Samuel Johnson said "no man but a blockhead ever
wrote except for money."
I guess I must be a blockhead.
Friday, January 28, 2005
Happy Birthday Idiot Box
Today is the anniversary of one of the most important events in all of history. This is the 79th birthday of perhaps the most powerful invention to ever change the world. On January 27, 1926, a Scottish inventor named John Baird gave the first public demonstration of a television in London.
Baird operated two ventriloquist dummies in front of a camera. He just showed their heads, so that viewers couldn’t see him working them. a German scientist had actually patented a television system in 1884. Baird also made the first trans-Atlantic broadcast from London to New York over phone lines and came out with the first color TV in 1928.
Frequent broadcasts to a few homes began in New York that same year. Regular television broadcasts began in the United States in 1939, and permanent color broadcasts began in 1954. By the late fifties, televisions were in a majority of American homes.
Television had a unifying effect on the nation for the second half of the twentieth century. Since there were only three major networks and the Public Broadcasting System in the airways, Americans had television in common. Southerners and Northerners both watched ‘I love Lucy.’ Easterners and Westerners watched ‘Dick Van Dyke.’ City dwellers and country folks all watched ‘I Dream of Genie.’ Television wore away at regional differences and cultural divides. TV made the myth of a “melting pot” a reality. America was no longer a deli tray of Monterey Jack, Cheddar, and Provolone; it was finally becoming a Velveeta fondue.
Television shed light on our wrongs and influenced us toward reform. Television exposed Northerners to the injustices of Southern segregation. It brought the horror of the Vietnam War into comfortable suburban living rooms. It chronicled the Watergate hearings.
We all remember fondly gathering around our families sets to mourn President Kennedy, to pray for the Apollo Astronauts, to listen to Bing Crosby and laugh at Bob Hope and Johnny Carson, and to cheer for our Olympic Hockey team.
When people my age were kids it was clear that there were patterns we could count on from TV. Local news at five and six, world news sandwiched between at five-thirty. A lively game show at six-thirty was followed by “the family hour at seven;” kid-friendly situation comedies like ‘Happy Days’ and ‘the Brady Bunch.’
Younger Elementary school kids were sent off to bed, or at least bath, at eight so that the grown-ups could watch those more edgy sitcoms with mature themes like ‘Maude,’ ‘All in the Family,’ and ‘M*A*S*H.’ Once those kids were safely asleep, adults settled in for the romantic dramas, detective shows or mini-series. Local news again before bed, Carson and Tom Snyder if they couldn’t sleep.
Weekdays were filled with soap operas. Saturday mornings were always cartoons. Sunday mornings were public affairs and weekend afternoons were sports. That structure made you feel like you knew what to expect and where and when to look for what you wanted or what to avoid.
Back then we believed that America owned the airways together, so our government regulated them. Who could own TV stations, how many they could own, no obscenity was allowed, both political parties had to be given equal-time, even a minimum amount of children’s and educational programming was required.
Then came the advent of cable, and now satellite- not to mention the Regan, Gingrich, and Bush W “revolutions” of de-regulation and corporate welfare. Television wasn’t a utility, it was a commodity. If viewers paid for programming, then there were no limits for content, language, or nudity. The government could stand between the trash and your living room so long as it was over the airwaves that everybody owned, but if you pay for it, you’re inviting it in- if you didn’t want it, you wouldn’t have paid for it.
Today reality shows are on some channel any hour of the day. Daytime talk show guests air their dirty laundry all day long. And we are bombarded with commercials for lingerie, birth control, venereal disease treatments, and erectile dysfunction aids at any hour on any channel. If American culture has declined, if we are more coarse, less civil, more sensual, more violent can we blame each other or do we have to blame ourselves? Of course there is the age old question, does TV REFLECT society, or SHAPE it?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m the first guy to support the First Amendment. I enjoy the edginess of’ Law and Order’ the witty sarcasm of ‘the Simpsons’ and the gory details of ‘CSI’ as much as anyone. I’ve even been drawn in by the relationship dynamics of ‘Sex in the City’ on occasion, but would it be so bad to have at least SOME boundaries? Would it be so difficult or some how Socialism to have well structured guidelines for when certain shows are shown?
The anniversary of TV may be a good time to remember what Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Newton Minow had to say to National Association of Broadcasters back in 1961.
He’s the one who called TV “a vast wasteland.”
Government has been complicit in this corruption. The current administration’s philosophy is less regulation, less oversight, less competition, less law and order, more law of the jungle, more law of natural selection (Darwin); the survival of the fittest TV network, and fit means fat. Get kids hooked early on sex, violence and consumerism and you guarantee the advancement of your feces (I’m sorry, I mean species). Minlow had a better vision:
Baird operated two ventriloquist dummies in front of a camera. He just showed their heads, so that viewers couldn’t see him working them. a German scientist had actually patented a television system in 1884. Baird also made the first trans-Atlantic broadcast from London to New York over phone lines and came out with the first color TV in 1928.
Frequent broadcasts to a few homes began in New York that same year. Regular television broadcasts began in the United States in 1939, and permanent color broadcasts began in 1954. By the late fifties, televisions were in a majority of American homes.
Television had a unifying effect on the nation for the second half of the twentieth century. Since there were only three major networks and the Public Broadcasting System in the airways, Americans had television in common. Southerners and Northerners both watched ‘I love Lucy.’ Easterners and Westerners watched ‘Dick Van Dyke.’ City dwellers and country folks all watched ‘I Dream of Genie.’ Television wore away at regional differences and cultural divides. TV made the myth of a “melting pot” a reality. America was no longer a deli tray of Monterey Jack, Cheddar, and Provolone; it was finally becoming a Velveeta fondue.
Television shed light on our wrongs and influenced us toward reform. Television exposed Northerners to the injustices of Southern segregation. It brought the horror of the Vietnam War into comfortable suburban living rooms. It chronicled the Watergate hearings.
We all remember fondly gathering around our families sets to mourn President Kennedy, to pray for the Apollo Astronauts, to listen to Bing Crosby and laugh at Bob Hope and Johnny Carson, and to cheer for our Olympic Hockey team.
When people my age were kids it was clear that there were patterns we could count on from TV. Local news at five and six, world news sandwiched between at five-thirty. A lively game show at six-thirty was followed by “the family hour at seven;” kid-friendly situation comedies like ‘Happy Days’ and ‘the Brady Bunch.’
Younger Elementary school kids were sent off to bed, or at least bath, at eight so that the grown-ups could watch those more edgy sitcoms with mature themes like ‘Maude,’ ‘All in the Family,’ and ‘M*A*S*H.’ Once those kids were safely asleep, adults settled in for the romantic dramas, detective shows or mini-series. Local news again before bed, Carson and Tom Snyder if they couldn’t sleep.
Weekdays were filled with soap operas. Saturday mornings were always cartoons. Sunday mornings were public affairs and weekend afternoons were sports. That structure made you feel like you knew what to expect and where and when to look for what you wanted or what to avoid.
Back then we believed that America owned the airways together, so our government regulated them. Who could own TV stations, how many they could own, no obscenity was allowed, both political parties had to be given equal-time, even a minimum amount of children’s and educational programming was required.
Then came the advent of cable, and now satellite- not to mention the Regan, Gingrich, and Bush W “revolutions” of de-regulation and corporate welfare. Television wasn’t a utility, it was a commodity. If viewers paid for programming, then there were no limits for content, language, or nudity. The government could stand between the trash and your living room so long as it was over the airwaves that everybody owned, but if you pay for it, you’re inviting it in- if you didn’t want it, you wouldn’t have paid for it.
Today reality shows are on some channel any hour of the day. Daytime talk show guests air their dirty laundry all day long. And we are bombarded with commercials for lingerie, birth control, venereal disease treatments, and erectile dysfunction aids at any hour on any channel. If American culture has declined, if we are more coarse, less civil, more sensual, more violent can we blame each other or do we have to blame ourselves? Of course there is the age old question, does TV REFLECT society, or SHAPE it?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m the first guy to support the First Amendment. I enjoy the edginess of’ Law and Order’ the witty sarcasm of ‘the Simpsons’ and the gory details of ‘CSI’ as much as anyone. I’ve even been drawn in by the relationship dynamics of ‘Sex in the City’ on occasion, but would it be so bad to have at least SOME boundaries? Would it be so difficult or some how Socialism to have well structured guidelines for when certain shows are shown?
The anniversary of TV may be a good time to remember what Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Newton Minow had to say to National Association of Broadcasters back in 1961.
He’s the one who called TV “a vast wasteland.”
“When television is good, nothing--not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers--nothing is better. But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit and-loss sheet or rating book to distract you--and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland.Minlow believed that television should serve "the public interest?" Some say the public interest is merely what interests the public. And in a day and age when so few corporations own and control the media, their bottom line is the bottom line. GE owns Universal/NBC, which includes USA, Discovery, History & Learning channels, MSNBC etc. Viacom owns CBS, MTV, VH1, CMT, Nickelodeon etc. Disney owns ABC, ESPN, HGTV etc. FOX and AOL/Times-Warner own pretty much everything else. They pander to our lowest common denominators. What makes money.
You will see a procession of game shows, violence, audience-participation shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, western badmen, western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence and cartoons. And, endlessly, commercials--many screaming, cajoling and offending. And most of all, boredom. True, you will see a few things you will enjoy. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, try it."
Government has been complicit in this corruption. The current administration’s philosophy is less regulation, less oversight, less competition, less law and order, more law of the jungle, more law of natural selection (Darwin); the survival of the fittest TV network, and fit means fat. Get kids hooked early on sex, violence and consumerism and you guarantee the advancement of your feces (I’m sorry, I mean species). Minlow had a better vision:
“Television and all who participate in it are jointly accountable to the American public for respect for the special needs of children, for community responsibility, for the advancement of education and culture, for the acceptability of the program materials chosen, for decency and decorum in production, and for propriety in advertising. This responsibility cannot be discharged by any given group of programs, but can be discharged only through the highest standards of respect for the American home, applied to every moment of every program presented by television. Program materials should enlarge the horizons of the viewer, provide him with wholesome entertainment, afford helpful stimulation, and remind him of the responsibilities which the citizen has toward his society.”This will no doubt be one of those columns that will have my Republicans saying things to me like, “Clean up TV? Ted, you’re starting to sound like a conservative!” You’re absolutely right. I’m a social conservative Democrat. The current government, controlled by people who call themselves “neo-cons” are the radical libertarians at least where culture is concerned. Minlow was appointed by John F. Kennedy.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
"God's Politics" by Jim Wallis
COMEDY CENTRAL
Progressive Christian Author and Activist Jim Wallis appeared on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart this week to talk about his book "God's Politics." Click above to see part of their interview.
Progressive Christian Author and Activist Jim Wallis appeared on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart this week to talk about his book "God's Politics." Click above to see part of their interview.
Operation Truth
Operation Truth: "We are the voice of the troops, a non-partisan group created to help them share stories of life on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are also working to help veterans get the support they need."
These are Iraq Vets who hope to be considered non-partisan. They're not as onto pulling out immediately as IVAW. Op Truth is more about the day to day needs of troops and vets. I'd say they were the "stand up at Sec. Rumsfeld's press conference and ask why they don't have enough armor and supplies" kind of guys.
Look, if you won't listen to a Dove like me on this stuff, please visit one of these three websites to get the points of view of the people who've been there, fighting the Bush family's war.
These are Iraq Vets who hope to be considered non-partisan. They're not as onto pulling out immediately as IVAW. Op Truth is more about the day to day needs of troops and vets. I'd say they were the "stand up at Sec. Rumsfeld's press conference and ask why they don't have enough armor and supplies" kind of guys.
Look, if you won't listen to a Dove like me on this stuff, please visit one of these three websites to get the points of view of the people who've been there, fighting the Bush family's war.
IVAW-Iraq Veterans Against the War
Mission - Iraq Veterans Against the War"Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) is a group of veterans who have served since September 11th, 2001 including Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. We are committed to saving lives and ending the violence in Iraq by an immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces. We also believe that the governments that sponsored these wars are indebted to the men and women who were forced to fight them and must give their Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, and Airmen the benefits that are owed to them upon their return home."
These are Servicemen and women who have served (and a few who are currently serving) in the current U.S.-Iraq War
Support the Troops, Oppose the Policy
These are Servicemen and women who have served (and a few who are currently serving) in the current U.S.-Iraq War
Support the Troops, Oppose the Policy
VAIW :: Veterans Against The Iraq War
VAIW :: Veterans Against The Iraq War: "Veterans Against Iraq War is a coalition of American veterans who support our troops but oppose war with Iraq or any other nation that does not pose a clear and present danger to our people and nation." These are Vets from all different wars, WWII, Vietnam, First Gulf War, etc.
Friday, January 21, 2005
A note to my editor
I just sent it in and I already have a change.
Where I wrote:
"The current government, controlled by people who call themselves 'neo-cons' are the radical libertarians at least where culture is concerned."
Can you change that to "...where television is concerned.'"
I think if culture and I thing TV, Movies, Music, Games, clothing, sports etc. But most people thing gay marriage and abortion. Mind you, I'm not exactly liberal on those things either, but probably alot more progressive than the GOP.
Thanks
Where I wrote:
"The current government, controlled by people who call themselves 'neo-cons' are the radical libertarians at least where culture is concerned."
Can you change that to "...where television is concerned.'"
I think if culture and I thing TV, Movies, Music, Games, clothing, sports etc. But most people thing gay marriage and abortion. Mind you, I'm not exactly liberal on those things either, but probably alot more progressive than the GOP.
Thanks
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Reruns; Punishment for dumb TV shows
Simply put, “sin” it is anything selfish and short-sighted that damages our relationship with God or others. It can be something that we do, or something that we should but don’t. It can be deliberate or it can be a mistake. It also happens to be a state of being, something that we are, that we can’t help. Basically it’s our defective human nature that separates us from God.
Okay, I guess that’s not so simple.
Way back in ancient times a Greek monk named Evagrius made up a list of sins that he felt were particularly harmful. (Of course, it seems like there was already a top ten list in Exodus, chapter 20.) Later on, in the 6th century, Pope Gregory the Great gave this list a catchy name that stuck. He called them “the Seven Deadly Sins.”
Back in the golden age of cheesy TV sit-coms, somebody came up with a great idea of adding a laugh-track to a story that could’ve been something that French Existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre could’ve wrote.
Believe it or not, the characters of ‘Gilligan’s Island’ represent the Seven Deadly Sins. After their own personal Armageddon, the castaways are eternally damned to live in unceasing torment with each other.
Gluttony is an excessive desire to consume more than one needs. Most people simply assume that this sin was symbolized by the Skipper, because he’s the fat guy. My problem with this sin, is that everyone can tell I have a problem with it just by looking at me. All of the other 6 are sins you can hide.
Another view is that Mrs. “Lovey” Howell is certainly gluttonous with all of her clothes and luxuries. Who takes that much for a 3 hour tour? Is America a glutton? We make up only 6% of the world’s population, yet we possess 60% of it’s wealth.
Ginger, the movie star is pretty obvious, right. Hubba hubba. Lust is an inordinate craving for pleasure. There’s an urban legend that says that the average straight man has a sexual thought every 3 minutes (one version had it at 8 seconds). The Kinsey Report does claim that 54% of men think about sex everyday or several times a day. What do you do with that when Matthew 5:28 tells us that looking is the same as cheating? Can we help it? Is it God’s fault for making us this way?
Sin is like gravity. Galilleo discovered that in a vacuum, a feather and a stone dropped from a tower both drop at the same rate and will reach the ground at the time. So the straight guy who wants to see Ginger in a wet t-shirt contest at Hooters goes to Hell just as fast as the two guys who got married in San Francisco last year? Ouch.
If you had to be marooned on a deserted island with only one of the 7 castaways, who would you choose? Yeah, me too. Sorry Beth, I have to be honest. But what I don’t get is how’d she keep her makeup and sequined dresses looking so good after three years? Have you seen what those girls on ‘Survivor’ start looking like after 3 weeks? Sunburn, insect bites, no decent shampoo. Blech.
Envy or Covetousness is the longing for what other people have- and that’s not just their material positions, it also applies to their traits, status, abilities, or situation. Mary Ann was Envy. She wished that the guys would lust after her like Ginger. She wished she was as rich as the Howells. She wished she was as smart as the Professor. She wished Gilligan would go away. I gotta tell ya, I don’t know about you, but while people can see the results of my gluttony, they’ll never know how much of my life is wasted coveting.
It’s pretty obvious that Mr. Howell’s big sin was greed. Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the spiritual realm. Come on, who brings a steamer trunk full of cash on a 3 hour tour? Was he planning on some money laundering? A clandestine business deal like weapons or drugs? Do you love things and use people or love people and use things?
Anger was either the Skipper Mrs. Howell. I’d say Skipper, after all, he was always shouting and hitting Gilligan on the head with his hat.
Someone once told me that anger is depression turned inward. That’s one way to think about it. I think it’s a natural reaction to injustice. It’s also a natural, maybe even medical reaction to feeling like you don’t have any control or that you needs or wants aren’t being met. Think about it. When a baby needs to be fed or changed- scream time. When somebody cuts you off and almost kills you in traffic- whammo.
Yet it’s selfish. Look at the first four sins- if you’re frustrated by your gluttony, envy, lust or greed, doesn’t it tick you off? It does me.
Anger is when someone rejects love and opts instead for rage or wrath. When you think about love as it’s defined in the Bible, (1 Corinthians 13) you’re going to be pretty selfless, you’re going to be living out Jesus’ teachings in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5). “God is love.”. ~1 John 4:16
Sloth is avoiding work, either physical or spiritual. It’s also a two-toed mammal that lives in trees and moves really slow. Gilligan is not a sloth. People who park it on the couch and watch a ‘Gilligan’s Island’ marathon all day on ‘TV Land’ are sloths.
The Professor was very proud. I would be too, if I could create a working short wave radio using only a few wires and coconuts. Pride is when your own abilities, that prevents you from recognizing God’s grace. It’s been called the sin which all others sprout from. “Pride goeth before a fall” ~Proverbs 29:23
In the show, it’s almost always Gilligan who unintentionally sabotages the castaways' attempts to be rescued. This has led many scholars to speculate that rather than representing sloth, Gilligan actually represents Satan. Hmmmm.
Pope Gregory ranked the sins in order of how bad they were. Gluttony was the least abhorrent to God, and pride was the worst. That would be a relief to me, but I think that anybody who calls themselves Gregory “the Great” should be nervous.
The truth is that all sin is equal. ”For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” ~James 2:8-10. Ouch again. I’m just as doomed as Charlie Manson? Exactly.
But we’re in good company because, none of us is perfect. We’re all selfish and short sighted and we all make ourselves out to be our own god. Me, you, Mother Theresa, Jerry Falwell, Bob Denver, everybody. But thank God, he sent His Son to forgive our sins.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” ~Romans 3:23-24
Be that as it may, I personally think that God ought to prepare a special place in Hell for whoever created the Gilligan’s Island show. And if God takes suggestions, I think that a fitting torture would be for them to have to spend eternity locked in a room with a TV, watching all 98 episodes over and over again.
Okay, I guess that’s not so simple.
Way back in ancient times a Greek monk named Evagrius made up a list of sins that he felt were particularly harmful. (Of course, it seems like there was already a top ten list in Exodus, chapter 20.) Later on, in the 6th century, Pope Gregory the Great gave this list a catchy name that stuck. He called them “the Seven Deadly Sins.”
Back in the golden age of cheesy TV sit-coms, somebody came up with a great idea of adding a laugh-track to a story that could’ve been something that French Existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre could’ve wrote.
Believe it or not, the characters of ‘Gilligan’s Island’ represent the Seven Deadly Sins. After their own personal Armageddon, the castaways are eternally damned to live in unceasing torment with each other.
Gluttony is an excessive desire to consume more than one needs. Most people simply assume that this sin was symbolized by the Skipper, because he’s the fat guy. My problem with this sin, is that everyone can tell I have a problem with it just by looking at me. All of the other 6 are sins you can hide.
Another view is that Mrs. “Lovey” Howell is certainly gluttonous with all of her clothes and luxuries. Who takes that much for a 3 hour tour? Is America a glutton? We make up only 6% of the world’s population, yet we possess 60% of it’s wealth.
Ginger, the movie star is pretty obvious, right. Hubba hubba. Lust is an inordinate craving for pleasure. There’s an urban legend that says that the average straight man has a sexual thought every 3 minutes (one version had it at 8 seconds). The Kinsey Report does claim that 54% of men think about sex everyday or several times a day. What do you do with that when Matthew 5:28 tells us that looking is the same as cheating? Can we help it? Is it God’s fault for making us this way?
Sin is like gravity. Galilleo discovered that in a vacuum, a feather and a stone dropped from a tower both drop at the same rate and will reach the ground at the time. So the straight guy who wants to see Ginger in a wet t-shirt contest at Hooters goes to Hell just as fast as the two guys who got married in San Francisco last year? Ouch.
If you had to be marooned on a deserted island with only one of the 7 castaways, who would you choose? Yeah, me too. Sorry Beth, I have to be honest. But what I don’t get is how’d she keep her makeup and sequined dresses looking so good after three years? Have you seen what those girls on ‘Survivor’ start looking like after 3 weeks? Sunburn, insect bites, no decent shampoo. Blech.
Envy or Covetousness is the longing for what other people have- and that’s not just their material positions, it also applies to their traits, status, abilities, or situation. Mary Ann was Envy. She wished that the guys would lust after her like Ginger. She wished she was as rich as the Howells. She wished she was as smart as the Professor. She wished Gilligan would go away. I gotta tell ya, I don’t know about you, but while people can see the results of my gluttony, they’ll never know how much of my life is wasted coveting.
It’s pretty obvious that Mr. Howell’s big sin was greed. Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the spiritual realm. Come on, who brings a steamer trunk full of cash on a 3 hour tour? Was he planning on some money laundering? A clandestine business deal like weapons or drugs? Do you love things and use people or love people and use things?
Anger was either the Skipper Mrs. Howell. I’d say Skipper, after all, he was always shouting and hitting Gilligan on the head with his hat.
Someone once told me that anger is depression turned inward. That’s one way to think about it. I think it’s a natural reaction to injustice. It’s also a natural, maybe even medical reaction to feeling like you don’t have any control or that you needs or wants aren’t being met. Think about it. When a baby needs to be fed or changed- scream time. When somebody cuts you off and almost kills you in traffic- whammo.
Yet it’s selfish. Look at the first four sins- if you’re frustrated by your gluttony, envy, lust or greed, doesn’t it tick you off? It does me.
Anger is when someone rejects love and opts instead for rage or wrath. When you think about love as it’s defined in the Bible, (1 Corinthians 13) you’re going to be pretty selfless, you’re going to be living out Jesus’ teachings in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5). “God is love.”. ~1 John 4:16
Sloth is avoiding work, either physical or spiritual. It’s also a two-toed mammal that lives in trees and moves really slow. Gilligan is not a sloth. People who park it on the couch and watch a ‘Gilligan’s Island’ marathon all day on ‘TV Land’ are sloths.
The Professor was very proud. I would be too, if I could create a working short wave radio using only a few wires and coconuts. Pride is when your own abilities, that prevents you from recognizing God’s grace. It’s been called the sin which all others sprout from. “Pride goeth before a fall” ~Proverbs 29:23
In the show, it’s almost always Gilligan who unintentionally sabotages the castaways' attempts to be rescued. This has led many scholars to speculate that rather than representing sloth, Gilligan actually represents Satan. Hmmmm.
Pope Gregory ranked the sins in order of how bad they were. Gluttony was the least abhorrent to God, and pride was the worst. That would be a relief to me, but I think that anybody who calls themselves Gregory “the Great” should be nervous.
The truth is that all sin is equal. ”For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” ~James 2:8-10. Ouch again. I’m just as doomed as Charlie Manson? Exactly.
But we’re in good company because, none of us is perfect. We’re all selfish and short sighted and we all make ourselves out to be our own god. Me, you, Mother Theresa, Jerry Falwell, Bob Denver, everybody. But thank God, he sent His Son to forgive our sins.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” ~Romans 3:23-24
Be that as it may, I personally think that God ought to prepare a special place in Hell for whoever created the Gilligan’s Island show. And if God takes suggestions, I think that a fitting torture would be for them to have to spend eternity locked in a room with a TV, watching all 98 episodes over and over again.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Monday, January 17, 2005
Casualties in Iraq - 2004
American Casualties in Iraq - 2004 Click here to see how many Americans have already died in Bush's war.
Is Iran next for US military?
BBC: Is Iran next for US military?
Predictions- 1) We will star a second war, one in Iran this summer. 2) Bush will end Social Security as we know it by the 2006 mid-term ellections.
Beware of the false doctrines regarding the "end-times." These fanatical views are not Biblical and shouldn't be considered Christian, yet they're influencing our foreign policy!
President Bush had planned to invade Iraq long before 9/11/01
He's now planning to invade Iran.
15 of the 9/11 terrorist were Saudis, there training camps were in Afghanistan. Osama Bin Laden is still at large. President Bush is operating under the delusion that he can bring about Jesus' second coming by waging a religious war on all of Islam.
Write your Congressmen and Senators and tell them that you oppose Bush's new militarism!
Bush won with barely 2.9% of the vote, yet he believes that this constitutes a massive mandate and that his re-ellection was a refferendum on his Iraq policy.
Republicans, please ask your party and your legislators to hold him accountable. He is betraying conservative Republican principles. Two of the main pillars of the 1995 Contract on America were term limits and a balanced budget!
Social Security should be put in a "lock-box," so that those funds don't go to pay for Bush's war or his tax cuts for the richest 2%!
Republicans control all 3 branches of government and have for the last 4 years- if the G.O.P. is really so "pro-life," why haven't they reversed Roe v. Wade yet? Because it IS NOT REALLY the party of Christian Values, they abuse wedge issues such as abortion and gay rights in order to mislead voters so that they can execute an agenda that is at best, misguided and at worst diabolical.
Support our troops by opposing war in Iran!
Predictions- 1) We will star a second war, one in Iran this summer. 2) Bush will end Social Security as we know it by the 2006 mid-term ellections.
Beware of the false doctrines regarding the "end-times." These fanatical views are not Biblical and shouldn't be considered Christian, yet they're influencing our foreign policy!
President Bush had planned to invade Iraq long before 9/11/01
He's now planning to invade Iran.
15 of the 9/11 terrorist were Saudis, there training camps were in Afghanistan. Osama Bin Laden is still at large. President Bush is operating under the delusion that he can bring about Jesus' second coming by waging a religious war on all of Islam.
Write your Congressmen and Senators and tell them that you oppose Bush's new militarism!
Bush won with barely 2.9% of the vote, yet he believes that this constitutes a massive mandate and that his re-ellection was a refferendum on his Iraq policy.
Republicans, please ask your party and your legislators to hold him accountable. He is betraying conservative Republican principles. Two of the main pillars of the 1995 Contract on America were term limits and a balanced budget!
Social Security should be put in a "lock-box," so that those funds don't go to pay for Bush's war or his tax cuts for the richest 2%!
Republicans control all 3 branches of government and have for the last 4 years- if the G.O.P. is really so "pro-life," why haven't they reversed Roe v. Wade yet? Because it IS NOT REALLY the party of Christian Values, they abuse wedge issues such as abortion and gay rights in order to mislead voters so that they can execute an agenda that is at best, misguided and at worst diabolical.
Support our troops by opposing war in Iran!
Saturday, January 15, 2005
MLK's prayer
Prayer:
Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy.
Now it the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of
segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.
Now it the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial
injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
Now is the time to make justice a reality to all of God's
children.
Dear Lord, let the dream of little children one day living in
a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin
but by their character come true.
Lord Jesus, let freedom ring, let it ring from every
tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, help us to speed up that day when all of Your children,
black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and
Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of
the old spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God
Almighty, we are free at last."
In Jesus name,
Amen
Friday, January 14, 2005
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Jesus is a radical
"The arrogance of power must be countered with reason,* If we really want to win the hearts and minds of the Arab world, we should do it with butter, not guns.
force with dialog,
pointed weapons with outstretched hands,
evil with good."
- Pope John Paul II, in his address Monday to an annual gathering of world diplomats.
* Meanwhile, back here at home, if you hate us "Liberals" so much, try loving us.
* I for one have decided that my New Year's resolution should be to love Republicans. Here's why:
14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”says the Lord. 20On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
~God, in the Bible; Romans 12: 14-20
Counter intuitive, ain't it? I'm telling you, Jesus is a radical.
Did George Bush ask himself "What Would Jesus Do?(W.W.J.D.)" when he started planning the war on Iraq (as soon as he came into office 9 months BEFORE 9/11)
Please, PLEASE go read Matthew 5 & 6 and Luke 6 and THEN tell me that you can't call yourself a Christian is you vote for Democrats.
And by the way, I think that "Dispensationalsim" is heresy. PLEASE, look it up on Google and learn more about it! It is not Scriptural. Christians should reject this false doctrine and the mainline denominations like Lutherans, Catholics, Methodist, etc. need to expose it for the apostasy that it is.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Friday, January 07, 2005
Winston Churchill the Painter - The Churchill Centre
"When Earth's last picture is painted and the tubes are twisted and dried,
When the oldest colours have faded, and the youngest critic has died,
We shall rest, and, faith, we shall need it - lie down for an aeon or two,
Till the Master of All Good Workman shall put us to work anew.
And those that were good shall be happy; they shall sit in a golden chair;
They shall splash at a ten-league canvas with brushes of comets' hair.
And only The Master shall praise us, and only The Master shall blame;
And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame,
But each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
Shall draw the Thing as he sees It for the God of Things as They are!"
~Winston Churchill
When the oldest colours have faded, and the youngest critic has died,
We shall rest, and, faith, we shall need it - lie down for an aeon or two,
Till the Master of All Good Workman shall put us to work anew.
And those that were good shall be happy; they shall sit in a golden chair;
They shall splash at a ten-league canvas with brushes of comets' hair.
And only The Master shall praise us, and only The Master shall blame;
And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame,
But each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
Shall draw the Thing as he sees It for the God of Things as They are!"
~Winston Churchill
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Three sides to every issue
This past Christmas season there was a lot of hullabaloo about whether or not it was okay to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” For a couple of years now there has been debate over whether or not the Ten Commandments may be posted in public courtrooms. There is an atheist dad in California who doesn’t want his child to have to recite “under God” as part of the Pledge of Allegiance in public school. And now people are questioning whether or not the Federal government should provide funds for restoring the Spanish Missions in California because while they represent major historical sites, many are also active Catholic congregations.
So lets see if we can settle this once and for all. Is the United States a “Christian Nation.
The view from the Right: Sure this is a Christian nation. It’s an adjective, a description. By the numbers, the last census recorded that at least 41% of Americans claimed to belong to Christian churches, this is a large plurality. Only 2.2% are Jewish and barely 0.6%- six tenths of a percent are Muslim. According to the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) conducted in 2001, 77% of Americans call themselves “Christian.” So of course this is a “Christian nation.” What else would you call it?
The Washington Times reported recently that a 2001 survey by the Graduate Center of the City University of New York found that only 0.5 percent are Buddhist and a scant 0.4 percent are Hindu. Come on, face facts, we’re mostly Christian.
It’s also Christian in it’s heritage. Everyone knows that many of the first Americans fled Europe in search of religious freedom. The Pilgrims wanted the Plymouth colony to be a “city on a hill,” and thousands consider it “the promised land.” And everyone also knows that our laws are based, at least in part on Biblical law, like the Ten Commandments.
And most people know that most of the founding fathers were Christian. The First Amendment provides freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion.
From the Left: No way is this a Christian nation. A 2002 USA Today/Gallup Poll showed that almost half of American adults appear to be “alienated from organized religion.” ALIENATED! The harder we try to force religion on people, the more they feel judged, driven away, and excluded. Only 50% even think of themselves religious- “religious,” not necessarily “Christian.” Maybe 33% consider themselves "spiritual but not religious," whatever that means. And at least 10% say that they’re neither spiritual or religious. You can never make people Christian by an act of Congress. It takes an act of God to do that.
Lets face it, like it or not, this is a secular nation, a pluralistic society. Everyone knows that many of the first Americans fled Europe in search of religious freedom. After the Protestant Reformation European Christians were at war WITH EACH OTHER for over 100 years. The first Americans wanted to be able to live together despite their religious differences. America’s foundation was laid in religious tolerance. The First Amendment guarantees that the government will not establish or promote any one religion of any others as an official religion. We don’t have to pay taxes to churches like they do in other parts of the world. The First Amendment guarantees that we each have the right to practice our own religion without fear of persecution. That’s what free speech is all about.
Most people know that many of the founding fathers were “Deists,” scientific agnostics who were culturally “Christian” but doubted or even denied the divinity of Christ. What’s more, many of them were also members of Masonic temples. I don’t know about Baptists and Methodists, obviously Anglicans/Episcopalians didn’t care, but the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Lutheran Churches all strictly prohibit membership in super secret and/or occultist organizations like the Masons. Who knows what Eastern mysticisms and pseudo-philosophical nonsense those founding fathers swallowed hook, line, and sinker.
Christian nation, indeed! The best thing about the founding fathers is that they recognized that they were human and fallible. We shouldn’t turn them into gods by assuming that they were so much more pious than we are today. That’s why they made ours a government of laws, and checks and balances, not of people, parties and churches.
And from the Middle: Well, it all depends on how you look at things. According to the last census, barely 37 % of Americans consider themselves religious. At least 16 % think of themselves as secular.
But more important than that is what do you even call “Christian?” I believe that only God knows what is in our hearts. Of all of the people who sit next to us in Church, how many are hypocrites? How many say that they’re Christian only because that’s all they’ve ever known or because they think it’s the “right thing to do.” How many attend because they think it makes them better than others? How many truly KNOW Jesus Christ in a personal way? How many are willing to make Jesus their “LORD,” and not just their “Savior.” The definition of “Christian” is “little-Christ,” that is imitator of the Anointed Messiah, or follower/disciple of Jesus of Nazareth only begotten Son of Jehovah-God. He was willing to be executed unjustly to save others. Am I? Are all Americans? Is America a single, living, self-aware, sensate being, capable of faith and receiving salvation?
Jesus was born in an occupied territory of the Roman Empire. Sort of a man without a country. The Mormons believe that He visited the Indians in North America after His resurrection. Of course most Mormons consider themselves Christian, but I don’t and neither does the Lutheran Church, of which I am a member.
So is this a Christian nation? Maybe better questions are; Should it be? And if so, how would you suggest making that come about? Two other very interesting questions could be, would Jesus be granted citizenship to the U.S. if He applied for it today? Barefoot, jobless, homeless, long haired, barefoot, itinerate preacher from Palestine. Hmmm. The other one is; If he came today, would America execute Him the same way Rome did? Hmmm.
So lets see if we can settle this once and for all. Is the United States a “Christian Nation.
The view from the Right: Sure this is a Christian nation. It’s an adjective, a description. By the numbers, the last census recorded that at least 41% of Americans claimed to belong to Christian churches, this is a large plurality. Only 2.2% are Jewish and barely 0.6%- six tenths of a percent are Muslim. According to the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) conducted in 2001, 77% of Americans call themselves “Christian.” So of course this is a “Christian nation.” What else would you call it?
The Washington Times reported recently that a 2001 survey by the Graduate Center of the City University of New York found that only 0.5 percent are Buddhist and a scant 0.4 percent are Hindu. Come on, face facts, we’re mostly Christian.
It’s also Christian in it’s heritage. Everyone knows that many of the first Americans fled Europe in search of religious freedom. The Pilgrims wanted the Plymouth colony to be a “city on a hill,” and thousands consider it “the promised land.” And everyone also knows that our laws are based, at least in part on Biblical law, like the Ten Commandments.
And most people know that most of the founding fathers were Christian. The First Amendment provides freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion.
From the Left: No way is this a Christian nation. A 2002 USA Today/Gallup Poll showed that almost half of American adults appear to be “alienated from organized religion.” ALIENATED! The harder we try to force religion on people, the more they feel judged, driven away, and excluded. Only 50% even think of themselves religious- “religious,” not necessarily “Christian.” Maybe 33% consider themselves "spiritual but not religious," whatever that means. And at least 10% say that they’re neither spiritual or religious. You can never make people Christian by an act of Congress. It takes an act of God to do that.
Lets face it, like it or not, this is a secular nation, a pluralistic society. Everyone knows that many of the first Americans fled Europe in search of religious freedom. After the Protestant Reformation European Christians were at war WITH EACH OTHER for over 100 years. The first Americans wanted to be able to live together despite their religious differences. America’s foundation was laid in religious tolerance. The First Amendment guarantees that the government will not establish or promote any one religion of any others as an official religion. We don’t have to pay taxes to churches like they do in other parts of the world. The First Amendment guarantees that we each have the right to practice our own religion without fear of persecution. That’s what free speech is all about.
Most people know that many of the founding fathers were “Deists,” scientific agnostics who were culturally “Christian” but doubted or even denied the divinity of Christ. What’s more, many of them were also members of Masonic temples. I don’t know about Baptists and Methodists, obviously Anglicans/Episcopalians didn’t care, but the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Lutheran Churches all strictly prohibit membership in super secret and/or occultist organizations like the Masons. Who knows what Eastern mysticisms and pseudo-philosophical nonsense those founding fathers swallowed hook, line, and sinker.
Christian nation, indeed! The best thing about the founding fathers is that they recognized that they were human and fallible. We shouldn’t turn them into gods by assuming that they were so much more pious than we are today. That’s why they made ours a government of laws, and checks and balances, not of people, parties and churches.
And from the Middle: Well, it all depends on how you look at things. According to the last census, barely 37 % of Americans consider themselves religious. At least 16 % think of themselves as secular.
But more important than that is what do you even call “Christian?” I believe that only God knows what is in our hearts. Of all of the people who sit next to us in Church, how many are hypocrites? How many say that they’re Christian only because that’s all they’ve ever known or because they think it’s the “right thing to do.” How many attend because they think it makes them better than others? How many truly KNOW Jesus Christ in a personal way? How many are willing to make Jesus their “LORD,” and not just their “Savior.” The definition of “Christian” is “little-Christ,” that is imitator of the Anointed Messiah, or follower/disciple of Jesus of Nazareth only begotten Son of Jehovah-God. He was willing to be executed unjustly to save others. Am I? Are all Americans? Is America a single, living, self-aware, sensate being, capable of faith and receiving salvation?
Jesus was born in an occupied territory of the Roman Empire. Sort of a man without a country. The Mormons believe that He visited the Indians in North America after His resurrection. Of course most Mormons consider themselves Christian, but I don’t and neither does the Lutheran Church, of which I am a member.
So is this a Christian nation? Maybe better questions are; Should it be? And if so, how would you suggest making that come about? Two other very interesting questions could be, would Jesus be granted citizenship to the U.S. if He applied for it today? Barefoot, jobless, homeless, long haired, barefoot, itinerate preacher from Palestine. Hmmm. The other one is; If he came today, would America execute Him the same way Rome did? Hmmm.
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