Your Rambler is back after a two-week hiatus. Did you miss me? What do you mean you didn’t even know I was gone? Is that any way to treat your intrepid reporter? In case you’ve forgotten, Saturday Ramblings is our chance to do a little light housekeeping around the iMonastery. Well, after two weeks off, there is quite a mess that needs to be swept up. So, grab your broom and dustpan and get ready to ramble.
In case you missed it, your rambler was preempted for the Stations of the Cross series. As I write this on Friday night, I have just returned from walking through the Stations of the Cross at my church in Tulsa. It is one of my favorite activities of the year, though it wrings great emotion from me. Our fourteen day series of Stations here at iMonk also wrung great emotion from me, both those I wrote and those that Lisa Dye wrote. In case you missed any, you can go back and re-read them here. We will soon offer this series in book form for your personal use or use in church services.
The Japanese earthquake and tsunami. War in Libya and Iraq. Cancer. What is the answer to suffering? Pope Benedict says there really is no good answer to suffering. In a question-and-answer session for a TV program, he answered questions about suffering. I find Pope Benedict very refreshingly honest.
President Obama presided over an Easter prayer breakfast this week that featured a number of top evangelical pastors, including Tim Keller and T. D. Jakes. The president spoke about the importance of God’s grace and the resurrection. Of course, the majority of evangelicals will still believe that Obama is a Muslim. Sigh…
Tim Keller says the resurrection is more than just a story. I wonder if this was a topic of conversation between the New York City pastor and the president.
Could this be a picture of Jesus? Scholars are anxious to examine a cache of ancient books found in a cave overlooking the Sea of Galilee. One has the relief representation of a bearded young man on the cover and bearing the words “Savior of Israel.” And if it would prove to be a picture of Jesus, would it matter? Do we need a picture of Jesus?
Steve Green of Hobby Lobby fame has a collection of Bibles, but none that he knows of featuring an original picture of Jesus. He plans to display his collection in a museum in Oklahoma City until October when it will be transfered to St. Peter’s Square in Rome before it ends its travels in New York. He than plans to build a museum to house the 30,000 pieces in his collection.
Or you could read A.C. Grayling’s “secular bible.” Ok then…
Finally, this bit of leftover news. Or rather, this recommendation. If you are shopping at WalMart in Maryland and you have to “go,” it might be best if you hold it until you get home. Just a thought.
Happy birthday greetings this past week go out to Charlie Chaplin; Peter Ustinov; Henry Mancini; Kareem Abdul Jabbar; Daffy Duck; Hayley Mills; Conan O’Brien; Dudley Moore; Ashley Judd; Anthony Quinn; Glen Campbell; and Jack Nicholson.
Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, and so there really no other bonus video to share than this one. Although in watching it, it seems the audience needs to be resurrected. Anyway, enjoy the Easter Song by the Second Chapter Of Acts.
He is risen.
He is risen indeed.
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gggPpVtEKQ’%5D
The Internet Monk Archives 
Ah, yes! Al Loman and Roger Barkley. I listened every morning on my way to junior high school. I particularly enjoyed their daily parody of “Gunsmoke” and their entire cast of characters. As a radio guy, I credit them with inspiring me to enter the industry …and, yes, I have stolen one or two of their routines. I also recall their brief experiment with late night TV. Thanks for bringing them to mind!
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The eastern church uses the modified Julian calendar, while the western church uses the Gregorian calendar. The observance of Easter on each calendar rarely coincide.
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Do I understand correctly that the Eastern Orthodox and Western observances of Easter fall on the same Sunday this year? That is pretty cool.
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Rebekah, I live in the foothills of the western Maine mountains. It can be snowing here and raining three miles away downtown. But tomorrow is supposed to be nice weather. It was warm and beautiful yesterday.
Happy Easter! (And who knows…maybe the rain dance will work. God has many ways in which he chooses to work!)
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He is risen indeed!
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+1
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Ted, this does count as light reading for me 🙂
Nah, just thought it was interesting and funny in a dry, academic way. I mean, the next time there’s an Evangelical Atheist spouting off about how SCIENCE!!!! is the only way, and how religion rots your brain and is in oppostion to reason and enlightenment, it’d be good to point out how many Jesuits were scientists (we’ll gloss over how many times the Jesuits were suppressed/kicked out of countries, and how a lot of people within the Church think it’s about time the Jesuits were suppressed again).
Also, the next time a “You have to believe every single word of the Bible is inerrant and more than that, is to be understood solely in a bare, literal fashion, otherwise you deny the whole!!” type (which means that if you don’t literally believe Methusaleh lived to be 969 years of age, where each year is a standard astronomical year as currently measured, neither can you believe in the Resurrection of Christ) starts in on how science is godlessness, showing how non-Christian societies did not develop the same way – which includes the scientific method – as the Christian West should knock that one on the head.
Of course, it probably won’t change any minds in either case, but it might help more reasonable people from having their heads explode.
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Thanks for expanding my knowledge of the world and our faith yet again. Great blog link, so dense with ideas.
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I have an odd memory of the Second Chapter of Acts’ wonderful “Easter Song.”
Many, many years ago, while still living in the Los Angeles area, I was listening to what was then the top radio show in Southern California, Loman & Barkley. (They were truly hilarious, by the way, and I remember their show with real fondness to this day.)
It was a couple days before Easter (or after, I can’t remember). Anyway, out of the blue, and much to my surprise, they played “Easter Song.” Hearing it, I remember, was like experiencing a surprising and powerful spiritual jolt over the radio. The song ended, and there was dead silence. Then, one of them said, “wow.” I had the feeling then that they had no clue what the song was about, nor about its message and its power. They seemed respectful and appreciative, when the finally found their voices.
For me, at least, this is a wonderful memory of God surprising everyone, and sneaking in a great Easter witness to Southern California in a completely unexpected context.
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Without suffering we wouldn’t really have to believe in much at all. There would be no reason to pray “thy Kingdom come on earth…” In fact, we wouldn’t even have to pray, would we? Those who do not believe in God because of the presence of evil and suffering have no reason to pray. Easter is the celebration of the victory of Christ over suffering and death. It’s the beginning of what awaits us. Jesus didn’t explain suffering but….
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of course there could be no ‘good’ answer regarding suffering, although there are some very strong beliefs why it is something we experience…
nothing good about suffering as a singular event. the problem of suffering & evil & impersonal tragic events something there is no comfort in explaining no matter what theological, logical, secular, philosophical, medical, scientific or metaphysical viewpoint one champions. no matter how it is categorized, a detailed explanation just does not assuage this visceral element of our human frailty.
since we know of our own susceptibility to suffer or be the victim of evil or violence or impersonal tragedy, we recognize at any moment we too can become the sufferer. unpleasantness, no matter its degree or cause, will always be unpleasant. no getting around that fact. no comfort in the best of explanations since it does nothing to minimize the suffering itself.
this issue either draws people toward God, or away from Him. that God does permit or allow its condition, especially thru the volition of others that do harm, makes it a determining factor to many people considering its impact on innocent lives. why? if many sinful humans would go to incredible lengths to prevent many human caused sufferings, why does God let it go unchecked???
the hidden wisdom or reason for God to permit a broken world to keep spinning while He makes the efforts at redemption/reconciliation seems to us, well, clunky. messy. inefficient. hit-and-mess. much suffering for little return on its grand promises not to be fully realized in this existence. yes, it is a major head-scratcher for sure. thank you Jesus it is not a system run amok. but it sure does not make the concept any more palatable… 😦
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Ted,
If you figure out why John 6 isn’t interpreted literally, please let us know. That has puzzled me ever since I left that branch of Christianity for Catholicism.
AND my awareness of the Eucharist as being more is one of the things that brought me to Rome.
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I don’t understand why he bothered to write a secular Bible. Thomas Jefferson already wrote one back in the 1700’s. The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth has been around for ages, and I don’t think Jefferson’s method can be applied to the Old Testament.
On the subject of the toilet seat, I remember getting yelled at (but no worse punishment, I’m not sure why) when I was a middle schooler for superglueing dimes to the school floor. The dime was gone in a day. Having worked as a janitor since, I feel sorry for whoever had to clean up after me.
I really liked the Pope’s response. I feel its perhaps the most honest answer I’ve run into concerning suffering. People should not be afraid to say “I don’t know” on a more regular basis.
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The lead books are most likely forgeries.
http://thebiblicalworld.blogspot.com/2011/04/lead-jesus-books-a-fake.html
Yet another fraud from the holy land.
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Oh, Martha, Martha, Saturday mornings are supposed to be for relaxing, a time of hanging out in jammies, eating pancakes and listening to folk music; not a time for grappling with fundamentalist hermeneutics.
But while we’re at it: 🙂
I’m still waiting for my protestant fundamentalist brethren to come out of the closet and insist that we literally believe in the literal words of a literal THIS IS MY BODY that was broken for you, and a literal THIS IS MY BLOOD that was poured out for you, as you godless heathen Catholics have done. 🙂
Yes, yes, I understand; you’ve done it in a mystical, miraculous fashion, you say, and you don’t worry about the science of it. But, to be consistent with six-day creationism, the fundamentalists should no doubt insist upon some form of “scientific transubstantiation” and declare all doubters of that doctrine APOSTATE because it is, after all, out of the mouth of Jesus; and any form of reason that tries to explain it away (consubstantiation, metaphor/symbolism, or remembrance, let alone science) should be cast into the nether darkness after having been stoned as a whore (I might not have chosen that word, but you led with it, and it fits).
Should a literal hermeneutic not require a literal interpretation? Do we believe in sola scriptura or do we not??? The fundamentalists should line up at mass tomorrow morning alongside you godless heathen Catholics. 🙂 It would serve them right.
Have a great remainder of Saturday over there and a wonderful Easter. He is risen indeed!
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As much as I have always enjoyed the “2nd Chapter of Acts”, I must advance Paul Clark’s “Tetelastai” from his “Approaching Jerusalem” album as the essential Easter Season song. Handel’s “Messiah” does the resurrection in inspired (and inspiring) fashion. Paul Clark’s song is the crucifixion. Try them back to back, Paul’s first! This is Paul performing solo at a San Diego church recently: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pxpX9BrjyQ
Incidentally, Annie Herring is still making music. I think Matthew Ward is, too.
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Thank you for sharing that picture Joanie!
I don’t know where you are, with snow still to melt, but in Denver, Colorado, we are looking at forming a group for a rain dance…..very dry here! Too many fires already in the mountains and it’s only April.
And btw….just kidding on the ran dance bit.
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Maybe off-topic, but perhaps good for a Saturday ramble; this post over at Mike Flynn’s place about what happened (or didn’t happen) when the telescope was introduced to China.
Interesting and perhaps useful for the next time there’s a blow-up about (1) the Evil, Repressive Church evilly repressed science in the West – as we can see from the martyrdom of Galileo who bravely represented factual thinking in opposition to superstition – and all our discoveries actually came from the non-Christian East, in the first place and/or (2) You must literally believe in the literal words of a literal six days of twenty-four hours duration each or else you’re a godless heathern – or worse, a scientist! – because reason is a filthy whore and sola Scriptura is to be understood in a very, very limited fashion.
http://tofspot.blogspot.com/2011/04/far-seeing-looking-glass-goes-to-china.html#more
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Doh! I guess so.
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Welcome back Jeff and thanks for the 2nd Chapter of Acts. One of my favorite songs – I also liked Keith Green’s version. What memories!!
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Well, if they say that is a figure of a man on one of those booklets, I will believe them, but it looks like a lion to me!
Happy Easter, everyone! Here is a photo from April 10, 1955 of me and my three older siblings:
Since that year, two others were born to my parents. Cute, huh! I notice there is no snow. It’s 4-23-11 today and there is still snow to melt in my yard. It won’t be long now, though. The wood frogs returned yesterday to my frog pond so spring is finally really here!
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So glad to hear you will be offering the Stations of the Cross meditations in book form! I was already planning to print them out and keep them, but now I’ll wait for the official release.
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Mega thanks to Lisa. That was done so well. Any thoughts of publishing them in book form?
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The Pope did a good job. we can’t really answer those who want to know why God allows suffering. Only that He uses it all for His purposes.
Look at Christ on the cross. How just was that?
Speaking of a good job, I hope you don’t mind my plugging a great sermon tonight by my pastor on “Making Christians…out of Christians.”
I think you’ll like it…or not. 😀 It’s a pretty short and to the point sermon.
http://theoldadam.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/trying-to-make-christians-out-of-christians/
A very happy Easter to all the Imonk family!
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