Tentpegs

Here are some quick ones while I work a long way from my desk and books. I’m in Louisiana, just finished with a youth rally and in the middle of a family seminar. Then, a three day Re-Imagining the Church seminar and my flight home on Saturday.

John records a part of Jesus’ prayer in the garden before the crucifixion. My question is this, if Peter, James, and John were off to the side sleeping, how did John get the words of the prayer?

The standard answer to this is that God told him. I buy it. It would seem to jive with the promise Jesus made his apostles in John chapters 14-17. God may have told him by inspiration. The Holy Spirit could have done the same… or Jesus could have told them about it after his resurrection and before his ascension.

When Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil their eyes were opened and they knew right from wrong. At the same time sin entered into the world. However, before this moment they did not know good and evil. How could they be responsible for their sin when they didn’t know right from wrong before eating of the tree? Is there something I am missing here?

The phrase “knew good from evil” is a bit more complex than that. When they broke the barrier laid out by God, they became aware that rebellion was an option for them forever after. They could look at their options and see good and evil… and freely choose evil. By Genesis 6:5, everyone had chosen evil. We don’t usually spend any time in their heads before they ate that fruit. Could they have sweated and fretted about it for days or weeks before taking the bite, not knowing if it would taste good and make them gods or if it would kill them? Think about the first time you did “that” sin. It might have been a sexual sin, drunkenness, violence, or theft. Still, before you did it the first time, you were terrified. What would happen? And when you survived it… that ended up being the worst possible outcome for you began to lose your fear. “Do what you fear and the death of fear is certain.” From then on, evil became an option. And then it became a friend. And it might have led you to destruction had Jesus not come into your life.

Hi Patrick, I have a question that I don’t think I’ve seen addressed in your blog, and I hope you can shed some light on it. How was time counted “BC”? For example, we just started 2010, and the years naturally ascend in numerical order, i.e. next year is 2011. We count this in terms of “AD”, or the “Christian Era”. So is BC more of a backward reference established at some later “AD” point? How would someone living in what we consider today to be 1000 BC have referred to the year they were in, and would they have counted down to 999, 998, etc.? From our time looking back, the BC / AD system makes sense. But from their time looking forward, how would they have known their year and counted their time, particularly since it doesn’t seem they would have known the birth of Christ as a marker in time?

Even today, not every nation counts the year the same way. The next year in the Jewish calendar will be 5771 (I think I’m right. Someone will correct me if I’m not). That calendar isn’t the official Israeli State calendar, but it is the one used by all orthodox Jews worldwide. Muslims count their calendar from Mohammad, of course. It is now 1431 AH (after Hijra). Before Constantine instituted a form of Christianity as the State religion, calendars usually dated from the rule of an emperor… if you were in the Roman empire. Other societies counted time from their leaders’ ascendancy, from natural disasters, or from mythical events in the mists of time. Even our calendar has had to be adjusted radically twice and less radically a few more times to make it more stable — more accurate in its description of a solar year. Some calendars — such as the Muslim calendar — use a lunar cycle as the basis for their calendar.
Most academics no longer refer to AD and BC. They prefer to leave Christ out of it and, instead, insert ACE and BCE — after and before the Common Era. This doesn’t offend me, but it saddens me a little. Oh, and while we’re at it, the old BC and AD designations were wrong, too. We can’t be certain about the date of Jesus’ birth for a variety of reasons. While Luke puts it in a rather tight range, it is still a range. He does the same when he describes Jesus beginning his ministry (“he was about thirty”). An informal survey leads me to believe the standard answer is that Jesus was born between 4-2BC.

What exactly happened at the transfiguration? What is it exactly? Why was it needed? Thanks for answering this.

Ironically, this very other-worldly moment actually reinforces the little emphasized human nature Jesus wore. The shadow of the cross floated over the manger. Jesus knew he was going to die. How he knew this and when it became clear to him isn’t given in scripture. Whenever it was, it must have been quite a shock; something that haunted him day and night. No wonder he spent so much time alone in the wilderness in prayer! God sent the Transfiguration as a gift to Jesus. Moses and Elijah, we are told, spoke to him about the death he “was about to accomplish.” They were there to comfort him, primarily, but it cannot be doubted that their appearance locked in the faith of those few apostles who witnessed it. They saw — and somehow, miraculously, identified — two of their greatest heroes appear and serve Jesus as Lord. God’s voice came into this scene and told them to turn their adoration from Moses and Elijah and give it to Jesus from now on. In some ways, this is a foreshadowing of the message of the Book of Hebrews.

Still, I believe — and cannot prove — that the primary purpose of the Transfiguration was to get Jesus strong enough to face what he had to face in order to save us.

Sorry to be so slow in updating this site. The questions have slowed down, but there are still a dozen or so sitting in tentpegsquestion@yahoo.com so that’s no excuse. How about this: I am busier than I’ve ever been? Still, I should try a little harder. This is an interesting one we have brushed up against before.

I recently received an email from a guy who is part of the New Covenant Church of Christ. He explained that much of the division in Christianity derives from a misunderstanding of how to apply Jesus’ teachings. He explains that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John should be part of the Old Testament because they took place under the old covenant. He says we should not believe that Jesus’ teachings apply to New Testament Christianity since he was under the Old Covenant when he taught. What Jesus taught only applied to those under the Old Covenant. Is this true?

This idea has been taught by a handful of people — and only a handful. The first time I came into contact with it was in the context of a marriage-divorce-remarriage discussion. A book on this subject was advertised in the Christian Chronicle (a type of monthly newspaper for members of my religious tribe). The author is Dan Billingsley. He believes that anything done, said, or taught before Jesus’ death belongs to the Old Law and that we are only amenable to the things taught after the cross. He takes this very seriously and so do those who follow his teaching. For example, he believes that Matthew 1-27 belongs to the Old Testament and Matthew 28 belongs in the New. For those like Tony Campolo who call themselves “red letter Christians,” this must come as quite a shock! Billingsley would say it is impossible to be a Christian and live a Christian life if you rely on the letters in red to guide you.

Two quick notes: for those who don’t have a lot of church background, the “red letter” phrase refers to the words of Jesus. It became popular a long time ago to print the Bible with his words in red and the rest in black. There are many who believe Paul hijacked the Christian faith and turned it into a legal minefield. Therefore, they return to the red words and try to follow them as closely and sincerely as possible. I respect them but I do not count myself among them.

Back to the discussion. Billingsley and the few churches that follow his teaching use very sharp razors to divide the Bible. If you read to him Matthew 28’s admonition to teach those baptized “all I have commanded you” he says that only means to obey the things Jesus had said in the 40 days after his resurrection. Yikes. Why do they believe this? They go to Hebrews 9:15-17 and say — accurately — that Jesus nailed the old law to the cross. They refer to Galatians and Hebrews and other scriptures that teach that the will of a person is not in force until the death of the testator. For some reason, they don’t see the problem in harmonizing their doctrine with those scriptures.

Let me see if I can do this simply. I have a will. I wrote it with the help of the good folks at legalzoom.com and placed it in my safe. My wife and kids know it is there. I wrote it — do I need to say this? — while I was alive. I didn’t just sign something that already existed. While there was some boilerplate there, I added sections about my guitars, books, papers, insurance funds, etc. Say that I die on my way down to Louisiana in a few days — plane crash, car crash, Krispy Kreme sourced myocardial infarction… whatever. Kami goes to the safe and pulls out the will… and then declares it null and void because it was written before my death. Whaaa?

That is what Billingsley (who is probably a very good, sweet man, by the way. I in no way am trying to question his character. I’ve never met him) is saying about the will of Jesus. He spoke extensively about the way his followers should live, speak, handle money, deal with conflict, etc. THAT was his will. In Ephesians 2:17, Paul said he wasn’t just speaking to Jews, but even those who “were far away,” referring to the Gentiles. So Jesus wasn’t just teaching Old Testament law; he was creating his will to be obeyed after death. When he referred to the Old Law, he said so. But he also, in the Sermon on the Mount, repeatedly quoted the Old Testament and then said “You have heard it said… but I say to you,” clearly indicating that he was teaching something that was different from the Old Law — something new.

Jesus told his disciples that they would know they were his disciples by their love one for another. If Billingsley is right, they would only be known by love from that day until the cross. After that? Anybody’s guess.

Or how about this? Jesus spoke of his blood being poured out before it was. In other words, he was setting up the events and his will before his death. He even told his followers that he would send the Holy Spirit back to remind them of everything he had taught them (John 14:26). Why would he do that if all that teaching belonged to the Old Law and wasn’t in effect anymore? That would be like spending your life learning the extinct languages of the Russian steppes. It might be very interesting but what practical value results from that study? Why should the apostles remember the words in red if they weren’t binding?

We cannot apply modern legal procedure to the language in scripture. THAT causes a ton of division. But even if we did in this instance, it would not result in our ignoring the Sermon on the Mount, the miracles of Jesus, or his teachings about the end of time or caring for the poor. He insisted that we would, in fact, be judged on the last day by the words He gave us. Hebrews tells us that he was the express (exact) image of God. We are to read the rest of scripture through the lens of Jesus’ life and words. To treat them as “yesterday’s news” would be tragic indeed.

Gluttony and being overweight are not the same thing though they can be, of course, related. Gluttony is, as we mentioned last time, any overfilling. It includes over-buying, over-using, over-exercising, over-drinking, and over-eating. And why some people are overweight is more complex than you might think.

Being obese (not just overweight) is a risk factor for a wide variety of diseases, including some you might not think about such as Alzheimer’s Disease. One of the things that keep directors of nursing homes up at night is the huge population bubble of African Americans entering the senium (aged 60 or more) in the next thirty years. African Americans have a significantly higher rate of Alzheimer’s disease and they also have a significantly higher rate of obesity than does the general population. Sadly, the two are linked. That means that we need far more nursing homes and far more Alzheimer’s units right now to get us ready for this swelling tide of residents. (And, of course, we need far more research into the disease itself)

Why do African Americans have a higher rate of obesity? The answers might surprise you. Yes, there is a genetic component but it doesn’t appear in all African Americans. It might be dependent upon what tribe they originally came from, but that is unproven at present. All we know is that for the majority of African Americans (but the minority of those who have come here straight from Africa) it is harder to keep weight off. But that isn’t the major reason they suffer so much more from obesity.

African Americans tend to live in economically depressed areas. There are many reasons for this but the majority of blame has to be racism. Back in September or October I wrote about the Monopoly metaphor to explain this. Briefly, it goes like this: imagine nine people who have been playing a game of Monopoly for 200 years. Most of the property is gone, the money has been piling up, and alliances have been made, broken, and remade. After awhile, the Arkansas National Guard, the 101st Airborne, the Supreme Court, and the Civil Rights Act force them to accept a new player — an African American. The man enters the game with no property, no power, no money, and without alliances. He enters a game that is well established and that has already parceled out most of the available property and social standing. Looking at him and saying “you’re equal now!” is ludicrous. This isn’t a call for reparations because that is just a silly thing to design and administer. What it IS is a call for Christians to acknowledge that our brothers and sisters in that community need us to help them redeem their culture and establish them in the mainstream while recognizing and celebrating their uniqueness. That’s a hard call.

In the meantime, the areas where most of our urban based African Americans live are nearly devoid of good grocery stores and restaurants. They are littered with fast food places complete with dollar menus of very high fat, very high sodium foods. You see, fat is cheap. If a food contains a lot of it, it can be sold for less than a food that has more fiber or vitamins in it. Grocery stores in these areas are smaller, with high prices. The selection of produce is limited and usually costs from 25-100% more than it does in white areas of the same city (a ton of studies have been done on this recently). Some of this is because of higher insurance rates and higher crime rates but it seems to mainly be that way because the stores know they have a captive population. Lack of good, reliable, cheap transportation keeps the local community… uh… local. They can’t afford the time and money to get to the suburbs and, once there, they can’t afford to buy what they want. Face it — even today, unemployment is far, far higher among African Americans than it is in the white population (the government’s website says it is currently 16.2% among African Americans compared to 10% for whites and 12.7% among Hispanics).

So… less money, more economic struggle, living in an area where good food is hard to find and good restaurants even harder to find. Instead, your money goes farther if you buy fatty or starchy foods. They may pack on the pounds and be low in nutrition but it fills your children’s stomachs and makes them happy. The downside of that is increased obesity and, later, increased rates of everything from diabetes to kidney failure to heart disease to Alzheimer’s. But what are your choices? There is little you can do if you are trapped in that environment.

The same link can be made with education. One commenter brought up a friend who said that overweight people were less intelligent. That is not exactly true but there is a similar correlation to be found here. Obesity is greater in white populations that have a low educational level or who live in economically depressed areas for the same reasons that it is greater in African American urban communities. It is not a matter of intelligence, but economics and geography.

Rich people have more time and money. That allows them access to high end gyms where they can exercise year round regardless of the weather. It means they can arrange childcare so they can exercise at their own pace, using the health club as a life enrichment center. They don’t have to rush home on the bus to a small apartment with children who have been alone for hours. They don’t have to rush to get food on the table to comfort their children. They can buy the food, or go to a fine restaurant, or buy vitamins and bottled water and other expensive newly-necessary bits of modern, wealthy life. If all else fails, the rich can afford surgery to shrink their stomachs and eliminate their double/treble chins. None of this is an option to poor white or African American populations.

Before you get all upset at this and decide to blame obesity on people being lazy, sit back and think for a moment. Some poor people are lazy — no question. But many other have so little they can do. They are unskilled or uneducated for a variety of reasons, many of which might be beyond their control (many urban schools are jungles and terror centers, not learning centers). They cannot move to a better area because moving takes money. Some men abandon their families and head to other regions to look for a job. A sad percentage of them don’t find economic salvation but, instead, failure and then a descent into alcoholism or despair. Let at home, the mother and children of whatever race are given very few options other than cheap food in a neighborhood they cannot freely leave. Obesity and teenage pregnancy and drug use become common.

We are given no right to judge the obese, but we can confront our brothers and sisters who are obese with love, asking them how we can help them, and hearing their story. For some, there may be no way out of their obesity. Consider those who you often see using electric carts at Wal-Mart or the grocery store. Most are obese. You can leap to the conclusion that they are obese because they are lazy — Look! They won’t even walk! — but you would almost certainly be wrong. You see, when you hurt due to a back or leg injury, or perhaps you have a balance issue due to disease of the inner ear, you are limited in what you can do. You slow down because you have no choice. Perhaps you are given prednisone or other steroidal meds and they cause you to blow up even more. Your metabolism slows because you are unable to walk or move much. Because you then gain weight, you hurt even more and can move even less. It is a horrible, vicious cycle and there are no easy exit ramps (and, for many, there are no exit ramps at all).

None of this excuses the man or woman who puts away way too much food at each meal, who lives to eat, and who continues to overeat even though they have options such as better food, self discipline, and the capability to exercise. That is one form of gluttony and it remains a sin.

I will be slower here than I’d like, but my work load is getting heavier and heavier so bear with me. This question may prove to be one of the most difficult to deal with for many of us.

One question I have really pertains more to today’s culture but I find
reference to it in the bible as a sin (gluttony). Specifically, I speak
of being obese. First, I’m not picking on any one, I myself could stand
to lose more than a pound so this question pertains to me as much as
anyone else. I look around at so many in church and see very heavy to
morbidly obese people. Many of these same individuals condemn those who
drink or smoke while they struggle to walk or breath. Preachers pound
their bibles on the pulpit about the evils of sin, yet this is one I
don’t hear preached too often. I’ve only heard one preacher say that
eating is the Christian’s last vice. I know there some who have medical
conditions that prevent or inhibit weight loss, but what about those
(myself included) who can do something about it? Are we sinning by
being overweight?”

Are you sinning by being overweight? No. God did not write the insurance company charts that determines what weight or what body mass index is appropriate for people of different heights and/ages. Medical science is a moving target and what is considered healthy today might very well be looked upon as dangerous in a few decades.

In the Bible, “eating of the fat of the land” was a signal that God had blessed you. Studies on mortality have proven this out. Those who are 15 pounds overweight are more likely to survive a serious illness that hospitalizes them than those who are fifteen pounds underweight. It seems that a bit of fat is a helpful cushion — a portable insurance policy. Still, this writer specifically asks about gluttony and obesity and hypocrisy so let’s get to that.

The word “gluttony” in scripture means much, much more than just eating too much (though it certainly refers to that as well). It is the same word/word-root used most of the time to mean “drunkenness.” It really means over filling. Food is not wrong, but gorging yourself is. There are no passages in scripture to make us think that taking a drink of beer or wine is a sin, but there are many passages telling us that drinking to the point of drunkenness is. These words are also used when talking about surrounding yourself with too much stuff — overfilling your life with things, sitting on piles of money, owning more than you can care for. It is because I do not want to be guilty of the sin of gluttony that I have a rule about how many guitars I can own at one time. When one is purchased, one has to be sold or given away. If I find that some are getting regularly covered with dust, it is time for them to go. Why? So that, as James 5:3 warns, rust will not be used as a witness against me. Kami and I are now empty nesters and have had lots of serious discussions about the fact that we live in a 4 bedroom house with two living areas. The rooms are quite small, but we still have more space than we need. If our house was worth anywhere near what we paid for it, we would sell and move into a smaller home but the current economic crisis precludes any movement that direction. Still… it bothers us.

I, too, have always been struck by ministers who lived too large (in a variety of ways) getting into the pulpit and condemning those sins that they haven’t yet succumbed to. To hear a minister rail against the Catholics or Mormons or those who use instruments in worship or those who don’t baptize when he, himself, is morbidly obese (not just overweight — remember, those charts and cultural norms are not of God), owns more clothes than he can wear, and travels in a style that many members could never do. Hypocrisy is a sin, every bit as much of a sin as gluttony.

Medical science is still trying to figure out why we have an epidemic of obesity. We know some reasons: lots of money, fat is cheap (which is why McD’s and Wendy’s have dollar menus but healthy food restaurants don’t), portions are larger, less physical work is required of us, more free time doing nothing… you can add another half dozen if you’d like. Still, there are some other things going one that baffle us. Why do so many obese people have a certain virus in their intestinal tract? Could it be a cause of their obesity or is it an effect? What are genetic issues involved? Societal? Popular Science did a survey of current theories a few months ago. Some seem bizarre but the fact is, all of them have some evidence on their side.

There is only one way to reliably lose weight. It has nothing to do with pills or herbs. You have to burn more calories than you consume. Even if your weight is not your fault, there is that one fact out there that gives you some control over it if you will commit to giving it the time and effort it requires. We’ve learned that after seven or eight seasons of “Biggest Loser” haven’t we? My friend, Sean, who was on last season is now going around the country telling people how to get control of their lives and how to get away from overeating and sloth. And yes, sloth is yet another sin we never talk about.

Why not? Because it is tough. We would rather rail against sins that don’t tempt us and we would rather bind rules on people that are easy to do (baptism, church attendance, Bible reading) than those which require us to leave societal norms and become separate people (lay not up for yourselves treasures here on earth, love your enemy, sell what you have and give to others).

Preachers — like me — who are 10-25 pounds overweight should be aware of how some perceive us. We need to be upfront about our status, our eating habits, and the effect they have on us. We need to walk with the church, not “preach at” it. And if you are morbidly obese, know that God loves you and so do I. There are hundreds of ideas out there on how to lose weight but it all comes down to consume less than you burn. And it is a LOT easier to do that in a supportive, loving group than it is to do it on your own.

And you skinny people? Don’t think gluttony can’t touch you. What do you buy? How much do you fill yourselves with things? It might be a closet full of shoes that haven’t seen the light of day in two years. It might be leaving Blockbuster with ten videos to watch over the weekend. It might be exercising to excess, worshiping the body and gaining inordinate pride in your muscles and shape, or it might be filling yourself with talk radio, news shows, and politics. Gluttony is sneaky. But it is always sinful, for when we fill ourselves with these things, there is little room left for God.

After my visit to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis last September, it finally dawned on me that we needed to do something proactive about race at our congregation. We live in one of the most segregated areas in the US (most reports say it is THE most segregated). Our congregation is about 18-21% African American and we have a smattering of Asian and Hispanic members. However, although we welcome all of these dear people with open arms and open hearts, we have not adjusted our worship to reflect their presence. We love them, but we have failed to engage them. The more convicted about this I became, the more I knew that we had to change and that such a change needed an organized, official starting point. I chose Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I spent a few weeks making it a point to go to each African American member I could find and ask for their help. We held a meeting in my office during the Sunday School hour. It was packed! And it was good.

We decided on two events. The Wednesday before MLK Day, we would give the African American members control over our service. We have an instrumental service on Wednesdays we call Refuge (we also have Financial Peace University and a class on Wisdom Literature). I asked the MLK team to use this as their organizing statement: “We are here. We are your brothers and sisters. And we have a story to tell.” They took this and ran with it. Our Wednesday night was full of songs — and the stories behind the songs, including some double meanings behind some familiar lyrics in the songs sung by slaves — stories of struggle and redemption, and prayer. What amazed the audience was how one after another African American came up and told of their initial hesitance about coming to our congregation. They saw how white we were –and not just in numbers, but in worship style. (it was hard for me to deal with this, but I had come to that realization back in October. We were as white as Hanson, Mentos commercials, and Celine Dion. Ugh) Still, every one of them remarked on how loved they are here, how people immediately opened their arms to them, and how our love has kept them here in spite of a worship style that often leaves them feeling… less than fulfilled.

Then… they sang to us. And what singing it was! We were entranced… so much so that we were slow to join in even when urged to do so. But once we did, the Spirit showed up. Anthony Estes brought two other men with him and led us in a few instrumental songs, too. Mixed with all the stories and songs, it was a night that touched every heart. The healing began.

Then, today, Sunday… It started with three young women who walked up to the stage. With no preamble, one began to sing. Linnita Thomas sang “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” in a clear voice that gave us chills up our spine and tears in our eyes. One of our members who is quite conservative came up to me afterward and said that, when these women approached the mike, he couldn’t help but think “Here we go again. Couldn’t they find men to do this?” But then, he said, I heard her begin to sing and within five seconds I said, “No. No, we don’t have men who can do that.” He was deeply touched by the song. It adjusted his attitude about a lot of things all in the space of a few minutes.

Erika Piquant sang a spiritual she said was often called “The Black National Anthem” since it was sung so frequently by the marchers during the Movement. Shanna Sansom sang “His Eye is on the Sparrow” and we knew He was also in our building, moving us. Three young men read parts of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, interspersed with video from that event. I went to their parents after the service and told them that I would be honored to work with them in order to hand the pulpit over to them when it comes time for me to step aside. I believe they could lead this church to bigger, greater things one day.

I shared the pulpit time with Brother JC Thomas, a noted African American minister who was called out of retirement to help plan this event, co-lead the praise team, and preach with me. He has been attending here for years (when not called out to speak at another congregation) but this was the first time we’d preached together. It went so smoothly it looked like we did it every week. The Spirit was very much in evidence.

One of our shepherds, Dr. Robert Martin, led us in final thoughts and then we joined hands all around the auditorium and across the aisles and sang “We Shall Overcome.” Seven families placed membership with us at the end of the service. Amazing. It was a wonderful day… but we consider it just the beginning. We are forming an Open Arms team to help us find ways to continue to include every minority in our worship, in our leadership teams, and in our hearts and lives. From time to time, I’ll let you know what steps we are taking. Soon, the service should be up at www.rochestercoc.org for listening online or for free downloading. Keep us in prayer as we try to become who God wants us to be in this place.

Now that we have dealt with theological and political blame casters…. let’s help.

I will not give through the government, through government sponsored agencies, or through help lines set up by actors. I want all my money to be used wisely (though I don’t mind some of it being used for administration). Greg gave us a wonderful idea in the comments to my last blog here:

haitiendownmentfund.org — doctors who work without salary to help those in Haiti. They have a 30 year track record and are on the ground.

Also go to: http://www.christianchronicle.org/article2158985~ and see the list of churches and agencies in my tribe that are at work in Haiti. Some are already doing as Duncan (my son) is planning to do — arrange visits in the months to come. Some are already there. Thanks to those who have asked: we will set up a way to donate to Duncan Mead and his team in the week or two to come.

In the meantime, give to one of these honorable and proven agencies and PRAY AGAINST THE DARKNESS. Haiti is a land without a functioning police force or army. A lot of aid is being taken away from mothers and injured children by thugs who don’t hesitate to whack them with machetes. The lawlessness of Haiti at the best of times has now become the norm. It is a nightmare. Some of our people are reporting (they wish to remain unidentified) that aid is being stolen by gangs, tents and shelters are being stolen in the dead of night, and that there is little they can do to stop them. Our Marines are on site and where they are food and water distribution is going well. Our Navy personnel are doing a bang up job giving medical treatment to those who can get to our hospital ships. Doctors Without Borders is doing all it can, too. We need to pray against the darkness and support those who represent the Light.

Get cracking.

It isn’t just aging southern Christians who own a broadcasting company and fat bank accounts who are saying ignorant, unbelievable things about the cause of the earthquake in Haiti. Enter uber-liberal Danny Glover, he who loves Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro. On a call in show, he reveals the true cause of the earthquake:

Says Glover: “When we see what we did at the climate summit in Copenhagen, this is the response, this is what happens, you know what I’m sayin’?” His obscene opinion would be bigger news if Glover had – in the manner of others – idiotically blamed a less-fashionable deity.

This from the Australian newspaper “The Daily Telegraph.” If you want to hear a portion of that call in show, watch this:

Evidently, when you make Mother Earth mad by not signing a global warming treaty in Copenhagen, she throws an earthquake at people who had nothing to do with Copenhagen. Hmmm. It would seem her aim might be a tad off.

Idiocy knows not one party, but all, and thrives in every layer of the political spectrum. By the way, have you contributed yet? Please do so and make sure you give directly to “on the ground” agencies there. My own tribe has a few that I trust. If you send it through the government there is no guarantee it won’t end up in a dictator or crony’s Swiss bank account. Three billion of similar aid has disappeared already. Let’s make this giving count. My son is going to help form a group to go in a few months. He wants to wait until the rush is over and the world’s attention has turned. He and some friends will head in May. If you want to help them, stay tuned here or over on Facebook for the details.

I did not write this blog. All credit has to go to National Review Online’s Peter Wehner. I walked into my house last night in time to see Pat Robertson say (on tape, via Fox News) that Haiti was sold to the devil and that’s why they had that earthquake. My heart sank and broke at the same time. I’m sure the devil laughed. Now, Christians would be tarred with the Robertson brush. Again. In response, let Peter Wehner speak for me, too:

Pat Robertson’s Offense [Peter Wehner]