Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Waiting on the War on Christmas Paranoia

With no more shopping days left until the alleged "War on Christmas," I'm wondering how the magical season is passing without any shots fired over Christmas Trees, "Happy Holidays" greetings, and the Baby Jesus. It's just not the same fun season without being able to pick a fight with the histrionic edges of the rightwing.

So, I'll start:
  • Even though I think that the prayers given before Council Meetings are inappropriate from a civic perspective and profane from a faith perspective, I always enjoy listening to them and parsing their theology. Tonight's prayer was actually pretty tame and uninflammatory even as it still amounted to Metro sponsorship of religion. It was even a little contemplative. And it actually ended on a higher note than the plethora of other un-closeted (as in "prayer closet") ones that end "in Jesus' name." The invocation ended instead with, "We ask it in all the names you are known by." That's an improvement, although I would have added, "... and those we'll never know at all."
  • What is it about Christmas that brings out the most theologically incorrect pop lyrics? For example, in one pop Christian song a guy sings:
    He gave up his pride and came here to die.
    Ugh. A not-so-slight problem: pride is one of the seven deadlies. Singing, "he gave up his pride" is worse than singing, "he gave up his serially murderous habits."
  • It's about damned time: pastors owning Rolls Royces, flying in private jets, living in mansions, staying in $5,000 suites, and crapping in $23,000 commodes is obscene. Now a Senate Republican is leading the investigation as to whether their churches should lose their non-profit status. Hell, yes, they should.
  • Speaking of investigating, Liberty University and Jerry Falwell, Jr. should be investigated for violating tax laws by endorsing Republican Presidential Mike Huckabee in a mass e-mail on university letterhead.
  • School Board President and local Pastor encourages Texas School Board to be intolerant and to tell members who ask for legal opinions on whether opening government meetings with prayer was constitutional to "Shut up."

Let the Christmas Wars begin, but let them begin with this prayer:

1 comment:

  1. You go Mike, right on all accounts. And I'll add those stupid "In God We Trust" license plates around here.

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