Faith

Carrie Prejean has a book for sale. By *remarkable coincidence*, her lawsuit against the Miss California pageant has been dropped. In a conference with attorneys, someone showed a tape of Miss Prejean in a compromising position…or whatever you want to call “the biggest mistake of my life”. The net result is a mountain of publicity for the book, and whatever future the young lady has.
After the infamous answer at the pageant, Miss Prejean made a series of appearances on Christian television, made commercials, and appeared at events for Christian groups. Could it be possible that, if she had been quiet after the pageant, the answer would have been quickly forgotten?
She says she is being persecuted for “having an opinion”. What she does not say is how often and how loudly she expressed that opinion. Also, she was a representative of a pageant, and was under contract to create good will for this organization. This is not consistent with her behavior after she “had an opinion”.
On the Hannity show, Miss Prejean says that her “faith” gave her strength to carry on after she was attacked. It is this same “faith” that was the weapon she used to attack millions of people, who have done nothing to hurt her? What do people who have been attacked by “faith” turn to for strength?

Funerals In Pakistan

The war in Babylon is coming home to America. Last week, a man at Fort Hood went postal, and killed a bunch of people. There are  indications that he was on a jihad.
A lot of pixels are being spilled now to discuss the Fort Hood shooting, as well they should be. There are stories of good Moslems, and bad Moslems. We are reminded that this is a country of diversity.
One story today was in Peach Pundit. The scribe tells of a young man in his hometown. The young man was a Moslem, whose family had recently come to the United States. The young man worked on the scribe’s campaign, and “appreciated the Republican approach to freedoms within limited government”. Many natives know that “limited government” includes wars of choice eight time zones away.
The young man won a scholarship and moved out of the small town. One day, the scribe went to the family restaurant, and learned that the young man had drowned. “Muslim custom is that a person is buried before sundown, and thus he would be taken directly from his plane to the family’s mosque for a funeral service, then directly to the cemetery for burial. It is the only time I have ever been in a mosque, but I can attest that grief looks the same no matter the type of house of worship.”
On June 23, 2009, an unmanned American aircraft attacked a funeral in Wakeen, South Waristan, Pakistan. For those who do body counts: Al Qaeda/Taliban leaders killed: Unknown, Al Qaeda/Taliban killed: At least 45, Others killed: 45-83 (including militants) .

A Limit Of Belief

PG left a comment at TwentyTwoWords in August, and thought about it later. Today, after he got back from the river, he set out to find the thread. Looking for a comment at a popular blog can be an act of faith, with no guarantee of results. PG was lucky, and found his comment fairly quickly.
TwentyTwoWords is a regular stop for PG. The idea is to say what you need to say in 22 words or less. The owner of the blog does not enforce this rule, and few commenters practice it. PG tries to be the exception.
The opening serve of this thread was “Do difficult times make you more or less empathetic? For me the answer is both. Some struggles I’ve faced make me more understanding of others. But sometimes I feel like: “I got over it; why can’t you?” (36 words). The comments took on the colors of Jesus Worship, which is to be expected at TwentyTwoWords.
The first Chamblee54 entry was comment number 7. “I feel that way about life after death obsessed Jesus Worshipers. Is there an etymological link between arrogant and air head?”
Christen replied “Speaking of life after death, I’m just starting Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven and very convinced on the importance of being much more focused on our life after death. What did you mean by that, Chamblee?”
chamblee54 says: “I feel the emphasis placed on life after death is mistaken. I disagree with the Jesus worship beliefs on life after death.”
christen says: “Thanks for the reply, chamblee. I think I’m either inexperienced in “the emphasis placed on life after death” debate/issue (?) and “Jesus worship beliefs” or just don’t understand what you’re saying. Either way, I know I can’t wait to be in that place with that person !”
At this point, PG saw the dialog spinning off topic. This was his fault, to a degree, and he felt a responsibility to bring it back into line. The suspicion was that Christen was a Jesus Worshiper, who had never questioned a set of beliefs handed to her. A key portion of this was the life after death issue, which to PG is a fundamental flaw with Jesus Worship Religion. ( PG disagrees with the concept of attaining life after death through holding certain beliefs about Jesus. PG also disagrees with the emphasis place on life after death in Jesus Worship.)
The answer PG came up with was “This is starting to get off topic. I suspect you have never questioned the concept of acquiring life after death through beliefs.” That clocks in at precisely 22 words. The original comment was about acquiring life after death through belief in Jesus.
To bring the comment under the 22 word limit, PG decided to eliminate the reference to Jesus. And there was a realization that the fundamental meaning of the comment was not changed. If the status of one’s soul post mortem can be changed by a belief during life…a highly suspect concept to PG…does it really matter what the belief is?

Holy Chain Letter

This is too funny – I still have tears in my eyes! Finally, a chain letter that I don’t mind forwarding. It’s funny (don’t break chain)
A new priest at his first mass was so nervous he could hardly speak. After mass he asked the monsignor how he had done.
The monsignor replied, ‘When I am worried about getting nervous on the pulpit, I put a glass of vodka next to the water glass. If I start to get nervous, I take a sip.’
So next Sunday he took the monsignor’s advice. At the beginning of the sermon, he got nervous and took a drink. He proceeded to talk up a storm. Upon his return to his office after the mass, he found the following note on the door:
1) Sip the vodka, don’t gulp.
2) There are 10 commandments, not 12.
3) There are 12 disciples, not 10.
4) Jesus was consecrated, not constipated.
5) Jacob wagered his donkey, he did not bet his ass.
6) We do not refer to Jesus Christ as the late J.C.
7) The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not referred to as Daddy, Junior and the spook.
8 ) David slew Goliath; he did not kick the shit out of him.
9) When David was hit by a rock and was knocked off his donkey, don’t say he was stoned off his ass.
10)We do not refer to the cross as the ‘Big T.’
11)When Jesus broke the bread at the last supper he said, ‘Take this and eat it for it is my body.’
He did not say ‘Eat me’.
12)The Virgin Mary is not called ‘Mary with the Cherry’..
13)The recommended grace before a meal is not: Rub-A-Dub-Dub thanks for the grub, Yeah God..
14)Next Sunday there will be a taffy pulling contest at St. Peter’s,
not a peter pulling contest at St. Taffy’s.
The Origination of this letter is unknown, but it brings good luck to everyone who passes it on. The one who breaks the chain will have bad luck. Do not keep this letter. Do not send money just forward it to five of your friends to whom you wish good luck and a great laugh..You will see that something good happens to you four days from now if the chain is not broken….

Racism And Runoffs

The election for Mayor of Atlanta now moves into the, almost inevitable, runoff. If a candidate does not get fifty percent plus one vote, a runoff is required. Runoffs are very popular in the South, and almost non existent in the rest of the United States.
Runoffs have been controversial. Some say they hurt minorities. Julian Bond is quoted as saying “The runoff actually discriminates against the numerical minority, black or white, in elections in which there is racial polarization.”
There is a feeling that the Voting Rights Act would forbid the use of runoffs. The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Georgia in 1990 on those grounds. Runoffs are still used in Georgia.

Harper Valley Hotel

There was a post yesterday about an update of the seven deadly sins. The title of the source feature was a violation of one of the rules he proposed.
There are several ways he could defend himself against the dread charge of hypocrisy. For one, he said someone is old and stupid, where the rule says not to call someone a retard. Technically, this should clear him, if the letter of the law was all that mattered. However, the spirit of the law refers to name calling in general, with insults based on perceived intelligence given special attention. Perhaps rule number five could have worded a bit better.
It also should be noted that the rulemaker did not say “Do not be a hypocrite”. A few years ago, a putrid pontificater named William Bennett published “The Book of Virtues”. Only later did the public learn that much of the profits from this work were forked over a gambling table. William Bennett was a compulsive gambler. His defenders quickly noted that he did not condemn gambling in his book.
There are dozens of quotes about hypocrisy, and even more discussions. When someone tells you not to do something that you enjoy, the knee jerk reaction is to look for something this person is doing. Often this is a valid argument. The sight of the whiskey gulping drug warriors condemning marijuana comes to mind. William Bennett was “Drug Czar” when G.H.W. Bush was President.
The truth is that the more opinions you express, the greater your chance of being a hypocrite. Then you factor in the reality that hypocrisy is in the eye of the beholder, that one man’s stand for truth is another’s hollow boast. Sometimes, the best thing to do is shut up and mind your own business.

The Adjusted Deadly Sins

There is a post today at 30pov with the provocative title “Evagrius Ponticus is Old and Stupid”. The thesis here is that the seven deadly sins are obsolete, and need to be updated. The title is a violation of rule 5, but the author can probably explain.
There are only six rules listed here. This enables the use of a rainbow font. If you want more chatter about these rules, go to the original post.
Do not treat people badly from the get-go.
Do not have forcible sex.
Do not hurt children.
Do not ignore how others react to you.
Do not use the term “retarded” or “retard” so liberally.
Do not fit yourself into neatly ordered categories,
like “seven deadly sins.”
One problem with the rainbow font is the yellow letters. While you can read them perfectly well using a mouse, some will be too lazy to try. In this case, the yellow rule may be the most important one of all. It needs to be repeated in red letters. Do not hurt children. Maybe you should extend that to adults.

The First Tuesday

It is the first tuesday after a monday in November. Many people are having elections today. PG lives in an unincorporated part of Dekalb (spell check suggestions: denial, dermal, decal) County, and thought he was election free. Being the concerned citizen that he is, and living a block away from the polls ( with too much free time), PG decided to walk up to the school and be certain there was no voting.
None of the usual election paraphernalia was in sight, but some small signs were on the front door. When you get close enough to read, the sign says ” Parents, you are the “P” in PTA. It is good to know that someone thinks mom and dad are number one.
Someone else with too much free time will always say ” why are elections on the first tuesday in november?”. A helpful facility called infoplease has the answer. What better way to advertise auto insurance, and connecting with high school classmates?
The word is that America used to be a bunch of farmers, who lived a long way from the polling place. November was a good time for farmers to make the overnight trip to the polls. Women did not vote in those days. The little wife could run the farm, while the old man “goes to vote”. This overnight trip could not start on Sunday, for obvious reasons. As for the “after a monday” business, November 1 is some sort of Catholic holiday.
Psychologists talk about the phenomenon of “suicide tuesday”. The idea is that people take lots of substances on the weekend, and finally crash back down on Tuesday.The abundance of unpleasant reality spoils many an outlook. Combine a traditional party night like halloween, and the morbid choices awaiting many voters, and a fair amount of depression is guaranteed today.

Violated Part Two

That rascal joemyg-d has a weekly feature that looks at crimes with a religious connection. Often, the way the story is told says as much as the story itself. In this review of a review, we will look at both the story, and how the story is told.
This weeks winner takes place in Michigan. The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) claims that some diocese did not do enough to stop a wayward priest. It seems as though Joseph Skelton left seminary, after being accused of entertaining a teenage boy in his room. A few years later, he was ordained as a priest at the Diocese of Tagbilaran, in the Philippines.
This story is reported in Catholicculture.org, which is copyrighted by something called Trinity Consulting. Trinity has an ad above the priest story, where they claim to offer “Truth Based Business Services”.
In Savannah, Georgia, WTOC reports on a man who received a four million dollar settlement from the Catholic Church there. The story is that a priest molested him, more than thirty years ago. Next to this story is an animated ad. It shows a baby in a car seat shaking his head, while the headline says that 9/10 homeowners do not refinance their homes.
In Alabama, a minister got in trouble over a camping trip. In the details, AP reports:(Original spelling is copied.) “Most of the counts involved possession of obsence material. District Attorney Greg Gambril said there were three counts each of sodomy and sexual torture, which he said involved a sex toy.” An ad on this Fox News page offers readers a chance to read “Ann Coulter – Free. Be among the first to read her column each week, right from your inbox. www.HumanEvents.com/AnnCoulter.”
Another fox news report is about Michael Joy in Wyandotte County, Missouri. He was a church youth minister, who behaved badly with those underage. The funny part of this story is that Mr. Joy was in prison for child molestation in the eighties. A quote… “Stony Point Baptist Church Pastor Thomas Hamilton said he spoke openly with his congregation about the incident involving one of the church’s youth leaders at services on Sunday. He said Joy confessed he’d been in prison before but lied about why. State records show Joy was convicted of eight counts of child molestation in the late 80s. Hamilton said he feels betrayed and now he and his congregation are working together to move forward and heal.”
The Associated Baptist Press has a tasteful story about the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Jay, Oklahoma. He had a private service with a fifteen year old girl every sunday for over a year. The site has an ad for “Passport :Summer Camp with a Mission”.
You cannot have a sex crimes roundup without a California story. The pastor of the Koinenia Christ Community Church in Tracy,California, is accused of doing naughty things with underage girls. A fuzzy picture of the accused is displayed, across from an ad for a real estate firm. The realtors display two men, three women, and two dogs. No word is given on which one sells the most.
Down under in Australia, the CathNews has a story to tell, underneath an ad for Office Max. It seems like a young lady, referred to as the “alleged victim”, was abused by a priest. The playmate were recruited by “the nuns”. The attorney of the “alleged victim” has sent a letter to all of the Catholic churches in Victoria, with a request to read the letter to the congregation.
The Archbishop of Melbourne does not want the letter read to the flock. He says that the abuse did not take place in Melbourne, and has been dealt with “under the national protocol”. The Bishop of Ballarat, where the incident was alleged to have happened, said, with certainty, that no assault took place. The “alleged victim” recieved a $12,000 settlement in 2006.
Before anyone thinks that men of the cloth are a bunch of sex crazed perverts, the Belfast Telegraph has this uplifting tale: “Father Norbert Jedrusinski, 37, fled with a £900 haul after threatening staff with a knife at the bank in Szamotuly, Poland, but was arrested when he tried to flee on a bus.” The story was next to an ad from classmates.com.

Full Moon Halloween

There was a combination halloween party/chili cookoff saturday night. PG attended.
After a while, the remaining people sat in an oval and talked about who met who, in Chicago, in 1990. When the conversation got a bit more personal, someone said ” does anyone have a recorder?”. This did not answer the question, what do you wear to a pajama party?
PG got a prize for best vest, which is a category which rhymes. Twenty five cents at a yard sale proved to be a good investment.
Lots of chili was eaten, and 911 did not get called.