Cyberstones-A Lutheran Blog

Another Catechism Retreat update

• Aug 05, 2010 18:10:45 Re: Another Catechism Retreat update - Karen
  I agree ....Thank you Redeemer for all your hard work
  It was a joy once again.......looking forward to what's in store for next year..
• Aug 05, 2010 15:30:29 Re: Another Catechism Retreat update - Erich Heidenreich DDS
  Best retreat in the world, once again! We need to do this more often - perhaps at similar family retreats sponsored by sister congregations in Michigan, Indiana, and beyond - during other seasons of the year.

More Catechsim Updates

• Jul 25, 2010 05:18:17 Free Wp Themes - Wordpress Themes
  Good post and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Say thank you you on your information.
• Jul 20, 2010 19:34:12 Re: More Catechsim Updates - James Cutler
  "Catechsim" ???
• Jul 19, 2010 09:12:50 Re: More Catechsim Updates - Peter
  You can probably get a fine hotel on priceline for $40.
• Jul 18, 2010 14:54:06 Re: More Catechsim Updates - Elephantschild
  Perhaps there's a lovely lady who would deign to have her hand kissed by boys who can recite the Catechism? Perhaps we could give her a tin foil crown and a sword with which to knight the young men.
• Jul 18, 2010 13:13:46 Re: More Catechsim Updates - Susan G
  Bald head? I'd have to have a bald head? Uh......
  
  Kissing my cheek wouldn't be good enough?
  
  
  PS: Is this the Table of Duties and prayers and the Christian Q&A too? Or just the six chief parts?
  • Jul 18, 2010 14:45:49 Re: More Catechsim Updates - Jane
    Guess my husband's bald head wouldn't work. ;)

Lectionary Study Every Tues 11 am

• Jul 21, 2010 15:05:32 Re: Lectionary Study Every Tues 11 am - Brian Westgate
  Any chance this could be turned into an option for Greek Readings? . . .
  Actually, I'll be hangin' out with Dr. Masaki first two quarters during that time.
• Jul 17, 2010 12:36:21 Re: Lectionary Study Every Tues 11 am - Kenneth Bomberger, pastor
  Would it be possible to podcast these meetings?
  
  I appreciated the one "lectionary @ Lunch" I heard from the CLS podcasts, but they're on the 3YL, and I require input a bit more historic, on a singular annual cycle.
  
  I listen to Fr. Eckardt's 'St. Paul on the Air,' and those are fantastic. But yours would broaden the approach I take to the Gospel, and would be greatly appreciated.
  
  If not, I'll just keep reading & listening to what has already been posted.
  
  Thank you for your faithful preaching, Fr. Petersen. I have grown through your right division.
  
  Ken
• Jul 17, 2010 11:48:19 Re: Lectionary Study Every Tues 11 am - Anonymous
  seems like cheating... :)
• Jul 17, 2010 10:22:49 Re: Lectionary Study Every Tues 11 am - Pr. H. R. Curtis
  We have one of these in our area and it's wonderful. I get lots of good sermon ideas just knocking things around with the brethren. We meet on Wednesdays and do the text for 10 days out.
  
  +HRC

Catechsim Update

• Jul 18, 2010 16:37:17 Re: Catechsim Update - Rebekah
  How old do boys have to be for acolyte training?

What Harrison Can Do

Ditto

• Jul 15, 2010 09:17:06 Re: Ditto - Thomas Winter
  The link has five extra characters, so it doesn't work. Here is what worked for me:
  
  http://www.fortway...15/LOCAL/307159994

What Matters: Not Structure, Doctrine

I hate rabbits

• Jul 22, 2010 00:30:19 online rulett jatek - roulett strategia
  This is the greatest nonsenese I ever heared off.
• Jul 19, 2010 09:12:33 roulette system - cheat for roulette
  This is really unbelivable. I cannot believe in this article.
• Jul 13, 2010 09:11:11 Re: I hate rabbits - Manuel Soto
  My wife and I own a tanning salon and in the large amount of catalogs that we recieve they always include playboy stickers to place on your skin so that the rabbit is shown on your skin. As Christians and responsible salon owners we refuse to carry this type of garbage, along with playboy brand tanning lotions. The message that this symbol sends to young girls is not one that we want to be identified with.
• Jul 13, 2010 08:23:35 Re: I hate rabbits - Rebecca
  I find it really, REALLY disturbing to see pre-teen girls -- even teen girls -- wearing the Playboy logo gear.
• Jul 13, 2010 08:19:10 Re: I hate rabbits - Michael Dennis
  As always your words are spot on. Thank you.
• Jul 13, 2010 07:39:36 Re: I hate rabbits - Pr. H. R. Curtis
  Not to mention that the rabbit is the worst logo. Rabbits are an ancient sex symbol because they are famously fertile. The Playboy culture only thrives by the modern desire to separate sex from babies.
  
  So Heffner is worse than the pagans. The libidinous rituals at the temples of Baal and Asherah were at least about fertility and renewing the earth. Heffner is just about using women for fancy forms of masturbation.
  
  +HRC

Jesus, Our Peer in Heaven's Democracy

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A Christian's Friends

• Jul 08, 2010 21:32:12 Re: A Christian's Friends - Erich Heidenreich DDS
  Amen.
• Jul 08, 2010 17:20:58 Re: A Christian's Friends - Josh Osbun
  I have started using my cruise control in town. It works as low as 30 MPH. It's a great way to avoid speeding. The car controls the speed, not your foot.
• Jul 08, 2010 10:48:46 Re: A Christian's Friends - Susan
  "Can you remain friends with evil people?"
  
  Please define "evil," Dave. Am I evil? Are you evil?
  
  See, I agree with the bulk of what you wrote. But look at that next-to-last paragraph. I sin. I am evil. I am stupid. So how much evil makes a person evil enough to avoid? Or is it a matter of continuing to love, continuing to be there for an evil friend, but to put up barriers that prevent you from joining him in his evil? Is it different with beloved family members than it is with friends? Is it different between a gleeful impenitent and a penitent struggling with a besetting sin? You've given me a lot to think about....
  • Jul 08, 2010 11:25:09 Re: A Christian's Friends - Petersen
    By evil here I mean the impenitent who willfully continues in sin.
    
    How much evil makes a person evil enough to avoid? Willful lifestyle evil, not sins of passion or ignorance. I think it is actually good to have some unchurched, non-Christian but upright friends. It gives you a window into another world. But even there, in a sense, we must be careful. Because as much as our values seem to coincide with those who are righteous, in a civic sense, they don't really. Fundamentally, our values and world view are different.
    
    It is different with family members than it is with friends because you don't choose family members. You choose friends. That is not to say you shouldn't keep your guard up with, and even limit contact with, willful impenitent family members. But you will often of necessity be with them, have to provide for them, etc. And they can, and often do, influence your children and can also undermine your marriage. Impenitent sin is destructive and contagious. It is never mild or innocuous.
    
    I know this is hard, and painful. But it is necessary, and it is not only for your good and your family's good, but it is also for the good of the impenitent.
    
    
    • Jul 08, 2010 21:33:16 Re: A Christian's Friends - Erich Heidenreich DDS
      And Amen again.

Divorce is Contagious

• Jul 14, 2010 16:25:49 Re: Divorce is Contagious - wcwirla
  "Party life-style"? Seriously?? Talk to your single mothers and fathers. The wreckage of divorce hardly creates a party. Sure, divorcing people tend to encourage those with weak marriage to do likewise. Misery loves company. There is also the statistic that 75% of divorced people who did not divorce as a result of addiction, abuse, or adultery regret their decision after five years.
  
  This is a gratuitous slap in the face to every divorced person, as though they haven't been smacked around enough already.
  • Jul 19, 2010 13:22:16 Re: Divorce is Contagious - Daniel James Lula
    I think that was exactly Fr. Petersen's point if you read his article as a whole. There is definitely an appearance of a "party lifestyle" among many of the recently divorced for exactly the reasons he described. But this is short-lived, and does not reflect the true reality under the surface.
• Jul 07, 2010 10:27:56 Re: Divorce is Contagious - helen
  "I was struck by this sentence and had to read it again;
  
  "Now she has a built-in, over night baby sitter twice a month, and nothing to do except go cruising for me."" [men, maybe?]
  
  And he has the same, for all except those two weekends a month
  and a good deal more money to do it with.
  But, of course, if they're divorced, "she must have done something wrong" ...
  
  Guess who has the next spouse arranged for,
  before the (no fault) papers are filed.
  Seen it, several times now.
• Jul 07, 2010 07:04:09 Re: Divorce is Contagious - Erich Heidenreich DDS
  I agree. Well said. I would expand this by saying that much more than divorce is contagious. For instance, much of what you say above is just as true (and even more common) about the contagious nature of breaking the Eighth Commandment. Paul was right: "Do not be deceived: 'Bad company corrupts good morals.'" [1 Cor. 15:33] We are constantly in danger of being corrupted by the desensitization and enticement of "bad company." That bad company includes those we invite into our living rooms through television and DVDs.
  
  Pr. Petersen, you said: "Do not be seduced by the party life. Do not join in on spousal complaining . . . Befriend them, by all means. Support them, pray for them. But also be careful and aware."
  
  To what extent should we befriend them? I would say that part of being careful and aware means realizing that the company you keep can be a very dangerous thing for yourself and your spouse and children. I believe the majority of the time spent with people outside your family should consist of time spent with those who are relatively upright in behavior and who share your orthodox Lutheran faith, so as to support, encourage, and sustain you in your own morals and faith. Notice I did not say the majority of the people you spend time with, but the majority of the time spent with them. Those who are your closest friends, who you spend the majority of your social time with, need to be "good company" as opposed to the "bad company" Paul warns about in 1 Cor. 15. But if these were the only people you associated with you would have to go out of the world like the Amish.
  
  To clarify further, consider what Paul also said in 1 Cor. 5:
  
  "9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. 12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore 'put away from yourselves the evil person.'"
  
  I believe those we spend the majority of our time with should be those who are members of the Body of Christ. And if one of those members of the Body of Christ becomes corrupted, call that one to repentance. If he or she does not repent, no longer associate with that person - do not even eat with such a one!
  
  I believe Paul tells us to remove the wicked from among us for two reasons. Firstly, to help bring the one in error to repentance. Secondly, to avoid being corrupted ourselves.
• Jul 07, 2010 06:39:49 Re: Divorce is Contagious - Joy
  I appreciate your comment about the resilience of children (despite the "not"). They may appear resilient when they are young, but as they look for a spouse or start having their own children, they realize that they don't know what a solid family foundation is because they didn't grow up with one. I can only speak from my own experience and those of friends whose parents divorced.
• Jul 06, 2010 14:34:14 Re: Divorce is Contagious - Rev. Chryst
  I've observed the same, and also heard others say it too.
  
  Furthermore, I've seen mostly divorced women coaxing their married female friends to join them in the divorcee pool. "Come on in, the water's fine!" It's a lie, of course.
  
  I even know of one woman whose divorced girlfriends threw her a "happy divorce" party. No joke.
• Jul 06, 2010 12:08:32 Re: Divorce is Contagious - Elephantschild
  Thank you for drawing attention to the "speaking bitterly about his spouse" issue. Even among those who so far have no or very few divorced friends, this causes a domino effect, a "piling on" so to speak, and it's so damaging to marriages.
  • Jul 19, 2010 13:27:20 Re: Divorce is Contagious - Daniel James Lula
    The speaking ill of one's mate to others, especially close girlfriend or guy-friends, is starting to be recognized for the corrosive thing it is. See here: http://lifestyle.m...24065164&GT1=32023
    
    "Admit it: A good venting sesh with your girls feels great. You get to rant about how you think your man was checking out another girl last Saturday, or how you can't believe he wants to buy a new car when he could be saving that money for an engagement ring. But constantly telling your friends your guy gripes — even the smallest stuff — can sabotage your relationship, says Gunther.
    
    "Your friends want to support you, will sympathize with you, and won't challenge you," explains Gunther. "So then everyone comes away from the chat with the deep opinion that your boyfriend or husband is usually in the wrong."
    
    All your moaning and groaning can have a lasting effect on how your friends feel about your guy, and eventually they'll stop supporting your relationship because they remember every last jerky thing he's done. Not good. So, bottom line? You don't have to cut the chick chat altogether ... but tone it down, and be sure to tell them about the nice things he does every once in a while too. You'll feel much better about your relationship overall if you remind yourself from time to time that he's a good guy."
• Jul 06, 2010 10:40:31 Re: Divorce is Contagious - The Rev. BT Ball
  Dave-
  nice.
  
  I was struck by this sentence and had to read it again;
  
  "Now she has a built-in, over night baby sitter twice a month, and nothing to do except go cruising for me."
  
  At first read I thought you were saying that all the divorced women were cruising after YOU! Then I read again and figured that the me was her. You know what I mean.
  • Jul 06, 2010 14:59:20 Re: Divorce is Contagious - Stiegemeyer
    Ben, I'm assuming he meant to write, "cruising for meN."
  • Jul 06, 2010 13:16:12 Re: Divorce is Contagious - Sean
    Pr. Ball: On account of the ambiguity of the text, I'd prefer to think the former interpretation was correct, so long as the "me" can refer to every man.
• Jul 06, 2010 08:58:04 Re: Divorce is Contagious - Michael Dennis
  Outstanding. Thank you for your words.
• Jul 06, 2010 08:45:37 Re: Divorce is Contagious - Heidi
  Well said.

Batman as Paragon of Moderation?

The thesis, that Batman is a paragon of moderation, that is, in effect, that moderation is his “super power,” has been harder to prove than I thought. But before we get to that let's start with a disclaimer:
Batman is a comic book f...

• Jul 05, 2010 19:55:55 Re: Batman as Paragon of Moderation? - Leonidas
  Ok, so let me begin by saying that I am a HUGE comic nerd and always appreciate posts like these. I can't talk about this kind of stuff to my wife and most of my fellow pastors think I'm just being silly, but I really love these kind of posts.
  
  When I first read "Batman as a Paragon of Moderation" I think I actually laughed out loud. I mean he's Batman! He's a man so obsessed with bats that he actually dresses up like one. He's a man so obsessed with justice that he actually forgets to live his life. Bruce Wayne really isn't Batman. Batman is Bruce Wayne! Bruce Wayne is the true mask that Batman wears! Now, with all that said, after reading your post I think I started to agree with you up until the end.
  
  Bruce Wayne really is a healthy model for moderation. It just all depends on how one understands moderation, whether you understand moderation the way a Buddhist would or whether you understand moderation the way a Christian would. I don't think a Buddhist's understanding of moderation would fit Batman. He truly isn't moderate in all things, but is that what moderation actually means?
  
  Our Lord had the perfect balance of all things and yet I doubt most people would ever say He was truly moderate, especially those who lived with Him while here on earth. Jesus always seemed to have a one track mind. He wanted nothing more in life than to do His Father's will and serve His fellow man. Indeed, zeal for His Father's house had consumed Him!
  
  I think the world's view of moderation is wrong and that is why so many Fort Wayne grads get such a bum rap. They don't have what the world would consider a healthy balance between people skills and love for the Lord. When most of them start out (the good ones anyway) their all love for the Lord. In other words, sometimes it felt as if I wasn't the one wearing the collar, but the collar was the one wearing me (sort of like Batman and his cowl) And that's the appeal!
  
  I wish every year was like my first two years of ministry. Now don't get me wrong, those first two years were pure hell and I made a ton of mistakes! But at least back then I could say I was a fulltime pastor and part time politician rather then the other way around.
  
  Of course, as I get older and look back on those first couple years in the ministry I begin to see that I really wasn't Batman most of the time. No, I often was more like the Incredible Hulk. There really wasn't too much discipline or thinking, just zeal. But really, I'd like to think that at some point I truly was Batman.
  
  After all, Batman truly is the perfect paragon of moderation.
  
  Thanks for the post!
  
  
  • Jul 05, 2010 20:21:12 Re: Batman as Paragon of Moderation? - Leonidas
    Let me just clarify...
    I don't think the perfect model of moderation truly means to have a healthy balance in all things. I think the perfect model of moderation means to have a healthy balance of the right things. Does Batman do that? Maybe not exactly. But I still wouldn't be as quick to write him off as the perfect model of moderation as I had originally done just because he is eccentric or overly zealous in a few areas.
    • Jul 06, 2010 07:34:19 Re: Batman as Paragon of Moderation? - Petersen
      You're with Aristotle and Aquinas on this. Moderation is not balance or right response in all things but in all good things. There is no moderation, or Rule of the Mean, by the way, for the Theological virtues. You can't be over zealous in faith, hope, or love. When people use these virtues as excuses they are just excuses. In other words, being too courageous is not courageous but reckless. But being too in love is not possible. So when a man kills his wife's lover because he is too in love with her, he is virtuous? No. He did not kill the adulterer in love, he did it in hate. Love does not envy. Etc.
      
      The problem with Batman is that his obsession is justice, not faith, hope, or love. Justice needs to be balanced with clemency. You might argue that Batman has mercy because he doesn't kill or maim, and because he lets Catwoman go. But I think you're out of sync with most of the writers and also with Aquinas and Aristotle.
      
      By the way, the Hulk is also a great character. I'd love your comments on this post: http://www.redeeme...blog.php?msg=12059
• Jul 02, 2010 15:17:45 Re: Batman as Paragon of Moderation? - Josh Osbun
  Two thoughts came to mind as I read this, one of which you started getting at toward the end.
  
  1. "Batman is a paragon of moderation, that is, in effect, that moderation is his 'super power.'"
  
  Batman might use moderation, but he is driven by a completely insatiable desire for justice. You said so yourself. "Strangely, however, he does seek justice against the murderer, but instead he seeks justice against all criminals and becomes a self-appointed protector of the weak." There is nothing moderate about attempting to seek justice against all criminals. That which makes him the great character that he is completely contradicts your thesis. But this you start to acknowledge in the latter part of your post.
  
  2. "He has nothing more than other men except discipline and willpower."
  
  This one you also contradicted within your post. You said, "Bruce Wayne is insanely, beyond Bill Gates rich." Part of Batman's super powers is that he can buy whatever he wants. Superman can fly around the world. Wolverine can't die (or so it seems). Batman has money. He is not an ordinary man. He is filthy rich. I suppose you could argue that he's a philanthropist of sorts, but he's certainly not an average Joe. He has a quality that most other men do not, just like every other super hero.
  
  This latter point also demonstrates his lack of moderation. He invests all of his time and money into himself and his job. Where is his charity? Where is his alms-giving? The extent of my knowledge of Batman is the movies dating back to Michael Keaton, so perhaps he is charitable in the comics and I just don't know about it. But how he is portrayed in the movies lacks charity. I think in Batman Begins he gave his coat away to a homeless guy. Why didn't he buy him a meal?
  
  Perhaps a more developed thesis would demonstrate how moderation is both his weapon and his enemy.
  • Jul 02, 2010 16:32:17 Re: Batman as Paragon of Moderation? - Petersen
    In the comics, he is almost always shown as a secret philanthropist, getting prostitutes jobs at Wayne Enterprises, funding research, rebuilding stuff his enemies tear down, etc. But it is always done through Wayne Enterprises, which he pretends to ignore for his playboy ways.
    
    You're right about his wealth being a kind of super power.
• Jul 02, 2010 13:03:52 Re: Batman as Paragon of Moderation? - RPW
  Agreed.
  
  "No. He is fatally flawed, confused and corrupted by his obsession so that in the end he isn't superhuman at all but actually subhuman." The ultimate description of that is what you said here
  
  "To obtain this he has given up all other things. He has no family, job, or real friends, except for those who help him fight crime, and those he treats very badly"
  
  Interesting. Never really given him much thought in this way. Thanks.