Warning: This blog contains no obscenity. There are no references to sex or violence. No ethnic groups will be demeaned. However, according to a recent decision by the Motion Picture Association of America I feel I must post this warning. Parental Guidance suggested. Some material may not be suited for children. Why do I feel compelled to warn you? This article may mention…(cue dramatic music)…Jesus.    I have done a couple of recent articles in my “Grumpy Old Man” series. I wrote about civility being on life support in two recent blogs. I have written about how lawsuits have caused product manufacturers to desperately try to protect us from ourselves. For example…a real warning label that said… Warning: Do not use lawnmower to trim shrubbery Now I read that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is slapping a PG rating on a movie because it “it heavily laden with messages from one religion and this might offend people from other religions.” Sounds like a job for Grumpy Old Man! But
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This week I confessed my depression over the decline of civility in our culture. I had just posted that grumpy old man rant and hopped in the car to run some errands. The radio tuner was on the Mavericks radio station (ESPN 103.3 FM) because I had listened to game 6 on my home the previous evening. I started to change the channel but I realized that they were discussing the Mark Cuban blog controversy. I decided to see if they agreed with me that Cuban’s blog comments were over the top given that it is linked from the Mav’s site. Co-host Steve Dennis seemed to feel that Cuban’s language and demeanor were a bit of an embarrassment. Co-host Jennifer Floyd Engel plunged me back into depression. I will paraphrase her comments. She informed Dennis (and me by agreement with him) that such sensitivity was a “generational” thing. A caller noted that the “f-bomb” was merely a synonym for love making. He did
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Yesterday was a culturally depressing day for me. I was listening to the Michael Medved Show on my way to the real job. His guest was the controversial author Ann Coulter. Medved was trying to solicit conversation on the questions that Coulter raises in the book, Godless: The Church of Liberalism. Then I got depressed. A caller began his “discussion” with this little jewel.  “Hey Michael, why are you lowering yourself by having this Elsa Erich on your show?” Elsa Erich was a brutal, sadistic matron of a Nazi death camp who was guilty of horrifying cruelty to Jews. That caller could have been Gandhi, Einstein, Jefferson, and Lincoln rolled into one and I wouldn’t have listened to another word he said. This was a random but sadly typical example of the lack of civility that has become far too commonplace in our culture. I guess he thought he was funny or clever. To compare a controversial author to a woman who oversaw the brutal and horrible deaths
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WASHINGTON – Gritty rats and mice living in sewers and farms seem to have healthier immune systems than their squeaky clean cousins that frolic in cushy antiseptic labs, two studies indicate. The lesson for humans: Clean living may make us sick. That was the AP story that caught my attention yesterday. And I pondered the odd theory that these disgusting rodents may offer a clue to ineffectual Christian living as well. Let us explore. Associated Press Science writer Seth Borenstein writes about the recent research. The studies give more weight to a 17-year-old theory that the sanitized Western world may be partly to blame for soaring rates of human allergy and asthma cases and some autoimmune diseases, such as Type I diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. The theory, called the hygiene hypothesis, figures that people’s immune systems aren’t being challenged by disease and dirt early in life, so the body’s natural defenses overreact to small irritants such as pollen. The new studies,
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  This a transcript of the words I spoke at my father’s memorial service. This will be my third Father’s Day since he went to be with his Heavenly Father. My Dad made a difference in my life. You will make a difference in the lives of your children. They listen only sometimes. But they are always watching. My Dad probably never realized how closely I was watching. I can only pray that my Son’s will feel as blessed to call me Dad as I was to address my own father.   My Dad was a good man. Not a perfect man. Kindness was his calling card to everyone around him. The last time I saw my father he left me with a memory that will stay with me till I join him in eternity. My last visit with Dad was a roller-coaster of emotions. He had made a remarkable and inspiring comeback from his devastating brain injury. I had
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I love the Muppets. I must have watched the Muppet Movie over a hundred times with first born and second born sons. One of my favorite characters is Gonzo the Great. No one is quiet sure what Gonzo is. In The Great Muppet Caper Fozzie Bear, Kermit, and Gonzo are newspaper reporters who are sent, via air cargo, to London to investigate a jewel heist. But the mystery of Gonzo remains. The crates for Fozzie and Kermit are labeled “Bear” and “Frog”. On Gonzo’s crate is the stenciling “Whatever”. Maybe that is why I love this character so much. A sensitive and kind of weird “whatever” in search of himself. I can relate to that.   One of my all time favorite Muppet moments happens in the Great Muppet Caper. Kermit and Gonzo cannot manage to hail a taxi. So Gonzo suddenly leaps into the middle of the street, a taxi slams on the brakes and they have a ride. Kermit looks at him in
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It has been a while since I dusted off the wildly popular feature “Ask a Bad Christian”. Today’s questions revolve around one theme and have come from several people. Why do you call your blog “Confessions of a Bad Christian”? Do you really think you are a bad Christian? Yeah.  Sometimes I am. Sometimes “badder” than on other days. The blog heading of “Confessions of a Bad Christian” started out as a bit of a joke. It was based on the title of my first book, When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. But I will tell you that I have grown attached to the title of this blog. I have come to grips with the truth that I can, in fact, be a bad Christian. And that is the point of the title. It is a daily reminder to me that I am capable of thoughts and actions that do not reflect Jesus. I did think that making this question a sermon topic was a bit over the
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