Wonder-ful Trees

I love it when I stumble across something
that makes my imagination run wild.
Here's a link to the top 10 trees in the world,
which created a nice little escape into the crevices off my imagination to find myself and
my Creator.


Check it out! The oldest known tree is named
Methuselah and is dated to be around 4,838 years old. Now that's staying power.














God's creation is so much greater than anything we can contrive. Some of these trees are things of science fiction or J.R.R. Tolkien.

I would love too see these magnificent trees in real life. Especially those that have let man know what's up, like the one to the right.


Supposedly in this tree, you can see shapes that resemble elephants and jaguars, thus making it the "Tree of Life." Very cool.

Bursting Forth of Deconstructionism

I'll begin by admitting my own ignorance of deconstructionism. I haven't read anyone outside of Caputo, and only snippets and secondary sources on many of the philosophers of deconstructionism. This post is meant to be a follow-up on Tony Jones post over at churchandpomo that I posted below.

Although the comment below is powerful, I missed the forest for the trees. One problem I have with "my" understanding of deconstructionism is that it leaves us stripped and bare with no bearing, but Jones argues something different. He calls it a hermeneutic of bursting through our own understandings. The final goal of this bursting is justice.

The images that I have with this bursting forth is one that allows us to hold onto who we are and what we've learned while moving beyond those experiences. If deconstructionism truly does this, and Jones is not just biased toward this system, then I'm very sympathetic. Otherwise, until I get some Derrida, Kearney, and Caputo under my belt I'm unsure.

Spring Break '07 Baby!

This year we went with some close friends to Arkansas and stayed in Ouchita National Park in a cabin off the Creek. You can click on my flickr badge on the sidebar of this blog to see the pic's.

The trip was wonderful and a needed break. Enjoy the pic's!

Is Desconstructionism Safe?

No, and it shouldn't be. Maybe its our drive for control and comfort, but I've heard weariness over the abundant use of deconstruction philosophy and hermeneutic among emerging churches. I recently read Caputo's Philosophy and Theology, which helped me to understand Caputo better. This was important for me because of some issues raised over the use of deconstructionism and Caputo being the key speaker in the Emergent '07 Theological Conversation. It was an excellent read and I trust his assumptions.

Anyways, here's a piece from Tony Jones on the use of deconstructionism and how it highlights our faith in the Bible...

This connection between deconstruction and the Bible is especially meaningful, methinks. I am quite convinced that the Bible is a subversive text, that it constantly undermines our assumptions, transgresses our boundaries, and subverts our comforts. This may sound like academic mumbo-jumbo, but I really mean it. I think the Bible is a f***ing scary book (pardon my French, but that's the only way I know how to convey how strongly I feel about this). And I think that deconstruction is the only hermeneutical avenue that comes close to expressing the transgressive nature of our sacred text.