Got my Gottesdienst today from Redeemer and while most of Trinity 2010′s issue was good, I cannot help but having a bit of juxtaposition with one quote.

“Many Christians have been duped into believing that drilling for oil in Alaska will harm the pristine land.”

“Many Christians have been duped into believing that drilling for oil in Alaska will harm the pristine land.”

“Many Christians have been duped into believing that drilling for oil in Alaska will harm the pristine land.”

“Many Christians have been duped into believing that drilling for oil in Alaska will harm the pristine land.”

Stick to what you do best– promoting the Liturgy. Allow the rest of us to be good watchful stewards as we advocate the use of energy alternatives.

Forget about the gays…the breeders are doing a fine job screwing up marriage.

Read up and savor the irony.

I call shenanigans on this letter based on several inconsistencies:

-First, there is inconsistent syntax. The letter was written like a Evangelical Protestant would have done: “We raised her with strong Christian beliefs”, “I’ve prayed over her at night while she sleeps, enlisted friends in a phone prayer tree”, “God-fearing”. What threw that off was when the letter-writer mentions that she has contacted her priest. Evangelicals do not refer to their clergy as “priests”…they call them “pastors” or “preachers”, depending on their denomination. Anglicans do have priests, but the syntax just does not fit.

-Second, Catholics do not conduct exorcisms regularly. Note this sentence: “…spoken to my priest about the possibility of an exorcism.” What did the priest said? I cannot ask the parish priest down the street and have him and his colleagues come by the house in a few days. In order to have one, you must ask the diocese bishop for permission. Same thing applies with Anglican priests. Any of the priests will rule out any psychological factors before they determine that it’s supernatural. They would advise the psychologically afflicted to go seek professional help and give them a blessing. And good luck telling him that you want an exorcism for your non-believing daughter. You might as well ask them to exorcise Dr Stephen Hawking for his unbelief. Also…Protestants who performed such services do not call them “exorcisms”…they call them “deliverance sessions”.

-Third, most clergy agree that it’s a matter of free will to reject Christ. They might chat with the daughter about where’s she’s at spiritually, but ultimately, it’s up to the questioning person to figure things out. By the way…if you are parents of a college student, why not visit the campus churches and see what they can offer for your student?

-Calling the FBI seems over the top. Atheism is not a thoughtcrime and is protected under the 1st Amendment. The days of J. Edgar Hoover are long past, and I’m sure that there are dedicated FBI agents who are questioning or non-believing. The only way they would respond is if she does actual crimes like movie piracy, trafficking or terrorism.

-Finally, why would this conservative Christian write to a secular agony aunt? The sort of person writes or calls Focus on the Family, EWTN (if Catholic), or even the 700 Club for advice before she considers asking someone outside the faith. Ergo… this letter is a troll.

The following is a rant. My apologies in advance.

I went to church expecting Jesus, and left empty handed.

The screens are questionable at best. But that is the least of my concerns. You guys had a 20 minute sing-a-long…of simple peppy hymns…not from LW, TLH, or the new Hymnal…with canned music…and no Lenten hymns.

Via a puppet, you told the children that keeping the 10 Commandments are a way to a good life as a Christian. Where is Jesus? The adult sermon is not much better.

I’ll tell you, Pastor, why people are excited over our favourite TV shows and why they are hesitant to attend your church: YOU DO NOT SHOW JESUS IN WORD AND SACRAMENT AS THE FOCUS OF OUR LIVES. Where’s the forgiveness of sins via the work of Christ Crucified? Instead, we are subjected to moralising and how following the 10 Commandments are a matter of having a “relationship with God”–by the way…which god? Not once you ever pointed to the Cross. Not once you did say we failed miserably at keeping the 10 Commandments and only Jesus followed it to perfection.

I walked out after the sermon, did not go to the Lord’s Supper as we are not in agreement theologically, despite its LCMS name. (And by the way, there’s no chalice, just little jiggers.)

I’m hesitant to attend church in Phoenix, lest I get disappointed. What should I do? Some of you are doing the Lenten non-commenting, so here’s the email: madtheo attt carolrutz dooott com !!!1!

I was wondering whether I am a Paleo-Libertarian when I stumbled to this Boston Globe article of hacking the brain so you can experience mind-altering illusions without using controlled substances. (Thanks LewRockwell.com!)

Reminded me of that time in OSCON 08 when I tried on the Brain Machine goggles and saw weird things. I removed the goggles IMMEDIATELY as I hated the patterned flashing.

And for you…here is the Wonka Boat Freakout clip, complete with the infamous chicken head decapitation. How did the producers got away with showing that in a G-rated film, I do not know.

Another Fark article, this time about a German doctor being denied his permanent residency because his son has Down’s Syndrome.

If Dr Kurt Marquart would have been alive today, he’d be very angry at the injustice his former country has committed. I know he would, because he was all too aware that a country that does not value all human life is a country sliding towards slavery and oppression. I remembered when the Professor told the apologetics class about his stint as a pastor in Queensland. One day, a teenage girl went to him and told him that she was pregnant but her dad wanted to procure an abortion– all because he is on the church board and “What Would People Say” if his daughter is pregnant. He took the girl’s father to task for this sin. Since he has joined the Church Triumphant, I humbly ask the Church Militant in Australia to decry this act of stupidity. A town needs their doctor more than anything else, and that burden outweighs whatever burden the child may have incurred.