Got Barbara Brown Taylor to sign my Feasting on the Word Vol. 1-3. My wife bought her old purse at a consignment shop so I have that tie in as well. She is aware of my web protest of the trickery and let her opinion be known.
I heard that Julia Roberts or Miss Congeniality (what's her name) was at Watershed and I wonder why everybody is going to Watershed and paying $25 for fried chicken when the Colonade has the best fried chicken in town and you can still get an iceburg wedge w/ 1000 Island dressing and a beet for under $10.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
St. George vs. Greek Redefinitionism
Senator Rogers and I have had a nice exchange of emails.
His platform is very popular here in Georgia. Basically anything that can be done to make undocumented immigrants' lives in Georgia difficult - so that they leave - is a good idea and will protect us, and the US, from their foreign influences: talking chihuahuas, bean farts, majong, voter fraud, etc. I think that the problem is very real but that the solutions being pushed by the Republican party do not so much resolve the problem, as they punish the immigrant (undocumented and documented). The Catholic church has spoken for a more humane policy and I am saddened that more churches are not speaking out. I was reading in Mundo Hispano that the Catholic church has seen a decline in attendance by over a third for their evening service in Spanish. No doubt the Baptists are elated that the papists are losing members because of road blocks in Gwinnett and Hall counties, but that is for another blog.
Aren't we all wetbacks in our baptism? Doesn't Paul speak of there being "neither Greek nor Jew"?
My objections to these bills are purely religious, again and again we are reminded to treat the alien in our midst as one of us. KJV words it, "do not vex the stranger" which I find kinda cool. STOP VEXING! But we also have Jesus and his parable about sheep and goats and other examples; wasn't Jesus an undocumented alien in Egypt? Perhaps if they had deported him back there wouldn't have been all the confusion about the coming of the Son of Man.
THE MAIN POINT is that Greek in the hands of somebody with an agenda is a dangerous thing. I remember how I wanted so bad for the word in Matthew 21:36 "pleioterous" to mean greater not numerically but in stature. If this was the case then the parable would be a metaphor for God sending lesser prophets, then greater prophets, and finally the greatest Prophet of them all Jesus. Prof. Bartlett held out some hope by saying it was possible although he seriously doubted it; Prof. Johnson said I was just plain nuts. So I didn't get my way with Greek, "pleioterous" just means greater numerically.
On to the Greek lesson.
My email to Sen. Rogers (edited so as not to bore you with my tedium)
As a seminarian, I find the Biblical witness to how we are to treat the strangers in our midst, unequivocal in its teachings. The laws are already on the books to accomplish what SB 20 addresses. Peace of Christ, George Tatro
His response (Remember that this is about Greek, not about his political position and so I have deleted the political stuff. He claims a much more moderate position than the critics of his policies would have you believe - no doubt the truth lies somewhere in the middle .)
Finally, while not a seminarian, I am quite familiar with many biblical passages and their original meanings. The passage you refer to is Ephesians 2:19. The term "Sojourner" (or Foreigner) comes from the original word "Paroikos". The actual original definition is "an alien who dwells as a sojourner in a land without the rights of citizenship."
My response.
My point remains that the Biblical witness to the alien in our midst is unequivocal. I didn't know that I was going to have to draw on my Greek exegetical resources as I was actually not thinking of Ephesians as much as I was Leviticus 19:33-4 and Matt. 25. Your understanding that the "actual original definition is 'an alien who dwells as a sojourner in a land without the rights of citizenship'" for the use of "paroikoi" in Ephesians 2:19 is not lifted up in Bibleworks, nor Sakae Kubo's Greek Lexicon, nor in Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. They all fail to make this distinction - they all simply state that the word means "alien or stranger"; I will have to run this by Prof. David Bartlett, Professor of Greek at Columbia Theological Seminary (he has written lots of books and is very knowledgeable about Greek), with whom I will be reading the Bible in Greek for the final course of my seminary career - it starts in March and I am really excited.
The point being that we take from the Bible what we want and are pretty sure that we have it right. I just don't want to be so right that there is no room for the HS to work on me. I think it is probably better to err on the side of treating our neighbors as we would want to be treated and I think that the OT and the NT are pretty clear about what constitutes good neighborliness.
Anyway I am not going to change his mind. I am as close to changing his mind as he is to convincing me to move from Decatur to Woodstock (which he represents). And I may not know much about policy writing and law making as I do about rule breaking and break-dancing, but I do know a little Greek. And I know that there are too many white people in Woodstock and that makes me nervous. I think I would have named Woodstock, Laommi. (Hosea 1:9)
His platform is very popular here in Georgia. Basically anything that can be done to make undocumented immigrants' lives in Georgia difficult - so that they leave - is a good idea and will protect us, and the US, from their foreign influences: talking chihuahuas, bean farts, majong, voter fraud, etc. I think that the problem is very real but that the solutions being pushed by the Republican party do not so much resolve the problem, as they punish the immigrant (undocumented and documented). The Catholic church has spoken for a more humane policy and I am saddened that more churches are not speaking out. I was reading in Mundo Hispano that the Catholic church has seen a decline in attendance by over a third for their evening service in Spanish. No doubt the Baptists are elated that the papists are losing members because of road blocks in Gwinnett and Hall counties, but that is for another blog.
Aren't we all wetbacks in our baptism? Doesn't Paul speak of there being "neither Greek nor Jew"?
My objections to these bills are purely religious, again and again we are reminded to treat the alien in our midst as one of us. KJV words it, "do not vex the stranger" which I find kinda cool. STOP VEXING! But we also have Jesus and his parable about sheep and goats and other examples; wasn't Jesus an undocumented alien in Egypt? Perhaps if they had deported him back there wouldn't have been all the confusion about the coming of the Son of Man.
THE MAIN POINT is that Greek in the hands of somebody with an agenda is a dangerous thing. I remember how I wanted so bad for the word in Matthew 21:36 "pleioterous" to mean greater not numerically but in stature. If this was the case then the parable would be a metaphor for God sending lesser prophets, then greater prophets, and finally the greatest Prophet of them all Jesus. Prof. Bartlett held out some hope by saying it was possible although he seriously doubted it; Prof. Johnson said I was just plain nuts. So I didn't get my way with Greek, "pleioterous" just means greater numerically.
On to the Greek lesson.
My email to Sen. Rogers (edited so as not to bore you with my tedium)
As a seminarian, I find the Biblical witness to how we are to treat the strangers in our midst, unequivocal in its teachings. The laws are already on the books to accomplish what SB 20 addresses. Peace of Christ, George Tatro
His response (Remember that this is about Greek, not about his political position and so I have deleted the political stuff. He claims a much more moderate position than the critics of his policies would have you believe - no doubt the truth lies somewhere in the middle .)
Finally, while not a seminarian, I am quite familiar with many biblical passages and their original meanings. The passage you refer to is Ephesians 2:19. The term "Sojourner" (or Foreigner) comes from the original word "Paroikos". The actual original definition is "an alien who dwells as a sojourner in a land without the rights of citizenship."
My response.
My point remains that the Biblical witness to the alien in our midst is unequivocal. I didn't know that I was going to have to draw on my Greek exegetical resources as I was actually not thinking of Ephesians as much as I was Leviticus 19:33-4 and Matt. 25. Your understanding that the "actual original definition is 'an alien who dwells as a sojourner in a land without the rights of citizenship'" for the use of "paroikoi" in Ephesians 2:19 is not lifted up in Bibleworks, nor Sakae Kubo's Greek Lexicon, nor in Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. They all fail to make this distinction - they all simply state that the word means "alien or stranger"; I will have to run this by Prof. David Bartlett, Professor of Greek at Columbia Theological Seminary (he has written lots of books and is very knowledgeable about Greek), with whom I will be reading the Bible in Greek for the final course of my seminary career - it starts in March and I am really excited.
The point being that we take from the Bible what we want and are pretty sure that we have it right. I just don't want to be so right that there is no room for the HS to work on me. I think it is probably better to err on the side of treating our neighbors as we would want to be treated and I think that the OT and the NT are pretty clear about what constitutes good neighborliness.
Anyway I am not going to change his mind. I am as close to changing his mind as he is to convincing me to move from Decatur to Woodstock (which he represents). And I may not know much about policy writing and law making as I do about rule breaking and break-dancing, but I do know a little Greek. And I know that there are too many white people in Woodstock and that makes me nervous. I think I would have named Woodstock, Laommi. (Hosea 1:9)
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
St. George vs. Specificity-less-ness
I will be submitting these words to Websters for inclusion in their upcoming dictionary. I will also be very careful to use them often and correctly in written and verbal corrispondence.
Presbymergency - noun. often attributive c. 2007 first coined by Seminarian George Tatro 1. what we have when the Presbymergent movement begins to take itself too seriously.
"The church is facing a major Presbymergency when people begin to discuss the theological implications of Twittering."
Presbymermaid - noun (f) c. 2008 first coined by Seminarian George Tatro 1.a. Female emergent in Presbyterian church who cleans up after Wednesday Night Suds, Sushi, and Saviour. b. Any female Presbyterian emergent who cleans up after an emergent event.
2. Female emergent in Presbyterian church who lives in Copenhagen.
3. Female emergent in Presbyterian church who dips Copenhagen.
4. Presbyterian mermaid. (Calvin reportedly fell overboard while sailing from from Calles to Geneva and was saved by a Mermaid named Areil. As she swam him to shore he converted her to Calvinism from her pagan worship of Neptune. Her descendants have migrated to Scotland and are reportedly often seen around Loch McLaughlin.)
"The faded 4 inch ring in the back of her blue jeans was formed by her Copenhagen tin and as she emerged from the Reform school gates, with tobacco spittle running down her left cheek, I saw my Presbymermaid for who she really was."
Presbymermaiden - n.(f) c. 2008 first coined by Seminarian George Tatro 1. Female emergent in Presbyterian church.
"Tired of the blatent sexism and gender exclusion of the Presbymer-gent movement the girls got together to form the Presbymermaiden Movement."
Presbymergency - noun. often attributive c. 2007 first coined by Seminarian George Tatro 1. what we have when the Presbymergent movement begins to take itself too seriously.
"The church is facing a major Presbymergency when people begin to discuss the theological implications of Twittering."
Presbymermaid - noun (f) c. 2008 first coined by Seminarian George Tatro 1.a. Female emergent in Presbyterian church who cleans up after Wednesday Night Suds, Sushi, and Saviour. b. Any female Presbyterian emergent who cleans up after an emergent event.
2. Female emergent in Presbyterian church who lives in Copenhagen.
3. Female emergent in Presbyterian church who dips Copenhagen.
4. Presbyterian mermaid. (Calvin reportedly fell overboard while sailing from from Calles to Geneva and was saved by a Mermaid named Areil. As she swam him to shore he converted her to Calvinism from her pagan worship of Neptune. Her descendants have migrated to Scotland and are reportedly often seen around Loch McLaughlin.)
"The faded 4 inch ring in the back of her blue jeans was formed by her Copenhagen tin and as she emerged from the Reform school gates, with tobacco spittle running down her left cheek, I saw my Presbymermaid for who she really was."
Presbymermaiden - n.(f) c. 2008 first coined by Seminarian George Tatro 1. Female emergent in Presbyterian church.
"Tired of the blatent sexism and gender exclusion of the Presbymer-gent movement the girls got together to form the Presbymermaiden Movement."
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Saint George vs. Deceptive Advertising
I share with you now my letter to correct a grave injustice perpetrated on me.
Dear Editors (but most especially Dr. Bartlett),
I know that after you read this you will probably be thinking that I have a lot of free time on my hands today, but I hope that this finds you in good health and spirits.
I purchased my copy of Feasting on the Word and was elated - for here is the book that we preachers have yearned for. A commentary that is comprehensive yet very user friendly. I have been preaching these last two weeks and I noticed something which is very disconcerting - after only two sermons - I was half way through the book. This book set me back nearly $35.
Upon further review I have discovered that this commentary covers only from Advent to Transfiguration. This sir is no feast of the kingdom; it is but a mere aperitif. So the first item I take issue with is the deceptive advertising and marketing.
Of course this information is printed in extremely tiny letters (Presbyopians - which is a subset of both Presbyterians and Episcopalians - cannot read this tiny print. 70% of Presbyterians have presbyopia, something which you relied on in your villainy!) This was no doubt a deception that you and the publisher agreed would lead to increased sales of Eating at the Buffet: Feasting on the Word Volume 2: Transfiguration to 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time. (I know that the Right Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor would never be a party to such as this, so I direct my comments directly to you Rev. Dr. Bartlett.)
But my complaints are not limited to the deceptive print manipulation.
I preached this past Sunday - guided by observations made about Simeon - highlighting the work of the Holy Spirit. In attendance was my mother-in-law, a much more devout Baptist than yourself, and she was not impressed. She told me that I needed to slam the pulpit to get people's attention; and stare them down, so that they would know I was serious. While the congregation was blind to this - and indeed many came up after-wards and thanked me for the powerful Word I shared with them - my mother-in-law was not taken in.
Upon further review - while giving a great deal of direction in dealing with the Word - you utterly fail to give guidance in presenting the Word. Might I suggest that there be a fifth category added in future additions with cues as to appropriate times to slam the pulpit, point fingers, yell, bark, etc. ala Billy Sunday. This is truly valuable information which you have carefully omitted...I hope this doesn't ruin your plans for a separate supplemental volume at some later date. No doubt it would be $24.00 plus tax.
Last, but not least, I do hope in Year A and Year C you will discontinue the deceptive practices of selling half or a third of a book. I have copied this email to several contributors so that they will be aware of what I have just discovered. My hope is that you were going to be forthcoming with royalty checks from Year B Vol. 2, 3, 4 and 5 and not cheat them out of their share - but if not, they are now aware. Remember the laborer is worthy of his/her wages.
I hope that you will take these comments in the spirit in which they are intended. Other than these major flaws I am enjoying the book immensely and I hope to see you all on campus soon as I wind down my seminary career.
A Fool for Christ,
George Tatro
Dear Editors (but most especially Dr. Bartlett),
I know that after you read this you will probably be thinking that I have a lot of free time on my hands today, but I hope that this finds you in good health and spirits.
I purchased my copy of Feasting on the Word and was elated - for here is the book that we preachers have yearned for. A commentary that is comprehensive yet very user friendly. I have been preaching these last two weeks and I noticed something which is very disconcerting - after only two sermons - I was half way through the book. This book set me back nearly $35.
Upon further review I have discovered that this commentary covers only from Advent to Transfiguration. This sir is no feast of the kingdom; it is but a mere aperitif. So the first item I take issue with is the deceptive advertising and marketing.
Of course this information is printed in extremely tiny letters (Presbyopians - which is a subset of both Presbyterians and Episcopalians - cannot read this tiny print. 70% of Presbyterians have presbyopia, something which you relied on in your villainy!) This was no doubt a deception that you and the publisher agreed would lead to increased sales of Eating at the Buffet: Feasting on the Word Volume 2: Transfiguration to 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time. (I know that the Right Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor would never be a party to such as this, so I direct my comments directly to you Rev. Dr. Bartlett.)
But my complaints are not limited to the deceptive print manipulation.
I preached this past Sunday - guided by observations made about Simeon - highlighting the work of the Holy Spirit. In attendance was my mother-in-law, a much more devout Baptist than yourself, and she was not impressed. She told me that I needed to slam the pulpit to get people's attention; and stare them down, so that they would know I was serious. While the congregation was blind to this - and indeed many came up after-wards and thanked me for the powerful Word I shared with them - my mother-in-law was not taken in.
Upon further review - while giving a great deal of direction in dealing with the Word - you utterly fail to give guidance in presenting the Word. Might I suggest that there be a fifth category added in future additions with cues as to appropriate times to slam the pulpit, point fingers, yell, bark, etc. ala Billy Sunday. This is truly valuable information which you have carefully omitted...I hope this doesn't ruin your plans for a separate supplemental volume at some later date. No doubt it would be $24.00 plus tax.
Last, but not least, I do hope in Year A and Year C you will discontinue the deceptive practices of selling half or a third of a book. I have copied this email to several contributors so that they will be aware of what I have just discovered. My hope is that you were going to be forthcoming with royalty checks from Year B Vol. 2, 3, 4 and 5 and not cheat them out of their share - but if not, they are now aware. Remember the laborer is worthy of his/her wages.
I hope that you will take these comments in the spirit in which they are intended. Other than these major flaws I am enjoying the book immensely and I hope to see you all on campus soon as I wind down my seminary career.
A Fool for Christ,
George Tatro
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
St. George vs Twittering Presbymergents
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at Me.
Matthew 11:6
I have been checking out the Twittering Presbymergents and all there new fangled ideas and I must say that I am wholly unimpressed. I am having a real hard time finding what it is that they are so excited about. It is strange to me because I know some really smart people who are excited or at least interested in what the Presbymergent movement might mean for the church.
My hope is that something else emerges from this emergence because we have a Presbymergency on our hands!
"You just don't get it." "You are just afraid." they twitter amongst themselves.
No, I am afraid of picking up snakes and drinking strychnine, which they do on Sand Mountain.
So I don't go to Sand Mountain because I don't have enough faith.
But their seems to me to be an overabundance of faith in this new way of being they call Presbymergent. And the limits of their preferred medium of communication become instantly clear because they can't tell if I am joking or serious, because emotion - that tricky thing that separates us from Vulcans - cannot be conveyed in a blog; we must get together.
Unfortunately, we can't get together; I would find you tedious and you would find me unbearable and it wouldn't be pleasant for either one of us. So go in peace to love and serve the Lord, pray that God is at work in my life, and take no offense in me.
Matthew 11:6
I have been checking out the Twittering Presbymergents and all there new fangled ideas and I must say that I am wholly unimpressed. I am having a real hard time finding what it is that they are so excited about. It is strange to me because I know some really smart people who are excited or at least interested in what the Presbymergent movement might mean for the church.
My hope is that something else emerges from this emergence because we have a Presbymergency on our hands!
"You just don't get it." "You are just afraid." they twitter amongst themselves.
No, I am afraid of picking up snakes and drinking strychnine, which they do on Sand Mountain.
So I don't go to Sand Mountain because I don't have enough faith.
But their seems to me to be an overabundance of faith in this new way of being they call Presbymergent. And the limits of their preferred medium of communication become instantly clear because they can't tell if I am joking or serious, because emotion - that tricky thing that separates us from Vulcans - cannot be conveyed in a blog; we must get together.
Unfortunately, we can't get together; I would find you tedious and you would find me unbearable and it wouldn't be pleasant for either one of us. So go in peace to love and serve the Lord, pray that God is at work in my life, and take no offense in me.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
St. George vs Intinction
To my brothers and sisters in diaspora,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
Sunday morning, the first Sunday of the month, and for PCUSA churches across the land it is time to break some bread and dip in some wine.
(For those who are more on the order side it is the time for chicklets and dosing cups - we don't want an unfair distribution of Jesus!)
All were fed and we were collecting the chalices and the bread when two strangers walked into the sanctuary.
Matthew 15
Clean and Unclean
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"
They approached the Elders who still had the Eucharist, skipped right over the body of Christ and.....
DRANK FROM THE CHALICES!!!!!!
I put down the bread - it was a nice Challah, really good for dipping - and fell in right behind them and took communion by intinction as is the custom in this congregation.
I then returned to my spot behind the table, took the blessed elements, and offered communion to the pastor.
The liturgy continued...
After the service they stayed in the sanctuary; they stayed after everybody else had left; they stayed until they could face the world again.
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
Sunday morning, the first Sunday of the month, and for PCUSA churches across the land it is time to break some bread and dip in some wine.
(For those who are more on the order side it is the time for chicklets and dosing cups - we don't want an unfair distribution of Jesus!)
All were fed and we were collecting the chalices and the bread when two strangers walked into the sanctuary.
Matthew 15
Clean and Unclean
1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"
They approached the Elders who still had the Eucharist, skipped right over the body of Christ and.....
DRANK FROM THE CHALICES!!!!!!
I put down the bread - it was a nice Challah, really good for dipping - and fell in right behind them and took communion by intinction as is the custom in this congregation.
I then returned to my spot behind the table, took the blessed elements, and offered communion to the pastor.
The liturgy continued...
After the service they stayed in the sanctuary; they stayed after everybody else had left; they stayed until they could face the world again.
Being host to angels in disguise,
"when did we see you Lord?"
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