Tuesday, September 28, 2010

I just read a report on Yahoo.com that indicated that "Americans don't know much about religion." In this survey, people were asked 32 questions on a broad range of religious knowledge, including understanding of the Bible, core teachings of different faiths, and major figures in religious history. People were asked whether they could name the Islamic holy book, the first book of the Bible, or say what century the Mormon religion was founded. According to the report, "on average, participants in the survey answered correctly overall for half of the survey questions."

Here's the kicker: Atheists and agnostics scored best, with an average of 21 correct answers. Jews and Mormons were next, averaging 20 correct answers. Protestants overall averaged 16 correct answers, and Catholics averaged 15 correct.

On questions about Christianity, Mormons scored highest, with an average of 8 correct answers out of 12, and white evangelicals were next with an average of seven correct answers.

I don't know what all the questions were, but I find these results stunning. Of course, there may be some questions I would have gotten wrong. But I think it does indicate that we think we know a whole lot more than we really do know, and sometimes what we think we know about Christian faith does not come from Scripture, but from extra-biblical sources.

I think we need to make sure that we do a better job of educating ourselves in Christian faith.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Unless you have been on a deserted island for some time, you are aware that there is a pastor in Gainesville, FL, who is planning to lead his congregation in a Koran-burning display on Saturday, September 11, as a way to remember what took place on 9/11/01. This has made national, and even international, headlines. Gen. David Petraeus has commented on this, urging that the church not do this because it could put the lives of American servicemen and women at more risk - and they are already at great risk given what they do. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has commented about it as well.

Who ever heard of Dove World Outreach Center three months ago? It must be pretty heady stuff for the pastor of that church to make national headlines, and to be interviewed by major networks and be on the front pages of newspapers.

I don't have a lot to add to the conversation already taking place, except to say that what is being planned is stupid, dumb, cold, hateful, lacking in compassion, self-serving, and horribly unloving.

The concern I have is that there will be many people around the world, already skeptical about the claims of Christian faith because the Christian church seems so disjointed, so much in disarray, so much in opposition to others within the church (Gandhi once said something along the lines that he might quite possibly become a Christian if he would see more people living what Jesus taught), and so filled with animosity towards each other - as well as seeming to be filled with hatred and condemnation towards others who are different from them - that everyone, including you and me, will be put in the same category as Rev. Jones and his small group in Gainesville.

Is that fair? Not it is not. But we will all be lumped together with those who seem to feel that being a follower of Jesus involves obeying rules rather than paying attention to Jesus when he says, "love one another," and "love your neighbor as yourself." It is not right, it is not fair, it is not just, that the actions of a few misguided, extremist people who claim to be following the rules of faith cause others to then label all people by what they see in those few.

Kind of like we do when we lable all Muslims because of the actions of a few.

If it is not right for people to think of us as being the same as the people at that (I don't even want to call it a church) in Gainesville. It is not right for us to think that all Muslims are like the extremists. Islam is not the enemy. Muslims are not the enemy. Extremists are - whatever their label.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

I'm still doing some reading, but I've also begun some writing. The book I'm reading right now is The Radicalism of the American Revolution by Gordon Wood, and while I can skim some parts, there are some parts of the book that are very interesting and powerful and helpful.

I don't know how much I will end up writing, but this will probably be the longest project I've ever done. In my senior year in seminary, I had a final project that I think was about 20 pages. That will easily be surpassed by what I am doing now. I'm probably looking at something more along the lines of at least 50 pages, and it could be much longer than that. It's hard for me to think in these terms, but it could even possibly turn into a book. I don't know if anyone would publish it, but I would hope some of you would be willing to read it.

As I reflect on what the goals were for the sabbatical, I realize that almost all of it has been dealing with history and the Founding Fathers and the colonial period. There were other themes that I had considered - the irrelevance of the church, grace, the purpose of the church - and I will not specifically be writing about those themes. I do think, however, that what I am working on will contain many of those issues.

Much of this will also speak to some very contemporary issues as well, though not in specific terms. We've heard a lot about religious freedom in the news recently, in regards to the possibility of building that mosque near Ground Zero (we did go to Ground Zero in New York City on July 28th, and it was powerful being there). We've heard references to the Founding Fathers also, as this was mentioned in the news reports about Glenn Beck's rally at the Lincoln Memorial yesterday (I do find his comment that "I really didn't think about the fact that it was the exact same day as when Martin Luther King, Jr. made his famous 'I have a dream' speech" very hard to believe). There's a lot about the Founding Fathers that we must remember and to which we must pay attention; there's also a lot about the Founding Fathers that is myth and story but not necessarily fact. So as I am dwelling in the Revolutionary period, I am finding that it is speaking very loudly and clearly to the present situation.

I'm looking forward to what will be written in these next three weeks.

On another note - we've been attending different churches on Sundays, and it has been a good experience for us. Locally, we've been to 6 Presbyterian churches, and one Methodist church this summer. I've been pleased with what I have seen in those churches, and we local Presbyterians have some good things taking place. It's also been a good experience being the "visitor" also. I can say we do a lot of things right at Forest Hills. I would also say (and I know that summer is not the best time to judge this) that as far as music in the church goes, no one has yet come close to Forest Hills.

Monday, August 23, 2010

I've just finished another book (number 15, I think), and I started one more, which I should finish in just a couple of days. I have tried to read not only books by historians, but also by Christian authors who are indicating that the US is a Christian nation and needs to get back to its origins. In the next couple of days, I will start writing, trying to indicate what I have learned about the Founding Fathers and Christian faith and the Constitution.

It has been a fascinating study, and I sure know a whole lot more than I did 2 months ago. I also realize that there is a lot more I have yet to learn. Still, I think I have a decent understanding of some of what was going on, and I'm starting to get some ideas as to what I'm going to write.

One thing I have noticed about the Christian authors is that they all tend to have a kind of conspiracy theory approach to their writing. Much of what is wrong with the country is because the secular humanists have taken over the courts and the educational system. In the video "America's Godly Heritage," David Barton seems to indicate that the basic cause for all the ills in our society is that the Supreme Court in 1962 and 1963 took Bible reading and prayer out of our schools. That has led to all the social problems we face today. I tend to think there were other factors involved - whether they be all the civil rights issues of that time, the Vietnam War, Watergate - to say nothing about sin. Sin doesn't seem to have much to do with those ills. Interesting.

The issues I'll be looking at, and writing about, include the time from the Pilgrims and Puritans (two different and distinct groups) in Massachusetts in 1620 and 1630, as well as the Jamestown settlement, through the time of the Great Awakening, and what happened to those communities and their understanding of "religious freedom." There will be issues of the establishment of churches, and, I think, how the establishment of those state churches were a major factor in the Revolution and the Constitution. I'll look at some of the things we believe about our Founding Fathers, and how we have elevated some of them to god-like status. In fact, on the ceiling in the Rotunda of the US Capitol, is a painting called "The Apotheosis of George Washington," which is essentially about making him a god. There are some myths that we have about the founders, and some authors indicating some things about them that maybe didn't happen the way they say they did. Were Washington and Adams really evangelistic Christians? Was Jefferson an atheist, as so many in the election of 1800, and many today, were and are saying? What does the First Amendment mean? And what does it mean (in words that Jefferson first said in 1801) to have this "wall of separation between church and state"?

I really thought this study would deal more with the faith of the founders, and be more of a study in history - and it has been that. But as I proceed, I think it will be far more about theology, especially as it deals with such questions as "what kind of God do we have?" Does God simply want us to live moral lives, or is there more to it than that?

It's been challenging; it's been fun - and now I get to do the hard part, which is trying to indicate on paper what I have learned.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

I am learning that when one is reading history, one cannot simply take all things at face value. One of the books I read contains what I believe to be a number of factual inaccuracies, as well as many opinions stated as fact without any referencing or proof of why those statements should be considered to be factual.

While my study has been on the Colonial period, and the Founding Fathers, I am fairly well-read (not as well-read as some others in the church) on Abraham Lincoln. I've read at least 6 books on Lincoln (as I just looked at the bookshelf to be sure). In a book I just finished, there is a statement made that says the following: "Shortly before his death an Illinois clergyman asked Lincoln, 'Do you love Jesus?' Mr. Lincoln solemnly replied, 'When I left Springfield I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. Yes, I do love Jesus.'" This is quoted from a book called Abraham Lincoln, the Christian. That story was used in a sermon some years ago by The Rev. D. James Kennedy.

From my reading about Lincoln, I was not aware of this statement. So I looked at the bibliography included in two of the best books on Lincoln's life: Abraham Lincoln, Redeemer President, by Allen Guelzo, a professor at Gettysburg College, and A. Lincoln, by Ronald C. White, Jr. (whom I heard speak last year at Princeton Seminary). Those books are not included in their bibliographies. I looked at Internet sites, and found some references to this, but they seemed to be of uncertain origin. So I decided to ask an authority, and I sent an e-mail message to Dr. Guelzo at Gettysburg, and I asked him about this statement. I received a message in response, that indicated that my thoughts about it being of uncertain origin were correct, and that there is no hard evidence that any Illinois clergyman ever received that kind of statement from Mr. Lincoln. (I am very appreciative of Dr. Guelzo taking the time to respond to my question.)

Is it possible that Lincoln did, indeed, make that statement? Yes, it is possible. But it seems as though many historians are at best skeptical about that.

I think we need to be careful about how we interpret what we read. It certainly is going to make me more diligent as I think about what I am reading.

Monday, August 16, 2010

A number of years ago I heard someone begin a sermon with this story. He said he was doing some Christmas shopping, and he noticed a little boy who was not wonderfully behaved. His mother was getting angry with him. Finally the mother said to the little boy, "if you don't behave yourself, mommy will stop loving you."

Isn't that a terrible thing to say to a child? I know there are times we get frustrated and tired and angry with our children, but who among us would be willing to make that kind of statement? Maybe we would think that kind of thought (maybe) but most of us would not verbalize that thought.

Why is it, then, that we often think, believe, and live, that God will stop loving us if we misbehave, if we do things that ought not do, and not do things we ought to do? I am amazed at some of the things I have been reading from Christian authors who seem to indicate that America is God's country (to the exclusion of all others; I wonder why God doesn't seem to like other countries, and why it is that England was so terrible to God that God considered King George to be like Pharaoh), but if we don't shape ourselves up morally and ethically, God will have nothing to do with us, or will abandon us.

Is that the promise of God? What do we do with the promise in Isaiah, that "even if your mother were to forget you, I will not forget you or forsake you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands." Did Jesus go to a cross in order that we might become morally pure people? I thought it was because we were sinners, that we were not morally pure. Does Jesus say to us, "the cross is about grace, but if your behavior doesn't measure up, then that grace is taken away from you?" I don't think so.

Yet that appears to be a subtle message in some of what I have been reading, and I find that to be disappointing and disturbing. God's grace is given to us despite our failings and shortcomings. God's grace is given precisely to those who do not deserve it, who do not measure up to all the moral standards. And I believe that nothing - nothing - can ever separate us from that love of God in Jesus Christ.

It has been said that the best argument for Christian faith is Christians, and that the worst argument for Christian faith is Christians. Sometimes we are very narrow in our thinking, and narrow in the way we share God's gift of grace. I think that grace opens us up to life, and through that grace we are called to live as followers of Jesus, which includes such things as compassion and love for all, including those who do not think the same way we do, or who do not look the way we do, or who do not worship the way we do.

Let us not forget compassion and justice and mercy and grace as we move forward as a church, as a nation, as a people.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

We got home today, Aug. 5, at about 2:30. In all, we were in 11 states, and took almost every form of transportation we could take short of a helicopter. We flew to DC, took the Metro, a bus to Mt. Vernon, a light rail/trolley in Baltimore to see the Rays win, a boat to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, subways in NYC, and rented a car in the Boston area before flying home out of Providence, RI today.

Along the way, we visited with my parents in Phila, saw some high school friends; went to Ocean City NJ to see my brother and sister-in-law (boy was it hot walking the boardwalk at 11 a.m) visited with, and stayed with, Donna's sister in CT while her other sister and niece visited from upstate NY; attended Donna's high school reunion near Medfield, MA; visited with Donna's nephew and family in Dover, NH; visited another nephew and family in Providence, RI; and saw Tim a couple of days in NYC. By the way, we managed to get in some historical sites as well.

Lots of highlights on the history front. In Boston, we went to Lexington and Concord; walked part of the Freedom Trail, where we saw the site of the Boston Massacre, the gravesites of John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Paul Revere; went to Old North Church; and went to the birthplace of John Adams - we also saw where John and Abigail, and John Quincy and his wife are buried. Lots of great history on the trip. I had never been to the Boston area before, and it was worth it.

At least for the history. Several days ago as we were going to dinner and found that directional signs are lacking in Massachusetts, I said to Donna, "we are never, never going to live in Massachusetts." Besides that, there are a lot of aggressive drivers there. Tampa really is tame by comparison.

We have lots of pictures, and I'll get back to the reading and research in a couple of days. But it was a very good, and very worthwhile, trip, both for family reasons and study reasons.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

We spent several days in Philadelphia, staying with my parents, before traveling to suburban New York City, where we are right now, staying with Donna's sister. While in Philly we had dinner Saturday evening with a couple of high school friends - we started at about 5 p.m. and left the restaurant about 10 p.m. Great time. Donna's sister from Tupper Lake NY, and Pam's daughter from Greensboro NC met us in CT for a couple of days.

Yesterday we went into the city and started at the Federal Hall museum. Federal Hall is where George Washington was inagurated in 1789. Cool. We also went to Ground Zero, which was a very powerful experience. They have started the rebuilding there, and we saw what they are planning to build. It looks very nice. In a kind of preview museum, we could see the model of what is to be built there, and also some videos and photos of 9/11. We do tend to forget the enormity of that event, and what the people there had to go through. I need to remember that event more.

The highlight of the day, though, was that Tim met us at the train in Grand Central Station, and we ended up having lunch at the Boat House Restaurant in Central Park. Beautiful place, good food, and there were 8 people there (Pam's son met us there, and Tim had his girlfriend, Miriam, there; it was the first time we met her - good first impression). I knew it would be expensive, and when the bill came, I almost hit the floor. Wow! Credit cards sure come in handy.

While in Philly we were able to get to a lot of historical places. Friday we saw the National Constitution Center, then Christ Church Burial ground (saw Franklin's grave, as well as 7 other signers' graves). Saturday was Declaration House (where Jefferson wrote the Declaration in an upstairs room); Christ Church (we sat in Washington's pew); a portrait gallery, and a couple of other sites. Sunday was a day trip to Ocean City, NY, for lunch with my brother and sister-in-law, and a very hot walk on the boardwalk. Monday we went to the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Congress Hall (saw where Adams was inaugurated as the second President, the first Supreme Court, and Franklin Court. Tuesday was a travel day to CT.

It is good seeing a lot of these historical sites, and going back in time to the colonial period. At the National Constitution Center, we saw statues of most of the people at the Constitutional Convention, which was really good. One could then take that mental picture as one enters Independence Hall. Fun.

Tomorrow is the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (with Tim again as our tour guide). Then Saturday it is off to Boston. I'm looking forward to that.

That's it for now. Hope you are well.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

When one travels to Washington, DC, one ends up doing a lot of walking. Wow. We arrived Saturday July 17, and walked (and walked, and walked, after taking the Metro) to the Jefferson Memorial, then walked and walked and walked back to the Metro. Sunday we went to Mount Vernon, and found that very interesting. Monday we saw the US Capitol, Library of Congress (saw Jefferson's personal library; very impressive; makes mine look amateurish), Museum of American History, walked past the White House, and briefly saw the WWII memorial. Tuesday was National Archives - seeing original signatures is very imposing, and I listened to a part of a conversation between the governor of Mississippi, Robert Kennedy, and President Kennedy. Pretty cool.), National Portrait Gallery (with some very famous portraits of the Presidents), and Arlington National Cemetery, where we saw the Tomb of the Unknowns, as well as the gravesites of the Kennedy's. Even with a wonderful public transit system like Metro, you do a lot of walking.

Today (Wednesday) we left DC by train, and went to Baltimore, where we got to the hotel, checked in at 11 a.m.(!) and left at 11:10 to walk to Camden Yards to watch the Rays play the Orioles. In DC we saw a young family from Brandon who were doing what we were doing, except they were headed back to DC after the game. When we got to the light rail system to take us to the hotel/ballpark, they were on the train with us again. We also spoke to a couple of folks from Philly who were there for the game. In addition, we waved to Todd Kalas, and he said hello to these two gray-hairs from Tampa who were wearing their Rays' T-shirts.

Tomorrow we head to Philly - again by train, and we'll be there for 5 nights. We'll visit with my parents, some high school friends, and see a lot of history. I'm not reading as much right now, but I'm seeing places these people lived, even helped to build. So it's fun. I'm not sure how many miles we've walked in the last 5 days, but it is more than we would have walked if we were home doing our exercising.

Hope you're well.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Tomorrow we leave on our vacation/history trip. We'll go to Washington, DC first. We have plans to go to Mount Vernon on Sunday, then to the US Capitol on Monday morning (we'll also get to the Library of Congress on Monday). We plan to do the National Archives and the Museum of American History while we're there as well.

Wednesday is play day, as we'll be in Baltimore to see the Rays plan the O's in a 12:30 game. After the game we'll probably take in the Inner Harbor (might we go to Phillips Restaurant for some cream of crab soup?). Then Thursday to Philadelphia to visit my parents, some high school friends, and also see Independence Hall, the National Constitution Center, Christ Church, etc. After that we'll go to NYC to see Tim, and then to Boston to see all the history there.

I'm about to finish Frank Lambert's book The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America. It's not about the Founding Fathers as much as it is about a history of Christian faith from Jamestown and the Puritans, through the writing of the Constitution. A very good and informative book. It's interesting to see that there were many people - including many Christian groups and many clergy, including Baptists - who were fighting for the separation of church and state, because of the concern that a state church was a violation of religious freedom and individual rights. I've developed a fondness for Isaac Backus, a Baptist preacher who was very forceful in calling for that separation of church and state. I like what he said and what he wrote. It's also interesting to see that there were a number of people who saw the American Revolution not just as a political revolution and political independence, but that it had a very strong religious background, to the point where some would even go so far as to say that the Revolution was a religious revolution more than a political one. Where was all of this when I studied history in high school and the first year of college?

I do plan on taking a couple of books with me on the trip, as well as a couple of novels (I was told I should read Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol before going to DC. Well, I started it, so that will go with me also.

I'll give some reports while we are on our travels.

Peace!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

I have completed my third week of the sabbatical at this point. I'm not feeling as rested as I would like, I guess because there have been so many weeks where I had to get up so early. My body just doesn't understand what it means to sleep past 6:15. But I have continued my reading, and I'm learning a lot about the Founding Fathers and the Christian church. Some books are starting to get a little repetitive, but I'm still fascinated by what I am reading and learning.

The books I've finished this week are Washington's God and Founding Faith, by Stephen Waldman. There is a little blurb about Waldman's book by Joseph Ellis (a noted historian who has written several books I've read, including His Excellency, a book on George Washington), that says, "There is a fierce custody battle going on out there for ownership of the Founding Fathers. Founding Faith strikes me as a major contribution to that debate, a sensible and sophisticated argument that the Founders' religious convictions defy our current categories." It's a very good book.

I mentioned in my last post that sometimes people want to rewrite history in order to fit their current thinking. Waldman mentions that one well-known contemporary Christian writer totally discounts Thomas Jefferson's comments on Christian faith by simply saying that Jefferson was not a Founding Father, as he was in France during the time of the Constitutional Convention. If that is the case, then one also has to disregard John Adams, John Witherspoon, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and many others who were in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776 but not in the summer of 1787. Jefferson was in France during the Constitutional Convention, but he still had a lot of influence in the thinking of that time, and James Madison, who was not all that interested in a Bill of Rights, was told by Jefferson that there had to be a Bill of Rights in order for the constitution to be ratified. But, according to this contemporary Christian writer, we don't want to include Jefferson because we don't like his ideas, so we'll just bump him off the list. That is similar to Jefferson going through the Bible and cutting out the parts of the New Testament that he didn't like. He has the right to do that, but you then cannot claim that what you end up with is authentic or true.

I'm finding that all of this is a very complex study. It involves looking at what Waldman calls the "Planting Fathers" (Puritans, Jamestown), as well as the Founding Fathers. And I'll tell you, I'm glad I didn't live under the Puritan system. They were so concerned about people going to church that there were significant penalties if you did not go to church. Three months without going to church meant you could be executed. Now think about some of the Founding Fathers and their emphasis on liberty and individual rights. It wasn't just political.

One of the books I just got in this week is by Frank Lambert, a history professor at Purdue University. The book is titled, The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America. I just started it this morning, and already have lots of highlighting in it, and several pages flagged for important thoughts. It looks like another good book.

I also finished James Lee Burke's novel called Rain Gods, and tonight I will finish Tami Hoag's Deeper than the Dead. I'll return them to the library tomorrow, then go back to the library at the end of the week to get some more novels. Two trips, because we leave Saturday for our history trip, starting in Washington D.C. I'm looking forward to being there.

This past Thursday night we were at Tropicana Field to see the Rays beat the Indians. Carl Crawford hit two bombs to right field - about the longest home runs I've seen to right field. We had great seats, too, in the press level. No foul balls came our way, though a couple went above us into the upper deck.

Hope you are well.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Since my last post I have read two more books - American Gospel, by Jon Meacham (which I read earlier, so this was a re-read), and What Would the Founders Do? by Richard Brookhiser. Meacham's book I found much more helpful, especially the first part of the book. Some of these books deal not only with the Founders, but continue on throughout American History - Meacham talked about Lincoln, all the way through JFK and MLK, Jr. Very helpful book, though.

Brookhiser's book has much to do with the Founders, but only one chapter was about the Founders and religion. Some good points in there, though. I saw the book at Borders, and I probably should have just sat down and read the chapter there, rather than ordering the book. Oh well.

I am now reading Washington's God, by Michael Novak and Jana Novak (father/daughter). I am finding that in history, as in Biblical exegetical work, it often happens that we go into the history, or into the text, with the idea that we know what we want it to say, so we're going to find how it can say what we want. Washington no doubt was religious, but it may well be that for him - as well as many of the other Founders - religion was useful and helpful, and led to good conduct and good citizenship. What did Washingto have to say about Jesus? Not a whole lot. Maybe, say the Novaks, that is because he was a taciturn Anglican.

Another book came in this week - Inventing the Great Awakening. I'm still waiting for two more books to come to the house, and one should be coming to the church this week, called The Faith of the Founding Fathers. Lots of reading, but it looks like I'll get it all done with plenty of time to reflect and write on what I have found.

On another note - I didn't get as much reading done this week as Wednesday afternoon through Thursday afternoon were spent thinking about and worrying about Andrew. It's a very strange feeling to know that your youngest - he's 22, but still - is in the emergency room about 450 miles away, waiting for tests to see if he will need surgery to remove his appendix. It was also a strange feeling to be told at 6:30 p.m. that he would be going in for surgery shortly, so you expect a phone call perhaps by about 10 p.m. No call. Nothing until 9 a.m. the next morning, when Andrew calls and says it is all over. "Didn't the doctor call?" "No." "Well, I guess that's ok, since it would have been about 2 a.m. before she could have called." Seems that there was an O.R. delay, so Andrew didn't go in until about 11:30 at night. I'm glad the doctor was able to stay awake! Then at 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon he called and said he had been discharged. While we were pretty calm through it all, it was still very good to get that phone call.

Last Sunday we worshiped at St. Andrew Pres. in New Tampa. Tomorrow we will probably go to Palma Ceia. It's interesting to be a church visitor, and giving me a lot of things to think about with that as well.

The Rays came back to win today - when Matt Joyce came to the plate I said, "this would be a good time to break out of that slump." A couple of pitches later - grand slam. Nice. We'll see them on Thursday night against the Indians. Hope they're on a roll at that point.

That's all for now. Stay healthy and happy!

Friday, June 25, 2010

So I'm one week into this study on the Founding Fathers, and I find that I'm going in many more directions than I had previously thought. Reading a biography on Samuel Adams (a good book by Ira Stoll) made me realize that I would have to do some research and reading on the First Great Awakening, and also on the possible influence of Freemasonry on some of the Founding Fathers (thirteen of the 39 signers of the Constitution were Masons, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin).

I read Richard Brookhiser's book on Gouverneur Morris - Gentleman Revolutionary: The Rake Who Wrote the Constitution - and while it is a comprehensive narrative on Morris' life, only one chapter was devoted to the Constitutional Convention and the writing of the Constitution. This from the man who spoke more than any other participant in the convention - James Wilson of PA was second, and James Madison, often referred to as the Father of the Constitution, was third.

Given what I read in Stoll's book, I got a copy of Bruce Feiler's America's Prophet: Moses and the American Story. It's a good book, and the first 100 pages very helpful for me. But in reading that I found some other books that I need to use, so I'm either going to purchase them or go to the downtown library. One of the books is an e-book, so I can do that on-line. I also printed an article from Martin Marty called "Religion and the Constitution: The Triumph of Practical Politics." One door into a new area leads to 2 or 3 more doors. But it's fun.

Just so you know that I'm not spending all my days with my nose in the books, I have been in the pool several days, did some yard work on Wednesday (boy was it hot!), and yesterday Donna and I went to Tropicana Field to see the Rays wear their new socks in beating the San Diego Padres 5-3. Let's hope that puts them on track for more W's!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Taylor/King concert

Last night we went to the James Taylor/Carole King (or is it Carole King/James Taylor) Troubadour reunion concert at the St. Pete Times Forum. What an exceptional concert. Taylor and King pretty much took turns singing some of their songs, and while the one was the lead, the other was support with instrument (piano or guitar) and backup vocals. So exciting, so vibrant, so filled with energy.

I think my favorite aspects of the evening, though, were those songs by Taylor when he just sat down, played the guitar, and sang such songs as Fire and Rain, or the duets such as You've Got a Friend. Both of the entertainers were great. Carole King seems more at home with the concert venue. While Taylor is also at home with that style, it appears he would just as soon be sitting with some friends in the living room, playing the guitar and singing.

Great concert.