Christian Carnival XI

The carnies are hanging out at the King of Fools this week. Check it out. Yours truly has a post in this week's round up.

Black folk and the Passion

Perhaps I was wrong in thinking that black folk wouldn't go for the Passion. According to this article black (and other minority) Christians are very interested in the Passion and it's message of suffering and redemption.

An African-American Christian's View of 'Passion'
Descendants of slaves FULLY UNDERSTAND why Gibson's cameras show the instruments of torture and repression--whips and chains evoke powerful collective memories of the suffering of our African foremothers and forefathers HERE in this country at the hands of so-called "Christians." It wasn't so long ago that our great-grandparents literally bore the scars of slavery in their bodies--and the infamous cat o'nine tails was ALSO used on subjugated Africans by viscious, sadistic overseers who acted just like the Roman legionnaries and lictors depicted in the film.

One of the reasons people of color are responding so positively to THE PASSION OF CHRIST is due to Gibson's frank, realistic depiction of the horrors of scourging and crucifixion. The Yeshua of Nazareth depicted in this film shows a full range of emotions--He cries, laughs with His mother, stands up to angry religious authorities who want the adulteress stoned-but most of all, THIS Jesus experiences mental anguish and physical torture, is mocked by Herod and spit upon by the Roman soldiers and bears the full brunt of human hatred manifested in unspeakable brutality. In no other commercial movie venue is there ANY comparable depiction of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53--the "Man of sorrows" Who "hid not His face from shame and spitting", although "we hid as it were, our faces from Him...His visage was marred...yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise Him."

It is THIS Jesus--the JEWISH, biblical "Lamb of God"--not the "Pale Pitiful Mystical Robot-Poppet" of Hollywood's imagination--that African-Americans and Latinos recognize as "OUR Jesus"--the God Who let Himself be beaten, humiliated and crushed, Who felt the sting of violence under a harsh regime, Who suffered injustice and oppression, and Whose torn, lacerated flesh bore the marks of a savage, repressive empire bent on world conquest. Black Christians identify with the God Who becomes a "slave" during Passover, the Festival of Freedom--He is bought for 30 pieces of silver, the market value of a slave in first-century Israel--in order to free humanity from its captivity to sin and death. The honest, unsparing depiction of the harsh reality of Roman punishment "hits home and "rings true" for those whose lives are impacted daily by systemic injustice and senseless violence.

Takin' care of business

This is pretty cool. Thanks to Instapundit for the link.

Bloggy goodness

I've borrowed Discoshaman's term to describe his post entitled, Racial Reconciliation and the Civil Rights Industry

"It used to be said (fatuously?) that university cancer researchers had no incentive to find a cure, as it would put them out of a job. The professionalization of civil rights entrusts reconciliation to a class of people who benefit from racial strife and mistrust, and stand to lose everything if whites and blacks ever do find lasting harmony."

Good point.

Christian Carnival Plug

From Nick Queen of Patriot Paradox on Christian Carnival XI:

This coming Wednesday is the next Christian Carnival and will be hosted at King of Fools.

If you are reading this and are not a part of the Christian Carnival mailing list please visit the following link and join up:

http://patriot-paradox.com/mailman/listinfo/christiancarnival_patriot-paradox.com

Also if you wish to host the Carnival in coming weeks email me at

carnivalhost@patriot-paradox.com

For those unsure of what I mean by Carnival I will try to explain. First, a Carnival is a gathering of posts from various blogs that showcases their best post from the previous week. Each blog is allowed to enter one post, and I will take all of the posts and put them in one big post on my front page. Then each person who enters will link to that post, thus not only showing off their post, but also allowing their readers to get the best from around the blogosphere. Also, I ask that you please post on your site so that your readers who also blog will consider sending in their best post of this week.

To enter is simple. First your post should be of a Christian nature, but this does not exclude posts that are political (or otherwise) in nature from a Christian point of view. Then do the following:

email: carnival@king-of-fools.com

Provide the following:

Title of your Blog
URL of your Blog
Title of your post
URL linking to that post
Description of the Post

Cut off date is Tuesday by 8 PM EST.

All questions are welcome. Get your entry in asap!

Another one paints his face and the black people go crazy

Blacks decry GSU fraternity
Protesters complain of slur, threaten boycott of school
The protest was in response to a Jan. 24 Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity party where two members arrived wearing blackface, according to a university incident report. After members of Phi Beta Sigma, a historically black fraternity that was at the party, objected to the blackface, the two members took it off, the incident report said.

A few days after the party, members of both fraternities met with school officials and Pi Kappa Alpha apologized for the incident, said Dan Forrester, the fraternity's president. The fraternity also suspended the two members. Georgia State officials have suspended the fraternity pending the outcome of a hearing.

Apparently this is not enough for the worshippers of diversity at this school. Someone stepping forward and saying, "We have done something wrong" is not something to be commended. Not if you offend the diversity at all costs crowd. No sirrie Bob! There was a time when owning up to a mistake made earned you respect. These days all it earns you is a bull's eye between the shoulder blades.

"The entire organization needs to be kicked off this campus," said Dawn Davison, 27, who led the rally. "Any threat to diversity is a threat to the university."

Speakers at Thursday's rally, which included students from Morehouse College, demanded further action from the university and threatened to boycott businesses run by Georgia State. Among the demands: suspension of Pi Kappa Alpha for a minimum of three years, the addition of a mandatory African-American history course for all students, and hiring of more minority faculty in tenure track positions. Shakeema Bell, a member of the Black Student Alliance, said the university has until 4 p.m. Wednesday to respond to the list of demands.

I get tired of hearing these kinds of stories day after day. How many perfectly well meaning white folk are painted as flaming racists by some angry black mob with a chip on its shoulder? This is all that this is. Angry black people looking for the racist bogeyman hiding inside every white person they meet. If you are told day in and day out that you are surrounded by racist white people who are just waiting for their opportunity to put you in your place you tend to believe it. Racism must exist so anything that a white person does must be a blatant act of racism. And if you don't agree well then you must a racist too you slimy red neck craka!

Give me a break! And this is the caliber of student that universities are turning out these days? People who are so blinded by the racism forever and always doctrine that they can't even think straight. So what exactly are they going to teach in this mandatory African-American history course should the university show no back bone and cave in to these childish demands? That black people have really fragile minds and you shouldn't do anything to upset them because you never know when they will cry racist. That one wrong word from said unstable black people could destroy reputations and cost anybody they can get their hands on lots of money? That we should all treat black people like helpless children because a couple hundred years ago their ancestors were slaves?

Okay, I'm to mad to say any more.

Latin anyone?

Utinam barbari spatium proprium tuum invadant!
"May barbarians invade your personal
space!"
You are highly confrontational and possibly in a
bad mood. You would have sworn in this quiz,
if I had made it an option.


Which Weird Latin Phrase Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Found the quiz at Thrown Back. That whole Ezzo business still has me riled up. Discoshaman is giving Ezzo a good verbal spanking too.

Have a little faith in yourself

Is the Babywise Method Right For You? What You Should Know About Babywise and Growing Kids God's Way
From birth Johnny Bush "nursed like a champ" and slid right into the Parent Directed Feeding plan recommended by Gary Ezzo in his book "Preparation for Parenting," the first book in the series of parenting books commonly known as "Growing Kids God's Way." ("On Becoming Babywise" is the secular version of "Preparation for Parenting"). "At a well-baby appointment at 3 1/2 months he weighed a hefty 16 lbs.- the 95th percentile on the baby charts," says his mother, Alexandra Bush, a previous Preparation for Parenting instructor. But by the next appointment his weight had dropped to 14 lbs. 2 oz. "causing red flags to come up at the pediatrician's office." The following weeks were grueling, as specialists tried to determine the reason for Johnny's weight loss. Alexandra quit nursing "cold turkey" and Johnny was placed on a calorie dense formula.

"Johnny was weighed every other day that first week, and then once a week for several months," says Alexandra. "Follow up appointments with my pediatrician and phone consultations with the specialists led us to forego further testing." For Johnny's parents, the diagnosis was shocking: "Failure To Thrive" (FTT) due to insufficient calorie intake. "I had starved my baby," says Alexandra.

Alexandra and John Bush...eventually discovered that their experience with Gary Ezzo's Parent Directed Feeding plan was not unique.

Thanks to Tulip Girl for the link.

It just burns me up that this man continues to pray on well meaning parents. Generations of Christian men and women have raised Godly children with out the "help" of Gary Ezzo. Everything I have ever read about what this man believes has seemed totally backwards and just plain un-Christian. (I read one of the Babywise books once just so I would know what I was disagreeing with.) Unfortunately many of today's parents are deceived into thinking that Ezzo has anything useful or beneficial to offer to them about raising children.

In days past people learned how to be parents by watching their parents, relatives, and friends be parents. That's how I learned and am still learning. I am constantly amazed by the loving care and understanding that so many of the parents (Christian and non-Christian) I know give to their children. These days with little interaction between the different generations parents don't have good role models in their lives for how to be parents.

It doesn't help that getting/staying married is now considered optional for parenting. We have developed a culture where we can't look to our families for help because they are so broken. This leaves people at the mercy of every Tom, Dick, and Gary that gets an idea in their heads and writes a book about how to raise children. Christians are particularly vulnerable because they are under great pressure to raise godly children in such an ungodly world. The pressure to perform is immense and the consequences of failure are devastating. We hear far more of, "Did you hear about what so and so's child did? And they call themselves Christians!" than we hear of, "Did you hear about what so and so's child did? How can we help them deal with it?"

Having said all of that I encourage parents to have a little faith in their God given abilities. We certainly don't need Ezzo's backward ways to raise Godly children, like I said before Christians managed quiet well before he came along. Anyway, that's just my two cents on the matter. Down with Ezzo!!

Banning Tag?

Now I can understand wanting kids to play safely but is banning tag really the way to go? Wouldn't it have made more sense to just deprive the trouble makers of the joy of playing the game rather than depriving the entire school for two weeks? And why did it take a grade school kid starting a petition for the grown-ups in charge to decide that maybe banning tag altogether was not necessarily the best course of action?

Tag's Still Not It
A ban on the violent game of tag has been lifted at an elementary school in Madison, Wisc. but only after officials agreed on rules for the new, “safe” version of the game, reports WISC-TV.

Tag was banned from Randall Elementary school because principal Marianne Moss said it was too violent.

But the ban prompted complaints from parents and prompted one grade-schooler to even circulate a petition. Olivia Lichterman said, "Most kids can't focus well when they don't get exercise, and kids who don't have football, they all play tag."

The main article on the WISC-TV website states, "Now that a two-week time out has been taken to review safety rules, it's been decided tag can commence again Tuesday. However, there's to be no pushing, tripping, or shoving and only 'safe tag' touching."

If they'd just instituted the new safe tag rules in the first place, after sending the offending youngsters to the side lines, no one would have batted an eyelash. Yeah I know, nobody cares if you do your job well but everyone sure is willing to point fingers and talk about you when you screw up. That's life.

Christian Carnival X

The carnies are back. They're hanging out at WalloWorld. Check it out.

Another black conservative

We're everywhere! I've been lurking on Nykola.com for a few weeks now. Good stuff, thoughtful and well written. Here's an excerpt from the most recent post.

So My Generation's Voting for Nader? The State of the Young Adult Union
There is a lot of hesitancy amongst conservatives and Christians as well, to get involved with the community beyond the suburbs. I'm talking the poor, the wounded, and the disenfranchised. This is unfortunate as Democrats, Liberals, the Green Party, and many others have recognized this hole and rushed to fill it with silly in-effective programs and legislation. It's sort of like the city road crew in Seattle and the pothole problem. Every time a pothole pops up, the city comes out and fills it; with asphalt. Asphalt is cheap, it's easy to get a hold of, and it does the job temporarily. But just let it rain. You can pretty much guarantee that in a high-traffic area, it'll only be a matter of months before that same pothole is back again. So why don't they use cement or something else that will hold? Well, it's all an effort to keep taxes high, jobs flowing, and work available. The city is very intentional about the work they do not lasting too long. Such is the same as many of these "social programs" that have been instituted over the years. They're not doing anything productive for the inner city or impoverished communities. They're just paying somebody's paycheck. They're after quick-fixes and not lasting fruit.

She's got a good sense of humour too.

Well, well, well

"Passion" goes to other countries: "The Passion of the Christ" opened in a number of international markets last weekend, and, again, it is breaking records.

And the rampant antisemitism that this film was supposed to inspire in all of us secretly Jew hating Christians has yet to materialize. I'm slowly beginning to lose the urge to scream, "You freaking idiots!" every time I hear someone carrying on about how antisemitic the movie is.

Parableman has an interesting conspiracy theory on why today's Jewish leaders are against The Passion of the Christ. Jewish anti-Christianism: Christianity has its very basis in Hebrew Torah, prophets, and other writings. It sees itself as the fulfillment of the Hebrew scriptures. Yet a Jew who sees Jesus as Messiah is seen as an illegitimate Jew by contemporary Judaism, even if this Jew continues to worship at a synagogue of other Jews who see Jesus as Messiah, maintaining clear Jewish worship traditions and cultural observances. This is the real reason so many Jewish people were opposed to this film, I think. They hate Jesus and everything he stands for.

Should we form a Christian antidefamation league?

When Imps Attack

Cabin Master's Battle Imp is

Irord

Backstabbing: 10 Dodgin': 5 Guts: 5 Magic Mojo: 6 Smackdown: 9

Will your battle imp beat Cabin Master's? Enter your name and fight.

I've succumbed to the battle imp craze. Check out Parableman's imp.

Christian Carnival IX

The carnies are here! Check it out

Got trackback?

Haloscan now offers trackback. I think I'll try it out and see where it gets me.

Iraq's Martyrs

Larry T. Elliott, 60, and Jean Dover Elliott, 58, of Cary, N.C.
Karen Denise Watson, 38, of Bakersfield, Calif.
David McDonnall, 28, of Rowlett, Texas

The terrorists call themselves "martyrs" when they blow themselves up killing who they consider the enemies of Allah. But these are true martyrs, giving their lives for their faith in the course of loving and serving their neighbors. World Mag blog

It's striking isn't it, the difference between the Muslim and Christian concepts of martyrdom. The good Muslim martyr kills as many infidels as he or she can before they die. The Christian martyr helps as many people as he or she can in hopes that some will come to know the saving grace of their lord and they are killed for offering that help.

South Dakota abortion ban defeated

I guess it was too good to be true. After some political maneuvering South Dakota's proposed abortion ban was defeated in the senate by a vote of 18-17. Evangelical Outpost has more details.

Christian Carnival plug

It's that time again. The round up for Christian Carnival IX has begun. Details:

For those unsure of what I mean by Carnival I will try to explain. First, a Carnival is a gathering of posts from various blogs that showcases their best post from the previous week. Each blog is allowed to enter one post, and I will take all of the posts and put them in one big post on my front page. Then each person who enters will link to that post, thus not only showing off their post, but also allowing their readers to get the best from around the blogosphere. Also, I ask that you please post on your site so that your readers who also blog will consider sending in their best post of this week.

To enter is simple. First your post should be of a Christian nature, but this does not exclude posts that are political (or otherwise) in nature from a Christian point of view. Then do the following:

email me at carnival@patriot-paradox.com

Provide the following:

Title of your Blog
URL of your Blog
Title of your post
URL linking to that post
Description of the Post

Cut off date is Tuesday by 10 PM EST.

Research project

Are you a Christian blogger? Wanna be part of a research project? You don't have to do anything potentially embarrassing, just answer a few question. This young lady is doing a research project as a requirement for completing her degree. Part one of the survey is here. It's very thought provoking.

Spineless jellyfish

The Spanish have elected themselves a socialist government apparently blaming their previous government for the terrorist attacks in Madrid a few days ago. My first reaction was that the Spanish are a bunch of spineless jellyfish. Then I felt bad about speaking ill of a people still reeling from a devastating attack on their nation. Then I read what some Spaniards themselves were saying about the outcome of the election and I didn't feel so bad. Read for yourself.

SPANISH ELECTION POSTSCRIPT, a round up of responses from Spanish bloggers.
TERRORISTS HAVE SUCCEEDED IN TOPPLING THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT. Instapundit's comments as well as a round up of responses from all over the blogosphere.
Socialists Declare Victory in Spanish Elections, Fox News story.
Dhimmi vote wins in Spain, Dhimmi Watch post of AP story.
What Does Osama Want: The Election Effect, post before the election results.
Nobody Expects the Spanish Opposition!, post after the election results.

Madrid bombing round up

Tim Blair
MADRID
AL-QAEDA OR ETA
A sad postcard from Spain, by a pair of Spanish bloggers

Baldilocks
Spain's the Target
Spanish embassy contact info

Instapundit
BOMBINGS IN MADRID
Spanish embassy contact info as well as a list of Spanish consulates and memorial activities state side

Tacitus: Another Crime That Requires Police Action

Andrew Sullivan: IF THIS IS AL QAEDA

The Mesopotamian
"I a Moslem and an Iraqi would be very surprised if the criminal attack in Spain was the work of ETA. I say this is the work of the same animals who are at work in our country. Mark my words friends at this early stage.

To express condolences to the Spanish people is too empty and not enough. We pledge to them that we, the Iraqi people shall be in the forefront and will be the first line fighters to exterminate these monsters."


Iraq the Model: Our hearts go with you Spain.

Hammorabi: Condolences

Jihadwatch
Spain's 9/11
Jihad Unspun: Al-Qaeda linked group responsible for Madrid bombings
Madrid: Qur'an tape found in van with detonators


Fox News: Spain Mourns as Hunt for Terrorists Begins

Cheddar is the enemy

I'm learning the hard way that no amount of Lactaid can save me from cheese, especially cheddar. It probably didn't help that I also ate prunes with the cheese. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I thought could get some fiber and some calcium all at once.

My sister, who has been lactose intolerant for years, is counseling me on how to survive what I've done to myself. Ginger ale and steaming hot ginger tea are my only hope now. I really hope this lactose intolerance thing is a temporary symptom of pregnancy. I don't know if I can live the rest of my life without cheese. "Behold the power of cheese" has a whole new meaning for me.

My sister says that the dairy farmers and antacid companies must be in cahoots with each other. And they are all being controlled by the cats who are plotting our downfall. She's got issues.

Christian Carnival VIII

The eighth edition of the Christian Carnival is up, at a new location this week. I submitted my post on blacks and The Passion. Apparently PETA is doing stupid stuff again. La Shawn Barber has a great inaugural submission entitled Al Sharpton: Godless Wonder. Go check out the rest.

Our second black president?

Folks have been talking about his for days now. John Kerry seems to be aspiring to be America's second black president, when did we have a first?. On this topic Baldilocks writes,

"Why not go all the way, dude, and let your inner "blackness" show? How about getting tricked-out (pun intended) like Snoop Dogg in the new Starsky and Hutch and tick off every black person from the right of me to the left of Maxine Waters? You can do it. I'm counting on you...

Bro."

Some other good reads on this subject:
Our Second Black President? at Evangelical Outpost
Random Thursday: Random Blackness at La Shawn Barber's corner
Second Black President at Rough Woodsman

Tales from the Crib: Adventures in mommyhood

I thought today would be a good day to take the kids out for a walk. Except for the mountains of dirty snow in parking lots most of central New York's more than 3 feet deep snow pack has melted away. The sidewalks are once again clear and safe for strollers and small children. Tulips and daffodils are starting to poke their heads out of the ground and in some places the crocuses are already blooming. I was looking forward to taking the kids out on a hunt for the early blooms. I was even contemplating a stop in the park for a few minutes on the swings or slide.

My plan was to feed and clean the kids, do one or two chores, take a shower and then hit the road. Everything was going well until we got to the "mom takes a shower" part of the plan. I kept checking on the kids while I was doing the dishes. They seemed to be entertaining themselves in non-destructive ways. I thought it was safe to run off and take a quick shower. I should have locked the kids in their room. No one screamed in anger or pain while I got dressed. In fact it was quiet, too quiet.

I ran down stairs with my purse and coat ready to truss the kids up in their outdoor gear. The first sign that something was perhaps not right was the closed dining room door. Isaiah, the youngest at 19 months old, has a thing for closing doors. What was he doing in the dining room?

I opened the door expecting to find him in the corner snacking on some cheerios he had stashed away during breakfast. Instead I found him sitting on top of the dining room table. He was diligently engaged in eating almost an entire stick of butter that had been left on the table. Isaiah had butter smeared all over himself from his nose to his knees. He had also done a thorough job of buttering the table around him.

So much for going for a walk. After his butter binge Isaiah was ready for his nap. He was not happy about bypassing his room to have the butter cleaned off of him in the bathroom. He was quite happy to snuggle up with his lamby once the ordeal was over.

Ethan was quietly arranging and counting oranges on the dining room table during the entire ordeal. Oh, and did I mention that Isaiah is lactose intolerant?

Back to Jerusalem

My church held it’s annual mid-winter retreat over the weekend. The speakers were a missionary couple who serve in that big country in east Asia that’s not supposed to have any missionaries or unofficial Christians in it. They minister to the people in remote areas of this country by helping them dig wells, build latrines for schools and villages, build rainwater collection systems, and by developing disease prevention plans with the villagers.

These missionaries shared with us a wonderful vision of the thriving church in this closed country. Millions of Christians who pray not that their persecution would end but that they would be strong enough to endure and bear witness for Christ. Even more stunning is that these Christians who regularly face imprisonment, torture, and death at the hands of their own government have a vision to send missionaries into other closed countries to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. They call their movement Back to Jerusalem, the idea being that they would travel to all of the countries along ancient trade routes that lead all the way back to the middle east.

As the missionaries shared this vision with our congregation I got chills and started to get teary eyed. It is an amazing thing that these Christians want to do. At that moment all I could think was, “Oh God please let it happen!” I find it remarkable that it is the Christians in a closed country who have come up with such a bold plan to fulfill the great commission. Their compassion for the lost peoples of the world even as they face persecution for their faith is inspiring and humbling. The missionaries told us that these bold Christians do not fear persecution in other closed countries because anything that could be done to them has already been done to them by their own government.

Take a look at the website and please remember them in your prayers.

BWP

All right, I confess. I’m BWP, Blogging While Pregnant and let me tell you it has not been pretty. For some foolish reason I thought that having been pregnant twice before would make things go easier the third time around. After all my body has had some practice and it knows what to do now. NOT. I’ve had many days where I was too sick to get off of the couch. I was saving up all of my energy in case I had to make a mad dash for the bathroom. Why on earth do people call it morning sickness when you are actually sick 24-7? From now on I’m going to call it perpetual sickness.

There have been some funny moments though. The first day of my perpetual sickness I was curled up on the couch praying and pleading with God that I would not have to throw up (I HATE throwing up but sometimes it’s the only way to feel better) when my youngest son wandered by and relieved me of the fruit that I didn’t have enough energy to continue eating. He wandered by a few minutes later to deposit the pit on the coffee table in front of me. At least he didn’t throw it down the heating vent.

I’ve been inspired to make some of the great dishes from my childhood in the old country. Cou cou with fish gravy and rice with okra and curried saltfish gravy being two of my greatest achievements. I danced around the kitchen with glee at my culinary accomplishments and happily inhaled my handiwork. Unfortunately the next day the mere thought of my culinary creations would make my head spin.

Despite my picky stomach (or because of it) I’ve had to eat constantly. Things get really ugly if my body even thinks that my stomach might be empty. I feel like I’m going to gain my 25-30 lbs before I get out of my first trimester!

My nose has turned on me too. I’ve had to start making my own body lotion because the smell of all of the store bought stuff makes me queasy. We’ve had to use unscented laundry detergent, and stopped using fabric softener all together, since my first pregnancy. Anytime someone who just did their own laundry walks by I want to go have a nice long rest. Can’t stand the smell of most shampoos, conditioners, soaps, and bodywashes either. We’re going to have to switch deodorants since I can’t seem to stand the smell of the stuff that we’ve been using any more.

But that’s not the worst of it! I finally figured out last week that I’ve become lactose intolerant. This after weeks of living off of yogurt! It was the only thing that kept my stomach down when things got ugly. I’ve got two 16oz tubs of the stuff in the fridge! So now I’ve got myself some Lactaid. I also read ingredients lists much more carefully. I’ve been feeling much better the last few days but I still want to put cheese on everything.

I’ve got about four more weeks to go before I clear my first trimester. If I’m lucky some of the worst of my perpetual sickness will begin to die down. Then I can get back to being excited about having another kiddy. I really don’t want to think about the other possibility.

Christian Carnival plug

The Christian Carnival VIII will be hosted at a new location this week, Trommetter Times. Here are the instructions for this week. Here are the instructions for this week (for posts written during last week):

To enter is simple. First your post should be of a Christian nature, but this does not exclude posts that are political (or otherwise) in nature from a Christian point of view. Then do the following:

email the Carnival at this address: carnival@trommetter.org

Provide the following:

Title of your Blog
URL of your Blog
Title of your post
URL linking to that post
Description of the Post

Cut off date is Tuesday, March 9th at 10PM EST.

Personal experience with autism

Parableman is blogging about our Adventures in Misdiagnosis with our son Ethan. He's having a much easier time dealing with all of this than I am. I've been pretty much overwhelmed and I've had to take a break from doing research on Ethan's possible condition. Thankfully hubby can process all of the details without becoming emotionally entangled like me.

Oh, he's also boasting about being a manly man.

Err...what?

Now what is this supposed mean?

As soon as Gibson picked Jim Caviezel to be Jesus I knew I wouldn't even invest in The Passion on the hollywood stock exchange. Gibson's passion for the truth didn't quite extend that far did it? I wonder who Mad Max would've chosen?
LK Spence at Vision Circle

Racial profiling...at your polling place?

I haven't had the chance to vote in a primary election yet so I don't know personally what that involves but it probably shouldn't include people assuming your political affiliation based on your appearance. Juliette at Baldilockss had just that kind of experience.

I...headed toward one of the two Republican voting booths. "No, no," said the third person, a woman. "Go to one of those booths." She was pointing at one of the five Democrat booths. I looked down at my ballot and it was a Democrat one. I walked over and handed it back to her.

"Aren't you a Democrat?" she asked ponderously.
"No, ma'am," I said with military precision. "I'm a Republican."

Suddenly, in a polling place deep in the heart of Maxine Water's congressional district, it got real quiet...

During the 2000 election and following fiasco I had to put up with a lot of smack from dems who couldn't conceive of a black person willingly and enthusiastically voting for a republican. They apparently thought it was acceptable to make fun of people for choosing their own political affiliations in a free country. I often found myself tempted to smack them upside the head and remind them that people died so that I could vote for whoever I wanted to.

He's back!

Discoshaman is back doling out the bloggy goodness at Le Sabot Post-Moderne. I found the post Orthodox Arrogance and Hypocrisy very interesting. One would think that a church that suffered for so long under communism and other corrupt governments would behave better but apparently not.

Christian Carnival VII

The seventh edition of the Christian Carnival is up. Interesting stuff, particularly this post at DeoOmnisGloria.com about atheism. It's a response to some of the comments made about this post regarding the Diane Sawyer interview with Mel Gibson.

Christian Carnival plug

If you have a Christian-related post from last week to enter into the Christian Carnival, please do so by tonight.

Here's the message from the host for this week:

For those unsure of what I mean by Carnival I will try to explain.
First, a Carnival is a gathering of posts from various blogs that
showcases their best post from the previous week. Each blog is allowed
to enter one post, and I will take all of the posts and put them in one
big post on my front page. Then each person who enters will link to that
post, thus not only showing off their post, but also allowing their
readers to get the best from around the blogosphere. Also, I ask that
you please post on your site so that your readers who also blog will
consider sending in their best post of this week.

To enter is simple. First your post should be of a Christian nature, but
this does not exclude posts that are political (or otherwise) in nature
from a Christian point of view. Then do the following:

email me at carnival@patriot-paradox.com

Provide the following:

Title of your Blog
URL of your Blog
Title of your post
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Will black folks like The Passion?

I really hope I'm wrong about this but I'll say it anyway. If only so someone can prove me wrong. I came across this post today at American Black, "Why Black Folks Won't Like The Passion". It made me start thinking about the response of black Christians to this movie. It has often been my experience that black churches tend to be light on things like doctrine, theology, and evangelism. The greatest emphasis I have seen in many black churches is not on teaching scripture but on giving a good performance and evoking emotional response.

There is an element within black Christianity for whom the purpose of forming a church is not so much to spread the gospel but rather to spread their version of the gospel. I grew up in New York City where, in some neighborhoods, there was a church on every block. On some blocks there were churches just doors from each other. Why? Not because there were so many believers that there needed to be lots of congregations to accommodate them all. The joke in my family was that the name of the church was larger than the church. There were so many churches because of the cult of personality. Every man or woman who could gather a handful of followers to themselves went off to start their own church so they could do things their own way. In more affluent black communities there are budding mega-churches. The more successful pastors bring in the people and the money.

Having said all of that I don't think The Passion of the Christ will be a big thing in the black community. Not so much because black people are disgruntled that the character of Jesus was not played by a black actor or that there were no black actors gratuitously scattered throughout the crowds. Black folks won't like The Passion because they won't consider it black enough to be worthy of their attention.

There is a standard in black America for what is black and what is not. Only those things considered black enough make it onto the radar of most black folk in America. The Passion just doesn't seem to meet the standard of blackness. It is not about slavery, it is not about racism, it is not about how whitey keeps the black man down, and it is not a romanticized version of African history. This film is also being embraced by whites which serves to add to it's un-blackness. Anything that is embraced by whites is considered suspect.

Prince C. at American black gives this rather telling reason for not seeing the movie, "I have no real interest in seeing it. The timing is bad for me. The right is already shoving judges, censorship and hate down our throats. They are too excited about this flick for me to give it a chance right now." One can only assume that "they" means the white right who presumably have some sinister motivation for liking this movie. His sentiments are likely a good representation of the mood in the black community concerning this movie. How unfortunate.