You don't know what love is

"You do what you're told
But inside your heart it is black and it's hollow and it's cold."
--Nine Inch Nails

"You don't know what love is
You just do as you're told."
--The White Stripes

Notice a theme here? Love is supposed to be unselfish, and doing what you're told might seem unselfish, but these writers don't seem to think that's a good thing. So your homework this week is to look for situations where the most loving thing to do is not what you're told.

Rambling about warm weather

Maybe I should get something to cover the windows in my car. After a day of work during the summer, the car is always hotter than the outdoors, especially on a sunny day. At least it cools off quickly, thanks to air conditioning.

Meanwhile, I come home, step into the house, and feel a blast of cool air. And I don't have air conditioning at home. I do keep most of the curtains closed while I'm at work though. It is hot in the house, but at least it's not as hot as the outdoors on a warm day. And I don't have to wear as much clothing in the house as in the car! (Clarification for potential roommates: I don't go naked outside of my bedroom and the bathroom if other people, including roommates, might see me. Don't worry. Or don't get excited.)

But even though it's cooler inside and there's less of a dress code, it just feels better to be outside on a hot day.

Crashing a ceilidh

After Montreal, the vacation continued through New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. While we were driving on Prince Edward Island, Cathy noticed a commercial on the radio for a ceilidh. (According to dictionary.com, a ceilidh is "an Irish or Scottish social gathering with traditional music, dancing, and storytelling." By the way, the "dh" is silent.) We thought this would be a good chance to experience some east coast culture, hear music, dance, and that sort of thing.

So we arrived at the Benevolent Irish Society hall that evening and found a room full of middle aged and elderly people sitting in chairs listening to a live Celtic band. The music was good and the hall was packed, but it really wasn't what we expected. Nobody was dancing (for one thing there wasn't room), and there was a lack of people our age.

We sat and listened for a while, and then we noticed that Nick was asleep. (He said he can't really just sit and listen to live music, no matter how good it is.) We figured we wouldn't stay until the end. Then Cathy suggested that we go and dance in the parking lot. I have to admit I dragged my feet a bit, but it was a good idea. We figured out that a polka step seemed to work with the song, so we danced. Then we got our other friends. Nick told the ticket guy what was going on and asked if they could teach us a dance. So a few people came outside to teach us a folk dance. After we sort of got the basics, they asked the band to play a song that would go with the dance.

By intermission we were pretty sure we'd stay for the whole event. After intermission, the same people taught us another folk dance and then asked the band to play a song to go with it. So by then, everyone in the hall knew we were there and knew what we were doing. After that dance, we sat back down and listened to some more music. I think Nick stayed awake this time. Afterward, we thanked the band and our teachers. I got the impression they enjoyed teaching us those dances.

So I want to thank my friends, especially Cathy and Nick, for taking a somewhat disappointing evening and turning it into one of the most memorable parts of the trip. You made a lot of people's day. And a big thank you to the warm, hospitable people at that hall in Charlottetown for accommodating us and passing on a bit of your culture.

Almost finished in Montreal

I'm almost finished my time in Montreal, and then we're off to New Brunswick. When we arrived here, a friend and I got in a cab to go to the place we're staying and meet up with a couple more friends. I tried telling the cab driver how long we'd be there and asking what he recommended doing here, and he didn't really understand. So I told him how long we're staying in French. I couldn't figure out how to ask what he recommended doing. But we continued to talk in French for a few minutes.

It was surprisingly natural to be speaking French again. Of course, I'm far from fluent, and I haven't spoken a whole lot of French on this trip, but what I knew came back faster than I expected. And I think the cab driver spoke slowly so I could understand him. Maybe in Edmonton, it just doesn't feel natural to speak French, especially when most of the French-speakers I know speak English better.

(New readers can go back and read what I wrote in July and August of 2006 when I did my French immersion program. I haven't tagged these posts yet, but when I do, they should be tagged "French.")

Highlights of "The Fidelity of Betrayal"

I finished reading the book, "The Fidelity of Betrayal" by Peter Rollins a while back. I already commented on it here before I finished it. Here are a few other highlights:

In reading Nietzsche [Dietrich Bonhoeffer] too became concerned that Christianity had become an anemic ideological expression that not only appealed to the infant within humanity but that fundamentally stood in the way of our becoming strong, intelligent, and courageous human beings who reflect our dignity as being formed in the image of God...

Bonhoeffer wondered whether it is possible to embrace God out of love and lightness of heart, out of a seduction that is caught up in the call of God rather than the need of God.

--page 102-103

The question is not whether God exists but rather what God has said.

--page 138

When thinking through issues to do with morality, religion, the world, and social action, people can introduce and employ the richest thoughts of the various intellectual disciplines, because the truth that Christianity affirms does not impact these discussions in terms of content but rather in terms of approach, demanding that the conclusions we come to bring liberation and healing.

--page 161

And when I wrote about this book before, I mentioned the glaring question: Why make an unconditional commitment to Christ? Well, here's one thing he says that seems to address that question, not necessarily the main thing he says on this topic:

While certain beliefs are affirmed as a means of reflecting upon the faith of Jesus, these beliefs can never take the place of, or fully describe, that faith. A metaphor that may help to illustrate this relationship concerns a beautiful, bright-white dove that, one day while flying through the air, imagines how high and fast she could soar if only the air, with all its resistance, did not exist. Never did this dove realize that it was the air she cursed, with all of its restrictive forces, that allowed her to rise up in the first place. We must endeavor to understand then how the common critique that Christianity offers a particular, "narrow" stance in relation to the transcendent fails to understand that this "constrictive" location is itself a privileged opening into the transcendent. It is only by locating oneself in a narrow particular site, perceived as such, that one can gaze beyond it.

--page 137

I find that many of Peter Rollins's ideas seem true based on my own experiences. Maybe I can't give logically defensible reasons for agreeing with him, but the things he said just resonate with my own issues with Christianity and help me move beyond these issues. Yeah, there are some things he says that I'm not so sure about, but don't take that as a criticism of the book. I agree with this book more than a lot of what I hear from Christians, including my own church.

The writing style is fairly academic, so at times that made it harder for it to keep my attention, but the ideas usually made up for it. I also wish he got more personal. We see very little of his own experiences here.

I recently started reading Shane Claiborne's book, "The Irresistible Revolution." The back of the book says, "This book will comfort the disturbed [and] disturb the comfortable." I think "The Fidelity of Betrayal" could have a similar effect. I'm a disturbed Christian, and I found the book refreshing. But to Christians who don't feel like they've ever had their illusions shattered, it could be disturbing.

Montreal

This summer, I'm going on vacation to Montreal, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia with a few friends. Now that I have the trip planned, I keep noticing other people who are going to Montreal. I know at least two other people who will be visiting Montreal while I'm on the east coast. I work with someone who just got back from there. Offhand, I can't remember anyone else, but there may be more. And they say Canadians don't like to vacation in Canada.

[Update: I know another person who's going to Ottawa soon after I leave Montreal, and he might visit Montreal too.]

Chalk River

So the Chalk River reactor got shut down again, and this time it could take several months to start it up. (Some background information in case you're unfamiliar with it: the Chalk River reactor produces about half of the world's medical isotopes. It's more than 50 years old. There's more information on Wikipedia.) So now Canada has to ration its medical isotopes and I suspect other countries have to do this too. Obviously the highest priority cases will get precedence, but a lot of other people are going to suffer because of this, and I wouldn't be surprised if people die too. Many elective surgeries will be postponed. These surgeries may not be a matter of life and death, but these people will definitely suffer. I have a friend who's waiting for wrist surgery that keeps getting postponed. Although this isn't related to the isotope shortage, it does show how important elective surgery is. Her wrist has been in pain for a year and she can't do much with that hand. Although she doesn't show it much, it's very frustrating!

I work in an industrial facility, so I understand that it's unrealistic to fix a serious issue in a short time. We're probably stuck with the isotope shortage for a while now. But many Canadian governments have neglected to keep that reactor in excellent shape. When the quality of life and even the survival of so many people all over the world are at stake, there has to be a long-term plan to provide a secure source of isotopes. I also wonder if it's realistic to have several smaller reactors all over the world rather than so few large ones. That would give us better backup during shutdowns like this one. When the next election happens in Canada, I hope to see the major parties give a workable, long-term vision for our supply of medical isotopes. I'm not a one-issue voter, but this issue will definitely be on my mind.