New Evangelicals - SOF

Last week I was taken in by Jim Wallis in Speaking of Faith's twofold program about a new kind of evangelicals. This week's issue with Rick and Kay Warren inspired me less. Somehow, the political walk connects with me all right, but the spiritual talk can put me off seriously. Jim Wallis was fine, when he points out that the Bible is very frequently into poor people and how to help them, but with the Warrens I get rubbed the wrong way with certain phrases.

Look, the most important thing, I might and maybe must think, is that they have understood they shouldn't enter politics the way evangelicals did until recently and that their Christian Faith pulls them towards taking on the AIDS problem and to stop marginalizing people. That is where Krista Tippett comes in and where the parallels with Jim Wallis are drawn. That is also where obviously, they cannot be solely identified with a conservative right wing view on society.

I just feel extremely uncomfortable with the near casual way of talking about Jesus and the Lord as if they are each other's neighbors and have conversations on a day to day basis and know what the other thinks as clearly as can be. I could take out of the transcript about ten passages that express this emphatic faith but let's take just one where Kay Warren speaks of her husband.

I always knew Rick was — that God had big plans for Rick. I met him when he was 17. And I said he was — I had never met anybody like him then and I've never met anybody like him to this day. So I had a sense that God was going to do something through Rick, not because Rick was anything different, it's just — for whatever reason, it was God's choice that he was going to use Rick.

Shrinkrapradio at the San Francisco Exploratorium

Here is just a short post to let you all know there is yet another new issue of Shrinkrapradio (#123). Also, it is yet another episode in which somethign new is attemoted. Dr. Dave has taken a tour at the San Francisco Exploratorium - a science and arts museum in San Francisco. There is a large display concerning the mind. On the tour, Dr. Dave is joined by the staff neuropsychologist Dr. Richard Brown. All of this recorded for the podcast.

David Kalivas is back

It took more than a year and a half for David Kalivas' World History Podcast to be revived - we nearly thought it had podfaded. Five new lectures were added, three of which on Egypt, Mesopotamia and monotheism in a series of connected thoughts. What sets Kalivas apart from other lecturers and history podcasters is the natural ease at which he manages to give a broad overview, yet pick out vital details and maintain a very relaxed, near casual tone of voice.

Egypt and Mesopotamia both emerged as early civilizations. Egypt maintained a stable rule for thousands of years, whereas in Mesopotamia there was a succession of cultures; one conquering the next and so forth. These two river valley civilizations succeed the previous podcast series where the Chinese and Indus Valley Civilizations were described.

From the exchange between Mesopotamia and Egypt we inherited monotheism; the ancient Hebrews stem from Abraham who came out of old Ur and eventually rode to Egypt. Egypt is also the scene of the Exodus. Even though Kalivas does not suggest an actual link, he makes a point at paralleling Akhnaten's attempt to turn the Egyptian cult into a proto-monotheism and Moses implemented monotheism, taking the people out of Egypt, roughly at the same time.

Couscous with Chicken

Typically in the winter I make huge dishes of couscous we all love. Leftovers are intended; we store them in single servings in the freezer, for later use. It is very handy and near indispensable to have ready to go meals in the fridge when you have a family.

12 drumsticks; skin removed (Or any amount of chicken legs, with or without the thigh)
3 table spoons of olive oil
1 tea spoon cumin
1 tea spoon sweet paprika
2 tea spoons turmeric
1 tea spoon coriander (ground)
a handful of coriander (leaves)
2 cloves garlic
salt
5 carrots
5 stems of celery
green pepper
2 courgettes
500 grams chickpeas (readily boiled or from a can)
(Optional to add: pumpkin, broccoli, cauliflower)
500 grams couscous (3 minute microwavable)
0.5 liter boiling water

Slowly heat two table spoons of oil and add cumin, sweet paprika and one tea spoon of turmeric. When the oil is sufficiently hot, throw in the pieces of chicken, one by one, carefully turning them around in order to have them fried lightly in the oil and spices. If necesary to make some room, take out some of the chicken (not all) and add the vegetables. Stir fry until everythign is sufficiently warm. Add salt, garlic and chickpeas. Boil the water and add that too. (In case you took out some of the chicken put the pieces on top) Allow to boil for 10-20 minutes. Put the couscous in a bowl, add one teas spoon of turmeric and one table spoon of oil; stir well with a fork. Take 0.5 liter of broth from the stew and pour it on the couscous. Stir with the fork in order to evenly immerse the couscous in the soup. Put the bowl for 3 minutes in the microwave and high power. After three minutes, allow the couscous to stand for 5 minutes. Stir the couscous with the fork once more.
Check on the stew, add salt to taste. Serve on top of the couscous.

Mutations - IOT

After the recording of In Our Time, host Melvyn Bragg puts out a newsletter. About the latest issue he sums things up very well.

Hello

Well, it’s often said that appearing on radio or television, in films or on the stage, or anywhere in public, is a transforming experience but I didn’t think that just sitting down would be as transforming as today’s contributors made clear. Millions of mutations are taking place as I dictate this newsletter. It makes me feel quite uneasy. So silent, so effective, so deleterious (?) mutating away there in the dark inside and me knowing very little about it and being able to do next to
nothing about it.

One of the most revealing statements – there were so many – was the discovery that despite the atomic blasting of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the genes refused to budge and changes took place in the usual old random way. Similarly, in Morgan’s laboratory in America, after two years of fast breeding the fruit fly and forcing them to change nothing had happened, until a completely random mutation gave a fruit fly white eyes instead of red. As you may have heard, when they caught the fruit fly this began them on a passage of research which became the pattern for the fast-forward of genetics in the 20th century and into the 21st century. Steve Jones emphasised it’s a very young and very new science.

I believe that we might have got through the programme without mentioning Darwin (I haven’t heard it back yet). If so, with Steve as a contributor, this would be the first time in his life he hasn’t mentioned Darwin in public when talking about – well, just about anything.

[...]

I thought it might be useful to you to have this glossary which I found very useful indeed:

Mutation: Any discontinuous change in the genetic constitution of an organism. Mutations can occur in DNA or in chromosome structure. Mutation is the ultimate source of all genetic variation.

DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid: The nucleic acid which occurs in combination with protein in the chromosomes, and which contains the genetic instructions for the organism that houses it.

The Gene: A unit of heredity; a segment of the DNA which contains the instructions for the development of a particular inherited characteristic.

Chromosomes: The threads within the nucleus of a cell that become visible during cell division. Chromosomes are the major carriers of genetic material, consisting of DNA and various types of protein.

The Genome: The complete genetic information about an organism. In most organisms this is contained in the DNA sequences within chromosomes.

Gene Pool: The total of all genes in a population of a particular species.

All the best

Melvyn Bragg

When Judah went to Egypt - Miketz

KMTT's podcast about the weekly portion is delivered this week by rabbi Ezra Bick - next week regular rabbi Chanoch Waxman will return. Bick neatly continues where Waxman left off last week. We continue to discuss the position of Judah among his brothers. Like last week, we try to discover where Judah becomes the primus inter pares.

In Parshat Miketz (or Mikeitz), hunger strikes Canaan and a travel to Egypt is needed. The brothers should go, but among them, should Benjamin come along? Eventually he must, but how to persuade Jacob, who is already heartbroken for the loss of Joseph. The oldest, Ruben, takes a try, but does not succeed.

It is from here that Judah takes the lead. Judah convinces Jacob and the whole bunch journeys to Egypt. In the next parasha (vayigash) Joseph will play his trick on Benjamin and Judah will proceed his leading role, as Ezra Bick explains. More next week from rabbi Waxman.