A Soul Under Fire

Tags

British Petroleum, environment, Gulf of Mexico, offshore drilling, oil companies, Oil leak disaster, Sarah Palin

 Such is how I feel today as I watch the disaster that is about to strike the gulf coast. It is sickening. What exactly did we forget about what we learned as mere children: water and oil don’t mix. I remember as a child the bluish sheen of gasoline not burned by the boat outboard motor, glistening on the surface of the water of the lake. I understood. Why can’t they?

Is the allure of money to stuff in one’s campaign coffers too much? Is the cheap and quick fix to a local economy too enticing? Are we too willing to deny the obvious for a job? a few extra bucks in the paycheck? Are we so small and selfish and inconsiderate? Are we betting that it will not be our problem but somebody else’s? Somebody else’s child’s?

It sickens me. I want to weep, and I want to hit out at somebody, something.

We learn that what British Petroleum told us is not true. More than five times what they said was leaking actually is. Investigations will soon follow, to determine in part whether they always knew this or not. If they did, well damn them.

 We are now in a race that we probably can’t win. Thank goodness that NOAA did an independent investigation and at least alerted that the danger was ever so much worse than we thought. But, frankly it may not matter.

All of this is so predictable. It was a disaster that everyone knew would happen sooner or later, and all those who pushed off-shore drilling, well they banked on later, or at least that they would, when it happened, be far enough away from the action to not be blamed.

I frankly don’t know what agreements states make with these companies. I don’t know who has the ultimate control, federal or state. I was not happy to hear that Obama was removing the moratorium on offshore drilling considerations. I admit not to have followed these issues well.

But, I have no doubt that there would be no drilling offshore in the Gulf of Mexico without the express okay of the states now threatened. So they bear the onus of their own mistakes, yet what they reap in this whirlwind of disaster will affect everyone.

My heart breaks for the wildlife and ecosystems that will be harmed and destroyed. I weep for the loss of life, which everyone seems to have so glibly ignored. I am outraged at the loss of livelihood of fishermen along the coast even though I realize that many of these waters are routinely over fished.

The blows from this keep coming.

And where pray tell are the stupid voices of “drill baby drill” now? Where are the sanctimonious bellowing Obama haters who glam onto each and every issue they can find and pushed this moronic sing-song chant without a modicum of knowledge about what they were spewing about?

Hey Sarah, you lame brained idiot. What say you now? Not that it matters you brainless twit. Don’t bother to tell us of your expertise in the area as you recently argued it was time to drill baby drill, instead of stall baby stall. You wouldn’t understand a fact if it was branded on your palm and carried the imprimatur of the King James Bible as its source.

You and all the Fox Faux news? minions of big business interests. You and Johnny Mac and Jindal and on and on, who suck on the public teat, never earning an honest dollar in your sorry lives.

Yes, I’m being incredibly unchristian and I realize it. That is between me and God, and not your concern. I’ve had it with you all. You users of all that is good in this country to line your own mansions while the rest of us do the dirty work of building and sustaining the world you recreate in. You should be ashamed but you never will be, because you believe, behind closed doors that it really is the survival of the fittest, and you have proven to be the fittest because you have more toys.

So you ahead and spend your time in the tanning salons, and get that massage, and that expensive suit all ready, which you can slip into before you parade before the camera and express your “deep concern,” all the while amping for the angle to turn this into “Obama’s Katrina.” We can see your fangs dripping with blood, and we can see the greed flashing in your eyes. Just looking, aren’t you to turn this whole thing somehow to your advantage.

Damn you all to hell, if there were such a place. Damn you to public condemnation, and may you tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth for all time. You sicken  me more than I can express.

The Eternal Questions

Tags

biblical literalism, biblical studies, critical thinking, God, growth, JD Crosson, Living the Questions, Marcus Borg, processing information, religion, theology

Yesterday I mentioned that I had viewed a couple of the episodes from the series Living the Questions.  On part three, two of my favorite biblical specialists gave me some very interesting food for thought.

And, typical of me, I thought.

I decided that the concepts expressed were important and were worth putting forth to you.

Many of you are of course familiar with John Dominic Crossan, highly regarded biblical scholar and sometime collaborator with Marcus Borg. He posited that there are four eternal questions that believers must come to terms with.

1. What is the character of God?
2. What is the content of your faith?
3. What is the function of your church?
4. What is the purpose of your worship?

As is immediately apparent, these questions tend to circle back on one another. Depending on what you answer, you will necessarily have to return to another one. Hopefully, in the end, you can arrive at a series of answers that are logically consistent to the rest.

I realized, I think at least, that my answers are internally consistent. It has taken me a good many years to arrive at them, and I remain ever open to revising and tweaking all of them as new information comes to me for evaluation. That kind of takes me to another speaker of part three, and that was Marcus Borg.

If I am able to do the above, it is mostly because I follow Borg’s analysis of growth in thinking. Not at all limited to faith questions, Borg claims that every person goes through the following process:

1. Pre-critical naivete′–this is defined as the childlike acceptance of everything pretty much we are told. As children, we rely on parents mostly to inform us of the meaning of the world around us. We accept the “fact” of Santa Claus with the same simple acknowledgment as we do that watering a plant helps it grow. We don’t question the answer, though we ask plenty of questions. We have mostly empty space between our ears, not a lot of experiences by which to judge, and are like little sponges.
2. Critical thinking–All of us come to this at some point, though undoubtedly some of us do it better than others. But we all do it. At some point we begin testing what we have been told against the world as we actually perceive it. We determine the real likelihood of the Easter bunny versus the reality of a flat earth. We have tools, gained through experience and education by which we can experiment with claims and we decide what truths we will accept as such. This of course goes on throughout one’s life.
3. Post-critical naivete′–This is not achieved by all. There is no necessary movement from 2 to 3 in other words. Some folks remain lodged in whatever truths they have determined and never budge. This place is one reserved for those who have a certain quest for more I guess. It allows one to return to one again, but in a different way.

Let me explain, if I can.

As to faith, I have determined that there was no actual garden of Eden, and that Genesis does not in fact portray an actual beginning of the earth or the universe. Neither are “factually” accurate. This I have determined through critical thinking. I have read extensively, gone to through fairly extensive education, listened to a lot of experts, and otherwise examined my experiences and senses and find these stories as wholly incompatible with the hard facts that I can touch, examine and test.

Yet, I have moved to three. I believe wholeheartedly in the Genesis story and I believe in the garden of Eden. Not as factual stories of what actually happened, but for the deeper truths that they were actually meant to convey. And I repeat, that is what they were MEANT to convey. So I can believe in the stories. I have returned in a sense to that child-like faith that requires no official documentation to convince. In fact, the stories now have a far greater impact on me than they could ever have had as literal truth.

As literal truth they reflect a God of such lack of grandeur as to be embarrassing. They are full of holes, illogical  connections, and such, as to be against the weight of common sense,  making us, the creation, rather dull and stupid. What does that say about God?

It reminds one of Voltaire’s statement (also from part three):

God created man in his own image, and man returned the compliment.

Anyway, I thought it all most interesting. I guess I felt that I was indeed on the right track in my continuous ponderings. And as usual, I conclude that this is what it means to walk with God. We are but creature, stunningly dumb in comparison to the Creator. Yet, we have been graced with a mind like  God, which enables us to reach out with hand extended and to grasp but faintly truth. This surely was designed by God to work this way–the capacity to seek and find Him. For as we believe, God created, and saw that it was GOOD! We are part of that good and he delights in us as we from time to time stumble and actually “get it.”

Blessings.

Chaotic Symmetry

Tags

bullying, Dorothy Parker, Living the Questions

So I’ve been out and aboot all day, as the Canucks would say, and so my wee little brain is a bit fried.

So don’t be surprised if nothing that follows is connected with anything else. You have been warned.

First of all, let me key you folks in on a great adult education program that you might want to explore for your church.

I stopped by the church today to look at part 4, on creation stories, which, God willing and the creek don’t rise (literally I might add), I’m supposed to facilitate on Sunday. Be prepared is my motto even though the Boy Scouts think it belongs to them. Girl Scouts were every bit as prepared, and we did it backward and in heels. No wait, that refers to dancing.

Anyway, I watched Part 3, which I had missed, and was awed by some of the stuff they discussed, and actually thought I got at least two good blog post topics from it. But I, as usual, digress.

The program is called Living the Questions. It is a 21 part series, and you can do one each week. There are 3 DVD’s and each segment is 20 minutes long. It is ecumenical in nature; I’ve seen representatives from at least 4-5 different denominations. We did a session on fundamentalism and literalism, theological thinking, and now creation stories.

If you are a liberal/progressive congregation, and wish to learn a few things, then I suggest you take a look and bring it to the attention of your education committee. Any of these quite frankly can be the jumping off place from which to find a book and delve deeper into any particular subject that interests you.

***

I stopped by the Barnes and Nobles on my way in today, on a quest. Course, I usually see a kazillion other things I’d like to buy, but much to my joy and all around yippieness, I found exactly what I was hoping for–a collection of the works of Dorothy Parker, queen of  wit, for me. I soooooo admire her writing. She is one of my heroes. If you are interested, I got The Portable Dorothy Parker, edited by Marion Meade, who is also the writer of a Dorothy Parker bio, entitled What Fresh Hell is This, which I should also think about getting.

This collection includes short stories, Vanity Fair articles, book reviews, and poetry. I’m just so excited, but, laughing since, I am also reading a comparison of Christianity with early to 18th century philosophic thought, as well as completing the end of my study of Jeremiah in EFM. I also have another book on the way about women in biblical times. I’m about 1/3 of the way through McCulloch’s Reformation,  and dying to order John Bright’s, The History of Israel. I have about 3 other books I want to request for review in the next two months.

If somebody would only pay me to read, I could be a millionaire rather quickly I reckon.

***

Speaking of nothing in particular, I was assaulted by this rather strange and utterly idiotic “problem” this morning. I was as usual watching GMA while sipping my first coffee of the day. What follows is true, I swear.

We all know the horror of bullying and we have learned sadly that a number of children have committed suicide after being subjected to this verbal hell both at school and also on the Internet social sites. It is a despicable practice, one that most everyone got a little taste of at some point growing up, and I support every effort to put an end to it.

That said, what follows is insane.

It seems there is such a thing as mommy bullying. Women, who are moms, either blog, or get on social sites and discuss various phases of child rearing. It seems that some women are quite quirky on what is “right and wrong” here and don’t mind being rude and nasty to women who aren’t doing the job as they would. I’m told this might have to do with breastfeeding or not, and working or not, and so on.

Well, the picked on women are being bullied it seems. And the “experts” were quick to point out that should it get threatening, one should call the authorities, either to explore criminal charges or at least to close out their social networking accounts.

Hey. How bout simply not going to it? I mean, you lady, are a freakin’ adult. You are not a child who has to face these same dunces in a school hall way or bathroom. Unless you provide the info, these folks can’t contact you, come to your home, or otherwise bother you at all, UNLESS YOU FREAKIN’ MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE.

I mean really. There are problems in the world, and this ain’t one of ’em. One dipshit was complaining that after she twittered that her toddler had been found floating in the pool, and everyone should pray, a few hours later, twittered that her baby was dead. Was it a big surprise that a few people suggested unkindly that she might STOP TWITTERING and take care of her kids?

I’m thinking this all might be leading up to a post on whether our capable hands have overcome our evolutionary brains and we are seeping over into mass insanity. It seems there are examples of utter unbelievable uncontrolled, insane insanity every day now. Heck some woman wanted to replace the health care law with bartering chickens, like they did in the 19th century. Yeah and reserve a room at the HOME for you too lady.

Well, I’m pooped. Have a great one. Hopefully things are back to a quiet contemplative posting tomorrow. HA!

Lazy Blogging or Appropriating the Work of Others

Tags

Arizona, Art Andy Goldsworthy, Evangelical Christianity, Franklin Graham, Glenn Beck, immigration, Latinos, Liberty University, Mormons, Muslims, racism, social concerns

Okay, not really, it’s pretty much the usual short takes, which I haven’t done in a while, but it does lend to the idea that I’m really letting others do the talkin’ for me. Sometimes, (rare, I know) others actually say it better.

The weather is lovely in terms of the sun, but way cool, only 61 at the max today. Tomorrow I must shop before the next deluge which is due sometime Thursday or Friday.

I’m otherwise occupied with the usual stuff.

Actually, I’m not a bathroom hermit myself. Never have been, and never figured out how people can read in the darn place. My butt would get cold sitting there. I go in there for a reason, and get ‘er done.

So here goes, hope you find a thing or two worth your attention.

My first inclination is to say that such a beautiful sunset shouldn’t be wasted on a bunch of elderly dried up old prune faces, but that would be mean. My second inclination is that the entire state could easily be scraped into the Grand Canyon with room to spare.

But if you want to read a rather thoughtful  post about current issues in Arizona and Israel, slip over to read Matty Boy’s take on racism–yeah, now I got your attention don’t I?

I’m an adult, I know we usually take baby steps to correct the wrongs of the world, but for liver-lovin’ sake, has Arizona lost it’s mind? And beware sanctimonious remaining 49, it’s an infectious disease, make sure you get your immunization shots soon.

***

And if that only whetted your interest, then read on. Dusty, never one to parse a expletive when needed, offers some background into the admittedly racist history of those who pushed forward this ugly piece of law.

***

And then there is the political angle that this is all really a ploy to stop the rise of Democratic voting Latinos from living in the state and disrupting the Rethuglican look of things. Jill at Brilliant at Breakfast researches and brings you that story.

***

I’ve mentioned more than once my concerns about the rather blatant racism that is espoused throughout America against other Americans, namely Muslims. Not to say that we should reserve that for Muslims who are not Americans of course.

I was happy to hear that the Pentagon rescinded it’s offer to Franklin Graham to speak at the National Prayer Day ceremonies. The Reverend, son of the famous Billy Graham, expressed the usual racist claptrap in the name of God no less.

While VJack at Atheist Revolution was “disturbed”and “disappointed” that the President visited the elder Graham and also met Franklin, I pointed out in a FB entry that, well fundies would would have been just as disappointed and disturbed had Obama visited Dawkins or Hutchens. The point being, I guess intolerance is something that both fundies and atheists can have in common.

I’ve just started reading Sharp Iron, an admittedly evangelical conservative blog. I was pleased to see that Christian Beyer seems to agree that the Pentagon did the right thing.

Interestingly, Franklin claims that Muslims have a different God than his. That argument always seems odd to me, coming as it always does, from a  monotheist. If there is only one, well, however defined, the Muslim God is indeed the same God as the Christian God, and the Hindu, and the Shinto, and well, you get the picture.

***

I’ve been a believer that nature is God’s canvas upon which he creates the most beautiful of art for us, free of charge. Andy Goldsworthy, seen here in one of his creations, seems to agree. In fact he works in tandem with God (okay that’s my opinion of course) in creating some really beautiful pieces.

If your soul has been battered lately by personal or civic problems, then do stop by and take a look. I promise that you will come away feeling lighter and more at peace. Beauty is a gift of God, at least that is how I see it.

A H/T to Experimental Theology.

***

Liberty University, love child of the late Jerry Falwell, is back in the news as we mentioned a few days ago.

It seems they have invited the renowned intellectual and all around great expounder of Christianity, the one and only, Glenn Beck to be their commencement speaker.

You might remember Liberty from the fact that the Bushites enlisted a goodly number of their law graduates into the Justice Department, where they soon got in hot water by mixing their Repuglian politics with doing their jobs. We are guessing that ethics don’t play a big part in Liberty’s law curriculum.

Anyway, we pondered the incongruity of Beck, who is an avowed Mormon, being asked to speak at a ultra conservative evangelical university. You know, they often claim that said Mormons are not really Christians at all, and if you don’t believe me on that just ask Mitt Romney.

It all seemed mighty crazy, in any event. And I figured, crazy is as crazy does. Beck has called for a boycott of any church that does social justice ministry, and well, we figured Liberty must agree with all that anti-Jesus stuff too. (My Jesus is not their Jesus I would guess.)

Matt Kelley, pastor and blogger has a take on the issue, well worth your reading. And the usual H/T to Prof. James McGrath at Exploring Our Matrix for this link.

That’s it for today. A first–all links are to regular bloggers and I’m as always just amazed at the talent out there. Hope you find something to read!

Never Let You Go

Tags

Book Reviews, Erin Healy, fiction, Inspirational, love

I received this book from Booksnooze (look along the right sidebar) for review. I wish to extend my thanks.

This is a book that would benefit from your not knowing it is Christian fiction up front (I unfortunately read the inside pages.)

I say this for, within a very few pages in, a mystery ensued that I was eager to figure out. Knowing as I did of it’s genre, I discarded rather immediately that the heroine of the book was mentally deranged!

For indeed this is a book about angels and demons and good and yes you guessed it–evil. Yet, to say that is to give nothing away, since it is genuinely laced with plenty of suspense and intrigue.

A young, single mother, abandoned by a drugged out husband, and confronted by a past lover,  then her husband’s drug dealer who claims monies are owed, a father who has lost his mind, a sister murdered by  the old lover, and a mother who skitters around the country reviewing restaurants, contends with a convergence of all these people back into her life in one hellish few days.

Molly, the daughter, is the center of Lexi’s life, the only anchor for her in a sea of troubles. A rather precocious child, Molly seems to delight everyone she meets, and there is nothing Lexi will not do to give her daughter a better chance. Working two jobs, taking on a roommate, and doing without are all in service to giving Molly a normal and happy childhood.

Until of course all goes awry suddenly. Grant, her husband returns to town after seven years and desires to reconnect with his daughter. Lexi is opposed, still trapped in anger. Then Warden returns and badgers Lexi into testifying for her former lover Norm at his parole hearing–the very person who had murdered her sister Tara.  Grant returns with Lexi’s mother, who  abandoned Lexi’s father when he lost his mind, not being able to cope with the loss of both daughter and husband.

Warden has the uncanny and mysterious ability to appear all to often where he should not be. He knows “too much” and his threats are veiled, ultimately against Molly. Lexi finds herself questioning her own sanity at times as she tries to dodge and control all these unwanted people in her life.

The only sane, yet still confusing, element in her life is Angelo, the unexplained blond giant of a man who seems to suddenly be there whenever he is needed. He saves Molly, he saves Lexi, and works at the hospital where her father lives.

Enigmatically, Angelo, never seems to give “straight” answers to much that Lexi asks, but rather encourages her to be guided by love, rather than the hatred, anger, and despair that crowd her mind in the face of the swirling disaster that boils perilously ever closer to her quiet life with Molly.

Of course, it all comes to a head, and you begin to read faster and faster, wondering how it will all play out. Being a Christian novel, you expect of course, that the good guys will win, but how it will occur, remains a mystery that you yearn to solve.

This is not great fiction–I won’t mislead you. You won’t find the great American novel here. But, if you are looking for a good beach read this summer, this would be perfect. Not so convoluted in its plot that you are having to go back and remind yourself of who’s who, yet, satisfying in its drama, you can blissfully sip that pina colada, apply a bit more sunscreen, and relax into a world of  dark intrigue in early spring in the mountains.  

Of additional interest here is a list of questions at the end of the novel, suitable for a book club selection group. If your church has one, and you like to read some fiction now and then, you might investigate this as a choice. The relationships within the book are such that they can easily serve as topics to investigate our own relationships with loved ones who have disappointed us over the years.

Of seminal interest is the concept of love as a means to overcome anger, hatred, and painful loss. A discussion of this topic, love, is alone worth the price of the book, for it brings forth the most difficult places to retain love–abandonment, criminal victimization, and parent-child roles.

This book was provided by Booksnooze, through agreement with the publisher, Thomas Nelson. Other than receiving the book at no cost to me, there are no other stipulations. The review opinion is mine alone. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Extracting That Pound of Flesh

Tags

criminals, death penalty, prison, rehabilitation, victims, [punishment

I heard it again this morning. That statement made at trials, parole hearings, and such, and stated by victims, families of victims and the ever-righteous assistant D.A.

“X should die, receive the max, spend the rest of his life in prison, because Y will never experience another year, have another birthday, experience the joys of parenthood, . . . .”

We are a society that feels comfortable with “justice” or our version of it anyhow. We tout that our prisons are at least in part for punishment, evening the score, paying the price, though we lip serve that they are really about rehabilitation.

That’s a joke. Rehabilitation–so humanitarian of us. Yet when presented with clear cases of rehabilitation, all too many of us shrug and echo the words above, “he hasn’t paid nearly enough. In fact, he can’t ever pay the debt.” So rehabilitation is I guess only for those whose crimes don’t cause death. But then, what of the victim left forever injured? They can never be made whole, so does rehab fail here too?

Your opinion is as good as mine I would think.

A young man chooses to rob a bank, which goes awry, and hostages are taken and a woman is killed in a panic. Death sentences become life when the state ends the practice. Reading and then writing become the only salvation to a lifer. He is skilled at this trade, finds an audience, both inside and out the walls. He actually helps improve the lives of others.

Ultimately he wins appeal and retrial, and given all the good he has done, and his considerable talent, he is convicted only of manslaughter. After 44 years behind the walls, he has served all that could be imposed.

Yet, some say 44 years is not enough. They want more. They declare he can never make up for what he has taken. And he cannot. No argument there.

We hear it again and again. I said it wasn’t new after all. And I’m not here to argue the merits of this particular case, nor of any for that matter. But something like a bell went off in my head at this latest rendition of this very old tale of proper vengeance.

Why do we always tie these two things together? Why is the level of rehabilitation tied to this never to be reached standard of “you can’t make up for what you did, ever”?

And I saw that it was fallacious, this artificial connection. We were examining it the wrong way. Completely wrong.

We have the innocent victim, no better nor worse in most cases than most any normal person. You know the kind I mean. The kind that lives out a life pretty much like anyone else. No heroics, no great mind, no superior empathy toward one’s fellow man. You or me, with all the normal amounts of good and bad, but the bad confined to what society considers okay and  not worthy of incarceration. No actions deserving of shunning or disgust. Just a normal person.

Against that we have a soul gone wrong. The person can come from normal beginnings or horrific neglect and abuse. But somewhere, either through deep pain or lazy indifference, choices are made that set them upon a road that can reasonably lead to disaster. And they take it, often while immature to be sure, but knowingly too. Foreseeable consequences are a bitch as they say.

And the death of the first leads to the incarceration of the second, and by miracle or determination, transformation occurs. The soul gone wrong becomes a useful, contributing member of society. He has important lessons to convey to help others perhaps, avoid his end. He is redeemed, in a fashion that may be spiritual or not, but is real and acknowledged.

Although the victim did not choose the roll, the victim, by dying has been a proximate cause of the transformation, the rehabilitation. They may well have saved a life that might otherwise have been destroyed by drugs or a hail of gunfire down some  lonely alleyway.

In the loss, there is grace–a life redeemed and transformed. Is that not a more rational way to look at things? Cannot family and friends take solace in the good done by  this unfortunate death?

I, of course, speak from the outside looking in, but it seems worthy of examination. It helps us all to be forgiving, and to seek good out of bad. As faithful people aren’t we called to do that? Is there not some pride in knowing that someone we loved helped create a better person and thus a better world? I’d like to think it should.

Just sayin’.

So I’m a Bit Thick–So What?

Tags

atheists, bible, biblical literalism, fundamentalists, Non-Believers, religious right

Okay, so I’m a bit sloooow. I trust that God is persistent and when he wants me to address something he sticks it in front of me until I finally notice, usually for me about three times. So, I’m actually improving, cuz this time it only took twice.

Let me ‘splain.

I’ve been a ranting now and again about how atheists only attack one particular brand of Christianity, that being fundamentalism. And it’s like, hey, don’t you people even KNOW that there are other kinds?

Well, yes, I got that answer finally admitted to me in a couple of places. Richard Beck at Experimental Theology alluded to the same thing–that most atheism is directed at the far right, which is why most liberal/progressive Christians don’t have a lot of critical response to most atheist writing–we tend to agree with it.

Now, recently an atheist blogger confirmed that this is in fact true, so I can rest easy, knowing that I’m not crazy. They know the difference, he insisted, but they attack that which is dangerous. They have no real quarrel with us progressives, live and let live ya know. (I’ve searched diligently for the post, but can’t find it alas. I guess I should save every post in my reader that I even remotely think I might use some day!)

But a new point was pushed forward at Unreasonable Faith yesterday, and the point is well taken I think. He suggested that our time would be better spent in debating with the fundies than with them. I mean, we need not keep reminding them that we don’t adhere to all the silly nonsense of the far right. They admittedly, as I’ve just said, know that.

By doing so we can be part of the solution. Now, I admit, this seems at odds with things I’ve said repeatedly–namely that you cannot for the most part dislodge most fundamentalists from their literalistic beliefs. They are way way too important to their overall well-being.

And there is something decidedly unchristian, I admit, in carrying on an ugly yelling match with folks who aren’t listening in the first place. But, and it’s a qualified but, there is something to what VorJack has to say. We can calmly and quietly, simply post another point of view, without all the pejorative words and flash points.  We can set the record straight, at least on those blogs that won’t simply delete our comments.

Beck, upon rereading his post, said essentially the same thing. Who better than we, who are also believers to take on the burden reminding others that there are other ways of looking at the bible and its teachings.

I realized a rather amazing thing. While I have be assiduous in maintaining some minimum contact with the conservative political right, (monitoring some blogs and bringing some of their arguments to your attention) I have utterly ignored the religious right both in blogroll and in reader. I owe, it would seem, at least some minimal attention to what they are saying. (the fact that I can guess pretty accurately is of no import really.)

So in the spirit of  whatever, I’ve been searching for blogs that focus on biblical literalism. So far I have located one excellent one called Sharper Iron. I’m not sure I’m using the best search words, and so far the atheist community has not come forth with any good ones per my request of them.

So I enlist your help dear readers. Should you know of any that you look at or have seen, please let me know. I guess we have some duty to attempt to clean our own house.

 Admittedly, our right wing brethren have been making life hard on us liberal Christians. They are often an embarrassment and we should not simply take the higher road and ignore them. In all we can be pleasant and civil, but we must stand against such wrong thinking.

Looking at the horror that is the new Arizona law against immigrants, I have been interested to watch who is speaking out against it. I note that it sadly seems to be largely the liberal/progressive arm of the Christian Church. That is simply wrong. Each and every Christian should be against this mean spirited and evil law.

So that is that, and when I get a few fundie blogs together, I’ll put them in a separate category on the blogroll for your perusal, should you be so inclined.

Oh and hey, did you hear? Glenn Beck, has been asked and agreed apparently to be the speaker at Liberty U’s commencement! Now, thinking about that, somehow, I guess it fits. Liberty U is no university worth calling itself one, and Glenn Beck is no human worth calling himself. . . . well you get the idea. Just crazy as hell isn’t it?