bierkergaard

Last night in New York City, as Lina walked our usual 2,000 steps (traversing Manhattan is somewhat more interesting than Lancaster), we passed this J.W. house of worship. It was in lock-down. It looked like a bunker.  Since it wasn't Saturday, I suppose it made sense that it was shuttered. But, what does it say about a house of worship that isn't open in a world class city that never sleeps? Theologically, such non-accessibility communicates a reality that we serve an inaccessible part-time God. J.W. have some serious errant teaching. So, the locks and gates convey a God who may be involved or disengaged.   Yet, plenty of Christian churches are practically deserted during the week also. I just don't get why we invest so much money in a property that lays dormant for 95% of the calendar. It really seems like an unwise fiduciary principal. Sort of like having a pick-up truck so that one can haul something once a month. Otherwise, it is impractical. Rent! Don't eve...

This quote is attributed to Mother Theresa. A host of burning candles seems to be a powerful image for forgiveness. Candles are very vulnerable to wind, rain, a lack of oxygen, and its own finite resources. Yet, when lit, candles emanate a powerful luminosity that exceeds their limitations. Properly nurtured, a candle is mighty in light and in dispelling the darkness. Forgiveness also appears weak. Returning darkness for darkness seems to be the just way. Yet, how does more darkness see us through? Forgiveness is costly, it burns. We move on. Advent in the Christian tradition is typically celebrated with the lighting of candles. It symbolizes the coming of Jesus into the dark world. I would imagine that their were candles or lamps in the Manger on the night when Jesus was born. The Light of the World....a small flame, yet drawing on the infinite power of the Almighty. Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedien...

I was in a difficult and protracted situation recently about something I supposedly did over five years ago. The operating presumption of several people was that I indeed was the individual responsible. It wasn't a super serious situation but serious enough that it had to be addressed. I could have accepted the guilt and probably been no worse for wear, brushed myself off, and moved on. But, something did not sit right. So, I would not let the issue fade away. I was insistent, in a civil manner, that we get to the bottom of it. It could turn out that I was indeed the responsible party. The certainty of guilt could be increased or lessened by my willingness to engage the issue until resolution. I was willing to step up and make amends if I was guilty or be absolved. Either way the truth would come out and I had to be certain that I would be OK with either option. Further investigation would must certainly reveal my guilt. Others did not seem inclined to pursue the process of fa...

For those of my readers who don't know, my wife Lina is first-generation American. Her parents are from Taiwan. As such, she is maestro with the chopsticks. She does a pulling apart move of food with the chopsticks that one must be of Asian ancestry to pull off. I knew that I was getting the hang of using chopsticks when I was out in California at her parents place and I picked up a peanut. With her dad looking on, I felt like the Karate Kid, getting accepted into the Asian food martial arts academy. I don't think I will ever get to the black belt of pulling food apart with the chopsticks. But as for picking up the food and stuffing my mouth, I do OK. If I had to use chopsticks as a matter of life or death, I could feed myself sufficiently to survive. It is rather second nature by now. I impress my Caucasoid friends at Chinese restaurants with my prowess. There was some initiation I passed when I learned to use the sticks, some acceptance into the Yang clan where I would stil...

I have a true love/hate relationship with lifting weights. On the love side, it is good exercise, will probably increase or maintain my mobility and strength as I age, and it allows me--along with running--to more fully enjoy food and drink. I am one of those people who works out so that he can drink and eat more. I am never going to be one of those bodybuilders that eats tuna or chicken breast every day. I don't want to be a Spartan on 'roids. On the hate side, boy do I dislike trudging down to the basement when the couch and books are beckoning, to heave weight around for 40 minutes three days a week. I am never happy to do it, only joyful when I have finished. When our tenant broke the lease, I spent 5 weeks painting and rehabbing the place so it would look presentable to new prospective tenants. I was putting in 10-12 hours or more each successive Saturdays and rationalized that I needed both time to recover and time to prepare for these Saturdays so I jettisoned the...

Acts 17   Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. "The one positive statement that Socrates seems to have made is a definition of virtue (areté): "virtue is knowledge." If one knows the good, one will always do the good. It follows, then, that anyone who does anything wrong doesn't really know what the good is." (Richard Hooker) If there is a philosophical idol today that parallels the philosophical idol of ancient Athens, it is this: With the acquisition of knowledge, humanity can be good. That is, our evil is a result of ignorance. What a contrast to Paul's statement in Romans 7 that although he knows the good, he does not do it. Like all philosophical musings, there are pragmatic consequences to what we believe. What starts out in the Ivory Tower doesn't stay there...the Ivory Tower--the human mind--is an idol factory...John Calvin wrote, “the human mind is, so to s...

A friend who is a bookseller/bookstore owner posted a copy of this article on FB of how Amazon is practicing a form of legal espionage by proxy in having consumers use a smart-phone app to scan prices at retail stores, then the consumer goes to Amazon and buys the product, be it a book or another good, at a lesser price. If the consumer has Amazon Prime, then there is free shipping. Often, there is no sales tax on the purchase. If I understand Bezos correctly, Amazon is not against sales tax per se but wants the federal government to establish some protocols and processes which makes sense because it is essentially is interstate commerce. Amazon is mining such data for its price points. Because the profit margins for Amazon are so low, Amazon makes up the difference by selling a lot of stuff. He, like many retailers, especially bookstore owners, are rightfully concerned about Amazon's leverage and sway over the book-selling business. Simply, there is no way that a hard copy books...