Owner: The Cubicle Reverend URL:http://thecubiclereverend.blogspot.com Join Date: Sat, 11 Nov 2006 18:48:06 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Seeking God in literature, humour, work, and life. Site statistics:Click here
Fear Not The Scroll 2008-02-12 13:08:00 I really dropped the ball on this one. I have been having a very bad habit lately of saying I'll blog about something, but not getting to it til several months later. It was so long ago that I planned on blogging about Kerouac's "The Scroll
" I had to search like crazy to find the original post. Here it goes:I expected another Kubla Khan, a dreamy psychotic half-understandable stream of conscience fit that would make James Joyce cry. I was wrong. The book is quite readable and in its way a fascinating story. One question I usually ask when reading anything is whether I can believe it or not. So many books, even ones claiming to be about the authors life, have the tendency to not ring true. I believed every word he wrote. What also suprised me was his strong desire to find God. I d
Against Legalism 2008-02-06 07:26:00 This past weekend my church hosted the east coast Presbitery. Church representatives for the Evangelical Presbiterian Church from Florida to Maine came to my little church to discuss the future of the denomination. I was fortunate enough to hear Rob Norris from 4th Pres. in Bethesda Maryland preach. His stance is that legalism focusses on the little rules that we are able to accomplish versus the big ones which are harder to live by. There were a few things that pleased me about his preaching:1) He read from a pretty expansive piece of scripture. Most churches I have been to may read one verse here and another there, if they quote from it at all.2) He's Welsh. Listening to him read was incredible. He was so poetic and passionate about the word fo God.Afterwards several pastors a
Congrats Doris Lessing 2008-01-30 16:28:00 I have never read any of Doris
Lessing's books, but now I think I am going to have to.
Bold Statements 2008-01-24 13:22:00 Sorry, I know this is cheap to do another Me Me. I swear I will have more for you soon.Bold the statements that are true.1. Father went to college2. Father finished college3. Mother went to college4. Mother finished collegeI still haven't finished college yet. How Ironic.5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers.7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home.9. Were read children’s books by a parent. Every night for a while.10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 1811. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18 - Cartooning, art lessons, Karate, music lessons12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed13. H
One Book 2008-01-18 13:14:00 Because I have been superpoking Jenn on Facebook she tagged me to do this meme. And since the most common answer I'd give would be The Bible I'll instead tell you my second choice. Plus, just for Jenn (or anyone who may be interested in reading them), a whole bunch of poems by Rumi.1. One Book That Changed Your Life:Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconelli - Taught me it is ok for me to get it wrong once in a while and I will not always get it.2. One Book You Have Read More Than Once:Too Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee - Loved it since highschool. In fact, it could easily go up in number one as well.3. One Book You'd Want On A Desert Island:Probably an anthology of sorts. There is one of the worlds famous speaches. It's over a thousand pages long so it would keep me occupied for a while.4. T
Christian Albums That Rock 2008-01-15 13:29:00 I'd be lying if I weren't a tad grateful for Left Cheek asking me to be involved in this little post idea of his. Usually each week I am, at the very least, able to find something that I think you guys would find interesting. For some reason the well has run dry. I am finding it hard to think of a Christian
Album that rocks since, let's face it, most of them are trite crap. Am I being too harsh? Thankfully, back in the day there was a great little Christian record label called Tooth & Nail Records which put out some awesome music from The Christian underground. Thought it is more commercial today they still manage to put some pretty decent music. Here are some of my favorites.The Supertones - Adventures Of The O.C. Supertones: This is probably the album that started it all fo
Some Optimism For The New Year 2007-12-27 07:25:00 According to economist Russell Roberts, things aren't as bad as we'd like to think.Looks like Starbucks isn't the great satan after all.Paris Hilton just got a little poorer. Maybe she can get a job at Starbucks?And it is time again for the annual what have you discovered over the past year? I think it's a little fun to look back over a year and think about the little things you've enjoyed. What movies, music, books, etc. have you discovered, whether new or old, over the past year that has really struck you as good stuff. Let me know by next friday and I'll post the link on my blog. Read more:Optimism
, New Year
Auralia's Colors: A Review 2008-03-11 13:31:00 Jeff Overstreet - Auralia's Colors
I am sorry Jeff. I really tried to like your book more than I did. I really wanted to like it more. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Was it a decently written book? Yes. Was it a better than average written first book? I'd say so. Will I read the next book? Sadly, I am a huge book snob. I am also a writer. So I tend to look at many books I read as a writer. I can recognize brilliant writing and praise it, but I also become very critical when I see things being done in the same old way. First for the positive:1) I was entertained. It kept my attention and wanted me to finish the book. I didn't feel pissed off after i read it. I didn't feel like I got ripped off from buying the book. I was entertained. I kind of hope it'll be optioned
A Rant Against St. Patricks Day 2008-03-14 13:53:00 For the love of all things wonderful in the Emerald Isle I cannot begin to tell all of you how much I hate St. Patricks
day. Actually, it isn't the day that bothers me, it is all the people pretending to be Irish for a day to give them another excuse to get so drunk they puke green. I am offended in two ways. First as a person of Irish descent who loves his heritage and was fortunate to have a few friends teach me some of the finer beauties of the culture. Between the history, music, and literature there is enough wonderful things to keep me busy for the rest of my life. Many of the people have never of let alone paid attention to O'Casey, Kavanaugh, Keane, The Wolfe Tones, The Chieftains (my dad once got free tickets to see them live though he had no idea who they were, but that's an Read more:Patricks Day
Good Coffee, Good Food, Good Company, Good Music 2008-03-17 13:50:00 Out of all due respect for that certain someone who works at Starbucks and Left Cheek who has been having not the greatest coffee going experiences I have to say I am completely spoiled. Not only have I had consistently worthwhile coffee houses in my past like Flashback Java Joint, Ebeneezers Old World Cafe, Three Been, The Tree House, and believe it or not Borders (before they started to suck!). I can now add Barrington Coffee
House to that list. Seriously, I am spoiled. I can walk there in under ten minutes, the food is pretty decent, they make a great cup of coffee and aren't afraid to try a wide range of roasts, but the company is excellent as well. I hate to admit I am a bit slow on the uptake going there. I visited once or twice, but never got in the habit of going on a regular basis Read more:Music
, Good Company
Aslan Reigns Supreme! 2008-03-19 07:23:00 You just can't keep a good lion down. In spite of the juggernaut Harry Potter has become and all the merchandise they have managed to squeeze out to poor unsuspecting parents (a chocolate frog about the size of a bite sized chocolate bar is about $3.00!) it looks like Aslan has pimp slapped some sense into Harry and taken his rightful place in the number one spot. Read more:Supreme
Curb Your Enthusiasm 2008-03-24 13:23:00 How on earth have I waited so long to catch Curb Your Enthusiasm
? How can I have let this happen? I am so ashamed! The show is on it's fifth season and I finally watched the complete first season this weekend. And it has to be one of the painful comedies for me to watch. Almost everything that happens to Larry is so cringing I have to look away, but it is such a train wreck you can't help watching! He is living proof that no good deed goes unpunished. Even when he tries to do things that are right like attend an incest survivors group or help a blind man move his television it almost always goes badly. And not just mildly wrong either. When things go bad, they go really bad! And forget about trying to fix the situation. No one seems to give the poor guy a chance to make amends g
Rejected: Star Wars Merchandise 2008-03-26 13:13:00 I have to admit my inner geek is sorry that these items didn't make it into production. Just from the corniness factor they'd be worth having. Though I have to admit some of those things would look nice sitting next to my Dalek action figure. Read more:Rejected
, Merchandise
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Spiritual Disciplines: The Stations Of The Cross 2008-03-24 07:18:00 I do not know if this actually qualifies as a spiritual discipline, but there was a qaulity to it that makes me wish I could do it more often. I belong to a protestant church so the fact we are actually doing our own version of the stations is interesting. What is sad is that I have already done our stations of the cross more times in the three years at my current church than I ever did as a Catholic. I remember Sister Margaret taking my CCD class around my church's sanctuary going over each of the beautifully wooden hand carved stations. I can't tell you all the time I stared at those pictures totally ignoring mass. It wasn't so much out of spiritual curiosity, but more for the fact that they were kind of gruesome and pretty cool to look at. Our protestantized version didn't offer images. Read more:Stations
, Cross
Do We Choose Our Church? 2008-03-27 07:15:00 Does LZ make a good point? I hate to say it man, but I am not sure if I see this as serious as the Arminian Vs. Calvinistic argument. When I had painfully left my previous church I took about two years off of serious church attendance to decompress. After a while I new it was time for me to go back. I would never grow as a Christian if I stayed on my own being the lone ranger (as we called it back in the day). I visited quite a few churches in that day. Mostly independent non-denominational start-up seeker friendly services. Not quite what I was looking for. They were all good people. People I do believe, at least on a surface level, wanted to know God. Until I remembered visiting this Presbyterian church a number of years ago and kind of liking it. After visiting there a number of times I Read more:Church
Father Brown 2008-04-01 07:18:00 I am a sucker for lists. Whenever someone puts out a top 100 anything I always make it a try to listen to, read, or watch everything that is one the list. Admittedly I tend to skip the ones I already know or just have no interest with. When I came upon the Top 50 Crime Writers To Read Before You Die I was pretty intrigued. I am a total mystery fan. The first novel I read on my own was Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" and have been hooked ever since. I have to admit I was suprised to see the first writer listed was G.K. Chesterton. Not so much for his talent or genious, he was an Inkling after all, but for the fact he is very overtly religious in his writing. He doesn't mince words nor try to hide below ground his ethic. In fact, it wouldn't suprise me if his most wel Read more:Father
, Brown
Jealousy In The Pulpit 2008-04-03 14:08:00 Did you hear the one about the lady in the choir who shot the other lady in the choir over getting too much attention from the pastor? Seriously man. What is going on here? Are we all so wordly that we allow these sins to get out of control in our lives? Sadly, this isn't even remotely the tip of the iceberg. I remember when a local Young Life youth pastor was charged with having a relationship with an underage girl. A camp I worked at one summer had the same issue the year before (something they neglected to tell me when I applied for the job). Thankfully, I know that these people are the exception, not the rule. There are more good people out there in the faith than ones like these wacko's. Still, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us pray for them. Read more:Jealousy
Finding Beauty Among The Thorns 2008-04-07 20:29:00 Could you imagine walking through the subway on your way to work only to pass right on by one of the greatest living violinists in the world? I think it's pretty sad that we so quickly pass by the beauty of God's creation like that. How we are so clock and time driven, we have to be on schedule, be here or there at a certain time or else life will end! We pass it by every day. I know in my own jaunts through the city I've missed beautiful gardens, sculpture, Mosaics, and gifted musicians who I may throw in a buck or two as I rush on by. Once I saw an elderly Asian woman play a bamboo flute in the bitter cold. More recently it was a violinist with one person standing to listen to him play. I catch a half-listen. Maybe a quick glance as I walk on by. God gave them these abilities a Read more:Beauty
, Thorns
Pentacostals, Emergants, and You 2008-04-09 21:13:00 This guy just about covers the gambit of some of the more extreme ideas. I give him credit for being to sight those I've mentioned before and the Anabaptists! As a former pentecostal I found it intriguing. I visited my former church that was heavily pentecostal and have to say I no longer cared for it. If anything I found it to be a tad annoying. I remember thinking how spiritual I looked at that time because my hands were raised, I prayed in the spirit (so I thought), and was up at the alter ever week for prayer. Plus I went on Sunday nights and Wednesdays as well like a good Christian. Fortunately, there are many in the charismatic movement who do get it and are better off than I ever was. And I'll give extra points for the person who first tells me how many times he identifies t
The Gospel According To Oprah 2008-04-11 20:56:00 Holy cow! I cannot believe how far she has come! She is actually at a point where she is influencing peoples religious beliefs. This is scary. Hat tip to Pulpit-Pimps. Read more:Gospel
, Oprah
No title 2008-04-12 18:00:00 Thanks Jenn (with 2 N's) for letting me know about this lame rip-off of a sight that I really don't look at to begin with. Can't we come up with anything that is original anymore?
Happy National Poetry Month 2008-04-13 21:47:00 I can't believe I just remembered right now that it's national poetry month. Another thing which I should celebrate, but have no desire to. All kidding aside I do plan on talking about this a little more shortly. To start off with here is a lecture I went to celebrating the 100th birthday of George Oppen. I really only stayed for about an hour when I realized the event was to go on for about 3 hours. Read more:Happy
, National
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The Presidential Faithful 2008-04-15 07:25:00 While I do consider a presidents faith (or lack thereof) to be pretty important, I do appreciate LZ's point on the matter. Read more:Presidential
, Faithful
National Poetry Month: Lucille Clifton 2008-04-17 07:02:00 I was very fortunate to have seen her and Mark Doty give a lecture at the Dodge Poetry
Festival a number of years ago. And one day while flipping through channels I saw that they were showing the lecture on a pbs station. This was pre-cable so the picture wasn't the greatest. I saw a guy stand up to ask a question, but I wasn't entirely paying attention. Until I realized the person was me.telling our storiesthe fox came every evening to my doorasking for nothing. my feartrapped me inside, hoping to dismiss herbut she sat till morning, waiting.at dawn we would, each of us,rise from our haunches, look through the glassthen walk away.did she gather her village around herand sing of the hairless moon face,the trembling snout, the ignorant eyes?child, i tell you now it was notthe animal blo Read more:National
, Month
National Poetry Month: William Carlos Williams 2008-04-16 07:24:00 Landscape With The Fall Of IcarusWilliamCarlosWilliams
According to Brueghelwhen Icarus fellit was springa farmer was ploughinghis fieldthe whole pageantryof the year wasawake tinglingnearthe edge of the seaconcernedwith itselfsweating in the sunthat meltedthe wings' waxunsignificantlyoff the coastthere wasa splash quite unnoticedthis wasIcarus drowning Read more:National
, Poetry
, Month
Missing Nature 2008-04-18 07:20:00 I remember as a kid waking up early on a saturday morning and riding my bike to the local pond to fish all day. My parents never freaked out because they knew where I was and more than likely I'd be home by dinner time. Or meeting with some friends at the ravine after school to climb around rocks and jump across the little stream. My father would take me to Indian Guide camp to fish and take nature hikes and even shoot air rifles. Or I'd come home from school, drop my books off at home and leave a note for my parents telling them where I'd be and not coming home until dinner time. And my parents never worried. At least, they never let on that they worried. After listenign to Richard Louv on more than one occassion it makes me feel sorry for the kids of this generation for they are s Read more:Missing
Shake Up At Willow Creek 2008-04-18 22:07:00 Dorsey first made me aware of the big changes going on at Willow
Creek. This is a huge deal. So many churches these days have pretty much borrowed the formula from them, while others out right stole every little thing they have done, and based their entire church structure on the Willow Creek method by having them be entirely seeker sensitive. Ummm, that's great, but what happens to them after they come in and start attending regularly? How will they grow if their church is meant only to get people in the door? That's the problem Willow found. Sure people were getting in the door and perhaps getting connected, but they weren't maturing. You may have numbers, but that can only do so much if the body stays immature. It makes me respect them all the more for realizing their mistakes. Read more:Shake
Another Spoof 2008-04-20 20:27:00 I'm sorry. I just don't find it funny.
Big Time Food Poisoning 2008-04-20 07:29:00 Did you hear about the one where over a hundred mourners got poisoned by a dish made for mourning at a funeral? Seriously, you can't things like this up. Read more:Big Time
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