tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post7226741649251832554..comments2023-10-06T08:10:05.853-04:00Comments on Necromancy Never Pays: Do the MathJeannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01374498643286099244noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-60291440743545006862009-03-23T17:23:00.000-04:002009-03-23T17:23:00.000-04:00Sorry, Teena. See, this is another reason I've st...Sorry, Teena. See, this is another reason I've started using the title of whatever I've read as the title of my post. I meant the title to refer to how all the things Pitts Jr. mentions add up. He actually started the math metaphor.Jeannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01374498643286099244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-1402660869332342542009-03-23T16:49:00.000-04:002009-03-23T16:49:00.000-04:00I was really hoping for some more math in this pos...I was really hoping for some more math in this post. It talked about religion and poetry, which I guess are just funny kinds of math...Teenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12988901078656648613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-58063203563668677222009-03-18T20:24:00.000-04:002009-03-18T20:24:00.000-04:00Lots of food for thought. Lemming, I'm particular...Lots of food for thought. Lemming, I'm particularly tickled to be compared to a scoffer, and I'd forgotten about "just" as the third word, which gives not only me but both my kids a similar reaction! We visited various churches before Eleanor was confirmed, and found the largest number of "justs" at the Baptist. Also Baptist and Lutheran ministers here repeated the moral of their sermons twice after stating it.Jeannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01374498643286099244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-76001295796227509352009-03-18T13:53:00.000-04:002009-03-18T13:53:00.000-04:00I attended a 2 1/2 hour meeting of our church'...I attended a 2 1/2 hour meeting of our church's Worship & Music committee last night. It's very possible to find people working hard to invest services with meaning. But the doing of it is harder work than many are interested in pursuing. Plus, arguments are inevitable, as I learned last night!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-20694008849803360222009-03-17T07:17:00.000-04:002009-03-17T07:17:00.000-04:00It is sad that the celebrities of religion-The Bak...It is sad that the celebrities of religion-The Bakkers, Swaggart, Ted Haggard, etc-are turning so many people off or are sending the wrong message to those that they attract. I grew up in Colorado Springs and saw first-hand all the money that went into the Focus on the Family compound, the New Life Church, the <A HREF="http://theworldprayercenter.org/about_us/history.jsp" REL="nofollow">World Prayer Center</A>. Working in a nearby restaurant, I also heard stories from the waitstaff about the cheap nature of the church groups that would come in, 20 at a time, sit for hours, and then leave $0.25 and a "tip" on a napkin about asking Jesus for salvation. Talk about hypocrisy. How about giving a lousy $10 to help your waitress feed her kids instead of chastising her for not having just come from your church? <BR/><BR/>I know that this does not personify all churches or church-goers, but it is the image that gets put out there and it is being put out there on a large-scale, and it is unfortunate. <BR/><BR/>There is something to be said for people gathering together (flocking? congregating?-whatever it is that the Bible says people should do which generally seems to support the formation of churches in the first place) in order to form and/or strengthen communities and support networks. It's important to know that you don't have to go through the rough times alone and that you will have others with which to celebrate your happy times; but, ultimately, I think a person's relationship with God has to be between him and God, not him and the church, or him and the Pope or him and the approving (or disapproving) members of the congregation. This point seems to get lost a lot, and I like that Larkin's character seems to remember it.Dreamybeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03274518106482632672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-46509321444772661282009-03-16T20:53:00.000-04:002009-03-16T20:53:00.000-04:00(obligatory nerd moment) You sound like the scoffe...(obligatory nerd moment) You sound like the scoffers during the Second Great Awakening.<BR/><BR/>The mega churches thrive because in a society which now bowls alone (to quote the now classics article) poeple desperately need a community. They discover the church through teh great youth soccer program and end up at a service and, voila, a new member.<BR/><BR/>I cannot heard the word "just" in a prayer as the third word 9"Jesus, I just...") without cringing or succumbing to the giggles or both. My 60-something Episcopal rector says that I am uptight and need to adapt to the times. People between the ages of 40 and 65 are most resistant to change in liturgy. As I am not yet forty, thank you very much...lemminghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06767103318863906140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-60645764862303332162009-03-16T11:30:00.000-04:002009-03-16T11:30:00.000-04:00I love this poem. I too am a frequenter of churche...I love this poem. I too am a frequenter of churches, although I am more often looking for music. I think a lot of the disintegration of them has to do with our changing notions of community. I live in a small town where the single Catholic church still functions as a community center of sorts. There are many things I can't stand about it, but I go because it's part of living here and now. But it is not a place to grow wise in. I'm not sure it ever was. For me, as freshhell, the place to grow wise is in my own head. It is often a solitary place, but it is buttressed by many things -- half-hours sitting alone on the pier watching birds and fish, talking with wise people I've had the good fortune to meet, yoga class, choir practice, and occasionally even a church.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000858382516594426.post-31536225792029508862009-03-16T11:13:00.000-04:002009-03-16T11:13:00.000-04:00I love Larkin. And the word "pyx". I use to imagin...I love Larkin. And the word "pyx". I use to imagine that my (unwritten) first book of short stories would be entitled, "Southern Pyx". I think my place isn't a physical place. It's in my head when I read really good books. It's the cumulative effect of all the books I've ever read and ever will read.FreshHellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13051170717740487431noreply@blogger.com