My Feelings about Sports

I'm happy for the Boston Red Sox. They have waited a long time to win the World Series. And it finally happened tonight.

At this point, let me add that I don't let myself get too excited about sports the way I used to. Ten years ago, I lived or died with how well the Cleveland Indians did. Now, I just try to live my life. I take in the occasional local sporting event. I try to enjoy it for what it is. I pray to God that none of my nieces and nephews get hurt. And that's as far as I take it.

I've had people come up to me before church and say, "Don't forget to pray for the Packers." It's not that I would forget to do it. I just question whether or not God wants me to do it. I pray for their safety. That the fans behave themselves. But there are just as many God fearing Minnesota Viking fans as there are Green Bay Packer fans. And I am sure that there are believers in Jesus Christ on both teams. So am I supposed to pray that the side that I like gets their wish while the side I don't like doesn't get their wish? Are there other things in the world I could be praying about?

Just some early morning ruminations from Pastor Marc, who really should be in bed rather than writing this, especially since I haven't been able to make much headway on my Sunday sermon. So I'll talk to you later. Good Night.
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Bob Dylan, Jewishness, and Christianity

I was raised in a Reform Jewish home and I became a believer in Jesus as the Son of God back in 1985. So I can imagine the conflict and the flack Bob would have received from Jewish family and friends as well as from his fans when he put his faith in Christ back in 1978.

Many people who put their faith in Jesus also are rediscovering the beauty of their Jewishness for the first time, and then there is the inevitable crisis of faith. Can I be a believer in Jesus and still be Jewish?

I would suspect that Bob read the little volume by David Berger and Michael Wsychogrod, "Jews and Jewish Christianity" (KTAV, 1978), a heartfelt plea for the Jewish person to come back to the Judaism of his parents. He may have read some more vitriolic anti-missionary materials, such as "You take Jesus, I'll take God."

These missives, plus the pressures of being Bob Dylan in a world where everyone wants a piece of him, may have been all the ammunition the devil needed to trash him.

There were times early on where I considered going back to Judaism. I missed the culture, the heritage, the synagogue liturgy, the minor key melodies, the Oseh Shalom Bimroomav.
But I could never turn my back on Jesus. I could not forget the One who died for me and changed my life and touched me in such a real way.

Even though it appears that Dylan has returned to Judaism (notice that he takes Christ's name in vain in Chronicles, not God's) the songs themselves show that Dylan cannot quite put Jesus aside for good. "To Make You Feel My Love" reads like a message straight from God. Try reading that song with God/Jesus as narrator.

And "Bye and Bye", especially the last line, has overt gospel references.

All this coupled with the occasional gospel tune done in concert, leads me to suspect that even if Bob has rejected Jesus as Messiah, he still can't quite get him out of his system for good. The presence of Christ haunts his music after all these years.

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The Presidential Election

People have asked me who was planning to vote for on November 2nd, 2004. I honestly won't know what I'm going to do until I get in there. On the one hand, I'm totally against the war in Iraq. I was against it before we went in there, and I am even more against it now. Why didn't we go after Saudi Arabia? After all, 16 of the 19 hijackers came from there. Moreover, the monsters who beheaded Paul Johnson were from there.

I'll tell you why we didn't go after Saudi Arabia: Because that's where the money is. The Bush family and Vice President Cheney were not about to bite the hand that feeds them. That's why we let members of the Bin Laden family fly back to Saudi Arabia without asking them any questions.

Moreover, why aren't we doing anything about the horrible genocide going on in Sudan? I'll tell you why: Because that's where the money isn't! Another reason why is because they're black, and this administration doesn't care two bits about black people.

Having said all that, if John Kerry is elected President, a number of things could happen to this country that would be unsettling. First of all, Kerry would appoint left wing judges who are committed to unbridled and untethered stem cell research, abortion rights, and liberal interpretations of the constitution. I am also concerned that when given the chance, Kerry refused to rule out bringing back the draft. As you may have heard, HR number 163 was introduced by six liberal democrats in the House of Representatives, in the hope that a mandatory two year selective services could be instituted for people ages 18-26 by June 15th. 2005. The President is on record that he would veto this piece of legislation as well as the similar bill in the Senate. As far as I know, Kerry is not committed to vetoing these bills. In fact, he has repeatedly stressed that the President has overextended the armed forces and that something needs to be done.

Having said all that, just from watching the three debates, I came away with the impression that Kerry was the more intelligent man and the one best prepared to be the leader of the free world. I also hold it against Bush that 911 happened on his watch. I guess as of today, I am leaning slightly toward Kerry. But ask me again on November 2nd ....

The only thing I know for sure is that on November 2nd, I am buying pizza for all the ladies who will be manning the polls in my town. I went in there last month to vote in the Wisconsin Republican primary, and one of the ladies said to me, "How come you didn't bring us pizza like last year?" So I guess that's what I'll do ....
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