umm
posted by -mike- at 6:15 PM
you can post here: [0 comment(s)]
welcome!
I am Mike Noakes.
That is was my pipe.
This is my blog.
Welcome.
(about me)
My Bio... thus farMy Myspace
My Wishlist
Buy my books on Half.Com!
(thoughts)
"Before the beautiful-no, not really before but within the beautiful-the whole person quivers. He not only 'finds' the beautiful moving; rather, he experiences himself as being moved and possessed by it."
- Hans Urs von Balthasar
"Everywhere I go, I'm asked if I think the universities stifle writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them. There's many a best seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher."
- Flannery o'Connor
"Christians are called to leave behind, in the tomb of Jesus Christ, all that belongs to the brokenness and incompleteness of the present world. It is time, in the power of the Spirit, to take up our proper role, our fully human role, as agents, heralds, stewards of the new day that is dawning."
- NT Wright
"When we think our brother or sister has sinned against us, such an affront is not just against us but against the whole community. A community established as peaceful cannot afford to let us relish our sense of being wronged without exposing that wrong in the hopes of reconciliation."
- Stan Hauerwas
"Advertising treats all products with the reverence and the seriousness due to sacraments."
- Thomas Merton
"All the believers were of one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possesions was their own, but they shared everything that they had."
- Acts of the Apostles
"For evil men account those things alone evil which do not make men evil; neither do they blush to praise good things, and yet to remain evil among the good things they praise. It grieves them more to own a bad house than a bad life, as if it were man's greatest good to have everything good but himself."
- St. Augustine
(reading)
The Eucharist of the Early Christians
The Collected Short Stories, Flannery o'Connor
The Kingdom of God is Within You, Tolstoy
(have read)
Crossing the Threshold of Hope, Pope John Paul II
God is Near Us, Pope Benedict XVI
Heretics/Orthodoxy, GK Chesterton
Sonnets from the Portuguese, Elizabeth Barret Browning
(theology thinkers)
Bishop NT WrightStanley Hauerwas
Karl Barth
(spirituality)
Daily PrayerNutshell Christology
Patristic Resources
Renovare
Centering Prayer
Sacramental Theology
The Triune God
(site feed)
My Atom Feed
(good books)
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Prayer of Thomas Merton
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think that I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this
you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
posted by -mike- at 6:10 PM
you can post here: [0 comment(s)]
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Original Sin
Last week in our Anglican History Class, Lynlea and I got to sit in on a fun conversation about original sin. Now, as I understood it, we will return the subject this Sunday for a more in depth look on the Anglican position, although we may not and it could just be wishful thinking on my part. Either way, I hope that we all can begin a discussion here on this blog that will be edifying for all.
I was raised a firm believer in the concept of "Original Sin" but not so much anymore. It honestly escapes me how one can assert that human beings, as a whole, suffer from a moral/ethical/spiritual flaw that was inherited by the sin of Adam (not Eve, guys)
I was always under the assumption that because Adam (who I also assumed to be a literal historical figure) sinned and chose to rebel against God's will for him that all humanity was stained by his rebellion. Jesus, being the "son of God," was the only person to be born without this flaw. Because he, who was without sin, took on the sin(s) of the world, the Father "accepted his perfect sacrifice" and allowed him (Christ) to intercede for believers to Himself.
Now, I'm not sure that this theory would make perfect sense unless the 19th century concept of the Immaculate Conception of the Ever-Mary is taken as being true... and I can't accept that in good conscience. Also, the very underpinnings of this theological position are based , in my opinion, on ideas of the atonement that I find violent and unacceptable to the Christ of the Gospels. Substitutionary atonement really doesn't interest me that much and I would argue that it wasn't on Jesus mind either when he died on a Roman cross for "the sins of the World."
Now, I don't want to sound like I have studied this in too much depth. I have not. And maybe I should. But this is my opinion on the matter and I would love input, especially as I go back into my Anglican Studies Class later this week. We may be discussing this, we may not. Either way, I am wanting to learn more.
I was raised a firm believer in the concept of "Original Sin" but not so much anymore. It honestly escapes me how one can assert that human beings, as a whole, suffer from a moral/ethical/spiritual flaw that was inherited by the sin of Adam (not Eve, guys)
I was always under the assumption that because Adam (who I also assumed to be a literal historical figure) sinned and chose to rebel against God's will for him that all humanity was stained by his rebellion. Jesus, being the "son of God," was the only person to be born without this flaw. Because he, who was without sin, took on the sin(s) of the world, the Father "accepted his perfect sacrifice" and allowed him (Christ) to intercede for believers to Himself.
Now, I'm not sure that this theory would make perfect sense unless the 19th century concept of the Immaculate Conception of the Ever-Mary is taken as being true... and I can't accept that in good conscience. Also, the very underpinnings of this theological position are based , in my opinion, on ideas of the atonement that I find violent and unacceptable to the Christ of the Gospels. Substitutionary atonement really doesn't interest me that much and I would argue that it wasn't on Jesus mind either when he died on a Roman cross for "the sins of the World."
Now, I don't want to sound like I have studied this in too much depth. I have not. And maybe I should. But this is my opinion on the matter and I would love input, especially as I go back into my Anglican Studies Class later this week. We may be discussing this, we may not. Either way, I am wanting to learn more.
posted by -mike- at 6:34 PM
you can post here: [11 comment(s)]
Boys act like girls...
and girls are secretly pirates.
Starting this week, a series of themed parties will invade the minds of those especially chosen in the desert of southern Idaho. You who were elect before the dawn of time (at least this morning, that is) will know who you are by an email, a phone call, or a friendly myspace comment. Below is a sampling of what is to come, for all you who are chosen:
Don't you wanna come?
Starting this week, a series of themed parties will invade the minds of those especially chosen in the desert of southern Idaho. You who were elect before the dawn of time (at least this morning, that is) will know who you are by an email, a phone call, or a friendly myspace comment. Below is a sampling of what is to come, for all you who are chosen:
Prom/drag daddy nightAnd this is all this month!!!
Boy will be girls/pirates of the Magic Valley night
Hobo/brown bag boxing night
Best boy at being a girl is captain of camping night
Skateland/hit a skank night
No Matt's allowed (with the exception of my brother) night
Don't you wanna come?
posted by -mike- at 1:54 PM
you can post here: [0 comment(s)]
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Be quiet
This is pretty much a random rant about my thoughts. Be warned.
Today I was at work cutting veggies and prepping food for the coming day like I do every day. Nothing unusual. For some odd reason I started hearing chanting. Gregorian chanting. At first I thought that the radio had been turned on and it was a bit of some commercial for cell phone service or auto insurance but then I noticed no one else was paying any attention to it. I turned to one of my co-workers, Nephi, and I asked him if he heard chanting. He said no. Odd. Well, that set me off into a strange spiritual mood. I started thinking about two very different things and they eventually merged into one. Silence, on the one hand, simply because of my earlier confusion whether or not there was any music playing, and the Virginia Tech shootings, because of a threat my school received a couple days ago after the killings. Now, I am sure that anyone who has taken the time to read thus far is a bit confused as to how these two things are connected. To me, it makes perfect sense. We like noise. We can't stand the silence. When it's quiet, you are stuck by yourself. Alone with yourself and no one else... and some of us don't like ourselves. What happens when you go so long with taking a time to breathe a while and listening to the whispers of your soul telling you who you are? Virginia Tech happens. And it's a very sad thing.
I think I'm taking a retreat in a couple weeks to the monastery.
Today I was at work cutting veggies and prepping food for the coming day like I do every day. Nothing unusual. For some odd reason I started hearing chanting. Gregorian chanting. At first I thought that the radio had been turned on and it was a bit of some commercial for cell phone service or auto insurance but then I noticed no one else was paying any attention to it. I turned to one of my co-workers, Nephi, and I asked him if he heard chanting. He said no. Odd. Well, that set me off into a strange spiritual mood. I started thinking about two very different things and they eventually merged into one. Silence, on the one hand, simply because of my earlier confusion whether or not there was any music playing, and the Virginia Tech shootings, because of a threat my school received a couple days ago after the killings. Now, I am sure that anyone who has taken the time to read thus far is a bit confused as to how these two things are connected. To me, it makes perfect sense. We like noise. We can't stand the silence. When it's quiet, you are stuck by yourself. Alone with yourself and no one else... and some of us don't like ourselves. What happens when you go so long with taking a time to breathe a while and listening to the whispers of your soul telling you who you are? Virginia Tech happens. And it's a very sad thing.
I think I'm taking a retreat in a couple weeks to the monastery.
Labels: silence
posted by -mike- at 4:17 PM
you can post here: [0 comment(s)]
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Reading and Writing...
And working to bring home bread for the kids.
My life has been rather uneventful as of late. I get up, go to work, come home, eat some food, read a book, write a bit, then go to sleep. Every now and again Brian will come over or I'll go over to his place and we'll watch a movie and have a good time. I wish I could keep up with this thing more often but I am rarely ever online these days. That's probably healthy for me... I was becoming an addict.
I have been writing more recently. It's a secret what I'm writing right now, so I'm going to keep you all guessing!! It's nothing important, of course, but I think this is the first project that I have taken on with any sort of seriousness about it.
I have come to a point in my own spiritual formation where I think I need to move away from some things I was involved in before now and move towards things I wish to emulate. I am tired of the bickering and fighting over this and that... whether post-modernity is a good or bad thing... whether God is Blue or Red, Left or Right... Whether we should continue to deconstruct traditional Christian faith or leave it where it's always been... and so on. I am just tired of these things, and I think that there are more important places I could be putting my time and energy.
One way I am going to do that is to finally sit down and identify with a group of believers. I am going to become a full-blown Episcopalian next month. Our Bishop is coming down and I am going to received into the church, God willing, on May 4th. Sad thing is, a good friend of Lynlea's, Melinda, is going to married on the same day. I will make the latter half of the reception but I am still a bit upset I can not be there for the ceremony. Priorities, regrettably...
Well, I am getting back to research. I am doing my best to pull together all of my avaliable resources to learn a bit more on the history of non-violence and the Gospel of Luke.
If you have a spare book laying around, I know someone you could send it to...
My life has been rather uneventful as of late. I get up, go to work, come home, eat some food, read a book, write a bit, then go to sleep. Every now and again Brian will come over or I'll go over to his place and we'll watch a movie and have a good time. I wish I could keep up with this thing more often but I am rarely ever online these days. That's probably healthy for me... I was becoming an addict.
I have been writing more recently. It's a secret what I'm writing right now, so I'm going to keep you all guessing!! It's nothing important, of course, but I think this is the first project that I have taken on with any sort of seriousness about it.
I have come to a point in my own spiritual formation where I think I need to move away from some things I was involved in before now and move towards things I wish to emulate. I am tired of the bickering and fighting over this and that... whether post-modernity is a good or bad thing... whether God is Blue or Red, Left or Right... Whether we should continue to deconstruct traditional Christian faith or leave it where it's always been... and so on. I am just tired of these things, and I think that there are more important places I could be putting my time and energy.
One way I am going to do that is to finally sit down and identify with a group of believers. I am going to become a full-blown Episcopalian next month. Our Bishop is coming down and I am going to received into the church, God willing, on May 4th. Sad thing is, a good friend of Lynlea's, Melinda, is going to married on the same day. I will make the latter half of the reception but I am still a bit upset I can not be there for the ceremony. Priorities, regrettably...
Well, I am getting back to research. I am doing my best to pull together all of my avaliable resources to learn a bit more on the history of non-violence and the Gospel of Luke.
If you have a spare book laying around, I know someone you could send it to...
Labels: episcopal church, luke, marriage, non-violence, updates, writing
posted by -mike- at 12:57 PM
you can post here: [1 comment(s)]
Come, pray with us.
(friends)
Brian McManus
David Brandt
Emerging Church Blogs
Michael Butterworth
(anglicans)
Ben Finger
Jody Howard
Kyle Potter
(romans)
Alan Creech
Fr. Christopher Phillips
Day Zimlich
Pontifications
To the Quiet
Way of the Fathers
(protestants)
Adam Walker Cleaveland
Anthony Bradley
Joshua Hearne
Patrick Hagman
Rick Mansfield
Rob the Cuban
(previous posts)
A big thanks to Kyle and Jesse!!
Where are my comments?
A quick nightime thought:
Blades of Glory
Coffee
Vacationing!!
Recent-ish Pics
I am religiously intolerant
Discerning a call
You never think twice, with God on your side...
(archives)
January 1990
November 1990
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
"Hits since 09.08.06"
(archives)
January 1990November 1990
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
"Hits since 09.08.06"
Potatocore[at]Gmail[dot]Com | copyright 2006, all rights reserved