Can Christianity Survive on Squishy Post-Modern Ground?

An interesting article on magical thinking as being the actual essence of religion... it seems the author is trying to bridge the gap some into the new post-modern era by soliciting a valid form of expression akin to poetry.

He describes a continuum between metaphorical and literal modes of understanding of religion and posits that we all move in our course of maturation from the literal to the metaphorical. In the process morality is maintained or even heightened from the more primitive strictly authoritarian faith-rule.

He describes how the Jews themselves "evolved" along this continuum throughout the Old Testament starting with Deuteronomy (meaning "second law") which was written later to "upgrade" some of the cruder more literal sacrifices and laws. Indeed it was Deuteronomy that declares the number one law is to love rather than to sacrifice.

My favorite section is as follows:

The point is that the semiotic space for such dialectical development has been built into religious language and symbolism, honed and augmented over centuries. To invent a social equivalent of religion out of thin air is akin to inventing a new language--much harder than it looks. So the rational elite may indeed be missing out on something--the "essence" of religion.

My suggestion is that while there is, and has always been, a great difference between the esoteric (metaphorical) and exoteric (literal) modes of religious understanding, there is also a continuum running between them. Many people move along this continuum in the course of their lives, beginning with the debunking of Santa Claus. As they learn the moral interpretations of mythic symbols and stories, they grow to put more emphasis on those interpretations than on the assertion that the stories really happened. Eventually they may come to feel that "God is within," animating their moral judgment and feeling for the world. But in most cases this doesn't prevent them from telling their children about Santa Claus, nor does it impel them to attack the "beliefs" of their less-advanced coreligionists.

Therefore it is wrong to classify everyone based on answers to polling questions about religious "belief." What people say they "believe" doesn't necessarily capture the functional role of the "beliefs," their symbolism and moral perspective. It doesn't tell you where they lie on the magical/moral continuum. So the picture of a tiny enlightened elite and literal-minded masses is also wrong.

All in all this reminds me very much of reading N. T. Wright and his push to be a Christian in the post-modern era by somehow giving up all the literalness of creation, miracles, virgin birth, resurrections and such as "narrative" expressions of the people themselves - not untrue, but not true either.

This rather leaves one on squishy ground, but if indeed we are at a major cultural crossroads in the magnitude of the Middle-ages to Enlightenment crossroads, then there just may be another acceptable mode of expression which can include worship of a creator in the genre of poetry, and story-telling that could be valid but not literal.

N. T. Wright, among other intellectual Christians, tend to suggest this is our future hope for the sustainability of Christianity. I'm inclined to agree.

Come and Take It

I love this snapshot I took at an Austin protest a while back. I just came across the history of this slogan and even T-shirt from a bunch of East Texas hog hunters. You gotta love Texas attitudes and history. :)

"Come and take it" was a slogan used in the Texas Revolution in 1835. At the minor skirmish known as the Battle of Gonzales, a small group of Texans successfully resisted the Mexican forces who had orders to seize their cannon. As a symbol of defiance, the Texans had fashioned a flag containing the phrase along with a black star and an image of the cannon which they had received six years earlier from the hands of a Mexican officials.

Steve Earle - intro to Devil's Right Hand

Steve Earle comes out on encore in his "Townes Van Zandt" tour playing in New Braunfels, Tx. June 20, 2009 and talks about gun-control and raising an "out-of-control" fourteen year-old son.

This was about as entertaining as it got.

The venue sucked and I almost got into a fight with a staff member who threatened to call a sheriff to throw me out. I swore I'd bad-mouth the Whitewater Amphitheater to no end.

First they charged an additional $10 when you get there just to park, there site directions there and on the web is confusing, at least one member of staff was a threatening jerk, one drunk (supposedly works for the owner) stood up front near stage making scene and being a distraction till several audience members complained. The organizing was lame and for the price of a $28 ticket (plus $10 surprise parking) there wasn't even a full band.

On the good side you can buy a shot of Hornitos Tequila for $6. Plus I got to hear and visit with a friend of ours - grammy song-writer Susan Gibson.

If it hadn't been Steve Earle and Susan I'd of passed on this one. Adena finally did get him to sign my Texas Troubadours book, but he was harder to get to than freaking Bob Dylan - (we had to hand the book to a gaurd, who then waitied and handed it to Steve Earle - it was all meant to discourage fun)

Pretty Empty Glasses

Some photos of the brethren..... are them glasses empty?

Fun Things To Do While Camping Out

I’m trying to think about some things we could do next year to make our Blanco Brethren Intelligentsia Christian Beer Bash (BBIC beer bash) a little more memorable. I'm looking for ideas and wanted to brainstorm a few of them here.

Pitch in and give me some ideas. The only requirement is it has to be actually doable and believable.

• For starters, we'll need a keg of beer next time. We should spend a lot of time anguishing that the keg will not be enough and calculate many times how many ounces per day everybody gets before we tap it.



• We can drink and buy other beer till the last member shows up and then we'll open up bottles of whiskey and vodka and drink that instead.



• We'll need some general not too intelligent discussions on nearly non-resolvable topics like GOD, POLITICS, and HOW TO RAISE CHILDREN.



• I think lots of blood-curdling free-style singing easily heard for miles up and down the valley would be enjoyed by all.



• We should have at least one or two brawls at the height of drunkenness. We should include some life threatening shouting and at least one tent getting busted up and maybe even a nice guitar getting smashed beyond repair. That'd be cool.



• We should go on at least one long hike (10 miles) over rough river rock with a mixture of swimming and climbing and thrashing through wilderness. We should take the dogs for fun. This should prepare us for by-passing the keg of beer and going straight to the whiskey and vodka.



• Let's plan on somebody getting lost - preferably at night while completely drunk. We’ll call him 'dumb-ass'. He can wonder up and down the river bed not sure of direction or which side of river camp is on. The rest of the folks should be bedded down totally not caring.



• First thing in the morning we can ask each other, "Hey, where's 'dumb-ass' ? Is he alive? What a dumb-ass."



• On one night someone needs to sleep out on a big rock in the river bed. This could be the same 'dumb-ass' or not. In the morning we can call him "Man-Who-Sleeps-on-Rock."



• We should generally lose lots of equipment and supplies. Things like cigarettes, bandanas, eye-glasses (these should be repeatedly stepped on, lost and found and stepped on again) and other trivial things. We should somehow misplace and never find a watermelon.



• With all the lost items, we'll need someone throwing out some paranoiac expressions and accusations like "hey who took my cigarettes?" and "hey, why are you guys ganging up on me?" and "hey, has anybody seen that watermelon I brought?"



• Last but not least, we'll need someone on the last night to really guzzle the whiskey and all through the night they should wail and moan and cry out in the night to God in fits of rage, anguish, and pain. Ideally, this will wake the sober people enough that they will worry and not sleep. This should sound like demon-possession akin to wailing and gnashing of teeth as hell is described.

These things along with a few injuries like described in last post - especially someone falling into the cacti - should set us up for some real fun.


What do you think?

Need a Little More Physicality

Well, the 2nd Annual Blanco Brethren Intelligentsia Christian Beer Bash is over and has come off without a hitch. I super enjoyed the horse-shoe pitching contest, the chess tournament and watching the Nietzsche documentary. That sure stimulated a lot of late night deep thought, huh? I wish I'd of taken notes.

I was a little disappointed we didn't do anything much physical this year. So, I propose next year we plan on at least a little bit of rowdiness so our wives don't think we're gay.

I've come up with a list of injuries that I think we can shoot for and use as a gauge for this goal next year. Here's the list. I'll take items #2 - #4 and let you guys pick between the rest of them.

If you think this is too ambitious, please email me.

1. Fractured or dislocated shoulder
2. Cracked rib
3. Head wound/bruise from rolling down rocks
4. Well-scraped knee
5. Choking to near unconsciousness
6. Twisted ankle - preferably an ankle that's been reconstructed from a previous injury.... and preferably during the furthest point out on a long-ass wilderness journey like five miles from anything
7. Dog injury - something that requires vet attention
8. Close to death incident where someone falls out of a moving truck - preferably with some large heavy iron object that could bust your head open or break off a leg
9. Major chigger bite infestation - preferably concentrated in the groin area
10. Leg scrapes and cuts from hiking
11. Leg scrapes and cuts from falling over rocks
12. Leg and general body scrapes and bruises from a drunken brawl
13. Someone needs to fall into a large bed of cactus, roll around some, destroy the cactus, and not complain about all the needles embedded through-out - classic cartoon fun

Farmer Whitetrash Teaches Gardening Safety

Cousin Willie Basso, a.k.a. Farmer Whitetrash, shares his secret gardening tips and has a little fun in the process. --- This is episode 3 and probably the last since Willie has lip cancer.




Happy composting y'all!
-- signed Whiteboy McCoy (Willie's cool cousin)

Blanco Brethren - 2nd Annual Intelligensia Beer Bash

Woo - hoo !!!!!

Blanco Brethren - 2nd Annual Intelligensia Christian Beer Bash
Coming up weekend of May 22, 23, 24 !!!!

First announcement:

Beer will be DEVIL'S BACKONE beer from Real Ale down the Blanco river in Blanco, Tx. A keg will be ready upon arrival of the intelligensia.

Devil's Backbone (spring release) draught only
Named for the scenic ridge that runs between Blanco and Wimberley, Devil's Backbone is a Belgian-style tripel. Czech Saaz hops and Belgian yeast give this ale its distinctive flavor and aroma. Candy sugar made in-house at the brewery adds strength without increasing heaviness. The result is a deceptively strong, pale golden ale.
ABV: 8.1%, IBU: 36, OG(plato): 18

Second announcement:

Friday we are planning an all day (hopefully one-way hike) to the bottom of the Narrow's. This is a 5 mile over rough rock terrain mixed with swimming to the most one of the most rugged middle-of-nowhere spots in Texas. Bring your hiking boots. Be ready to rough it.


Third announcement:

The only requirement on the agenda is we have to write and record us singing and playing guitars and other instruments (available here) ONE SONG.

We have to write it.

We have to record ourselves playing it.


Fourth announcement:

Everyone bring one meal please and appropriate equipment for personal comfort and saftey.


Call me, the Big Kahuna, if you have any questions.

See the Three Leaves? - Farmer Whitetrash sez, "Kill the poison ivy!"

Well cousin Willie was thrilled to hear that 1 out of the 3 people that responded said they were NOT totally disgusted with the Farmer Whitetrash HO HO HO Show. So unfortuneately, that's all the encouragement 'ole Willie Basso needed.

Here's another one he did and sent to me today. He's says he didn't have nothing else to do except kill poison ivy so "what the hell.... I'll record it."

Ray Wylie Hubbard (a good friend and neighbor) was kind enough to let us use his 'Purgatory Road' song as a soundtrack ..... which of course is the road Farmer Whitetrash Willie lives on.

Of course we didn't really ask Ray Wylie Hubbard if we could use his song..... but he's pretty cool and he'll probably post a comment letting us know one way 'twar the other.

That ok with you Ray?



Love, Peace Joy to you all. And Death to Poison Ivy.

Mitch 'Whiteboy McCoy' Sanders

Farmer Whitetrash - Willie Basso

My cousin, Willie Basso who's from my backwoods part of the family discovered he could make videos. He's known locally as "Farmer Whitetrash" and he called me the other day saying he had an idea to make money by making "how to garden" videos and selling them on the internet.

I told him that probably wasn't a good idea but I gave in to him and said I'd at least post his video on the web and see what kinds of responses he gets.

Feel free to leave honest comments to him below about the viability of cousin Willie "Farmer Whitetrash" Basso making money doing videos.

Can you count your sins?

Going over the concepts in my last blog, I'm basically saying that defining sin is very fuzzy nowadays. So much so that I don't know that I (or you) can actually pinpoint a sin or two during the normal day.

I would like to be able to know if and when and how I sin when I sin.

The old sins of sex and getting drunk and hating people don't apply anymore. I have sex when I want, I drink whatever I want and pretty much to whatever extent I care to without feeling I'm sinning and I don't hate anybody. So I'm not sinning those ways.

I'm not murdering, stealing, cheating, lying, or fornicating with other women.

I guess I could stretch a few things like when I go faster than the speed limit sign of 65 and I go 70. Maybe technically that's some kind of sin. On the books it is illegal. But on a freeway with everybody around you going at least 70 - 75 mph, you are almost a hazaard trying to go slower. In fact it just don't seem right to NOT go the average safe speed that those around you seem to be going.

So where are my sins? What wrongs do I do that Jesus gave sacrificed his blood to God for?

I got one.

The other day I got an email from a person who did some work. I thought about email my boss communicating the work was done without copying the guy who did the work, thus hinting (sort of) that maybe I did the work.

The pursuit of self-glory. That's feel like sinful.

I don't remember if I actually did it or not, but that's about the only thing I can think of in my life recently that I would consider a sin.

Can you remember your sins?

Can you count your sins?

Can you even name one?

Sins - Can You Count Them?

I've been thinking a lot about sin lately and trying to figure out just exactly what sins I commit on a day-to-day basis.... truthfully, I search my soul and have a hard time finding any. I was always taught that I'm practically sinning every minute in someway or another, if not by actually doing a sin, at least by NOT doing something I should be doing - sins of omission.

This is why we all need the blood of Jesus to forgive us of our sins so God can look upon a sinless person who died and appropriate in His checkbook our debt to this payment.

I was also taught that even if I'm not sinning right now, I still need this blood payment because I surely sinned sometime in my past and besides that I was just plain born with sin somehow already marked on my soul genetically because my parents and their parents all the way back to Adam and Eve also sinned.

That concept was called Original-Sin and was created by Saint Augustine in the 5th century A.D. and accepted by the church ever since.

One of the few exceptions was by an intellectual lawyer turned preacher in the 18th (?) century name Charles Finney. He rationally explained away the whole silliness of Original-Sin and I've been satisfied that the concept is bogus ever since.

So, I'm back to my daily sins to find my guilt - and my continued need for blood payment (I know this is bordering on blasphemy here for evangelicals, but I'm trying to just be logical and honest here.)

So, can I clarify my sins enough to the point that I can be conscious of them?

Can I actually COUNT my sins? Like through the day?

It gets real fuzzy. And the older I get the less sins I seem to do.

Let's start with really the only one people really have trouble with - sex.

Hey, I've been married for 30 years and somehow have avoided the pitfalls of betraying her. I can have sex with her just about anytime I like. I've taught myself to avoid looking and lusting after other women, though I can't say I haven't looked and appreciated sexiness or even lusty body parts of women, but I don't feel I'm battling sinful thoughts at all. What does pass through my mind I just don't feel accountable or guilty for it.

Well this is a dangerous thought, and for sure doesn't negate the powerful death-dealing results that can come from having sex with someone other than your designated for life mate. Lord knows how many family lives have been soiled and ruined by sexual unfaithfulness outside of their mate.

But still, maybe because I'm older or maybe just because I'm successfully habituated to not doing it - don't on any kind of a day by day basis sin this way. It may be over a decade even. I mean very few times have I allowed myself to indulge my imagination with sexual encounters consciously.

Now, I've had sleeping dreams of such a nature, so it's not that I'm too weird. I just strongly am committed to my wife and have an innate fear of losing her if I screwed up (pun not intended.)

But surely you can't actually do sins in your dreams that would require forgiveness at the cost of the blood sacrifice of Deity, can you?

[more to say on this subject - because I think I did sin the other day and want to tell about it.]

Adena Protests - The Austin Tea Party

Austin had its own Tea Party on tax day April 15th. Adena considers herself a strong conservative and decided to participate. I went along to document it and even hollar and protest a little. There were some great signs and the people were very generic and seemingly average Americans. We marched down Congress avenue down to the river and did a mock Tea Party.

Driving is a RIGHT not a privilege!

Driving is a RIGHT not a privilege!

Citizens SHOULD be outraged and some of them are.

In December, a trooper arrested a man in Glendale while he was attacking a camera with a pick ax. In another incident, a troupe of men dressed as Santa Claus toured around the city of Tempe in December and placed gaily wrapped boxes over several traffic cameras, blocking their views.

Driving is a RIGHT not a privilege!

Do NOT believe the lie that driving is a privilege. This is the biggest LIE supporting "BIG BROTHER" and the government to spy on you and tax you through automation practices like cameras.

Transportation of you body and self is a RIGHT!

• It wasn't a privilege to move your body on a horse or a donkey in pre-automobile days.




• It is not a privilege to ride you bicycle to town.




• It is not a privilege to walk, run, or skip through America.




• IT IS A RIGHT - TO MOVE YOURSELF THROUGH THIS MODERN WORLD - as long as it is without harm to the rights of others!

It is a RIGHT to drive a vehicle across America. It is NOT a right to hurt or infringe yourself upon anybody's else's rights.

The government wants to spy on you and tax you and infringe your rights to get from point A to point B without extras taxes. Cry out now and save your freedom.

Don't believe the lie that driving is a privilege. It is not. Driving in this modern day world of transportation requirements is an ABSOLUTE RIGHT!

Last Day at Wimberley First Baptist Church

Turn this up loud 'cause Ozzy is doing the soundtrack here.

This was our last day at church, where we've been for 5 years or so.

It was sad for me. This was where I envisioned my "old country church" memories to take shape. They never quite did. My wrestlings with God and the romantic notions of all that means have wavered to and fro for many a years now.

I still love the meaning of God.

I like good old Black Sabbath music too.

Here's my expression of friends, God, the old days, and where I stand and fall and stumble.

Lance Lipinsky - Cool as Cool Can Get

Lance Lipinsky grew up in Wimberley, TX., and left home as a young teenager to Las Vegas, Nevada to pursue his dream of playing rock-a-billy music. He's played gigs now in Las Vegas for 7 years and now has come back home to his little Wimberley roots and played this year on the stage he first played at when only 13 years old.

Welcome home, Lance. You are as hip as hip can get! And that's pretty cool!

How Lance Lipinsky plays in Wimberley - my recording:


How Lance Lipinsky plays in Las Vegas:

Ariel and I Catch a Snake

Dental Fun

Teeth.... root canals... bad luck... that's my story.



Music by the one and only Brad McCool.

Catching Fish Fillets in the Mud

...you too can have fun catching fish in the Blanco river.

Rambling River Romp 2008

I finally got my Rambling River Romp footage edited. This is a classic event where we travel from house to house for an hour each to eat a course of a meal and have drinks and cigars eventually. The theme this year was Robert Earl Keen's song "Merry Christmas from the Family." This is my local family and it was very merry.