Shipwrecked & Comatose

Every year around this time I find myself raging against the folks who believe there is a War on Christmas.  Over and over again I talk about how we are all entitled to celebrate the way we want , or how n obody is obligated to feel a sense of good cheer when wished a Merry Christmas , or how telling a non-Christian to have a Merry Christmas is like wishing someone else a Happy Birthday when it's your birthday .  I'm sure even my friends who agree with my are tired of reading posts like this.  I'm also sure I'm preaching to the choir.  My friends who believe in the War on Christmas are never going to read my rants and miraculously see the light.  I am nothing more than a single blogger with little to no audience (my last post here on S&C had twelve views).  I can't change the world, so I should give up. In that spirit, rather than return the rage of the War on Christmas, maybe it's time for me to understand where that fear and anger comes from. Fea...

Ready or not, Christmas is coming.  The reminders began some time in September when a few decorative items began popping up at the Hallmark stores. Now that Halloween is over, Christmas anticipation is in full swing.  Most stores are decorated for Christmas and are selling Christmas swag.  Radio stations have begun playing the same tired rotation of Christmas music (some of them nonstop). This blog bemoaned the early onset Christmas celebration since it was still on MySpace.  I never understood the need to rush the season.  Why do we feel this need to hurtle ourselves at top speed toward Christmas when it's not even Thanksgiving?  What do we derive from trying to make Christmas last for two or three months?  What is the purpose? (Also, why does everyone love all that terrible music?) Recently a memory came back to me from college that still makes me think. Sometime in December of my freshman year, a hallmate in my dorm invited me to the Chri...

Let me start by saying right away that you may be offended by the beginning of this post.  You won't like it. I'm sure it will make you angry.  That's fine, but before you decide to vent your anger back at me, please read the entire post.  You may not think I'm such a bad person after this is finished.  My purpose is to bring hope and cooperation. With so many tragedies happening across the country right now, many friends have requested I pray for them, or else pray for others who may be suffering.  That's all you want me to do - pray.  You want me to ask a deity - and I'm sure you mean the deity you personally worship - to do something for you.  I suppose it's an easy way for me to respond to your problems.  I pray for God (or gods) to help you. Better God than me, right? Let's say I decide to help you by praying.  How do I go about doing that?  I go to a quiet place where I won't be interrupted.  It might be my home and it mig...

By this point you would have to live under a proverbial rock to not know about Josh Duggar's scandal about molesting his younger sisters when he was a teen.  The fallout has been massive.  He has resigned his position with the American Hate Society Family Research Council and TLC has finally agreed to pull the show from the air. I think this show should have been booted off the air long ago.  The Duggars should never have achieved this level of fame.  19 Kids and Counting put a happy face on abuse and served it up on a disposable Dixie platter as the new standard for good Christian living. Duggar defenders abound.  They never cease to point out how "happy" the kids are.  They point out how well the Duggars live considering their thriftiness.  The children aren't doing drugs and aren't promiscuous.  The children are well-behaved and do their chores.  If they want to have this many children, it's their business. Most casual TV watchers ...

I have been seeing this one all too often now that Christmas is approaching. My original reaction to this was to post a "Happy Holidays" status every time I saw one of these memes.  I decided to do something slightly more mature and make a somewhat rational blog post about it. I'll start by asking a simple question.  Why do you feel a need to say this? It's Merry Christmas to you.  Let me repeat that.  It's Merry Christmas to you. To you. That's just fine with me.  You can say whatever you want to say.  If Christmas is your holiday and it's the only holiday you want to celebrate, there is nothing wrong with you celebrating it. My question is why do you feel the need to enforce your holiday on everyone else? I have made posts in the pasts about why it can be uncomfortable and not always feel like a greeting of good cheer when someone gives you a greeting about a holiday you don't celebrate .   It sometimes seems to be that some Christian...

This week's major news story was the election of a new pope.  That's all anyone is talking about right now.  Everywhere I look Catholics are rejoicing, celebrating, and expressing their well wishes as Pope Francis takes office. You know what's weird?  Catholics are still complaining about church policy and the church's role in their lives. How many Catholics wholeheartedly embrace the denial of gay rights, the denial of women's reproductive freedom, the denial of women in positions of power, the wisdom of priestly celibacy, and the belief that the pope is the unquestionable and infallible word of God?  How many Catholics are disgusted with the way the Church has handled sex abuse cases over the decades? While we're at it, how many Catholics  truly believe without question the Virgin Birth, transubstantiation, and the belief that only Jesus-centered beliefs will win you a reward when you die?  Do you ever think it's time to give this up? Does it se...

I remember a day about fifteen years ago when I opened my mailbox and discovered I had a Christmas card from a couple in my theater group.  It gave me all kinds of warm fuzzies to see they had decided to include me on their holiday card list after all of the years they had known me. I happily opened up the card.  I received a bit of a surprise when I pulled it from the envelope.  The front of the card said something like, "Celebrate the Festival of Lights."  Opening up the card I read sentiments on the deep meanings of Hanukkah, wishing me the happiest Hanukkah ever. I had some truly mixed feelings once I read the card.  I was still pleased with the fact that my friends had sent me a card.  I was gracious enough to accept the gesture of good will.  I was not terribly pleased that they were wishing me a happy Hanukkah when Hanukkah was not a holiday I celebrated nor was it one I had ever celebrated.  It smarted a little that people who had know...

It's baaaaaccccccck!  To think I was able to read FB for weeks without feeling the need to call out someone's irksome meme.  This week  find myself unable to help myself. What I'm going to say today is going to shock and anger a lot of people.  I'm going to be accused of being hostile to your religion and that I'm "bashing" you.  (Well, at least I would if anyone actually read this blog.)  So be it.  I just can't get over this.   Look everyone.  We have a gen-u-ine miracle on our hands.  Someone's entire house was demolished.  He lost his most important possesion, his biggest investment, his source of shelter.  But that's okay.  His Mary-On-The-Half-Shell survived. Is considering this to be some kind of joyous miracle some kind of joke? That Mary-On-The-Half-Shell isn't going to rebuild the house.  It's not going to feed the family.  It's something to pray to, and I'm sure that's exactly what you want ...

Dear People Who Believe America Is a Christian Nation, I've been thinking long and hard about what it must mean to you to be a Christian Nation, and I'm still very confused.  What exactly do you mean by "Christian Nation"?  How do you define it?  How should Christianity be expressed and enforced? Is it that you believe our leaders should be Christian?  This is diametrically opposed to the Constitution which states that there will be no religious tests for elected officials.  Besides, Christians come in many flavors.  Jimmy Carter proudly calls himself a born-again Christian, and yet it seems he is universally loathed by the Religious Right.  George W. Bush calls himself a born-again Christian as well. Would both of them be considered a proper leader of a Christian Nation? Is there a certain mold of Christianity that you require in your public servants?  Do you honestly believe that only a Christian is the right person for the job? Anyway, if...

When we die, we become the grass and the antelope eat us -Mufasa in The Lion King This weekend was my great aunt Anita's (aka Auntie Nini) funeral.  Her death was a sad occasion, especially since she was the last surviving member of my grandmother's generation.  On the happier side she was much beloved and lived a very long and productive life.  Her funeral was lovely and well-attended.  I utterly loved the eulogy my cousin Karen gave her, not just because she paid a lovely tribute, but because she stood there in a Catholic church and referred to her partner Jackie without apology.  Way to stick it to the stupid old men! When we drove to the grave site my mother informed me Anita would be buried in the communal mausoleum rather than in a burial plot.  She explained that this was because Anita's husband, my grandmother's brother Frank, did not want to be buried in the ground when he died. (I missed Frank's funeral as I was away at school when ...

When I was growing up I spent a lot of time in church and Bible study and Bible camp. As very young kids, my fellow students and I never questioned openly things we were taught. (You can pick your jaws up off the floor now.) I grew older. I went to school and learned about science and history and how the world works. I learned about the origins of life itself. Like many others who were taught never to question their spiritual leaders, I felt a sense of cognitive dissonance. I understood that science is about those things that are tested and have hard evidence. Unfortunately it tended to be in conflict with what I learned in church. The funny thing is that once I, along with other students feeling the same conflicts, actually spoke up and asked religious leaders how to reconcile these two ideas, they were very willing to do so. I heard all sorts of comforting and semi-rational explanations: God works mysteriously and maybe some things we aren’t meant to worry about; God’s time is ...