So, today I got an email from someone I consider an old friend. I've actually known him for most of my life. I first got the email on my phone, but it had been forwarded so many times that I couldn't get through the headers before my phone decided the email was too big. The subject of the email made me think that some pastor had been fired, so I immediately had to boot up my computer to read the email. I became very upset when I finally got to the text, only to learn that it was a message claiming that some bill in Congress is going to restrict religious programming on TV. I was upset because I recognized the email as an update of one I had read many years ago. The older one claimed that the bill was being pushed through by famed atheist Madelyn Murray O'Hair, despite the fact that she had died many years earlier. To verify my thoughts, I did a quite internet search and found that I was, in fact, correct. The bill does not exist, and the email is a hoax.

I responded to my friend with a link to the article on Snopes.com and wrote "You don't really believe this crap, do you?" Unfortunately, I hit "reply all," and that is when the shit hit the fan. Frankly, my response was much tamer than what I wanted to say. What I really wanted to respond was, "You don't really believe this bull shit, do you? And don't even get me started on those hatemongers Dr. James Dobson and Joel Osteen. I'd be happy if those assholes were off of the air." (I know that some of you like them, but I do not happen to agree with the way in which they treat people.)

Well, you should have seen the hate mail that I got. One person told me that Ellen G. White prophesied that "this" would happen, so it must be true. Gee, if Ellen White foretold that TV shows would be banned and rulings by the FCC before TV and the FCC even existed, then she was sure an amazing prophet! I'd love to see those prophecies. Another person was so offended by my use of the word crap that he said I am not fit to "call myself" a pastor. Both were sure that I am going straight to hell and told me to get my own crap together. Wow, and some of you wonder why I don't go to church regularly anymore?

I don't always respond to these forwarded emails, but I really hate the thought off someone propagating something so untrue. But apparently, as I was told many years ago (by the person who sent me the Madelyn Murray O'Hair lie), you have to follow your beliefs (even if they are proven untrue). So, since it is clear that my attempts to inject some truth into the situation will result in condemnation, I offer these hints before you hit "forward."

1) If you are forwarding a supposed news story to me, then please take the minute it takes to verify it from a real news source. Sending a link to a real news story from a valid news source is good form; sending a suppposed story in the text of an email is not. (By the way, taking the time to send me many, many, many jokes--several of which are off-color--but not having the time to READ my email about eradicating cancer is really, really shitty form.)

2) Use the mind God gave you. Do you really think that adding your name to the bottom of an email is a valid method of signing a petition? Unless every person only sends the email to one other person, there are hundreds of copies of the supposed petition with the same signatures on it. Who is going to go through all of those signatures and cross out the duplicates? Most of these emails have no instructions as to where to send the petition either, so the email just gets sent from person to person. Unless there is some valid website for the petition signatures, the email is useless and just JUNK!

3) If you do have a valid cause, the way to get the news to lawmakers is to write a letter to your congressman or senator. It's not hard to do; I've done it many times. And it will actually get to the person who can make a difference.

4) Don't you dare question my Christianity, spirituality, morality, or anything else just because I disagree with you. One thing I heard from more than one of the hate mailers was that I shouldn't be surprised that "the government" wants to persecute Christians. WAKE UP, PEOPLE! Christians aren't persecuted because of what we believe. Christians in the United States are persecuted because they act superior, call people names, and tell people they are going to hell.

Something just came into my inbox. I wonder if it's another person damning me to eternal fire. Great . . .

I woke up much earlier than usual on the morning of January 20th, 2009. Remember, I work in the evenings, for the most part, so it's not always easy for me to wake up before 8am. Nevertheless, I set my alarm for 6:45 and was all set to watch the festivities. I won't rehash what you can get from any news source, but I thought I'd share some thoughts.

1) Overall, I thought the ceremony was very nice. It was a stately occasion, but it was not stuffy. I thought that the First Family looked gorgeous. The little girls were cute, Mrs. Obama was very pretty, and the President was very handsome. I enjoyed the quartet; Simple Gifts is one of my favorite tunes. I wasn't impressed favorably by Pastor Rick Warren's prayer. I know that some of my readers love him, but, frankly, I'm not a fan. I did, however, enjoy the benediction. It made me smile.

2) I loved President Obama's speech. I thought he did a wonderful job of showing hope while not ignoring the seriousness of our nation's situation. I loved how he focused on our nation as a whole and not on himself. I found myself inspired and hopeful. My favorite line was this:

. . . know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy

I think that's awesome! What if you . . . we . . . I lived my life as a a builder more often than a destroyer? I mean, deliberately lived that way? Wouldn't this be an awesome world?

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect.

This is kingdom-building at its core--recognizing our responsibility to feed the hungry, quench the thirsty, clothe the naked, and care for the widows and orphans. Of course, I was especially drawn to the line about feeding hungry minds, but I'm sure that if you know me, that's not a surprise. It's the message of Matthew 25. Inspiring!

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

Really inspiring!


3) I found myself really let down by the cattiness and downright hatred from some of my fellow Christians on this important day.

One person, who loves to proclaim herself to be a Christian seemed only too happy to proclaim that she "hates our new President and everything he stands for." Really? Hates? Everything? From what I've seen, our President loves his family and his country, God and humanity. Or, as I posted above,

hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism

Yeah, those sound like things that a Christian woman should be "totally against." Sure, I get that some people don't agree with President Obama's politics, but, seriously, the President said it best in his inaugural address: "the time has come to set aside childish things." Yeah, um, that's from the Bible. Maybe you've heard of it? But maybe you haven't, since you're against "EVERYTHING" that our President stands for. OK, I'm done ranting.

But I urge those of you who approached January 20th with a dirge in your heads rather than a hymn in your hearts to listen--really listen--to what you claim to be against. And whether you agree with what you think Barak Obama believes or you think the change he promises is not what you are hoping for, consider a different mindset. Think instead of how you might build something today. It's what I'm going to do.

Here's another This I Believe that I read today. This one makes me sad, though I completely understand where the writer is coming from. I know what it's like to serve God out of fear rather than love. And I definitely know what it's like to be judged by fellow church members to the point of having to walk away.

I'm glad that Paul Thorn has finally found a spirituality that works for him, one in which he can live without fear. It's very sad how Christians treated him. I hope that one day he realizes that though we wear the label of Christian, we're not always good at being a Christ-like as we should.

I haven't blogged about it much lately, but one of my favorite things is the "This I Believe" series from NPR. This essay came at such an appropriate time for me and was so touching that I had to share it. The essay was written by someone who became famous for something that none of us would ever want to be famous for. I'm amazed that someone can live what she did and still be able to forgive. Or maybe the forgiveness part is how she lives.

Check it out. It's pretty cool.

Here's an interesting interview with Jan Paulsen, President of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. It's very informative.

According to this article, Pope Benedict has declared all non-Catholic Christians as defective and that they cannot attain salvation except through the Catholic church. So sad.

Let me explain that, no, I'm not Catholic. Neither am I one of those anti-Catholic Christians, though I've encountered more than one person who is. I worked in Catholic education for many years, and I've even thought about joining the Catholic church in the past. I love the liturgy and the history of the church, but it is things like this that have stopped me.

When he was known as Joseph Ratzinger, the current pope took issue with the reforms of the Vatican II Council. He apparently still has problems over 40 years later, because this week he went out of his way to try to bury those reforms.

*sigh*

For the record, Pope Benedict, Christ did not found a church when He was on earth. Christ was born and lived. Christ died, Christ rose, Christ will come again. The fact that there is a Christian church now doesn't mean that Christ founded "one true church" or any other church for that matter.

In addition, Pope Benedict, salvation does not come from the church--any church. Salvation comes from Christ. Freely.