I was reading about the demise of CCM, the magazine

I have thought a lot about where my musical tastes have vacillated over the past few years after running into Patrol thanks to Dr. Veith. The reason for this is because I used to read CCM in high school, and I was really into the CCM scene at that time. I still have a large collection of crappy tapes and CDs collecting dust that I haul along with me because I'm not sure I want to reinfect the world with the nonsense I once listened to.

American Evangelicalism created its own little world where it is of the world but not in it, otherwise completely bass ackwards of what our Lord said. It allows for the support of many people who otherwise would be doing more fulfilling work, like mowing the lawn or riveting wings together rather than making awful music.

This fact caused me to create a rule of thumb which, in general, works. Simply put, I believe the more mainstream the style a given Christian artist plays, the more likely that artists is bad compared to his contemporaries in the secular music scene. The consequence of this is the more obscure the style of music, the more likely the artist will be good, if not at the top of the heap. This is especially true in some of the more obscure metal subgeneras where the "Christian" artists can outplay and outriff their secular counterparts. One of the classic albums in doom metal, for instance, is by a band called Paramecium. Exhumed of the Earth is an interesting album, if nothing else for its telling of the life of Christ. It contains one of the most depressing Christmas songs ever recorded (it reminds us our Lord's first throne was a feeding trough before a throne room filled with less than sanitary stuff). This album is considered a classic by many in the death/doom subgenera. I would love to tell you more, but the CD is buried under a pile of Michael W. Smith, DC Talk, and other not quite ready for primetime bands and artists. The band Touriquet is another example. Having one of the best drummers period really helps in gaining credibility, along with an ability to write more riffs in one song than many bands write in a career. Extol is another band who has a lot of credibility with the secular crowd. Their album Undeceived sent them skyrocketing in the death metal genera.

Do I still listen? I pull out a tourniquet CD every now and then, and I used to use some of the songs by Extol to work out to. In the end, however, I prefer listening to Bach or Johnny Cash over what I used to listen to. I think my daughter would be frightened if I started listening again. Besides, Bach and Mozart are better for her and for me.

The Difference a Space Makes

My super awesome friend took this photograph on her way to work, noting that the "D" in "DVDs" was conspicuously separated from the rest of the word resulting in literary candy. She noted that this particular shop had recently been the setting for a sting targeting some extracurricular activities. Oh the sweet coincidence. Or was it?


























Which VD will you choose?

I can't believe this worked!

Two years ago I bought a bag of silver spoons at a garage sale and forgot about it in the back of a drawer for quite awhile. They were horribly tarnished. Since I'm such a tightwad, I really didn't want to go out and buy silver polish if I could use something I already had around the house. I read that toothpaste would polish silver. I tried it - it didn't work on pieces this tarnished.

What worked was boiling the silver in a pot with some aluminum foil and baking soda. It made the house a bit stinky, but the tarnish came right off! I probably should have let it boil longer because there are some crevices in the silver that didn't quite get clean so I may do it again. After boiling it, I polished it with a paste made out of baking soda and water. It didn't take much work to get it looking pretty!

Check out the before/after photos below!

It's Confirmation Time

If your church is like mine, confirmations are beginning to be celebrated across the country and everyone is so proud of what is occurring. OK, almost everyone. Anyone who has read me for any length of time know my feelings on confirmation and what I think of it. In essence, confirmation is a rite in search of a theology. It is one of those confounding things in Lutheranism that continues to be done that way even though, when the history books are opened, you suddenly discover it has only been done that way since pietism became a problem. Luther once stated that the test of tradition is if it retains the Gospel. Sometimes, the traditions we cling to are not the best, as this shows.

So I ask the question: why do we wait until one of the most difficult, confusing times in a child's life to train and then admit our children to the Lord's Table? If you really think about it, confirming kids at 13-14 is extremely dumb. I have never understood why we do this, I wasn't a big fan of confirmation when I went through it, and, to be honest, I hope to train my daughter early so the word gets written on her heart and she's not trying to memorize verses the last second like I used to do. Teaching her the basics of the faith will also be a good review for me and my dear wife. When we teach the Gospel to her, we also are hearing the same Word and allowing it to work within us.

I wish parents would actually take some responsibility for training their children in the faith. If parents did their job, Sunday School and confirmation would be unnecessary. We say we are busy, but normally we are too busy because we are either glued to the magic tube or surfing the internet (guilty as charged). Let us all strive to fulfill our vocations as parents with joy and thankfulness because of the work our Lord did for us.

When things are going so bad...

... sometimes you just need to have a good laugh. I have no idea if Issues Etc is coming back or not, but if the good ship Luther is going to go down, we should at least go down fighting, with laughter.



With this one, I about rolled on the floor laughing.



We'll all need these guys soon.

The Geology of Good Friday

One of the things I have not done is to use my vocation to explain why certain things that occur in the Bible are plausible and not beyond reason. Now some might say that such explanations give ammunition for those who deny the Bible and its truth. Others might say it waters down the miraculous nature of the Bible. I don't buy those arguments. First, we have a God who uses means to accomplish his tasks, whether it be water, bread and wine, or words coming out of a sinful human's mouth. Just because something was recorded as supernatural doesn't mean there wasn't a natural component to it. As a geologist, it doesn't surprise me one bit numerous earthquakes and even a volcanic event are recorded in the Bible. Israel sits on one side of an active rift zone. The place is extremely seismically active.

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened.-- Matt 27:51-52a

Now, I don't know how an earthquake might tear a curtain in two. Earthquakes ar incapable of such feats. The curious thing, looking at the geologic map of the Jerusalem are, is how faulted it is. It is more densely faulted than some areas in California. Not all these faults even have to be active at Jesus' time. Many of these faults have a decent amount of throw on them. Even if you think that might be crap, the Syrian-African fault system is only 25 miles away, and that fault is huge, and it has enormous potential for a massive earthquake. In any case, one of the larger local faults or the Syrian-African fault system could have caused the quake.

What kind of rock sealed the tomb? What kind of rock was the tomb cut from? Limestone is the most numerous rock in the Jerusalem area, so it is the best answer. It is plentiful and competent. It is the most likely answer. It is also possible that dolomite was used, but it is not as common.

I hope you enjoyed this. As time goes on, I might tackle other Biblical stories and the geology behind them.

Issues Etc

I have a lot to say about what happened to Rev. Wilken and Jeff Schwartz today. I think I will let their pastor do the talking.

It is evil. Pure and simple.

For those of you that know me, you know what I want to say. You'll also know where to look for it. I promised my wife I wouldn't go off the deep end here. I still have a place or two, however, where I can rant.

The Quotable Oscar

I was recently reminded of this gold nugget of a quote:

"A man who marries his mistress leaves a vacancy in that position."

-Oscar Wilde

How true it is - and how willingly blind some women are!

When you build an ideology and worldview...

you always stand on the shoulders of others. I admit my ideological conservatism comes from three sources: my libertarian streak came from Milton Friedman, Ronald Regan gave me the hope that elected officials could actually put ideas into action, and William F. Buckley Jr. gave me the template upon which I built my conservative worldview. RIP.

Your Score: Older Futhark

You scored

Language of the Norse, Older Futhark! Thirty symbols, all told. And no hardier, more warrior-like tongue has ever graced the longships of the Viki or left the Celts and Saxons in such quivering fear. There's only one drawback, that being you died 800 years ago.

Link: The Which Ancient Language Are You Test written by imipak on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test View My Profile(imipak)

HT: Chaz

Lutheran Carnival LXX

Lutheran Carnival LXX is now up at the main site. There is also an announcement about the immediate future of the carnival, so please go read it.