The Passion of Mel

When the movie, The Passion of Christ, was released, I recall many of the gut reactions from those who saw the movie. Many of the people who watched it said they were shocked by how the Jews were portrayed in the movie. As a Christian who was affect by the movie but had several misgivings about it, I found myself torn by the critique because I agreed with it. And, when one reads the New Testament, it can be easy to understand why Mel Gibson, who helped co-write the screen play as well as directing it, portrayed the Jewish leaders in such a bad light.

Living in New York City, most folks are surrounded by countless Jewish men and women. So it is with great care when a movie with apparent anti-semitic themes is hailed as one of the best Christian movies of all time.

And then something like this happens. Mel Gibson is arrested for drunk driving and according to the arrest report leaked to the press, says this to his arresting officers, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." Turning to the officer, Gibson asks, "Are you a Jew?"

Sure, he was drunk. But being drunk, one doesn't necessarily say things that are totally imaginative, rather, one's inhibitions are lowered to such a degree, that a person will say just about anything without fear of appraisal. Is Gibson anti-semitic? It sure looks that way and it sure justifies what his critics regard as his very apparent anti-Jewish slant in the movie.

Kinsey

I was supposed to wait. You see, I told a friend of mine that I'd hold my new Netflix selection until we saw each other again and then we'd watch it together. But then, last night, about 10pm, I got bored and was not yet sleepy. And, in a moment of forgetfulness, I thought to myself, "Oh, I haven't watched my new movie yet." So, I opened my DVD player, turned my TV on, and sat back for one heck of an interesting movie. I watched Liam Neeson in the movie Kinsey.

Amazingly, I haven't actually read his book, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, but the controversy surrounding this man's life is so huge that actually reading his book is of secondary concern 50 years after its publishing (although I do plan to go to the library this week and check it out). The movie portrayed Kinsey's life from early adolesence into late adulthood. In it, we learn how his view of sex shaped his life and, through his own experiences between him and his wife as well as his popularity on campus, where he taught, he felt it necessary to study and convey his findings to his curious students.

I was particularly facinated how religion and its constraits of the 1930s and 1940s played such a huge role in both Kinsey's personal life as well as in the reaction his studies created. The latter can be expected, but the former- both from his own experiences with his father's strict parenting to his father's admission of his own sexual repression, were both shocking and understandable. Towards the end of the movie, you couldn't help but feel sorry for the father who had been harnassed as a boy to prevent him from even touching himself sexually. As Freud might suggest, the suppression of sexuality can have extreme ramifications for everyone involved--and this was true for both Kinsey and his father.

During the movie itself, it tackled many of the controversies surrounding Kinsey to include how he gathered his data to the subjects themselves. It touched on what we can know from his studies, what is critics have said, and what they continue to say. And, the movie left a lot of information for interpretation. I found myself, a couple of times, wincing. But on the whole, I deeply enjoyed the movie as well as the onscreen chemisty between Neeson and Laura Linney (who played his wife).

When the movie was over, I found myself daydreaming. Not of sex mind you, but of how Kinsey's work may have been more pivotal towards the gay rights movement than the 1969 Stonewall riots that fueled and propelled gay rights formation here in the U.S. Thinking how restrictive America was around sex and how difficult it must have been for hetero- and homosexuals alike causes me to 'thank my lucky stars that I wasn't around then.' And, the movie had me convinced that Kinsey's work with sexuality opened a lot of eyes, ears, and imaginations in and around sex.

The movie also did something else. For not only did the movie make clear the importance of knowledge and how freedom from sexual repression and ignorance can highten one's being, the movie also showed how an organized system of sexual expression, or even the boundaries of sexual expression, are meant to keep men and women... how do I say this... these boundaries may actually exist for a reason. A reason that some might articulate that attempts to preserve the emotional connection and stability of a marriage. And to that, I found myself both agreeing that many people may need constructs in relationships while at the same time amending the argument for constructs with a balanced sense of knowing the boundaries, understanding that not all boundaries work for all peoples, and that some people have differences that don't allow for a "one boundary for all" mentality and social construct.

All in all, I loved the movie and would definitely recommend it. Watch out though, if I winced a couple of times, you might wince more. ;)

Encyclopedia of Religion & Society

While doing a Google search of "clergy discounts" (I know, I am so lame), I discovered a pretty cool resource that actually had nothing to do with clergy discounts but did talk an awful lot about clergy in general. It is a nice report (it probably doesn't tell you anything you didn't already know) that explains the relationship of clergy to laity. You can read about that here.

And after you read that, go here. It is the homepage for the Encyclopedia itself.

They're Having Just a Gay Ol' Time

It Might've Been 11,001

I read this scary statistic that said,

The Department of Defense has discharged more than 11,000 service members since 1993 under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), more than 800 of those service members were trained in skills deemed ‘mission-critical’ by the Pentagon. (News Report)

11,000?! Dang, that sure sounds like a lot of gay people, right? I have an interesting story for you. About a month before I was to re-enlist in the USAF Reserves back in 2001, I received a phone call from a trusted friend of mine up in USAF Strategic Air Command who said that if I re-enlisted, he had heard that my Reserve Command was going to use me as an example for other troops and go after me under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy to have me discharged. The friend who told me about it was and is himself gay and 6 months later, he got an early retirement from the military.

Because of him, I didn't re-enlist. I served for 12 years (4 years Active, and 8 Reserve), received numerous Commendation medals and awards, served with distinction in the Gulf War and the Bosnian Conflict. And yet, many felt that the contributions I had made were either bogus or threatening to unit cohesion. And yet, when I served, no one was threatened (and you can bet your ass I would have been told if anyone was) and my contributions were honored.

Frickin' stupid logic on their part, if you ask me.

It Couldn't've Happened to a Nicer Guy

So there I was, doing work at the office when I heard that familiar 'ping', Microsoft Outlook's way of letting me know I had new email waiting for me. Moving my mouse to stop the screen saver, I clicked on my daily news email from The Advocate only to discover what everyone else has been talking about in one of those 'matter of fact' kind of ways.

"Oh yeah, sure, he's gay. Everyone knows that already, right?" I sometimes just don't get it; or, I am thinking I am wanting someone to be gay when they might not be. I mean, I hear straight people say as if exasperated whenever a gay man is thinking a celebrity is gay, "For crying out loud, not everyone is gay! Get over it already." And then, something like this happens and suddenly, the game is afoot yet again. Everyone is now speculating on a host of other handsome or, 'too pretty' men in Hollywood. At present, another man who is a contender for being gay is the young Darth Vader himself, Hayden Christensen.

Anways, just to let you know, Lance Bass, of 'NSync, came out. You can read the exclusive story at People Magazine here.

Running around a City Block

Amanda Beck, a reporter for Reuters news service, has written a beautiful story about the longest foot race in the world. It is a 3,100 mile trek, long enough to stretch from New York to Los Angeles but instead, circles one city block, 5,000 times, for two months straight.

Follow this link to read about the reasons for their journey.

Funny T-Shirts

More t-shirts here.

Gift from a Church Member

Eleanor, an elderly member of the church, bought me this sign as a gift in honor of my installation at the church where I serve. Often, when I am over at her house (she lives across the street from the parsonage), she always has cookies to offer me and I always gladly accept them.

I loved the sign so much that I have it proudly displayed on my entry way hallway as you go into the kitchen.

You can get your own sign by visiting this link.

A New Devotional

I started a new devotional book this morning titled The Christian Book of Questions, by Laura Boswell. In it, I found some interestingly personal and suprisingly deep questions about my faith and what I believe about God.

I am a firm believer that God is seldom in the answers that we construct or discover as we read our interpretation of Scripture or theology. More often than not, we end up creating boxes by which God becomes more limited in how God communes with us and us with God. However, looking for answers is part and parcel of our humanity and certainly there are some answers we must search for and discover. But I think those answers are fewer than what is necessary.

I like to think that God is more often with us as we search out our questions. For I remain convinced that God is in the journey that our questions take us. And therefore, when a church member loaned me her copy of this book, I was thrilled to begin reading, pondering, and asking myself a plethora of questions.

This morning I found three question each following each other. After reading these three questions, I started wondering if their grouping was by chance or if the author has something in mind. Mind you, these are the only three questions on the page. However, on several pages there are a mix of questions that seem to have no correlation. Anyways, here are the three questions I read this morning. How would you answer them?

* Have you forgiven everyone who has ever hurt you? Why or why not?
* If you were allowed 24 hours to engage in the sin of greed, laziness, sex, or gluttony as much as you liked and with no punishment, how would you spend your day?
* If you could correct the repercussions of one mistake or sin in your life, what would it be?

A Favorite Movie Quote

Gandalf was speaking to Frodo in the Lord of the Rings. Frodo is wishing ill and death on someone and Gandalf replies,

"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends."

I have taken to thinking of this quote when life and death issues arrive, namely when capital punishment is being debated.

Causing a Ruckus

Now this may make you laugh: A senator was arguing that bringing the issue of ammending the Constitution to ban gay marriage was nothing but a ploy to keep the nation and legislatures from actually debating issues of importance (like Iraq and the economy). The senator then, explaining that if legislatures really wanted to protect the institution of marriage, then it would be more concerned about what heterosexuals are already doing to damage said institution. He said,

"If we truly want to protect marriage, we should look and do all the things we must to go after the evils that threaten each and every one of our marriages," Rep Lincoln Davis (D-Tenn.) said. "These are the evils of divorce, adultery and abuse."

You go, Lincoln Davis! You tell them scapegoaters off and expose them for what they're doing.

As a result of what he said, Republicans are calling for an apology from him. They are scared he is going to draft a bill making divorce a felony. And if that happens, we'll have a legislature full of criminals. As if we don't already have a lot of them already.

You can read the whole story here.

Procreation: A Losing Argument

"Those who advocate that marriage should be reserved purely for the purpose of procreation have argued themselves into a corner. If they truly want that as a standard, then it should apply it to everyone."

Read the whole story here.

Google's Search Cheat Sheet

Okay, so it's not really cheating. Maybe I should simply call it a crib sheet. Whatever you call it: It is actually quite amazing.

Searching Google.

I would definiately recommend that you: Follow the link, print out the information, and keep it by your computer.

Funny Quote

"Everything that can be invented has been invented."
- Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899

Cars Stolen Most Often

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB®), the nation’s motor vehicle thieves continue to favor imports over domestic brands as their target of opportunity. The NICB® has compiled a list of the 10 vehicles most frequently reported stolen in the U.S. in 2004. That top 10 includes:

1995 Honda Civic 1989 Toyota Camry 1991 Honda Accord 1994 Dodge Caravan 1994 Chevrolet Full Size C/K 1500 Pickup

1997 Ford F150 Series 2003 Dodge Ram Pickup 1990 Acura Integra 1988 Toyota Pickup 1991 Nissan Sentra

Click here to see a breakdown of stolen vehicles from state to state.

Are you a Mouse Potato?

Miriam-Webster has added a new word to our lexicon. That new word is 'mouse potato' and it means 'a person who spends a great deal of time using a computer.

The definition sure makes sense to me; I know that I am not a 'couch' potato, heck, I hardly ever watch tv. But I am on the computer much more often. I even have my laptop set up on my downstairs dining room table just so I don't have to go 'all the way upstairs' to get online or access my email.

How about you? Are you a couch potato or a mouse potato?

An American Icon

A few months ago I wrote a post explaining how Johnny Cash was an American icon, and he is (to me anyways). And there is another icon that isn't real but for some of us, represents an ideal about what is really important.

I just returned from watching Superman Returns and let me tell you, it was an incredible movie. To see Superman in the first screen gave me goose bumps- even though he is a fictional character in a franchized movie that is concerned with making huge sums of money, I still look at Superman like I did when I was a kid reading comic books about the Man of Steel.

I look at Superman as the epitome of truth, justice, and the American way. He is good natured, good hearted, and, ahem.. quite the handsome hero. It was nice to revisit those warm fuzzy feelings again tonight. Brandon Routh did a superb job playing Superman.

I saw a book years ago that was part of a series of books called, The Gospel According To _______. There was one called The Gospel According to Peanuts (about Charlie Brown's gang) and there was one dedicated to Superman. I didn't buy that book but watching the movie one can easily imagine what it would say. In the movie, Superman is likened unto his father and the son became the father (go see the movie, I won't spoil the surprise). Jor-El (Superman's father) gave Kal-El (Superman's Kryptonian name) to earth to help save it because Jor-El believed the inhabitants of the earth were good people when they held to and lifted up an ideal. Superman is the ideal that keeps earth together. Much like Jesus was given by God for us--and when we hold him up as an ideal (or more than one), then we can all be saved.

On the one hand, I appreciate such spiritual messages as this movie provided. But, I am also careful to remember that the creators of Superman were Jewish and never intended for Superman to used in this way, to carry the Christian message through Jor-El and Superman. As a result, it makes me suspicious when such themes are attached to my American icon. I doubt Superman, if he had his say so, would agree to such a thing. Not because its idolatrous (because afterall Superman is fiction) but because it betrays his humanity--he isn't perfect nor intends to be so--he is just doing what he thinks he should do or, as he took stock in his abilities, what he is capable of. In some ways, Superman is like us--we go about doing good, not because we were chosen to be the saviors of the world but because God created us to do and be good. And that's the Superman that inspired me as a kid--and its the Superman that continues to inspire me today.

From One Scapegoat to the Other

Does God Wear Tie-die?

This coming Sunday we are reading the story of when David ascends to the throne and becomes King of Israel (2 Chronicles 6). In the story itself, we read where David is transporting the Ark of the Covenant (remember the Indiana Jones movie about the Ark of the Covenant?). In the story, the Ark hits something in the road and is about to tip over when a man reaches out to steady the Ark and keep it from falling over. No good deed should go unpunished though, and God strikes the man dead for daring to touch the Ark (it does make me wonder what God would have done had the man, who could have prevented the Ark from falling on its side, yet did nothing to prevent it from happening).

This particular story tells of a time when the God who we know today was at one time, a very unpredictable, sometimes angry, and sometimes benevolently gracious Being. All through the Old Testament, a reader can find instances when God would strike out and kill many because of God’s wrath. A reader can also find places where God’s spokespersons sometimes talked God out of killing even more people because of God’s sometimes fickle and very arbitrary moods.

Today we worship a very different God. To some, we are living in a different dispensation, or period of time when God, well…acts differently. Those who consider themselves dispensationalists, they see the God of the New Testament as being a more gracious God and the God of the Old Testament. Rather than saying that God may be scitsophrenic, they say that God has chosen to act differently (for whatever reason).

For liberals and progressive Christians, we often view God as a sort of hippie type who, after a few tokes and wearing a tie-dye t-shirt, asks politely and reverently, “Come on man, let’s all just get along, okay?” Okay, so few actually think that God gets stoned but they idea that God is a 60s peace-Child is a very different image than that of the God of Israel.

All this causes me to wonder: are we right in thinking that the arbitrary anger and fickle moodiness of God are really over? Or, was God ever like that to begin with?

One tenet of liberal Christianity is that when we look at the Bible or the Holy Scriptures, we see the book in a different light than a conservative fundamentalist might. One way we look at it is as a collection of stories explaining how men and women of faith have interpreted their relationship with God. Some of them interpreted God as a Zeus-like figure who sometimes tormented us for reasons we’ll never know. Others saw God as a benevolent God who sought out opportunities to show grace. And still others, who read the Bible from a literary perspective see the theology of God developing as time went on.

Elaine Pagels, a professor of religious studies at Barnard College in Manhattan has written several books about the progression of evil, hell, and the devil in Judeo-Christian thought. In her books, she shows how our understanding of God has progressed or changed over a long period of time. The angry and fickle God gets replaced with the super-duper God who loves all, has a definite plan for humanity, is very particular about who gets to heaven and hell, and how it is we ought to live. The very explicit and purposeful God is very different from the early understanding of God as the God’s chosen were led out of captivity in Egypt.

This then, brings me back again to my original question: Have we turned God into a wuss or, have we simply misunderstood God all along?

Hopefully by Sunday I’ll have read more and can offer some insight about this very question to the folks who will be gathering here.