2nd Amendment

Last week the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to overturn Washington D.C.'s ban on handgun ownership. The NRA and the pro-gun side are cheering a victory and hoping this open the doors to overturn bans all over the country. The anti-gun side, while disappointed, seems to be breathing a sigh of relief that this ruling remained vague enough to allow states and local areas to maintain certain bans since the majority opinion spoke directly to the plaintiff's wish to keep the gun in his private home for self defense.

There are a couple of things about this case that caught my attention. First, the case itself and the man who brought it to trial. Everything about it grabs attention, from the story to the face of the man himself. CBS Sunday Morning had a story yesterday on the case. Here's a link to the web story. The title sums it up:

Targeting The Supreme Court

How A Libertarian Who's Never Owned A Gun Brought The Decisive Case On The Second Amendment

And here's the man: Robert Levy. It's really priceless. This guy's never owned a gun, but he chose to meticulously plan and self finance this case, taking it all the way to the Supreme Court. What's more, it's the only case he's ever litigated. He deliberately kept the NRA out of the trial and specifically targeted the constitutionality the issue according to the 2nd Amendment. Genius.

The second thing is that Barak Obama endorsed the decision and Judge Scalia's majority opinion. There are several thoughts running through my head about that one, but I'm going to leave it at that for now.

So, what are your thoughts about the case and the interpretation of the "right to bear arms"? I think it really captured my attention because from a democracy standpoint I lean toward the ideal of - as Levy puts it - "free markets, individual liberty, private property and, most of all, strictly limited government" but at the same time I don't own a gun. I've never shot a handgun, and I can count on one hand the number of times I've fired a gun of any kind.

From a Christian prospective a whole other issue arises. Whether we should have this right or not, is there a reason that a Christian should own a gun merely for self-defense? A broader way to look at that discussion is: where does self-defense fall in the call of Christ to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, do good to those that hate you? My friend Nick has been discussing the love of enemies in a recent post on his blog here.

I know this post is flying in all sorts of directions. If anyone is interested in following any one (or all) of these rabbit trails, feel free. I'm interested.

Speed. I am speed!

Well, at least at 25 mph.

If you've been bored and looked around my blog recently, you may have noticed a link to the tyler bike club on the interweb and wondered to yourself "what's this here for?" It's actually become a high-traffic link for me lately. You see, my latest passion has become cycling these days. Well, actually call it a renewed interest that has turned into a passion. In high school, I had an old 10 speed that I rode 3 or 4 nights a week with my dad. When I went away to college, the 10 speed road bike got traded for a mountain bike, which was good for campus commuting. Now that I live in Tyler, there aren't mountain biking trails to speak of without driving a ways, but there are plenty of roads. So, I've turned to the road again and really love it. For a while I was riding my old bike and searching for a new racing style road bike -- you know, the kind with the curvy handlebars? I shopped on the internet, went to the local bike shops, and even spent 1/2 a day at bike shops in Dallas one weekend. My problem was that I wanted a high dollar bike for not a high price. These bikes can reach a few Gs very quickly. I finally found a nice used one through a friend of a friend and bought it about 3 weeks ago. Here's a stock photo of the bike. I'll try to post a real pic when I take the time to shoot one.

It's a nice ride - especially for the price. If you're not into biking, please bear with some tech speak for a moment: full carbon fiber frame, shimano 105 complete set (derailleurs, shifters, brakes, crankset, pedals), mavic ksyrium wheels, airborn fizik wing flex saddle, 2 carbon bottle cages, cateye wireless computer, front & rear lights and about 12oo miles on it. Anyway, it makes me happy.

The Tyler Bike Club has group rides throughout the week in the evenings and a large group ride every Saturday morning at 8 am. For the past 2 Saturday mornings I've been hitting the pavement with about 20 other folk leaving Faulkner Park and heading south through the back roads to Bullard. Once we get there, most folks stop for a breather at a little greasy spoon. Some have a quick breakfast. Then small groups start splitting off - some continuing on to Jacksonville, some riding around the Bullard area, and some heading back. Being a newbie, I've been content to ride back home from there. But even taking that "short" ride, I put 32 miles behind me this morning. It really felt great, too. I've been sitting around for far too long lately slowly putting on the pounds and getting out of shape. So, I'm ready to start feeling better physically, and I've found a fun way to do it.

Another plus about the group rides is that since I work from home, I don't get a lot of interaction with people in town outside of church. This has opened a door to a whole new set of guys in town. That has been great. I've prayed about having that opportunity and so I'm excited that this has come.

One of the best feelings, though, is when I'm riding in the middle of the pack and cruising with relatively little effort and I look down at my speedometer to see that I'm going 30 mph. It may not sound fast, but on a bike (at least at my fitness level) that's smokin'! If you ever watch the Tour De France, you hear about the force of the peloton - how riders will try to break away but the group just draws them back in with it's speed. It's real, and it feels really cool when you experience it. Inside the pack, you're shielded so all of your energy is going directly to the road and not fighting that wind. There are a few big guys in the group. I could draft all day behind them.

His Divine Power

Recently, Sunni and I began hosting a small group Bible study in our home on Sunday evenings. We're currently a group of 3 couples who attend 3 different houses of worship. It's a neat group. We're working through a study called the "Second Peter Principle" which is based on 2 Peter 1:3-11.

The clever name is a play on something called the Peter Principle, which states "In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His Level of Incompetence." Basically, you're going to get promoted as long as you work competently. Eventually, though, you'll get to a level that you are incompetent, and that's where you'll stay. The passage in 2 Peter says "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness." So, by leaning on God's power, we never have to fear reaching that level of incompetence. Each session takes a look at one of the building blocks of our faith as outlined in this passage -

building on our
faith
goodness and on that
knowledge and on that
self-control and on that
perseverance and on that
godliness and on that
brotherly kindness and on that
love

This study has been a very practical, instructive study so far. When it comes to studies and discussion I like things in the theological/philosophical realm. It's fun and also a lot easier in that upper cosmos of theory. Going through a study that reads like an instruction manual for the building blocks of being a Christian is different. Now I'm looking down at my foundations and seeing some cracks from negligence and poor care. And being the one that is "leading" the group, I can tell you I really am at my level of incompetence. So, thank God that His divine power gives me everything I need, because we'd be stuck if we were relying on my power.

As we go through this study, I'll try to post thoughts, epiphanies, convictions that I get from our meetings so be on the look out.

back in business (for how long??)

So a few folks have bugged me about getting back to my blog...one actually as a comment on my last post, which was four score and seven years ago, or so it seems.

I have a few things going on and always lots of random thoughts running through my head, so I guess I'll start this up again and see how far it takes me. Watch for a (somewhat) more-meaningful post in the near future, and in the meantime feel free to add comments of encouragement to keep me motivated and check out my friends' latest posts in my blogroll.