Love Christ More

I listen to various podcasts that range in topics from economics, religion, social issues and fiction. One that I have unsubscribed from, because I could not keep up with it, would have a speaker who'd recirculate in every so often and she'd mention the Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She would describe talking with her and one of her quotes was, "Love Christ more." Feeding the hungry and healing the sick is great and everything, but more importantly, we need to love Christ more.

Last week, the Catholic homily and the Presbyterian sermon we heard last week had something in common. They were about loving Christ. The homily went along the lines it isn't you do bad things you go to Hell, you do good, you go to Heaven. Rather, you love Christ, you go to be with him. And he just happens to be in Heaven. The good you do is because you love him.

I still believe in a Baptist Hell. Fire, brimstone, gnashing teeth, all that. It is hard to shake. I also hold this with an image of CS Lewis' country in the Great Divorce, where the Grey Town is but a speck of dirt on the ground of far Heaven. A firey, brimstony speck of dirt where our sins weigh us down further into the speck. It is where our sins make it difficult to go to G-d, and cling to us and define us. I'd been an Episcopalian long enough to hear the theory that Hell is empty and we all go to heaven. Yay! Yes, let's totally ignore Matt 7:23; Matt 25:41 and some other things. But hey, we're Christians, known for focusing on one thing (snakehandlers, Pentecostals) and ignoring a bunch of other things (every branch that considers wine evil).

I've had a messy relationship with Christ, so I'm not too sure that I won't be refused at the door when I knock. I try to love Christ. I've told my husband that I love Christ more than him, which is fine because he loves Christ more than me.  We try to love Christ more. We go to Church not just to be good, but because we want to learn about G-d (Father, Son, & Spirit) so we can know how to love him.

HIV

I was listening to a NPR podcast that just made me wince.
I think it was a Religion and Ethics piece, not sure. But the story was about an evangelical Christian woman living with HIV, who describes how she got HIV when dating another Christian. She didn't say it outright and that was thing that annoyed me. What made me wince was she described how the Lord brought love into her life (guy who gave her HIV). Okay, I'm not going to get into the sex outside of marriage thing, that's my judgementalism. My annoyance, is with her was not clearly stating that unprotected sex risks your health. She didn't own up to it.
I was hanging out once with a gay man whose profession is AIDS education. His preferred group to educate was other gay men, because he really didn't get straight people and our sex issues. Unfortunately, professionally, all the good AIDS work is in Africa, educating straight people. The other problem is you have to live in Africa, which wasn't something he wanted to be bothered with either. I asked about the issues of straight sex and what to do about when a couple wants children. That was one of those straight people things.
Back to the Christian woman with HIV. I feel badly for her as she is going to have to deal with the cocktail of drugs to keep her alive and relatively healthy. However I think she does a disservice in her education mission if she doesn't talk about prevention as she educates and supports women with HIV. I also was annoyed by some bits evangelical wishy theology, that I've heard before from other evangelical non-denomination members. Of course, I'm getting more annoyed with some protestant groups daily.

Podcasts: G-d is going to get sick of me & unheard economists

Well the latest Bored Again Christian is a hit having me hunt on itunes for artists. This month (quarter) is titled "Ch 55: G-d is Going to Get Sick of Me", of course with my typing on the internet I'm leaving out the 'o'. I'm not sure what the heck 'Just Pete' uses as a yardstick to determine what to put on the podcast, but it tends to be good. The title track by Aberdeen City reminds me of the Killers, but maybe that's how the kids are playing these days. "Trouble" by Over the Rhine unfortunately is not on itunes and I'd have to hear another song off of their album before I plunk down the cash to own the song legitimately. Trouble is sexy and sounds like it has a tango thing going for it. What does it have to do with Christianity? Beats me. "Backslider" by the Toadies, sounds like the perfect song for a angry Christian teenage boy stuck in his room determine to go deaf listening to hard rock. My first listen to "Backslider" I had no idea of wtf the lyrics were. MacBiter? McSlider? "Life Goes On" by Pigeon John is a nice hip-hop song 'you're a hook in your own theme song' is the best reason to buy this track. When JP played Judee Sill's "Jesus was a Crossmaker" it was quite good and I bought it, he put Sill's "When the Bridegroom Comes" not so much. It sounds too much like her bit hit.
Econalk's "Caplan on the Myth of the Rational Voter" can be summed up as = economists bitch that no one listens to them.

ODing on Libertarianism

Okay, I love my podcasts in that it's like I'm programing my own radio format. But I've discovered that certain things should not run close to one another. One song in between isn't enough, one daily prayer between them isn't enough either. The thing I speak of is the libertarian podcasts.
Russ Roberts of George Mason University puts out Econotalk podcast and has a blog Cafe Hayek. The last one I listened to was on why supporting local businesses is short sighted. I thought he was being facetious when making some of his arguments and failed to recognize another value of supporting local businesses, such as quality of life issues in regards to neighborhood living. But the other points made were decent, in that spending money locally doesn't mean the money stays local.
Fine. This is okay when followed by some report from the University of Florida, a random NPR podcast, or Vatican Radio focusing on some sadness somewhere in the world. It should not be followed by Acton Institute podcasts. Acton seems like a bunch of Christian Libertarians, and I swear my head nearly exploded after a cast on morality and capitalism. The speaker was Fr. Robert A. Sirico, Roman Catholic priest.
So maybe today more make you wanna shake yo booty mash-ups, a few prayers, the odd Lutheran or Anglican sermon, and one, just one, libertarian podcast.

Love & Harry Potter

Love love? Love Harry Potter? And British accents? Then you gotta listen to Br. Giles' SQPN podcast "The Secrets of Harry Potter". I was blown away by the episode #18 Valentine's Love (mp3) where Brother Giles Alban (of the Hospitaler? Order) talks about love. All kinds. Eros, agape, whathaveyou and ties it in wonderfully to the HP series. It's not the first time I've heard Br. Giles (I guess I really should credit the SoHP writers) talk about love as a powerful magic. This reminds me of what is said in CS Lewis' The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe about love being the most powerful kind of magic that saves Aslan (if I've misinterpreted it tell me).