Tragic

5/24/07
Two people are dead and a Warsaw man remains at large following separate shooting incidents Wednesday evening in Warsaw.

Kosciusko County dispatch received a call at 5:11 p.m from the Phillips 66 Service station at 2518 E. Center St., Warsaw, concerning a shooting.

Phillips 66 employee Narinder Muldt made the 911 call after another employee told him the manager, Harpal Singh - referred to by Muldt as "K.J." - had been shot.

The suspected shooter is Omar Mora, 31, of Warsaw. Police said Singh suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his head and chest from a small-caliber handgun. Singh died at the scene.

Police believe Mora then headed to his residence at 1844 Vicky Lane, Warsaw, where he allegedly shot his wife, Lisa Heather Mora, 32, with the same small-caliber gun. [Warsaw Times Union]


This is very difficult for me to write about. These have been hard days for Lisa's family and many of us who are close to them. The above headline may be somewhat common place in certain areas of the country, but not here.

The shooting took place in the late afternoon on Wednessday, the 23rd.

The first thing to mention in regards to this story is that the facts are not all in. Various media outlets are reporting this in such a way that would suggest that there was some sort of sexual relationship between Lisa and K.J. I am simply going to say that it is important not to jump to any conclusions.

Recently at The Theos Project we have been discussing the issue of light, but during times like these it is hard to see anything but darkness. There is confusion, fear, and pain. Things seem so senseless. Two boys who will never again see their mother. A sister who will be forever missed at Christmas. A father who will bear guilt and shame for the rest of his life. All so senseless. All so tragic.

Sometimes darkness surrounds us. What does it mean to see light in these times? What does it mean to face the hard days ahead? To try to sort out the difference between wanting justice and craving vengeance? How does one come to grips with losing a life so dear? Why is the pain of the disconnect so great?

The questions are many. The answers are few.

In the midst of the questions and in the midst of the darkness I am reminded of the Gospel of John, chapter one:

In him was life and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness.

Somehow the light of Christ shines. It is this light that gives hope for the future. It is this light that shines in the darkness of our own pain and confusion. Christ's light is pure. His light is true. We come to him for healing. To cry when we feel overwhelmed by bitterness, and to love through the hate.

That Christ came as the light is the reason we reach out to each other. Christ's mission is our mission: Bring light to the darkness of the lives of others. Sometimes our lives are marked by living that is inauthentic and superficial. The light of Christ penetrates and leads us to something deeper as we love and care for each other.

In Him,
Jon

Music about Indiana?

Yeah, that's what I thought, too.

A guy named Jon McLaughlin has a new album. The title? Indiana.

There are some good songs, and I recommend it. Very reflective. It's pop-piano. For a preview of his music you can take a listen at his myspace. I like the song "Indiana" and "Human":
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=6082022


Here is the link to my review at Amazon.com. Upon reading the review it seems to be more my personal reflections on the state of Indiana - part autobiographical, part existential reflections - but hey, it's my review, right?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A2K3VAXPPBHWPK/ref=cm_pdp_profile_reviews/002-3551723-8758419?ie=UTF8&sort%5Fby=MostRecentReview

Meaning, Desire and Light

In our recent discussion on Cyber Sex I referenced Qohelet (Ecclesiastes) saying that on my reading one of the major points of Qohelet is that there is no absolute connection between fulfilling one's desires and living a meaningful life. That if we pursue our desires we may or may not grasp them, and if we do satisfy desires that this may or may not result in a feeling of fulfillment or the sense of having lived a meaningful life.

This prompted a comment by Ktismatics:

If there's no discernible connection between desire and meaning, then why not accept that disconnect? Eat, drink and be merry if you feel like it; it doesn't have anything to do with meaning anyhow. You could make a case that Judeo-Christian sexual morality attempts to impose meaning where it doesn't belong, that it makes to big a thing about it. After all, there's no law against chasing the wind, and it can be kind of fun and relaxing to do so, even if it doesn't really mean anything.

Paul says he wouldn't have known sin except through the Law, that he wouldn't have known about coveting if the Law hadn't said "Thou shalt not covet." The sinful passions were aroused by the law, the commandment not to covet created the desire to covet. Doesn't this suggest that prohibition creates corrupt desires? That if the prohibitions were eliminated the desires would find their own way without being forced into the darkness of bad conscience? Die to the Law, live unto God, who regenerates the desires without reference to prohibition and self-discipline?

This brought to my mind the movie Leaving Las Vegas:
An avowed alcoholic, Ben drank away his family, friends and, finally, his job. With deliberate resolve, he burns the remnants of his life and heads for Las Vegas to end it all in one final binge. On the strip, Ben picks up a street-smart hooker named Sera in what might have been another excess in his self-destructive jag. Instead their chance meeting becomes a respite on the road to oblivion as something connects between these two disenfranchised souls. (Yahoo plot summary)

Here is a scene from Leaving Las Vegas where Ben (Nicolas Cage) completely breaks down in a Las Vegas casino. At this point Sera (Elisabeth Shue) and Ben are together and out for a night of fun.


The movie is brilliant in its raw and authentic look at human nature and our potential for self-destruction. Two souls find each other, Ben and Sera. Separately they were destructing and destroyed. Having intersected into each other's world we now sense that a meaningful relationship is possible. No, more than that - that a meaningful life is possible. We are filled with a sense of potentiality. Something meaningful is within their grasp.

But the relationship is twisted and perverse. Sera is a prostitute and Ben is a dying alcoholic. Sera keeps working the streets and Ben's binging is killing him. Their lives destroy them and warp them such that they get close to love, close to a meaningful sexual encounter, but they never quite get there. The ending is authentic: Meaning is lost.

My response to Ktismatics and to Ben/Sera is the imago dei, the image of God. That humanity searches for meaning because it is in our nature as a reflection of our Creator. Fundamentally we are needy beings. Our needs drive us to something more meaningful. Our needs for relationships, for example, can provide meaning and deep fulfillment. But our needs can also lead us into cycles of self-destruction, like Ben. Need and desires can easily become frustrated, repressed and chaotic.

Ktismatics says, That if the prohibitions were eliminated the desires would find their own way without being forced into the darkness of bad conscience?

Our desires are pure but our desires are also dark and evil. And for most of us there is a jumbling of them all together such that one cannot discern what motivates them and what desires are pulling us along at any given moment. Ultimately, I think that Ktismatics is on to something. We were created for light, to be exposed.

We were created for light and authenticity. To live the genuine life:
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (I John 1)

As such the Psalmist pleads in Psalm 139 for God to search and expose. That the Creator and Knower would reveal the depths of the soul - to somehow bring light to darkness:

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

25 trends that changed America

Look at each of these. Very, very interesting. Then look at them as a whole. Think about the incredible cultural shifts in the way we live, think, and act. This is what some refer to as an "emerging culture."

25 Trends That Changed America
http://www.usatoday.com/news/top25-trends.htm
Today, USA TODAY editors and reporters pick the 25 most important trends of the past quarter-century.

1 Diversity
Record immigration creates unparalleled racial and ethnic diversity. Hispanics overtake blacks as the largest minority. The federal government lets people identify themselves as of more than one race. Tikka Masala, edamame. and mole sauce join the lingo. American culture gets Latinized. There's a backlash -- the English-as-an-official language movement.

2 Fighting for equality
More women in the workplace. More poor women on the job, off welfare. The income gap between the sexes narrows -- in 2005, women earned 77 cents for every dollar men make. Title IX. Mainstreaming the disabled.

3 Millions living longer
The oldest of 79 million baby boomers turn 61 this year. Twenty-five years ago, the oldest were 36. Cost of health care multiplies. People have multiple careers. More life stages, from three generations to six (tweeners, 20-somethings, middle-age, young old, old, oldest old).

4 It's a small world after all
Globalization takes hold. NAFTA. European Union. India and China emerge as economic powerhouses. Outsourcing.

5 Global warming
The worry over climate change becomes so widespread that average folks discuss their carbon footprint. The Kyoto Accord. The shrinking polar ice cap. Melting glaciers. Monster hurricanes. El Niño, La Niña.

6 Gay rights gain ground
Same-sex marriage, but 41 states ban it. Civil unions. Matthew Shepard. Ellen DeGeneres and other stars come out. Military says, "Don't ask, don't tell."

7 Are we safe?
Fear of terrorism changes our lives. Color-coded threat levels. We take off our shoes at airports. X-ray machines peek under our clothes. No-fly lists. Columbine. Amber alerts, America's Most Wanted. Crime rates drop.

8 Snuffing out smoking
In 1982, cigarettes were allowed almost everywhere. First they were banned in offices, then restaurants, public places and now maybe in your car and home. Nicotine patch. Nicotine gum.

9 Obesity crisis
Fat kids. Fat adults. New dietary guidelines. Ban on trans fats. Push for walking. Diabetes rates soar. The Biggest Loser on TV.

10 Tech creates cult of 'me'
Cellphones. The revolutionary switch from cassettes and VHS to CDs and DVDs. The Internet opens the floodgates. MySpace.com. Facebook. Blogs. It's all about customization and personalization. Shop and watch TV programs when you want (Amazon.com, TiVo). Download the song you want and listen to it when you want (iPod and MP3s). Capture every moment and play it for a worldwide audience (Youtube.com, camera phones, reality TV).

11 Spreading out
Americans want elbow room. Land is cheaper away from cities. Sprawl accelerates. Exurbs. Extreme commutes. Traffic congestion worsens. The smart growth movement -- getting people to eat up less open space and reduce driving -- takes off.

12 Supersizing
Bigger is better. McMansions. SUVs. Minivans. Megachurches. Wal-Mart and other big-box stores. Megaplex theaters. Hardee's Monster Thickburger (1,420 calories).

13 Going green
It's not just for granola-crunching tree huggers anymore. There's a waiting list for hybrid cars. Curbside recycling. Low-flow toilets and showers. Organic foods in most supermarkets. Solar and wind power. Green office buildings. Battles over energy drilling and nuclear waste.

14 A nation divided
Reagan Revolution. Bill Clinton. Rush Limbaugh, Al Franken. Hanging chads. Red and blue states.

15 Luxury goes mainstream
Enjoying fancy perks no longer takes Bill Gates' fortune. Average Joes enjoy $4 cups of Joe at Starbucks, guzzle bottled water, feast on Godiva chocolates, drag suitcases on wheels, sit on heated car seats and let GPS systems guide them.

16 The end of Ozzie and Harriet families
Children's overbooked schedules. Demise of the family dinner. Boomerang kids. Unconventional families (gay parents, stepparents, single parents). Blended families.

17 Diet and exercise boom
Let's get physical. South Beach. Atkins. Weight Watchers. Fen Phen. Kickboxing. Tae-bo. Thighmaster. Pilates. BowFlex. For results, see No. 9.

18 On the move
Coastal counties from Texas to New England grow by about 1,300 people a day. The "new" Sun Belt explodes. Phoenix, Las Vegas and Charlotte become major metropolitan centers.

19 High anxiety
Prozac. Paxil. Xanax. Zoloft. Ritalin. Adderall.

20 Electronic cash
Debit cards. ATMs around the world. Credit cards for $3 purchases.

21 Living alone
More adults choosing to live by themselves. Marriage is delayed. More widows. About half of women have no spouse.

22 College stress grows
Pressure to get into elite universities spawns rise of test-prep industry and high school résumés crammed with activities. Major decline in high school drop-out rate. More women than men in college. College costs soar -- and so does college debt.

23 Sexualization
Strip clubs for executives. Hooters. Paris Hilton. Britney Spears. Wardrobe malfunction. Online pornography. Girls Gone Wild. Viagra. Erectile dysfunction ads.

24 States bet on gambling
State lotteries. Internet gambling. Casinos. Slot machines at racetracks.

25 Makeovers for the masses
You look marvelous. Cosmetic surgery (from breast implants and nose jobs to stomach bands and liposuction). Botox. Dermabrasion. Teeth whitening. Lasik eye surgery. Extreme Makeover on TV.

Further From Myself

Pillar
Further From Myself
2005

Cyber sex

The above video graphically illustrates contemporary internet porn statistics. I don't know for sure how accurate they are, neither do I know how one would measure these things without allowing for a generous margin for error. However, from surfing around it appears as though these stats are fairly consistent with other statistics.

I highlight the following:
12% of all internet websites are porn
25% of all searches are pornographic
Every second 28,258 are viewing porn
2.84 billion U.S. revenue from internet porn
89% of porn is produced by the U.S.

Also interesting is a discussion on the countries that ban porn. These are countries that commentators sometimes call "backward," "medieval," or "barbaric." Ironically enough, their ethical standards are significantly higher than more "civilized" countries.

To answer the first, most pressing question: Why would I post such an obscene video on a God-blog? Why promote porn and/or subject viewers to such a provocative show of skin?

This is the point: This kind of a video is no longer provocative or even obscene. This is tame, and commonplace. The above stats back it up. Porn is mainstream. Admittedly, if I knew that my parents monitored my blog on a regular basis I would probably not have posted the video. They raised me in a very conservative and isolated Christian environment.

Here are two statlines from familysafemedia.com:
53% of Promise Keeper men viewed pornography in last week
47% of Christians said pornography is a major problem in the home

Porn is the norm. It may be little talked about in many Christian circles, and as a result it is one of those things that I would argue most Christian men struggle with in secret. Ashamed of what happens in the dark.

Interestingly enough, this post comes on the heels of Jerry Falwell's death. Falwell represents the effort to win the culture back for righteousness. But this is a new and weird world. What other culture in the whole of human history has had such widespread access to pornography? All social groups, from the least to the greatest, have instant access to instant gratification. Anything you want, at your fingertips.

We have no template for this. There is no handbook.

I recently asked my high school small group what is wrong with cyber sex? After all, I argued in the form of the devil's advocate, one can experience sex these days with a cartoon image or anime video. So, what "wrong" has been committed? This is an ethical question. This is a moral question. What is the harm with virtual sexuality? Is it addiction? If so, then what if the "addictive line" is never crossed? Clearly the majority of men are into internet porn, and our society seems to be getting along allright. Or are we on the road to Sodom and Gomorrah?

From an ethical and moral perspective I think cyber porn necessitates a Christian exploring the effects of porn on the human being and upon the soul. This is a deep existential and spiritual questioning. The Law and the Prophets do not address virtual sins, but they must be discussed by the 21st century women and men of faith or it will continue to be a taboo issue that is part of a life of secret shame for the majority of church goers.

And what about the non-believing culture? Here the issue isn't even one of shame. It is simply common place. We tell "the world" that cyber sex is wrong. Why? On what basis? Nobody is getting hurt, right? And we can't find any Bible verses.

It is a new and weird world. I would argue that we now make the majority of our most important ethical and moral decisions in the virtual world and in a fantasy land. But, then again, maybe that's the way it has always been, and only now do we have the technological capabilities to truly bring it into realization. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil has been replaced by a screen and by so many cascading images and sounds.

Falwell passes

Jerry Falwell (1933-2007) has passed away today. He loomed large as a formative figure in the politics of the American church in the 20th century. He was passionate about his beliefs. As I watch MSNBC on cable tv Rev. Al Sharpton is commenting on how he believes Falwell was a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of person whose beliefs and convictions did not change when he went off camera.

The landscape of church politics is certainly different today than it was in the 80s. It is fair to say that the church is no longer voting in a large block for the most conservative candidate. There is a growing diversity in the political views of Christians and religious people, in general. Homosexual rights, immigration, the environment, the use of the military, and domestic spending are a few of the issues on which Americans of faith differ.

With the increasing diversity amongst the American faithful the coming elections become more and more interesting.

From MSNBC:

The Rev Jerry Falwell, whose evangelical convictions and organisational abilities, including as a founder in 1979 of the Moral Majority movement, did much to place religious conservatives in a role of great influence in American politics, died on Tuesday in Lynchburg, Virginia, of apparent heart failure at the age of 73.

He was a figure of immense controversy over the last 40 years, outspoken to the point that his apologies appeared almost as regularly as his thundering denunciations. To him the three great scourges afflicting his country were "atheism, secularism and humanism," and nothing would deter him from defeating his evil trinity...

....But it was his role, along with two others, in setting up the Moral Majority in 1979 that made him a national political figure to be reckoned with. Until then evangelicals had been mostly apolitical, but his voter registration drives and his encouragement to pastors to use their churches as political pulpits introduced a new force into national political life.

Dismissive of President Jimmy Carter, whose was uncharacteristically contemptuous in return, he put his forces to work hard for the election of Ronald Reagan. In all subsequent Republican administrations, he has been a welcome guest at the White House, even though he disbanded Moral Majority in 1989.

Karl Rove, the current president's political mastermind, openly courted the support and advice of religious conservatives. With the passing years, others of similar persuasion but with less fiery oratory, like James Dobson of Focus on the Family, became, arguably, more influential, as in the anti-abortion and anti-homosexual struggles, but all owed a debt to the Rev Falwell. [Taken from MSNBC]

Rooooooxanne

In tribute to the Police reunion tour here is an old school video from the archives....

A good read

What is the role of good literature in a society and culture? And who determines what is "good literature"?

This query grows out of my recent experiences with friends, the primary of which is with a friend of mine who once confessed to me that when he reads a novel he skips "the detailed stuff" in order to keep the story moving along so that he can see what happens in the end. Now, there are a lot of reasons why this particular buddy of mine is a meatball, but his candid comment nonetheless give us a topic for discussion. What is the role of good literature?

By "good literature" I don't necessarily mean whether or not it expresses your particular ideology, I simply mean that it is well written. I am particularly thinking of the novel, but regardless of the genre some works of literature just have elements of beauty in them. There is creativity, insight, truth, and soul that breaks through the pages and moves us. However, it seems as though such literature requires a certain effort on the part of the reader to find the beauty - this is effort that the average Joe doesn't have the time for.....but now am I sounding like an elitist? Or a snob? Perhaps good literature shouldn't require our effort. Should good literature do all the work for us?

I recall watching the Ken Burns' 10 part Jazz documentary and I believe it was Cecil Taylor, one of the innovators of the highly controversial genre "free jazz", who stated that he expected his audience to prepare themselves for his concerts. For all of the time that he invests into a concert he expected the audience to likewise spend at least some time preparing themselves. Branford Marsalis called this "self-indulgent bullshit."

I was conversing at church yesterday with another believer and the topic of preparing for the worship service came up. Most American Christians roll out of bed, show up at church, and 2 hours later they are back at home grilling up some steaks and watching the game. In his book, Love your God with all your mind JP Moreland compares this approach to church with a sex partner who jumps in the sack, does the job, and then continues on with life. Doing the church thing without putting any effort into it or any pre-church preparation is like sex without foreplay or intercourse without intimacy.

So, who's right here? Who has to move? Must the reader become a "better" reader to appreciate "good literature"? Or is the best literature written to reach us where we are, with little or no effort required?

Called

My buddy, Kary, did a tv interview related to his new book, Called.

On hunting and nesting

Please evaluate the following statements:

Men are hunters. Women are nesters. This is a primordial instinct.

"Where's my motivation?"

A classic clip from Office Space!



Peter Gibbons: The thing is, Bob, it's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care.
Bob Porter: Don't... don't care?
Peter Gibbons: It's a problem of motivation, all right? Now if I work my ass off and Initech ships a few extra units, I don't see another dime; so where's the motivation? And here's something else, Bob: I have eight different bosses right now.
Bob Slydell: I beg your pardon?
Peter Gibbons: Eight bosses.
Bob Slydell: Eight?
Peter Gibbons: Eight, Bob. So that means that when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled; that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.
Bob Slydell: Would you bear with me for just a second, please?
Peter Gibbons: OK.
Bob Slydell: What if - and believe me this is a hypothetical - but what if you were offered some kind of a stock option equity sharing program. Would that do anything for you?
Peter Gibbons : I don't know, I guess. Listen, I'm gonna go. It's been really nice talking to both of you guys.
Bob Slydell: Absolutely, the pleasure's all on this side of the table, trust me.
Peter Gibbons: Good luck with your layoffs, all right? I hope your firings go really well.
Bob Porter: Excellent.
Bob Slydell: Great... Wow.