holocaust

The American what?

When we hear the word "holocaust", we typically think of the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis during World War II. This is also how Wikipedia defines the term "The Holocaust".

But there were other holocausts and other genocides, not only in far away countries but also right here in North America where I live, yet these are hardly mentioned. I am specifically referring to the holocaust of aboriginal people across the North American continent.

In the U.S. there are 36 museums commemorating the Nazi Holocaust. There are none commemorating the American Holocaust which killed millions of First Nations people....

movie critique

Not needing to look him up in the book of names, the angel at the gate takes the opportunity to offer a critique of one of Hitchcock's movies:

breakfast not included

Ludicrous, isn't it? The idea that someone would choose to go to heaven just because of thinking that they would get breakfast there and not in hell? It reminds me of choosing Holiday Inn where a complimentary hot breakfast is often included instead of staying somewhere else....

But that's what part of the chorus suggests in the Newsboys' "Breakfast" song::

May this song remind you

That they don't serve breakfast in hell.

The song in general is complete silliness, but even silliness can send a deeper message, and I have often wondered how a friend invited to a concert with a Christian would feel about the song.

And then I wonder about using hell fire and brimstone as a way of converting people. That's why I first said yes to Jesus, and it took a lot of years to realize that God is good and that He really loved me.

jesus prays for his future

Thanks to A. for suggesting a lighter, more hand-written font style...

jesus prays for a homosexual

Is it true that anyone who has read the Gospels will know that this is not the real Jesus? Or are there some people who would like nothing better than having a Bible passage about Jesus rejecting a gay person? After all, that's only a small step further than Jesus telling the woman caught in adultery to "go and sin no more", isn't it?

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may have seen some of my previous "western jesus" cartoons.

This label is used for cartoons which show a Jesus who acts the way that many contemporary North American Christians tend to. This "western jesus" idea and theme came out of reading Richard Beck's book unclean, taking some of the concepts from it and applying them to Jesus. In other words, if Jesus was the way we who are North American Christians often tend to be, how would he have acted in the situations he found himself in?

This is the third of the new set of western jesus "jesus prays" cartoons...

alpha beta omega

Seeing Alpha posters on church lawns has got me thinking... do churches really want people to think? Do churches really want us to question everything?

That's not been my experience, so I'm offering some alternative poster ideas:

[sdrawkcab]

How ironic. Putin and his government are bringing in strict anti-gay laws, and his police are running around with the word "HOMO" printed backwards on their shirts:

Of course it's really the abbreviation for Отряд мобильный особого назначения, (Otryad Mobilniy Osobogo Naznacheniya — Russian H sounds like our N), but still.... Even more ironic in this picture where they are arresting gay rights activists at an authorized gay rights rally!

On a more serious note, the increase in discrimination against and oppression of sexual minorities in other parts of the world is very disturbing, and even more so disturbing is that some of this is apparently being encouraged by conservative western Christians!

Can you imagine Jesus preaching, "Blessed are you who persecute sexual minorities"? or  "Blessed are you who ensure that non-heterosexuals can be fired for no reason other than their non-heterosexuality"?

I can't. It would be completely backwards to the Jesus who walked - and still walks - among us with love and mercy.

---

Read Michael Kimpan's article on (good) gracious, where he explores more of these current matters.

Read National Geographic's brief report on harsh anti-gay laws in other countries.

[pastrix by nadia bolz-weber]

Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint

"Nadia Bolz-Weber takes no prisoners as she reclaims the term "pastrix"(pronounced "pas-triks," a term used by some Christians who refuse to recognize female pastors) in her messy, beautiful, prayer-and-profanity laden narrative about an unconventional life of faith.

Heavily tattooed and loud-mouthed, Nadia, a former stand-up comic, sure as hell didn't consider herself to be religious leader material-until the day she ended up leading a friend's funeral in a smoky downtown comedy club. Surrounded by fellow alcoholics, depressives, and cynics, she realized: These were her people. Maybe she was meant to be their pastor.

Using life stories-from living in a hopeful-but-haggard commune of slackers to surviving the wobbly chairs and war stories of a group for recovering alcoholics, from her unusual but undeniable spiritual calling to pastoring a notorious con artist-Nadia uses stunning narrative and poignant honesty to portray a woman who is both deeply faithful and deeply flawed, giving hope to the rest of us along the way.

Wildly entertaining and deeply resonant, this is the book for people who hunger for a bit of hope that doesn't come from vapid consumerism or navel-gazing; for women who talk too loud, and guys who love chick flicks; for the gay man who loves Jesus, and won't allow himself to be shunned by the church. In short, this book is for every thinking misfit suspicious of institutionalized religion, but who is still seeking transcendence and mystery."

Description from amazon.ca

Read Rachel Held Evan's review of Pastrix.
Read Richard Beck's review of Pastrix.

Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint
Nadia Bolz-Weber
(Jericho Books, 2013)

okay with jesus

We who are Christians like Jesus. We like that he gave his life for us so that we can go to heaven. And we generally like the way he reached out to the poor and the lepers.

We're okay with the Jesus of the Bible.

But because we also like things the way they are, we often don't believe in the Jesus of today. We don't want our world shaken up. We don't want a Jesus who breaks our religious rules. We don't want a Jesus who overturns tables in our temple. We don't want a Jesus who embraces marginalized people in our culture. That just won't do.

So we believe in the Jesus of yesterday. He did all those wonderful things in his culture, and as these issues are all fixed now in our world, there's not much more to do except send out missionaries, get people to say the sinner's prayer, and have potlucks.

We're okay with the biblical Jesus as we have created him, but not with the real Jesus....

[but I don't see you as asian]

In "But I Don’t See You as Asian: Curating Conversations About Race" Bruce Reyes-Chow curates a collection of cringe-inducing statements about race such as, “If they can say it, why can't I?" ” "Do you know martial arts?" and “He’s a different kind of Black,” hoping to turn awkward moments into a dialogue between friends.

Sitting in the sweet spot between lectures in academia and activism on the streets, Bruce invites the reader into a salon type of atmosphere where he directly addresses thoughtless words and diversionary tactics, such as dismissing racial discussions as being impolite or avoiding race conversations altogether. He invites the reader to chuckle, gasp, and perhaps nod in understanding as he lists the kinds of statements often used against persons of color in a predominantly white culture. But rather than stopping there, Bruce asks readers to swap shoes with him and reconsider their assumptions about race. Useful for individual reading, or as a tool for opening group and community discussions, "But I don't see you as Asian" puts one person’s joys and struggles on the table for dissection and discovery.

(description from Amazon)

Read an excerpt of the book and an interview with Bruce Reyes-Chow at redletterchristians.com.

Note: I haven't read this book -- it's just come out.

jesus prays for disunity

jesus prays for control