FootieFox on your Site
I won’t be able to add it here until late this evening at the earliest, but looks pretty cool: FootieFox Scoreboard
As an aside, while there have been some good games, this group stage is shaping up to be pretty dull overall. As many as 12 spots in the knockout rounds could be decided after the second round of games, leaving very little to play for the last time thru. Let’s hope for some “upsets” in the next couple days to keep things interesting to the end.
Design Update
12 June, 2006 
OK, I while I’m still looking for design help, I had to make some changes due to a known problem viewing the old design in IE. I decided to start with a new theme, so I can learn a bit about it while I adjust it for my other un-launched blog. Don’t look know but I actually adjusted the CSS and the sidebar! I’m not a coder, but I might be able to play one on this blog.. at least temporarily.
Question for you CSS gurus: It looks like the design has code for a left sidebar, which I’d like to enable, but I’m not sure how. Also, I’d like to make the width of the main column flexible, but if I just take the width parameter out of the container div, the design breaks (drop shadows fall out of place, etc.) Can anyone offer help for these specific items? Email me: cory [at] gmail [dot] com.
Thanks
[UPDATE] It looks like IE users are completely unable to submit comments (Looks like a “Submit” button, but doesn’t click), so I’m reverting back to the standard WP template until I get a chance to work out something else….
Rantz & The Trinity
9 June, 2006 
Over on my contact page Rantz asked for help with a couple questions a student brought to him. First, I think it’s cool that he has this kind of rapport with a student. Second, I think it’s cool that he’d ask me for my input. So, let’s see if I can help. I see three big topics: Armageddon, the Trinity and Biblical inspiration. I’ll start with the Trinity, since Trinity Sunday is this weekend.
Lectionary Sidenote: For those who aren’t familiar, some churches follow what’s called a lectionary. It divides the year into seasons that roughly follow the life of Jesus, punctuated by special commemorative Sunday. For example, Easter - the season not the day - ran from mid-April thru last Sunday, June 4th. Next is a period of “ordinary,” or counted, time that lasts until Advent, or the Christmas season. This coming Sunday, June 11th, is one of those punctuations: Trinity Sunday.
Each week, churches that use the lectionary focus their worship and devotions around a set of themed texts. These texts rotate on a three-year cycle. (The Bible is a big book, you know.) The Vanderbilt Divinity Library has a wonderful on-line lectionary. The readings for this Trinity Sunday are here.
OK, back to Rantz and his student. Here is the question:
The thing she had the most trouble with was the trinaty. [sic] I tried to explain the whole one in the same idea and all that, but she kept saying that since it was God who created Jesus in Mary, Jesus could not therefor be God. I was not really sure how to explain it. Could you assist me with that?
Whew! I pick the easy one’s don’t I?
Show Me the Trinity!
OK, first things first: Nowhere in the Bible is the Trinity isn’t spelled out in nice, neat, mathematical, textbook terms. Oh it’s in there; just not like some would like to see it. Start at the beginning, Genesis. The language used in the creation accounts indicate the presence of all three Persons of the Trinity. Consider this awkward sounding bit: “Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness.’” There is one God, yet we’ve got plural pronouns. This is one early allusion to the Trinity, one God in three Persons.
The Gospels are a bit more clear, particularly John’s. Jesus says stuff like: “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me?” and, “…just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that [believers] will be in us….” He also talks about sending his Spirit which will be in us. So, the Trinity’s all there, even if it’s not as obvious as we’d like.
Was Jesus Created?
Now let me move on to a misunderstanding expressed in the question above. Rantz, speaking for the student, says, “it was God who created Jesus in Mary.” Not quite accurate from a Christian standpoint. Jesus wasn’t created. Yes, he was born, but long before he was born he existed. In fact, he preexisted creation, living in the eternal past with God the Father and God the Spirit.
What happened in Mary’s womb, is that God was born. The invisible, unseen (That’s redundant, isn’t it?) God of eternity past, put on flesh and became manifest as a baby boy. An illustration: Some eastern religions (Hinduism comes to mind, but I could be wrong.) have this idea of the human soul existing eternally, and periodically that soul takes on flesh. Got it? OK, I’m not sure how much I agree with the idea, but take it and apply it to God. God, existing as eternal spirit, took on flesh and became a man, the guy we know as Jesus of Nazareth. Now, I’m not saying this is any easier to understand, but it is not the same as saying God created Jesus.
Metaphors, Metaphors, Metaphors
OK, three metaphors for talking about the Trinity. Remember: they’re metaphors, so don’t get carried away.
- The triple-point - Science geeks will know this one. Did you know that at a particular combination of pressure and temperature a substance will coexist as a liquid, solid, and gas? ‘Tis true. You can get liquid water, ice and vapor at the same time under the right conditions. The metaphor should be obvious. One substance, three phases; or one God, three Persons - all at the very same time.
- Time - I heard this one on D. James Kennedy’s radio program, Truths that Transform, years ago. He used time, expressed as past, present and future, to illustrate the Trinity. He has this great statement about time, into which he substituted the Persons of the Trinity, but I haven’t found it in print anywhere. (I love some help if you know what I’m talking about.)
- Ceiling fans - I have Jon Reid to thank for this one. Look at a ceiling fan. Three, four, maybe five blades. Turn it on high. Now you’ve got one blade. Seemed to help Samantha (my five year old) when she was asking at bedtime one night.
Trinity - So What?
Last thing: Why does the Trinity matter? I’ll let Sarah Dylan Breuer say it for me. From her lectionary blog:
The doctrine of the Trinity says that God’s eternal nature is as relationship — that God was, is, and always will be Love. And love isn’t about understanding; it’s about trusting, and committing, to someone who is Other, different, incomprehensible. Because when we claim to love because we think we comprehend, we are only loving what’s also in us. We call that “narcissism.” Love requires an other.
So the doctrine of the Trinity gives me hope for our Christian community. We are made in the image of the God who is Love. We are made in the image of Love. Love is what we were born for, and the universe arcs toward it. Love is our home, to which God is calling us. We don’t need to understand. We need to listen. Indeed, when we think we understand, we stop listening.
I’ll stop talking now, and see what you have to say about this.
World Cup Fever
You do know that it’s started, right? Of course you do. You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here instead of watching it.
Such is life. I’ve got plans to watch a match tonight, so NO SPOILERS!
For those of you unable to feign a 30-day flu, be here are a couple ways to follow the Cup when you can’t watch every minute.
Why Blog?
Darren’s got another group writing project happening, and I’m just about to miss the deadline. (Thank heavens he let’s us use local time when determining “end of Thursday.”) This project is on Blog Goals. Well, I run a personal blog and a few professional blogs, and the two types have very different goals. Why don’t I talk about both.
Personal Blog
This is my personal blog. I started it almost three years ago after running into a few other Christian blogs, such as TallSkinnyKiwi, Jonny Baker, and even Darren’s own Living Room blog. So, why blog?
Thinking Out Loud
A blog is a place to think out loud. I’m a writer, and part of that means I process by writing. It helps me to organize, criticize and connect ideas that have been floating around in my head. I’ve kept journals off and one for a number of years, but a blog is just more me. I practically live on line anymore, and a blog gets at the next few goals in a way a journal never can. Blogging is talking to myself… without having everyone looking at me funny.
Community and Connections
When I started reading blogs, I found a resonance that made a difference to me. I found people who were asking the same sort of questions as me. I found people who were pursuing the same goals as me. So, I started blogging as a way to participate in that community and deepen those connections. Every now and then I get an email from someone who has stumbled onto Bald Man Blogging, and found their own encouragement and community. That’s just cool! Blogging is paying it forward.
Memory Bank
My memory has always been a bit scattered and haphazard. It’s good - infuriatingly good at times if you ask my wife - but a bit haphazard. I’d like to blame it all on the kids, but I can’t. So many times I stumble across something, like a quote or a poem, and I just wish I could remember it. Viola! Blogging is digital memory.
Ahead of the Parenting Curve
This one’s a fairly new development. You’ll notice that I’m out here with complete transparency. (No jokes about my pasty Irish skin, please.) My name, my picture, my kids, everything. Needless to say, this has been a point of… let’s say conversation, with my mother-in-law. (Hi, Joey!) She doesn’t like the fact that all this information is out here for the world to see. I chalk some of this up to a generational difference, but not all of it. Here’s my take: This is the 21st Century. Like it or not, life is on-line. Now I figure I can either run from it and be one of those parents on a talk show in 10 years crying about how I never knew what my kids were up to on the computer… or I can keep up and teach my kids how to surf safely. I can teach them how to connect with people around the world (On any given day I’m in contact with amazing people in 8-10 different timezones and 4 different continents.) while keeping an eye out for the creeps. Blogging is parenting in the 21st century.
Professional Blogs
Now for my professional blogs. This is a fairly new world for me. In fact, I’m just coming up on my three month anniversary. First, let me promote myself a bit: I write at the following:
- www.55fiction.com
- www.baldiness.com
- www.houseisright.com
- www.supernannyrules.com
- [not-yet-ready-to-launch]
These are my goals:
Augment Income
My name is Cory, and I have debt I’d like to get rid of a little faster if possible. One way is to reduce expenses. Check! The other is to increase income. Blogging is my debt reduction plan… and then hopefully my play-money plan.
Diversity Income
I love my day job. I work for a great company, and I don’t have a real desire to quit until I’m ready to quit for good. That said, there’s something to be said for diversifying one’s income stream. Kerri stays at home with the kids, so all our eggs are in one basket. Blogging is my disaster recovery plan.
Serve Readers
I have a genuine desire to benefit my readers. There are probably some pro-bloggers out there who are all about the Benjamins. I don’t have a problem with that, but it’s not me. I’d like a few Benjamins (or at least the odd Jackson), but I want to make a positive contribution in the lives of my readers. Even on my “fluff” blogs that cover television shows. I appreciate celebrity interest, but there are lines I won’t cross. It’ll probably cost me traffic… but I’m okay with that. Blogging is my way to serve.
Design Help Needed
Jesse, who had been working on the design here at Bald Man Blogging, has had to step away for personal reasons. (Sounds like major life stuff, and I wish him the best.) That said, I could use some help finishing things out here. I’ve got an idea, but no ability to implement it. I’m totally open to doing the design live and letting someone learn and experiment. I’ll be up front and say this isn’t something for which I can afford to pay. Link love is a given, but I’m asking for some charity.
On a related note: I have another un-launched blog that needs a design, and I can probably provide some economic compensation for that. (What’s the going rate, anyway?) Please contact me via email (coryaldrich [at] gmail [dot] com) if you are interested in either job.
(Can you believe for a minute I thought about trying to do this myself? Completely ignored my own suggestion! Ye, gods!)
Economics and Birthdays
6 June, 2006
Filed under General
Tags: adam-smith, economics, john-maynard-keynes, Politics, Reading, Thinking
This was in Monday’s Writer’s Almanac:
We don’t know when Adam Smith was born, but it was on this day in 1723 that Smith, the economist who popularized the idea of free trade, was baptized in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. His first important book was The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), in which he argued that all people are selfish, but that the combined selfishness of many people benefits everyone. He wrote, “[We are] led by an invisible hand … without knowing it, without intending it, [to] advance the interest of the society.” He developed this idea in the book for which he is best remembered, Wealth of Nations (1776). That book established many of the most important principles for economists for the next two hundred years.
Adam Smith wrote, “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.”
Today is also the birthday of the economist John Maynard Keynes, (books by this author), born in Cambridge, England (1883). He’s best known for his book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, published during the Great Depression in 1935. He argued that governments can correct severe depressions by spending lots of money, even if it means running a deficit, to put people back to work. Keynes greatly influenced Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal policies, and his ideas have been used to justify budget deficits ever since.
Interesting that these two men share a birthday, or something like it. Also interesting that the birthday is so close to my own. (At least it’s interesting to me.) A couple thoughts to share… mostly on Smith.
Invisible Hand? Not So Much
The Invisible Hand is broken… if indeed it ever existed. Within the constraints of perfect competition, the Invisible Hand the collective selfishness might (See my next thought.) work out to the benefit of most… or at least many. Not in today’s economy, which is a far cry from anything resembling perfect competition. Atomicity? Nope; try oligarchy. Homogeneity? Perhaps, but billions of marketing dollars are working hard to obfuscate that fact. Perfect Information? Equal Access? Free Entry? Not if the oligarchies have anything to say about it… and they do!
No, the Invisible Hand of the market has been bound and gagged. Motivated self-interest serves only the self, and those who possess power are best able to serve themselves.
Selfishness Is NOT an Agent of Good
It is noteworthy that Smith doesn’t say, “People will overcome and progress beyond selfishness, attaining to a more noble fundamental value.” No, he says in effect: “We’re all selfish bastards, and that ain’t gonna change. Fortunately, there is Something beyond our selfish little souls to protect us from each other.”
As a Christian I have to respond, “Close, but not far enough.” True Something is kind enough to protect us from ourselves to an extent, but it doesn’t end there. There is the possibility of real transformation of the soul. Self-interest need not be our driving motivation. Instead, our souls can be moved by genuine love.
Check Please!
The economic difference between Republicans and Democrats has nothing to do with accepting or rejecting Keynesian theory. Maybe it did at one time, but not anymore. Both parties embrace a bigger government role, because it protects their power and position. They only quibble over where government should expand next.
I was ready to shut the door on politics in 2004. Today, the door still remains cracked… but just a little. I’ve got some thinking to do here, still.
