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Lame church names

Will Willimon once spoke at a church named Sunnyside Presbyterian.  He said, "You know things are pretty sorry when the Presbyterians start naming their churches 'Sunnyside.'"

It gets worse.  There's a church named "Sound Doctrine Missionary Temple of Praise", but I don't think I'd want to go there--same with "Praise All Day Church of the Redeemer Christ our Everlasting King."

What was wrong with naming churches after saints?  What's wrong with naming them after one of the gifts of the Spirit.  Why can't it simply be "Joy Church", for example, and not "Wild Extravagent Joy Praising Sweet Jesus Church"?  

We have a church named "Hosanna!"--with the exclamation point--in Minnesota.  I wouldn't be surprised if we had one named "Abundant Fountain of Living Water" or "Gracious Shepherd of the Eternal Rocks" or "Super Hugs and Kisses."

Add Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church to the list of lame church names.  (Newt Gingrich attended there today.)  Exciting Idlewild was started in 1933 on Idlewild Avenue in Tampa, Florida.  It is no longer at that location, but it's still, apparently, "exciting."   

The courage of their convictions

Put some brown people in the audience and, all of a sudden, Mitt and Newt argue about who loves immigrants the most.

Who knew?

Diversity is good business.

Quote of the Day

The immortal Dante tells us that Divine Justice weighs the sins of the warm-hearted and the cold-blooded on different scales.  Better the occasional faults of a government which lives in a spirit of charity than the continual omissions of a government frozen in the ice of its own indifference.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

For most people, it's a day or so

Wondering how long Mitt Romney has to "work" to earn what you earn in a year.  Check slate.com's calculator widget.

Brown people, go home

The latest approach to immigration goes by the moniker of "self-deportation."  Which means:  We treat people badly enough so that they'll know they aren't wanted and then they'll up and leave.  (See Kristallnacht, Germany, 1938.)

This idea is brought to you by people who, oddly, consider themselves Christians.

Lectionary blogging: Mark 1: 21-28

They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. ²²They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, ²⁴and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” ²⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” ²⁶And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.²⁷They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Translation:  And they go into Capernaum, and immediately the sabbaths, he went into the synagogue (and) was teaching.  And they were shocked at his teaching, for he was teaching them as having power and not as the scribes.  And immediately, there was in their synagogue a man in an uncleansed spirit and he cried out, saying, "What are you to us, Jesus of Nazareth?  You came to destroy us.  I know you, who you are, the holy one of God."  And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Shut up and come out of him!"  And the uncleansed spirit tore him apart, and calling out a loud voice, came out of him.  And all were astounded so that they discussed to themselves, saying, "What is this?  A new teaching, with power, and he commands the uncleansed spirits and they obey him."  And immediately, the report of him went everywhere into the whole surrounding area of Galilee.

Who says there's no evidence of evolution?

Words used by Mitt Romney over the past month, in order, regarding making his tax returns public:  doubt, consider, not opposed, probably, will (in April).

On the 15th anniversary of his censure by the House of Representatives on a bipartisan vote of 395-28...

Newt wins South Carolina.

The civil war is so not over

Gingrich knows the way to South Carolina's heart.  He became the favorite in the South Carolina primary the second he played the race card on Fox news reporter, Juan Williams, in the GOP candidates debate on Tuesday.  That moment fed his surge, and propelled him to a big victory today.

South Carolina was the first state to leave the union after the election of Abraham Lincoln.  Anti-union fervor was highest in the Palmetto State.  It fired the first shot in the civil war, and never quite accepted defeat.  Voting for Gingrich is its most recent "up yours" statement to the rest of America.

Requiscat in pacem, Etta James

“A lot of people think the blues is depressing,” she told The Los Angeles Times in 1992, “but that’s not the blues I’m singing. When I’m singing blues, I’m singing life. People that can’t stand to listen to the blues, they’ve got to be phonies.”

Nail-biting time for Romney

Three new South Carolina polls show Gingrich making a move.  One even has Gingrich ahead.  

Then Perry exits the race, endorses Gingrich, and throws at least a few more votes his way.  Sarah Palin likewise endorses Gingrich.  ABC News then says it will wait until next week to air their interview with the second Mrs. Gingrich, who promises some real dish on her ex.  

Now, to top it off, there's a national conversation about tax returns.  Flowers and huzzahs for Gingrich, heart flutter and angst for Romney.  

And it turns out that Santorum really won Iowa, by 34 votes.

Rick Perry exits race

Rick Perry should have been the GOP nominee.  It was sitting right there.  All he had to do was pick it up--or so it seemed at the time he first got in the race.  Alas, his debate performances were pretty bad--the "oops" moment was classic--and his support went steadily downhill.  

What started his demise, though, was an opening debate question on immigration and Perry's record of supporting in-state tuition for undocumented workers.  It's one of a handful of things Perry has actually done right as a politician.  As he himself said, "Have a heart!"

It didn't sit right with the party's tea party base, though, and, to me, it was that moment when the Perry "wave"--if you could call it that--crested.

Readings in American religion

Catholicism shrinking in the northeast, and growing in the southwest.

American religion is sort of "robust," but also "confused."

Kansas raises taxes on the poor, lowers taxes on the rich

The State of Kansas has just raised taxes on poor people.  The tax bill proposed by Governor Sam Brownback, and passed by a supine state legislature, will see taxes on the poor go up at least $150 while those who make over $250K make out like bandits (again) and see their state taxes lowered by around $5200.

This is reminiscent of first century Israel where the poor paid up to 50% of their meager incomes to support Imperial Rome and big religion.  When they couldn't pay their taxes, they'd have to borrow.  When they couldn't pay back what they borrowed, the rich took their land, or their children.

Gov. Brownback, last seen monitoring tweets of 18 years olds, may (loudly and repeatedly) talk about what a great Christian he is, but he's really on the side of the Roman Empire, i.e. the people who killed Jesus. 

Why Wiki is down

This piece by Andrew Leonard at salon.com explains why SOPA is a bad deal.  The measure is about combatting internet piracy, which is fine, but also says that an entire website can be shut down for a single violation.

Heavens, people, YouTube and Facebook have copyright violations every second.  Do we really want to shut down the world's favorite websites, further crippling commerce in a time of recession, while at the same time undermining freedom of speech?  

Which is why SOPA is a bad bill.  Call your Member of Congress.

Tyshawn Taylor emerging as a star

He's been a "near-star" for a year or two, capable of great things and also losing it occasionally too.  

Tyshawn Taylor has been hammered by some in Kansas-land for turning the ball over too much and making bad decisions, which, unfortunately, has at times been true.

That said, Tyshawn Taylor can make as athletic a move as anyone in the country, and, in recent games, has been making more of them.  Last night against a good Baylor team, he had 28 points, 6 assists, 10-14 shooting from 2 point range, and went 4-6 from 3.

I've been a Tyshawn fan for the past couple of years now.  True, I do occasionally throw my hands in the air when Tyshawn turns it over, but I also throw them in the air when he does a double-dip-dooliwop reverse lay-up like he did last night.

As for his off-the-court "problems," all of them have to do with a guy having too much fun.  Yes, he stirred up the fight between the football team and the basketball team back in 2009.  

Apparently, the basketball team got the better of it, and, really, can you blame them for bragging a little?  (Tyshawn was discussing the event on Facebook, which is how he got busted.)  After that fight, the 5-0 football team promptly lost six games in a row.

As for one of his other little contretemps, if what I heard was true, you have to give the kid credit both for ingenuity in romance and for his team loyalty and devotion to tradition--in the sacred precincts of Allen Fieldhouse, for cryin' out loud.

The team is faster when Tyshawn is in there.  He moves the ball and presses the attack.  Sure, he's going to get some turnovers.  With that fast style of play, at least some are bound to happen.  Were his detractors as hard on Jacque Vaughn?  The beloved Jacque Vaughn was out-of-control sometimes too, but, like Tyshawn, he was always pressing the attack.

Says Tyshawn, “I don’t want to feel like I’m just another player on the court.  I want to be a threat. I want the defender that is guarding me to feel like when I have the ball that I can make something happen.” 

If you wait for the opposition to leave, you can win most elections

Evangelical pastors wait until the Gingrich supporters leave, then vote to endorse Santorum.