Public BSODs (Blue Screens of Death)

Posted on 19 September 2003

This is going to be quite a rant, so if you’re not interested in reading about the intersection of theology and politics, and why some conservatives are a bit brain-dead, there’s nothing to see here, move along. By the way, I’d use MoveableType’s extended entry system, but I doubt the template for it is set up, so the entry would look terrible….

Anyway….

I’ve become a regular reader of King Kaufman’s daily sports column on Salon. A few weeks ago, he commented about Rush Limbaugh’s new gig on ESPN’s Sunday Countdown football show. Nothing terribly negative, just the same sort of thing you heard when Dennis Miller got the gig on Monday Night Football. Well, the Freeper got wind that someone had something negative to say about their mouthpiece, and someone started a little discussion about it. The discussion begins around a fairly innocuous comment by King (“Football is nothing like life”), but as conservatives, someone had to claim that because of that comment, Kaufman is a limp, pencil-necked liberal.

But even that didn’t bother me much. I mean, I like what Kaufman writes, but I don’t know him, and I’m not going to be upset if someone verbally assaults him. But one comment did anger me. A lot.

Jesus: “Those who are not with us are against us.”

Kaufman would probably have trouble with that one, too. Unlike Kaufman and modern Europeans, Jesus saw things in terms of black and white, and advocated a straight path. Too simplistic for the sophisticates.

First, what exactly does the quote from Christ have to do with the discussion at hand? Suddenly, because Kaufman believes that football doesn’t mirror life, not only is he a pinko-communist, he’s also anti-God. The second part of the comment angered me too, but the poster had this to say as well:

Football used to be like life used to be…The best man for the job…hard work and preparation pay off in the end…

But now football is quickly becoming too much like life has become under liberalism…quotas, affirmative action hiring policies, the United Way…

Ahh, yes, the good old days.

Now, here’s where the theology starts. After much thought and time spent looking over the New Testament, I’ve come to the conclusion (along with many other folks) that Jesus was a subversive. The very basis for His coming was to complete the old covenant established with the Jews, and begin the new covenant, which moved faith in God away from the law (the Ten Commandments) and toward grace and redemption (but that’s another discussion). The Jewish leaders were waiting for a messiah who would come with military might and defeat the Roman empire and return the Promised Land to God’s people, but instead, the messiah came as a humble carpenter who taught peace and love. Jesus was, in many ways, everything many Jews weren’t waiting for. And what he taught went against the rigid law these people were fighting to protect.

That said, I’m going to make an assumption about what this poster believes about Christianity. Obviously, he/she believes that hard work is a mark of the Christian (which I don’t necessarily disagree with). But this is taken further — if you’re not for hard work, and the best man winning, you’re obviously a liberal, and therefore not a true Christian. Hmmm. So Christ only rewards people that work hard, right? Hmmm.

First, how about Luke 23:32-43. Hanging from the cross, a thief crucified next to Jesus asks Christ to remember him. Jesus’ response? It wasn’t “too bad fella, you had your chance. You think you’re getting away with this?”. It was:

“Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

To recap, a convicted criminal asks Jesus to remember him (he doesn’t even specifically ask for forgiveness) and Jesus says you will be with me heaven. That could be the most subversive passage in the Bible. Jesus’ action flies in the face of the Old Testament law (which would have the man put to death) and it flies in the face of the leadership of the day.

How about another example? Perhaps Matthew 9:1-8. Jesus heals a paralytic. Let’s put this into a bit of context first.

The typical conservative doesn’t like welfare or government assistance because they are free handouts. There are no strings attached. You could a single parent receiving welfare, and you could be the best parent trying to make it with little, or you could be a crack addict who doesn’t know your kids’ names, but you still get the money. Conservatives just can’t handle that. But take a look at this passage. No where does the writer say the paralytic was a man of faith (though it does say the people who brought him were). No where does it say that the paralytic was trying really hard to live a normal life, or that he refused help from people because he didn’t think that was right. Jesus tells the man his sins are forgiven, but the teachers of the law don’t like this, and claim he is blaspheming. Jesus’ response? He heals the paralytic and goes on His way. No-strings-attached forgiveness. Now, there are cases where Jesus added “and sin no more” (the story of the adultress comes to mind), but even then, the gospel writer never checks up the woman to be sure she’s doing what she’s supposed to. Her sins are still forgiven at that point.

In both cases, Jesus subverts the old law, and shows what love really is. And the powers that were saw it as subversion — Jesus was everything they didn’t believe in. And personally, I think many conservatives would see Jesus as a pinko communist if he walked the earth today — a person helping the underprivledged, asking nothing in return. Going back to the original Freeper post “If you’re not with us, you’re against” — Jesus came to put aside the old way (“how life used to be…”) and teach a new way. If you’re not for Christ, you’re against Him.

Posted on 19 September 2003

The latest news from the WRC is that the Hyundai WRC team will take a “break” at the conclusion of the 2003 season. The team has been cash-strapped since last year, limiting testing and development for the Accent. The team is currently in last place in the manufacturer’s championship standings, 10 points behind Skoda (and Hyundai should be glad Skoda introduced the Fabia, or else they’d be even further in the hole). This leaves Armin Schwarz without a seat for next season, as Freddy Loix had already left the team to sign with Peugeot. Hyundai plans to return to the WRC in 2006 with a limited program.

With this news, there is currently one drive open among the works teams — Mitsubishi. They’ve signed Gilles Panizzi for next year, but the second seat is still open, and there are plenty of drivers looking for a team.

Posted on 18 September 2003

Slate has an interesting article about Mel Gibson’s The Passion discussing the potential anti-Semitism of the film. I think the author does a pretty good job of discussing the issues, and I don’t disagree with his conclusions, so I’ll just provide the link and keep me mouth shut.

Posted on 18 September 2003

Well, it’s finally happened. After much soul-searching and googling, I’ve finally purchased a new, fixed-gear rear wheel for the trusty commuter bike. The initial plan was to use the existing rim and buy new spokes a fixed hub from the good people at the Harris Cyclery, then bribe Dave with a case of beer to rebuild it, but I found this on eBay. The hub isn’t quite as good as I would have purchased, but the whole kit and kaboodle still cost less than building one up from scratch. I’ve still got to get a track cog for it, but in less than a week I’ll be risking life and limb riding a fixie down Stanton Avenue!

Posted on 17 September 2003

I was just reading Newsweek during lunch and saw this election campaign quote from George W. Bush, our president and commander-in-chief:

?Maybe I?m missing something here,? he said. ?I mean we?re going to have kind of a nation-building corps from America? Absolutely not. Our military is meant to fight and win war?The mission needs to be clear and the exit strategy obvious.?

*Sigh*

Posted on 17 September 2003

Judge Moore: Move Ten Commandments to the Capitol

Words fail me. First, here’s what Paul has to say about the Ten Commandments in Colossians 2:14-15:

He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

The written code is the law in the Ten Commandments.

And how about Hebrews 8:13:

13By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

“This covenant” is the covenant established by Christ, and the “first one” is the covenant established with the Old Testament people of Israel, as defined in the Ten Commandments.

While we aren’t to forget about the Ten Commandments, they are not the governing rules of a Christians life. Christ distilled them to:

“Love God, and love your neighbor.”

So if Moore wants his momument, he should at least argue the case correctly…they are not the mark of a Christian government, but they could serve as a bit of history.

Posted on 17 September 2003

Hummm. Looks like hurricane Isabel is going to ruin any climbing for this weekend. Yeesh. Enough of this terrible wet weather on the weekends!

Posted on 16 September 2003

Just got back from a test drive of 1992 Saab 9000s (1992 2.3l 4cyl 5 speed). I was pleasantly surprised on how “sporty” the car felt. The dealer is in Homestead, and the saleswoman took me on a little circuit of open backroads — lots of hills and curves to really test the car. It wasn’t quite as peppy as the Subaru, but it was still quite impressive, even in the corners with crappy all-season tyres. I wonder if all the squealing and hard breaking made the saleswoman a bit nervous?

We’re going to look at another Saab later this week, and we should make our decision soon. Another salesman was a bit surprised that we’d want to sell a 2000 Impreza RS with 46,000 miles for an old Saab. I told him to try and manipulate a child/car seat combination in a two door coupe…..

Posted on 16 September 2003

The family and our friend Greg tried to go bouldering this weekend, but we foiled by the weather. We made to Coopers Rock, and even got a couple of problems in before the rains came, but alas, it wasn’t to be. The weather looks promising for next weekend though…

The car hunt continues. Before Saturday, we had narrowed the search down to a 1989 Volvo 740 Turbo Sedan, and 1992 Volvo 940 Turbo Wagon (that’s an Estate for you Brits). But then I saw a couple of early 90s Saabs online and got very interested. The Saabs are just as reliable as the Volvos, and it will be far easier to find a manual transmission. So now, we have to look at a 1992 Saab 9000S and a 1993 9000S. Decisions decisions….

Posted on 15 September 2003