This will be a bit of a rant, I am afraid.
About a week ago I decided to start keeping a record of parts made for Harley Davidson motorcycles that don't fit, don't work and or are just plain shoddy. Believe me (and I am sure you do if you have ever worked on Harleys for a living) this is a constant, ongoing problem in this business. Lately I have had an absolute rash of junk parts to deal with.
I have dedicated a 3 ring binder to this purpose and intend to keep a record of every part I come across that is manufactured incorrectly with the part number, application and manufacturer of the "junk part."
It was really easy to fill up about 3 pages without going very far back in time. I am sure more of the parts I have "beat my head against the wall" about over the years will come to mind and be added as time goes on.
Yesterday I had a four new entries for the book which cost me about a half a day of labor. These were parts that I paid good money for, which were incorrectly manufactured. And this was all just in one section of one motor. Usually the problem does not become evident until you are in the middle of an operation. Did I mention how frustrating this can be? Then to top it off, there are always the added problems. How many hoops will I have to jump through to return the part? Is every one of this particular part from this manufacturer defective? Is there any other source for the part? Can I make the part work with modification? How much time will I waste trying to get any kind of answer from the manufacturer? Does the manufacturer care even a little bit that they are selling junk?
Yeah, a bit of a rant, but you should hear me when the circumstances are fresh. By the way, I titled the 3 ring binder "Book of Shame"
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
One Blessing Among Many
A week ago last Sunday our pastor recommended to the congregation that we read an approximately 2 chapter section of the book of Romans in preparation for an upcoming series of sermons. Somehow I managed to completely let it slip from my mind. Its not that I don't open the Bible during the week. The fact is that I read out loud from the Bible nearly every morning when my wife and I have our family devotions. But some how, some way, opening the Bible each morning did not remind me to read the passages in Romans.
But then last Saturday morning, I noticed that my wife, Jane, had placed the previous weeks bulletin on the table with the verses we were to read hi-lighted. Thanks to her attentiveness, we were able to read the text during our Sunday morning devotions before church. A small thing, perhaps, but it sure brought to my mind how blessed that I am to have a wife that cares about such things.
I pray that each of you is equally as blessed in this respect!
But then last Saturday morning, I noticed that my wife, Jane, had placed the previous weeks bulletin on the table with the verses we were to read hi-lighted. Thanks to her attentiveness, we were able to read the text during our Sunday morning devotions before church. A small thing, perhaps, but it sure brought to my mind how blessed that I am to have a wife that cares about such things.
I pray that each of you is equally as blessed in this respect!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Valves, Cams, and Ports
I recently answered an email from a potential customer who was interested in having some performance work performed on his 95" Twin Cam, and had been shopping around, asking other shops for their input. One of the shops he contacted suggested keeping the stock valve size because a high lift cam and larger valve would lose bottom end torque. He had been led to believe that velocity would be greater with a smaller valve. He was also concerned with picking a different cam grind to replace his Screamin' Eagle 203 cams that would keep the low end punch he was used to.
By the time I saw the length of my answer I realized I should just turn it into a post here on my blog. The following is most of my answer to him.
There are more factors than lift and duration that effect how a cam performs. Higher lift by itself does nothing except allows more fuel/air in provided the heads flow more at the higher lift than they do at stock lift. Stock heads do not flow any more at .570" than the do at .500". Thus, a higher lift cam with the same timing specs would not give a performance benefit with stock heads. Duration does have effects on where the motor makes its power, but when the cam opens and closes the valve (timing events) can make a big difference. In other word two cams can have the same duration, but the timing of the opening and closing can be different giving different results.
Ported Twin Cam Intake
Many performance cams are designed such that they add top end power and take away some low end. They absolutely need more static compression ratio to make up for cylinder pressure lost to cam timing. Most cams in the .550" to .590 lift area fit into that category. They often loose a little low end, but make decent mid range power if the compression ratio is high enough. Other cams (such as those from Wood Performance) make huge torque numbers from combining a high compression ratio with cam timing that gives really high cylinder pressure. They tend to be hard starting and touchy about pinging because of it. The Kuryakyn cams are the only ones on the market that offer a third option. They make power throughout the RPM range, are easy starting and not prone to pinging.
I know I am starting to sound like a Kuryakyn commercial, but trust me I have no stake in selling their product except that they work the best and so make my headwork look even better than it would with another cam.
As for the larger intake valve loosing torque, That is only an issue if the flow does not increase enough to maintain or increase the velocity compared to the smaller valve. Velocity is a function of CFM and area. There are two places to consider the velocity. One is commonly called valve velocity and the other is port velocity. Valve velocity is calculated using the CFM and the diameter of the "choke" just beneath the valve seat. Port velocity is calculated using CFM and port volume (which gives an average port cross sectional area). The computer that is hooked up to my flowbench calculates both of these for each valve lift that I test. A good porting job will increase both of these velocities as well as the CFM for any valve size (within reason). Of course there does come a point where too large a valve will not increase flow and then the velocities will go down though the CFM may stay the same.
In a Harley head with its extremely short intake tract, velocity is probably not as critical as in an engine with a longer one. It is the inertia of the intake charge that increases the volumetric efficiency by "overfilling" the cylinder. Inertia is a function of mass and velocity. With the mass of the charge limited by the short length of the intake tract, velocity becomes much less the critical factor it is with a longer one. I have to thank Mike Roland (the designer of Kuryakyn cams) for pointing that out to me. Sometimes the obvious just totally escapes me until someone points it out to me. That being said, my porting work invariably increases velocity.
Ported Twin Cam Exhaust
On the exhaust side, the smallest valve and port that will adequately evacuate the cylinder will work the best. At moderate RPM all of the spent gases will have been cleared before the cam gets into the higher lifts. Larger exhaust valves and more high lift flow are needed for high RPM operation when there is not as much time available to clear the cylinder. For street use I like to keep the stock size exhaust valve.
By the time I saw the length of my answer I realized I should just turn it into a post here on my blog. The following is most of my answer to him.
There are more factors than lift and duration that effect how a cam performs. Higher lift by itself does nothing except allows more fuel/air in provided the heads flow more at the higher lift than they do at stock lift. Stock heads do not flow any more at .570" than the do at .500". Thus, a higher lift cam with the same timing specs would not give a performance benefit with stock heads. Duration does have effects on where the motor makes its power, but when the cam opens and closes the valve (timing events) can make a big difference. In other word two cams can have the same duration, but the timing of the opening and closing can be different giving different results.
Ported Twin Cam Intake
Many performance cams are designed such that they add top end power and take away some low end. They absolutely need more static compression ratio to make up for cylinder pressure lost to cam timing. Most cams in the .550" to .590 lift area fit into that category. They often loose a little low end, but make decent mid range power if the compression ratio is high enough. Other cams (such as those from Wood Performance) make huge torque numbers from combining a high compression ratio with cam timing that gives really high cylinder pressure. They tend to be hard starting and touchy about pinging because of it. The Kuryakyn cams are the only ones on the market that offer a third option. They make power throughout the RPM range, are easy starting and not prone to pinging.
I know I am starting to sound like a Kuryakyn commercial, but trust me I have no stake in selling their product except that they work the best and so make my headwork look even better than it would with another cam.
As for the larger intake valve loosing torque, That is only an issue if the flow does not increase enough to maintain or increase the velocity compared to the smaller valve. Velocity is a function of CFM and area. There are two places to consider the velocity. One is commonly called valve velocity and the other is port velocity. Valve velocity is calculated using the CFM and the diameter of the "choke" just beneath the valve seat. Port velocity is calculated using CFM and port volume (which gives an average port cross sectional area). The computer that is hooked up to my flowbench calculates both of these for each valve lift that I test. A good porting job will increase both of these velocities as well as the CFM for any valve size (within reason). Of course there does come a point where too large a valve will not increase flow and then the velocities will go down though the CFM may stay the same.
In a Harley head with its extremely short intake tract, velocity is probably not as critical as in an engine with a longer one. It is the inertia of the intake charge that increases the volumetric efficiency by "overfilling" the cylinder. Inertia is a function of mass and velocity. With the mass of the charge limited by the short length of the intake tract, velocity becomes much less the critical factor it is with a longer one. I have to thank Mike Roland (the designer of Kuryakyn cams) for pointing that out to me. Sometimes the obvious just totally escapes me until someone points it out to me. That being said, my porting work invariably increases velocity.
Ported Twin Cam Exhaust
On the exhaust side, the smallest valve and port that will adequately evacuate the cylinder will work the best. At moderate RPM all of the spent gases will have been cleared before the cam gets into the higher lifts. Larger exhaust valves and more high lift flow are needed for high RPM operation when there is not as much time available to clear the cylinder. For street use I like to keep the stock size exhaust valve.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
New Year - New Beginings
About a month ago my pastor asked if I would be willing to fill in for him bringing the message on Sunday, December 30, since he and his family would be out of town. I jumped at the chance; not that I am much of a preacher, but I do very much enjoy preparing a sermon.
When I told my wife Jane that I would be doing the sermon, she suggested the subject of new beginnings, since it was so close to new years day. As a typical husband, I immediately rejected the idea. Then as a typical christian husband, I started to reconsider, and soon had an outline in my mind.
Rather than post the entire sermon, I thought I would give a brief summary, because if you are like me, then the spare time you have available for reading blogs is pretty limited.
We began by looking at the first "new beginning", that is creation, in the book of Genesis. I spoke a little of the great beauty that we can see in the world that God created. I also pointed out that as breathtaking as the world we see today may be, it is still likely a dim version of what it was before Adam sinned and brought a curse upon us and everything under our dominion. (Genesis 3: 17-19 )
Then we turned to Revelation 21: 1-5 and looked at another "new beginning"; the new heaven and new earth. At that time the earth will be returned to its former glory. It will be what it was before Adams fall, maybe better. Among the many other things that will be new in that new heaven and new earth, one great thing that will be new for us is that we will finally be completely free from sin! (Revelation 21:27) Isn't that what we are longing for?
The third "new beginning" that we looked at was the new man as seen in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. I stated that there should be some evidence of this new man. If all things have become new, there will be changes to your life.
We turned to John chapter 3 and considered the fact that in order to enter the kingdom of God you "must be born again". We spent a little time looking at how we cannot see the new birth or its source, but we can certainly see and hear the effects of it as stated in John 3: 8. I stated that no matter what nuance there might be to a correct understanding of when and to what extent the kingdom of God has arrived, I was 100% sure that when the new heaven and new earth arrive, the kingdom of God will have been realized in its fullness. The new birth is a prerequisite to entering into that new heaven and new earth.
I will end this with the same suggestions I ended the sermon with. As we enter the new year, if you are looking for some new years resolutions, then consider these: Spend more time reading the bible and contemplating God's word. Spend more time in prayer. Pray for your church more often. Pray for you pastor more often. I think this kind of "new year resolution" is the best kind.
(Oh, one more new beginning. This was the first time I have had the opportunity to preach in a couple years and the first since we joined Valleyview Baptist this summer. I praise the Lord for what a blessing it was to me.)
When I told my wife Jane that I would be doing the sermon, she suggested the subject of new beginnings, since it was so close to new years day. As a typical husband, I immediately rejected the idea. Then as a typical christian husband, I started to reconsider, and soon had an outline in my mind.
Rather than post the entire sermon, I thought I would give a brief summary, because if you are like me, then the spare time you have available for reading blogs is pretty limited.
We began by looking at the first "new beginning", that is creation, in the book of Genesis. I spoke a little of the great beauty that we can see in the world that God created. I also pointed out that as breathtaking as the world we see today may be, it is still likely a dim version of what it was before Adam sinned and brought a curse upon us and everything under our dominion. (Genesis 3: 17-19 )
Then we turned to Revelation 21: 1-5 and looked at another "new beginning"; the new heaven and new earth. At that time the earth will be returned to its former glory. It will be what it was before Adams fall, maybe better. Among the many other things that will be new in that new heaven and new earth, one great thing that will be new for us is that we will finally be completely free from sin! (Revelation 21:27) Isn't that what we are longing for?
The third "new beginning" that we looked at was the new man as seen in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. I stated that there should be some evidence of this new man. If all things have become new, there will be changes to your life.
We turned to John chapter 3 and considered the fact that in order to enter the kingdom of God you "must be born again". We spent a little time looking at how we cannot see the new birth or its source, but we can certainly see and hear the effects of it as stated in John 3: 8. I stated that no matter what nuance there might be to a correct understanding of when and to what extent the kingdom of God has arrived, I was 100% sure that when the new heaven and new earth arrive, the kingdom of God will have been realized in its fullness. The new birth is a prerequisite to entering into that new heaven and new earth.
I will end this with the same suggestions I ended the sermon with. As we enter the new year, if you are looking for some new years resolutions, then consider these: Spend more time reading the bible and contemplating God's word. Spend more time in prayer. Pray for your church more often. Pray for you pastor more often. I think this kind of "new year resolution" is the best kind.
(Oh, one more new beginning. This was the first time I have had the opportunity to preach in a couple years and the first since we joined Valleyview Baptist this summer. I praise the Lord for what a blessing it was to me.)
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
What You Pay For
I had been playing around (in my head) with a new slogan to use in my shop. Its based on the old saying "you get what you pay for". Obviously that works to use with persons who think my prices are too high. But, I think there is a danger in having my prices too low (besides not making a living). That would be the perception that if my prices are too low, my workmanship may not be as good as could be obtained at a higher priced shop.
A good example is the "Bare Bones" porting job I offer for Twin Cams. At $499, it is one of the best performance buys on the market for Harleys. When I developed this porting job, it offered outstanding flow for a very reasonable price. With the addition of the knowledge I gained during my week of school with Joe Mondello, they are probably some of the best heads available anywhere for any price! But that still doesn't stop some customers from wanting to upgrade to a more expensive porting job, even though they may not really be in the market for the higher performance potential that the more expensive porting job makes possible.
But now I have seen the other side of the coin. I recently had the displeasure of disassembling a Knucklehead engine that had been "rebuilt/restored" elsewhere. This engine had not been run since its "rebuild", so all of the sins of the rebuilder were plain to see. Though I have never met the person who performed this "restoration", it still nearly made me sick to my stomach to see his workmanship. If there ever was a case of not getting what you payed for, this was it!
Upon pulling the heads, the first problem was apparent. Rust pits in the fresh bore. I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt on this one. Maybe the oil consumption would not be too bad, and perhaps one could justify leaving the bore as small as possible, since it is for a restoration. Yeah, I'd be willing to give him that one, if that was the only thing I found. Pulling the cam cover, though, really told the story. The pinion shaft looked as though it had spent 50 years laying in a swamp before being bead blasted and then sanded. The shaft had deep rust pits over the entire surface. There was a good .002" wear on the end of the shaft that fits in the cam cover pinion bushing. That combined with a pinion bushing that had never been replaced (this was a 1938 engine) came to a grand total of .009" clearance. The factory service manual calls for .0005" (half a thou) to .0012" for that bushing clearance. Nearly 9 times too big!
Bushing end of pinion shaft
And then there are the rocker arms. New standard shafts in worn out rocker arm bores. One of the rockers is worn so badly that a +.010 shaft will not save it. That and rocker pads that show 70 years worth of grooving.
Wear on rocker pad
A good example is the "Bare Bones" porting job I offer for Twin Cams. At $499, it is one of the best performance buys on the market for Harleys. When I developed this porting job, it offered outstanding flow for a very reasonable price. With the addition of the knowledge I gained during my week of school with Joe Mondello, they are probably some of the best heads available anywhere for any price! But that still doesn't stop some customers from wanting to upgrade to a more expensive porting job, even though they may not really be in the market for the higher performance potential that the more expensive porting job makes possible.
But now I have seen the other side of the coin. I recently had the displeasure of disassembling a Knucklehead engine that had been "rebuilt/restored" elsewhere. This engine had not been run since its "rebuild", so all of the sins of the rebuilder were plain to see. Though I have never met the person who performed this "restoration", it still nearly made me sick to my stomach to see his workmanship. If there ever was a case of not getting what you payed for, this was it!
Upon pulling the heads, the first problem was apparent. Rust pits in the fresh bore. I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt on this one. Maybe the oil consumption would not be too bad, and perhaps one could justify leaving the bore as small as possible, since it is for a restoration. Yeah, I'd be willing to give him that one, if that was the only thing I found. Pulling the cam cover, though, really told the story. The pinion shaft looked as though it had spent 50 years laying in a swamp before being bead blasted and then sanded. The shaft had deep rust pits over the entire surface. There was a good .002" wear on the end of the shaft that fits in the cam cover pinion bushing. That combined with a pinion bushing that had never been replaced (this was a 1938 engine) came to a grand total of .009" clearance. The factory service manual calls for .0005" (half a thou) to .0012" for that bushing clearance. Nearly 9 times too big!
Bushing end of pinion shaft
Splitting the cases revealed that the roller bearing surface of the pinion shaft was just as rust pitted as the rest of the shaft. It may have lasted a few hundred miles before disintegrating, but other things would have prevented the engine from ever running that long.
Roller bearing surface of pinion shaft
The cam was in similar shape. Lots of pitting on the cam lobes, along with .009" bushing clearance on one end and .006" on the other. Pulling the oil pump revealed a decent body and gears, but a pressure relief spring that may have come out of a ball point pen rather than the correct one. The check valve spring looked to be 70 years old, and in case it never dawned on you, springs do tend to loose some pressure with time.
About the only clearance that I found that was not way too big, was the valve to guide. And that was way too small! All four valves were fit at .001 clearance. Now, with the huge pinion bushing clearance and the way too weak pressure relief spring, there is no chance that the oil pump could have built enough pressure to get any oil to the heads, so the valves would have stuck anyway. However, at .001" valve to guide clearance on a Knuckle, it would not have mattered if the valves were submerged in oil, they would have stuck!And then there are the rocker arms. New standard shafts in worn out rocker arm bores. One of the rockers is worn so badly that a +.010 shaft will not save it. That and rocker pads that show 70 years worth of grooving.
Wear on rocker pad
Like I said, it is enough to make me sick to my stomach. Work like this goes far beyond incompetent. Its is down right theft to charge any amount of money for this type of work!
You get what you pay for. Well, that is not always true. The person who did this to this engine proves that sometimes, no matter how low the price, you will not get any value for your money. I try to be at the opposite end of the spectrum. I do my very best to give the customer his money's worth and more no matter how high (or low) the price.Wednesday, December 19, 2007
I Like Mike?
I need to make it clear that I am writing this "spur of the moment", and without any research, but here goes anyway.
A side bar on one of my favorite blogs had an "I Like Mike" link to the Mike Huckabee campaign web site. Now this particular blog is by a Baptist pastor who's viewpoints I appreciate, who's insights I find edifying, and who's doctrine I (as far as I can see) agree with. Mike Huckabee is also a Baptist pastor, but I know nothing of him outside politics.
Listening to conservative talk radio as I often do at work, I have heard the opinion expressed by one of our local talk show hosts that Mr. Huckabee is very liberal on every issue except abortion. Now given a choice between a liberal who is pro abortion and one who is anti abortion, there is no doubt in my mind I would chose the one who is against murdering babies. However, I would much prefer an anti abortion candidate who is also a conservative.
A couple days ago I caught a news snippet of a small portion of what I assume was the last Republican presidential debate. In it Mike Huckabee was being "hounded" for an answer about his belief as to the biblical story of creation. Mr. Huckabee would not affirm his belief in the Bible's version, that is, six days. The best he could do was to express his belief that God did the creating, but he did not know how long he spent at it. If I am not mistaken, his answer alluded to the "day/age theory." (in other words, each day mentioned in Genesis was a metaphor for an age or undetermined length of time)
I have to admit, this really gives me more doubts about Mr. Huckabee than the accusations of liberalism I have heard. I am perfectly willing to accept that someone can hold a different view on the proper role of government in our lives. As a conservative I am no fan of big, nanny state, tax and spend government. I may reject his political views for that reason, but could still "look up" to him for his stand against abortion and his Christianity.
However, his answers on the creation issue leave me wondering. There is little doubt that the bible describes creation as taking place in six literal days. The text explicitly states "and the evening and the morning were the first day" after each day of creation. Not only that, but if each "day" were indeed an "age" (what ....10 thousand years, 10 million years, or even 10 billion years?) then you may have a tough time explaining how the plants created in the third "age" survived until the sun was created in the fourth "age".
The possibilities as I see them are as follows:
1 Mike Huckabee as a Baptist pastor does not know the bible very well
2 Mike Huckabee as a Baptist pastor does not believe the bible to be reliable
3 Mike Huckabee as a Baptist pastor is willing to compromise his beliefs in order to not be looked down upon as a hopelessly uneducated hick by mainstream evolution believing voters.
Of these three possibilities I honestly can't decide which I would find most disappointing. Can anyone think of any other possibilities that would leave me feeling better about "Mike"?
A side bar on one of my favorite blogs had an "I Like Mike" link to the Mike Huckabee campaign web site. Now this particular blog is by a Baptist pastor who's viewpoints I appreciate, who's insights I find edifying, and who's doctrine I (as far as I can see) agree with. Mike Huckabee is also a Baptist pastor, but I know nothing of him outside politics.
Listening to conservative talk radio as I often do at work, I have heard the opinion expressed by one of our local talk show hosts that Mr. Huckabee is very liberal on every issue except abortion. Now given a choice between a liberal who is pro abortion and one who is anti abortion, there is no doubt in my mind I would chose the one who is against murdering babies. However, I would much prefer an anti abortion candidate who is also a conservative.
A couple days ago I caught a news snippet of a small portion of what I assume was the last Republican presidential debate. In it Mike Huckabee was being "hounded" for an answer about his belief as to the biblical story of creation. Mr. Huckabee would not affirm his belief in the Bible's version, that is, six days. The best he could do was to express his belief that God did the creating, but he did not know how long he spent at it. If I am not mistaken, his answer alluded to the "day/age theory." (in other words, each day mentioned in Genesis was a metaphor for an age or undetermined length of time)
I have to admit, this really gives me more doubts about Mr. Huckabee than the accusations of liberalism I have heard. I am perfectly willing to accept that someone can hold a different view on the proper role of government in our lives. As a conservative I am no fan of big, nanny state, tax and spend government. I may reject his political views for that reason, but could still "look up" to him for his stand against abortion and his Christianity.
However, his answers on the creation issue leave me wondering. There is little doubt that the bible describes creation as taking place in six literal days. The text explicitly states "and the evening and the morning were the first day" after each day of creation. Not only that, but if each "day" were indeed an "age" (what ....10 thousand years, 10 million years, or even 10 billion years?) then you may have a tough time explaining how the plants created in the third "age" survived until the sun was created in the fourth "age".
The possibilities as I see them are as follows:
1 Mike Huckabee as a Baptist pastor does not know the bible very well
2 Mike Huckabee as a Baptist pastor does not believe the bible to be reliable
3 Mike Huckabee as a Baptist pastor is willing to compromise his beliefs in order to not be looked down upon as a hopelessly uneducated hick by mainstream evolution believing voters.
Of these three possibilities I honestly can't decide which I would find most disappointing. Can anyone think of any other possibilities that would leave me feeling better about "Mike"?
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Why St. Lee
When I first started this blog nearly a year ago, my wife Jane pointed out that I really needed to do a post explaining why I go by the pen name "St. Lee" in my posts. She pointed out that anyone seeing it might get the wrong impression. After all, many would think that you must have a pretty big head to assign the title "Saint" to your name. I agreed that it did warrant an explanation, but I am only now getting around to it.
If you have read any of my posts having to do with Christianity, I trust you will not have gotten the impression that I feel I have anything to boast of in either the fact of my being a Christian, or the life I live in regards to that Christianity. Any glory that is due is due only to God!
Quite the contrary, the moniker St. Lee came about as a result of a bit of satire that I had engaged in. Well before I started this blog, I was in the habit of following a number of other blogs regularly. One of my favorites was the now "retired" Purgatorio which managed to add a little humor to many people's day by bringing attention to some of the strange things done in the name of Christianity. Fairly early on, I read a post there about praying to Saints. I couldn't help responding to a comment by a lady who was obviously Catholic and wanted to explain the practice of praying to Saints. I have copied her comment here:
"Why? Because God has given his saints certain areas of expertise and dominion so that we here on earth can go to them for specific requests. It’s divine delegation, like the CEO of a large company. For instance, if someone wants to pray for protection during a long journey, he could pray to St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers. His request goes straight to St. Christopher who has been given authority to answer that prayer (or not).It’s similar to the apostles ability to heal and cast out demons which was given to them by Jesus when he sent them out to preach the good news.It’s not mandatory that we pray to saints, but the option is open to us if we choose to do so.Please feel free to throw your stones now. "
My "tongue in cheek" response to her was as follows:
"Ok, I get it. In God’s business plan, he has delegated saints (like me) to answer the prayers of non saints. Wow, that’s quite a big responsibility. Kind of makes you wish the overworked CEO could find the time to deal with each of the non saints personally. "
And I signed my response "St. Lee"
Of course this nice lady's comment was based on her Roman Catholic understanding of the term Saint. If I am not mistaken, the Catholic faith has to officially declare a person a Saint, based on their good works leading to sanctification. My comment was based on the Baptist (and biblical I believe) understanding of the term; that is one who has been born again and declared righteous and holy due to the work of Christ completely separate from our own good works (or lack thereof).
Incidentally, I recall being taught as a young teen in the Lutheran Church something just about half way in between these two extremes. During a class we were told that a saint was not someone declared such by the Catholic Church, but actually any Christian who lived a very, very good life. When the class was asked to give examples of people they knew who qualified for the title saint, several of the other students agreed that my own mother fit the bill. I remember having somewhat mixed emotions at the time. Delight that my peers would see her in that light, but a bit wary because I knew she was not as perfect as they might think (though she really was a sweetheart). I still have somewhat mixed emotions, but I now have the clear realization that no matter how others may have seen of my mother, what matters is whether or not God saw her through the blood of Christ!
That is the story of how I became St. Lee on the blogosphere. It started as a bit of satire, but I decided to keep it since it fits only by the grace of God and the sacrifice of Christ. It was not until I had been using the pen name for some time that it even dawned on me that it could also be seen as a play on words ...Saintly ...St. Lee. As an adjective, saintly really does not fit, though by the grace of God that is slowly changing and some day will be an accurate description!
If you have read any of my posts having to do with Christianity, I trust you will not have gotten the impression that I feel I have anything to boast of in either the fact of my being a Christian, or the life I live in regards to that Christianity. Any glory that is due is due only to God!
Quite the contrary, the moniker St. Lee came about as a result of a bit of satire that I had engaged in. Well before I started this blog, I was in the habit of following a number of other blogs regularly. One of my favorites was the now "retired" Purgatorio which managed to add a little humor to many people's day by bringing attention to some of the strange things done in the name of Christianity. Fairly early on, I read a post there about praying to Saints. I couldn't help responding to a comment by a lady who was obviously Catholic and wanted to explain the practice of praying to Saints. I have copied her comment here:
"Why? Because God has given his saints certain areas of expertise and dominion so that we here on earth can go to them for specific requests. It’s divine delegation, like the CEO of a large company. For instance, if someone wants to pray for protection during a long journey, he could pray to St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers. His request goes straight to St. Christopher who has been given authority to answer that prayer (or not).It’s similar to the apostles ability to heal and cast out demons which was given to them by Jesus when he sent them out to preach the good news.It’s not mandatory that we pray to saints, but the option is open to us if we choose to do so.Please feel free to throw your stones now. "
My "tongue in cheek" response to her was as follows:
"Ok, I get it. In God’s business plan, he has delegated saints (like me) to answer the prayers of non saints. Wow, that’s quite a big responsibility. Kind of makes you wish the overworked CEO could find the time to deal with each of the non saints personally. "
And I signed my response "St. Lee"
Of course this nice lady's comment was based on her Roman Catholic understanding of the term Saint. If I am not mistaken, the Catholic faith has to officially declare a person a Saint, based on their good works leading to sanctification. My comment was based on the Baptist (and biblical I believe) understanding of the term; that is one who has been born again and declared righteous and holy due to the work of Christ completely separate from our own good works (or lack thereof).
Incidentally, I recall being taught as a young teen in the Lutheran Church something just about half way in between these two extremes. During a class we were told that a saint was not someone declared such by the Catholic Church, but actually any Christian who lived a very, very good life. When the class was asked to give examples of people they knew who qualified for the title saint, several of the other students agreed that my own mother fit the bill. I remember having somewhat mixed emotions at the time. Delight that my peers would see her in that light, but a bit wary because I knew she was not as perfect as they might think (though she really was a sweetheart). I still have somewhat mixed emotions, but I now have the clear realization that no matter how others may have seen of my mother, what matters is whether or not God saw her through the blood of Christ!
That is the story of how I became St. Lee on the blogosphere. It started as a bit of satire, but I decided to keep it since it fits only by the grace of God and the sacrifice of Christ. It was not until I had been using the pen name for some time that it even dawned on me that it could also be seen as a play on words ...Saintly ...St. Lee. As an adjective, saintly really does not fit, though by the grace of God that is slowly changing and some day will be an accurate description!
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