Odds and Ends for Saturday June 15

1
If anyone installed that stalker Facebook plugin on account of me, I'm sorry. I was notified by a cousin who was using it who probably got suckered in like I did. I didn't complete the installation, but apparently had gone far enough.

I dislike Facebook intensely. I only post to it for the convenience of those that would otherwise miss my posts here (which is Blogger, if you aren't "here" as you read this.)

You can get also get updates on this site by email (in the left column of this page), or Twitter .

2
Mysterious bones may belong to John the Baptist

”Now, new radiocarbon dating of the collagen in one of the bones pegs its age to the early first century, consistent with the New Testament and Jewish histories of John the Baptist's life.” (MSNBC )

I've been listening to both secular and religious histories of the ancient Near East and discovered only recently that baptism was a Jewish purification rite; now it makes more sense. I'm sure most Baptist ministers know this, but it's not shared, perhaps because when you coopt a practice for your own ends, it helps to obscure the original details (eg, Saturnalia -> Christmas). It's not sinister, just a little deceptive.

Now if someone can explain how blood sacrifice became a nearly universal human practice.

(What in the world is buried in our psyches that make us think killing another living creature makes deities happy? Doesn’t anyone else ask these types of questions?)

3
Can you believe I got all the way to Calvin College before finding out what the Reformation was or heard of John Calvin? And the only Martin Luther I knew before then was Mr King.

Baptists from my tradition aren't formally introduced to these things; many therefore never become aware of them at all.

Elsewhere on Clarence’s blog I wrote:

“Matters that divide us aren't noumenal nonsense that you can take or leave depending on what side of the bed you woke up on. They determine how we treat the weak, the poor, the feeble minded; how we respond to the misfortune of others; how we apologize for an offense, or forgive an offense; and everything else and in between we call manners and morals.“

When I'm staring off into the distance, apparently looking at nothing, sometimes that is what I'm thinking about.

Some time back, I was wrestling with some personal pain outside work and home that I can't treat publicly without becoming a victim of my own insecurity; despite my best efforts to be helpful, circumstances constrained me in ways I couldn't overcome, and feelings were hurt; I fear this situation permanently ruined some friendships. I hope someday some few will realize they misjudged me, but that probably won't happen. In the meantime, it's an opportunity to learn again a hard lesson, that character is often built privately, and people you care about will never pass up an opportunity to teach you this.

Started: Some time in April 2012