Monday, September 29, 2008

The System

I have started reading "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man". The book begins with a well worded incite given the current American economic crises.

"The system, however, is fuels by something far more dangerous than conspiracy. It is driven not by a small band of men but by a concept that has become accepted as gospel: the idea that all economic growth benefits humankind and the greater the growth, the more widespread the benefits. This belief also has a corollary; that those people who excel at stoking the fires of economic growth should be exalted and rewarded, while those born at the fringes are available for exploitation."

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Book Review - Pagan Christianity

In reading Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna, I have found the background for what has been brewing in me for the past couple of years. As I have mentioned before I left the formal Sunday morning expression of my faith a little over a year ago hoping to find for a more informal and organic expression. Pagan Christianity exposes the contradictory nature of what the church has become from what the early church was. Although some may find the book very disturbing, perhaps even heretical, I found if comforting and informative.

The book is set up so that each chapter takes a component of the church and traces it through history. They cover topics including; the use of church buildings, the role of the pastor, tithing, and communion to name a few. Most topics have a similar trajectory in that somewhere between 200 & 400 they begin to take different meanings and expressions from the early church practices. (Consequently, for those who know their history know that this coincides with the rule of Constantine over the Roman Empire.)

What most surprised me was the subtle comments made by Frank Viola about his church expression. As he explains in the book he left the Institutional church several years ago and has been worshiping in an organic church ever sense. Throughout the book he provided glimpses of what his church looks like leaving me with a desire to experience the same.

My only negative comment is that the book can be a little dry at points but over all is a good read not only for what he exposes but for what could be experienced if we are willing to to give up our religion and join in the story of Jesus and his early followers.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Need a Little Salt?


One of the neat things about my new bike ride is that I get to see a side of the city that most don't get to. For instance coming home tonight I saw a huge tanker delivering salt to the pier in Chelsea. These salt piles are used all over the City in the winter.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

The woes of moving

Moving to a new place can be a great experience. Unless that is if you can't seam to get Internet access at you new apartment. First I called Verizon and signed up for there DSL service. After a week of having there tech guys show up when I was not a home and not show up when I was at home waiting for them for 4 hours! I decided to cancel there service. The highlight of my experience was when a customer service rep called me and asked how I like my new Internet service from Verizon. I took great delight as I told her that I canceled it the day before.

So now I'm signed up with Comcast. It's a little more than I wanted to spend but hopefully they will be able to provide me with a smoother setup than verizon. I'll keep my fingers crossed.