Author: Wick

“Suppose our thought of God is not domesticated by Sunday sermons by His Reverence or co-opted by ecstatic visions of a great military show of arms in a massive square, visions of the super eminent power of the supreme creator of heaven and earth, of the hyper-eminence of the arche?…

..Suppose that we reverse these gears and thrust theology in the direction of weakness and the disavowal of power?” John Caputo – The Weakness of God

We don’t have to talk for very long to see the influences he’s calling out here. Or the benefit of emphasizing God’s connection (not out of pity, or even sense of religious duty) with the marginalized and powerless of the world. Perhaps we’ve clung to, and over sold God’s nature of…well…what we would say “being God”. For many of us, that means things like “all-powerful”, and “over all things” (able to control, exert His Lordship, etc. etc…) Of course, with all of that in mind, it’s easy for us to swear our undying allegiance to Him. As the bumper sticker reminds us…”we win”.

But what about swearing our allegiance to the God of the weak? Not that God lacks in anything, but that God is so beyond needing to trump any “power” or “prove” Godself in any way that we could think of. That the real power behind God is not in winning some sort of triumphal “end times battle” where God and Darkness duke it out in a ring (located somewhere near Armageddon, right?) But the triumph comes in revelation of Truth. Darkness was/is powerless from the beginning.

I saw this story on CNN the other day. The reporter was very adamant about how this is just a small example of why it’s a horrible idea to post pictures of your own personal family on a blog accessible to the public. Her attitude and expressions during her story seemed like she was proud for having conclusively convinced the general public to never be so stupid and naive again.

I agree that this would be freaky to find out. I’d probably be a bit upset, and want to expose the fraud. But I’m not sure I’d be offended as much. (easy to say, since it didn’t happen to me)

This is a topic my own mother and I have gone back and forth on, for different reasons. Is it okay/safe to post personal pictures of my children on the internet where they can be accessed by anyone who wants?

I would say sure. I love my kids. I’m stinkin’ proud of them, and I think they’re cuter than yours. So I’m gonna show ’em off, whether it’s a pretty new dress or whether it’s a peanut butter smear across their face. I don’t want the older people from my church, or communities I’ve been involved in the past to have to become a “member” or figure out some internet routine to have to “access” my family that they are loving and praying for. And honestly, I know that the world needs to see more pictures like the ones my children are capable of generating. Such pictures can brighten a day for sure.

Does that mean someone could steal their picture, and pretend they’re a child from Europe seeking adoption in a foreign country? I guess.

Does that mean (and I confess, this one disturbs me a bit) that some creepy old man who likes to look at pictures of little girls could view my family? Yes, unfortunately.

Does it mean that some crazed maniac could make paper dolls and tape my daughters faces to them, pretending their real – and even get updated pictures so that the dolls seem to “grow up”? Yah. I suppose someone could.

To that, someone who does/has been offended in these regards would say “you’ll care if it happens to you, and I hope it doesn’t for your sake”. They’re probably right.