pinakidion.*

For Dancing Bear, no stent. There’s another appointment in two weeks to see if it really has stopped growing back. We also do not have to shove the tube down her nose to keep the airway open anymore either. Finally, peaceful sleep!

The visit with the Genetics doctor also provided good news. Our son almost certainly does not have Charge Syndrome and being tested for it would be futile. His only issues at this point are the hearing loss, the external shape of the ear, and his overall rate of growth/weight. More than likely, he will grow at a slow rate like his father and his father’s father. There is a chance that it is a hormone issue caused by a skull deformity near his pituitary gland. Even if that is the case, treatment is benign.

So, good news from here. Life is good.

I’m sick, I know it.

Lots of stuff, so rather than a dozen semi-thoughts with their own posts, just one post:

Stent or No Stent
Today is the big day to determine if Dancing Bear needs a stent. We are hoping that she doesn’t. We’d like for this chapter of her life to come to a close. I’d like her to be able to say in the future, “my nose hasn’t given me any trouble in 19 years. All is well.”

UPC is a big deal
So now the powers that be are trying to get San Diego and Athens (think Sam Laing) to sign. Why is there this pressure to sign? I guess it is because the UPC doesn’t work if every church doesn’t sign. A non-signing church cannot vote on regional representatives. A non-signing church is not bound by the decisions of the Regional Group or the Steering Committee. With the guiding idea of unity still being preached that we must all agree on doctrine and practice in order to move forward, it’s no wonder that there’s pressure. Following this line of reasoning, how can the ICoC be unified if we are not certain of the doctrine and practices of a few scattered churches that claim fellowship with us? How can we be unified is they are not part of the decision making process? How can we be unified if consensus decisions are ’selectively’ applied?

Well, true believers, if unity depends on uniform doctrine and practice, it will not be achieved in my lifetime, or my grand children’s lifetime. Doctrine must be treated as also an emotional issue. To pretend that it is not is to ignore the definition of religion, itself.

But I digress. The UPC is a big deal again and will be a big deal until after the MOAC 2007 in LA. Ugh.

Hands and Voices
A parent advocacy group for families with deaf/hard of hearing children is coming to my state. They have been instrumental is bringing about change in education, insurance, and legislation without being confrontational. This isn’t an angry parent’s group. It brings together many families dealing with very different issues.

You may not know, but there is considerable controversy in helping deaf/hard of hearing children communicate. Do you teach them to be only verbal? Verbal and sign? Sign only? Which sign language do you use? Cueing? Sign Exact English? American Sign Language? ASL in English Word Order? These issues traditionally divide families and support personnel.

Hands and Voices seeks to support all methods, but bring families and professional together for common good. For example, in Colorado, Hands and Voices was part of an effort to make insurance companies cover the costs of hearing aids for children up to age 18. That one is personal to me as you may know. I hope that poorer families never have to face the choices we did. (Thank God for the church I attend and a private foundation.)

How powerful is it for a Verbal only person to lobby for the rights of a Signing ASL only person?

There are implications in this for Christian unity as well, without resorting to a form of ecumenism that the Restoration Movement tends to deride. More on this later.

Speaking of Unity
The church I attend is going to have a joint service with a CoC. We had attended a church en masse some time ago. We were not considered Christians at the time, but we were treated very well and shared a meal together. AS far as the upcoming service, I can’t wait to see the two ministers share the stage. Look for more info as October 28 approaches.

Football?
I’ve become interested in tabletop games lately, specifically football. I played a Sports Illustrated created game, as well as Statis-Pro Football (avalon hill). Turns out that there are many folks my age and older that still enjoy a good game. Some play these older, out-of-print games. Some turn to newer games like Inside Blitz. I hope to put together a radio show based on tabletop sports games (not just football). Talkshoe or BlogTalkRadio? Hmm…

My interest is in an alternate-history where the USFL survived. I plan on creating an entire history that diverges from our reality in 1985. In real life, the USFL moved to a fall schedule. In my alternative reality, the other owners told Trump where he could go. Trump, as he has admitted in real life, was trying to force a merger with the NFL. The Trump in my alternate reality will take his money and go home, all the while keeping the USFL to gain popularity in the Spring. With lucrative contracts with ABC and upstart ESPN, many things happen to promote American Football.

You may not know it, but Canadian Football made an attempt at expansion into the US in 1993. It didn’t last, but in 1995, there were five US teams playing CFL. How does this relate? Well, the CFL wouldn’t have taken the Sacramento Surge from the WLAF in 1993 if the USFL still existed. For that matter, the WLAF would not have started, much less folded in 1992. Arena Football would not become so popular. (Imagine Kurt Warner becoming the all-time pass leader in the USFL instead of the Iowa Barnstormers.)

Maybe in October…

Children’s Naming Ceremony
More later…

But bein’ the quartermaster I yam, I was already here five days ago. Avast me hearties! None can outfox the real Cap’n Jack.

Robert Alter has a new translation of the book of Psalms. In it, he conspicuously removes references to the soul. He claims that ideas of the soul of later ideas superimposed on the text. The result is a fresh text. More than that, I would like this book for the commentary included. This is a hefty book, so it is more commentary than text. It’s great for insight into certain time-honored symbols, especially for those of us completely removed from the pastoral life.

Alter’s Psalm 23

Psalm 23
Translated by Robert Alter
1 The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
2 In grass meadows He makes me lie down,
by quiet waters guides me.
3 My life He brings back.
He leads me on pathways of justice
for His name’s sake.
4Though I walk in the vale of death’s shadow,
I fear no harm,
for You are with me.
Your rod and Your staff—
it is they that console me.
5You set out a table before me
in the face of my foes.
You moisten my head with oil,
my cup overflows.
6 Let but goodness and kindness pursue me
all the days of my life.
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
for many long days.

1. The LORD is my shepherd. Although the likening of God or a ruler to a shepherd is a commonplace in this pastoral culture, this psalm is justly famous for the affecting simplicity and concreteness with which it realizes the metaphor. Thus, in the next line the shepherd leads his sheep to meadows where there is abundant grass and riverbanks and where quiet waters run that the sheep can drink.

2. makes me lie down. The verb used here, hirbits, is a specialized one for making animals lie down; hence the sheep-shepherd metaphor is carefully sustained.

3. My life He brings back. Though “He restoreth my soul” is time-honored, the Hebrew nefesh does not mean “soul” but “life breath” or “life.” The image is of someone who has almost stopped breathing and is revived, brought back to life.
pathways of justice. With this phrase, the speaker glides from the sheep metaphor to speaking of himself in human terms.

4. in the vale of death’s shadow. The intent of the translation here is not to avoid the virtually proverbial “in the shadow of the valley of death” but rather to cut through the proliferation of syllables in the King James Version, however eloquent, and better approximate the compactness of the Hebrew—begey tsalmawet. Though philologists assume that the Masoretic tsalmawet is actually a misleading vocalization of tsalmut—probably a poetic word for “darkness” with the ut ending simply a suffix of abstraction—the traditional vocalization reflects something like an orthographic pun or a folk etymology (tsel means “shadow,” mawet means “death”), so there is justification in retaining the death component.

I fear no harm. The imbalance between this extremely brief verset and the relatively long first verset, equally evident in the Hebrew, gives these words a climactic effect as an affirmation of trust after the relatively lengthy evocation of the place of fear.

You are with me. / Your rod and Your staff. At this crucial moment of terror in the valley of the shadow, the speaker turns to God in the second person, though the rod and staff are carried over from the shepherd image.

5. You moisten my head with oil. The verb here, dishen, is not the one that is used for anointment, and its associations are sensual rather than sacramental. Etymologically,
it means something like “to make luxuriant.” This verse, then, lists all the physical elements of a happy life—a table laid out with good things to eat, a head of hair well rubbed with olive oil, and an overflowing cup of wine.

6. for many long days. This concluding phrase catches up the reference to “all the days of my life” in the preceding line. It does not mean “forever”; the viewpoint of the poem is in and of the here and now and is in no way eschatological. The speaker hopes for a happy fate all his born days, and prays for the good fortune to abide in the Lord’s sanctuary—a place of security and harmony with the divine—all, or perhaps at least most, of those days.

That’s a lot of stuff, isn’t it? Well worth the read. I imagine the rest of the book is similarly deep and enjoyable.

For the sake of reference, here’s another recent annotated version of Psalm 23 with similar depth. This is from the NET Bible.

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

23:1 The Lord is my shepherd,
I lack nothing.
23:2 He takes me to lush pastures,
he leads me to refreshing water.
23:3 He restores my strength.
He leads me down the right paths
for the sake of his reputation.
23:4 Even when I must walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff reassure me.1
23:5 You prepare a feast before me2
in plain sight of my enemies.
You refresh3 my head with oil;
my cup is completely full.4
23:6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness5 will pursue6 me all my days,7
and I will live in8 the Lord’s house9 for the rest of my life.10

1tn The Piel of (nakham), when used with a human object, means “comfort, console.” But here, within the metaphorical framework, it refers to the way in which a shepherd uses his implements to assure the sheep of his presence and calm their nerves. The underlying reality is the emotional stability God provides the psalmist during life threatening situations.

2sn In v. 5 the metaphor switches. (It would be very odd for a sheep to have its head anointed and be served wine.) The background for the imagery is probably the royal banquet. Ancient Near Eastern texts describe such banquets in similar terms to those employed by the psalmist. (See M. L. Barre and J. S. Kselman, “New Exodus, Covenant, and Restoration in Psalm 23,” The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth, 97-127.) The reality behind the imagery is the Lord’s favor. Through his blessings and protection he demonstrates to everyone, including dangerous enemies, that the psalmist has a special relationship with him.

3tn The imperfect verbal form in v. 5a carries on the generalizing mood of vv. 1-4. However, in v. 5b the psalmist switches to a perfect (dishanta), which may have a generalizing force as well. But then again the perfect is conspicuous here and may be present perfect in sense, indicating that the divine host typically pours oil on his head prior to seating him at the banquet table. The verb (dashan; the Piel is factitive) is often translated “anoint,” but this is misleading, for it might suggest a symbolic act of initiation into royal status. One would expect the verb (mashan) in this case; דָשַׁן here describes an act of hospitality extended to guests and carries the nuance “refresh.” In Prov 15:30 it stands parallel to “make happy” and refers to the effect that good news has on the inner being of its recipient.

4tn The rare noun (rÿvayah) is derived from the well-attested verb (ravah, “be saturated, drink one’s fill”). In this context, where it describes a cup, it must mean “filled up,” but not necessarily to overflowing.

5tn The noun (khesed; v. 6) has been the subject of several monographs. G. R. Clark concludes that “is not merely an attitude or an emotion; it is an emotion that leads to an activity beneficial to the recipient.” He explains that an act of is “a beneficent action performed, in the context of a deep and enduring commitment between two persons or parties, by one who is able to render assistance to the needy party who in the circumstances is unable to help him- or herself.” (See G. R. Clark, The Word Hesed in the Hebrew Bible [JSOTSup], 267.) HALOT 336-37 s.v. defines the word as “loyalty,” or “faithfulness.” Other appropriate meanings might be “commitment” and “devotion.”

6tn The use of (radaf, “pursue, chase”) with (tov vakhesed, “goodness and faithfulness”) as subject is ironic. This is the only place in the entire OT where either of these nouns appears as the subject of this verb (radaf, “pursue”). This verb is often used to describe the hostile actions of enemies. One might expect the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 5) to chase him, but ironically God’s “goodness and faithfulness” (which are personified and stand by metonymy for God himself) pursue him instead. The word “pursue” is used outside of its normal context in an ironic manner and creates a unique, but pleasant word picture of God’s favor (or a kind God) “chasing down” the one whom he loves.

7tn Heb “all the days of my life.”

8tn The verb form (vÿshavtiy) is a Qal perfect (with vav [ו] consecutive), first common singular, from (shuv, “return”) and should be translated, “and I will return.” But this makes no sense when construed with the following phrase, “in the house of the Lord.” The term (shuv) appears only here with the following phrase (bÿvet). The form should be emended to (vÿshivtiy; an infinitive construct from yashav, “live”) with pronominal suffix) or to (vÿyashavtiy; a Qal perfect with vav [ו] consecutive, first common singular, from [see BHS, note c]). In either case one could then translate, “and I will live [in the house of the Lord].” The phrase “in the house” frequently follows the verb in the OT.

9tn Heb “the house of the Lord.” The phrase may be purely metaphorical here, referring to the royal palace where the royal host of v. 5 holds his banquet and lives. If one takes the phrase more literally, it would refer to the earthly tabernacle (if one accepts Davidic authorship) or the later temple (see Judg 19:18; 1 Sam 1:7, 24; 2 Sam 12:20; 1 Kgs 7:12, 40, 45, 51).

10tn The phrase (’orekh yamim, “length of days”) is traditionally translated “forever.” However, this phrase, when used elsewhere of people, usually refers to a lengthy period of time, such as one’s lifetime, and does not mean “forever” in the sense of eternity. (Cf. Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20.) Furthermore, the parallel phrase “all the days of my life” suggests this more limited meaning. Psalm 21:4, where the phrase is followed by “forever and ever,” may be an exception, though the juxtaposition of the phrases may be an example of intensification, where the second phrase goes beyond the limits of the first, rather than synonymity. Even if one takes both expressions as referring to eternal life, the language is part of the king’s hyperbolic description of the Lord’s blessings and should not be taken literally.

I am not a master of Hebrew, but I appreciate the readability of Alter’s notes versus the comprehensiveness of the NET notes. Still, I appreciate the NET Bible for what they have done. Thanks for the notes!

What’s your eschatology?
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I agree with the Preterist part, but the Moltmannian Eschatology and DIspensationalist is not me at all. Preterist / Amillenialist is how I’ve always seen myself, though the other way around.

Whadaya Know?

My family has a pirate theme. I marched up the isle of my wedding in a pirate shirt. My groomsmen had pirate shirts. My music was the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean. Each of us has a pirate theme shirt we wear on Saturdays (I have two, one that matches our son’s shirt.) Avast me hearties! It’s deep in the home of pinakidion.

In some ways, it comes from my heritage. Growing up in the land of Blackbeard can do that do you. Supposedly on my mother’s side, we have generations of seafaring pirates. I’ve spun the yarn of how my recent ancestors acquired orange juice (See Nag’s Head intro).

Struck by Semithought! More later…

Fanaticism consists of redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.

— George Santayana

The emergency meeting of the Midwest churches on or around this weekend does not involve Omaha, as far as I know. The Midwest churches are lead by Chicago. Most member churches are in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa.

I know no more about it than you do. In some ways, I can honestly say, “Sorry, not my area.”

Thanks to everyone for the well-wishes.

It feels good to know that your wife is your biggest source of encouragement and strength. It also feels good to have the love of others here and abroad.

Everyone is doing well. It’s true that Dancing Bear requires a stent in her nose after all these surgeries, but she will do fine. In five years, she won’t remember any of this. As a famous president has said, we only thing we have to fear is fear, itself. Not having a name for what they have can be a bigger concern than it should be. It may very well be that there is no name for the syndrome our children have. The Spirit intercedes when we do not have the words to pray. It also seems that he provides the care we need when they are no words for our troubles.

Thanks again to everyone. I feel very loved. You do not have to know what it is like or know what to say. The alphabet of love starts with compassion and ends with service. I have also been shown all the letters that lie between.

The preface of the UPC (dated March 11, 2007) states:

We are asking each church leadership to prayerfully consider ratifying this plan after discussing it with their members. For ratification, send an email to Unity@chnts.net. Beginning April 3rd, we will publish a continually updating list of churches that affirm this Plan for United Cooperation.

Ratify is defined as:

to confirm by expressing consent, approval, or formal sanction: to ratify a constitutional amendment.

According to Roget’s New Millennium™ Thesaurus, synonyms include the words approve, certify, license, uphold, validate, and sign.

The only difference between signing the Declaration of Independence and signing the UPC is that the Declaration of Independence had the signatures attached to the bottom of the hand-written document. In our internet age, our signees were listed on DisciplesToday website. Really, what is the difference between this and this?

Forgive me for breaking decorum, but the “no place to sign” phrase is not cute. It is not funny. It is not accurate. It is not true. Stop saying it. I’m an English Major and I understand the principles of effective propaganda and its use in the political arena. The first principle is, “A lie told often enough becomes truth.” The first time someone said, “no place to sign” it was witty. There are no blanks to fill in on the UPC and no notes that say, “please sign here”. These things are absent from the Declaration of Independence, too. Each successive time the phrase “no place to sign” has been repeated, however, it is propaganda. The second principle is that maintaining the lie requires the powers that be “to use all of its powers to repress dissent…” At this point, not only does it appear that criticism of the UPC is unwelcome, but not choosing to ratify is also unwelcome. Dissent is not disloyalty. Kip has this problem, and now we, the descendants of his teaching, are dealing with the same issues.

Gordon Ferguson said a couple years ago that the UPC would be temporary and that it would not be very important in the long run. I was beginning to believe him as nothing had really happened. Sure, I didn’t like trips all over the US to convince others to ratify, but little appeared to have come of those trips or of the UPC itself. Now, a month ahead of the next ILC, two committee members have written about it. One committee member is planning trips to discuss the UPC with the leadership of at least one church that did not ratify. Why all this plotting and scheming? Some astroturfing, but there’s no indication of the reasons behind it. One thing is clear, though, the UPC is not viewed as temporary, at least by the current committee.

It’s a shame that the voices of others that said a creed would lead us to political bickering were not heeded. We are now using the weapons of this world to deal with spiritual matters. Instead of the Spirit to unify us in the bond of peace, we are making flights and personal visits and campaigning on all the official channels. We have sound bites and stock answers to questions and smooth sounding articles dripping with gooey sweetness. We will reap what we have sown with all of this. The sooner we actually deal with issues and consider other alternatives, the sooner we can soften the damage we have already done. It may be too late.

It’s more of a shame that non-ratifying churches continue to receive pressure to ratify. It is well past time to leave well-enough alone. It is stated in the Q and A that non-ratifying churches are still our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We, as a denomination, need to start acting like it. Some just do not believe in 100% of the beliefs and practices stated. Deal with it. I understand that this makes the delegate system unworkable, but that is something that should be discussed.

I guess we will all find out in October.

It’s one thing to have a doctor tell you something bad, it’s another to receive a letter written to your pediatrician (but cc’d to you) saying something bad. I know, sounds weird. I didn’t get it at first.

We received a letter in the mail that was addressed to our pediatrician. We were cc’d, so that’s why we got a copy despite being addressed to our pediatrician. The letter was dated Aug 9 and postmarked Aug 20. It contains some notes saying that we tested negative for Towns-Brocks Syndrome and that we should be tested for CHARGE Syndrome. CHARGE is bad in that the range of issues could include sudden decline and death. The last two sentences went on to explain that CHARGE is transferable, so they had a 50% chance of giving their kids CHARGE, if that is the correct diagnosis.

At first, it was the talk about CHARGE. As with any disease or syndrome, the worst cases pop up first in Google. So every time we get a letter with a new prognosis, we’re going through this ugly research phase. In this case, worst case is a report from another family that their child was normal until age 2, then their health went downhill. Is it a ‘de novo’ case or did they get it from me? If I have it, there are some health risks associated with it that I need to deal with for myself.

But then, the feelings were very angry. We met with the pediatrician on the 27th. Why didn’t he tell us about this? Why did he mention CHARGE, but leave out what the genetics doctors said? The geneticist said that he wanted to see us right away for an appointment. What is with this guy?

September, all our deductibles start over. We could have been tested in August when it would have been free, you know. Especially since the letter was dated August 9.

So, more to find out on Tuesday.

We decided to have a fun three day weekend. Good friends are here for us to support us. So much love has been given to us! We have worked through the shock and Tuesday I get to do good cop, bad cop with a couple of doctors. (I think I’m the bad cop. Then again, I think my wife believes she is the bad cop. Maybe bad cop, worse cop) Until then, we are going to just enjoy the three day weekend.

We have discovered that Dancing Bear enjoys laughing at Mommy and Daddy when they have hiccups. We have discovered that Baby Bear is more courageously diving off furniture. (We have a mattress in the living room, now.) I think all of us have laughed so much the past two days. My wife took time to re-read Order of the Phoenix and I have spent time with Statis-Pro Football, an old football game originally published by Avalon Hill (now owned by Wizards of the Coast). It’s been a good time.

Sure, I think of Habakkuk again. (How long O Lord?) and Soren Kierkegaard and Albert Camus. (fatalism) I even read where Pope Benedict spoke of “enduring the silence of God”. I get tired of holding Dancing Bear down twice a day and watching a tube go into her nose and down her throat.

But our son is talking about cooking with eggs again. He says that they are hot. He also says that the baby is eating and he is asking for water to play with. He talks about raisins and apricots and dogs and cats. Oh and by the way, the cat is eating. Also by the way, where are you hiding the pots and pans? Is it time to go in the car, yet? You think the baby wants to go? Is this funny (holds strainer to his face) or is this funny (holds block to forehead) or is this funny (falls straight back on the floor a la Nestea Plunge)? Look, I’m pointing at my brain.

Our son has a great future as a blogger.

In the end, it seems to br a matter of putting a name to it. All the experts are scratching their heads and saying, “but both of them have choanal atresias (nose blockage) and they are expressed differently”. It seems to be the Mother of All Caveats. I’m starting to count the number of times I hear that said. Once, I even said, “Did you know that babies are obligatory nose breathers?”

In 2003, there were two known cases of choanal atresias in siblings that are not twins. (This doesn’t count the four cases where the parents were consanguine. You look it up, it’s the best euphemism I’ve ever seen.) I can’t find more recent statistics than that. All the syndromes to date speak of some form of mental retardation, but all involved note that our son is pretty smart. (Obsessed, yes, but smart.) In some ways, it is special to think that our children are medically rare, almost unique.

But I didn’t need a doctor to tell me that they are rare.