The Programmer’s Revenge

A picture tells a thousand words…

A Bun in the Oven

The things you learn...

Easter is not an especially Christian word. English-speaking Christians adapted it from a pagan festival that was already celebrated in April in their neck of the woods; they kept the name, but dropped the fertility goddess Eostre. It’s thought that this is why those Easter bunnies keep breeding each year, despite the vigorous efforts of countless children to exterminate them - they, along with their eggs, are fertility symbols that were held over from the old festival. Easter is after all about new life, so the symbols still worked, even if in a different way.

A fertility goddess named Eostre - well, it made me wonder about oestrogen, the hormone that’s so crucial in enabling women to bear children. Surely the
term came from the same source. And that, of course, made possible the delightful pun at the top of this article. Unfortunately, my guess was wrong. Oestrogen comes from the Greek term for gadfly or madness.

Don’t blame me, the Internet said it, so it must be true!

Well, Yes, It Was Quite Tasty

Zeal for your house will consume me.

Heard it before? John 2:17, or Psalm 69:9. John takes the psalmist into a future tense though…

I think in the past I’ve been too metaphorical in how I’ve read this. Consume doesn’t actually mean ‘keep me interested’ or ‘be a priority’ or ‘occupy quite a large percentage of my attention’. It means ‘eat’.

It actually fits the context better to take it literally – in the psalm, and in John. Jesus’ concern for God’s house, for a meeting place between God and humanity, led him to the cross. On trumped up charges, of course, but they were based on what he said a mere two verses later.

He was consumed. And so the one who tabernacled amongst us became the one who was the temple, permanently.

 

Now, the really odd thing was how I was led to this thought by myself. Well, sort of. It was an accident. But something I wrote ten years ago (on this passage, without having understood this element properly) sent me off down the path less travelled, and it brought me out into a better place.

I can be a little slow sometimes.

Yes, I Think I Know Why…

…this book was marked down.

In the world of publishing, it’s just so important to get the right title, isn’t it?

To be followed by So That’s Why They Call Him the Lord of Hosts: Sacraments and All That Stuff. After the markdown, it won’t cost a whole lot of dough.

When the Absurd Obscures the Embarrassing

In the wake of the kerfuffle over John Piper’s invitation to Rick Warren to speak at this year’s Desiring God conference, I’ve noticed that there has been some criticism of Warren’s Easter services featuring the Jonas Brothers to bring in the crowds. If you’re in doubt, here's the press release.

 

I’m sure it worked. But frankly, it seems bizarre. Only in America, as they say. And hopefully not often.

 

But here’s the thing that gets me: Tim Challies and the Pyromaniacs both mention the Easter thing…and neither of them act surprised that Saddleback’s Easter festivities seem to overlook something…just a small thing…Good Friday! No wonder Warren had no trouble preaching on Elijah for his Easter sermon – if you’re going to ignore the cross, the resurrection might as well go too…

The Collapse of Roman Catholicism?

If you were expecting a serious comment here, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. It's old news that Jesus and Madonna have a relationship. But apparently, it's all over. They've just got nothing much in common any more.

The last paragraph in that linked article, by the way, is surely a knock-down piece of evidence supporting the need to read things in context.

What I share in common with Obama

"This is not how I expected to wake up this morning," he said. "After I received the news Malia walked in and said, 'Daddy, you won the Nobel Peace Prize, and it is Bo’s birthday.'

"And then Sasha added, 'Plus, we have a three-day weekend coming up'. It's good to have kids to keep things in perspective."

Bo is their one-year-old dog. Our Quack is one this month. And our kids regularly puncture our vanity ;-)

The Assurance of Saving

Yes, saving. As opposed to salvation. Because, apparently, they are opposed.

I spent US$1.98 the other day buying some music from Sovereign Grace Ministries' resource page, and used my credit card. A$2.55, in case you're wondering.

The next time I went to use my card, the bank had put a block on it because of this suspicious transaction! It tickled my irony bone...they were unsure about a transaction with a group that are big on assurance...they wanted to save me money in case somebody unscrupulous was behind that purchase from SOV GRACE RESOURCES...

Giggle.

But seriously - that's the world's take on assurance, right there. It's measured in dollar signs.

I'm sorry, world, but are you kidding?

The press tells us that Madonna is now going out with a guy called Jesus. And she's old enough to be his mother.

OK, Freudians, where do you want to start with that one?!

Ah, progress!

You've gotta love technology. She promises so much, delivers so little. Yesterday's news (and calling it that seems quite appropriate) included the revelation that science has discovered a way to create a self-healing elastic band. You know the problem: you've got a perfectly good elastic band, but it breaks, and tying a knot in the ends is just too fiddly. Well, here's the solution - simply hold the broken ends together for a minute, and it's good as new.

Brilliant!

But my question is, how many of these bands will they sell in a packet? And do you get your money back when you find them all stuck together? Or do you just go to Guinness to ask about the current world record for rubber band balls?

This post was written on a machine walking Windows Vista.

What's Taken For Granted

In an effort to live up to that 'largely after the fact' bit, I'm finally getting around to something I spotted last week. This story was much like any other (well, much like the ongoing Wolfowitz saga, writ smaller, anyway), but the last few paragraphs caught my eye.

"No one is arguing about Ms Swaffield's qualifications for her positions ... but the perception in the House is that quite possibly the best applicant was not appointed." It's a bit of a Clayton's accusation of corruption, isn't it? She was qualified for the positions she was promoted to, but they're still unhappy.

Why is it, do you think, that sufficient is no longer seen as sufficient? She could do the job, but maybe somebody better could have done it too. But wait, if somebody more capable had been appointed, wouldn't that have been a waste of their greater ability anyway?

The whole idea of merit advancement was an Enlightenment-era reaction against their equivalent of jobs for the boys, the preferral of the aristocracy for anything that mattered. The rising middle classes wanted access to the plumb jobs, and thought that merit was a better means for selecting people. And hey, they had that right.

But does it really mean that you take the most overqualified person? Isn't it really meant to guard against getting a moron with good connections? I suspect that the pendulum might have been pushed too far on this score.


As for the next quote, "I treat all anonymous letters with the contempt they deserve." What makes anonymity contemptible, I wonder? A priori, that is, without any consideration of the reason for anonymity? I'd hate to have amnesia and have to write to this guy. Does he read the mail he gets from the government? His tax refund? Conversely, does he really believe the Readers Digest letters about how he's WON THE ULTIMATE whatever, simply because they have a signature printed at the bottom?

Or does he just like it as an easy cop-out for not doing his job...?

As for the idea of the same individual being in charge of the Sydney Opera House and Foxtel...

The truth will out...

It's a bit of an old story, but I came across it again recently, and it's worth a rerun. It seems that Canterbury has had to face that the whole thing is crumbling - and in public, no less.


...though thinking about it, it's probably outlasted Rome (well, the Empire, anyway)...