Truth.

 

It is the most elusive of all things to us yet it is right there desiring to be embraced. I think we, humans, make it difficult. We obscure and seek to run from truth because it frightens us. Pontious Pilate admitted his own skepticism regarding truth when he asked Jesus – Τί ἐστιν ἀλήθεια – "what is truth?""

 

I found a great quote I want to share with you on truth:

 

 

 

What sense

this journey?

 

why walk when you can ride?

 

and

 

I don’t want to go there

if

I have to go through there

 

really –

why tread the desert?

 

take me to milk and honey

or take me back to Egypt

 

but

     don’t

             make

                     me

                          walk

 

what could I possibly miss

anyway?

 

a parted sea

the fire mount of Sinai

bread and quail in the morn

and water –

rock-sprung fresh

and cooled by the breath of God

two pillars to guide my way

 

ok –

so maybe I might miss a couple of things

but what difference does it make?

 

Maybe none. Maybe everything.

 

Maybe you can only see

milk and honey

after a long walk in the dry heat

 

Maybe the rock that you sit upon

is that much more valuable

when you have broken, dry feet.

 

Maybe the journey

is just as important as the destination.

 

I have a theory.

 

It may be a hope.

 

You be the judge.

 

With increased pressure on bands/musical groups to diversify income sources due to rampant music downloading and confused global copyright laws we will see a sharp rise in the number of concerts. Downloading music is something that is reshaping the music industry business in the same way free access to news on the internet is shaping the traditional print news business. It is a losing battle to fight. In Canada it is "legal" to download music, etc, it is only illegal to share/upload it. I’m not sure why. Canada has implemented a tax on Mp3 players, CD-ROMs and other electronic recording media, a portion of which goes to the RIAA and so that is probably part of the reason, but it is one of the reasons electronic content providers like Apple TV and Xbox Live are slow to fully implement here.

 

Anyhow -concerts can be decent moneymakers for bands who market themselves properly. Wait and see, I wouldn’t doubt it if we see a sharp rise in the number of concerts being offered. This may have a good impact on small and mid-sized markets – I hope so.

 

Anyhow – that’s the theory. It is simple. It is a hope. I would love to see some more affordable small emerging bands. Maybe I will.

 

This is a throwback to the 80’s (like me)! If you’re looking for some relentlessly happy enti-emo type music you want to listen to The Housemartins. In some ways there a bit of a precursor to The Bare Naked Ladies. The Housemartins are (were) a British group (like most GOOD groups) and were a little on the alternative non-pop side of things back when I was in university.

 

If you read their Wikipedia bio here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_housemartins you may be surprised to learn (as I just was) that "The Housemartins were an English pop band that was active in the 1980s. Many of the Housemartins’ lyrics were a mixture of Marxist politics and Christianity, reflecting Paul Heaton’s beliefs at the time (the back cover of London 0 Hull 4 contained the message, "Take Jesus – Take Marx – Take Hope")."

 

Until about 2 minutes ago I had no idea there was any Christian influence…but it makes sense if you read the lyrics (sadly Heaton later became an Atheist). As for the Marxist influence, hey, I’m Canadian, it’s not so bad either.  🙂

 

Anyhow – if you’ve never heard them check out The Housemartins.

 

 

 

 

Periodically I will appeal to our brother and sisters across the aisle of faith in the Roman Catholic church for varying perspectives. Two in particular that I appreciate are their perspectives on the spiritual disciplines and on sanctity of life issues. This post is about the latter. Recently (today) the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released a document entitled Dignatas Personae which can be translated as The Dignity of the Person (technically it is called "an instruction" but I do not receive it as such). It is specifically an instruction from the Vatican to Catholic adherents on "certain bioethical questions" like fertility treatment, embryonic research, in vitro fertilization, gene therapy etc.

 

While I believe there are many drawbacks to the Catholic system of faith one of the brilliant aspects is its ability to focus massive amounts of resources and mental energy on issues of life that overlap and intersect with faith. While most of us on the evanglical side of the church are generally aware that we do not agree with abortion, we are not very good at fully understanding why, aside from a vague sense that it goes against God’s character. The Vatican on the other hand spends a great deal of time researching issues such as abortion and obviously digs to a very granular level on related bioethical questions from a faith/biblical perspective and offers some wonderful, faith-based and nuanced arguments for why we, as people of faith, disagree with some of these things and what the moral and ethical implications are.

 

Having said all that I highly recommend the document Dignatas Personae for your reading (although it may put you to sleep you’ll be happy to hear it is a scant 26 pages). You can download the PDF here: http://www.usccb.org/comm/Dignitaspersonae/index2o.shtml 

 

Of course issues of bioethics and faith are of interest to me not simply as a Christ follower but also because of my role as chair of the board for our local Pregnancy Care Centre. It is good to be on top of these things.

 

In the spirit of giving everyone a fair shake I have decided to post the link to a scholarly paper co-authored by Michael Ignatieff for the United Nations University back in 2004. The paper is entitled Making States Work: From State Failure to State-Building and seems to be an excellent way to get a sense for the kind of policies someone like Ignatieff would support and implement should he have the chance. It is also a well written document that gives you much to think about.

 

For those who are not aware Michael Ignatieff was recently appointed interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and therefore Leader of the Official Opposition in parliament.

 

You should know that I am a fairly strong supporter of Prime Minister Stephen Harper who I think has led the country well in incredibly difficult circumstances such as the emerging global recession, all with minority government status. You should also know I am not the kind of person that decides at a certain point in life that I will support a single political party in every election for as long as I live. I think that is foolish frankly and can lead to horrific situations of power abuse etc. It also denies the reality that things change. People change, the country changes, culture changes, the world changes, and so we must always consider our political affiliations very carefully. As a person of faith each party represents a different facet of truth and I have the difficult job of trying to decide which will govern in a way I believe to be most faithful. It means I have to look at a party and decide if one party’s stance on Abortion for instance trumps another party’s stance on War and Peace. There is no perfect solution to this – all I have discovered is that every party in one way or another reflects an aspect of God’s truth while at the same time each one denies aspects.

 

Back to Ignatieff, it is important for us to understand who this person is because he could very well be leading this country one day. You should read the paper and also visit his Bio on Wikipedia as well – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_ignatieff .

 

You should also get some info on Stephen Harper for the same reasons. His is at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_harper. Harper has not written nearly as much as Ignatieff but if you can get your hands on his master’s thesis that will give you some clues to his policy style as well. It is entitled The Political business cycle and fiscal policy in Canada and the abstract is available here: https://dspace.ucalgary.ca/handle/1880/24345 .

 

Well – have fun. If you manage to find the Harper thesis electronically let me know where it is.

 

 

 

What engine pounds

within this cage

this heart of blood

beats still and

                    still beats

 

this heart of blood

a heart of stone

this heart of flesh

a heart of bone

 

there is no seam

to mark the edge

between the living

between the dead

 

no way to tell

when pressing heaven

or pounding hell

 

no way to draw the darkness out

no way to blind with sole brightness

                          or soul brightness

no gray

no black

no white

 

but a strange unfathomable mix

that cries –

 

"COME TRY AND MAKE ME RIGHT!"

 

this heart a thing of wonder

broken, yet –

                  my life’s forge

full still with smoke and fire

pitted deep with thick desire

creating every day

something new

a brilliant work

a few sparse words

perhaps to pray

a small psalm to God

what’s this thing

this lump of flesh so odd?

 

my spark,

my small ark

that carries stone tablets

and the law

the ever speaking yoke

that echoes deep within –

 

"you are too precious

to be left in sin"

 

my little stuttering treasure

my ruby held, adored

my metronomic measure

the housing of my Lord

 

 

Sometimes

 

the black ol’ world

get’s a little blacker

and this broken down heart

hurts more than it should

 

sometimes

 

the pain of God seems stronger

like a light has gone out somewhere

and the bent end of eden

feels sharper then before

 

sometimes

 

my throat closes up

and my eyes fill

while my chest pulls tight

with the heaviness of

the trainwreck coming down the track

 

sometimes

 

i feel the sense of a billion voices

crying to heaven in the echoing dark

the weight of their pleas pressing down

on eternal shoulders shaking with His

 

weeping, weeping, weeping

 

sometimes

 

it would be easier to let the cold

the numbing loss of love

come take this jagged thorn away

while I become ice and frost and winter

 

sometimes

 

but…then…there is grace

 

the ever-present

the all-sufficient

the never-ending

 

that says to my soul

sing your hurt and wail for the injustice

feel every terrible wound

                                    and know

it is better then the white death of indifferance

 

but – sometimes there is the deep beating ache

 

sometimes…