And now a word from Bro. K’Naan

More on K’Naan here.

A lil’ protest against a big protest

The young man to the left thought the sign held by the woman was just wrong, so he protested on his own — and ended up with roughly 100 supporters standing with him.

A big, wet Internet kiss to the young man who creatively stood his ground against the forces of hate. Rock on, indeed.

Living in sin and finding a church home, anyway

A young Kentucky woman hesitated attending church because — well — she was living with her boyfriend without benefit of a wedding ring. That may seem like a quaint concern, but in some churches it’s a big hairy deal that someone would share a dwelling with an intimate partner without walking down the aisle with that partner first.

The young woman was afraid if she showed up with boyfriend, they’d be asked to leave.

The visiting preacher — Internet Monk, to you — said she and her boyfriend were welcome. He writes:

This is hard stuff. Christians believe some things very deeply, but they don’t always see things clearly or express them with Gospel wisdom. When they forget the Gospel, they forget who they are and start finding ways to be justified in comparison to “real sinners.” There’s nothing about the Kingdom of God in a snarky morality club, but too many people don’t know the difference. They usher people out as if they are the angels gathering the elect at the last day, not signs pointing every person, no matter what their sin of the day, to the savior and the wedding feast at the end of the world.

And when someone asked if he would also welcome cohabitating members of the church — as opposed to visitors — he wrote:

Co habitating members are a matter for loving counsel and conversation with the elders of the church and the eventual stance of the church toward such a member or couple is a matter for the elders to work with.

I have never taken a stance towards approving of co habitation of any kind. But I’m a sinner too and my sin is as much a part of any church community as theirs.

Rock on, Internet Monk. It’s more important to be welcoming, in my opinion, than passing judgment.

Imagine models without gee-gaws

The French Elle did, with unmade-up models on the cover.

Let’s all hate these people together, shall we?

A new survey from Rasmussen Reports says, as of yesterday, seven percent of all Americans have already finished their holiday shopping.

Of course, if you’re like me, you’re shopping very little, anyway, but I already realized this morning that I am probably going to put off buying the few things I intend to buy until it’s very late in the season. I know me. I’ve seen me do it.

(Notice in the report that more women say they have begun their shopping, but more men say they have already finished. I leave you to draw your own conclusions about that.)

Ventured out to stimulate the economy yet?

Can you believe this is a ukelele?

And thanks, Bro. Mario, for the link.

That crushing need for attention

The desire for attention of any kind — good, passing, bad, you name it — probably fueled the Salahis crashing the Obama’s state dinner this week – a security breach for which the Secret Service is heartily sorry. (Yeah, sure, they were movitated by the yen for a spot in a reality show, but what is participation in a reality show but a crying need for attention?)

That same motivation appears to have moved Balloon Boy’s family.

Is there a cure? Besides seeking more and more attention, I mean?

Reinhold Niebuhr wrote it after all

A minor kerfuffle erupted last year over the authorship of “The Serenity Prayer,” long attributed to theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.

The skeptic has since found new evidence that leads him to believe Niebuhr did, in fact, write the prayer, the most-recited part of which says:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

The prayer is actually longer.

Is this offensive?

I can’t tell any more. I’d be inclined to not take offense — again, because my church displayed no crosses and so when I see one I don’t necessarily attach great importance to it. Instead, I would see something like this as a protest against mass consumerism — or crappy drive-through food — or the uglier part of American culture.

But maybe you see something different.

Ode to stuff you can fix

While we’re sliding down the glitter pole of holiday mass consumption, here’s another way to look at the stuff we’re buying and loading into our cars to take home, break, and then replace.

And when I became the Grinch is beyond me. I think it was last Tuesday. Maybe Monday. I’m not sure.