Rev-e-rie

This morning jaylake noted that Christians are "more likely to back torture."  As Christians who actually do try to follow Christ, to love God and neighbor, this is obviously not good news.  So I spent some time on this. 

Christians are more likely to back torture - than whom? I asked myself.  So after following Jay's link, I went to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which did the survey.  

The question they asked:  "Do you think the use of torture against suspected terrorists in order to gain important information can often be justified, sometimes be justified, rarely be justified, or never be justified?"

The Pew material doesn't give "Christians vs. everyone else" breakdowns.  The Christians involved are white evangelical Protestants (62% answer "often or sometimes"), white non-Hispanic Catholics (51%), and white mainline Protestants (46%); the non-Christians have one group, "the Unaffiliated" (40%)  There's also a summary line for the population as a whole (49%).  In all other categories, sample size was too small to report. 

White mainline Protestants are actually less likely to "back torture" than the population as a whole, which is some small comfort.  The big bump is from evangelicals, who are more likely than the population.  All of the Christian groups are "more likely to back torture" than the single category of Unaffiliated. 

Then I tried to find the margin of error for the survey; 742 respondents seemed like an awfully small sample size to me, and the largest group they split out - evangelicals - included only 174 respondents.  Pew didn't give the margin of error.  However, their first report on this survey split out other demographics.  There, the closest group to this sample size was 188 respondents.  For that group, the margin of error was plus-or-minus 8% to give a 95% confidence level.  In other words, if we want to be 95% sure the survey is accurate, we should read the line as:  
     41%-57% of   the U.S. population   answer "often or sometimes." 
     54%-70% of    evangelicals 
     43%-59% of    white non-Hispanic Catholics
     38%-54% of    white mainline Protestants
     32%-48% of    the unaffiliated

Which is still stunningly bad, I think.  Those of us who are involved in churches may want to bring this up. 

My own take?  Obviously, followers of Jesus do not torture. 

Those who justify torture often use the "ticking bomb" scenario:  "If a terrorist nuclear device was about to explode in New York City and your captive knew where it was, wouldn't you use any possible means to find out?"  Well.  Let's suppose two things:  1.  I decide to torture, and 2. I get accurate information (which is actually unlikely) and save New York City.  The proper thing for me to do is turn myself in as a lawbreaker and be prosecuted for it.  That's what happened at civil rights sit-ins and marches; demonstrators deliberately broke unjust laws and were arrested for it, in order to demonstrate that the law was wrong. 

This is a review of Jay Lake's Mainspring, focusing especially on the portrayal of the protagonist as a person of faith. 

I've put most of it under the cut.  It's huge, more suitable for some wacked-out university class--except I don't footnote it!  (And also, it's probably a "B" paper at best.) 

 

A caveat: I have chosen to write this before reading Escapement, in order to let Mainspring stand on its own. So by now, everything I say may be inoperative. 

***
 

ABSTRACT: This review attempts to examine Hethor, the protagonist of Jay Lake’s Mainspring, as a person of faith. The plot is driven by a revelation to Hethor, his call to action, and by his subsequent trust of that revelation. Therefore, if the book is to succeed, he must be believable as a person of faith. Is he? I find that he mostly is. Beyond Hethor himself, his world is, I argue, a world split between one culture that’s rationalist, clockwork, and essentially faithless; and one that’s magical, mythical, musical, into which some faith can enter. In the person of Hethor, those poles are reconciled. In the faithless North, he is a person of faith; and to the faith-borne South, he brings unmatched ability with the clockwork earth. 

 

 

( Long boring review starts here... )

 

 

V. Conclusion

 

Hethor’s journey is the story of a maturing faith, which begins in cold rationality, adds revelation, struggles through difficulty (physical and spiritual), pushes on anyway, and finally becomes adequate to accomplish the God-given task. On the whole, I find Mainspring’s depiction of Hethor as person of faith to be believable. Beyond that, the depiction of the Wall is thought-provoking. The Wall is the Corpus Collosum of the world, separating the analytical from the intuitive hemispheres. Hethor becomes the great unifier of the two. And if, as a person of faith, his greatness comes a little too much from humanity and perhaps too little from God, well, his journey is still fascinating and his character faithful. 

Here's a link to an interesting set of statements from e.g. the Adler Planetarium, concerning the $3 million projector Sen. McCain was complaining about.  Turns out, you can't get one of these at Best Buy. 

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/8/111343/511/549/623891

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Back home and doing homely things, after electing two bishops.  (OK, after watching two bishops get elected.  Twenty-five ballots.)  Tuesday through Saturday, for the second time in a month, I dusted off my video production skills and directed the support video at a United Methodist meeting. 

And Friday, I made a fast run back to Eugene (from Portland, where we met) to see Becky in her theatre camp final production.  They did bunches of songs from various musicals.  She was in "Speaking French,"  from Lucky Stiff, plus all-attender production numbers.  It was cool.  Songs!  Dances!  That's my Becky up there!  

So now I'm back in town.  I preached this morning.  I attended a Church Council meeting.  I took Becky to a pool party (the wet kind).  I did some phone counseling, about which I cannot tell you.  Supper.  Then for family night, we watched WKRP in Cincinnati and had prayers.  Let me see... oh yes, I napped.  

I read other people's journals and some of them can make the mundane sound exciting.  Not me.  But you know what, there's something to be said for routine.  

Happy birthday to Becky!  She's 14, since yesterday (14 on the 14th!).  Her favorite part of the celebration didn't actually involve Kathy or me.  At theatre camp, 51 trained singers and a former Broadway accompanist sang "Happy birthday" to her.  In harmony.  51-part harmony?  I dunno, I wasn't there.  

Also, Kevin had a day off from staff work at Suttle Lake Camp and rafted down the McKenzie River to get here.  OK, the camp staff had a river outing planned, and he caught a ride at the end of it.  So we were together for the first time in, golly, what, a month?  

Good times, and rich Market of Choice cake, were had by all.  

Yesterday, from 4 PM to 9 PM, Kathy, Becky and I twisted balloons at the Lights of Liberty celebration in Springfied.  I find it hugely fun to relate to the kids who want balloon hats or animals.  But we don't do many five-hour gigs twisting for a line, and I forget my moves.  Not how to twist necessarily - but management issues. 

For instance, in all that time I only took one break - 20 minutes for supper.  Ten minutes each hour or two is better.  With three of us there, I could do that.  It's a little harder because there are certain pieces I do that Kathy and Becky don't.  And it's easy to forget because the line never stops and there's always the next child looking forward to her pink poodle.  But if I don't take breaks...  well, yesterday my hands cramped up.  A nice young man waited his 20 minutes in line or whatever and wanted a gold motorcycle.  Motorcycles are of moderate  difficulty; not super hard, but they have an apple twist and a couple of split twists and so on.  Furthermore, gold balloons are metallic (not real gold though!), which makes them more resistant to twisting.  And, without breaks, I had been without water.  So when I tied it off, my thumb cramped and contracted toward my palm.  I pulled it back and tried to continue... several times, but I couldn't do the small twists required.  So I gave the poor guy's mother a business card and said call me, I'll bring a motorcycle by.  

Drank water, rested a moment, and did swans and doggies (easy stuff) till my hands recovered.  

I apply this to life and take it as a parable.  Probably many possible morals, but I remind myself:  self-discipline involves self-care, not self-punishment. 

This gig, BTW, is a family tradition.  The last two years we've done this as a foursome.  But this year, of course, Kevin's at his summer job.  

... our house this morning.  It's July 4, it's Eugene, so it's the Butte to Butte!  A 10 K race from Spencer Butte (south of town) to Skinner Butte (north).  And no Olympic Trials will prevent the true Eugenean from running!  So I must not be a true Eugenean, because I watched it from our street.  We're on the first big hill they have to run up, which separates the serious runners from the runners-for-fun.  Our neighbors brought lawn chairs and we all cheered the runners.  Across the street, a ukele band entertained and encouraged the runners, and they passed out free doughnuts.  My son usually runs, but he's away, so my daughter and her friend joined me in watching, or I joined them.  

We don't always get a chance to do neighborly things, so this was fun.  

And this afternoon, the Raines family will twist balloons into little doggies and things, at the Lights of Liberty.  Then fireworks!  

All in all, quite a 4th. 

A very nice supper, with grilled steak, grilled vegetables, a nice Caesar salad, and fresh fruit.  But what was great was, Becky cooked it, with her friend Tory; at Tory's house.  I am not sure we can expect such provender every evening, but this, I enjoyed.  

Well, maybe.  I just got back from Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference, the yearly meeting of United Methodist clergy and laity in this region.  We passed a resolution that Congress should establish a "Truth and Accountability Commission," to look into the high crimes and misdemeanors of the Bush administration.  So that's done.  (The maker of the motion:  "when your grandchildren ask what you said when civil liberties went down the toilet, do you want to say 'nothing'?")  We couldn't get impeachment through, though.  

We also sponsored a free rock concert by Jars of Clay, a multiple-platinum, Grammy-winning Christian rock band.  Our ticket in:  we had to provide two cans of food for the Marion County food bank.  The Salem--and more distant--community was invited, in fact it was mostly for them, not us.  It was fun, lots of energy, and showed (we hope) a movement toward meeting the spiritual needs of young adults and youth.  

I did tech; I returned to my salad days, and directed the video floor coverage of conference.  I really like directing live, unscripted TV.  There's an excitement there.  Also, when you direct live TV, the camera operators often do what you tell them to.  Um, not that church members DON'T, of course.  

It's not broadcast, but it's still fun. 

Also Becky, the theatre child, ran the sound board, or part of it.  So that was fun.  

We had wonderful worship, all the way from a processional with Latin chant to praise band to light jazz to, well, Jars of Clay.  Worship also included video segments and presentation software.  Our bishop preached often, and he's really a good preacher.  He doesn't mind challenging the conference to change, and he's clear about the direction he sees as necessary, but he's also gracious and appreciative of people.  

We did lots of other stuff too.  

... or, excuse me, a "ceremony of completion."  Becky graduated from 8th grade, and the school had a ceremony.  Becky not only graduated, but also helped produce a video about the 8th graders.  (Wow, produce video... just like I used to do!  *snif*.)  And now she's at an end-of-year dance.  Parents got to peek in and see the decorations,   Then we were shooed out.  I gotta say, it was AWFULLY dark in there...

Pics when they're available!  

And he looks very happy.  

Graduation Day for South Eugene High School, and here's Kevin!  Grandma and Aunt Mary came down from Portland and the Seattle area (respectively).  We had wonderful cake.  Then went to the Hult Center and sat in the eighth or tenth row from the front.  Got pictures, too. 

South Eugene HS is an amazing place; full of high achievers academically, artistically, athletically.  Kevin ran in fast company and kept up.  Tomorrow he's off to summer camp... as staff.  It'll be different around here.  

 I took Kevin to his summer job staff training and waited for him to get done; so I spent Thursday and Friday at Suttle Lake Camp, in the Cascades.  I had my own private cabin (bathroom and everything!) and two days with no interruptions.  

This is the way to write:  roll out of bed when you want to, maybe 7:30 AM; get some writing in while waiting for the Prilosec to take hold; eat some nice shredded wheat; write some more; take a break, walk among the mountain pines and along the ridge; write some more; spread peanut butter on bread and eat it; take the typewriter table out among the pines and firs, and write some more; eat at the potato bar prepared by the camp cook; relax in the evening with walks, reading, and OK, solitaire.  

Oh yes, make sure the sun is out and it's 72 degrees, with just a breath of wind.  

OK, I did some church work too.  But I tweaked and formatted my Writers of the Future entry for this quarter; I worked through two plot problems that have hung up my little novel for two years; I fixed a broken scene; and generated new words to boot.  

I missed my family, but other than that, it was great.  Of course the good thing would be to create like that anywhere, anywhen.  But this was very pleasant.  

...The eighth grade year at Spencer Butte, that is.  Becky and her friend Hannah applied to be the directors of the Student-Directed Play this year, and were chosen.  So they've been working for five or six months to pull it off.  

Saturday and Sunday, it all came together in two performances.  The reviews are in:  "brilliant!"  "Funny!"  "If you see only one production of _Murder's in the Heir_ this year, make this the one!"  And that's only ONE review.  (Well... mine.)  

I was pleased and proud that these two directors could put together an acting-and-tech team capable of holding my interest for two hours.  It's a formidable task, but then Becky and Hannah are formidable people.  It was great to see Becky In Charge - firm but calm (usually) - and wonderful that the result was worth the effort.  

 ... for Kevin.  Next Saturday, he graduates from South Eugene HS.  So the Woman, and Becky, and I hosted an open house yesterday (Sunday) from 5-8 pm.  

Now here at the House of Raines, we face formidable challenges when it comes to parties. 
And so did we.  Have a good time, I mean.  Not wrestle.  

 Just read a long and nuanced review of _Expelled_, the Ben Stein movie claiming Intelligent Design proponents are unfairly "cast out" of the scientific establishment.  The review is posted at www.asa3.org, an organization of scientists who are also Christians. 

Jeffrey P. Schloss, the author, divides the movie into three central claims:  

 Family night out!  Went to Allann Brothers so the students in the family could get away from the computers and the internet and do some homework.  I started a new short story, a pastiche on cyberpunk.  Kathy read newspapers.  Good times and hot chocolate were had by all.  Except Kevin, who likes chai tea.  I have a neat family, and it is good when we are together.  

On Wednesday nights, Ebbert puts on a supper (pizza, soup, whatever) and invites community folk in; homeless, street people, neighbors.  After the supper, we have a contemplative worship service.  The question is, how do we get from the one to the other without (a) making our guests feel like they're expected to worship in exchange for a meal, and (b) shortchanging the church folks who want to worship?  Also, come to think of it, (c) burning out our cooks??  (Note to self:  do not use "burning" and "cooks" in the same sentence.) 

On the other hand, you know what, I am excited about Wednesday nights.  We're leaving our comfort zones and trying cool things; we're unleashing the creativity and passion of some of our leaders, and getting to know some pretty neat neighbors of all kinds.  And if there are bumps along the way, so what?  The journey continues.  

I'm gaining an appreciation for a particular classical musician - my daughter Becky now plays viola.  Okay, she's played it for four years, and I've seen her in concert.  But today her teacher's students combined for a recital.  Each student played one piece.  It was really cool to hear what Becky sounds like when playing all by herself!  (Of course, as far as I'm concerned, she's the star of whatever event she's in.)  She played a gavotte with trills and dynamics and all.   Except for the, quote, "crappy C-string" on her rented viola, it came off very well.  She practices hard and long, and it's nice to see the work pay off. 

joycemocha  has a response to a Street Prophet post about Barak Obama leaving his church.  I posted this at her LJ:  

I'm a pastor who has received such letters of resignation.  During the runup to the invasion of Iraq, I preached on the text "turn the other cheek."  That week I got a letter from a couple who wrote, "We're patriots!" and said they wouldn't be coming back.  So that's the context into which I put Obama's resignation, and I thought:  "That's not the way to do it!  You have to stay and work it through!" 

But okay, in this case, maybe not.  Separation is a last resort, but it looks like they've reached the last resort.