Barkings Of An Old Dog

As an homage to the Great Mimi, I’m going to take this weekend off as well… no I shan’t be in N.O. so stop your rumors right there! I’m taking a well deserved break. It won’t matter much anyway, after all, these are just the barking sof an old dog.

woof

A lovely post by the author of the blog Enough About Me leads me this morning to look into the breed standard for clumbers. From the AKC official standard:

Temperament : The Clumber Spaniel is a gentle, loyal and affectionate dog. He possesses an intrinsic desire to please. An intelligent and independent thinker, he displays determination and a strong sense of purpose while at work. A dog of dignity, the Clumber Spaniel may sometimes seem aloof with people unknown to him, but in time will display his playful and loving nature. The Clumber Spaniel should never be hostile or aggressive; neither is acceptable and should not be condoned.

while the UK Kennel Club says

Temperament
Steady, reliable, kind and dignified; more aloof than other Spaniels, showing no tendency towards aggression.

I couldn’t think of a better description for an Episcopalian….

Since Mimi is taking the weekend off, perhaps it behooves us all to hold our pens until her return, lest she not be fully included in any and all conversations on the web…

clumber

My dear friends, Communion is not about having the “right answer” for every theological question. It is, as I have preached and taught across our diocese, about loving the Lord with everything that we have and everything that we are, and it is about doing the right thing by others. It is about loving others in the way we ourselves wish to be loved. This is the very summary of all the law and the prophets which Jesus has given to us. And it is in that command, and in the perfect communion of love offered us by Christ, that our church and, indeed, our world, find ultimate and permanent hope.

Blessings,

+John

And of course the Blog Viagra crowd has its undies in a bunch…. what the hell’s the matter with those people?

I seem have entered into a card playing motif here. Odd, in that I don’t play cards!

Nevertheless, I’ve tried reading the debate over here. I’ve really tried. Matt+ and Dan and the rest are really really smart people. They really know all the stuff. Greek, History, Tactics of debate and presentation. Reading their argument makes my head hurt.

I am reminded of once visiting the research branch of the company I worked for, and one secretary was walking a new hire around giving her a tour of the place, an introduction to what it was like to work there, and she said something along the lines of “Honey, there’s some really really intelligent people here, but they’s stupid”.

Dan and Matt and Göran and all the rest are really smart people. They have great intelligence, great intellectual gifts. And yet, and yet, I just don’t picture Jesus arguing this way, finding the loopholes and intellectual arguments that make his case. Does Jesus say “Well, yes the law does say to stone this woman, but there’s a small parenthetical remark that the Rabbi from Bethlehem has made that in fact forbids this action” or “In order to understand stoning we need to review it’s use in the public square 37 years ago”?

Micah 6:8 tells me more about what is required of my Christian journey.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

Seems like all the argument that I need. How about you?

Monday morning update: One additional thought occurred to me, and I’m sure it isn’t original, deep, or even probably correct, but why do we care what Paul said in every instance? Is Paul infallable? Maybe, just maybe he blew it. Didn’t know what he was talking about. Oh, I’m not talking in general. In general he’s spot on, but do we believe that every utterance from Paul is a golden nugget?

This is the true value in being an old dog, you get to simplify any and everything to a dog’s level! As I keep telling Mrs. Clumber, Jesus didn’t seek out people with PhD’s, he sought people who were common, in the best sense of the word. The people with all the education and training were missing the simple truths. Well, that’s it for today, back to the couch for a nap now. Maybe a dog biscuit or two later on. A dog’s life is pretty sweet!

One further Monday update, from the book Hidden in Plain Sight, by Mark Buchanan:

Smartness is a small accomplishment if you’re deficient in goodness. A big head on a small soul is ugly as an orc.

Win valuable prizes!

Rules: Pick a dog above, tell what is in their hand and what their next bet is.

While his blog assures us that this season of Lent will be reflective and properly introspective, we should also understand that BC is fasting from blogs. So, while blogging is on the forbidden list, ebay is apparently still fair game!

Warning, put down your coffee/tea/milkshake before visiting our beloved BC’s newest message!

Whew, I’m relieved. I just checked monster.com to see if our dear BC had posted a job opening for a new ABC, and find that so far he as elected to remain out of the Human Resources business. However, with this foray into ebay, it does bring up the question of if or when he shall strike again.

Today’s readings led me back in time to this article by Ruth Gledhill.

The Catholic bishops of England, Wales and Scotland are warning their five million worshippers, as well as any others drawn to the study of scripture, that they should not expect “total accuracy” from the Bible.

and

The Bible is true in passages relating to human salvation, they say, but continue: “We should not expect total accuracy from the Bible in other, secular matters.”

They go on to condemn fundamentalism for its “intransigent intolerance” and to warn of “significant dangers” involved in a fundamentalist approach.

Geesh, if the Catholic Church gets it, shouldn’t Blog Viagra?

Ruth goes on to state:

They say the Bible must be approached in the knowledge that it is “God’s word expressed in human language” and that proper acknowledgement should be given both to the word of God and its human dimensions.

In the words of Frank Barone, “Holy crap!“

The Gift of Scripture can be found here… not a bad read. Send a dozen copies to Blog Viagra. Tell them Clumber sends them his love.

Just busy doing some chores around the house this morning, and I was thinking back to when Mrs. Clumber and I were wed… I was wondering if, when asked

Ms. Clumber, will you have this man to be your husband; to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?

If she had answered “Let me put it as clearly as I can, it is my intention”….

if that might not have caused me to wonder how committed she was to the marriage….

Better she should answer, “I will, with God’s help”.

In an interview Father Lawrence said:

Today, the church body remains dominated by those in the middle, who go about the regular business of worship and ministry, who have for the most part chosen not to get involved in the debate, he said. The conservatives who have finally stood up to say “I can’t take it anymore,” who have rocked the boat, are being blamed, Lawrence said. But who really is at fault?

“It’s time to call for those in the middle to wake up and decide which side you are on,” he said.

Okay, Father Lawrence, cast one vote from me for those boat rockers to sit down…

I’m just a poor dog trying to follow Christ, and I’m unconvinced that those people rocking the boat are really hearing the Holy Spirit. What I hear are a group of pugnacious people who are belligerent and think that religious purity is the most important matter they can struggle with, who seek to create an Anglican jihad and wish to have faith testing to insure that the people who remain in their church are good enough to be there.