Christmas festival asked not to have Christmas movie as sponsor, because it might offend non-Christians. Wait, what??

Okay, I confess I totally stole the headline from Fark.com but it was too funny to pass up. Full credit to the hilarious headline writers at Fark.com. (Did I mention I snagged this from Fark.com)

via www.Fark.com

A Very Seriously Distorted Interpretation Of Scripture

I happened to catch an interview with former President Jimmy Carter on CNN's The Situtation Room with Wolf Blitzer the other day. I have always felt that Jimmy Carter was a better President than most people have given him credit for AND that as an evangelical Christian he has done a much better job representing Christ than most folks in the public arena.

After his visit with Blitzer he was interviewed by Ben Mankiewicz of The Young Turks. At the very end of the interview President Carter expressed a point of view that I believe to be correct but does not sit well with most Christians. Here's the question and President's Carter's response:

BEN: We are essentially out of time and only have time for one more question, talking to the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter. Mr. President, you are an Evangelical Christian, how do you account then for the sort of rabid support for everything Israel does without qualification from so many Evangelical Christian leaders in this country, and how do you think that influences the administrations politics?

CARTER: Some Christians who I know very well, very devout people, believe a certain interpretation of Revelations, that in my opinion are quite weird, in that in the coming of Christ that the holy land has to be occupied by the Jews and not by anyone else and then in the end that all Jews will have to be killed or either converted to Christianity. This is a very seriously distorted interpretation of the Scriptures that I am very familiar with.

The Attack on Christmas Begins!

Okay, I'm just kidding with that headline but I know this story will fire up folks who feel like everyone is out to get all us Christians and ruin our celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. However, like a lot of things us Christians decide to rail against, I think we should work a little harder to get the logs out of our own eyes first. Once we decide to honor Jesus the way he deserves, then we can start ragging on others. Unless we think turning the other cheek might be a better idea. Nah, that's crazy talk! Never mind . . .

YMCA

Wrong in more ways than one. But still kinda funny.

The Two Commandments

George Carlin. That should be all the warning you need. But if you decide to listen to him, he'll definitely make you think.

Via Digg.com

The Single Most Amazing Vocal Performance In the History Of Music. Period.

I know this is a bit off topic from my usual posts but with the soon to be released movie version of Dreamgirls coming soon I keep thinking about Jennifer Holiday's performance of "And I Am Telling You" at the 1982 Tony Awards. I remember almost changing the channel because some of her facial expressions were so hard to watch. But I kept watching and I'm glad I did. History in the making - except that she did it night after night on Broadway. I honestly do not believe the title of this post is an exagerration. Watch and see if you don't agree. (Note: The quality of the video is poor and the sound through your tinny little PC speakers will leave something to be desired, but the strength of this performance will still come through, I promise.)

Bananas: Proof That God Exists

And, yes, that's Kirk Cameron he's explaining it all to . . .

Since I've Got The Celibacy Thing Down . . .

. . . I have often thought about joining a monastery. TLC's The Monastery makes me even more intrigued. If you haven't checked it out, you should. I especially love how the abbot is sooooo patient . . .

Feeling A Little Less Haggard

Patton Dodd, a pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs (yep, Ted Haggard's church) has written a great article entitled Blessed Are Those Who Mourn for BeliefNet that gives some really great insight into some of what has been going on there this past week or so. It's easy (especially for a jerk like me) to pass judgement too quickly in situations like these. No matter what you've heard and what you think, you should read this article before saying one word to anyone about this unfortunate situation.

Robert Randolph / Johnny Lang

My son, Jeremy, got me an album for my birthday - Robert Randolph & The Family Band's, Colorblind. My other son, Jake, reminded me of another great album that I finally picked up last week - Jonny Lang's Turn Around. For my money, these are the best two albums of the year. Both albums are by artists whose roots are in the church and whose faith seems to be at the center of who they are and what they do. Blues. Rock. Gospel influenced. Jazz-tinged. You couldn't ask for anything cooler. But wouldn't it be great if you could hear this kind of music in church? On the other hand, I take great comfort in believing that this is what Jesus must listen to on His iPod.

Madonna: Jew for Jesus?

Of course the bottom line answer is "no" but isn't it amazing what some people will do (and, uh, I guess that includes me) to get your attention? Check out this MSNBC article to get the whole (misleading) story.

The Goon Bible Project - Book of Job

Bet He's Really Feeling Haggard Now

I'm a long way from figuring out if this story true, false or something in between but isn't it amazing how often that evangelical leaders - especially those that spend a lot of time talking about sexual sin - end up embroiled in some kind of sexual scandal? I guess what they say is true - the more time you spend focusing on sex, the more likely you are to stumble. So, just like it's a good idea to stay away from porn, it's also a good idea - especially if you're in ministry - to stay about a million miles away ever talking about "sexual sin." My suggestion would be to focus on something the Bible spends a lot more time on than sex.

Update: Um, yeah, I coulda been a bit off the mark on this one. See my post "Feeling A Little Less Haggard" above.