Pietisten - Penrod

Practical, Therapeutic, Theological Thought

Responsibility, Commitment, and Authority are three of the stones that David took when he went to face Goliath. With these three stones, pilgrims slay giants daily. Strength to your slingshot arm!

Acting too quickly

Text: “Bodily Exercise profiteth little.” – Paul of Tarsus
Motto: “The real game is the game you are in.”

Practical, Therapeutic, Theological Thought

Unsung Heroes. The greatest heroes of our time are people who are not consuming and despoiling the earth. These people are seldom described as heroes in the news. My heroes are folks who do not ride on noisy, polluting airplanes and people who walk or ride bicycles instead of driving around in cars. These persons are often labeled non-productive and I am grateful for the contribution each of them makes to the commonwealth.

Locks, Technology, and Freedom

It is good to be sitting here in the Music Cove using pen and ink rather that typing standard characters on a keyboard. I can make the letters as I like, and I enjoy the flexibility.

Practical, Therapeutic, Theological Thought

Give up sainthood, renounce wisdom; And it will be a hundred times better for everyone

How Can We Stop Shrinking?

In the August, 2000 issue of Harper’s I read: "Average number of words in the written vocabulary of a 6 to 14-year-old American child in 1945: 25,000. Average number today: 10,000."

Practical, Therapeutic, Theological Thought

I miss the 1900s. I wish I were writing the date 1973 for example rather than 2000. Does that mean that I want to be back in 1973? Not really, I just pulled that year out of the hat. It’s the 19 that I miss and with it the idea of my life in that century.

Practical, Therapeutic, Theological Thought

Perhaps you have noticed a pianist sit for a few moments collecting herself or himself before going into action—before hitting the notes. Once started, there is no turning back. I wonder whether those are moments of letting go or times of high concentration during which the pianist mentally reviews the music. I think it is the former because there is not enough time for a complete mental review. The performer must proceed trusting memory and practice.

Leisure under Attack

I spoke with a person the other day who said that psychologists are lazy. "How about philosophy and philosophers?" I asked. "Oh Ish! Another lazy bunch." She was adamant that the state's contribution to education should not be used to subsidize "soft" things such as music, art classes, literature, etc., except perhaps as minors. The money should be spent on useful things—science, business, technological development, medicine, and the like.

Practical, Therapeutic, Theological Thought

Those who "measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves among themselves, are not wise" (II Corinthians 10:12).

The End of the World

“No one can predict the date of the Second Coming or the end of the world but I cannot see anything beyond 1953.”

A Happy Coincidence

Few things are better than a happy coincidence. A happy coincidence can be just about anything. It can be big; it can be small. It can be a chance meeting of a friend; it can be a surprise inheritance or relief from a burden or a reprieve of an illness. We usually think of a happy coincidence as a surprise, but it can also be planned.

Disturbed

I am disturbed because most of the momentum in public life is headed in the wrong direction. Things are headed the wrong way because the dominant political and economic power values private wealth over public wealth.

When does God smile?

Was God smiling when he blessed Abraham (Genesis 22:15-18)? How could God not have been? He knew it would make Abraham happy.

Reaching out--Drawing in

Never has it seemed more important to me to reach out, to cross barriers, to break down dividing walls as Christians are called to do. Perhaps one might say that it is a time to set one's eyes and one's purpose on a different front.

A word about abbreviations

I’m against them. I do not live in PA or MN or IL. I live in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, or Illinois. Isn’t that a lot better?

Providence and the Blessings of Limits

The linguistic root of provide and thus of providence is the Latin pro videre—to see ahead. Whatever the divine part of providence may be, basic human pro videre is part of its fabric. We humans know, experience, and contribute this part of providence.

The Holy Christian Church

What do I think when I say: “I believe in the Holy Christian Church?” What do others think? What do you think? I expect there would be a variety of responses ranging from blank minds to particular churches. Some people say they believe in the Holy Christian Church and are unsure what they mean, some say it and are unsure whether they believe in it, others may know exactly what they mean, and others may despise people who make this affirmation.

Question of the deeper soul

Some people seek God intensely like Thomas a Kempis, Thomas Merton, Ghandi—millions of people. I’m not one of them, at least not now.

Thinking about two phrases

I recently encountered this term in a review by John Gray of Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong by Marc D. Hauser. Gray told about a bonobo who displayed an “aversion to inequity” in trying to assist a bird. I knew right away what the term means. I recognize an aversion to inequity in myself and I think most humans have it more or less.

Young Turks

I don’t know how the metaphor “young Turks” got started, I’ve not checked out its meaning with anybody until now. It refers, does it not, to younger people who act with boldness and energy, and who challenge authority though they need not reject authority if it passes their test? Usually the word has a positive, respectful, even admiring connotation.

The Kingdom of God

“The Kingdom of God is within you,” announced Jesus (Luke 17:21). In certain circles, especially people who call themselves Christian, this statement is said to have absolute authority due to the speaker. Folks who assert acceptance of this authority accept this statement as most certainly true. The question of authority, though, is less important than the truth of the matter. Is it true? Do I have experience of or have in me the Kingdom of which Jesus speaks? Do you? Can you recognize it? What might it be?

Varieties of Grace

Most theology students and many others know that Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote The Cost of Discipleship (1937—1948 in English) in which he described what he called ‘cheap grace’ and contrasted it with ‘costly grace’. He was for the latter. I appreciate Bonhoeffer’s intent and I was gripped when I read his book about 40 years ago. However, I have long disliked the idea of costly grace and I have consistently touted cheap grace because how can anything be as common or inexpensive as grace? I was taught that grace is unmerited favor which is “most certainly true.”

I don’t want to trade

I remember sitting in the living room at our beautiful little piano picking out the melody line of carols from a little booklet of Christmas songs. On top of the piano to the left on cotton snow sat a little Lincoln log cabin with a small light inside. I put this together every Christmas.

Free Lunch

Why do people say there is no free lunch with such conviction? Perhaps you say it from time-to-time yourself. Of this moral and intellectual failing, I have been free as long as I can remember.

Power Plays

Let’s say you have been influenced by Jesus and by the Dalai Lama and by others of similar spirit, have discovered for yourself how satisfying it is to seek the happiness of your neighbor and you run into challenges in trying to be of help to someone. What you need is a power play. Not everything that is called a power play is one.

Power Plays, Part II

It’s difficult to play most positions. To play well takes practice.