BUDDHA SNOT, MMM, MMM

Buddhist priests in Japan are attempting to stop the sale of candy called 'Buddha Snot':

Japanese priests have scored only a partial victory in their attempts to stop a sweet being sold as 'Snot from the nose of the Great Buddha'.

They have managed to stop the name being registered as a trademark, says the Daily Telegraph.

But they have not managed to stop vendors selling the sweet to tourists who flock to the temple in the ancient capital of Nara, in western Japan....

[T]he packaging still carries a picture of Buddha picking his nose.

Yum, yum.

MORE ON UK SECRET ABORTIONS

A 15 year old English girl was given a 'secret abortion' offer during a 10-minute counseling session:

Describing her initial visit to the abortion clinic with her boyfriend, Michelle said: "We went to the clinic and we went to the counsellor for 10 minutes.

"They just basically sat us down and said, if you want to keep it, it's best to tell our parents or someone that we trust, and if not, then they can arrange an abortion without our parents ever having to find out."

The teenager said she was initially too afraid to tell her parents, but changed her mind when she found out that her pregnancy was more advanced than she had originally been told.

"I read up on the internet about how it would be done and it was a very scary operation, considering it was 20 weeks when I'd been told it was only 14," she added.

Of course, the girl's mother was none too pleased:

Michelle's mother, Tracey Down, said she was shocked at how easily the abortion could have been carried out in secret. "I was more shocked that Michelle could go to the doctor's three times, have a test and go to the family planning clinic, and then sat down with a counsellor for 10 minutes," she said.

"That counsellor did not know Michelle's background or Michelle's history, and did not ask her whether she was allergic to anything. Then (Michelle could) go up to the clinic and have it done within the day and come back out again.

"Given she was so far gone, it was a major operation and I did not know anything about it... anything could have happened to her having the operation."

The same society that promotes secret abortions also will expel your child if she shows up with a Tylenol or a Midol. But abortion, of course, must not only be protected but actively promoted. These are sick people.

KING, IRAQ & THE VATICAN

U.S. Rep. Peter King reacted strongly against the Vatican's criticism of U.S. prisoner abuse photos, some of which showed sexual abuse:

“If there’s anyone in the world who has no right to speak on sexual abuse, it’s the Vatican,” said Rep. King, an anti-abortion Republican. “This is the height of hypocrisy.”

In an interview published Wednesday in the Rome daily La Repubblica, Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo described the abuses as “a tragic episode in the relationship with Islam” and said the scandal would fuel hatred for the West and for Christianity....

King said the Catholic Church should be the last group to claim moral high ground on issues of sexual abuse, given the past several years of revelations about priests abusing children for years while church officials failed to stop such behavior.

“Whatever the United States has done to prisoners in Iraq is nothing compared to what priests and nuns did to Catholic kids for decades while the Catholic hierarchy covered it up,” King said.

“Think of the thousands of kids in the U.S. and Ireland who were abused by priests and nuns — you wonder where the Vatican’s moral compass is.”

Well said, Rep. King. It's impressive to see him as a Catholic speak out.

SECRET ABORTIONS

How would you like to find out that your 14-year old daughter had just had an abortion? You weren't consulted; you weren't even notified. It happened to Maureen Smith in the UK, and as you might imagine, she's none too happy:

Michelle Smith, from Mansfield, Notts, fell pregnant last month and after consultation with a community health worker at school she decided to get rid of the child.

Within days her mother, Maureen Smith, found out what was happening and the teenager changed her mind but it was too late.

She had taken the first of two pills as part of the chemical abortion process and the damage was irreparable.

Her mother is now furious that despite not having been consulted over the abortion she is now left to pick up the pieces.

As the mother well notes, nothing else in her daughter's life would be treated with such secrecy:

"If my daughter had been truanting from school or causing trouble in the classroom I would have been informed.

"Yet she can go ahead and have an abortion which will affect her for the rest of her life and I have no say and no rights as a parent."

Welcome to our Brave New World Ms. Smith.

McDONALD ON KIRK

Kevin Holtsberry has an interesting interview with Wesley McDonald on his new book, Russell Kirk and the Age of Ideology.

ALEXANDRIA U.

Archaeologists have uncovered the site of Egypt's Alexandria University:

A Polish-Egyptian team has unearthed the site of the fabled University of Alexandria, home of Archimedes, Euclid and a host of other scholars from the era when Alexandria dominated the Mediterranean.

The team has found 13 individual lecture halls that could have accommodated as many as 5000 students, according to Zahi Hawass, an archeologist and president of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The lecture halls are on the eastern edge of a public square in the Late Antique section of modern Alexandria and are adjacent to a previously discovered theatre that is now believed to be part of the university complex.

All 13 of the auditoriums had similar dimensions and internal arrangements, Dr Hawass said. They feature rows of stepped benches running along the walls on three sides of the rooms, often forming a joined U-shape.

The most conspicuous feature of the auditoriums is an elevated seat placed in the middle of the U-shape, most probably designed for the lecturer.

That's an amazing find. Maybe they'll come across a stash of documents not destroyed by the library fire.

[Link via LRC]

JESUS, THE FASHION STATEMENT

Not since the WWJD craze has Jesus been such a fashion statement:

A slew of designers and boutiques have been jumping on the Jesus bandwagon, offering everything from T-shirts to belts paying homage to the Lord. And celebrities from Madonna (search) to Pamela Anderson (search) have been spotted sporting the Jesus chic wear.

“It’s a fun, little Hollywood trend that was sparked by the success of the movie,” said E! Networks lifestyle director Elycia Rubin. “Obviously, fashion influences movies and movies influence fashion.”

A Los Angeles company called Teenage Millionaire makes shirts that say “Jesus Is My Homeboy” and “Mary Is My Homegirl.” Madonna was seen wearing a Mary shirt; Pamela Anderson and Lara Flynn Boyle (search) have been running around in the Jesus Ts, and Ashton Kutcher (search) was photographed with a “Jesus Is My Homeboy” baseball cap on.

You like to see people with true reverence. The evangelicals started this with the catchy takes on popular ad campaigns that substitute a religious message. You've seen the "got jesus?" t-shirts, I'm sure. And while some of these are clever, well-intentioned ways of making a religious point, some more than border on the flippant. Ashton Kutcher and Pamela Anderson wearing "Jesus Is My Homeboy" goes far beyond that. Jesus doesn't need to be "a fun little Hollywood trend."

UGH!

I hate to post this about someone connected with my alma mater, but a University of Kentucky and Georgetown College (a Baptist school, by the way) was denied service for wearing a pleated mini-skirt and corset into restaurants:

About 2 p.m., Jeremy Kerr, 32, attempted to eat at Tolly-Ho wearing a pleated miniskirt and a white lace-up corset.

An employee told him he would have to change or he would not be served.

"I told him girls come in dressed in these clothes all the time and don't get kicked out," Kerr said.

Owner Roy Milling, who did not witness the incident, said his employees told him Kerr's corset revealed too much. Milling said his restaurant does not discriminate against transvestites or cross-dressers.

"You've just got to cover yourself up," he said. "He was barely covered. We would have asked a female to do the same."

As a past occasional eater at Tolly-Ho I'm glad to hear there are some standards there. I need to stop and get a burger next time in Lexington. And here's something the good Mr. Kerr's students are thrilled about, I'm sure:

Kerr, who is working on his sociology Ph.D. at UK, said he has worn similar clothing in his classes. He said he typically dresses in that manner about two to three times each week.

I think that's a class I'd be dropping pretty fast.

[The Herald-Leader page with this article has a "Sponsored Links" box apparently triggered by article key words. This box had links to: "Plus Size Corsets"; "Corset Superstore"; and "Pleated Skirts". I doubt that's what Mr. Kerr had in mind when he went out that day.]

WOULD NOAH'S ARK BE PROOF ENOUGH?

Doug Mendenhall asks the question, what effect would the discovery of Noah's ark have?

Maybe the world will see a mass conversion as billions of people realize that the Bible is the only accurate account of God's dealings with humanity.

Maybe the discovery will turn out to be the greatest religious event of the century. A watershed, so to speak.

Maybe atheism will become an anachronism.

Maybe the world will unite.

Maybe the wars will end.

And maybe pigs would fly. Mendenhall knows that, too:

Instead, I expect that after the triumphant return of the Ararat team, we'll all ride a bubble of enthusiasm for a week or two, then settle right back into the lives we led before we'd seen the proof. If we had doubts before, we'll have doubts still. If we rejected God before, we'll reject him still.

Just as the rich man ('Dives') asked righteous Lazaurs to return from Abraham's bosom to warn the rich man's brothers of hellfire so some today seek extraordinary and special proof. But as the rich man was told, if they don't believe the word God has already left it doesn't matter what else they see. And so it is today.

BAPTISTS ON GODLESS SCHOOLS

Southern Baptists have before them a resolution making a call to flee 'anti-Christian' public schools:

The resolution, co-authored by T.C. Pinckney, publisher of a Baptist newsletter in Alexandria, Va., urges parents to homeschool their children or send them to Christian schools.

"God gives the responsibility for education of children to the parents, not to the government," Pinckney said in an interview Thursday. "Parents should be taking responsibility, primarily through homeschooling."

Well, sometimes I even agree with a Baptist!

WILL METHODISTS SPLIT?

Weary of constant debates over homosexuality, conservative Methodists are considering a split from liberals over the issue:

"We're tired of this being constantly, constantly, constantly before us," said Dunnam, a conference delegate and leading evangelical. If more liberal churches in the western United States decided they wanted to leave, "the rest of the church would probably agree to that," Dunnam added....

The endless conflict between conservatives and liberals "is more than we can bear," former Houston First Metho-dist Church pastor Bill Hinson told a group of about 150 evangelicals who gathered in Pittsburgh yesterday. "I believe the time has come when we must begin to explore an amicable and just separation that will free us both from our cycle of pain and conflict."

But the pro-homosexual movement doesn't want a split:

Gay-rights activists denounced talk of schism and vowed to stay.

"We are not planning to leave the church. We don't want to leave the church and we don't want to see the church split," said Rev. Monica Corsaro, spokeswoman for the Reconciling Ministries Network, a coalition of pro-gay Methodist churches.

Church leaders had hoped to avoid an ugly standoff in Pittsburgh.

But tensions erupted after a Methodist Church court in Washington state refused to enforce the ban on clergy who are "self-avowed practicing homosexuals."

Yes, the split is coming. And homosexuality is the new faultline to rip through the "mainstream" denominations.

HOLLYWOOD MISSES, AGAIN

Trying to cash in on The Passion crowd, Hollywood is trying desperately to figure out how to appeal to all the newly discovered Christians in the marketplace. With the new movie 'Saved!', Hollywood proves The New York Times > Movies > it doesn't understand:

In "Saved!," Mandy Moore and Macaulay Culkin (in a wheelchair) are siblings attending the school, a Midwestern institution where "Jesus loves you" is a mantra — and an order. A giant cutout of Jesus looms over the campus. Pastor Skip, played by Martin Donovan, is the spiritual leader of the school, handsome, hip and given to complimenting his students on being "phat."

Jena Malone plays a teenager who becomes pregnant while trying to cure her boyfriend of his homosexuality and save him from damnation. Her mother, a divorcée played by Mary-Louise Parker, is trying to be right with God but has an affair with Pastor Skip.

How is this different than if they were trying to make fun of Christians? Well, not a whit, of course. Here was a telling indicator for them:

So far the studio has screened "Saved!" for a gay audience, which loved it, MGM marketing executives say, and for religious leaders, who had mixed opinions.

And yet they're trying to appeal to religious audiences? Hollywood hasn't a clue how to do that because down deep the only thing they can think to do with Christian beliefs is to ridicule them.

I have a sneaking suspicion this won't be the movie to resurrect (pardon the pun) Macauley Culkin's career.

THE ANCIENTS: SMARTER THAN YOU THINK

A sea chart from 1539 shows sea eddies that exactly match satellite imagery, this at some surprise to modern scientists:

The ornate Carta Marina, published in 1539, appears crude by today's standards, depicting sea monsters off the coast of Scotland, sinking galleons, sea snakes, and wolves urinating against trees.

But when oceanographers examined a large group of swirls and whorls drawn off the south-east of Iceland, complete with ships, a giant fish and red sea serpent, they found it corresponded with the Iceland-Faroes Front - where the Gulf Stream meets cold Arctic waters, causing huge swirling eddy currents that could sweep a ship off course.

All too often the ancients are dismissed as ignorant torch carriers in the face of enlightened science. But as my old grad school professor used to point out, mankind forgets at least as much as it learns.

[Link via LRC]

'NEW' MAYAN CITY DISCOVERED

The Romans weren't the only game two millenia ago; the Maya were also busy:

More than 2,000 years ago, while Rome was laying waste to Carthage and the Hopewell people were building mounds in Ohio, a grand civilization flourished at a now little-known site in Guatemala called Cival....

After several seasons of digging, the researchers believe Cival was one of the largest Maya cities of the time.

It has pyramids and a large complex surrounding a central plaza. In front of a long building on the complex’s eastern edge, the archaeologists discovered a stela, or inscribed stone slab, dating to 300 B.C., perhaps the earliest such carving ever found in the Maya lowlands.

Don't you just love this archaeological stuff?

THE CHRONICLE ON KIRK

The Chronicle of Higher Education (*cough* *cough*) has a review of Wesley McDonald's new book on my old boss, Russell Kirk:

"One of the main purposes of my book is to rescue Russell Kirk from the ghetto of movement conservatism," says Mr. McDonald. "My argument is that he's an intellectual worthy of consideration apart from current politics. Conservative thought is really suffering because it lacks substance and direction. Kirk has much greater significance than what these people are giving to him."

I don't have Wes's book yet, but it's good to see the Chronicle give a real thinker like Russell Kirk the time of day.

ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL

The Florida Senate President Jim King hastily apologized for a prayer 'in Jesus' name' on Wednesday:

Dr. Clayton Cloer, senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Central Florida, gave a lengthy invocation, giving thanks for God, the Legislature, the nation's military and the "freedom for people to believe in Jesus Christ."

Cloer, a guest of Sen. Daniel Webster, R-Winter Garden, concluded by invoking the "name of Jesus."

Moments later, a frustrated King took the Senate podium and said that ministers who lead the Senate in daily prayer are supposed to deliver a nondenominational blessing. He then reached out to the Senate's six Jewish members.

King, by the way, is an Episcopalian.

ARE YOU SPIRITUALLY CHALLENGED?

According to a recent poll, most men aren't:

More than half of American Christian men questioned in a survey were only marginally satisfied with their church experience, and most ranked family, money and health as more important than spirituality, according to a study released Wednesday by Promise Keepers. The survey also found that most of the respondents did not feel spiritually challenged.

The study, conducted by California-based Barna Research Group, surveyed 415 randomly selected men in six major cities who considered themselves ``committed born again Christians'' or ``active church members.''

I suspect that people who rank money ahead of spirituality on their priorities list would think they aren't 'spiritually challenged'. I would suggest that, in modern PC speak, is exactly what they are.

I understand that it speaks to a real need, but I also find that those who want to be more 'spiritually challenged' are usually people who duck out the back of the church building as the last 'amen' is uttered.

NO WONDER SCHOOLS ARE IN TROUBLE!

The now former (well, until Friday still current, but he's nowhere around) Fayette County (KY) School Superintendent Ken James left this gem of a memo conclusion behind:

"There is a comprehensive discrepancy regarding the goal for reduction ... Directors stated that they not only met the deficit but also exceeded it. ... Again, communication did not occur in some cases with the appropriate employees that oversee a particular area and process."

Dr. James' new job? Arkansas State Education Director

ASHLEY, SAY IT AIN'T SO!

Michelle Malkin takes Ashley to task for her appearance at this past weekend's pro-abortion rally:

Pro-abortion leaders must be ecstatic. In a sea of angry (Hillary Rodham Clinton), haggard (Cybill Shepherd) and ghoulish (Whoopi Goldberg) women shaking their fists and waving coat hangers, Ashley's pretty smile helped put a softer, gentler and more glamorous spin on the morbid march for "reproductive rights."

Ashley's message to millions of young American women and girls: Opposing the partial-birth abortion ban is fun! Morning-after pills are cool! Sex without consequences rules!

But Ashley learned better, because mother Naomi certainly knows the truth:

Naomi has spoken eloquently for years about how she firmly rejected abortion as an unwed teen and repeatedly witnessed the miracle of life as a labor and delivery nurse. "I've seen ultrasounds ... you know that those babies are real," she told TV talk-show host Sally Jesse Raphael in 1998.

Ashley has long been a favorite of mine because of her undying devotion to my Kentucky Wildcats. In fact, she was actually at UK at the same I was. I guess we didn't hang out in the same circles since I don't recall ever seeing her.

It's too bad Ashley doesn't show as much sense when it comes to human life as it does when she cheers for the Wildcats.

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

A group is planning a trip to Turkey in hopes of finding Noah's Ark:

A joint U.S.-Turkish team of 10 explorers plans to make the arduous trek up Turkey’s tallest mountain, at 17,820 feet (5,430 meters), from July 15 to Aug. 15, subject to the approval of the Turkish government, said Daniel P. McGivern, president of Shamrock—The Trinity Corp. of Honolulu, Hawaii.

The goal: to enter what they believe to be a mammoth structure some 45 feet high, 75 feet wide and up to 450 feet long (14 by 23 by 138 meters) that was exposed in part by last summer’s heat wave in Europe.

Of course, people have been going to Ararat for decades hoping to find the ark. I remember when I was just a little kid going to theaters and watching a docu-movie about an expedition to Ararat. No one has come back with anything that could be substantiated yet.

I hope they find it. I do believe that Noah's ark came to rest on "the mountains of Ararat." That doesn't necessarily mean this Mount Ararat, of course. I'm not going to hold my breath.


Also at MSNBC:
Mummies everywhere

Smithsonian Roman villa exhibit.

OK, YOU'RE STARTING TO CONVINCE ME

Maxine Waters at yesterday's pro-abortion march: 'I have to march because my mother could not have an abortion.'

From The Corner on National Review Online

NO GRACE AT VMI

The Supreme Court has let stand a lower court ruling The New York Times > News > banning VMI Supper Prayers:

The court rejected an appeal by a current and former superintendent at the nation's oldest military college defending as constitutional the tradition of offering a brief, nondenominational prayer before the evening meal.

Justice Antonin Scalia wrote a dissent that Chief Justice William Rehnquist joined. Scalia, a conservative who supports government accommodation of religion, said the appeal raised ``weighty questions'' that ``deserve this court's attention.''

What do the prayers say?

The prayers at VMI, founded in 1839 as a state-funded military college in Lexington, Virginia, were written by the school's chaplain. He composed a separate supper prayer for each day.

The prayers, read by a cadet, begin with ``Almighty God,'' ``O God,'' ``Father God,'' ``Heavenly Father,'' or ``Sovereign God.'' Each day's prayer was dedicated to giving thanks or asking God's blessing.

The prayer, which lasted less than 30 seconds, was part of a supper roll call ceremony held every night except Saturday. The cadets were not required to recite the prayer.

Let's see, 'Congress shall make no law'. Hmmm. When did VMI become Congress. When did they make a law?

RETURNING TO THE SCENE OF THE CRIME

Mel Gibson's movie The Passion will get a one-time showing in Israel, the very land where Jesus lived, taught and died (but didn't stay that way). Of course, some aren't too happy about it:

The Tel Aviv Cinematheque is in final negotiations with Gibson’s production company for a one-time showing of the film in Israel, probably in a few months, cinema manager Alon Garbuz said....

Garbuz said the cinematheque has been criticized for its decision to show the movie.

“I think that those who think that the film is anti-Semitic shouldn’t come see it,” he said. “No one has the moral duty to decide for the public what they can see.”

Jewish and Christian clergy will oversee a discussion with the audience after the viewing.

Israel’s censorship board could prevent the screening if it deems the movie is anti-Semitic, but Garbuz said he has received word the board won’t stop the showing.

I continue to find it amazing how this movie highlights fundamental differences in worldview and belief.

COULD BRITNEY BE BANNED FROM LOUISIANA?

A bill now in the Louisiana legislature could have the effect of virtually banning native Britney Spears from her home state:

People who wear low-slung pants that expose skin or "intimate clothing" would face a fine of up to $500 and possible jail time under a bill filed by a Jefferson Parish lawmaker.

State Rep. Derrick Shepherd said he filed the bill because he was tired of catching glimpses of boxer shorts and G-strings over the lowered belt lines of young adults.

The bill would punish anyone caught wearing low-riding pants with a fine of as much as $500 or as many as six months in jail, or both.

"I'm sick of seeing it," said Shepherd, a first-term legislator. "The community's outraged. And if parents can't do their job, if parents can't regulate what their children wear, then there should be a law."

The bill would be tacked onto the state's obscenity law, which restricts sexual activity in public places and the sale of sexually explicit items.

Isn't there just a part of you that hopes it passes?

[Link via Drudge]

PROSTITOT BACKLASH

We've all seen the pre-teen/early teen girls in their Christina-Britney costumes, heavy makeup, tight clothes midrifs everywhere. (Back in my day girls were doing essentially the same thing dressing as Madonna.) But other pre-teens have coined a term for them, and the backlash has begun against the...Prostitots:

"They're called 'prostitots,'" said Anna Miressi, a Kingston, N.Y., high school freshman who claims the term is commonly used among her peers. "It's those girls at the mall with the tight jeans and belly shirts. They're in between the age group of 10 to 13 or 14." ...

The 15-year-old prefers a less revealing wardrobe, which includes "jeans that fit me but that are not so tight that I can bounce a ping-pong ball off my butt."

Miressi has no body piercings or tattoos, and her makeup includes eyeliner — "just on the top lid" — mascara, shimmery eye shadow and Chapstick.

"I try to look as natural as I can because I really don't like the whole heavy black eyeliner thing," she said.

Miressa is part of a trend amongst the young reacting against it all.

Having teens reach out to teens is one of the best ways to combat the emotionless sexual imagery they see in the media, said [Rutgers' Susan] Wilson, whose organization's Web site SEX, ETC. encourages teens to talk through the adult experiences and expectations they have.

About 32,000 teens a day log on to the site, which includes stories written by teens on sexual health issues such as: "Hooking Up: Harmless Fun or Health Risk?" "Older Guys: Dreamy or Dangerous?" and "Sexy Teens on TV: Is That All There Is?"

"We hear from kids from all over the country that the stories have convinced them to choose abstinence," Wilson said. "There's no moralizing or preaching — it's teens talking to teens."

As a father of two girls, all of this causes my worry antenna to go into red alert.

THE SNUB OF THE PASSION

You've got to give Hollywood credit for being consistent. The problem is that would be consistently wrong. Mel Gibson is shopping his movie The Passion of the Christ, which is nearing the $400 million mark in domestic box office revenues alone, to television. The problem is no one seems interested:

Mel Gibson’s Icon Productions has been shopping the movie to TV. Only ABC has confirmed turning it down, but executives speaking on condition of anonymity said it was doubtful for CBS, NBC and Fox, too....

The movie has also reportedly been shopped to pay cable networks, where content would not be much of an issue. HBO would not comment, but executives there have privately said the network has a full plate of movie premieres already scheduled for the next year.

Showtime has passed on the movie, a network spokesman said.

We certainly know about the delicate sensibilities of the modern television executive. They always want to steer clear of anything controversial or violent. *cough* *cough*

I suppose Mel will be forced to scrape by on DVD sales and, perhaps, periodic theatrical re-releases of the movie. I'm sure he'll weep all the way to the bank.

A BAD BET

The Supreme Court has thrown out the appeal of an Indiana state trooper who objected to doing casino work

The state trooper had said that the gambling enforcement assignment would force him to violate his religious beliefs.

Benjamin Endres sued the state and lost. He wanted the Supreme Court to use his case to require law enforcement agencies to accommodate the religious views of employees. Justices refused to take on another religious case.

Endres, who is Baptist, said he was not opposed to general casino crime-fighting, but could not go along when the state designated him a full-time gaming officer and ordered him to report to a casino in Michigan City, Ind.

A federal law protects people from discrimination based on religion. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago said the law does not require police and fire departments to assign workers to duties compatible with their principles.

I think there's little doubt that Endres could have been accomodated very easily by his employers. But it's also the case that law enforcement tends to place you in an environment populated by unsavory sorts. There are few undercover assignments at church potlucks.

But does anyone think that if Endres was a homosexual, a minority, a woman or, say, a Muslim or a Buddhist bringing a discrimination complaint and not a white male Baptist his arguments would have been taken a little more seriously?

WHO WRITES THE CHECKS?

Financial scandals are nothing new in the world of churches. The Episcopal Church in Lexington, Kentucky is dealing with one right now:

[Chris] Platt allegedly wrote himself 19 checks worth $13,020. He wrote an additional 53 "for cash," checks totalling $13,930, Hall said. Another church check, for $250, was mailed to American Express, apparently to pay for Platt's private account, Hall said. In addition, Platt apparently used church money to make payments on a personal loan from BankOne, she said.

It's unclear what many of the checks were used for since Platt kept poor records and little documentation, Hall said. Some of the expenses that are documented are unusual for an Episcopal priest. Platt paid his National Rifle Association dues and purchased a book called Erotique with church money.

While I appreciate any Episcopalian who is a member of the NRA, the problem starts with the fact that Platt had the checkbook. Bad idea. Any time there's money there's temptation (root of all kinds of evil, remember?), and they should have known better. I don't have a church checkbook. I don't want one.

I understand financial difficulties, although I recognize they are often more the result of poor management than too little money (I'm speaking from experience here). Platt had little excuse in the income department:

Divorced, bankrupt, unable to pay his bills, the Episcopal priest was struggling to get by on an annual compensation package of $79,000.

Ah, if only I could struggle with $79,000! Trust me, in Lexington that's not too shabby.

The purpose of this isn't to rail on Platt. I actually do sympathize with him, probably more than I should. But churches really ought to know better. A few years ago a church in Lexington discovered one day that they didn't have a treasury any more. The treasurer--relieved of his duties--sought forgiveness, but the money was gone. There have to be checks on this sort of thing. I know of a church out there somewhere where the minister's mother served as treasurer. Not a good idea, either.

"Um, yes Mom. That's a legitimate expense."

"Well, if you think Erotique will help your studies..."

You get the idea. Think people--think!

MAYBE THE PARENTS NEED TO GO INSTEAD

A survey has found that more than a quarter of parents will lie so their children can attend church schools:

More than a quarter of parents are willing to lie to get their children into good schools, including pretending to have Christian beliefs a survey has found.

Pretending to have religious convictions, using false addresses or even trying to bribe headteachers are some of the tactics parents are prepared to employ, according to a YouGov poll.

The survey findings will be particularly applicable for church schools, many of whom have policies of giving priority to children of families who say they have a religious belief or attend churches connected to the schools.

You like to see everyone with the right priorities.

MEL, THE CRITICS & "KILL BILL"

Rabe Ramblings has done some heavy lifting by tracking down a wide array of movie critics who were shocked--shocked!!--by the violence of "The Passion." Oddly, they don't have the same misgivings about the new "Kill Bill, Vol. 2."

LittleA joins Rabe in the expose.

[Thanks to Susanna for the link.]

NEW FACE ON THE TURIN SHROUD?

Scientists claim to have discovered a new face on the back of the Turin shroud:

Italian scientists have found a matching image of a man’s face and possibly his hands on the back of the Turin shroud, believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, one of the researchers said on Thursday.

The discovery that the ghostly image on the back of the linen cloth matches the face that adorns the front is likely to reignite debate over whether the shroud is genuine or a skilful medieval fraud.

“The fact that the image is two-sided makes any forgery difficult,” Professor Giulio Fanti of the University of Padua told Reuters.

The findings of Fanti and Roberto Maggiolo, both from the university’s department of mechanical engineering, were published this week by a journal of the Institute of Physics in London.

Fanti said the discovery would support those who maintain the cloth is genuine.

Interesting, but I'm still a shroud skeptic. We shall see.

BUT WILL HE BE ATTACKED BY LOT'S PIRATE SHIP?

With Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ' making religion 'hot' in Hollywood Columbia is hoping to cash in with a dopey idea:

A new spec screenplay has created a lot of heat in Hollywood thanks to Mel Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. Bobby Florsheim and Josh Stolberg's THE PASSION OF THE ARK was sold to Columbia Pictures for $1.5 million dollars, with another million waiting for the two writers if the project gets greenlighted. It's a huge sale for the industry, especially for two previously unproduced screenwriters, but that's the kind of heat that high concept religious movie ideas have in the wake of Gibson's CHRIST film.

THE PASSION OF THE ARK is set in the modern day and follows a regular man who is told by God that a second great flood will be coming. God instructs the man to build an Ark like the one Noah made thousands of years ago.


All of the major studios were going after Florsheim and Stolberg's screenplay but it was Columbia that ponied up the most to own it.

And there you have it. Hollywood clearly has tuned into the American heartland...

[Thanks to Mitch for the link.]

Hard Saying of the Day

And Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were amazed at Him. (Mark 12:17)

SALVATION ARMY SUED: UPDATE

Mark Kellner has an update on the previously posted on lawsuit by the New Yorck Civil Liberties Union against the Salvation Army for expecting employees to support its religious goals:

Regarding the Army's social service programs, the ACLU affiliate claims, "The Salvation Army has improperly infused religion into the workplace."

The Army, an evangelical church that came to New York City 124 years ago, says it may have to revise some of the forms. But it won't back down.

According to Gary McCaleb, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, the suit could spell trouble for other faith-based groups. "If the NYCLU prevails in this case," McCaleb said, "some of the most effective groups—faith-based groups—[will] either have to surrender their faith-based distinctive, … or they will have to decline government funds."

The Army says it began reemphasizing its Christian character in September 2003 after new leaders came to the New York City unit.

The emphasis in the above is my own. Theosebes has warned against the siren song of government money. Where goes government money goes government regulations and goes the ACLU.

JEWS VS. MORMONS

Jewish groups are trying to stake their ground and stop Mormons from posthumously baptizing Holocaust victims:

Researchers say Mormons have continued to baptize Jewish Holocaust victims into their faith posthumously, despite having promised to discontinue the practice.

"We are very hopeful that we will be able to convince the church to stop," Ernest Michel, chairman of the New York-based World Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, said Friday. If not, Mr. Michel said, his group will consider other options, "possibly legal steps."...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has long collected names from government documents and other records worldwide for posthumous baptisms. Church members stand in to be baptized in the names of the deceased non-Mormons, a ritual the church says is required for them to reach heaven.

The practice is primarily intended for the ancestors of Mormons, but many others are included, since the church believes that a person's ability to choose a religion continues after death. Non-Mormon faiths have objected to the baptisms.

Yes, the Mormons get odder and odder, and the Jewish groups get touchier and touchier.

But the Jewish groups have pulled out the big gun: Hillary Clinton. Everything will be settled now.

JEWISH LIFE ILLUMINATED

An exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center gives interesting insight into the religious life of non-Palestinian Jews:

“Jewish Life in Ancient Egypt: A Family Archive From the Nile Valley,” revolves around 2,500-year-old papyrus scrolls from a cache of hundreds unearthed on Elephantine Island — the oldest extra-biblical evidence of Jews in Mitzrayim....

“Jewish Life” comes alive through the remarkable, Aramaic-language scrolls, which describe a Jewish community on lush Elephantine 800 years after the biblical exodus. Apparently there were no hard feelings, because these people were descendants of Jews who had voluntarily returned to Egypt after the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. While elite Jews were forced into exile in Babylonia, many soldiers and common folk relocated to Egypt, which proved to be a multicultural mecca, not an anti-Semitic hellhole, according to the exhibit....

Like his fellow Egyptians, Jewish Ananiah probably continued the traditional form of Israelite worship that had been practiced in pre-exilic Judah. He likely burned incense to Yahweh, performed animal sacrifice and worshipped deities such as the queen of the heavens, who in the Elephantine area had a temple across the river from Yahou’s. This kind of “monotheism-lite” apparently enraged the prophet Jeremiah, who rebuked Egyptian Jews for “making sacrificial smoke to other gods” in the Hebrew Bible.

According to the Elephantine papyri, local Jews swore oaths to regional deities. Sharing religious and cultural traditions was de rigueur, as evidenced by the exhibit’s papyri and accompanying artifacts.

Sounds like Jeremiah was onto something.

Someone makes a pass on LittleA. Thankfully, he caught some Biblical insight in the process.

HOW NOT TO DO AN EASTER SERVICE 101

People attending an Easter service in Glassport, Pennsylvania were surprised to see to see the Easter Bunny whipped:

People who attended Saturday's show at Glassport's memorial stadium quoted performers as saying, ``There is no Easter bunny,'' and described the show as being a demonstration of how Jesus was crucified.

Melissa Salzmann, who brought her 4-year-old son J.T., said the program was inappropriate for young children. ``He was crying and asking me why the bunny was being whipped,'' Salzmann said....

Performers broke eggs meant for an Easter egg hunt and also portrayed a drunken man and a self-mutilating woman, said Jennifer Norelli-Burke, another parent who saw the show in Glassport, a community about 10 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

Sounds like a great time. Sorry I missed it...

[Link via Drudge]

IS RELIGION TO BLAME?

That's the question put to some international scientist types. Their responses are worth a perusal and a some a chuckle:

[T]he Mayans predicted Dec. 23, 2012, as the end of the age, we will be fully into Aquarius by around 2010, I read that the Vedas claim 2011 as the change of ages, and of course most Christians tell me that it won't be long. Coincidence? But maybe our ever accelerating rate of overconsumption of earth's biomass, our omnipresent pollution, all the wars, etc., will all be solved in the next 8 years, and we'll be OK.

Uh, ok.

RELIC LOOTING IN IRAQ

For the past year we've followed the archaeological looting in Iraq. Well, it seems things haven't gotten any better:

Across southern Iraq, often in the dead of night, tomb raiders and temple thieves are systematically looting ancient treasures that have lain undiscovered for thousands of years.

Using spades and working by the light of makeshift oil lamps, armed gangs are digging into the shifting sands at the edges of the Euphrates River plain to spirit away priceless artifacts buried with the Sumerian dynasties 5,000 years ago.

Before archaeologists can properly identify and excavate the sites, scattered across the river valley south of Babylon, the looters have already torn apart ancient temples, palaces and tombs that hold clues to the foundations of civilization.

And since archaeologists don’t know precisely what was there, no one will likely ever know what’s missing, meaning robbers are stealing history even before it’s been discovered.

Much of that is headed to the black market, off to private collections never to see the light of day again. There's really nothing for it as long as their society is in such chaos, but it truly is a crime to see it going on.

'THE PASSION' AND THE IDEOLOGY OF THE HOLOCAUST

Christopher Manion has insightful thoughts on the Jewish response to Mel Gibson's 'The Passion'. Calling on Catholic theology, he thinks a lot of it has to do with the modern Jewish ideology of The Holocaust, which results in projecting their own attitudes on Christians:

I first tripped over the problem as a member of the Religion Department of Boston University about a dozen years ago. I was the faculty advisor to the student pro-life group. On the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the student newspaper published my letter regarding the "holocaust of 30 million unborn children" since 1973. A colleague of Elie Wiesel, who had the office next to mine (but whom I had never met) in the theology building, then wrote a response. The gentleman reprimanded me for using the term "Holocaust" to refer to anything other than the six million Jews who died in Nazi death camps.

The student newspaper then kindly printed my response to the gentleman, in which I pointed out what was obvious to me – that commemorating the murder of thirty million helpless unborn innocents in no way diminishes the suffering or the dignity of six million innocent Jews murdered in Nazi prison camps. All those helpless, innocent murder victims are dear to Our Lord in His infinite love. But it was clear that my neighbor didn’t see it that way.

Neither does Abe Foxman, the head of the ADL – the Anti-Defamation League. After the death of New York Cardinal John O’Connor, Archbishop of New York, Mr. Foxman talked to the New York Observer about his relationship with Cardinal O’Connor over the years: "That was a relationship that took a while," said Mr. Foxman. "When Cardinal O’Connor first came, he compared abortion to the Holocaust. But, you know, he learned."

I often saw Cardinal O’Connor in action, and I’m not sure he "learned" all that much from Mr. Foxman after all. But, in Mr. Foxman’s view, the Holocaust is apparently both a cherished, proprietary symbol and a theory of history. Both must be tenaciously protected – by Mr. Foxman.

I think Manion actually may be onto something here. His fresh approach is worth a look.

NEXT TIME YOU'RE IN ROME...

Add this to your spring Roman itinerary, a church dating to the 8th Century has been freed from the rubble:

An earthquake buried the church and its numerous Byzantine and early Christian frescoes in 847 and it remained untouched until excavation and reconstruction began in 1900.

Much of the structure had survived and restorers have been hard at work on the interior since 1980 with the site to reopen to the public on April 10 until the end of May....

While many other churches in Rome have been knocked down, destroyed or rebuilt over the centuries, Santa Maria Antiqua's 12 centuries out of action meant it provided a perfect snapshot of early medieval artwork.

If anyone has an extra ticket to Rome, let me know.

LET'S SEE THE DISNEY ATTORNEYS GET OUT OF THIS!

A picture of what looks to be Mickey Mouse dated to the 14th Century has been found in an Austrian church:

The painting, which has been dated back to the early 14th Century, is in the Community Church in Malta, Carinthia. Next to a large sketch of St. Christopher is a clear drawing of the mouse.

Art historian Eduard Mahlknecht believes the similarity to Mickey is pure coincidence.

He told Austrian daily 'Krone: "St Christopher was often depicted surrounded by various animals and sea-life, and in this case something that resembles Mickey Mouse.

"It is most likely to be a drawing of a beaver or a weasel."

However, Carinthia's tourism office is already thinking of ways to cash in on the sketch.

Siggi Neuschitzer, manager of the Malta Tourism Association, said: "The similarity of the painting to Mickey Mouse is so astounding that the Disney concern could even lose its world-wide copyright licence.

"Our Mickey Mouse is 700 years older than Disney's and we will get it legally examined."

I'm on Malta's side. We could call it Malta Mouse. Or maybe The Maltese Mouse, and make a movie...

YEAH, WHAT IS UP WITH THE UGLY BABY?

Pretty much everyone I've talked to who has seen 'The Passion of the Christ' has asked, 'What did that ugly baby Satan is holding mean?' People at church have asked me. Students at the college in the New Testament class I teach have asked me. My answer? 'I don't know, really.'

Well, the folks over at Christianity Today received all sorts of emails about the same thing. So they actually emailed Mel Gibson's publicist and got the answer from Mel himself:

When asked why he portrayed Satan—an androgynous, almost beautiful being played by Rosalinda Celentano—the way he did, Gibson replied: "I believe the Devil is real, but I don't believe he shows up too often with horns and smoke and a forked tail. The devil is smarter than that. Evil is alluring, attractive. It looks almost normal, almost good—but not quite.

"That's what I tried to do with the Devil in the film. The actor's face is symmetric, beautiful in a certain sense, but not completely. For example, we shaved her eyebrows. Then we shot her almost in slow motion so you don't see her blink—that's not normal. We dubbed in a man's voice in Gethsemane even though the actor is a woman … That's what evil is about, taking something that's good and twisting it a little bit."

But what about the ugly baby?

"Again," said Gibson, "it's evil distorting what's good. What is more tender and beautiful than a mother and a child? So the Devil takes that and distorts it just a little bit. Instead of a normal mother and child you have an androgynous figure holding a 40-year-old 'baby' with hair on his back. It is weird, it is shocking, it's almost too much—just like turning Jesus over to continue scourging him on his chest is shocking and almost too much, which is the exact moment when this appearance of the Devil and the baby takes place."

It's a good point to make. Satan doesn't show up with the forked tail, nor as a serpent or even the 'roaring lion' we know he is. I think Gibson's portrayal of Satan worked well in the movie. I'm still not sure about the baby, though.

GEORGIA EVOLUTION CASE GOING TO TRIAL

An open mind? Not Georgia evolutionists who sued over a textbook sticker:

A federal judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit against a school district's practice of posting disclaimers inside science textbooks saying evolution is "a theory, not a fact."...

The lawsuit argues that the disclaimer restricts the teaching of evolution, promotes and requires the teaching of creationism and discriminates against particular religions.

The sticker reads: "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered."

Yes, you can see the Scripture all over that notice. We certainly don't want to encourage students to have an open mind, study carefully or consider anything critically in a science class!
But you see, the sticker might make someone actually *gasp!* think about alternatives to evolution:

[Judge Cooper] noted that while the disclaimer has no biblical reference, it encourages students to consider alternatives other than evolution. The judge found that the disclaimer could have the effect of advancing or inhibiting religion.

That's about like saying that paving roads encourages religion because people drive to church on them.

I suppose open minds, careful study and critical thinking are so frightening to evolutionists because it's been so long since they tried them.

IS THE TURIN SHROUD REAL?

Maybe so, says a Swedish textile company:

Swedish textiles expert Dr Mechthild Flury-Lemberg, who discovered the seam at the back of the cloth during a restoration project, says: "There have been attempts to date the shroud from looking at the age of the material, but the style of sewing is the biggest clue.

"It belongs firmly to a style seen in the first century AD or before."

Her findings are being hailed as the most significant since 1988, when scientists controversially carbon-dated the 14ft-long cloth to medieval times, more than 1,000 years after Jesus died.

Yet experts now say the team unwittingly used cloth that had been added during a 16th-century restoration and it could have been contaminated from handling.

That the actual fabric may date from the first century, of course, does not mean that the relic is genuine. It's the sort of thing that people want to believe is true, especially as it would give us some idea of what Jesus looks like. (Did you notice the face of Jesus in "The Passion" is straight off the Shroud?)

The first problem the Shroud runs into, however, is Scripture itself:

And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. (John 20:6-7)

Apparently, then, the face of Jesus was covered by a separate cloth than the rest of the body, which is different than the body cloth of the Shroud.

Could the Shroud be genuine. I suppose it's impossible to prove the negative at this point. But I think the burden of proof still rests squarely on its defenders. Number me with the skeptics.

[Link via LRC]

'THEOLOGY ON THE RUN'

A string of Easter-'The Passion' related Jesus documentaries are set to hit the air-waves, all 'dispassionate' and without agenda (of course):

ABC, Fox News and the History Channel, among others, have planned documentaries about Jesus that seek to capitalize on the extraordinary popularity of Mr. Gibson's polemical film, while setting the record straight.

However different in tone and perspective, all these specials make the same point, over and over: Jesus was born a Jew, lived as a Jew and died a Jew, and Pontius Pilate, not his fellow Jews, is to blame for his execution.

Like the debate over the theory of evolution, this renewed insistence on a point that most historians and mainstream Christian churches conceded long ago is quite striking. "The Passion" has become a kind of 21st-century Scopes Trial: despite the broad consensus, public officials, church leaders and even network anchors feel obliged to prove, again and again, that Jewish collective guilt, like creationism, is an atavistic myth.

Not only do they preach to their liberal theology choir on the resurrection, but Paul continues to be a favorite whipping-boy:

The ABC documentary painstakingly shows how much Christian dogma — including much-disputed rules about homosexuality and procreation — were based on St. Paul's Letters. Ms. Pagels calls those Epistles "theology written on the run." The documentary also looks at St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians — used by the Nazis to justify persecution of the Jews — and absolves St. Paul of deliberately inciting anti-Semitism. "It is true that Paul could be very nasty," Mr. Jennings says, citing his harsher Epistles. "But if you look closely, you see that Paul is really arguing with his fellow Jews."

Ooooo, that nasty Paul! But at least Peter Jennings gives him a pass on the Nazis--that's certainly been a worry of mine.

These documentaries sound just great--no agenda, just the facts and very 'dispassionate'. Yeah, right.

BEFORE YOU HIT 'SEND'...

on that email forward, consider Brad Edmondswords of warning:

Usually, you’re better off simply deleting chain letters, but it’s good to have responses in mind for any pushy correspondents who ask whether or why you did or didn’t forward their email. If you feel absolutely guilted into doing something when you get one of these, try something completely different: Write an email from scratch, yourself, personally to someone you know who really needs a lift. The best sort I know goes something like this: I’m thinking about you; hope you’re doing well; praying for you; available if you just want to talk or need your yard mowed.

I haven’t seen a single forwarded Christian chain letter that offered doing an actual favor.

Keep it up, Brad!

FAITH ENRICHING EVOLUTION

From the "your tax dollars at work" file is the Understanding Evolution website, which tells teachers how to promote evolution. But they have called on an unlikely ally to their agenda, religion:

The federal government has spent nearly a half-million dollars on a website that encourages science teachers to use religion to promote evolution, sparking objections that the website violates the separation of church and state.

One part of the website explicitly uses religion to promote evolution. In that section, teachers are told that nearly all religious people, theologians, and scientists who hold religious beliefs endorse modern evolutionary theory, and that indeed such a view "actually enriches their faith." Teachers are also directed to a page on the NCSE's own website containing statements by religious groups endorsing evolution. For example, teachers can read a statement from the United Church of Christ that "modern evolutionary theory . . . is in no way at odds with our belief in a Creator God, or in the revelation and presence of that God in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit."

Dr. John West, Associate Director of the Center for Science and Culture at Discovery Institute points out,

"Darwinists have a lot of chutzpah. They go around the country attacking anyone who wants to present scientific criticisms of Darwin's theory as unconstitutionally promoting religion, but here they explicitly use religion to promote evolution in the schools, and that's supposed to be OK?"

Well, of course it is, John.

[See also John West at National Review]

TURNING IT OVER TO THE SADDUCEES

The Lutheran Church has discovered a sizeable percentage of their employees don't believe in many core teachings, including hell:

Nearly a fifth of the Evangelical Lutheran Church's employees have serious doubts about some of the religion's teachings. Most of the sceptics are the Church's own ministers.

In particular, they called into question the existence of Hell and the validity of the Apocalypse as described in the book of Revelations. They also had their doubts when it came to the virgin birth of Jesus and the existence of miracles.

The doubters did place their faith in the teachings most central to Christianity, such as the resurrection of Christ.

It always puzzled me why someone who believes in the resurrection would ever have a problem with the virgin birth or miracles. If God can bring someone back from the dead then surely He could provide for a virgin birth or the healing of the sick. And the same source I go to to learn about the resurrection tells me about the virgin birth and the other miracles.

Of course, when it comes to the doctrine of hell, it's always nicely convenient not to believe in it. And as for "Revelations" (or, as the Bible calls it, Revelation) it depends on whose reading of the so-called Apocalypse you're talking about. I don't endorse the silliness of "Left Behind" myself.

SUNDAY--FOR GOD OR PLEASURE?

The pope, criticizing the 'culture of "the here and now"', has spoken against secular Sundays:

Pope John Paul on Friday said Sunday should be a day for God, not for secular diversions like entertainment and sports.

"When Sunday loses its fundamental meaning and becomes subordinate to a secular concept of 'weekend' dominated by such things as entertainment and sport, people stay locked within a horizon so narrow that they can no longer see the heavens," the pontiff said in a speech to Australian bishops.

There is much to agree with in what the pope says. The day that should be "the Lord's day", the first day of the week on which 1st Century Christians came together to break bread, has become just another day, cluttered by the flotsam and jetsom of the weekend.

A problem arises, however, when we begin to assign Sunday the status of a "Christian Sabbath", essentially becoming Judaizing teachers on the topic. This is a position generally honored in the breach, but nevertheless it sounds good Biblical support aside.

No, we don't need to clutter time that should be devoted to God and joining with my fellow Christians with every distraction the world has to offer. But I've mowed my yard on Sunday without even a tinge of guilty conscience.

The pope also expressed concern over missing Sunday mass:

The 83-year-old pope also encouraged Christians, especially young people, to remain faithful to Sunday Mass, saying the secular culture was undermining family life.

I might take his stand more seriously if he didn't lead a church that allows Saturday mass to stand for Sunday mass, not to mention that if you go to a wedding or funeral on Friday you get a pass, too. I wonder if that's caused some to lose the "fundamental meaning" of Sunday?

IRAQ OPENS UP

A topic we haven't discussed at theosebes in some months are the archaeological treasures in the cradle of civilization. As Iraq opens up archaeologists may rewrite the book on civilization:

As security improves to allow excavation, evidence may emerge that advanced societies existed in the area much earlier than previously thought, said Dr. John Russell, professor of archaeology at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston.

"A decade of research in Iraq could rewrite the books of archaeology, no question," Russell, who is currently serving as a senior adviser to Iraq's ministry of culture, told Reuters on Thursday at the opening of new conservation and restoration laboratory at Iraq's National Museum in Baghdad.

But it's too early to make great progress yet:

But the big hurdle is security. Almost a year after Saddam Hussein was overthrown, many areas remain unsafe and armed looters are a common enemy, particularly at remote sites.

Ah, just to imagine all the treasures that Iraq must hold.

WHO YOU GONNA CALL? CREATIONISM BUSTERS!

Eugenie Scott sits by her phone waiting. Someone, somewhere doesn't believe Darwinism is gospel, and she's ready to return them to the primordial ooze from which they deny they came:

On a wall in Eugenie Scott's California office is a list of what she calls "flare-ups."

Those are places where creationism, the "Adam and Eve" theory based on the Bible, is making a run at evolution, the "natural selection" idea first put forward nearly a century and a half ago by Charles Darwin.

When a flare-up happens, Scott's phone rings.

The former University of Kentucky anthropologist is now a full-time creationist buster.

I suppose everyone needs a hobby. And there's nothing that makes you feel better than refuting yahoos who might question the all-mighty Darwin.

Like most superheroes, this Creationism-Buster has a touching origin:

Her first "flare-up" began 24 years ago in Lexington.

A group called Citizens for a Balanced Teaching of Origins pressed Fayette County school officials to teach what they called "scientific creationism" in classrooms.

Scott, who had been saving creationist literature throughout graduate school, was one of several university people who pointed out that "scientific creationism really isn't scientific at all."

They were joined by a number of what she calls "mainstream clergy" and eventually persuaded the school board to reject creationism. She has followed that model in other controversies since she took the science center job in 1987.

Sadly, Ms. Scott left my alma mater the year before I matriculated. My poor fortune is the reason why I never had the opportunity to be enlightened as I should have been.

[I apologize for the above flare-up.]

JUST IN TIME FOR APRIL 15TH

Have you been looking for that extra deduction as tax day approaches? Here's a tip for you, become a Scientologist:

A trial is to begin [in Los Angeles] on Wednesday morning to determine whether a Jewish couple can deduct the cost of religious education for their five children, a tax benefit they say the federal government has granted to members of just one religion, the Church of Scientology.

The potential ramifications are huge, for a ruling in favor of the couple could affect the millions of Americans who send their children to religious schools of all types. At stake is whether people of all religions can deduct the cost of religious education as a charitable gift, as Scientologists are allowed to do under an officially secret 1993 agreement with the Internal Revenue Service.

Now isn't that handy? The 'Church' of Scientology and the lovely folks at the IRS have successfully quashed any attempts to see their decade old secret agreement. The details of this one should be interesting. I can't think of a better suited pair, really.

AN ENCOURAGING REVIVAL

In my old stomping grounds of Columbia, SC there is a grits revival brewing:

MANY of this country's most celebrated chefs have spent hours on the phone with a man in a derelict metal warehouse behind a carwash here. He teaches them how to cook grits.

Grits, particles of ground corn that cook into shiny, barely articulated little beads, holding forth in a stout pudding, have had legendary appeal in the South. But it is only in the last decade that they have been discovered by top chefs elsewhere. Grits cookery is not difficult, but these are not ordinary grits, and the chefs know it.

The man in the warehouse is Glenn Roberts, and his company, Anson Mills, has been the driving force in bringing old and nearly extinct species of heirloom corn back to health.

The effort is part of Mr. Roberts's grander mission: to restore the pedigree of antebellum low country cuisine.

Sounds like a noble cause, indeed.

HAMMER TIME

Mel Gibson is eyeing another Biblically relates story for the big screen, the account of the Jewish Maccabean revolt:

“The story that’s always fired my imagination ... is the Book of Maccabees,” the actor and director told ABC Radio Networks talk show host Sean Hannity on Tuesday.

“The Maccabees family stood up, and they made war. They stuck by their guns and they came out winning,” he said. “It’s like a Western.”

The Maccabees led a three-year war, some 200 years before the birth of Jesus, against Antiochus IV, a king who forced the Jews to worship Greek gods. The war led to the liberation of Jerusalem and rededication of the Temple that is celebrated in the Hanukkah holiday.

Now had you been in my class at church on Sunday night you would have heard me cover this time between the Testaments. It's a fascinating time in Jewish history, and greatly affects our understanding of the New Testament. The books he looks to is part of the Catholic bible usually referred to by non-Catholics as the Apocrypha. The books are not recognized by Jews or by Protestants as canonical or inspired. They do, however, contain valuable historical information.

Mark D. Roberts provides us with some background on the books that I think many of you will find helpful. He also gives us a nice rundown on everyone who would be mad at Mel because of the movie!

RAMSES VI REASSEMBLED

Undoing the destructive work of grave robbers likely thousands of years ago, Egypt has unveiled a Pharaoh's sarcophagus:

The sarcophagus was pieced together from 250 fragments likely broken and scattered in the pharaoh's tomb by ancient tomb robbers, reconstruction experts said.

The tomb of Ramses VI is one of the largest in the Valley of the Kings, the ancient royal burial ground for Egypt's pharaohs. Ramses VI ruled about 3,100 years ago.

The reconstruction has a problem, however: they have no face. But they know exactly where it is:

Only the face is a replica. The original face is on display at the British Museum. Zahi Hawass, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said he hoped it would be returned to complete the sarcophagus.

It seem, perhaps, that Egypt and the British Museum should make a trade, reuniting the face with it's 'body'. I wouldn't hold my breath.

METHODISTS BACK TO EPISCOPAL ROOTS

A jury composed of Methodist pastors has ruled actively lesbian pastor Karen Damman can continue in her job:

Meredith Savage, Dammann's partner of nine years, said she called their 5-year-old son after the verdict and shouted, "Mama won!"

Even the pastor who served as the prosecutor in her case and the bishop who filed the initial complaint against her said they were pleased with the verdict.

Church law prohibits the ordination of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals and the church's Book of Discipline (search) declares homosexuality to be "incompatible to Christian teachings." But the church's social principles support gay rights and liberties.

The jury issued a statement saying the church "did not present sufficient clear and convincing evidence to sustain the charge."

Not enough evidence? Perhaps they needed to ask her lesbian lover in attendance.

Ultimately, the Methodists expect their congregants to get over it:

Bishop Elias Galvan of Seattle acknowledged the verdict will upset some people.

"The church is not of one mind," Galvan said. "I expect this issue to continue to be raised until society comes to terms with it."

It's really immaterial whether society comest to terms with homosexuality. The question is whether the Methodists will come to terms with Biblical strictures. I think we have a pretty good indication where they're at now.

MARCH MADNESS

I fear this weblog has been interrupted by the ailment commonly known as March Madness. Your humble correspondent will attempt to fight through the annual malady and supply occasional newsy tidbits and witticisms.

In the meantime you can help by cheering on the Kentucky Wildcats.

LINGUA FRANCA

For those with some historical interest, Steven Gertz gives historical background on the language Jesus spoke, and why it wasn't Hebrew:

As The Passion's website notes (see "About the Production"), Aramaic was the dominant Semitic language of Jesus' time. Emerging around 1000 B.C. in several Aramean kingdoms (biblical Damascus, for example), Aramaic spread through the conquests of the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires to encompass the entire Middle East, stretching from Egypt to Pakistan. In the Holy Land, Aramaic supplanted Hebrew as the language of the people sometime between 721 BC, the year Israel's capital Samaria fell to Assyrian invaders, and 500 BC, following the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon.

The return of Jews to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple did not undermine Aramaic's newfound status in Hebrew culture. Aramaic appears at times in the Old Testament, and recent evidence gathered from the Dead Sea scrolls suggests that the apocryphal book of Tobit was written entirely in Aramaic. The Gospel of Mark quotes Jesus in Aramaic several times; the best known of these may be his words on the cross—"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" or "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Judging from its renderings in Matthew and Luke, some scholars think Jesus composed the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic.

Will this mark a cinematic revival of the language?

No, I don't think so, either.

TAKE THE HINT

An archaelogist has found the 'Unluckiest church in the world' :

The church was wrecked by two earthquakes, a flood, and a landslide - all of which happened while it was still being built.

It later became an opium den and after it was abandoned most of the remains were washed into the sea.

St Phocas' Church was founded on what is now a clifftop at the Turkish city of Sinop, on the shores of the Black Sea, because this is where its patron saint was martyred.

I hope they fired the guy who selected the site.

HOLLYWOOD & THE BIBLE

Sharon Waxman ponders Hollywood & the Bible in light of the wild success of The Passion:

As the overwhelming success of "The Passion of the Christ" reverberates through Hollywood, producers and studio executives are asking whether the movie industry has been neglecting large segments of the American audience eager for more openly religious fare....

"You can't ignore those numbers," said Mark Johnson, a veteran film producer. "You can't say it's just a fluke. There's something to be read here."

But the problem is, Hollywood as an institution really can't come to grips with the Bible itself, and what making a movie consistent with what the Bible actually says and represents. It took Gibson stepping outside the Hollywood mainstream to do it. Hollywood (shock!) just isn't comfortable with the Bible

Mr. Guber said that reaction to that movie's success was butting up against the feelings of many in Hollywood who dislike its widely criticized portrayal of Jewish responsibility in the death of Jesus.

"There's both discomfort, amazement and anger — sometimes all at once," he said. "Greed and envy and anger and jealousy are all interesting bedfellows. They make for interesting conjugal visits in this town."...

"You can't deny when a movie makes that kind of money that the audience has spoken to the filmmaking community, but it's a frightening comment," said Michael Nozik, a producer of the forthcoming "Motorcycle Diaries," about Che Guevara, the Cuban revolutionary leader. Mr. Nozik is alarmed by the violence in "The Passion," he said, and dismayed by the "pot of anger" that has been stirred by accusations of anti-Semitism.

"I would not think of making a religious movie that speaks to this aspect of the audience," Mr. Nozik said. "I don't know how you speak to that audience as a filmmaker. But as a businessman you have to go, `God, there's something there.' "

As divisions of major media conglomerates concerned with their public image, Hollywood studios have historically shied away from all but the most benign values, like friendship, family and love. Movies with strong points of view — political and particularly religious — have had difficulty receiving green lights.

"It's not clear that Hollywood has the appetite or the attitude" to make religious movies, Mr. Guber said. Mr. Gibson's movie, he said, "in my judgment, has a politically religious point of view."

There lies the problem. To make a movie that is not "politically religious" in the view of Hollywood is to make a movie that ultimately isn't Biblical and won't draw the audiences The Passion has drawn. Hollywood is much more comfortable making a movie about Che Guevera (which I'm sure is in no way political [wink, wink, nudge, nudge]) than a movie about Paul. Read Paul and read Jesus and they're preaching at Hollywood, not preaching for them. And that makes them squirm in their seats.

If you want movies like The Passion, you're going to have to have someone like a Mel Gibson to make them. That is someone who takes the material seriously and is also a highly talented filmmaker. Sadly there aren't many such people out there.

[Link via Drudge]

THE PRESS & THE PASSION

Jeffrey Overstreet has a nice rundown of the mainstream media's reaction to The Passion:

Many—perhaps even most—are showing themselves far more guilty of discrimination and prejudice than the filmmaker they seek to condemn. If they are so willing to assume that Gibson is anti-Semitic, in spite of his claims to the contrary, in spite of the way in which Gibson's film incriminates those who despise Jews, then why have they remained silent, or even praised other films that exhibit obvious, undeniable prejudice against Catholics and Christians? Their two-faced behavior is almost laughable.

Just so.

WHAT WOULD MARSE ROBERT HAVE SAID?

A fifth-grade boy at Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Satsuma, Alabama was Suit: banned from distributing Bible passage at a school party, and the boy's parents have sued:

According to the suit, Robert and his mother, Suzette Dowd, made "joy jars" for him to give classmates at a Christmas party at Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Satsuma on Dec. 18. The gifts were small jars stuffed with slips of paper containing Bible verses and positive messages about Jesus.

But while students were away at recess, teacher Myra Lucas opened the jars and removed the slips after discussing them with Principal Deborah Altman, according to the suit.

Lucas later told Robert that "because there are Muslims and all sorts of religions, Downtown won't let you bring those things," the lawsuit claims, apparently referring to system administrators and rules against promoting religion in public schools. Altman later told Suzette Dowd essentially the same thing, the suit states.

I can tell you one thing, had the man for whom the elementary school is named been successful in his life's endeavors, we wouldn't have to worry about this sort of thing!

WHAT WOULD MARSE ROBERT HAVE SAID?

A fifth-grade boy at Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Satsuma, Alabama was Suit: banned from distributing Bible passage at a school party, and the boy's parents have sued:

According to the suit, Robert and his mother, Suzette Dowd, made "joy jars" for him to give classmates at a Christmas party at Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Satsuma on Dec. 18. The gifts were small jars stuffed with slips of paper containing Bible verses and positive messages about Jesus.

But while students were away at recess, teacher Myra Lucas opened the jars and removed the slips after discussing them with Principal Deborah Altman, according to the suit.

Lucas later told Robert that "because there are Muslims and all sorts of religions, Downtown won't let you bring those things," the lawsuit claims, apparently referring to system administrators and rules against promoting religion in public schools. Altman later told Suzette Dowd essentially the same thing, the suit states.

I can tell you one thing, had the man for whom the elementary school is named been successful in his life's endeavors, we wouldn't have to worry about this sort of thing!

AN EVOLUTION IN TEACHING

The Alabama Senate Education Committee has approved a bill that would disallow discrimination--including firing--for teachers who offer alternatives to evolution in the classroom:

A legislative committee on Wednesday approved a plan that would prohibit firing or discriminating against teachers for presenting "alternative theories" to evolution.

The Senate Education Committee voted 7-0 for the "Academic Freedom Act," which says no teacher or professor in public schools or universities could be fired, denied tenure or otherwise discriminated against for presenting such theories, which could include creationism. The proposal could be debated by the 35-member Senate as soon as next week.

The bill also would prohibit any student from being penalized because he or she held "a particular position on biological or physical origins," as long as the student demonstrated "acceptable understanding of course materials," which could include evolution.

Sounds like a good idea to me. Just another reason to like Alabama.

RUNNING THE NUMBERS

Martin Grove breaks down the numbers on Mel's movie. There's no question he's right about this:

This was not what anyone anticipated, especially not the distributors who turned Gibson down when he was trying to put a domestic deal together for the film. While no one is saying precisely who those distributors were, they clearly know who they are and they're likely to be kicking themselves for a long time to come.

And it couldn't have happened to a better bunch of folks.

[Link via Drudge]

FORCED ABORTIONS: CHINA OR FLORIDA?

A woman who had a change of heart in the early stages of an abortion was restrained and given one anyway. The courts say that's fine:

According to RPI, William P. Egherman, who has performed more than 10,000 abortions and been addicted to alcohol and opiates, began the procedure by attempting to dilate the woman's cervix.

But the woman had a change of heart.

"My God, you're hurting me" the woman began to scream. "You're killing me, I'll never be able to have babies. ... Stop!"

But Egherman ignored the pleas and screams and called for assistance from clinic workers who held the woman down as he continued to dilate her cervix.

Then he entered the victim with a pair of forceps -- "the bear" Ehgerman called them -- and began probing and pulling. He mistakenly pulled out part of the woman's intestines.

The story doesn't get any better. You like you to see such concern for women's rights at these chop shops.

WHO WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN?

Steve Greenhut asks the question about The Passion:

What role would I have played in The Passion? Not the movie, but the real-life drama. That’s what I thought about as I watched Mel Gibson’s spectacular, moving account of the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ’s life on Earth.

Would I have cheered as Christ was sentenced to death? Would I have laughed as he was tormented toward the cross? It’s scary to contemplate.

We all like to imagine ourselves cheering 'Hosanna!' at the triumphal entry, but those same crowds later cheered 'Crucify! Crucify!'

A question well asked.

SITE FULL OF GOODIES

Yesterday Mark D. Roberts had the good taste to comment favorably on my review of The Passion. I took the time to follow the link to his site, and was very glad I did. Today he has a nice review of ABC's movie on Judas (which I sadly did not see). Dr. Roberts has a number of thoughtful pieces with scholarly underpinning written in a popular style. I find it pitched just right. So if you're wondering about such things as what language(s) Jesus might have spoken or for commentary on religion in the news from a conservative perspective, it's well worth a stop.

(Caveat: Since Dr. Roberts and I have some theological differences, I just wanted to state that I do not necessarily endorse every doctrinal position he might take. (I doubt he would endorse all of mine, either!) I'm sure he would agree that anytime you're reading someone's writings have your Bible handy and base your decisions on what it says.)

REVIEWING THE PASSION

As promised, here is my review of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ:

For weeks media coverage of Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ has been at a fever pitch. (“Passion” is a word meaning “suffering”.) Charges of anti-Semitism have been levied by Jewish groups, starting well before any of them had ever seen it. At the same time many church groups and leaders were given advance screenings and were proclaiming the movie a moving and accurate rendering of the Biblical texts. Others objected over the brutality of the scourging and crucifixion of Jesus. Some were put off by the film’s use of English subtitles supplementing an Aramaic and Latin dialogue. With so many different views of the movie, what is the Biblically concerned Christian supposed to think?

On the Saturday following The Passion’s release, my wife and I attended a sold out viewing of the movie along with several other members of the church where I attend. I think most of us were somewhat leery at what we might see.

The movie begins in the Garden of Gethsemane, with Jesus in agonized prayer to His Father, looking to the agony that He must endure. We find His disciples sleeping in that dark misty Garden, unable to keep their Master’s request to wait and watch for Him. The film then introduces us to a continuing character in the movie: the presence of Satan. The androgynous devil never is addressed directly by Jesus, but his nay saying character is an almost constant presence. In these opening scenes as Jesus is fervently praying to His Father, Satan is doing all he can to create doubt in the mind of Jesus that He can, or even should, go through the horrors of the cross.

Of course this is just the sort of cinematic device that one has to assess from a Biblical standpoint. The Scriptures nowhere record that Satan was in that Garden saying anything to Jesus. Is this a valid addition to the story, or a non-Biblical intrusion? Those are the kinds of questions we need to ask when evaluating the presentation of a Biblical account. In this instance I think the answer will be based on personal decision. I found the presence of Satan in the Garden consistent with the overall tenor of Scripture.

We certainly know that Satan did tempt Jesus in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13), and that after he was unsuccessful in leading the Son of Man into sin “he left Him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13) The Scripture never tells us when that opportune time was, but what time other than when He said “remove this cup from Me” as His sweat “like drops of blood” fell upon the ground? Satan is the accuser (Revelation 12:10). And we know that Jesus was aware of Satan’s schemes. He tells Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat.” (Luke 22:31) Satan is always present, and Gibson shows it well as he prompts Judas in his betrayal, Peter in his denial, the crowd in their bloodthirsty call for Jesus’ crucifixion. There is no question that Satan was there. But Gibson does a masterful job in his use of the Satan imagery as Jesus responds to Satan not with words, but rather when the devil sends a serpent crawling toward Him as He prays, Jesus stands up and stomps soundly on the head of the snake. “He shall crush you on the head.” (Genesis 3:15; cf. Romans 16:20)

The wonderful thing about movies is that they allow us to see the reality of words we have read for so long. We see the dark chaos of the arrest in the Garden, as Peter wields his sword and the disciples flee. The nighttime trial comes to life in all its thrown together confusion, a reluctant Pilate takes the stage, his wife urging him to “have nothing to do with that righteous Man.” (Matthew 27:19) King Herod and his debaucherous court laugh and mock Jesus. The Roman soldiers sadistically scourge the Savior, not knowing what they do. Simon carries the cross. John stands with Mary at the foot of the cross. A thief mocks Him while another is promised Paradise.

Certainly the movie is not perfect. I found some of the Satan imagery to be a little off-putting. Clearly Mel Gibson was influenced by Catholic tradition and imagery in His vision of the last twelve hours. I can see how some would feel that the gory presentation of His beatings and crucifixion could be too much. I certainly understand why many would not want to see the movie for that reason. As to Gibson’s additions to the Biblical story, I generally accept the necessity of using narrative filler in a situation like that. As long as one it being true to the overall tenor to the message, I don’t generally have a problem with it. Using narrative filler is different from putting Lot on a pirate ship to attack Noah’s ark as the infamous TV movie from a couple of years ago did.

The best answer, of course, is to be familiar with the Biblical account of Jesus’ suffering on the cross. That’s where we find the words that lead to eternal life, not in a film. But I think The Passion of the Christ likely is the best portrayal we will ever see on film of Jesus’ last twelve hours. Gibson clearly is a talented filmmaker, and I’m glad I went to see the movie. To anyone interested in going, I would say be aware that at times it does add scenes not found in the Bible. And I would urge you to be aware of how violent and bloody it is. Talk to others who have seen it, and read reviews.

I think we have to be pleased that the death of Jesus is receiving more widespread attention than I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. That can only be a positive thing. Regardless of whether you see the movie or not, take advantage of this window of opportunity to speak to people whose hearts may be opened during this time.

BRITNEY UPDATE

(Not for the faint of heart)
You may recall an earlier post discussing Britney Spears and her mother tearfully responding to an altar call. I thought an update might be in order. Here's a concert review from the New York Times:

Britney Spears's white terry-cloth robe dropped to the floor, revealing a sequin-covered body stocking. She stepped into a bathtub that, like her bodysuit, was see-through. In shadow to her left, like silhouettes seen through hotel room windows, men and women in beds mimed passionate sex with one another.

Beneath them a man wearing only tight white briefs splayed his legs and gyrated on a bed. After her mock bath Ms. Spears, wearing a pink bra and panties, rolled around in bed with him as two male dancers to their left took off each other's pants and danced suggestively together.

I guess the religion thing didn't take.

SENSIBLE SPIELBERG

When asked his opinion on The Passion controversy, famed director Steven Spielberg wouldn't answer:

"I certainly am not going to comment based on circumstantial evidence from what I've been hearing and feeling in the last seven or eight days," Spielberg said at a news conference to promote the DVD release of his Oscar-winning Holocaust epic "Schindler's List."

"I think it's much too important, and I'm really too smart to answer a question like that.

"When I do see the film, the first person who will hear from me will be Mel Gibson and no one else," he added.

Wow. Not criticizing the movie before you've seen it? What a novel concept.