donald miller on obama
Just read a really interesting interview with Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz and one of my personal heroes, all about why he's voting for Obama. I'm posting some highlights, but I think it's worth going to this link and reading the whole thing if you've been involved in any discussions about how a person's Christian faith affects their voting in the coming election. I'm not putting these forward as my thoughts. These are Don's. Maybe I agree with them, maybe I don't. That's not the point. The point is that here's an opportunity for you to read some comments from a thoughtful, committed Christian on a challenging topic. Enjoy!
On the issue of abortion, he is the only candidate who has a plan to reduce the number of abortions. John McCain's only plan is the same old trick: say that you are pro life and offer no plan at all other than to criminalize abortion. I simply think that plan hasn't worked, and we have to face that fact and look for other ways to make progress.
I do wish Obama were pro-life. His plan to reduce the rate of abortion is a great step for the party, but I also wish he would defend the unborn to a greater degree.
Today on the news I heard a pastor say you could not possibly be a Christian and vote for Barack Obama. I cringed when I heard it, because yesterday in Colorado I met with about thirty African-American pastors who love Jesus and know Jesus, who will be voting for Barack. I wondered what they might think when they hear something like that, an angry white man telling them they do not know Jesus, and that they are going to hell.
Many of my friends will vote for McCain, and members of my family too. But it doesn't matter to me. Family comes first, and so do friends. When I'm on my deathbed, Barack Obama and John McCain won't be there, but my friends and family will. So they come first, and they are more important.
posted by Patrick @ 10:23 AM, ,
Friday, August 10, 2007
the burden of chapel
So I was poking through Myspace looking at pages belonging to KCC alumni (They call it KCU these days, but I can't make it stick in my head) and I found this picture titled "The Burden of Chapel."
It belongs to some kid named Brian. I asked him if I could post it because it's so awesome.
That building in the background is KCC's chapel. When you attend KCC you have to go to chapel every Tuesday and Friday. It used to be that you couldn't wear jeans. I think Charley The Intern told me that's not the case anymore. If you wore jeans you'd get a demerit. After something like 25 demerits there was a cash fine. After my freshman year I think I wore jeans to every chapel service. I don't remember having to pay many fines, though. I must not have gotten caught much.
Anyway, Chapel was indeed a burden - as any compulsory religious activity usually is. I don't doubt the good intentions of it's founders or it's benefits given the right attitude or circumstances, but I was a poorly motivated jackass when I was in college so I naturally missed out on any of that. I simply wasn't willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt if they told me I "had" to do something. At 34 I'm still not real fond of that kind of thing, I guess.
Anyway, the picture brought back a lot of memories and emotions. I'm happy to be at St. Awesome's these days where I attend not out of compulsion but out of desire. It makes a world of difference.
posted by Patrick @ 11:11 AM, ,
Thursday, July 12, 2007
nice surprise
I don't usually get that excited when I find out that someone famous is a Christian. That sounds bad, doesn't it? I mean, I like to find out anyone is a Christian, but I'm not one of those guys who feels the need to prove to other people that "Christianity is cool" by pointing to celebrities who belong to the faith.
All that being said...
I just read on Wikipedia (while researching a column) that Alton Brown, host of Good Eats on the Food Network, is a Christian. That's really cool.
I also found out that he the director of photography for the R.E.M. video, "The One I Love."
Alton Brown is awesome. If you don't watch Good Eats you should start. It's a cooking show where Brown explores the science behind cooking. He's really funny and relatable. He's also a friggin' genius. The other night on a reality show competition called The Next Food Network Star he determined that a Chilean Sea Bass was farm raised instead of coming from the wild based on the deformation of it's dorsal fin.
On a similar note I was once able to determine that GG is from Owensboro based on the shape of his foot.
posted by Patrick @ 9:57 AM, ,