musings from a Monday night at Pinocchio's...

Joey has practice tonight at Golden Eagle, & theBean is home painting (which, by the way, is a dangerous activity to be around, don't you know?) So I sought out a quiet place to catch the NCAA Basketball championship & to pass the time until I can pick up Joey... 'bout a 2-hour block of time. My choice? Pinocchio's, the restaurant where theBean works, a short .9 mile jaunt from home, & a relatively safe spot to sit, veg-out, watch the game, eat what may be the best chicken wings in the greater Reno/Sparks area, & to blog.




I'm watching Michigan St. get worked by North Carolina... too many mistakes, & what seems to be an attempt to catch up all at once by shooting 3-pointers every time down the court. Bummer. The Spartans are moving away from the game plan that has worked throughout the tourney... & it's not pretty.




On one of the other TV's, I can see CNN & the Larry King show - it catches my eye, because Larry is interviewing Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in the SoCal, author of all things PurposeDriven... it's significant to me for a couple of reasons: Warren has become one of the de facto spokesperson for American Christianity (along with Joel Osteen,) & addresses in 'sound-byte perspectives' all things 'christian,' most notably, politics. It's also significant to me because the sound isn't on, & I can only tell what the subject/topic of Larry King & Rick Warren's discussion by the large 'headlines' smattered on the screen at various times, which I'm assuming must be their talking points.

It seems that a big portion of the interview centered on: WARREN ON OBAMA (capital letters were CNN's,) & whether he should be a part of a particular church. Other topics that appeared were:

  • Does prayer help you get a job?

  • Is Warren anti-gay?

  • Why did President Obama select Rick Warren to play the role he did in the inauguration?


  • CNN also puts a "feedback line" that runs along the bottom of the screen, where viewers can put forward their own thoughts about what they're saying & hearing... interesting. Lots of vitriol, rhetoric, & politicizing of 'issues' as christian/un-christian, esp. along political party lines...




    In other news, I'm through 2 of the 3 books in the C.S. Lewis space trilogy.... Once again, I'd highly recommend all 3 books to you, but especially the 2nd one, Perelandra. Without giving away too much, I'll say that in this book Lewis explores what the temptation of Eve in the Garden of Eden must have been like - portraying the Tempter as a cunning, relentless, manipulative, deceptive, & diabolically clever adversary bent on one purpose: perverting the words of the Creator & attempting to steal, kill, & destroy those created in the image of the Creator.

    Though I've read the book many times, this time esp. jumped out at me - the Genesis 3 account can almost make Eve look & sound like a naive, unsophisticated & unintelligent human being, one that was so easily duped by a few sentences spoken by her own tempter that she must have been a virtual child, a simpleton, when nothing could be further from the truth. Eve was the LORD God's final act of creation, fashioned from Adam, made to be a 'suitable partner' for him... She was made & declared by God to be "very good."

    Whether it be out of ignorance, projection of an anti-woman bias that has existed within the church (machine), or some other error, a not-so-subtle placing of blame on 'the woman' because of her 'naivete' has fed, at least in me, a wrong or distorted view of the cause & nature of sin, temptation, & our propensity to shift blame.

    Read Perelandra.




    I've been thinking quite a bit on 1John 2:15-17... & think that I'll do a series of 3 blogs on it...

    It's time to get Joey.

    Ciao!

    2 launchings into the blogosphere....:

    Unknown said...

    So true.As a woman I have felt judged or even defensive by the story of Eve.I think the promise of knowing all is suductive to most if we are honest.
    I have to admit the idea God is trying to keep something from me that I would desire has tripped me up on a number of occasions.Satan now has the media to help sell it.Christians are portrayed as settling for a boring life following an outdated "god" with mediocre sex,boring church socials,drab clothes...and the giving up of anything that may bring more then a teethy grin across our vacant faces.Many say after they've 'lived' then they will follow Jesus.As if it's the last thing you do before you crawl to your favorite tree to die.
    Same liar,same lie.

    scoeyd said...

    Hi Lisa - thanks for reading & commenting... on that note:

    Psalm 84:10-12 A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.

    For the LORD God is our light and protector. He gives us grace and glory. No good thing will the LORD withhold from those who do what is right. O LORD Almighty, happy are those who trust in you.