Andrew's musings

Jesus paid it all?

2011-08-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

One of the churches on my way home has one of those signs out front that always contains some witty phrase (some more than others) or inspirational thought of the day. Since it is an evangelical, non-denominational and I assume quite fundamentalist church, it is no surprise I often disagree with whatever is posted on the sign.

For the last few days it has said something to the effect of Jesus not being a lender, rather he is a debt payer, all of it. Whatever the exact wording, it reminded me of songs I used to sing growing up in a protestant tradition such as "Jesus Paid it All, All to Him I owe." But since I converted to Roman Catholicism the idea that Jesus paid everything so I have to pay nothing just doesn't seem quite right anymore. (Note that the owing of everything to Jesus is a response of gratitude in the protestant view. Works and sacrifice and such are in no way salvatory, they are just really good things one should do in response to God.)

It has taken me a few days to formulate my thoughts on the matter, and today while passing the sign I had a revelation, if you will. And now I know why the statement "Jesus paid it all" bothers me. Because the way it is meant by protestants is wrong..... and now as we catch our collective breaths that I am challenging such a seemingly orthodox assertion, I will tell you why.

Imagine two scenarios.

Number one. I am in debt for a million dollars to the IRS. I couldn't pay this debt even if I lived several lifetimes. A merciful man comes along and pays every penny of my debt to the IRS, no stings attached. I am no longer in debt to the IRS, rather I am indebted now to the man for whatever my part may be, even though there is no expectation of return. It was a free gift, right? It sure would be good of me to make a return, but strictly speaking not necessary.

Number two. I am in debt for a million dollars to the IRS. I couldn't pay this debt even if I lived several lifetimes. A merciful man comes along and give me a gift of a million dollars. Now I have the means to pay my debt. I have been given the greatest of gifts, but it is up to me to pay this debt with what has been given to me.

Now granted it is a loose analogy, but I think it serves the point. Jesus, rather than simply paying mankind's debt is rather actually a priceless gift to humanity, so that through Him mankind may make a return unto the father. Jesus is himself the currency in which we pay our sin debt back to God. We offer Him, a perfect sacrifice given to us, back to the Father. It brings to mind the Divine Mercy. "Eternal Father, I offer you the body and the blood, soul and divinity of your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. In atonement for our sin, and of the whole world."

So therefore redemption is achieved through life in the Son, who is our gift. Without the Son all our efforts to pay our debt are in vain. But through Him, with Him, and in Him, all our works, sacrifices, trials and triumphs alike are perfected through grace. It is the idea of both/and. Both works and faith. The two come together in Christ. And salvation is both freely given, while worked out by the creature at the same time.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Phillipians 2:12

"You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone... For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead." James 2:24-26

21 Reasons to reject Sola Scriptura

2010-12-31T14:01:00.000-08:00

1. The Doctrine of Sola Scriptura is not taught anywhere in the Bible.

2. The Bible Indicates that In Addition to the Written Word, we are to accept Oral Tradition.

3. The Bible Calls the Church and not the Bible the "Pillar and Ground of the Truth."

4. Christ tells us to submit to the Authority of the Church.

5. Scripture itself states that it is insufficient of itself as a teacher, but rather needs an interpreter.

6. The first Christians did not have a Bible.

7. The Church produced the Bible not vice-versa.

8. The idea of the Scripture's Authority existing apart from the authority of the Teacher Church is utterly foreign to the Early Church.

9. Heresiarchs and heretical movements based their doctrines on Scripture interpreted apart from Tradition and the Magisterium.

10. The Canon of the Bible was not settled until the 4th Century.

11. An "Extra-Biblical" Authority Identified the Canon of the Bible.

12. The Belief that Scripture is "Self-Authenticating" Does Not Hold Up under Examination.

13. None of the Original Biblical Manuscripts is Extant.

14. The Biblical Manuscripts Contain Thousands of Variations.

15. There Are Hundreds of Bible Versions.

16. The Bible Was Not Available to Individual Believers until the 15th Century.

17. The Doctrine of Sola Scriptura Did Not Exist Prior to the 14th Century.

18. The Doctrine of Sola Scriptura Produces Bad Fruit, Namely, Division and Disunity.

19. The Doctrine of Sola Scriptura Does Not Allow for a Final, Definitive Interpretation of any given Passage of Scripture.

20. The Protestant Bible Is Missing 7 Entire Books.

21. The Doctrine of Sola Scriptura Had its Source in Luther's Own Emotional Problems.

on salvation.. a reposting of a great article from catholic.com

2010-12-29T19:28:00.000-08:00

1. The Bible says in Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. So, when I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior, I was saved. It’s a done deal.

When a Catholic hears the above assertion, his fist inclination is to immediately launch a litany of verses that emphasize that salvation can be lost. Usually this causes the other person to present just as many verses that speak of salvation as a completed event. Both parties feel as if they have offered plenty of evidence, but no progress has been made.

There’s a better way to go at it. Concede that the Bible does speak of salvation as a past-tense event. Offer some verses of your own, such as Ephesians 2:8–9: "For by grace you have been saved through faith." From there, add that Scripture also speaks of salvation as a present-tense event. In Philippians 2:12, Paul exhorted us to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

Just as we cannot deny that salvation is a past- and present-tense event, the Evangelical Protestant cannot deny that Scripture also speaks of it as a future-tense event. For evidence of this, verses such as Romans 13:11 might be offered: "our salvation is nearer than when we first believed" (Rom. 13:11; cf. 1 Cor. 3:15; 5:5).

When you emphasize that salvation can be lost, the Protestant often hears, "You have not yet been saved." He knows that the Bible speaks of salvation as a past-tense event, and so no matter how many verses you offer, you will not be able to prove this to be false. The way to move beyond this impasse is to offer the big picture of salvation: past, present, and future. The Evangelical will then not feel as if you are trying to prove that he has not been saved, but will perhaps be more open to look at salvation in a broader—and more biblical—context. Once you have reached this point, it’s time to offer the evidence that the free gift of salvation can be just as freely forfeited.

2. How could I lose my salvation if Jesus said that no one could snatch me out of God’s hand (John 10:28)?

One mistake that often leads to verse slinging is failing to address a verse that is presented. When we hear a Protestant offer his verse, we think of another verse that seems to argue for our position and we toss it back to him. Then we become frustrated that he never looked seriously as the verse and threw a different one back at us. The remedy for this type of scriptural ping-pong is to take the time to look at each verse that is brought up.

In the case of John 10:28, Jesus says that no one will be able to take us away from God. The language is similar to Paul’s in Romans 8:39 when he says that nothing in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Both of these passages address the same fact that no one is capable of removing you from the grace of God. No one is capable of nullifying your salvation. It would be like saying that no one is capable of pulling you out of a car driving at eighty miles per hour. This does not mean that you are incapable of opening the door and jumping out. In the same way, John 10:28 does not mean that we are incapable of severing our relationship with God. Read on in John, and you’ll see why.

Five chapters later in John’s Gospel, Christ tells the apostles at the Last Supper to remain in his love. He adds that if we keep his commandments we will remain in his love. But he who does not remain in his love is "cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned" (John 15:6). Now, if salvation were a done deal, why would Jesus feel the need to tell anyone to remain in his love? It would be like locking a person in a closet and telling them to remain there. If they are unable to leave, it is senseless to ask them to remain.

Jesus told his disciples to remain in his love because just as we enter freely into a relationship with Christ, we are free to leave him. Scripture is overflowing with examples of this. In Romans 11:22, Paul says, "Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off." In Galatians 5:4, Paul says, "You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace." This verse implies that they were united with Christ and in grace before they fell. In 1 Corinthians 9:27, Paul again warns the Christians against being overconfident: "I pummel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." This is not the language of "once saved always saved."

3. If you can lose your salvation by sin, doesn’t that imply that you are earning your salvation? Ephesians 2:8–9, says, "for by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest any man should boast."

Perhaps the best place to begin when dealing with this verse is to turn to the Council of Trent. In chapter eight of the Decree on Justification, the Church said that "none of those things which precede justification—whether faith or works—merit the grace itself of justification." This means that no man can work himself into a state of justification. The New Covenant is not a system of works righteousness whereby a person can please God and earn heaven by doing a number of good deeds. This is what Paul is driving at in Ephesians 2. He is not saying that sin cannot separate us from Christ.

When he gave a litany of created things that can not separate us from the love of God in Romans 8:39, notice that he did not say, "neither fornication nor adultery nor drunkenness nor murder will separate us from the love of God." He was well aware that if we choose sin, we renounce Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15:1–2, Paul says, "Now I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold it fast—unless you believed in vain." So, you could believe, but fail to hold fast to the gospel, and not be saved (cf. 2 Pet. 2:20).

This is why Paul spoke in the book of Romans about the "obedience of faith" (Rom. 1:5, 16:26). It is not enough that one call Jesus Lord, for, as he said, "Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21; cf. Matt. 10:33, 18:35). If we are disobedient, God will "take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city" (Rev 22:19).

Just because you may choose to no longer hold fast to what was freely given to you does not mean that you were ever capable of earning what was given to you in the first place. The same is true of earthly sonship—it cannot be earned. But if you were adopted, you would be free to run away as a prodigal son and lose your inheritance.

4. What’s the history behind the teaching that you could lose your salvation?

The first person to espouse the idea of "once saved, always saved" was John Calvin in the mid-sixteenth century. Even Martin Luther didn’t subscribe to the theory. Prior to Calvin, the unanimous consent of the early Christians was that a person is capable of losing his salvation by committing mortal sin, as John spoke about in 1 John 5:16–17.

In the first century, the Didache, commonly known as the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, said "Watch for your life’s sake. Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins unloosed; but be ready, for you know not the hour in which our Lord comes. But you shall assemble together often, seeking the things which are befitting to your souls: for the whole time of your faith will not profit you, if you be not made complete in the last time" (Didache 16 [A.D. 70]).

In the second century, Irenaeus wrote, "To Christ Jesus, our Lord, and God, and Savior, and King, according to the will of the invisible Father, ‘every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess’ [Phil. 2:10–11] to him, and that he should execute just judgment towards all. . . . The ungodly and unrighteous and wicked and profane among men [shall go] into everlasting fire; but [he] may, in the exercise of his grace, confer immortality on the righteous, and holy, and those who have kept his commandments, and have persevered in his love, some from the beginning [of their Christian course], and others from [the date of] their penance, and may surround them with everlasting glory" (Against Heresies 1:10:1 [A.D. 189]).

Such consistent testimony could be given from the dawn of Christianity until today, and no suggestion of "once saved, always saved" can be found on the lips of any Christian before Calvin.

Purgatory. It is real, thanks be to God!

2010-10-31T16:46:00.001-07:00

****I am beginning all blog postings with the following disclaimer. I am at best an amateur theologian and church historian. Much of what I write is anecdotal; rooted in personal experience and observation. I have approached theology from both "sides" as a "diehard" protestant for 30 plus years, and now as an "obnoxious" Catholic convert. This I believe gives me a unique perspective. All of this to say don't expect the scientific method here.****

Refiner's fire, my heart's one desire, is to be holy, set apart for you Lord.

This week the church of Christ as built on Peter, the rock, celebrates two solemnities. All Saints and All Souls. Both have to do with the faithful departed. On All Saints we pray to the saints in heaven that they might pray for us. On All Souls day we pray for our departed loved ones. Note that I said 'faithful' departed. The church doesn't teach, nor has it ever taught, second chances after death for salvation. If one dies in mortal sin, finally rejecting the free offer of grace from Christ Jesus through His Church, there is only a hell to gain.

So then, if our loved ones who have gone before us died in faith and are not bound to eternity in hell, why pray for the dead at all??? Well, that is where the doctrine of purgatory comes in. It is a doctrine that I misunderstood and therefore dismissed as a protestant. In my viewpoint at the time, there was only a heaven and a hell. No other state of being. That is too bad, because in truth purgatory is another example of the manifold grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Most protestants, especially fundamentalist protestants, hold to the view that there are only two states of being after death, and this is based on their insistence in teaching and believing "sola scriptura", that is, belief in the bible as the ONLY infallible rule of faith and practice.

But as often is the case, the scriptures aren't so definitive on the matter. 1 Peter 3:19-20 speaks of the spirits in prison. Now the meaning of this scripture passage isn't very clear, and admittedly speaks nothing of purgatory, but what it DOES is establish, even if obscure, a scriptural basis for the existence of some state other than "traditional" heaven or hell. We also find reference in the scriptures to "paradise", "the bosom of Abraham", "Sheol", "Gehenna", and others. Bottom line- the scriptures are too ambiguous to draw the conclusion that there are only two states of being, and in 1 Peter potentially reference another type of afterlife state.

So what about this third, "controversial" state of purgatory? Why does the church maintain that there is a state of being after death outside of heaven and hell? What is its purpose?

One of my personal "epiphanies", came during my time in RCIA (Roman Catholic Initiation for Adults). I had one of those "wow" moments when it was explained to me that purgatory was more of a "process" than a "place." And that anyone undergoing the process of purgatory was heaven bound. It is a one way ticket! It is in a sense like a new born baby coming into the world. It comes into the world cold, naked, unclean, and totally unprepared for the new world in which it is now living. Likewise, the "naked" soul, freed from its body, is totally unfit to enter into the presence of God. Purgatory is the preparation for that.

As a protestant, I was often assured that in heaven all temptation would end, all attachment to sin would be over. Well I can assure you that if I died today, apart from some act of God, my soul would still have MANY attachments to sin and I would be totally unfit for heaven. So how do I get from where I am now, to that glorious time when sin has no hold over me? INDEED by an act of God!! And this act is the Church's doctrine of purgatory. The time of preparation for the soul to enter into heavenly glory.

Scott Hahn, a Catholic convert/ former Presbyterian minister, has some amazing scriptural insights into what this period of preparation is like.

He notes how God is referred to as a "consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29). There is a fire in hell, but there is an infinitely hotter fire in heaven, and that is the fire of God himself. God's nature is like a raging inferno of fiery love. And it is little wonder then that scripture refers to the angels that are closest to God as "Seraphim", which in Hebrew literally means "the burning ones."

That is also why St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:13 describes how those who build on the foundation of Christ must pass through a fiery judgment in which "each man's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire."

Clearly Paul is not talking about the fire of hell, since those he speaks of are believers, men who build on the foundation of Christ. He is talking about a fire of judgement that tests the works of his servants. A fire that prepares them for eternal life with God in heaven.

And verse 15 of the same passage makes it clear that some men who are destined for heaven will pass through fire and suffer. "If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." The fire is there for the purpose of "purging" the saints. A purgatorial fire, one that purifies and prepares the saints to be enveloped in the consuming fire of God's love forever.

And that is why we pray for our departed loves ones. That they may be strengthened and comforted in this time of preparation. That they may soon be ready to see the "beautific vision" of God, and live with him perfected in His consuming fire of love.

Hopefully you have a better understanding of the Catholic doctrine of purgatory after reading this. Even if you still choose to dissent, I pray that you at least have new knowledge with which you may better and more accurately evaluate the doctrine in the light of your own perspective.

Peace!

1 Corinthians 3:12-15

If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire (itself) will test the quality of each one's work.
If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. But if someone's work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire.

2010-08-29T21:47:00.001-07:00

Obama Fatigue

2009-07-23T12:10:00.000-07:00

I heard Barack Obama has been on primetime TV as many times in his 6 months in office than George W. Bush was in his entire 8 year stint. I cannot confirm this fact, but it sure does seem like it. I am sure State of the Union addresses didn't count towards the figure.

I remember a Saturday night live skit about Al Gore, and what if he were president. The joke was that he would come into people's living rooms every night on primetime TV with an economics textbook and proceed to give the nightly lesson.

Little did they know how prophetic their skit would be. The very next democratic candidate to ascend to office, Mr. Obama, has brought that skit straight from the TV set into real life.

It seems like everytime I turn on the TV, there he is again, talking down to us like we are all grade-schoolers. I wondered if I was alone in my observation. Apparently not, as the latest polls are showing what is being termed "Obama Fatigue."

http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/07/obama-vs-regular-tv-poll.html

Catholics and Star Wars

2009-07-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

Ever been tempted to answer "May the Force be with you", with, "And also with you"?

If so, you might be a devout Catholic.

Frank Murphy has inspired me

2009-07-11T10:49:00.000-07:00

I am going to start tracking my state visits.

Great post from a Facebook group!

2009-07-10T11:38:00.001-07:00

To Clear Up Confusion: Catholic is Christian. All the Protestant Denominations branched off of Catholicism beginning with Martin Luther (why Lutheranism is close to Catholicism)

We say this every Sunday.

Nicene Creed - Profession of Faith

We believe in God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
and all that is seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he was born of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered, died, and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in fulfilment of the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and His kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.

Amen.

That is what we believe in--- God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

You can only get to Heaven through Jesus Christ. Not good works, not confession, not volunteering and good deeds. Jesus Christ is it.

"For at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow in Heaven and Earth and below the earth." Phillipians 2:10

We do not worship Mary--- we honor her as being the mother of our Lord.

We do not worship Saints--- we look up to them as role models.

Just as you ask your family and friends to pray for you for a sick relative or for courage, we ask Mary and the Saints for intercession--- to pray for us and with us to Jesus.

Jesus is the Christ in Christianity.

We follow the word of God and the teachings and traditions of the apostles.

Our Cross is a crucifix (with Jesus on it) because without Jesus, it's just a cross. Many were crucified (there were two robbers beside Jesus) but only one man died for our sins, and it's his cross that matters.

God Bless Everyone!

Deep thoughts by Jack Handey

2009-07-10T08:36:00.001-07:00

Joe L. was one lucky (insert expletive of choice here).

That is all I have to say this morning.

Have a great weekend!

Heavy reading

2009-07-05T20:40:00.001-07:00

I started reading this book. I used to be a fan of Loraine Boettner. I have read his book "The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination" several times through. I never got around to reading his treatise on Roman Catholicism. The book I am currently reading is a refute of Boettner's work.

My favorite part so far is Boettner's critique of ex cathedra doctrine. He actually claims that because archaeology tells us that the chair the Pope sets in is not actually Peter's physical chair, the doctrine is invalid! He claims archaeology contradicts Catholic doctrine on this matter.

Oh my. It is hard to believe that someone who graduated from Princeton could be this intellectually, well, let's be nice and say disingenuous.

The MartinLogan Story

2009-07-03T10:53:00.001-07:00

People often assume that MartinLogan was founded by a couple of guys named Martin and Logan, which is sort of true: Gayle Martin Sanders and Ron Logan Sutherland. MartinLogan "just sounded better than SandersSutherland," Sanders explains. (Apparently they never considered GayleRon.)

The two met in the late '70s at a high-end audio store Sanders managed in Lawrence, Kansas. Despite very different backgrounds—Sanders had trained in architecture and advertising, Sutherland in electrical engineering—they shared a passion for music and, they soon discovered, electrostatic loudspeakers.

For anyone seeking the ultimate in sonic purity and clarity, electrostatics held enormous appeal. Unfortunately, designing and building one that will also produce the sound levels and bass extension most people expect from a loudspeaker is a formidable challenge, even today. Back then, only a relative handful of electrostatic speakers had ever been brought to market. Although most were failures, a few, such as the KLH Model 9 and Quad ESL, were legendary among audio enthusiasts.

The KLH probably came closer than any other full-range electrostatic speaker of its day to competing effectively with conventional speakers in bass and output capability. It was very big, however, and finicky and expensive, and it didn't fit in at all with the rest of KLH's line. Consequently, sales were modest, and eventually the Model 9 went out of production. The Quad ESL was much more successful, especially in its native England, and until MartinLogan's products came on the scene it was arguably the only commercially significant electrostatic loudspeaker in history. It suffered the classic limitations of the breed, however. Though the original Quad electrostatic was widely regarded as the world's finest reproducer of chamber music, fans of rock and even symphonic music were inclined to look elsewhere.

Sanders and Sutherland convinced each other they could do better. They were sure they could build an electrostatic speaker that would produce adequate bass, output, and sound dispersion without arcing, blowing up amplifiers, or otherwise offending people not interested in a living-room science project. Sanders organized a small research and development team to transform an original design he had tinkered with for more than a decade into a practical, marketable electrostatic transducer.

The first prototype was ready in 1980. Naturally, it still had that science-project quality—a flat aluminum panel sprouting wires, struts, transformers, and power supplies, connected to an amplifier in Sanders' living room. It sounded even better than expected, but when they turned up the volume, a lightning storm erupted across the panel and music was replaced by a plume of smoke drifting toward the ceiling. Still, they knew they were close.

The team began a series of experiments with new aerospace materials that led to a design breakthrough. Constructed with state-of-the-art conductive coatings, insulation, and adhesives, their revised transducer sandwiched a clear, ultra-light Mylar diaphragm between two perforated-steel stators.

The new speaker looked elegant and could play loudly without arcing, but Sanders still struggled with how to achieve satisfactory high-frequency dispersion without compromising sound quality. (Large transducers tend to radiate high frequencies in a narrow beam rather than fanning them over a wide area.) The solution came in a midnight session when Sutherland sketched a theoretical sound wave to illustrate how sound disperses. Sanders envisioned a horizontally curved panel, the curvilinear line-source, or CLS, transducer central to the design of every MartinLogan electrostat since.

With only a mock-up and some photographs, Sanders and Sutherland exhibited their speaker concept at the 1982 Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago. An instant hit, the design was honored with a CES Design and Engineering Award. Excited by the response, they headed home to Kansas to translate their ideas into a working prototype.
Up to Speed

Through a network of high-technology manufacturers, Sanders and Sutherland enlisted the help of other engineers with cutting-edge expertise and interest in the project. The company that fabricated the space shuttle's filtered windows and the people who created Teflon-coated cookware joined the design team. From their combined effort emerged a patented vapor-deposition process, an optically transparent diaphragm that could support a 5,000-volt charge, and a conformal coating that uniformly insulated each perforated stator to a charge of up to 10,000 volts.

By the time of the 1983 CES, they had developed a full-range hybrid electrostatic loudspeaker they called the Monolith. A renowned high-end audio company used a prototype pair in its room at the show to demonstrate its electronics. Dealers who heard them were bowled over by the sound of the visually stunning, see-through Monoliths and, more importantly, eager to sell them. It was at this point that Sanders and Sutherland put their middle names to the venture and set about satisfying the demand they had created. MartinLogan finally took flight.

The first couple of years were touch and go. Working with just one full-time and one part-time employee, they built and shipped the first 10 pairs of Monoliths. Despite specially designed cartons, three pair were ruined in freight—a near-catastrophic loss for the young company. Undeterred, they rebuilt the speakers and pressed on, establishing in the process the guaranteed-satisfaction policy that stands behind MartinLogan quality and workmanship to this day.

Sales started to surge in 1985, and the company was finally on a firm footing. Sutherland departed to return to his first love, electronics. The next year MartinLogan moved to its current location at 2001 Delaware Street. At the same time international distribution for the Monolith took off with startling success.

Steady growth followed. By 1988 sales had increased tenfold and the plant had expanded to include a large, dedicated production space. In 1989, and again in 1990, Inc. magazine recognized MartinLogan as one of the 500 fastest-growing privately held companies in the United States.

In the early 1990's MartinLogan released the world's first electrostatic center-channel and on-wall surround-channel speakers, establishing MartinLogan as a major player in the emerging home theater market. It was during this time in the early 90's that some of MartinLogan's most beloved classic electrostatic speakers were introduced, including the Aerius, SL3, Quest, and Cinema.

MartinLogan's most ambitious product to date began to take form in 1997. The resulting 2000-pound Statement e2 loudspeaker shocked the audio world and today is still considered by many to be the apex of no-holds-barred loudspeaker design. The innovative design and engineering behind the Statement e2 fueled the next generation of MartinLogan electrostatic speakers (not to mention ML's first non-electrostatic product). Released in 1999, the Prodigy electrostatic loudspeaker incorporated much of the design and engineering knowledge gained during the Statement project. Prodigy in turn inspired an entire new generation of electrostatic products including the Odyssey, Ascent, Aeon and Theater. All the while sales and distribution continued to expand.

What followed was one the greatest challenges ever faced by MartinLogan engineers - the design of MartinLogan's first non-electrostatic product. In 2001 the legendary Descent subwoofer (featuring servo-control and BalancedForce technologies) took the market by storm establishing MartinLogan as a major player in the growing subwoofer market.

In 2003 Design Series was launched. MartinLogan's high-end pedigree and years of design know-how allowed the design and engineering team to produce this increasingly smaller and more affordable line of speakers without sacrificing the quality and performance that the MartinLogan name has come to represent.

Now firmly established as a loudspeaker 'technology' company (not just an 'electrostatic' company) MartinLogan ventured where few high-performance speaker companies dare to tread... inside of a wall. The Voyage and Passage in-wall loudspeakers (released 2004) challenged the entire audio industry by releasing in-wall speakers with true high-performance sound.

In January of 2005 MartinLogan once again raised the bar for high-performance audio with the release of the Summit electrostat. A major departure from all things that came before, Summit combines dual independently powered woofers with MartinLogan's most advanced electrostatic transducer to date - the XStat.

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Today, MartinLogan is a growing company with an internationally recognized brand, a top-notch team, superior design and technology and smart customers who value the best speakers on the planet.

Famous INFPs.

2009-07-01T10:02:00.001-07:00

Not bad company to be in....

Homer
Virgil
Mary, mother of Jesus
St. John, the beloved disciple
St. Luke; physician, disciple, author
William Shakespeare, bard of Avon
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Evangeline)
A. A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh)
Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie)
Helen Keller, deaf and blind author
Carl Rogers, reflective psychologist, counselor
Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers' Neighborhood)
Dick Clark (American Bandstand)
Donna Reed, actor (It's a Wonderful Life)
Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis
Neil Diamond, vocalist
Tom Brokaw, news anchor
James Herriot (All Creatures Great and Small)
Annie Dillard (Pilgrim at Tinker Creek)
James Taylor, vocalist
Julia Roberts, actor (Conspiracy Theory, Pretty Woman)
Scott Bakula (Quantum Leap)
Terri Gross (PBS's "Fresh Air")
Amy Tan (author of The Joy-Luck Club, The Kitchen God's Wife)
John F. Kennedy, Jr.
Lisa Kudrow ("Phoebe" of Friends)
Fred Savage ("The Wonder Years")

I am an INFP.

2009-07-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

Yup, this is a pretty darn accurate analysis...

The Idealist

As an INFP, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit into your personal value system. Your secondary mode is external, where you take things in primarily via your intuition.

INFPs, more than other iNtuitive Feeling types, are focused on making the world a better place for people. Their primary goal is to find out their meaning in life. What is their purpose? How can they best serve humanity in their lives? They are idealists and perfectionists, who drive themselves hard in their quest for achieving the goals they have identified for themselves

INFPs are highly intuitive about people. They rely heavily on their intuitions to guide them, and use their discoveries to constantly search for value in life. They are on a continuous mission to find the truth and meaning underlying things. Every encounter and every piece of knowledge gained gets sifted through the INFP's value system, and is evaluated to see if it has any potential to help the INFP define or refine their own path in life. The goal at the end of the path is always the same - the INFP is driven to help people and make the world a better place.

Generally thoughtful and considerate, INFPs are good listeners and put people at ease. Although they may be reserved in expressing emotion, they have a very deep well of caring and are genuinely interested in understanding people. This sincerity is sensed by others, making the INFP a valued friend and confidante. An INFP can be quite warm with people he or she knows well.

INFPs do not like conflict, and go to great lengths to avoid it. If they must face it, they will always approach it from the perspective of their feelings. In conflict situations, INFPs place little importance on who is right and who is wrong. They focus on the way that the conflict makes them feel, and indeed don't really care whether or not they're right. They don't want to feel badly. This trait sometimes makes them appear irrational and illogical in conflict situations. On the other hand, INFPs make very good mediators, and are typically good at solving other people's conflicts, because they intuitively understand people's perspectives and feelings, and genuinely want to help them.

INFPs are flexible and laid-back, until one of their values is violated. In the face of their value system being threatened, INFPs can become aggressive defenders, fighting passionately for their cause. When an INFP has adopted a project or job which they're interested in, it usually becomes a "cause" for them. Although they are not detail-oriented individuals, they will cover every possible detail with determination and vigor when working for their "cause".

When it comes to the mundane details of life maintenance, INFPs are typically completely unaware of such things. They might go for long periods without noticing a stain on the carpet, but carefully and meticulously brush a speck of dust off of their project booklet.

INFPs do not like to deal with hard facts and logic. Their focus on their feelings and the Human Condition makes it difficult for them to deal with impersonal judgment. They don't understand or believe in the validity of impersonal judgment, which makes them naturally rather ineffective at using it. Most INFPs will avoid impersonal analysis, although some have developed this ability and are able to be quite logical. Under stress, it's not uncommon for INFPs to mis-use hard logic in the heat of anger, throwing out fact after (often inaccurate) fact in an emotional outburst.

INFPs have very high standards and are perfectionists. Consequently, they are usually hard on themselves, and don't give themselves enough credit. INFPs may have problems working on a project in a group, because their standards are likely to be higher than other members' of the group. In group situations, they may have a "control" problem. The INFP needs to work on balancing their high ideals with the requirements of every day living. Without resolving this conflict, they will never be happy with themselves, and they may become confused and paralyzed about what to do with their lives.

INFPs are usually talented writers. They may be awkard and uncomfortable with expressing themselves verbally, but have a wonderful ability to define and express what they're feeling on paper. INFPs also appear frequently in social service professions, such as counselling or teaching. They are at their best in situations where they're working towards the public good, and in which they don't need to use hard logic.

INFPs who function in their well-developed sides can accomplish great and wonderful things, which they will rarely give themselves credit for. Some of the great, humanistic catalysts in the world have been INFPs.

Look at the new babies down in the basement

2009-06-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

This one isn't going to be politically correct..

2009-06-29T21:04:00.001-07:00

but I am just going to come out and say it. I just rejoined facebook, and have been wasting time perusing other people's profiles. Yeah, I can be nosy.

But for goodness sakes, people, if you are a paid organist or music leader in the Diocese of Knoxville, or any Diocese for that matter, it just might be in your best interests to keep your non-heterosexual orientation and support for gay marriage on the down low.

I knew of one prominent (former) organist in our Diocese who is an unabashed, flaming homosexual, and now thanks to facebook, I know of two. Fine. Be who you are. But there is definitely a time for discretion. There are actually people who still believe in Holy Mother Church and her teachings. If I were in charge and saw some of this crap on the internet, you would have been fired yesterday.

Yeah, I have skeletons in my closet, too. (for the record, not homosexual ones). But at least I try and keep the world out of my closet. Mercy.

I found this old recording of me on a CD

2009-06-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

Gosh, I must have made this recording 7 years ago. It is a piano arrangement of the classic hymn "In the Garden", arranged by Bruce Greer.

Played by me, of course.

http://www.mediafire.com/?3zzjxmrjzmd

Who do we worship?

2009-06-29T07:15:00.000-07:00

Recently at St. John's Episcopal in D.C.

Even at St. John's, which is so accustomed to presidential visitors that it is known as the "Church of the Presidents," worshippers couldn't help themselves from snapping photos of Obama on their camera phones as they walked down the aisle past him to take communion.

Wow. Maybe the Eucharist isn't considered to be so holy in the Anglican Communion. Not likely, actually, and I am afraid the same thing would happen if it were a Catholic Parish.

What is this? Simply human nature? Yes. Poor catechism? Even more-so. Wake up people, the Eucharist is about the King of Kings and you profane it by worshiping your true idol. Right in His face.

But Andrew, it really isn't that big a deal. It is just a little picture! Oh, and I am sure that it is just a little piece of bread and a little sip of wine. No. It is the celebration of the Lamb's Supper. Heaven and earth mingled together as one. A foretaste of the eternal glory. It is a big deal.

I am not sure if Episcopal's have confession. A bunch of them may need it.

death comes in threes

2009-06-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

so the old superstition goes.

Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and now Billy Mays, the oxi-clean pitchman in the blue shirt that had his own show on Discovery.

Well maybe it comes in fours. I almost forgot about Ed McMahon.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obit_billy_mays

Mass

2009-06-28T07:02:00.000-07:00

So I fulfilled my obligation at St. John Neumann Parish this morning. Yes, it was a somewhat traditional service. Some chant, some latin, some english. Entrance, Gifts and Communion and Closing were not chant, they were hymns and "folk" tunes. I had been led to believe they looked down on modern folk tunes. Honestly it could have easily been a service at All Saints. (We apparently aren't as liberal as some think)

The priest had a BEAUTIFUL voice, though. His intoning of the liturgy was quite moving. I didn't like the way they handled the responsorial Psalm. Apparently to save time, they eliminated the Response after each verse, only repeating it at the beginning and ending of the Psalm. It made it sound rushed, and quite disjunct.

Communion was under one kind only. It did make communion flow very quickly. Although that may be the stated reason for offering communion under one kind, I get the feeling that it actually is a snubbing of Vatican II practices.

Speaking of liturgical practice, I found it interesting that they didn't exactly follow the GIRM when it came time for the communion hymn. There were several minutes of silence as the choir came down from the loft to receive communion. How to serve the choir and instrumentalists while still following the documents is a concern for all Parishes, but there should not have been that long a time of silence during communion. Yes, silence is a good thing at points in the mass, but the documents clearly state that the communion chant (or hymn) begins while the priest is receiving. (I know that is being picky, and I do believe there is room for interpreting the documents. I really only mention it because I have heard accusations that All Saints ignores the letter of the law.)

Whew.... anyway, it was interesting to celebrate the liturgy with another Parish. I will try to attend several other Parishes when I can, to see the various interpretations of the GIRM, and how we may be able to improve our liturgy at All Saints.

I am taking the weekend off

2009-06-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

I have been on staff at All Saints Parish as a keyboardist since the first week of April, 2008. Since then, I have worked all but one weekend in some capacity. And on that one weekend I took off, our RCIA class was scheduled for one of its scrutinies, so I was still in attendance.

Knowing full and well that not going to Mass because I choose to be lazy is a mortal sin, I am trying to decide how I will meet my obligation this weekend. I think I may go to one of our neighboring parishes. St. Thomas is not even 3 miles or so from my house. St. John Neumann is right down the street from my parent's church. What about going to church with my parents? Nope, last time I checked a Presbyterian "gathering" didn't count. I have not attended a protestant service in over a year, certainly not since I became "officially" Catholic. I have been to a few protestant funerals, and although I respect the families and feel their grief, the whole protestant tone just left me uncomfortable. A full protestant service would be unbearable, I think. Give me the Mass or give me nothing at all, I say.

I wonder if it is legal to take Cheetos into bars

2009-06-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

Cheetos, an assault weapon in Tennessee.

5 pounds!

2009-06-25T07:47:00.000-07:00

Well, its a start!

In a quest to return to the weight of my "20-somethings", I am determined to drop about 95 pounds. One week so far, and 5 down already!

Ave Maria

2009-06-24T11:20:00.001-07:00

Some Peter Cetera to end the day

2009-06-23T20:08:00.000-07:00

My political persuasions

2009-06-23T13:04:00.000-07:00

You may read some of my posts and think I must be some intolerant right-wing extremist. Actually, no, I am a moderate. And I don't consider that a derogatory connotation, like El Rushbo.

No, I find that often the truth is found somewhere in the middle. Like in the current argument the US Catholic Church is having amongst itself about music. Traditional versus Folk. Those darned Folk masses! Those regressive Traditional masses! Good Lord, people, how about a little of both? Both have their positive qualities. See where I am coming from?

Truth is, El Rushbo may be right, some moderates are just wishy-washy, indecisive people. Unlike Rush, though, I don't think that is in any way axiomatic. It so often isn't about indecisiveness as it is about whether things are truly black and white. More often than not, there is a lot of gray area. And I think the truth is often found in the gray area.

That all being said, on certain things I have no problem seeing the black and white division, as in abortion. It is just plain wrong, period. No debate.

So in closing, how about a song?

P.S. Did you catch the irony in how I have a moderate viewpoint on Rush's view of moderates?

Amen to the Senate

2009-06-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

So pro-abortion senators try to slip by a resolution praising the abortion industry under the guise of a resolution condemning violence against abortion doctors. The resolution was struck down.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09062301.html

"I realize that the issue of reproductive choice is divisive and that there are many heartfelt feelings on both sides of the aisle," said Shaheen in a press release. "However, I was hopeful that, regardless of our differences of opinion on this sensitive issue, the Senate could come together and pass a resolution that rejects the use of violence against women's health care providers."

Quit insulting my intelligence Ms. Shaheen. You know exactly why your resolution was quashed, and now you are going to try and play the ignorant masses for the fools they often are. You will try and seem above board, and turn the spotlight back on those "evil" anti-abortionists who quashed a resolution that "only" condemned the use of violence. You know good and well that if this were ONLY a resolution condeming violence against abortion doctors, it would have passed without fanfare. But you insist on making life political at every turn. Shame on you.

Shame on you and all the sheep that follow you.

Another YouTube Classic

2009-06-21T13:12:00.001-07:00

Weddings depress me

2009-06-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

I have surely played at a hundred.... seen more weddings than most would ever care to.

It is a good thing I can make a couple grand per summer serenading Knoxville's newlyweds.

My new toys!

2009-06-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

Martin Logan Purity Loudspeakers

Well, not really. I fully intend to play with them, but, on a serious note, this is my new A/V sales business' first piece of inventory! If you want to buy them, and by all means, please do, they are $2399+ shipping for the pair. Note that on Amazon.com, Audio Advisor, and other online retailers, they go for over $3000 per pair....

Chopin on a Thursday Evening

2009-06-18T19:42:00.000-07:00

I was dusting this one off earlier downstairs in the music room. Fun one the play.

I have been wasting my time for the last couple hours

2009-06-15T17:31:00.001-07:00

watching this stuff. It doesn't take much to make me laugh. These videos have me splitting at the sides....

Is it a good idea to Microwave this? (Sadly, I actually own a Big Mouth Billy Bass. He sings "Don't Worry Be Happy." No, he doesn't sing "Give me back that Filet-o-Fish". I wish he did.)

For Corpus Christi

2009-06-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

Panis angelicus
fit panis hominum;
Dat panis coelicus
figuris terminum:
O res mirabilis!
Manducat Dominum.
Pauper, servus et humilis.

The angelic bread
becomes the bread of men;
The heavenly bread
ends all prefigurations:
What wonder!
consumes the Lord
a poor and humble servant

Classical Piano, the Last Discipline

2009-06-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

There is no musical discipline like the Classical discipline. There is no genre where musicians are called to such absolute perfection and technical precision. It really isn't even close. Here is one of my new favorite pianists, Yuja Wang. Amazing she is only 19 or 20 in this video.

More Demonic than Angelic

2009-06-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

I refuse to be a Dan Brown patron. I decided that long before I was Catholic.

Some of my family doesn't seem to understand my reasoning. They seem to think my distaste is a crazy Catholic thing. They seem to have two reasons to justify their opinion. One, because of the flaws in our Church history, any scrutiny is defendable, and I shouldn't be so zealous to defend the Church. Two, it is just a fictional work, so I should lighten up.

First of all, the fact that the Church is a human institution as well as divine, and has had it share of problems is no justification for creating ones that never existed. No doubt the works are fictional. They are down right libelous, and considering how impressionable the masses are, when the line between fact and fiction are intentionally blurred by men such as Brown, it is a very, very dangerous thing.

Secondly, why as a Christian, nevermind a Catholic, would I enjoy any fiction that makes these kind of audacious and heretical claims?

* Jesus is not God; he was only a man.
* Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene.
* She is to be worshiped as a goddess.
* Jesus got her pregnant, and the two had a daughter.
* That daughter gave rise to a prominent family line that is still present in Europe today.
* The Bible was put together by a pagan Roman emperor.
* Jesus was viewed as a man and not as God until the fourth century, when he was deified by the emperor Constantine.
* The Gospels have been edited to support the claims of later Christians.
* In the original Gospels, Mary Magdalene rather than Peter was directed to establish the Church.
* There is a secret society known as the Priory of Sion that still worships Mary Magdalene as a goddess and is trying to keep the truth alive.
* The Catholic Church is aware of all this and has been fighting for centuries to keep it suppressed. It often has committed murder to do so.
* The Catholic Church is willing to and often has assassinated the descendents of Christ to keep his bloodline from growing.

I came up with an analogy after some meditation on this particular family "issue." Perhaps it is a less than perfect analogy, but I think it serves it purpose. Especially when it comes to "converting" my family that is full of "God and Country."

Suppose in the distant future some author wrote a "fictional" account of 20th century American military history. In this fast-paced, thrilling entertainment novel, the American military is portrayed as murderers and rapists, and nothing more than thrill-seeking mercenaries. The novel and soon-to-be-released movie receive critical acclaim. Those that cry foul at the disgusting revisionist history are told to lighten up, it is just fictional entertainment. How would that make you feel, knowing that it was a lie and an attack on the great men and women who paid the ultimate price for freedom's sake?

Maybe, just maybe, they then could see my point, and why I want no part of any fiction that portrays my Lord as a prostitute marrying, inconsequential mortal man, and portrays my Church as a 2000 year old lie. No thanks. And before you ask, yes, I do enjoy Harry Potter.

Read more from our friends at Catholic Answers.

http://www.catholic.com/library/cracking_da_vinci_code.asp

Greatest Singer of our Day?

2009-06-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

I am inclined to say so, yes. RIP.

For some reason no work brings me to tears of joy like Nessun Dorma.

Just what is Pavarotti singing about? This is from the Opera Turandot, by Puccini, first performed in 1926, not long after Puccini's tragic death from cancer.

In the opera, a man named Calaf falls in love with a cold hearted, wicked princess. Any man wishing to marry her must answer three riddles correctly, or die. Calaf answers all three riddles correctly, but the cold princess refuses to marry him.

Calaf responds with a challenge. If she can guess his name by dawn, then she may execute him. If she cannot guess his name, she must marry him. The challenge is accepted. The cruel princess then decrees that all her subjects may not sleep until Calaf's name is discovered, lest they all be executed.

After these events have transpired, Calaf sings this aria....

"Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma! Tu pure, o Principessa, nella tua fredda stanza, guardi le stelle che tremano d'amore, e di speranza!"

(English translation: "None shall sleep! None shall sleep! Even you, O Princess, in your cold bedroom, watch the stars that tremble with love and with hope!")

"Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me; il nome mio nessun saprà! No, No! Sulla tua bocca lo dirò quando la luce splenderà!"

("But my secret is hidden within me; none will know my name! No, no! On your mouth I will say it when the light shines!")

"Ed il mio bacio scioglierà il silenzio che ti fa mia!"

("And my kiss will dissolve the silence that makes you mine!")

Just before the climactic end of the aria, a chorus of women is heard singing in the distance:

"Il nome suo nessun saprà... E noi dovrem, ahimè, morir, morir!"

("No one will know his name... and we will have to, alas, die, die!")

Calaf, now certain of victory, sings:

"Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate, stelle! Tramontate, stelle! All'alba vincerò! Vincerò! Vincerò!"

("Vanish, o night! Set, stars! Set, stars! At daybreak I shall win! I shall win! I shall win!")

Favorite Mass Settings

2009-06-07T12:33:00.000-07:00

If you have a favorite Mass setting, better use it now before it is too late. Oldies but Goodies such as Mass of Remembrance and Community Mass are on the stretch run to their inevitable shelving. I wonder what the new settings will sound like. I am sure they will become old favorites someday to a new generation of worshipers.

This is my favorite setting.

Knoxville HDTV is a mess, especially WVLT

2009-06-02T17:42:00.000-07:00

I am an HDTV aficionado. I love my Blu-Ray. It is the only place left to get good HD material. Broadcast and Cable HD has gone to crap due to multicasting and the resulting starved bit-rates. For those of you who were not on the HDTV bandwagon in the early days, when the signal was pristine (like DirecTV around 2001, when you could get HDNET and a couple others at full bandwidth), you may not know what you have been missing.

Here is a photo example of macroblocking.

I just sent off this e-mail to the engineering crew at WVLT, chastising them for the perpetual mess they pass off as HDTV. They are by far the worst offender of all the Knoxville stations.

For years now I have been hoping that WVLT would improve it's HD quality to no avail. Your muti-casting starves the CBS HD feed, making it unwatchable, especially on high-speed sports programming. Nobody cares if the standard def sub-channel looks like crap. You should be compressing the hound out of that rather than starving the high-def feed.

The macro-blocking aritfacts are so bad at times, the entire picture breaks up into an unwatchable mess, yes, from normal viewing angles. Even the uninformed layperson can see it. Fortunately for you, the average viewer doesn't know to expect better since they jumped on the HD bandwagon after the pristine days of high bit rates ended.

It seems a shame to have spent so many millions on the digital conversion and the new tower to broadcast a shamefully poor product.

Get it together, people.

Andrew Ballew
http://andrewballew.blogspot.com/

Good Ol' Cas

2009-06-01T07:36:00.001-07:00

This is classic....

102 Days till it is "Football Time in Tennessee!"

2009-05-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

how about a late May pick me up from the Pride?

Remembering my trip to California

2009-05-25T14:30:00.000-07:00

About three years ago me and a buddy decided to take off on a whim to LA. Lots of useless trips to Hollywood chasing after a pic of the damn sign, and about 5 grand later, and not a lot of memories ( alcohol tastes better in California), I am left with a few pics to help me reminisce.

Oh, the traffic was wonderful....

At least the sunsets were nice..... (from The Vista Del Mar)

I got my one and only tattoo, while here, on the famous Venice Beach....

Then we went to the famous Santa Monica Pier. This is me, but my new tattoo is on the other arm, worthlessly invisible in this pic. I wonder what I did with that Corona hat. I also wonder how I was ever in that good of shape.....

More Santa Monica

Finally, the damn sign. No, I don't know what dump I was in when I found this line of sight.....

Feeling like some Toto today

2009-05-21T12:01:00.001-07:00

Glee

2009-05-19T22:55:00.000-07:00

As a former chorus geek, I was really looking forward to Glee. I enjoyed it, but the entire pilot can be relived in the extended trailer.

http://www.fox.com/fod/play.php?sh=glee&ep=1240592077707

As a matter of fact, I can see Lenoir City High School written all over this... although the stereotypes on the show go too far, and are a bit too black and white, it isn't a stretch for me to see Wayne Miller and Steve Millsaps as the clueless administrators, and Janet McGee as the fashion-challenged, overly masculine, presumably lesbian girls gym teacher/ cheerleader coach.

Hmmmm, the more I think about it, the more accurate some of those stereotypes seem to be...

will be watching in the fall.

Hearing Alexander Ghindin at the Symphony has me motivated

2009-05-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

to be a better Pianist. I am returning to a focus on Classical Piano studies, and my first addition to the repertoire is the "Heroic" Polonaise in A-flat by Chopin. Maybe I should be a bit less ambitious for starting out!

Not a fan of her Politics, but i still love Linda Ronstadt

2009-05-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

Star Trek fans are outraged.

2009-05-16T19:03:00.001-07:00

I loved the new movie. This spoof made me chuckle.

Stars and Stripes Forever

2009-05-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

Alexander Ghindin's encore last night was Vladimir Horowitz's piano transcription of Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever.

Here is the Maestro Horowitz himself playing it in 1945.

Childhood memories

2009-05-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

I love Kermit the Frog.... Good TV like this just doesn't exist anymore...

Alexander Ghindin is a genius, KSO is better than ever

2009-05-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

Alexander Ghindin's performance of the Liszt Piano Concerto in E flat was larger than life. I am sure the KSO's Steinway had never received such punishment. The instrument was pushed to and I believe past it's limits. Such dynamic range! Such powerful chords and octave scales! Yet, such incredibly beautiful and delicate phrasing. Bravo, Mr. Ghindin, Bravo.

The symphony is no slouch, either. They sound better than ever. Their playing belies our small market. They could have switched places with any number of large market symphonies and patrons would have been none the wiser. Bravo, Maestro Richman. Bravo.

I was so moved I am buying a subscription to next year's surely magical season.

And it is old commercial Friday

2009-05-15T14:07:00.000-07:00

Remember the "Wassup" craze started by Budweiser back in 1999, and still fresh on the mind of Michael Scott? You do watch the Office, don't you?

Going to the Symphony tonight....

2009-05-15T13:43:00.000-07:00

For the first time in years....

Here is the featured performer. Sounds like it will be fun.

No highs, No lows, it must be BOSE

2009-05-13T19:23:00.001-07:00

BOSE makes some of the crappiest speakers on the planet. Well, actually, if they were priced at about 1/4 as much as they are, I (and every other real audiophile/enthusiast on the planet) might go a bit easier on them.

Prime example-

Review from Audioholics.com, one of the finest audio review sites on the web.

The Bose 701 speaker system is much different from the other speakers in this review. They stand 32 1/2" X 10 1/4" X 12 1/2" and have a retail price of $838 for a pair and have little or no discount thanks to Bose's price fixing policy. These speakers are unique in that they:

* Have the worst overall build quality
* The only speakers in this review that utilize paper drivers for the tweeters and midrange.
* Have the highest retail price which is not proportional to their performance.

The Bose 701 has dual 8" woofers, (1) 6.5" side firing midrange and (2) 2" paper tweeters. The 2" paper tweeters are too large for the task of high frequencies. The treble coming out of the 701's is very unrefined, raspy, and undetailed . The midrange sounded muddy, bloated, and 2 dimensional. It was extremely difficult to get these speakers to image properly as the sound just seemed to blare out in all directions with no uniformity or tonal consistency.

The bass extension was impressive for this speaker system and was the only minor strong point I found about this system. However, switching back and forth between the Bose 701's and the Pinnacle Reference was like night and day. Picture how your voice sounds when you try to speak 5 feet underwater. Now imagine how much clearer your voice sounds once you have lifted your head above sea level. The 701's represent your head 5' under water while the Reference puts you on a nice beach chair far above sea level, sipping Pina Coladas with a slightly cool breeze coming from the NE. In other words the Pinnacle Reference, and even all of the other speaker systems reviewed here crushed the Bose 701's with respect to overall fidelity, build quality, and value. After my listening session with these speakers, it is my opinion that Bose should change their slogan to "Better Sales Thru Marketing..."

even more straight talk about "BLOWES" right here.....

I am not a Notre Dame fan.

2009-05-12T19:08:00.000-07:00

Never have been. Tennessee Volunteer all the way. But since my conversion to the true Faith, I really was going to try be a bit more open minded regarding Notre Dame and the gridiron!

But, all silliness aside, I am sure you have heard about Hussein Obama and his invitation to speak at the college of Our Lady, and receive an honorary degree. Of this, I am not a fan at all. Actually, I consider it to be a sad, sad day for American Catholics, and Catholics everywhere. I found this following post on Catholic.com.

What is he being honored for?

Yours is good question. Here are some possibilities.

For being solidly anti-Catholic.
For being absolutely committed to suppressing the pro-life movement and promoting abortion.
For almost single-handedly dismantling capitalism.
For changing utterly the American ethic from a motivation to work hard to get ahead to a deep and abiding sense of entitlement.
For being the most secretive president in history, while telling everyone that he is actually transparent.
For his solid and profound commitment to remove Christianity from the public view.
For instigating class warfare in this country.

Those were just the ones that occurred to me now. I suspect there are many others. Notre Dame has earned the reputation for being so open-minded that, long ago, their brains fell out. They should change the name of the school.

The Left Behind Heresy

2009-05-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

While perusing my parent's church web site, I came across this teaser to get folks to visit the church library.....

We have many collections and series of books by authors such as Francine Rivers, Janette Oke, Grace Livingston Hill, Billy Graham, Anne Graham Lotz and Charles Swindoll are just a few of the many authors represented in our library collection. If you haven't read Tim La Haye's "Left Behind" series, you'll find it in the library! We also have Jan Karon's "Mitford" series and Nancy Drew's adventures.

Tim LaHaye's "Left Behind" series? Please, people, take those books out, send them to the recycling plant, and save a tree. That would make them FAR more valuable, given that they are nothing more than a giant heresy, and a financial fleecing of believers.

Truth be told, the authors and publishers of these books stand in grave danger of judgement as false prophets and temple thieves. Consider the following excerpt taken from Catholic Answers. For the whole story, click on the link.

The Left Behind books carry the bylines of two men, Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. The latter is a prolific freelance author and ghostwriter who has published several dozen books. He is the actual author of the Left Behind books, but his is the less important role, because he does not generate the ideas for them. According to Jenkins, "We each play a different role in the creation of the books. Dr. LaHaye develops a detailed Biblical outline for each book. I do all the writing." LaHaye, then, is the real man behind Left Behind. Jenkins simply gives form to LaHaye’s ideas.

What is there to know about this man?

Tim LaHaye was born in 1926 in Detroit, Michigan. He fought in World War II and afterwards attended Bob Jones University in South Carolina. Bob Jones is a Fundamentalist school known for intense anti-Catholicism. It also did not admit African American students until the 1970s and, between 1950 and 2000, maintained a policy against interracial dating among students. The school explained that intermarriage among the races would further the cause of "One World Government" and thus the Antichrist. While attending Bob Jones, LaHaye met his wife, Beverly. He also began to pastor a church during this time.

In 1956, LaHaye became the pastor of Scott Memorial Baptist Church in El Cajon, California, just outside San Diego. While there, he and his wife began a radio program called The LaHayes on Family Life, which sought to promote family values from a Fundamentalist perspective. Also while in the San Diego area, LaHaye established Christian Heritage College.

His literary flair expressed itself in writing a number of popular (and contentious) books, including Spirit-Controlled Temperament, Battle for the Mind, The Battle for the Family, and Battle for the Public Schools. In the 1970s he began to publish books on the subject of Bible prophecy, including The Beginning of the End and Revelation Illustrated and Made Plain.

The LaHayes have been active in politics. Tim was a co-founder of Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority and founded a number of his own Christian political action groups as well. Beverly founded Concerned Women for America, a rival of the National Organization for Women that has a membership substantially greater than NOW.

In 1987 Jack Kemp named Tim LaHaye as national co-chair of his presidential campaign, but LaHaye resigned days later when newspapers published anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic remarks he had made. These included references to Catholicism as "a false religion" and to Jews being responsible for the death of Christ. Subsequently it came to light that, during the 1970s, LaHaye’s church had funded Mission to Catholics, a virulently anti-Catholic ministry run by former Carmelite priest Bart Brewer.

Scandal continued to dog LaHaye when it was revealed that he had connections with the Unification Church ("the Moonies"). The head of the Unification Church is Sun Myung Moon, who has proclaimed himself "the world’s new Messiah" and "the Lord of the Second Advent." LaHaye was the chair of Moon’s Coalition for Religious Freedom, and is reported to have received at least half a million dollars in funding from Moon’s associate Bo Hi Park. LaHaye and his wife have attended and spoken at Moon-sponsored events, though they have made it clear that they do not endorse Moon’s theological ideas.

LaHaye’s association with Sun Myung Moon is especially perplexing. As a man who has written so many books warning people about the Antichrist, LaHaye is one of the last people one would expect to ally with a man who literally is a false Christ.

LaHaye claims that the idea for the Left Behind series came to him on a plane trip in the 1980s. He explains:

This is an idea that the Lord gave me when I was on a plane. The airline captain came out of his cave and he started flirting with the head stewardess. I noticed that he had a wedding ring on. She did not. I began to see the sparks flying between these two and as he went back into the [cockpit], I got to thinking, "What if the Rapture occurred right now? On this plane, a third of these people would be gone. It would be pandemonium." I imagined this guy, married to I assumed, a Christian, and all of the sudden it would dawn on him, "When I get home, my wife will be gone, and I have been left behind." That’s where the title came from.

This scene is played out in the first volume of the Left Behind series, which LaHaye has billed as "the first fictional portrayal of events that is true to the literal interpretation of Bible prophecy."

This claim is odd since Left Behind is not the first Rapture novel. Indeed, as Catholic writer Carl Olson pointed out in This Rock magazine, it isn’t even the first Rapture book to bear the title Left Behind. Another was published by Peter and Patti Lalonde just before the release of LaHaye’s. Further, Olson uncovered startling parallels between Left Behind and a 1970 novel entitled 666 by Salem Kirban, as well as another book raising the question of plagiarism. Olson explains:

LaHaye has been in the Bible prophecy business for over thirty years. I find it difficult to believe he had no knowledge of the books by Kirban and the Lalondes. While recycling might be good for the environment, it isn’t very appealing when it comes to literature.

More Eagles

2009-05-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

Flash forward to 1976. Bernie Leadon is gone, replaced by the infamous Joe Walsh. Don Felder has joined the group, and Randy Meisner is still on bass. Timothy B. Schmidt won't come into play until a few years later.

Here is a live performance of Hotel California from 1976. The Eagles history with drugs is well documented, and there is no way that Felder and Walsh are anything but lit up during this performance. Cocaine is written all over their faces. Heck, at one point during a closeup of Felder, you can see him taking a good "sniff", going after that "drain". It is almost amusing. What is really amazing is how well they can perform under the influence....

Ah.. classic rock....

The original Eagles

2009-05-08T09:36:00.002-07:00

Excellent live video of the original Eagles lineup. Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner, and of course the two constants, Glenn Frey and Don Henley.

I've been slacking on Old Commercial Fridays

2009-05-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

Haven't been revisiting old commercials on Fridays as was the plan... so today is an old commercial monday.

Jason Alexander in his pre-Seinfeld days!

I'm in a good mood, so how 'bout some more Jane Monheit?

2009-05-02T16:13:00.001-07:00

Did I complain about my birthday?

2009-05-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

Ooops. Turns out this may have been the best birthday EVER! I just got financial backing for my home business model that I have been working on for over a year now....

Looks like better days ahead!

It's my Birthday, and I'll Cry if I want to.

2009-05-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

Hohum, another birthday has come, and thankfully soon will be gone. Whatever happened to looking forward to a birthday? I think that ended at about age 21. It has been all downhill from there, and literally seems to be steamrolling away. 32 years old? What in the hell happened? Just yesterday I was wasting my 20's away, not a care in the world. Well, I care now, and my 30's are wasting away.... in 18 years I will be 50.

How depressing. Birthdays suck.

Jane Monheit. I am in love.

2009-05-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

Wow. What kind of rock have I been under while this girl has taken the world by storm? What a performer, what a knockout beauty. Just my kind of sexy, sophisticated, intelligent woman.... wow.... did I say wow?

So for all my friends at church trying to fix me up, find one like this. No, seriously....

Muslim extremists (and maybe not-so-extremists)- Evil, Just Plain Stupid, or Both?

2009-05-01T12:58:00.000-07:00

The swine flu doesn't come from pigs, morons.

From World Net Daily
-----------------------------------------

JERUSALEM – An Egypt government policy to slaughter the country's pigs as a stated precaution against swine flu is also aimed at targeting and weakening Egypt's long-persecuted Christian community, charged local Christian leaders.

Members of the Egyptian Christian Coptic community, speaking in interviews with WND today, said Egyptian authorities set up checkpoints in their communities and were harassing local Christians.

Almost the entire pig farming community in Egypt is run by Coptic Christians, who constitute between 8 and 15 percent of Egypt's population, depending on which statistical information is used.

Egypt yesterday started seizing and slaughtering herds of pigs in a bid to rid the country of its swine, explaining it was a safety precaution against swine flu. The move was heavily criticized by the United Nations, which put out a statement that the mass cull of up to 400,000 pigs was "a real mistake" since the new flu strain has not been found in pigs.

International health organizations explained the H1N1 flu virus is spread by people, not pigs.

Muslims view pigs as unclean. In the Middle East, various superstitions have been perpetuated in the Arab media the past few days about how pigs spread the disease.

According to Coptic leaders in Egypt, officials from the country's health and agriculture ministries who are known to be sympathizers of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood made the decision to slaughter Egypt's pigs. The Christians spoke to WND on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.

A Muslim journalist for one of the country's state-run newspapers confirmed to WND that some top health and agriculture ministry officials publicly leading the swine killing charge are known Islamists. But he said it was not clear whether they were connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is in the opposition in Egypt.

"They are trying to take away our income," charged one Coptic leader. "Thousands of Christians lost their income."

Local Christians told WND the Egyptian government set up checkpoints in major Coptic communities, such as Delta and Behma. The checkpoints, the Christians said, was to ensure locals don't try to hide pigs by transferring them out of the farms.

The local Christians claimed Egyptian security forces were humiliating them at the checkpoints.

"They are forcing us to strip, like we might have pigs under our clothes. I think they are covering for a campaign of harming and humiliating Christians," said a local Christian.

Coptic Christians have been targeted by Islamist violence several times the past few years. In 2007, in one example, Muslims in Egypt attacked local Christians and set fire to their shops and homes after the Christian community was accused of attempting to build a church. The Egyptian government heavily restricts the construction or enlargement of churches, requiring permits for any Christian building.

Christians are effectively restricted from senior Egyptian government, military or educational positions, and any worship services require the permission of the government.

The Coptic Church, a major Christian community in Egypt, reportedly dates back to the origins of Christianity. Christians were the majority in Egypt until several centuries after the Arab conquest of the 7th century.

Meanwhile, Egyptian Agriculture Minister Amin Abaza said authorities already confiscated more than 1,000 pigs and that he was seeking military help for the slaughter.

The Egyptian media reported the slaughter of the country's estimated 400,000 pigs could take up to a month to complete.

Obama, Catholics and Notre Dame

2009-05-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

Pew Research finally did a poll of "Catholic" opinion regarding Obama's visit to Notre Dame. Predictably it was split very much the way the election split for "Catholics" back in November. A deeper look at the numbers is telling, though.... read more here.

http://deacbench.blogspot.com/2009/04/poll-about-half-of-catholics-support.html

I found this comment to be most insightful. It penetrates straight to the truth.

These results show (once again) that American Catholics simply mirror the American population as a whole in their outlook and their values. In other words, the indelible mark baptism left on their souls didn't necessarily penetrate to their hearts and minds.

However, the results also show that when the baptized avail themselves of the sacraments of the Church on an ongoing basis, their hearts and minds are affected--and changed for the better. How important it is, then, that our Catholic institutions (think: Notre Dame) actually uphold the moral values of our faith instead of pandering to the lowest common denominator who would sooner show up for a football game than for the Eucharist.

"Let the dirt just shower over you"

2009-04-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

Oh my, it is a Will Ferrell afternoon here at the house. I am sorry, I just can't help laughing hysterically at his antics....

Cats and Dreamcoats

2009-04-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

I was talking to a couple of my voice students last week about the musical "Cats". Yeah, I like Cats. There, I said it. Real men can like Cats. It is okay. Although admittedly the whole setup is a bit strange, grown men and women dressed as cats, meowing and sniffing, and well, coming across in a somewhat uncomfortable sexual manner...

That being said, I got to thinking about my favorite Broadway musicals. I think my favorite is another Andrew Lloyd Webber brainchild. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. And, yes, I know it featured Donny Osmond for several years.

"Strange as it seems, there's been a run of crazy dreams".... anytime I am feeling small and insignificant I think of this song, and oh yeah, I wish I had a British accent.....

Didn't I mention the "messianic" Obama in a previous post?

2009-04-27T12:56:00.001-07:00

Yes, I did. Now check this out....

Certainly offensive. Certainly inciting, certainly divisive. Certainly not art. Intolerance (and blasphemy) is for the weak, and it doesn't get any more pathetic than this.

http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=96138

What a mockery. Hopefully my tax dollars had nothing to do with this.

My favorite Billy Joel song....

2009-04-26T16:15:00.001-07:00

Billy Joel in the morning.

2009-04-24T07:14:00.001-07:00

A happy song for the evening.

2009-04-23T17:21:00.001-07:00

More Keith Green.

2009-04-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

Is this the Future of America?

2009-04-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

It will be if we continue to turn a blind eye to the "Messianic" type leadership of Barak Obama, which exploits the weakened will of a country in vulnerable times. Will we one day become like Brazil?

Julio Severo, a prominent Brazilian pro-family activist, has been forced into exile because of the "hate crimes" laws that are being implemented in his native land, perhaps providing a preview of what Christians can expect in the United States should similar "hate crimes" proposals be implemented.

Severo reports he was forced to flee his homeland after federal prosecutors there recently charged him with "homophobia' for his statements about the nation's "Gay" Parade in 2006.

Severo told WND that while Brazil does not criminalize Christianity, it does regulate what biblical principles can and cannot be preached, and it bans biblical citations that disapprove of the homosexual lifestyle.

"Brazil grants freedom to preach Christianity, provided that the sermons avoid negative mentions of state-protected behaviors and cultural trends," Severo said. "The Brazilian government is establishing more and more categories of protected behaviors, banning negative mentions. So Brazilian preachers need to get updated on the latest political changes and preach a Gospel according to the state interests....

Alleluia, He is Risen!

2009-04-22T10:13:00.001-07:00

From one of my favorites, Keith Green. Rest in Peace, friend of God.

This is how I feel.

2009-04-20T13:33:00.001-07:00

As a new convert to the one, true, Catholic faith, this song expresses my deepest conviction to the change that has occurred in my spirit.

ego sum resurrectio et vita qui credit in me et si mortuus fuerit vivet et omnis qui vivit et credit in me non morietur in aeternum credis hoc

I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?

Divine Mercy

2009-04-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Divine Mercy Sunday. The celebration grew out of the visions of St. Faustina. Her visions contained powerful imagery of God's mercy. One of my favorites is the vision of the Angel of Destruction. The pray that came to her through divine revelation is part of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, which is said using a 5 decade Rosary. Here is the story, and in the following video is the Chaplet set to song.

On Friday, September 13, 1935, St. Faustina while in her cell, saw an angel, the executor of Divine Wrath waiting to strike the earth for its sinfulness. St. Faustina, struck with terror began to plead with the angel offering to due penance for the world, but her prayers were ineffective to the divine justice.

Then she saw the Holy Trinity and her lips fell silent. Filled with the spirit, she began to utter this entreaty to God, Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ for our sins and those of the whole world; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us” (Diary, 474, 475).

After she repeated these words the angel was helpless and unable to carry out the punishment on earth.

Beautiful. You and I can never be good enough for God. Our greatest act of penance, even throwing ourselves into the midst of hell itself, is worthless on it's own merit. It is only through the shed blood of the Lamb of God that we can receive mercy and forgiveness. Daily let us offer up this Eucharist to the Lord, as this prayer is the echo of the divine sacrament of the Holy Eucharist lifted up daily on altars throughout the world.

Why I am Catholic

2009-04-18T19:28:00.001-07:00

2010 Roman Missal

2009-04-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

It is coming! Coming very, very soon. A great portion of our liturgical music based on the current english translation of the Novus Ordo will be obsolete. Goodbye, Mass of Creation! (see previous post)

The people's parts are changing, too. "And with your spirit," opposed to "And also with you." This is a much more literal rendering of the official Latin text, which is "Et Cum Spiritu Tuo". It is an acclamation of the special spirit of ordination within the celebrant. And that is just one example.

As a new convert, I never found the current English translation doctrinally or functionally lacking, unlike the "old-school mass diehards". But, my opinion is about as important as theirs, which is not very. Shhh! Don't tell those pre-vatican II dinosaurs that I said their opinion really doesn't matter all that much!

The bottom line is if our US Conference of Bishops in council agrees that the changes are necessary, then that is good enough for me. And that is a very Catholic way of looking at it. Maybe more Catholic than those 1962 missal holdouts.

Here is the new translation of the Rite.

http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/missalformation/OrdoMissaeWhiteBook.pdf

Also, I can quit worrying about memorizing the current Confiteor translation and work on the new version, for the about 1 in 10 masses we actually say it.

Mass of Creation

2009-04-18T11:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, our friends at Musica Sacra will have a conniption fit over this, but nevertheless, the post will continue.

Here is an (old as in 1980's) clip of everyone's favorite Mass setting, Mass of Creation by Haugen. The priest in this video is quite a decent singer, and the continuity of the Eucharistic prayer when set to music is quite refreshing.

Favorite TV Commercial Friday

2009-04-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

Every Friday I will be posting an old commercial for your enjoyment. Old, as in from my childhood days. What is so amazing to me is that these are so repetitively bombarded into our brain, it is amazing how old they are! It just seems like yesterday when we saw it last....

Rich Mullins was in RCIA

2009-04-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

My favorite contemporary Christian artist is Rich Mullins. His songs helped make people like Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith famous. Little did I know that when he was tragically killed in a car wreck, he was in RCIA, and on his way to becoming Catholic, or at least he was opening himself to the possibility.

Here is one of my favorites....

The Communion of the Saints

2009-04-13T07:34:00.000-07:00

I was humbled to be accepted into the Catholic faith on Saturday. At no other point was I as emotionally moved as during the Litany of the Saints, as we all kneeled in our petition for their prayers. To think of all those that have gone before are praying for me, are praying for us, was too great a thing for me. I was overwhelmed.

Astronomical signs, Holy Week, and the Scriptures

2009-04-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

Read and consider as Peter argues from the words of the prophet Joel recorded circa 835 BC. From the Book of Acts, Chapter 2:

"14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 "`In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'"

Peter asserts that Joel's prophesy has been fulfilled. And while his discourse is apocalyptic in nature, we cannot be too quick to assume that everything apocalyptic is always 100 percent metaphorical. Interesting is Acts vs. 20.

"The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood..." The gospels do recount that the sun was darkened on the day of the crucifixion from noon until 3 in the afternoon. Ancient non-Biblical sources confirm this. Phlegon Trallianus records in his history, Olympiades:

"In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad [AD 32-33], a failure of the Sun took place greater than any previously known, and night came on at the sixth hour of the day [noon], so that stars actually appeared in the sky; and a great earthquake took place in Bithynia and overthrew the greater part of Niceaea," obviously not a simple astronomical event.

Also consider this account of Pontius Pilate. Its historicity is very, very much debated, but it contains references to the same eclipse and blood moon.

"And at the time he was crucified there was darkness over all the world, the sun being darkened at mid-day, and the stars appearing, but in them there appeared no lustre; and the moon, as if turned into blood, failed in her light."

And what about this bloody moon?

The answer to that question fixes the date of the crucifixion with precision. Beyond reasonable doubt, in fact, because a "blood moon" has a specific meaning. In ancient literature, not only the Bible, it means a lunar eclipse. Why bloody? Because when the moon is in eclipse it is in the Earth's shadow. It receives no direct light from the sun, but is lit only by the dim light refracted and red-shifted by the Earth's atmosphere. The moon in eclipse does glow a dull red, as you know if you have seen it.

This matters, because with Kepler's equations we can determine exactly when historical eclipses occurred. Perhaps it will not surprise you to learn that only one Passover lunar eclipse was visible from Jerusalem while Pilate was in office. It occurred on April 3, 33 AD, the Day of the Cross.

That day followed a night of horrors predicted by the prophet Isaiah. In place of sleep for Jesus there were torch-lit hours of interrogation and mockery, spittle in the face and beatings, barbed lashes tearing flesh from his back and thorns pressed into his scalp. Isaiah wrote that the messiah would be beaten until "marred beyond human likeness". And so, Jesus was brutalized during multiple "trials" and retrials before priests Annas and Caiaphas, King Herod and Roman prefect Pontius Pilate. In the end, his fate was decided by a mob. He was marched to Golgotha, the "place of the skull," and crucified. He would die within six hours.

The gospels tell the chronology. Hammers thudded spikes through Jesus and into the cross at the third hour, which was between 9am and 12pm. He was raised up. At noon and for three hours the sky was darkened. In the Temple at Jerusalem, only priests were permitted to enter the presence of God—a thick curtain excluded common men. During the crucifixion, this veil was torn apart, top to bottom, as a shattering earthquake split rocks and broke open tombs. In the darkness and tumult of these signs, even the Roman guards regreted their part in the killing. Jesus died at 3 PM. He was removed from the cross before nightfall to preserve the sanctity of the impending Passover and Sabbath. But the signs and wonders did not end. When the moon rose that evening, it was blood red. We can imagine the wonder of those who were present through all of this, and their increasing dread as the signs kept coming.

But there is more which they could not see. Kepler's equations indicate that the moon rose already in eclipse, already bloody, fulfilling Joel's vision. Necessarily, this means that the eclipse commenced before moonrise. With software we can look below the horizon and see Earth's shadow begin the eclipse. When we do, we find that at 3 PM, as Jesus was breathing his last on the cross, the moon was going to blood.

The sky at Christ's birth can be viewed as a kind of visual poetry, with the new moon symbolically "birthed" at the foot of Virgo, the virgin. To complete that celestial poem, on the night of Jesus' death the moon had returned to the foot of the virgin. But now it was a full moon. A life fully lived, blotted out in blood.

Holy Thursday

2009-04-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the Mass of the Lord's Supper. I don't believe that the supper was the Passover seder. The Lord's Supper was held after sundown on Thursday, at the beginning of preparation day. Preparation day this particular year (AD 33) was both preparation day for the Passover AND the Sabbath, since Passover and the Sabbath fell on the same day, which is why this particular Sabbath was called a High Sabbath in the Gospels. The Gospels are very clear that Jesus was crucified on this preparation day, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, right at the same time the lambs were being slaughtered in the temple in preparation for the passover seder that evening. This is confirmed by the fact that the Pharisee's would not enter Pilate's Praetorium for fear of being made unclean before they partook of the Passover.

Also, the gospels don't necessarily indicate a seder. No lamb is mentioned, and of course a day early the lambs would not have even been sacrificed yet. Nothing else is mentioned about a seder other than the dipping of bread, which is common to many Jewish feasts and meals. Also, in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says that he has desired to eat this Passover meal, as if it would be a desire left unfulfilled until the kingdom of God is come, for he knew that he himself would be the true Passover Lamb, and he therefore wouldn't be around to eat of the Passover with his disciples on the next day. This doesn't conflict with Jesus asking the disciples to go prepare for the Passover. It just means that they never got so far as to eat it. It would not have been unusual for preparations to already be underway, as it would have taken some time to "unleaven" the space where the meal was to be eaten. This evening's meal was not the coming feast. This is further confirmed by the disciples wondering about Judas, as they thought he was leaving to buy what was needed for the feast.

I do indeed believe that Jesus was influenced by Essene teachings, and some have suggested that he celebrated the Essene passover, based on a solar calendar versus a lunar calendar. Even our Pope has suggested as much. But based on the whole of the Gospel accounts, I am not quite convinced. Indeed, Essene Passover's were lambless, as they did not believe in the validity of the current Herodian temple. But I don't see the consistency in Jesus partaking of one Passover while being himself the Lamb for another.

In any case, one thing is for sure. Jesus used this supper to institute the Eucharist. Perhaps it is most fitting that this wasn't a seder, as Jesus gives us a "new commandment". Which is exactly where this day draws the name "Maundy" Thursday. Maundy being derived from the first word of this Latin phrase-

"Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos"

"A new commandment I give you, That you love one another, as I have loved you."

Solo Scriptura... flawed...

2009-04-08T08:11:00.000-07:00

I. Scripture Alone Disproves "Scripture Alone"

Gen. to Rev. - Scripture never says that Scripture is the sole infallible authority for God's Word. Scripture also mandates the use of tradition. This fact alone disproves sola Scriptura.

Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15 - those that preached the Gospel to all creation but did not write the Gospel were not less obedient to Jesus, or their teachings less important.

Matt. 28:20 - "observe ALL I have commanded," but, as we see in John 20:30; 21:25, not ALL Jesus taught is in Scripture. So there must be things outside of Scripture that we must observe. This disproves "Bible alone" theology.

Mark 16:15 - Jesus commands the apostles to "preach," not write, and only a few apostles wrote. The others who did not write were not less faithful to Jesus, because Jesus gave them no directive to write. There is no evidence in the Bible or elsewhere that Jesus intended the Bible to be sole authority of the Christian faith.

Luke 1:1-4 - Luke acknowledges that the faithful have already received the teachings of Christ, and is writing his Gospel only so that they "realize the certainty of the teachings you have received." Luke writes to verify the oral tradition they already received.

John 20:30; 21:25 - Jesus did many other things not written in the Scriptures. These have been preserved through the oral apostolic tradition and they are equally a part of the Deposit of Faith.

Acts 8:30-31; Heb. 5:12 - these verses show that we need help in interpreting the Scriptures. We cannot interpret them infallibly on our own. We need divinely appointed leadership within the Church to teach us.

Acts 15:1-14 – Peter resolves the Church’s first doctrinal issue regarding circumcision without referring to Scriptures.

Acts 17:28 – Paul quotes the writings of the pagan poets when he taught at the Aeropagus. Thus, Paul appeals to sources outside of Scripture to teach about God.

1 Cor. 5:9-11 - this verse shows that a prior letter written to Corinth is equally authoritative but not part of the New Testament canon. Paul is again appealing to a source outside of Scripture to teach the Corinthians. This disproves Scripture alone.

1 Cor. 11:2 - Paul commends the faithful to obey apostolic tradition, and not Scripture alone.

Phil. 4:9 - Paul says that what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do. There is nothing ever about obeying Scripture alone.

Col. 4:16 - this verse shows that a prior letter written to Laodicea is equally authoritative but not part of the New Testament canon. Paul once again appeals to a source outside of the Bible to teach about the Word of God.

1 Thess. 2:13 – Paul says, “when you received the word of God, which you heard from us..” How can the Bible be teaching first century Christians that only the Bible is their infallible source of teaching if, at the same time, oral revelation was being given to them as well? Protestants can’t claim that there is one authority (Bible) while allowing two sources of authority (Bible and oral revelation).

1 Thess. 3:10 - Paul wants to see the Thessalonians face to face and supply what is lacking. His letter is not enough.

2 Thess. 2:14 - Paul says that God has called us "through our Gospel." What is the fullness of the Gospel?

2 Thess. 2:15 - the fullness of the Gospel is the apostolic tradition which includes either teaching by word of mouth or by letter. Scripture does not say "letter alone." The Catholic Church has the fullness of the Christian faith through its rich traditions of Scripture, oral tradition and teaching authority (or Magisterium).

2 Thess 3:6 - Paul instructs us to obey apostolic tradition. There is no instruction in the Scriptures about obeying the Bible alone (the word "Bible" is not even in the Bible).

1 Tim. 3:14-15 - Paul prefers to speak and not write, and is writing only in the event that he is delayed and cannot be with Timothy.

2 Tim. 2:2 - Paul says apostolic tradition is passed on to future generations, but he says nothing about all apostolic traditions being eventually committed to the Bible.

2 Tim. 3:14 - continue in what you have learned and believed knowing from whom you learned it. Again, this refers to tradition which is found outside of the Bible.

James 4:5 - James even appeals to Scripture outside of the Old Testament canon ("He yearns jealously over the spirit which He has made...")

2 Peter 1:20 - interpreting Scripture is not a matter of one's own private interpretation. Therefore, it must be a matter of "public" interpretation of the Church. The Divine Word needs a Divine Interpreter. Private judgment leads to divisions, and this is why there are 30,000 different Protestant denominations.

2 Peter 3:15-16 - Peter says Paul's letters are inspired, but not all his letters are in the New Testament canon. See, for example, 1 Cor. 5:9-10; Col. 4:16. Also, Peter's use of the word "ignorant" means unschooled, which presupposes the requirement of oral apostolic instruction that comes from the Church.

2 Peter 3:16 - the Scriptures are difficult to understand and can be distorted by the ignorant to their destruction. God did not guarantee the Holy Spirit would lead each of us to infallibly interpret the Scriptures. But this is what Protestants must argue in order to support their doctrine of sola Scriptura. History and countless divisions in Protestantism disprove it.

1 John 4:1 - again, God instructs us to test all things, test all spirits. Notwithstanding what many Protestants argue, God's Word is not always obvious.

1 Sam. 3:1-9 - for example, the Lord speaks to Samuel, but Samuel doesn't recognize it is God. The Word of God is not self-attesting.

1 Kings 13:1-32 - in this story, we see that a man can't discern between God's word (the commandment "don't eat") and a prophet's erroneous word (that God had rescinded his commandment "don't eat"). The words of the Bible, in spite of what many Protestants must argue, are not always clear and understandable. This is why there are 30,000 different Protestant churches and one Holy Catholic Church.

Gen. to Rev. - Protestants must admit that knowing what books belong in the Bible is necessary for our salvation. However, because the Bible has no "inspired contents page," you must look outside the Bible to see how its books were selected. This destroys the sola Scriptura theory. The canon of Scripture is a Revelation from God which is necessary for our salvation, and which comes from outside the Bible. Instead, this Revelation was given by God to the Catholic Church, the pinnacle and foundation of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15).

Jesus died on a Friday, Frankie G.....

2009-04-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

hate to call you out as being wrong on all that Thursday crucifixion nonsense...... the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church has had it right all along, nearly 2000 years of tradition to fall on.... imagine that....

CLICK HERE TO LEARN WHY

This is pure silliness

2009-04-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

http://clericalwhispers.blogspot.com/2009/04/priests-stop-saying-good-morning-to.html

Some priests have become so worried that saying "good morning" to their congregations is a distraction from the mass. No, the real distraction is that there can even be such a silly argument. Maybe instead of worrying so much about this "informality", they should spend that time on their knees in one accord in prayer for the salvation of souls.

It is amazing how much polarization one can find over such a simple issue, as the questioned is posed "It is a debate that has been going on in the Church for a long time – are we doing a cabaret or are we actually celebrating the Eucharist?"

So saying good morning to your parishoners is akin to putting on a cabaret. Hogwash. More and more I am finding out the truth lies somewhere in-between, and I am getting tired of all this extremist dogma. In this case, this ultra-conservative position is amusing at best.

Grieg Sonata in E minor

2009-04-04T15:01:00.001-07:00

This was one of my college audition pieces a few years back. This person playing, whom I do not know, interprets it very much the same as I did, well, at least through the constructive guidance of my college professor! Pretty good performance to listen to, here.....

Fear the Spaghetti Weevil

2009-04-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

Happy April 1....

Best choir in the world?

2009-03-31T16:56:00.001-07:00

Possibly. Can somebody point me to better? This is the sound of the angels, if man could ever imagine it......

Clare College, Cambridge.

Durufle in the afternoon.

2009-03-31T10:16:00.000-07:00

Most beautiful church in Knoxville

2009-03-30T19:36:00.000-07:00

My, my, oh my... what a beautiful new church building they have at St. John Neumann Parish. I went to the Lenten Penance service this evening. Let me say this... pictures do NOT do the place justice... you have to see it yourself. This has to be by far the most beautiful house of worship in Knoxville.

http://sjnknox.org/content/view/213/1/

First confession tonight

2009-03-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

I am headed over to St. John Neumann Parish this evening for my first confession, or reconciliation as it is now called. I have an extensive list, since I have over 30 years of catching up to do! Too bad that it has taken that long for me to be pulled out of the false doctrines of protestantism, but God's timing is perfect, so it is certainly with good reason that I have 30 years of confessing to do! Praise be to God for the One, Holy, Apostolic and Catholic faith. Here are some reflections.....

“To be deep in history is to cease being a Protestant.“

- Cardinal Newman
Conscience, Consensus, and the Development of Doctrine

“Having founded and built the Church, the blessed apostles entrusted the episcopal office to Linus, who is mentioned by Paul in the Epistles to Timothy; Linus was succeeded by Anacletus; after him, in the third place from the apostles, the bishopric fell to Clement, who had seen the blessed apostles and conversed with them, and still had their preaching ringing in his ears and their authentic tradition before his eyes. And he was not the only one; there were still many people alive who had been taught by the apostles. . . . In the same order and the same succession the authentic tradition received from the apostles and passed down by the Church, and the preaching of the truth, have been handed on to us.”

-St. Irenaeus (c. 130-200)

Against Heresies

“But look at the men who have those perverted notions about the grace of Jesus Christ which has come down to us, and see how contrary to the mind of God they are. . . . They even abstain from the Eucharist and from the public prayers, because they will not admit that the Eucharist is the self-same body of our Savior Jesus Christ which flesh suffered for our sins, and which the Father of His goodness raised up again.“

-St. Ignatius of Antioch (d. AD 106; disciple of Peter and Paul)

Epistle to the Smyrnaeans

“The Lord says to Peter: ‘I say to you,’ He says, ‘that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it. And to you I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever things you bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth, they shall be loosed also in heaven.’ And again He says to him after His resurrection: ‘Feed my sheep.’ On him He builds the Church, and to him He gives the command to feed the sheep; and although He assigns a like power to all the Apostles, yet He founded a single chair, and He established by His own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter was; but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair. So too, all are shepherds, and the flock is shown to be one, fed by all the Apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?”

-St. Cyprian, AD 251

The Unity of the Catholic Church

“In the Catholic Church, there are many other things which most justly keep me in her bosom. The consent of peoples and nations keeps me in the Church; so does her authority, inaugurated by miracles, nourished by hope, enlarged by love, established by age. The succession of priests keeps me, beginning from the very seat of the Apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after His resurrection, gave it in charge to feed His sheep (Jn 21:15-19), down to the present episcopate.
“And so, lastly, does the very name of Catholic, which, not without reason, amid so many heresies, the Church has thus retained; so that, though all heretics wish to be called Catholics, yet when a stranger asks where the Catholic Church meets, no heretic will venture to point to his own chapel or house.
“Such then in number and importance are the precious ties belonging to the Christian name which keep a believer in the Catholic Church, as it is right they should...With you, where there is none of these things to attract or keep me... No one shall move me from the faith which binds my mind with ties so many and so strong to the Christian religion...For my part, I should not believe the gospel except as moved by the authority of the Catholic Church.”

- St. Augustine (AD 354-430 )
Against the Epistle of Manichaeus AD 397
[Contra Epistolam Manichaei Quam Vacant Fundamenti]

Church sign war

2009-03-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

This is a fake. But it wouldn't surprise me if it actually happened.... lol

http://www.inlightofthegospel.org/?p=2103

BTW, I have no doubt my dogs are going to heaven. Although one of them is quite a brat. He may need to take a detour through purgatory.

New Piano Store in Town

2009-03-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

Steinway, Boston, Essex, Kohler and Campbell, few other odds and ends...

For my money the Boston is the way to go if you are buying a piano. I am in a minority that just isn't in love with the Yamaha "bright" sound. Bostons are "low-tensioned" instruments that just ring and ring. I think I even prefer them to the flagship Steinway. In any case, it is all about how you interact with the instrument. You have to play them to know what you like and don't like.

Go by and see them. You will be in for a treat.....

http://www.americanpianogallery.com/

Elin Manahan Thomas- best soprano in the world

2009-03-24T12:01:00.003-07:00

well, at least that I have recently heard....

What sweeter music

2009-03-24T11:31:00.001-07:00

I posted a recording of St. Olaf singing this in another entry.

Here are the Cambridge Singers under the direction of Rutter himself.

More mature, a little more polished. Not perfect, but a nonetheless incredible performance. This song has just been in my head for days, even though it is a Christmas song. (Well, it can also be a spring/Easter song too)

2009-03-23T21:11:00.000-07:00

An insightful (as always) perspective on the happenings in D.C. from Thomas Sowell.

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The big story last week was the incredible Congressional rush to pass a bill that was more than a thousand pages long in just two days— after which it sat on the President's desk for three days while the Obamas were away on a holiday.

There is the same complete inconsistency in the bill itself. Despite the urgency in President Obama's rhetoric, as well as in Congress' haste in passing a bill which few— if any— members had time to read, much less consider, most of the actual spending will take place next year, at the earliest.

Not even the most Alice-in-Wonderland actions will arouse the suspicions of those who have what William James once called "the will to believe."

Nowhere was that will to believe greater than in the election of Barack Obama to be President of the United States, not on the basis of any actual accomplishment, but as the repository of hopes and symbolism. His supporters among the voters and in the media are not going to stop believing now.

It will take a lot more than blatant inconsistency for the faithful to lose faith. It may take catastrophe— and there may well be catastrophe.

For some, even catastrophe under Obama can be blamed on George Bush. After all, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented third term in 1940, after two terms in which the unemployment rate never fell below 10 percent and was above 20 percent for 21 consecutive months.

FDR also inspired the will to believe— and he also had Herbert Hoover on whom to blame all the country's troubles.

It may seem strange, to those who never lived through those times, that someone could be President of the United States for eight straight years and nevertheless escape responsibility for mass unemployment by blaming his long-departed predecessor. But we may yet see a re-run of that scenario in our own time.

Nothing in the amateurish way the current administration has begun suggests that they have mastered even the mechanics of governing, much less the complexities of the huge national problems looming ahead, at home and abroad.

The multiple Cabinet nominees withdrawing before their nomination can come to a vote in the Senate are just one example of this amateurism.

Another example was the Secretary of the Treasury holding a much heralded unveiling of his recovery plan, only to publicly embarrass himself and the administration when his speech made painfully clear that there is no plan, but only pious hopes. The plunge in the stock market after his speech suggests how much confidence he inspired.

There is far more to fear from this administration than its amateurism in governing. The urgency with which it has rushed through a monumental spending bill, whose actual spending will not be completed even after 2010, ought to set off alarm bells among those who are not in thrall to the euphoria of Obama's presidency.

The urgency was real, even if the reason given was phony. President Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, let slip a valuable clue when he said that a crisis should not go to waste, that a crisis is an opportunity to do things that you could not do otherwise.

Think about the utter cynicism of that. During a crisis, a panicked public will let you get away with things you couldn't get away with otherwise.

A corollary of that is that you had better act quickly while the crisis is at hand, without Congressional hearings or public debates about what you are doing. Above all, you must act before the economy begins to recover on its own.

The party line is that the market has failed so disastrously that only the government can save us. It is proclaimed in Washington and echoed in the media.

The last thing the administration can risk is delay that could allow the market to begin recovering on its own. That would undermine, if not destroy, a golden opportunity to restructure the American economy in ways that would allow politicians to micro-manage other sectors of the economy the way they have micro-managed the housing market into disaster.

Crystal Cathedral Pipe Organ

2009-03-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

OK, so Robert Schuller creeps me out, and the Crystal "Cathedral" isn't really a cathedral, but I can't deny the incredible majesty they have over there in that pipe organ.

Paul Jacobs is an amazing musician.

Costello is a lucky guy

2009-03-22T16:25:00.001-07:00

I love Diana Krall. Seriously. What a musician.

A little Pagan in all of us

2009-03-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

Easter is fast approaching. At this time last year, I was just starting to attend Mass. I remember our Pastor, Fr. Michael Woods, talking in his homily (sermon for those of you at Union, or Rio Linda, as Rushbo would put it) about the little pagan in all of us.

Easter is wrapped up in several traditions. I am not going to dig into the history behind it all, but the fact is the church is made up of gentiles, which are pagans, and a lot of good pagan traditions have survived to this day. You know, the Easter Bunny, the eggs, etc.....

I say good, because even though we come from pagan backgrounds, which so many fundamentalists seem to equate with bad, the truth is that many of the pagan traditions throughout history point to Christ. God has put his stamp on all peoples, and his story has been told over and over again in different ways in so many different cultures.

Christ comes and reveals the special truth of God, the specific faith that is entrusted to the church. And the church has NEVER watered down this faith by incorporating so called paganism. It has for 2000 years proclaimed "Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again!" It just so happens that the people whom received the message were pagan.

And so, even as we proclaim Christ, there still is a little pagan in all of us. And there ain't a thing wrong with that.

Thank you Father Michael for those words. I think they will stick with me for eternity.

Soli Deo Gloria

Another great Minnesotan Choral Tradition

2009-03-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

I am in love with Concordia, I am also in love with St. Olaf. The schools share ties. Both Lutheran, both in Minnesota, their choir directors, Renee Clausen and Anton Armstrong share similar backgrounds and frequently work together. ( I personally have had the privilege of singing under Armstrong on a couple occasions.)

In an entry below, I highlighted Concordia.

Here are some great St. Olaf performances.