Disqus - Latest Comments for Markingtime4now

Re: Join the Bowery Boys on June 5th for a chat with George Chauncey, author of Gay New York

Mark S. Nielsen — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 22:09:23 -0000

I'm currently looking into the role of organized crime, especially the Five Families, as the main network that ran many pre-Stonewall gay bars and gathering places. If anyone has some ideas for specific primary sources, good overviews, or surviving interview prospects, I'm all ears. Find me at mnielsen34 (at) gmail (dot) com. Or take a glance at my circa 1959/'60 crime novel/nonfiction podcast combo _Murder In Birdland_ (a work-in-progress): http://markingtime4now.word... .

Re: JONNY LANG - BLEW UP LYRICS

Mark S. Nielsen — Wed, 08 May 2019 07:56:24 -0000

Clearly one of his conversion/recovery songs. Sort of a phoenix rising from the ashes thing, but in this case a private confession cloaked in metaphor. Burning down a house may or may not have actually occurred, but burning down his old life (before Jesus) did have to occur, and it took guts cuz he didn't know what alternate future he was giving up by getting clean (literally, from drugs, and figuratively, in faith). The line from the gospels about "you must lose your life to find it" applies to this song somewhat.

Re: Alice Walker Reading Poems.

Mark S. Nielsen — Sat, 08 Feb 2014 18:33:28 -0000

We all need to know we won't be taken out with the trash, eh?

Re: Bruce Springsteen - High Hopes Lyrics | MetroLyrics

Mark S. Nielsen — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 14:34:07 -0000

does he actually say "pay for everything" or is it "pray for everything"? are we sure which? how and why?

Re: The ecology of Pooh

Mark S. Nielsen — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 11:29:47 -0000

I am late to the party here, but I thoroughly agree the article is a source of wonder and important information. I also offer some reflections at my own blog, Marking Time, where I did a five-part series on both the books and the movies... and the commercialization of the Poohniverse. http://markingtime4now.word...
Thanks once again to Mr. Heneghan. (hey, that sounds a bit "hummy", doesn't it?...)

Re: A View on Scripture

Mark S. Nielsen — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 11:10:02 -0000

Your (actually Richard's) opening citation of Merton is what drew me in. I've gone thru Fr. Richard's menswork/intensive formation program, the Men's Rites of Passage, so I suppose you're preaching to the choir with me, but I'll agree it is a matter of freedom vs. discipline, post-modernism vs. respect for tradition --a tricky balance. I'm a cradle Catholic, but Protestant (mainline, pentecostal, mega-evangelical) and most of all *Mennonite* thru my 20s and 30s, now drawing upon all three and more (including some Orthodox or eastern non-Christian practices or principles). It's a hard road to walk, this in-between place, submitting to the Spirit and not throwing anyone under the bus, but it is leading somewhere very good. But because of the appeal of mainstream culture, and groupthink and safety, versus the "slippery slopes" that everyone warns about on both sides of the aisle, this hybrid existence and respecting Scripture (without making it into an idol) is a pretty lonely road at times. I'm always with one foot in a non-unified place with whatever community I choose to explore these scriptural questions with. As Father Rohr has also said in the past: "The prophet belongs on the edge of the inside." -- Mark in Chicago

Re: Master (or Mistress) of Your Domain?

Mark S. Nielsen — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 14:34:05 -0000

I say, I don't NEED your permission... but thanks for granting it anyway. ;-) Sex and masturbation for me also prove God's got a sense of humor, probably moreso than we Christians do in this particular field. Fear of socio-emotional missteps and sin (two different things) have led us for centuries to throw out the baby with the bathwater. (Oh look, I made an Onanist post-modern pun. Is that the first ever?)

Re: Interview w/ Holly Williams + exclusive 6-song sampler

Mark S. Nielsen — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:07:31 -0000

A nice interview of a great artist, Will. Thanks. I made brief mention of Holly and Charlie Peacock in a blog post about music and charity efforts today: http://markingtime4now.word...

Re: NoiseTraders @ The 2013 Grammy Awards

Mark S. Nielsen — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:48:46 -0000

YEAH, Will. I noticed it, too. Good of you to point it out. However... Brooklyn be damned... as for me, I'm "going to Chicago, sorry but I can't take you..."

Re: Full text of Pope Benedict XVI's declaration

Mark S. Nielsen — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 08:46:39 -0000

It strikes me as a very modern -- possibly medically based? -- and wise decision by a thinking, praying man who doesn't want to fall down on the job (figuratively OR literally). The fact that a pope has not resigned in over 500 years is a sign that he and the leadership are perhaps *trying* to break old precedents and set a new example. Aging itself is a crisis that ministries and societies in every generation have to deal with, and here we see a minister who's aware he has an opportunity to slow down the right way, show us how it's done. I'm sure it's hard to steer the biggest ship on Peter's ocean very quickly or (maybe even effectively). Besides, Bennie's been a lightning rod ever since his selection, and the last thing a *good* minister wants is for the ministry to be all about *him*. (Whereas bad leaders and ministers love to make it all about themselves.) Good luck, papa Joseph Ratzinger. Have a cup of tea, relax, and pray for me, while you're at it. [p.s. I just checked, people... wikipedia already has the resignation changed on their/our site... times are moving fast, too fast for an old man, apparently.)

Re: Spiegel: Tebow-Lin Comparison Needs To Stop Immediately

Mark S. Nielsen — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:20:44 -0000

sorry for dupe... tech problem didnt let me see first one right away

Re: Spiegel: Tebow-Lin Comparison Needs To Stop Immediately

Mark S. Nielsen — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:19:07 -0000

For a hard-hitting, softhearted, humorously serious comparison of Lin's rise with that of Tim Tebow, Big Z and other evangelical Christian athletes (with the bonus of big props to Score faves Boers and Bernstein), take your "hops" on over here -->

http://markingtime4now.wordpress.c0m/2012/02/14/tebow-lin-big-z-a-c-on-faith-race-in-pro-sports/

Thanks for the giddily fuming debate, Matt!

Re: Spiegel: Tebow-Lin Comparison Needs To Stop Immediately

Mark S. Nielsen — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:16:22 -0000

http://markingtime4now.word...

Thanks for the giddily fuming debate, Matt!

Re: C.S. Lewis Should Be An Evangelical Reject Too! (John Janzen)

Mark S. Nielsen — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:18:03 -0000

Good stuff, JJ. I too heard and was shaken (in a good way) by that Rohr statement about staying on the edge of the inside. Even put it on my temporary business card! As for Lewis, I agree he was a model for the "holding in tension" that Rohr and the emergents are talking about. He would not have been able to do the courageous emotional work of material like "A Grief Observed" unless he'd already surrendered to some things being a mystery, forever, given our broken human state.

Re: Has a work of art ever drawn you closer to God?

Mark S. Nielsen — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:33:33 -0000

"Toolbox for a Man's Rites" - Mark Nielsen, 2008 --Multiple media sculpture created in response to the faith-based Men's Rites of Passage, co-created and conducted (in my case in Illinois, August 2008) by Father Richard Rohr, OFM.

Re: Has a work of art ever drawn you closer to God?

Mark S. Nielsen — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:16:04 -0000

"Kunst wascht den Staub des Alltags von der Seele." - Pablo Picasso ('Art washes the dust of everyday life off the soul.' ... quote seen on a sign in a public square in Zurich, Switzerland)

Thanks for the insights on what's looking like a bit of a "mini movement". I find it very encouraging as a layman, or a priest/shaman-in-training, or storyteller, or sculptor (see attachment), or songwriter... whatever mode the Spirit shows up in on a given day (when I pay attention, that is). Just knowing that I'm not alone in trying to walk this twisty path is a big help in staying on it.

Re: Curating Hospitality: An Interview With Nanette Sawyer

Mark S. Nielsen — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:46:06 -0000

Superb overview of an approach integrating classic liturgical elements with a modern, Spirit-led attitude about real people (our gifts and our problems). Being equally welcoming as a person (to God's graceful or unexpected "intrusions"), and as a congregation (to Christ, and to the whole motley crew of humanity) takes discipline, generosity, and sometimes all the tools in our emotional toolkit. We're all "just visiting here" in some ways, but it occasionally takes a humble leader like Nanette to remind us of that, so we'll feel safe enough to climb down from our ivory towers to share a cookie with a stranger. Thanks one and all.

Re: Is "Progressive" the Right Term?

Mark S. Nielsen — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 17:01:17 -0000

"We live in a political world..." - the prophet Bob Dylan, *Political World*

As a non-theologian/layperson with more of a background in philosophy, linguistics, public education and the Anabaptist critique, I feel compelled to remind us that in English (and historically), the word "progressive" (small p and capital) had a political association long before it began to acquire a more direct theological connection.

I have never minded the term, and even in the political realm I found it useful to break out of the U.S. "two party system" - which broke down to Republican=conservative=white=people of the Book="real" Christians (etc.) VS. Democrat=liberal=inclusive=mainline or ecumenical=social justice/people of praxis="TRYING to be real Christians" with an eye on the Common Good.
Meanwhile, for decades there have been misfits --either the monkish/interior-oriented discipleship types like Foster, or the outward-facing and sociopolitical types (Buechner? Wendell Berry? certainly Campolo...) -- who felt a bit uncomfortable within *either* "party". I've felt discomfort/tension too, as a non-cradle Mennonite (the so-called Third Way), and thus have enjoyed --but then sometimes struggled --in watching and helping as Sojourners and other Progressive/faith-based efforts tried in fits and starts to bridge that gap (mostly a false one, from a Scriptural standpoint). All that activity, and the roots of current changes/debates, started well before Emergent existed as a term. As for "missional", that seems vague and tricky also, like a re-purposing or co-opting of terminology to try NOT to lose the more conservative evangelicals.

We can talk about what person, school of thought, or denomination gets co-opted or dismissed through this working out of our faith, but I agree with the suggestions above that being a little unsafe or uncomfortable really IS the Way of Jesus.

It's the idea mentioned above that emergent theology has been *changing* (or reacting, maybe re-adjusting its essential foundational evidence sources, i.e. *re-learning*), that many evangelicals have a hard time with. If one believes in God and scripture and truth as being mostly fixed (my shorthand definition of conservative or orthodox theology), then the idea of holding things in tension --the postmodern instinct to say "Maybe yes, but what about this over here?"-- is grounds for dismissal so that a conservative can get on with their faith-filled business without the distraction of having to rediscover a vision/version of the truth.

The first time I heard the term "praxis" was in discussions about liberation theology at a youth minister's or Intervarsity leadership training conference... conducted at Moody Bible Institute of all places. So every tradition has its brave, isolated reformers (or realists) who work within the boundaries, but try to stretch them. It's in publishing and seminaries that all the big battles are fought, though. Keep pushing those boundaries, Tony. We're encouraged.

Re: Resurrection!

Mark S. Nielsen — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:09:33 -0000

Nice work, Mark. I did up a little haiku yesterday in a similar vein, while watching my church's egg hunt:

_Easter_

The hunt. It's not the
keeping but the finding, not
the finding but being found.

Get found, children!

Re: “The kingdom of God is among you” Four misconceptions about the kingdom Jesus announced

Mark S. Nielsen — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:44:43 -0000

Yes, same Reba Mark, but not tied much to Reba anymore, except by inspiration and indirect means. Had to cut the apron strings after 20+ years, bring some of that teaching out to people beyond the "choir". Sent a private note to you and Heather thru your blog site. Good to catch up with you again...

Re: “The kingdom of God is among you” Four misconceptions about the kingdom Jesus announced

Mark S. Nielsen — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:01:14 -0000

Very fine work here. One suggestion: Providentially, I was reading today of de Chardin (first time ever...), and contrary to your proposition here, his mystical vision did seem to me to include a sense of God and kingdom already fully arrived, though perhaps not fully revealed or understood due to human limitations. Maybe his was a theology of "uncovering", not so much literally of creating/building, as just owning and growing into our role in the full sweep of creation, and more fully valuing the kingdom and our divine family. Plus the "work" of reflecting kingdom for those who have not noticed its subtleties, and been set free by realizing their purpose in history and creation. But this is just my reading of de Chardin. Perhaps he points toward joy in the work of science and theology and social justice (as opposed to burden/burn-out), but with recognition at all times that it is God who has done/is doing the work. Me and Pierre, we're just shovels.

Re: Guestroom for Jesus?

Mark S. Nielsen — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:21:49 -0000

As somone with a schizophrenic in my family, who was also homeless for a short time, I commend this article and the spirit of courageous generosity it tries to call us to. If God is our security, we can practice hospitality more boldly.

Also, the article reminded me of a favorite poem, by the Sufi poet Rumi in the 13th century:

_Guest House_

This being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Re: Is Obama the Anti-Christ?

Mark S. Nielsen — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:33:39 -0000

Let me just say Becky hit this one out of the park. Thanks! The religious conservatives who love to throw around words like devil, Satan, and Anti-Christ are quite an ahistorical lot when it comes to really knowing their supposed enemy. They have not done their "opposition research" philosophically, so it's easy to lump anything they don't like or don't understand together under one paranoiac roof. Meanwhile, the actual Lucifer probably fiddles on happily, while the new "Rome" burns again.

Re: Is Obama the Anti-Christ?

Mark S. Nielsen — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:33:39 -0000

Re: Let It Be

Mark S. Nielsen — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:45:48 -0000

Good Lawd! This is quite well-researched and instructive. Thanks a heap. I did a bit of writing on the biblical Mary today, and how the Beatles' disparate spiritual experiences can be linked to this song. This piece about Paul's dream was new information, though. The Great Spirit works in so many mysterious ways...