Scott Freeman

I tried.  I really did.

3 years ago, my parents gave me their 1996 Chevy Lumina.  We were down to 1 car and rapidly approaching the day the lease would expire on that one.

Babies and losses on houses that we had bought precluded us buying anything new.

So, they gave us their extra vehicle.  And, it’s been a great car.  171,000 miles and still going strong.  We haven’t had a single problem with it.

Except one thing: the Air Conditioning went out.  900 bucks to fix it.  More than its blue book value.

So, I decided that it would be my hairshirt. I would weather (pardon the pun) the Texas heat and do so in solidarity with my fellow sojourners who do without such luxuries.

My intentions were good.  But it’s too hot to carry three precious girls in a sweltering vehicle.  And Tracy ain’t driving a car without the benefits of freon.

Yesterday, I signed the paperwork on a 2004 Hyundai Sonata. 18,000 miles.  And we got it for a song. With 42000 miles of warranty left.  Which is a good thing since I don’t know shocks from shinola.
The best part? I did not have to mess with a dealer.  A guy in our congregation scored it at an auction.  We told him what we wanted, what we were willing to pay and he brought her home. May I never have to step foot on a car lot again.

Oh, and the air conditioning works.  I was dying.

About a year ago, I published my top 10 list of songs that should be banned forever.  It’s past time to update that.  Keep in mind that these are not songs that I hate, but songs that are way overplayed.  I may have even, at one time, liked them.  Some are older, but still seem to find their way into earshot far too regularly.

1. “100 Years” by Five For Fighting. Great.  You can whip through 100 years in 3 minutes.  But you should have stopped at 15.  5 for fighting.  You should get 20 for writing such an annoying song. Plus another 30 for allowing it to be used in a credit card commercial.
2. “You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt. Can I be blunt? This song makes me want to punch someone.  Who’s beautiful, James? The person you are talking to or the girl you see? Can someone in songwriting 101 straighten out these pronouns, please?
3. “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter–Describes my day when I hear this song which is now played whenever you open the audio dictionary for the entry “cloying.”
4. “Only the Good Die Young” by Billy Joel–I don’t know which is worse: the irritatingly obnoxious reasoning of the song or the mental picture of a younger, bug-eyed Joel trying to score with a virginal Catholic girl.  Yeah, it’s the mental picture.  Thanks Billy.
5. Every Morning by Sugar Ray–I’m willing to forget that the 90′s music scene ever happened, ok?
6. I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing by Aerosmith–I have nothing against the sentimental romanticism of Diane Warren’s lyrics.  Really.  It’s just that I can’t hear this song without seeing Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler and Animal Crackers.  Eight years of therapy hasn’t made it go away.  Let’s just tack the entire Aerosmith catalogue on there for good measure.  I’m so over them.
7. I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor–Woman, thou art loosed.  Now, pick a new song, please.
8. It’s Raining Men by The Weather Girls–If I could distill down to one reason why I don’t watch “American Idol” it’s because I’ve seen too many Clay Aiken wannabe’s sing this song.
9. Let’s Get It Started by The Black Eyed Peas–I’ve seen way too many Kidz Bop commercials, too.  And.I.Can’t.get.this.song.out.of.my.head.
10. I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack–It’s been six years, Lee Ann.  If your daughter hasn’t started dancing yet, she’s obviously not going to.

What about you?  Any songs need to be banned?

If you haven’t been following the discussion from the “Stem Cell” entry.  I want to bring some thoughts to the forefront.  Jeff Richardson argues that we need to acknowledge the inevitability of our direction and develop consistency on some important issues:

Unrestricted personal freedom – no matter how much governmental oppression it requires – is our destiny. It is a Dickian dystopia approaching quickly where personhood will become a highly subjective classification unless moral voices can somehow reverse the trend of personal choice and the veneration of human life (as opposed to its sanctity).

Christians, to be “successful” with issues like abortion, stem cell research, GMH, cloning, etc. are going to have to go back to the drawing board and develop a consistent position on human life (biology), personhood (theology) and freedom (policy). Otherwise, little by little, we will continue to lose ground on what I believe to be a “high view” of humanity.

So, I ask you, wise reader: What does it mean to be human?  How do we live as salt and life in this world?  In what ways do we best love God and love His people?

This Sunday night our topic will be Stem Cell Research.  Honestly, my knowledge on this subject is extremely limited.

What are your thoughts?  What are our moral obligations to the sick who would benefit from this?

How do we proceed and maintain a consistent ethic of human life?

What the heck is it, in the first place?

Give me your thoughts.  If I use your stuff, I’ll give you a shout-out in the podcast.

Part 2 of my series “Great Themes of the Old Testament”

One of my greatest thrills in life is going to the library with no expectations and finding great books to read.

Call me a nerd.  I can take it.

The past few months I’ve been mired in Taylor Branch’s masterful trilogy on America in the King Years. It was startling to realize how little I had been taught about the Civil Rights Movement growing up.  If you never have, then please read these books.

In between those installments, I was catching up on the more “theological” stuff on my shelf: Themes of the OT, Understanding Jewish Culture, N.T. Wright, Dallas Willard, etc.

Now, I take a break from all that.  It’s time for a little lighter reading. Yesterday I went to the Library and picked up these books:

The Wal-Mart Effect : How the World’s Most Powerful Company Really Works–and How It’s Transforming the American Economy by Charles Fishman.  I have a love/hate relationship with Wal-Mart.  This book, so far, strikes me as a balanced assessment of the beast that is Wal-Mart.

Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids by Maia Szalavitz .  I am completely ignorant about the contents of this book.   It is apparently a look at the “tough-love” approach to teen boot camps and what-not.  Looks promising.

An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography by Paul Rusesabagina.  I am really looking forward to read this, although I disagree with the title.  Rusesabagina is no ordinary man.  He is a hero and everyone should read his story.  It humbles me to think that people live through the emotional equivalent of Hurricane Katrina every day in Africa.

That should last me a week or so.  What are you reading right now?

On “I Had a Blog Post Today”

“That’s the most persuasive list of passive-aggressive assertions that i’ve ever read.”
gentry13

On the author of “I Had a Blog Post Today”

“I don’t know the author–but sounds like he has a little bit of a martyr complex.” rags

“Well I know that author and he happens to be my husband. Passive-aggressive? No. Honest and insightful? Yes. Willing to challenge the establishment and look for new and better ways of loving people and being like Jesus in a lost world? Absolutely.”  Tracy  (Who is in no way biased because she sleeps with the author.)
Such a response.  And I didn’t even blog yesterday.

Turns out the passive-aggressive comment was intended as a compliment.  Which is a good thing, cause I can be passive-aggressive with the best of them.

But, I’m a little non-plussed about the martyr comment.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I’m not afraid of death, it’s the dying that scares the mess out of me.

Any other reviews?

(HT: Aaron Monts, who linked to yesterday’s non-blog)

…but I deleted it.

Therefore, I will not blog today.

I was going to blog about the anger I feel about the injustice, hatred and mean-spiritedness I witness all too often in the world today.

But, I removed it, because it seemed too angry and mean-spirited on my part.

So, I’ll just keep quiet and lay low. I’ll remain quiet out of the fear of offending. I’ll still my voice in order to avoid stirring the waters of public debate and frustration.

Nope, no blogging today.

I’m probably wrong anyway.

• I’m probably wrong to care less about the USA than I do the Kingdom of God.
• I’m probably wrong to believe that war is wrong and violence is never the answer.
• I’m probably wrong to view children of Iraqi’s to be as precious as my own.
• I’m probably wrong to want my children to go to public school (even though I support Private education and have benefited from it) so they can learn at an early age to be salt and light.
• I’m probably wrong to believe that laws are often misguided and the health of a nation depends upon dissent against civil rights abuses. Maybe Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr shouldn’t be heroes of mine.
• I’m probably wrong to believe that it means something that the one time Jesus talked about judgment He did so in regards to how we treat the poor and the forgotten.
• I’m probably wrong to interpret grace into Old Testament laws of dealing with sojourners and aliens.
• I’m probably wrong to worry about genocide and AIDS in other lands when there is so much here to be concerned about like Brangelina’s baby.
• I’m probably wrong to want to love more than I judge.
• I’m probably wrong to believe that hatred runs deep into the fabric of American society–against gays, illegal immigrants, the French, Democrats, Republicans, minorities, or whatever group catches our ire at this particular point in time.
• I’m probably wrong about worrying about having too much “stuff.” I should just suck it up and buy a new car since the one I’m driving doesn’t have air conditioning in this Texas heat.
• I’m probably wrong to believe that the words of Jesus should propel us to make peace, love enemies, and deny self.
• I’m probably wrong to believe that political parties cannot be champions of the Kingdom due to differing agendas.
• I’m probably wrong to feel so discontent with the state of the church’s compassion, love and humanity for the lost, disaffected, poor and foreigner.
• I’m probably wrong to feel so much regret for all the times I’ve harbored hatred, hurled ethnic slurs, branded sinful people with vitriolic names, and supported agendas that suited me at the expense of others.
• I’m probably wrong to believe that being stewards of God’s creation means care for the creation and not just domination of it.
• I’m probably wrong to believe the greatest terrorist threat is not one of flesh and blood.
• I’m probably wrong to believe that it is a travesty that so many cannot afford insurance.
• I’m probably wrong to believe that liberals can be Christians despite what some might say.

So, instead of blogging today, I’ll just keep my mouth shut.  I’ll not unburden my heart.

Cause, I’m probably wrong.

Although I sure don’t feel like I am.

In fact, I feel like I’m getting closer to the heart of Jesus.

And I really pray I’m not wrong about that.

In mid-2003, when I stopped living in denial and owned up to the fact that illegally downloading music was a sin, I signed up with Rhapsody.  For 10 bucks a month, I was able to listen to all the music that I wanted to while at work.  If I wanted a CD copy, I could burn whatever I wanted for .79 a tune or 8 bucks an album.  When I bought my most recent MP3 player, I jumped up to the $15 plan where I had unlimited downloads to the player.  Now, I had all the music I wanted, all the time, for just a few bucks a month.

But, that player died after just 6 months.

So, I decided to pony up to the plate, follow the teeming masses, and give Steve Jobs an even firmer grip on world domination.

Now, I’m not one of those guys who prefers PC’s over Mac’s.  I really don’t care.  But I have resisted IPOD’s until now.  After doing a ton of extra mystery shops to pay for it, I splurged and got a 30GB Video Ipod (the black one).

First off, it’s uber-cool.  I love it.  It’s sleek and holds every single song ever recorded.  I can download copies of The Office and other TV shows.  I have videos and photos of the girls on there.  I can create a folder for my Barry Manilow and Air Supply fix.
With that said, can I rant a little? Forgive me, in advance. (Tracy, I know, I sound angry.  But, with all of the Apple execs reading this blog, it might do some good.)
Someone told me (you know who you are) that you had unlimited listening through ITunes. Guess what? You don’t.  You see, the afore-mentioned Mr. Jobs believes that people would rather own music than rent it.  Therefore, no subscription service.  If you want to listen to a whole song? .99 cents.  No streaming, no listening unless you give him a buck.

Great plan, Mr. Jobs.  No one wants to “rent.”  That’s why Blockbuster is bankrupt.  The greatest part of Rhapsody was that I got to download countless tunes for only 15 bucks a month.  I didn’t feel slighted or gypped.  I felt like I was getting the best of both worlds.

Besides, I get sick of songs quickly.  That’s why I have violent thoughts when I hear “You’re Beautiful” and “Bad Day.”
Is it really about owning or renting?  Or is it about money?  Is it about an obsession with overtaking Microsoft? The subscription model would cut into the bottom line, wouldn’t it?  You can’t overpower Bill Gates if you sacrifice a few billion, can you?
And not only that, IPOD’s won’t work with Rhapsody, Yahoo, Napster or any other service. We can’t be vassals if we serve another king, right?

And what has your iTunes program done to my computer?  It took me 3 days to figure out how to get my optical drives back.

I love my iPod.  It’s obviously the creme de la creme of MP3 players.  But creating millions of mindless automatons who pony up to iTunes because they know of no other option and are bound to you regardless is not the best way to bolster the corporate image.

But, really, it’s great.  I just believe it could be better.

This is the first in the 13-part series.  The subject is monotheism.

I also began my study on “The Jews in the Time of Jesus.”  The media card was not in the digitizer so I was unable to record it.

In addition, the study on “Redeeming Issues” began last night.  I still have my job today.  Alas, the card ran out of space about 12 minutes into my talk.  It was just an introduction drawing largely from my “Jesus Excepted” and “Israel and America” posts.  I can post the first 12 minutes if anyone is interested.