Dried-up old sailors.

Decrepit old longshoremen.

Holocaust survivors.

Holocaust non-survivors.

Slaves.

Crack whores.

Crack whore wannabes.

NBA, NFL, and MLB thugs.

Non-NBA, NFL, and MLB thugs.

Thug wannabes, NBA, NFL, MLB or otherwise.

Cheap rap stars. (Redundant)

Mexican gang bangers.

Inmates.

Silly white supremacists.

Skinheads.

Mike Tyson.

Queequeg.

Revdude. (One out of however many may not be too bad. There are exceptions to every rule.)

Dig-me-I’m-so-unique-that-I’m-just-like-everybody-else types.

Go figure…

Ever since the US election in November, it seems the Elmer Fudds on the left are all up in the air about our nation turning into some ominous theocracy, where “those religious whackos” will shove their morality down everyone else’s unwilling throats.

Certainly there are whackos who would use the coercive power of the State (big S) to do just that.

Shhhhh! Be vewy vewy quiet. They’re not really just over there on the right. They’re over on the other hand, too.

(Wemember, “God is not a Wepublican. Or a Democwat.” Which being translated means, “But if you really listen to us, you’ll see that we don’t necessarily believe that to be equally true.”)

But I digress…

Today, I found this repost of an excellent article that first appeared in 2001, and it is just as true today as it was then. Maybe even more so.

Check some snips from the article…

What is the threat of having committed Christians in public life? The usual answer is that they will sneakily attempt to impose a theocracy. That’s absurd. The dominant political concern among Christians is not to impose their world view on others but to stop having the government’s world view imposed on them.

…

What would be the effect of having more committed Christians in public office?

Based on the history of the faith and what l know about the underlying rationale behind current religious activism, the result would be precisely the opposite of what we are being told: We would not have more value imposition by government but less not more government involvement in religion but less; not more rules that impact on our consciences but ever fewer.

Christians seeks to propose their values, not impose them.

The long-term effect of more Christianity in public life would be to more strictly define the proper role of government, which isn’t to manage society as if the state were omniscient and omnipotent, but to permit greater freedoms for individuals, families and civic institutions to flourish without unnecessary restraint from secular authority.

Make sure you get that part…

The long-term effect of more Christianity in public life would be to more strictly define the proper role of government, which isn’t to manage society as if the state were omniscient and omnipotent, but to permit greater freedoms for individuals, families and civic institutions to flourish without unnecessary restraint from secular authority.

The State-dominated culture in which we live is in no danger of being too saturated with believers who live out their faith. It may be in danger of being way too bland. Maybe a few more healthy pinches would get the flavor just about right.

One of our guys’ dad is in the hospital in Atlanta. He was telling me yesterday about going to see his dad, and passing by the nativity scene set up at the hospital. Turns out the Baby Jesus was not in the manger!

Fearing some sort of vandalism, he asked about the missing Baby. The staff person answered, rather nonchalantly: “Missing? He’s not missing! He’s not here yet!”

Interesting perspective on Advent, I thought…

OK, I’m not real sure what to say about this picture, but I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that revdude would have a real big time with it!

Hmmm…

I found this article about the need for friends in the workplace. It may explain a lot of things. I’ll get back to you…maybe…

“…then come and claim him!”

So says Liv Tyler as Arwen in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. This, of course, is in the scene where Arwen whisks a wounded Frodo away to find healing at Rivendell. The ring wraiths give chase and she challenges them at the river. Immediately after she gets to the other side, she calls on the power of the river, and it comes crashing down on the wraiths! Very cool!

What’s that got to do with anything important tonight? Not very much, except that as I watched it on TV, I was reminded that it is one of my favorite movie lines of all time! (Not to mention that you need to think of that Roy Orbison “Oh, Pretty Woman” throat noise whenever Arwen makes an appearance!) Sorry…

This came in my inbox this morning. Pretty good stuff!

Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.
-Dr. Seuss

This came in my inbox this morning. Pretty good stuff!

Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

-Dr. Seuss

OK, sue me…one of my favorite CDs is Yanni’s Live at the Acropolis. The opening track “Santorini” definitely is on my “at-bat soundtrack!”

Now, I understand that Yanni’s not really all that great a pianist – he’s self-taught. I understand his music is kind of syrupy and shallow and all that. I understand that his other big claim to fame is that his significant other is Linda Evans. But I found this article this morning that talks about the lessons in innovation we can learn from a Yanni performance…

What happens when a Greek pianist tours with a Japanese violinist, a Venezuelan flautist who also plays the ancient Armenian duduk, an Australian digeridoo master, a Chinese keyboardist, a high-octane Puerto Rican percussionist, a street-performing hammer dulcimer player from Tennessee and twenty other solo-quality musicians from various parts of the planet and musical world?

…

When a diverse group is also passionate about the challenge, energy rises exponentially sucking resources into its vortex and blowing away obstacles. I am now going to refer to this as high-intensity diversity � the weaving together of diversity and passion.

…

Other lessons from Yanni:

1. Share the spotlight � the Yanni concert seemed like a dozen concerts in one as one star performer after another soloed. Not only did they solo during the concert but the Yanni website features each of the performers with their individual websites and contact information. Democracy in action.

2. Engage multiple senses � the lighting, camera work and giant screen videos that accompanied the music created an abundance of stimulation, drama and energy. Video clips from tours across the world helped transport the audience to a different space.

3. Find talent anywhere � Yanni, a self-taught pianist, found Dan Lundrum, the hammer dulcimer player, performing on the street in Tennessee.

4. Be generous � the Yanni website offers Yanni radio, a continuous offering of his music. He gives it away and the world wants more � I wound up buying a Yanni CD that I had missed as well as CDs from two of his star performers (David Hudson, the digeridoo guy, was truly incredible � but then most of them were).

This writer over at Boundless gets it…

I love almost all Christmas movies: Miracle on 34th Street talks about �believing�; It�s a Wonderful Life teaches us the value of life; A Christmas Story warns us not to stick our tongues onto frozen flagpoles and Ernest Saves Christmas � well, I did say almost. But none of them can match Charlie Brown. He just gets it � the good, the bad and the ugly of Christmas.