Confessional Lutheran theology, hagiography, philosophy, music, culture, sports, education,
and whatever else is on the fevered mind of Orycteropus Afer
08 June 2006
The Golden Aardvark Rides Aagain
Congratulations to another round of "winners" of the prestidigitatious prestigious AARDIE (Aardvark Aaward for Raillery, Doctrine, or Intellect in Exposition) — a continuing response to the glut of awards shows and shallow "honors" bestowed by the rest of the world (and the corresponding dearth of similar commendations with which I agree).
Most of this group come from within confessional Lutheranism. The JollyBlogger, a Reformed blogging mainstay, will probably be familiar to many readers. As always, potential Aardie honorees may be suggested by anyone but the final decision (and blame) rests upon yours truly.
As noted in the inaugural post, honorees "are invited to display the coveted (but not in a 10th Commandment manner, please) Golden Aardvark on their own blogs.... [T]wo sizes are available, discreet (above) and "loud and proud" (right)." I leave it to you to decide whether and which to use and whether to place it in the body of the honored post, in a separate post, or in your blog's sidebar. If you do mention receipt of the Aardie, you may certainly link back to this post or to the Alley.
But enough talking about the Golden Aardvarks, let's get on to giving 'em away
‡ Leading off is the always readable Beggars All. Tim, Caspar, and Jon form as fine a trio as you'll find. Jon's run-on title caught my eye and I'm glad I stayed to read it all: "Snoopy, Come Home" and the State of Lutheranism, A Quick Lesson on Foreshadowing and Leitmotifs and My Farewell — for now. While he may not be posting quite so frequently for a while, he claimed in a later post that he has a good excuse: "Our new baby will be born tomorrow. Keep us in your prayers." We shall, Jon.
‡ Sex Is Good, says the JollyBlogger. No wonder he's so jolly. It's an interesting look, triggered at least in part by The Da Vinci Code, at true Christianity's appreciation of sex. In the process, he takes many of the early fathers to task for continually equating original sin and sexuality.
‡ Too much alliteration? Probably so, but Tutal's Esotropic Tome of Tenatious Toothpics still came up with an intriguing response to too much "thinking outside the box" among pastors as Tutal asked his fellow seminary students, What's Wrong with the Box?
‡ Please Don't Stand There — Do Something. How many times have we heard this appeal. This time, Favorite Apron decries the militarization of American women. While her concerns include dealing with individuals, she also wants us to be proactive on behalf of all young women, in case the draft is reinstituted. Since so many protections for women have been eroded in the name of equality, there's a high probability that the next lottery will be sex-blind.
‡ At Die Heilige Kirche, Kevin Spaeth urges Lutherans to be fully aware of not only what's happened since 1500, but of the entire sweep of Christian history. In History on Our Side, he says that the the fathers will, time after time, line up with confessional Lutheran theology.
‡ Deaconess Emily Carder's Issues on Oprah at Quicunque Vult focues on part of a recent discussion on KFUO's Issues, Etc. program. There, she dealt with the works-oriented spirituality that's promoted by Oprah Winfrey.
‡ Eggs, Bread, Coffee, and Liturgical Conversation — doesn't it sound like Father Hollywood knows how to start the day? Here, he winsomly leads the reader into a comparison of liturgy-lite with elevating "the level of dignity and glory in our worship so as to please God and teach our people the miracle of Christ among us."
‡ In his classicly succinct manner, Dan at Necessary Roughness touches upon most of the major issues and concerns with the newly announced HPV vaccine in Paying for Consequences, Known and Unknown.
‡ Ask the Pastor cited him today in a post on Communion Practices and I had already decided that his straightforward essay on not monkeying with the elements of the Sacrament would receive an Aardie the next time I handed them out. So if you haven't already seen Why I Let My Yes Be Yes: a Soliloquy on the Sacrament for Memorial Day, I strongly encourage you to read this piece by Father Eckardt at Gottesblog.
‡ Sometimes, in my almost completely monocultural rural area, I can be lulled into forgetting some of the more diverse places I've lived. Yet even when surrounded by blacks or Hispanics, I never had any clearer picture of life among "the others" than Chris Pluger granted with Not Wrong, Just Different. Here's one more reason why I was delighted to find Café Diem and add it to the Big Blogroll O' Vark®™©.
‡ Maria of Musical Ramblings discovered A Dictionary to Understanding Pop Evangelicals on a message board "and couldn't resist passing it along." If you think that you're a Lutheran and some of these don't give you a few chuckles — and a case of heartburn — think again. Sadly, however, many of these buzzwords have made significant inroads in allegedly Lutheran congregations among allegedly Lutheran pastors and laity.
And so another gold-toned shipment leaves the burrow. ¶ 21:42 |
Congratulations to another round of "winners" of the Most of this group come from within confessional Lutheranism. The JollyBlogger, a Reformed blogging mainstay, will probably be familiar to many readers. As always, potential Aardie honorees may be suggested by anyone but the final decision (and blame) rests upon yours truly.
As noted in the inaugural post, honorees "are invited to display the coveted (but not in a 10th Commandment manner, please) Golden Aardvark on their own blogs.... [T]wo sizes are available, discreet (above) and "loud and proud" (right)." I leave it to you to decide whether and which to use and whether to place it in the body of the honored post, in a separate post, or in your blog's sidebar. If you do mention receipt of the Aardie, you may certainly link back to this post or to the Alley.But enough talking about the Golden Aardvarks, let's get on to giving 'em away
‡ Leading off is the always readable Beggars All. Tim, Caspar, and Jon form as fine a trio as you'll find. Jon's run-on title caught my eye and I'm glad I stayed to read it all: "Snoopy, Come Home" and the State of Lutheranism, A Quick Lesson on Foreshadowing and Leitmotifs and My Farewell — for now. While he may not be posting quite so frequently for a while, he claimed in a later post that he has a good excuse: "Our new baby will be born tomorrow. Keep us in your prayers." We shall, Jon.
‡ Sex Is Good, says the JollyBlogger. No wonder he's so jolly. It's an interesting look, triggered at least in part by The Da Vinci Code, at true Christianity's appreciation of sex. In the process, he takes many of the early fathers to task for continually equating original sin and sexuality.
‡ Too much alliteration? Probably so, but Tutal's Esotropic Tome of Tenatious Toothpics still came up with an intriguing response to too much "thinking outside the box" among pastors as Tutal asked his fellow seminary students, What's Wrong with the Box?
‡ Please Don't Stand There — Do Something. How many times have we heard this appeal. This time, Favorite Apron decries the militarization of American women. While her concerns include dealing with individuals, she also wants us to be proactive on behalf of all young women, in case the draft is reinstituted. Since so many protections for women have been eroded in the name of equality, there's a high probability that the next lottery will be sex-blind.
‡ At Die Heilige Kirche, Kevin Spaeth urges Lutherans to be fully aware of not only what's happened since 1500, but of the entire sweep of Christian history. In History on Our Side, he says that the the fathers will, time after time, line up with confessional Lutheran theology.
‡ Deaconess Emily Carder's Issues on Oprah at Quicunque Vult focues on part of a recent discussion on KFUO's Issues, Etc. program. There, she dealt with the works-oriented spirituality that's promoted by Oprah Winfrey.
‡ Eggs, Bread, Coffee, and Liturgical Conversation — doesn't it sound like Father Hollywood knows how to start the day? Here, he winsomly leads the reader into a comparison of liturgy-lite with elevating "the level of dignity and glory in our worship so as to please God and teach our people the miracle of Christ among us."
‡ In his classicly succinct manner, Dan at Necessary Roughness touches upon most of the major issues and concerns with the newly announced HPV vaccine in Paying for Consequences, Known and Unknown.
‡ Ask the Pastor cited him today in a post on Communion Practices and I had already decided that his straightforward essay on not monkeying with the elements of the Sacrament would receive an Aardie the next time I handed them out. So if you haven't already seen Why I Let My Yes Be Yes: a Soliloquy on the Sacrament for Memorial Day, I strongly encourage you to read this piece by Father Eckardt at Gottesblog.
‡ Sometimes, in my almost completely monocultural rural area, I can be lulled into forgetting some of the more diverse places I've lived. Yet even when surrounded by blacks or Hispanics, I never had any clearer picture of life among "the others" than Chris Pluger granted with Not Wrong, Just Different. Here's one more reason why I was delighted to find Café Diem and add it to the Big Blogroll O' Vark®™©.
‡ Maria of Musical Ramblings discovered A Dictionary to Understanding Pop Evangelicals on a message board "and couldn't resist passing it along." If you think that you're a Lutheran and some of these don't give you a few chuckles — and a case of heartburn — think again. Sadly, however, many of these buzzwords have made significant inroads in allegedly Lutheran congregations among allegedly Lutheran pastors and laity.
And so another gold-toned shipment leaves the burrow. ¶ 21:42 |
