Rachel Maddow again has gathered more information about the US influence over Uganda’s human rights violations manifest in its newest proposed legislation to imprison or execute homosexuals.
I’ve said this before, but I think it’s appropriate again: I think the parents of those who preach abstinence should have practiced it.
Rachel Maddow’s take yesterday on Uganda’s bill meant to imprison or kill people engaging in, attempting to engage in, or knowing someone who engages in (but not reporting it) homosexuality:
I bet there are a lot more string-pullers over here than we’ll ever discover.
Recently, at St. Matthews Epsicopal Church in Charleston, West Virginia, Bishop Klusmeyer and Father Thomas held the annual pet blessing, which, ahem, begs the question, Do all dogs go to heaven?
According to the article, ”Klusmeyer and Thomas said the day’s events reminded parishioners about reaching out to the smallest and the poorest of the poor, and also the gentleness and simplicity of all of God’s creatures …
“For example, Thomas, known as Father Bill, might say this prayer: ‘Almighty God, Creator of all things, and giver of all life, let your blessing be upon Molly and grant that Molly may serve you to your glory and the welfare of your people, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.’”
At ClarifyingChristianity.com, the writer seems to think it is possible for pets to go to heaven, but that it is just as unlikely that pets will go to heaven since so few humans will gain entrance. It is an odd defeatist mentality for a Christian. The writer offers no ways to measure how god will decide if a pet can gain entrance to heaven. Over at Pet-Loss.net, the writer states that animals don’t need to be “saved” because they have not “fallen”. Then why would pets need to be blessed if they are already and always will be within the good graces of god? Because of this default position, the writer is not offering us any help with our basic question. Finally, at Answers2Prayer.org, the writer states that animals do not have immortal souls, so no redemption is required because there is nothing to redeem. It seems that animals will occupy some kind of Spielberg-esque animal-like semi-intelligent life form that can be turned on or off on a whim — though heaven is supposed to be whim-free (sigh).
The article in the Gazette fails to mention how Molly (a pet) might serve the glory of the Christian god. Is Molly required to go to church every Sunday in observation of Jesus Christ? Minimally, Molly will need to adhere to the Ten Commandments (whichever ten you choose, makes no difference to me). Since Molly cannot speak a language discernable to humans, I think Molly is safe with the universal first commandment which prohibits any other gods. If she had any other gods, we would never know it. We’re not even sure if she has Jesus in her heart much less Lucifer in her mind, but she wags her tail when her owner returns home and she barks for treats, so Molly gets a bye on this one.
What about taking the lord’s name in vain? Again, since Molly cannot engage in conversation with humans, she gets a bye on this commandment. What about the prohibition on images? I am not aware of dogs possessing cameras, nor am I aware of their understanding of how cameras work. Additionally, I am not aware of dogs that sketch, paint, sculpt or make mounds of dirt for any other purpose than digging for prey. So, we have yet another commandment for which Molly earns a bye. What about bearing false witness? Another bye – can’t converse, can’t violate. Even if she saw and heard evil, she certainly can’t speak of it. By default, she cannot bear false witness.
How about keeping the sabbath holy? I don’t think Molly works on the sabbath, but I am not sure because I don’t know if she has chores. If she does have chores, her human owner would also be in violation of the commandment. So, maybe we can just call this one a default failure since her owner is likely to cause Molly to engage in activities that result in the sabbath not being quite as holy as intended.
Does Molly honor her mother and father? I am not sure, mostly because I am not sure what honoring your father or mother means. Is it asking for permission? Sending a birthday card? Addressing the parents with common titles of respect: ”Mother” and “Father”? Molly cannot ask for permission, at least not verbally. Except as a default circumstance of the next commandment, we simply can never know if Molly ever violates this commandment. Do not murder … well, I am sure that Molly wishes to eat and has murdered something in some way. If it is in reference to not murdering those of her own kind, I shall have to assume that she hasn’t violated this commandment because she is not a feral street dog. However, since some commercially manufactured dog food contains horse meat, and since horses are pets that are also likely to be blessed, it is my opinion that Molly has repeatedly sinned. This commandment may make the violator a victim of circumstance rather than willful action. If cows and pigs can also be pets that are blessed, then Molly is a big loser on this point.
Do not steal … another dilemma. If Molly snatches away a toy or bone from another dog, or if she absconds with her owner’s shoes for her own chewing pleasure, is that stealing? What if the item is later returned? It should at least qualify as adulteration of a material possession, although that is not a violation of a commandment. This one is a toss-up. Molly gets a default bye.
Next, we have coveting thy neighbor’s wife and adultery. No reason to handle these issues separately, for in doggie-land, they are one in the same. Now, for Molly, being female, coveting her neighbor’s wife presents additional moral dilemmas, but I will leave aside thoughts of a homosexual pet for this exercise. This is where Molly really has a doggie dilemma. Molly is a bitch. Unless her human owner is extremely protective of her, the owner is going to breed the bitch (either intentionally or by lack of action). The bitch enters heat. The bitch is going to be in deep trouble. I doubt Molly has engaged in any marital rituals with her companion dogs, so I am sure that Molly, as a representative example of all bitches, has repeatedly violated this commandment. Molly is, sadly, indiscriminate in her behaviors. She has sinned. If Molly’s owner has neutered her, then there are a host of other religious morals to review. Molly can’t get a bye on this – she can’t even win. Molly loses this one by default. So does her owner, by the way, but for a cornucopia of other reasons.
So, as Molly arrives at the pearly gates, it becomes crunch time for the Christian god. Has Molly sufficiently served the lord? Does she get to enter heaven? I think the answer from nearly all corners of pet-owner-land is a resounding YES!
Of course, we have a rather nuanced problem here. I think Molly’s owner, as a representative of all pet owners, is spagging her. So is Father Bill. In fact, everyone is spagging Molly. She is a bitch, after all. She’s accustomed to frequent spagging. Just look at how she is treated: free home, free toys, free food, free maid service, and a wet massage nearly every week. Hell, she even gets a free education, psych therapy and her own stays in a pet hotel. Jesus! All Molly has to do is rollover and allow herself to be spagged. Repeatedly.
So, if an easy bitch can get into heaven, what are you worried about?
A man who espoused his faith in Jesus Christ, was saved by Jesus sometime on Thursday evening along with the rest of his family.
Charles Dalton was an evangelical Christian man. He worked at his church, spoke of the saving power of Jesus Christ and was helping to build a summer Bible camp. Sometime during the early hours of Friday, September 25, Jesus came to save Charles, his wife and two kids. Jesus saved them from the demons that secretly plagued the family. They no longer have any demons and can rejoice in the presence of the Lord.
Never doubt the power of Jesus Christ.1
In the debate on health care, and among other issues, Americans visiting town hall meetings made many vague, potentially inane, comments in response to discussing issues in these public forms. Are these comments racist?
“I want my America back,” that singular phrase repeatedly quoted by so many, but expressed by so few, has become a rallying cry for those who want … well, we’re not sure exactly what they want. Whatever it is that they want, apparently they don’t have it now. The big question is, “What changed and when?” About the only thing that has changed this year is that we have a black man in the Oval Office. Certainly, Congress has passed legislation to, hopefully, secure the foundations of many financial institutions, as well as provide an economic stimulus package to avoid an economic depression. But, where did these people lose their America, or how did they lose what they thought was their America?
Racism exists in America; it actually exists everywhere. Racism is a mental state. When one is racist, one thinks that a particular race of people are superior to another race of people. Historically in America, racism involves “white” people believing that “black” people are permanently inferior to the superior abilities of “whites”. Through some painful events in our history, a majority of “white” Americans no longer believe themselves to be superior to “blacks”, but what was once rampant racism among whites has devolved into varying levels of prejudice towards blacks.
Did the woman he famously cried, “I want my America back”, do so because she is racist? Prejudiced? Did she cry out because she didn’t like Congress passing legislation in which the government spent money it hadn’t collected? Did she think that atheist heathens have taken over her country? Let’s examine the facts. Using the most advantageous of polling statistics, at most, 15% of Americans publicly identify as atheist, which is an increase of 5% over prior prior polls. That just doesn’t qualify as a takeover of American society. President Obama has repeatedly referenced his Christian faith, and Vice President Biden is a life-long Catholic. So, no atheists there. If we look at the spending habits of Congress, we can see that the budget surplusses of the late 1990s were turned into increasingly ugly budget deficits from the year 2001 to the present, so Congressional spending certainly hasn’t changed recently. So, what’s left? The mocha coloration of Obama’s skin. When she cried out about wanting her America back, what else is there? I have to conclude that she wants a “white” President in the Oval Office. It’s likely that she was Republican, so maybe she was upset about the chairman of the Republican National Committee — Michael Steele — a black man. Ooops! They just keep sneaking in the door, don’t they? If McCain had won, the woman probably would have gone to her weekly bingo game that night instead of a town hall meeting.
While I can never be sure of the woman’s intentions in crying out for her lost America, one thing we know is that racism is here. Racism will never go away. Racism will likely continue to diminish over time, but it’s here and we need to deal with it. One of the wonderful factors of diminishing racism is that we have a mocha-colored president, so 53.7% of American voters decided that they weren’t racist and cast their vote for a black man. Even the Republicans chose their sole black member as the head of the RNC, though that has proven to be a publicity stunt in reaction to the first black prez.
Recently, former President Jimmy Carter threw in his two cents to state that he believed that many of these incidents are evidence of racism. He’s probably right, but since Obama won the election and he is still popular, Carter’s comments only serve to acknowledge what Obama cannot. It’s certainly an acknowledgement the views of a limited number of Americans that still dwell on life in 1964.
The recent town hall meetings, the 9/12 demonstration, and the vague expressions knowledge thinly masking the insincerity of the talking heads, are all examples of fires fed by one fuel: racism. Even if some among them aren’t racist, a black man in the Oval Office is a convenient tool to leverage your political views, activate your political base or to just pad your wallet with other peoples’ money. Obama may save the economy just by existing. Those who want their America back might just get it.
