The Gospel of Thomas and the Canon

So I'm leading a class on the Da Vinci Code in Catonsville, and prepping for it has been really interesting. There is so much in the book that's exaggeration and simplification, but Dan Brown throws enough fact in there that it's hard to be able to tell just by reading it what's real and what's not.

At any rate, I was reviewing the origins of the New Testament and wondering to myself what makes an ancient book worth keeping in the canon or throwing out. For example, the Gospel of Thomas (discovered a little over 50 years ago in Egypt) may have some early sayings in it that are faithful to Jesus' teachings, but that aren't in the canonical gospels. Of course, the real value in the Scriptures is not only in their age, but in the traditions that have built up around them. And in the way the Holy Spirit chooses to use or not use them. Could God speak to someone through the Gospel of Thomas? I think so. But is it a book that over time people have continually found helpful? Not in the existing Christian tradition. Of course there are other books that have nearly as much history in the tradition, but we don't include them in the canon either. What keeps them out? Their removed connection to Jesus? (1 Clement, for example, was written by someone who knew apostles but wasn't an apostle himself.)

Just something I've been considering today. No clear-cut answers just yet.

More information on the Gospel of Thomas

Who knew the State of the Union Address could be so much fun?

Thanks to Heather for this bit o' comedy:

State of the Union Drinking Game

If I ate beef, I'd be totally up for this.

Bias Tests

Ever wonder how much subconscious racism you harbor? I kind of wanted to know, but it's a little humbling. Here is a test that measures how quickly you connect positive and negative words and African and European-American faces. If you don't think that bias exists, try to get a score of zero on the IAT test. There are other tests available as well. I'm going back to see if I'm biased against George W.

Pictures - Beauty in the Universe

Hi folks--I really enjoyed Gaylen's photos from the other day, so I thought I'd put up some more visual meditations. These are photos from the Hubble telescope of huge portions of outer space. As I understand it, some of the colors had to be enhanced (infrared, ultraviolet, and so on) so that they can be seen by the human eye. Isn't it amazing what's out there?

King George

Apparently, making searches without a warrant is the right of a king--I mean--President Bush. Here's an article from Slate I find a little chilling.

A quote:

The final problem with Gonzales' theories of unfettered executive authority is that they, as the lawyers say, prove too much. The Article II plus AUMF justification for warrant-less spying is essentially the same one the administration has advanced to excuse torture; ignore the Geneva Conventions; and indefinitely hold even U.S. citizens without a hearing, charges, or trial. Torture and detention without due process are bad enough. But why does this all-purpose rationale not also extend to press censorship or arresting political opponents, were the president to deem such measures vital to the nation's security?

Pretty Pictures

I googled "pretty pictures" because I felt like finding something nice to look at, and I came across photographs by a friend from my old church in Massachusetts. For today's meditation, take some time to enjoy them.

Gaylen Morgan Photography

Miss America

Am I the only one surprised that Miss America has been moved:

1. To Las Vegas
2. To the Country Music Channel
3. To January?

I know I've got at least one friend who had a low-key sweepstakes over who would win last year, but I guess she was one of the last hold-outs. This is a cause for serious concern.

Same-Sex Marriage One Step Closer in Maryland

A district court in Maryland ruled in favor of the gay couples suing for marriage rights. Here's the Reuter's article.

Granted, the last time a state recognized gay marriage rights, Heather and I moved before they went into effect. But this time around, I'm hoping that:

A. Maryland's high court will agree with the district court.
B. It won't take too long.
C. No constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage will go through in the meantime.

I had an interesting conversation about this last night w/a couple of UCC pastors. They were of the opinion that marriage should be separated into civil and religious ceremonies anyway, since the way it's set up now, clergy become an agent of the state when performing a wedding. I like the radical overtones of this assessment, but at the moment would settle for state recognition before a total system overhaul can be put in place.

Friday Fun

From Angela, the "What Kind of Sixties Person are You" Quiz.


You are a Folkie. Good for you.


What kind of Sixties Person are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Go forth and be quizzed. :-)

Announcements

While I'm looking around for some Friday fun, I thought I'd put in a few plugs. :-)

Heather in action

While I'm normally the one doing preaching gigs around town, Heather will be the one giving a sermon at Lisbon UMC on Sunday. Services are at 11:00am and Lisbon is in western Howard County. Heather always has good stories and a compelling message--it'll be worth the trip if you can make it.

Going Deeper with the Da Vinci Code

I'll be leading a discussion class about some of the themes that The Da Vinci Code brings up. It will be Wednesday evenings at Emmanuel UCC in Catonsville starting next week, for 5 weeks. While the Da Vinci Code is fiction, it brings up a lot of fascinating real-life topics. We'll go deeper and come out with some new and exciting insights.

Revenge - Gender Differences

Saw this news item: Revenge Sweet, When it Comes to Men

Basic summary: in the study of 16 women and 16 men, the men's pleasure centers showed activity when a cheater was given a mild shock, with no activity in empathy. By contrast, when a fair person was shocked, the men showed empathy activity. In both cases, the women's empathy was elicited, although not as much for the cheaters.

Interesting to see a study on the underlying physiology of an impulse for justice (or revenge, depending on how you look at it). Obviously, biology isn't destiny, but I'm interested to hear what people think about this study.

Another Meme

Brenda has tagged me to tell you three things that you don't know about me, and then to tag three bloggers to do the same.

I decided that since some of my readers know me very well, most of the things I could think of were things you probably wouldn't want to know about me anyway. So, I'm going for things that someone may have forgotten, based on their obscurity.

1. My favorite class in seminary was "Administration and Leadership" with Dudley Rose. I also took a team-taught class with Cornel West as one of the instructors. Sorry, Cornel fans, but it sucked.

2. I will be teaching a class based on the Da Vinci Code Wednesday nights starting next week. Actually this is more of a plug than a secret. But check out the host church's website here.

3. Mrs. Hill, my fourth-grade elementary teacher, had a baby on my 10th birthday, the summer after she was my teacher. She was one of my favorite teachers, so this totally rocked.

Okay, that wasn't so hard. Your turn:

She's a goofball
News & Commentary
Abstinent by Default

Ongoing Recovery after Katrina

With any disaster, part of the problem with recovery is that it takes so much money and effort, but part of the problem, too, is that it slowly loses media attention. I've been seeing some follow-up stories after Katrina, and thought I'd compile them here, for your general reading interest.

First up: Slate explains how planning is going on Missippi's Gulf coast. Turns out that while it will be difficult, it's not going to be half as hard as New Orleans, thanks to the fact that much fewer people were involved and a lot of them didn't have to relocate to very far away.

In New Orleans, the story is not as simple to relay. Officials are revealing the big recovery plan in sections, one day at a time. The first part of the plan: neighborhoods need to band together to prove that they're viable. Otherwise, residents will be paid for their houses and expected to settle elsewhere. Total cost: $17 billion, mostly for the buyouts. The Boston Globe's take: "New Orleans rebuilding plan yields bold ideas"

On Yahoo News, "Katrina Victims Angry at Recovery Pace" tells the story of Katrina survivors living back in New Orleans, waiting for strong support to kick in. A salient quote: "One simple measure is house trailers. The Federal Emergency Management Administration promised 120,000 of them for people who lost their homes to Katrina, but FEMA data show barely 26,000 are occupied in Louisiana, fewer than 4,000 of those in New Orleans."

The question that arises is, is race a factor in the slowness of the recovery process? My guess is that it is, only in the sense that it shapes all the other problems and considerations--the same way that race is related to bad schools, for example. It's not a direct and causal link, but the history of the place and the people casts long shadows and makes bouncing back harder. Racism, slavery are what led to the black people of New Orleans living in the lowest, most dangerous neighborhoods. But is there still racism holding them back? Hard to say. And when you've been waiting for drinkable water for four months, it's hard not to lay the blame there. Here's an article from MSNBC: "Katrina victims blame racism for slow aid"

Also, here's the website for an organizing agency with a Katrina Survivors Association. It seems to be the largest nationwide organization for survivors, with about 2000 members (Wikipedia)ACORN

I think that's enough from me for now. I just hope that good things can come out of this disaster, and that opportunities won't be squandered. Keep it in your prayers, if you're the prayin' type.

Also

What the heck is this?!

IRS limits tax refunds of thousands of poor

For people who fell asleep during class in high school

I don't know about you guys, but I slept in 98% of my classes during high school, and about 85% of them during college. Turns out I wasn't completely nuts:

Washington Post on Teen Sleep Biology

Now go write your local school board. Afterschool jobs and sports should not come at the expense of education!

In honor of Heather

An essay in Slate on how depressing the Bengal's loss was yesterday.

Epiphany

Also, a happy epiphany everyone! This is the day the church traditionally commemorates the visit of the wise men to Jesus. It's known as Three Kings Day in Mexico and other Latin American cultures. Epiphany as a church season lasts until Ash Wednesday - February 1st, this year - and is marked by images of light and knowledge.

Friday Fun

Literary Criticism of R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet."

Unfortunately, they don't get to the midget gangster.

Enjoy

warning: some adult language and situations

Medicine Head

You probably can't tell from my typing, but I got a cold over the weekend. That's what happens I guess, when you drink half a glass of champagne at midnight, surrounded by a bunch of people who recently enjoyed an improv show.

But cold or not, it was a good New Year's Eve. Unfortunately, I'm not at my most lucid. So, housekeeping instead:

If you live in Baltimore, and you've wondered what it's like to see me preach (Or you've seen me and are willing to go through the experience again,) I'll be doing a Saturday evening service this Saturday at

3200 Dillon Street
Baltimore MD 21224
5:30pm January 7th

Topic: "Making a New Start"

And I've been thinking about the intersection between everyday life and those mountaintop experiences that sometimes give us a fresh burst of insight or exhilaration. For example, why are New Year's resolutions so hard to keep? Why do the clarity and our good intentions fade?

Some thoughts. Comment fast if you want to be part of the sermon-writing process. :-)