a triune chord

it's been a litte while since an abstract thought really got me going, but last week my sister had me read an article about a guy who had spoken at one of her chapels at college. it was about how music can inform our understanding of theology.

a couple of years ago i read dorothy sayers' the mind of the maker. sayers was saying that God has left his image on creation... and so a lot of things that we take as theological mysteries are actually displayed in our daily lives. for example, the trinity. how do we wrap our heads around three persons in one godhead? but a book is both the creative idea that conceives it, the tangible manifestation of that idea in book form, and the effect that the book has on those who read it. the Father--the creative conceiver; the Son--the tangible incarnation; and the Spirit--the continual effector.

jeremy begbie, the guy the article was about, draws out the idea of trinity in a musical chord. in a chord, each note remains unique and individual, but the three notes blend together in harmony to create a whole chord. while objects can't occupy the same space (and our minds tend to work in terms of objects, thereby making the trinity a difficult concept), sound can. here's a link to an interview with begbie and one to the abstract of an interview he did with mars hill. he's also got a book out called beholding the glory. i'm too cheap to buy it, but if anyone else does, i'd love to hear about it.

i don't have much to say about all of this other than that i love to discover new ways that God has revealed himself in creation and in art. a while ago, pat wallin posted on the role of art in the church. something that we've lost in the modern evangelical tradition (which is making a comeback in the emergent church) is a respect for God's revelation in the arts. we have been created in the image of our creator God to be creative. it's not a frivolous thing. it's vital--it's intrinsic to our understanding of who our Father is.

i voted for bush

i just found out that i'm a flaming liberal feminist. i'm always a little amused to find out how people perceive me (i tend to keep to myself, which means people end up drawing their own conclusions), but i have to say this one has come as quite a surprise.

somewhere between high school and now, i stopped being ultra-conservative. i know that. living and traveling in europe helped me to question some of my presuppositions and try to see the validity in the 'other side.' i know that, too. and i started to really love the unique voice that women have--the beauty and the strength--and i've wanted to hear it expressed more. i long to see men honor women by encouraging and validating their voices.

but i didn't know that all of these things added up to being a flaming liberal feminist. here's how i found out: i started hanging out with a guy who works for the united states secret service. he carries a gun. he wears body armor. he protects the white house. and as i've started telling people about him, they're shocked. really. several people have implied that his job surely must clash with all of my ideals. as liberal as i (apparently) am, it doesn't seem possible that i would be comfortable with someone who works for The Man.

there are many layers of irony here, but the one i find most humorous is that i actually voted for bush. there were several extra-political reasons that i did, but none of the political ramifications were strong enough for me to decide not to vote for him. and i'll be honest--i've kind of resented the fact that i've had to keep that on the DL. i'm not saying that i'm 100% behind everything bush does. there's a lot that i don't agree with. but aside from the politics, i resent the fact that i lose cool points because of the way i voted. i am absolutely against the idea that to be christian is to be republican. that is anathema to me. (i went to a church the sunday before july 4 where they sang patriotic songs instead of hymns and preached on why the constitution is worthy of respect. i had to dig my fingernails into the pews in order to avoid jumping up and screaming. this is the first time in four years that i've been in the states for the fourth, and the whole thing was so strange. can i just point out how appropriate it is that our major national holiday is a celebration of independence? bullheaded american independence. we will depend on no one.) but i don't think the solution is to vote against the 'moral majority' to maintain edginess.

so this is my public confession: i voted for bush. twice.

you may now think less of me. but i warn you: if you think less of me for this, i will probably think less of you.