Paradox

I haven't posted recently because I've been quite busy with college apps and what not. So here's one from September that I didn't post on account of its style, but I love the paradoxes of the Incarnation and the Crucifixion so I'm posting it anyway. :)

Paradox 9/3/10
Praise the Lord!
Oh blesséd curse
that curses he
that hangs upon a tree,
removing thorns from the side of man,
that pierce his head, his heart, his hands.
For through this murder man has tried
we now are pure and justified.
In his weakness, we are strong,
and by his death, this greatest wrong,
he offers life though we are dust,
and through despair we now can trust
he rose again as darkness fled,
for through his death all death is dead.

A little elser

Another poem influenced by Cummings' style.

A little elser 11/25/10
The tired almostcorpse
the sterilized sheets into slowly settles
whiter hair unmoved since
yesterday's
yesterday
and
tomorrow's
tomorrow
(like everyday's tomorrow)
will wake to (not) her
captured by a dream (without waking)
siphoned in from braintubes around the bed.

after tedious airdead minutes a
sudden
empty
moment...
the room is one soul lesser

but to the (tearbottled) eyes
beside the bed
just the same is
the white room
the white is
just the same.

But somewhere else
(a little elser)
is a little whiter now.

Snow

Here's a poem (somewhat) in the style of E.E. Cummings.

Snow

snow(

(th)in (as) the (p)ages

of a Bible:

the very Word(s)

(and bread) of

God fall-

ing from heaven)

flakes

Sonnet 1

This is my first attempt at a sonnet (Petrarchan, in case you're curious.) Also, my family is in the process of watching the BBC production of Bleak House (by Dickens), and this sonnet somewhat has in mind Guppy's love of Esther.

Imago Dei 11/20/2010
When I do stoop to look on mountains high,
Or when through thickets ambling do I see
The vernal buds where dwells the honeybee,
Which, floating free as if the king of May
Does gorge himself on nectar at noonday
Like Bacchus in his evening revelry,
Or bend an ear to hear a symphony,
Or view the morn with single, squinted eye,
Then do I fear that thy too-distant face,
That surely out of deeper heaven shines
Its light, must be not of this earthly place
And in these lesser lights my heart repines
To know that I am dooméd to debase
What in my heart I know can ne'er be mine.

Redemption to the Unwilling

Redemption to the Unwilling 11/9/10
The trees outstretch their twiggy hands to stop the flow
and vainly try to keep the snow from touching down,
stretching out their tired limbs to hold the snow
which can't be kept from finally falling to the ground.

The clouds give up and move away to show the sun
which falls like swifter snow to warm the winter breeze.
But underneath the boughs, the snow is not yet done
and keeps on falling from the weary limbs of trees.

They could not stop the heavens' plan to cleanse with white
the crimson windblown death that fall of hope bereaves.
The very snow they tried to stop with all their might
now lands delayed and, with the clouds, creation grieves
until it falls to purge the ground and bring forth Easter leaves.

Comfort

The fall soccer season ended this weekend with the MCAA tournament. In our last game we were ahead 2-0 at half-time but ended up losing 2-3. Needless to say, the team was pretty disappointed. Also, I read some E. E. Cummings on the car ride which affected the style somewhat.

Comfort 10/23/10
The smell of sadness
softly settles
among the
silent spaces
between the
blades of grass.

yester-moment's madness is
forgotten in the so
(so so)
oppressive, down
cast eyes around.
and yet that chaos is
the forefront thought
in every mind
in a wilderness
of short-cut grass.

leaden feet remember
the feet of fire
flying past
heavy hands recall
the sound of air
filled boulders rushing by,
somehow distant, like...

in a dream when danger
rushesnearand
you are
paralyzed. to move.
and noone can wakeup
from where our chances fled
and it all comes down to this
to this
this:

are we many
or are we one?

for if despair
can kill the one,
man
y are finished

For islands small are whelmed by waves
But granite cliffs a redoubt make.

and as the minds of everyone
fall
far and far
away
it feels like we are
falling stars
alone in skies of night
no constellations to unite
us.

And miles away,
across the grass
the green clad mass
casts echoes of joy
through hollow air.
And if you squint your eyes
and breathe the humanity on the wind
(not so) deeply,
they almost feel like one...

Tomorrow mourning
we sat around
our cluttered break
fast board
and shared in sad camaraderie
and eggs and buttered toast,
no banner to bring home and hang, merely
One
another's words to pass the time.

And the
man
y green
men
of yesterday
use their phones
to call their folks
to tell them
"what a game we(I) had"

Battle for Beauty

Battle for Beauty 10/9/10
The sunrise smears its colors beneath the clouds
like bread with butter on the bottom...

like Dr. Seuss
remember: all those funny people fought for
nothing,
for butter-side up or butter-side down...

Who would fight
after catching a glimpse
of beauty like this?
Or who could keep from war
after only a glimpse...
For everyone longs for the
better-side down.
Is this why we fight?
For a nothing of a
beauty-chase?
For where is a
beautiful nation?
A unified land?
Is this why we battle
when we gaze at the clouds
with their better-side down?

Facing True Death

Facing True Death 9/14/2010
"That vacuum's getting awfully heavy."
as she wrapped her wrinkled fingers around the wine glass stem,
fingers hard (as the pieces of a fallen ring,)
and soft (as the ribbons of eighty Christmases.)

She glanced out the window towards the porch sipping wine
not thinking about the bigger porch in Bayside
long ago
where they used to sit
in the warm summer sun,
and where too many farewells were said.

She looked at the window and saw only the glass
and her grandchildren sitting near,
polishing off their chocolate pudding,
and she clung all the tighter to the slender glass stem.

For there is nothing past the glass (except the porch)
There must be nothing past the glass (except the porch)...

Then why is the stem about to break
from clinging far too tight
to an almost empty glass?
The bottle's nearly
gone...

And she knows that time is short,
ever shorter
the children's laughter sounds old,
somehow older
like a memory from a nightmare
to forget
and that vacuum's getting
awfully,
awfully
heavy.

Unmade

Unmade 10/2/10
a thousand eyes,
designed by One who sees
all things

whirring wings,
designed by One who need
not rest

an armored shell,
designed by One who cannot
die
for long

And careening into nothing,
Flying in and out of sight,
To land lightly like a leaf
On the very edge of night
Where it lingers for a moment
Till its final fleeting...

Hand.

Sweeping down like a scroll unfurling,
Crushed legs and withered wings
That tumble down, no more to hover o'er the deep,
And the hand goes back to wipe off
One that was a fly; but, rest my soul,
it's dead.

Sunset Symphony

Sunset Symphony 9/25/10
Stuffy seats
and quiet chatter are
little company for waiting ears,
worn-out programs
rolled up or
tossed
on the floor under
the musty smell of an old brown jacket
on the seat in front
of me.

The lights fade like the gloaming of the coming night
and a drifting wand appears in the dimming space
like the farewell ray of a sun just out of sight.
Then soul-moving colors float out with glorious grace.

A long streak of oboe-gold shoots low
across the stage, surrounded by cello-red,
while pink violins dash brightly out and glow
from joy of the chase where the pipe and the piccolo fled.

The flutes frolic with four French horns
in bursts of silver and purple and shining glee
that an ocher bass chases in the hope of another morn
and fills the sky to the tune of the timpani.

The orange slowly leaves the air
and all is dark and blank and bare
till clouds return in evening-wear.

Outside Bozeman Contest

If you read the magazine Outside Bozeman, you may be familiar with the "How Far will you Go?" contest. Each season readers send in photos of themselves with this local magazine from all over the world. There is recognition for the best photo and the best letter. My family sent in the following photo of us on Ghana's highest peak along with a poem that I wrote that ended up winning best letter. Sure, it wouldn't have won a poetry contest, but it was kind of fun. So here it is.


In Ghana we sought out the mightiest peak.
We crossed over mountains and valleys and creeks.
We packed very little, just sunscreen and hats,
Some water and cameras for pictures thereat,

And also our Outside Bozeman.

Our backpack was heavy, however, because
The writing within it most certainly was
Heavy-laden with sarcasm, humor and wit,
Cool pictures and info most cleverly writ,

There in our Outside Bozeman.

We hiked to the top of Afadjato's trail
In the African sun, with much sweat and travail
To the highest of peaks in the Ghanian lands,
From the northernmost nooks to the southernmost sands,

Bearing our Outside Bozeman.

We carried it all the way straight up the side
Of a mountain where switchbacks refuse to abide.
Then we got to the top and we gazed at the view,
And the Ghanians shared in the wonders anew:

The wonders of Outside Bozeman.

For none had experienced such brilliance of prose,
Or witnessed such art on such sleek cellulose.
With cameras we captured their great admiration
At the pages of Bozeman's most fine publication,

The magazine, Outside Bozeman.

Litter

Litter 9/11/2010
The hard work of men is spread out in black
across the highways of our nation,
a great itinerant expanse of track
spreading like veins across America.

Bearing the weight of lumber and wheat
and families traveling home,
tired souls and weary feet
home across the mountains and plains of America.

A great web of cars leading nieces to aunts
and husbands to wives after rainy business trips,
like the stage of civilization's uniting dance,
uniting us, America.

And the laziness of men is spread out beside
this achievement of better men.
Beer cans and plastic tossed there belie
the character of the people of America.

They quietly mock the sweat-earned road
and the very ground on which they lie.
They mock the land which, bought with blood,
Somehow looks less than America.

First Day of School

This one required a little editing, because a few people to whom I showed it interpreted it differently than I was hoping. Hopefully it's clearer now. I've mostly been writing blank verse lately from lack of time, but I'm hoping to try some new styles soon. We'll see.

First Day of School 9/8/2010
An apple crunches at the end of the table.
Peanut butter and jelly squeeze out
from wheat bread walls
uncomfortably packed too close together.
Chatter tip-toes through the room
like some tired typist's tapping
fingers late at night.
A few old friends fill too much space,
their boisterous words
go drifting through the air
like a lone guitar in a concert hall.

Months go by...

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich
is munched and chewed.
A quiet laugh about the peanut butter
squeezing out the seams
is lofted through the air,
but no one hears.
The little chatter waltzing by
ignores the noise.

Somehow this day is not so different from the first.
Minds are still on lunch and classes yet to come.
The rarity of voices is old as ever it was
and yet...

As a few solitary voices envelop the room
and surround the feasters sitting close,
silently enjoying the familiarity of the noise,
it's not so loud that you can't hear
an apple crunch at the end of the table.

And now for something completely different...

When my family visited Ghana over the summer, it seemed like everything costed exactly one cedi (the Ghanaian currency), whether it was for a parking spot or internet use. So I wrote a little song about it and recorded it on my mandolin. Sorry about the poor quality of the pick. After spending so much money on state-of-the-art recording equipment and a professional singer, I couldn't afford a proper pick[]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTiG3E4o-RY

Infant Baptism

This is a paper defending infant baptism that I wrote last school year and recently re-edited. Let me know what you think; I welcome critiques of the arguments.

Infant Baptism

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” As Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father at the end of Matthew 28, he left commands to make disciples, baptize, and teach. We are to disciple all nations and teach those we disciple, but whom are we to baptize? One of the most difficult issues in this question is the dilemma of infant baptism: should we baptize babies or not? I believe that the answer to this is 'yes'. According to God's Word, baptism ought to be given to infants. This conclusion ultimately rests on the purpose of baptism. If we can determine the reason for the institution of baptism, we can apply that to the case of infants and determine if it is proper or not.

British theologian Bruce Milne sees four components to baptism: it is a confession of faith, it is an experience of communion with Christ, it is a consecration to live circumspectly for Christ afterwards, and lastly, it is a promise of consummation through Christ. It is not important to fully understand what Milne means by each of these elements; it is enough to recognize that infants should be excluded from baptism by this definition as they cannot express a faith in Christ nor are they capable of consciously committing their lives to Christ. This is a very common way of viewing baptism and its function today, but it is far from universal.

John Calvin interpreted baptism as a sign of our forgiveness, and of our participation in Christ's death and resurrection. Another way he described baptism is as a sign of initiation by which we are received into the society of the church in order to be reckoned among God's children by being engrafted in Christ. Calvin did not see baptism as a cause of salvation, but rather baptism gives us a knowledge and a certainty of the gifts we receive through Christ's redeeming work. This is the Biblical view of baptism to which the majority of the church has adhered to for centuries. First Peter 3:21 says of the flood waters of Noah's time, “...and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” This means that baptism is a sacrament that seals our union with the death and resurrection of Christ. Romans 6:4 likewise says, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” So baptism bears some connection with salvation as it unites us with Christ's resurrection, without actually saving us.

A useful metaphor for infant baptism is that of a check. Imagine that a baby is given a kind of check at baptism. When the child grows up, they can either chose to cash it, or throw it away. The check itself is a piece of paper, worth nothing, just as baptism does nothing to effect salvation. However, it has the potential to be a great value to that child if it is followed by proper action. Again, this is the true purpose of baptism: it functions as a sign of the grace we receive through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and brings us into the community of the church. While infants cannot exercise faith, they are in no less need of adoption into the family of God.

So the very definition of baptism seems to imply that infants should be baptized. But what does Scripture say? The following two arguments will center around Biblical texts and salvation, respectively. First of all, baptism provides a connection with Christ, as established above. It is a sign of participation in the new covenant established by Christ. This covenant was a continuation and fulfillment of the promises of four key Old Testament covenants which were for God's people and their descendants. Children were always included.

When God made a covenant with Noah he said this in Genesis 9:9, "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you...” When Abraham received the promises of land and a great nation in Genesis 17, God said “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.” In fact, the phrase, “and your descendants,” is used five times in the rest of this passage. In 2 Samuel 7, David receives a similar promise to his entire family. Lastly, Psalm 103 spoke of God's covenant with Moses in verses 17 and 18, “But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children—with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.” In all of these covenants, children are the recipients. Hebrew infants were not shunned from society or refused circumcision (the Old Testament sign of the covenant) until they were old enough to understand the covenant. Neither should today's infants be refused baptism or union with the church until they place their faith in Christ.

In Acts 2:38-39, Peter spoke of the new covenant in Christ: “Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” For millenia God's people understood the covenant in terms of family and descendants. When Peter refered to the promise being “for you and for your children” the Jewish listeners knew exactly what he meant. If there were a major shift from a covenant for descendants to one excluding infants someone would have explained this crucial change. Certainly, Peter added “all whom the Lord our God will call” to the covenant, but he did not abolish the old covenant in doing so. Rather, he carried on the promise to the children in the covenant community. If infants are included in the covenant, they must receive baptism as the symbol of participation in the family of God just as infants had previously received the sacrament of circumcision.

Let us now move on to the second argument for infant baptism. Imagine that baptism must only come after faith and therefore is not appropriate for infants. This necessarily brings up the issue of salvation, specifically the question of whether or not infants are saved. This is an even more difficult question than that of infant baptism, so let us imagine both alternatives. First, if infants are not saved until they reach an age at which they can express a faith in Christ, we should do everything we can for the well-being of their souls. They are in all the more need of that means of grace and union with Christ since they cannot receive grace through faith. (I am still not saying that baptism would save the infant, simply that an infant has greater need for the benefits baptism does offer.)

Second, imagine that infants are saved at birth and remain so until they reach some “age of accountability” at which God knows them to be responsible for their attitude towards him. If this is true and infants are saved, then they are heirs of the kingdom of heaven and inherit a place in the covenant. Nothing should then keep them from baptism. As part of the family of God, they should receive the sacrament ordained by God that seals their participation in the covenant. It is not for the purpose of saving the infant, or even necessarily for the infant to “get something out of it”, but simply for the purpose of following the commands of Christ and the example of the apostles in baptizing members of the family of God. So infants should be baptized whether they are saved or not.

In addition, we can be assured that infants are saved. In chapter nineteen of Matthew's gospel, little children were brought to Jesus to be blessed. It is clear from the original context that this referred to toddlers and infants, not older children. The twelve disciples rebuked those who brought the children but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” The New King James Version says “of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Then Jesus proceeded to bless them.

This seems explicit that infants are saved as Christ clearly says that kingdom of heaven is a place of children. However, some would argue that Jesus was only saying that we need child-like faith to be saved. If this is true and Christ was merely using an analogy, it would be very inaccurate. If infants who die are actually destined for the Lake of Fire, they are a poor example of those who go to heaven for their child-like faith. In addition, if infants are not saved, it would not make sense for Jesus to bless them. Nowhere else in the Old or New Testaments is there a precedent for the damned being blessed. The types of people who are blessed in scripture are people of faith, disciples, chosen individuals, and the family of God. When Jesus blessed the little children, he made it clear that they were chosen heirs of the kingdom. Therefore, they are included in Christ's new covenant and ought to receive the sealing sign of that covenant: baptism.

Despite this evidence, some would say that infants ought not to be baptized, and their case is reasonable. They often argue that there is no command to baptize infants in the Bible, and therefore we have no reason to. First of all, we have no record of women partaking in the Lord's Supper, but we would not view this as grounds to forbid them from participating. So too, there may be no clear reference to infant baptism in the Bible, but that is not enough reason (though it may provide evidence) to exclude babies. But more importantly, while there may be no command to baptize infants, there is also no command to refuse infants baptism; and this seems to be the more weighty scriptural silence. For thousands of years God's covenants with Israel were bound up in their descendants. It was always a promise passed from parent to child. When Peter told the Jews at Pentecost that “the promise is for you and your children,” they would not have understood that God was completely changing the way his covenant operated. They would have assumed, as their great-great grandparents had, that the promise was for their children, and the sign of the promise was too. Again, nowhere in the Bible are we informed that the sign of the covenant now operates differently than it has for millenia and applies only to adults.

To this, some would respond that the church is simply not Israel. The similarity between circumcision and baptism as signs of the covenant cannot be drawn because we are not a “replacement”, or “new” Israel; the covenant is different. However, the promises of a saving Messiah in the Old Covenant are the same promises graciously extended to Gentiles in the New Covenant. The church has been brought into the covenant and the its blessings are extended to us as well. In addition, baptism was meant to be a unifying sign between all followers of Christ, Jews and Gentiles, though sadly, the Jewish people have largely rejected him. All nations were to be baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Thus, baptism is the sign of the covenant for the church just as there have been covenant signs in the past.

Again, someone may question using infant circumcision as a reason for infant baptism on the grounds that it would imply that women should not be baptized. Since circumcision applied only to males, baptism would as well, if we are drawing the connection for infants. However, this broadening of scope from men to all people makes sense with the New Covenant. As Galatians 3:28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Before, the covenant had applied only to God's chosen people, the people of Israel. The New covenant has been expanded to all who will follow Christ, Jew and Greek, male and female. The sign of baptism is also broadened to all of God's children.

As in God's covenant with Moses and with Abraham before him and with Noah before him, there is always a sign of the covenant. The sign that Christ instituted is baptism. Just as the people of God circumcised infants in the past, it is fitting that the family of God should baptize infants today. It is through grace that they are saved and made part of the kingdom of heaven. Who are we to refuse to infants God's ordained sign of participation in that kingdom?

Bibliography
1.Barker, Kenneth L., ed. New International Version Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002.
2.Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. McNeill, John T., ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006.
3.Clark, Bryan. “Little Ones to Him Belong.” 8/20/2006: http://gvpchurch.org/index.php/sermons
4.Hamling, Jeff. “Circumcised by...Water?” 4/29/2007: http://www.gvpchurch.org/index.php/sermons
5.Hughes, Bryan. “The Kingdom Belongs to Children.” 12/30/2007: http://gbcmt.org/sermons.php?series=Matthew
6.Milne, Bruce. Know the Truth. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1982.
7.Pratt, Richard L., Jr. Understanding Four Views of Baptism. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.
8.Waymeyer, Matt. A Biblical Critique of Infant Baptism. The Woodlands, TX: Kress Christian Publications, 2008.

The Snake is Dead!

A few weeks ago, my family and some friends went on a float trip on the Smith River. While stopping for lunch, we had an experience worthy of an allegorical poem.

The Snake is Dead! 8/12/2010
We killed the deadly rattlesnake!
The snake is dead!
With stones and wood
We crushed the serpent's fearsome head.

We stopped the boats along the bank,
And in the trees
And garden grass
We saw a sight that made us freeze.

A mighty serpent waited there.
From off the ground
We gathered stones
And on the snake we cast them down.

Trapped between a curse and death,
'Twixt fire and flood
And thirty stones
Upon the fateful Field of Blood.

Though once the king of his domain,
The serpent cowered,
No more disguised
By branches bent, fruit-filled and flowered.

My father took a mighty rod,
Though roodly hewn,
From off a tree
And on the ground so haply strewn,

It was our help in time of need.
Straight and true
He swung it down
And with it, rent the air in two.

And darkness wrapped the day in night,
But only for
The eyes of him
Who's head was crushed forevermore.

The sun shone red upon the water
Flowing by,
As if to spread
The word to every dragonfly.

The stone that held the serpent down
We rolled with dread
And saw the truth:
The snake was dead. The snake was dead!

With joy we ventured back again
To eat the feast
For which we'd hoped
Before we stayed our journey east.

On bread and meat we laughed and drank.
We ate with zeal
And love and life
As if it were a wedding meal.

That Wise, Wise River

That Wise, Wise River 7/26/2010
The river flows
Forever full,
Ever emptying,
Never empty.
Restless water
Filling the banks
Like an over-watered potted plant,
The channel air too laden down
With one eternal load,

Yet comfortably consistent and calm,
Fluidly flowing forever
From vastness to eternity,
The mountains to the sea.
Facing boulders as it ever has,
Meeting force with force,
And treasuring the honeyed valleys,
Forever found anew.

Indeed,
Every droplet sees each rock and
Every arching bridge and aspen tree
With wonder from the first,
Though every ripple passes by
The land as ever it did,
The same farmyards
The same cottonwoods
The same wide river
Forever fresh and clear and new,
With swimming eyes of tears
Astonished at the shining splendor
Of many passing years.

May I that wise, wise river be,
Sprung from the river of life,
That ever as I gaze upon
That same old battered cross
My eyes are new and see afresh
What I have ever known.

Digging a Dog's Grave

Digging a Dog's Grave 7/15/10
Grave dirt should be hard.
Cold and frozen.
Full of rocks that grind and grate
On some solitary shovel blade.

But this spring dirt is moist
From another day's rain.
A mess of grassy roots hold it together,
Keeping a firm grip on the well-packed earth.
We laugh about the paradox
As our shovels drop in time
With the ditties on our tongues.

The bell that sadly tolls for thee
Could never toll for me.
The barks of that so distant dog
Have never reached my yard.
No cold can chill Ophelia's grave,
Nor jesters digging there.
Ophelia never sighed for me,
Nor will on doomsday meet.
Was it her tears that damped
the dirt around our dirty feet?
No.
Our feet are clean,
Our eyes are dry,
Our hearts still bear a hope.
At three feet down,
With corners square,
We rise from out the grave.
Our shovels quit,
And car doors slam,
And music plays once more.

Grave dirt should be hard.

What would silent fireworks be like?

Lately, I've been focusing on using style as well as words to convey the ideas of a poem. This poem has two distinct parts, the first has a broken style to indicate noise and action.The second part uses a more consistent structure with slant rhyme and assonance to hopefully portray a sense of mystery. Let me know if you have other ideas for styles that would fit here, or if you have any other feedback, feel free to comment.

The Fourth of July 7/12/10
Crack!
Flashing fire flies
like lightning leaping
from the ground
to strike the stars,
sending showers shooting
down.
Upside down,
the light goes launching
up, not down,
and leaves explosions lingering,
bursting bomb-like in the air
before descending
down.

But if you plug your open ears,
And throw an ocean on the echoes in your mind,
Something else entirely appears.

Mystic starlight bursts like wraiths
From emptiness in space.
Upstarting quickly, drifting slowly
As some magician's cloak,
Hastened up with smoke and light
To all astonished eyes
Then gently dropping to the floor
To cloak the silent ground.
And all astrologists are dazed
At stars upsprung arrayed
In shining red of crimson wine
Or as the purple night
Or green like springtime leaves that sprout
Up silent from the boughs.
And mysteries that once were known
Are mysteries once more.

Summary of "The Dream of the Rood": a remix

In 2008, my literature class read an excellent Anglo-Saxon poem called "The Dream of the Rood." Soon afterwards, I wrote a poem on it which I liked because of its themes and imagery, but it didn't sound very good, and what good is a poem that sounds bad? So I reworked it recently and this is the result. It still has a somewhat choppy feel between lines, but I fixed some of the rhythm and added rhyme. I also expanded the images and added new ones, making it one of my denser poems as far as layers of meaning go, but in the process it has diverged somewhat from the themes of the Old English original. Anyway, here it is.

Summary of "The Dream of the Rood" 6/10
Behold the tree which brightly stands above the ones around
While casting down its shining leaves and garlands on the ground.
Its branching limbs reach far and wide to spread the joy it's found.
And every day it seeks to grow, it seeks to praise the Lord.

Behold the tree, now chopped and stripped of all its purple bark,
For men have rudely hewn it down by capture in the dark.
Far greater than its murderers, a contrast strange and stark,
For safety was not garden-grown; how can it praise the Lord?

Behold the tree, a man is raised upon its aching back.
Though sliced and bruised, it holds him up and gives the all it lacks.
The tree cries out! It can't refrain from murder cruel and black.
The angels weep to see the deaths, no more to praise the Lord.

Behold the tree, now glorified, a victor after death,
No ghost of hell could hold it down or keep it in the depth,
Its glory shown, not in the spring, but Jesus' final breath,
A symbol-tree for all to see, it now can praise the Lord.

A Football Poem

I haven't posted anything in a while because my family and I just got back from an excellent trip to Ghana. As you are probably aware, the World Cup, which is held every four years, is underway, and football (soccer) fever was at its peak while we were in Africa. The devotion to the sport, and the connection much of the world feels toward their country's football team is unlike anything I have seen in the U.S. any sport.

In case you haven't been following the games, Ghana played Uruguay on July 2. They were the last African team in the tournament and would have been the first African team to reach the semifinals if they won. In addition, this is the first time the World Cup has been held in Africa. Ghana was "the hope of Africa" to quote a commentator. At the end of the game it was tied 1-1 which sent them into 30 minutes of overtime. In the last minute of play (still 1-1), a Ghanaian took a point-blank shot which was blocked by the hands of a Uruguayan defender. This meant that the Ghanaian player was granted a penalty kick (a gimme shot in pro soccer) which bounced off the crossbar and missed. This sent the two teams into a penalty kick shoot-out which Ghana lost. Basically, they came as close to winning as a team possibly can without winning. This is a poem about the game.

Also, this is essentially a first attempt at a new style, a style which I frowned on for a long time. It is a very free, almost expressionistic style that I often see written poorly. Because of its minimal amount of rules, the poet must have excellent, insightful content to make it worth reading (which I hope I have here), otherwise it can sound like childish prose. That's one reason I generally use a more nursery rhyme style, it provides a firm structure to fall back on when content is lacking, even though it can be limiting and sometimes sing-song sounding.

Ghana Loses to Uruguay 7/3/10

Who made this man in yellow and white

the puppeteer of nations?

Unelected,

Yet all have chosen that their

hopes and fears should

rise and fall with his

success and loss.

And yet, against their will,

and even his,

This man must move a country,

a continent,

To glory or despair.

Nations rise to their feet

At the rise of his foot.

The strings and sinews beneath his skin

Are strings that swing the limbs

And bob the painted head.

A billion strong are bound

In one man,

In one moment,

In the simple kick of a ball, performed

A billion times before.

But now...

The hopes of all are born by

An air-stuffed sphere in Johannesburg,

No wings to guide its flight,

And sure to crash

to crash

crash

Three muscles rebels were,

Two neurons duty failed,

One billion faces fell.

Fickle Celebration, Ghana-weary,

Scattered elsewhere on the globe,

Finding finer friends in Uruguay

(Though no better earned)

At the mistake of one man kicking a ball.

Rain

I had wanted to write a poem about rain for a while, but I had trouble saying anything original about it. Anyway, I started this one Friday about the rain that day.

Rain 6/4/2010
The mighty, mighty water got its orders straight from Jove,
And every single raindrop knew its mission as it dove.
A bold and fearless paratrooper dropping to the ground,
It pulled no cord to stop its fall, forever earthward-bound.

It fell with fierce ferocity to break apart the earth,
To show the mettle of the dirt and render up its worth.
A billion-fold these minions flew and thundered through the air.
They scattered men and women both, and lay the landscape bare.

The onslaught was a hopeless charge that could not last for long,
The roar died down, succumbing back to Robin's cheerful song.
So Jove gave up, and showed himself to bear no earthly sting.
He forfeited his powers and surrendered them to Spring.

Braille

Braille 5/29/2010
Along the wall are little bumps
From some disease, like zits or mumps,
Like codes for some small, mute society
Left hidden there at the back of the library.

And each dot seems a useless blotch,
A blemish in a well-wound watch.
To some it's just a background hum,
Some quiet static or someone's gum

That's under a desk at the back of the library.


And yet, these dots can somehow bind
The outside world inside the mind.
They tell of stars and fire's spark,
Small lights inside a world of dark.

Yet we are blind to see them there
As if we're blinded by the glare
That blinds the ones who see them in
The darkness there beneath their skin.

And some of us will pass them by,
Just like a spider or a fly,
Or crack some jokes about it all,
About the zits along the wall.

Beauty Post #2

I recognize that I live in a relatively sheltered, Christian environment and am often out of touch with society. However, from what I've heard of songs and discussions on the local Christian radio station, and from the little I know of public school, it seems that one problem in teen culture today is a lack of self-esteem among girls due to America's media and advertising. A sub-conscious standard for beauty is set by models that cannot be reached. Admittedly, none of the young ladies I know seem to outwardly struggle with this. That could be because my acquaintances are generally Christian or that this is not actually an issue in culture or that it is an issue and is simply not apparent to me.

If it is an issue, I must say (hopefully not insensitively) that I find it ironic that the pinnacle of beauty in God's earthly creation deals with the issue of feeling inadequately beautiful. On the other hand, it makes sense: a violinist who listens to a brilliant virtuoso will be far more disappointed in his own skill than someone who has never played a line of music and listens to that same musician. So I set about to prove the universal beauty of God's second human creation. I thought it would be one of the easiest proofs I had ever attempted, but it turned out to be more difficult than I thought because of the intangible nature of beauty. It is something of which we have an innate understanding, being made in the image of God, but it is difficult to define.

Anyway, let me begin with the three main responses I had previously heard to this cultural problem. I see none of these as logically adequate (though, of course, they may be more in touch with ladies and therefore, convincing, I wouldn't know.)

1. Everyone is made in the image of God and people are therefore the closest thing we have to a standard for beauty.

2. Pictures of supermodels are photoshopped and are pictures of an elite group of women, not a standard for the average person.

3. Many Christian singers have used arguments #1 and #2 and argued that outward beauty doesn't matter because the quality of a woman ought to be in her heart and character. Basically, “you may not be beautiful, but that's OK because quality of character is the important thing.” (Certainly, character is more important than beauty, but in this post, I am arguing that ladies are already beautiful.)
i.e. Crazy Beautiful by Chasen
Don't You Know You're Beautiful by Seabird
Beauty by Ayiesha Woods
So Beautiful and Courage by Superchick
Image by Barlow Girl
Beautiful Disaster by Jon Mclaughlin
to name a few.

These arguments seem to fall short either in remaining out of touch (but how would I know?) or in assuming a lack of physical beauty in the lady. The songs I listed are, in general, excellent songs, but I would take their message a step further to say that beauty does matter and that all women are characterized by it.

I am arguing that beauty is an essential quality of women, that is, beauty is part of their essence. Some say that beauty is like any other gift: some have musical talent, some have leadership skills, some have beauty. I would say that beauty is a necessary part of being a lady.

The great 18-19th century author, Sir Walter Scott, referred to women in passing as “the fair sex” (in Ivanhoe.) He was not trying to state something about the beauty of women, 'fair' was simply a defining characteristic of women to him. In fact, “the fair (or beautiful) sex” seems to have been a sort of cliché of Scott's time. Immanuel Kant and Alexander Pope are merely a couple other famous authors who used this phrase. 'Ugly lady' would have been an oxymoron to these men. In Jane Austen's time, ladies at the bottom of the 'beauty scale' (for lack of a better way of putting it) were never called 'ugly' (nor are they today) but 'plain', that is, average. Any words denoting lack of beauty are unfitting for those women, so we have to call them the average. The only ugly women are fairy tale witches.

The 'scale' doesn't go from 'ugly' to 'beautiful', in fact, our culture's vocabulary has proved that it goes from 'average/plain' to 'drop-dead gorgeous'. English doesn't even have a word to describe the top end of the 'scale', so society had to invent this extreme phrase to describe the kind of extreme beauty that can be seen in some ladies. 'Drop-dead' reminds one of the kind of awe-inspiring splendor the angels invoked in Bible characters.

It is not that some have this incredible beauty and some don't, rather, all have this kind of beauty to varying degrees. It is part of how God made women. In Aristotelean terms, beauty is not an accidental quality but an essential one. That is, beauty is not an outward superfluous characteristic but part of a lady's essence.

At this point, you might ask, “What about elderly ladies? Can you really make a broad generalization for all women?” Certainly, I won't deny that the fall has somewhat corrupted this essence of perfection, but evil cannot destroy anything good or create ugliness, only pervert perfection. The essence of beauty is still present in all women. Again, women are the pinnacle of beauty in God's earthly creation since they are made in his image, and are clearly more beautiful than men (I don't need any proofs of that, do I?)

Secondly, we are so used to seeing immeasurable beauty in our everyday acquaintances that we have lost our child-like wonder at it and our awareness of other beauty. This can even lead us to question the beauty of those whose beauty has faded. Just as Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance recognized Ruth as beautiful until he met a young lass, we should not lose our appreciation for all beauty, even though there is greater beauty in someone else. Seeing the Sistine Chapel is no reason to stop enjoying the brilliance of watercolors. All ladies bear the mark of a Creator who loves and bestows beauty.


This is not as rigorous a proof as I would like it to be, it's more an amalgamation of ideas; I am somewhat relying on your intuition and experience to provide a foundation for my arguments.

One final note: Not being a lady, I cannot fully understand the issues I have addressed and could be more out of touch than a penguin in the Sahara. But perhaps, not having to face these issues gives me an objective, outside insight into it. I hope my thoughts have at least been fodder for the brain (to avoid a well-worn cliché).


And now for a poem. You know I couldn't write a logical essay on beauty and not write a poem on it. :)

Pulchritudo Feminae 4/15/10
How many a poet has turned his hand to tell of one he loves.
Using phrases oft' reused of hair or turtledoves.
Of streaming locks and shining face that far transcend this earth
Which give to him, in simple words, a sort of second birth.

And each man writes his lines to her in earnest from his heart.
Yet millions of these verses are a foretaste of the start.
For exhaustion of this topic can never be attained,
As the beauty of a lady's face can never be explained.

As words pour forth which sound cliche and others will repeat,
It merely shows that words can only reach defeat.

If a lady chance to read this, pray, despair not in your looks,
For your beauty can't be captured in a kingdom full of books.
And to members of the coarser sex, pray, carry on the fight,
And try to tell what can't be told till it be told aright.

Beauty Post #1

Truth, beauty, and goodness are "Trancendentals", or qualities inherent in the Creator and therefore in Creation. There is objective truth and objective goodness (some things are always true, some things always evil.) It would seem then that there is objective beauty (some things are beautiful, others are not; it's not just a matter of personal taste.) Is it wrong then to listen to "unbeautiful" or perhaps unskillful music? How do we define objective beauty when it comes to music? As humans, we have an innate sense of what sounds good and what doesn't (based on the fact that we are made in the image of God.) Is this all we have to go on when determining what is beautiful music? Can we say that certain person's "music tastes" are objectively wrong? I have personally come to the conclusion that there is some standard for music, but that we can't make many dogmatic statements about what that standard is because of a lack of Biblical direction on it. When it comes to truth and goodness, Scripture gives us direct commands on what is right or not. When it comes to music, we essentially just have the fact that we are made in the image of God and he understands what is beautiful music, so we have some innate guidelines. I welcome any other thoughts or conclusions.

(Just to clarify, I'm not talking about music that is bad because of immoral lyrics. That should be rejected on the basis of objective goodness. I'm talking about beauty inherent in the musical notes.)

Concerning things around necks

Here are a couple more re-runs from Facebook. Again, these two poems arose from totally different inspirations; though afterwards, I noticed disturbing similarities between them, which made me decide to post them together. The first one is about Roman slave collars. The second one is about ties (it's not about anyone in particular, just someone who doesn't like their job.) Take that for what it's worth. There is no real connection between what I was trying to convey in each poem, just some superficial similarities.

Roman Slave Collars 3/22/2010
The iron ring beneath his head,
With dire wish: to see him dead,
Tightens tighter round and round
Like echoes off the frigid ground.
A ceaseless circle without end,
A token of eternity,
Of bondage whence he cannot flee.

The Tie 3/25/2010
An exclamation upside down:
A tie at odds with solemn frown
And somber suit which this man wears,
Who looks around with sickly stares.
His head: a point that yells a shout
The line below leaves none in doubt:
This punctuation mark means noise
Which makes no sense with this man's poise,
Nor with his silent attitude,
His mask-like face or languid mood.
He feels a rope that steals his breath
That ever wishes for his death.

Miscellaneous Poems #2

I wrote this first one while hiking in the Spanish Peaks. It is about going from the monotonous plod of hiking to the enjoyable rhythmic pattern where you forget you are hiking.

The Hike 8/17/2009
Plod:
Step slide
drag.
Plod;
One foot
Before the other hits the
ground is wet from all the
raining down like music from an instru-
meant to stay at home today and have a
rest of all the hikers want to stop and head on
backpacks feel so heavy but I
think we should keep hiking 'cause I think I found the
flow.



Simply, Satan Stumbles 8/27/2009
How simply it seems, Satan slips and stumbles,
tumbles, toppling top to toe to
nothing.

Like a massive marionette made of makeshift materials
but impressive in its paint and imposing power, but
no.

Merely made of misshapen martyrs,
past their prime and perfect purpose, one
cut:

a simple slice of strings and Satan stumbles so
far
down.

Mothers' Day

At a maternal request, I am posting a Mothers' Day poem from a week ago.

Mothers' Day 5/9/2010
Happy Mothers' Day to a very special mother!
For how would I turn out today if God had sent another?

And I don't know what I would do
If God had not determined you
To be my mom and help me on the way.
I know that he has placed you here
With extra care so you can steer
My life with care and watch that I don't stray.

And though I don't say "thanks" enough,
And bother you with little stuff,
I hope my love for you is plain to see.
And though you aren't perfect, sure,
I am no mother connoisseur.
You're just the perfect mom that God could give to me.

Christian Lobbying

This is my Junior thesis paper on Christian lobbying which I will be defending tomorrow. It's kind of long. So if for some reason you feel like reading it all, I hope you find it interesting and challenging. Also, I'm kind of busy right now so the two postings on beauty that I promised may have to wait a bit. I just realized that this post has no poetry in it so here's a little something...

Christian Lobbying! It's so great!
It will help improve your state!
Stay informed! Participate!
Place a vote when ten and eight!
Talk to people! Make a call!
If you're not sure, then just start small!


Christian Lobbying

While people have tried to influence those in power since there has been government, formal lobbying did not begin until around the early 1800's in America. The term “lobby” probably originated in the lobby of the Willard Hotel in Washington DC where people often gathered to give their opinions to President Ulysses S. Grant who relaxed there (Byrd). Early lobbying likely came from war veterans who hired representatives to lobby on their behalf to receive compensation for war efforts.

It was during this time that lobbying began to gain the poor reputation that many perceive today. Early lobbyists often resorted to subtle flattery and even bribery. For instance, “in 1850, Samuel Colt gave away a free pistol to the twelve-year old son of a representative as a mild encouragement to sign a patent bill” (Byrd). One also reads of companies hiring attractive female lobbyists to lavishly entertain representatives. One US newspaper columnist of 1869 put it this way, “…winding in and out through the long, devious basement passage, crawling through the corridors, trailing its slimy length from gallery to committee room, at last it lies stretched at full length on the floor of Congress—this dazzling reptile, this huge, scaly serpent of the lobby (Byrd).”

You may still think of lobbying as having these serpentine, “used car salesman” connotations. But while lobbying is still not perfect today, progress was made in 1948 when legislation passed the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act. This Act requires lobbyists to report all accounts of funds and expenses, among other things, to the secretary of the Senate and the clerk of the House. It is partly a result of this act that lobbying looks very different today. Most lobbyists today merely seek to present those in government with the issues and convince them of their own position without deceit. In general, they are simply driven by a desire to improve their nation. Even if lawmakers do not agree with the lobbyists with whom they meet, lobbying can help them be aware of the different sides of the topics. Today's senators and representatives face innumerable complex problems on which they must vote, and lobbying can increase their awareness of the nuances of the subjects.

This can take a number of forms. In general, to lobby is to try to influence public officials for or against a specific cause (American Heritage Dictionary). This includes both “insider” and “outsider” lobbying. Insider lobbying involves direct access to political leaders. This means meeting with lawmakers, providing committees and offices with information, and testifying in committee. This is mostly done while the legislature is in session which, in Montana, happens for ninety days, once every two years. Examples of outsider lobbying include protests, writing letters to legislators, and media activity that raise awareness for a certain position. This sort of lobbying draws on communities at large and is often referred to as “grassroots.” A famous example of successful outsider lobbying is the civil rights movement. Both of these methods, insider and outsider lobbying, are admirable. However, not all instances of these methods are justifiable. For instance, we must draw a line at bribery. As soon as a lobbyist offers some other sort of personal gain to a government official, lobbying oversteps its proper boundaries. Everything else I mentioned such as meeting with lawmakers, testifying, calling senators about issues, getting to know representatives, these are proper methods of advocacy.

I mentioned that these lobbying techniques have been well used in the past, such as during the civil rights movement. But we aren't facing serious segregation or tyranny. Is this sort of action really necessary today? Our society is definitely in need of this positive Christian-based change. It is now very difficult to ignore the moral decline all around us, especially among youths. Gone are the days when the biggest problems in school were cheating on tests and playing hooky. Today's schools, especially those of inner-city neighborhoods, deal with suicide, drugs, and teen pregnancies. Nor is crime limited to teens or adults. As journalist John Dilulio observed, “We're not just talking about teenagers... We're talking about elementary school youngsters who pack guns instead of lunches. We're talking about kids who have absolutely no respect for human life and no sense of the future.” We cannot let this continue. We cannot allow the values on which this country was founded to be compromised. We can make a change. This change can come through lobbying. I believe that it is crucial for Montana Christians to be involved in religious lobbying in some capacity on behalf of Christian values, especially those relating to families.

But before I discuss lobbying in depth, let me discuss why Christians should be involved in government at all. Thus, I will first provide four arguments in favor of getting involved in government. After that, I will argue that our nation must adhere to Christian values, beginning in the family, in order for us to succeed politically. Then, I will address why we need Christian lobbying.

The first and most foundational concept to realize is that it is crucial to integrate our faith with government and make a difference. As Christians, our religion is not bound by church walls. It has often been said that we are to be in the world, but not of it. What does this look like, and why does it matter? Why shouldn't we just focus on building up and edifying the church? Among a plethora of reasons, I will list only four.

First of all, we must recognize that, as Christians, we have the most potential to move the government in the best direction. We have God's revelation of how we are to live and respond to rulers. We can make a difference. Those without Christ can certainly understand how government ought to operate and can strive for virtue. However, we can combine this with God's revelation and thus strive for a higher standard. If anyone can bring government to its fullest potential, it ought to be Christians.

Another issue which Christians must face is spiritual warfare. This is something that our ever more secular society cannot address. As Christians, we need to integrate our faith with the world around us to face today's spiritual warfare. Our nation faces a battle of ideas on both political and spiritual levels, and we must fight on both. For instance, when defending marriage as a union between one man and one woman, we as Christians understand that God has established marriage in this way and has forbidden the perversion of it. In this situation, God's revelation gives us the foundation and motivation to defend the sanctity of marriage. But what reason would a non-Christian legislator have to question homosexuality? In order to combat on this spiritual level we must have the educational and mental tools needed to find and hold to the truth. However, when lobbying for Christian issues in a secular government we cannot effectively appeal to Scripture. While not hiding our faith, we must instead engage on the political and secular level. This should not compromise our coherence as lobbyists. If what we believe is true, the rest of the world, including secular reasoning, should line up and agree with Christian values.

However, some would deny the spiritual element of politics and argue for a detachment from the seeming corruption of government. They might argue that the world is fallen and that we should not get caught up in it. This idea is ultimately founded on the heresy of gnosticism. This is a belief that places the spiritual realm on a higher level than the physical realm and believes earthly things to be inherently corrupt. However, when God created, he called the universe “very good.” When it fell from its perfection through mankind's disobedience, he called man to cultivate the earth, bringing it back under God's rule. So, we are not to abandon the world, but to purify it. It is inherently good, not evil. When Christ came to earth, he did not merely forgive sins and reach the lost; he made the sick well, made the lame walk, and the blind see. He cared about physical practical needs. We must be like Christ and reach out to a fallen and imperfect government. We cannot separate the secular and the spiritual.

Lastly, God created all things, and therefore all things connect and relate. Not only can we not separate our politics and theology but we need to connect them. For instance, our Biblical interpretation of the book of Romans, chapter 13 will affect our view of government, and whether we like it or not, our government's property laws affect our church buildings. God is not merely a God over the church. He is a God over music and virtue and food and government. Our walk with Christ should impact our relationships with friends, strangers, and our nation's leaders. We are called to reach all parts of God's vast and diverse creation, including government.

However, as important as this cultural change is, in reality, cultural change must begin on a personal level. That is, the virtue of the individual forms the virtue of the nation. We cannot hold the view that we are just part of the masses, and that our actions will ultimately not affect the overall nation. It is each person—me and you—that make up the United States. G.K. Chesterton was once asked by The Times to answer the question, “What's wrong with the world?” Chesterton was invited among a number of eminent authors to write an essay on the subject. Certainly, we would expect a man as brilliant as Chesterton to have a lot to say on the subject of what's wrong with the world, but his response was actually the shortest of all, “Dear Sirs, I am. Sincerely yours, G. K. Chesterton.” We should also hold this humble view, that it is not the government, or entertainment, or terrorism that is wrong in the world. It is each one of us. It is me. We must understand that each sin we commit affects the rest of humanity. Even if it does not affect others directly, it will affect our thoughts and therefore our interaction with others. Only once we recognize that it is ourselves that need reform can we reform the world around us.

But how? How can we move forward into a better future seeking the kind of values intended for the nation by our forefathers. The change begins in the home. Just as it is among our youth that the seeds of poor character are sprouting today, it is among the family that values of honesty, hard work, and godliness can be cultivated tomorrow. Good books and life experience cannot guarantee virtuous change. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” The foundation children receive often shapes their character, and therefore their communities, their government, and ultimately their nation. If our families instill virtue in their children, if we take action with the integrity and passion of our forefathers, and if we are emboldened to make a difference, we can make sure that our country also holds to these foundational virtues.

However, this virtuous progress in the family cannot be accomplished if the sanctity of marriage is not defended and if schools are not providing a proper foundation. It cannot be accomplished if the value of human life is shattered by abortion and physician assisted suicide. To ensure laws that protect these family values we must make our faith effectual in government. But is lobbying the right way? I believe it is. First, I will state some arguments for lobbying. Then, I will respond to those that would advise against lobbying entirely. Finally, I will close with some practical ways in which you can be involved in your local or state government.

First of all, we must engage in lobbying simply because it is happening anyway. Whether we like it or not, citizens who intend well but mean ill for our country are lobbying already. Author and statesman Edmund Burke once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” This is very true. If the Montana Right to Life Association stops lobbying will Planned Parenthood as well? If the ACLJ stops lobbying, will the ACLU? We cannot stand idly by and allow the wrong people to guide our nation's leaders. Certainly lobbying has an impact, and if Christians can effect virtuous change legally, shouldn't we? If we can make our country a better place simply by sending a representative to the capital or by sending a letter, why wouldn't we?

Secondly, policy makers can benefit from the expertise and creative ideas of citizens. Since the United States is a republic and not a complete democracy, our lawmakers and representatives cannot fully research issues associated with each of the individuals they represent. In other words, a legislator cannot understand schools as well as a teacher, and understand the economy as well as a banker, and understand cattle as well as a rancher, and understand the army as well as a military officer, all at the same time. It is simply not possible to acquire the life experience and knowledge of a multitude of citizens. They are necessarily limited in their understanding of specific problems. Through lobbying, anyone can provide our leaders with the knowledge they need to to make informed decisions. People who are closer to the real problems of our nation can make government officials aware of issues that will influence their decisions even if they do not agree with the lobbyists. How will policy makers understand the vast spectrum of concerns they face if we do not tell them?

About two years ago, I had the privilege of visiting the Montana state capital and seeing our legislature in action. I remember a bill somewhere in the order of 50 pages that was brought up for a vote. One gentleman spoke, urging the members present not to vote for the bill, reminding them that very few of them had read it in its entirety. This was one of many bills that the representatives simply did not have time to read. Lobbyists can provide the knowledge necessary to make an informed vote. Again, even if lawmakers do not agree with the lobbyists with whom they meet, lobbying can help them be aware of the different sides of the topic, the pros and cons of each position. Lobbyists do not force leaders into a certain course of action, the decision is still made independently.

Thirdly, lobbying is crucial because it is the most involved method we have of creating necessary change, short of running for office. And change is needed. America is facing the deaths of about 1.3 million innocent unborn children every year in the United States due to abortions (Abortion Statistics). Since Roe v. Wade there have been almost fifty million abortions in the United States. This is over twice as many deaths as during the entire holocaust of World War II (Downward Trend Continues; Niewyk and Nicosia 45). I mentioned earlier that the civil rights movement used a great deal of lobbying and was applauded for its peaceful means of correcting injustice. How much more should we lobby for the lives of our citizens than for their rights? The simple act of peaceful lobbying was certainly admirable in the civil rights movement and it is undeniably important against the issues of today, such as abortion.

However, some would argue that lobbying is not a means by which our founders intended government to operate. As a republic, it seems that our founders intended us to trust decisions to our elected leaders. Not everyone may receive exactly what they want, but if we don't try to influence our leaders (who are often more educated than us) and allow them to do what they were elected to do, it will work out for the good of the people whether we can see it or not. Imagine if every minute faction of the United States not only tried to elect leaders but also tried to get those leaders to do the will of their small part of the population. How could the government function? The government is not subject to the people, the people are subject to the government. Our founders imagined a people who casted their votes and accepted the leadership of those who were chosen to represent the people. Lobbying would have been out of the question.

However, while this may be sound in theory, after more than two centuries of experience, it is more important that we make decisions based on what we see works, rather than on past theories. Certainly our founding fathers were brilliant men and provided an unparalleled foundation for our country, but they could not see the future. Even Aristotle had fundamentally flawed ideas about laws of motion and friction, which we reject today. We must be willing to question the authority of our founders in light of today's issues.

But you may ask, what's wrong with limiting our influence to voting in elections as our founders intended? Restricting our political influence to voting may be good in theory, but not always in practice. Simply participating in elections does not always suffice. Often we see examples of corruption in the voting system called gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is the practice of adjusting the boundaries of electoral districts to ensure a majority of a certain party in each district. Earlier in United States history, white officials would sometimes set up districts to include just enough of the white population to cancel out the votes of the black population and therefore win as many districts as possible. Today this can be done along party lines rather than racial lines. As a general trend, cities tend to contain more democratic voters, and rural areas, more republican voters. Councils can take advantage of this and destroy the impartiality needed for the ideals of our founders to succeed. We cannot deny sin in the world, and for this reason, we cannot always let government run its course. Sometimes we must take action against bias and injustice for the good of the truth (Alan Guttmacher Institute). And again, if we limit ourselves to the ballot, we will be pitting our simple vote against the lobbying of the ACLU and other anti-Christian organizations. Because government is not perfect, and faces the powerful advocacy of groups like the ACLU, we must fight in a similar manner: with lobbying.

In addition, today we are not merely facing issues of an imperfect government. We are facing devastating problems that cut at the heart of the morals of our country. I have already mentioned the millions of annual deaths due to abortion. This sort of horrific massacre far outweighs the injustices of King George that our forefathers faced. In cases such as these, we cannot follow our founders' advice to leave the government alone. Something must be done, and if our elected officials don't do anything, we must.

Other opponents of lobbying might object that we are commanded to obey authority in Scripture, and that lobbying shows a certain discontent and refusal to accept the leaders God has put in place. However, our government is set up with the democratic voice of citizens as a key value. It is crucial for citizens of America to be involved in issues of the state if the government is to represent the people. In addition, the importance of truth and virtue in our leaders should not be overlooked in our civil obedience. While we ought to submit to authority, we should not let the authorities over us make unwise and ungodly decisions as long as we are offered the opportunity to make a difference.

Still others of those against religious lobbying may say that we should leave politics to the politicians. Just as we leave plumbing to plumbers and business to businessmen, we ought to leave politics to those who understand the system best. However, the job of the politician is not like any other job. In the U.S., it is a position elected by citizens and representatives of the citizens, and therefore impacts all citizens. We have a direct interest in the actions of politicians and a civic duty to be involved for the good of the nation.

A final issue that people may use against involvement in the government is the popular understanding of our elected officials as corrupt. Maybe politics is simply too degrading a practice for Christians to participate in and remain pure. We must ask ourselves, is the corrupting effect of hunger for power enough reason to stay away from politics? It is certainly true that there is an innate desire for power and influence in each of us. So is involvement in politics simply playing with fire? Are there some things that we as Christians should simply stay out of to avoid falling into temptation? This is a valid point. Throughout history, political power has led many well-meaning people to a tragic moral decline. In response, however, we must see that this damaging effect on leaders is far from universally true. Politicians are simply normal, imperfect people; however, their actions affect more people and therefore seem all the more vicious when misguided. Secondly, I would like to point out is that lobbyists do not directly hold positions of power. They merely influence those who do. Thus, I would imagine that the temptation faced by lobbyists for seizing more power is much smaller than that of, say, a senator or governor.

But I will admit that the strength of one man or woman is not always enough to resist the temptations that come from proximity to power. However, Christian lobbyists and officials need not trust in their own strength. They are assisted by the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. James 1:5 tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” Prayer is a powerful tool for ensuring proper motives in government and it should not be underestimated. Finally, we must look at the alternative. Sure, there is a certain danger associated with government action, but the dangers, if we take no action, are far greater. Imagine a country where human life is only valued as long as it is useful. Or imagine a country where Christian schools and bookstores are required to hire homosexual employees against their principles (Federal Research Council). Or imagine a country where a high school senior is forbidden to make references to her faith in here own graduation speech (Bozeman Daily Chronicle). This hypothetical country is not far off from reality. But corruption is no reason to give up on government. If it is corrupt, that should provide us with all the more encouragement to get involved since we must live with the decisions of our government. We must reach out into creation and make a difference for Christ.

So it is important to make our faith effective in the secular world around us, but what does this look like in government and how do we accomplish this? First of all, stay informed. You cannot act if you don't know what to act on. The Family Research Council is a national organization that offers free updates on policy issues via email. I would encourage you to start by subscribing to receive these updates which you can do at their website, familyresearchcouncil.org, or just frc.org. This will inform you of pro-Christian and anti-Christian bills while the legislature is in session. During the interim period when there is no session, the emails will keep track of other relevant issues such as court cases. Montana Family Foundation has a similar newsletter which you can subscribe to at their website, montanafamily.org. If you are able to vote, do the research on the candidates. Again, other organizations make this easy. The Family Research Council and Focus on the Family jointly put out a voting scorecard that lets you know how Congress members have voted on family issues in the past. Montana Family Foundation also releases a voter guide before each election which can be found at their website.

Once you are informed, act. Vote if you can. This is the simplest and most obvious way to be effective in government, but it should not be overlooked. Your vote counts. Secondly, the newsletters I mentioned sometimes provide specific senators or Congressmen whom you can call, send a letter, or even text, especially during the state session. Call. Send letters. These are powerful tools. My dad recently told me of a time he was at the state capitol while it was in session and a bill was brought up for debate. Montana state senator, Mike Wheat got up and basically said, “I don't know the details of this bill, but I do know that I received a number of calls from the people in Bozeman whom I am representing. They requested that I vote yes on this bill and that's what I'm going to do.” Senator Wheat recognized the passion for the issue demonstrated by the callers and he recognized his responsibility to Montanans and that determined his vote. This was one of many bills and he probably just did not have time to research it. The research and concern of his constituents was able to make a difference in this scenario. We must not be afraid to take action.

Short of sheer numbers, personal relationships with officials can also go a long way. People respect the opinions of friends, and senators and representatives are just normal people with friends. You can get to know your senators. Attend local political events such as fund-raisers and luncheons so you can get acquainted with lawmakers and leaders. Even if you have only met them once, having made a good impression, your call about a bill will be all the more persuasive. If you can cultivate a relationship, even better. Look for opportunities to volunteer or donate financially to organizations such as Montana Family Foundation and The Family Research Council that already have established lobbying systems. This can seem intimidating, especially as a teen. But you can build confidence through experience, by simply starting at the best opportunity you have to initiate a relationship. Also, if you are a teen, Montana participates in an excellent annual program for Christian teens called teenpact which seeks to give you the tools to become an effective Christian citizen. Teenpact is a four-day series of classes and activities which teaches students about how Montana government works and how we can make our faith effectual in it through hands-on experience. While I have been unable to go in past years, friends to whom I have spoken about it found it enjoyable and applicable.

Lastly, we often underestimate the effect one person can have on the world around him, or, as Tim Echols, author of Real Citizenship, terms it, the “power of one.” In his book, Mr. Echols tells numerous illustrative stories of this impact one can have. For example, he tells of a Delta flight to Colorado Springs which included a highly inappropriate music video as part of the in-flight entertainment. He sent an email of complaint and after a cordial exchange of a few messages, Delta promised to remove the video from their flights and even to review their programming policy to ensure that such content was not shown again (Echols, 31-3). With just three emails Mr. Echols was able to purify a little piece of our culture. This could not have happened if he had merely mourned the decline of our country's morals as I so often do. He took action. We too must act in order to see change around us. I would encourage you to find where you can lobby today.

Bibliography

1. Gamwell, Franklin I. Politics as a Christian Vocation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2005.
2. Wood, James E., Jr., ed. Religion and Politics. Waco, TX: Baylor UP, 1983.
3. Dionne, E. J., Jr., Elshtain, Jean Bethke, and Kayla M. Drogosy, eds. One Electorate Under God?: A Dialogue on Religion and American Politics. Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution P, 2004.
4. Forsythe, Clarke D. Politics for the Greatest Good. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2009.
5. Forster, Greg. The Contested Public Square. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2008.
6. Dunn, Charles W., ed. Religion in American Politics. Washington D.C.: Congressional Quarterly P, 1989.
7. Beckwith, Francis J. Politics for Christians. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2010.
8. VanDrunen, David M. "Christ and the State." Escondido, CA. 1/15/2010.
9. Byrd, Robert C. “Lobbyists” 1987. referenced: 4/20/2010 http://www.senate.gov/legislative/common/briefing/Byrd_History_Lobbying.htm
10. “Abortion Statistics” Alan Guttmacher Institute. http://www.abortiontv.com/Misc/AbortionStatistics.htm referenced: 4/23/2010
11. Dilulio, John J. Jr. Moral Poverty. Chicago Tribune
12. The Democracy Center. http://www.democracyctr.org/library/california/lobbying.htm referenced: 4/30/2010
13. “Downward Trend Continues” National Right to Life. http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/facts/abortionstats.html referenced: 4/30/2010
14. Niewyk, Donald L.; Nicosia, Francis R. The Columbia guide to the Holocaust. West Sussex: Columbia University Press, 2000.
15. Burke, Edmund. http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Edmund_Burke/ referenced: 5/7/2010
16. Federal Research Council. “Fight ENDA.” https://www.frcaction.org/get.cfm?c=CHECKOUT&dmy=8B2F9E90-09FC-E9A1-381970512F693CEB&CFID=5660015&CFTOKEN=522ae7fcfd9e61e6-DF38A721-0145-555D-777857A9EA4914A9#confirm referenced: 5/12/2010
17. Bozeman Daily Chronicle. “Judge says grad's free speech wasn't violated.” 2009 (date unknown)
18. Echols, Tim G. Real Citizenship. Alamogordo, NM: Brunson Pub, 2004

Sunset Gold

I mentioned that my two most common topics for poems are clouds and driving because planes and cars are boring. This is a poem written on a car trip about clouds. Make of that what you will. I was going to continue this the next morning about the sunrise, but I didn't see the sun come up. By the way, I'm hoping to post a series of two posts on beauty soon, so stay tuned!

Sunset Gold 4/30/2010
The stretching clouds are sifting light,
They're sifting out the harsher whites
and desert yellows, just like clumps from softly powdered flour.

And all that's left is sunset gold,
And buttercups from worlds old
forming in a gently drifting ever distant shower.

The golden fingers touch the hills
Of yon' horizon as it fills
the earth with glowing, dusky dimness, hour after hour.

The crimson fingers slowly die,
Their source lets out a silent cry,
the warm caress becomes a grip that slowly loses power.

Music of the Spheres

This poem is largely based on Paradise Lost by John Milton and class discussions on it. More generally, it is about the "music of the spheres" being created out of chaos. Many medieval writers and scientists believed in a scientifically inaccurate but poetically appealing model of the universe: the earth is in the center, the planets and sun are in spheres that orbit the earth, and God surrounds everything. The planets spin in their spheres out of love for God. This spinning creates "the music of the spheres" (think of running your finger around a crystal glass) which gives glory to God. The earth is fallen in sin and is therefore in the center, the farthest place from God. It does not move, nor does it create music. Anyway, this poem is about the chaos of "the deep" before creation, and the beautiful order afterwards.
The pun on “crystal” was taken from Spenser's The Faerie Queene and the idea of angels shining when laughing is from Dante's Paradiso.

Music of the Spheres 2/2010
Falling trumpets
blast
a noise
of madness, as when
Lucifer cast
from Paradise
did
fall
and hit the noisesome land
with spear and clatter-shield
in hand.

What hellish noise is
this?
Ascending
from the
pit of Dis?
As does thunder, chaos kiss.

But long before, in unison they met,
And out of chaos, order did beget:

The falling trumpets
blow a fanfare loud and sweet,
As does music order greet.
The Christall spheres go round and round
To echo back their bold resound:
“What God has made! Come look! Come see!”
As angels shimmer in their glee
And music spheres go round and round
And trumpets trump the triumph sound.

Roads

I wrote this poem on a car ride to Polson, MT. It sort of (unintentionally) presents the two extremes of idealism and realism and then hints at a more Christian alternative.

The Highway 4/9/2010
Rushing wind and spinning wheels
For a moment almost feel
Like some adventure long ago,
Speeding on through ice and snow,
Or some great trek across the plain
With flying hooves and tattered mane.

But then the markers tick on past,
Alliteration far too fast.
As rubber on the asphalt screams
And blends with engine noise and steam,
I feel like just another dot
That slides along this long black blot,
A smear of asphalt through the hills
Like residue from oil spills.

Yet in this flying island, there
Are souls of life and laughter rare.
So why imagine or despair?



I wrote this next one last year after a car in which I was riding hit a dog that wandered onto the road at night. I was struck by the profound solidity of the dog. Its death did not merely affect minds and emotions; it was real enough to affect the motion of the car and slide on ice.

Death on the Road 11/13/2009
The dead, dead dog lies like lead
on asphalt black as hell.
The horror hanging in the air
still waits to break the spell.

But we glide on like eerie ships
through black and misty fog,
So different from the sudden shock
of car impacting dog.

The dog spun out across the ice
its yellow fur all whirling
To stop, quite solid, on the ice
and frigid snow still swirling.

If it be dead why does it not
sink down beneath the ground,
And fade to leave pure memories
of happy barks and sound?

Instead the sound of whirling wind
resounds the frigid truth
That this poor beast is solid still
in meat and claw and tooth.

A child's playmate yesterday
and now a broken dog.
Blank as death we pass on through
the ever reaching fog.

Ants, Ents, and Elephants

Here are a couple of random, fun poems.


This first one was greatly influenced by the following two poems:
1. "The Elephants Bounced"
2. "Narnian Suite" by C.S. Lewis

Ants, Ents and Elephants 2/27/2010
Ants and ents and elephants!
Stomping, stamping, jumping stumps!
The ants are dancing six-legged jigs,
Playing squash and eating figs.
The ents at ent moot ent about
And throw about the brussel sprouts.
The elephants wear bell-topped pants
And trumpet out their "won'ts" and "can'ts!"
While each is singing "Kum ba yah"
And gormandizing baklava!



Since this next one is about juggling, you'll notice that it has three, three-lined stanzas. The last extended line is intended to give a sense of indefinite continuation and flow, as in juggling.

The Juggler 9/1/2009
The juggler tosses up a ball:
For a second, seems to stall,
Then to the other hand it falls.

Smoothly up the next one flies
Followed closely by his eyes
Which see it fall, though soon to rise.

For now the third is here and there
And still his eyes do seem to stare
At blurs which form a ceaseless pair
of dancers seeking answers in the air.

Zeal

The Martyr 2/2009
A man of flame, a man of fire,
And burning now on the funeral pyre.
He lived his life to serve the Lord
Protecting him with deed and word,
Alight with zeal while he yet lived,
Responding to God's call to give,
And burning still, the man of fire.


Amazing Grace 7/10/2009
Weaker men have faced the sword;
Paul saw death and praised the Lord.
And here am I.
And here I die.
A “little Christ” so called
And facing trials oh so small.
And yet I pale.
And yet I fail.
Am I to represent the King?
I am not Paul, I cannot bring
This message to the lost and hurt
When I my God do oft' desert.
What grace! What love! To use me still
And in my soul this strength to fill.

Miscellaneous poems

Here is a collection short poems, mostly written a while ago.

I wrote this first one about G.K. Chesterton's biography of St. Francis of Assisi which I read in my literature class. St Francis was a man who took a vow of poverty and began the Franciscan order of monks. Here, I was trying to convey St. Francis' joyful, jester-like, “jongleur” attitude that Chesterton described.

St Francis of Assisi 12/2008
He's a happy little homie with a hoodie and some rope.
He's begging on the ground with no food and lots of hope.
He's the lowest of the low, see him stroll along and sing,
But look and you will see that he's higher than a king.


Time 2006ish
That ceaseless scavenger: time.
Sounds like a start, but I can't think of a rhyme.


Alexander the Great 2/2008
Alexander: king of kings,
Conquered all within his sight.
Carried far on legend's wings;
All men trembled at his might.

Then at age of thirty-two,
He caught a fever like the flu
and
died...

His kingdom fell apart soon after.
Where he had crushed, now there is laughter.
Many know not of his deeds,
Buried deep in hist'ry's weeds.


The New Rhyming Dictionary 5/13/08
A rhyming dictionary is a wonderful thing,
You'll find fine words from unsling to Beijing.
You've cyclone and earphone and millstone
And acetone and saxaphone and mononucleosis.
And though odd phrases arise oftentimes,
Who needs meter when you've got rhymes!

An Ode to Pickups

This is one of my earliest poems, and was written in imitation of cowboy poetry/music (somewhat to make fun of that genre.) I'd like to credit Conner Chapman with the idea.

A Cowboy's Poem to Pickups 3/6/2008
Once there was a cowboy, who lived out on the plain.
He loved to drive his pickup truck down the dusty lane.
Once, while he was drivin' quick, out to feed his cattle,
(For he'd much rather press the gas than sit up in a saddle)
He went rollin' in the dirt, his truck had disappeared.
It was gone along with all those tools he'd got at Sears.
Then he 'membered 'bout the rapture, and how God's own would go.
His truck was taken, and he'd been left to mope there in the snow.

Romanticism

In literature class we have been reading the Romantic writers of the 19th century (such as Emerson and Thoreau.) I wrote this poem as a hopefully humorous critique of these authors' ideals. Recently, I have tried to avoid explaining my poems too much in order to leave interpretation up to the reader. However, I think this one requires a little explanation. The main ideal that this poem critiques is the belief that nature is 'uncorrupted' (by the 'evil' effects of civilization) and should therefore be the source of our understanding of everything true, good, and beautiful. I am not saying that nature is bad or that we can't learn anything from it. I am merely saying that it is not perfect since it has been affected by the fall. Creation is not our standard, it's perfect Creator is.

Critique of Romanticism 4/13/2010
I heard of a man they called Joe
Who adored every green thing that grows.
The flowers and meadows and light
Were sources of all his delight.
He often took walks in the trees
While blessing the pollen he sneezed.
He felt that in nature he found
More that merely the sky and the ground.
For truths of his life and his soul
He found in the grass of a knoll.
He dreamed of a life far beyond him,
Then a grizzly bear feasted upon him.

Clouds

I am going to start re-posting the poetry I posted on Facebook. Sorry to those who have already read it; if anyone hasn't already read it, I hope you enjoy it!
I realized that I happen to have three poems related in some way to clouds, so I'm going to post all of them here (one 'new' one and two from Facebook.) At first I attributed this focus on clouds to their beautiful and intricate mystique (that may be part of it), but I think a more accurate reason is that plane rides can be really boring.


Clouds 11/29/2009
A field forever full of fluffy white,
Blown like smoke, too cold to rise,
Though far too high to witness night,
Tossed by angels, Sonlight glinting in their eyes.

But in their merriment they cease.
A trumpet echoes cross the field
And all the powder seems to freeze,
Caught by one of seven seals.

And as we glide by hill and dale, so it does seem
Of this vast field, ever present, though never seen.


The Storm 3/30/2009
The drifting cloud, like a swoolen sheep
In a field of blue and soapy suds.
Darkening, it rolls in a heap.
It swirls and tumbles in cerulean mud.
Crack!
The metaphor stretches and snaps:
An angry peak, jagged and slashed,
Now hit by a wave it crashes and slaps
Just as much like a blizzard now swirling as fast
As the lightning now striking the ground.


In case you miss it, this is an attempt at a palindrome poem. It's written twice here for ease of reading.
The Airplane 10/8/2009
Wings flying on
shimmering light
as substantial as
clouds of white.
the whiteness and brightness
indivisible in
expanding light.
--
Light expanding,
indivisible in
brightness and whiteness.
the white of clouds
as substantial as
light shimmering
on flying wings.

Spring

In this poem, I was trying to describe spring merely in terms of everything rising.

Spring 3/25/2010
Spring has sprung and all things rise
Followed up by eager eyes.
Birds appear ex nihilo;
None see them come, nor see them go.
They simply rise from empty air
As from a rent in space, a tear.

Worms rise squirming from their holes
Helped by Robin's kind cajoles.
On they climb through empty void,
Of dirt and mud and dark devoid
To Robin's nest to help her chicks
Rise from their small abode of sticks.

And flora rise with colors bright
To match the birds in drifting flight
Stretching petals to the sky
And quaking leaves that seem to fly.
So too with rising temperature
Which seems the world of cold to cure.

And so we know that spring is here,
With spirits high and sunlight clear.