During a report titled “Aid Begins to Work Its Way Into Haiti” last Thursday, January 14th, NPR’s Jason Beaubien lost composure while describing a little girl that he was watching as she awaited medical attention. Here’s the excerpt from the official transcript of Beaubien’s conversation with Melissa Block of All Things Considered:

BLOCK: NPR’s Jason Beaubien joins us from Port-au-Prince. Jason, describe where you are right now, please, and what you’re seeing.

JASON BEAUBIEN: Right now I’m outside the Villa Creole Hotel, which is in the Petionville neighborhood – an elite neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. And it’s really quite amazing, people have brought their injured children out front here because they know that there are medical – Western medical doctors staying inside. So, people have come here to try to get attention for – mainly for their children. There’s a girl – I’m sorry. There’s a girl right in front of me at the moment. She’s covered in bandages. She’s laying on just some – what are they – they’re from the deck chairs that would be by the pool. She’s naked except for what looks like a tablecloth on top of her. And she keeps lifting her head and her lips are shaking.

(Soundbite of crowd)

BEAUBIEN: Sorry, Melissa.

BLOCK: That’s okay.

BEAUBIEN: It’s heartbreaking what’s happening here. And there are people just in the streets everywhere. When you drive through, there are tent cities that have been sort of set up just in little lots. People are clearly just living wherever they can.

BLOCK: Jason, the girl you just described, is she getting any medical attention there?

BEAUBIEN: She clearly has gotten some medical attention because there are fresh bandages on her. And there are other people who are getting medical attention. But the numbers are just so huge that there are people who are waiting for attention. There’s clearly the expectation that there are people who are still trapped in some of these buildings.

BLOCK: Does the girl have any family there with her, do you know?

BEAUBIEN: I assume that she has family here, but it’s really quite striking. She’s lying out in what would just normally be the driveway and there’s no one around her.

The following day on All Things Considered, the hosts read mail from listeners commenting on Beaubien’s report. Some wrote in to say how unprofessional Beaubien was. A reporter should never lose composure, but should remain objective and not get involved in the story. By losing composure, Beaubien had become an embarrassment to the field of journalism.

I suppose the people that wrote this are Vulcans or something. The censure reserved for Beaubien by these emotionless people surprised me. Go to the link above and listen to Beaubien as he describes the little girl’s quivering lip. How can you listen to that and then get upset with Beaubien’s inability to hold it together?

My reaction to his report was quite different than this Vulcan reaction. It came in two waves:

1. A Recognition of the Human Situation. Up to this point, the tragedy in Haiti had been little more than words to me. I have not really looked at images of the devastation, nor have I seen video. Instead, I’ve just heard radio reports. This was the first time that I really felt something, the first time that I was really touched. While Beaubien’s broken voice dripped with pathos, I began to understand exactly what was going on here. This was not Geraldo at the Superdome ripping children from the arms of their mothers in what looked like a horribly transparent attempt to gain viewers and publicity. No, this was an objective, professional reporter putting a human face on a situation for a national radio audience.
2. I Grew Angry. Here I am, driving home from work and listening to Beaubien’s report from the comfort of my vehicle. There’s nothing for me to do but cook dinner, read a little bit, and then head to bed. The only way that I can aid this situation might be to send money as I don’t possess any skills that would make me useful there. I’m no doctor, I’m no lawyer. Now I’m listening to Beaubien breaking up as he tells me about a girl that is sitting right in front of him. A girl in need of family, love, medicine, attention. I’m selfishly soaking it up and sympathizing for the child. What I want Beaubien to do is put down the microphone and take her to a doctor or just hold her so that that lip stops quivering. “Jason, put the mic down!” I yell at the radio, but Melissa Block keeps asking him question. Why? Because he’s a reporter and that’s what he’s supposed to do.

Don’t tell me Beaubien is not a professional.

So, where do we go from here? Estimated death tolls are now reaching into six figures, meaning that a large percentage of the Haitian capital’s inhabitants have perished, and that this disaster could go down as the second worst in history just behind the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. What can I do other than listen to reporters and pray? I’m helpless and powerless and that annoys me.

This afternoon I was sharing a late lunch with a couple of friends, including fellow blogger Edward Carson. Carson is an active blogger, posting several times a week on various topics that interest him: history, politics, religion, teaching, etc. Today he said something interesting that I hadn’t really considered before. Allow me to paraphrase:

“I used to journal. My study at home is filled with notebooks. One day I started putting those thoughts up on a blog. It’s nice. I just get my thoughts out there…”

This attitude runs counter to how I have traditionally treated my blog. Honestly, dear reader, I agonize over most posts on this blog. I proofread things multiple times because I want there to be a certain undeniable level of polish and professionalism. I go to great lengths to create footnotes and to research and document many of the things that I write about.

But why?

I’m not saying that this post signals some kind of sea change, and that I’ll be posting whatever drivel runs through my whenever it runs through my head. No, that’s not my style.¹ Instead, I’m thinking that I may allow a bit more of me to shine through these posts, rather than the carefully masked Stephen that hides behind well-documented research.

If I can’t go out on a limb on my own blog, then where can I go out on a limb?

Footnotes

1. By the way, I do not mean to imply that Carson’s posts are drivel. If you check out the comments, you’ll see that they are often thought-provoking for me.

The Professor is the blog of Edward Carson, my friend and colleague at Houston Christian High School (HCHS).

Carson teaches AP European History, AP US History, and World History at HCHS. His blog deals with history, politics, teaching, and current events. Carson’s always got a take, and comments are lively. So check him out!

I graduated from the University of Texas College of Liberal Arts (UT CoLA) in May 2004. As an alumnus, I am occasionally contacted by the college in the hope that I will give them some funds. Unfortunately, they are usually unsuccessful.

Last night, as I was driving home, I received a call from a young man who is currently a sophomore at UT. He was hoping to accomplish two things: (a) he wanted to update my contact information, and (b) ask me for some money.

Here is a transcript of a portion of our conversation:

CALLER: It says here that you graduated from the University of Texas in 2004. Is that correct?

HEBERT: Yes it is.

CALLER: And your degree was in Religious Studies.

HEBERT: Yes. I was a double major in Religious Studies and Classical Civilization.

CALLER: Very cool.

HEBERT: I think so.

CALLER: And…are you currently using your degree?

HEBERT: Yes I am.

CALLER: Really?! HOW?!?!?

At this point, I broke down laughing. This young gentleman was so incredulous that someone in this economy was actually able to use a degree in Religious Studies!

I don’t blame him…

As for the financial gift —well, maybe in a better economy. You know I love you, CoLA!

I posted a bunch of stuff via Twitter and Delicious this week. Here are some of my favorites.

• The new Biblioblog Top 50 came out. Apparently being #150 makes me a runner-up!
• Jake Belder at café de soirée posted about the eschatology of American evangelicalism: “American Evangelicalism’s Over-realized Eschatology.” I tend to agree with Jake on several points here.
• I was blown away by this (totally unscientific) speed comparison between Logos and Accordance.
• A hot topic around the net right now is the evilness quotient of social networking. Tim Stevens writes “Everybody Agrees…Twitter and Facebook are Bad.” (Spoiler: it’s a defense of social networking.)
• Adam Walker Cleaveland has started laying out a series of posts on his personal beliefs: The Credo Blog Series. Adam’s always got an interesting take on things, and I especially like that he’ll be comparing his current thoughts on various topics with thoughts that he had many years ago.
• James McGrath pokes a bit of fun at the “Obama is the antichrist” stuff that’s going around: “Barack Obama the Antichrist? Shedding Some Lightning on the Subject.” McGrath also had an interesting post about James and Paul and the idea of early skeptics: “Early Converted Skeptics?”
• Jonathan Brink has an interesting, quick post about the emergent church: “The Emergent Paradox.”
• John Hobbins takes a crack at explaining the contents of the Hebrew Bible in 1,000 words or less: “The Primary History.”
• Between the Times posts a rather thorough look at the issue of infant/child salvation: “Why We Believe Children Who Die Go to Heaven.” This is a serious look at an old problem — so good ol’-fashioned apologizin’!
• Inside Catholic has a nice page that everyone should visit: “Chesterton and Lewis for Beginners.”
• Jared Wilson has a funny list of “25 Evangelical Myths.”
• Charles Lee has begun posting about some sea changes or paradigm shifts that he is seeing in the church. Part one focuses on the Spirit. “The Church on the Move (Part 1)”
• John Piper considers (along with C.S. Lewis) the idea of the husband’s “headship”…interesting read: “Weighty Words on the Meaning of a Husband’s Headship.”

Special Video Section

I saw some interesting videos this week, so I thought I’d share.

• First up: the new trailer for Where the Wild Things Are. If you’re not excited about this movie, you may have no soul.
• It’s all about Okie Noodling — Oklahoma men catching flatheads (huge ones!) with their bare hands. Unbelievable. (YouTube has disabled embedding of this video.)
• Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt do a rather strange video for She & Him’s “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?”
• Conan O’Brien. Wax figures of Tom Cruise and the Fonz. Giant cannons. Yes. Seriously, I just love this, and I love Conan. One question: where’s Max Weinberg’s drum roll?

I posted a bunch of stuff via Twitter and Delicious this week. Here are some of my favorites.

• Tyler Braun‘s series on “Sovereignty” is full of great guest posts yet again this week. I strongly encourage you to check them out: Kurt Brandemihl (@godsidekurt) and Justin Wise (@JustinWise) brought some really interesting thoughts.
• Additionally, Tyler Braun found some interesting similarities between the Tour de France and ministry. It’s all about teamwork, kids!
• Jonathan Brink (@jonathanbrink) offered some really interesting thoughts on “The Problem of Ordination.” Brink engages with N.T. Wright’s thoughts on the recent decision by Episcopalians to ordain homosexuals. Jonathan also posted a video called “The Good News According to Rob Bell.” I’m not a huge Rob Bell fan (even to the point where I find his speaking rhythm/cadence annoying!), but setting that — and some issues with his understanding of history — aside, I found this video to be full of some interesting insights. Eleven minutes is a bit long, but you can handle it!
• Tony Jones discusses “shibboleths” and the fondness that Evangelicals hold for them in “Just Another Means of Division.” He shows that Evangelicals have jumped from the abortion debate to the gay marriage debate. Another interesting note is his insistence that Evanglicals, though clearly comprising a huge political bloc in the US, prefer to view themselves as an oppressed minority.
• Kem Meyer told us that cutting clutter and noise was the way to go for most churches: “Pigs flew and I went on Christian TV…”
• Think that folks tweeting during church is no bueno? Carol Howard Merritt offers a different point of view: “Twibal Church.”
• Carlos Whittaker (@loswhit) alerted us to the awesome goings on at Rolling Hills Baptist Church: “Where’s the Steeple?” I also posted on this here.
• PCUSA’s Special Committee on Civil Union and Christian Marriage is asking for your thoughts and opinions on marriage. Drew Tatusko (@dtatusko) offered his letter to the committee for all to see: “on covenanted same gender relationships.”
• John Piper discusses 1 Thessalonians 5:8–10 and how it provided him with solace while he was dealing with some serious medical issues: “Biopsy Blows and the Helmet of Hope.” That’s pragmatic Christianity!
• Pat McCullough created a page devoted to helping undergrads figure out the grad school scene: “Wanna be a Bible scholar…?” A lot of good advice from McCullough there.
• Along with Brandon Wason, I will celebrate the anniversary of Hans Dieter Betz’s commentary on Galatians.
• Josh Hale, after reading a recent article on Mashable talking about Twitter’s new homepage, writes about the new Twitter attitude (twattitude?) and how it is appropriate for evangelism: “Twitter and Mission Fields.”
• César Baldelomar writes about being “corrected” by a Catholic community for asserting that Adam and Eve were not historical figures: “Taking the Bible Seriously, but not Always Literally.”

Here are some items that I linked to over the last week on Twitter:

• Rhett Smith posted a series called “Four Areas Church Employees Need to Rethink” back in April and May: “Meetings,” “Volunteer Expectations,” “Modeling Boundary Setting,” and “People Aren’t Always Thinking About Church…or Your Ministry.” I found Rhett’s posts to be very thoughtful and helpful. Several of the items that he touches on, I’ve experienced myself (esp. the post on “Volunteer Expectations”).
• Somehow I happened on an OLD post by Tim Challies (from 2005) on “Information Overload.”
• Back in June, Tyler Braun started a series of posts by a number of guest bloggers all on the “Sovereignty of God.”
• Occasionally controversial, but always well-spoken, Adam Walker Cleaveland participated in Mr. Braun’s series with this post: “Sovereignty.”
• Eugene Cho posted about Jimmy Carter leaving the Southern Baptist Convention: “jimmy carter leaves the southern baptist convention: ‘losing my religion over equality’.” Eugene likes it lowercase — I respect that.
• Greg Boyd gave us a teaser for a book project he’s working on: “Jesus’ Repudiation of Old Testament Violence.”
• John Piper, with brevity and flair, wrote about the perfect pastor: “Why There Are No Perfect Pastors.”

If you’d like more up-to-the-minute access to links, be sure to follow Withering Fig on Twitter.

John Hobbins over at Ancient Hebrew Poetry (also linked in my blogroll, and has been for a few years) welcomed me back to blogging. John had some kind things to say about Withering Fig, and I thought I’d return the favor.

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the biblioblogosphere over the last few years. When I initially began blogging here on WF, I quickly became overwhelmed by the number of blogs I needed to follow to remain in the conversation. When life got in the way, it became very easy for me to leave WF behind, and the biblioblogosphere with it.

However, my love of Scripture could not be abated. I must admit that Mr. Hobbins’s blog is one of the few that continued to pop up in my Google Reader. He clearly knows his stuff when it comes to various facets of the Hebrew language. Over the past few years I’ve learned much from following Ancient Hebrew Poetry.

SO, a tip of the hat to John Hobbins and Ancient Hebrew Poetry.

(Check out his recent stuff on Habakkuk — well done.)

So, it was just called to my attention (by Google!) that there was a huge string of spam links of the — errr…pharmaceutical variety — that had been injected on to every page at Withering Fig for several months now. If you google for us, you may find a rather uncool summary. I apologize for that.

The issue occurred during the summer of 2008, at the height of the Fig’s downtime. I had not updated WordPress in a while, and it appears a security hole allowed this to happen.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that I’ve fixed the problem and things should be secure now.

I apologize for any inconvenience.

1. Lately, you may have noticed that I’ve been blogging lightly. This is just due to an increase in productivity in other areas! At any rate, I hope to be back in the swing soon, but I’m not sure exactly when. All of this is complicated by a recent death in the family. Thanks for continuing to subscribe and read, even though I’m not putting a lot out there at the moment.
2. You may have noticed that the Round-Up has changed. I’m now using a WordPress plugin (postalicious) to acheive these fine lookin’ Round-Ups via a clever combination of WordPress and del.icio.us. Sweet.