Why?

Why do people feel the need to get all aggressive about "saying Christmas"? Seriously. I almost feel like not going. But "Winterfest" redeems it ;-)

Text: "Come back to the Smokies. Network news does not tell you everything, businesses are still open, we are celebrating Winterfest, you can still visit Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. Sadly Gatlingburg is closed as much work is needed in the area. Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies is closed but ALL animals are SAFE AND SOUND and will reopen soon. Today Dollywood reopens! The Christmas (yes, we still say Christmas here in the Smokes) lights are all on in Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. The theaters in Sevierville/Pigeon Forge all have fantastic Holiday Shows. The stores are open for shopping and our restaurants for dining. If you have plans or are thinking about coming, PLEASE COME."

Sweet image

OK, maybe if a "10 year old little girl" actually came up with this (which I doubt), it kinda works. But really. Think about it.

The pumpkin dies. The pumpkin is ripped out of the patch and killed. Then it sits on a porch for a few days or weeks, rotting slowly. And then it's tossed onto the dump. The "yucky stuff" at least can be used to make pies.

And teaching kids that they're filled with "yucky stuff" and that God needs to kill them to make them acceptable? Heinous.

Second verse

The photo was posted as a comment to a post by a woman rejoicing in tears at her autistic son's reaction to his therapy dog. In the post she detailed how hard it was to get the dog.

But this woman? "We prayed for this moment ... and God sent us a dog".

Yep. I guess it just rang the doorbell and had a little note around its neck. There was no 2-year training program, no foster family, no breeder providing the puppy.

Look, I do get that people are happy.

But why does God always get all the credit?

Credit where it's due

First, let me lead off by saying I have always liked Randy Travis as a singer and hope he continues to recover. That said...

Travis' wife, Mary Davis-Travis, spoke about the numerous procedures and operations the Grammy-winning singer underwent to save his life and a six-month stay in the hospital after a viral infection caused his 2013 stroke.

"Randy stared death in the face, but death blinked," Davis-Travis said. "Today, God's proof of a miracle stands before you."

(source)

God's proof of a miracle? Or the the proof of medical intervention and treatment? Did God heal him with a miracle? No. It took "numerous procedures and operations" and a long "stay in the hospital". That's what passes for a miracle nowadays?

A few thoughts on Orlando

When we have lax gun laws and one major party demonizing a group of people and several religions ditto including prominent leaders (or at least people claiming to be the public face) of those religions making public statements about how that group deserves death and then a month dedicated to that group of people, this shouldn't be a surprise. Abrahamic religion taught this guy to hate (though they aren't the only ones who preach it) and the NRA-GOP alliance put the weapons in his hands.

They also put them in the hands of the guy who was headed for the LA Gay Pride march, though he never got a shot off.

Gay people are marginalized at best in the homeland of those religions - yes, Israel included - and that makes them a great target here; it's easy to stir up hatred against the Other. (Look how NC legislators cloaked anti-labor laws in trans hate.) Bronze Age religious texts have no place in the laws of an Information Age nation.

Good guys with guns were there. Fifty-plus still died.

Thoughts and prayers don't solve anything (I feel like I've said that before). Legislation is what is needed.

PS And no, I will not pretend that transwomen were his target, Latinx or not. Pulse is a gay bar, not a trans bar. "Two men kissing" are what set this guy off, apparently.

Heritage is a bludgeon

This is very well put:


Times are changing in Tennessee. While the Bible remains a valued spiritual guide — the Word of God — to many people living in the state, attempts to make it the official state book are more about heritage than history. Heritage uses the past as a bludgeon. It gives the past political power and moral authority in the present that it was never meant to have. Heritage is more concerned with exclusion than inclusion.

Couple of things

First, the pope didn't say "Donald Trump is not a Christian." He said, "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian."

So, is he talking about Trump? Yes, probably. Also Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Bobby Jindal, and, probably, Barack Obama. And a lot of other people.

BUT.

The second thing? He didn't say "is not A Christian". He's not questioning Trump's religious affiliation, the way people, say, oh, Republicans, question the religious affiliation of, oh, say, President Obama. He's saying that when the goats are separated from the sheep, Trump's going to be in that crowd of people saying "What? When did we do that?" He's saying that actions speak louder than words, and that "not everyone who sayeth unto me 'Lord, lord' shall enter into the kingdom of  heaven".

Straight up Christian ethical theology, in other words. 

Saying Trump's policies aren't Christian isn't the same thing as saying that Trump is really a sekrit Mooslin. It's just pointing out that many American Republicans have a real trouble with the words of Jesus.

And that ain't news.

Now = 600 years ago

The local paper ran this "guest column" today, What do YOU know about the nativity? by Kent Bush. He makes possibly the most awkward pop culture reference I'll see this week:

They cast the rebellious storm trooper in “The Force Awakens” as a black man and now there is a black man in the nativity scene. Is this just more liberal political correctness run amok?

I mean, first ... "now"? "Now there is a black man in the nativity scene"?

At least he tacitly acknowledges later in the piece that "now" would be a stupid, bigoted, right-wing overreaction. Tacitly. He says

Fortunately, no one from either party will have to modify their manger scenes.

and adds

The black wise man became a part of folklore in the 1400s.

Exactly.

There have been black people around for quite a while, even if YOU haven't had to acknowledge their existence until now. But honestly - why the heck can't some people get over there being a black man in Star Wars? I mean, there's still only one.

Did anybody even want to ask him?

So, Parade Magazine had one of their fluffy little pieces sparked by a new movie - in this case, a double profile on Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg because of Daddy's Home. I know it's Parade, and I don't expect hard-hitting journalism, but still. Here's a couple of paragraphs:

“Sometimes marriage can be difficult,” he admits. “We both come from homes of divorce, but we want our marriage to be successful. We work at it. We’ll go to couples counseling. We want to love and support each other, raise our kids and be there for each other in the good times and the bad. We both believe the same things, and we married for the same reasons. She was already Christian, but she converted to Catholicism so we could marry in the church. That’s where I proposed, in the church. When you take those [marriage] vows, you take them very seriously. For me, [keeping them] starts with my doing the right thing in my own home, being a good example, making sure that my kids are raised the right way and do the right thing in the community and the church.”

Catholicism plays a defining role in Wahlberg’s life, and he makes no attempt to hide it. “I feel very welcomed within my church and the parish community,” he says. “I feel comfort . . . peace . . . love.”

Let's pass by the whiff of better-than-you and just focus on that last paragraph.

Did anybody feel like asking him about the fact that he and his wife had three kids before they got married? Anybody? And if not, why not?

the case for Hell

Interesting point to ponder:

The biblical case for Hell as a place of eternal, infinite torment turns out to come down to three passages in the New Testament. And each of those passages — the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man, the parable of the Sheep and the Goats, and the concluding chapter of Revelation — explicitly states that Hell is the destination reserved for people who failed to respond to earthly suffering, need, injustice and oppression.

...

If you believe in a “literal” Hell based on what the Bible teaches, then you must also believe that the only way to avoid going there has nothing to do with proselytizing or praying the sinner’s prayer. If you want to avoid Hell, you must invite Lazarus into your home, clean his wounds and feed him at your table. If you want to save others from damnation in Hell, you must convince them to join you in feeding these beggars at the gates, these least of these.

If you do that – if you make earthly, this-worldly suffering, need, injustice and oppression your primary focus, your paramount concern — then you may be saved from Hell and may one day join Lazarus and all the other poor beggars up in Heaven.

The literal Hell of the Evangelists turns out to be the exact opposite of the literal Hell of the evangelizers. (source)

Biblical, but not Christian - not "serious" any way

This is a very Biblical response:

Responding to a mass shooting at an Oregon community college that left 10 people dead, Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey on Friday encouraged fellow Christians who are serious about their faith to consider getting a gun. ... "Whether the perpetrators are motivated by aggressive secularism, jihadist extremism or racial supremacy, their targets remain the same: Christians and defenders of the West.

While this is not the time for widespread panic, it is a time to prepare. I would encourage my fellow Christians who are serious about their faith to think about getting a handgun carry permit. I have always believed that it is better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it."(source)

Let's leave aside for a moment the fact that's it really unclear what the Oregon shooter had in mind by asking people if they were Christian (witnesses differ as to whether he actually did anything with the response, such as spare non-Christians, or was just taunting everyone), or that that's an extremely warped interpretation of Dylan Roof's choosing a black church for his racist killing spree.

 Instead, let's pause a moment to reflect on how very very Biblical a response it is. And how very very non-Christian. Because this is one of the things that Jesus actually spoke about. And what he said was the polar opposite of what Ramsey is saying:

Matthew 5:38-45:

38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

And again

Matthew 26:51-52:

51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear. 52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

But Ramsey says serious Christians need to go buy guns.

Wait what Pope-style

Crimentlies.

The pope said this with a straight face?

"[Women priests] cannot be done. Pope St. John Paul II, after long, long intense discussions [and] long reflection, said so clearly. Not because women don't have the capacity. Look, in the church women are more important than men. ... The Church is the bride of Jesus Christ. And the Madonna is more important than popes and bishops and priests." (source)

Suuuure they are. As long as they're all maternal and shit, and don't want to actually have any say.

That’s incoherent and insulting to reason. Not that reason has anything at all to do with it.

Submitted for your consideration

Hey, Christians. If you don't like the Satanic statue, might I suggest that you try a tiny bit empathy? That is what (maybe not quite so viscerally discomforting but then again maybe moreseo) non-Christians feel when they have to pass your religious statues and monuments all the time.

Perhaps the answer isn't to fill the public square with statues of Jesus and Mary and Baphomet and Kali and Ganesh and the Koran and the Triple Goddess and whatever or whoever. Just perhaps the answer is to keep all such things on the grounds of your church, or in your own front yards.

.... just wow.

I'm so glad this sort of thinking helps people, but ... I can't wrap my mind around it.

This is really bad news. Just telling you up front. Our dear friend has lost her amazing daughter to cancer. You may remember how hard Daughter fought this disease. I am broken-hearted for my friend. Please pray for Friend and her husband as they journey through this dark dark place. Thank you, God, for being there with them. I rejoice for Daughter.

God is with them? Seriously? Just now? Not when Daughter was sick and dying? Or was he there then, too, but just, you know, not actually doing anything? And yet still he's being thanked? For what?

And "I rejoice"? If you're going to rejoice that she's dead, why encourage her to fight? Why be sorry for her parents?

I never did get it, even when I was a Christian. I sure don't get it now.

(This is from a Facebook friend whom I will not interrogate on the point. She's a devout and liberal Catholic and it makes her happy and now especially is not the time.)

Yes, why isn't there?

Terrific idea from Fred at Slacktivist:

I would like to see a televised debate between Christian commentator Bill Koenig and California state Assemblywoman Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) regarding the precise cause of the brutal drought that has been afflicting the Golden State. Koenig attributes the drought to his god’s displeasure with California’s legalization of same-sex marriage. Grove disagrees. She says the drought is due to her god’s anger over legal abortion.

I would like to see the debate moderated by Bill Nye and/or Dr. Louis W. Uccellini. First question for both Koenig and Grove: Why isn’t there an even worse drought in Massachusetts?

Your baby was Hitler so God killed him

This is from Fred over at Slacktivist:

This is Pat Robertson’s response to the question, “Why did God allow my baby to die?”

“As far as God’s concerned, he knows the end from the beginning and He sees a little baby and that little baby could grow up to be Adolf Hitler, he could grow up to be Joseph Stalin, he could grow up to be some serial killer, or he could grow up to die of a hideous disease,” Robertson said. “God sees all of that, and for that life to be terminated while he’s a baby, he’s going to be with God forever in Heaven so it isn’t a bad thing.”

Your dead baby was probably going to become Hitler or a serial killer, but now he’s in Heaven instead. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

And Fred's reaction is a good one, and spot on, and refreshing from a Christian.

My immediate reaction was: So why does God let some babies grow up be to Hitler or Stalin or serial killers or die of hideous diseases? Does God just plain hate some babies?

First impressions can mislead

So I saw this last week and it's funny - mostly funny about how minds (mine at any rate) work.

My very first thought as I glanced at it was "A Christian got a standing ovation? That seems kind of provocative" and then "Wait, what? It sounds like a rare occasion-" which cut off as I processed the whole thing.

"Christian opens session for Oregon State House of Representatives" - not a Christian, Christian Kane.

Of course.

My favorite line

At the end of La Donna del Lago, the king grants Elena's wish and pardons her father and lover. As he hands Malcolm over to her, the pair say "Oh Stelle!" (Oh, Stars!). The Met's titles translated that as "Oh merciful God!", not a bad in-context translation.

And it perfectly set up my now favorite line, from Bertram, the king's major domo. "Oh Re clemente!" Which is to say, "Oh merciful king!"

Yeah. Credit where it's due.

Seriously, why?

This story was posted on Facebook a yesterday. It's a rather usual, sad story about an old woman who was housebound by the snow and who ran out of food. She called the local 911 dispatcher, who sent some cops over. They shopped for her and made sure someone would be checking on her in future, and closed their post with a note that it's important to check on your neighbors, elderly people and family members during severe weather.

There are a lot of comments, mostly  of the "God bless them!" variety, but some of a more mundane "glad they helped her" or "great story". But the comment that really baffles me is the one that reads "God is good!!!"

Seriously: what about this story would prompt anyone to say that? A woman actually runs out of food and is starving, she has to call 911 and the cops respond and care for her. To merit that kind of praise, wouldn't God have had to provide food? And it's the state that provides the cops.

I really don't understand why some people give God credit for every thing that happens that isn't an outright tragedy.

Convenient, isn't it?

Because it bears repeating:

The only part of the Sermon on the Mount that most white evangelicals treat as mandatory is the bit about divorce — so once again, rules for your sex life are binding, rules for my possessions are not.

The whole argument is here.