Why the Pittsburgh Post Gazette is an embarrassment at best

“Death of a President” is a film that opens today at a couple of theaters in Pittsburgh. It won’t play at our local Cinemark or many other theaters whose corporate owners refuse to run it. What makes “DOAP” controversial and why some theater chains have decided not to show it is that it is “a sober fakeumentary from Britain’s Channel 4 that imagines the assassination of the current President Bush in Chicago on October 19, 2007.” (Time Magazine).

The film imagines what might happen in the aftermath of such a tragedy and shows an over-reactive government and populace “rushing to judgment” as the first person suspected of being the lone assassin is a Syrian man with rumored al-Qaeda sympathies. Suspicions prove wrong, but the damage is done. (more…)

You may have seen the front page story about religion and obesity in this morning’s Beaver County Times. (read all about it) The Chicago Tribune reported the story last week with more emphasis on the original research. (read all about it)

In the meantime, last week’s Time Magazine published a fascinating article on the resurgence of the “health and wealth,” “name it, claim it” prosperity gospel that is being preached in many mega churches and in other corners of American Protestantism. (read all about it)

So what are we to make of all this? What do Christians and what does the church have to say to consumerist and materialist culture if we are as obsessed by food and money as that culture is (and maybe more so)?

We can and should be concerned about the spread of the prosperity gospel and the spread of the American waistline. But what about us? What about me? How does the life of discipleship (and discipline) go with us? Does my giving (of money and more) to others and my willingness to deny material gratification (which sometimes includes food) for the sake of spiritual gain truly reflect the lordship of Jesus in my life? And who holds me accountable for how I live?

What do you think? (In order to comment, you must register, but that’s easy. Just click on “Register” at the top of the right side menu panel.)

I met Richard while I was in Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. He was the first African-American I could call a friend. Until we moved to Richmond, I had spent most of my life in West Coast suburbia with little opportunity to experience much by way of racial or ethnic diversity.

I certainly would never have considered myself a racist if by racist you mean race-based hatred or fear. But Richard helped me to see that Americans, white and black, are racists in that we notice race, we notice differences, make assumptions and jump to conclusions. (Many of us who have traveled to Brazil have commented how wonderful it is to be in an environment where we don’t notice race.) (more…)

This excellent piece, “The Judas I Never Knew,” appears at ChristianityToday.com: Read all about it!

Immigration policy is one of the hot topics on the political agenda these days. The Senate begins debate next week on a variety of proposals to reform current immigration policies and practices. Among the difficult issues faced by the senators will be that of finding ways to deal with the problems and opportunities associated with illegal immigration.

One provision of a proposed bill would criminalize certain forms of assistance to illegal immigrants. There are different interpretations of exactly what that means. The Catholic bishops, for instance, argue that it could make illegal the kind of humanitarian aid many churches provide at shelters and soup kitchens, while others say that the provision is aimed at the traffickers of illegal aliens who ruthlessly exploit desperate men and women.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has weighed in on the matter saying , “It is certainly not in keeping with my understanding of the Scriptures, because this bill would literally criminalize the Good Samaritan and probably even Jesus himself.” (Read all about it) And here is a different interpretation of the issue: Read all about it.

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