There are deeper questions there and I’m not particularly theologically prepped to bring the heat on that argument.  I am prepared to bring the heat on is you, me and everybody else out there in Christian-land.  Christopia.  Christinistan.

I got a cool devotional from one of my preteen guys.  It’s a year long “One Year Mini For Men” that so far has been pretty flippin’ sweet. It’s been thoughtful and mind blowing in how indepth it can be one moment and then how simple it can be the next.  In essence – it’s perfect.

Today I found myself glancing at the book and realizing I hadn’t dug into the thing since January 5th.  It’s almost the 20th of the month!  I’ve been doing prayer and things in the mean time but I haven’t stopped to read His word and work through it.  I’ve been slacking.  It seems like I say that more than I probably should.  And it’s true.

I’m a work in progress.  You’re a work in progress.  It’s the way of the world.  Blame Adam and Eve if you have to blame anybody but they’re long gone into dust.  We gotta deal with ourselves in the here and now.  Which brings me to the point the devotional hit me with today.

Goals.  There are a couple of verses I’ll spotlight here to give you an idea of what’s it talking about.

Mark 10:45 – For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The devotional goes on to talk about how “…we are often tempted to do too much and how God (in his infinite wisdom) gives us only what we can accomplish while living a godly, balance life.”  It hits pretty hard when it also calls us out about “…fulfilling the specific tasks he has for us.”  Ouch.

I do a lot.  Sometimes I think I do too much.  This one hit hard.  Do I spend too much time on facebook?  Do I devote my energy far too much to twitter?  What do I really put value in when it comes to each day, each hour and each moment? Have I forgotten what it means to spend time with God, my Father?

It’s a good question – one that I will be spending time thinking on, praying on and reading on.  I leave you today with the “God’s Challenge” verse from the devotional – 1 Corinthians 9:26:

Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.

I’ve tried to play nice with my brothers and sisters in the Christian Faith. I’ve done my best not to insult and denigrate Joel Osteen. I’ve tried to be Jesus in everything I do when it comes to those that are alleged to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. You’d be impressed if you’d been there with me as I felt urged to backhand and leg drop some seriously stupid people. That time has come to an end.

“Avatar” is demonic? It’s the most satanic movie this guy has ever seen? Are you flippin’ serious? There’s overt demon-ism? Oh and he’s disappointed with “Christianity Today’s” review of the film. Let me get this out of the way. If you’re express dissatisfaction with “Christianity Today’s” review of a movie, you might need to put down the Holy Water you spiked with the Kool-Aid. The review impressed me for the restraint (My review had none of that restraint) the reviewer held.

The point that the pastor in the video makes a point is that the review was lacking in exposing this film as a dark thing against God. The reviewer tries (and I think fails) to bring the connection of the Mother Aura on Pandora to what God is to us here on Earth. It’s a weak ending to the review that doesn’t seem to set down feet on anything solid except to say that maybe We (Christians) can relate this in some way to our Faith and our God. Sad to say, that ain’t happenin’.

The film is not a Christ Story and doesn’t fit the mold terribly well. I don’t think the reviewer was taken in by the beauty of the film or possessed by the demonic forces at work within the film. I think the reviewer was simply trying to shake some debate loose and see what came of it. The reality is that there’s not much for Christians to hold onto in this film as it relates to our Faith. And that’s ok.

We shouldn’t spend all our time searching movies for the Christian Angle and how we can use this to preach to the world. Sure, some pop culture and movie clips are nice to bring something familiar to the table, but it’s not (and never should be) the driving force in how we live our Faith or tell others about Him.

As for having the power to declare something “Demonic” or “Full of Satan”, I’ll leave that job to someone who knows Satan when she sees it. Church Lady (with the help of Father Chase) , take it away!

Seriously Mr. Beck. Stay outta my house. You freaky.

Truth be told, I think Glenn has made some seriously good points on a few things. I’m going to stop typing about politics and switch back to Jesus. Jesus loves everyone. Even if I can’t.

I’ve caught myself saying that more often these days. There are certain days when people (a general statement so as to not label, target and otherwise be sued) just drive me crazy. Loving them falls so far down the list of priorities it bounces a few times before I kick it out the front door. I know as a Christian I’m supposed to love everyone, turn the other cheek and keep that plank from settling too deep in my eye but it is so gal-darned hard!

I suppose that’s the whole plan. Being a Christian isn’t easy and anyone who tells you otherwise is either a 1) Liar or 2) someone who wants your money. Christianity requires you to quite literally put scaffolding around your whole body from day one until the last day when you pass from this world. It is a constant work in progress under construction. It’s like a never ending construction site. You’ll disagree with the architect, and the plumber might drive you nuts and let’s not even talk about the heating guy.

That’s the beauty of it. You’re never perfect and you’re always working towards getting better one small wall at a time.

A couple of thoughts that will probably get me in trouble.

1. Megachurch is the worst idea since Joel Osteen.  That probably cut a little deep, but I’m pretty sure I’m right.  At a speaking event a few months back I called megachurchs “starships of insanity” and as much as I regret using that term I think it sticks.  They’re big, they’re bulky and they’re full of people.  They’re like the Deathstar (this is meant in jest…don’t burn me at the stakes people) because they move slowly.  Rebels destroyed two deathstars because they were big, unwieldy and arrogant.  A church should never be that big.  The best part of this?  I volunteer in a megachurch.  Eye of the needle, I got it.
2. Christianity is a personal relationship with Christ.  That’s it.
3. Christianity should never have been a religion.  It’s a relationship.  It’s personal.
4. Small churches are ideal for this as they encourage small groups and accountability.  People know each other, help each other and focus on those in need.
5. Don’t stay in your church.  It’s a freakin’ building.  Get out in your community.  Offices are for losers.
6. I’ll make a bold statement.  Church’s shouldn’t have offices in a office building.  They should have offices in their respective homes.  Technology these days allows for  literally thousands of manners of communication both with staff and congregation.
7. Divisions are for losers.  Denominations are for losers.  Can you imagine if The Church in Denver or any major metro city started unconditionally networking intentionally with nearly every church in the city?  Can you imagine what that would look like?  I can.

So what do you think?  Am I crazy?  Should I head to Salem to for some old fashioned burning at the stake?  Or am I right on a few things?  You know what the comments are for…USE ‘EM!

Yes, I went there. My intent was to talk about what it’s like being a Jesus Freak in a Social world. This would have worked had I taken the time to prepare and allow the subject matter to marinate on the cognitive centers of my cortex. Sadly there was no time to let the Jesus justifying juices soak in and flow forth with wisdom and well thought out consideration.

I was a late entry and had thrown my presentation together late this week. Initial awe at getting the chance to do Ignite Denver 4 was tempered by the cold flash of reality that even at five minutes there’s lots of time to cover with 20 slides at 15 seconds each. This was replaced by abject fear and terror as the time grew closer today in anticipation of the sessions.

Would I say something wrong? Would I freeze up? Would I pratfall up the stairs and awkwardly catapult onto the stage in a mess of limbs and embarrassment? The latter obviously didn’t occur and I managed to avoid freezing up. If nothing else I can stand accused of talking too much. And in my case that can lead some real winning (and losing) witticisms. There’s two that hit twitter as I was speaking and they’re reaction is telling.

via Taj Moore:

And this from: Kevin Reynen:

I’m not sure if the silence was shock, interest in what I was talking about or just simple silent wondering if I;d lost my mind.  I’m curious to see what those that saw Ignite Denver live with me on stage would have to say about my presentation.  Feel free to be as honest and hard as you feel the need to be.  I’d rather hear the truth than some fake truth that simply enables my ego malfunction.

In truth I’ll have to watch the videos as soon as they hit to see what exactly I said.  I know I went off script a few times and probably said some astonishing things about The Church and the Future, but I’m pretty sure it was exactly what I believe that was spoken.

All in all it was a great event with great presenters, a sorta good band that’s still working on their thing and a good chance to meet people you follow on Twitter.

Now I’m off to bed.  It’s 3:15am and I’m liable to type something I’ll regret later,

The Oscar Showcase is a genius of a plan. Every year before the bling infested glitzy overload event known as the Academy Awards plays across our televisions, AMC Theatres wrangles together a day of Oscar Nominated movies for viewing by the general public. For the cheap price of thirty dollars, we all get a full day of fantastic film footage.

The social media experiment has taken off with AMC and they’ve actually hired a full time guy to handle that aspect of the machine. With his help, AMC has taken the unique step of asking bloggers, twitterers and others to attend events and blog, vlog and twitter about the entire day. I was among the many chosen. Today was the culmination of that and I have to say it’s started out very well. Five movies will equal about 13.5 hours of moving pictures playing across the screens nationwide.

I’ll be doing my best to review these movies and talk about the experience as this article unfolds. There’ll be video, pictures and of course words to paint the picture. So get ready. Here…we..GO!

The first thing you realize about an event like this is that you are in a crowd of people who believe in movies much like you do. People pack fantastic food, bulky blankets and a plethora of pillows. The audience is there for the purpose of supporting Hollywood and deciding for themselves if indeed any of the nominated films deserve to grasp Oscar.

The second thing you find out is that with five films in one day, you’re going to be sitting most of the day. Moving at short breaks is designed to prevent complete and absolute couch potato transformation.

First up was Milk. Starring Sean Penn it lays out the factual events of Harvey Milk and his crusade to lead the gay movement in San Francisco. He was an unlikely hero to most, but his natural talents play out across the screen as he loses so much you wonder when he’ll ever win. When he finally wins it is a short victory. His life is ended prematurely by an angry and crazy opponent who was unable to fully understand that yes indeed, times were a’ changin’.

Sean Penn is impressive as always. Nothing Penn does is without meaning or purpose. This role is close to his heart and many others in Hollywood. Proposition 6 has echoes of the current fight brewing in California around the issue of Proposition 8. It is an interesting study to watch the moments play out before you with the very real struggle of today just in the back of your mind. Certainly there are strong moments in this film that moved me, but I did not find myself thinking, “Yes, it’s OSCAR!” It was more of a documentary of a man’s life and the nationwide struggle for vindication of a belief in equality.

I would recommend this to those on my side of the fence (aka Republican Conservative Christian) to see this film to have a strong foundational understanding of the movement and where we (as conserv’s) have fit into it. Whenever I saw the Christian leaders denouncing and throwing down fire and brimstone I would shake my head. The supporting cast was perfection, playing the parts strong. Each face was a part of the puzzle of how this movement grew and changed over time.

I don’t think Sean Penn was worthy of the Oscar on this one (I haven’t seen Rourke’s performance, but I understand I’m not alone on this one) and I’m happy it took some of the other awards as the film has strengths. It’s just not a Best Picture. Also, the sex was distracting and annoying. Before you jump all over me about “You just don’t want to see gay sex” I say, “WRONG!” I’d made the point that in each of these movies the glorious depiction of wanton sex made me less willing to declare it Oscar.

Which brings me to “The Reader”. A strong movie with some seriously impressive moral questioning powers, it falls apart in the first half. You see, the story is about a boy who is nary a hair beyond fifteen years. He finds himself attracted to a much older woman. This leads to a “Mrs. Robinson” feel for about ten seconds before we jump (pardon the pun) into a “Debbie Does Dallas” feel that doesn’t make anyone feel anything but dirty watching the moments between these two.

It was distracting and took me completely out of the movie so much that me and a friend turned to each other and said, “More? I mean…seriously? Can we keep our clothes on today?” several times as this illicit affair was happening directly in front of us. There was even frontal male nudity. That’s where I just about threw up. If you removed that part and filmed the love scenes more with more art and less reality you’d have a far richer film that didn’t require you to spend three days in Confession.

It’s in the second half where “The Reader” slinks out of the lazy bedroom and kicks it into high gear. The moment where you realize everything that’s been building and the payoff is one of those moments in cinema everyone wishes they had a part in creating. The rest of this movie creates the questioning and soul searching an Oscar movie should inspire. There are several key scenes where the audience is grabbed into the frame fearlessly to question themselves. The lawyers debate and the audience is unable to really judge, only question what exactly they would do in the stead of the men and women on screen.

There is a visit to Auschwitz that is shot in a manner that refuses to dramatize the death of the innocent. It is simply telling you a story through silence and moments of reflection by our central protagonist. He makes a key decision late in the half that echoes throughout the whole movie. It left me breathless and inspired.

Winslet deserves a win although I was pulling for Taraji Henson but Kate turns in a stellar performance. An impressive tour de force through the second half, it’s good for DVD rental to fast forward through all the naughty bits to get to the real reward of the second half.

A movie that I don’t think did well in either the former or the latter is the longest movie of the Oscar Season. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is just that. Curious. From a forty page short story to a beleaguered three and a half hour movie? I’m pretty sure there are some red flags falling out of the sky somewhere. Strong performances and jaw dropping effects fill the screen as you are guided through the story of a boy named Benjamin from the start of his odd life to the end. Born looking like death at the end of life Brad Pitt plays the character in going backwards; revealing a different kind of life lived. As fascinating as it was it felt too much like Forrest Gump. Southern accents, boats and the war all play prominent parts.

The cinematography in Button makes you want to drool as the rich colors are painted across a wide canvas. The characters fill the roles and inspire some comedy along the way. Watch for Lightening Rod Man. But not an Oscar. Too long, too pretentious and far too drawn out in places. The best moment from this movie is after being in the wrong places and not in the right moment the two titular characters have an exchange that most hopeless romantics understand. “Will you sleep with me?”, to which Button responds in a deliciously delivered, “Absolutely!”

I would use that last word to describe my feelings for “Slumdog Millionaire”. This movie did indeed win the Oscar for Best Picture and it deserves every ounce of praise that comes with such an award. The movie is perfectly perched at each juncture required for an Oscar Movie.

Romance: Check.

Unbelievable odds against the darkness: Check.

A lovable hero that inspires us all to be better people: Check.

Deep social message about a world outside our own that is closer to us than we know: Check.

Moment of truth for each character: Check.

Great moments of both heartbreak and heartsoar: Check

Music that awakens dreams from within soul: Check.

Great story, great plot, great comedy, great drama, great action, unflinching truth…: Check

Lady I’d like to nominate as the future Mrs. DeLay: Check.

Slumdog succeeds on every level as a perfect example of the Best. Simply put, it is a thrilling story of true love and unending struggle to fight for that love. Set against a country foreign to many of us it weaves in the cultural world and backgrounds that inspire gasps and awe in each. The opening scene had me running along with the slum kids, cheering them along. The rest of the movie simply sauntered up to me, planted a wet kiss and kicked me over to the ground and moved onto the next victim.

Just. That. Good. I swear I’ll mop up my drool.

There’s some violence and tense moments that’ll have you squirm. An Oscar movie is supposed to do that, although to that point “The Reader” takes it above and beyond the call of duty.

There’s a moment in Slumdog where the reality of the dream the younger versions of our heroes are living in opens your eyes, literally and figuratively.

See it. Get the soundtrack. Pick up the DVD. Get that lead girls number for me.

Speaking of numbers, I’m finally at “Frost/Nixon” and it only took 1,700 words. As a documentary this film handedly succeeds. As a retelling of one of the most challenging and trying times in the history of our country, it goes above and beyond what has come before. As a thrilling dramatic battle of one of the most powerful men in the country against a know nothing pop journalist, it is by far one of those most fascinating movies I have ever seen.

The story is well known. David Frost had a dream. Take Nixon after he’s out of office and interview him. Getting there was half the battle. Making the next four interviews count was the other. Watching the film unflinchingly take aim at the naivety of David Frost was refreshing. Just as refreshing was the equal treatment given to Former President Richard Nixon. It felt as this was a even handed commentary on the events in question and mostly painted the truth of what had happened over time as the interviews took place. Invented was a drunken phone call from Nixon to Frost which was designed to create drama for the last section of the film. It succeeded. The last fourth of this film rocked my socks and had me on the edge of my seat, completely enthralled as Frost put the rhetorical screws to Nixon, eliciting some of the most damning statements on the part of Nixon.

The film closes out with a final moment shared between the two battle stalwarts as they return to their lives. As the credits roll you hunger for more. You sense the strength and intellect of Nixon holds more and you feel as if Frost himself found out that there was actually a human being within the heart of the lumbering beast of a man. There is so much more to each of these men. Legends and lore are now told of both.

The truth? There’s so much we may never know but “Frost/Nixon” does the best job.

And so, the evening was over much past midnight. Myself, Toby and Sarah all headed home saying farewell to a grand evening brought to us by AMC Theatres. The social media aspect is just starting to catch on with big companies and the theatre chains are at that very moment. Here’s hoping for more of these types of things.

Thanks again to AMC and Katherine Johnson of Allied for the amazing day.

If I asked you to name the chief complaints you had about the youth of today I have the good sense to know the list would go on and on and on into infinity. It seems no matter what generation you live in, what year it is or what country you live in the youth are always regarded in a negative light for enumerable reasons. Truth is I’d probably agree with you on most if not all of the litany of lists you’d present.

The truth is the youth of today (and by proxy the future of tomorrow) are troubled by more than any group of teenagers that have come before. If you don’t believe me try the following experiment. Volunteer at a nearby church, youth center or other assorted group for a period of a month for just one day a week. Watch. Observe. Listen. Repeat.

I’m a people watcher and in that I observe. I listen. I might even eavesdrop. I watch people’s eyes. I peer behind the eyes in hopes of seeing the raw emotion that lies just beyond the horizon. In those moments from afar you can sometimes see a flash of the life being lived.

I can guarantee you that that world view you’ve occupied for so long will slowly begin to change as you spend more time with them.

You see, I volunteer at a church with a sizable junior high program. We’re talking grades six through eight. In that wide spread of ages and maturity there is serious angst and trouble to be had. Watching girls arrive alone and spend the entire service without a fellow girlfriend is heart wrenching. Worse is when she takes the step to combine with a group of girls and is rejected. Boys can be just as bad. The guys that suffer the most (and I was one back in the day) are the nerds, the shy ones and the guys who really aren’t all that into being all that.

There is real trouble in all this. From “cutters” to other unimaginable manners of self punishment we’re seeing more and more swings from rational to reactive in how our students deal with the frustrations of being in the age bracket they are. The truth is that they need us more now than ever. As cheesy as that might sound, there is real impact you, me and everyone else can have.

Junior High students are hard nuts to crack. I don’t even try to figure out the girls. I say hi and smile, hoping that’ll brighten an otherwise grey day. The boys are much more fascinating. The nerds and outcasts are always alone, rarely recognized and usually never speak up. When they do it’s usually a stumble. After that they’ll never speak up again. The best thing I’ve found to do is find that nerdy something that they’re interested in and get them to talk about it.

You see, nerds love to geek out. We love the ability to share all this knowledge we’ve spent serious time researching and memorizing. An extra bonus is when someone knows about what it is we’re talking about and is able to geek out along with us.

The reality of today is that life has become tougher for the current generation and that skyrocketing trend will not slow. The best that we can hope for is that a difference will be made by people who take a vested interest in these embattled lives and find ways to bring a smile once in awhile back to drive the furrowed brows away.

Feel free to agree, disagree or pontificate in the comments.

Over six months ago I found myself dumbstruck with what can only be described as bubbling rage and simmering annoyance. I found myself a victim of what I can only imagine was church politics raging out of control. I’m still unsure as to what all led to the events that I cannot describe but I can say I found myself seriously questioning God’s flock and those that moved with it.

In that time since I have stayed away from Church as a whole, unable to trust those within. Unwilling even to try it out again, to seek out the Faith that my father led me in discovering at the tender age of three. The Faith that had led me through my elementary years in Oregon learning in the shadow of the charismatic Foursquare Denomination. The Faith that saved me from depression, anger, rage and even suicidal tendencies in the midst of a tumultuous three years of Junior High School. It is a Faith that had given me hope throughout High School in the face of Columbine and then September 11th.

It was that Faith that I felt something akin to furor towards. Perhaps it was even disappointment in the system that had so woefully failed in such spectacular fashion I was considering walking away from the Church forever. At 26 years of age I was on the precipice of Faith and Rejection.

At the age of three I can clearly remember going forward to accept Jesus into my heart. Perhaps the memory has morphed throughout the years but I do remember my moment of conversion. I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart. I had grown up in a Christian family. My mother and father were obedient followers and took me to church, Sunday School, AWANA and everything you can imagine and more.

I had formed a generous opinion of those that I walked with in the Church. This continued throughout life as I grew from young child to boy and through to young adult hood. There were moments I discovered (at times in shock and outright dismay) the dark side of the Church and her politics that invaded like smoke through the cracks in your door.

You didn’t know what had happened until it was full upon you, seized in the grasp of whatever was going on. Such was my introduction to the sometimes bothersome, sometimes necessary politics of The Church. I generally accepted this as I grew up safe within the warm grasp of the leaders around me. I was simply trying to survive middle school and the awkward years ahead.

After breaking free of High School and leaping into the College world the horse blinders I had enjoyed for so long were suddenly flung off as if grabbed while I was in full gallop down the raceway of life. Needless to say, it hurt. I found ways around it all and danced a careful dance to avoid getting caught within the grasp.

For the most part I was a silent observer. Usually involved so far on the outside that the inner players fought the battle, myself catching just snippets of whatever was going on that week.

Until six months ago I hadn’t thought about what all this looks like to those on the outside. After the events I spent more time at home on Sundays. One day I found myself talking with one of my room mates. She is so far from approaching church I wonder if there’s any way I can reach out to her in hopes of getting something to her heart.

Her experience was a painful one. She had experienced the judgmental rage that rained down from Sunday School in my older years. For some reason some churches believed in militaristic behavior towards the non-believers. This was more than shunning (and there was no Charlie), this was outright fire and brimstone from the heavens smoke splaying out from the teacher’s ears, the loud teachings sending my friend running.

She hasn’t returned to corporate church since. She refuses. I had a long good conversation with her about Faith, what I think of it and how most of my brethren have royally jacked it up beyond repair at times. Such was her experience. I apologized more times than I can count. I saw in her the other side I had never thought about in those moments.

I had read “The Shack” before my afternoon chat with said room mate. The book made complete sense to me and gave it to her in hopes she might glean something about how Faith is supposed work when it comes to Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit.

In the last six months I’ve had a lot of conversations, read many a blog and soaked my brain in the words of “The Shack” over and over in hopes of finding out where I rest in this world of Faith, God and me. I’ve wondered if God wants me back. I’ve wondered what God’s thinking has been in all this but in the end I can’t help but slap myself a few times.

I ain’t God. I’m a fractured dumb human whose going to have to do some trusting in Him with some Faith before I can do much else. I recently stepped back inside a church as early as last week and lent my hand in Children’s Ministry. With over fifteen years of time spent volunteering in various programs, I knew I had to return eventually, even if someone had to drag me through the doors and lock me in the room with Bible, teaching lesson and rambunctious hellions.  Kidding about the last part.  It’s volunteer humor.

The experience was numbing at first. Walking into God’s House and being in a place with fellow believers was a welcome respite from the lonely mornings I had spent staring out at Denver’s streets. I’ve also come to realize my once deep reserves of friends in the Faith has dwindled, at least locally. I sat to eat lunch at a Volunteer Lunch today and realized how just alone I had been since the moment that sent me fleeing from Churchland.

I resolved today that there was simply no way that the last six months would define my Faith, my Belief and my Walk with the Big Man. I will have to read His book again, start praying again and seek out friends of faith to practice living the life of a Christian.

Not a guy afraid. Not a guy angry. Not a guy holding a grudge. A guy ready to say, “Ok God…now your will be done. And…I’m sorry.”

As Bill Murray’s character in “What About Bob” learned, it’s all about Baby Steps. Which is about as much useful material you can get from that movie aside from not giving the crazy guy the C4 explosives.

Onwards!

A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD Sudanese boy yesterday defended the British teacher accused of insulting Islam, saying he had chosen to call a teddy bear Mohammad because it was his own name.

And now the British Teacher will be charged. People wonder why I still sit on the fence in regards to Muslim practices and Sharia Law and this is exactly why. Via Michelle Malkin.

The British schoolteacher who allowed her pupils to name a teddy bear Mohammed has been charged in Sudan with insulting religion and inciting hatred, state media has reported.

“Khartoum north prosecution unit has completed its investigation and has charged the Briton Gillian (Gibbons) under Article 125 of the criminal code,” SUNA said quoting a senior Justice Ministry official. It added the file would go before court on Thursday.

This is along the same lines of what happened when the cartoon stuff went downhill. I’ve talked about this many times and I’ve begun to lose track.

I will talk about this on my show on Thursday @ 7:00pm Mountain but I wanted to slap this story around here on the blog. Does anyone see the rational for this? Maybe my perspective as a freedom loving tolerance practicing intelligence practicing kind of guy is getting in the way. You wanna name your kid Jesus? Go ahead. Not my problem. But if I name him Mohammad, I’m up for physical violence and even prison time in the depths of the Middle East.

This dovetails with the story this last week that came out of Saudi Arabia about the young lady who was violated in the most disgusting manner and then received punishment because of course she was talking/riding/in the same personal bubble as a man unrelated to her and that means she must PAY THE PRICE for something she had nothing to do with. The fact that the United States of America is friends with the Saudis apparently led to us giving muted protests.

That is unacceptable. I make this statement now to my President and the Government of the United States of America. If you will not step in and do something about these issues, I will loose faith in your ability to protect those that are in need. We send billions to Saudi because of oil. We’re friendly with them.

That ends now. Basic human rights are being violated by countries the world over and the EU, UN, Amnesty Intl and others seem unable to take action. As it seems to be the case, we’re the only ones left with the balls to saddle up. And yet we’ve even lost those somewhere along the way.

More to come on the radio show on Thursday.

Shove it.  Via Yahoo News:

CAIRO, Egypt – Osama bin Laden appeared for the first time in three years in a video Friday released ahead of the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, telling Americans they should convert to Islam if they want the war in Iraq to end.

Guess what? Not. Gonna. Happen.  I follow God and worship in the House of the Lord.  I pray to a merciful, loving and forgiving God.  I will not submit.  I will not be threatened.  I will not be told what to believe, how to believe or when to believe.  You are not the boss of me.  You can take your growing wing of Islam and run of a cliff into the water like lemmings.

Others have spoken about this at length with support from various people the world around.

Allow me to personally state my position.

I.  Will.  Not. Surrender.

I.  Will.  Not. Submit.

Say huh?

So sayeth’ the man who is alleged to have the ear of God (which is always up for debate from Falwell to Clinton) and because he says this is the way it is, it’s truth.  What bothers me most about this whole Pope saying these things is that the Church has divided for this same reason.  The whole inability for certain groups (I ain’t sayin’ all of ‘em) to accept us as Brothers in the Faith.  It’s a gigantic PR error on the part of the Pope and it does nothing except show the people on the outside that we are really just bunch of Christian Idiots.

As for my belief I don’t think we should even have a Pope or a Pope-esque guy to be honest.  I believe we should have leadership and people in charge but not with the (pardon the language) damn near Almighty Power he carries in those hands of his.  I also don’t believe Priests should be prevented from getting married.  I honestly think it’s one of those plans that needs be rethunk because of all the insanity and terrible suffering, pain and abuse that’s come out of that policy being allowed to stick around.

The Catholic Church probably doesn’t like me now but I’m not really into caring because the struggles of the church can not be ignored any longer.  Moving forward into This Modern World is a big step for any Faith, Religion or the freaky deaky cultys.  But it has to happen.  The Faith doesn’t change.  Jesus is still tops of the town.  God’s still the only God.  But we also have to realize traditions have their place but so does adapting to the world of tomorrow.

My friend Scott says there are certain times you should use curse words in reaction to certain situations.  I told him that’s bupkiss.  I have to say this whacky proclamation nearly brought me into a full “What the *&^#%@” fit but I took my medication, got the shock treatments and all’s well that ends well.

What do you think of the Pope-man’s proclamation?