So I’m sitting in the Mall St. Matthews wondering if I will ever leave. For those that may not know, I work for Verizon Wireless (for now) as a sales rep. Pays the bills. Mall culture is really weird. Sitting in malls for long periods of time has really caused me to see the shallow nature of consumer culture. It has also increased my burden for teens trying to live in this messed-up culture that tells them that any value or worth they may have as a human being is tied directly to their physical appearance and sex appeal. It’s really frustrating to see them succumbing to that.

There’s a lot of noise about Michael Moore’s “documentary.” Frankly I don’t intend to spend any money to watch the film, so I’ll not critique. Here’s an interesting critique on slate.com that comes from a writer that is, as I understand it, no conservative himself.

July 4 is right around the corner, and I’ve been giving some thought lately to the issue of patriotism and the Christian. Before I continue, let me refer you to another new blogger’s post on the issue in which he quotes a couple of very thought provoking paragraphs from William Lloyd Garrison.

I raise the issue because many churches will no doubt celebrate the 4th with a worship service completely ordered around American flags and patriotic tunes. Hear me correctly in this: I’m not necessarily implying that there is anything wrong with patriotism. I am saying that I don’t think it is necessarily appropriate to have a worship service at church that is orinted in this way. Should we thank God for the ability to meet freely and openly? Yes. But draping a big flag down the middle of the church building? Just doesn’t feel appropriate. God is a God of all nations, and our ultimate citizenship is in heaven.

Feel free to debate this issue by using the comments section. I suppose this is my first foray into more controversial waters. Maybe I’ll follow Rick Bennett’s pattern by having one blog for routine updates and one to tackle more controversial issues. I’m still figuring all of this stuff out.

Here’s a pretty funny (and sad or frustrating, depending on your mood) link that my Dad sent me. Apparently these guys are trying to persuade conservative Christians around the country to move to South Carolina in order to take it over, secede from the Union, and establish a Christian theocracy. Seriously? They somehow seem to take it seriously.

Now South Carolina tried the whole secessionist thing at least twice before and it didn’t really work out, did it? Of course, that’s not my main problem with this (though I love South Carolina… I wish they had picked Mississippi or Utah or something… what about an island somewhere?). How in the world can they think this is a biblical response to sin in the culture? I don’t recall Jesus saying anything like “Get the heck away from the world and start your own country.” I seem to recall Him ordering His followers to GO INTO all the world. (cf. Acts 1:8).

So I don’t know whether to rant or laugh. Guess I did a little of both.

Here’s a picture of Keri’s sister Kathryn and her, ahem, friend Jim.  

https://alexforrest.com/2004/06/713/

I’m not a particularly big fan of cheesy pop Christianity. Sometimes it’s so bad all you can really do is laugh at it. That’s certainly true of a lot of the T-shirts floating around out there. Now comes this. Imagine a Samson bobblehead doll with a “God’s Gym” T-shirt. Yes, I’m afraid it’s real. Check out this link if you don’t believe me.

I just don’t know whether to make fun of this or write a diatribe about bumper-sticker faith and Christian kitsch. I’ll settle for sarcasm in the interest of time.

A test image of Louisville at twilight