GroshLink

I have a fair amount to say regarding the topic addressed in this Newseek piece The End of Tolerance Farewell, multiculturalism. A cartoon backlash is pushing Europe to insist upon its values (note: thank-you to the friend who passed along this piece). But I'm taking time for a spiritual retreat, I love this feature where you can set the time for a blog to be posted :-) Anyways, I had to get it posted to get the engine running. If you have thoughts to share, use the space.

Enjoyed the opportunity to catch-up w/a number of people at CCO's Jubilee on Saturday. So many conversations, including a very encouraging one with Rob at the culture is not optional booth, that I only caught the end of Tony Campolo's evening presentation. I believe that it was just before he engaged the audience in a call response regarding titles or testimonies that he quoted from Bono's address to the National Prayer Gathering in a section which Bono focused on America's involvement in Africa addressing AIDS.

It's not about charity, it's about justice. And that's too bad. Because you're good at charity. Americans, like the Irish, are good at it. We like to give, and we give a lot, even those who can't afford it. But justice is a higher standard.

If you haven't taken a look at this piece, I'd encourage you to do such.

Periodically I've mentioned the work of N.T. Wright, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Durham and prominent New Testament scholar, in conversation, Bible study, or a blog piece (eg., For All the Saints book review by Susan Norman, Sharing and Bearing the Pain quote from WQOTW, N.T. Wright on Justification). Some of you have been curious regarding his work. If you'd like to familarize yourself with his understanding of Biblical authority, I'd recommend this article. Note: the material in this piece has been developed further in The Last Word. Regarding reading the Scriptures from the perspective of the critical realist, I'd also recommend pp.44-46 of The New Testament and the People of God, see a quote in yesterday's The Path of Wisdom. In the same book (pp.141-3), he explores his understanding of the Biblical story as a five act play.

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Last week our grad and faculty study of the book of Proverbs led us to a consideration of the path of wisdom. While I ran to stuff the meter, I kicked off the conversation by asking the participants to consider whether they were moving in the direction maturity, mired in foolishness, or meandering back and forth. By in large the response was that we find ourselves on a meandering journey of wisdom in which we value and desire to have wisdom which gives us not only insight for our own lives, but also for others to consider. Briefly we discussed why we must be wary of the pride associated with this pursuit (and how we must articulate what we have come to understand with humility), particularly considering the context of higher education.

After opening with this question, I returned to a handout from N.T. Wright's The New Testament and the People of God which discussed a modified version of critical-realist epistemology to use as a relational lens for our consideration of Scripture. Here's a quote (pp.45-6), The stories through which it arrives at its (potentially) true account of reality are, irreducibly, stories about the interrelation of humans and the rest of reality (including, of course, other humans). Furthermore, the crucial stories themselves are, of course, a vital element in the relationship both between those who share a worldview (who tell one another stories to confirm and fine-tune the worldview) and between holders of different worldviews (who tell one another stories designed to subvert one another's positions). This model allows fully for the actuality of knowledge beyond that of one's own sense-data (that which the objectivist desires to safeguard), while fully allowing for the involvement of the knower in the act of knowing (that upon which the subjectivist will rightly insist) . . ..

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The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship provides clear and helpful guidelines for scholars coming from the Christian tradition to take first steps in religiously informed reflection in their fields without falling into the trap of superficial fundamentalism. Furthermore, Marsden skillfully addresses concerns about Christians coming to the table and sharing their voice in the secular academic community. As followers of Christ build upon The Outrageous Idea, one of the most pressing areas to engage would be the sciences.

That's the conclusion of a book review which I wrote while a student in Geneva College's Masters of Higher Education Program. Please check the piece out and let me know your thoughts, note: in this piece I sought to weigh the critiques offered by Michael Baxter's Not Outrageous Enough and Richard Rorty [Note: The Moral Purposes of the University: An Exchange. The Hedgehog Review. 2(3)].

Click here for earlier Outrageous Idea piece.

Been awhile since I've read Francis Fukuyama. But his recent NY Times piece After Neoconservatism was of interest, particularly the following comments on the book which had been recently released when I heard him speak as an impressionable Grove City College student nearly a decade ago ;-) Note: his Grove City College lecture was an opportunity for a former college president to give further voice to his misguided Hegelian views. For an introduction to the ideas expressed by Fukuyama's The End of History and the Last Man (1992) click here.

Many people have also interpreted my book The End of History and the Last Man (1992) as a neoconservative tract, one that argued in favor of the view that there is a universal hunger for liberty in all people that will inevitably lead them to liberal democracy, and that we are living in the midst of an accelerating, transnational movement in favor of that liberal democracy. This is a misreading of the argument. "The End of History" is in the end an argument about modernization. What is initially universal is not the desire for liberal democracy but rather the desire to live in a modern — that is, technologically advanced and prosperous — society, which, if satisfied, tends to drive demands for political participation. Liberal democracy is one of the byproducts of this modernization process, something that becomes a universal aspiration only in the course of historical time.

"The End of History," in other words, presented a kind of Marxist argument for the existence of a long-term process of social evolution, but one that terminates in liberal democracy rather than communism. In the formulation of the scholar Ken Jowitt, the neoconservative position articulated by people like Kristol and Kagan was, by contrast, Leninist; they believed that history can be pushed along with the right application of power and will. Leninism was a tragedy in its Bolshevik version, and it has returned as farce when practiced by the United States. Neoconservatism, as both a political symbol and a body of thought, has evolved into something I can no longer support.

The Pitt Christian Faculty Forum recently hosted a lunchtime presentation on The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship by George Marsden, Professor of History at Notre Dame. As you may or may not know, Marsden is one of America's leading historians, who has studied the multiple impacts of religion on American society. His book, The Soul of the American University (1994), traced the transformation of American colleges from religious to secular institutions. The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship (1997) examined interrelationships between religious faith and professional research in the academy. Jonathan Edwards: A Life (2003) has received many awards, including the Bancroft Prize for Distinguished Books in American History and the Merle Curtis Award in intellectual history from the Organization of American Historians. Professor Marsden has also published widely on the history and current state of Christian evangelicalism and fundamentalism in the United States, the topic of his CMU lecture (more in a future post) and of newly revised Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth-Century Evangelicalism, 1870-1925

So much for my introduction, onto his presentation. Marsden began by sharing how his interest in Christian higher education arose from his time as a visiting scholar at the former Presbyterian college, UC-Berkley. At the time he was a professor from a currently practicing Presbyterian college of Calvin, he was curious as to why there was such low voltage accompanying American's high profession of religious faith (70% affirm traditional religious doctrine).

If one has embraced the astonishing belief in a Being who can not only create and maintain our universe but also is interested in one as an individual, how can one's life not be completely reshaped? Why do most Americans (even churched) take for granted that higher education should be just the same for everybody? Marsden recommended Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton's Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers , as a resource regarding why kids can’t articulate anything about their religious beliefs and how Americans have come to believe in nothing much more than moralistic therapeutic deism.

He then went onto relate how his The Soul of the American University (1994) chronicles America's cultural adoption of the privatization of religious belief in general and in the area of Higher Education in specific (i.e., should not seriously intersect the public domain/discourse, we have been trained to that it is unprofessional to relate your faith to your learning in any substantial way). In the area of higher education, the public domain was dominated by Christian establishment (i.e., state universities run by clergy). This had resulted in inequity and the dis-establishment of Christianity seems understandable in modern public institutions.

Yet our culture has overcorrected by eliminating all substantial religious discourse in the public domain . . .

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Hi All,

Eden has a busy month of appts., 6 doctors plus 2-3 therapies a week. But the news is good! If you haven't seen her for a while you'll be amazed--she's so much straighter and holds her head up so well. In PT (Physical Therapy) the other day she sat by herself for 25 seconds! She's even voluntarily reached for toys with her right hand a few times.

On Tuesday she visited the plastic surgeon for another follow up visit. She had been there 3 months ago and had showed progress, meaning the impulses to her facial muscles were stronger than previously. This time the impulses were even stronger. In fact, when we got there and talked with the doctor he said it's time to put a gold weight in her eyelid (the gold weight would allow her to blink her eye, which is very important to protect her eye and keep it healthy). He sounded convinced that Eden needed that treatment now. But after hooking up the electrodes and measuring the nerve impulses he changed his mind. She has improved so much in 3 months that he's hopeful she'll be able to blink on her own in the near future (he didn't give a time table). His assistant who does the electrode test agreed and was very encouraging and very hopeful. And they see a lot of facial palsy cases. She even claims she saw Eden blink twice while we were there. I might not believe her except that the computer showed a huge peak in impulse at the time she claims Eden blinked. So they were all excited and I left the office feeling very encouraged. We'll go back in 2 months.

Wednesday Eden had another hearing test. Her last one was 3 months ago and it was fairly inconclusive. It's a behavioral hearing test in which sounds are played at different decibles and frequencies out of a speaker on Eden's right side and if she turns her head to find the sound a toy in a darkened box lights up. Last time Eden didn't turn for most sounds, but developmentally I think the test was beyond her. This time, looking at Eden, the audiologist said, "this is a different baby from the last time I saw her." So developmentally she was much more capable of performing the test. She did ok turning to the sounds, not stellar. But when the audiologist used a device that transmits vibrations (sounds) through the bones of Eden's head Eden turned to the sound. This suggests some middle ear interference such as fluid in her ears. Middle ear interference was also confirmed by another test, a tympanogram, which measures how the ear drums move when air is puffed into the ear canal. Eden's eardrums did not move the way they should. Another test, oto-acoustic emissions, measures cochlear function and that was absent in Eden's left ear, but present in her right ear. This was the case 3 months ago too. So the next step is the have her ears checked (she gets her 12 month check up next week so we can do that then) and she sees the hearing doctor on the 27th. We'll see what they say about her ears and then talk to the audiologist again about whether/when to repeat the tests. So her hearing remains a bit of a mystery. We know she can hear out of her right ear--we're just not sure of the level of hearing. And why she is showing middle ear interference. She had a cold 2 weeks ago, but is asymptomatic now. Her speech is progressing, though she isn't making the sounds that developmentally she should be for her age. We're going to have a developmentalist assess her once a month and give us suggestions for speech and anything else that isn't already being covered by PT, Occupational therapy (OT) and Vision therapy.

All that may sound overwhelming to you, but we're taking it in stride. I get excited just thinking about how far Eden's come and the new things she starts to do almost weekly. I'm so pleased with her progress. Right now she's sitting in her booster seat, unpropped, feeding herself Cheerios, and "talking" to herself (or maybe me!). Just 2 months ago I wouldn't have expected this.

Theresa

The university is worth fighting for. No other institution can carry the burden of educating our young people. That's why we must redouble our efforts to restore integrity, civility, and rigorous standards in American higher education--particularly in the area of civic education.

I'll be the first to admit that the situation is dire. I sympathize when critics throw up their hands in despair. I sometimes feel that way myself. Darkness often prevails in places where the light of learning should shine. I often trade horror stories with my friend Hadley Arkes, a distinguished scholar of jurisprudence and political theory at Amherst. On one occasion, I explained that the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton was sponsoring a viciously anti-Catholic art exhibit--one that it would never even permit were some favored faith or cause, such as Islam or gay rights, its target. Every year, some outrage along these lines seems to prove that anti-Catholicism really is the anti-Semitism of the intellectuals, though anyone familiar with academic life today knows that anti-Semitism itself is making a run at being the anti-Semitism of the intellectuals . . .

A friend passed along What Colleges Forget to Teach: Higher education could heal itself by teaching civics -- not race, class, and gender (follow the link for the rest of the piece and a more optimistic conclusion). Such pieces remind me what a different educational path, Theresa and I chose by attending Grove City, a place which in contrast to Princeton reconnected w/its Presbyterian roots. As we approach our 10 year reunion, October 13-15, I am reminded that the Biblical framework, teaching, and community which we received at Grove City (and continue to live in relationship to) has been a vital part of our time with InterVarsity as undergrads and our current work with Graduate and Faculty Ministry.

So today, an alum of one beacon of nuanced Christian higher education speaks into the context many other visions, particularly those found at the secular, industrialist stalwart of Carnegie Mellon University and the former Presbyterian log cabin college of the University of Pittsburgh.

Pray to the Father that His Son might work through us today by the power of the Holy Spirit in order that we might see Students and faculty transformed. Campuses renewed. World changers developed.

As the victory parade rolls through downtown this morning (and lots of kids skip school and downtown employees take a break), here's a business section piece that attempts to tackle the question of why Pittsburgh's fans place their identity in 'da Stillers Contending Super Bowl franchise owners reflect their home towns: The Rooneys and Paul Allen, respective owners of the Steelers and Seahawks, reflect the cities where their teams toil. There was a sardonic smugness on both sides of the ball, i.e., The contrasts between them are as startling as the image gap between the two cities: Pittsburgh, the rusting industrial titan, and Seattle, cradle of technology superstar Microsoft. Pittsburgh's Old Economy is stoked by Iron City beer while in Seattle you'll find the headwaters of Starbucks, the caffeinated lubricant of the New Economy. Pittsburgh Brewing, brewer of Iron City, is mired in bankruptcy. Starbucks last week reported a 20 percent increase in quarterly profits.

But I must say that Rich Sewald's Gridiron & Steel is a must see to enter the story of the rise of football in the region, the emergence of the City of Pittsburgh on the national scene, and how each supported the other through good times and bad. Hard to top. Want to learn more about 'da Burgh? Check out WQED's Pittsburgh History Series hosted by Rick Sebak.

"I don't know what I want to say," Hayley.

"I know what I want to say to our website," Ellen. "I want to say . . . should I say something about Barbie? Barbie is a wonderful toy to play with and I have a Barbie room with lots of Barbie stuff. They are so much fun to play with . . . I make Barbie stories. Everytime I go to the Squirrel Hill library I do Barbie on the computer."

"I don't know what I want to say, you pick it," Hayley.

"That's not how its done Hayley," Daddy.

"I like school very much and I love playing with my friends. And I like my Daddy and Mommy, who is on a retreat. But Daddy isn't on a retreat right now. He is watching us. That's all."

Before getting into the car to drive over to one awesome Super Bowl Party, sponsored by our grad fellowship and hosted by some of the Pitt faculty connected with our fellowship, I took a moment to consider whether I should be part of supporting the triumph of consumer culture over older social patterns. Hard to believe this piece ran in 'da Burgh!

As Pittsburgh slowly woke up this morning, after a 2 hour busing delay for school and a light dusting of snow, I confess that I have fallen for this form of conspicuous consumption. We did critique the commercials, share memories/stats of various games, fellowship over chicken and ribs, introduce internationals to American football, and raise our terrible towels in triumph.

But as a counter-culture informed by the Biblical story, our kids joyfully spun around the house, we failed to drink ourselves into a frightful oblivion, we left the mattresses and trash unlit, relationships between men and women remained pure, everyone left around 10pm, conversations occurred around the margins and in the midst of the game, and our identities were founded upon being in Christ instead of being a Steeler fan (or an NFL fan).

So we refused to worship the gods of the gridiron and the gods of the consumer products. We took advantage of the ability to make choices as individuals and as a community to live another way. We had the opportunity to rejoice in our Father who created us with the gift of creation, the skills to develop/play a complex game such as American football, the ability to congregate across families/cultures/ethnicities as a people in a particular place at a particular time. The Super Bowl of Conspicuous Consumption became one more memorable part of our family and our community as we seek to live another way. Today, by the grace of the Father modeled by the Son and enabled by the power of His Spirit may we continue to live in a Kingdom manner, even in the Steel City. Intoxicated by the Spirit of God instead of one for the thumb despite how impressive it is.

I [Theresa, not Tom] made my first baby sling, a pouch sling to be precise. My inspiration was my friend Serina who I refer to as the Queen of Slings. I was in search of an easy way to hold Eden on my hip b/c she's not the easiest baby to hold and she's getting too big for the Baby Bjorn. I have found my answer! The pouch is cheap to make, easy to make, portable, easy to wear and comfortable. Here's what I did:

1. Tried Serina's Kangaroo Korner Adjustable Fleece Pouch. Really liked it, but I'm still looking for a used one to buy. I just can't bring myself to shell out the $58 for a new one. But then I got to thinking that fleece may not be practical for summer. So I
2. Investigated cotton pouches and almost bought one for $39. Then I
3. Came across directions to make one and thought, why not try? So I
4. Bought 2 yards of 97% cotton/ 3% spandex in a really funky print. I printed out 3 different sets of directions from different web sites b/c they all contained confusing instructions to me. But by piecing together helpful instructions from the 3 sets I came out in the end with a sling that appears to work!
5. While it was fresh in my mind I wrote down my instructions so that I would be able to replicate the process. The 3 sets of directions that I used came from: www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/Baby/tubesling.html
and, oh dear, I see I don't have the websites for the others. But one that is similar is apparently www.ida.net/users/stace/sling.html

Here's how I made it (some of the steps won't make sense without seeing an explanation of the "smile")
1. Cut the 2 yds. of fabric 22 inches wide (this will be enough for 2 slings).
2. Hem the long sides
3. Fold fabric lengthwise
4. Fold fabric widthwise
5. Measure for "smile" and cut. My smile was 27" long at the longest and 24" long at the shortest.
6. Open lengthwise fold
7. Sew "smile"
8. Check fit with baby in sling. Adjust smaller if necessary (you can't go bigger at this point unless you left a big seam allowance when you sewed the smile).
8. French seam the smile.
9. Wear with pride!

There are lots of different ways you can carry a baby in this type of sling. I'm mostly interested in the hip carry. However I did swing Eden around to my back and she felt pretty secure there. So that's the pouch sling. I've included a picture to show you what Eden and I look like using it. But it doesn't show details on what the pouch itself looks like.

Good luck!