Self-Control and Religion

The New York Times reported last Monday that social scientists have positively linked religious language and religious practices (like going to church on a regular basis) to a greater level of self-control. Dr. Michael McCullough, one of the principal investigators, says:

Brain-scan studies have shown that when people pray or meditate, there’s a lot of activity in two parts of brain that are important for self-regulation and control of attention and emotion. The rituals that religions have been encouraging for thousands of years seem to be a kind of anaerobic workout for self-control.

I wonder how uncontrolled I would be if it weren't for my religion. Like many, I'm going to try to snack less this year, especially after 8pm. I suppose if I weren't a regular church-goer, I would have to buy bigger pants. I'm prone to make pie out of the fruits of the Spirit.

Collectable Obama

Last night I went to Walgreen's to pick up a couple of things. Prominently displayed in the front of the store was a stack of "Barack Obama Collectable Plates." (I didn't have a camera with me, but I've posted below an image of the plate we found at, believe it or not, http://www.barackobamacollectables.com/.)

I voted for Obama and am excited about his upcoming administration. I've also long turned up my nose at the word "collectable." I've always considered this a misspelling of the word "collectible," and I was bemused that a company had so blatantly incorporated an error not only in their product but in their very name.

But I was wrong about this. I've looked into it, and it seems that "collectable" is the only listing in the Oxford English Dictionary. "Collectible" appears but is not given its own entry; it is a variant spelling, notably common in the United States. Here's the entry:

Also (now chiefly U.S.) -ible. [f.

COLLECT v. + -ABLE.]

A. adj.

1. a. That may be collected.

1660 Eng. Monarchy the Freest State 6 Many other particulars, collectable out of..Magna charta. 1662 PETTY Taxes 45 Collectible by a very few hands. 1803 SOUTHEY Lett. (1856) I. 243, I am weaving into it all the collectable circumstances of the time and manners of the people. 1888 BRYCE Amer. Commw. I. I. xxiii. 333 A penalty collectible on summary Conviction.

b. Of souvenirs, objets d'art, bric-à-brac, etc.: worth collecting, sought after by collectors. Also transf., of the maker (artist, author, etc.) of such objects.

1888 P. FITZGERALD in Gent. Mag. Apr., Old play bills, like everything that is ‘collectable’..have now become objects of value and desire to the amateur. 1897 Daily News 10 July 8/3 There was no difficulty in pronouncing these [Jubilee] stamps ‘collectable’. 1961 J. DOUGLAS (title) Collectable things. Ibid. p. 39, I believe that one of these days collectors will wake up to the fact that the last hundred years has seen the making of more collectable bottles than at any other period of history. 1971 D. POTTER Brit. Eliz. Stamps iv. 56 The lines were placed down the vertical perforations, to either the right or to the left, producing two collectable varieties. 1978 Lancashire Life Sept. 90/2 Even now that she has become collectable she sells her pictures often at less than half the prices she has been offered. 1980 Daily Tel. 24 July 15/8 As well as being highly collectable..they make surprisingly roomy containers for all sorts of items.

2. That may be inferred, deducible. Obs.

1646 SIR T. BROWNE Pseud. Ep. II. i. 51 The difference of their concretion is..collectible from their dissolution. 1658 Hydriot. 2 Collectible from Scripture-Expression.

B. n. pl. (orig. U.S.) Things worth collecting, esp. rare, old, or interesting objects (not necessarily valuable or antique).

1955 W. H. BLUMENTHAL Bookmen's Bedlam 149 The range of collectibles is..endless. 1967 Boston Sunday Herald 30 Apr. (Show Guide) 16/3 Tradecards became collectibles during their time... Adults pasted them in albums. Boys and girls swapped them. 1969 Canad. Antiques Collector Oct. 5/2 The most popular collectibles are objects of pressed and art glass produced in Canada and the United States. 1974 Saturday (Charleston, S. Carolina) 20 Apr. 8-A/6 Collectibles such as old prints, books, magazines, manuscripts and items offering a chance for reminiscing for those who have fond memories of the..twenties and thirties. 1978 J. L. HENSLEY Killing in Gold xi. 152 My friends..like having some of their funds in good collectables. 1984 Buses Dec. 569/2 This is a full-time service catering for the best in transport collectables.

Doubtless, it is Democrats like me--who fret snobbishly about butt-ugly kitsch--that so encouraged Obama's opponenets to label him as a cold and proud arugula-eater. But we showed them. He is now featured on a popular line of collectables.

With a side of bacon

So, if you've been wondering what this blog would like with a side of bacon, click here.

You can add bacon to your website, too, thanks to bacolicio.us.

We got a video camera as a Xmas gift

Prayer for your commute

On my daily commutes, I listen to podcasts. One I have grown to rely on and really enjoy is called "Pray As You Go." The podcast is produced by a co-ed British Jesuit community and provides a 10 to 13 minute prayer service Monday through Friday. Each podcast starts with a musical selection that relates to the day's reading. The music varies from monastic chant to contemporary numbers to Taizé. Then a member of the community reads a selection from the day's lectionary readings. After that, another member leads you through a question-oriented time of reflection based on the text. The reading is read a second time, and you are then led into a time of intimate prayer and petition. The podcast ends with the Gloria.

I like this podcast for its consistency and also for the significant portions of time left in silence for personal prayer and thought. Find it online here.

Hamster on a Piano

This has been a few places on the internet, but just in case you missed it, here it is:

Definitions of "Health"

The fall semester has wrapped up. One of the classes I taught this time around was an elective at Eden Seminary entitled "Religion and Healing." As part of the class, I had students write definitions of various words at the beginning and then at the end of the term--one of these words was "health." I thought I would share here a couple of the stronger definitions as well as my favorite definition from the class.

Here's one from a third-year student:
Health involves a condition of wholeness and a sense of well being in a person as it relates to the physical body, the mind and thoughts of the person, the sense of spiritual and communal connectedness to God, and a sense of connectedness to communities built around their lives as well as the lives of others.
I liked this one for the emphasis on constructed communities and relationships.

Here's another pretty thorough one from another gifted third-year student:
Health is a condition or degree of well-being and freedom from suffering and pain. This may include emotional, physical, or mental. The person may be healthy in one area and yet unhealthy in another. It is also determined by the individual person's context and understanding of health for them. For some it may mean a sliding scale which can change quite rapidly determined by their own response to a particularity. It may also be related to their own expectations of what health means. Some people describe themselves as being unhealthy their entire lives when nothing ever appears to be "wrong" with them.
This one's good because it doesn't forget that health means, to some extent, absence of suffering. I also like how clear the definition is about individual expectations.

Finally, my favorite definition from a class member:
For us as Christians, health is an ongoing process which gives us energy and vitality to serve and love others.
This is a lovely way to think of health and reminds me of the charge many pastors give at the end of worship services: "Go in peace to love and serve the Lord." Unlike most of the class definitions, which aspired to be in some sense universal (even when they admitted the influences of context), this definition is clearly instrumental. As Christians, health is nothing but the freedom to love and serve.

I know you didn't take my course (lucky for you!), but would you like to hazard a definition of "health"?