Last week I posed this question: Should Christians sit this election out? You responded. Today we take a look at some of those responses with comments from your Bad Christian Laureate. First some thoughts from those who disagree with me. I understand the point you are trying to make BUT!!!!!! I believe that our responsibility as a Christian out weighs our responsibility as an American.   Not sure what to make of the all-caps and highly exclamated “but”. Nonetheless, the point of my article is not whether our first priority is to Christ or to country. I think most Evangelicals would answer that without debate. It seems to me that scripture is clear that we have dual citizenship. Our top priority is as future citizens of heaven but we have responsibilities in this life as well. The writer continues…   I served in the military and do not take the privilege of being an American lightly, but I believe that our
Continue reading...

A news story this week from Christianity Today amused me. The headline was provocative. Super Tuesday Results Show Split Between Evangelicals and Their Spokesmen I am an amateur evangelical anthropologist. Like Jane Goodall I go into their habitats and study their behaviors. Since I am one of the species it is easy to assimilate into their culture. My first journal, When Bad Christians Happen to Good People, was a result of my time spent with these fascinating creatures. From my observations a couple of immediate questions came to mind as I read the headline in Christianity Today. When did we get spokesmen? Unlike dentists on TV commercials I can’t get four out of five evangelicals to agree on anything. Have these reporters not previously observed that evangelicals are an unruly lot and that our primary conflict resolution strategy is to split? (Note to the humor impaired: The comments above were good-natured jesting. Please back away from the send button) The rest of the story was a bit
Continue reading...

The morning perambulation (look that one up Nelson) was lovely today. The sun was shining brightly and the air was brisk. The iPod was cranking with a playlist that featured songs from my brief career as a disc jockey in the early 70’s. Yep, that was one more failed career on my resume. I remember that I used to play songs each day based on my mood. If I had just broken up with my girlfriend you would hear songs like “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart”, “Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song” and “Alone Again, Naturally”. I feel sorry for any listeners on those days. “Did you listen to the radio today?”“Yeah…I feel really depressed for some reason.”“Me too. I wonder why?” Sorry. On my current DJ playlist is a song that generated some spiritual reflection. Bill Withers had a big hit with the song “Lean on Me” in 1972. Sometimes in our lives we all have painWe all have sorrowBut if we are
Continue reading...

Regular readers of the humble ramblings know that I will often reference some of the great thinkers of our age to make a point. Today is one of those days as I go deep into the mind of Popeye the Sailor Man. What other Christian writer offers this kind of depth and insight? Stumbling across an old Popeye cartoon triggered this post. Seeing an old cartoon brought back memories of a childhood misspent in front of a glowing black and white Sylvania television. Questions still unanswered came to mind. Why did Popeye have to get  his strength from spinich? Why couldn’t he be more like Wimpy and get his super strength from hamburgers? What was so attractive about Olive Oyl? What size shoe did she wear? Fifteen? Sixteen? Perhaps some of my questions will never be answered. But it was a couple of familiar expressions from Popeye that generated today’s article. The first Popeye proverb summarizes the place I arrived at a
Continue reading...

Fifteen years ago a funny and underappreciated  movie came on the scene. Groundhog Day told the story of a self-absorbed news reporter (redundancy alert?) that finds himself stuck in an endless repeat of the same day. Bill Murray is perfect in the role of reporter Phil Connors. Since I live in the odd world of broadcast television I can relate to the cynical personality of Murray’s character. Reporter Phil is less than thrilled that he has been assigned to cover Punxsutawney Phil’s annual peek outside to predict winter’s duration. Connor’s looks into the camera and cynically reports: “This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather.” I have directed some events that offer that kind of challenge. But what got me thinking about that movie again was the plotline where Phil Connors realizes he is doomed to live the same day over and over and over. The plot is summed up
Continue reading...

The great Dallas sports columnist Blackie Sherrod used to have a weekly column that started with this phrase: Scattershooting while wondering whatever happened to (fill in the name from someone from the past or a person who had faded out of view). My version would be scattershooting while wondering whatever happened to my 2nd book, “Bring’em Back Alive”? Has anyone heard from it or seen it? Please tell it to call home from whatever bargain bin it is hanging out in. Yesterday I wrote a column on my struggle with how to respond to ungraceful comments about my faith. I got a thoughtful and kind response from Linda. As a Catholic and the mother of a Notre Dame student, I have certainly struggled with my response to this situation. My 20 year old Fightin’ Irish son’s response was, as expected, anger, and confusion regarding the seemingly “it’s only Notre Dame fans who are upset” attitude of ESPN and other media
Continue reading...

Every so often I take on a topic that reminds me of the Civil Defense film called Duck and Cover. They used to show us this “educational” film in elementary school. Having a serious as a heart attack announcer discussing nuclear attacks made for some really restful nights. More experienced readers recall that we were advised to “duck and cover” under our school desks in the event of a nuclear attack. Even as a 2nd grader I knew that was nonsense. In later school years I would develop better descriptive words. I don’t recall the other kids thinking this was stupid but perhaps I just have an exceptional gift to discern the obvious. Today’s topic is one that generates as much vein bulging controversy in the church as picking the right kind of worship music or the correct bible translation. Yes, we Christians can mount a full out expedition on any kind of molehill. But today’s issue is one that reasonable and thoughtful people can disagree about. Unfortunately, the reasonable and
Continue reading...