Fox News Calls Mister Rogers Evil

Weird, weird, weird and beyond stupidity. This seems to be in keeping with the fundamentalist message of human worthlessness and total inability:

Focus on Self-Esteem
A very prevalent approach today is to build a child's self-esteem. That method assumes that if a child sees himself as good, noble, and wonderful, he'll not only behave better, but he will also treat others better. This method turns self-love into a virtue.

The truth is that much of the modern effort to spark kids' self-esteem is simply pouring gasoline on a runaway fire. It encourages already selfish kids to think they are justified in wanting their own way. It makes you as a parent think you have to defer to the child, no matter what, because the child has a right to express himself freely, so he feels good about himself. All of that only escalates out-of-control behavior and feeds the worst tendencies of human depravity. Want to ensure that your child will become a delinquent? Feed his self-esteem and then compound the problem by refusing to correct him when he is wrong.

Self-esteem is based on an unbiblical perspective that denies original sin and the doctrine of total depravity. The Bible has nothing positive to say about self-esteem, self-love, or any other variety of self-centeredness. It teaches your child to deny himself, not love himself (Luke 9:23).

The Sloppy Theology Of Henry Poole Is Here: Part 2

"On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye).
— Les hommes ont oublié cette vérité, dit le renard. Mais tu ne dois pas l’oublier. Tu deviens responsable pour toujours de ce que tu as apprivoisé. Tu es responsable de ta rose…
Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose..."
— C’est le temps que tu as perdu pour ta rose qui fait ta rose si importante.
"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important." ----Antoine de Saint Exupéry, The Little Prince

Sorry for the week long wait, but last week I got a stomach bug that has been going around our church so that wasn't fun. Anyways, continuing from where I left off---I believe like Fosdick that miracles still happen, but we must be careful how we approach miracles---because sometimes our approaches to miracles lead to dangerous theology such as in these ways:

1- Sometimes how we approach miracles leads to spiritual materialism---turning our walk with God into one of sight and proofs rather than belief/faith in the unseen Risen Lord (John 20:28-30).

2- Sometimes our approaches lead to spiritual arrogance and pride---in that those who have experienced miracles sometimes feel spiritual more superior than those that haven't or feel that God specially chose them and not others such as: how Adolf Hitler believed God chose him to rule the world after he escaped death several times in WWI.

3- Some of our approaches downgrade theodicy (the problem of evil and suffering in the world)---which poses the question of why God would choose to heal some people and not others whom have just as much faith or more than those whom did get healed?

4-

Do you ever wonder just what God requires?
You think He's just an errand boy to satisfy your wandering desires.

--- Bob Dylan, When You Gonna Wake Up? This thought by Bob Dylan which echoes something Fosdick said is another problematic approach to miracles.



Tying miracles back to my quote from The Little Prince---a modern day view of miracles is finding God and beauty in all things. No one exemplified this more than Mister Rogers did:

No matter the weather, Mr. Rogers would still come in his house and say it’s a
beautiful day. Why do we think sunny, bright days are beautiful but if it’s raining it’s a dreary
day? I don’t think Mr. Rogers was talking about the weather when he said it’s a
beautiful day in the neighborhood. Mr. Rogers looked for the beauty in every
day things, every day life. Sitting down with a neighbor, drinking tea, taking time to play,
pretend, paint, and be creative. One day of breathing normally is a beautiful day for
someone with Asthma, Bronchitis or Emphysema. One more day to enjoy the
color of the sky is a beautiful day for someone loosing his or her eyesight.
One more day with your son or daughter before they report to boot camp is a beautify day!
Think like Mr. Rogers and enjoy the beauty of this life, this day! Yes we’ve got problems,
yes there is a war going on, sure we’ve got poverty and political unrest but there are still
miracles every day if you take the time to look. Find something today to make you say
“It truly is a beautiful day in this neighborhood”!

In conclusion, despite it's sloppy theology, Henry Poole Is Here was an interesting movie that in the end showed that love is the truest miracle of all.

9-11 Remembered

Courtesy of: http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/North_America/United_States/Northeast/New_York/photo953831.htm

And

Courtesy of: http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/North_America/United_States/Northeast/New_York/photo953922.htm

So I was looking for a picture of our Youth Group at FBC-Laurinburg, in front of the Twin Towers, but I couldn't find it---so I had to steal this one off of TrekEarth---I did find this Youth trip picture though: http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1291977&op=1&aid=53071&auser=510820886&id=510820886&ref=mf.You can find more pictures here: http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/North_America/United_States/Northeast/New_York/.

And for an even more moving experience watch this video:

to hear a piece by Samuel Barber (Mister Rogers' favorite composer) that captures the tragedy. It's hard to believe that it's been nearly 10 years since the 9-11 tragedy. So where were you when it happened and how did it affect you?

I was in CEP at Campbell University and didn't know the extent of the damage until later and so I wrote these lyrics inspired by the tragedy:

TWO TOWERS
(Currin)
I seen Two Towers burning down
The fools they done the wrong thing
I seen the Pentagon crumbling to the ground
And painted crimson roses, where the towers stood spring
And all along the New York City promenade
To the shores of LA, Palestine feels like a giant razor blade
Nation in terror, nation full of fear
Perhaps those bloody terrorists were drunk sitting their ass on too much beer
Well, I seen those Two Towers when they still stood
Times back then seemed pretty good
The times weren’t too bad, the rents were low
I couldn’t have known those towers would soon blow
Now they’re lighting candles all around
To celebrate the lives that toppled down
Twas a day of darkness, early in the morn
Now the hearts of many American are torn
In their prime, when they stood, those Two Towers
Stood just like two great big steel American flowers
Wasn’t just part of the landscape, they were a symbol of the American soul
I don’t know why, but these days the world seems a little too dark and cold
Well, up here in the ‘God blessed’ U.S. of A
Things are getting tainted with too much racial hate
We all been turning the knob too long, turning the tap
On some kind of ignorance suicide rap and racial acid bath
A million bodies lying in the ground, where those Two Towers stood
Under the rubble and ash of the American dream, decaying like wood
Those bodies keep springing up like concrete roses
Many years ago, we never thought that those towers would go
Heart beating steel all across this archaic land
Military chain of command goes hand in hand with urban Nam
Factory smoke littering the sky
Scattered all along the train tracks, gleaming in your eye
Two Towers crashing, building bridges in America’s veins
Highways connecting ‘coast to coast,’ where freedom reigns
For all my freedom, I thank my God each and everyday
And I thank God that I was born here in the U. S. of A
Telephone lines ringing slam shut
When America felt it’s biggest cut
Red, White and blue flying in the air for weeks to come
Well, pretty soon we all will lose this feeling of numb
Well, I seen Two Towers burning down
The fools they done the wrong thing
I seen the Pentagon crumbling to the ground
And painted crimson roses, where the towers stood spring
And all along the New York City promenade
To the shores of LA, Palestine feels like a giant razor blade
Nation in terror, nation full of fear
Perhaps those bloody terrorists were drunk sitting their ass on too much beer
Well, I seen those Two Towers when they still stood
Times back then seemed pretty good
The times weren’t too bad, the rents were low
I couldn’t have known those towers would soon blow
A million bodies lying in the ground, where those Two Towers stood
Under the rubble and ash of the American dream, decaying like wood
Those bodies keep springing up like concrete roses
Many years ago, we never thought that those towers would go
A million bodies lying in the ground, where those Two Towers stood
Under the rubble and ash of the American dream, decaying like wood
Those bodies keep springing up like concrete roses
Many years ago, we never thought that those towers would go
Well, I seen Two Towers burning down
The fools they done the wrong thing
I seen the Pentagon crumbling to the ground
And painted crimson roses, where the towers stood spring
Well, I seen Two Towers burning down
Well, I seen Two Towers......................
© 2001 T/H Songs, Inc.
© 2001 GB Lyrics, C.O. ---that one was Bruce Springsteen influenced.

LADY LIBERTY
(Currin)
Liberty...Lady Liberty
Dance fer me
Her sweat is glistening, in the morning sky
Blood piercing tears rolling down her eye
Liberty...Lady Liberty
Sing fer me
I knows you have felt the pain of having no name
And felt numb, when you got stung with shame
Well, they hurt yer pride, but don’t let it break yer heart
Don’t let them kill all yer senses and fall apart
Lady Liberty...Liberty
Set me free, oh please, come rain down on me
Liberty...Lady Liberty
Won’t you cruise the strip once fer me
Well promises and dreams fade
Underneath that summer haze
Liberty...Lady Liberty
The drag is flying free
And all those girls of my youth blow away with all those lies
Too many causalities of age, too many lost lives
Well, the bar-room prophets gathering on Main Street
All come out to philosophically sing and preach
About...Lady Liberty...Liberty
Set me free, oh please, come rain down on me
Well, I looked down that strip, all around, left and right
There ain’t nothing there, but emptiness and factories out of sight
The dark clouds of aggression are filling up the air with smoke
But don’t let that stop your hope and make you begin to choke
Well, tonight is a time for ‘American dreaming’ again
So let that American seed germinate within your skin
For hopes die young and dreams fade out quick
But still nothing should make you sick
Pretty soon, we’ll all see Lady Liberty shining through
The future is wide for dreaming and so are me and you
The drag is an open highway just right
Filled with so many new dreams and so much light
So I say...Liberty...Lady Liberty
Won’t you cruise the strip once fer me
Well promises and dreams fade
Underneath that summer haze
Liberty...Lady Liberty
The drag is flying free
And all those girls of my youth blow away with all those lies
Too many causalities of age, too many lost lives
Well, the bar-room prophets gathering on Main Street
All come out to philosophically sing and preach
About...Lady Liberty...Liberty
Set me free, oh please, come rain down on me
Liberty...Lady Liberty
Dance fer me
Her sweat is glistening, in the morning sky
Blood piercing tears rolling down her eye
Liberty...Lady Liberty
Sing fer me
I knows you have felt the pain of having no name
And felt numb, when you got stung with shame
Well, they hurt yer pride, but don’t let it break yer heart
Don’t let them kill all yer senses and fall apart
Lady Liberty...Liberty
Set me free, oh please, come rain down on me
© 2001 T/H Songs, Inc.
© 2001 GB Lyrics, C.O.---that one was Bob Dylan influenced.