Let's Hear a Hearing

Currently, we have Senators pontificating about the role of the Supreme Court.

Listen.

I suspect Roberts is going to be confirmed without much trouble, so the questioning is probably the most telling part of this whole process.

Got to disagree with Kennedy somewhat. To some degree, interpretation of the existing constitution is important.

Hm. John Cornyn isn't so bright.

Expanding freedom. Hm. That seems reasonable.

Judicial activism? I think I'd be more inclined to attribute the polarization of American politics to ... oh ... the marriage of the Republican party and the Religious Right.

...ah, let's see what Roberts says.

- He says that a judge is like an umpire ... interpreting the laws, not creating them.

- Judges have to be humble and listen to the opinions of their colleagues.

- Wow. Beautiful description of the Rule of Law.

- More baseball imagery.

- Ends up with two commitments: 1) to be judicially modest 2) to defend the independence of the court.

- 6 minutes. Succinct. No wonder this guy was a spectacular lawyer.

Another Good Sermon

... although this one has a bit more cursing.

The coolness of the hushed church, the smell of incense lingering in the air, envelops me. I gaze down the length of the church and fixate on the tabernacle. The place where, when I was little, I believed God lived. I haven’t sat in a church in a long time. My mind is a sickened blank. What to say? What to ask the Almighty?

Almighty my ass. What a sick joke. When was the last time He saved anybody?

If you're game, visit waiterrant and read The God who Drowns. Thanks to Stu for the heads-up.

Oh, and I think the diablog engine is about ready for other people to try out on their blogs. I mean, it compiles and it's not trying to write 1 gig files anymore, so I figure it's pretty safe.

The links in my sidebar should subscribe you to all posts (instead of just one). Give it a whirl.

Curse You, Internet Explorer

Yes, Diablog is broken in IE.

I'm fixing it.

More Stuff by Other People

When things are going badly, it's hard to know what to say about God. Most of the time, I have the luxury of not having to say anything. But some people don't have that luxury: They have to get up and preach a sermon every Sunday. Katherine Torrance is one of these people.

In between our fits of praying and our acts of giving, we also have another task at hand: the important practice of trying to understand the events through the lens of our faith. There are questions to ask—the kinds of questions that don’t easily lend themselves to answers. Why do things like this happen? Why do some people survive and others perish? Does God have a role in natural disasters like hurricanes?

Visit Katherine's blog to read the entire sermon.

Neck of an Hourglass

In the Gospels Jesus is asked 183 questions directly or indirectly. Of these, he directly answers three! Jesus’ idea of church is not about giving people answers but, in fact, leading them into liminal and dark space, where they will long and yearn for God, for wisdom and for their own souls.

As long as I'm not writing anything but software, I may as well pass along something interesting and readable.

The above quote is from Forty Years in a Narrow Space, by Len Hjalmarson. I originally found this piece with a little help from Grumblefish.