Interstitiality

Prayers

Pray for those in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama, as they recover from Katrina. We have friends in the area, and our thoughts and prayers are with them. Pray especially for Fr. K who stayed behind near the Mississippi coast to be with his parishioners. I have seen the footage on the news, and the coast of Mississippi is devastated, especially in Gulfport and Biloxi, which are about 5-10 miles east of where his church is located. Contacting him or his family now is difficult if not impossible since all phone lines and mobile communication is down in that area. If I hear anything, I’ll pass it on. Pray too for the poor in these areas. They have literarily lost everything.

As I was typing this entry, Mitch informed me (through Fr. Jeff) that the K family is fine. Fr. K apparently evacuated with the last group of parishioners. Thank God! It remains unconfirmed, but Fr. K's church was likely lost to the storm surge.

Correct Answers

1. TRUE: my thruster is way too small for me now, and my wetsuit is leftover from the late 80's.
2. TRUE: I was on the varisty badminton team for my high school in my junior and senior years. In my senior year, our team won the state championship.
3. FALSE: I am afraid to go back to Japan because I would be expected to speak Japanese (of which I speak very little).
4. TRUE: It's amazing that I am still a Christian.
5. FALSE: I did graduate with honors in both high school and college.
6. FALSE: Some of my students did such a skit.
7. FALSE: I never played varsity football. I DID catch a TD pass for my Princeton intramural team's championship victory, and I was the second string QB (though I probably should have been the 3rd string behind a guy named Ira).
8. TRUE: My doctor was a family friend, and he took me to see the Southern California Sun. He realized that I was only cheering after everyone else did. It was then he realized that I couldn't see the ball.
9. FALSE: I did play keyboards in a church band, and our lead guitar player did get approached by Madonna’s touring manager.
10. TRUE: May 21st was chaotic for my family. What's more weird is that we are all adopted.

Pop Quiz

This was inspired by the PeripateticPolarBear. Five of the following are true and five are false. Any guesses?

1. I ride a 6’3 thruster (3-fin surfboard) and have a fluorescent green wetsuit.
2. In high school, I lettered in badminton.
3. I have always wanted to go back to Japan to visit relatives.
4. An evangelical campus group once wanted to perform a “spiritual” circumcision on me.
5. I was class valedictorian in high school and college.
6. In seminary, I was part of a group that did a Veggie Tales skit on the Exodus for a class project.
7. I was the second-string quarterback on my varsity football team, and I caught a TD (as a WR) in our team’s championship game.
8. My doctor found out that I was severely near-sighted when he took me to a Southern California Sun (World Football League) game.
9. In the late 80’s, Madonna’s touring manager approached me, asking me to play with her band as a keyboardist.
10. My younger twin sisters and I all have the same birthday.

Who's That?

On a related note to my previous entry for today...

I TIVO'd the Comcast Sportsnet rebroadcast of the Cubs/Braves game that I attended last night. We were in great seats--about 20 rows up right behind the Braves dugout. It turns out that my mug was front and center for the closeup shot of left-handed batters. I now have more screen time than many out of work actors.

The Pleasure and the Pain

I love and hate fantasy sports. I love them, because they provide me with hours of self-absorbed entertainment, where one gets to crunch numbers, make decisions about professional athletes, all with the underlying (although unfounded) belief that somehow your informed decisions actually make a difference in the “real” world of sports.

Last night was such an example...

I knew earlier in the day that I would be going to the Cubs/Braves game at Wrigley Field. I have two Braves on my NL-only fantasy baseball team (which, by the way, is in first place--the polar opposite of my last place AL-only team…but I digress). Anyway, I saw that my two Braves, Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones, were going up against a very hot Carlos Zambrano, pitcher for the loveable losers of the Northside.

There were at least four competing philosophies operative in my fantasy decision-making prior to the “actual” game. The first has been called the “always start your studs” philosophy. This line of thought says that you always start your best players regardless of matchup. Both Jones’ would qualify in some fantasy players’ minds as studs. So I should have started them. The second philosophy is the “crunch the numbers” philosophy. In this way of thinking, the statistician is the master. I found out that both Jones’ have a dismal time hitting Zambrano. Chipper Jones, for example, had one hit and no HRs in ten at bats against Carlos. So I should have sat them. The third philosophy is “the pleasure principle.” In this philosophy, one starts or benches players in such a way to optimize one’s pleasure or minimize one’s pain. Hence, if you are a Cubs fan (which I was last night), you should start both Jones’ knowing that 1) if Zambrano shuts the Braves out, then you will be happy because the Cubs will likely win; and 2) if the Cubs lose and Zambrano gets lit up by the Jones, well at least you have the pleasure of knowing that you started the sluggers on your fantasy team. Of course, you may shy away from starting both Jones’ in hopes that you don’t jinx Zambrano and the Cubs. The last philosophy is what my friend Matt has called the “Doh!” factor. That is, start those players whom you are less likely to say, “Doh!” after having benched them.

Last night, I should have listened to any of the above philosophies that had me start Chipper Jones, who went 2 for 4 with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs, including the game winning HR in the 9th inning. So I guess that means that Chipper is now 2 for 12 off Zambrano with 1 HR. DOH! Like I said, “I love and hate fantasy sports.”

Barth's addendum

After the War, Barth said that no other major institution--university, judicial, social, etc.--offered significant resistance to the Reich. He also commented on the limitations of the Barmen Declaration:

"Even it (the Barmen Declaration) was not a total resistance against totalitarian National Socialism. It restricted itself to repelling the encroachment of National Socialism. It confined itself to the Church’s Confession, to the Church service, and to the Church order as such. It was only a partial resistance. And for this it has been properly and improperly reproached… In proportion to its task, the church has sufficient reason to be ashamed that it did not do more; yet in comparison with those other groups and institutions it has no reason to be ashamed; it accomplished far more than all the rest" (cited from Jack Rogers, Presbyterian Creeds, 191)

The One Word...

I’m about finished with my study through the Book of Confessions. Today, I read about the historical context of the Westminster Confession of the Faith, including, of course, the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. Geez, England had a lot of blood shed over the different forms of Christianity, sometimes in the name of “religious tolerance.” As I was reading about Oliver Cromwell and the hostilities between Presbyterians, Anglicans, and Puritans (Independents), it made me appreciate the irony of a former Evangelical now Presbyterian teaching Bible at an Episcopal seminary.

It also made me ponder both the excesses of Christianity enforced through political power and the poverty inherent within our conviction-less mainline Protestantism. It is both to our credit and our shame that religious traditions have as little meaning as they do in the current climate. The next “confession” on my list is the Barmen Declaration. It was a theological response just prior to World War II that sought to address the growing alliance between Nazi politics, nationalism, and “German Christians.” Here are some excerpts:

“Jesus Christ, as he is attested for us in Holy Scripture, is the one Word of God which we have to hear and which we have to trust and obey in life and in death.”

“We reject the false doctrine, as though the church, over and beyond its special commission, should and could appropriate the characteristics, the tasks, and the dignity of the State, thus itself becoming an organ of the State.”

“We reject the false doctrine, as though the church in human arrogance could place the Word and work of the Lord in the service of any arbitrarily chosen desires, purposes, and plans.”

Hmm, where is this conviction today? It seems to me that we have a growing U.S. empire that thinks of itself as Christian. I tend to think that Dr. Barth and others who signed the Barmen Declaration would have had issues with the present marriage of politics and faith. We N. American Christians may not kill each other over different understandings of the sacraments or church polity anymore, but it sure seems to me that we are missing some bite in our theological conviction.

Wings on Sunday

Buffalo Joe’s, you either love their buffalo wings or you hate them. Last night, my mom, her spouse, and my family were walking back from the Century Cinemaplex. We happened to walk by Buffalo Joe’s. Adam, seeing the brightly lit green sign, said, “I LOVE BUFFALO JOE’S!” So my mother, being the good grandmother that she is, decided to buy some wings for her beloved grandchild. Yes, it was 10:00 in the evening, but love knows no limits, even if the results of that love require a bottle of TUMs afterward. We had a double-order of spicy and double-order of mild, and everyone went to bed happy as clams.

I don’t know what it is about these wings, but I love them too! Yes, they are on the small side (but if you don’t like small, then why in the world are you ordering Buffalo wings?). Yes, they are sometimes a little dry (but chicken is a dry meat already). Yes, they are over-sauced (but is that a bad thing?). The combination of these small, deep-fried, dripping-in-sauce wings combined with a savory little cup of ranch dressing is a little slice of heaven for me. Having read the reviews on the wall of BJ’s, I realize that I am not alone in my assessment.

Michelle’s parents, like many other church-going folk, often have brunch after church at their favorite local eatery. It does seem a bit unconventional, but Buffalo Joe’s has become our fairly regular after-church excursion. And yes, we get the same thing every time: a double order of spicy and a double order of mild; two orders of waffle fries, and extra ranch (and celery). Mmmmmm.

Another Quiz

It's funny how everyone qualifies their taking of these tests, but everyone still does them. For me, this kind of thing is just another way to distract me from what I should be doing...studying for ords.

Here's the latest...which Harry Potter Character are you.

Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

The quiz is based on the Myers-Briggs, which tests for different personality configurations. I was an ENFP many moons ago. I am borderline "P/J," so the test got it right.

Good Weekend

We had a good weekend. On Friday night, Michelle and I went to the famous Green Mill with Horace to catch some jazz. It was good company, good music, and OK beer. I was suprised. For being such a famous club, it is a cheesy little place albeit with character. Its history alone makes this venue a must see in Chicago.

We saw the Maurice Brown Quintet. Brown combines a hip-hop influence with his jazz. He is orginally from Chicago, though now he is based out of New Orleans. I especially enjoyed Derek Douget on the tenor sax...very tasty.

Last night, Michelle and I saw Crash. Paul Haggis, who wrote the screen play for Million Dollar Baby, wrote and directed this Magnolia-style film.

The movie's primary content is racism. Haggis spins individual character vignettes and then methodically weaves them together. The characters' intersecting plots do not all resolve well, but there is still a strong theme of redemption for most though not all of the characters. I personally do not like themes of redemption when it comes to racism, unless the story is told from the point of view of people of color. Even then Hollywood tends to cater to the suburban sense that everything will eventually work out OK.

While I like happy endings, easy resolution on a painful and polarizing topic like racism doesn't sit with me well. Crash falls short of schmaltz, but the movie, in my opinion, doesn't move past the individuals to expose the social depth of this problem. Movies can make you feel good and hopeful at the end, however, they can also motivate you to action rather passivity. In the end, Crash DOES make you want to be kinder to people of all colors and races. Racism, however, is not eradicated with well-intentioned, friendlier people. Being kind can only get you so far. Ending racism requires a social revolution in small and large sectors of our society. It is much more a structural problem than something that can be fixed with nicer people.

Three APARRI-ites

Here is a picture of three APARRI going folk at Pizza Capri in Hyde Park. Ann is an Asian American feminist theologian. She happens to be doing some of the most exciting stuff I've seen in a long time in theological circles. Henry is a NT scholar, who has written some very compelling work on hapa hermeneutics. Both are good friends. They are excellent colleagues and great company at the local pub.

OK, so my life is basically study, study, study right now. When I get home, beyond spending time with my family, I also like to play video games. The Madden 2005 season has just ended with the arrival of Madden 2006 last Tuesday. My current ranking on XBOX live for M05 (subject to change as people still continue to play 2005) is 25th overall. I may actually enter the Madden Challenge tournament at Navy Pier in October...show those young pups how to play football!

Recap

I just finished a very full and enriching two-week period. I had two conferences/consultations over the past 14 days. I’m tired, but my mind is also full of stimulating ideas. The Wabash consultation on race and biblical interpretation went well. I got good feedback on my paper. The group challenged me to go deeper in my correspondence between Gen 2-3 and the Japanese internment. As a theologian, I am being challenged to consider the similarities between Yahweh’s exercise of power in the garden and the U.S. government’s abuse of power during World War II. The correspondence is not clean or neat. There are, however, intriguing possibilities.

This past weekend, I was at the APARRI conference. APARRI is a too-long acronym, which stands for Asian and Pacific Americans and Religion Research Initiative. It is a conference on Asian American religions. I have many friends who attend the conference, most of them attend AAR. This year APARRI was held at McCormick Theological Seminary in Hyde Park. It was a rich weekend, full of good conversation, good food, and (some) stimulating topic discussion. I was on a panel that discussed the intersections of race, gender, and sex, and the dynamic of these aspects within a professional context.

I am now settling in to my ordination exam study. Sigh. Somewhere, I promised myself that I would take a break this summer. Beyond my week-long vacation (which was fantastic), I have not been too good about resting on my “summer break.” I guess that is what happens when you finish your dissertation. You have to get to all of those things that you kept postponing while you were writing. Something tells me, however, that this is what life is like as a professor. Maybe, I should get used to this routine.