two,\nbut infinite sparks of love ever arising\nfrom one indestructible Flame.\n\nAnd if I hadn\'t felt abandoned and heartsick,\nI would never have heard the wordless whisper\nof an abiding, unseeable Friend,\nwho translated the feeling of alone\ninto All One.','Pain A Wonderful Teacher','','inherit','open','open','','843-revision-7','','','2011-10-25 17:50:28','2011-10-26 00:50:28','',843,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/843-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(1165,24,'2011-10-25 17:52:21','2011-10-26 00:52:21','Pain invited my ear, \"Listen to me, for I have knowledge of Truth hidden in what you fear.\"\n\nFear roared, \"Do not look or listen to pain, it will only lead you to more discomfort!\"\n\nLove whispered, \"Go into this pain, it is safe. You will only discover more to love.\"\n\nShame whimpered, \"Remember everything that has happened to you, everyone despises you. This will not work.\"\n\nCourage invoked, \"All fear is an illusion, walk straight ahead!\"\n\nPride demanded, \"You have everything you need already, this is a waste of time.\"\n\nEver notice how throughout a day what you are  feeling will interpret reality for you. As you follow these feelings they usually lead you to thoughts. These thought are ideas about your self, others and how life is playing out. Few questions these thoughts, few face the idea\'s of being separate, alone and unwanted. We tend to settle for a hope of one day getting what we want so we can be happy.\n\n<strong>What would life be like if we embraced all of it? What would like be like if we stopped avoiding pain and ran into what we have been taught to fear.</strong>\n\nWhy do we stop going to the gym? Because we no longer engage with the benefits the pain brings us. This benefit is strength.\nWhy do we fear the dentist? His cleaning, shots and drilling give our teeth longevity.\nWhy do we fear conflict or confrontation with people? Will it not expose the lies and assumptions we hide behind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>WHY BADSTUFF HAPPENS</strong>\n<em>by Elsa Joy Bailey</em>\n\nIf it weren\'t for my beautiful sad mother\ndrinking a beaker of cold cyanide when I was three,\nI wouldn\'t have learned\nshe could both love and abandon me\nin one hot severe breath.\nNor would I have grown flowers in my heart\nfor people who urgently want to die.\n\nIf I had not broken my leg in a wild fall,\nI wouldn\'t have learned that stark physical pain\nis, to my great surprise, not permanent.\n\nIf I hadn\'t fallen in love with someone\nwho didn\'t love me,\nI would never have realized that unrequited love\nis still an ecstatic dance of the heart.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered praise and blame,\nsuccess and failure, heat and cold, darkness and light,\nblows and kisses, pain and bliss,\nnever would I have found out that through it all\nthere is a Spirit within me\nwhich remains unceasingly alive and loving.\n\nIf I hadn\'t received the gift of knowing you,\nI would not have come to realise\nthat our stories are different in details,\nbut never in essence.\n\nIf I hadn\'t lived through an era of hurting\nI would never have met the miracle\nof being fed with kindness by a friend.\n\nIf I hadn\'t discovered that you and I\nare two threads in the same vast cloth,\nI would have remained forever lost and imprisoned\nin my separate universe.\n\nIf I hadn\'t seen both good and evil\noccupying space in the same event,\nI would never have met the hand of humour\npainting over these polarities\nwith new clarity and light.\n\nIf I hadn\'t wept a thousand tears\nover the loss of a beloved,\nI would never have been driven inward\nto find the eternal companion,\nmy Soul.\n\nIf I had not witnessed cruelty\nand man\'s inhumanity to man,\nI would not have been forced to look\nbeneath the ugliness of fear,\nand encounter the common Heart\nthat lies beneath it.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered our myriad differences,\nI would never have discovered that you and I\nare not two,\nbut infinite sparks of love ever arising\nfrom one indestructible Flame.\n\nAnd if I hadn\'t felt abandoned and heartsick,\nI would never have heard the wordless whisper\nof an abiding, unseeable Friend,\nwho translated the feeling of alone\ninto All One.','Pain ','','inherit','open','open','','843-revision-8','','','2011-10-25 17:52:21','2011-10-26 00:52:21','',843,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/843-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(1166,24,'2011-10-25 18:00:16','2011-10-26 01:00:16','Pain invited my ear, \"Listen to me, for I have knowledge of Truth hidden in what you fear.\"\n\nFear roared, \"Do not look or listen to pain, it will only lead you to more discomfort!\"\n\nLove whispered, \"Go into this pain, it is safe. You will only discover more to love.\"\n\nShame whimpered, \"Remember everything that has happened to you, everyone despises you. This will not work.\"\n\nCourage invoked, \"All fear is an illusion, walk straight ahead!\"\n\nPride demanded, \"You have everything you need already, this is a waste of time.\"\n\nEver notice how throughout a day what you are  feeling will interpret reality for you. As you follow these feelings they usually lead you to thoughts. These thought are ideas about your self, others and how life is playing out. Few questions these thoughts, few face the idea\'s of being separate, alone and unwanted. We tend to settle for a hope of one day getting what we want so we can be happy.\n\n<strong>What would life be like if we embraced all of it? What would like be like if we stopped avoiding pain and ran into what we have been taught to fear.</strong>\n\nWhy do we stop going to the gym? Because we no longer engage with the benefits the pain brings us. This benefit is strength.\nWhy do we fear the dentist? His cleaning, shots and drilling give our teeth longevity.\nWhy do we fear conflict or confrontation with people? Will it not expose the lies and assumptions we hide behind.\n\n<strong>SEARCHING IN THE WRONG PLACE</strong>\n\nA neighbour found Jon on hands and knees.\n“What are you searching for Jon?” “My key.”\nBoth men got on their knees to search.\nAfter a while the neighbor says, “Where did you lose it?”\n“At home.”\n“Good Lord! Then why are you searching here?”\n“Because it’s brighter here.”\n\nSearch for Love where you lost it.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>WHY BADSTUFF HAPPENS</strong>\n<em>by Elsa Joy Bailey</em>\n\nIf it weren\'t for my beautiful sad mother\ndrinking a beaker of cold cyanide when I was three,\nI wouldn\'t have learned\nshe could both love and abandon me\nin one hot severe breath.\nNor would I have grown flowers in my heart\nfor people who urgently want to die.\n\nIf I had not broken my leg in a wild fall,\nI wouldn\'t have learned that stark physical pain\nis, to my great surprise, not permanent.\n\nIf I hadn\'t fallen in love with someone\nwho didn\'t love me,\nI would never have realized that unrequited love\nis still an ecstatic dance of the heart.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered praise and blame,\nsuccess and failure, heat and cold, darkness and light,\nblows and kisses, pain and bliss,\nnever would I have found out that through it all\nthere is a Spirit within me\nwhich remains unceasingly alive and loving.\n\nIf I hadn\'t received the gift of knowing you,\nI would not have come to realise\nthat our stories are different in details,\nbut never in essence.\n\nIf I hadn\'t lived through an era of hurting\nI would never have met the miracle\nof being fed with kindness by a friend.\n\nIf I hadn\'t discovered that you and I\nare two threads in the same vast cloth,\nI would have remained forever lost and imprisoned\nin my separate universe.\n\nIf I hadn\'t seen both good and evil\noccupying space in the same event,\nI would never have met the hand of humour\npainting over these polarities\nwith new clarity and light.\n\nIf I hadn\'t wept a thousand tears\nover the loss of a beloved,\nI would never have been driven inward\nto find the eternal companion,\nmy Soul.\n\nIf I had not witnessed cruelty\nand man\'s inhumanity to man,\nI would not have been forced to look\nbeneath the ugliness of fear,\nand encounter the common Heart\nthat lies beneath it.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered our myriad differences,\nI would never have discovered that you and I\nare not two,\nbut infinite sparks of love ever arising\nfrom one indestructible Flame.\n\nAnd if I hadn\'t felt abandoned and heartsick,\nI would never have heard the wordless whisper\nof an abiding, unseeable Friend,\nwho translated the feeling of alone\ninto All One.','Pain demands an answer','','inherit','open','open','','843-revision-9','','','2011-10-25 18:00:16','2011-10-26 01:00:16','',843,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/843-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(1169,24,'2011-10-25 18:05:35','2011-10-26 01:05:35','Pain invited my ear, \"Listen to me, for I have knowledge of Truth hidden in what you fear.\"\n\nFear roared, \"Do not look or listen to pain, it will only lead you to more discomfort!\"\n\nLove whispered, \"Go into this pain, it is safe. You will only discover more to love.\"\n\nShame whimpered, \"Remember everything that has happened to you, everyone despises you. This will not work.\"\n\nCourage invoked, \"All fear is an illusion, walk straight ahead!\"\n\nPride demanded, \"You have everything you need already, this is a waste of time.\"\n\nEver notice how throughout a day what you are  feeling will interpret reality for you. As you follow these feelings they usually lead you to thoughts. These thought are ideas about your self, others and how life is playing out. Few questions these thoughts, few face the idea\'s of being separate, alone and unwanted. We tend to settle for a hope of one day getting what we want so we can be happy.\n\n<strong>What would life be like if we embraced all of it? What would like be like if we stopped avoiding pain and ran into what we have been taught to fear.</strong>\n\nWhy do we stop going to the gym? Because we no longer engage with the benefits the pain brings us. This benefit is strength.\nWhy do we fear the dentist? His cleaning, shots and drilling give our teeth longevity.\nWhy do we fear conflict or confrontation with people? Will it not expose the lies and assumptions we hide behind.\n\n<strong>SEARCHING IN THE WRONG PLACE</strong>\n\nA neighbour found Jon on hands and knees.\n“What are you searching for Jon?” “My key.”\nBoth men got on their knees to search.\nAfter a while the neighbor says, “Where did you lose it?”\n“At home.”\n“Good Lord! Then why are you searching here?”\n“Because it’s brighter here.”\n\nSearch for Love where you lost it. Where did you learn to stop loving yourself? Where did you learn that what you did was not good enough? Who told you that you were worthless, meaningless and annoying? Let anger come up, let grief stay for a while, let all the dires to get love from someoene out there smack you in the face with the reality that it has not worked.\n\nThe key to Love is where you left it. Until you have the courage and the company of people around you who are willing to let you fall apart, breakdown and give up on all of it, you will never experience the Life Jesus spoke from.\n\nThe next time you find yourself in a painful situation, instead of looking for a way out, face this pain, welcome it and allow yourself to feel it deeply. Perhaps it will lead you to a dark place where what you have forgotten about what is you are is hidden.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>WHY BADSTUFF HAPPENS</strong>\n<em>by Elsa Joy Bailey</em>\n\nIf it weren\'t for my beautiful sad mother\ndrinking a beaker of cold cyanide when I was three,\nI wouldn\'t have learned\nshe could both love and abandon me\nin one hot severe breath.\nNor would I have grown flowers in my heart\nfor people who urgently want to die.\n\nIf I had not broken my leg in a wild fall,\nI wouldn\'t have learned that stark physical pain\nis, to my great surprise, not permanent.\n\nIf I hadn\'t fallen in love with someone\nwho didn\'t love me,\nI would never have realized that unrequited love\nis still an ecstatic dance of the heart.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered praise and blame,\nsuccess and failure, heat and cold, darkness and light,\nblows and kisses, pain and bliss,\nnever would I have found out that through it all\nthere is a Spirit within me\nwhich remains unceasingly alive and loving.\n\nIf I hadn\'t received the gift of knowing you,\nI would not have come to realise\nthat our stories are different in details,\nbut never in essence.\n\nIf I hadn\'t lived through an era of hurting\nI would never have met the miracle\nof being fed with kindness by a friend.\n\nIf I hadn\'t discovered that you and I\nare two threads in the same vast cloth,\nI would have remained forever lost and imprisoned\nin my separate universe.\n\nIf I hadn\'t seen both good and evil\noccupying space in the same event,\nI would never have met the hand of humour\npainting over these polarities\nwith new clarity and light.\n\nIf I hadn\'t wept a thousand tears\nover the loss of a beloved,\nI would never have been driven inward\nto find the eternal companion,\nmy Soul.\n\nIf I had not witnessed cruelty\nand man\'s inhumanity to man,\nI would not have been forced to look\nbeneath the ugliness of fear,\nand encounter the common Heart\nthat lies beneath it.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered our myriad differences,\nI would never have discovered that you and I\nare not two,\nbut infinite sparks of love ever arising\nfrom one indestructible Flame.\n\nAnd if I hadn\'t felt abandoned and heartsick,\nI would never have heard the wordless whisper\nof an abiding, unseeable Friend,\nwho translated the feeling of alone\ninto All One.','Pain demands an answer','','inherit','open','open','','843-revision-10','','','2011-10-25 18:05:35','2011-10-26 01:05:35','',843,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/843-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(1170,24,'2011-10-25 18:10:27','2011-10-26 01:10:27','Pain invited my ear, \"Listen to me, for I have knowledge of Truth hidden in what you fear.\"\n\nFear roared, \"Do not look or listen to pain, it will only lead you to more discomfort!\"\n\nLove whispered, \"Go into this pain, it is safe. You will only discover more to love.\"\n\nShame whimpered, \"Remember everything that has happened to you, everyone despises you. This will not work.\"\n\nCourage invoked, \"All fear is an illusion, walk straight ahead!\"\n\nPride demanded, \"You have everything you need already, this is a waste of time.\"\n\nEver notice how throughout a day what you are  feeling will interpret reality for you. As you follow these feelings they usually lead you to thoughts. These thought are ideas about your self, others and how life is playing out. Few questions these thoughts, few face the idea\'s of being separate, alone and unwanted. We tend to settle for a hope of one day getting what we want so we can be happy.\n\n<strong>What would life be like if we embraced all of it? What would we be like if we stopped avoiding pain and ran into what we have been taught to fear.</strong>\n\nWhy do we stop going to the gym? Because we no longer engage with the benefits the pain brings us. This benefit is strength.\nWhy do we fear the dentist? His cleaning, shots and drilling give our teeth longevity.\nWhy do we fear conflict or confrontation with people? Will it not expose the lies and assumptions we hide behind.\n\n<strong>SEARCHING IN THE WRONG PLACE</strong>\n\nA neighbour found Jon on hands and knees.\n“What are you searching for Jon?” “My key.”\nBoth men got on their knees to search.\nAfter a while the neighbor says, “Where did you lose it?”\n“At home.”\n“Good Lord! Then why are you searching here?”\n“Because it’s brighter here.”\n\nSearch for Love where you lost it. Where did you learn to stop loving yourself? Where did you learn that what you did was not good enough? Who told you that you were worthless, meaningless and annoying? Let anger come up, let grief stay for a while, let all the dires to get love from someoene out there smack you in the face with the reality that it has not worked.\n\nThe key to Love is where you left it. Until you have the courage and the company of people around you who are willing to let you fall apart, breakdown and give up on all of it, you will never experience the Life Jesus spoke from.\n\nThe next time you find yourself in a painful situation, instead of looking for a way out, face this pain, welcome it and allow yourself to feel it deeply. Perhaps it will lead you to a dark place where what you have forgotten about what is you are is hidden.\n\n<strong>WHY BADSTUFF HAPPENS\n</strong><em>by Elsa Joy Bailey</em>\n\nIf it weren\'t for my beautiful sad mother\ndrinking a beaker of cold cyanide when I was three,\nI wouldn\'t have learned\nshe could both love and abandon me\nin one hot severe breath.\nNor would I have grown flowers in my heart\nfor people who urgently want to die.\n\nIf I had not broken my leg in a wild fall,\nI wouldn\'t have learned that stark physical pain\nis, to my great surprise, not permanent.\n\nIf I hadn\'t fallen in love with someone\nwho didn\'t love me,\nI would never have realized that unrequited love\nis still an ecstatic dance of the heart.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered praise and blame,\nsuccess and failure, heat and cold, darkness and light,\nblows and kisses, pain and bliss,\nnever would I have found out that through it all\nthere is a Spirit within me\nwhich remains unceasingly alive and loving.\n\nIf I hadn\'t received the gift of knowing you,\nI would not have come to realise\nthat our stories are different in details,\nbut never in essence.\n\nIf I hadn\'t lived through an era of hurting\nI would never have met the miracle\nof being fed with kindness by a friend.\n\nIf I hadn\'t discovered that you and I\nare two threads in the same vast cloth,\nI would have remained forever lost and imprisoned\nin my separate universe.\n\nIf I hadn\'t seen both good and evil\noccupying space in the same event,\nI would never have met the hand of humour\npainting over these polarities\nwith new clarity and light.\n\nIf I hadn\'t wept a thousand tears\nover the loss of a beloved,\nI would never have been driven inward\nto find the eternal companion,\nmy Soul.\n\nIf I had not witnessed cruelty\nand man\'s inhumanity to man,\nI would not have been forced to look\nbeneath the ugliness of fear,\nand encounter the common Heart\nthat lies beneath it.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered our myriad differences,\nI would never have discovered that you and I\nare not two,\nbut infinite sparks of love ever arising\nfrom one indestructible Flame.\n\nAnd if I hadn\'t felt abandoned and heartsick,\nI would never have heard the wordless whisper\nof an abiding, unseeable Friend,\nwho translated the feeling of alone\ninto All One.','Pain demands an answer','','inherit','open','open','','843-revision-11','','','2011-10-25 18:10:27','2011-10-26 01:10:27','',843,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/843-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(1171,24,'2011-10-25 18:18:08','2011-10-26 01:18:08','','pain1','','inherit','open','open','','pain1','','','2011-10-25 18:18:08','2011-10-26 01:18:08','',843,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pain1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1173,24,'2011-10-25 18:19:27','2011-10-26 01:19:27','Pain invited my ear, \"Listen to me, for I have knowledge of Truth hidden in what you fear.\"\n\nFear roared, \"Do not look or listen to pain, it will only lead you to more discomfort!\"\n\nLove whispered, \"Go into this pain, it is safe. You will only discover more to love.\"\n\nShame whimpered, \"Remember everything that has happened to you, everyone despises you. This will not work.\"\n\nCourage invoked, \"All fear is an illusion, walk straight ahead!\"\n\nPride demanded, \"You have everything you need already, this is a waste of time.\"\n\nEver notice how throughout a day what you are  feeling will interpret reality for you. As you follow these feelings they usually lead you to thoughts. These thought are ideas about your self, others and how life is playing out. Few questions these thoughts, few face the idea\'s of being separate, alone and unwanted. We tend to settle for a hope of one day getting what we want so we can be happy.\n\n<strong>What would life be like if we embraced all of it? What would we be like if we stopped avoiding pain and ran into what we have been taught to fear.</strong>\n\nWhy do we stop going to the gym? Because we no longer engage with the benefits the pain brings us. This benefit is strength.\nWhy do we fear the dentist? His cleaning, shots and drilling give our teeth longevity.\nWhy do we fear conflict or confrontation with people? Will it not expose the lies and assumptions we hide behind.\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pain1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-1171\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pain1-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" /></a>SEARCHING IN THE WRONG PLACE</strong>\n\nA neighbour found Jon on hands and knees.\n“What are you searching for Jon?” “My key.”\nBoth men got on their knees to search.\nAfter a while the neighbor says, “Where did you lose it?”\n“At home.”\n“Good Lord! Then why are you searching here?”\n“Because it’s brighter here.”\n\nSearch for Love where you lost it. Where did you learn to stop loving yourself? Where did you learn that what you did was not good enough? Who told you that you were worthless, meaningless and annoying? Let anger come up, let grief stay for a while, let all the dires to get love from someoene out there smack you in the face with the reality that it has not worked.\n\nThe key to Love is where you left it. Until you have the courage and the company of people around you who are willing to let you fall apart, breakdown and give up on all of it, you will never experience the Life Jesus spoke from.\n\nThe next time you find yourself in a painful situation, instead of looking for a way out, face this pain, welcome it and allow yourself to feel it deeply. Perhaps it will lead you to a dark place where what you have forgotten about what is you are is hidden.\n\n<strong>WHY BADSTUFF HAPPENS\n</strong><em>by Elsa Joy Bailey</em>\n\nIf it weren\'t for my beautiful sad mother\ndrinking a beaker of cold cyanide when I was three,\nI wouldn\'t have learned\nshe could both love and abandon me\nin one hot severe breath.\nNor would I have grown flowers in my heart\nfor people who urgently want to die.\n\nIf I had not broken my leg in a wild fall,\nI wouldn\'t have learned that stark physical pain\nis, to my great surprise, not permanent.\n\nIf I hadn\'t fallen in love with someone\nwho didn\'t love me,\nI would never have realized that unrequited love\nis still an ecstatic dance of the heart.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered praise and blame,\nsuccess and failure, heat and cold, darkness and light,\nblows and kisses, pain and bliss,\nnever would I have found out that through it all\nthere is a Spirit within me\nwhich remains unceasingly alive and loving.\n\nIf I hadn\'t received the gift of knowing you,\nI would not have come to realise\nthat our stories are different in details,\nbut never in essence.\n\nIf I hadn\'t lived through an era of hurting\nI would never have met the miracle\nof being fed with kindness by a friend.\n\nIf I hadn\'t discovered that you and I\nare two threads in the same vast cloth,\nI would have remained forever lost and imprisoned\nin my separate universe.\n\nIf I hadn\'t seen both good and evil\noccupying space in the same event,\nI would never have met the hand of humour\npainting over these polarities\nwith new clarity and light.\n\nIf I hadn\'t wept a thousand tears\nover the loss of a beloved,\nI would never have been driven inward\nto find the eternal companion,\nmy Soul.\n\nIf I had not witnessed cruelty\nand man\'s inhumanity to man,\nI would not have been forced to look\nbeneath the ugliness of fear,\nand encounter the common Heart\nthat lies beneath it.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered our myriad differences,\nI would never have discovered that you and I\nare not two,\nbut infinite sparks of love ever arising\nfrom one indestructible Flame.\n\nAnd if I hadn\'t felt abandoned and heartsick,\nI would never have heard the wordless whisper\nof an abiding, unseeable Friend,\nwho translated the feeling of alone\ninto All One.','Pain demands an answer','','inherit','open','open','','843-revision-13','','','2011-10-25 18:19:27','2011-10-26 01:19:27','',843,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/843-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(1172,24,'2011-10-25 18:11:40','2011-10-26 01:11:40','Pain invited my ear, \"Listen to me, for I have knowledge of Truth hidden in what you fear.\"\n\nFear roared, \"Do not look or listen to pain, it will only lead you to more discomfort!\"\n\nLove whispered, \"Go into this pain, it is safe. You will only discover more to love.\"\n\nShame whimpered, \"Remember everything that has happened to you, everyone despises you. This will not work.\"\n\nCourage invoked, \"All fear is an illusion, walk straight ahead!\"\n\nPride demanded, \"You have everything you need already, this is a waste of time.\"\n\nEver notice how throughout a day what you are  feeling will interpret reality for you. As you follow these feelings they usually lead you to thoughts. These thought are ideas about your self, others and how life is playing out. Few questions these thoughts, few face the idea\'s of being separate, alone and unwanted. We tend to settle for a hope of one day getting what we want so we can be happy.\n\n<strong>What would life be like if we embraced all of it? What would we be like if we stopped avoiding pain and ran into what we have been taught to fear.</strong>\n\nWhy do we stop going to the gym? Because we no longer engage with the benefits the pain brings us. This benefit is strength.\nWhy do we fear the dentist? His cleaning, shots and drilling give our teeth longevity.\nWhy do we fear conflict or confrontation with people? Will it not expose the lies and assumptions we hide behind.\n\n<strong>SEARCHING IN THE WRONG PLACE</strong>\n\nA neighbour found Jon on hands and knees.\n“What are you searching for Jon?” “My key.”\nBoth men got on their knees to search.\nAfter a while the neighbor says, “Where did you lose it?”\n“At home.”\n“Good Lord! Then why are you searching here?”\n“Because it’s brighter here.”\n\nSearch for Love where you lost it. Where did you learn to stop loving yourself? Where did you learn that what you did was not good enough? Who told you that you were worthless, meaningless and annoying? Let anger come up, let grief stay for a while, let all the dires to get love from someoene out there smack you in the face with the reality that it has not worked.\n\nThe key to Love is where you left it. Until you have the courage and the company of people around you who are willing to let you fall apart, breakdown and give up on all of it, you will never experience the Life Jesus spoke from.\n\nThe next time you find yourself in a painful situation, instead of looking for a way out, face this pain, welcome it and allow yourself to feel it deeply. Perhaps it will lead you to a dark place where what you have forgotten about what is you are is hidden.\n\n<strong>WHY BADSTUFF HAPPENS\n</strong><em>by Elsa Joy Bailey</em>\n\nIf it weren\'t for my beautiful sad mother\ndrinking a beaker of cold cyanide when I was three,\nI wouldn\'t have learned\nshe could both love and abandon me\nin one hot severe breath.\nNor would I have grown flowers in my heart\nfor people who urgently want to die.\n\nIf I had not broken my leg in a wild fall,\nI wouldn\'t have learned that stark physical pain\nis, to my great surprise, not permanent.\n\nIf I hadn\'t fallen in love with someone\nwho didn\'t love me,\nI would never have realized that unrequited love\nis still an ecstatic dance of the heart.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered praise and blame,\nsuccess and failure, heat and cold, darkness and light,\nblows and kisses, pain and bliss,\nnever would I have found out that through it all\nthere is a Spirit within me\nwhich remains unceasingly alive and loving.\n\nIf I hadn\'t received the gift of knowing you,\nI would not have come to realise\nthat our stories are different in details,\nbut never in essence.\n\nIf I hadn\'t lived through an era of hurting\nI would never have met the miracle\nof being fed with kindness by a friend.\n\nIf I hadn\'t discovered that you and I\nare two threads in the same vast cloth,\nI would have remained forever lost and imprisoned\nin my separate universe.\n\nIf I hadn\'t seen both good and evil\noccupying space in the same event,\nI would never have met the hand of humour\npainting over these polarities\nwith new clarity and light.\n\nIf I hadn\'t wept a thousand tears\nover the loss of a beloved,\nI would never have been driven inward\nto find the eternal companion,\nmy Soul.\n\nIf I had not witnessed cruelty\nand man\'s inhumanity to man,\nI would not have been forced to look\nbeneath the ugliness of fear,\nand encounter the common Heart\nthat lies beneath it.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered our myriad differences,\nI would never have discovered that you and I\nare not two,\nbut infinite sparks of love ever arising\nfrom one indestructible Flame.\n\nAnd if I hadn\'t felt abandoned and heartsick,\nI would never have heard the wordless whisper\nof an abiding, unseeable Friend,\nwho translated the feeling of alone\ninto All One.','Pain demands an answer','','inherit','open','open','','843-revision-12','','','2011-10-25 18:11:40','2011-10-26 01:11:40','',843,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/843-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(1249,24,'2011-10-26 09:56:47','2011-10-26 16:56:47','','Rick2','','inherit','open','open','','rick2','','','2011-10-26 09:56:47','2011-10-26 16:56:47','',843,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Rick2.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(2642,20,'2012-03-24 13:46:21','2012-03-24 20:46:21','People like to emphasize different aspects of Jesus\'s life and teachings.  He taught that the pure in heart would be blessed, for example, seemingly indicating that the inward life is what truly matters.  Yet the miracles, warnings about judgment, and commands to care of the distressed and outcast are equally stressed.  A few weeks ago we discussed this passage at church from <a href=\"http://www.markscandrette.com/writing/practicing-the-way-of-jesus-coming-soon/\">Mark Scandrette\'s newest book, <em>Practicing the Way of Jesus</em></a>:<a href=\"http://www.markscandrette.com/writing/practicing-the-way-of-jesus-coming-soon/\" target=\"_blank\">\n</a>\n<blockquote>The baptism of Jesus provides a compelling picture of the kind of intimate union with God we were created for.  As he stepped out from the water, he heard a voice saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17).  The Spirit then led Jesus into the wilderness where his identity as the beloved was tested.  He emerged after forty days a resolute son prepared to do “his father’s business.”  Subsequently, Jesus often withdrew to gardens and other lonely places.  In the most difficult hours leading up to his arrest, torture and crucifixion, he went into a garden one last time, kneeling to pray, “Abba, not my will but yours be done.”  A hidden life of solitude fueled his courageous public acts of love and service (p. 105).</blockquote>\nMaybe it could be said then that the Christian life is meant to be lived out on the razor’s edge between prophetic action and contemplative reflection.  And it is not so much that one of the steps in this dialectical process must come before the other.  Nor do they necessarily coalesce, really, but remain in tension and are mutually reinforcing.  They form the two pillars that buttress discipleship.  Politically speaking, for instance, we can therefore work for justice and even invest ourselves in certain legislative reforms, electoral changes and grassroots movements.  The role of the contemplative in this case, however, will be to keep our expectations and emotional attachment in check and somewhat disinterested.  The contemplative reminds us that at the end of the day, a Christ-follower still must ultimately find rest in her Sustainer rather than in the outcome of political proposals.<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[i]</a>  Duke theologian <a href=\"http://divinity.duke.edu/academics/faculty/paul-griffiths\" target=\"_blank\">Paul J. Griffiths</a> calls this approach “political quietism.”<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn2\">[ii]</a>\n\nOn the other hand, the contemplative gives inspiration, energy and vision to our prophetic and “courageous public acts of love and service” (see above).  It enables one to meditate on the “agonistic weight of the world.\"<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[iii]</a>  At the same time, it also serves to critique and safeguard the extent to which our identities can become too closely aligned with nationalism or any other parochial allegiance.  It is the corrective to all our idolatries.  Accordingly, a Christian citizenship then is understood to be a revoked and “crucified” vocation – that is, it is self-emptied.  We act, but we act with a knowledge that the problems we face in this world can at best only be imperfectly resolved.  As she surveys the bloodshed in our world, it’s not easy for the Christian citizen to really expect the proposal she advocates to substantially curtail all the violence and oppression.  Occupy Wall Street might be a good example of this - a movement with so much positive potential but the lasting effect of which is still to be seen.  Thus, Griffiths also talks about three other  “notes” of Christian political agency: skepticism, hope and lament – skepticism with regard to over-realized eschatological promises, hope for the coming Kingdom, and lament over the real and terrible suffering in the meantime.\n\nActivism remains, and indeed we must act - especially in solidarity with those on the underside of history - but it is only the spiritually and prayerfully formed person whose heart is prepared for the trials of a cross-bearing lifestyle.  Too often we are content with the contemplative or running dry in the prophetic.  May we remind and spur each other along to traverse the path between the two.\n\nHow does this tangibly play out in the rhythms of congregational and communal life?\n<div>\n\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\n\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref\">[i]</a> I’m using the term <em>political</em> here in the broadest possible sense to include practically all corporate civil activity – not just official or formal participation.\n\n</div>\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref\">[ii]</a> Douglas Harink, <em>Paul, Philosophy, and the Theopolitical Vision: Critical Engagements with Agamben, Badiou, Zizek and Others</em> (Cascade Books, 2010), 190.\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref\">[iii]</a> Mark L Taylor, <em>The Theological and the Political: On the Weight of the World</em> (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2011).\n\n</div>\n</div>','The Prophetic and the Contemplative','','inherit','open','open','','2622-autosave','','','2012-03-24 13:46:21','2012-03-24 20:46:21','',2622,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/28/2622-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1182,43,'2011-10-25 19:23:38','2011-10-26 02:23:38','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has this to say on the matter:</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision-6','','','2011-10-25 19:23:38','2011-10-26 02:23:38','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(1175,43,'2011-10-25 19:21:08','2011-10-26 02:21:08','','socialjustice','','inherit','open','open','','socialjustice','','','2011-10-25 19:21:08','2011-10-26 02:21:08','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/socialjustice.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1176,43,'2011-10-25 19:18:58','2011-10-26 02:18:58','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has this to say on the matter:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\n<p align=\"left\">This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism. [The rest of the article is located <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/news/economic-justice-as-social-justice-11635548.html\">here</a>.]</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision','','','2011-10-25 19:18:58','2011-10-26 02:18:58','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1177,43,'2011-10-25 19:21:57','2011-10-26 02:21:57','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has this to say on the matter:</p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism. [The rest of the article is located <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/news/economic-justice-as-social-justice-11635548.html\">here</a>.]</p>\r\n</blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision-2','','','2011-10-25 19:21:57','2011-10-26 02:21:57','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(2649,1,'2011-11-28 06:49:10','2011-11-28 14:49:10','','thanksgiving_dinner','','inherit','open','open','','thanksgiving_dinner','','','2011-11-28 06:49:10','2011-11-28 14:49:10','',2598,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/thanksgiving_dinner.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(2650,1,'2011-11-25 19:45:04','2011-11-26 03:45:04','<div style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a title=\"license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ - click to view more info about \'easy-turkey-thanksgiving\' or find free \'turkey meal\' pictures via Wylio\" href=\"http://www.wylio.com/credits/flickr/5176608082\"><img style=\"float: none;margin: 10px auto\" src=\"http://lh3.ggpht.com/-eFTdM9dASjc/TtBLGhccjoI/AAAAAAAAA3E/7YKGnQtXwdI/Flickr-5176608082.jpg\" alt=\"\'easy-turkey-thanksgiving\' photo (c) 2010, Steve Johnson - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" /></a></div>\r\nThanksgiving is now behind us, a day that for many is filled with one delicious food after another. Turkey. Mashed potatoes. Corn casserole. Jello molds. Pies, pies, and more pies. We fill our plates, we eat, we dive back in for more. We wear our stretchy pants and leave the belts in the closet for another day.\r\n\r\nEating turkey and mashed potatoes isn\'t something that is unique to Thanksgiving. Particularly here in America, we can have a large meal nearly any day of the year. So despite the fact that we tend to focus on the food, there must be more to this holiday than simply an opportunity to eat a large meal.\r\n\r\nI believe what makes Thanksgiving special is the opportunity that we have not only to feed our physical appetites, but to feed our spiritual and emotional appetites as well. To feed not only our bodies, but our souls.\r\n\r\nWe fix meals that are more complicated than we might normally make. We play games that usually gather dust on the shelves. We enjoy one another\'s company without feeling the need to rush to the next thing. After the hustle and bustle of preparing the meal, it\'s a day for slowing down and for spending time together with those whom you love.\r\n\r\nBut what might happen if we took the time to seek out this soul food more often? What might that look like?\r\n\r\nPerhaps it would be to sit and really listen to a piece of music for a few minutes. Allow each note to penetrate the deep, hidden places of our minds and hearts.\r\n\r\nPerhaps it would be to take a moment and read some poetry, not just in our minds, but aloud. Let the words dance across our tongues and spill out over our lips.\r\n\r\nPerhaps it would be to bake a loaf of bread. Put our hands in the dough and experience the sensual delights of turning it over and creating something that will nourish someone else.\r\n\r\nKnit a pair of socks. Take a walk in the woods. Attend a concert. Drink coffee with a friend.\r\n\r\nWhether you have time to for a gourmet meal, or just feed it a snack, make time to feed your soul. It will thank you.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>What have you done to feed your soul recently? </em>','Soul Food','','inherit','open','open','','2598-revision-11','','','2011-11-25 19:45:04','2011-11-26 03:45:04','',2598,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/25/2598-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(1179,43,'2011-10-25 19:22:23','2011-10-26 02:22:23','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has this to say on the matter:</p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism. [The rest of the article is located <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/news/economic-justice-as-social-justice-11635548.html\">here</a>.]</p>\r\n</blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision-3','','','2011-10-25 19:22:23','2011-10-26 02:22:23','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1180,43,'2011-10-25 19:22:54','2011-10-26 02:22:54','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has this to say on the matter:</p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism. [The rest of the article is located <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/news/economic-justice-as-social-justice-11635548.html\">here</a>.]</p>\r\n</blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision-4','','','2011-10-25 19:22:54','2011-10-26 02:22:54','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(1181,43,'2011-10-25 19:23:00','2011-10-26 02:23:00','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has this to say on the matter:</p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism. [The rest of the article is located <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/news/economic-justice-as-social-justice-11635548.html\">here</a>.]</p>\r\n</blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision-5','','','2011-10-25 19:23:00','2011-10-26 02:23:00','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(1187,43,'2011-10-25 19:26:08','2011-10-26 02:26:08','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has this to say on the matter:</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism.\"  [The rest of the article is located]</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision-11','','','2011-10-25 19:26:08','2011-10-26 02:26:08','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(1183,43,'2011-10-25 19:24:05','2011-10-26 02:24:05','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has this to say on the matter:</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism. [The rest of the article is located <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/news/economic-justice-as-social-justice-11635548.html\">here</a>.]</p>\r\n</blockquote>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision-7','','','2011-10-25 19:24:05','2011-10-26 02:24:05','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(1184,43,'2011-10-25 19:24:37','2011-10-26 02:24:37','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has this to say on the matter:</p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism. [The rest of the article is located <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/news/economic-justice-as-social-justice-11635548.html\">here</a>.]</p>\r\n</blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision-8','','','2011-10-25 19:24:37','2011-10-26 02:24:37','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(1185,43,'2011-10-25 19:25:26','2011-10-26 02:25:26','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has this to say on the matter:</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism.\"  [The rest of the article is located <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/news/economic-justice-as-social-justice-11635548.html\">here</a>.]</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision-9','','','2011-10-25 19:25:26','2011-10-26 02:25:26','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(1186,43,'2011-10-25 19:25:42','2011-10-26 02:25:42','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has this to say on the matter:</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism.\"  [The rest of the article is located <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/news/economic-justice-as-social-justice-11635548.html\">here</a>.]</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision-10','','','2011-10-25 19:25:42','2011-10-26 02:25:42','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(1188,43,'2011-10-25 19:26:15','2011-10-26 02:26:15','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has this to say on the matter:</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism.\"  [The rest of the article is located]</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision-12','','','2011-10-25 19:26:15','2011-10-26 02:26:15','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(1190,43,'2011-10-25 19:27:52','2011-10-26 02:27:52','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has this to say on the matter:</p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism.\"</p>\r\n</blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision-14','','','2011-10-25 19:27:52','2011-10-26 02:27:52','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(1189,43,'2011-10-25 19:27:05','2011-10-26 02:27:05','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has this to say on the matter:</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism.\"  [The rest of the article is located <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/news/economic-justice-as-social-justice-11635548.html\">here</a>.]</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision-13','','','2011-10-25 19:27:05','2011-10-26 02:27:05','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(1191,43,'2011-10-25 19:28:37','2011-10-26 02:28:37','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/news/economic-justice-as-social-justice-11635548.html\">this</a> to say on the matter:</p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism.\"</p>\r\n</blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision-15','','','2011-10-25 19:28:37','2011-10-26 02:28:37','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision-15/',0,'revision','',0),(1192,12,'2011-10-25 19:29:45','2011-10-26 02:29:45','Businessman speaking before inattentive colleagues at meeting','200165803-002','','inherit','open','open','','200165803-002','','','2011-10-25 19:29:45','2011-10-26 02:29:45','',0,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/sks.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1193,12,'2011-10-25 19:30:21','2011-10-26 02:30:21','','pres','','inherit','open','open','','pres','','','2011-10-25 19:30:21','2011-10-26 02:30:21','',0,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pres.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1194,12,'2011-10-25 19:31:54','2011-10-26 02:31:54','','paul','','inherit','open','open','','paul','','','2011-10-25 19:31:54','2011-10-26 02:31:54','',0,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/paul.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(2955,35,'2012-01-31 10:35:47','2012-01-31 18:35:47','Prepare to hear a blasphemous, un-American confession:  I don’t care about Christmas anymore.  God knows I used to, and I have the ornaments, lights, and Christmas cookie recipes to prove it.\n\nSo what happened to me?  Did someone I love die, and I’m still in grief?  Yeah, something died, alright.  The celebration in Christmas.  All the rah-rah, happy-happy, be of good cheer.  I’m not jaded because of  commercialism these days, though I hate it.  I am seriously pissed that stores are putting up Christmas things two weeks before Halloween.  What’s next?  Santa on the shelf before Labor Day?\n\nOver the last few years, I’ve tried to be a “good” Christian, and focus on the “Christ” in Christmas.  See the baby Jesus in the manger as significant.  I mean, really – I wouldn’t be a Christian today if Jesus hadn’t come to earth, right?  So what the hell is wrong with me?  What is wrong for me?\n\nDo I have to have a reason except that Christmas depresses me now?   I’m not going to lie to you and make one up.  Didn’t it always piss you off when you were a child and you asked your parents why you had to do such-and-such and they said, “Because I said so”?\n\nWhy don’t I care about Christmas anymore?  Because I don’t.  I’m not trying to be a kill-joy, but Christmas is a kill-Joy.  It kills me to pretend that everything is lovely, while Christmas only depresses me.  I know so many people who tell me they just LOVE Christmas and it’s their favorite time of year.  Do you know when that was true for me?  When I was a kid and when my kids were little.  If I had really looked closely when my children were pre-schoolers and in elementary school, I might have noticed that I cared about Christmas for them, not because it was important for me.\n\nSo what do I do at this time of year?  Pretend.  Tell people what they expect to hear.  But here’s what is real, what does matter:  that my adult children get what they want, and I’m NOT talking about their list for Santa.  I can’t afford that any more.  So what do they want from me?  What do I really want for Christmas?  Read on\n<h4>Giving What I Need</h4>\n<em>I don’t care about Christmas anymore.\nIt seems so sad and empty,\nsomething to do and be done with.\nI refuse to just “buy something” for the people I love.\nThere is a special satisfaction in finding a gift\nperfect for a precious someone,\nand I would be lynched if I didn’t fill\nmy tall kids’ stockings with silly dollar store toys and kiddy candy\nappropriate only for six-year-olds.\nI really like that part,\nbut the carols, trees and seasonal scenes\nhave lost me, left me out to lunch.</em>\n\n<em>To all the people glowing with delight,\nasking if my shopping is complete\nthen interrupting with their answer\nbefore hearing mine,\nI just smile and give the expected response:\n“Yes.  Merry Christmas.”\nWhat else is there to say that’s socially acceptable?</em>\n\n<em>I just buried my dog with stomach cancer,\nwhich doesn’t help, but that’s not what’s wrong.\nThe lights at night are pretty but pointless,\npoinsettias, packages,\npain my hurting heart can’t celebrate,\nand I don’t even miss it,\nbut I don’t have to explain this to you.</em>\n\n<em>When you rode into Jerusalem\nand the crowds welcomed you with joy,\nI doubt that happiness filled your heart.\nGrief and dread were primary\nbecause you knew what was coming,\nbut I bet you smiled and waved anyway\nbecause you loved them.\nIt was more important\nto give them what they wanted\ninstead of what you did.</em>\n\n<em>Is that the perfect gift I can give this year\nto the people I care about?\nWhat they want from me isn’t my depression.\nHelp me give the gift you gave,\npocketing your needs to feed the hearts of others,\ncelebrating their joy.\nSo my candle isn’t lit;\nI can still light up their faces\nwith traditions that matter to them.</em>\n\n<em>But I’m sick of faking it;\ncontinuing will only make things worse.\nI can’t do this by myself.\nGrant me the gumption\nto feel for real what they need\nand act on it with faith\nthat you will meet my needs, too.</em>','Giving What I Need','','inherit','open','open','','2804-autosave','','','2012-01-31 10:35:47','2012-01-31 18:35:47','',2804,'http://provoketive.com/2011/12/05/2804-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(2656,1,'2011-11-28 07:05:13','2011-11-28 15:05:13','','Buddha_Statue','','inherit','open','open','','buddha_statue','','','2011-11-28 07:05:13','2011-11-28 15:05:13','',2624,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Buddha_Statue.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(2657,1,'2011-11-27 11:15:15','2011-11-27 19:15:15','While recently visiting a (Won) Buddhist temple, I heard one practitioner refer to Jesus as a Buddha. I was struck by the generosity of calling the leader of another faith one’s most cherished, revered term. In Won Buddhism, as I understand it, there is an effort for each person to embrace their Buddhahood and see the Buddha in another, so the statement was not at all unusual in that context. However it did lead me to a place of introspection about my own faith path. Could I, raised a Christian, return the favor? Could I say “Buddha is a Savior, Redeemer”?\r\n\r\nI have been frustrated and turned off by the churches I have visited that seem to place their God high above any other God. If there truly is one God, isn’t that one God as high as any God can be?\r\n\r\nI recently attended a conference at a megachurch in the Midwest. And I was disturbed by two of the things I experienced there. One of those things was the lead pastor (who I have followed and respected for many years) saying that “Christianity was the only Religion about Love”. Really? Really? Have you explored any other religions? My personal experience with other, non-Christian religions is they really are about love. They are about getting out negativity so the love can flow in. The second thing that disturbed me during my megachurch experience was surprisingly, the music. Although the music was inspiring and energetic, the lyrics were anything but. One song in particular featured the message: “Our God is stronger than your God, Our God is greater than Your God, etc.” Really? Are we in seventh grade or something? Are we really that competitive?\r\n\r\nTo me it seems when you have to tell someone your God is better, stronger, greater, more loving…than perhaps deep down you have some doubts on this topic?\r\n\r\nWhat if there is only one God, and this one God is manifested in many beautiful names? Those names could include Jesus Christ, Wonderful, Counselor Allah, Buddha, and scores of other names.\r\n\r\nIf we believe in one God, let’s start living and talking like it, and stop being so competitive. Start accepting that that one God is so brilliant that he made many ways to show himself before us all.\r\n\r\nThere are passages in the Bible that really resonate with me around this issue, for instance, this one from John (10:16) As Jesus said, \"And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd\".\r\n\r\nPerhaps the variety in religion is part of God’s big plan, and we should start showing some respect. Why wouldn’t God show up differently in the varied landscape of world culture. In this quote by theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (Divine Providence 254) he seems to call this idea out quite clearly. \"When a religion has been implanted in a nation, the Lord leads that nation according to the precepts and dogmas of its own religion. He has provided that there shall be in every religion precepts like those in the Ten Commandments....The nation that regards these precepts as Divine and lives according to them from a religious motive is saved.\".','Jesus is a Buddha, God\'s Plan for Variety in Religion','','inherit','open','open','','2624-revision-5','','','2011-11-27 11:15:15','2011-11-27 19:15:15','',2624,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/27/2624-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(1198,12,'2011-10-25 19:45:32','2011-10-26 02:45:32','','mutiny','','inherit','open','open','','mutiny','','','2011-10-25 19:45:32','2011-10-26 02:45:32','',0,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mutiny.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(2648,1,'2011-11-28 06:49:40','2011-11-28 14:49:40','Thanksgiving is now behind us, a day that for many is filled with one delicious food after another. Turkey. Mashed potatoes. Corn casserole. Jello molds. Pies, pies, and more pies. We fill our plates, we eat, we dive back in for more. We wear our stretchy pants and leave the belts in the closet for another day.\n\nEating turkey and mashed potatoes isn\'t something that is unique to Thanksgiving. Particularly here in America, we can have a large meal nearly any day of the year. So despite the fact that we tend to focus on the food, there must be more to this holiday than simply an opportunity to eat a large meal.\n\nI believe what makes Thanksgiving special is the opportunity that we have not only to feed our physical appetites, but to feed our spiritual and emotional appetites as well. To feed not only our bodies, but our souls.\n\nWe fix meals that are more complicated than we might normally make. We play games that usually gather dust on the shelves. We enjoy one another\'s company without feeling the need to rush to the next thing. After the hustle and bustle of preparing the meal, it\'s a day for slowing down and for spending time together with those whom you love.\n\nBut what might happen if we took the time to seek out this soul food more often? What might that look like?\n\nPerhaps it would be to sit and really listen to a piece of music for a few minutes. Allow each note to penetrate the deep, hidden places of our minds and hearts.\n\nPerhaps it would be to take a moment and read some poetry, not just in our minds, but aloud. Let the words dance across our tongues and spill out over our lips.\n\nPerhaps it would be to bake a loaf of bread. Put our hands in the dough and experience the sensual delights of turning it over and creating something that will nourish someone else.\n\nKnit a pair of socks. Take a walk in the woods. Attend a concert. Drink coffee with a friend.\n\nWhether you have time to for a gourmet meal, or just feed it a snack, make time to feed your soul. It will thank you.\n\n<em>What have you done to feed your soul recently? </em>','Soul Food','','inherit','open','open','','2598-autosave','','','2011-11-28 06:49:40','2011-11-28 14:49:40','',2598,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/28/2598-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(2646,1,'2011-11-28 06:37:58','2011-11-28 14:37:58','2011 continues to be a year of protest on an international level and as we see protests in nations with very different GDPs and reputations I think we are learning some interesting things. Clearly there are gigantic differences between the events in Tahrir Square now and in January/February and the Occupy protests across many \'western\' countries, from the tactics of both the demonstrators and authorities to the stated aims of the protestors to the issues that have prompted them. One thing that is similar across the world is the use of cameras and phones by the protestors and spectators to document and publicise what is happening. Earlier this week, Slashdot commented on the \'perception wars\' that now occur concurrently with the conflict between protestors and authorities in an article titled  <a href=\"http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/11/22/2129238/the-future-of-protest-in-panopticon-nation\">The Future of Protest In Panopticon Nation</a>.\n\nFirst a little background for those who might find the term \'panopticon\' unfamiliar. A little understanding of the way the Greek language has contributed to our language may help you to detect that it refers to \'all-seeing\' or total observation, but its history is interesting. It is attributed to an 18th Century Englishman, Jeremy Bentham, who imagined prisons (and other institutions) built as a circular building around a central observation tower, so that a minimal staff could observe and control the inmates or workers effectively. Critically, the observation was to be one-way, so the inmates would never know when they were or were not being observed and would have to always behave as if they were being closely observed.\n\nBentham\'s panopticon prison was never constructed as he designed it, though it has inspired the way prisons have developed since the late eighteenth century. The technology to make it feasible was not available then - and once it was available it negated the architectural design he suggested. The use of CCTV in the UK (England and Wales has by far the highest concentration of CCTV cameras of anywhere in the world) has made the panopticon something not just for inmates, but of all members of society. The obsession with testing and measuring performance means it is a day-to-day part of life for many workers - they do not know when precisely their speed or accuracy will be checked, but it will, so they must always do the best possible, whether on a factory production line or in a call centre or an office. This level of observation perhaps even goes beyond the surveillance of police states behind the Iron Curtain, while inspiring less fear as the penalties do not match the terror inspired by the Stazi or KGB.\n\nI first came across the term \'panopticon\' in the writing of the French thinker Michel Foucault. He devotes an entire chapter of <em>Discipline and Punish</em> to the idea of \'panopticism\', describing its power as \'visible and unverifiable\'. Visible, because the inmate can always see the central tower \'from which he is spied upon\'; unverifiable, because though he might be seen at any or all moments, he cannot be sure when he is or is not. Foucault links the ideal of the panopticon with the growth of a police system with local stations which could look out for disturbance and respond as necessary - exactly as today we call for more police \'on the beat\' to make us feel safer. Foucault\'s aim is to unmask and name the power at play here, to show how we have become a \'carceral culture\' and discipline is used to control us, his analysis continues to resonate more than 35 years later.\n\nBut this discipline is fragile and the illusion of control can shatter quickly. The violence and destruction in several cities in England in August this year was an illustration of what happens when the illusion that the police have total control breaks down. Looting spread around London and to several other cities as it seemed the police could not respond to or contain the people smashing windows and taking big-ticket items from shops or attacking individuals and burning property. It took several days for the message that the police would arrest and the courts would punish those involved to become believable and discipline to be restored.\n\nPart of the success of the UK police was based on their use of social media and other electronic communication tools, as well as still photos and video from CCTV and FITs. The Metropolitan Police \'Forward Intelligence Teams\' photograph and video suspects, especially at protests. But they\'re not the only ones recording everything: people on the other side of the police line are too.\n\n[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjnR7xET7Uo[/youtube]\n\nA powerful example of this is the (now infamous) video of a police officer using pepper spray on seated protesters on the UC Davis campus. You can\'t help but notice that so many of the students are recording the whole thing on their phones or camcorders. The result of this is that two police officers have been suspended - and it\'s not beyond the realm of possibility that there will prosecutions for assault.\n\nIt\'s been alleged that the light-handed response of the Metropolitan Police in August was because of the criticism of their rather heavier tactics with the student protests in 2010 and March 2011. That\'s a direct result of the videos available of the \'kettles\' they employed as well as the legal action and press responses. The death of Ian Tomlinson resulted in a police officer being tried using video footage of the beating he dished out. The classic question \'Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?\' has an answer - everyone is watching (and recording) all that the watchmen are doing.\n\nI don\'t believe it will take many incidents like UC Davis and the clearance of OWS to make US cops rethink their response to peaceful protests. The US and other western countries cannot afford to give governments from Iran to Myanmar the excuse that they have seen what has happened in New York or California and have just done the same. The Egyptian military government should not be able to compare Tahrir Square with Zuccotti Park (and their use of US made tear gas is a whole other issue.)\n\nThis \'sousveillance\', an inversion of state surveillance, by people desperate to keep their government and police accountable is changing the nature of protest. And the change is not complete - the tactics of stormtrooper costumes and chemical weapons is not a viable one in this world of panopticism, so police tactics are shifting - covering up names and numbers on uniforms, more plainclothes FITs, police \'agent provocateurs\', who knows what. All we can be certain of is that the panopticon is inverted, the inmates of this institutionalised society are looking in at the centre and doing their best to keep it accountable.','The Inverted Panopticon','','inherit','open','open','','2587-autosave','','','2011-11-28 06:37:58','2011-11-28 14:37:58','',2587,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/28/2587-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(2645,1,'2011-11-28 06:35:36','2011-11-28 14:35:36','<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This coming Sunday marks the beginning of the Advent season.  The church is four weeks away from celebrating the birth of Christ and the welcoming of the Prince of Peace into the world.  It is a time of anticipation, of expectation, and of longing.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is fitting that the first week of Advent symbolizes hope.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Advent season brings hope in a more just world.  Hope that peace will overcome war.  Hope in reconciling with our fellow man.  Hope that suffering will soon be no more.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Looking at the world today, Advent has never seemed more real.  Tens of thousands of people are in the streets crying out for truth, for righteousness, for justice.  While it cannot be said that the Occupy movement is a religious movement, there is <em>something</em> universal, something spiritual about it.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Critics say that the movement is too varied, leaderless, and directionless to be effective.  While there is some truth that there isn’t a short list of 30-second sound bytes to define what Occupy is about, that is sort of the point.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The people are the message.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If the Occupy movement was about a singular policy position, as another recent political movement has been, it would have collapsed at the first sign of opposition from the status quo.  Two and a half months later, the voices have only grown stronger.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">People from all across the demographic spectra are coming together for something more powerful than the critics realize.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hope.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hope is the unifying force that binds this diverse group of people, professional and student, young and old, black and white, together in the face of stiff and sometimes violent opposition.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The kind of hope that is birthed from the understanding that we, as a society, are not only responsible to each other but for each other as well.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hope in the promise of ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hope that people see that the Kingdom truly is “at hand”.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hope that justice will be restored.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hope in a better world yet to come.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>Photo Credit:  © 2009   DieselDemon , Flickr</em></p>','An Unruly Advent Season','','inherit','open','open','','2560-revision-3','','','2011-11-28 06:35:36','2011-11-28 14:35:36','',2560,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/28/2560-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(2647,1,'2011-11-24 09:21:02','2011-11-24 17:21:02','2011 continues to be a year of protest on an international level and as we see protests in nations with very different GDPs and reputations I think we are learning some interesting things. Clearly there are gigantic differences between the events in Tahrir Square now and in January/February and the Occupy protests across many \'western\' countries, from the tactics of both the demonstrators and authorities to the stated aims of the protestors to the issues that have prompted them. One thing that is similar across the world is the use of cameras and phones by the protestors and spectators to document and publicise what is happening. Earlier this week, Slashdot commented on the \'perception wars\' that now occur concurrently with the conflict between protestors and authorities in an article titled  <a href=\"http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/11/22/2129238/the-future-of-protest-in-panopticon-nation\">The Future of Protest In Panopticon Nation</a>.\r\n\r\nFirst a little background for those who might find the term \'panopticon\' unfamiliar. A little understanding of the way the Greek language has contributed to our language may help you to detect that it refers to \'all-seeing\' or total observation, but its history is interesting. It is attributed to an 18th Century Englishman, Jeremy Bentham, who imagined prisons (and other institutions) built as a circular building around a central observation tower, so that a minimal staff could observe and control the inmates or workers effectively. Critically, the observation was to be one-way, so the inmates would never know when they were or were not being observed and would have to always behave as if they were being closely observed.\r\n\r\nBentham\'s panopticon prison was never constructed as he designed it, though it has inspired the way prisons have developed since the late eighteenth century. The technology to make it feasible was not available then - and once it was available it negated the architectural design he suggested. The use of CCTV in the UK (England and Wales has by far the highest concentration of CCTV cameras of anywhere in the world) has made the panopticon something not just for inmates, but of all members of society. The obsession with testing and measuring performance means it is a day-to-day part of life for many workers - they do not know when precisely their speed or accuracy will be checked, but it will, so they must always do the best possible, whether on a factory production line or in a call centre or an office. This level of observation perhaps even goes beyond the surveillance of police states behind the Iron Curtain, while inspiring less fear as the penalties do not match the terror inspired by the Stazi or KGB.\r\n\r\nI first came across the term \'panopticon\' in the writing of the French thinker Michel Foucault. He devotes an entire chapter of <em>Discipline and Punish</em> to the idea of \'panopticism\', describing its power as \'visible and unverifiable\'. Visible, because the inmate can always see the central tower \'from which he is spied upon\'; unverifiable, because though he might be seen at any or all moments, he cannot be sure when he is or is not. Foucault links the ideal of the panopticon with the growth of a police system with local stations which could look out for disturbance and respond as necessary - exactly as today we call for more police \'on the beat\' to make us feel safer. Foucault\'s aim is to unmask and name the power at play here, to show how we have become a \'carceral culture\' and discipline is used to control us, his analysis continues to resonate more than 35 years later.\r\n\r\nBut this discipline is fragile and the illusion of control can shatter quickly. The violence and destruction in several cities in England in August this year was an illustration of what happens when the illusion that the police have total control breaks down. Looting spread around London and to several other cities as it seemed the police could not respond to or contain the people smashing windows and taking big-ticket items from shops or attacking individuals and burning property. It took several days for the message that the police would arrest and the courts would punish those involved to become believable and discipline to be restored.\r\n\r\nPart of the success of the UK police was based on their use of social media and other electronic communication tools, as well as still photos and video from CCTV and FITs. The Metropolitan Police \'Forward Intelligence Teams\' photograph and video suspects, especially at protests. But they\'re not the only ones recording everything: people on the other side of the police line are too.\r\n\r\n[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjnR7xET7Uo[/youtube]\r\n\r\nA powerful example of this is the (now infamous) video of a police officer using pepper spray on seated protesters on the UC Davis campus. You can\'t help but notice that so many of the students are recording the whole thing on their phones or camcorders. The result of this is that two police officers have been suspended - and it\'s not beyond the realm of possibility that there will prosecutions for assault.\r\n\r\nIt\'s been alleged that the light-handed response of the Metropolitan Police in August was because of the criticism of their rather heavier tactics with the student protests in 2010 and March 2011. That\'s a direct result of the videos available of the \'kettles\' they employed as well as the legal action and press responses. The death of Ian Tomlinson resulted in a police officer being tried using video footage of the beating he dished out. The classic question \'Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?\' has an answer - everyone is watching (and recording) all that the watchmen are doing.\r\n\r\nI don\'t believe it will take many incidents like UC Davis and the clearance of OWS to make US cops rethink their response to peaceful protests. The US and other western countries cannot afford to give governments from Iran to Myanmar the excuse that they have seen what has happened in New York or California and have just done the same. The Egyptian military government should not be able to compare Tahrir Square with Zuccotti Park (and their use of US made tear gas is a whole other issue.)\r\n\r\nThis \'sousveillance\', an inversion of state surveillance, by people desperate to keep their government and police accountable is changing the nature of protest. And the change is not complete - the tactics of stormtrooper costumes and chemical weapons is not a viable one in this world of panopticism, so police tactics are shifting - covering up names and numbers on uniforms, more plainclothes FITs, police \'agent provocateurs\', who knows what. All we can be certain of is that the panopticon is inverted, the inmates of this institutionalised society are looking in at the centre and doing their best to keep it accountable.','The Inverted Panopticon','','inherit','open','open','','2587-revision-5','','','2011-11-24 09:21:02','2011-11-24 17:21:02','',2587,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/24/2587-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(2634,100,'2011-11-29 07:06:32','2011-11-29 15:06:32','[caption id=\"attachment_2635\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"225\" caption=\"Lucas Land\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/lucas-land.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-2635\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/lucas-land-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nNow that we’re all stuffed from a big Thanksgiving meal — we talk food and food ethics with farmer and all around ag-guy, Lucas Land.\r\n\r\nLucas and his family have been involved in farming and agriculture for several years, including a post-graduate internship at World Hunger Relief in Waco, Texas. He’s also just returned from a brief stay in Bolivia where he focused on water issues.\r\n\r\nHe’s actively involved in finding and sharing the intersection between our faith, ethics and the food we eat.\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/112511.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Lucas Land','','publish','open','open','','something-beautiful-lucas-land','','','2011-11-28 07:06:57','2011-11-28 15:06:57','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=2634',0,'post','',0),(2635,100,'2011-11-27 19:39:01','2011-11-28 03:39:01','','lucas-land','Lucas Land','inherit','open','open','','lucas-land','','','2011-11-27 19:39:01','2011-11-28 03:39:01','',2634,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/lucas-land.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(2636,100,'2011-11-27 19:41:03','2011-11-28 03:41:03','[caption id=\"attachment_2635\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"225\" caption=\"Lucas Land\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/lucas-land.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/lucas-land-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2635\" /></a>[/caption]\nNow that we’re all stuffed from a big Thanksgiving meal — we talk food and food ethics with farmer and all around ag-guy, Lucas Land.\n\nLucas and his family have been involved in farming and agriculture for several years, including a post-graduate internship at World Hunger Relief in Waco, Texas. He’s also just returned from a brief stay in Bolivia where he focused on water issues.\n\nHe’s actively involved in finding and sharing the intersection between our faith, ethics and the food we eat.\n\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/112511.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Lucas Land','','inherit','open','open','','2634-revision','','','2011-11-27 19:41:03','2011-11-28 03:41:03','',2634,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/27/2634-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(2637,100,'2011-11-27 19:41:11','2011-11-28 03:41:11','[caption id=\"attachment_2635\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"225\" caption=\"Lucas Land\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/lucas-land.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/lucas-land-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2635\" /></a>[/caption]\r\nNow that we’re all stuffed from a big Thanksgiving meal — we talk food and food ethics with farmer and all around ag-guy, Lucas Land.\r\n\r\nLucas and his family have been involved in farming and agriculture for several years, including a post-graduate internship at World Hunger Relief in Waco, Texas. He’s also just returned from a brief stay in Bolivia where he focused on water issues.\r\n\r\nHe’s actively involved in finding and sharing the intersection between our faith, ethics and the food we eat.\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/112511.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Lucas Land','','inherit','open','open','','2634-revision-2','','','2011-11-27 19:41:11','2011-11-28 03:41:11','',2634,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/27/2634-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(2638,100,'2011-11-27 19:41:17','2011-11-28 03:41:17','[caption id=\"attachment_2635\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"225\" caption=\"Lucas Land\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/lucas-land.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/lucas-land-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2635\" /></a>[/caption]\r\nNow that we’re all stuffed from a big Thanksgiving meal — we talk food and food ethics with farmer and all around ag-guy, Lucas Land.\r\n\r\nLucas and his family have been involved in farming and agriculture for several years, including a post-graduate internship at World Hunger Relief in Waco, Texas. He’s also just returned from a brief stay in Bolivia where he focused on water issues.\r\n\r\nHe’s actively involved in finding and sharing the intersection between our faith, ethics and the food we eat.\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/112511.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Lucas Land','','inherit','open','open','','2634-revision-3','','','2011-11-27 19:41:17','2011-11-28 03:41:17','',2634,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/27/2634-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(2639,100,'2011-11-27 19:41:51','2011-11-28 03:41:51','[caption id=\"attachment_2635\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"225\" caption=\"Lucas Land\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/lucas-land.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/lucas-land-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2635\" /></a>[/caption]\r\nNow that we’re all stuffed from a big Thanksgiving meal — we talk food and food ethics with farmer and all around ag-guy, Lucas Land.\r\n\r\nLucas and his family have been involved in farming and agriculture for several years, including a post-graduate internship at World Hunger Relief in Waco, Texas. He’s also just returned from a brief stay in Bolivia where he focused on water issues.\r\n\r\nHe’s actively involved in finding and sharing the intersection between our faith, ethics and the food we eat.\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/112511.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Lucas Land','','inherit','open','open','','2634-revision-4','','','2011-11-27 19:41:51','2011-11-28 03:41:51','',2634,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/27/2634-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(2640,100,'2011-11-27 19:41:55','2011-11-28 03:41:55','[caption id=\"attachment_2635\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"225\" caption=\"Lucas Land\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/lucas-land.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/lucas-land-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2635\" /></a>[/caption]\r\nNow that we’re all stuffed from a big Thanksgiving meal — we talk food and food ethics with farmer and all around ag-guy, Lucas Land.\r\n\r\nLucas and his family have been involved in farming and agriculture for several years, including a post-graduate internship at World Hunger Relief in Waco, Texas. He’s also just returned from a brief stay in Bolivia where he focused on water issues.\r\n\r\nHe’s actively involved in finding and sharing the intersection between our faith, ethics and the food we eat.\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/112511.mp3\"]','Something Beautiful - Lucas Land','','inherit','open','open','','2634-revision-5','','','2011-11-27 19:41:55','2011-11-28 03:41:55','',2634,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/27/2634-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(2641,20,'2011-11-28 01:04:45','2011-11-28 09:04:45','<a href=\"http://www.markscandrette.com/writing/practicing-the-way-of-jesus-coming-soon/\" target=\"_blank\">Mark Scandrette, <em>Practicing the Way of Jesus</em></a>:\n<blockquote>The baptism of Jesus provides a compelling picture of the kind of intimate union with God we were created for.  As he stepped out from the water, he heard a voice saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17).  The Spirit then led Jesus into the wilderness where his identity as the beloved was tested.  He emerged after forty days a resolute son prepared to do “his father’s business.”  Subsequently, Jesus often withdrew to gardens and other lonely places.  In the most difficult hours leading up to his arrest, torture and crucifixion, he went into a garden one last time, kneeling to pray, “Abba, not my will but yours be done.”  A hidden life of solitude fueled his courageous public acts of love and service (p. 105).</blockquote>\nThe Christian life is meant to be lived out on the razor’s edge between prophetic action and contemplative reflection.  And it is not so much that one of the steps in this dialectical process must come before the other.  Nor do they necessarily coalesce, really, but remain in tension and are mutually reinforcing.  They form the two pillars that buttress discipleship.  Politically speaking, for instance, we can therefore work for justice and even invest ourselves in certain legislative reforms, electoral changes and grassroots movements.  The role of the contemplative in this case, however, will be to keep our expectations and emotional attachment in check and somewhat disinterested.  The contemplative reminds us that at the end of the day, a Christ-follower still must ultimately find rest in the arms of Jesus rather than in the outcome of political proposals.<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[i]</a>  Duke theologian <a href=\"http://divinity.duke.edu/academics/faculty/paul-griffiths\" target=\"_blank\">Paul J. Griffiths</a> calls this approach “political quietism.”<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn2\">[ii]</a>\n\nOn the other hand, it is the contemplative that gives inspiration, energy and vision to our impending and “courageous public acts of love and service” (see above).  It enables one to meditate on the “agonistic weight of the world.\"<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[iii]</a>  At the same time, it also serves to critique and safeguard the extent to which our identities can become too closely aligned with nationalism or any other parochial allegiance.  It is the corrective to all our idolatries.  Accordingly, a Christian citizenship then is understood to be a revoked and “crucified” vocation – that is, it is self-emptied.  We act, but we act with a knowledge that the problems we face in this world can at best only be imperfectly resolved.  As she surveys the bloodshed in our world, it’s not easy for the Christian citizen to really expect the proposal she advocates to substantially curtail all the violence and oppression.  Occupy Wall Street might be a good example of this - a movement with so much positive potential but the lasting effect of which is still to be seen.  Thus, Griffiths also talks about three other  “notes” of Christian political agency: skepticism, hope and lament – skepticism with regard to over-realized eschatological promises, hope for the coming Kingdom, and lament over the real and terrible suffering in the meantime.\n\nActivism remains, and indeed we must act - especially in solidarity with those on the underside of history - but it is only the spiritually and prayerfully formed person whose heart is prepared for the trials of a cross-bearing lifestyle.  Too often we are content with the contemplative or running dry in the prophetic.  May we remind and spur each other along to traverse the path between the two.\n\nHow does this tangibly play out in the rhythms of congregational and communal life?\n<div>\n\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\n\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref\">[i]</a> I’m using the term <em>political</em> here in the broadest possible sense to include practically all corporate civil activity – not just official or formal participation.\n\n</div>\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref\">[ii]</a> Douglas Harink, <em>Paul, Philosophy, and the Theopolitical Vision: Critical Engagements with Agamben, Badiou, Zizek and Others</em> (Cascade Books, 2010), 190.\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref\">[iii]</a> Mark L Taylor, <em>The Theological and the Political: On the Weight of the World</em> (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2011).\n\n</div>\n</div>','The Prophetic and the Contemplative','','inherit','open','open','','2622-revision-3','','','2011-11-28 01:04:45','2011-11-28 09:04:45','',2622,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/28/2622-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(2630,1,'2011-11-28 07:05:27','2011-11-28 15:05:27','While recently visiting a (Won) Buddhist temple, I heard one practitioner refer to Jesus as a Buddha. I was struck by the generosity of calling the leader of another faith one’s most cherished, revered term. In Won Buddhism, as I understand it, there is an effort for each person to embrace their Buddhahood and see the Buddha in another, so the statement was not at all unusual in that context. However it did lead me to a place of introspection about my own faith path. Could I, raised a Christian, return the favor? Could I say “Buddha is a Savior, Redeemer”?\n\nI have been frustrated and turned off by the churches I have visited that seem to place their God high above any other God. If there truly is one God, isn’t that one God as high as any God can be?\n\nI recently attended a conference at a megachurch in the Midwest. And I was disturbed by two of the things I experienced there. One of those things was the lead pastor (who I have followed and respected for many years) saying that “Christianity was the only Religion about Love”. Really? Really? Have you explored any other religions? My personal experience with other, non-Christian religions is they really are about love. They are about getting out negativity so the love can flow in. The second thing that disturbed me during my megachurch experience was surprisingly, the music. Although the music was inspiring and energetic, the lyrics were anything but. One song in particular featured the message: “Our God is stronger than your God, Our God is greater than Your God, etc.” Really? Are we in seventh grade or something? Are we really that competitive?\n\nTo me it seems when you have to tell someone your God is better, stronger, greater, more loving…than perhaps deep down you have some doubts on this topic?\n\nWhat if there is only one God, and this one God is manifested in many beautiful names? Those names could include Jesus Christ, Wonderful, Counselor Allah, Buddha, and scores of other names.\n\nIf we believe in one God, let’s start living and talking like it, and stop being so competitive. Start accepting that that one God is so brilliant that he made many ways to show himself before us all.\n\nThere are passages in the Bible that really resonate with me around this issue, for instance, this one from John (10:16) As Jesus said, \"And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd\".\n\nPerhaps the variety in religion is part of God’s big plan, and we should start showing some respect. Why wouldn’t God show up differently in the varied landscape of world culture. In this quote by theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (Divine Providence 254) he seems to call this idea out quite clearly. \"When a religion has been implanted in a nation, the Lord leads that nation according to the precepts and dogmas of its own religion. He has provided that there shall be in every religion precepts like those in the Ten Commandments....The nation that regards these precepts as Divine and lives according to them from a religious motive is saved.\".','Jesus is a Buddha','','inherit','open','open','','2624-autosave','','','2011-11-28 07:05:27','2011-11-28 15:05:27','',2624,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/27/2624-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(2631,0,'2011-11-27 12:24:35','2011-11-27 20:24:35','Faith\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Chloe\nAUTHOR EMAIL: theartofsteering@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://theartofsteering.wordpress.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 94.193.36.193\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Chloe\n    [Email] =&gt; theartofsteering@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; theartofsteering.wordpress.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Faith\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; theartofsteering\n)\n','Chloe - 2011-11-27 12:24:35','','publish','open','open','','5a978d69063dbf7ac2a627960aec92d2','','','2011-11-27 12:24:35','2011-11-27 20:24:35','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=2631',0,'feedback','',0),(2632,20,'2011-11-27 14:38:30','2011-11-27 22:38:30','<blockquote>The baptism of Jesus provides a compelling picture of the kind of intimate union with God we were created for.  As he stepped out from the water, he heard a voice saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17).  The Spirit then led Jesus into the wilderness where his identity as the beloved was tested.  He emerged after forty days a resolute son prepared to do “his father’s business.”  Subsequently, Jesus often withdrew to gardens and other lonely places.  In the most difficult hours leading up to his arrest, torture and crucifixion, he went into a garden one last time, kneeling to pray, “Abba, not my will but yours be done.”  A hidden life of solitude fueled his courageous public acts of love and service (<a href=\"http://www.markscandrette.com/writing/practicing-the-way-of-jesus-coming-soon/\" target=\"_blank\">Scandrette, <em>Practicing the Way of Jesus</em></a>, p. 105).</blockquote>\nThe Christian life is meant to be lived out on the razor’s edge between prophetic action and contemplative reflection.  And it is not so much that one of the steps in this dialectical process must come before the other.  Nor do they necessarily coalesce, really, but remain in tension and are mutually reinforcing.  They form the two pillars that buttress discipleship.  Politically speaking, for instance, we can therefore work for justice and even invest ourselves in certain legislative reforms, electoral changes and grassroots movements.  The role of the contemplative in this instance, however, will be to keep our expectations and emotional attachment in check and somewhat disinterested.  The contemplative reminds us that at the end of the day, a Christ-follower still must ultimately find rest in the arms of Jesus rather than in the outcome of political proposals.<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[i]</a>  Duke theologian <a href=\"http://divinity.duke.edu/academics/faculty/paul-griffiths\" target=\"_blank\">Paul J. Griffiths</a> calls this  “political quietism.”<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn2\">[ii]</a>\n\nOn the other hand, it is the contemplative that gives inspiration, energy and vision to our impending and “courageous public acts of love and service” (see above).  It enables one to meditate on the “agonistic weight of the world.\"<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[i]</a>\n<div><br />\n\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\n\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref\"><br /></a>\n\n</div>\n</div>\nAt the same time, it also serves to critique and safeguard the extent to which our identities can become too closely aligned with nationalism or any other parochial allegiance.  It is the corrective to all our idolatries.  Accordingly, a Christian citizenship then is understood to be a revoked and “crucified” vocation – that is, it is self-emptied.  We act, but we act with a knowledge that the problems we face in this world can at best be imperfectly resolved.  As she surveys the bloodshed in our world, it’s not easy for the Christian citizen to really expect the proposal she advocates to substantially curtail all the violence and oppression.  Thus, Griffiths also talks about three other  “notes” of Christian political agency: skepticism, hope and lament – skepticism with regard to over-realized eschatological promises, hope for the coming Kingdom, and lament over the real and terrible suffering in the meantime.\n\nActivism remains, and indeed we must act, but it is only the spiritually and prayerfully formed person whose heart is prepared for the trials of a cross-bearing lifestyle.  May we remind and spur each other on in this way.\n\n&nbsp;\n<div>\n\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\n\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref\">[i]</a> I’m using the term <em>political</em> here in the broadest possible sense to include practically all corporate civil activity – not just official or formal participation.\n\n</div>\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref\">[ii]</a> Douglas Harink, <em>Paul, Philosophy, and the Theopolitical Vision: Critical Engagements with Agamben, Badiou, Zizek and Others</em> (Cascade Books, 2010), 190.\n\n</div>\n</div>','The Prophetic and the Contemplative','','inherit','open','open','','2622-revision-2','','','2011-11-27 14:38:30','2011-11-27 22:38:30','',2622,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/27/2622-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1205,33,'2011-10-25 22:07:48','2011-10-26 05:07:48','','3013865271_7fa24b0b2b','','inherit','open','open','','3013865271_7fa24b0b2b','','','2011-10-25 22:07:48','2011-10-26 05:07:48','',0,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/3013865271_7fa24b0b2b.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1207,1,'2011-10-25 22:20:33','2011-10-26 05:20:33','Very creative!','Party Rock Halloween House','','publish','open','open','','party-rock-halloween-house','','','2011-10-25 22:20:33','2011-10-26 05:20:33','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1207',0,'post','',0),(1208,1,'2011-10-25 22:19:40','2011-10-26 05:19:40','','party_rock_halloween','','inherit','open','open','','party_rock_halloween','','','2011-10-25 22:19:40','2011-10-26 05:19:40','',1207,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/party_rock_halloween.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1209,1,'2011-10-25 22:19:16','2011-10-26 05:19:16','','Party Rock Halloween House','','inherit','open','open','','1207-revision','','','2011-10-25 22:19:16','2011-10-26 05:19:16','',1207,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1207-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1210,1,'2011-10-24 11:42:12','2011-10-24 18:42:12','<em>This is part three in my series about the six reasons why I left the church based off of the article \"<a href=\"http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church\" target=\"_blank\">Six Reasons Why Young Christians Leave Church</a>\" by the Barna Group. Now, I realize that there are vast differences between when and how guys and girls first experience sexuality, so this by no means is to be a blanket generalization for anyone.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>Miss the first two parts of this series? Read <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/where-the-church-lost-me-i/\" target=\"_blank\">part one</a> and <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/where-the-church-lost-me-ii/\" target=\"_blank\">part two</a>.</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>Reason #4: “Young Christians’ church experiences related to sexuality are often simplistic, judgmental.”</strong>\r\n\r\nOne of my favorite bloggers, Christian Piatt, wrote about this recently on <a href=\"http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christianpiatt/2011/10/sex-is-dirty-save-it-for-marriage/\" target=\"_blank\">his blog</a>:\r\n<blockquote>\"Amy and I speak to youth and young adults pretty often about something we call embodied spirituality. The idea is that, contrary to what you may have learned in the past, you do not have to de-sexualize yourself to be a good person – even at church. We’re told in some ways that sex is a dirty thing, and that our bodies are something to be ashamed of. But then we also get the message that sex is something special to save for marriage. Something about these two values doesn’t match up.\"</blockquote>\r\n<a href=\"http://behappyhealthywhole.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">My sister</a> and I were talking about this recently and she said:\r\n<blockquote>“There’s a difference between protecting and isolating.”</blockquote>\r\nUp until I was about 18 I was almost unaware that I was not simply a brain walking around. I don’t mean that literally, but things like lust and sexual thoughts were just theoretical issues. While my ex-boyfriend and I were in our long-distance relationship, he sent me a picture of him wearing a new outfit. I don’t remember what it was exactly, but I think it was a new suit coat or something. I said he looked “snazzy”. He was immediately offended because he was looking for a word with a little bit more heat. He asked me one night why it wasn’t natural for me to use words like “sexy” and “hot”. I explained that I had essentially turned all that off because growing up in church I was always told that anything to do with the body was sinful.\r\n\r\nOnce a year, there was a three week long purity series where the Sunday school class was split up by guys and girls. (Funnily enough, nothing made me want the guys back together with us more than this annual series. <em>Just make it stop!</em>) This Sunday school course was the most awkward thing in church since clapping. (What is this \"rhythm\" you speak of?)\r\n\r\nFirstly, the female leaders who ran the series couldn’t say the word “sex”. For a while they said “ex” and then eventually avoided it all together by referring to it as “it”. This does not setup a good precedence for an honest conversation. I get it: it’s awkward to talk about that post-movie hotness you had with your spouse the other night with teenage girls that seem like little bright-eyed deer that shouldn\'t have to deal with this messy, acutely intimate thing called sex. And while church may not be the place to teach about sex, the youth sponsors talked as if they were not just taking on the role of our mentor in the church place but also in the rest of our lives. So, unfortunately, sex questions fall under that category. Aside from my parents, you are the set of adults I see the most. Lead with honesty and frankness.\r\n\r\nNext was the “modest clothing demonstration”. The girl they used to model the outfit was built just like me (six feet tall, thin frame). They bought a full outfit for her that was a size small. It fit her well; the outfit wasn’t too tight and it fit her frame nicely. But explained then the leaders demonstrated how this outfit was indecent because if you reach your shoulders and arms as high as you can with zero regard to your shirt it <em>may</em> show a tiny bit of skin. Or how if you bend in half with your legs straight (which no girl I know does this anyway) you<em>might</em> see a bit of her back. So then the model left the room and changed into the same outfit but with all the items one size up. This time the outfit clearly didn’t work. You could tell neither piece was the right size because it didn’t lay correctly or fit in the right places, but this outfit was praised as modest, beautiful, and how all good young women should dress.\r\n\r\nThe message was clear: the second, less fitting, one size too large outfit was much godlier. God doesn’t want your clothes to fit. Loose clothing, like cleanliness, is next to godliness! If you look and feel good in your own clothing you’re making the boys stumble. Cut it out.\r\n\r\nNot only were there messages of de-sexualization (women, your bodies are the manifestation of temptation so to be really godly you need to wear parkas), but there were very blatant mistakes in the material of the lessons. There was The List. The List detailed all the physical steps through to actual intercourse. It was a list of eight items starting at “hand holding”. It was designed to show that if you get to step number four with guy A, you are going to want to jump to step four with guy B. That makes sense. What didn’t make sense was that “heavy petting” was number six and the last physical step that two people commit before inserting tab A into slot B was “hugging”. HUGGING. (I wish I was joking.) If hugging is the last step before sexin’, then I have definitely been around (<a href=\"http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljj7z5fHsr1qdf6w8o1_250.gif\">if you know what I mean</a>).\r\n\r\nOutside of the purity series, this fear of anything sexual showed up in places like our non-dancing prom (because dancing requires you use your hips, and hips are sinful): Senior Banquet. We were endlessly told we were not allowed to wear strapless dresses. Reason being? “The boys will wonder where your bra is.” I told this to my friend <a href=\"http://theawesomeproject.net/\" target=\"_blank\">Drew</a> and he responded, “Well yeah, but that’s purely academic!” Plunging necklines? Fine. Dresses so tight they may as well have been air brushed? Fine. But don\'t you <em>dare</em> let those boys think that there are such things as strapless bras in this country or have a modest neckline by not showing cleavage!\r\n\r\nThe message was reinforced in literature as well. I specifically remember reading several sob stories about sex in the Christian girl’s magazine Brio (by Focus on the Family). The stories always included the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>The phrase “all the way.” Example: “I never thought that I would go all the way with a guy.”</li>\r\n	<li>The <em>girl</em> must be uncomfortable or unsure and the <em>guy</em> must be pressuring her. Example: “I knew it was wrong, but he kept unbuttoning my shirt and told me to relax.”</li>\r\n	<li>The phrase “it just happened”. They are sure to insinuate that if you kiss someone, even just a little, your body will go into a frenzied auto-pilot and you will have manic sex against your will. Example: “I never thought I would get pregnant and I never thought I would have premarital sex, but it just happened…” Cue mournful voice. Like <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425210/\" target=\"_blank\">Slevin</a> said after his girlfriend claimed that her infidelity was an accident: “What like… He tripped, you fell?” (Maybe he Kansas City Shuffled his way into her pants. You never know with that movie.)</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIf these had all be isolated incidents it might not have been so bad, but altogether these things told me that my body was something to be ashamed of. Anything that made me feel confident or beautiful was me bringing my brother down. The only thing I knew to do was be afraid and suppress anything corporeal.\r\n\r\nNow, for all intents and purposes, this works to the leaders’ advantage. It did keep me from promiscuity through high school (and I am trying to learn to be thankful for that) but it did for all the wrong reasons. It wasn’t because I had been informed and was making smart decisions; it was because I was operating solely out of fear and ignorance. It’s fine when you’re 15 and you don\'t instinctively describe something as \"steamy\". What’s not okay is when you’re not far from getting married and you have to suddenly have to turn all of those signals back on that you spent the first 18-20 years of your life ignoring. After being told that your body is sinful over and over, how do you transition to wild, mind-blowing sex? Talk about major signal confusion. Through age 18: sex is sinful, God hates sex! By the time you get married: sex is great, have lots of it! This is a common problem for newlywed Christians. They have no healthy respect or understanding of their bodies and suddenly they are supposed to know what they like in bed and how to fulfill their partner’s desires too? (Some friends of mine started <a href=\"http://couplingforcouples.blogspot.com/?zx=3bbe204db1a81e96\" target=\"_blank\">a blog</a> about this very subject to help unprepared people work through this.)\r\n\r\nIf you have a kid in your life that’s approaching the age where you need to start talking about stuff like this, consider finding ways to express to them the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>The body is an amazing thing. There are reasons why people create nude statues out of marble. It’s not because they love porn. It’s because the human body is an incredibly beautiful, intricate, glorious thing. Don’t be afraid of it.</li>\r\n	<li>Sex is biological. Like hunger and thirst, the need to be sexual and to have sexual encounters with another person is part of what you are made to do. This is absolutely normal.</li>\r\n	<li>Just because sex is biological doesn’t mean you need to exploit it or doing anything before you are ready to handle the consequences and how your life will be changed by it.</li>\r\n	<li>You are not just a body. While sexual thoughts and impulses are completely normal, you have the ability to control what you choose to do with them. Despite popular belief, the opposite sex can control all those things too.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThis is just for starters, and I have no idea how I’ll handle this conversation with my kids, but I know I’ll start there because I don’t want them to get on the other side of this issue and feel unprepared. I want them to have healthy attitudes towards their own bodies and other peoples’.\r\n\r\n<em>Next I\'ll be talking about how the church is unfriendly towards those who doubt.</em>','Where the Church Lost Me: Part III','','inherit','open','open','','1052-revision-6','','','2011-10-24 11:42:12','2011-10-24 18:42:12','',1052,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/24/1052-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(2623,20,'2011-11-26 23:57:23','2011-11-27 07:57:23','<blockquote>The baptism of Jesus provides a compelling picture of the kind of intimate union with God we were created for.  As he stepped out from the water, he heard a voice saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17).  The Spirit then led Jesus into the wilderness where his identity as the beloved was tested.  He emerged after forty days a resolute son prepared to do “his father’s business.”  Subsequently, Jesus often withdrew to gardens and other lonely places.  In the most difficult hours leading up to his arrest, torture and crucifixion, he went into a garden one last time, kneeling to pray, “Abba, not my will but yours be done.”  A hidden life of solitude fueled his courageous public acts of love and service (<a href=\"http://www.markscandrette.com/writing/practicing-the-way-of-jesus-coming-soon/\" target=\"_blank\">Scandrette, <em>Practicing the Way of Jesus</em></a>, p. 105).</blockquote>\nThe Christian life is meant to be lived out on the razor’s edge between prophetic action and contemplative reflection.  And it is not so much that one of the steps in this dialectical process must come before the other.  Nor do they necessarily coalesce, really, but remain in tension and are mutually reinforcing.  They form the two pillars that buttress discipleship.  Politically speaking, for instance, we can therefore work for justice and even invest ourselves in certain legislative reforms, electoral changes and grassroots movements.  The role of the contemplative in this instance, however, will be to keep our expectations and emotional attachment in check and somewhat disinterested.  The contemplative reminds us that at the end of the day, a Christ-follower still must ultimately find rest in the arms of Jesus rather than in the outcome of political proposals.<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[i]</a>  Duke theologian <a href=\"http://divinity.duke.edu/academics/faculty/paul-griffiths\" target=\"_blank\">Paul J. Griffiths</a> calls this  “political quietism.”<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn2\">[ii]</a>\n\nOn the other hand, it is the contemplative that gives inspiration, energy and vision to our impending and “courageous public acts of love and service” (see above).  It enables one to adequately reflect on the true “agonistic weight of the world.”  At the same time, it also serves to critique and safeguard the extent to which our identities can become too closely aligned with nationalism or any other parochial allegiance.  It is the corrective to all our idolatries.  Accordingly, a Christian citizenship then is understood to be a revoked and “crucified” vocation – that is, it is self-emptied.  We act, but we act with a knowledge that the problems we face in this world can at best be imperfectly resolved.  As she surveys the bloodshed in our world, it’s not easy for the Christian citizen to really expect the proposal she advocates to substantially curtail all the violence and oppression.  Thus, Griffiths also talks about three other  “notes” of Christian political agency: skepticism, hope and lament – skepticism with regard to over-realized eschatological promises, hope for the coming Kingdom, and lament over the real and terrible suffering in the meantime.\n\nActivism remains, and indeed we must act, but it is only the spiritually and prayerfully formed person whose heart is prepared for the trials of a cross-bearing lifestyle.  May we remind and spur each other on in this way.\n\n&nbsp;\n<div>\n\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\n\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref\">[i]</a> I’m using the term <em>political</em> here in the broadest possible sense to include practically all corporate civil activity – not just official or formal participation.\n\n</div>\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref\">[ii]</a> Douglas Harink, <em>Paul, Philosophy, and the Theopolitical Vision: Critical Engagements with Agamben, Badiou, Zizek and Others</em> (Cascade Books, 2010), 190.\n\n</div>\n</div>','The Prophetic and the Contemplative','','inherit','open','open','','2622-revision','','','2011-11-26 23:57:23','2011-11-27 07:57:23','',2622,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/26/2622-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1211,1,'2011-10-25 22:28:34','2011-10-26 05:28:34','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/news/economic-justice-as-social-justice-11635548.html\">this</a> to say on the matter:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">\"Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\n<p align=\"left\">\"This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism.\"</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-autosave','','','2011-10-25 22:28:34','2011-10-26 05:28:34','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),