Of Mice (well, Mouse) and Men...

All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
but the LORD weighs the spirit...
Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:2,18 ESV)

It's been a week since my last post, I know. But it's been a week...particularly in Greek; however, they say the hard part is over... I say that we still have Mid-term #2 on Tuesday, into which I go with an 83 average (a moot point since the class is pass/fail)-- maybe after that the hard part will be over.

One of the pleasures of the weekend is reading Garrison Keillor's weekly column in the paper on Saturday. I've always thought he was a gifted writer, very Mark Twain-esque in his observation of the human condition. Yesterday's piece was a good example, which you can read here, if you'd like...

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Before we began our Saturday morning 5-mile death march, I snapped the pic shown at left with my iPhone-- literally dawn's early light over the wisps of fog in the park where we start. The heat and humidity has been suffocating here over the last few days (kind of reminds me of summers in the Baltimore area). By the time I was done walking, I had soaked through every stitch of clothing...

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And yesterday afternoon we found a cache of cat food in the small utility/coat closet next to the door to the garage. We also found a jacket and scarf that had been chewed through. It would seem that a mouse has been stealing Colby's kibbles (see pic right)-- on the floor of the closet there were piles in three corners. That mouse must have worked hard to get the food under the door (which is always closed). We were trying to figure out how it got into the house to begin with. Before the cat and I were batchin' it last weekend, there was no cat food in that closet, and there are no openings in in the walls of our place (which is relatively new). We looked high and low for signs that the mouse may still be with us somewhere, but found only traces on the refrigerator, in a closet close to the cat's food bowl, and on a vanity in our office (spare bedroom). It occurred to me that I may have inadvertently let the little bugger in one night last weekend when I left the patio door cracked open so Colby could come in... So this morning before church I put down two Tomcat bait stations, which ought to neutralize the problem (well 99% of it; the other 1% is hopefully finding the carcass before it decomposes). I wouldn't call this an infestation, per se, but nobody wants a mouse in their house (see Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss)...

Speaking of infestations, has anyone out there watched The Demon Files on the Destination America channel (that airs paranormal investigations tripe just about 24/7)? I happened across an episode a couple of weeks ago of this ghost-busting ex-NYC police officer shouting obscenities into the air (meant for an evil spirit or demon or spook or something) while brandishing a crucifix with a crucified Lord on it, all in the name of Jesus Christ. Oh yeah, and it was after dark, naturally. I think this guy has a movie about himself in theaters now, too. At first I was mildly amused, then I began to think about the people that buy into this Exorcist syndrome (yes, upper-case E from the very good 1971 film that briefly made movie-goers Catholic and afraid of the dark).

Before I go on, once again I must pull out my credentials-- I am an unpaid, amateur theology student at a conservative Lutheran seminary. My faith and Scripture assure me that much can be accomplished in the name of Christ, that an Evil does exist (and masks itself in the vanity, conceit, self-centeredness, and violent behavior we are subject ourselves to daily) in stark opposition to the pure goodness of God, and that a sincere repentance and faith in God's sacrifice of Christ for my (and your) sins is the only defense against a foe that hates his Creator and considers Man an intellectual, emotional, psychological (especially!), and spiritual weakling. Holy water, invocations in Latin, profanity, and a crucifix wielded like a baseball bat in the face of a burglar are the "spiritual" tools of a playground bully. We mortals are so, so vain. It almost cracks me up to think of this macho ex-cop trying to pick a fight with a perceived force that could kill him as soon as look at him, but won't. Man is more valuable to Satan alive than dead. The much scarier devil is in the details, as they say-- in the details of Scripture. Temptation. Why would Satan need all the pyrotechnics and showmanship to lure the unsuspecting away from God? No one understands the proverb "pride goes before a fall" (more specifically Proverbs 16:18) more than one whose own pride brought him down.

There's another guy who shows up in other paranormal investigation tv shows in priestly garb with a censer, cross, and book of incantations-- he calls himself a Catholic Bishop, but he's not a Roman Catholic. He's of some other uber-liberal Catholic sect, but those bedraggled folks infested with demons and evil spirits sigh with relief when he shows up on their doorstep like some sort of spiritual Orkin guy. And, sadly, these types of shockumentaries are such a poor source of theology for the unchurched...

Movies like The Exorcist and The Conjuring keep the unchurched, unfaithful, and uninformed in the dark, where levitating, pea-green-soup-barfing possessed teenage girls with animal eyes give even the most devout of Roman Catholic priests more then they bargained for. (However, both films are based on real events; The Exorcist has its roots in a Lutheran-- purportedly LCMS-- family's issues with their teenaged son's erratic behavior in the late 1940s and the The Conjuring chronicles the notoriety of 1970s-era husband-and-wife demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, he also an ex-cop, she a self-proclaimed medium). And, speaking of The Exorcist, Fox is developing a tv series to premiere in September... Man, that network sure gives the Devil his due (see January post Lucifer the, um, superhero?)...

Long post today, eh? Maybe by now that mouse has taken the bait and is nearing death's doorstep. I hope it goes peacefully into the light, otherwise we may have to find a mousercist...

Until next time... С Богом, ya'll!

P.S. Good article on Relevant.com: What’s Behind Culture’s New Obsession With Possession?