Fred is Dead...so now what ? Answer: Pray.

Fred Phelps is dead.


There is much going around the social media universe regarding the demise & death of the Westboro Baptist " Church"'s leader. This begs the question of how we Christ-followers should approach the death of this man best known for his hate speech and funeral protests.


I know that a lot of my very liberal friends would rather shout " FRED IS DEAD" from the highest rooftops and dance an Irish jig &  part of me really does not blame them for wanting to herald the demise of a sad, sick individual. But the Christ-follower in me wants to do what Christ himself would do if He were faced with a similar situation.


My mom always had a saying that " Two wrongs don't make a right." Most people I know agree that Mr Phelps' extreme views are wrong. Not only did his group teach hatred of LGBT persons, but he also was famous for sending groups to " protest" military funerals all over the nation.  Although I live in a very socially-conservative region, no one I know agrees with Mr Phelp's philosophy regarding our military service people and veterans.


Fred Phelp's extremism was cancerous to society. Now that he is dead, how should our Christian response mirror what Our Lord teaches us? Would he advocate picketing Mr Phelps' funeral or spread  snarky cartoons about the death of this man/ My guess is no. Rather, the Jesus Whom I've come to know & love would offer his condolences to the Phelps family.


Yes, Fred Phelps had a family.


 As distasteful as this fact is to many of us: Fred Phelps was some one's husband, father, grandfather, uncle, pastor and friend. We do NOT need to agree with the man's teachings or actions to show Christian mercy and love towards his surviving kin. he was an extremist and a bigot, but that does not mean that we should exclude his family from the loving kindness of the Church Universal.  I feel strongly that the " sins of the father" in this case, the sins of Fred Phelps} should not bring more pain to his spiritual and actual children.


 On Ash Wednesday a priest in my Diocese charged the congregation present that night to focus on the following tasks during Lent: Pray. Fast & Give Alms.  Tonight, part of my prayer and alms giving will focus on the Phelps family and their loss. No one human is an " island' amidst him or herself and this applies to bigoted extremists such as Mr Phelps.


I , along with most Americans, will NOT miss this man's hate speech and twisted doctrine. yet it is NOT a Christ-like response to celebrate his demise. None of us are perfect and we ALL wake every morning with our own list of prejudices. I know I do and I pray daily for the Holy Spirit to help me see the common humanity in those with whom I vehemently disagree.


Amen.


Lent, 2014

Remembering, but not dwelling

I love blogs. Most of the blogs I follow are those of people whom I know in real life {IRL}

Anyhow, today I saw a blog by my rector that REALLY made me think.

I see a lot of posts on Facebook today about the anniversary of 11 September 2001. Heck, I even posted my own " where I was when the planes hit" status today.

My rector's musings on his blog today were NOT the average 11 September 2001 musings.

he reminded us that, when it is right & good to pause in remembrance  of the tragedy that occurred today, we must not forget to LIVE.

In the years before & sine 2001, this day on the calendar has been cause for celebrations for countless people. Birthdays, anniversaries & other " milestones" of human life have & always will occur on this day.

After all, there ore only 365 or {every four years) 366 days in every rotation around our sun.

It is good to remember & pay respect to collective tragedies that occur within our history. Yet we also need to celebrate all that makes life good--and celebrate each & every day.

Amen.

This week's Gospel lesson...and looming war drums

There are many reasons why I am against the war drumming that President Obama has been beating lately.


Sunday's Gospel lesson is ...interesting.

Read this:

"Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not  sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand. If he cannot then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace."
{Luke 14:31-32}

First, let me admit that I HATE prooftexting Scripture. More conservative Christian denominations use this technique to justify their hatred of people" not like us" , so I am very wary of anyone prooftexting Scripture.

Secondly, my EFM studies have taught me that this passage really is NOT about war, it is about the cost of  following Jesus.

But if I WERE clergy , and I am clearly not of the order of priests, I would struggle with the urge to preach an anti-war { and some would say an isolationist} message. Anyone who knows me at all knows how I feel about our great military's continual involvement in foreign conflicts. I have never believed that the place of a world superpower such as the United States is to " police" other nations and punish them for not accepting the Western worldview of life. call me a " dirty Libertarian" if you wish, but the verbs OFFENSE and DEFENSE are not synonymous.

Taking out bin Laden is defense. Bombing Syria is offense.

I do not see Jesus, if He were walking the Earth today, wielding machine guns and waging war against anyone who disagreed with Him. So at the risk of sounding terribly dated and cliche, I ask

What is it that Jesus would do?

Clearly I do not know the answer to this question. {If I did, I would for sure not be sitting in this po-dunk beach town, I'd be teaching graduate-level courses at a top-notch university.}

It is true that the cost of discipleship is great & that he requires much from those who follow Him.  yet I doubt that He would authorize a war against a rogue nation--a rouge nation located in a part of the world that has suffered conflict since before the time of Jesus Himself. Would Jesus want His disciples to wage war against those who do not accept His teachings? I doubt it. Perhaps he'd encourage more genuine diplomacy between two nations with opposing ideas regarding what is " right"?

The Syrian government is committing atrocities against her own people & that is morally wrong.  Yet will the bombing of Syria by Western superpowers really convince the regime in that nation that using chemical agents as war weapons is wrong? It will not.

Amen.

Heir Watch & other strange pop cultural fascinations by we Americans

I just do not understand the fascination that some Americans have with the British royalty.

After all, did we not declare our independence from the British throne back in 1776?

Now don't get me wrong, I am happy for Prince William and the duchess. I can also understand my British friends' fascination with Baby Royal. Yet as an American I am befuddled by my fellow & sister Americans' desire to follow the members of the House of Windsor.

Heir Watch is just one pop culture phenomena that confuses me.

Another pop culture sensation that I do not understand is the popularity of TLC's "reality TV show" _Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo" What is so special about this " beauty pageant" contestant & her parents that she's known now by her silly nickname?  Granted, I cop to watching some silly " reality TV" { for instance, I LOVE A&E's _Duck Dynasty_} But I fail to understand the appeal of a reality show starring a spoilt 7-year-old child & her parents.  But again, I still fail to comprehend the popularity of the Kardashians. Can someone please tell me why these women are famous? Thanks. :O)

While we are on the subject of strange social phenomena, can someone please explain why " Flash mobs" occur & why  so-called " spontaneous" dancing by large groups of people in a public place is done at all?

Maybe my autism prevents me from understanding why " pop culture" is so intriguing to many people?  Perhaps I will seek out some scholarly research on the sociological implications popular culture trends.  I find that I understand social & personal behavior of humans if I view it from a more scientific point of view.

" Pretty White Girl Syndrome" & Jodi Arias

Today the much-awaited verdict was read in an Arizona courtroom. After months of coverage on TV and online, Jodi Arias was found guilty of first-degree murder. 

I am happy that justice, in this case at least , was served. While I am against capital punishment---I do believe that Ms Arias needs to pay her debt to polite society for her remaining natural life. She is not, in my opinion, fit to be among polite society.

Yet what I am most relieved about is that Jodi Arias' case was not acquitted due { in part at least} to what is known in the media as " Pretty White Girl { or woman} Syndrome". 

You know the scened: a conventionally pretty Caucasian girl or woman finds herself in sort type of legal trouble. The national media descends upon the case & the American public is almost literally glued to the TV throughout the duration of said trial. After months of testimony & a drawn-out " jury watch" on HLN, the " pretty white girl" is acquitted of all charges by a jury of her alleged peers.

Why is the " pretty white girl in distress" such a media phenomena?  We see this fascination with the "PWG" with reports of missing persons in the mainstream media. How many missing women-of-color are reported in our news services? I cannot name one, but I can name several PWGs whose plights have captivated American TV viewers.

Laci Peterson

Natalee Holloway

JonBenet Ramsey.

Caylee Anthony

Elizabeth Smart

Jaycee Dugard

Chandra Levy


What trait do all of these " missing persons " share? They are all female, young, attractive & overwhelmingly Caucasian. Why do the mainstream media outlets choose to report upon cases that ONLY involve the PWG? I know there have been studies done upon this subject natter, but the findings of such studies do not satisfy me. Are only PWG's worthy of capturing the attention of our society? What about men & boys who go missing and/or are victims of violent crimes?

I AM a Caucasian American. My hair is naturally blonde, I have fair skin & bluish-green eyes.

My disdain for the Mainstream media's obsession with PWG's does not stem from my membership in a non-white ethnic group.

I am concerned about the propogation of the falsehood that White people are better than nonwhite people" that is still evident now if one knows where to look. If you do not believe me when I say that racism is still an issue visit some a town is Alabama, Missisippi , Ohio or western Pennsylvania. {I have seen evidence of a mentality of Caucasian-centricity in towns in all of these states.} My late grand-Godmother{ may her soul requisitat en pacem} spent all 90-plus years of her life honestly believing that people of African-american descend are somehow " inferior".

It is my wish that  I live to see the end of racism in our nation & as a society. maybe if enough people petition the major news corportations regarding stoping coverage of the PWG Of The Month we can evolve beyond racism once & for all.

Amen.

Kyrie Elesion. Pray for Boston

Today has been a really crappy day.

Best Dude is in St Petersburg for a work-related two day conference , so just the dog & myself are " holding down the fort" at home this week.

Best Dude, thankfully, made it safely to Central Florida. However, when I talked with him, he told me about the bombing at the Boston Marathon.

I am at a loss for words.

Since I do not understand " normal" people--the criminally-insane totally baffle me. :O/Why does evil exist? What makes ome people " evil". Is  "the conscious" a biochemical norm for most people?

Why are some humans inherently evil? And ARE some humans " evil" from birth?