Did Heath Ledger Die for Our Sins?

Phelps: Hallelujah for Star-studded, Spectacular Deaths!

20 years ago today, the space shuttle Challenger exploded only seconds after take-off, killing allseven crew members. Fred Phelps didn't have a media presence back then, or he would have shouted "Glory Hallelujah" just as he did after the Columbia disaster:


Anti-homosexual activist Fred Phelps produced a flier that claimed, "The 7 Are In Hell," where he stated, "God's Arm hurled Columbia in fragments to the ground, and hurled the 7 fools into the everlasting fires of Hell - in wrath and vengeance, laughing, mocking and deriding this nation of fags." - Phelp's Web site, 2/2

His website's latest headline:

Thank God Ledger Is Dead!

Heath Ledger Is In Hell!

LORD Willing we will preach at his funeral!

Heath Ledger chose to promote the vile sin of sodomy in defiance of God's law. No one made him play a faggot cowboy in "Brokeback Mountain". No one made him kiss another man, in a flagrant attempt to further desensitize not only americans but Bible-illiterate fools the world over to the filthy depravity that is faggotry. He chose to do that all on his own. He could have used that bully pulpit he has to promote the cause of God and truth instead. God has repaid him to his face for his filth. Thank God for His Justice. All who flaunt God's law can expect the same. Amen

Of course, we instantly dismiss whatever Phelps and his Topeka, KS family of hate say about anyone or anything. After all, who listens?

Someone might.

That's the real tragedy of Ledger's death: that anyone might use his name or image to actually kill someone else. It makes no difference that Ledger was an actor in a fictional film. To someone, he might have been more than real. Someone may be out there who hates the Heath Ledgers of the world - the people who are willing to take risks so that others will stop and think about macho images and tolerance.

Thank you, Heath Ledger.

The Televangelisti: A New Mob for the Twenty-First Century

Pat Robertson's Out - But Religious Right Gangsters are Still Afoot

It was on this day in 1947 that one of the most infamous men in the world died: Al Capone. As a youth, I grew up with Capone - figuratively, that is. I grew up in Berwyn, Illinois, the nextdoor neighbor of Cicero, a suburb of Chicago and Capone's base of operations during the Roaring Twenties. My father grew up in Cicero, however, during Capone's heyday. When he was 18 years-old, my father was 6'2", well built, and had slick black hair. He also carried a violin case - he was a musician in Chicago's Civic Orchestra.

"I was such a dummy, in those days," he said. "I didn't know why people were cutting a swathe for me when I walked down the street."

Yes, the era was terrifying when Capone ruled. He preyed on vulnerable people and took their money because they needed liquor and partying to ease the pain of the Great Depression. He killed off rivals and gave Elliott Ness and the FBI nightmares. He was outrageously arrogant and flaunted himself in front of the authorities because he was careful in his deals.

But not careful enough: with all the murders and the racketeering, Ness and the FBI finally , nailed him - on income tax evasion. H was sent to Alcatraz. All of the inmates hated his arrogance. Once he was stabbed. When e was released, he had no more influence in the mob. Times had changed. He died of a heart attack (brought on by syphillis contracted as a youth).

Then a new kind of gangster appeared: saavy and less flamboyant. Men like Tony Accardo and Sam Giancana lived relatively quiet, more sedate lives. They were, however, just as deadly as Capone.

Where are our gangsters today? Those men of quiet control who had more money than God? It's interesting to note a slight parallel between gangsters and televangelists: their flamboyant lifestyles speak of the power they have over vulnerable people.Now, the only way to curb them is to investigate their finances. Will they be chastised in any way?

No.

Many of them are morphing into "prosperity" mega-churches. Their head honcho is a man who resides in Colorado Springs.

From Al Capone to James Dobson. Who says there is no Darwinian evolution?

From this... .................................................to this!!



to this...

Googling Into the "Heart" of Ann Coulter

Like in the oil business, sometimes you drill and drill and come up with...nothing.

On January 26th in the year 1875, a patent was granted to George F. Green for the first electric dental drill. I now dedicate this post to someone who personifies a dental drill: Ann Coulter.


So, just for the hell of it, I Googled: Ann Coulter Charity Compassion.


None of the articles indicated that Ann had any compassion, but I got some interesting results, especially conservative blogs who bristled at George Bush's term, "Compassionate Conservatism," since they felt they were much more compassionate than liberals all along. What is it about Coultergeist's raw bitchiness that sends some people over the edge of decorum and others into a state of euphoria? Maybe her popularity stems from that the fact that she's an equal opportunity hater. Try to find someone she LIKES and you will be looking for months, possibly years.


Typical Ann Coulter in October 2000:

It's not that we hate the poor; it's that every time the government tries to help the poor it ends up removing the marvelous incentives life provides to do things like buy an alarm clock, get a job, keep your knees together before marriage, and generally become a productive, happy member of society.

That sounds so waspish, like she's trying desperately to become a member of The 400. And what hypocrisy! Ann Coulter has great legs (for a "pushing 50 year-old"), but you can bet she doesn't always keep her knees together.

Beliefnet questions Coultergeist:


Is it possible to be a good Christian and sincerely believe, as Jim Wallis does, that a bigger welfare state and higher taxes to fund it is the best way in a complex modern society for us to fulfill our Gospel obligation to help the poor?


It's possible, but not likely. Confiscatory taxation enforced by threat of imprisonment is "stealing," a practice strongly frowned upon by our Creator. If all Christians and Jews tithed their income as the Bible commands, every poor person would be cared for, every naked person clothed and every hungry person fed. Read Marvin Olasky's "The Tragedy Of American Compassion" for further discussion of this.

Does Ann tithe? I doubt it. I think she jumps from one prosperity megachurch to another, praying for that new house in the Hamptons.

I also Googled: Ann Coulter church:

She says she goes to a Presbyterian church in Manhattan, but the pastor's never seen her.


Google: Ann Coulter heart

Her father passed away several weeks ago, so she polemicizes at his funeral:

He hated unions because of their corrupt leadership, ripping off the members for their own aggrandizement. But he had more respect for genuine working men than anyone I've ever known. He was, in short, the molecular opposite of John Edwards.

and...

Now Daddy is with Joe McCarthy and Ronald Reagan. I hope they stop laughing about the Reds long enough to talk to God about smiting some liberals for me.

I wonder what her own eulogy will be like.

Huckabee Scores $Millions from Televangelist Under Investigation

A Last-Minute Save!

Kind of makes your wallet feel all warm and fuzzy!

Just 14 hours after I stated that Huckabee knew where the money was (see last blog below), evangelical advisor, Doug Wead stated this on his blog:

A few months ago, the Mike Huckabee campaign finally started the work of touching base with evangelical leaders of influence. Among others, they met with Ken Copeland, one of the nation’s top televangelists. Last night the Governor called his friend in the middle of a conference and Copeland, carefully observing all the laws governing non profits, as a private citizen, re-convened a private meeting, turned to his friends and raised a few million dollars for Huckabee.

And Sarah Posner of The American Prospect said it better than anyone:

Meanwhile, don't any of these Republicans question campaign fundraising for a presidential candidate by someone who is being investigated by a Republican Senator for his own fundraising?

I hope Senator Grassley is reading this.

So, will Ken Copeland become the U.S. Amassador to the U.N., The Court of St. James or maybe even (gasp!) Swaziland? (Well, at least he's not an alumni of Skull 'n Bones.)

Pray and Prosper: You Pray, You Pay... and I'll Prosper

Who's Got the REAL money?

Why did Martin Luther hate the Roman Catholic Church so much? Because the prelates and the Pope had (literally) "more money than God." And the fact that the clergy sold indulgences (an indulgence, was a sort of "Get Out Of Hell" card) didn't sit well with the populace, either.

So what's the idea behind today's "seed" money? In prosperity theology, "seed" money is "holy" money you give to a church or organization showing your support. When you give "seed " money, God will give you back "tenfold." Most proslytizers of seed money, however, make it sound not as if you're getting back health or wealth, but securing a better seat in heaven (orchestra seat G10, maybe, unless heaven is bigger). Sort of like an indulgence. Hmmm.

Back to Luther: those prelates and popes lived in palaces, collected the best artwork (at sinfully high prices), were (tastefully) bejewelled and rode (drove) the best transportation on four hooves. Hmmm, again.

In a sense, they WERE entertaining, showing people the might, right and beauty of Almighty God. Shock and awe against Satan, presumably.

When I was a kid, our pastor (diocesan - no vow of poverty) always rode a brand new Buick. His rectory's game room (four poker tables, a pool table and several pinball machines) was much bigger than the office he used for counsultations. (To be fair, I can't recall him using it anyway so it didn't have to be very large.) He could also wring more money out of the congregation than any top-notch traveling salesman.

All the priests of my younger years would have made great politicians.

Now, some "men of God" are doing just that: shifting from religion to politics without moving a muscle. Especially men like Rev. Mike Huckabee.

"There's a political savvy that Baptist preachers who made it big in the Southern Baptist Convention learned from their mother's womb," said Bill Leonard, a former Southern Baptist seminary professor and dean of Wake Forest University Divinity School in North Carolina. "It's an instinct to know how to read populist moments and movements."

Just where am I going with all this? The headlines today mentioned that Huckabee's campaign is in financial trouble. Don't believe it. There are still people who will shovel money to Huckabee like they did to Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker. They even call campaign contributons "seed" money. Give to a campaign (megachurch pastor, or televangelist with political asperations) and you will receive it back tenfold.

Of course, if you don't contribute, chances are you might find it harder to get to heaven.

Be Prepared?

January 24 - The Day of Striking Ironies

In 1922, The first Boy Scout troop was organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell. Their motto was, of course, "Be Prepared."

In 1942 - A special court of inquiry into America's lack of preparedness for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor placed much of the blame on Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and Lieutenant General Walter C. Short. Were they ever Boy Scouts?

And in 2003 - The new U.S. Deprtment of Homeland Security officially opened and its head, Tom Ridge, was sworn in. His biography does not mention the Boy Scouts, but while he was governor of Pennsylvania, Ridge's pen was always pepared to sign execution warrants (over 200).

From Slavery to Jim Crow and Right Back to Slavery

The Slavery of Literalism

Jan. 21-Jan. 24

This period of time between Martin Luther King Day and the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade should have given African-Americans a time to reflect on the subject of suppression. MLK was a Baptist minister, but was he a biblical inerrantist? A literalist? A young-earther? A creationist? In other words, was Martin Luther King, Jr. a Southern Baptist Minister?

No.

His early years were frought with scepticism:

San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 15, 2007

Writings show King as liberal Christian, rejecting literalism

by Mattai Chaoko Karuvila - Religion Editor

...King was not a conformist Christian. He not only eschewed literalism, he was a strident critic of how the Christian church perpetuated injustices such as slavery and segregation.

"Too often has the church talked about a future good 'over yonder,' totally forgetting the present evil over here," King wrote in 1952 to Coretta Scott, his future wife.

"Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and not concerned about the city government that damns the soul, the economic conditions that corrupt the soul, the slum conditions, the social evils that cripple the soul, is a dry, dead, do-nothing religion in need of new blood," King preached in 1962 to his congregation at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

King "wanted to develop an intellectually respectable form of Christianity that did not require people to simply abandon their rational, critical abilities," Carson said. The essential truth King saw, according to Carson, was the social gospel -- "to see the Bible as a message of spiritual redemption and global social justice."

[From Wikipedia's oh-so-liberal slanted article on Margaret Sanger]

In 1930, Sanger opened a family planning clinic in Harlem that sought to enlist support for contraceptive use and to bring the benefits of family planning to women who were denied access to their city's health and social services. Staffed by a black physician and black social worker, the clinic was endorsed by The Amsterdam News (the powerful local newspaper), the Abyssinian Baptist Church, the Urban League, and the black community's elder statesman, W.E.B. DuBois.[22]

To set the record straight, Margaret Sanger was against abortion and proposed that there would be no need of abortion if contraception were used effectively.

But millions of the self-righteous don't see things that way:

What is also fairly well known among pro-lifers who know about what a wicked institution Planned Murderhood is, is the fact that Sanger callously planned on using black ministers (willingly or by deceit) to trick their flocks into going along with PP’s agenda. [From: The Myths of Martin Luther King, by By P. Leslie Riley, Chairman, Constitution Party of Mississippi]

But is this self-righteous way of looking at pro-choice a cover-up for something more seminal and sinister? Is it possible to be enslaved by the Church? Please feel free to discss.