California is famous for movies, a governor with a Conan sword and a penchant for acrostic missives, and banning gay marriage with proposition 8.
One of my problems with the vocal Christians who protest to protect the sanctity of “marriage” is the myopic approach they take. It’s all well and good to campaign for marriage to be protected for one man and one woman (a stance I actually feel much sympathy with – though I don’t see marriage as a sacrament owned by the church) – but what about the bit where it’s one flesh. For life.
A Californian man has taken the marriage protection movement to its logical extent. He’s seeking (satirically) to ban divorce.
Marcotte reasons voters should have no problem banning divorce.
“Since California has decided to protect traditional marriage, I think it would be hypocritical of us not to sacrifice some of our own rights to protect traditional marriage even more,” the 38-year-old married father of two said.
Marcotte said he has collected dozens of signatures, including one from his wife of seven years. The initiative’s Facebook fans have swelled to more than 11,000. Volunteers that include gay activists and members of a local comedy troupe have signed on to help.
Marcotte is looking into whether he can gather signatures online, as proponents are doing for another proposed 2010 initiative to repeal the gay marriage ban. But the odds are stacked against a campaign funded primarily by the sale of $12 T-shirts featuring bride and groom stick figures chained at the wrists.
When Mark Driscoll came to town last year he wanted us to “burn our plastic Jesus” you can’t do that if you don’t own one. I didn’t own one, I didn’t know where to buy one. Now I do. And you can get a deluxe edition too.
The lack of quality in the craftsmanship is enough to have me becoming an iconoclast.
The 9/11 attacks were really just life imitating art. Apparently destroying New York is one of Hollywood’s favourite disaster cliches. Here’s a video montage…
Home Alone is a classic movie. These days classic movies reach classic status when they are relived on Twitter. Apparently. So here’s a sample of the “Home Alone Project” that recently took place on Twitter. Check it out.
Harry_Lyme
ARRRRGGHHH!!! Wooo woooooo wooo **sizzle** 1:50 PM Dec 25th from API
KevinMcCal
LOL @Harry_Lyme just got a Blowtorch to the head… 1:49 PM Dec 25th from web
Harry_Lyme
@KevinMcCal heh hehe You’re dead kid! 1:48 PM Dec 25th from API
Harry_Lyme
@#¢€*&!! I’m gonna rip his head off…!!! 1:47 PM Dec 25th from web
TallnCurly
**4″ nail + Foot** AARGGGGHHH!!! AAARGHH ARRRRGHHH ARRGGH!! 1:43 PM Dec 25th from web
TallnCurly
Down to one red sock… WHO PUTS ROOFING TAR ON STEPS?!?!?!?? 1:42 PM Dec 25th from API
Harry_Lyme
ouch. http://twitpic.com/v20o3 1:40 PM Dec 25th from API
KevinMcCal
Yesssssss! Yes, yes, yes, yes! 1:39 PM Dec 25th from web
Harry_Lyme
**sizzle** ARRRGGGGHHH!!!!! oow ow owww ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!!!!!! **sizzle** aaaahhhhhh 1:38 PM Dec 25th from web
Harry_Lyme
@KevinMcCal Gggrrrr You little creep, where are you?? 1:37 PM Dec 25th from web
Harry_Lyme
Oh, boy. That’s it, you little…**slip** You little son of a…**slip** No, not this time, you little brat!! 1:36 PM Dec 25th from web
TallnCurly
Look what the kid just did to me!! http://twitpic.com/v1zhc 1:32 PM Dec 25th from web
TallnCurly
**click** **RATTLE** … **SLAM** ..OWW!! ….**SIZZLE** 1:31 PM Dec 25th from web
TallnCurly
**slam** 1:30 PM Dec 25th from API
TallnCurly
**crow bar** … one tough door. **click** …oh. It’s open… 1:29 PM Dec 25th from web
Unlike Jesus, I was actually born on the 25th of December. People often ask me what it’s like having a birthday on Christmas Day. I don’t really know any different – but this XKCD comic prompted a post of reflections of sharing my birthday celebrations with the king of the world.
Churches all over the world were jam packed over the last couple of days as people celebrated Christmas. Churches in Australia were no doubt packed like sardines in a tin – full to the gills with “believers” who only come to church at Christmas and Easter.
According to the two batches of stats I’ve posted recently about 50% of people in Australia identify as “Christian” and about 20% go to church semi-regularly.
The other 30% are those, who in the stats from the Neilsen poll I posted the other day, meet the following criteria:
They [Christians] are convinced (94 per cent) that Christ was a historical figure; fairly confident (91 per cent) that He was the Son of God; increasingly sceptical (72 per cent) about the Virgin Birth; and oddly – considering its key importance to the faith – uncertain that He rose from the dead (85 per cent). These beliefs are held very confidently. The Nielsen poll found almost nine out of 10 Australian Christians were absolutely or fairly certain of their beliefs.
If these numbers are accurate, and I have no reason to doubt them. Then why on earth do we spend Christmas literally preaching to the “converted” that Jesus is Lord. They know that. What they don’t know is that being a follower of Jesus can not be an apathetic and convenient association where you touch base with Jesus once or twice a year and expect it to all pan out in the end.
All Christmas sermons are the same – they proclaim Jesus as the promised Messiah, the one who would bring peace with God. Emmanuel. God with us. And yet – in all probability the people in the building already believe that.
This is the problem with branding Christianity with John 3:16 and the idea that “belief” as in “I believe in Japan” is what saves you. The mechanics of salvation can’t be explained with that single verse – or am I missing something.
Here’s a passage someone should preach on one Christmas. I dare you. Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
We all know Santa couldn’t possibly exist because of the sheer workload involved in delivering so many presents (here’s a study)…
But apparently Angels, as we understand them – based on representations in art, and on top of Christmas Trees – are anatomically unable to fly.
Prof Roger Wotton, from University College London, found that flight would be impossible for angels portrayed with arms and bird-like feathered wings.
Even a cursory examination of the evidence in representational arts shows that angels and cherubs cannot take off and cannot use powered flight,” said Prof Wotton. “And even if they used gliding flight, they would need to be exposed to very high wind velocities at take off – such high winds that they would be blown away and have no need for wings.
I was thinking tonight – while sitting in a Christmas Eve service in Dalby – that I don’t understand why the liberals or “progressives” are so keen to see the narratives of the birth of Jesus as “metaphors” or hyperbole. Not because that’s what the church in Dalby did – the Christmas story was presented in all its glory.
The story of an unlikely conception, occurring in such a way that the baby arrived in a city that did not have room to receive the incoming “king”, who was pursued ruthlessly by a rival king, and heralded by angels is a story laden with significant metaphors and literary devices – I just don’t know why the presence of metaphors makes the truth of the story any less likely.
It seems the liberal and progressive arm of Christianity isn’t prepared to cut God any slack to act in a creative way. Why shouldn’t we expect God to use metaphors, similes and miracles? Jesus spent a fair bit of time teaching in parables. I just don’t get the mindset that says that God firstly must act in a way consistent with our scientific observations and secondly limits him to acting and communicating in a mundane and boring manner. If Jesus was just an ordinary baby born in an ordinary way there’d be nothing to celebrate about his arrival.
And I still can’t get my head around what you have left if you toss out all the supernatural bits of God. If you don’t believe that God could cause a virgin to conceive or the dead to be raised then what’s the point?
Merry Christmas.
Remember Dr Paul? If not you can read my past correspondence with him here (and check out our phone calls on YouTube).
He sent me a curious email today – four months after our last exchange.
Here’s what he had to say for himself… Now I have to decide how to respond. I’m 99.999999% sure that he is going to try to scam me again. Lets see how it goes.
Dear.
How are you today. my dear i want to tell you some thing now. for now am child God now that name Dr paul acquah is not my name, my really name is Emmanuel onyekwere am from Nigheria i came down to ghana because of problem that is why am start anwser Dr paul acquah. so now am child God i have give my life to Jesus that is why am telling you the truth now. so my dear if you like to contact me back this is my email address
emmanuelonyekwere@hotmail.com, this is my mobile if you like to call me so i will tell you more. +233-24-1111-297, my dear one advice i want to give you any body that contact you from Africa told you that you have consignment please dont follow the person he want to scam you money at last you can not get any thing. so my dear if you can move head will me i will open you eye for you and tell you more things in inter net.my dear i will like you to been my good friend. Am looking forward to hear from you soon.Yours Friend
Mr.Emmnuel onyekwere
I wrote back…
Dear Emmanuel,
I’m glad we are now being honest with one another – and I am happy to hear that you have come to know Jesus.
Perhaps, as a token of good faith, you would now be prepared to send me a photograph of yourself – and so I know it is you – perhaps you would like to include a verse from the Bible on a sign that you are holding.
I look forward to hearing more from you.
Your friend,
Nathan
Mario’s Closet design @ © SplitReason.com
This picture has the possibility of becoming an awesome shirt for those days when you’re not sure what you want to wear… it’s being voted on at that link above.
And Andrew from Daily Vowel Movements sent it my way.
If you’ve got anything you think would be good blog fodder for me – send it my way.
My email address is in the footer (down the bottom of the page). Sometime this week I’ll try to replace the two pictures of coffee cups that are down there with something a little less repetitive.
I’m going to find some atheist friends and use as many of these lines as I can over the Christmas period. I know that’s kind of the unpoint, but I don’t care.
On a serious note – how many of these lines do you routinely trot out to your non-believing friends? Maybe it’s time for some new material. Any suggestions?
If you fancy a bit or reptilian martial arts this January but need a target to direct your renaissance inspired ire towards… then why not buy an unfriend this Shredder hoodie and then proceed to kung-fu the Christmas overindulgence out of them.
