January 12, 2009 | 9:46 pm

Mix one serving of Rick Warren with one serving of a gay bishop for a balanced presidential bash

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Follow me on

Bishop Robinson

It looks like President-elect Barack Obama found the solution to his Rick Warren controversy: invite someone equally controversial from the opposite end of the theological spectrum to give a pre-inaugural prayer. From The Seeker:

On Sunday, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop will offer a prayer at the Lincoln Memorial at an inaugural event for President-elect Barack Obama. The selection of New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson for Sunday’s event follows weeks of criticism from gay-rights groups over Obama’s decision to have Warren pray at his Jan. 20 inauguration.

Robinson said last month the choice of Warren was like a slap in the face. In an interview with the Concord Monitor, he said he doesn’t believe Obama invited him to quell the Warren flap, but said his participation represents an important minority consituent.

“It’s important for any minority to see themselves represented in some way,” Robinson told the newspaper. “Whether it be a racial minority, an ethnic minority, or in our case, a sexual minority. Just seeing someone like you up front matters.”

Robinson, 61, endorsed Obama in August 2007, causing some to wag their fingers at the clergyman for mixing religion and politics.

“As my work shows me every day, leadership means bringing people together and inspiring them to live out their values,” Robinson said at the time “Barack Obama sees beyond the partisanship and hopelessness that have dominated in recent years, and the movement he’s building is bringing vital new energy and optimism into our democratic process.”

Some Episcopalians resent Robinson, believing that far from “bringing people together” his 2003 consecration has driven a wedge between liberals and conservatives in the church in the United States and abroad. Last month, theological conservatives upset by liberal views of U.S. Episcopalians and Canadian Anglicans formed a rival North American province because they believe Robinson’s relationship violates Scripture.

In fact, Robinson said in his interview with the Concord paper that he would not use a Bible in his address at Lincoln Memorial.

“While that is a holy and sacred text to me, it is not for many Americans,” Robinson said. “I will be careful not to be especially Christian in my prayer. This is a prayer for the whole nation.”

Manya is right to call Robinson, who was not invited last summer to the once-a-decade meeting of Anglicans leaders, a wedge. Here’s a post I wrote last month about conservatives splitting from the Episcopal Church.

January 12, 2009 | 2:40 pm

Atheist comedian takes stand-up to Methodist church

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Almighty God—He’s one of my best sources—sent me this video of an atheist comedian doing stand-up in church.

0 Comments — Leave your comment

January 12, 2009 | 1:35 pm

A prayer for Gaza

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Some of the most heartfelt appeals against the Israeli bombardment of Gaza has come not from the Arab press but from the liberal Israeli daily Haaretz. This criticism indicates the difference between opposing Israel’s policies and simply opposing Israel. For example, Bradley Burston offers this prayer:

Lord who is the creator of all children, hear our prayer this accursed day. God whom we call Blessed, turn your face to these, the children of Gaza, that they may know your blessings, and your shelter, that they may know light and warmth, where there is now only blackness and smoke, and a cold which cuts and clenches the skin.

Almighty who makes exceptions, which we call miracles, make an exception of the children of Gaza. Shield them from us and from their own. Spare them. Heal them. Let them stand in safety. Deliver them from hunger and horror and fury and grief. Deliver them from us, and from their own.

Restore to them their stolen childhoods, their birthright, which is a taste of heaven.

Remind us, O Lord, of the child Ishmael, who is the father of all the children of Gaza. How the child Ishmael was without water and left for dead in the wilderness of Beer-Sheba, so robbed of all hope, that his own mother could not bear to watch his life drain away.

Be that Lord, the God of our kinsman Ishmael, who heard his cry and sent His angel to comfort his mother Hagar.

Be that Lord, who was with Ishmael that day, and all the days after. Be that God, the All-Merciful, who opened Hagar’s eyes that day, and showed her the well of water, that she could give the boy Ishmael to drink, and save his life.

Allah, whose name we call Elohim, who gives life, who knows the value and the fragility of every life, send these children your angels. Save them, the children of this place, Gaza the most beautiful, and Gaza the damned.

Read the complete text of Burston’s column/prayer here. Thanks for the link, Guy.

1 Comments — Leave your comment

January 11, 2009 | 11:58 pm

A Holocaust survivor worries about his ‘death sentence’

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Si Frumkin survived the Holocaust—that’s him at a refugee camp in 1945—and fought to bring awareness to the plight of Soviet Jews. A well-known Republican Jew who I see at all the Christian Zionist events, Frumkin writes a twice-monthly newsletter called “Graffiti for Intellectuals.” I don’t often read “Graffiti,” but a column Frumkin wrote for the Children Of Jewish Holocaust Survivors Los Angeles listserv just caught my eye.

Frumkin is deeply concerned by the level of anti-Semitism that has been part and parcel of the protests against Israel’s war against Hamas. (The latest from the front lines.)I’m not sure what Frumkin thinks of Israel’s actions—I assume he strongly supports them—but it’s clear he’s bothered by the anti-Semitic rhetoric. And who wouldn’t be? Comparing Zionists to Nazis; calling for “Death to All Juice;” telling Jews to “go back to the oven”—those are fightin’ words, to say the least.

Referencing a few of the incidents I’ve written about, Frumkin writes:

It had never occurred to me that there might come a time when I and my family might be sentenced to death once again for the crime of being born Jewish. It never crossed my mind that the world would once again be hearing the shouts of “Kill the Jews” and “Jews to the ovens!” I realized that there were some who hated Jews but I was sure that this was a tiny, mindless, insignificant minority – surely smaller in numbers than those who believed the Earth was flat or that Elvis was alive.

I was wrong.

Hatred is with us again. The legions of haters are proudly waving their flags and flaunting their slogans around the globe. And just like the nazis of seventy years ago they are not bashful or apologetic in disseminating the ideology of mass murder. They are dedicated, enthusiastic, committed, and ready to die for their deadly doctrine. One of their religious leaders put it best: “We love death as much as the Jews and Christians love life!”

Read more of this post

15 Comments — Leave your comment

January 9, 2009 | 7:25 pm

Dawkins’ anti-God bus campaign

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

In November, I mentioned that Irish bookmakers had set odds on God. That post referenced a new bus campaign in London, led by Richard Dawkins, that states “there probably is no God.” The New York Times has a story about the campaign. An excerpt:

Spotting one of the buses on display at a news conference in Kensington, passers-by were struck by the unusual message.

Not always positively. “I think it’s dreadful,” said Sandra Lafaire, 76, a tourist from Los Angeles, who said she believed in God and still enjoyed her life, thank you very much. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I don’t like it in my face.”

But Sarah Hall, 28, a visitor from Australia, said she was happy to see such a robust example of freedom of speech. “Whatever floats your boat,” she said.

Inspired by the London campaign, the American Humanist Association started running bus advertisements in Washington in November, with a more muted message. “Why believe in a god?” the ads read, over a picture of a man in a Santa suit. “Just be good for goodness’ sake.”

Although Australian atheists were refused permission to place advertisements on buses saying, “Atheism: Sleep in on Sunday mornings,” the British effort has been striking in the lack of outrage it has generated. The Methodist Church, for instance, said it welcomed the campaign as a way to get people to talk about God.

Although Queen Elizabeth is the head of the Church of England, Britain is a deeply secular country with a dwindling number of regular churchgoers, and with politicians who seem to go out of their way to play down their religious beliefs.

In 2003, when an interviewer asked Tony Blair, then the prime minister, about religion, his spokesman, Alastair Campbell, interjected, snapping, “We don’t do God.”

Read the rest here.

3 Comments — Leave your comment

January 9, 2009 | 5:35 pm

‘Adult Swim’ explains the story of Sodom and Gomorrah

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Imagine an eccentric college professor telling the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and have a little liberty with the exact details. You might come up with something funny like the above clip from “Adult Swim,” a show I’d never watched and now find to be a surprising member of the Cartoon Network roster.

3 Comments — Leave your comment

January 9, 2009 | 12:57 pm

Back from the dead, Ben-Gurion shares Israel’s 3,000 year history

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Around the time of Israel’s 60th anniversary, Jewish Current Issues linked to an article from the November 1961 issue of The Atlantic. The author was David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, and in the monthly magazine he was reflecting on 3,000 years of history coming together as the Jewish state came of age.

Ben-Gurion’s no Natalie Portman, but his vision of Israel carries much more water because, um, he helped create the modern Jewish state. And considering Israel’s war in Gaza, now seemed as good a time as any to discuss the half-century-old article.

A lengthy excerpt is after the jump:

Read more of this post

0 Comments — Leave your comment

January 9, 2009 | 4:43 am

Where did Jett Travolta go when he died?

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Jett with John

Jett Travolta’s death has inspired fresh attacks on the Church of Scientology’s take on medicine. It also caused one reader of E! Online to wonder just what a funeral would look like for a follower of L. Ron Hubbard. I’m embarrassed to say that while I had no idea, E!‘s Answer B!tch did. (To be fair, they probably just got on Wikipedia). Here’s what she wrote:

A hallmark of Scientology is the belief that humans are immortal spirits, or thetans—beings who have lived many lifetimes and whose potential is unlimited.

A funeral, therefore, focuses on the departed like this…

...by addressing him or her directly during the service, urging the departed to move on to better times. Tommy Davis, spokesman for Church of Scientology International, told me today that a Scientology service “addresses the person as a spiritual being and is meant to acknowledge the life they lived and their right to move on.” Scientologists also believe that Jett’s thetan will move to a new home in another human body.

On the official Scientology website, a news release includes a passage from a typical church funeral service. If used to memorialize young Jett, it will go like this:

“We do not contest your right to go away. Your debts are paid. This chapter of thy life is shut. Go now, dear Jett, and live once more in happier time and place. Thank you, Jett.”

3 Comments — Leave your comment

January 8, 2009 | 9:46 pm

Pray for Tim Tebow

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Tim Tebow loves God. The Florida quarterback is always talking about him. And it seems like everybody loves Tim Tebow.

Let’s reflect quickly on this church sign that sprouted up earlier this season:

Just when you thought Florida quarterback Tim Tebow couldn’t have anymore pressure dumped upon his shoulders, one Gainesville minister posted this sign less than a mile from the Gators’ practice field on Monday morning.

Eric Brown, the 31-year-old minister at Gainesville’s Campus Church of Christ, says he hopes Tebow sees the sign while the Heisman Trophy winner drives to and from campus. If you’re wondering about the Bible verse, Matthew 6:13, you might already know it. It’s the final few lines of the Lord’s Prayer: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”

Pause for a moment to let that thought role around in your brain. For some, Tebow is apparently much more than just a leader of the University of Florida football team.

Brown says he has been preparing a sermon for nearly a month about the Bible verse and, after watching ESPN College GameDay a few weeks ago, decided to add a few thoughts about Tebow to his message. Many media outlets have chronicled Tebow’s use of fame as a platform for his faith. ...

“I’m going to pray that [Tebow] is true to his faith because if he falls and gets caught up in some kind of scandal it will be bad for Christianity,” Brown said.

He definitely has. I can’t remember ever seeing a college athlete as mature (see his speech following the Ole Miss loss after the jump), and committed to God, as Tebow. He has been all about Jesus since before he even arrived in Gainesville, and tonight Tebow will be fighting for the second national championship of the Heisman Trophy winner’s college football career. And he’s only a junior.

Go Gators.

Read more of this post

5 Comments — Leave your comment

January 8, 2009 | 8:42 pm

Muslims heart ‘The Daily Show’

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I just got an e-mail from the Muslim Public Affairs Council applauding this segment from Monday’s episode of “The Daily Show.”

“The segment entitled ‘Strip Maul: Israel gets their bombing in before January 20th hope and change deadline’ was superb. Our staff and members appreciated the honest and critical attention brought to the extremely one-sided news reports about the Gaza crisis that have dominated the airwaves,” MPAC, which wasn’t happy about Mayor Villaraigosa’s support for Israel’s actions, wrote in the letter to Jon Stewart and Friends.

“As huge fans of the show, we congratulate you for using humor as a tool to encourage critical thinking… We appreciate “The Daily Show’s” critical eye, quick wit and fantastic humor.”

MPAC encourage those on its listserv to watch the clip, post a comment thanking Jon Stewart for poking fun at his co-religionists and to monitor other media coverage of the war.

I’m a big fan of Stewart, but I think he treats Hamas way too lightly in this segment, and he too flippantly dismisses the 10,000-plus rockets that have been launched from Gaza during the past six years. I did, however, laugh at the text that appears below the headline “Israel Invades Gaza”—“Missile Tov!”

90 Comments — Leave your comment

January 8, 2009 | 2:13 pm

Israel’s comeback kid

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Ehud Barak, the former Israeli prime minister, gets some nice treatment in The New York Times:

A few weeks ago, Defense Minister Ehud Barak was considered a dead man walking in Israeli politics. Members of his Labor Party were plotting to replace him after elections on Feb. 10, if not before. Under his leadership, the storied party of David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir had sunk so low in the polls that there was serious talk it might disappear.

No one is talking like that now. Twelve days into a punishing war that he is leading against Hamas in Gaza, Labor’s poll numbers are spiking. Mr. Barak is everywhere, in sunglasses and leather jacket, striding among his military commanders, talking strategy, calculating the next move.

“The respect I get when I go into schools since the war is amazing, and it is all about Barak,” remarked Daniel Ben-Simon, a Labor Party candidate for Parliament. “Israel’s MacArthur is back.”

There is, however, much irony — and uncertainty — in this political upheaval. Although Mr. Barak has gained from the war, he was opposed to it for far longer than any of the other top leaders and has been the most eager of them for a cease-fire since it began. Many abroad recall Mr. Barak as the prime minister who in 2000 went further than any Israeli leader in peace offers to the Palestinians, only to see the deal fail and explode in a violent Palestinian uprising that drove him from power.

If the current war goes on for long and kills many young Israeli men on the battlefield — so far casualties have been few and his shock-and-awe approach of the first days has been widely admired in Israel — Mr. Barak’s gains may again disappear. But his caution has gained him renewed support from the left.

Read more of this post

0 Comments — Leave your comment

January 8, 2009 | 5:02 am

Jewish teens and adults rally for Israel in Westwood

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Yesterday afternoon I got in touch with my onscreen self—ages ago, back when I thought I wanted to work on TV, I interned at KNBC—and covered a pro-Israel rally at the Federal Building in Westwood. Hundreds of teens from across Los Angeles were bused in; scores of adults also turned out. Watch the above video to see why.

4 Comments — Leave your comment