The Burr in the Burgh

"I cling to my Lord Christ like a burr on cloth." – Katherine Luther

Archive for August, 2005

Updates to the Blogroll

with 6 comments

Folks, here are some additions to my list of confessional Lutheran bloggers: Aardvark Alley – Because “earth pig” is one of my favorite expressions Balaam’s Ass – Because a talking jackass is something I can relate to. Cross + Wise – Because the cross is foolishness The Crowned Ones – Because Pr. Cholak looks like Dietrich Bonhoeffer Kiihnworld – Because [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

August 31st, 2005 at 6:04 pm

Posted in Uncategorized

Julia Sweeney is an Atheist

with 12 comments

Some of you may remember “Pat” from Saturday Night Live, the recurring gender-ambiguous character played brilliantly by Julia Sweeney. The joke was always that no one could tell if Pat (not to mention Pat’s significant other Chris) was male or female. Let the comedy ensue. The humorously icky way that Julia Sweeney brought this favorite [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

August 30th, 2005 at 8:47 pm

Posted in Uncategorized

Human "Exhibit" at London Zoo

with 2 comments

This is exactly what’s wrong with much of the environmental movement. Look at this article from Yahoo News. Apparently, the London Zoo thinks it is a cute idea to put a handful of human volunteers, clad in little more than fig leaves, into one of their caged exhibits. Now what would be the point [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

August 30th, 2005 at 3:11 am

Posted in Uncategorized

ELCA Blogger to Check

with one comment

I read (or scan) a lot of different blogs these days. The ones I tend to view daily are on my blogroll, but I have quite a number of other favorites. Kurt Wall has been a regular reader/commenter on this blog for a bit. He has now ventured into blogging on his own. [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

August 27th, 2005 at 6:54 pm

Posted in Uncategorized

Roger Ebert’s Most Hated Films

with 9 comments

We all know what the good movies are. What we reeeallly want to know is what are the biggest stinkers. Here is the list of film critic Roger Ebert’s most hated movies. The thing is, I really liked a couple of the ones he mentions. My favorite quote is: This movie doesn’t scrape the bottom of [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

August 26th, 2005 at 7:08 pm

Posted in Uncategorized

Random Clutter

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Here are a few goofy things that I’ve picked up in my scouring for news today. Go here to see the absolute worst album covers ever in the history of the whole world. Really. Thanks to the Commonwealth Conservative. Two more reasons to boycott France: They’re attacking Lance Armstrong. And they use live kittens as shark bait. Mere [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

August 25th, 2005 at 11:35 pm

Posted in Uncategorized

Higher Things Photos 2005

with 6 comments

Last month, my family and I attended the Higher Things youth conference in St. Louis. We just had a terrific time. My wife and I were both presenters. Here are some of the photos taken from the Higher Things website. You can click on the pictures to see them enlarged. WORSHIP Entering St. Louis Cathedral Who is that [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

August 24th, 2005 at 9:55 pm

Posted in Seminary

Indulge Me. Pope Grants Indulgences to Pilgrims

with 4 comments

Here is a piece from the Houston Chronicle about Pope Benedict offering indulgences to participants of the World Day of Youth festivities. I think the article does a good job of explaining indulgences in a simple manner. You are, no doubt, familiar with the 16th century controversy over indulgences that helped to spark the Reformation. Martin [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

August 24th, 2005 at 4:44 pm

Posted in Uncategorized

The Rise and Fall of the Church

with 6 comments

Here is an interesting article from USA Today about the decline of Christianity in Western Europe. It claims that in most of Europe the only major religion that is growing is Islam. People who know me well, know my interest in the health and growth of churches around the world. And they’ve heard [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

August 23rd, 2005 at 10:00 pm

Posted in Uncategorized

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Convention News

with one comment

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is the largest Lutheran body in the United States with something near 5 million members. I am a pastor with the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) with about 2.5 million. The ELCA recently concluded their biennial convention at which several controversial resoltuions were under consideration. I’d like to [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

August 22nd, 2005 at 8:42 pm

Posted in Uncategorized