I know you guys are wondering what's up with my weekly posts. Well I'm on vacation (a mini-vacation actually) and I return to work in a few days. Normally, I "unplug" when I take some much needed time off. I've done that to some extent but writing this post tells you I haven't followed my normal mantra.
Anyhoo, there's been a bunch of things on my mind (can you believe that) going on around us like "what's up with all the hate,"and I mean the recent shootings at a Church against an abortion doctor and at the Holocaust Musuem in DC.
And oh, the Rev. Wright found himself in the news again with his "them jews" comment about folks surrounding the President. Gosh! Can he just keep quiet? Sorry, he calls himself a Prophet - so that defeats the purpose. Well, I guess we could choose not to listen.
Sarah Palin vs. David Letterman. Letterman was wrong at first with the offensive joke - I don't care which daughter he was referring to (even though we know by now he was referring to the 18-year old and not the 14-year old). But Palin is being opportunistic by likening Letterman to a perverse old man. That's just wrong. And can I say this: Palin gives me a major headache when she tries to explain a point. Something I don't need when I'm taking some time off.
The Iran Elections. OMG! My first reaction yesterday after they called it for the Napoleon complex Ahmidinajad (forgive spelling) was "I can't believe we'll have to deal with this guy for few more years." Something is really fishy about that election. As I was watching one Iranian-American Scholar explain the "questionable" election, it's like saying Barack Obama lost the last election among African-Americans to his opponent, John McCain. That's why Ahmidinajad claiming a 67 percent victory in places he shouldn't have won seems "rigged."
That's it for now . . . I need to enjoy the rest of my time. Peace!
Showing posts with label Pastor Problems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pastor Problems. Show all posts
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Friday, December 19, 2008
Why The Outrage Over Warren?
I like to think of myself as a progressive - not as the labeled voter per se but as a thinker. On the voting side, I hate labels though my voter's registration card identifies me with a party. But I'm more in the thinking of Chris Rock (can you tell I'm a fan of his comedy?) when he said "there are some things I'm very liberal about, and there are some things I'm very conservative about . . ."
During our recent election, my ballot would have confused any poll taker to figure out what box to label me based on how I voted. So over some months leading to the election, I had my criticism for the ultra-conservative folks but recently, my ire has been towards far-left liberals - THEY ARE BUGGING ME! And they are getting on my nerves with their whining on President-Elect's so-called choices for his cabinet positions and now, his choice for who to do the invocation (opening prayer) at the inauguration, Pastor Rick Warren.
During our recent election, my ballot would have confused any poll taker to figure out what box to label me based on how I voted. So over some months leading to the election, I had my criticism for the ultra-conservative folks but recently, my ire has been towards far-left liberals - THEY ARE BUGGING ME! And they are getting on my nerves with their whining on President-Elect's so-called choices for his cabinet positions and now, his choice for who to do the invocation (opening prayer) at the inauguration, Pastor Rick Warren.
Yes, the "Purpose Driven Life" 30 million plus books sold Pastor is making many on the far left upset with Obama because of Warren's stand on Prop 8 and some controversial sayings about gays. Reportedly, Warren has said some stuff with comparing the gay lifestyle to pedophilia and the like. I find that last statement hard to believe but if it is true, then that is some ignorance on the part of Warren. Statistically, pedophilia is overwhelmingly (over 70 percent) related to heterosexuals. But one dumb quote should not make the whole narrative of one's life.
Hel-lo the 30 million people (present company included) who bought the famed book could see there's more to Warren than just gay-bashing. This is a guy who was criticized by some of his faith (i.e. Pat Robinson and the late Jerry Falwell) because of his methods of teaching. He was one of the first preachers to shed light on AIDS, talked about poverty and admonished folks about the state of our environment. And might I add, the guy does "reverse tithing." That is, he gives 90 percent of what he makes away and lives off 10 percent. Tell me which other preacher does that?
Be that as it may, how many of us has agreed to everything the Pastors of our churches preach? I know I haven't. Sometimes, I've been in a church where a statement from the pulpit have gone from one ear and out the next. It doesn't stop me from respecting the Pastor the next day or for him/her not to pray for me during a notable event of my life.
So why would you think the President-Elect of all people choose not to follow the same example? Is he supposed to pick someone to pray (I can't believe folks are fighting over this) who he agrees with on every issue? Well, he did pick Rev. Joseph Lowery, a civil rights pioneer, who's also spoken for gay rights to do the benediction. But I noticed, the so-called base aren't acknowledging such balance - yeah balance; what a unique word!
Seriously liberals, what do you want Obama to do? Tell some (0r most) evangelicals who didn't support him "screw all ya!" Or could he try to live up to the promise he gave on election night that though he didn't get their votes, he hears their voices and will be their President too. In my opinion, I think Obama showed courage in this choice, and a word I don't use for most politicians, character.
Tags: Rick Warren, Inauguration invocation
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
I'm Ticked Off
Another Reverend who's getting on my last nerves is Arnold (Arnie) Conrad. You haven't heard of him; well check out this video:
What is it about this election season and all the Pastor Problems? Let me count them: Rev. Wright, Father Pfleger, John Hagee, Rod Parsley, etc. Now we have Conrad joining the list with his "unique" opening prayer at a John McCain's campaign event last Saturday for His God not to allow other gods' prayers to come to pass for Barack Obama to win.
First of all, that is some ignorant mess because Hindu is not a god but a religion. Second, he's assuming that millions around the world cannot be Christians but most are talking to Allah or Buddha. Third, he's part of the so-called Christians who think because a person has a unique name (present company included), he cannot be a Christian; hence saying Obama cannot be someone who could do God's will.
Conrad is wrong on a number of levels as a Christian and a Minister of the Gospel. And it is not a great commentary that he's being the latter for over three decades. It is NOT his place to pray for one leader inspite of another; your Bible tells you to pray for ALL leaders of the land that we may lead a peaceable and quiet life.
Also, God is not in the game of fleecing. If God wanted John McCain to be President, then He could just make McCain President and forget about voting and Conrad won't need to bargain with God. Speaking of voting, according to Conrad's prayer, any Christian voting for Obama must not be doing God's will since according to him, McCain has the vision to lead the country.
One more thing: Conrad should remember that as a Minister of the Gospel, it is not his place to curse what God has blessed. If both candidates profess to be Christians, it is NOT Conrad's place as a Minister to question (or deny) the salvation of one and hold the other as right. That is left to His God to judge.
Tag: Arnold Conrad, Prayer at McCain Event
What is it about this election season and all the Pastor Problems? Let me count them: Rev. Wright, Father Pfleger, John Hagee, Rod Parsley, etc. Now we have Conrad joining the list with his "unique" opening prayer at a John McCain's campaign event last Saturday for His God not to allow other gods' prayers to come to pass for Barack Obama to win.
First of all, that is some ignorant mess because Hindu is not a god but a religion. Second, he's assuming that millions around the world cannot be Christians but most are talking to Allah or Buddha. Third, he's part of the so-called Christians who think because a person has a unique name (present company included), he cannot be a Christian; hence saying Obama cannot be someone who could do God's will.
Conrad is wrong on a number of levels as a Christian and a Minister of the Gospel. And it is not a great commentary that he's being the latter for over three decades. It is NOT his place to pray for one leader inspite of another; your Bible tells you to pray for ALL leaders of the land that we may lead a peaceable and quiet life.
Also, God is not in the game of fleecing. If God wanted John McCain to be President, then He could just make McCain President and forget about voting and Conrad won't need to bargain with God. Speaking of voting, according to Conrad's prayer, any Christian voting for Obama must not be doing God's will since according to him, McCain has the vision to lead the country.
One more thing: Conrad should remember that as a Minister of the Gospel, it is not his place to curse what God has blessed. If both candidates profess to be Christians, it is NOT Conrad's place as a Minister to question (or deny) the salvation of one and hold the other as right. That is left to His God to judge.
Tag: Arnold Conrad, Prayer at McCain Event
Jesse, Please SHUT UP
Sorry Dad, the heading of the post goes against everything you taught me about respecting my elders but Jesse Jackson is getting on my last nerves. When it seemed the Rev. Jesse Jackson had gone into exile after his "nutty" remarks during the "hot mic" moment on Fox, he comes out only to drop another bombshell.
The latest from Jackson is a speech in France saying Barack Obama would not put Israel's interest first if he becomes president when making Mid-East policies. This guy (Jesse) has really become a thorn in Obama's side. How else do you explain his gaffes over the past year from Obama acting white, to emasculating him for talking down to black people (actually, Obama was only giving a speech about responsibility) and now this?
Could someone remind Jesse how Obama has been trying to gain the confidence of many Jewish voters (who voted for Hillary) after the Primaries? He even went to Israel and New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg had to come to his defense among his Jewish constituents. Hel-lo, I live in an area with a significant amount of Jewish voters who might I say vote regularly and are normally swing voters. Now I wake up this morning browsing through the day's headlines only to get a nagging headache from the Reverend. Not again!
Seriously Jesse, YOU'RE NOT HELPING!!! How do you explain this comment: "Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades" remain strong, they'll lose a great deal of their clout when Barack Obama enters the White House." What part of America will always remain a friend to Israel don't you understand? And who made you the future Press Secretary for Obama saying what he'll do (or not do) when he gets into the white house?
Oh and Jesse didn't stop there. There's more: "Barack is determined to repair our relations with the world of Islam and Muslims," Jackson says. "Thanks to his background and ecumenical approach, he knows how Muslims feel while remaining committed to his own faith." Can somebody tell me how Jackson is not perpetuating the rumors about Obama being a muslim with aforementioned comments?
I'm begging for some new rules when it comes to Jesse Jackson: Since Jackson has never seen a mic he doesn't like, don't put ANY mic in front of him, attached to him until after the election because if he REALLY was an Obama supporter (and not an adviser), he wouldn't be this much of a distraction.
Tags: Jesse Jackson, Israel relations, World Policy Forum, Michael Bloomberg
The latest from Jackson is a speech in France saying Barack Obama would not put Israel's interest first if he becomes president when making Mid-East policies. This guy (Jesse) has really become a thorn in Obama's side. How else do you explain his gaffes over the past year from Obama acting white, to emasculating him for talking down to black people (actually, Obama was only giving a speech about responsibility) and now this?
Could someone remind Jesse how Obama has been trying to gain the confidence of many Jewish voters (who voted for Hillary) after the Primaries? He even went to Israel and New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg had to come to his defense among his Jewish constituents. Hel-lo, I live in an area with a significant amount of Jewish voters who might I say vote regularly and are normally swing voters. Now I wake up this morning browsing through the day's headlines only to get a nagging headache from the Reverend. Not again!
Seriously Jesse, YOU'RE NOT HELPING!!! How do you explain this comment: "Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades" remain strong, they'll lose a great deal of their clout when Barack Obama enters the White House." What part of America will always remain a friend to Israel don't you understand? And who made you the future Press Secretary for Obama saying what he'll do (or not do) when he gets into the white house?
Oh and Jesse didn't stop there. There's more: "Barack is determined to repair our relations with the world of Islam and Muslims," Jackson says. "Thanks to his background and ecumenical approach, he knows how Muslims feel while remaining committed to his own faith." Can somebody tell me how Jackson is not perpetuating the rumors about Obama being a muslim with aforementioned comments?
I'm begging for some new rules when it comes to Jesse Jackson: Since Jackson has never seen a mic he doesn't like, don't put ANY mic in front of him, attached to him until after the election because if he REALLY was an Obama supporter (and not an adviser), he wouldn't be this much of a distraction.
Tags: Jesse Jackson, Israel relations, World Policy Forum, Michael Bloomberg
Monday, June 2, 2008
Obama Quits Church
Sen. Obama quits his church over the weekend. I knew this decision had to be made but why do I feel such sadness that Sen. Obama was put in this place. I know what it means to do some soul searching after many years of being in a church then leave the said church. It is not a decision done with glee because after all, the local church becomes a part of your extended family. Heck, you may even have your biological family in the same church and because they are your family, they understand your decision but that doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be some grief towards the separation.
But then I wasn’t running for the President of the United States and my church wasn’t under constant media scrutiny for any Preacher’s words to be a mirror of my views. That is the craziest thing I’ve seen in this election season. All these pundits on TV, who may or may not have attended a church much less a black church have the nerve to talk about the right thing to do as a parishioner.
On any given Sunday, hundreds and sometimes thousands gather at a local church. Sometimes those parishioners take what the Preacher said that morning with a grain of salt; take what’s good, leave what’s perceived bad. Then the parishioners have various interpretations of what the sermon(s) was all about. Some of these pundits should listen to some debates at Sunday dinner about what the Pastor said, and you would find many agreeing or disagreeing with the sermon of that day. But that wouldn’t stop them from going to Church the next Sunday.
So for folks who wondered why Sen. Obama could stay in a church like Trinity for 20 plus years. First, let me remind you that such interloped sermons played repeatedly on YouTube would not be what he listened to every week. Actually, those kinds of sermons are seldom preached and when they are, it is to address an issue.
I remember once when a former Pastor was so angry about the political situation in favor of another race in my state and for about five minutes he called out the so-called politicians who only appear in Church to get the “black vote” but would not vote their conscience when it came to what was morally right. I remembered I (as well many of the congregation) was stunned that the Pastor went “there.” At that time, I’ve been in the church for about two years and nothing of such political tone was preached.
Suppose I wanted to run for an office (not gonna happen but hypothetically) and the media got hold of such sermon, and I was a candidate of hope but such sermon showed despair and outrage for the authorities behavior. What do you think is going to happen? I may try to explain all I want but some folks would put such stigma on me for that message even if I don’t hold such views.
Tags: Barack Obama
But then I wasn’t running for the President of the United States and my church wasn’t under constant media scrutiny for any Preacher’s words to be a mirror of my views. That is the craziest thing I’ve seen in this election season. All these pundits on TV, who may or may not have attended a church much less a black church have the nerve to talk about the right thing to do as a parishioner.
On any given Sunday, hundreds and sometimes thousands gather at a local church. Sometimes those parishioners take what the Preacher said that morning with a grain of salt; take what’s good, leave what’s perceived bad. Then the parishioners have various interpretations of what the sermon(s) was all about. Some of these pundits should listen to some debates at Sunday dinner about what the Pastor said, and you would find many agreeing or disagreeing with the sermon of that day. But that wouldn’t stop them from going to Church the next Sunday.
So for folks who wondered why Sen. Obama could stay in a church like Trinity for 20 plus years. First, let me remind you that such interloped sermons played repeatedly on YouTube would not be what he listened to every week. Actually, those kinds of sermons are seldom preached and when they are, it is to address an issue.
I remember once when a former Pastor was so angry about the political situation in favor of another race in my state and for about five minutes he called out the so-called politicians who only appear in Church to get the “black vote” but would not vote their conscience when it came to what was morally right. I remembered I (as well many of the congregation) was stunned that the Pastor went “there.” At that time, I’ve been in the church for about two years and nothing of such political tone was preached.
Suppose I wanted to run for an office (not gonna happen but hypothetically) and the media got hold of such sermon, and I was a candidate of hope but such sermon showed despair and outrage for the authorities behavior. What do you think is going to happen? I may try to explain all I want but some folks would put such stigma on me for that message even if I don’t hold such views.
Tags: Barack Obama
Friday, May 30, 2008
Father Pflegler Joins The List
I'll be honest, at first I found the embeded video funny but then the logical side of my brain kicked in and it was: NOT AGAIN? Not another Pastor joining this election season's fray. Seriously!!!
What is it about this year's election with religion? We've had Rev. Wright - who is not a suprising preacher to most black folks but became a revelation (for lack of a better word) to the rest of America. Then you have the John Hagee and Rod Parsley? Oh boy! I'm still waiting on not seeing the videos over and over again on my TV like the Rev Wright's greatest hits.
Now, Father Michael Pfleger joins a growing list of Pastor problems. He is a friend of Sen. Barack Obama's Trinity Church in Chicago. Oh did you notice he's white? The Father must have spent a lot of time with some black preachers with all the contrived dictions associated with the black preacher. I'm just saying.
So now the hoopla is about what Father Pfleger said about Sen. Clinton's "crying." I'm not saying his perception is unfounded but come on! We are in a YouTube, Internet driving political charged atmosphere. Obama doesn't need the headache of trying to explain what happened in his church. Too late! He had to speak out against this latest Pastor Problem. Obama's statement was that he was "deeply disappointed" in Father Pfleger. Also, Father Pfleger released a statement of apology.
The apology reads: ''I regret the words I chose on Sunday. These words are inconsistent with Senator Obama's life and message, and I am deeply sorry if they offended Senator Clinton or anyone else who saw them," he said. Really Father! The tape doesn't lie. You were laughing on the tape before you said the words knowing it will get people talking.
Again, I would like for all this preacher fiasco to stop so we can get to the real issues. But my hope might be wearing thin, knowing that's not really sexy for the political pundits. Isn't that a shame?
Tag: Michael Pfleger
Sunday, May 25, 2008
More Pastor Problems
Here’s the great thing about the Internet especially with blogs; they create buzz. Then the Mainstream Media (MSM) picks up the buzz worthy subject and makes it “breaking news.” So I wasn’t surprised when I saw the “latest news” about Sen. John McCain with endorsers John Hagee and Rod Parsley. For the past month, many Net-watchers have been discussing why there is a double standard as it related to Sen. Barack Obama with his former pastor Rev. Wright while Sen. McCain sought the endorsement of a lightening rod Preacher in John Hagee. Even a month ago on This Week with George Stephanopoulis, McCain still failed to denounce Hagee’s endorsement.
What happened between last month and a few days ago when the “breaking news” went all over the cable TV shows, videos surfaced of both John Hagee and Rod Parsley saying damning stuff against Catholics and Muslims respectively. Here’s what I don’t get with the MSM, why aren’t these videos of both Hagee and Parsley running on my TV screens like the Rev. Wright fiasco every couple of hours of every day? Can you say double standard . . .
Tags: John Hagee, Rod Parsley
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