7.31.2005

A Eugenics Catechism

Q. What is the most precious thing in the world?
A. The human germ plasm.

Q. How may one's germ plasm become immortal?
A. Only by perpetuation by children.

Q. What is a person's eugenical duty to civilization?
A. To see that his own good qualities are passed on to future generations provided they exceed his bad qualities. If he has, on the whole, an excess of dysgenic qualities, they should be eliminated by letting the germ plasm die out with the individual.

-American Eugenics Society, 1926

"Society must look upon the germ-plasm as belonging to society and not merely to the individual who carries it."

-Study and Report on the Best Practical Means of Cutting Off the Defective Germplasm in the Human Population, 1912



Find out more about Eugenics at Wikipedia. I couldn't make this stuff up.

7.30.2005

As Large as Life

In 1924, the comics page was the size of a small child. And, yes, that whole page is one strip.

7.29.2005

Here, Hear!

Jonathon Winters wants me to indulge in music list-making with him. I will give in this time, but I won't pass the tag on.

Directions: List your current six favorite songs and then tag six other people to do the same in their journal

(Note: In addition to simply listing the songs, I've uploaded them to YouSendIt so that anyone interested can hear the songs. Same deal as always with YouSendIt: one week or 25 downloads, whichever comes first.)

1) In the Pines - trad. arr. by Huddie Ledbetter

(This song popped into my head as I was walking out of the grocery store yesterday, and it hasn't popped out yet.)

2) In Your Hands - Sounds Like Fall

(I bought this album because I absolutely trust Gallman's taste in music. I'm glad I bought it. This song is a perfect honkeytonk hymn, and reminds me of something that Woody Guthrie may have written late in his life, or that Hank Williams may have written after waking up from a drunken stupor.)

3) Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts - Sufjan Stevens

(I've resisted for a long time, but I've done gone broke down and become an all-out Sufjan groupie with the rest of the world.)

4) Zpivam, Pane mec v ruce mam - Svatopluk Karasek

(Said the Gramophone posted this song early this morning. The lyrics alternate between Czech and English... "I'm singing with the sword in my hand." I can't get it out of my head.)

5) Psalm 45 - The Trees

(I've posted about this song before. It's the greatest psalm rendition I've heard in a long time; it captures the heart of the psalm while expressing an air of medieval festivity in the context of a decidedly American "hippie" scene.)

6) Vengeance, pt. 2 - Wooden Wand

("We will recover, but who can see when; there's never a quiet enough time." The constant refrain of "and god says vengeance is mine" comes as a sober warning, whether Toth understands the words he sings or not.)

That's it. Six.

7.27.2005

Why Here When You Could Be There?

There was a lot of good stuff to be found in the blogosphere today. In case you missed any of this, here's my pointers.

#1) Alastair gives us more to think about regarding Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 4 as a symptom of a much larger problem

#2) Jeff Steel reminds us that we should be praying for the unity of all Christian people

O GOD, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Saviour, the Prince of Peace; Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions. Take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatsoever else may hinder us from GODLY Union and Concord: that, as there is but one Body, and one Spirit, and one Hope of our Calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may henceforth be all of one heart, and of one soul, united in one holy bond of Truth and Peace, of Faith and Charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

#3) Backwards City quotes an Harper's essay on 'The Christian Paradox.' This is the situation that we are in. Forgive me for simply up and stealing the whole quote and placing it here:

Only 40 percent of Americans can name more than four of the Ten Commandments, and a scant half can cite any of the four authors of the Gospels. Twelve percent believe Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. This failure to recall the specifics of our Christian heritage may be further evidence of our nation’s educational decline, but it probably doesn’t matter all that much in spiritual or political terms. Here is a statistic that does matter: Three quarters of Americans believe the Bible teaches that “God helps those who help themselves.” That is, three out of four Americans believe that this uber-American idea, a notion at the core of our current individualist politics and culture, which was in fact uttered by Ben Franklin, actually appears in Holy Scripture. The thing is, not only is Franklin’s wisdom not biblical; it’s counter-biblical. Few ideas could be further from the gospel message, with its radical summons to love of neighbor. On this essential matter, most Americans—most American Christians—are simply wrong, as if 75 percent of American scientists believed that Newton proved gravity causes apples to fly up.

...

And therein is the paradox. America is simultaneously the most professedly Christian of the developed nations and the least Christian in its behavior. That paradox—more important, perhaps, than the much touted ability of French women to stay thin on a diet of chocolate and cheese—illuminates the hollow at the core of our boastful, careening culture.


#4) Crooks and Liars posted a clip of Rick Santorum on The Daily Show. People are criticizing Stewart for going soft on Santorum, but I think that Santorum should be criticized for being too wishy-washy. Santorum, it seems to me (and I don't know much about the man), is part of the natural law crowd. Instead of presenting God's Law, Santorum argues for "what's best for society" yet I'm not sure if he is able to offer compelling reasons why something is best for society.

Far instance, Santorum concedes to Stewart that there can be "virtuous homosexuals." I just can't understand this, unqualified as it is. Would he say that there are virtuous adulterers, virtuous rapists, virtuous thiefs, virtuous murderers, etc? When someone defines oneself and labels oneself as one engaged in a sin, then revels in it and defends it absolutely; is this what Santorum means by virtuous?

Sorry, that's not my major complaint, just a tangent I probably shouldn't have gotten started on.

Anyhow, I enjoyed the interchange between the two and thought that it was rather civil. I'm a big fan of The Daily Show and I'd be watching it often if we had cable television. For now, I have to settle for internet scraps.

#5) Paul Duggan has been posting a very excellent, very readable defense of the power of paper, (sacramental efficacy)first here, and then here.

#6) This one probably shouldn't count since it's almost a week old, but Uncommon Folk put up a song from the new Wooden Wand album. I heard it once and immediately played it at least a half a dozen more times. It's one of those. I'm not sure if I'll order the CD now or wait for the vinyl. Oh, the trials I face!

7.25.2005

Batman for Beginners

About a month ago, after seeing the new Batman film, I linked to a Bob Kane interview on NPR. That short post inspired (enraged is probably closer to the truth) Steve Ely to write a very informative post about Bob Kane's atrocities and the slighting of Bill Finger. I was ignorant of this, and figure that most of you are, too, so here's the link to Steve's excellent short history of the creation of Batman and those involved. I stand corrected of my uninformed assumptions and defer to Steve's expert presentation of the facts.
Gone Before

I'm pretty pleased with myself for winning Uncommon Folk's "Music Maker Package Giveaway" and am looking forward to receiving the prize.

I've been looking at the Music Maker website (which I had never heard of before) and I really think that it's a worthy organization.

Here's the mission statement:

"Music Maker Relief Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern musical traditions gain recognition and meet their day to day needs. Today, many such musicians are living in extreme poverty and need food, shelter, medical care, and other assistance. Music Maker's aid and service programs improve the quality of recipients' lives. Our work affirms to these artists that we value the gifts of music and inspiration they have delivered to the world."

As a bonus, I found that the organization's newsletter features Pekar/Dumm comics which are mini-bios of different artists.

7.24.2005

RosenCROnig

In honor of Joel and Sonya Dunham having stayed with us for the past four days, I'm linking to:

How to Make a Board Game



Time and Space


Pickles by Brian Crane is one of the greatest strips running in the papers right now (I know that's not saying much, but I think that it would still be true even if the competition were something fiercer).

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Presenting Presby

After attending the FORC synod and spending time listening/talking to my Pastor, last week I picked up my copy of the Westminster Confession to see what was in it regarding Presbyterian polity. I was surprised that there is absolutely nothing in the confession about local church government or the ordering of the "kirk." Chapters 25 through 31 deal with the nature of the Church, the communion of the saints, the sacraments, church discipline, and the authority/lawfulness of the calling of broader assemblies. Yet there is nothing about Presbyterianism vs. Episcopacy, or, more specifically within Presbyterianism, two-office or three-office views. I'm not sure why this is the case, but I'd like to think that it's because the Westminster divines were not willing to make Presbyterial government an article of faith.

After failing to find anything in the confession, I looked at the subordinate documents and there found the "The Form of Presbyterial Church-Government" which was a product of the assembly at Edinburgh, not Westminster. It was this document that the Scottish Kirk subscribed to as far as settling the nature of church government. (I just think that it's interesting to note that it is the product of Scottish church officers in Edinburgh and not the work of the English church officers gathered at Westminster). So, even though I haven't looked at any other documents yet, I now have a better understanding of the form of church government that the Scottish church adopted, and which has affected all subsequent Presbyterian bodies.

The "Form" basically takes a three-office view, though that term may be a bit simplistic because the Form also breaks up roles within offices.
The office of Presbyter is broken up into Pastor and Teacher (or Doctor), yet the Form recognizes that these roles can and indeed must overlap. The distinction is meant to emphasize that there are different strengths and gifts given to different men in the office. Yet there are not two offices of Presbyter, but one.

The Pastor is primarily responsible to:

- pray for and with his flock, as the mouth of the people unto God, where preaching and prayer are joined as several parts of the same office. The office of the elder (that is, the pastor) is to pray for the sick, even in private, to which a blessing is especially promised; much more therefore ought he to perform this in the publick execution of his office, as a part thereof.
- read the Scriptures publickly
- feed the flock, by preaching of the word, according to which he is to teach, convince, reprove, exhort, and comfort.
- catechise, which is a plain laying down the first principles of the oracles of God, or of the doctrine of Christ, and is a part of preaching.
- dispense other divine mysteries.
- administer the sacraments.
- bless the people from God
- take care of the poor.
- And he hath also a ruling power over the flock as a pastor

The Teacher, on the other hand, is primarily one that “excels in exposition of scripture, in teaching sound doctrine, and in convincing gainsayers.”

Though both Pastors and Teachers are both recognized as Elders (Presbyters), equal in authority, there does seem to be a stress in the idea that Pastors exhibit more in the role of oversight (overseer=bishop), while the Teacher’s primary role seems to be teaching (surprise!). Nevertheless, they occupy the same office and the Pastor does not have authority over the Teacher and is not excused from the role of teaching, while the Teacher must practice oversight as well, especially if he is the only officer in the local congregation.

“… where is but one minister in a particular congregation, he is to perform, as far as he is able, the whole work of the ministry”

In addition to the ordained office of Presbyter/Bishop, the Form introduces what I would call elders with a little ‘e’. These elders are non-ministerial men in the local congregation with “gifts for government, and with commission to execute the same” in the government of the church. This position is analogous to those “elders of the people” under the Old Covenant who were “joined with the priests and Levites in the government of the church.”

Finally, the Form presents deacons as “distinct officers in the church … whose office it belongs not to preach the word, or administer the sacraments, but to take special care in distributing to the necessities of the poor.”

“For officers in a single congregation, there ought to be one at the least, both to labour in the word and doctrine, and to rule”

There needs to be at least one officer (Presbyter) in a local congregation. This may be surprising to those that describe Presbyterianism as rule by a plurality of Elders (big ‘e’ or little ‘e’ elders) at the local level. This is true to a certain extent, because “It is also requisite that there should be others to join in government” at the congregational level. “And likewise it is requisite that there be others to take special care for the relief of the poor.” So, the local congregation has to consist of at least one ordained Presbyter/Bishop and is required to have layman elders to join in government and deacons to care for the poor, the number of which is “to be proportioned according to the condition of the congregation.”

That is the basic government, according to the Form, of a local congregation. According to the Form, however, the local congregation is not really a full “church.” This may sound strange to us at first, but there are Biblical examples given to support this distinction.

According to the Form, “It is lawful, and agreeable to the word of God, that the church be governed by several sorts of assemblies, which are congregational, classical, and synodical.”

Congregational Assemblies consist of the ruling Officers of a particular Congregation.

Classical Assemblies consist of a presbytery. “A presbytery consisteth of ministers of the word, and such other publick officers as are agreeable to and warranted by the word of God to be church-governors, to join with the ministers in the government of the church.”

Here’s where it gets interesting, at least to me… (I’m going to quote a huge chunk here)

(Quickly, though, the third type of assembly is Synodical: “Synodical assemblies may lawfully be of several sorts, as provincial, national, and oecumenical.”)

The following is concerning “Classical Assemblies” –

_______________________________________


The scripture doth hold forth, that many particular congregations may be under one presbyterial government.

This proposition is proved by instances:

I. First, Of the church of Jerusalem, which consisted of more congregations than one, and all these congregations were under one presbyterial government.

This appeareth thus:

First, The church of Jerusalem consisted of more congregations than one, as is manifest:

1st, By the multitude of believers mentioned, in divers [places], both before the dispersion of the believers there, by means of the persecution, and also after the dispersion.

2dly, By the many apostles and other preachers in the church of Jerusalem. And if there were but one congregation there, then each apostle preached but seldom; which will not consist with Acts vi. 2.

3dly, The diversity of languages among the believers, mentioned both in the second and sixth chapters of the Acts, doth argue more congregations than one in that church.

Secondly, All those congregations were under one presbyterial government; because,

1st, They were one church.

2dly, The elders of the church are mentioned.

3dly, The apostles did the ordinary acts of presbyters, as presbyters in that kirk; which proveth a presbyterial church before the dispersion, Acts vi.

4thly, The several congregations in Jerusalem being one church, the elders of that church are mentioned as meeting together for acts of government; which proves that those several congregations were under one presbyterial government.

And whether these congregations were fixed or not fixed, in regard of officers or members, it is all one as to the truth of the proposition.

Nor doth there appear any material difference betwixt the several congregations in Jerusalem, and the many congregations now in the ordinary condition of the church, as to the point of fixedness required of officers or members.

Thirdly, Therefore the scripture doth hold forth, that many congregations may be under one presbyterial government.

II. Secondly, By the instance of the church of Ephesus; for,

First, That there were more congregations than one in the church of Ephesus, appears by Acts xx. 31, where is mention of Paul's continuance at Ephesus in preaching for the space of three years; and Acts xix. 18,19,20, where the special effect of the word is mentioned; and ver. 10. and 17. of the same chapter, where is a distinction of Jews and Greeks; and 1 Cor. xvi. 8,9, where is a reason of Paul's stay at Ephesus until Pentecost; and ver. 19, where is mention of a particular church in the house of Aquila and Priscilla, then at Ephesus, as appears, Acts xviii. 19,24,26. All which laid together, doth prove that the multitude of believers did make more congregations than one in the church of Ephesus.

Secondly, That there were many elders over these many congregations, as one flock, appeareth.

Thirdly, That these many congregations were one church, and that they were under one presbyterial government, appeareth.

__________________________________

So, according to the Form above, churches exist on the city-level, and individual churches can, and frequently do, consist of multiple congregations. The whole church, on the city-level, is ruled by a presbytery. This seems to be the heart of the difference between Presbyterial government and Episcopal government, that the church on a broader level (diocese, in Episcospeak) is governed by a presbytery (see above definition) instead of by a single bishop, occupying an office separate and above the other presbyters.

That’s my brief interaction with and summary of “The Form of Presbyterial Church-Government.”

I find interesting and convincing the idea of a single church consisting of multiple congregations. I find the argument for lay elders less convincing and I’m not sure where I stand on the matter yet.

Please, if I’ve made any errors above in summarizing this position, please correct me.

Here’s a good place for a disclaimer, too. If it’s not obvious, I should let all know that the above position is not necessarily my own position. I’ve been settled (relatively so) on many matters related to Reformed Dogma and Doctrine for a few years now, but I am very uncertain and lacking in knowledge in regards to polity.

Anyone that wants to make suggestions regarding books/articles/essays on forms of Episcopal or Presbyterial church government, please do so.


Somewhat related:

Read Joel Garver’s essay Catholicity and Authority.

7.18.2005

Older I Get

"There are those who might insist that whatever we do in church ought to be positive and uplifting. And I suppose such people would have trouble with singing the blues in church."

Yet...

"Singing the blues in church is a matter of honesty."

7.17.2005


Trousers Rolled


This afternoon I listened to an informative lecture on "Reformed Liturgy" by Hughes Oliphant Old. (found on Westminster Theological Seminary's Audio Page)

Old's lecture doesn't really cover specifics of Reformed Liturgy as its title seems to suggest that it would, but it does include lots of general historic background covering the Reformation era.

"The way covenant theology started out among the reformers was a means of understanding the Lord's Supper and Baptism. That is really the root of covenantal theology."

-Old, from the lecture

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7.12.2005

Arrangement of Words

Schulz on Trudeau

"GROTH: How do you feel about [Garry] Trudeau's demanding more space [for Doonesbury]?
SCHULZ: [Pause.] That he's not a professional. He's never been professional.

GROTH: How do you mean that?
SCHULZ: I don't think he conducts himself in a professional manner in the things that he does.

MARSCHALL: You're not just talking about the artistry of the strip?
SCHULZ: It's his whole attitude toward the business.

GROTH: You don't admire the strip.
SCHULZ: [Shakes head.]"

(thanks to Mr. Ely)

Spike quote:

"The secret of the “End Of the World” movies is this – we think we should be the ones that inherit the planet after the warring factions have destroyed everyone else."

7.11.2005

Umberto Eco quote:

"We don't have kings any longer and the few who are still there — they commit the same sins that human beings do.... I think the real Catholics in the days of the Pope's death were at home praying and the people in St. Peter's Square were atheists looking for a king."

(source)

7.10.2005

Wendell Berry Quote:

"I do have an interest in this book, which is for sale. (If you have bought it, dear reader, I thank you. If you have borrowed it, I honor your frugality. If you have stolen it, may it add to your confusion.) Most of the sale price pays the publisher for paper, ink, and other materials, for editorial advice, copyediting, design, advertising (I hope), and marketing. I get between 10 and 15 percent (depending on sales) for arranging the words on the pages.
As I understand it, I am being paid only for my work in arranging the words; my property is that arrangement. The thoughts in this book, on the contrary, are not mine. They came freely to me, and I give them freely away. I have no "intellectual property," and I think that all claimants to such property are thieves."

7.08.2005

Accident?

It's no secret that I love cover music. Any artist covering another artist's song is endlessly fascinating to me.

Everyone probably knows Britney Spears' version of 'Oops! I did it again!', but have you heard Richard Thompson's cover (from his 1000 years of popular music album) of the Spears song?

Oops by Thompson

Enjoy!

I leave early tomorrow on a train to New York City. I'll be sure to report any pig farms that I come across.

7.07.2005

Independence

Following Independence Day, I've seen a lot of writing/reflection on the Revolutionary War/War for Independence. Of them all, Seth Ben-Ezra's recent post is the absolute best. This has been an issue that has been debated on both sides in the National Reform Association for a long time (I was an NRA junkie for a while, going to a conference, buying and reading a decade worth of back issues of The Christian Statesman).
I come down on the issue clearly in favor of Seth's position.

On the American Revolution
by Seth Ben-Ezra

7.06.2005

Recovering Hippies

I was browsing one of my favorite music sites tonight (The Unbroken Circle), and I found a really great rendition of Psalm 45 done by a group named The Trees, that I know very little about (besides the review at Unbroken Circle).

You can listen here:

Psalm 45


While I'm at it, I ought to point out that Valerie has recorded a setting of Psalm 107 for J.O. Butler's PsalmCast.

7.04.2005

Vertical Farming

"What is proposed here that differs radically from what now exists is to scale up the concept of indoor farming, in which a wide variety of produce is harvested in quantity enough to sustain even the largest of cities without significantly relying on resources beyond the city limits. Cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and other large farm animals seem to fall well outside the paradigm of urban farming. However, raising a wide variety of fowl and pigs are well within the capabilities of indoor farming. It has been estimated that it will require approximately 300 square feet of intensively farmed indoor space to produce enough food to support a single individual living in an extraterrestrial environment (e.g., on a space station or a colony on the moon or Mars)(35). Working within the framework of these calculations, one vertical farm with an architectural footprint of one square city block and rising up to 30 stories (approximately 3 million square feet) could provide enough nutrition (2,000 calories/day/person) to comfortably accommodate the needs of 10,000 people employing technologies currently available. Constructing the ideal vertical farm with a far greater yield per square foot will require additional research in many areas – hydrobiology, engineering, industrial microbiology, plant and animal genetics, architecture and design, public health, waste management, physics, and urban planning, to name but a few. The vertical farm is a theoretical construct whose time has arrived, for to fail to produce them in quantity for the world at-large in the near future will surely exacerbate the race for the limited amount of remaining natural resources of an already stressed out planet, creating an intolerable social climate."

Read more: VerticalFarm.com

When playing a game, the goal is to win, but it is the goal that is important, not the winning. —Reiner Knizia