Why not Momma God?

The language we use when referring to God is symbolic.  It gets at an idea, but because it is human language, our language, it cannot grasp the fullness of God beyond the idea.  Feuerbach got at this a little bit, but went too far in my opinion.  The humanness of our language and symbols does not mean, as Feuerbach says, that God is nothing but the idealistic idea of humanity, a notion created and developed over time (though some would argue that).  Likewise, it is difficult to move our understanding of God beyond our immediate systems and symbolism, because they are deeply rooted in us.  And they, like our language, are human creations and therefore cannot fully grasp and contain the infinite, atemporal and immaterial.  What this means is that any way I or we envision God is influenced, impacted and dependent on the language we use.  Thus, our view of God is often going to be limited to the power and structures held in the symbolism of the words. 
For instance the image to the right is from the Sistine Chapel's ceiling.  It shows God creating the sun and moon, and evidently God is an old man, probably Italian, who sports a long beard and unkempt hair.  God of course doesn't look like this, nor is God Italian. God is depicted as temporal and material, both of which God is, wholly, not.  There's Jesus, then again Jesus is not all of God, but one of three.  Further, God is a man and God isn't a man, nor a woman.  God is God.

Most Honorable Tebow

Tebow mania... I don't get it... and I don't think many other people get it either, much less the ones who are actually maniacal about it all.  He's not that great of a quarterback, at least not yet; of course, that's not the reason people are wild about him anyways.

It's because he's a Christian.  And how he goes about being a Christian is iconic.  There are plenty of Christians in the NFL, but they aren't star quarterbacks, nor do they have a pose, so they don't stand out.

But I'll be honest, I don't think it's because he has Christian faith, or his position as quarterback.  I do think it's about his iconic way of going about his Christian faith.

O! Jacob, how I long to know thee!

"Oh, you. You just couldn't let me go, could you?  This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible, aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever."  Joker in The Dark Knight

Jacob wrestled with God and Joker wrestles with Batman.  I wrestle with God, but I like how Joker speaks of the relationship, as oppose to what Scripture says about Jacob's relationship with God.

nothing in full, but not half-empty

I don't have any complete thoughts for today, but two big ones mulling around in my brain are these:

I wonder what the whole issue surrounding Tim Tebow is about.  Is there a reason that evangelical Christians flock to him?  Is it because there is a dearth of competent and strong male or female Christian role models, i.e. fathers and mothers, in the lives of those who do flock?  Or is it something else?

I also wonder about the sexualization of relationships.  It seems a lot of magazines, websites and book shelves in book stores are bound and determined to help us get better at sex for the purposes of relationships.  Why?  Is it because we, as a culture, have centralized our relationships on the act of and acts around sex?

These are just some of my thoughts that I've yet to fully explore.

here i am, i'd like to go there.

I find it odd that whenever I get the urge to post about how life is going in general all I can seem to discuss is how frustrated I am.
Why can't I just as easily recall that in my life which is going well?  Or that in my life that I am striving for outside of what frustrates me?

WELL NO MORE!!!  I actually intend to talk about something other than that which frustrates me!

the devil

I must admit the concept of the Devil/Satan intrigues me.  I choose the word concept for a reason; since I've been in seminary that hasn't been one mention or discussion on the subject, except in my classes on evangelism.  I find this incredibly interesting that it would be discussed in my evangelism class and yet not discussed in either my biblical studies classes, nor my theology classes; likewise, I find it frustrating.

Insert title here.

Yes, I realize I have not posted in well over too long of a time.  I, unfortunately, do not see this circumstance changing anytime soon.

I figure what I should do is either become a master of quippy zingers a la Chandler on Friends

or

I should become a master of witty pithy phrases that make you think.

However, I also do not see that occuring anytime soon.  Needless to say, this blog is coming to grips with the power of silence.