Noah's Seen What I Have Seen
"What is possessed," John Updike once wrote, "is devalued by what is coveted." 1996 Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel has learned again that the converse is also true:
Appreciating what you have makes it worth more.
The former University of Florida quarterback is the development director for Desire Street Ministries in New Orleans. He is among the throngs forced to flee the city by hurricane Katrina.
A Tampa (Fla.) Tribune (9/8/05) article quotes him as saying:
(That is a mess of a sentence, I realize. And if I were a real writer, it would have to undergo advanced grammatical triage before anyone saw it.)
But back to a certain kind of preacher hoping to use Katrina for his own ends. I wish a could cite a source for you. I don't know if it's something I read in the newspaper, on a web site or something that flashed past as I made rounds using the "Next Blog" button but it won't strain credulity when I finally get to the point.
Which is: Katrina is God's punishment for not worshipping Him enough. If only more of us went to church to kneel before Him! If only more of us prayed to him (preferably in public schools)! If only more of us sent money to televangelists so they could buy luxury cars in His name! If only! He could spare us the suffering of such disasters!
Yes, ladies and gentlement, boys and girls, Katrina is the long arm of a jealous and angry God reaching out to slap our backside. You know why? The Creator of the Heavens and the Earth and the Universe whose expanse we are only beginning to grasp; thine whose is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory; thine who is the Light, the Way and the Truth; our God rains his wrath on us because He (pause for dramatic effect) has self esteem issues.
You could think: Why not? He did make us in His own image, didn't He? And look how screwed up we are.
But think some more and you see that it's silly. It is the people who wanted to coerce people into believing their version of religion thousands of years ago who created a god in their image: vainglorious people who wanted to control people's behavior and assume exalted status in their communities.
Just like the politicos (again, on both sides), these preachers covet the right to remake New Orleans, the next presidential administration and the entire philosophy of our democracy as they see fit. Like Harry Truman promising to fill Japanese cities with nuclear hell if they didn't surrender in 1945, they threaten that more catastrophe is coming if we don't heed His will, which we can do by giving more credence to them. Fill their congregations and remember to give generously when they pass the plate. There are souls at stake. And Mercedes payments to make!
Appreciating what you have makes it worth more.
The former University of Florida quarterback is the development director for Desire Street Ministries in New Orleans. He is among the throngs forced to flee the city by hurricane Katrina.
A Tampa (Fla.) Tribune (9/8/05) article quotes him as saying:
"We just re-learned the difference between want and need. How much time do we spend saying, 'We need this, we need this' and get bent out of shape? Now we've got nothing and yet we have everything we need. We've got my wife and son and food and shelter."Wuerffel's perspective is refreshing, if not always easily remembered. I could afford to re-learn it from time to time too. If it's alright, though, I'd like to try it without losing almost everything I own first.
(That is a mess of a sentence, I realize. And if I were a real writer, it would have to undergo advanced grammatical triage before anyone saw it.)
But back to a certain kind of preacher hoping to use Katrina for his own ends. I wish a could cite a source for you. I don't know if it's something I read in the newspaper, on a web site or something that flashed past as I made rounds using the "Next Blog" button but it won't strain credulity when I finally get to the point.
Which is: Katrina is God's punishment for not worshipping Him enough. If only more of us went to church to kneel before Him! If only more of us prayed to him (preferably in public schools)! If only more of us sent money to televangelists so they could buy luxury cars in His name! If only! He could spare us the suffering of such disasters!
Yes, ladies and gentlement, boys and girls, Katrina is the long arm of a jealous and angry God reaching out to slap our backside. You know why? The Creator of the Heavens and the Earth and the Universe whose expanse we are only beginning to grasp; thine whose is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory; thine who is the Light, the Way and the Truth; our God rains his wrath on us because He (pause for dramatic effect) has self esteem issues.
You could think: Why not? He did make us in His own image, didn't He? And look how screwed up we are.
But think some more and you see that it's silly. It is the people who wanted to coerce people into believing their version of religion thousands of years ago who created a god in their image: vainglorious people who wanted to control people's behavior and assume exalted status in their communities.
Just like the politicos (again, on both sides), these preachers covet the right to remake New Orleans, the next presidential administration and the entire philosophy of our democracy as they see fit. Like Harry Truman promising to fill Japanese cities with nuclear hell if they didn't surrender in 1945, they threaten that more catastrophe is coming if we don't heed His will, which we can do by giving more credence to them. Fill their congregations and remember to give generously when they pass the plate. There are souls at stake. And Mercedes payments to make!
posted by jack at 5:05 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home