NO GREAT PUMPKIN IN MOSCOW

Caving in to Russian Orthodox Church demands, officials have banned Halloween in Moscow schools:

Halloween has been banned from schools in Moscow after Russian education chiefs ruled it was too pagan.

Officials caved in to Church demands and issued a blanket ban on all Halloween celebrations from carving pumpkin heads to dressing up.

The Moscow Education Department has ordered all schools in the capital to ban any Halloween celebrations, Izvestia newspaper reported.

Well, I'll come out of the closet on this one--I like Halloween. Guess I'll have to cancel that late October trip to Russia.

ANGLICAN POPE?

Ted Olson reports it may be in the works (quotes from the London Times):

"The Archbishop of Canterbury will be granted sweeping new powers under secret proposals to force rebel Anglican churches into line," the paper reports. "The planned changes in church law would give Dr Rowan Williams the power to intervene in the affairs of churches outside England for the first time since the Church was established by Henry VIII. The proposals, which would have to be agreed by the Church's separate provinces, have already aroused suspicions that they will turn the Archbishop into an Anglican version of the Pope."

The Times says this was a written proposal discussed during the primates' meeting, not something created since then in response to their call for a commission to study the Archbishop of Canterbury's role in maintaining communion.

The fact is, if you're going to have a highly centralized communion such as the Anglican church, you've got to have some mechanism to enforce conformity to a standard. Otherwise you effectively lose the communion itself. Now the question is, are highly centralized communions the right approach?

VAL KILMER AS JOSEPH SMITH?

Afraid not, but he was in negotiations for the role:

Looks like Val Kilmer won’t become the poster boy for the Mormon Church. The temperamental actor, who recently played porn king John Holmes in “Wonderland,” was deep in negotiations to play Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a pro-Mormon movie.

Now that might have been interesting. I guess they'll have to opt for Donnie Osmond instead.

By the way, since Hollywood is interested in religious movies these days, why not one on Smith and the Mormons not done by Salt Lake City? You'd have it all: corruption, sex and violence.

REAGAN THE ANTI-CHRIST?

Drudge reports that's what Hollywood thinks:

During Iran-Contra Scandal --

INT. REAGANS'S BREAKFAST ROOM -- WHITE HOUSE -- MORNING

Reagan and Nancy sit in front of their breakfast. They can't eat. Can't drink. They're numb.

REAGAN: It's Armageddon... that's what it is. Armageddon. The Leader from the West will be revealed as the anti-Christ, and then God will strike him down. That's me. I am the anti-Christ.

NANCY: No, Ronnie...

As it so happened I preached about antichrist just yesterday morning. If only I'd known the above I could have saved a lot of sermon prep time. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to stick with I John 2:18-22.

CAN THE STATE ACKNOWLEDGE GOD?

Certainly, argues Steven Yates:

The "wall of separation between church and state" was thus never intended as a complete separation between government and Christianity, much less the complete removal of Christianity from public life. Its intent was to forbid government from creating a state-sponsored church along the lines of the Church of England. The idea of separating church and civil government, Justice Moore points out, was not invented by Thomas Jefferson in his famous letter. It is implicit in Scripture itself, in passages such as Jesus Christ’s admonition to "render … unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s" (Matt. 22:21, KJ)

And yes, Dr. Yates also sniffs the odor of tyranny wafting from the judiciary.

ACLU: ADVOCATES OF DEATH (AND TYRANNY)

Longtime abortion advocates the ACLU continues to show its true colors as they seek to help Michael Schiavo condemn Terri Schiavo to die:

The American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday that it will aid Michael Schiavo in his fight against Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Legislature, which earlier this week took the remarkable step of passing a law to prevent the Pinellas County man from disconnecting his brain-injured wife from a feeding tube.

For months, the ACLU resisted meddling in the dispute that has pitted a husband against his in-laws, believing that the courts were following the long-held legal right of an individual to refuse extraordinary medical measures, even if it hastens their death.

Shockingly, it's further evidence of the ACLU picking and choosing which civil liberties it likes, just ask Terri Schiavo's parents:

Pamela Hennessy, a spokeswoman for the parents of the impaired woman, Terri Schiavo, said she was "outraged" at the intervention of the ACLU, the nation's largest defender of individual rights. Schiavo's parents, Mary and Bob Schindler, are trying to keep their daughter alive.

"I've been contacting the ACLU since the beginning of my involvement in this case to have them speak out against what's going on with Terri," Hennessy said. "It's going on against her will. She's had her religious freedoms stripped from her. She's had her civil liberties stripped from her. And they're defending the husband?"

But the real reason for the ACLU hopping into this runs much deeper. The entire process by which Mrs. Schiavo was spared stands as a threat to the way the ACLU has managed to push its agenda for decades:

The entry of the ACLU and possibly other influential players into the life-and-death drama playing out in Tallahassee and the Tampa area underscores the growing dimensions of the coming court battle over whether the state's top leaders acted unconstitutionally in sidestepping the courts in the high-profile right-to-die case.

By substituting his judgment for the judgment of the courts, the governor "set aside the role of the whole judicial system," Simon said, warning that a precedent has been set for Bush and legislators to write laws gutting any court decision they don't like.

Yes, anytime the people express its will through its elected representatives (isn't that how its supposed to work?) in a way counter to a court decision, it must be meddling and certainly "unconstitutional". We all know the Constitution established judicial tyranny when the country was founded, don't we? It sounds like the ACLU is seeking to unconstitutionally disenfranchise the people of Florida by taking away the power of their elected reprsentatives.

HOMOSEXUAL 'MARRIAGE' POLITICS

We've not heard the end of the homosexual "marriage" issue as plans are underway to turn it into a major political issue:

Republican lawmakers and conservative activists are making plans to turn gay marriage into a major issue in next year's elections, with some Christian groups saying that banning same-sex unions is a higher immediate priority for them than restricting abortion....

"It's becoming a bigger issue by the day," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a conservative group with many friends in the White House. "It's going to have a big impact on this election cycle. And we're going to help it become a front-burner issue at the state and national level, if it doesn't become one on its own."

The Bushites are uneasy about the whole thing as they seek to "the issue could hamper efforts to portray the president as a compassionate or tolerant conservative, a crucial part of his appeal to suburban women and swing voters.":

Administration officials, in private conversations, sounded skittish about the issue and said there is no chance Bush will take any further position on the issue before the Massachusetts ruling. After that, the president will have to make a high-stakes legal and political decision about how aggressive a response he will support.

You always like to see solid, principled political stands at the top. Let's pray Bush's hand can be forced on this one.

REUTERS BANS METHODISTS IN TIMES SQUARE

The Reuters news service has banned a United Methodist ad from appearing on their building in Times Square:

A $30,000 deal to bring a glitzy United Methodist ad campaign to the heart of Times Square has been rejected because of its religious content....

Church officials blasted the global media company for displaying ads for beer but rejecting messages about how people "can bring order and peace to their lives."

"Reuters is an international communications company that has decided it will be the arbiter of what the public sees and hears," said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of the church's Nashville-based communications agency.

What kind of content did Reuters think a Methodist ad would have when they signed the deal? And have any of you been to Times Square and seen the billboards? I have, and any sort of religious content certainly would seem out of place.

LIGHTNING DOES STRIKE TWICE

Well, at least on the set of Mel Gibson's The Passion of Christ. Jim Caviezel, the actor playing Jesus, was struck by lightning on the movie set:

The crew was on a remote location a few hours from Rome when the storm occurred.

"I'm about a hundred feet away from them," producer Steve McEveety said, "when I glance over and see lightning coming out of Caviezel's ears."

Both Caviezel and his assistant director Michelini were struck. The main bolt hit Caviezel and one of its forks hit Michelini's umbrella.

Neither of the men sustained injuries in the incident.

Michelini has been nicknamed Lightning Boy after being struck twice by lightning during the filming in Italy. He had already suffered light burns on the tips of his fingers in an earlier incident during filming on a hilltop in the town of Matera.

Are two lightning strikes the same as two thumbs up (or down)?

WHY MUMMIES LAST, OR HOW TO PROTECT AGAINST MOTHS

Scientists have discovered the secrets of mummy-making:

CHEMISTS FROM the University of Tübingen and the Munich-based Doerner-Institut replicated an ancient treatment of cedar wood and found it contained a preservative chemical called guaiacol.

“Modern science has finally found the secret of why some mummies can last for thousands of years,” Ulrich Weser of the University of Tübingen told Reuters Wednesday.

The team then tested the chemicals found in the cedar derivative on fresh pig ribs. They found it had an extremely high antibacterial effect without damaging body tissue.

Of course, the best way to combine cedar and pig ribs is in a pit barbecue, but you've got to give the Egyptians credit here. And it exposes scientific presumptions (always fun to do), which led them away from the truth:

The findings, published in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature, will surprise Egyptologists who had thought the embalming oil was extracted from juniper rather than cedar.

The team also tested juniper extracts but found they did not contain the guaiacol preservatives.

Weser said that, despite ancient mentions of “cedar-juice,” scholars believed juniper to be the source because of similar Greek names and some mummies being found clutching juniper berries.

Hmmm, scientists being led away from the truth because of predetermined biases...

LIGHTNING STRIKES ANCIENT ENGLISH CHURCH

Severe storms hit southern England and blasted an ancient church so old it's recorded in the Domesday Book:

A 12th century church has been severely damaged by a lightning strike as thunderstorms lashed the south of England.

Lightning left a gaping hole after hitting the spire of St Andrew's Church in the West Sussex village of Tangmere, near Chichester, at around midday, blowing out all but one of its stained-glass windows.

To everyone's great relief no one was injured as the English don't bother using churches any more.

ROMAN BATHHOUSE DISCOVERED IN NAZARETH

Archaeologists have found a Roman batthouse from the time of Christ in Nazareth:

Professor Richard Freund, an academic behind important Holy Land digs at the ancient city of Bethsaida, near Tiberias, and Qumran in the Jordan Valley, says the significance of the find cannot be overstated. Over the summer he put aside other excavation projects to concentrate on the Nazareth site. "I am sure that what we have here is a bathhouse from the time of Jesus," he says, "and the consequences of that for archaeology, and for our knowledge of the life of Jesus, are enormous."...

Freund is sure that plenty remains to be found under and around Shama's shop. "We are talking about relics lying untouched, buried under the ground, for 2,000 years at the place where Jesus lived, and from the time when he was living here. It doesn't get much more exciting than that."

But will they get to dig there at all?

Further excavation of the site, however, is not yet assured: Shama's discovery is mired in financial difficulties and the sectarian acrimony that has blighted the Middle East for centuries. Given the find's significance, it is surprising to learn that Shama, a Christian Arab, is receiving no outside support, even from the state. Since he and his wife sank the last of their life savings in excavating and developing the site, the shop is close to collapse - and with it perhaps the bathhouse project.

Part of the problem seems to be worry on the part of the Vatican that the batthouse might threaten their tourism:

The most powerful player in the Christian world, the Vatican, has so far refused to throw its weight behind the dig, possibly fearing that Shama's find threatens its own dominance where tourism in the city is concerned. Its Basilica of the Annunciation, the Middle East's largest church, is on the other side of town from Mary's Well. There has been a long-running dispute between the Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches about whose church is on the true site of the Annunciation.

You like to see such selfless concern.

THE PASSION FIND A DISTRIBUTOR

Mel Gibson has signed a deal with Newmarket to distribute The Passion of Christ:

Gibson's Icon Productions will retain all rights to "The Passion" while Newmarket will distribute the film for a cut of the gross, according to the entertainment magazine Variety.

Gibson sources told WorldNetDaily Icon is planning a release timed with Ash Wednesday, which next year falls on Feb. 25. Earlier reports had Gibson considering a release tied to Easter, which falls on April 11.

Coming soon to a theater near you.

ANTI-SEMITIC, OR ANTI-CHRIST?

Ted Baehr finds no antisemitism with Mel Gibson's Passion movie. The real problem is that the critics are a pack of anti-Christs:

Several people have called me lately to discuss the controversy over "The Passion.” Generally, they have brought up the question of whether the movie is anti-Semitic. The real issue of "The Passion" is not anti-Semitism; after all, Jesus was Jewish, as were the disciples. The real issue is anti-Christ, a bigoted position embraced by a group of negative, self-appointed secular elites, whose intent is to attack Jesus Christ by attacking the authenticity of the Bible and of Christianity itself.

Baehr endorses the extreme early dating of the New Testament books posited by J.A.T. Robinson. Robinson argued the entire NT was written before AD 70 and the destruction of the Temple. Certainly the entire NT was written in the first century, although I would argue that Revelation was written ~AD 96. At any rate, Baehr has the right read on this one.

HEZEKIAH'S TUNNEL CONFIRMED

Somehow I missed this last month, but scientists have verified Siloam Tunnel’s biblical origins:

A tunnel that snakes under the ancient walls of Jerusalem likely was built around 700 B.C. during the reign of King Hezekiah, as described in the Bible, a new study suggests.

Chalk another one up for the Bible.

WOULD THE LA TIMES MANIPULATE THE GEN. BOYKIN STORY?

Well, of course they would. Washington Post's Howard Kurtz details how the Times gave NBC the story first to give it more 'pop', quoting from Hugh Hewitt's site:

"The Los Angeles Times thus gave away a scoop on a story that ended up on its front page. Why would it do that? It may have a precedent in the world of journalism, but to me it stinks. Didn't the Times engage in manipulation of the news to increase its impact on the audience? Or did the paper need cover for the story and gave it to NBC in order to generate that cover:

"Arkin: It was all coordinated, and I think that NBC's contribution was really its ability to showcase the video and audio of General Boykin which I think is much more powerful than anything I could put into words on paper.

"Hewitt: So the Los Angeles Times agreed to let NBC go first?

"Arkin: Yes."

This shouldn't surprise us, of course. It's a classic case of media shenanigans oft recorded on cut on the bias. We see, though, how this tempest in a teapot 'scandal' was entirely manufactured by the LA Times. I understand the Times desires buzz about any story it runs, but was their motivation in this case (they don't do this all the time, do they?) in part because of the general's (perceived by them) unsavory religious views?

PARENTAL LOCK-OUTS

Teenagers in pajamas can't be a good thing argues Linda Schrock Taylor:

You may have noticed students headed towards school – carrying sleeping bags, toothbrushes, clean underwear – and wondered why they weren't going home, instead. Well, those students are headed for school-sponsored activities called "Lock-Ins" and must arrive before all doors are locked. Children locked in; parents and values locked out.

Ms. Taylor offers an earth-shattering suggestion:

I think parents must get back to telling kids, "NO!" I think our schools must get back to making responsible decisions and providing activities that encourage decent, age-appropriate behavior. I think the entire culture should take the weight of making heavy life decisions off the backs of our children. We need to say "NO" to all the bad and distracting things; we need to protect our children from damage. We must do everything possible to help our children focus their attention on their educations; on healthier activities; on strong relationships with family and close friends.

But doesn't that sound so, so...negative. Yes, and amen!

BELIEVE IN GOD? BY ALL MEANS DON'T ADMIT IT!

Lt. Gen. William G. “Jerry” Boykin has stirred up a hornet's nest when it was revealed he *gasp* actually talked of his belief in God:

Outraged by Boykin’s remarks, the Interfaith Alliance appealed to Bush to reprimand the general. An Islamic rights group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, demanded that Boykin be reassigned.

“Putting a man with such extremist views in a critical policymaking position sends entirely the wrong message to a Muslim world that is already skeptical about America’s motives and intentions,” said Nihad Awad, the council’s executive director.

Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee (R-R.I.) called the reported remarks “deplorable,” and Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.) said the Armed Services Committee, which he chairs — and which recommended Boykin be confirmed for the Pentagon post — would examine the matter.

No, Boykin's remarks wouldn't be appropriate for a Pentagon press conference. But these were remarks before private prayer groups. Here we find a man who is expressing the faith that allows him to deal with his job and his life, and last I checked he had the Constitutional right to hold and express such views. Oh, that's right, freedom of (and from) religion only applies to people who don't identify with Christ.

THEY WOULDN'T VOTE FOR AN ATHEIST, EITHER

According to a Pew Trust poll most would be unwilling to vote for an atheist, and suprisingly:

Interestingly, many even [sic] atheists didn't like the idea of voting for an atheist.

I don't blame 'em.

QUALITY DIALOGUE

In an article pondering whether or not ‘Joan of Arcadia’ will start a trend is this enlightening dialogue between Joan and "God":

“I’m NOT religious, you know,” she informs God (who is now a cute guy at her school).

“It’s not about religion, Joan,” God tells her. “It’s about fulfilling your nature.”

“Uhhh,” she stammers, “I definitely haven’t done that.”

Ah. You see it's all about me. God's just along for the ride.

NIGERIAN ANGLICANS TAKE A STAND

The world's second largest Anglican fellowship isprotesting the confirmation of homosexual bishops:

Members of Nigeria's 17 million-strong Anglican Church - the world's second-largest Anglican congregation - spent a day fasting and praying to protest the confirmation of homosexual priests and bishops in Britain and the United States.

"We are not happy that the Archbishop of Canterbury is being soft on this issue of homosexuals in the church," the Rev Obi Ulonna, referring to the titular head of the 77 million-member global Anglican community.

"We are praying that God will guide and protect our Bishop and all who are against the gay movement," added Rev Ulonna, a cleric at the St Stephens parish in Lagos.

Perhaps someday Africa can send missionaries to America and Britain to help teach that the Bible actually means what is says on such issues.

92% BELIEVE IN GOD

According to a new FoxNews poll, a full 92% of Americans believe in God:

Fully 92 percent of Americans say they believe in God, 85 percent in heaven and 82 percent in miracles, according to the latest FOX News poll. Though belief in God has remained at about the same level, belief in the devil has increased slightly over the last few years — from 63 percent in 1997 to 71 percent today.

And surprisingly, younger people are more likely to believe in both the devil and hell:

Young people are much more likely than older Americans to believe in both hell and the devil. An 86 percent majority of adults between the ages of 18 to 34 believe in hell, but that drops to 68 percent for those over age 70. Similarly, 79 percent of young people believe in the devil compared to 67 percent of the over-70 age group.

We always have to ask what such "belief" translates into, but American sentiment for religion still remains strong.

MAYBE THEY SHOULD TRY MATZOHS

A Dutch priest has left the Catholic Church because of his allergy to communion wafers:

Father Stefan van Dierendonck, 30, from Nijmegen, felt sick every time he took communion, reports De Morgen.

Tests revealed he was allergic to gluten - but the Catholic Church does not allow gluten-free wafers to be used for communion....

In 1998, he got special permission to use low gluten wafers but it didn't help.

He decided to leave the church after the Vatican advised him to see a psychiatrist: "That did it, I didn't want to choose between faith and health," he said.

It looks like the Vatican lost a high quality priest in that one.

REASONS TO GO TO CHURCH

Auburn University football coach Tommy Tubberville's Arkansas native mother found a reason after Auburn defeated seventh ranked Arkansas 10-3 on Saturday:

Tuberville's mother proudly returned to church in their hometown of Camden, Ark.

"She normally comes back with us, but she had made arrangements if we won, so she could go back home with a friend back to Camden and could go to church (Sunday)," said Tuberville, whose record at Arkansas is now 1-4.

I'm sure her motives were holy.

YOU'VE GOT TO APPRECIATE THEIR EXUBERANCE...

The Russian Orthodox priest who performed the marriage ceremony for a homosexual couple has had a rude awakening:

A priest has been sacked, his church bulldozed and the wreckage burnt after he allowed the building to be used for a gay marriage last month.

Church officials in Nizhni Novgorod, west Russia, said that the chapel in which the men were married had been destroyed because the marriage ceremony had "desecrated" it.

Father Andriy, spokesman for the Nizhni Novgorod eparchy told the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper: "Father Vladimir Enert, who married the gay couple, committed a sin in doing so. He desecrated the place. We therefore needed to destroy the chapel."

He added that Vladmir Enert had been defrocked by Russian Orthodox Church officials.

I guess there's no question where the Russian Orthodox Church stands on homosexual "marriage".

THE VATICAN ON CONDOMS & AIDS

To the dismay of the World Health Organization, the Vatican is claiming that condoms don't stop Aids:

The Catholic Church is telling people in countries stricken by Aids not to use condoms because they have tiny holes in them through which the HIV virus can pass - potentially exposing thousands of people to risk.
The church is making the claims across four continents despite a widespread scientific consensus that condoms are impermeable to the HIV virus.

A senior Vatican spokesman backs the claims about permeable condoms, despite assurances by the World Health Organisation that they are untrue.

True or untrue--would you have even 'protected' intercourse with someone you knew to have HIV? Then why would anyone be willing to risk infection when you don't know one way or the other?

HOMOSEXUALS SEEK TO DE-LEGALIZE MARRIAGE

Homosexual activists are now seeking to de-legalize traditional marriage:

A group of legal scholars and gay advocacy groups are calling for marriage to be de-legalized in order to make the distribution of benefits more fair for people who aren’t married, including gay couples.

University of Houston Law School professor Victor Flatt cites social security, immigration, tax benefits and travel benefits as some of the perks married couples receive.

"Their idea is why should you be treated differently by the law just because you're married," said David Blankenhorn at the Institute for American Values (search). "Why should society hold up one particular family form and say we protect and support this family form but not others. That would be their main argument."

Whether de-legalizing God ordained marriage or legalizing homosexual "marriage" the ultimate goal is the same: remove any distinctions in society between the family unit that has formed the very foundation of Western society and behavior that has traditionally been looked upon as destructive. Regrettably the forces of decadence are waxing stronger.

THE U.N. NEEDS A FLOGGING

In its infinite wisdom the United Nations has ruled that Canada should ban spanking:

As a signatory of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Canada is obligated to make periodic appearances before the U.N.'s Committee on Rights of the Child, which said the country should "adopt legislation to remove the existing authorization of the use of 'reasonable force' in disciplining children," the National Post reported.

The U.N. body says Canada should "explicitly prohibit all forms of violence against children, however light, within the family, in schools and in other institutions where children might be placed."

As nutty as that is, this is a trend Americans must watch. Thankfully the U.S. is not (yet) a signatory of the U.N.'s Convention on the Rights of the Child. Nontheless, how many feel comfortable spanking their child in any sort of public place? No matter what the little terrors might be doing that needs reining in you're watching over your shoulder for the state social services to swoop in.

"Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him." --Proverbs 22:15

AMERICANS SAY 'YES' TO RELIGIOUS DISPLAYS

Recent Gallup polling has found that a majority of Americans favor the display of religious symbols, including the Ten Commandments in the Alabama Judicial Building:

Three separate Gallup Polls conducted over the last month confirm that 7 in 10 Americans approve of the display of a Ten Commandments monument in a public area. These results come on the heels of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's suspension for defying a federal judge's order to remove a granite Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery. Additional polling shows that Americans' attitudes are complex when it comes to the issue of the relationship between church and state. On the one hand, Americans clearly feel that religious symbols should be allowed in public places. However, the public finds the display of Christian symbols acceptable as long as symbols of all religions are displayed, and does not feel the presence of a Ten Commandments monument sends a message that the justice system shows special consideration to Jews and Christians.

It appears that it's mainly the judiciary and the ACLU that wants to drive religion from the public square.

AND WHILE WE'RE AT IT...

We'll continue our all Mel all the time coverage. Aaron D. Wolf discovers the real scandal always turns out to be the Gospel message itself. And, of course, that's been true for going on 2000 years now.

BOWDLERIZING JOHN

Terry Lane finds that Mel's Jesus movie teaches us one thing: that we must avoid The Gospel of John at all costs!

From beginning to end, the fourth gospel is an anti-Jewish tract. Perhaps it is intended as an argument that Christianity is not simply a Jewish sect, but a brand new, superior religion. Anyone looking for a libretto for an oratorio or a screenplay for a film should avoid John's gospel. While John, whoever he might have been, was probably not an anti-semite in the racist sense of the term, he was certainly anti-Jewish, rather like a Protestant might be anti-Catholic. And the catastrophic fact of the matter is that this gospel, presumed to be "the Word of God" by Christians, has caused more misery and suffering than any other book ever written.

Both Jews and Palestinians have reason to rue the day John took up his stylus to write.

Christians have a tendency to mine the gospels for quotable quotes, rather than reading the books as biographical narratives. They avoid confronting the bits that make them squirm.

But the Gibson epic might make people read John as a life story of Jesus and his enemies and ask what is to be done with it in the 21st century. It will take some exegetic wizardry to make it palatable.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Yes, venomous words from the Gospel of Love that ought to make anyone squirm.

SCIENCE: THE OPIATE OF THE MASSES

Fred Reed explains why good questions are better than bad answers:

I often meet a—to me—curious sort of fellow who simply cannot comprehend what religion might be about. He is puzzled as distinct from contemptuous or haughty. He genuinely sees no difference between religious faith and believing that the earth is flat. He is like a congenitally deaf man watching a symphony orchestra: with all the good will in the world he doesn’t see the profit in all that sawing with bows and blowing into things.

But it is science, Reed discovers, that in fact fails to tell us anything.

STUDIOS STEERING CLEAR OF MEL'S PASSION

Newsweek reports that major studios are taking a pass on serving as distributors of Mel Gibson's Jesus movie, The Passion:

"It's not worth the aggravation," says a studio head. "Even if it makes money, it's not going to be 'Titanic.'" Studios are worried about protests, hate mail and boycotts.

"Even if it doesn't deserve it," says another film executive, "it's going to be used as a political football."

That's all well and good, but the reason given is that the last time they dealt with a Jesus movie they ran into all sorts of trouble:

Some studio executives point to the last controversial movie about Christ as a case in point.

In 1988, Universal released Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ," which proposed that Christ was plagued with the same doubts and appetites as normal men. The movie was met with outrage.

"There were millions of letters written and 25,000 people marched on Universal," says Tom Pollock, then a top exec at the studio. "There were death threats against my chairman, myself and Marty Scorsese. There was security in our lives for years."

It's nice to get a window into the head of Hollywood: Jesus movie=The Last Temptation of Christ. Hey if the world didn't like that one, we'd better steer clear of any Jesus movie. Good thinkin'.

JEWISH SQUABBLE OVER GOSPEL MOVIES

With Mel Gibson's movie The Passion in production and an adaptation of the Gospel of Matthew hitting theaters, Jews are far from united in their reactions to the films:

Much of the media coverage has focused on the conflict between Gibson, who belongs to a traditionalist Catholic sect opposed to Vatican reforms in general, and some Jewish figures who warn the film will stir anti-Semitism by splicing together the most anti-Jewish portions of the New Testament gospels with extra-biblical writings of mystics who blamed all Jews for the crucifixion.

Now that debate is turning inward, as Jews point fingers at one another over the way they have dealt with Gibson and argue over just how Jews should deal with Christian portrayals of the Jesus story in popular culture.

The internal conflict over the Gibson movie, meanwhile, comes amid Jewish disagreement over the release of yet another movie about Jesus, “The Gospel of John,” which some Jews are calling a more sensitive portrayal of events.

Observant Jewish film critic Michael Medved sees a reason for the Matthew movie getting a pass:

Medved said the ADL’s praise of the lesser-known Jesus film showed the “tremendous hypocrisy” of Jewish organizations.

While the credits in “The Gospel of John” were laden with Jewish names, Medved said, Gibson “made the mistake of not inviting that kind of Jewish participation.”

Foxman, however, dismissed Medved’s criticism. He said the ADL’s assessment of “The Gospel of John” had nothing to do with its Jewish credits.

“We don’t look at the names,” he said, noting that he didn’t even know there were Jews associated with the film.

Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Say no more.

SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN TO ME

A teacher in Casablanca has literally thrown two schoolboys out of her classroom after warnings:

Two Moroccan schoolboys have sustained injuries after a female teacher threw them out of a first floor classroom window for being too noisy.

One of the boys, a nine-year-old, has been taken to hospital with a fractured shoulder and serious facial and head injuries while the other, aged ten, suffered slight wounds.

A government official in Casablanca has stated the female teacher had warned the two she would throw them out if they were not quiet.

"They did not listen. They should have listened," the official said, adding that the teacher "suffers depression."

Finally, a government official who will stand behind disciplinary action!

SEND IN THE CLOWNS

Mark your calendars for next Sunday when you can witness a clown deliver a high-wire church sermon in a cathedral in Herts, England:

Canon Stephen Lake, Acting Dean of St Albans, said: "We're looking forward to welcoming the clowns and seeing how they use fun and laughter to communicate the Christian message. Sometimes we can take ourselves too seriously, so when they approached us to help celebrate their anniversary, we were happy to accept."

Neil Wilkin, 'chair fool' of Holy Fools, who lives in St Albans, said: "We are inviting people to fall in love with the fun and foolishness of the clown, and to be caught up in the magic and mystery of Christ's message to the world."

The clowns will take part in a Parish Eucharist at the Cathedral at 9.30am.

What Would Bozo Do?

LEAVE MEL ALONE

Rabbi Daniel Lapin tells fellow Jews Stop bothering Mel Gibson, and discovers a double standard:

Surely Jewish organizations would carry just a little more moral authority if they routinely protested all attacks on faith, not only those troubling to Judaism.

Amen to that.

BUT THEN THERE'S THIS...

R. Scott Colglazier, senior minister of University Christian Church in Fort Worth, Texas, thinks Mel deserves all the criticism, and finds that Gibson's theology is terribly outdated and naive to boot:

Gibson seems oblivious to the fact that biblical "accounts" of the Crucifixion are not really accounts at all, at least not in the journalistic sense of the word. What we have in the four Gospels are theological portraits of Jesus. The Gospel writers often contradict one another when recounting details about the death of Jesus. And it seems the writers were more concerned with what was occurring at the end of the first century in their own churches than about what happened on the day Jesus was crucified. The villainization of Jews found in these narratives reflects, as much as anything, a strained relationship between church and synagogue at the end of the first century.

Why is it that I find myself siding with a Jewish rabbi instead of the good "senior minister"? I suppose it's because I'm "oblivious", too. I guess I need to attend Colglazier's Christian church so I can be taught how the Bible isn't true after all.

[Thanks to David M. for the link.]

ARCHAEOLOGY'S TOP 10

Biblical scholar Ben Witherington gives us his Top Ten New Testament Archaeological Finds of the Past 150 Years. And yes, he includes the James ossuary.

BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST

My plane arrived at the Birmingham airport last night carrying a tired me. I was glad to get home and see all my girls. The trip to Oregon was fascinating and fun. The Willamette Valley is a geographical wonder, as is the Oregon coast. Perhaps I can get some pics up for folks to see.

The Market Street church seemed to be a fine group of folks. They treated (and fed!) me royally. I must now devote myself to prayer and fasting in order to recover from the feasting. The folks there had very kind words about my lessons on Ephesians and were a great encouragement to me. I hope I can make it back out there sometime.

NO FREEDOM OF DISSENT

Episcopal theologian Paul Zahl of Birmingham, Alabama has exposed a systematic plan to suppress dissent of those who opposed the appointment of openly homosexual bishop Eugene Robinson:

Zahl said he was accidentally given an agenda and strategy memo by the staff of the Anglican Consultative Council of London that lays out a plan for dealing with conservatives who opposed approval of the U.S. Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop.

"They are circumventing and pre-empting a genuine exchange of fair opinion," Zahl said.

Zahl said the two secret documents were a tightly scripted agenda for the meeting and a memo to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, advising him how to avoid allowing conservatives to effectively voice their opinion about Robinson.

The memo to the archbishop of Canterbury argued that it was imperative to frustrate the will of archbishops from Third World countries who are generally conservative and strongly opposed to the U.S. church's stance on homosexuality, Zahl said.

Which shows the stance of the left continues to be all views need to be heard as long as they agree with their views. Oh, and whatever happened to the great concern for those in the Third World--or is that as long as they do as they're told?

OFF TO THE LEFT COAST

Apologies for the derth of posts lately. I've been preparing for a trip tomorrow to the left coast. You can see the weather I'll be enjoying, and virtually look at what I'll be looking at, though. Saturday, rather than being in Alabama, I will be at the Pacific coast and going to an apple pressing.

It's a business trip--really!

CRYING FOUL

Have you thought tv has gotten even worse? Well, you're right. Profanity on television has increased a shocking amount:

During the so-called 'family hour,' from 8-9 p.m., foul language increased by 94.8 percent between 1998 and 2002, the study found. It rose by 109 percent during the 9 p.m. hour in the same period.

That's just pathetic.

DEAN A BIGOT?

Joyfulchristian points to evidence.

PRIME-TIME FOR GOD

Television networks are banking that God in primetime will be a ratings winner this fall:

This week networks will present a staggering array of new shows, each one painstakingly chosen to tap into viewers' latest moods. A surprising number of executives have put their money on piety, and this season's spirituality is far more peculiar than past feel-good shows like "Touched by an Angel."

CBS has "Joan of Arcadia," a gritty crime drama about a high school student whose visits from God converge with the police work of her father. Fox has two: "Tru Calling," another moody crime drama where God, not forensics, guides the heroine, and "Wonderfalls," a sitcom in which a benevolent higher being uses a sarcastic young slacker to work his wonders. Advertisers who complain that there is no novelty or break-out surprise to the 2003-4 season are not looking closely enough. An eschatological shift in programming can be found all across television, from HBO's "Carnivàle," a 12-part battle between Good and Evil set in the Depression, to Showtime's "Dead Like Me," in which the dead return to earth to help others make the transition to the afterlife, albeit in a hip, sardonic way. But the spiritual power awarded pretty, nubile heroines is by far the most striking element, a backlash against Buffy, Zena and "Girls Gone Wild."

The good news is, religion will be on tv. The bad news is, religion will be on tv. While one is encouraged to see the culture at large recognize religion and spirituality, what invariably happens is God and religion on tv rarely has little to do with the God and religion of the Bible. It's spirituality as Hollywood imagines it ought to be. God in the image of Hollywood is a far cry from the real thing.

DISCIPLES AND DISCIPLESSES

The German Evangelical Church is "translating", or as the headline says, Church rewrites bible in feminist language. I think the "rewrites" is accurate:

The German Evangelical Church is translating the bible using feminist language.

More than 50 translators are working on a new edition of the holy book.

They are rewriting passages which are seen to discriminate against women, and are also using "unbiased and just" language.

The term disciple is to be changed to "disciples and disciplesses" and forms of address such as Lord or Our Father are to be omitted.

The translation project will run to 10,000 copies printed by the Gueterslohe publishing house in 2004.

I had a friend in college whose job at the Catholic Newman Center was to change the scripture readings to make the language "inclusive". One would think that people would be satisfied with the fact that salvation is inclusive instead of worrying themselves over the fact that God is politically correct enough. If God chose to reveal Himself as "Our Father", I should not only be content with that, but joyous over it.

OK, THIS IS SILLY

I was watching the local Birmingham news last night, which was covering a speech by Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. I've generally supported Moore and his Ten Commandments monument, and I hope he's soon reinstated to his position on the court.

Now here's the silly part. Apparently this community has erected a granite monument that looks more or less like a tombstone memorializing the removed Ten Commandments monument! It's a monument memorializing a monument! I suppose I appreciate the sentiment, but, well, that's silly.

I can't find a news article referencing it, but if I do I'll update it here.

WAITING FOR A DIFFERENT MESSIAH

The New York Times has an interesting (and very lengthy) piece on the Jewish Lubavitch group who are looking for their own Messiah. They knowho he is, but he died nine years ago, Menachem Mendel Schneerson. It also explores the interesting dichotomy between messianic and non-messianic Jews, and how Christianity has caused many Jews to leave behind an integral part of Judaism, the looking for the Messiah.

YAWN

ADL's Abe Foxman charges that Mel Gibson’s views are anti-Semitic:

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Jewish civil rights organization, insisted he was not calling Gibson an anti-Semite. But Foxman said the actor “entertains views that can only be described as anti-Semitic.”

Foxman, however, entertains views that can only be described as tiresome, but I'm sure it's good for fundraising.

LAWYERS START A CHURCH

No, really, they are.

What do you call 1000 lawyers at the bottom of the sea?

A good start.

SUMERIAN RELIC RECOVERED

The 'Lady of Warka' face has beenrecovered from its hiding place and restored to the Iraqi National Museum. The relic is considered one of the two most valuable pieces in the museum:

“The Lady of Warka was one of the most important antiquities stolen when looters broke into the Iraqi Museum. Many people in Iraq and in the world will be delighted with its return,” said Jabir Ibrahim, head of the department.

Ibrahim said his department received information in mid-August about a group of people trying to sell the Lady of Warka. The negotiations collapsed for unknown reasons, and the relic was subsequently hidden in the orchard, Ibrahim said.

The artifact, from the ancient city of Warka in southern Iraq, was recovered Tuesday in a joint operation conducted by U.S. military police and Iraqi police.

At 5,200 years old, the relic predates Abraham (from Iraq as well) by over 1000 years.

RUSSELLO INTERVIEW

ZENIT, a Catholic news site, has a two part interview with Christopher Dawson expert, Gerald Russello that is worth your time (Part 1 & Part 2). Russello provides interesting insight on Christianity and culture from a Catholic perspective.

Also take time to read Mr. Russello's article, "The Relevance of Christopher Dawson".

And you can buy the book of Dawson's writings he edited, Christianity and European Culture.

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THEOLOGY STUDENTS?

Michigan and ten other states say no. Teresa Becker claims that is discrimination, and is suing the state of Michigan to reinstate the scholarship they revoked when she declared her major in theology.

FEATURED BOOK: CHESTERTON'S ORTHODOXY

Well, I've started this associate/affiliate thing with Amazon.com and Christianbook.com, which enables me to funnel you to product links so I can build vast wealth. With the kind of numbers we get here at theosebes, it should only take several hundred years. I've decided I ought to use the feature for good, not evil, so in that spirit I've decided to periodically have a featured book. It's a book that either I'm reading or have read and want you to read, too.

I've recently started G.K. Chesterton's book Orthodoxy. There is an annotated paperback edition available at Amazon. Christianbook has a hardcover edition available bound together with his book Heretics at a clearance price. That's the edition I have, since I like clearance prices. Or feel free to use the old paperback copy you have, or stop by your local bookstore and buy a copy.

I'll be posting quotes and thoughts as I read through it.

FOCUS ON 'LUTHER'

Liza Bear gives us a nice overview of this fall's Martin Luther movie.

HANDEL'S MESSIAH IS 'EXPLICIT'...

or at least Apple's iTunes thought so.

THIS IS CANADIAN CULTURE?

A fellow named Donald Harman Akenson who is a recipient of the Molson laureateship for contribution to Canadian culture (whatever that is) tells us there's no real defense for making a film faithful to the Gospels. Akenson writes, "Of the Four Gospels, the Gospel of John is the closest to being hate literature." You like to see the Gospel of Love being called "hate literature." You see this whole Jewish-Christian thing is just a funny little squabble that got out of hand:

The Fourth Gospel is part of a nasty exchange of polemics between two sects of Judaism (something the prologue of Mr. Drabinsky's production recognizes fleetingly). This obscure argument would have mere curiosity value except for two huge magnifiers.

First, these two sects were the only viable survivors from among the two or three dozen Jewish sects that had flourished in Jerusalem in the late Second Temple era. Then, in 70 AD, Rome destroyed the Temple and nearly levelled Jerusalem. Of all the forms of Judaism, only the descendants of the Pharisees adapted sufficiently to survive: The main group became the founders of modern Judaism, and a second bunch, a slightly off-brand set, the followers of Yeshua of Nazareth, became the forebears of Christianity.

Even so, the rivalry of these two groups would have been merely a cat fight in a Middle Eastern sandbox had not the Roman Empire turned Christian in the fourth century, a win for the Yeshua crowd. Suddenly, arcane polemics of the first century AD were broadcast empire-wide and eventually worked their influence on governmental policies in dozens of Western countries for several centuries.

Sadly, for the good Mr. Akenson--stalwart of "Canadian culture--Christianity actually had influence on Western countries "for several centuries." I think one could safely say that.

Akenson concludes:

Why would anyone want to be faithful to such a text? It can be redeemed by informed, discriminating and gentle scholarship. But, to film a literal version of the Gospel of John is like filming a faithful version of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Garth, Mel, you're missing the point. To claim faithfulness to the text of the fourth Gospel is not a defence of your films.

The reason for the decline of Western civilization can be seen clearly when one honored for contributing to Canadian culture can, in effect, place himself in the position of having a more positive influence on culture than Jesus Christ did.

Suggested reading for Mr. Akenson:
Christianity and Culture, by T.S. Eliot
Christianity and European Culture, by Christopher Dawson (edited by Gerald J. Russello)
The Roots of American Order, by Russell Kirk

ARCHAEOLOGIST DEFENDS JAMES OSSUARY

Andre Lemaire, who first identified the inscription on the reputed James Ossuary, stands by his original claim despite the Israeli Antiquities Authority declaring the inscription a fake:

"You have a problem with the patina of the beginning of the inscription (James, son of Joseph)," Lemaire said. "There are two interpretations: either it was a fake, or it was the result of a cleaning."

The inscription cut through the ancient limestone box's patina, proving the writing was not ancient, the Antiquities Authority ruled. "The inscription appears new, written in modernity by someone attempting to reproduce ancient written characters," according to a summary panel released of its findings.

Lemaire believes that the first part of the inscription was cleaned by an antiquities dealer who was trying to improve the readability of the inscription. The second part of the inscription, "Brother of Jesus," would be more likely to be added later, but has a patina with no evidence of being cleaned, he said.

"They found traces of patina even in the first part," Lemaire said.

"The members of the committee, I know some of them," Lemaire said. "They are not specialized in inscriptions; when you read their report carefully, they disagree between themselves. Their conclusion is not clear; it's not justified. It could have been cleaned. They just mention that possibility, then they forget it."

And what might be their motivation?

Lemaire accuses the Antiquities Authority of not wanting to deal with the possibility that the inscription on the box is authentic.

"The problem is of identification; who is this man?" Lemaire said. "Very probably, this was the James that was the brother of Jesus. For them, the best way to get rid of this problem of identification is to tell that it is a fake."

Sounds plausible to me.

THAT NAGGING QUESTION

Scientists are debating various models of how the cosmos began, from black holes to "white holes." Behind their cosmic fantasies is the elephant in the room:

[Blake] Temple [, a mathematician at the University of California at Davis] can’t say where the matter we see today originally came from. What existed before the Big Bang? This, in fact, is a thorn in the side of all cosmologists, and it may never be answered because we can’t see time and space as it existed prior to time as we know it.

I would be willing to suggest a viable answer.

CARDINAL ENDORSEMENT FOR MEL

NRO has an interview with Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos on The Passion. He addresses its powerful imagery and dismisses charges of anti-Semitism. Of particular interest are his comments on its faithfulness to the Gospel accounts:

Gaspari: Is Gibson's version of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ faithful to the Gospel accounts?

Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos: Mr. Gibson has had to make many artistic choices in the way he portrays the characters and the events involved in the Passion, and he has complemented the Gospel narrative with the insights and reflections made by saints and mystics through the centuries. Mel Gibson not only closely follows the narrative of the Gospels, giving the viewer a new appreciation for those Biblical passages, but his artistic choices also make the film faithful to the meaning of the Gospels, as understood by the Church.

We'll have to wait and see what these extrabiblical "insights" consist of. I understand a certain artistic license in the making of movies in order to fill out a narrative. The goal with such narrative fill is that it stays true to the Gospel narrative, and in no way contradicts it. Let's hope that's the case with a movie of such promise.

SACRED GROUND?

A new plan for the World Trade Center will not infringe on the destroyed WTC's "footprint". I think that's a sensible (and sensitive) concession and memorial to those who died in the tragedy.

What bothers me is this use of the word "sacred" to describe the WTC site. The linked New York Post article uses the phrase "sacred ground" in its headline today. Of course, "sacred" conveys a religious significance. The Angel of the Lord told Moses from the burning bush to remove his sandals as Moses was treading on sacred ground, made that way by the Lord's presence. But in our secularized culture there is no clear idea what "sacred" really means. The 9-11 attacks have entered the American consciousness as not merely a national (and personal) tragedy worth remembering and memorializing, but also as a sort of civil-religious "holy day" of remembrance, the ground of the attacks being "sacred."

When we use words such as "sacred" loosely, we lose the true significance of their import. I mourn with those who lost loved ones during the 9-11 attacks; I support appropriate memorials and recognition. I do not support this secularized notion of "sacred," a concept that diminishes the true sacredness of God and the things of God.

UPDATE: Christianity Today has Ten Things You Should Know About the New Girls' Biblezine.

WHO DID KILL JESUS?

Why you did, of course, as Joseph Farah explains:

Followers of Jesus believe we are all responsible – all human beings, alive, dead or yet to be born – for crucifying Jesus.

That may sound weird to non-believers, but it is an absolutely essential tenet of our faith.

Even weirder is this: We celebrate Christ's agony on the cross. It's a good thing. He did it for us – all of us. He bore our sins and they were nailed to that tree the day He died. We don't blame anyone but ourselves. To do so would miss out on the grace He offered with His shed blood.

Yes, and I did it, too.

MORE REASONS NOT TO BUY PLAYBOY

Playboy is asking Women of Wal-Mart to pose nude. Um, have they been to Walmart?

THE NEW YORKER ON MEL

The New Yorker's Peter Boyer has written a largely sympathetic article on Mel Gibson and his work on his movie, The Passion. There's much on Gibson's strain of Catholicism, as well as how he has changed the movie in reaction to his detractors:

The antagonist in Gibson's vision is plainly the Jewish high priest Caiaphas, played by an Italian actor who can seem a bit of a ham as he cajoles the ambivalent Pilate into executing Jesus. Finally, an exasperated Pilate relents and condemns the prisoner, but, according to the Gospel of Matthew, he first makes a show of his own guiltlessness by publicly washing his hands. In Matthew, that gesture is followed by a shout from the crowd: “His blood be on us, and on our children.” This passage, which is depicted only in Matthew, is one of the sources of the notion of collective Jewish guilt for the death of Jesus. Gibson shot the scene, but with Caiaphas alone calling the curse down. Wright, Gibson’s editor, strongly objected to including even that version. “I just think you're asking for trouble if you leave it in,” he said. “For people who are undecided about the film, that would be the thing that turned them against it.”

Gibson yielded, but he has had some regrets. “I wanted it in,” he says. “My brother said I was wimping out if I didn't include it. It happened; it was said. But, man, if I included that in there, they'd be coming after me at my house, they'd come kill me.”

He was referring to his critics, activists at such organizations as the Anti-Defamation League and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, as well as some academics, who worry that Gibson will draw too much upon a literal reading of the Gospels, and not enough upon contemporary scholarship that seeks to distance Jews from culpability in the Crucifixion.

Boyer was able to interview the Jewish Anti-Defamation League's Abraham Foxman, who provided revealing statements:

I asked Foxman if he believed that Gibson was an anti-Semite. “Per se, I don't think that Mel Gibson is anti-Semitic,” Foxman said. “I think that he is insensitive.”

But what of “The Passion” itself, I asked. Is the film anti-Semitic? “The film, per se, is not anti-Semitic,” Foxman said. The problem, he added, was that, as with any literal reading of the New Testament, its message of love could be twisted into something hateful. “The film can fuel, trigger, stimulate, induce, rationalize, legitimize anti-Semitism,” Foxman said.

“You know, the Gospels, if taken literally, can be very damaging, in the same way if you take the Old Testament literally,” Foxman went on. “It says, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' Now, has the Jewish state, or have Jews, practiced the Old Testament by taking an eye for an eye? No. So a literal reading of almost anything can lead to all kinds of things.”

Nah, we don't want to take all that silly ol' stuff seriously.

Boyer concludes:

Speaking with Foxman made me realize just what it was that Gibson had done in making “The Passion.” Gibson had said from the start that he was going to make a movie taken straight from the Gospels. Foxman was saying that, for better or worse, Gibson had done just that. In focussing on Gibson's Traditionalist Catholicism, some of his critics have created the expectation that “The Passion” is a medieval Passion play depicting Jews in horns drinking Christian blood. It is not that. Nor is it the attenuated dramatization that the Catholic scholars might have wished for. Gibson's “Passion” is a literalist rendering of the Gospels' account of Jesus' Passion, which makes it the ultimate Traditionalist expression.

At the end of the day, Gibson's problem is that he's willing to risk taking the Gospel accounts seriously. For that he must be applauded.

SHOULD THE BIBLE BE THAT FASHIONABLE?

Amy Welborn explores the wisdom of a Bible designed to look like a teen fashion magazine. And the Bible mag editor, Laurie Whaley, speaks out about her project:

[NY Times:] Christ himself was not exactly a fashion plate.

[Whaley:] I would say that Christ resisted fashion. He was not treated like a king, and he did not have the apparel of a king. He walked a lot, and it wasn't as if he was wearing Cole Haan.

No, I don't think he did.

[Thanks to Susanna who did the heavy lifting on the links.]

GIVING HER A WRIT OF DIVORCEMENT

Malaysian men have found a new way divorce their wives, and the government isn't happy:

Islamic authorities will prosecute Malaysian men who try to divorce their wives by sending mobile phone text messages or email without going to court.

The warning marks the latest move by the government to discourage the use of electronic messages to initiate divorce proceedings in the predominantly Muslim south-east Asian country.

Islamic law generally accepts that a husband has divorced his wife if he announces his intention to do so to her and the decision is ratified by a cleric. The process for a wife to divorce her husband is more difficult.

The government has ordered religious affairs officials to take legal action against men who declare their divorces by phone text messages, faxes or emails and try to obtain divorce certificates without having undergone Islamic court proceedings.

Do you hear me now?

WORRIED MOTHER SHIELDS DAUGHTER FROM MADONNA

The mother of a seven year old girl is desperately seeking to protect her daughter from exposure to singer Madonna:

"I protect her from sex full stop," she said.

"She's not aware of sex, nor should she be. You know, we've had little conversations about where babies come from, but sex is not, and shouldn't be, part of her repertoire right now."

The interview comes just days after Madonna French-kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera live on stage at an awards ceremony.

And just who is the prude, this woman who doesn't live in the real world?

Her name is...Madonna.


And in other Madonna news, we learn that Madonna's favorite children's books include Winnie-the-Pooh and C.S. Lewis's Narnia Chronicles. Hmmm, methinks she somehow missed Lewis's point.

SMILES--AND TEARS--IN THE WOMB

The case continues to build from the already undeniable that those in the womb are more than masses of tissue that somehow become real people one day. New technology is showing us how babies in the womb smile and cry:

The pictures offer a new insight into foetal behaviour.

The ultra-sound scanning techniques capture images which show the foetuses yawn, blink, suck their fingers and seem to cry and smile.

Up to now, doctors did not think infants made such expressions until after birth and believed they learned to smile by copying their mother.

What a wonderful thing.

CONNECTING THE DOTS

A woman in Midland, Texas (where my wife's aunt lives) has sued Abercrombie & Fitch because of pictures taken of her in the store's dressing room:

[Attorney Brian] Carney said that sometime between May and July, he believes Will Rhoads and Kuang Tang set up an elaborate scheme to take pictures of women in various stages of undress.

Carney said he believes Rhoades and Tang cut a hole in the ceiling of one of the dressing rooms of the Midland Park Mall store.

“It took some coordinated effort to do it,” Carney said. “He had to send the girls to one particular dressing room and instruct the other guy to get up there when they were there.”

Carney said Riggan found that there might be pictures of her from a friend.

Why was A&F the type of environment where this might occur?

Carney blamed the idea on Abercrombie and Fitch’s advertising campaign.

“Look at the way they advertise,” he said. “A lot of their ads are of semi-nude and half-nude people. It’s as though these guys tried to make their own ads.”

I think we have a winner.

JOHNNY CASH, RIP

Johnny Cash Dies at 71.

BUT IF THEY SHOULDN'T WEAR THEM AT SCHOOL...

The Elma (Washington) High School has banned short cheerleader skirts from its halls. Some parents are not happy:

"Elma has dropped back to the dark ages," Kathy Shaw, whose daughter is on the drill team, told The Daily World. "They are making our kids feel like they're not nice girls when they are."

For years on game days, the brief blue-and-white skirts have been exempt from the dress code at this small town west of Olympia. Now they'll be allowed only at games and other performances -- not in the hallways.

Such creeping consistency at a public school must be stopped!

[Courtesy of the Scrappleface comments.]

WHOSE MONEY?

Should unmolested parishioners sue the Boston Archdiocese? Scrappleface says they already have.

MARRIAGE: FIGHTING BACK

In an editorial, Christianity Today makes a wonderful case for taking back marriage. Go read it.

Far too many churches have accepted the world's attitude toward marriage, shrugging its shoulders at divorce, some now struggling with same-sex "marriage". But marriage is an institution founded by God. It is not whatever society might wish it to be. It must be what God intended. Here a stand must be made.

WELL, IF YOU CAN'T BE A SCIENTOLOGIST...

Madonna, high guru of the bastard child of Judaism, Kabbalah is busily converting her belly baring compatriot, Britney Spears to the currently hip religion:

“Madonna seems to be the high priestess of proselytizing for the Bergs and the Kaballah Centre,” Rick Ross, an expert on cults and alternative religions who has been an outspoken critic of the Kabbalah Centre, tells The Scoop. “No doubt she’s pitched it to anyone with a brain in their head, and that might include Ms. Spears.”

A Spears spokeswoman confirms the story. “Britney was introduced to Kabbalah through her friendship with Madonna,” the rep tells the Scoop. “She is now learning more about it.”

My advice to Britney: Don't sign anything.

CAN JEWS BE FOR JESUS?

Joyfulchristian thinks 'yes'. And he's right, of course.

COMMANDMENTS BACK ON DISPLAY

Alabama Governor Bob Riley has placed a Ten Commandments plaque on display in Montgomery:

The state Historical Commission installed the panel display in the old Supreme Court library room in the Capitol. Riley said it is similar to displays in the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Capitol and it has the blessing of Attorney General Bill Pryor....

The display includes not only the Ten Commandments but also the Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact and the Declaration of Independence, all part of the foundations of American law.

Chief Justice Roy Moore isn't pleased, however: "He said putting other documents with the commandments denied the greatness of God."

UPDATE ON ST. MARY'S

Scott Richert reports that the Winnebago County board is backing down on their plans to target the historic St. Mary's Oratory in order to build a new county jail. For future updates, keep an eye here.

THE REASON FOR THE SEASON?

The British Churches Advertising Network has revealed its upcoming Christmas campaign, a poster with baby Jesus dressed as Santa.

The London Telegraph said the poster is an attempt to promote Christmas as more than just an opportunity to spend money. The slogan beneath the traditional tableau reads: "Go on, ask Him for something this Christmas."

The poster, to be displayed at more than 1,000 sites across England in December, is part of a nearly $400,000 campaign by the Britain-based Churches Advertising Network.

*sigh*

ALABAMA'S 'CHRISTIAN' TAX HIKE FLAMES OUT

Ostensibly conservative Governor Bob Riley's massive tax reform hike went down in flames by a 2-1 margin. The interest to theosebes (other than theosebes headquarters has just moved to Alabama) was the attempt to sell the measure as "the Christian thing to do." I think the good folks of Alabama--religious to the core--indicated that they weren't falling for it. Yes, Christians have an obligation to the poor. No, I can't tell God "oh, I had government take care of that for me." I would think Bob Riley would know better. At least now he knows that Alabamans do.

UPDATE: The final numbers are in: "With 100 percent of precincts reporting, the vote was 866,623, or 68 percent, against the plan to 416,310, or 32 percent, for it."

BLACK HOLES SING BASS?

The lowest B-flat you've never heard.

UPDATE: theosebes has discovered a cosmic connection: Scottish bagpipes are tuned to B-flat. A coincidence? Hard to believe.

BUT OF COURSE, GOVERNMENT IS 'NEUTRAL'

The Center for Disease Control has come under fire for its promotion of sexual activity in teens in the guise of sex education:

Taxpayer funds are being used for school sexuality education programs that subvert the idea of abstinence for teens and target children as young as 9 years old with lessons on masturbation, condom use and homosexuality, say opponents of the courses.

The CDC programs--which are ostensibly on their way out--include:

— Becoming a Responsible Teen: Originally designed for teens from 14 to 18, it suggests in a list of recommended activities a trip to the grocery store to examine the different kinds of lubricants for condom use.

— Be Proud! Be Responsible!: Designed for adolescents from 13 to 18, it includes “brainstorming” about different ways to make condoms sexy. It also includes role-playing situations involving “negotiating safe sex” in bisexual and homosexual relationships.

— Focus on Kids: Designed for youths 9 to 15 years of age, provides “condom hunts” at local markets and a condom race to see who can apply the condom fastest.

Ah, condom races. Just a mention brings back all those fond memories of childhood.

How screwed up is government when this is sanctioned but the Ten Commandments is driven from the public square?

JAMES' TOMB FOUND?

On the heels of the James ossuary discovery/controversy, an archaeologist believes he may have found James' tomb. Traditionally held to be the tomb of Absalom, the traitorous son of David, it has been pelted by stones by those who wish to show disapproval of Absalom's actions. The stone throwing has worn away the valuable inscriptions, which may point to its true origin:

In large letters that were once painted black so they could be seen from across the valley, the inscription reads, "This is the funerary monument of Zacharias, the martyr, the very pious priest, father of John."

[Father Emile] Puech believes it was carved by monks around a decade after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

During that period Holy Land Christians began to set up shrines connected to Jesus, among them Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the traditional site of the crucifixion.

There are high hopes the tomb can also be linked to James:

[Joe] Zias now hopes to find an inscription linking James the Just - whom some Christians believe to be Jesus' brother - to the tomb as according to Christian tradition, Zacharias, Simeon and James were buried together. Roman Catholics - who believe Jesus' mother Mary was a virgin all her life - say James was his cousin.

"There is room for three people (in the tomb). There are three burial niches so it certainly fits," Zias explained.

Could prove to be interesting, but it sounds pretty if-y at this point.

ALABAMANS SUPPORT MOORE

A new poll finds that most Alabamans support Roy Moore's stand on the Ten Commandments:

A poll last week of 600 registered voters showed 68 percent supporting Moore's position that the Ten Commandments should be displayed on public property. Forty-nine percent said he should not have defied an order to remove a 5,280-pound monument from the rotunda of the judicial building in Montgomery.

In other news from the state that Dares Defend Its Rights, Governor Bob Riley's "Christian" tax plan (the biggest tax increase in Alabama history) isn't faring too well.

MEL'S ATTACKERS

Yes, yet more on The Passion. Tom Piatak exposes the forces attacking Gibson's movie, and demonstrates what the real agenda is. And to those who accuse Gibson of trying to blame the Jews, I was struck by this information, which I had not seen before:

Indeed Deal Hudson has written that “one of the two glimpses of Gibson in the movie is when you see his hand placing the stake on Christ’s palm—thus underlining Gibson’s own guilt, which in Christian theology he shares with all mankind, for the death of Christ.”

It may be that Mel Gibson is actually trying simply to make a movie about the crucifixion of Jesus.

THEY'RE PEOPLE, TOO

A crisis pregnancy center called Her Choice has found a constructive way to combat abortions--they offer free 3-D ultrasounds to women who might consider aborting a child. The result?

Eva, 24, has a 2-year-old son and is pregnant again. She's never been married.

Earlier in her pregnancy, she had thought about having an abortion. But watching ultrasounds of her developing fetus has erased that idea from her mind.

"She was so innocent," Eva said. "I thought, `I can't do this.'"

What a wonderful idea. May their work prosper.

NOT MEL'S MOVIE

Before Mel's controversial Passion film hits the big screen next year, a new movie based on the gospel of John debuts next week. The movie will follow John's Gospel "word for word." It should prove interesting, but has this annoying feature:

One of the Jewish scholars, Alan Segal of Barnard College, told a Toronto media preview that "it's a stunning and illuminating film."

The scholars provide words of explanation that scroll down the screen before the action begins, noting that crucifixion was a Roman punishment not sanctioned by Jewish law and that Jesus and all his early followers were Jewish.

Since "Jewish scholars" have signed off on it, it must be great.

You can see the trailer and "Pastoral Recommendations" at the official site.

BOB THE TOMATO BROKE

The creators of VeggieTales have filed for bankruptcy and sold the company. The good news is that it appears VeggieTales will continue production with the same creative team simply under different ownership. I found this quote interesting, however:

"We got ourselves upside down financially when everything was working wonderfully," [Big Idea founder and CEO Phil] Vischer told Christian Retailing. "When things were doing so well, I thought that was God wanting us to expand, so we grew like crazy. Now I think it was more me having all these great ideas in my head and being so excited that I wanted to do them all at once."

It's easy to get excited about an ongoing project, but as Vischer admits, it's also easy to confuse what you want to do with what you imagine God wants you to do.

PROPS TO HOME SCHOOLERS

There's a nice positive piece on homeschooling at MSNBC:

In raw numbers, home schooling is no threat to traditional education. More than 50 million students attend more than 94,000 public elementary and secondary schools in the United States.

But as school budgets shrink and enrollments rise, home schooling has proved to be an effective alternative for many families.

And it has more than held its own in standardized measures of learning:

In 2002, home-schooled students averaged 1,092 on the SAT, compared with the national average of 1,020, according to data from the Home School Legal Defense Association.

A 2001 study by the U.S. Department of Education found that minority children educated at home fared better on reading and math scores than their counterparts in public schools.

A 1998 study by the Education Policy Analysis Archives found that achievement levels of homeschoolers “are exceptional.” The peer-reviewed scholarly electronic journal reported that by the time “home school students are in eighth grade, they are four years ahead of their public/private school counterparts.”

There's the obligatory hand-wringing over socialization, but provides a balanced counter. It seems progress is being made in the main-stream media despite nonsense like this.

UPDATE: Curmudgeonry has a nice takedown of the nonsense linked above.

RELIGIOUS WEBLOGS

Kristen Campbell of the Mobile (AL) Register has written a news story on religious weblogs. Oddly enough, she begins the article talking about Steve Beard's Thunderstruck site, which is based out of Wilmore, Kentucky--just about five minutes from where I lived in Nicholasville.

AMAZING SPACE SHOTS

The folks at the Chandra X-ray telescope have selected their top 10 X-ray visions from space. They're quite impressive.

"Praise Him sun and moon, praise Him all you shining stars!"--Psalm 148:3

SCIENTOLOGY TIGHTENS ITS GRIP

The L. Ron Hubbard invention of Scientology has attracted a number of Hollywood's elite, actors like Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Jenna Elfman. The 'church' now seeks to bind its members to a new contract:

The contract — called the "Agreement and General Release Regarding Spiritual Assistance" — makes it clear that the signee does not believe in psychiatry and does not want to be treated for any kind of psychiatric ailment should one befall him.

Instead, once the paper is signed, the agreement calls for the Church of Scientology to step in if there's ever a problem. The result would be total isolation and constant surveillance.

This is fallout from an ongoing lawsuit involving their treatment of an ailing member:

The wording of the agreement is shocking, to say the least. If a member of the church becomes what we might call "mentally incompetent," he automatically agrees to be placed in the care of Scientology counselors, potentially barring family, friends or anyone else from interceding, including doctors and psychiatrists.

The new agreement seems to stem from a long-simmering wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the estate of Lisa McPherson against the Church of Scientology.

It alleges that McPherson died in 1995 after being held against her will by the church for 17 days. When she died, it is claimed, her body was covered with cockroach bites and McPherson was dehydrated.

By having members sign the contact agreeing to be isolated from family and medical professionals, the church apparently believes it would be immune to such lawsuits. The lawsuit, which has suffered several postponements, may come to trial in 2004.

As nutty as they are, I don't have sympathy for these stars who through their celebrity status lure others into the hands of the Scientologists.

HILL'S SIN

Later today abortion doctor killer Paul Hill will be executed by lethal injection. Hill--a former Presbyterian minister--has no remorse for killing the doctor and his bodyguard:

"The sooner I am executed ... the sooner I am going to heaven," Hill said in a jailhouse interview. "I expect a great reward in heaven. I am looking forward to glory. I don't feel remorse."

"More people should act as I have acted," Hill added.

As an opponent of abortion, I will point out that Hill's abortion doctor target took far more life than Hill has. The doctor's victims were innocents, slain for convenience. But does that in any way justify Hill's actions?

No it does not.

"Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord." The first point to stress is that Hill has no standing, if you will, to exact the vengeance he took. There is no divine authorization for a lone gunman to start singling out sinners for personal retribution. Jesus told Pilate that His followers would not fight because "My kingdom is not of this world." God has authorized government as His arm of official retribution in this world (Romans 13:1-7). Now we recognize that governments are not always what they ought to be, nonetheless it is not my place to step into that role. I have confidence God will take care of any final retribution that needs to occur.

Finally, Hill's sin is one of arrogance. Every time I have seen him he demonstrates a smugness that is in no way reflective of the humility of Christ. He, indeed, shall gain his reward. The reward of an impenitent murderer.

THE STATE VS. THE CHURCH

Scott P. Richert at Chronicles blows the whistle on the Winnebago County Board, which wants to take and destroy historic St. Mary's Oratory in Rockford, Illinois in order to build a jail:

Now, over Labor Day weekend, members of the Winnebago County Board [contact info here] have hatched a plan, which they hope to ram through this week, to try to tear down St. Mary's to make room for a massive new county jail. While they're currently back-pedaling, claiming that they only want St. Mary's School (which closed its doors in 1974), the resolution that the board will vote on this week refers to the entire church property. Moreover, St. Mary's heating plant is inside the school, so tearing down the school will mean the end of the church as well.

St. Mary's is one of the most vibrant parishes I've ever belonged to, brimming with young families with lots of children. (At five children, our family is one of the smallest.) The church has spawned two independent Catholic schools, been the center of much homeschooling activity, and helped to save the western portion of Rockford's downtown from sliding further into the abyss. Located near state and local government buildings, it is the only Catholic church that serves the needs of downtown residents and workers.

Through the efforts of Rockford's Bishop Thomas Doran and the Institute of Christ the King, St. Mary's has been lovingly restored. Parishioners donated over a quarter of a million dollars to restore the stained-glass windows (which Frank Houtkamp, a stained-glass expert, has declared to be some of the finest in the Midwest) alone. Sunday Mass attendance averages 425. Now, this jewel of traditional Catholicism is threatened by a county board with a history of confiscating other people's property.

Now, I'm no supporter of Catholic doctrine, but this ought to be a wake-up call to everyone with religious faith. If they can do this to St. Mary's they can target your church as well. The outrage is compounded by their disregard for the historic nature of the renovated building. The anti-religious element is marching strong.

HITTIN' 'EM WHERE IT HURTS

Some Episcopalians aren't going to take it, well actually theyaren't going to give it:

The church is the state's largest Episcopal church, with 1,500 members. Its governing body voted Aug. 11 to allow individual members to specify that no portion of their offerings go to the Diocese of Kentucky and the national church. More than 100 members -- out of a pledge base of 550 -- have sent notice that they plan to withhold money from the diocese and national church, Jennings said. St. Francis contributes 11 percent of the diocese's total annual revenue.

While I certainly sympathize with their move, that's what you get with denominational superstructures in the first place.

'CHRISTIAN FEMINISTS'?

Wendy McElroy says 'yes', and that it's about time:

What is Christian feminism? It is a school within the broader feminist tradition that seeks to define woman's liberation and her equality with man through reference to the Christian religion. This sounds odd to modern ears. But it is no odder than trying to define liberation and equality with reference to post-Marxist theory, the well from which PC feminism draws. Or by referring to the classical liberal tradition as does the school I favor -- individualist feminism or ifeminism.

She does make the interesting point that leading early feminists were against many modern feminists tenets such as abortion. We'll have to keep our eye on this, however. Is any sort of 'feminism' compatible with Christianity?