Prince to take time off to study the bible

Apparently Prince is in London to do some shows (only 30 ponds a ticket), and after he is going to take some time to study the bible. Perhaps he an Bono can come together and do a new study bible...

HT: Londonist

Cruciformity: The Cruciform Power of the Spirit

Gorman sets up his discussion of the Spirit of God by noting that it is usually associated with power: the power of creation, of spiritual and moral transformation, and ultimately of new creation. This context is extremely important to keep in mind in the following discussion.

Gorman’s rather catchy description of Paul as an uncharismatic charismatic is not only clever it is very interesting. He takes the two meanings of the term charismatic namely, someone with a magnetic personality and one who is dynamic in leadership, and someone who is possessed by the Spirit of God. In terms of the former Paul is a self assessed uncharismatic (presumably Paul must be speaking of his style in public speeches, because his letters show at least a semblance of rhetorical sophistication). In terms of the latter Paul is charismatic, in that his ministry was driven by his Spirit inspired gifts. Where the term uncharismatic charismatic becomes interesting (and not just clever anymore) is Gorman’s ability to show the interconnectedness of spirit and power.

For Gorman it is in Paul’s experience and his resulting understanding of the Spirit which is the key to understanding the paradoxical symbiosis of power and weakness.

There is more to say on the Spirit and Gorman certainly does, but if I have any hopes of finishing this series the post have to be rather short.

On another note Michael Gorman is flirting with his own blog!

Technorati tags: Michael J. Gorman, Cruciformity, Spirituality, power and weakness

My Accent

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Northeast
The Midland
Philadelphia
The South
North Central
The West
Boston
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Mental Meanderings

I noticed that a London Indie band is attempting to give it's music away for free in hopes of broadening their fan base. I often thought that this would be a great new way for indie bands to make it in the ever changing music scape. Here is my idea for an up and coming indie band. First, make sure you can play. Next, record a CD with the people who know what they are doing. Then tour college towns distributing free CD's two weeks before the show in the local Uni papers. The idea is that enough people will dig your music to come out and pay to see you play, and these potential fans being familiar with your music, might actually make a connection with you and support you in your future en devours. Oh and this idea is under a creative commons license!

On a slightly unrelated point, Patrik Hagman over at God in a Shrinking Universe has a series on Tillich and Indie Music, and more recently Patrik has a link to Naomi Klein's article on the problems over at the World Bank. Here is a teaser:

Wolfowitz's only crime was taking his institution's international posture to heart. The fact that he has responded to the scandal by hiring a celebrity lawyer and shopping for a leadership "coach" is just more evidence that he has fully absorbed the World Bank way: When in doubt, blow the budget on overpriced consultants and call it aid.

Technorati tags: Indie Music, Naomi Klein, Patrik Hagman, World Bank

Scousers Supreme!

I will have to say, I was a little disappointed that Robbie didn't get to take a wack!