Today's Questions

1) Why does our society treat fertility as tho it's a disease to be abolished? and 2) Why are these same people surprised and angry when the drugs they've used to prevent conception lead to a long-term inability to conceive?

Toronto Bubble Battle!

BUBBLE BATTLE! T.O SUNDAY, JULY 2 @ 3:00 PM QUEEN & BAY, TORONTO map Meet on the steps of Old City Hall. Rain or shine. Queen This Sunday, millions of bubbles fill the sky as we rally at Old City Hall for a massive bubble battle! Beautiful bubbles glimmer and shimmer as the wind carries them in an enchanting, cross-country dance. Join us at 3:00pm with your wildest toys (+ cameras) and let the bubbles soar! Free + all ages after party at Cherry Beach :) For more info, e-mail love(at)newmindspace.com http://newmindspace.com/bubblebattle.php

Lush

It's raining. Looking out my bedroom window, i can see the mist in the trees, and hear the sounds of refreshment coming to the earth. The backyard's been scorched this past week, and the rain brings soulful yet subtle renewal to the vegetation. It's lush back there. A wild expanse of various plants, an unplanned garden providing oxygen, preventing the soil's erosion, and making my experience of the outside world a little more inviting this morning. It's not a day to bike, so I'll be braving the TTC this morning. If I can convince my body it wants to get outta bed. We'll see what happens.

Predictions

Leaving the apartment to meet Ericka for brunch. Put on my helmet, and head to the garage to get my bike. As I round the corner, the man on my driveway slurs, "You're the theology guy, aren't you?" Yes. Yes, that's me. He speaks incoherently for awhile until I'm able to interject. He's distraught. Concerned with the pride of most religious fanatics who think they've got all of the answers. We talk about humility, and about its necessity in the face of the ineffable, in the knowledge of God. We discuss philosophy, we discuss the brokenness of this city. The hurt and pain that so many don't even realise they carry. And then, out of nowhere, he reaches for my face, pushes up my lip and looks at my teeth. Looks over his shoulder at his wife, some thirty years younger than he, and says "Look at this. He's got great teeth." Odd. I can't remember what exactly my teeth signify, but it has something to do with quietness and intensity and intellectual rigour. I thought he'd be more concerned with the plaque buildup, and the fact that I really need to visit the dentist. Not the case. He then grabs my hand, and pushes back on my thumb. "You're stubborn," he says. I stare back incredulously. Examines my fingers and tells me I'm to get married soon. Tells me i have the pointer-finger of a philosopher. I still don't know what he's talking about. Queer circumstances, right? Looks at my palm, predicts long life, with a particular patch of trials at a certain point, where he thinks God will lean on me, and test my faith. I don't really know what to do. I have no idea what to say. It's interesting living beneath a fortuneteller. It's even more interesting when on the second time you speak with him, he's feeling you up, in front of his wife. I hope he doesn't send me a bill for his services.

Holistic Faith

"If Christians go to urban centers simply to acquire power, they will never achieve cultural influence and change that is deep, lasting, and embraced by the broader society. We must live in the city to serve all the peoples in it, not just our own tribe. We must lose our power to find our (true) power. Christianity will not be attractive enough to win influence except through sacrificial service to all people, regardless of their beliefs." From that same CT article listed below. Reading this passage again and again, I have to wonder - what would Toronto look like if Christians put their minds, energies and creativity into being change, here in the city. A faith that does not permeate all of life seems somehow false. If it's not worthy enough to be believed and acted upon in all spheres of life, why should anyone believe in it at all? If Christian faith provides clues towards the character of God -- if Christ is who he said he was -- then why do Christians acknowledge Christ in word, and deny him in deed? Why is a Sunday profession of faith countered by exploitation, violence and hatred throughout the week? If Christians are to live faithfully, they must not only profess Christ as Lord of all in words, but live lives that exemplify this truth.

Christian counterculture in the city

By Way of Dan Sheffield Tim Keller has an excellent article at CT on the role of the Christian community in the city. It will not be enough for Christians to form a culture that runs counter to the values of the broader culture. Christians should be a community radically committed to the good of the city as a whole. We must move out to sacrificially serve the good of the whole human community, especially the poor. Revelation 21-22 makes it clear that the ultimate purpose of redemption is not to escape the material world, but to renew it. God's purpose is not only saving individuals, but also inaugurating a new world based on justice, peace, and love, not power, strife, and selfishness. So Christians work for the peace, security, justice, and prosperity of their city and their neighbors, loving them in word and in deed, whether they believe what we do or not. In Jeremiah 29:7, Israel's exiles were called not just to live in the city, but also to love it and work for its shalom—its economic, social, and spiritual flourishing. The citizens of God's city are the best possible citizens of their earthly cities. Good comment about multi-ethnicity too... Regarding power, Christian community is visibly committed to power-sharing and relationship-building between races and classes that are alienated outside of the body of Christ. The practical evidence of this will be churches that are increasingly multiethnic, both in the congregations at large and in their leadership.

Church Marketing is Stupid

Christians should stop trying to prove to the world that they can be cool too, because: a) They are not; and b) If they're trying to be, they've completely missed the point Now that that's been cleared up, we should move on. Working on maybe a million projects around the office for The Man today. Canada Day is coming up, so I have many envelopes to lick, and I'm fearful of dying like George's fiance. You'd think he'd lighten up, Stephen, but oh no, with Canada Day coming, he went and placed an ad in Canadian Living magazine informing everyone and their dead cousin's porcupine that they could leave me a message to ask for free Canadian flags, pins, tattoos and all the rest. The only problem, is, of course, that since he placed the ad, the phone's been ringing off the hook, and our stock plummeted faster than Nortel's. Who, incidentally, are also to blame, as they made every damned telephone in our office.

Just Questions

Last week's words from Muslim Canadian Congress representative Tarek Fatah pose an interesting challenge to people of all faiths in Canada: "If bishops were meeting regularly with the RCMP, what do you think their congregrations would think?"* What if the leaders of your church were consistently at work in conjunction with the nations' authorities to weed out potential security threats? What if church leaders were pointing to those members of their congregation and implicating them as dangers to society? If this is a practice we Canadians deem acceptable in Muslim religious communities, why do we not also bring this into effect in Jewish, Christian, Hindu or other instances? At what point should faith communities capitulate to the State in order to protect the State's interests? At what point should religious leaders alert the authorities if they suspect members of their congregation of unlawful behaviour? Where is sanctuary? When do we offer it? What do we do when those to whom sanctuary is offered are against our government? * Globe & Mail - June 8, 2006 | "Authorities confronted wall of silence"

Disappointed

To-date, Rick Mercer has not blogged about me. He hasn't even updated his blog since April. I wonder if there are any proactive ways to encourage his writing, and preferably, to encourage his writing to be focused on me.

Toilet Humour

After peeing in a urinal next to Rick Mercer last night at Allen's on the Danforth, I asked for his autograph. He shook my hand, took out a pen signing "To Andrew, In Queer Circumstances," zipped up his pants, washed his hands and went back to join his friend Seamus O'Regan on the patio.

Busted

In a cynical move, my boss decided that i shall in fact run the universe from my cubicle next week while he and all other full-time employees are on an all-staff retreat. In future, I may consider not publicising my delusions of grandeur in order to avoid the pain of actually having to fulfil them in real life.

Buzzed

My watch battery died, my cell phone broke. I have no way of telling time anymore. Luckily my room is uncomfortably hot, and I woke up at 6am today. Showered, dressed, and prepared for my first ever bike ride to work. It was awesome. Except for the puddles (I clearly need something resembling fenders). What the hell? Rain on my first day. I rode my bike to work, and that's something else. I still haven't figured out the best way to do it - the best route still seems Davenport to Spadina - but we'll see. Made it down to the office in record time, grabbed a coffee from the Green and White Goddess and went to the office to pray for awhile before everyone got in. Sipping on the sweet nectar of life and reflecting on scripture, I found myself extremely energised this morning. On top of it all, Ericka's working downtown today, so we get to have lunch together. Wikkid. For now, tho, I'm back to running the entire government from my tiny little cubicle. I am so important, it's ridiculous.