Friday, October 12, 2007

Random Friday Ramblings

I'm drinking Pecan Torte coffee this morning. It's good.

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It was announced today that former Vice President Al Gore and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work in raising awareness about global warming. Let the fallout begin! Some folks will push harder for Gore to jump into the presidential race. Other folks will say that his work on global warming is a ploy to keep his name in the political lights. Still others will claim that global warming is not a real threat at all. The scientific evidence supports the prediction that we are headed toward a global tragedy and thus must take steps to deal with the problem. As for politics: well, I'm just proud that, whether you like their politics or not, the two national politicians who have spent their time and prestige trying to do good for the world, Jimmy Carter and Al Gore, are both Baptists. Agree or disagree with them, you have to admit that at least they use their name to do more than collect big bucks for little speeches.

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The Atlanta Braves announced yesterday that John Schuerholz, General Manager since 1990 and the architect of the team's record fourteen consecutive Division titles, will move up to President and be replaced as GM by his assistant Frank Wren. The franchise's turnaround from dismal organization to a model of consistency can be dated to then owner Ted Turner's decision to put the team in the hands of Schuerholz and Bobby Cox. This is the first step in some major transitions for the Braves. Look for Cox to manage for two more years and then turn the team over to either hitting coach Terry Pendleton or Milwaukee Brewers manager and former Braves coach Ned Yost. I'm privy to no inside information; that's just my gut feeling.

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Did you see Ann Coulter's appearance on Donnie Deutsch's television show? She said, in her inimitably grating way, that everybody should be a Christian, including Jews (Deutsch is Jewish). Now, as a Christian, I affirm that I would offer my Savior to anyone and I would like to see anyone follow Jesus. But Coulter said that Christians would like to see Jews "perfected" in the way that we are. I think she was trying to say that in our view, the NT completes the OT and that Jesus the Messiah fulfills the hopes and expectations of the Hebrew Bible. Her stock in trade, though, is to be in your face and shocking and abrasive. Therefore, neither Deutsch nor anyone else should be surprised by her words. I will say this: I shudder at the thought of Coulter serving as an apologist for my faith. That would set ecumenical relations back a thousand years.

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Debra and I plan to go to the Greek Festival at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on Telfair Street in downtown Augusta this evening. It's a great time of Greek music, dancing, and, of course, food. If you live around here, give it a try.

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Among the books I've recently purchased and hope to read before I go to my reward: The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs, Head and Heart: American Christianities by Gary Willis, The Dawkins Delusion by Alistair McGrath, Quantam Physics by Alastair I. M. Rae, The Preacher and the Presidents by Nancy Gibbs, Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, Kim by Rudyard Kipling, and The Way of the Heart: Desert Spirituality and Contemporary Ministry by Henri Nouwen.

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I'd like to see a Colorado Rockies vs. Cleveland Indians World Series. I would pull for the Rockies but I could live with the Indians. When I don't have a dog in the hunt, I generally root for the underdog or for the team that has never won it or that has not won it in a long time.

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I hope that you all have a great weekend!

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