Those Wacky Christians Take to the Road

There are those who laugh about the promises given to suicide bombers by Islamic clerics that 72 virgins will greet them in the holy thereafter. Well, that's not any more wacky and ludicrous than some goofy Christians believing that a chapter in the Bible refers directly to a highway.


by Gary Tuckerman

DALLAS, Texas (CNN) -- If you turn to the Bible -- Isaiah Chapter 35, Verse 8 -- you will see a passage that in part says, "A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness."

Now, is it possible that this "highway" mentioned in Chapter 35 is actually Interstate 35 that runs through six U.S. states, from southern Texas to northern Minnesota? Some Christians have faith that is indeed the case.

It was with that interesting belief in mind that we decided to head to Texas, the southernmost state in the I-35 corridor, to do a story about a prayer campaign called "Light the Highway."

Churchgoers in all six states recently finished 35 days of praying alongside Interstate 35, but the prayers are still continuing.

Some of the faithful believe that in order to fulfill the prophecy of I-35 being the "holy" highway, it needs some intensive prayer first. So we watched as about 25 fervent and enthusiastic Christians prayed on the the interstate's shoulder in Dallas.

Read more here.

I Am A Muslim

FYI: I'm an athiest, but I still like Christmas trees, I like seeing creches in front yards, I have no problem with prayer and I like it that there are so many people who are devout in their faith, regardless of their faith.

I have no problem with Christmas plays in public schools, or Christmas trees or kids exchanging presents ... it is a large part of our heritage. I do have an issue with school sponsored prayers, but I don't have an issue with politicians leading others in prayer in Congress.

We are most definitely not a Christian nation, but we are a nation populated by a majority of people who identify with Christianity. Christians, who by the way, wrote the Constitution to be all-inclusive and accepting of all faiths and those who choose not to believe.

I will not debate any apparent inconsistency in anything I've said here because I don't see that it is important. I like the season. Merry Christmas.

Coral Ridge Nutcase Dead

Dr. D. James Kennedy has passed on to his great reward. Can't say I'll miss the founder of the Coral Ridge Hour. Here's why (thx, Wikipedia):

Same-sex marriage: Kennedy was strongly opposed to same-sex marriage and called for a constitutional "Firewall" to protect the nation from "counterfeit marriage."

Apologetics: Kennedy frequently claimed that if Christianity is not true then it is a massive fraud and hoax perpetrated by evil men bent on making the world a place where Christ's commandment to 'Love thy neighbor' reigns supreme, which is the antithesis of the criminal mind, and hence the theory that Christianity is a fraud is entirely incompatible with logic and human nature.

Constitution Restoration Act: a bill promoted during the 2005 Confronting the Judicial War on Faith conference that sought to authorize Congress to impeach judges who fail to acknowledge "God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government" and to limit the power of the federal judiciary to rule in religious liberty cases. (italics mine)

Creation-evolution controversy: Kennedy was a Young Earth Creationist and supporter of intelligent design who rejects the theory of evolution and believes that it "led to the death of nine million people in Nazi Germany.... The greatest mass murderers of all time [are] all compliments of evolution," an idea reflected in Coral Ridge's controversial documentary Darwin's Deadly Legacy in 2006. Darwin's Deadly Legacy is based on the 2004 book From Darwin to Hitler, Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics and Racism in Germany by Discovery Institute Fellow Richard Weikart. The Discovery Institute is the hub of the intelligent design movement, and the Institute's Fellows are frequent Coral Ridge Ministries guest speakers. Phillip E. Johnson, considered the father of the movement, was a featured speaker at Coral Ridge Ministries' 1999 Reclaiming America for Christ Conference. There he gave a speech called How the Evolution Debate Can Be Won which was widely promoted by the Ministries' Truths that Transform.

Kennedy was a co-signer of the "Land Letter" sent to President George W. Bush in October 2002 which outlined a "just war" rationale for the military invasion of Iraq.

Kennedy sought to "reclaim America for Christ" in which government policies and laws would be consistent with evangelical Christianity. Many of his public messages on this topic focused on his assertion that the Founding Fathers of the United States were Christian and had intended to establish a Christian constitution.

Kennedy was a notable member of the Moral Majority polical movement in the 1970s and 1980s.


Good riddance.

So Very Christian

This is the first of probably many posts about the deep felt Christian attitudes of our far right brethren.

Officials at the nondenominational High Point Church knew that Cecil Howard Sinclair was gay when they offered to host his service, said his sister, Kathleen Wright. But after his obituary listed his life partner as one of his survivors, she said, it was called off.

"It’s a slap in the face. It’s like, ’Oh, we’re sorry he died, but he’s gay so we can’t help you,"’ she said Friday.

The church’s pastor, the Rev. Gary Simons, said no one knew Sinclair, who was not a church member, was gay until the day before the Thursday service, when staff members putting together his video tribute saw pictures of men "engaging in clear affection, kissing and embracing."

Wright called the church’s claim about the pictures "a bold-faced lie." She said she provided numerous family pictures of Sinclair, including some with his partner, but said none showed men kissing or hugging.

The 5,000-member High Point Church was founded in 2000 by Simons and his wife, April, whose brother is Joel Osteen, well-known pastor of the 38,000-member Lakewood Church in Houston. Now High Point meets in a 432,000-square-foot facility in Arlington, near Dallas.


So much for supporting the troops.

Irony Never Sleeps

Because I'm bored today ... let's turn to Tom Tomorrow for enlightenment.

In light of the question posed in this week’s cartoon, Jack Hitt passes along yet another example of what has become an entirely predictable trend:

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) - The minister of a Baptist church has been charged with indecent exposure and driving under the influence, and police officers say he propositioned them.

Tommy Tester, 58, of Bristol, Va., was wearing a skirt when he was arrested last week after allegedly urinating in front of children at a car wash, police said. Police also said Tester offered to perform oral sex on officers who were sent to the scene. Authorities identified Tester as the minister of Gospel Baptist Church in Bristol and an employee of Christian radio station WZAP-AM in Bristol.

Howling at the Moon

Rick Esenberg recently commented about a post by Mike McCabe (some Democratic party guy ... I don't really know all their names) that, Esenberg said, ranted a bit about the listening audience of Charlie Sykes' show, and, presumably, talk radio in general (I have no link because one was not provided and anyway, that's not really what this post is about).

I found this paragraph at the end of Esenberg's post interesting.

I am gobsmacked by the fact that a presumably sophisticated and intelligent public figure actually thinks that talk radio's audience is made up of bible thumping young earth creationists. If you really think that folks you don't agree with must be a bunch of mouth-breathing morons, I suppose you never will encounter any ideas but your own and will continue to commit howler after howler in your isolation. If you think that you and your friends are oh-so-much-smarter, why take anyone else seriously? Why take the time to make sure that you know what you're talking about?

Aside from Esenberg playing a little bit of the victim game (oh those darn libs think they are so smart), one cannot help but wonder whether he feels as gobsmacked by the fact that four of the Republican candidates for president have admitted to disbelieving evolution in favor of the notion of the 6,000 year-old Earth (Sen. John McCain, Sen. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Sam Brownback and Rep. Tom Tancredo).

Oh those creationist-believing Christian candidates, they think they are so much more inteliigent by design than the rest of us. Talk about howler after howler just to capture votes.

Another Not So Very Christian Christian

Working for Change

I'm Not to Blame

h/t Jonathon Schwarz

Because I am so pissed off because of the stupid Amanda Marcotte brouhaha and because I’m sooooo concerned that some conservative bloggers will read something I write and scream “hate speech,” I have decided to consider hiring Dennis Perrin. He says:

For an affordable, privately-negotiated fee, I’ll allow you to insert my name in your blog archives, making me the source of any or all hostile opinions you may have typed in the heat of the moment. When your political enemies are searching for something that can embarrass your candidate, instead of finding this:

The crypto-fascist Christers are trying to shove their blood-stained crucifix up our collective ass.

They’ll see this:

The crypto-fascist Christers are trying to shove their blood-stained crucifix up our collective ass,’ said Dennis Perrin, discussing the GOP’s 2008 campaign strategy.

Isn't capitalism wonderful?

Too Bad

Considering Catholic opposition to gay marriage, choice and the often negative role it has played in the lives of millions for centuries (all in the name of politics and power), I have this to say to those Catholics offended by Amanda Marcotte's exercise in free speech:

Boo hoo.

Rejoice in the Winds of Prayer

Follow the farting preacher.

Conservative Values

You just got to love Christian conservatives.

KATY, Texas - A plan to build a mosque in this Houston suburb has triggered a neighborhood dispute, with community members warning the place will become a terrorist hotbed and one man threatening to hold pig races on Fridays just to offend the Muslims.

Many neighborhood residents claim they have nothing against Muslims and are more concerned about property values, drainage and traffic.

But one resident has set up an anti-Islamic Web site with an odometer-like counter that keeps track of terrorist attacks since Sept. 11. A committee has formed to buy another property and offer to trade it for the Muslims’ land. And next-door neighbor Craig Baker has threatened to race pigs on the edge of the property on the Muslim holy day. Muslims consider pigs unclean and do not eat pork.

All right, I don't know if they're Christian conservatives, but it is a good bet that most are. Craig Baker says later in the article that he has to go ahead with the pig races or he'll look like an idiot.

Sorry ... you already did that.