The current bowl game system is criticized because it doesn't produce a legitimate national champion football team. A playoff system is proposed. But that scheme is badly flawed for these reasons:
- A playoff system can never satisfy critics who will always dispute the choice of teams and pairings.
- A playoff system involves not one but several post-season games, involving massive travel and time expenditures -A playoff system demands participation of staff, cheerleaders and bands in addition to teams, and this amounts to a huge investment in non-educational activity.
- A playoff system of, say, eight teams produces one winner and seven losers.
- A playoff system is based on the notion that a single champion is required for a meaningful season.
That is absurd. A more reasonable view is that with thirty-five bowl games there are thirty-five winning teams; the season ends in consonance with academic schedules; seventy campuses are involved for a single game only; athletes are adequately displayed and lauded; media networks are kept fully involved.
Disputes over pairings and timing will always abound. The Bowl System is still a sensible ending of the football season.
Friday, March 2, 2012
GOD
The first words of the Bible are these: In the beginning, God. Our human minds cannot fathom anything prior to that. And that flat- out statement is a leap into the unknown. it cannot be proved, it can only be an item of faith.
Our human minds like to deal with beginnings. That is why we are so taken with genealogy. We probe into record books and family Bibles to line up family history as far back as we can. But this biblical statement goes far back before time began.
T.S.Eliot put it simply: "Nobody likes to live with a mystery." Ancient Romans spoke of a "horror vacuum" or an abhorrence of a vacuum. Our minds crave answers to how life began, how the world began, how the universe began. Scientists can chronicle how it all developed, but there is no scientific answer to how or why it all began. That is and always will be a mystery.
Long before there was such a thing as science, human minds asked questions about those origins. Stories were composed, minstrels sang, wise men spoke, elaborate explanations grew over hundreds of years. But each one depended on some original creator whose being was simply stated. It was God.
There was no explanation of how God came into being. God had no family history.
God's actions could be described. God's nature resembled our human nature in such things as joy or revenge or sorrow. But who or what God is remained an unfathomable mystery.
There is one place in the biblical record where an attempt to define God appears. Moses is pictured as an exile from Israel when God confronts him with the command to plead with pharaoh on behalf of the Hebrews. Moses agrees to go but asks God: "Whom shall I say sent me?" The answer he receives is the most edited and re-edited phrase in the entire Bible. Familiar versions are "I am who I am" and "I am he who is." My choice is this "I am he who causes to be." That is, God is the one who makes something out of nothing, the creator.
God's being is self-evident in creation. And we make bold to say that this universe was loved into being. That is, God's nature is creative love. As human beings, we have the capacity to create and love and so align ourselves with God. . . . or worship God. Our highest reach as human beings is to create and love, actions that identify with God.
Our human minds like to deal with beginnings. That is why we are so taken with genealogy. We probe into record books and family Bibles to line up family history as far back as we can. But this biblical statement goes far back before time began.
T.S.Eliot put it simply: "Nobody likes to live with a mystery." Ancient Romans spoke of a "horror vacuum" or an abhorrence of a vacuum. Our minds crave answers to how life began, how the world began, how the universe began. Scientists can chronicle how it all developed, but there is no scientific answer to how or why it all began. That is and always will be a mystery.
Long before there was such a thing as science, human minds asked questions about those origins. Stories were composed, minstrels sang, wise men spoke, elaborate explanations grew over hundreds of years. But each one depended on some original creator whose being was simply stated. It was God.
There was no explanation of how God came into being. God had no family history.
God's actions could be described. God's nature resembled our human nature in such things as joy or revenge or sorrow. But who or what God is remained an unfathomable mystery.
There is one place in the biblical record where an attempt to define God appears. Moses is pictured as an exile from Israel when God confronts him with the command to plead with pharaoh on behalf of the Hebrews. Moses agrees to go but asks God: "Whom shall I say sent me?" The answer he receives is the most edited and re-edited phrase in the entire Bible. Familiar versions are "I am who I am" and "I am he who is." My choice is this "I am he who causes to be." That is, God is the one who makes something out of nothing, the creator.
God's being is self-evident in creation. And we make bold to say that this universe was loved into being. That is, God's nature is creative love. As human beings, we have the capacity to create and love and so align ourselves with God. . . . or worship God. Our highest reach as human beings is to create and love, actions that identify with God.
Monday, January 9, 2012
That's Where I Belong!
[Sung to the tune of "Is It True What They Say About Dixie?" by Phil Harris
Here's a clip of Al Jolson singing this: http://bit.ly/zuJe21]
Is it true what they say about swimming?
Will it make you feel fresh and relaxed?
You can do cross country and scissors by the score
And Cossack kicks and diamonds til you can do no more
Is it true what they say of aerobics?
Will it make all your body muscles strong?
It's a rule to be cool in the old Y swimming pool
If that's true, that's where I belong!
Is it true what they say about lifeguards?
Are they watching and alert all the time?
Are they good at counting noses? Up to now they've been
The same number leave the pool as those who first got in
Is it true their red shirts are becoming?
Are they smart? Can they swim? Are they strong?
It's a rule to be cool in the old Y swimming pool
If that's true, that's where I belong!
Is it true what they say about our leaders?
Are they clear, do they demonstrate their call?
They signal and they gesture, wave their arms and smile and coax
They send us to the shallows,they sometimes tell us jokes
Is it true that they plan all the music?
All that drumming, the Beatles, the song?
It's a rule to be cool in the old Y swimming pool
If that's true, that's where I belong!
Larry Gruman. 2012
Here's a clip of Al Jolson singing this: http://bit.ly/zuJe21]
Is it true what they say about swimming?
Will it make you feel fresh and relaxed?
You can do cross country and scissors by the score
And Cossack kicks and diamonds til you can do no more
Is it true what they say of aerobics?
Will it make all your body muscles strong?
It's a rule to be cool in the old Y swimming pool
If that's true, that's where I belong!
Is it true what they say about lifeguards?
Are they watching and alert all the time?
Are they good at counting noses? Up to now they've been
The same number leave the pool as those who first got in
Is it true their red shirts are becoming?
Are they smart? Can they swim? Are they strong?
It's a rule to be cool in the old Y swimming pool
If that's true, that's where I belong!
Is it true what they say about our leaders?
Are they clear, do they demonstrate their call?
They signal and they gesture, wave their arms and smile and coax
They send us to the shallows,they sometimes tell us jokes
Is it true that they plan all the music?
All that drumming, the Beatles, the song?
It's a rule to be cool in the old Y swimming pool
If that's true, that's where I belong!
Larry Gruman. 2012
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Prophets or Predictors?
When I first read the Bible, I came across the word "prophet" and I figured that such a person had a privileged view of the future. After all, prophets could predict what would happen years ahead. They seemed to be superior people chosen to foresee.
Later on, I discovered that the word "prophet" has a different meaning and the prophets had a different vocation. The Hebrew word describing Amos and Isaiah and Jeremiah and others was "nabi" which means "to bubble over." The original description of these passionate people suggested that they were so very excited, so focused on their task that they bubbled over. These were people who were obsessed by their effort to understand God.
But when "nabi" was translated into Greek, the word used was "prophete." That word carried over to the English language and means "one who predicts" or "one who prophesies." Today we‘ve substituted the idea of prediction for that original "bubbling over."
One of the Old Testament prophets (described as a “nabi”) was Job. The author described him as telling his friends that he was so intent on confronting God that he vowed "I will seek Him though He slay me." Similarly, Shakespeare shows Hamlet voicing great determination as he pursues his father's ghost: "I will cross it though it blast me." And Herman Melville's Captain Ahab was depicted as a zealot in search of the Great White Whale. These were men whose waking hours were spent searching, wrestling, reaching for what they valued.
Each of these was a committed, enthusiastic "bubbler,” not a uniquely chosen person. The passion that lit their lives was generated by a hunger to grapple with their highest aspiration.
It became clear to me that my pursuit of God's presence is my own choice. I can't wait for some call or commission before I act. Jesus is reported to have said, "Seek first the kingdom of God...and all these things will be added to you." Whatever our goals may be – happiness, wealth, recognition -- let them come about as a result of our own “bubbling over” in pursuit of God in our lives.
Later on, I discovered that the word "prophet" has a different meaning and the prophets had a different vocation. The Hebrew word describing Amos and Isaiah and Jeremiah and others was "nabi" which means "to bubble over." The original description of these passionate people suggested that they were so very excited, so focused on their task that they bubbled over. These were people who were obsessed by their effort to understand God.
But when "nabi" was translated into Greek, the word used was "prophete." That word carried over to the English language and means "one who predicts" or "one who prophesies." Today we‘ve substituted the idea of prediction for that original "bubbling over."
One of the Old Testament prophets (described as a “nabi”) was Job. The author described him as telling his friends that he was so intent on confronting God that he vowed "I will seek Him though He slay me." Similarly, Shakespeare shows Hamlet voicing great determination as he pursues his father's ghost: "I will cross it though it blast me." And Herman Melville's Captain Ahab was depicted as a zealot in search of the Great White Whale. These were men whose waking hours were spent searching, wrestling, reaching for what they valued.
Each of these was a committed, enthusiastic "bubbler,” not a uniquely chosen person. The passion that lit their lives was generated by a hunger to grapple with their highest aspiration.
It became clear to me that my pursuit of God's presence is my own choice. I can't wait for some call or commission before I act. Jesus is reported to have said, "Seek first the kingdom of God...and all these things will be added to you." Whatever our goals may be – happiness, wealth, recognition -- let them come about as a result of our own “bubbling over” in pursuit of God in our lives.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Water in Winter
I swim daily at the Y. It is fun in hot
weather, but a bit challenging in wintertime. Still
it is a daily treat, a kind of momentary retreat from the storm.
Water in Winter
Water in winter is fun if you're bold,
You put aside the wind and cold
The rain and snow - forget about it
Get in the pool and then you can shout it:
WATER IN WINTER IS FUN
The women in charge get in the rhythm
They ask you to reach and kick right with 'em
To get in the spirit pretending to be
Out on a bracing cross country ski.
WATER IN WINTER IS FUN
Outside the weather is foggy and dreary
But in the pool the spirit is cheery
Things will warm up with jogs and crunches
And high-stepping knees that come on in bunches
. WATER IN WINTER IS FUN
We keep things steamy with gossip and jokes
While touching our ankles and stretching our strokes
We know that outside the cold is stinging
But here on the inside you'll hear us all singing
WATER IN WINTER IS FUN
Get out your bikini, your bells and your belt
And hop in the pool; it's time that you felt
A surge of energy making its way
And keeping you warm even on a cold day
WATER IN WINTER IS FUN
Larry & Ellie Gruman
Eugene, Oregon
See my blog at larrygruman.blogspot.com
weather, but a bit challenging in wintertime. Still
it is a daily treat, a kind of momentary retreat from the storm.
Water in Winter
Water in winter is fun if you're bold,
You put aside the wind and cold
The rain and snow - forget about it
Get in the pool and then you can shout it:
WATER IN WINTER IS FUN
The women in charge get in the rhythm
They ask you to reach and kick right with 'em
To get in the spirit pretending to be
Out on a bracing cross country ski.
WATER IN WINTER IS FUN
Outside the weather is foggy and dreary
But in the pool the spirit is cheery
Things will warm up with jogs and crunches
And high-stepping knees that come on in bunches
. WATER IN WINTER IS FUN
We keep things steamy with gossip and jokes
While touching our ankles and stretching our strokes
We know that outside the cold is stinging
But here on the inside you'll hear us all singing
WATER IN WINTER IS FUN
Get out your bikini, your bells and your belt
And hop in the pool; it's time that you felt
A surge of energy making its way
And keeping you warm even on a cold day
WATER IN WINTER IS FUN
Larry & Ellie Gruman
Eugene, Oregon
See my blog at larrygruman.blogspot.com
Monday, December 19, 2011
Bubbling Over
In the Old Testament, several writers are identified as prophets. However, that word has a history, and this is it:
The original Hebrew word was NABI, a bubbler. And that name was applied to men who were so obsessed with their vision of God that they "bubbled over." They wrote poetry, dramatized situations, made frantic cries, wailed and tore their clothes. They were what one has called "intoxicated with God."
Theirs is some of the most ludicrous and the most beautiful phrases in the Bible.
Then, when the old Hebrew scrolls were translated into Greek, the Greek word describing them was "prophete." That may have been an apt description of the Nabiim at that time, but when it came into English translation the word PROPHET had a different meaning. It was more akin to "predictor" than "bubbler." So our English language has portrayed these God-obsessed poets as predictors. The rich tradition of these eager searchers for God has been re-cast into men somehow foreseeing the future.
What has been lost? The original Nabiim were wrestlers, searchers, explorers trying to engage God and putting that struggle into poetic outcries. Their reach into God's nature was a dramatic confrontation. But when their role is portrayed as armchair theologians, the powerful urgency of their mission is lost.
Herman Melville gave us a picture of a Nabi in Captain Ahab who was obsessed with the pursuit of the great white whale. Shakespeare showed us a Nabi in Hamlet declaring " I will cross it though it blast me." Job declares "I will seek Him though He slay me." These men show the eager thirst for confrontation that prompted the Hebrew Nabi, the prophets of the Old Testament.
The original Hebrew word was NABI, a bubbler. And that name was applied to men who were so obsessed with their vision of God that they "bubbled over." They wrote poetry, dramatized situations, made frantic cries, wailed and tore their clothes. They were what one has called "intoxicated with God."
Theirs is some of the most ludicrous and the most beautiful phrases in the Bible.
Then, when the old Hebrew scrolls were translated into Greek, the Greek word describing them was "prophete." That may have been an apt description of the Nabiim at that time, but when it came into English translation the word PROPHET had a different meaning. It was more akin to "predictor" than "bubbler." So our English language has portrayed these God-obsessed poets as predictors. The rich tradition of these eager searchers for God has been re-cast into men somehow foreseeing the future.
What has been lost? The original Nabiim were wrestlers, searchers, explorers trying to engage God and putting that struggle into poetic outcries. Their reach into God's nature was a dramatic confrontation. But when their role is portrayed as armchair theologians, the powerful urgency of their mission is lost.
Herman Melville gave us a picture of a Nabi in Captain Ahab who was obsessed with the pursuit of the great white whale. Shakespeare showed us a Nabi in Hamlet declaring " I will cross it though it blast me." Job declares "I will seek Him though He slay me." These men show the eager thirst for confrontation that prompted the Hebrew Nabi, the prophets of the Old Testament.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Life and Death
The two core elements in human existence are mysteries to the rational world, not open to scientific examination. Those elements are, and always will be, mysteries. Those elements are LIFE and DEATH.
Questions about the meaning of human existence, the origins and the purpose and the guidelines and the value and the responsibilities of human existence are beyond the reach of our rational inquiry. We can examine life and death endlessly, but our reasoning does not lead us to facts.
Our effort to understand the human condition has led us to explore our being. We call this effort RELIGION. And the cornerstones of every religion are the issues of LIFE and DEATH.
The Judeo-Christian tradition has neatly divided the inquiry into two searches. The Old Testament deals with the issues of LIFE. The New Testament focuses on issues of DEATH. The writers bravely dealt with these issues, wresting meaning out of their perceptions of reality.
Old Testament writers, asking how it all began, fashioned stories about the original human beings and their successors. That led to stories about discovering the values of life, its directives and its limits. The steps in this odyssey all originate in God, the ultimate mystery. God can be imagined and His actions described, but there is notational proof of His existence.
New Testament writers were Jews who felt that the end of life had not been adequately considered in the 39 scrolls of the Old Testament. They found in the life and death of Jesus a message about death that completed the human story. The New Testament is preoccupied with death. Death is depicted as a new beginning of life, a graduation into union with God, the Creator of life.
What began in the human consciousness as a search for purpose, meaning and value in our being is sophisticated into religion. It is on one hand an escape from futility; on the other hand a shaping of our humanity into a satisfying mold. We adopt that mold by making a commitment to it.
Every human being craves some pattern of life that gives meaning to his existence. Christians are people who commit themselves openly to their understanding of the Judeo-Christian story.
Questions about the meaning of human existence, the origins and the purpose and the guidelines and the value and the responsibilities of human existence are beyond the reach of our rational inquiry. We can examine life and death endlessly, but our reasoning does not lead us to facts.
Our effort to understand the human condition has led us to explore our being. We call this effort RELIGION. And the cornerstones of every religion are the issues of LIFE and DEATH.
The Judeo-Christian tradition has neatly divided the inquiry into two searches. The Old Testament deals with the issues of LIFE. The New Testament focuses on issues of DEATH. The writers bravely dealt with these issues, wresting meaning out of their perceptions of reality.
Old Testament writers, asking how it all began, fashioned stories about the original human beings and their successors. That led to stories about discovering the values of life, its directives and its limits. The steps in this odyssey all originate in God, the ultimate mystery. God can be imagined and His actions described, but there is notational proof of His existence.
New Testament writers were Jews who felt that the end of life had not been adequately considered in the 39 scrolls of the Old Testament. They found in the life and death of Jesus a message about death that completed the human story. The New Testament is preoccupied with death. Death is depicted as a new beginning of life, a graduation into union with God, the Creator of life.
What began in the human consciousness as a search for purpose, meaning and value in our being is sophisticated into religion. It is on one hand an escape from futility; on the other hand a shaping of our humanity into a satisfying mold. We adopt that mold by making a commitment to it.
Every human being craves some pattern of life that gives meaning to his existence. Christians are people who commit themselves openly to their understanding of the Judeo-Christian story.
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