tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78699812012-01-29T16:20:45.440-06:00For folks educated way past their raisin' ... "Praecipitatum verius quam editum" --- By the Woulda-been Poet Lariat of the Shoulda-Been State of Sequoyah.Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.comBlogger26211100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-13532680431210456522012-01-29T16:20:00.002-06:002012-01-29T16:20:45.454-06:00

Still alive. That is all. --ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-60841116299558630222011-11-17T21:28:00.000-06:002011-11-17T21:30:58.272-06:00

Come Dec. 9, I will be halfway finished with a Master of Divinity. Wow. --ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-39959464296735735782011-11-17T21:21:00.002-06:002011-11-17T21:30:33.228-06:00

Here. Asserting God's maleness. I'm sure God is amused.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-41744492675277525452011-07-17T13:53:00.005-05:002011-07-18T11:25:15.659-05:00

Feodor, long-lost pal, said this would preach.We'll see. I'm preachin' on it in a few weeks -- it will be my second time to preach, ha, three days before my first homiletics class! Hoo boy. :-)Suggestions welcome.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-32350972128733152702011-07-06T17:14:00.002-05:002011-07-06T17:18:52.209-05:00

"The Qu'ran mentions the Bible twelve times. The verses call upon the people of the Bible - Christians - to follow what God revealed to them in the Bible: to be better Christians."--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-56393975492205470282011-07-05T16:14:00.002-05:002011-07-05T16:18:00.386-05:00

UCC goes Father-free in tweak of bylaws.I understand why some people think this is a big deal -- and it is: What is gained is a big deal.What is lost is not.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-73422120688343369362011-07-04T12:44:00.002-05:002011-07-04T12:47:21.689-05:00

From a great 1971 flick: "Angel Unchained," which pits hedonistic bikers, defending peace-lovin' hippies agin' a bunch of dumbass rednecks. What an artifact of history!--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-51783756390911546962011-07-03T18:13:00.002-05:002011-07-03T18:15:25.712-05:00

It's 102.I had all I can stands, I can't stands no more.So, I am fixin' to go get in my smoke-friendly pickup with a stogey and drive the back way to Oklahoma City and back, smokin' it.Yes, I am pitiful.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-74346376037758430072011-04-24T13:49:00.001-05:002011-04-24T13:50:43.613-05:00

PRAYER OF CONFESSION AT CHURCH THIS MORNING."Lord of Life, this is the morning that changed the world. This is a celebration of our joyful refusal to give death the last word. This is the power of life to swallow up death, of hope to triumph over despair, of presence to provide its own proof. This is the moment when we trust beyond our own capacity that the long arc of history bends towards

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-63071509124485222352011-02-20T15:10:00.004-06:002011-02-20T15:35:39.248-06:00

Homework last week in my seminary class on the history of Christianity gave me the option of keeping a dream journal as an experiment in a spiritual practice.(Other options were "communal worship" [what other kind is there? LOL, the idea here is to be intentional and deliberate in worship, rather than just showing up at church], fasting, a retreat, and meditation).I kept a dream journal: "Over

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-60877833762962874112011-02-16T16:41:00.002-06:002011-02-16T16:46:21.931-06:00

... defend the medieval worldview of the Great Chain of Being in a seminary class, History of Theology, led by a lovely but squishy po-mo-post-colonial-feminist prof of the female persuasion.Did not. Did not, did not, did not.But might a come close. ;-)"Appalling," she said."Well, yes, by our own standards. But every level was responsible for, not just 'over,' the levels below him," I said.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-25551263900540281462011-02-13T20:49:00.002-06:002011-02-13T20:52:20.648-06:00

Settling down amid storms as they rage.My prayer is for the peeps that I have so angrily tangled with here, and probably will again at times, the past SIX years -- and for myself.Peace! If not that, then there is NOTHING.PTS rocks.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-46437615386736476692011-01-31T09:55:00.001-06:002011-01-31T09:56:41.693-06:00

And God said:Settle down.More anon.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-90899865487894006532011-01-22T13:10:00.002-06:002011-01-22T13:18:10.127-06:00

I'm getting my seminary groove back. Classes for me resume Monday online and Tuesday in person.History of Christian Spirituality, online.Introduction to Theology, in person.Resurrection in Early Christianity, weeklong seminar in March.The last three weeks or so have been hell.Dr. ER fell and buisted her head and got a moderate concussion.Almost 50 people got downsized at work, including a friend

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-32768462286146086562011-01-12T21:48:00.000-06:002011-01-12T21:49:36.266-06:00

That is all.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-86084824432940003242010-12-23T10:31:00.003-06:002010-12-23T10:45:30.763-06:00

Just barely. Whew.Merry Christmas Eve Eve!What I'm reading between semesters in seminary!The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood, by Jane Leavy -- a Xmas gift from Dr. ER. The Spiral Staircase: My Climb out of Darkness, by Karen Armstrong.The Acts of Jesus: What did Jesus Really Do? by Robert Funk, the Jesus Seminar et al.The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-39128225620854924612010-11-24T16:05:00.002-06:002010-11-24T16:27:46.958-06:00

From an online discussion ...PROFESSOR:A number of you have remarked that Luke is a gospel that is especially friendly to women. That is a very commonly perceived notion. Jane Shaberg, a respected Lucan scholar and feminist, challenges this view. Below is her summary of her own argument. Read it and consider it and then let's discuss it.Quote is from Jane Shaberg's introduction to her commentary

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-1134424079053445842010-11-14T16:50:00.002-06:002010-11-14T16:52:00.372-06:00

And nobody was harmed. But I did make an older lady cry. ... It was a pretty dark sermon until about three-fourths way through. --ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-58132108076496285092010-11-08T10:49:00.001-06:002010-11-08T10:50:52.087-06:00

Early service. First time. Maybe the last! Who knows?Yikes.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-55272094922158936972010-10-30T19:42:00.001-05:002010-10-30T19:44:44.854-05:00

It's already Halloween Night in Oklahoma, thanks to the declarations of the Oklahoma City Council and other local authorities out to keep Sunday sacred. What the hell. Here's a Halloween rerun!My ghost story.Happy Halloween Eve!--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-9289427134623507222010-10-14T17:39:00.003-05:002010-10-14T17:45:15.825-05:00

For the next week, Oct. 15-22, I'm going here (Nogales, Mexico) and here (Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation) with these guys (Borderlinks).Keep me in yer prayers, y'all.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-65357416363134778082010-10-08T22:04:00.003-05:002010-10-08T22:20:04.999-05:00

The historical fact of Constantine's forced creation of the biblical Canon was rocked by the discovery of the Nag Hammadi texts, especially the complete Gospel of Thomas, and is becoming increasingly irrelevant.I did not say the contents of the closed Canon are becoming irrelevant, just the "closing" of it.Recent acquisitions:"The Trouble with Resurrection," brand new, by Bernard Brandon Scott."Q

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-6542850304589776102010-10-05T21:04:00.003-05:002010-10-05T21:27:34.504-05:00

From my seminary discussion board for Intro to the New Testament ...On the different concepts of resurrection from Paul in 1 Corinthians (the community is the Body of Christ, that is, the community IS Christ, resurrected, metaphorically, and the resurrection of individuals is in the future in spiritual bodies, like Christ's) and pseudo-Paul in Colossians and Ephesians and 1 Timothy (where Christ,

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-65009974219703963342010-09-24T21:32:00.002-05:002010-09-24T21:34:37.661-05:00

The idea that Paul was "called" rather than converted is exciting to me because it helps some things make more sense. That puts Paul in the line of Old Testament prophets whose aim was to correct or redirect Israel/the Israelites/Judaism back to God's first intentions for them as the firstfruits, but just the firstfruits, of the Promise of Abraham to become the father of all nations; it helps tie

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-71372188997805309022010-09-20T15:14:00.004-05:002010-09-20T15:24:00.569-05:00

From an online discussion board for my seminary class, Contemporary Issues and Biblical Intrerpretation (an upper-level Hebrew Bible class).What is justice?What guides your ethical choices.It's a discussion board (one of two for classes, which is the main reason I don't blog much right now), but these are just my contributions:On justice ...At the society level, I guess I'd say that justice is a

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-41830352918152971822010-09-11T13:54:00.003-05:002010-09-11T13:56:58.940-05:00

I'm gonna have to vacuum up all these scales falling from my eyes as I read "Mandate to Difference: An Invitation to the Contemporary Church," by Walter Brueggeman.Wow.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-16601495520830637952010-09-04T21:55:00.002-05:002010-09-04T22:00:35.874-05:00

GOD HELP ME WITH MY SEMINARY WIDOW.I can't do anything but go to work and go to school and do homework.She can't do anything hardly, in keeping the house.I don't care, and can revert to bachelorhood thinking.She does care.I barely had time to do my own laundry, keep the dishes washed, the litter box cleaned and the cats and dog fed. Now I don't have time to iron my shirts for work, hardly.WE NEED

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-21078694199074046732010-08-26T19:52:00.001-05:002010-08-26T19:54:40.613-05:00

Sorry, but I am in the middle of the first vacation I've had in a few years.Red River, N.M.ROCKS.:-)--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-23019070272051952172010-08-15T15:35:00.001-05:002010-08-15T15:36:30.264-05:00

God is still speaking,

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-34888448798423041592010-08-14T21:26:00.001-05:002010-08-14T21:26:50.701-05:00

Discuss.

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-53598841025615275642010-08-13T12:46:00.003-05:002010-08-13T12:55:58.746-05:00

Time for cookies and Kool-Aid!My main Vacation Bible School memory is this: It's where I really learned to delay self-gratification! LOL.The grownups divvied up the cookies, making sure everybody got some of all kinds (yummy and yucky). I always made myself eat the yucky ones I got first, choking them down with hardly a sip of that precious, carefully rationed Kool-Aid, to save the best for last!

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-83879444358067853702010-08-13T12:37:00.002-05:002010-08-13T12:37:43.054-05:00

Lord help me if so!--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-75321624124849080692010-08-10T11:16:00.002-05:002010-08-10T11:24:07.558-05:00

"Homosexuality in the Bible: One of the 'Clobber' passages" -- from www.religioustolerance.org.1 Cor 6: 9-10.I think idolaters, as in biblical literalists, and extortioners, as in bankers but especially credit card companies, and the covetous, as in most middle-class Americans, should be more worried than homosexuals in committed, monogamous relationships, which are not mentioned here or in any

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-27943806408556349152010-08-08T00:20:00.000-05:002010-08-08T00:20:13.177-05:00

Amen.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-18124200638956457262010-08-05T23:24:00.001-05:002010-08-05T23:26:29.880-05:00

My constant prayer. Among many constant prayers.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-85529084464945892772010-08-02T13:32:00.002-05:002010-08-02T13:35:41.677-05:00

Arts and crafts time! As a kid in Vacation Bible School, I made something like this -- but not so colorful and pretty -- a pencil holder.Out of an aluminum can, uncokked shell pasta, glue and some kind of paint. I think they actually let us young'uns use regular old spray paint. And we lived!Crafts memories from VBS?--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-19766673229376798982010-07-26T14:10:00.002-05:002010-07-26T14:15:14.480-05:00

Time for a song!I remember singing "Onward Christian Soldiers" as a wee lad in Vacation Bib;e School. I reject that hymn now for its militarization of the faith.That's puts me in the minority of Christians now, and in a teen-tiny itty-bitty minority throughout history. But I don't care.So, here's a song that I cannot hear without tearing up. The lyrics are awesome, the music beautiful -- and the

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-89176828487170351352010-07-20T13:14:00.003-05:002010-07-20T13:26:15.846-05:00

When I was a wee ER, we also pledged allegiance to the Bible:I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God's Holy Word. I will make it a light unto my path and a lamp unto my feet and will hide its Word's in my heart that I might not sin against God. Amen.That was before we learned to use the Bible as a blunt instrument with which to strike down others in the name of Christ."The Bible is God's gift to

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-52598279456734974562010-07-15T20:25:00.004-05:002010-07-15T21:26:47.131-05:00

Welcome, y'all. You've all been led in and are standing.First, the nonpledge to the Christian flag. I don't think there should be such a thing as a Christian flag. So I offer no pledge. But I do offer this to think about: A Christian rainbow flag. My pledge is to Grace, and freedom, and to the idea for which this flag seems to stand: Full acceptance of gay and lesbian Christians into the full

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-36272667133186221692010-07-11T20:13:00.002-05:002010-07-11T20:18:01.843-05:00

That would be cool.I'm about halfway through "The God Delusion," and I find myself wanting to reread some Spong.Dawkins happens to be dwelling on the idea of "body" versus "soul" or "spirit" -- that of individuals, I mean -- and I want to read more on what I consider the clearer promise of the Christian faith, which is not that we have souls that live on after our bodies have died, but is this:

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-61679837740738232652010-07-10T17:05:00.002-05:002010-07-10T17:07:52.853-05:00

Still shudder to think of the alternative.But dang. Once again, we are reminded why electing senators as president is not a great idea.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-9987432447177587772010-07-06T19:37:00.002-05:002010-07-06T19:39:32.572-05:00

In the comments, hit "paste." And then splain yourself if you can. LOLMine:"We had a hooker living next door... called Buckwheat Bertha who would ... "I was looking for a quote from "Sister Act" to comment on Facebook. LOLYours?--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-40666159723196354602010-07-02T20:38:00.002-05:002010-07-02T20:42:39.315-05:00

Somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody should get me nominated for the Genius Award.The result:A book on how the first "Indian" newspaper published in the Choctaw Nation wasn't really "Indian"; a book on how if the U.S. Senate hadn't hiccupped in December 1876 the Sioux reservations would have been in Oklahoma; and a chicken-fried rewrite of the Five Gospels. :-)And, for gravy, I'd write

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-29043289725020088872010-06-26T15:26:00.001-05:002010-06-26T15:27:12.811-05:00

Starts Sunday! Maybe Monday ... Right here.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-72329643999428151812010-06-18T22:31:00.004-05:002010-06-18T22:45:07.895-05:00

I'll bet it's been awhile, but you know the drill. Grab the nearest book, turn to page 23, and in the comments type in the fifth complete sentence. Then cite the book! :-)"Both Ugaritic texts (1.45.1; 1.168.9) and biblical rituals (Leviticus 4-5) provide for divine forgiveness (*slh/*slh). -- from Mark S. Smith, The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel, 2d ed. (

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-14639943485314257502010-06-16T08:44:00.002-05:002010-06-16T08:59:05.689-05:00

I really do miss the kind of give-and-take in the thread to this post of Neil's -- "Spong is Wrong" -- from 2007! Interaction with Neil and a few others over there really did start me on my way to seminary.Then Neil banned me, which is OK, since he's gone so far hard-right on so many issues, and painted himself into so many corners he's become irrational to the point of needing some kind of

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-59747884993884949872010-06-15T10:24:00.003-05:002010-06-15T10:33:15.132-05:00

Love this."I don't feel obliged to defend the church against its critics, including those who profess non-belief in the God of a corrupt church's making. If anything, I affirm that kind of brave agnosticism -- especially when religion has failed to make known for them the God of love it professes."Read all of "Faith in God doesn't always mean faith in religion," in the Cleveland Plain dealer, by

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-12982190867063499172010-06-13T19:05:00.002-05:002010-06-13T19:12:49.959-05:00

"Lamentation for Our Gulf of Mexico"by The Erudite RedneckO God, again, we have defiled our Mother Earth.As sure as did the drill itself -- we all raped her.She spews her bile into the Gulf of Mexico.She gags, coughing up rot we have made our life blood.Such filth we would kiss away with a user’s lust!We are addicts, God! Is this Your intervention?O God! Mother’s robe is torn, hems soaked in sick

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-9851652811266895712010-06-09T13:44:00.001-05:002010-06-09T13:44:00.071-05:00

I do.The usual lies, lunacy and paranoia give it away.Spew, spew from you know who.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-51948207184383333152010-06-08T21:16:00.002-05:002010-06-08T21:24:59.625-05:00

'The problem of evil' -- that's easy for me to accept: People have tremendous capacity for good, and evil (certain limitations, obviously, apply).But 'the problem of misfortune' -- Haiti earthquake, Katrina, Dr. ER's increasingly debilitating illnesses!What's my prayer?What's my recourse but to pray?To hope for healing from You, You alleged Healer! Or is it all snake oil?Where is hope? She does

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-48008988563829760952010-06-06T16:31:00.002-05:002010-06-06T16:35:22.353-05:00

By The Erudite Redneckfor a seminary class1. What is the central theme of the book? The central theme of John Milton’s Paradise Lost seems to be God’s determination to love the humanity he has created, whether that meant the originally intended couple or their descendants through the ages, and God’s determination to keep providing a means for relationship. “Determination” could be too strong a

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-56919688793927361132010-06-02T17:25:00.003-05:002010-06-02T17:44:58.508-05:00

A REFLECTION ON VINE DELORIA JR.’SGOD IS RED: A NATIVE VIEW OF RELIGIONBy The Erudite RedneckFor a seminary classAnyone could tell just from the sheer amount and tone of the marginalia I jotted while reading God is Red that Vine Deloria Jr. hits me where it hurts time and time again — in the head and in the heart and conscience. He challenges my understanding of the history of Christianity, my

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-6766050318640546852010-06-01T09:35:00.003-05:002010-06-01T09:37:27.673-05:00

Presented as reeceived, without comment other than: Amen.--ERAN OPEN LETTER TO MUSLIMS ONLYDear Muslim Brothers and Sisters,God forbid if any one of our near one and dear one is killed then the killer is evil, a beast and what not and should get penalty but if one among us kills anybody then he is not evil and we start lying, denying or even justifying the killing.... double standards?Being

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-42057819414249333972010-05-27T08:01:00.002-05:002010-05-27T08:04:50.974-05:00

Check it out: Fullbooks.com.I don't care if the copyrights are expired. To throw text out there without the context of publication date and place is a bibliographical sin and a shame.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-50436768387825388402010-05-24T17:32:00.003-05:002010-05-24T17:37:06.433-05:00

Here's a glimpse of part of my take-home final in History of Christianity, Reformation to Present. The question was: How does my denomination and congregation demonstrate the "development of doctrines or confessions to protect the new belief system."xxxxxThis subject is probably my favorite when it comes to the history of the United Church of Christ: The UCC accepts the confessions and creeds of

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-37061767953101812232010-05-21T18:59:00.003-05:002010-05-21T19:18:45.752-05:00

Yo, y'all. I've been decompressing from my first year of seminary. The start of my voluminous summer reading list (fer fun, 'cause I am taking a break from school!), and some impressions:Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years.Wide-ranging, covering major expressions of the church and the faith now either ignored or wrongly seen as minor diversions, nooks and crannies.Did God Have a Wife?:

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-52304945773863314962010-05-09T17:15:00.002-05:002010-05-09T17:27:07.297-05:00

... the farther I get away from fundamentalist Christianity and the idolatry of insisting the Bible is inerrant, and the more I get seriously into historical-critical study of the Scriptures and theological study.Note: I did not say I'm getting more orthodox. I think what I'm getting is a whiff of that short, short period of time between the time of Jesus of Nazareth and the firming up of

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-9896011720270509432010-04-28T18:06:00.002-05:002010-04-28T18:14:34.151-05:00

I dunno. I'm shedding "R"-points by the freakin' gozillion.I have been convinced that "Redskins," "Savages," and other of the most egregious American Indian-related school and team mascots are, in fact, not just racist but repugnant and morally wrong.Once you accept that what happened at the hand of the Europeans on this continent was, in fact, genocide, there is no other moral conclusion one can

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-74271382748206387202010-04-25T06:06:00.000-05:002010-04-25T06:06:00.411-05:00

I love this. In light of "Paradise Lost," "The Pilgrim's Progress," other attempts throughout history to depict, allegorize and explain just what it is that Christ does for us, tell me: Is there any reason why this shouldn't make me weep? Is there anything in it that is suspect?--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-52996254889744917292010-04-24T21:52:00.001-05:002010-04-24T21:53:52.895-05:00

Amen.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-77080478685925546672010-04-22T14:17:00.000-05:002010-04-22T14:18:20.481-05:00

That's what I meant, Feodor. --ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-56436602760976049082010-04-19T11:12:00.003-05:002010-04-19T11:40:11.221-05:00

(Keith: Green: "No one Believes in Me Anymore" -- lyrics in first comment)Payin' bills at the kitchen table this morning, it came to me:"*THIS* is real. Payin' bills. Keepin' the wolf away from the door. Protectin' your credit. Bein' a respectable and productive member of society. Not all that seminary foolishness."And it was just about as plain as my call last spring, "Start seminary," and the

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-37916949365238217622010-04-18T11:54:00.001-05:002010-04-18T11:55:38.502-05:00

Stand with the president on Wall Street reform.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-42843693757444864072010-04-18T01:17:00.000-05:002010-04-18T01:17:00.715-05:00

My personal tipping point on homosexuality and the church:Bouncer Ad from United Church of Christ on Vimeo.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-42296640400351729512010-04-16T23:01:00.000-05:002010-04-16T23:02:22.530-05:00

The Language of God from United Church of Christ on Vimeo.

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-56289866179100470382010-04-12T13:59:00.003-05:002010-04-12T22:00:19.102-05:00

The Word, I think, is the best metaphor to start with to get to the metaphor of God Incarnate in Christ. And, I think it helps to see it all as involving translation.Via the Incarnation, the Word was translated from God into humanity to result in Christ -- from one language (to extend the metaphor) into another language, which results, thanks to a kind of hybrid vigor, in something else larger

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-6101410396752059232010-04-08T15:30:00.002-05:002010-04-08T15:32:50.318-05:00

Actually, I wan't y'all to tell me parts of the Bible you consider to be metaphor. An example would be Zion as cheating wife who reconciles with God.What else ya got?--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-18901923732379843502010-04-06T17:11:00.000-05:002010-04-06T17:12:19.170-05:00

Condolences accepted.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-5287601688761442142010-04-05T09:20:00.004-05:002010-04-05T17:11:13.384-05:00

This makes two Easter Mondays in a row I've woken up with an emotional hangover -- and yesterday, after starting with a positive bang, went downhill fast.Nothing, except for church itself, failed to suck. And it still sucks, and that sucks.Not quite the "terror and amazement" Mary, Mary and Salome felt. But something has seized me, and I don't feel like saying anything to anyone, and I might, I

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-5292032890640057002010-04-04T09:58:00.001-05:002010-04-04T10:06:47.411-05:00

Two or more, he said. Two'll do.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-86420813749911994072010-02-25T22:18:00.002-06:002010-02-26T09:19:25.589-06:00

See y'all on Easter Sunday.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-75301206193735508952010-02-20T11:00:00.004-06:002010-02-20T11:05:03.063-06:00

I'm wondering if this blog, after five years, has run its course. It seems to do more harm than good nowadays -- that is, the bullshit, garden-variety meanness and bile and vitriol spewed in the comments do harm, not good.I'm tired of it.So, tell me what you think. Keep it? Flush it?If it survives, I'm almost positive I'm going to, for the first time ever, start moderating comments. The Erudite

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-44528543219102058522010-02-19T08:35:00.000-06:002010-02-19T08:35:00.139-06:00

The whole reason for the "God is still speaking" post yesterday was because this is my daily Lenten devotional reading: "When God is Silent," by Barbara Brown Taylor.I didn't mean -- and "God is still speaking" does not mean -- that God is running God's mouth constantly, blabbing away.God is in Haiti, no doubt. And God may very well be silent there.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-41483297755017916412010-02-18T09:30:00.004-06:002010-02-18T09:32:56.402-06:00

How? --ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com59tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-6383964761076003932010-02-17T13:01:00.002-06:002010-02-17T13:04:11.330-06:00

Coming from one supposedly non-credal tradition, Southern Baptist, and now active in another one, the United Church of Christ, I don't have much personal experience with creeds. I understand how some would draw comfort from them -- in the same surprising way I've come to draw comfort from the liturgy, which was unknown to me growing up.However, my cynical take on creeds sees them as fences --

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com73tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-15569609156666684372010-02-13T00:03:00.000-06:002010-02-13T00:03:00.306-06:00

Discuss.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-43250232923478485442010-02-10T17:12:00.004-06:002010-02-12T23:04:11.913-06:00

We-e-ell, you know ...My response to a question on a seminary discussion board: Could a widespread, sweeping Reformation happen again?Could it happen again? Sure, but it would require the same kinds of political upheaval that were already under way, and then exacerbated, then. One well-laced nuke and the United States as we know it is changed forever, and with the political climate, and religious

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-39872468080166983272010-02-08T06:45:00.001-06:002010-02-08T06:45:00.697-06:00

It's 6 to midnight.I think the fact that Sarah Palin has a microphone -- and a good set of gams -- automatically moves us up to 5 til.What do y'all think?The 1984 clock setting, BTW, more than anything, made me who I am today, politically:"1984: U.S.-Soviet relations reach their iciest point in decades. Dialogue between the two superpowers virtually stops. "Every channel of communications has

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-14143501211020911052010-02-06T12:18:00.002-06:002010-02-06T12:21:34.039-06:00

Srly, "Jesus of Montreal" is profound and clever and wonderful. Sign up for Netflix and watch it. It's online. You can be watching it within 5 minutes.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-63554725759300475972010-02-05T19:01:00.002-06:002010-02-05T19:24:39.963-06:00

John C. Calhoun is smilin' down on these guys.(That reminds me: I own, but have not read, a first edition of Charles M. Wiltse's 1944 three-volume John C. Calhoun: Nationalist, 1782-1828; Nullifier, 1829-1839; and Sectionalist, 1840-1850. )Notice there is a Vermont Yankee involved. Note that my fellow progressive Christian friends are getting louder with their cries of "Empire"!My close, personal

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-881018421143568942010-02-03T12:44:00.003-06:002010-02-03T13:48:40.942-06:00

Another snippet from an online seminary class....St. Francis's "strict view of the vow of poverty" was the most controversial item on the Franciscan agenda. (Pelikan, 140).Why is it that anytime the church, or some prominent preacher or someone else in the church, says anything firm or definitive about poverty, it is controversial? Is it because self-preservation requires the consumption of

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-59485366528929661052010-02-03T00:06:00.003-06:002010-02-03T00:11:29.340-06:00

(A snippet of my thoughts, from an online discussion for History of Christianity II):Andrew F. Walls' phrasing on p. 7 of "The Missionary Movement in Christian History," when discussing what continuities the time-traveling observer would see in various historical expressions of Christianity, "continuity of thought about the final significance of Jesus," almost made me want to shout -- in fact,

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-79319190616780049962010-02-01T22:15:00.003-06:002010-02-01T22:18:56.899-06:00

House Bill 3408, by Jason Nelson:STATE OF OKLAHOMA2nd Session of the 52nd Legislature (2010)HOUSE BILL 3408 By: Nelson... See MoreAS INTRODUCEDAn Act relating to marriage; amending 43 O.S. 2001, Section 14, which relates to penalties for solemnizing unlawful marriages; clarifying language; and providing an effective date.BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:SECTION 1. AMENDATORY

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-29099424613187627202010-01-25T23:11:00.000-06:002010-01-25T23:15:41.949-06:00

I was thinking of this, so maybe it bears repeating.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-89742445342349484252010-01-25T16:13:00.002-06:002010-01-25T16:20:00.823-06:00

Random thoughts, as I was watching "The Passion of the Christ" -- cannot believe it's been six years since it came out! only because I had to for a class. ...Way too much spit in this movie. And the J.K. Rowling-meets-Stephen-King-and-they-have-a-baby-together-and-he-goes-into-special-effects special effects are just annoying the hell out of me. Ugh. 96 minutes to go.I don't mind a movie incuding

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-14136422360220878422010-01-22T21:30:00.002-06:002010-01-22T21:33:57.896-06:00

Welcome to church.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-68649903029710867772010-01-18T15:02:00.001-06:002010-01-18T15:04:02.058-06:00

Jesus, can't we all just get along?--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-40258611460704728432010-01-17T19:15:00.000-06:002010-01-17T19:16:26.312-06:00

Look here.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-56454312354758819332010-01-16T09:16:00.002-06:002010-01-16T09:19:36.833-06:00

Hot dog. My print of this, "Cowboy Revival," by Martin Grelle, a last-minute Christmassy present from Dr. ER, came! Signed by the arteeste, even. :-)--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-27289311071780400762010-01-12T19:17:00.002-06:002010-01-12T20:06:24.048-06:00

For History of Christianity 2: Reformation to the Present:"The Story of Christianity: Volume Two - The Reformation to the Present Day,"Justo L. Gonzalez."Jesus Through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture," by Jaroslav Pelikan."Her Story: Women in Christian Tradition (2nd Edition)," by Barbara J. MacHaffie."A History of Christian Missions," by Stephen Neill."The Missionary Movement

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-47915610225438753982010-01-10T21:33:00.003-06:002010-01-10T21:40:29.328-06:00

I love this.How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!What more can He say than to you He hath said --To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?“Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.“When through the

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-55980866738390301032010-01-10T18:50:00.004-06:002010-01-10T18:56:25.037-06:00

At this church.IN MY SOULby Rabi'a al-Basri, saint, Sufi, MoslemInmy soulthere is a temple, a shrine, a mosque, a churchwhere I kneel.Prayer should bring us to an altar where no walls or names exist.Is there not a region of love where the sovereignty isillumined nothing,where ecstasy gets poured into itselfand becomeslost,where the wing is fully alivebut has no mind orbody?Inmy soulthere is a

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-32483711283737734612010-01-07T20:33:00.003-06:002010-01-18T11:54:40.741-06:00

Oklahoma Institute for Biblical Literacy.Dig.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com75tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-58131014090211962352010-01-05T19:21:00.002-06:002010-01-05T19:24:01.066-06:00

for prayer, karma, good vibes and whatever else y'all have.For my brother, for his sisters and myself; and for a friend's dad and my friend. Health-related. Life-related.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-24250078005037068652010-01-04T20:59:00.003-06:002010-01-04T21:07:17.855-06:00

Recessions ain't over 'till they're over.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-18496698904850488342010-01-02T14:59:00.001-06:002010-01-02T15:00:59.403-06:00

Blogger caves to TSA.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-72258059461584943952010-01-01T23:49:00.001-06:002010-01-01T23:53:10.174-06:00

Blah.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-3275288815992347102009-12-31T19:14:00.002-06:002009-12-31T19:17:52.987-06:00

Yes, I am warped. I actually bought the new five-volume New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible! :-)--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-60726623537192995522009-12-31T10:14:00.002-06:002009-12-31T10:16:13.752-06:00

Worth repeating, from ER, January 2008. I think these are still my thoughts on these issues and images regarding atonement, blood atonement, and so on.--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869981.post-71440565536552396582009-12-30T19:47:00.003-06:002009-12-30T19:52:11.642-06:00

Sorry, what we are fighting, in terrorism, is not a GD war. Treating it like a war is stoopid. Treat it like a disease! Treat it like a disease! And killing everybody who carries a disease is not the way to treat a disease.Not in a free (more or less) society, anyway!--ER

Erudite Redneckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830721195868387265noreply@blogger.com6