Metal Dad - Hardcore for Life

I Had A Great Idea

 I'm going to apply to the National Endowment for the Arts for a grant which I'm confident they will provide once they recognize the provocative, cutting edge nature of my proposed piece of work. I will take a figurine of the prophet Muhammad and put it into a jar of camel urine and name this work, "Piss Muhammad." I am quite sure that the elite of the art world and Hollywood celebrities concerned about artistic freedom will defend my right to offend a large portion of the world. It's art after all and I have a right to be funded by the tax dollars of ignorant folks who don't understand art.

Technorati Tags: Art, Islam, NEA

Political Picture of the Day

Now Playing: Hellbastard - In Grind We Crust - Death Camp

Technorati Tags: Bitter, Barack Obama, Guns, Pictures, Politics, Religion

Film and Fundamentalism

As we often do, my eldest son and I rented a boatload of movies this past weekend. He is quite the cineaste. I can always count on him for interesting facts and opinion about some aspect of the film we are watching. He is taking a film class at college right now but he's always been intrigued by movies. When he was about seven or eight years old he watched Kurasowa's The Seven Samurai with me. I was surprised but pleased that a long, subtitled, and serious film held his attention even at that young age.

We finally saw There Will Be Blood which we liked immensely. A viewing of The Mist later that evening, which is based on a Stephen King novella, got me thinking about depictions of Christians, especially of the "fundamentalist" sort, in films.

A definition of terms may be in order here. A fundamentalist is simply one who holds to the fundamentals of the Christian faith. And we could go round and round on what the fundamentals are. The term arose out of the fundamentalist/modernist debates in the early 1900s. Unfortunately a lot of cultural baggage gets associated with the term: "I don't drink, don't smoke, don't chew and don't go out with girls that do." I've come to believe that the fundamental question is: Who is Jesus Christ and what did His death accomplish? We can talk about all manner of peripheral issues and even disagree about many or all of them but disagreement does not give me the right to decide whether or not you are a Christian. That province belongs to God alone.

There have been many positive depictions of faith in film: For all its cinematic shortcomings Chariots of Fire showed a man who stood on principle and personal conviction even when it placed him in direct opposition to king and country; Tender Mercies depicted how faith and family helped a flawed, troubled man come to terms with his past and failings; To End All Wars showed how faith could help men retain their dignity and survive an incredibly horrific situation.

The depiction of the egomaniacal, manipulative leader of "The Church of the Third Revelation" in There Will Be Blood was multi-dimensional compared to the cartoonish, apocalyptic, millenarian nutjob in The Mist, who seemed to be there mostly as a convenient target for the disdain of the audience.

Now Playing: Lydia Lunch - Memory and Madness - Wet Nurse in the Trauma Unit

Technorati Tags: Faith, Family, Film, Fundamentalism, Theology

Huckabee Supporters Get Warning Letters

From Associated Press:

"DES MOINES, Iowa -- Iowa pastors who support Republican Mike Huckabee for president have received letters warning them that getting involved in politics could endanger the tax-exempt status of their churches.

Several pastors who have publicly backed Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister who has support from many evangelicals, said they have received the letters, which have no return address. They have arrived in the weeks leading to Thursday's precinct caucuses.

Two letters were sent to the Rev. Brad Sherman, of Solid Rock Christian Church in Coralville. The first arrived a couple weeks ago and warned that he could be prosecuted for his support of Huckabee.

"I just laughed. No one lands in jail for this," Sherman said. "Somebody is trying to intimidate Christians from getting involved."

A second letter came Wednesday. It alleged that the Internal Revenue Service is looking for churches that back candidates in violation of tax rules and mentioned Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, a Republican who has sought information about spending by high-profile ministries."

Someone needs to send a memo to 90% of the Black churches in Metro Chicago where shameless politicking has been a time-honored tradition. Democratic candidates routinely make the rounds during election season. Personally I don't really care. I find it interesting that Democrats who are usually so courageous in defending the "wall of separation between church and state" have no problem jumping over it when their interests are at stake.

Although I loathe the twisted theology of Bob Jones University, I respect them for their commitment to principle. When the Federal Government threatened to revoke their 401(c) status if they did not repudiate their ban on inter-racial dating, they told them to go ahead.

Technorati Tags: Bob Jones University,Politics,Church and State,Brave Democrats,Huckabee

Mises Quote for the Day

"It is justifiable if ethics and religion tell people that they ought to make better use of the well-being that capitalism brings them. . . . But it is irresponsible to condemn one social system and to recommend its replacement by another system without having fully investigated the economic consequences of each."
Mises - Theory and History, p. 343

Technorati Tags: Economics, Ethics, Mises, Religion, Inspirational Quotes

Making an Appeal to the Practically Minded Heathen

H/T Purgatorio

Technorati Tags: Humor,Church Signs

Get All Exorcised Over Halloween

 This was too good to pass by. The absolute final word on Halloween.

Letters from Kamp Krusty: The Krusty Sage: Get All Exorcised Over Halloween

Technorati Tags: Halloween, Krusty Sage, Religion

Real Discrimination

"Imprisoned Pastor's Health Failing – VOM Sources
On September 24, The Voice of the Martyrs received reports that Pastor Zhang Rongliang's health was failing, and if he is not released, he would die in prison. According to contacts in China, "Pastor Zhang must be carried from place to place by two men supporting him. He does not walk well on his own. He openly questions whether he can finish this sentence. If he is not released, there is a good chance that he will die in prison." Pastor Zhang still has four years remaining of the seven-and-a-half year sentence he received after his arrest in 2004. He already had previously spent 12 years in prison for his faith during five separate detentions. He experienced harsh torture, including electric shock, during his previous prison terms."

I doubt that many Christians in the United States have any idea what it really means to suffer on account of our faith. We get bent out of shape because nativity scenes are banned on government property or some 2nd rate "celebrity" makes a profane comment on an awards show. We whine about the media bias against people of faith and then do everything in our power to confirm their worst suspicions.

Technorati Tags: Faith, VOM, Persecution

Evangelicals must stay the course

Townhall.com::Evangelicals must stay the course::By Ken Connor

This is an insightful analysis of  the "growing disaffection for politics among American evangelicals"  and why, in the author's opinion, they should "stay the course."

I do not necessarily agree with the author's conclusions, however. In the second paragraph he states, "'Values voters', many of whom pinned their hopes for cultural transformation on politics, have suffered a series of bitter disappointments."

This is quite true, but this is precisely why they have been disappointed. Cultural transformation cannot be achieved via top-down methods. Christians who "pin their hopes" on the political process will be disappointed again and again. It is shamefully clear that the dominant political parties in the United States care only about gaining and holding onto power. Witness the pandering of the Republican party to evangelical Christians and the Democratic party's pandering to the fringe/unhinged left. I maintain that neither party really cares about the concerns of these groups but merely wants to capture their votes and will say almost anything to this end.

"Christians should follow the examples of biblical characters such as Joseph, Daniel, and Jesus Christ Himself. Joseph and Daniel both exercised enormous influence within the world’s greatest empires. But they attained their positions by hard work, perseverance in persecution and suffering, and faithful obedience. Jesus Christ attained to His throne only by enduring the suffering of the cross. Christians are no different. We are not to attain positions of leadership by revolution or rebellion. Instead, we are to work at our callings, and wait on the Lord to place us in positions of influence, in His time." - Gary DeMar

Technorati Tags: Politics, Religion, Ken Connor, Opinion