Where's the Outrage?

Last week something came out of Congress that in a parallel situation a few years ago provoked outrage from certain corners of the news media. Why is that any of their business? Don't they have anything better to do? But this time, those voices are silent. Yes, it is time to take on that bastion of the media.........................sportswriters and sportsvcasters.

A few years back Congress had hearings on steroids in baseball. Besides the discussion about steroids themselves, the overwhelming majority of sports writers, columnists and talking heads decried Congress taking up this matter.

Recently Congress again entered into the sports world by holding hearings regarding the BCS system of producing a champion in college football. This time no outrage about Congress investigating something that shouldn't matter to them. Just discussion of the arguments. Of course, the congressional committee was hard on the BCS people and seemed to support a playoff system. Wow, the same opinion as that held by the majority of the sports media. You don't suppose there's a connection, do you?

Amazing. Because the tone of these congressional hearings lined up with the majority opinion in the sports world, it wasn't a waste of time in their eyes. Even though the economy is still in the tank.

If I had to choose, I would rather have Congress investigate steroids than the BCS because the former potentially impacts impressionable young athletes all over the country. The type of system college football has to determine its national champion affects who again?

Some in the sports media like to say that we who decry steroid use are "hypocritical" without saying exactly why. If they excoriate Congress for holding hearings on the important issue of steroids, but don't on the important issue of the BCS, who is the hypocrite?

What's In a Name?

The Mexican or Swine Flu that has caused so much panic now has a name: H1N1. Although if I understand what I'm reading, This particular strain of flu is a sub-type of H1N1. The 1917-19 epidemic was a strain of H1N1, but not exactly the same. H1N1 was considered behind half of the ordinary seasonal flu in 2006.

But as soon as the WHO gave it a name, the news media had to pick up on it. Mexico was getting a bit bugged (pun, get it?) by the name Mexican Flu since it absolutely killed their tourist business. Pig farmers were unhappy with the term Swine Flu because some people were avoiding pork products.

But if H1N1 is only a class of flu and not the designation for this strain within that class, isn't using H1N1 actually imprecise? Mexican Flu identifies the place of its first known outbreak, just as the 1917-19 epidemic was called the Spanish Flu. (Although researchers believe that it originated elsewhere and had its initial big outbreak among WWI soldiers in France. Military control over the media in France kept the news out. The first that the world heard of the outbreak was from Spain. Hence the name.)

I have always been amused at the desire for faux-precision in terms. Recently I saw this sign. Didn't we used to call this a Blind Curve? Surely, the sign-makers were not motivated by some desire to not insult the blind. I think it is the quest for unnecessary precision at work again. No, the curve itself does not lack sight--it is trying to describe a curve that you can't see around so you should be careful. But everyone understood Blind Curve. To be honest, this sign makes me stop and think a second, "What in the world are they talking about?"

Precision in language is a good thing. I have to be aware of it all the time when doing exegesis and theology. But sometimes precision becomes ridiculous.

The Lost J-40

Note: A lighter post today. From time to time I do want to talk about guitars and baseball. Today is about my guitar. My guitar playing friends should appreciate it. The rest of you may like hearing the story about it.

Chris Martin's primary invention at the Martin Guitar Company was the J-40. It is the guitar for which he says he will be noted. He once boasted that it would become "the dreadnought of the nineties."

Well, it simply didn't happen. By the late nineties, dreadnought sales dwarfed that of the jumbo series. Though I understand that Martin owners can be a bit traditional, the relative failure of the jumbo to capture the market's attention surprises me for no other reason than this: The J-40 is an outstanding guitar!

Structurally, the J-40 is an OM guitar (sometimes called a 0000, which is just a bigger 000) with dreadnought depth. This results in very even tone from the lowest bass to the highest treble. Though it is not as bass-heavy as a D-28, it has plenty of bass response since it is made of rosewood.

Additionally, it is LOUD! The large size combined with scalloped bracing make this a boomer. Another guitarist borrowed mine for a gig we were doing (I was playing mandolin that day) and was blown away by its volume. He simply could not tell if the guitar had been added to the monitor mix or if he was just hearing it naturally.

I think that Martin may have confused the guitar-buying public by the style and price changes over the J-40's history. The original 1985 model added gold tuners, white binding on the fretboard, hexagon abalone fretboard inlays, and a pearl soundhole ring. By the early nineties, the pearl soundhole ring disappeared (see picture of my 1994 model, above). Its price was about the same as an HD-28. In the late nineties, Martin made a J-28 with all the extras stripped off and upgraded the J-40 with the 45-style Martin headstock inlay along with pearl inlay in the soundhole and top binding. The J-28 was priced like a D-28 and the J-40 was getting up into the D-41 range. The J-28 was eventually discontinued and the current J-40 seems to have the same appointments as the late nineties model (see picture at right). As a result its list price is $1000 more than an HD-28 and almost $1500 than a D-28.

In other words, I think Martin messed up their best invention of the last 20 years. The only jumbo model in their catalog has so many added cosmetic features that the resulting price drives away the average guitar buyer. If guitarists are unaware of the marvelous sound of the J-40, the extra price will keep them from seeking it out.

If you are in the market for a great guitar, can afford something in a dreadnought range, and don't mind buying used, it would be worth looking around for an older J-40. If you play one, I think you will find that, like mine, it is the finest guitar you have ever played.

Form without Substance

One of my favorite musical artists is Lyle Lovett. He is a terrific songwriter, always puts together an incredible band, and just makes good music. His songwriting is inventive and quirky, some might even say a bit odd (imagine me liking something odd).

I have seen him play live twice in St. Louis on the banks of the Mississippi in the shadow of the Arch. Both shows were outstanding. Tina, who is not a fan, saw the 2006 concert with me and was blown away.

His 2004 appearance was supporting his 2003 album, "My Baby Don't Tolerate." This album closes with two gospel numbers and he closed the concert with them as well.

I do not know Lyle Lovett's heart or his relationship with God. He was raised Missouri-Synod Lutheran, but does not currently belong to that church. I am not being unfair to say that he has never made a statement that indicates a born-again experience. Some of the details of his life might also cause you doubt that he believes as evangelical Christians do.

But he does have an ear and a feel for gospel music or at least for black gospel. The two songs--"I'm Going to Wait" and "I'm Going to the Place"--are theologically sound. If a choir performed either one of these songs in your church next Sunday morning, you would be blessed by the music and the message.

But I remember being a little troubled by these two songs as I heard them live. It's not just that they were being sung by a guy who I wasn't sure what he believed about the message. Then it hit me. Both songs talk about heaven, God, my Father, my Savior. But there was no mention of Jesus.

You might think I am quibbling over some trivial point. I don't think so. Now each and every Christian song does not need to explicitly name the name of Jesus. But in the case of these two Lyle Lovett songs, I just felt as if the absence was telling. Salvation without sacrifice. God's love without a mediator. Heaven without a relationship with Jesus.

As Lyle wrapped up his show, this verse popped into my mind: "Holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power" (2 Tim 3:5). It just seemed to me that these songs held out a vague belief in a universal salvation, but never examined that it is only by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross that buys that salvation. In our celebration of salvation, we must never forget how we get there.

Here is a Youtube clip of one of the songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k56DJuP4DXU

Exercise: Valuable or Worthless?

As I worked my body on the elliptical machine at the YMCA today, the verse in 1 Timothy 4:8 (in the KJV) echoed in my head: Bodily exercise profiteth little. How to reconcile Paul's admonition to my thrice-weekly routine?

The first thing to recognize (and all the commentators are in basic agreement on this) is that Paul does not say that the benefits of exercise are so little as to be no benefit at all. There is a parallel comparison with the next phrase:

For bodily exercise is little usefulness,
But godliness is all usefulness.

Well, when you put it like that, of course anything we do for our physical bodies is meaningless in comparison with having godly character. So, in context, Paul's purpose is not to preach against physical exercise (he has no other comments on the practice), but to put it in proper perspective to being like God.

Naturally, even here we could make comparisons with people who exercise obsessively or who hone their bodies to painful perfection. How chiseled do you have to be to work at a desk?

Even so, I think we need to be careful when comparing what many of us do (or should be doing) in relation to exercise when compared to Paul's time.

First, the average person in Paul's day was not in need of exercise. In truth, they "exercised" all day long--we could call it work. Farming, keeping house, woodworking, or whatever a person did all day long was physically demanding in ways that most of us do not understand. They had no machines, it was all done by hand. And legs. And back. The last thing that the average person thought after the end of the work-day was, "Maybe I should go down to the gym and lift some weights." There were many fewer seriously overweight people than we see today. And though they were smaller, they were comparatively stronger than we are on average.

Those who did the kind of exercise to which Paul refers were the athletes in each city who were trained between 16 and 18 to participate in games between cities. What they did was for show and for a short time. Their work pales in comparison to what a godly man or woman could accomplish.

Most of us, however, do not do physical labor that compares in any way to what the average man or woman did in the first century. We are rich by comparison so we eat too much. We get soft. A good steward of the body that God gives needs to get in some exercise. I had a heart-attack four years ago. Though one artery to my heart was completely blocked (there's the over-eating fatty foods), the monitors showed that I had 100% heart function. The doctor attributed it to my workout regimen.

So we need to understand Paul's point without being bound to the cultural background which makes up the literal expression that he uses to make the point. Physical exercise has much more benefit to us than to those in Paul's day. But in comparison to being godly, it is still of small importance. So let's do both: take care of our bodies and live as he wants us to.

Maybe We're Not All Going to Die After All

In the words of the late Emily Litela, "Oh, that's very different. Never mind." Now it seems as if the swine flu might not be "a more serious strain than seasonal flu."

Unlike the kneejerk reactions of some, I really don't blame the news outlets or government authorities for causing panic. The news needs to be reported and the government needs to be proactive.

The real "villain" here is modern technology. 200 years ago, the severity of the disease would have been known long before the news could travel widely. In fact, you stood a good chance of getting infected yourself before the news reached you that an epidemic had spread. Today we know instantly.

I put "villain" in quotes because though modern technology allows news to be spread widely before enough facts are known, it does not qualify as some kind of evil. Had the disease been as bad as first feared, knowing as soon as possible would be a good thing.

I repeat my original point. When we hear bad news, we need to spend at least as much time in prayer as we do following the reports. If we do that, God can properly align us with him so that we might trust him in everything.

Killer Flu?

Note: I am still thinking about the death of my co-worker Regina today. I went to make tea and would have left the remaining hot water for her (as she did for me), but there was no need today. I just poured it out. That was hard. I have written some lighter stuff already, but not today. I will post that stuff next week.

There is another lesson from the terrible epidemic sweeping around the world: Despite all of our knowledge and advances and hubris, we are not in control. There are many things that are just bigger than we are.

This latest spreading killer is not a new type of cancer or a disease that we have never heard of. This is the flu. Now we've all had the flu, both the cold-symptom flu and the stomach flu. And while we use expressions like, "I'm so sick I think I'm going to die," we know that we won't. It's just the flu!

I assume that, as with any disease, those who die are from the pool of people in poorer health or with weaker immune systems. Even so, the flu, an illness that typically causes you to miss a couple of days of work or school, can become so bad that it kills people. It's a bit scary when you think about it.

As thoroughly modern people, we live most days as if we do not need God. When we need food and shelter, we work for it. When we are sick, we go to the doctor. When our transportation breaks down, we take it to the mechanic. We are normally capable of meeting our own needs or can get the help that we need in this world.

Modern medicine has become a victim of its own success. We cure nasty cancers. He have pills and shots for problems we didn't even know we had. Artificial limbs have become commonplace. Therefore, when our modern technologies are unable to fix a problem we are surprised.

I broke my shoulder in December 2007. Badly. Even so, I never doubted that it could be fixed; it was simply a matter of what needed to be done. Imagine my surprise when the doctor said that the 50% range of motion that I had was as good as it was going to get.

Anyone would be unhappy with a prognosis like that, but I was doubly disappointed because I had placed my faith in the ability of modern medicine to fix anything.

We are not in control as much as we think. We sail along through life and then the economy tanks or a teeny tiny germ lays us low. And at times there is nothing we can do about it.

This is why we need God. You might still lose your job or I might still get sick. But when those things happen, we need to be holding his hand and not putting our trust in ourselves.