The verdict is in. The California Supreme Court has ruled and the voter’s voice on marriage has been preserved, at least, for the moment. I must confess, though, that while I’m relieved, I’m a bit fatigued. Watching Miss USA contender Carrie Prejean assaulted for stating her views on marriage has been brutal. Hearing actor Sean Penn admonish supporters of the California law, Proposition 8, at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony to “sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren’s eyes” was ugly. Reading about how Proposition 8 opponents were circulating Google maps detailing the locations of Proposition 8 supporters’ homes to harass them was insidious.
I’m sure I’m not alone. Many Christians may be hesitant, if not completely resistant, to engage the culture on issues that contradict their values and beliefs the next time around. But we must ask ourselves – as the church, what should our response be? The answer for me comes in looking back at how the early church responded to similar opposition. They were committed to stand for what they knew to be truth, even if it meant the ultimate sacrifice. Many were sent to their death in the jaws of wild beasts in front of a coliseum of eager spectators. Today rather than facing the lions, the church now faces the merciless jaws of litigation. Instead of an audience of robed spectators, there is now a virtual coliseum of media correspondents, magazines and talk shows ready to voice their particular perspective on the events. The attitude against the church is the same but the venue for persecution has been modernized. As a result many churches have gone underground on this issue of homosexuality and are fearful to engage the topic at any level. Some believe there is too much to risk and besides; gay marriage will eventually be federally legalized so why fight it?
But wait a minute. Who is the real victim in this scenario? Is it really the church?
Click here for entire article in Charisma Magazine
Last night was a “date night at home” night so we decided to get a pizza and rent a movie for the evening. Evenings like this are rare which can make it difficult to decide which movie to choose. After scrolling through our options, watching trailers, and going back an forth on possible picks, we decided to go with “Nights in Rodanthe.” Primarily because we like Diane Lane and the first movie we saw on our honeymoon was actually a Diane Lane flick (Under the Tuscan Sun). So, we got our popcorn, tea, and settled in.
remote
menu
press “On Demand”
scroll
press “buy”
confirm
title credits
regret
deep regret
shocked disdain
mocking hysterical laughter
anger at $4.99 rental fee
more mocking
praying for rapture to end human suffering
end credits.
Need I say more?
Actually, yes I do. This movie was cinematic ipecac (drug used to induce vomiting after accidental poisoning). I have never witnessed such needless, mindless, and pointless sentimentality with virtually no plot. To call it “sappy” would be a step up. The acting in this film was about as convincing and riveting as St. Millicent’s Parochial School for Girls’ 4th-grade production of “Dead Man Walking.” I can only imagine what directions the director was giving while filming this:
“Look sad.”
“Walk on the beach and look sad.”
“Read the letter, look sad and cry.”
“I’m not really sure what this scene is about but look sad, cry, rant a little, hug each other, and then look sad.”
All this to say, avoid this film! It will sear your soul void of any legitimate sentiment for those you love. This movie is bad, bad, bad, bad, bad.
By the way,
Richard Gere’s character dies at the end.
I’m sorry but I felt that was necessary. You’ll thank me one day.
Ok I realize that I haven’t posted for over a week but I have a good excuse. I’ve converted. Switched over. Gone to the other side. Yes, I am now officially a Mac user. It took a while to get my files transferred and my email and contact information converted while maintaining some level of work productivity. But, oh, was it worth it.
I have heard Mac users in the past tell me about the wonders of a Mac vs. PC. I would walk through an airport and see the clusters of stylish cases with their little fruit logos that would light up like a beacon of hope for a new world order. These Macinites would even seem to huddle together like nesting penguins and speak in strange tongues or “Mac-speak.” I thought they were evil. Part of a fraternity of devil spawn meant to suck me into their embittered web of Steve Jobs propaganda and deceit. Well, maybe that’s a little over the top . . . but I did think it was a lot of biased hype. You see, I was raised on PC and when I was doing database programming, PC was the only viable platform. But that was 6 years ago and things have changed. My wife will tell you that I can be a sucker for marketing so I have to admit the Apple commercials became intriguing to me. I would find myself peering over the shoulders of Mac worshipers and become entranced with things that were foreign to me such as speed and simplified menus. Finally the frustration of missing .dll files, error messages, constant start-ups and shut-downs, viruses, and program speeds that I could have rivaled with a chisel and stone pushed me over the edge. As my last PC began to take it’s last steps into the bright light, I said the words, “I___want___a___Mac.”
I powered up the strange little machine and what would follow would alter me forever. There are colors I’ve never seen and a screen so vivid I had to look away at first. All of my programs are waiting for me in a neat little line ecstatically wanting to be used as I briefly acknowledge their existence with the pass of my mouse. Then I’m introduced to “Spaces” and “Expose’.” I practically squeal with glee. Even my Office programs had features I never knew could exist. You close the monitor and it goes to sleep. You open it and it instantly wakes up! The list goes on and on.
But then I began to think of my life for the past 14 years. The pain, the suffering, the endless calls to tech support. I felt my heart grow cold. I could taste a bitter acidity as I realized . . .
I’d been lied to . . . . . . . . . brainwashed.
Bill Gates and his minions in their Seattle compound were one step away from having me selling roses at an intersection.
I had become a Microsoft Moonie.
Never again! Today, I apologize to Mac users everywhere for the intolerance and persecution you have endured. I am one of you and have always been at heart. You are my tribe. You are my people.
I’m sorry but I thought this was hilarious. Someone sent this to me saying it was an actual homework assignment. I don’t know if that’s true but it still cracked me up!
Dear Mrs. Jones,
I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer.
I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn’t show me dancing around a pole. It’s supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.
From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Smith
I realize that recently I’ve made a few posts about the recent developments regarding Ted Haggard. This isn’t to elevate one particular situation or give it undue and unnecessary attention. As with any situation involving a previously or presently influential leader, the way they respond has the potential to define or distort crucial issues that face the church today. Ted Haggard’s fall continues to impact and influence not only those within the church but our current cultural climate today.
On Thursday, Ted & Gayle Haggard made their anticipated appearance on Oprah. I watched and processed with mixed emotions. I was planning write my viewpoints on the interview until someone sent me an excellent overview by Joe Dallas (one of my favorite speakers and teachers). I don’t want to reinvent the wheel so here is what Joe had so say:
Ted Said: AfterThoughts on Ted Haggard’s Interview with Oprah
Guest Post by Joe Dallas
Rev. Ted Haggard broke his two year silence on Oprah’s show yesterday, his first media appearance since a catastrophic fall from the pulpit of New Life Church in 2006, when his longstanding relationship with a male prostitute was exposed. The details are still fresh: Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, was condemning gay sex publicly while paying for it privately, until accusations from male escort Mike Jones cracked the dam of Ted’s denials (“I neverhad gay sex!”) and trickles of half-concessions leaked out (“Well, yeah, I bought some meth from a gay escort, but threw it away”) followed by voice mail recordings irrefutable as Monica’s blue dress, and the inevitable confession, contrition and exit. It was as tawdry as it was achingly familiar in this era of public falls, and many of us hoped the story was played out.
Enter the sequel. An HBO special titled The Trials of Ted Haggard premieres Thursday January 29, and by way of promotion, Ted granted interviews to Larry King as well as Oprah, revisiting those dark days with his own insights and explanations. If there’s a redemptive twist to all this, it lies in what can be gleaned from the Reverend’s experience and, to an extent, his statements about Christianity, homosexuality, church life and human nature. A typical spectator, I cheered and booed throughout the Oprah interview, shouting criticisms or praise while knowing nothing of what it was like for the man under the bright lights being grilled about his worst failures and private agonies. So I’ll concede, a la Roosevelt’s famous observation about the man in the arena, that it is indeed the guy in the ring whose performance matters far and above the critic who wishes he’d done this or said that.
From that deferential position, then, let me offer some thoughts on what Ted said, what I wish he’d said, and what still needs to be said:
Ted said: “I’m a heterosexual with homosexual attachments.”
What prompted it: Oprah’s predictable but relevant question: Are you gay, straight, or bisexual? (read more)
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Guest Post by Joe Dallas