Oh Reilly?

Before sharing this video clip, let me be frank: I don’t like Bill O’Reilly. I don’t like his media personality anyway, because in private, he might be a half decent guy. On his program, “The O’Reilly Factor,” he bullies, interrupts, and either misstates facts or deceives depending on your point of view. More importantly, Bill O’Reilly is a perfect example of what I see as a horrific imbalance in the United States, especially among my Christian brethren.

Though O’Reilly once again demonstrates his overpowering bias in this video clip, I’d like you to watch it anyway and listen to what the young lady is saying. Over and over again, she says that Christians are oppressing women’s “right to abortion.” It rolls off her tongue like it’s the most perfectly normal thing anyone’s ever said. What will happen if this “right to abortion” is taken away? Watch the clip, and marvel at the logic…

[gv data="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q3ZiT1N5_lg"][/gv]

No, not one.

When a man he serves the Lord, it makes his life worthwhile.
It don’t matter ’bout his position, it don’t matter ’bout his lifestyle.
Talk about perfection, I ain’t never seen none
And there ain’t no man righteous, no not one.

-Bob Dylan, Ain’t No Man Righteous (No Not One)

I’ve come to the realization that my health problems have more to do with stress than any medical condition, as it seems whenever things pile up on me, I get nailed with something. Two weeks ago, it was a horrible flu. This week, it was a series of migraines that somehow turned into a bout of strep throat (can’t figure that out at all), leaving me seriously behind in my schoolwork, such that I’m more than a little frightened. It’s possible that God is chastising me for being the procrastinator that I am, and I’m sure that’s a part of it. Moreover, perhaps he’s laying me low so that I am forced to depend on His help. It drives me nuts that I’m so obtuse, and require that kind of correction on a regular basis. You’d think that after being dragged kicking & screaming out of atheism into God’s presence, and pursuing fairly comprehensive theological studies on my own, at least I would be convinced of the necessity of depending wholly on God in all things.

As Paul and Bob point out, there’s no one righteous. No, not one. That includes yours truly. I can intellectually know a lot about God, and yet still completely miss the point – which I do with some degree of frequency. Whatchya gonna do, eh? You can either shrug your shoulders and keep walking the same road of sorrows, or you can throw yourself at the feet of the King and cry out for mercy and pardon. I’m pretty adept at the former, but healing only comes through the latter. Walking that rocky road has left my feet calloused and sore. I think I’ll spend some time on my knees, instead.

Who am I supposed to fear?

I’ve reached a point of complete confusion. The 40th Canadian soldier came home from Afghanistan in a casket from a war we didn’t start and didn’t want to be a part of while a new, albeit rather dubious, report indicates one in 40 Iraqi’s have been killed during the course of the Iraq war. At the same time, Iran, who has openly admitted to developing nuclear technology for power-generation, repeatedly denies the U.S. assertion that they’re intending to develop nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, North Korea has had nuclear weapons for some time, and claim that their need for defencive weaponry is a direct response to U.S. aggression coupled by the what they perceive as the imminent threat from American allies, Japan and South Korea.

An expert in taxidermy is a taxidermist. An expert in terror is a terrorist. This brief video is a visual expression of my personal confusion as I sit and contemplate the politics of fear that seem to surround me, and how sometimes I lie awake wondering who I’m supposed to fear…

/flash/Afraid Of Americans-withloader.swf

Let’s Go! Mets Go!

The Mets won the Nation League East Division last night, sweeping the Dodgers in 3 games.  Yes, it’s a great day for Mets fans…

…but it’s an even better day for Mets fans who’s Dad and brother are Yankees fans!  The sacred Yankees are now out of the series, eliminated by the wildcard Tigers.  A NY-NY series would have been great, but oh well.  Let’s Go! Mets Go!