spiritual

Home of Renaissance man Bob Royce.

In the time of my confession, in the hour of my deepest need
When the pool of tears beneath my feet flood every newborn seed
There's a dyin' voice within me reaching out somewhere,
Toiling in the danger and in the morals of despair.

Don't have the inclination to look back on any mistake,
Like Cain, I now behold this chain of events that I must break.
In the fury of the moment I can see the Master's hand
In every leaf that trembles, in every grain of sand.

Oh, the flowers of indulgence and the weeds of yesteryear,
Like criminals, they have choked the breath of conscience and good cheer.
The sun beat down upon the steps of time to light the way
To ease the pain of idleness and the memory of decay.

I gaze into the doorway of temptation's angry flame
And every time I pass that way I always hear my name.
Then onward in my journey I come to understand
That every hair is numbered like every grain of sand.

I have gone from rags to riches in the sorrow of the night
In the violence of a summer's dream, in the chill of a wintry light,
In the bitter dance of loneliness fading into space,
In the broken mirror of innocence on each forgotten face.

I hear the ancient footsteps like the motion of the sea
Sometimes I turn, there's someone there, other times it's only me.
I am hanging in the balance of the reality of man
Like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand.
--Bob Dylan

As confetti rained down on the San Diego Sports Arena's sweaty, sold-out crowd, Bono stood in the middle of the stage's semicircular runway and bowed to his audience. A modern-day priest in black leather, a shaman shaded by sunglasses, the U2 frontman kicked off the "Vertigo 2005" American tour Monday night with a pulpit-worthy performance.

Read the full review of the first show of U2's Vertigo tour. The setlist was as follows:

1. CITY OF BLINDING LIGHTS
2. VERTIGO
3. CRY/ELECTRIC CO.
4. AN CATH DUBH
5. INTO THE HEART
6. BEAUTIFUL DAY
7. NEW YEAR'S DAY
8. MIRACLE DRUG
9. SOMETIMES YOU CAN'T MAKE IT ON YOUR OWN
10. LOVE AND PEACE OR ELSE
11. SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY
12. BULLET THE BLUE SKY
13. RUNNING TO STAND STILL
14. ZOO STATION
15. THE FLY
16. ELEVATION
17. PRIDE
18. IN THE NAME OF LOVE
19. WHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME
20. ONE
21. ALL BECAUSE OF YOU
22. YAHWEH
23. 40

You can read more from U2.com's official news here.

Conservative columnist Cal Thomas has written an intelligent article on the Ten Commandments. Some of the highlights include:Christians, who sometimes seem so bellicose about these things, believe Jesus Christ fulfilled every one of the Ten Commandments and thus became the perfect "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Christians also believe "a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ" (Galatians 2:16) and "all who rely on observing the law are under a curse" (Galatians 3:10). They believe anyone who wishes to be judged by the law falls short and is condemned.
If Christians believe such things, why would they "settle" for the posting of the Ten Commandments through which they believe no one can be saved? Why not lobby for the display of their favorite verse: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16)? The display of that verse on public property would surely be ruled unconstitutional, but at least Christians would be consistent with what they actually believe.
What puzzles me is the extent to which those who want government to endorse their faith seem ready to compromise their true beliefs in order to receive an honorable mention from the state.You can read the full article here.

The following is my response to David E. Sheehan's comment entitled,"Pissed? How ignorant can you be?":

It's obvious that Dr. Dobson is not really attacking a fictional cartoon character, but rather humans using the character to promote tolerance and diversity. For shame! Tolerance AND diversity!? If by having my facts straight, you mean direct quotes from Dr. Dobson, here's his February newsletter entitled, "Setting the Record Straight". I still disagree with him for attacking the We Are Family Foundation. I support the pledge he derides:

To help keep diversity a wellspring of strength and make America a better place for all, I pledge to have respect for people whose abilities, beliefs, culture, race, sexual identity or other characteristics are different from my own.

I agree with the definition of homophobia:

Thoughts, feelings, or actions based on fear, dislike, judgment or hatred of gay men and lesbians / of those who love and sexually desire those of the same sex. Homophobia has roots in sexism and can include prejudice, discrimination, harassment, and acts of violence.

Dr. Dobson says of the definition, "Is this the kind of nonsense you want taught to your kids, especially if the nation’s most popular cartoon characters are used to get across the concepts? I pray not!" Dr. Dobson illustrates the church's failure to recognize homophobia as a serious problem in our country and in our pews. Doesn't the church have anything better to do than criticize efforts to promote tolerance and diversity? Is this really the best way for Focus on the Family to serve the family? What's wrong with pledging to have respect for people? I'm going to have to side with Spongebob on this one.