You may have heard the news that a judge in Viterbo, Italy has been given the unenviable task of ruling whether Jesus actually existed. That would be a great example for the Southwest Airlines commercial campaign.  Need to get away? Opening arguments began Friday in the case of an Italian priest accused by an atheist of breaking two Italian laws.  The Reverend Enrico Righi is the defendant in a case filed by an old schoolmate named Luigi Cascioli (the next class reunion should be fun). Cascioli filed a criminal complaint in 2002 after Righi wrote in a parish bulletin that “Jesus did indeed exist, and that he had been born to a couple named Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem and lived in Nazareth.” Cascioli claims Righi broke two Italian laws by making this claim. The laws alledgedly broken were the “Abuse of popular belief” or fraudulently deceiving people, and “impersonation” or gaining by attributing a false name to someone. “This complaint does not wish to contest the freedom
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I would not be surprised to turn on the Simpsons TV show this week and see Bart writing on the blackboard… I will not lie to OprahI will not lie to OprahI will not lie to OprahI will not lie to OprahI will not lie to OprahI will not lie to OprahI will not lie to OprahI will not lie to Oprah Whew!  Was I the only guy sweating yesterday as I watched discredited author James Frey (A Million Little Pieces) get taken to the woodshed by the Queen of Daytime? Comedians call some laughter the “laugh of recognition.” I would call my response yesterday the “squirm of recognition.” Any guy who has ever been caught in a lie knows the helpless feeling that Frey experienced. We understood that deer in the headlight stare, the stammering, and the defeated body language. The only thing I could not relate to was having to experience this on national television with a studio audience cheering
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I have been on the periphery of fame and fortune for most of  my career. My real job as a television sports director has allowed me to observe incredibly wealthy people up close. It seems that the deadly duo of money and celebrity affects nearly everyone they touch and generally not positively. I have often told my sons that the children of rich and famous parents are usually maladjusted. And that is why I have taken the burden of mediocrity on my career. I did it for them. It is hard to imagine what celebrities go through in their lives. A life without privacy has to be difficult. The craving for celebrities in America has become a cottage industry with mulitple magazines and shows following every inane tidbit of their lives. This week Rolling Stone magazine went for shock value by picturing rapper Kanye West on the cover as a Christ-like figure with a crown of thorns on his head. Fake blood trickles down his face as he takes
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Several friends forwarded the congratulatory email they received from American Family Association President Donald E.Wildmon. The missives were probably to taunt me because I disagreed with the whole campaign.  “Because of your efforts, NBC cancels Book of Daniel”, the message read, “The sponsors dropped the program. NBC then decided it didn’t want to continue the fight.”                                 yay That is the most excitement I can generate over that news. My take on the show was it was a cultural open door to engage unchurched people in real discussions about Christianity and particularly Jesus. The hip and not very helpful Jesus of the show was a great starting point for some discussions if have had over the past month with unsuspecting viewers. Now the watercooler talk turns to how Christians want to censor television and have no sense of humor. If you have an apologetic defense for that please let me know. I don’t. So we won the battle. My question is simple. Was this
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I have been reading with my usual mix of amusement, sadness, and disbelief the growing debate over the movie End of the Spear. Some in the Christian community have decided to grab the pitchforks, light the torches, and storm the gates of Every Tribe Entertainment, the production company behind the movie. In case you have been a cloistered monk until today I will give you a bit of background. Here is the mission statement from the company’s website. To create quality entertainment for a broad audience that inspires hope through truth. Every Tribe Entertainment grew out of the hopes and dreams of film-makers and individuals who desire to make a difference in our world and in our culture. Frustrated with the lack of quality story content in films today, and driven to provide more than just entertainment in our films, Every Tribe was founded to bring to life stories of courage and strength of the human spirit. Courage, tolerance, mercy, forgiveness, faith and love.
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H.L.Mencken wrote that criticism is prejudice made plausible. I have a suspicion that recent reviews of  End of the Spear have revealed as much about some critics prejudice as they have about their views of the movie. And it is very possible that it is my prejudice that makes me suspicious. The movie opened Friday to criticism on both sides of the cultural divide. Many in the Christian community were critical of the “soft” presentation of the gospel message. Many secular critics were appalled at the overtly Christian message. Hmmmmm. Others in the Christian community were apoplectic over the casting choices in the movie. We will address that tomorrow. Today lets take a look at the critical reviews of the movie End of the Spear. I have said before that if I had heard a preacher tell me that hell would be eternity spent with movie critics I would have hit the altar much sooner. These people really seem to be unhappy campers. The following
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An oxymoron is, as we all know,  a rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined, as in a deafening silence and a mournful optimist. (dictionary.com). You have likely had a list of oxymorons delivered to your email box. Phrases like jumbo shrimp, working vacation, and my personal favorite…Microsoft Works. But I would suggest the most incongruous oxymoronic term would be the title of a book by Dr. Constance Ahrons, psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of Southern California, called The Good Divorce. “Almost 80 percent of the adult kids of divorce were doing fine and had made some peace about their parents’ divorce,” says Dr. Ahrons, author of We’re Still Family: What Grown Children Have to Say About Their Parents’ Divorce (Harper Collins), which expands on her previous book The Good Divorce (HarperCollins). Forgive my skepticism but making “some peace” is not exactly a ringing endorsement of the so called good divorce. If “some peace” is
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