Pork Barrel Degrees Of Kevin Bacon
When you get start to follow links on the innertubes, there is no telling where you will wind up. Today’s rabbit hole started with Peach Pundit.
It seems that Kevin Bacon made a video about reproductive rights. Six degree dude mentions a “Lawmaker in Georgia calling women farm animals”. This is supposed to make people angry enough to sign an online petition.
Here is the speech that Terry England gave to the lesterslature. Dr. England is a veterinarian, and talked about the heartbreak of delivering a stillborn cow. Next, there is a discussion with a “salt of the earth” person. “You tell those folks down there, when they quit killing babies, they can have every chicken I’ve got” Dr. England notes “If that don’t put it in perspective for you real quick, your bread ain’t gonna rise and your eggs ain’t gonna cook”. This leads into a bit of talk about abortion.
The last quote is from the book of Jeremiah. “He doesn’t stutter, he doesn’t stammer”. The quote Dr. England uses was “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee.”
Peach Pundit says that Kevin Bacon quotes Terry England out of context, and perhaps he does. Quoting out of context is a rhetorical tradition, beloved by both liberals and conservatives. The bible is quoted out of context all the time.
In his speech before the lesterslature, Dr. England did not read the entire bible verse. The complete verse of Jeremiah 1:5 is “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”
It seems that Jeremiah is some sort of minister. (Note: PG is not a bible scholar, and this interpretation might not be good enough for some people.) The next few verses are fun.
6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. 7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. 8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. 9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
So, the person G-d knew before birth was a minister. Jeremiah was not a cow, a pig, nor abortion collateral damage.
One thing that liberal actors have in common with Georgia lawmakers is saying foolish things. Whether they are in or out of context, these ravings should be taken with a bit of independent thought. You should beware of people trying to get you fired up.
On March 22, PG wrote Corruption In Georgia. The comments of Dr. England are discussed. The post has a link to a site called Atlanta Unfiltered. PG does not visit AU regularly, but decided to drop in.
AU has an amusing post. Report: Paul Broun among ‘most corrupt’ Congress-persons. Dr. Broun was in the news recently about his “testimony” in a Baptist church.
This was written like William Shakespeare. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
Pitts Of Hell
Dr. Paul Broun is the Republican Congressman from Georgia’s Tenth District. He recently gave a testimony at Liberty Baptist Church, in Hartwell, GA. Here is the headline quote:
G-d’s word is true. I’ve come to understand that. All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and the Big Bang Theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of Hell. And it’s lies to try to keep me and all the folks who were taught that from understanding that they need a savior. You see, there are a lot of scientific data that I’ve found out as a scientist that actually show that this is really a young Earth. I don’t believe that the Earth’s but about 9,000 years old. I believe it was created in six days as we know them. That’s what the Bible says.
The testimony was delivered at “Hitting the Mark” Sportsman Banquet, Thursday, September 27, 2012. “There were Giveaways & Door Prizes including: GUNS & SPORTS-RELATED GIFT CERTIFICATES.” Dr. Broun’s 47 minute speech is available here.
The first twenty minutes of his remarks are about hunting. Dr. Broun shows slides of trophies. There is a bear he killed in Alaska. There are two lions that he killed in Africa. The second lion was leaping towards him when Dr. Broun shot it in the face. “I believe G-d directed that bullet.”(20:55)
The next part is his own story. Dr. Broun went to services at “two major denominations” as a child. (Neither wikipedia nor his congressional bio give denominational details.) Dr. Broun said he was sprinkled on the head as a small child. Later in his remarks, he says Pastors who baptize children in this manner are sending them to hell. (34:13)
When he got a bit older, Paul Broun left the church. He joined the Marine reserves, and did not go to Vietnam. He became a Doctor, got divorced three times, and said he was living for himself. His fourth marriage was not working. He saw a football game, and saw a man holding a John 3:16 sign. There was a Gideons bible in the waiting room of his office. (Wikipedia says his practice was exclusively house calls.) Dr. Broun read the bible, and asked G-d to straighten out his life. Once again, he was living for himself. He became a Christian.
He worked up to his headline quote by talking about his recent deployment to Afghanistan. Dr. Broun is in the reserves, and was sent to Afghanistan for 47 days to work in hospitals. It would be interesting to know how much it cost the government to send a 66 year old congressman to Afghanistan for 47 days.
There was an Afghan soldier who was injured by an IED. His sternum stopped the flak from going into his thoracic cavity. Dr. Broun said this was an example of the wonderful design that G-d had for the human body. He did not mention why these bombs were being set off eleven years after nine eleven.
At the 42 minute mark of his testimony, Dr. Broun led a prayer. He asked for anyone who had prayed to Jesus to change their life to raise their hand. “You are holding up your hand to G-d”
Pictures are from ” The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”. This was written like Kurt Vonnegut.
The Parable
A facebook friend gave PG the link to a video, The Power of Parable , and set some events into motion. It did not end well.
TPOP is an interview with Peter Rollins. He says that “a parable tries to get beyond something in the head, and rupture something in the heart.” A parable is like a painting, with a different meaning every time you look at it. It should make you think, it should move and transform you. A parable ” is not giving water to those who are thirsty, it is giving them salt to make them thirsty.”
PG had been thinking of the story of The Prodigal Son , and decided to publish this story on his blog. He found the text, in Luke 15. PG’s late father was named Luke.
The story of The Prodigal Son (a phrase that does not appear in Luke 15) had long been a favorite of PG. It is about family, acceptance, forgiveness, and welcome. The disgust that PG feels for the abusive ways of Jesus worshipers does not affect his enjoyment of this story.
At about this time, PG saw a comment thread at a blog . The writer of this blog, ZSB, had butted heads with PG before. A few comments were made, including one snide remark by Frank Turk. For some reason, PG decided to send a link to The Prodigal Son , The story was about forgiveness and kindness, and PG hoped to build a bridge.
ZSB … Chamblee, I like the photos (although, as usual, they seem unlrelated to the post), am ambivalent about the video,dig the rainbow-text effect, and LOVE the words contained in the text… but what on earth does it have to do with this post or this meta? Oh, wait, I get it—you’re further showcasing how the Internet often fosters random non-sequitur-style communication. September 15, 2011 3:27 PM
chamblee54 …. 1- I did not read the complete dialog. I seldom have the patience for long discussions like this. When I saw the comment “G-d has given us a perfect bible”, I realized that this was built on a shaky foundation. I simply do not agree with that concept. 2- The story that I used is The prodigal son. It is about not giving up on people. It is about not labeling someone a troll, and ignoring everything they say. I see that as highly relevant to the dialog between Mr. Turk and myself. 3- I linked to a video in the story. It is a monolog about the value of parables. It is about taking a text and thinking about the many different meanings that it can have. This is different from calling this text the “word of G-d”, and saying that it has a literal meaning. The story of the prodigal son can have many meanings. 4- The Prodigal Son was a parable. It was a made up story, used to teach a lesson. When you call a text a literal piece of work, you contradict the nature of parables. The Prodigal Son story may have happened, or may not have. This is beside the point to the overall story. 5- The video is a song by Tom Waits. While not a direct cause and effect companion to the story, there is a connection. Whatever happens to little boys who never comb their hair? September 15, 2011 3:42 PM
ZSB … Chamblee54 said… “. [The Prodigal Son] is about not giving up on people. It is about not labeling someone a troll, and ignoring everything they say. ”
Um, no. No, a thousand times no! That is not what the Lord’s parable of the lost son is about. Look at the context. It’s about salvation. It’s about something you won’t hear because you’re tripped up by the words “God has given us a perfect Bible.” Reject it, laugh at it, spit on it, but don’t turn it into a benign little collection of nice-isms that you can live with, because, while it doesn’t harm God’s Word, it makes you look silly to do so. September 15, 2011 4:27 PM
chamblee54 … My point exactly. A parable is like a poem … it should have a different meaning every time you hear it. When you take an allegory, and call it a literal work, you are not always going to have the “correct” interpretation.
This story was written by someone. It was written many years after Jesus had his ministry. It was translated at least twice. It was copied by hand, probably more than once. It was compiled into a book by the council of nicea. This is not a copy/paste of a word document written by Jesus.
But, when someone disagrees with your view, and you have a hissy fit, then it makes YOU look silly. September 15, 2011 5:01 PM
ZSB … Okay, I’ve dealth with the tired, ill-founded claim of “twice-translated” words of Jesus, allegedly far-removed from his ministry here . And parables aren’t allegory. Fairly common rookie mistake.
And this comment thread is actually about the subject of the blogpost. Like all of my blog comment threads, it’s not about your beef (and borderline obsession) with Frank Turk.
Comment thread is now un-hijacked. i.e. all comments unrelated to the post (paticularly by those who admit to not having read it) will be deleted post-haste. That is all. September 15, 2011 5:15 PM
PG was had many ups and downs with Jesus. Some of the bad experiences were not his fault. In this case, he should have known better. You don’t discuss poetry with Jesus worshipers, at least ones who care mostly about life after death. It is a “fairly common rookie mistake”. Jesus was spoiled for PG a while back. This visit was a reminder. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
Did BHO Say He Is A Liberal?
PG listened to The Allen Hunt Show on his way home from Piccadilly Sunday night. The radio talker was discussing charitable giving. It was said that WMR, who calls himself a conservative, gave X% to charity. Meanwhile, BHO calls himself a liberal, and gave Y% to charity. The question PG had was, when did BHO say, in so many words, I am a liberal? At 7:25 PM – 23 Sep 12, this tweet went out: @chamblee54 “@AllenHunt When did Barack Obama say “I am a liberal?” If there is a reply, it will be shared here.
One viewpoint is that conservatives enjoy labels more than liberals do. You seldom hear anyone boasting about how liberal they are, while conservatives seem to get off on selfapplying the c word. It could be that conservatives enjoy putting labels on people more than liberals.
Part of the problem is the changing definitions of the L and C words. It used to be that an activist foreign policy was considered liberal. Then conservatives discovered the fun of sending armies out to kill people. Since BHO has been the POTUS, the war in Afghanistan has been escalated. The use of futuristic drone airplanes to kill women and children in neutral countries has dramatically increased. Is this the behavior of a liberal?
One easy test is to use wikiquotes. The BHO page has 40k words. The search term is liberal. The first thing to come up is the classic routine from his 2008 campaign. “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America.” Another BHO quote is “We cannot disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism..” There are three quotes from others who describe BHO as a liberal. The quote we are looking for is not there.
If you ask Mr. Google “has barack obama ever called himself a liberal”, you get 17 million results. For “I am a liberal” Barack Obama”, there are 188k results. These two first pages may, or may not, give a time and place for this alleged quote.
On September 11, 2012, the Daily Kos posted Are you more (or less) liberal than President Obama? Take the Quiz!. “This quiz was in no way intended to represent the political spectrum in America in a traditional way.” Nor does it tell us the context for this “urban legend” quote.
The rest of the first page for I am a liberal” Barack Obama is useless. It is a bunch of blog posts containing the phrase “I am a liberal”. One exception is a book review, Review: ‘I Am a Liberal’ is the Mocking Liberals Deserve.
The other search page does not show this magic unicorn of a quote. It does have some seriously weird stuff. Fact Check Project: Allegations that Barack Obama Does Not Exist. 7 Reasons Obama is NOT a Christian. Wikiality, the Truthiness Encyclopedia, gives you a choice: “THIS IS ABOUT THE REAL MOOSLIM OBAMA, FOR THE THEORETICAL OBAMA THAT SOME REPUBLICANS HAVE FOR THERE FANTASY, SEE: THIS PAGE.”
Before we leave this page, there should be a visit to Liberty Counsel – Adopt a Liberal. “Pick one or more of the liberals from the list we have posted online at http://www.LC.org, or choose your own liberal(s) to adopt. If you are led to choose one or more of the liberals we have selected for consideration, please read their brief biographical statement, including the reasons they stand in need of prayer.” One of the choices is “The unknown Liberal.” “There will likely be additional liberals the Lord may bring to mind who desperately need your prayers. Feel free to select your own unique liberal and adopt them for prayer, perhaps even nominating one or more liberals for listing on our website by emailing us at liberty@LC.org.”
The question remains, did BHO ever say “I am a liberal”? In a way, it doesn’t matter. People are going to believe whatever they want to believe. It would be fun to know the context of any such statement.
Out of a misguided sense of fairness, PG decided to investigate whether WMR ever said ” I am a conservative”. When you ask Mr. Google “did Mitt Romney”, the suggested searches are dodge the draft, outsource jobs, start staples, and really save the olympics.
You don’t have to go far to get results here. There is a story, Romney Has Conciliatory Remarks on Obama and Health Overhaul. “Reminded that he had once called himself a “severe” conservative, Mr. Romney seemed to play down that description. “I am as conservative as the Constitution,” he said.” This comment could be taken in different ways. The Constitution was a fairly liberal document for the 18th century. Maybe amendments made it conservative.
Mr. Romney’s reputed conservatism combined with Oxycontin to put Rush Limbaugh on cloud nine. “I was a severely conservative Republican governor,” Mitt Romney told the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February 2012. Severely conservative? Conservatives snickered. “I may be a little giddy here,” Rush Limbaugh said. “I have never heard anybody say, ‘I’m severely conservative.'”Here is the source: Mitt Romney’s ‘Severe Conservatism’.
On the trip to Piccadilly, the theme of the Allen Hunt show was a sign on NYC busses. The poster was produced by Pamela Geller. The text reads “IN ANY WAR BETWEEN THE CIVILIZED MAN AND THE SAVAGE SUPPORT THE CIVILIZED MAN SUPPORT ISRAEL DEFEAT JIHAD PAID FOR BY THE AMERICAN FREEDOM DEFENSE INITIATIVE ATLASSHRUGS.COM SIOAONLINE.COM JIHADWATCH.COM.”
Two of the web addresses on the sign are not valid. Spell check suggestions for the websites: ATLASSHRUGS/ GLASSHOUSES, SIOAONLINE/ NONLINEAR, JIHADWATCH/ BIRDWATCHER.
Mr. Hunt said the sign was accurate. He consulted a dictionary, and said that any definition of savage fits Muslims. Mr. Hunt said he did not approve of the sign, and would tell his audience why after a commercial break. By this time, PG was in the serving line at Piccadilly. Chicken tenders taste better than the opinions of a radio whiner.
During the invasion of Gaza, Israel killed children using depleted uranium shells. During an incident with a Turkish ship, Israel shot an American citizen four times at point blank range. On the West Bank, Israel bulldozes homes to build illegal settlements. Maybe Israel is the savage.
Eat Morons
PG was hoping that Eatmorchikingate was over. The affair had gathered far more publicity than it deserved. It had degenerated into a lot of name calling, with people finding a brand new reason to tell everyone how much they hate their neighbors. The sandwiches are overpriced anyway.
This week brought the news that CFA was making nice with the Chicago politicians, and would no longer donate money to anti gay organizations. There were also reports of Christians upset with the company for “backing down”.
Before long, there were reports that CFA was going to continue to give money to “pro family” organizations. That story links to a CFA statement that pledges: “the Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender.” The spell check suggestion for Chick-fil-A is Chick-fail-A. Spell check is not a popular device at CFA.
Mike Huckabee has milked eatmorchikingate for the publicity it brings him. On his site, he posts a statement by Dan Cathy, CEO of CFA, which says ““There continues to be erroneous implications in the media that Chick-fil-A changed our practices and priorities in order to obtain permission for a new restaurant in Chicago. That is incorrect. Chick-fil-A made no such concessions, and we remain true to who we are and who we have been.”
There is a tour of Israel being promoted on the Mike Huckabee website, Next February, you can go to Israel with Mike Huckabee and Tony Orlando.
The fishwrapper has a little story today about how Dan Cathy personally lobbied the Chicago politician, and assured him that the anti gay agitating was going to stop. There were a couple of side stories that were amusing. It seems like the Chicago restaurant was going to be in the Parking lot of a Home Depot. Bernie and Arthur sold supplies to a lot of decorators, and knew the business value of being gay friendly.
The comments at the fiswrapper were the usual mix of first amendment, Bible fueled gay bashing, and cows who cannot spell. It got interesting on the second page. “Yeah, well Mr. Cathy’s bottomless pit of corporate lawyers are still suing a little Vermont t-shirt maker for his Eat More Kale business, even though he doesn’t sell fat- and sodium-laden chicken sandwiches in Vermont, and you’d have to be an idiot to confuse a t-shirt with a chicken sandwich.”
Mr. Google has more on this story. It seems the T shirt guy is fighting back, and refusing to quit telling people to “Eat More Kale”. The fact that all the words are spelled correctly is not a good excuse.
Some digital troublemaker has posted the Letter of Protest that was sent to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This is not the first time CFA has defended their monopoly on eat more advertising. Other slogans to get in trouble include eat more burgers, eat more beer, eat more buffalo, eat more goat, eat more kariboo, eat more dog, eat more moo, and eat more cereal.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
Sweet Tea For Jesus
There are a lot of lips moving about the “Tea Party” these days. Many of the party people are Jesus Worshipers, who believe that the Bible is the word of G-d. While this belief is not required to join the party, it is very, very helpful. Probably, very few tea partiers are Muslims, who believe the Koran to be the word of G-d. Whatever the phrasing, these three movements are real to those who believe.
PG watches from the sidelines. He feels that practice is more important than belief. PG sees Jesus in the words and deeds of those who worship Jesus. (Is this worship a violation of the first commandment? That is another issue for another day.)
This hobby blogger drinks a lot of tea, favoring the cheapest brand available. Put two bags in a pitcher, heat the water for ten minutes, and pour the water over the bags. Sugar gets in the way of the taste, and lemons are too much work. You make the next pitcher of tea when you pour the last glass. What this custom has to do with politics or religion is a matter for those with a philosophical bent.
A blogger named Frank Turk made a video. There were 86 comments. Mr. Turk makes the comment in this video that Jesus is a real person. This is different from PG’s view, which is that Jesus is a spirit that lives in the hearts of those who worship him. To PG, this spirit has almost no relation to the person reputed to live in Palestine 2100 years ago.
In the video, Mr. Turk tells a story about tea parties becoming real . ” My brother-in-law David tells a story about the first time he visited Boston. David’s ex-military, and He says that he can remember all through school people told him about American history — about the events that happened that caused us to be a country, the list of facts. But in Boston, he found himself out in the harbor looking down into the water, and when he looked into the water and out at the harbor he realized: “Wow. This is were they dropped the tea into the harbor.” And at that moment, all those men and all the stories about them weren’t just facts or true statements anymore: the real people became obvious to him, and it changed the way he thought about our country and his part in it.”
Politics and religion are emotional affairs. Some sayings resonate, and some do not. This feature is about the concept of “real”. How political movements are based on events that only marginally relate to the movement, but make a statement that you feel in your gut. How religious movements worship a figure who has been distorted to mean what the believer wants him to mean. About how you know something is “real”.
First, the present day tea party, and the events in Boston Harbor December 16, 1773. PG wrote about the original Tea Party earlier in 2010. In the ecologically sound tradition of recycling your own work, here is what he found.
The namesake event was the Boston Tea Party. On December 16, 1773, crowds of people (some dressed as Mohawks) went on board the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver. The crowds threw overboard 342 chests, containing 90,000 pounds of tea. The crowds were unhappy because the East India Company was importing the tea into America, with a 3 pence per pound tax. (It is not known how the imitation Mohawks cut their hair.)
A website called listverse plays the contrarian. “American colonists did not protest the Tea Tax with the Boston Tea Party because it raised the price of tea. The American colonists preferred Dutch tea to English tea. The English Parliament placed an embargo on Dutch tea in the colonies, so a huge smuggling profession developed. To combat this, the English government LOWERED the tax on tea so that the English tea would be price competitive with Dutch teas. The colonists (actually some colonists led by the chief smugglers) protested by dumping the tea into Boston Harbor.”
According to Wikipedia, the Dutch tea had been smuggled into the colonies for some time. The Dutch government had given their companies a tax advantage, which allowed them to sell their product cheaper. Finally, the British government cut their taxes, but kept a tax in place. The “Townsend Tax” was to be used to pay governing colonial officials, and make them less dependent on the colonists.
In Charleston, New York, and Philadelphia, the tea boats were turned around, and returned to England with their merchandise. In Massachusetts, Governor Thomas Hutchinson insisted that the tea be unloaded. Two of the Governor’s sons were tea dealers, and stood to make a profit from the taxed tea. There are also reports that the smugglers were in the crowd dumping tea into the harbor.
Smugglers, a corrupt colonial governor, and peaceful solutions at the other major harbors. Is this the story Glenn Beck is crying about? Or has he taken a dramatic moment from history, and exploited it for his own purposes?
In a similar fashion, modern Jesus worshipers have taken a figure from the past, and created a spirit in his name. The history of Jesus is much further in the past than the Boston Tea Party, and much less is known. There are those who say the Bible is the word of G-d, and can be trusted to tell the facts about Jesus. Others are much less certain.
So, when did Jesus finally become real to PG? The watershed incident took place in the spring of 1999. By this time, PG had decided that he did not agree with the two key beliefs of Jesus worship…that the Bible is the word of G-d, and that belief in Jesus will affect what happens when you die. It was becoming apparent to PG that Jesus was different things to different people, and that not all of them were good. You need to trust your eyes, ears, and soul.
The incident took place at PG’s place of employment, a business we will call redo blue. A co worker was a Bully for Jesus. The BFJ was an angry man, given to temper tantrums, where he used Jesus to hurt people. On this day, the BFJ shouted down and humiliated PG.
When the tirade was over, PG started to run a job. BFJ took a phone call, and screamed “I never felt better in my life”. In that instant, Jesus became real to PG.
This is a repost of a feature originally published two years ago. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”. The tea party is still boiling water, although their influence in the upcoming election may not be apparent. PG drinks more green tea than caffeine enhanced, and continues to be alienated from Jesus. Frank Turk is still in business. PG has a facebook friend called “Sweet Tea”. This post is not about her.
Being Spammy Or Unsafe
PG found an amusing post Wednesday morning. “Yesterday I posted a link to the New York Times article about what is being called “the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife,” and several friends commented on it. This morning my post has disappeared. I did not remove it, nor did I delete any of the comments, which I found interesting. When I tried to repost the article, I got this message from Facebook: “The content you’re trying to share includes a link that’s been blocked for being spammy or unsafe.” The New York Times is spammy or unsafe??? … As a theology geek, I find this new discovery fascinating. But as a Christian, my faith does not depend on Jesus’ celibacy. So if it were to be proven somehow that he was indeed married, it would not retroactively affect the relationship I’ve had with Jesus throughout my life. If anything, it would support the belief that Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine.”
Smithsonian magazine has a feature on this artifact. It is too long for a slack blogger. The NYT article is less than a page, and says enough to base this post on. The article has header ads, which rotate with the different page views. The two noted are for “Obama Victory Fund 2012” and Wells Fargo Bank. Which one is spammy, and which one is unsafe, is left for the reader to determine. Some times, you have to think for yourself.
Here is a money quote from the NYT. “A historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School has identified a scrap of papyrus that she says was written in Coptic in the fourth century and contains a phrase never seen in any piece of Scripture: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife …’ ” The faded papyrus fragment is smaller than a business card, with eight lines on one side, in black ink legible under a magnifying glass. Just below the line about Jesus having a wife, the papyrus includes a second provocative clause that purportedly says, “she will be able to be my disciple.”
The specimen is written in Coptic. This is probably related to Coptic Christianity, which is still going on in Egypt. Reportedly, there is some connection between the Coptics and the recent controversy, about a movie offensive to Muslims.
The word prove is used several times in the article. Perhaps indicate would be a more accurate verb. It is tough to “prove” anything using a 1700 year old papyrus fragment. The last paragraph in the NYT says “The notion that Jesus had a wife was the central conceit of the best seller and movie “The Da Vinci Code.” But Dr. King said she wants nothing to do with the code or its author: “At least, don’t say this proves Dan Brown was right.”
Of course, none of this means anything to most contemporary Jesus worshipers. They think the Bible is the word of G-d. This text is is inerrant, sufficient, spam free, and safe. Recent discoveries about Revelations are ignored. Like the bumper sticker says, “G-d said it, I believe it, that settles it.”
A person’s religion is a one of a kind experience. How you are introduced to a spiritual discipline is much more important than the mechanics of the church. The facebook commenter says that it won’t matter to him if Jesus has a wife. To PG, any new information would not block the memory of humiliation at the hands of aggressive Jesus worshipers.
There was another commentary published recently about the separation of G-d and spam. It was in New Yorker magazine, written by Hendrik Hertzberg. There was a post about Mr. Hertzberg at Chamblee54 once. PG sent an email to Mr. Hertzberg about the post, and got a very nice reply.
The feature in question is about the way politicians think it will help them get elected to talk about G-d. PG, on the other hand, thinks this is a grotesque violation of the third commandment. The New Yorker feature doesn’t really cover much ground, but has a bangup last paragraph.
“It was not hard to guess what idol, and what institution, the Cardinal had in mind. On the other hand, his reference to “nature and nature’s G-d” was not so clear. The phrase was there to echo the Declaration of Independence. But Dolan must know that it is pure Deism—Jeffersonian code words for a non-supernatural G-d, a G-d who creates the universe and its laws and leaves the rest up to us. Could it be that we were witnessing an unheard-of political phenomenon, a dog whistle to voters who, whether or not they believe in a rights-endowing Creator, have their doubts about the sort of deity who begets sons, writes books, performs miracles, and determines the outcome of football games? Probably not. That G-d won’t hunt. “
Pictures are from The Library of Congress. This was written like Dan Brown.
The Prodigal Son
Luke 15 1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. 3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying, 4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. 7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. 8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? 9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of G-d over one sinner that repenteth. 11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. 25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. 28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. 29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: 30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. 31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. 32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. Text for today’s story is from Bible Gateway. Text formatting is by Chamblee54. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. Here is a commentary on The Power of Parable . This is a repost.
Known Unknown Or Unknown Known
The last thing PG needs is another podcast website. Yesterday, Back Story Radio walked through the door. BSR is a history project, facilitated by academics in Virginia. They have three talkers, the 18th century guy, the 19th century guy, and the 20th century guy. The 21st century guy is in the second grade, and will join them in a few years.
In January of 2011, BSR had a three part series, The Civil War, 150 Years Later. We are currently in the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States. Yesterday it was the Battle of Antietam, aka the bloodiest day in American history.
There is going to be relatively little original writing today. Instead, there is going to be a quote from the transcript. PO, EA, and BB (Peter Onuf, Ed Ayers, Brian Balogh) are the three announcers, and Blake called in a question. We will try to think of a phrase for EA to stand for.
The subject is religion in the south. It is often said that the Bible was used to justify slavery. PG has not seen this, but will take peoples word. If you ask Mr. Google, he will tell you about it. According to this quote, the preachers in the south thought that the north was a secular place. When you fought for the south, you were fighting for righteousness.
There was also the idea that having a society where one race dominated the other was morally superior to equality. The Vice President of the Confederacy, Alexander H. Stephens, once gave a speech.
“Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.”
Another side of this discussion is the role of the Jesus Worship church in the African American society. This church is a powerful, and loud, part of America. It is highly ironic that this European religion has been so fervently embraced by African America. It is even stranger when you consider that this religion was forced on this population as a part of being enslaved. It is even stranger when you consider that some white people considered this shotgun marriage… of an enslaved people to the religion of a Jew … as a moral justification for horrific war.
If you find yourself thinking too hard, just skip ahead to the pictures. They are from The Library of Congress. The men in these images are Union soldiers from the War Between The States. This was written like William Shakespeare.
PO: We’ve got another call and it’s a local call from right here in Charlottesville, Virginia. Blake— welcome to the show.
Caller (Blake): Hello.
PO: So, what’s on your mind?
Caller (Blake): Well, you know, I was brought up in Virginia and have lived I guess with the Civil War for my whole life and remember very vividly the Centennial in Richmond, but recently I have been trying to learn a little bit about the, for lack of a better word, the causes and have been reading particularly about the influence of the church, in this case, mostly Methodist and Presbyterian churches in the South and was wondering how you guys viewed that. Do you feel the preachers from their pulpits and their writings led the South to the Civil War and to secession?
PO: Well, Blake, that’s a great question. Blake wants to know whether the preachers are responsible for the Civil War. That’s the short version of it. Obviously, they didn’t do it all by themselves. I’d say this is a point of departure. Many Southerners believe there was a piety deficit between North and South, that the South was a more Christian place and the North was riven by heresy and socialism and secularism and so Southern preachers did a couple of important things, I think, and that is, on one hand, to tell Southerners that they had God on their side, that they were good Christians, and second, preachers played an absolutely crucial role in the emerging pro-slavery argument.
EA: That’s really well put, Peter. I think the preachers make a real point of saying, hey, hey, hey, the pulpit is no place to talk about politics.
PO: Right.
EA: All that we say is that slavery has God’s divine sanction. Other than that, we have no political position at all to make.
PO: That’s all.
EA: That’s right. So, Southern preachers do not lead the South into secession but as Peter says, as soon as providence seems to dictate that that’s the way to go, the ministers are some of the most vocal advocates of the Confederacy.
PO: But, Ed, it’s my impression from historians who’ve written on this subject that in fact Southerners had ample ground in scriptural reference for the support of slavery and they might even have had the edge over their Northerner counterparts, at least if you’re looking for literal readings of the Bible and what it tells us.
EA:Well, that’s the crucial point, Peter. The literal historic injunctions, especially in the Old Testament do accept slavery as a reality. Increasingly, what happens in the North is that people look at the spirit of the New Testament instead. It said how can you possibly love someone as your brother and hold them in perpetual bondage so there’s plenty of energy in the Bible—
PO: Yeah, yeah.
EA: For both pro- and anti-slavery.
PO: No question, but what is also going on and what’s important for white Southerners is that they believe that they have been successful in a great missionary campaign to Christianize the quarters and it’s one of the reasons why they’re comfortable with slavery is that they have taken an instrumental role in spreading Christianity in the slave population so the idea that the slaves were an internal enemy or dangerous subversives who would rise up and revolt, that had been mitigated if not altogether eliminated for many Southerners because they thought of Christianity as a profound bond of union between black and white, even if they worshipped separately.
Caller (Blake): But would that be a true belief, do you think, or more or less just an apology for the burdens that they’d put on African American through slavery.
PO: Hey, Blake, what is a true belief?
Caller (Blake): [laughter]
PO: It’s a known unknown or unknown known. Do they believe it? I think absolutely. One of the things that we learn as historians is to take our subject seriously. They may be by our standards deluded and self-serving, but that Southerners believe they were good Christians, I believe that’s absolutely true.
EA: As a matter of fact, the South says we are in the process of creating the most Christian nation on the face of the earth, but your question, I think, Blake is right. It doesn’t take long for the end of the war for white Southerners to begin to worry, hmmm, were we fooling ourselves?
PO: Yeah.
EA: Yeah, do they really love us? [laughter] The fact that they’re moving away at the very first moment of freedom really is a confrontation with a kind of truth that the white South is really not ready to embrace.
BB: Hey, Blake, may I add an addendum to your good question?
Caller (Blake): Yes, please.
BB: Guys, I’d like to know— I do know, actually, that the church played such a crucial role in the lives of African Americans after the Civil War. Can you tell me something about religion and slaves during the Civil War?
EA: Well, one of the first thing that happens is the churches which had been the really only inter-racial space in the slave South begins separating. At the very first moment, African Americans seize the opportunity to have their own churches. You know, they’ve always gone off on their private worship ceremonies out in the woods or whatever, but in the Civil War itself, as things begin to fall apart, you find that black ministers step forward and begin leading the African American church, so you find that there’s a kind of freedom that comes maybe first in the religious realm and African Americans are quick to seize it.
PO: Well, Blake, thank you for calling “BackStory.”
Caller (Blake): Thank you very much
The Tweet Goes On
Part of the fun of a free press is checking in on those you disagree with. When a man posts his twitterfeed on a blog, anyone can see what he thinks. When it is a Jesus worship blog, with a taste for drooling right wing politics, the tweet can’t be beat.
The big story is the movie, and the rioting among the faithful. In a logical world, this would be a problem for BHO. This is not a logical world. Both tweets discuss this matter. And so, here are the twoubbling tweets.
@BibChr Absolutely infuriating: bit.ly/PuARWF. If only it were parody… but these are the lofty watchdogs of liberty. (No offense, dogs)
@Frank_Turk @theanchoress: Anti-Islam Filmmaker Donated Million Dollars To Obama Campaign shar.es/uYtbh via @sharethis”
The first one links to a feature written by Mark Steyn. PG heard him on the radio once. Mr. Steyn said, referring to the war in Iraq, “They have their ribbons and banners ordered for the defeat celebration.” This was before the surge. Part of the surge strategy was for the press to declare victory. When this was said, the talking points included the term defeatocrat.
“If, like me, you’ve been wondering why the US media has all but totally failed to cover the real issues in the Benghazi murders and the embassy seizures, wonder no more. … (JOE SCARBOROUGH:) If Mitt Romney had kept his mouth shut, if he had not acted like a rank amateur, if he had not embarrassed himself–and by the way internally the campaign understands they screwed up, he’s moved on, they know that… But Romney got in the way of the media looking at the president, going, wha-, wha-, what happened here? How did this happen? Now, those questions are going to be asked in the coming weeks. But they weren’t asked in the first 24 hours because Romney was holding this horrific, irresponsible, press conference.”
Sometimes, it is tough to tell who is complaining about what. Since this is a wingnut, it is safe to assume he was whining about the media. That is what they do. When the message does not please you, you whine about the messenger.
The truth is, WMR should have muttered some platitudes about sympathy for the families. Instead, he said that a wretched movie is “American Values”. This did take attention away from questions about why the embassies are not secured better.
This seems to be a pattern with WMR. During the GOP convention, he was supposed to have a national audience for his speech. Instead, Clint Eastwood had a conversation with a empty chair. When you provide a lunatic sideshow, the main news item gets pushed aside.
Tweet number two has a great title: Anti-Islam Filmmaker Donated Million Dollars To Obama Campaign. When you go there, you note that it is Breitbart.tv. You start to hear an auto start video before long. Auto start may be the single most annoying thing on the internet.
When PG went to the link, the first thought was the *person* who created the video. The producer is a bit of a mysterious character, which should be fun for conspiracy fans. However, “Sam Bacile” was not the “Anti Islam Filmmaker”. (Spell check suggestion for Bacile: Bacilli)
“Bill Maher made a comedy/documentary called “Religulous” that’s most famous for mercilessly mocking Christianity. But what people forget is that the last twenty-minutes or so of the film make a damning case against Islam. Bill Maher made a film that mocked Islam. Oh, yes, he did. Bill Maher also contributed $1 million to a pro-Obama super PAC.”
Pictues today are from The Library of Congress.
Nine Eleven Story
This is my 911 story. I repeat it every year at this time. Pictures today are from ” The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
I was at work, and someone called out that someone had run a plane into the World Trade Center. I didn’t think much of it, until I heard that the second tower had been hit, then the Pentagon, then the towers collapsed, then a plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
I focused on my job most of the day. There was always a lot of melodrama at that facility, and concentrating on my production duties helped to keep me saner. This was roughly the halfway point of my seven year tenure at this place.
One of the other workers was a bully for Jesus. He was a hateful loudmouth. After the extent of the damage became known, he shouted “They are doing this for Allah,” and prayed at his desk. The spectacle of the BFJ praying made me want to puke.
I became alienated from Jesus during these years. Once, I had once been tolerant of Christians and Jesus, as one would be with an eccentric relative. I began to loath the entire affair. I hear of others who found comfort in religion during this difficult time. That option simply was not available for me.
Avatar Of The Modern Age
PG has reread How to choose a guru, by Rick Chapman. The book is a look at spirituality of all sorts, with a special emphasis on Meher Baba.
HTCAG can be a frustrating book. The main focus is on finding a “perfect master”, and the path to enlightenment under his guidance. If one is not inclined to this level of dedication, you can be left feeling inferior. This is similar to the despair people feel when they think they are going to go to hell, because they don’t have the correct ideas about Jesus.
Thie book takes a look at spirit from the perspective of all religions. A central concept is the avatar, the idea of G-d become man. (This was long before the movie with a similar title.) The avatars of recorded history include Zoroaster, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, and Mohammed. Some say that Meher Baba is the modern avatar.
Mr. Chapman has a knack for phrasing. There are expressions that PG remembers from reading HTCAG in 1978. They are still there 34 years later.
Creation First, there was G-d. Then, there’s you. Then, there is G-d.
Speculation The average persons speculation about consciousness…has “the stink but not the weight of his turd”
Evangelism An authentic Master will encourage you to let your life itself be his message.
Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds Don’t be sidetracked by elaborate creeds and doctrines- the truth is as simple as it is profound. From the ancient teachings of Zoraster to today, these three principles have been the heart of the message of every G-d realized Master.
Books “Excellent guides until you find the Way.”–Abu Sa’id
Books Part Two …the scriptures of the past compare to the writings of a present-day Perfect Master just about the way that dust compares to honey.
Satan Worship If you have been toying with the thought that any form of Satan worship can lead you to higher consciousness, sober up by reading the story of Dr. Faustus. There are many paths to enlightenment, but this back alley isn’t one of them.
Sex A real guru never has any form of sexual relations with his followers. If a person posing as a guru tries to seduce you in the physical sense, then you can have no clearer indication that he is a phony, a pathetic and hypocritical collection of unresolved desires.
Truth, Old and New One time the Buddha was approached by a young man who was skeptical about Gautama’s renowned divine status. “Does the Blessed One teach a path that is new and original?” he asked. One of the Buddha’s close disciples, Sariputta, turned his gaze from the Master to the skeptic and replied, “If the Blessed One taught a path that was new and original, He would not be the Blessed One!” “Well said, Sariputta,” smiled the Buddha, “well said.”
Several of these quotes are available in copy/paste form at Meher Baba Information, for which this reporter says thank you. This site says that Rick Chapman is a follower of Meher Baba, and met him in 1966. This relationship is never made explicit in HTCAG. A glowing chapter is devoted to Meher Baba, and this relationship is not surprising. Still, HTCAG might be a bit more upfront if this relationship was clearly spelled out.
Meher Baba was born February 25, 1894 with the name Merwan Sheriar Irani. The name Meher Baba means “compassionate father”. From July 10, 1925 until his death January 31, 1969, he maintained silence, and communicated by gestures that were interpreted by his followers. Meher Baba believed that he was the avatar of our age.
With all of it’s human imperfections, HTCAG is a valuable book. It is easy to read, will expose you to ideas about spirit, and get you to think. When you grow up in a Jesus Worship tradition, one can be aware of a spirit within. At the same time, you get tired of the obsession with life after death. You sense that there is more to G-d than scheming to live after you die. HTCAG shows one path.
This is a repost. It was written like Vladimir Nabokov. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
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