RovingTheologian.com

My Invocation - How do you Pray in “Secular” Settings?

Well, Saturday went okay. I have to be honest, I have a lot of “demons” going back to high school. We moved to Vancouver, WA for my sophomore year but thankfully moved back (it was a horrible year that looking back was probably the first signs of my bi-polarism manifesting itself). My Junior year at Wasson High School was great. I loved AP history, I loved wrestling (including breaking Mitchell High School, our arch rival’s 33 match unbeaten streak). It was a great year. But my senior year was dreadful - I was too serious, had too many girl problems, did not know what to do with my future (which at 17 is the way things are supposed to be). And again, looking back my mental health issues were probably already evident.

Twitter and Facebook – Help Me Again: Why Should I Do It? Dangers to the Gospel from Social Media

Let me state up front I am not a Luddite. I love technology, sometimes a bit too much. But in my work for The Navigators we spend a lot of time thinking of how to communicate with and transfer concepts, ideas and meaning to people under the age of 40 (which blessedly, I am still a member of for another 9 months). One of the key things that all the best thinkers say is that you have Twitter, you have to FaceBook and MySpace. In other words, the Church (by which I mean all Christians but especially leaders) is failing the Gospel if it is not actively working through these media.

Roy J. Wasson 50th Anniversary Celebration - Guess Who is Doing the Invocation?

They are following the same progam as the one from 1959, and that original program had an invocation from the local Unitarian minister at the time. This was 1959, before prayer in school was banned. As this is an event of the Alumni Association, they are including an invocation again this time...and guess who is doing it. I will post tommorow my invocation. It is hard to write a prayer that is both true to my faith (evangelical though with strong Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions) but also acceptable for a larger audience. We shall see how I do on that.

For a nice history of my old school, you can go here: http://www.wassonalumni.com/history.html

What does the phrase Emotional Reasoning Mean to You?

Seeking advice from a wide audience. I am working on a project on emotional reasoning, but as I have done my research this phrase is generally associated with making decisions based on emotional factors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_reasoning ). But what we are working on is not emotional decision making (which would be bad, though I think is more prevalent today than we want to admit), but emotional reasoning, or processing information through a series of emotional criteria and evaluations. That does not mean you would not make a decision of response from a more varied set of decision making matrices – like logic, tradition, or tribal loyalty. Okay, beyond the work aspect of this, as one of those people who does a lot of “cognitive” processing through an emotional rather than a rational matrix, the existing understanding of this concept makes me sound like someone who is a danger to himself and others (admittedly, I am clinically bi-polar and when I am not taking care of my condition, I can be). But is not a more integrated approach going to process information through, at least in part, their emotional centre? Let me know your thoughts at .

Why Iran Matters?

I intend to write more in the coming days on the issue of Iran, but since I have not written in about a year due to health issues, I feel like the need to make a basic point here. We are facing the very real possibility that Iran is going to have nuclear weapons within in a few years, maybe even as soon as 2010. This is a state led by a man who has spoken openly of removing the nation of Israel off the map. Whatever your feeling about the need for a Palestinian state, and I am in favour of it if they can prove they can govern without corruption, without violence an dmost importanly, without devoting themselves to killing their neighbours in Israel, the fact is that the current regime in Iran has stated its desire to end Israel. This is deeply troubling.

Intersesting Article on California from the liberal New Republic

I have never lived in California (as a resident of Colorado, why would I, and as a matter of fact most residents of my state just hope fewer Californians move here). But as an American who wants to see everyone succeed the current situation in California is one that has to concern me. I do not want to see California become a “failed state.” There are certainly some conservatives who want to see California fail because it would be an indictment on the liberal policies of that state. Lets be honest the state legislature there has been dominated by Democrats for about two decades and the govenors there have been liberal, even the Terminator, who like George W. Bush may have done lasting damage to the Republican brand.

Ethiopia Trip Update

In January Christopher went to Ethiopia and Engalnd on a ministry trip. He took a lot of pictures and had an amazing time. Want to hear how the trip went and how God moved?

Great Article on Carrie Prejean and 17 year old Mistakes vs. 21 year old Mistakes

You know by now the controversy regarding the Miss USA pagent, when the blogger called “Perez Hilton” who has made a name for himself by outing people in Hollywood and tafficing in gossip asked Miss California “do you agree with gay marriage” which should never have been asked in a pagent at all. Now Carrie Prejean has become a spokesperson for the traditional marriage movement, a movement i might add that is still in agreement with about 60% of Americans. Now they have dug up a picture of her from when she was age 17 that is semi-toppless (I will not post to it, as i think it qualifies as lite pornography). : What to make of all this? Well Kathreen Jean Lopez of National Review and Seth Leibsohn of the Claremont Institute have a great piece entiteld “Naked in the Naked Public Square.” You can read it here: http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NjhmZDc3YTU1NGVmYmFjNzg1OTlkMzNiNDA5Y2RjMmU= I agree with most of what they had to say (I think they were harder on Miley Cyrus and her dad then I would be, since I think they got snookered and simply trusted the wrong person), but it got me to thinking about Ms Perjean and what good will come of this for her. After the jump you will find the email I sent to Madam Lopez, the queen of Nationalreview.com

Why the Chrysler Bankruptcy Deal is Dangerous

I have never owned a Chrysler vehicle. Actually, I am not sure I have ever been in one. Maybe a Jeep Wagoneer, but it was not owned by Chrysler when my friend had one. I am also not particularly pro-union, though from a historical view, I think they played an important role. But whatever your view of unions, the Chrysler name, or President Obama, you should be very worried about the deal worked out between the Obama administration and Chrylser last week that has now gone to the bankruptcy judge.

On Trying to Find Meaning through Swine Flu

Why did our country go crazy over this recent out break of the dreaded swine/H1N1/Mexican/resort flu? Yes, the 24 hour news cycle contributed, but why would ordinary people run out and spend good money on fac masks they neither needed nor will likely ever use?