rudis dot net

Eventually, I'll use my "Christianity" tag for something a bit more serious, but it's far more interesting pointing out the crazy stuff folks will attach to that word. I almost wish there were a different way to refer to my faith, just to separate myself from these wackos.

Take Pastor Reynolds and his faith-based dieting Sunday morning tirade:

About 40 percent of you need to lose weight," he tells churchgoers..."When you love potluck more than God, it's serious."

Thankfully(?), folks from other faiths are doing the same thing, though you can't beat the creative crew who came up with the URL of www.fatfree4jesus.org.

...if Jesus returns tonight?

Jesus Pets can help you answer that question.

(And some Christians wonder why folks don't take us seriously?)

I came across a great article by Charles C. Haynes, First Amendment Center senior scholar, on the upcoming public school "holiday" battles that we are all about to start reading about as the Christmas season approaches. He makes quite a bit of sense, especially when you consider how militant some of us Christians get (often in response to how militant the anti-Christian community behaves) at this time of year. His solution to the whole problem is very sensible:

The constitutional bottom line is stunningly simple: The school’s approach to religious holidays must be academic, not devotional. The job of public schools is to educate students about religious holidays — not just in December, but throughout the year. That means schools should plan assembly programs that teach kids about a variety of religions and cultures, without making anyone feel like an outsider in his or her own school.

Done right, the First Amendment solution should satisfy most people. Christians will appreciate that students are learning something about what Christians actually believe. And people of other faiths and of no faith can support an academic approach to study about religions, including Christianity, as long as it is done in ways that are educationally sound and respectful of their own beliefs.

As I keep reminding folks, the "Christian majority" in America is fading fast, and most of the folks in that majority are nominal Christians at best. Their mores, values and cultural beliefs/actions usually conflict directly with what the Bible teaches. Couple that with the ever-increasing influx of [legal] immigrants that have different religious backgrounds & beliefs and I would not be pressing for American institutions to reflect what the majority believes, since I would not want my children reading the Koran in school right before kneeling at the appropriate times & directions to pray to Allah (which is a potential reality in some states over the next two decades).