Baptist Writer Hectors Church

Erin Roach writes for several Baptist publications. She was miffed about a Christmas Eve service that paraded across the stage "...a gingerbread man, a toy soldier, Frosty the Snowman, the Christmas Mouse and a candy cane." Even though they were used as an object lesson that Christmas is supposed to be about Jesus, she was unsatisfied.

As Christians, I know part of our calling is to push back the culture. It's not to open the door and welcome Frosty and his secular Christmas buddies onto the stage for our Christmas Eve service. I don't have much against such characters as long as we see them in their proper secular perspective, but I sure don't want to see them in place of Jesus at church.

Great! I agree. Keep Jesus and your nativity scenes and prayers in the church where they belong, and all the secular characters in public. Otherwise, StFU! It's not a one-way street.

While researching Ms. Roach I found this crass example of what she considers a creative and proper Baptist response to culture - a mass baptism and tailgate party in their church parking lot.

People brought their RVs and set up tents. There were televisions going with people watching football games before the baptism service started. People brought grills and they were making food for themselves and sharing with others. It was pretty fun.

Christ-centered entertainment - gotta love that.

- BaptistPress | It's about Jesus, not Frosty
- BaptistCourier | 562 baptized in Anderson church parking lot

Political Correctness is Killing Off French Waiters

OMG! There aren't enough [white] people in the world! We're all going to die. It's the fault of the politically correct academics, gays, and feminists. It caused Rome to fall, and now it's happening to us!

The demographic trends alone in Europe are clear signals of a crisis much greater than the financial one.

From The Czech, who has painstakingly researched this dreary docu, writes,

A few experts in the film, and all of the funders, can be traced to hard-right Christian organizations, and unexpectedly, the funding seems to be coming from Mormon-run organizations. Who woulda thunk it? The fact that this was not disclosed during the film, and that instead the makers allowed the mostly non-hard-right-Christian academics to be the "face" of the film, is deeply dishonest.

Get busy, white people.

- The Site for | Demographic Winter
- The Czech | Babies: Endangered Animals Pt.1
- ChristianNewsWire.com | 'Demographic Winter' Producer Encouraged by Catholic-Orthodox Statement on Declining Birth Rates

Cy, the One-eyed Kitten

It's Absurdaday! The Lost World (Creationism) Museum obtained a one-eyed kitten. You won't believe what they're going to do with it.

So what is in store for Cy? Cy went through some surgery to remove a piece of skin so scientists can study why she ended up with one eye. We have her bathing in formalin - a preservative. Later this month her solution will be replaced with alcohol and then she will be ready to go on tour. When not on tour Cy will be on display at the Lost World Museum. As the Museum's spoke's (sic) animal, Cy will help people understand what evolution promotes and suggest Genesis is a better answer to the origins question.

WTF? A spokesanimal?

Do you want to know more about Cy? We are chronicling Cy's life, which will appear in a set of three oversized postcards. The back of each postcard will tell one part of her fascinating story.

Poor kittie.

- LostWorldMuseum.com | #15 - "Cy" the One-Eyed Cat Joins the Lost World Museum

Blood Freak | Another Teachable Moment for Jesus

O.M.G! Last night I accidently watched part of Blood Freak on TCM, and had a flashback to being a teenager at the drive-in watching Russ Meyers movies. Blood Freak is like that, with a little Ed Wood thrown in. It has a narrator that stabs at you from time to time with his cigarette while talking about Jesus. He's too lazy to memorize the script so he keeps glancing at it on his desk.

There's even a bizarre scene at a turkey farm, which rivaled Sarah Palin's vignette.

Oh, and the editor, Gil Ward, wrote and directed the music.

A reviewer at Fright.com writes,

Herschell, a young Elvis-wannabe, meets Angel, an equally young Christian woman, along with her out-of-control sister, Ann. Ignoring Angel's endless scripture-quotes and warnings about Ann's wild ways, Herschell allows Ann and her good-for-nothing, pot smoking friends to turn him into a drug addict. After smoking some sort of super-pot, Herschell unknowingly imbibes experimental preservatives and transforms into a psychotic turkey monster. He then flaps around the countryside, killing and drinking the blood of drug-addicted teens until, with the help of Angel, he is saved through his faith in the Lord. And no, I'm not making this up.*

The whole brain-damaged tale is narrated by an elderly professorial type who frequently pops in to lecture us about the nature of faith. In one scene, he lights a cigarette while pontificating on the evils of drug abuse and then breaks into a coughing fit. This appears to be the only bit of intentional humor in the film, suggesting that the proceedings might all be a cinematic put-on.

Oh, thank you, Sweet Baby Jesus!

See the trailer.

400 Church Members Take to the Streets Dressed in Sheets

One Kansas church wanted to put the Christ in Christmas so convinced 400 of its members, including at least one woman and one black, to don the traditional garb of Jesus - white sheets and a thorny crown - and walk the streets in the days leading up to Christmas.

What did Jesus do? Apparantly he drank a lot of coffee, read the newspapers, and did a little shopping. Srsly. A manifesto, of sorts, at the church website reads,

What would people think if we called: Martin Luther King day, MLKday? George Washington's birthday, GWday? Veteran's day, Vday?

You know, I was pondering that just the other day as I was driving down MLK Boulevard. As far as I'm concerned, Christ was his slave name, and Jesus would, by now, have substituted it for an X.

Plus, it's pretty much a rip off of Santacon.

- Praise Chapel | Jesus sightings all around
Kansas City? Is this because of - Christmas?
- YouTube | Jesus Goes Shopping
There's supposed to be a video, but I couldn't find it. This one is nice, though.

Father Christmas Goes on Strike

Man, I LOVE the YouTubes.

Pro-life Misconcepción

If only there were a safe haven, where people could abandon their burritos, no questions asked.

- BoingBoing.net | Police blotter: baby or burrito?

Happy-faced Xtians Sing of Xmas

Wow! I could sing. Really. I could.

- Thanks, BoingBoing.net

Pope Says Saving Humanity from Gays as Important as Saving the Rainforest

Wouldn't it be easier to weigh gays against a duck?

Pope Benedict said on Monday that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behavior was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction. "(The Church) should also protect man from the destruction of himself. A sort of ecology of man is needed," the pontiff said in a holiday address to the Curia, the Vatican's central administration. "The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less."

The Catholic Church teaches that while homosexuality is not sinful, homosexual acts are. It opposes gay marriage and, in October, a leading Vatican official called homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound." The pope said humanity needed to "listen to the language of creation" to understand the intended roles of man and woman. He compared behavior beyond traditional heterosexual relations as "a destruction of God's work." He also defended the Church's right to "speak of human nature as man and woman, and ask that this order of creation be respected."

So is it true that you can tell the size of a man's unit by the size of his carbon footprint?

- Reuters | Pope likens "saving" gays to saving the rainforest
- Check the General's take on it
- Thanks, Joe.My.God.

Warren's Veils His Contempt

Rick Warren, Obama's gay-hating pick for delivering the inaugural prayer, knows which side his bread is buttered on and has closeted his church's most public contempt for the friends of Dorothy. Recently removed from his website is this copy.

Because membership in a church is an outgrowth of accepting the Lordship and leadership of Jesus in one's life, someone unwilling to repent of their homosexual lifestyle would not be accepted at (sic) a member at Saddleback Church. That does not mean they cannot attend church - we hope they do!

Can you say money-grubbing hypocrite?

- J-Walk Blog | Pastor Rick Cleans Up Site
- Googe | cached version of Warren's site

Awww..., Look at the Tree!

I was my birthday yesterday, so I didn't get around to posting. Sorry. Plus, it's been crazy around here. We've found and met our adopted son's birth family. They're coming over Friday so it's clean, clean, clean. They're wonderful people. It's made for a very nice Xmas.

Duggars Drop Another

[Seattle Men's Chorus performing "Deep Love" from Young Frankenstein and "Every Sperm Is Sacred" (about 2:38) from Monty Python's Meaning of Life at GALA Festival. ]

From the Herald Sun,

A WOMAN who has already had 17 kids with names beginning with the letter J has given birth to her 18th child - a girl named Jordyn-Grace Makiya Duggar.

The latest addition to Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar's brood was delivered by Caesarean section at Mercy Medical Centre in Rogers, Arkansas overnight.

Seriously, why doesn't anyone talk about OVERPOPULATION anymore? It's a problem. God said to replenish the earth, not overrun it. Replenish means to put it back to some previous level, which was probably attained about 6000 years ago.

I think it's fine if people want to have a boatload of kids like this, but put them on an island and let them find their own equilibrium and not threaten the entire planet for those of us who can do simple math.

- HeraldSun.com.au | Duggar family welcomes 18th child Jordyn-Grace Makiya

Obama Supporters Say the Darnedest Things

Over at Change.gov, Alan_Murley types,

What do I have the right to do that a gay man does not have the right to do? What do I have the right to not do that a gay man does not have the right to not do?

Marry? Not so. Both the gay man and I have the right to marry someone of the other sex and do not have the right to marry someone of the same sex.

- Change.gov | General Discussion

Christian Pharmacists to Women - NO SOUP FOR YOU!

Karen Bauer, affectionly known as the "lady in the coon skin cap", must be overjoyed at Bush's new conscience clause, which would allow her, as a pharmacist for life, to look down her nose and decide which doctor's prescriptions she will honor, and which she won't, based on her personal religious beliefs.

This will not end well.

- LA Times | Health providers' 'conscience' rule to take effect

Rick Warren? C'mon Obama!

From Christopher Hitchens on Rick Warren.

As Barack Obama is gradually learning, his job is to be the president of all Americans at all times. If he likes, he can oppose the idea of marriage for Americans who are homosexual. That's a policy question on which people may and will disagree. However, the man he has chosen to deliver his inaugural invocation is a relentless clerical businessman who raises money on the proposition that certain Americans - non-Christians, the wrong kind of Christians, homosexuals, nonbelievers - are of less worth and littler virtue than his own lovely flock of redeemed and salvaged and paid-up donors.

This quite simply cannot stand.... A president may by all means use his office to gain re-election, to shore up his existing base, or to attract a new one. But the day of his inauguration is not one of the days on which he should be doing that. It is an event that belongs principally to the voters and to their descendants, who are called to see that a long tradition of peaceful transition is cheerfully upheld, even in those years when the outcome is disputed. I would myself say that it doesn't need a clerical invocation at all, since, to borrow Lincoln's observation about Gettysburg, it has already been consecrated. But if we must have an officiating priest, let it be some dignified old hypocrite with no factional allegiance and not a tree-shaking huckster and publicity seeker who believes that millions of his fellow citizens are hellbound because they do not meet his own low and vulgar standards.

- Thanks, Dan | Christopher Hitchens on Rick Warren

Obama Picks Hater Rick Warren to Give Inaugural Invocation

No, that moustache makes you look neither hip, nor thin.

Behemoth Pastor and writer Rick Warren is slated to give the invocation at Barrack Obama's inauguration.

Warren is famed for writing The Purpose Driven Life and all its very lucrative spinoffs and franchises. One of these includes a purpose driven attempt to reduce the number of US troops committing suicide addressed here earlier this month. A belief in creationism, it seems, is key.

Warren is famed for his anti-gay and anti-abortion positions. He's little more than a kinder, gentler, wider James Dobson.

I'm not happy about this, and neither is People for the American Way,

It is a grave disappointment to learn that pastor Rick Warren will give the invocation at the inauguration of Barack Obama.

Pastor Warren, while enjoying a reputation as a moderate based on his affable personality and his church's engagement on issues like AIDS in Africa, has said that the real difference between James Dobson and himself is one of tone rather than substance. He has recently compared marriage by loving and committed same-sex couples to incest and pedophilia. He has repeated the Religious Right's big lie that supporters of equality for gay Americans are out to silence pastors. He has called Christians who advance a social gospel Marxists. He is adamantly opposed to women having a legal right to choose an abortion.

- PFAW.org | People For the American Way 'Profoundly Disappointed' that Rick Warren Will Give Invocation

Sandusky Tough Town for Family Act

[Note: This is not the nativity scene in question, but a good submission to PassiveAggressiveNotes.com]

The baby Jesus stolen from a Sandusky nativity scene was found hanging from the ceiling fan of Joshua Martin, who has been charged with receiving stolen gods. Er..., I mean stolen goods.

The baby Jesus in question is 18" long and around 50 years old.

The incident gives credence to the claim, "If Jesus came back we'd kill him again."

- FOX28 | Ohio city's Jesus figure found hanging

James Frey's Upcoming Jesus Fiction

You gotta have respect for someone who annoys Oprah, and James Frey is that someone. He wrote a book, A Million Little Pieces, a memoir of his drug addiction. Oprah made it famous. Frey later admitted it wasn't all true. Shock. Betrayal. His next book will be even better!

James Frey is "working on a book, his own theoretical 'third book of the Bible,' that will now piss off Christians." Who is Frey's contemporary Jesus?

I think most of the fundamental and evangelical Christians in this country would be revolted by him. He'd endorse gay marriage, a woman's right to choose what they do with their bodies, a individual's right to love any other individual, regardless of gender. I believe he'd dismiss much of the supernatural silliness in the Bible; the universe being created in a week, angels with wings flying around like superheroes, a bearded God with a thundering voice.

He added, "Obviously the book will be fiction, just as I believe much, if not all, of the first two books of the Bible were fiction."

The first time I heard of the compelling idea of the third testament was in Russell T. Davies, The Second Coming, which is still high on my top 10 list. If you haven't seen it, treat yourself.

- Gawker | In James Frey's Next Book, Jesus Loves Abortion and Gay Marriage

Crips, Bloods Forge Peace Agreement Over Wikipedia Takeover

I read it at World Net Daily so it must be true. Joseph Farah, who is NOT homosexual, wrote about this astounding development in his column on December 14.

Wikipedia, by its own definition, is little more than an electronic graffiti board under the control of high-tech Crips and Bloods.

The point of his story, however, is that he, Joseph Farah, is not gay, though he also denied having a heterosexual relationship.

Hey, Joe. Let us know when yo've got it straight.

- WorldNetDaily.com | Wikipedia lies, slander continue

Blessed Virgin Mary Appears on the Cover of Playboy

María Florencia Onori posed as the Virgin of Guadalupe for the cover of Mexican Playboy. Though draped in a white robe, she is naked beneath and part of her breast is exposed.

Playboy has already issued an apology.

The copy that accompanies the photo spread, translated into English, is strange.

María Florencia Onori

Bendita Seas

You are so adventurious María, when the light reaches your skin and your eyes find those of our readers. Blankets, flowers, bouquets, and stained glass: a playful game of light and shadow that deliver a renewed sensuality to our pages, witnesses of feminine grace where a stain does not fit, but the subtleness of a youthful body that radiates its beauty in a rug of petals. Yours are the hopes and the candor, yours the nakedness at the light of the candles, yours the crown with which December salutes you. Let it be.

Men!

- MachoChip.com | Playboy Virgin María Florencia Onori Is A True Blessing! [NSFW]

Kontriving a Konnection with Khrist

Planning any New Year's resolutions?

Christians often decide to read the Bible through during the New Year... What if God provided a tool to encourage you to read his Word daily and remember what you read?

Or, if instead of God, Dolores Marie Patterson wrote a book called My Daily S.O.A.K.: A Personal Journey through the New Testament One Day and One Chapter at a Time? [Note: She is not God.]

My Daily S.O.A.K. is a devotional journal designed to take the reader through the New Testament in one year, one chapter and one day at a time. S.O.A.K. is an acronym. Each chapter of the book assigns the reader a chapter from the New Testament; a Scripture bite, which is a scripture from another part of the Bible; an Observation, which is a thought to ponder; an Application, which is an opportunity for questions and answers, and a Konnection, or short prayer.

A "Konnection" is a "short Prayer"? Then why not make it S.O.A.P.? Why force "connection" to be spelled with a "k"? Indeed, Khristians, like their kreator, move in mysterious ways.

- ChristianNewsWire.com | My Daily S.O.A.K. -- A Personal Journey Through the New Testament

President Bush Senses the Sole of the Iraqi People

Bush was not injured but White House Spokesperson Dana Perino sustained a black eye in the melee that followed. Since she keeps them closed most of the time anyone, the injury will not interfere with her work.

Fire and Ice | Wasilla Bible Church Burns

Yep, the church that Sarah Palin made famous.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, her husband Todd and up to 1,000 fellow parishoners will worship in a local school this morning after a suspicious fire virtually destroyed the Wasilla Bible Church early Saturday.

The Rev. Larry Kroon said some parishoners were in the church on Nicola Avenue at the time the fire was noticed but no one was injured. Firefighters baAlaska Republican governor and GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin whose church was burned Saturday by suspected arsonttled for about eight hours in minus-20 degree temperatures to completely extinguish the blaze that began at the front door.

Arson is suspected.

- LATimes | Services today moved as suspicious fire wrecks Sarah Palin's church

The Blessing of the New SUVs

A Ford Escape, Chevy Tahoe from GM and a Chrysler Aspen were parked on the altar.

Bishop Charles Ellis prays for the future of the American auto industry during a special service called "A Hybrid Hope" at the Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, Michigan December 7, 2008.

Yes, they were anointed with OIL.

- Princess Sparkle Pony's Photo Blog | Programming Note: This Week, the Part of the Golden Calf Will be Played by Three Sport Utility Vehicles

Belief in Jesus and UFOs Go Hand in Hand

It's not surprising that many of the people who believe in God, the Devil, and angels, also believe in UFOs.

Catholics are more likely than Protestants to believe in Darwin's theory of evolution (by 52 percent to 32 percent), ghosts (by 57 percent to 41 percent), UFOs (43 percent to 31 percent), and astrology (by 40 percent to 28 percent). Protestants are slightly more likely than Catholics to believe in creationism (by 54 percent to 46 percent)."

The survey of 2,126 adults was conducted Nov. 10-17.

The painting above posits that the strange object over the Virgin Mary's shoulder is a UFO. The painting is "The Madonna with Saint Giovannino," painted in the 15th century by an unknown artist. Probably a Catholic.

- Washington Times | Beliefs in God, UFOs prevail
- Alien-UFO-Pictures.com | Aliens in the Bible

Obama More Popular Than Jesus

Italian craftsman in Italy add political figures and celebrities to Nativity scenes that they produce.

Figurines of Mr Obama and his wife Michelle have become bestsellers, according to craftsmen in Naples.

The southern Italian city has a booming industry in producing the miniature statues and modern public figures are often added alongside Mary and Joseph.

Local market stalls also stock figurines of French first couple Nicholas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni and Italy's own Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

But outselling them all is the newly-elected American.

Just adding fuel to the fire - that Obama was not born in Hawaii, but in a manger.

- SkyNews | Obama Tops Jesus Stablemate Sales

God Bless You, Miss Bettie Page

Bettie Page died last night, at the age of 85.

From the Telegraph,

In the late 1950s Bettie Page became one of the most photographed women in the world, and her popularity (founded on the guilty-pleasure principle) soared even as she left the limelight nearly half a century ago. In the words of her agent, she captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality.

Bettie Mae Page was born on April 22 1923 in Nashville, Tennessee, one of six children from an impoverished family. In her teens she acted in high school plays, going on to study drama in New York. Although she earned a university degree, she never made it as an actress.

Bettie Page attended three Bible colleges and longed to be a missionary in Haiti. She was denied the chance because of a previous divorce. (Stupid, little people.)

Bettie Page was truly amazing - she exuded a joy I've rarely seen. She will be missed.

- Adult Christianity | The Bettie Page Story | Christian Beauty Queen, Convicted Felon, Enigma

Fetal Tweeting

Corey Menscher, an ITP student, has designed a kick sensor which monitors his pregnant wife's belly, and generates a fetal tweet whenever the baby kicks.

Being a fetus is no excuse not to update your profile pic, as far as I'm concerned. Hmph! Honor YOUR fetus with an heirloom fetal cookie cutter.

- BoingBoing.net | Youngest Twitterer EVAR?

Christmas Under Fire | Holly and Barbed Wire

Thanks, Ken, from Conelrad.com

He Said "Taint"

- Time | Can Obama Escape the Taint of Blagojevich?

Torture Playlist

Today at Joe.My.God. I learned there is a playlist used by the U.S. military when torturing detainees. The first song listed is "Enter Sandman," by Metallica, and I remembered that I'd recently seen that on another playlist - Pat Boone's In a Metal Mood, to which I referred earlier in the week. So I thought I'd give another plug to this album that I long ago enjoyed (before it was nicked). Here's a review from Amazon.

Warning: Pat Boone's "In a Metal Mood" is funnier than "Spinal Tap." Metallica, Judas Priest, and other metal greats are slain on the altar of Lawrence Welk. It's the album Ed Wood might have done.

The album is often compared to Golden Throats.

It will be a great day when America makes a committment to stop torture.

"We trashed your culture - and for good reason!"

I love ChristianNewsWire.com - it's where my wildest stories come from. On Monday, Gary McCullough, the director of Christian Newswire, posted his own editorial. He's admitting that Christians stole all of their holidays from the pagans - Christmas was a solstice celebration, Halloween became All Hallow's Eve, Easter - from the word estrus was a holiday celebrating fertility before they finished with their hammers and nails.

But McCullough isn't apologizing, mais non!

To our atheist neighbors, I say, Yes -- we stole your pagan holidays. We have trashed most of your culture; and for good reason. Pagan culture celebrated rape, slavery, and murder.

Uh..., Gary? Atheists aren't pagans. Pagans believe in gods, atheists usually don't. He continues.

Christianity has kicked its competitors (behind) for so long -- yet when a couple of atheists put up a little sign -- a few start crying out that we are under attack. I am sorry, but such a response by American Christians is entirely unnecessary. American Christians are not a meek David facing the anti-Christmas Goliath. America's Christianity is an aircraft carrier being rammed by some pagans in a leaking rowboat. Our response should be to throw these "attackers" a lifeline while trying not to laugh.

Come back to ChristianNewsWire.com and Gary McCullough will taunt you a second time.

- ChristianNewsWire.com | Christians Stole Late December Holiday from Atheists

Pat Boone Speaks Out on Gay Terrorists and Their Allies

I believe Pat Boone could make a bigger impact if he sang the following to the tune of House of the Rising Sun.

Pretty rotten thing that happened in Mumbai, huh?....If current theories and intel are correct, this slaughter was planned and executed by one of many Islamic groups that feel directed by their religion to subjugate - or exterminate - "infidels" like Hindus, Jews, Christians and even other Muslims who don't hew to their extremist views. To them, there is only one acceptable worldview - a theology they intend to enforce on all humankind - and anyone who might disagree or obstruct their goals should be removed, violently if need be.

Thank God, it couldn't happen here. Could it?

Look around. Watch your evening news. Read your newspaper.

Are you unaware of the raging demonstrations in our streets, in front of our churches and synagogues, even spilling into these places of worship, and many of these riots turning defamatory and violent? Have you not seen the angry distorted faces of the rioters, seen their derogatory and threatening placards and signs, heard their vows to overturn the democratically expressed views of voters, no matter what it costs, no matter what was expressed at the polls? Twice?

Assuming you have become aware of all this, let me ask you: Have you not seen the awful similarity between what happened in Mumbai and what's happening right now in our cities?

Oh, I know the homosexual "rights" demonstrations haven't reached the same level of violence, but I'm referring to the anger, the vehemence, the total disregard for law and order and the supposed rights of their fellow citizens. I'm referring to the intolerance, the hate seething in the words, faces and actions of those who didn't get their way in a democratic election, and who proclaim loudly that they will get their way, no matter what the electorate wants!

What troubles me so deeply, and should trouble all thinking Americans, is that there is a real, unbroken line between the jihadist savagery in Mumbai and the hedonistic, irresponsible, blindly selfish goals and tactics of our homegrown sexual jihadists. Hate is hate, no matter where it erupts. And by its very nature, if it's not held in check, it will escalate into acts vile, violent and destructive.

The photo above is from Boone's metal album, In a Metal Mood : No More Mr. Nice Guy. I did not put the gleam in his eye, but I think it goes well with the clip on earring, the bare chest and leather jacket. I once had this album but my husband loaned it to a friend and it's gone forever. Boone covers "Smoke on the Water," and "Stairway to Heaven." It's a very useful party killer.

Newt Gingrich, feeling one-upped, told Bill O'Reilly this week,

I think there is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us...it is a very dangerous threat to anybody who believes in traditional religion.

- Slog | Prop 8 Protestors = Mumbai Terrorists
- WorldNutDaily | Hate is hate, in India or America
- HuffingtonPost | Newt Gingrich and "Gay Fascists"

Christian Fashion Model Crafts Dolls in Black and White

Girls and Grace is a line of dolls and other products made for Christian girls. I have featured them here before, but they now have a new doll, one with "dark skin and brown eyes," named Mesi (pronounced Maycee). She's from somewhere in Africa. (I have a friend from Africa. I'll have to ask if he knows her.) According to the copy, "Mesi's education and her family's well-being are threatened by drought, disease, and war."

When girls can role-play the stories with their very own Sydney Claire or Mesi doll, the seeds of grace are planted in their tender hearts. Those squeals of delight that every parent loves to hear on Christmas morning will signal the start of countless hours of grace-filled playtime.

What are the stories? Here's Mesi's:

...a feud breaks out between Mesi's Ashanti tribe and their neighbors, the Kienese. As tensions mount, Mesi discovers a friendship she must keep secret. But she must decide what cost she is willing to pay in order to keep the secret--and protect her friend. Will she lose her best friend Kwasi? Anger her family? Or even bring destruction to her entire village?

So, squeals of delight? Contrast this with the drama the Sydney Claire Wilcox (the III?) doll, with her "blonde hair and blue eyes," skips through:

[Sydney is] an industrious ten-year-old living in the midst of the historic women's liberation, civil rights, and environmental movements. When she finds herself feeling lonely in the summer of 1965, she determines to do something about it. With her best friends, Vicky and Ann, Sydney Claire sets off on a series of money-making enterprises in order to purchase her heart's desire: Trouble, a fun-loving Golden Retriever.

People, there you have the Chistian imagination in black and white.

- Previously at Adult Christianity | Christian Fashion Model Launches Anti-Gay, Anti-Abortion Doll Line

Antigay Pastor Steven Kern of Oklahoma

He sings, too. The copy for his album, Songs from a Pastor's Heart reads, "Every cut on this album is different from the others... Better have a listen!"

Pastor Steven Kern, husband of notorious Oklahoma state legislator Sally Kern, told a fellow he thought was an anti-gay ally,

We have to get rid of that and start curing those sinners. It's past time that this nation stopped placating sin and start putting them in education programs. Courts can force drug offenders into treatment centers and violent people into anger management. There's no reason our courts can't do that with homos.

Sally made headlines in March of this year with her own batshit crazy comments,

Studies show that no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted more than, you know, a few decades. So it's the death knell of this country. I honestly think it's the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam - which I think is a big threat, okay? Cause what's happening now is they are going after, in schools, two-year olds...And this stuff is deadly, and it's spreading, and it will destroy our young people, it will destroy this nation.

Thanks, Joe. My. God.

- Olivet Baptist Church, "The end of your search for a friendly church."
- TheLostOgle.com | Sally Kern has a GAY son?

Arthur Blessitt | As the World Turns

Evangelist Arthur Blessitt, wants to put a cross in space, orbiting the earth, and needs your help.

After launch we can tell you on our site when it will be over you and your nation. We have carried the cross in Every nation. Now we will, God willing have it flying above Every nation! We wave the cross in the face of Satan and proclaim that Jesus is Lord over All the Earth. All glory to God.

The earth is already surrounded by an extensive debris field consisting of "...spent booster stages, nuts and bolts from ISS construction, various accidental discards such as spacesuit gloves and cameras, and fragments from exploded spacecraft..."

Do we need more junk in space? I know I shouldn't call the cross junk, but c'mon - if you won't be able to see it from earth, if it's really just about the idea of a cross orbiting around the earth, then send up a really tiny one, or better yet, send up the idea of one with your mind, See, I just sent one!



Why does this make me think of the movie The Loved One?

Blessit claims to be the man who led George W. Bush to Christ, though everyone knows the President came to Christ through the ministrations of Rev. E. Dwayne Looper.

There's a new movie on Blessitt's life, imaginatively named The Cross Movie which will be released next March 27th. I wonder what the production name was. The movie was produced by Gener8Xion Entertainment, Inc. who also produced One Night with the King, the story of how the humble Esther was turned out by God to save her people. Gener8Xion Entertainment, Inc. is headed by Matthew Crouch, son of hair hoppers Paul and Jan Crouch.

- MissPoppy.com | Pimp My Bride, Miss Poppy reviews "One Night with the King."

UK Churches Advertising Network Hits One Out of the Park

Each year the Churches Advertising Network, or CAN, releases an Xmas poster. Past years have been particularly cheesy, like the Baby Jesus dressed up in a Santa suit. This year's is gorgeous, in sedate blues illuminated with gilt halos for the Holy Family. The manger is a bus shelter, which is today's logical equivalent of a manger.

This ad places the birth of Jesus in the environment written of in the Bible - in teeming poverty. The image is not sentimental, but humbling of God, recalling Joan Osborne's lyrics, "What if God was one of us? Just a stranger on the bus?"

CAN describes the poster.

The painting is by Royal Academy Gold medal winner, Andrew Gadd. The oil painting is on canvas and depicts the holy family, with halos, in a dark bus shelter. The shepherds and wise men are replaced with fellow passengers waiting for a bus. Some are watching the nativity intently; others appear oblivious and are checking the bus timetable and flagging down a bus.

Francis Goodwin, the Chair of CAN, says: "We are very used to the Renaissance image of the Nativity. But what would it look like if it happened today? Where would it take place? We want to challenge people to make them reassess what the birth of Jesus means to them. By using a powerful and contemporary piece of art, from a world renowned painter, we can create an enduring image for our own times."

If only this was what Christianity was about. Jesus would not recognize his image today, and we would not - do not - recognize him.

- Churches Advertising Network | 2008 Nativity Poster

Classic Pro Life Bologna and Cheese

This classic sandwich is made of heart-healthy turkey bologna, good old-fashioned American cheese, classic white bread and is garnished with cocktail olives. This should get your finicky cannibals eating!

Get your own pro laugh fetus cookie cutter at MissPoppy.com.

- MissPoppy.com | Pro Laugh Fetus Cookie Cutter

Atheist Xmas Song

I'm more of an Angelina Jolie atheist, rather than a Christopher Hitchens type.

- Pharyngula | If you can't stand Adam Sandler's Hanukkah song, don't listen to this

Pray the Devil Back to Hell

From the movie website:

Pray the Devil Back to Hell chronicles the remarkable story of the courageous Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country.

Thousand of women - ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim - came together to pray for peace and then staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace. Armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they took on the warlords and nonviolently forced a resolution during the stalled peace talks.

A story of sacrifice, unity and transcendence, Pray the Devil Back to Hell honors the strength and perseverance of the women of Liberia. Inspiring, uplifting, and most of all motivating, it is a compelling testimony of how grassroots activism can alter the history of nations.

See the trailer.

- The Movie | Pray the Devil Back to Hell

Previously at Adult Christianity:
06.05.07 Pat Robertson's Buddy on Trial
10.10.06 GOP Delays Second Coming of Christ
09.19.05 FEMA Highlights Pat Robertson Charity
07.10.03 Pat Robertson Defends Liberian Dictator
06.06.03 Liberian President Charles Taylor to be Arrested
This is the most haunting photograph I've ever seen. I cannot forget it.

Atheist Christmas Display

The Freedom From Religion Foundation posted this sign, reading,

At this season of the Winter Solstice may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.

"Reason's Greetings." Love it.

- Freedom From Religion Foundation | Freethinking Winter Solstice Sign & Billboard To go up in Olympia!

Jack Black Condemned for Portraying "Rotund" Christ

Dr. (PhD Ministry) Gary Cass, of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, is positively flushed over Prop 8 The Musical, starring Jack Black and John C. Reily. He writes,

Jack Black should remember from his days at Hebrew School that homosexual acts aren't funny and are roundly condemned in the Bible. Appearing as a sarcastic, rotund Christ, Black distorts the Bible and condones shameful, homosexual acts. Associating Christ with perverse activity is an affront to all people of faith, especially Christians. Apparently Black and company find it hilarious to falsely accuse Christians while they intentionally distort the Bible. Black ought to apologize.

You may remember Dr. Gary Cass from a previous post here, 7 Reason Why Barack Obama Is Not A Christian. My favorite was number 7: "Obama Has No Bona Fide Christian Tesitimony (sic)."

They've cleaned up the typos. I think they got them one of those them poofreaders.

- ChristianNewsWire.com | Jack Black and Hollywood Stars Defame Christ and the Bible; Apology Demanded

Legally Blonde Congresswoman Hangs Up On Obama - Twice

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican Congresswoman from Florida, thought she was being pranked when asked to hold on the phone for President-elect Barack Obama, so she hung up on the caller - twice. Only it was Barack Obama calling for her.

When Obama finally DID get her on the line, through a trusted third party, Ros-Lehtinen replied, still seeming a little paranoid,

You are either very gracious to reach out in such a bipartisan manner or had run out of folks to call if you are truly calling me and Saturday Night Live could use a good Obama impersonator like you

You may remember Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for her batshit crazy opinion on Chinese fetus eating back in the mid-90s. She read the following into the Congressional Record.

And, we know that these practices violate every known standard of human rights since God made Man. There are reports that aborted fetuses are sold and eaten.

It wasn't true. It was racism employed in the service of pro-life propaganda.

- Online Office | of Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
- Politico.com | Ros-Lehtinen hangs up on Obama. Twice.

Man Robs Bank with Bible

A bank robber handed a teller a Bible and told her to turn to a particular page. There was written a note telling her to give him cash or he'd shoot and kill her.

The suspect took the money, told the teller he was leaving town, and said he would pay her back later. He then walked out of the bank.

Detectives are asking for the public's help in identifying the suspect. He is described as being a black male, 35 to 40 years old, 5-foot-9 to 6 feet tall, with a medium build.

During the robbery he wore sunglasses, a red and white striped knit hat, and a dark jacket.

Witnesses described the suspect as speaking with a Caribbean-type accent.

I wish I knew what page the teller was ordered to turn to. I wonder if it was Proverbs 6:30, "Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving."

- NWCN.com | Bible used to rob Tacoma bank

A GAY Bible

It's called the Princess Diana Bible and all the characters inside are gay. Read Genesis. It's written by Writer/producer/director Max Mitchell in conjunction with his new film Horror in the Wind.

Why not write your own Bible? Everyone else does.

Horror in the Wind

Vicar Slips, Lands on Potato

[ not this potato ]

An anonymous vicar checked into a Sheffield hospital to have a potato removed from his rectum. The vicar, in his 50s, told the staff that he had been naked while hanging curtains when he slipped and impaled himself on a potato that was sitting on the table he fell on. He insisted that he was not playing a sex game.

I believe him.

- Telegraph.co.uk | Vicar went to hospital with potato stuck in bottom

Jack Black in Prop 8 the Musical

Damn, it's a star-studded cast: Jack Black, John C. Reily, Neil Patrick Harris, Allison Janney, Rashida Jones, "SNL's" Maya Rudolph, and more.

- YouTube | Prop 8 The Musical Starring Jack Black

Man Hits Wife with Picture of Jesus

Longmont, CO

A 54-year-old Longmont man was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence and harassment at 9:49 p.m. Nov. 26 on the 1800 block of Cambridge Road. Dispatch responded to a domestic violence report after a woman's concerned friend called police. When police arrived to find out what was going on, the man didn't want to let police talk to the woman alone. When he finally allowed police to talk to her, he yelled to the woman through the door, "Don't do anything stupid." The woman told police her boyfriend and her had an argument because he wanted her to carry groceries in the house. He then got mad and said he didn't like the Jesus picture hanging in their bedroom, so he took it off the wall and hit her with it in the back of the head. The man told police he threw the picture at her and also said she is a "pack rat" and goes "overboard with things." He was taken to the Longmont Police Department for booking and then taken to Boulder County Jail.

- YourHub.com | Blotter: Man hits woman with Jesus picture

Jesus Appears on Guitar

LUDINGTON, Mich. (WZZM) - Employees at a Ludington music store think the face of Jesus can be seen in the wood grain of one of their guitars.

Instrumental Music and Sound employee Jeff Hoyer was the first to notice the image in the guitar's wood grain.

One customer thinks the image looks like an angel but others think it looks like the face of Jesus on the Shroud of Turin.

The guitar normally sells for around $500, but at this time the guitar with a mysterious face is not for sale.

- WZZM13.com | Ludington store employees think they see Jesus in a guitar

Catholic Mass Kit for Little Boys Only!

A toy mass kit from Wee Believers is "aimed at play for boys ages 3-12."

("Wee Believers." Do these people ever listen to what they're saying?)

My Mass Kit includes twelve plush, cleanable pieces and detailed instructional booklet contained in a durable, canvas case. Pieces include: Crucifix, Chalice, Thurible, Finger Bowl, Purificator, 2 Cruets, 2 Candles, Paten, cloth Corporal, and foam Hosts

Foam hosts. Oh, for Christ's sake. There's more. It's "Certified Quiet (TM) no noisy parts to disturb reverent environments." Don't even think of using the phrase "Certified Quiet" because these people own it.

- Wee Believers | My Mass Kit

Planned Parenthood Xmas Gift Certificates

I'm sorry. I think this is really funny. You just can't wrap a pelvic exam - I've tried!

Not everyone thinks this is as funny as I do. Priests for Life, who are certain these will be used for abortions, are calling the gift certificates "irredeemable," "inappropriate," and an "abomination."

I really like the woman on the side of the site who says, "We Deliver!"

- Planned Parenthood | Planned Parenthood Gift Certificates

Badger Strongly Condemned for Giving Cake to Stem Cell Researcher

Steve McConkey, the president of Underground Apologetics strongly condemned the University of Wisconsin's mascot, Bucky the Badger, for presenting Dr. James Thomson with a birthday cake and song. Dr. Thomson is famed for isolating human stem cells and for criticizing Bush for not fully supporting stem cell research.

McConkey had harsh words for the plush critter,

This may be a first for a school mascot to be used in supporting the culture of death. Adult stem cell research should be pursued instead of using embryos. As a UW fan, I am saddened that Bucky Badger was used for this cause.

- ChristianNewsWire.com | Wisconsin Mascot Bucky Badger and Crowd Sing' Happy Birthday' to Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research

The US Military Addresses Troop Suicides

According to CNN, "each day, five U.S. soldiers try to kill themselves. Before the Iraq war began, that figure was less than one suicide attempt a day."

From Huffington Post.

In March 2008, this presentation, titled "A New Approach To Suicide Prevention: Developing Purpose-Driven Airmen," was shown at a commander's call that was mandatory for an estimated 1,000 of Lakenheath's Air Force personnel, and sent out by email to the entire base of over 5,000 the following day. As the use of the phrase "Purpose-Driven" in its title implies, also incorporated into this presentation is the wisdom of presidential candidate inquisitor Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, a book that, second only to the Bible itself, is the most heavily promoted religious book in the military.

The next slide examines chance v. design in our lives, suggesting that for non-believers, "man is center of the universe."

It gets SO much worse. Pat Tillman, a soldier killed by friendly fire, is used as a teaching tool to persuade people to embrace Christianity.

I'd love to know how much "Dr." Rick Warren is getting paid because you just KNOW he's not doing this for free.

BTW, Rick Warren awarded Bush the first International Medal of PEACE from the Global PEACE Coalition yesterday. Uh..., riiight.

- J-Walk | Military Suicide Prevention
- MilitaryReligiousFreedom.org | The PowerPoint Program

Televangelesque!

A fire and brimstone birlesque revival, produced by Scarlett Letter and Chris Beyond. The event promises

burlesque, live music, comedy, healings, saints, and sinners.

All proceeds go to a charity for children's arts.

If you're in the area, don't miss it. These are great events.

- PeepShowMenagerie.com | Televangelesque

Soul on Ice

Cornell West's Hope on a Tightrope is on my Christmas wishlist. I'm looking forward to reading it and found a suggested reading list that West has posted at Amazon. One suggestion is Soul on Ice, by Eldridge Cleaver. I've never read it, though I have an old copy, so I picked it up today. It's really good.

I especially liked the part where Cleaver was trying to be a good Catholic and explain the mystery of the trinity to his priest.

Up shot my hand, my heart throbbing with piety (pride) for this chance to demonstrate my knowledge of the Word. To my great shock and embarrassment, the Father announced, and it sounded like a thunderclap, that I was lying, that no one, not even the Pope, undestood the Godhead, and why else did I think they called it the mystery of the Holy Trinity? I saw in a flash, stung to the quick by the jeers of my fellow catechumens, that I had been used, that the Father had been lying in wait for the chance to drop that thunderbolt, in order to drive home the point that the Holy Trinity was not to be taken lightly.

I had intended to explain the Trinity with an analogy to 3-in-1 oil, so it was probably just as well.

I had long ago read and reviewed Cleaver's Ice and Fire and was more familiar with the checkered nature of his Christian past (see the awkward photo above of Cleaver and his wife Kathleen with Pat Boone and his wife). Believe me, Soul on Ice is a much better read.

- Postfun.com | Cellmates of the Lord

Who Let the Gods Out? White Man Raises Roof for Jesus

From Smitty, Filled with the Spirit, from the album The Walls of Jericho. I understand the video was produced for Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life Seminar in 2006. Warren is the religious guy who interviewed McCain and Obama. Remember? Yeah, me neither.

One other religious guy didn't like the lyrics of the song.

Ohhhhhh, I'm filled with the Spirit;
come gather round so all ya'll can hear it.
Ohhhhh, I feel so amazing; can't stop the music, got my hands raising.
Ohhhh, I feel this divinity; stronger than Samson; it is the Trinity.
Calm me down I need the tranquility;
Satan try to stop me; you got to be kiddin' me.
Uuhhhhh, now break it down ya'll;
uuhhhhh, now break it down ya'll;
uuhhhh, uuhhhhh, now break it down, now break it down,
Old Testament style.
Do the burning bush, do the burning bush,
now everybody in the crowd do the burning bush.
The walls of Jericho, the walls of Jericho,
make the booty drop like the walls of Jericho
[the rapper turns around and shakes his backside to the camera]...

Thanks, Jesus General

Taliban Acid Attacks on Afghan Schoolgirls

Afghan police have arrested 10 men for throwing battery acid on 15 girls and teachers as punishment for attending school. Several girls suffered serious burns on their faces.

The men were described as Afghan Taliban militants who came to Kandahar from Pakistan to carry out the attack, the provincial governor said.

The basis for the attacks was religious. The attackers believed Allah does not want women educated.

I'm not a violent person and I must question myself heartily when I find myself empathizing with statements like this, of General Mattis.

You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight. You know, it's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right upfront with you, I like brawling.

When I see pictures of these schoolgirls I wish for a few minutes alone with the fellows that did this to them. Yet I know that violence is not the answer. The answer is for those girls and their families and communities to find and create their own solutions, and for us to support them in every way we can. These young women are not helpless. They are continuing to go to school.

- USAToday | 10 Taliban arrested in acid attacks on Afghan girls

God is Not Good for Children and Other Living Things

I missed this when it first came out, but reader Weldon kindly forwarded it to me. (Thanks, Weldon.=)

According to a paper published in the U.S. based Journal of Religion and Society,

Many Americans agree that their churchgoing nation is an exceptional, God-blessed, shining city on the hill that stands as an impressive example for an increasingly sceptical world.

In general, higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy and abortion in the prosperous democracies.

The United States is almost always the most dysfunctional of the developing democracies, sometimes spectacularly so.

On another note, I might take a look at The Cedar and Brokeback Mountains | Heroic Passions or "I'm Not No Queer". Interesting journal.

What do you think? Will we be better off if and as the world's interest in god wanes?

- TimesOnline | Societies worse off 'when they have God on their side'
- Journal of Religion and Society | Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies, by Gregory S. Paul

The Vatican Warns of the Spiritual Dangers of Cell Phones

Does your cell phone weigh the same as a duck? If not, according to the Vatican, your soul may be in danger, girl!

Father Federico Lombardi, the Pope’s spokesman, said.

In the age of the cell phone and the internet it is probably more difficult than before to protect silence and to nourish the interior dimension of life.It is difficult but necessary.

There is an interior and spiritual dimension of life that must be guarded and nourished. If it is not, it can become barren to the point of drying up and, indeed, dying. Today, this is a very grave threat, and it is the most irreparable misfortune.

Srsly?

- Telegraph.Co.UK | Vatican warns mobile phones are bad for the soul

Civil War Revisionism Meets Creationism

Artist Mark Cline's installation at Natural Bridge, Virginia.

It's 1863, While digging for dinosaur bones in the LOST CAVERNS, The Garrison Family has discovered an entire valley on the other side filled with LIVING DINOSAURS. Unfortunatly, so has the NORTHERN Army who seeks to use the dinos as WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION against the South. Can the Garrisons and their pet monkey "BLINKY" Stop them before it is too late to ESCAPE FROM DINOSAUR KINGDOM

Mark Cline's "Escape From Dinosaur Kingdom", Natural Bridge, Virginia.

Crowolf took the amazing photos.

Thanks, Keith.

- Natural Bridge of Virginia | Professor Cline's Dinosaur Kingdom
- flickr | Professor Cline's Dinosaur Kingdom
- YouTube | Dinosaur Kingdom!

Rejoice-Andrew Jackson Jihad

O.M.G. THIS is FABULOUS!!!!! Thanks, NKLS Cody.

Rejoice although this world will devastate you
And rejoice although this world will penetrate you
And rejoice although you will not survive
Rejoice you'll never make it out alive

- Experience Project | Rejoice-Andrew Jackson Jihad

Eww! Jesus Appears on Scuzzy Doggie Door

This scuzzy doggie door, that I guess kind of looks like Jesus, is being auctioned on Ebay. The starting bid is $990.00. I'd get it but they're charging an extra $15.00 for shipping. That's where they get you.

This one may be the real deal.

I believe the dog door image to be superior to most naturally-occurring Jesus likenesses, commonly known as pareidolia, because of two factors: the face itself is more distinct than past images such as those found on toast, tortillas and x-rays, and because of the coincidence of finding the image on an item of the dogs at a moment I was contemplating getting rid of them. Hence it is far more defensible as an actual divine manifestation than a random occurrence with no underlying context.

- Ebay.com | Famous Authentic Miracle Jesus Image in Doggie Door

The Truly Amazing Lyre Bird

Click through. This is both amazing and a little sad, toward the end.

- YouTube.com | Amazing! Bird sounds from the lyre bird - David Attenborough - BBC wildlife