Category: Religion

A New Nom De Plume

“To this day, the eye gives me a cold shudder.”

–Charles Darwin

The eye, the very thing that gave ol’ Chuck a case of the chills, never fails to give me a case of the warm fuzzies. I’m up to my eyeballs in eyeballs, and frankly, most days, I’m happier than a pig in slop. I believe I have an office with the best view in town and sometimes I get so enraptured by the beauty and complexity of this organ of sight that I get a little behind in my daily schedule because I just can’t stop staring.

I guess you could say that I’m an “eyeguy,” and in fact, many folks in these parts say just that.… Read the rest

“The Book of Daniel” 1/6/06-1/24/06–R.I.P.


“…take a deep breath, relax and vote with your remote rather than play the protest game. Do that, and “The Book of Daniel” and its desperate priest will be dead on the vine within the month.”

I wrote those words on January 7th. Not that I’m a prophet or anything (who, after all, didn’t see this coming?), but just remember, I told ya so!

If you haven’t heard, NBC has pulled the plug on the desperately lacking and controversial show “The Book of Daniel” after only four episodes. The folks at Focus on the Family and the American Family Association are already taking credit for forcing the network’s hand on this, and others are whining and complaining about all those drunk-on-religion Red State right-wing nut cases who have struck once again and spoiled everyone’s fun.… Read the rest

A Word Fitly Spoken

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” Proverbs 25:11

Huntsville resident and author Homer Hickam, Jr. (Rocket Boys, The Coalwood Way) spoke yesterday at the public memorial for the West Virginia coal miners killed in the recent explosion at the Sago Mine. His words “fitly spoken” will no doubt be cherished in the years to come by the family and friends of the fallen miners. The following is an excerpt:

“There are no better men than coal miners. The American economy rests on the back of our coal miners. We could not prosper without them.”

… Read the rest

Desperate Priests–An Update

The fallout over The Book of Daniel continues over at NBC. After a week of tepid reviews and further protests, the show appears destined for that place where bad TV shows go to die–the trashbin. As I pointed out last week, I can handle a little “edge” if it’s for a good cause. But in my opinion (and that of some secular critics as well), the show is a flop both artistically and morally and I felt that even without the firestorm of protest ignited by the American Family Association that it would probably die on the vine anyway.

Despite the fact even more affiliates are choosing not to air the controversial show, NBC recently issued the following statement:

“The Book of Daniel is a quality fictional drama about an Episcopalian priest’s family and the contemporary issues with which they must grapple.

… Read the rest

The Problem With Pat–An Update

For those who need to update their scorecards, Pat Robertson officially apologized to Ariel Sharon’s son Omri recently after Robertson’s strong suggestion that the Israeli Prime Minister’s recent stroke was divine retribution for giving up the Gaza Strip. Both video of the apology and copies of the letter are available at the CBN website. Also, Israel has officially accepted Robertson’s apology. However, Robertson’s involvment in the development of the Christian Heritage Center, a multi-million-dollar Sea of Galilee tourism project, remains endangered.

Robertson deserves some credit for searching his soul and coming clean on this one. Whether or not this latest incident will have any effect on the quantity and quality of future “prophecies” remains to be seen.… Read the rest

The Problem With Pat

Probably by now, most of you have your minds made up about Pat Robertson–you’re either “fer him or agin’ him!” Is there any other alternative?

Maybe. If you dare to have your minds stretched and your notions challenged, then check out this post written by Bill Gnade at Contratimes. Bill is certainly no 700 Club shill, but in his trademark methodical and lucid fashion, he stakes out some sober and reasonable middle ground from which to view the current uproar over Robertson’s remarks regarding “God’s judgement” of Ariel Sharon and his recent stroke.

Bill is one of my favorite commentators in the blogosphere and once again he slams one home off the fast break (we are in the middle of college hoops after all, not baseball season!).… Read the rest

Desperate Priests

What do you get when you cross a decent TV show like Joan of Arcadia with Desperate Housewives? Well, you get a train wreck of a show called The Book of Daniel featuring a desperate, mealy-mouthed, pill-popping Episcopal priest named Daniel Webster and a cast of characters who are no doubt one of the most despicable assemblages of sad sacks to ever disgrace the airwaves. I know that life is hard, that Christians are far from perfect and I like a little “edge” as much as the next guy, but this one went tumbling over the cliff like a pack of demon-possessed swine.… Read the rest

Sex in Bedford Falls

Now that I have your attention, I wanted to tell you, in case you haven’t noticed lately, that we have a serious problem with “sex in the city,” and for that matter, in the burbs and backwaters as well. The problem is, we no longer leave anything to the imagination. From peeks under the sheets to prime-time commercials hawking the latest and greatest impotence remedy, it’s all out in the open for curious eyes to see.

The “sexperts” say it’s better to talk about previously taboo topics in cold and clinical terms and to the show sex act in all its technicolor splendor.… Read the rest

Thoughts on Lessons and Carols

Several of us Church of Christ folks snuck over to the Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Huntsville last night for A Festival Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. The Church of the Nativity is one of the oldest churches in Huntsville and has an interesting piece of history attached to it. During the Civil War, the Union Army occupied Huntsville and began commandeering area churches to use as stables for their horses. One Union officer was sent with a detail to Church of the Nativity for that purpose. However, when he saw the words “Reverence My Sanctuary” (still seen today) above the front entrance, he had second thoughts and gave orders to his troops that the church was to remain untouched.… Read the rest

Merry Christmas You Wonderful Old FBI!

Our Sunday School class has been watching Frank Capra’s classic Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life recently and discussing it in the context of scriptures such as Philippians 2:3 and Psalm 90:17. Jimmy Stewart’s character George Bailey was indeed a man who “considered others better” than himself and who had the unique opportunity to see what difference the “work of his hands” made in the life and times of the people of the fictional town of Bedford Falls, New York. Like Clarence the Angel, we “like that George Bailey”–how could anyone not, right?

Well, it may surprise you that in 1946 when the movie was first released, the movie was unmercifully panned by critics as “too corny” and promptly flopped at the box office (it was not until PBS began re-broadcasting the movie in the 1970s that it finally got its second wind and became a Christmas classic).… Read the rest

Holy Mondegreens

Mondegreen (noun)–a series of words that result from the mishearing or misinterpretation of a statement or a song lyric, e.g. I led the pigeons to the flag for I pledge allegiance to the flag. —http://dictionary.reference.com/

When I was a child, I sometimes didn’t hear things the way I was supposed to. Of course, this may have been partly due to the heavy ear wax which plagued me back in those days. Like most boys, I had more than my share of the greasy stuff, and every Saturday night my mother would subject me to a weekly ear cleaning. This was performed with a Q-tip moistened with Johnson’s Baby Oil.… Read the rest

Narnia–The Afterglow

It has now been 3 days since I “entered the wardrobe” of Andrew Adamson’s screen adaptation of the C.S. Lewis classic, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The afterglow lingers, and my right brain is still tingling and my hair a little askew from the wild ride on Aslan’s back. I intentionally waited a while before I attempted any kind of review or analysis–I simply wanted to relish the magic of the moment. Now that my left brain has re-engaged a little, maybe I can finally write down a few of my responses and impressions.

Let me say this up front: my expectations were exceeded.… Read the rest