Film Comment: Kike Like Me

The title of this film is a play on the  name of John Griffin’s 1964 book, Black Like Me.  Griffin darkened his skin so he could convincingly live for a time as a black man and then wrote of his experiences.

“Kike” is an ethnic slur word used to insult Jews. There are several possible explanations for the origin of the word, but one of the most likely is offered by Leo Rosten in his 1968 book, The Joys of Yiddish. 

Rosten says that many of the Jews entering the United States at the immigration center at Ellis Island in New York were illiterate. A common practice at the time was for the recording clerk to write the persons name and then for the illiterate person to place “his mark,” an X, between the personal name and the surname. 

Many Jews thought the X looked like a cross and refused to use it. Instead they wrote an O, a circle, which in Yiddish is “kikel” or “keikl.”

Kike Like Me (2007) is narrated by Jamie Kastner who presents the film as an examination of what it means to be Jewish in the modern world. Kastner travels to Jerusalem, Berlin, Poland, Paris, and the Auschwitz death camp. He becomes increasingly shocked and sarcastic as he sees more. He is disgusted to find that Auschwitz has a tourist souvenir shop.

Christians often forget that all of the first Christians were Jewish and that it is impossible to understand Christianity without understanding its Jewish origins. What does it mean to be perceived as Jewish? Watch this film if you dare.

Dude With a Limp

Michael Jr. tells you that he is a stand-up comedian. His jokes and stories have people rolling in the aisles. Then, he pulls out the Sword of the Lord and thrusts. This is a man of God. This is an evangelist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX1_5DzWNxw

Book Comment: An Encyclopedia of African American Christian Heritage

Many people would rather stick a pencil into their eye than to read a book of history.  That really is a shame, because history helps us to understand where we have been and how that affects where and who we are now.  Christians, especially, are a historically based people.  To really understand Christianity, it is necessary to learn about the mindset and history of a world almost totally alien to our modern world but on which our modern world is based.

All Christians worldwide are part of the same family.  All those who belong to Jesus, have the Mind of Christ.  Yet, often, we misunderstand one another.  How much does a Christian in Norway know about Christians in China?  How much does a Christian in Belarus know about Christians in Greece?  Do you know about the military saints or the Fools for Christ?  How much do we know about Christians in other religious traditions existing side by side with us in our own home areas?

In the United States, how much do white Christians know about black Christians and vice versa?  We have lived together for four hundred years but many whites have never been into a black church and many blacks have never been into a white church.  Study of books such as An Encyclopedia of African American Christian Heritage (Judson Press, 2002) can help us understand one another.

The book by Marvin A. McMickle is divided into chapters of short essays on the following subjects: Denominational Founders and Leaders, Preachers, Teachers and Scholars, Politicians, Prophets, Nationalists, Cult Leaders, Singers and Songwriters, and Movements, Terms, and Events.  Good historical studies do not turn away from discussing the unpleasant along with the positive and this book exposes the warts along with the beauty.   I heartily recommend this interesting and useful book.

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A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

"Amazing Grace" Performed by Smokie Norful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVnzPeclilk

The Elevator

Below is one of my short stories, in this case a 266 word micro-story entitled The Elevator.


We often fail to recognize opportunities when they are presented to us.  How many times have you said to yourself, "I should have said ..."?  This is frustrating, but when the opportunity missed is one in which the Gospel could have been presented the situation is not only frustrating, but tragic.


                                         THE ELEVATOR

            Hospital elevators are lonely, anonymous places. People don’t really see each other there.

            When I got on the elevator on the eleventh floor, I immediately saw the massively obese white man with a stubbly three-day old beard.  His knit shirt fit very snugly and his vulgarly exposed navel was an enormous gaping cavern in which a small dog could have hidden. He was a nascent heart attack.

            I tried not to stare, but his labored breathing wouldn’t let me ignore him.  He had the pained wheeze that extremely fat people get, as if just standing up was a struggle.  He sounded as if it would kill him on the spot if he ever were forced to run.

            “What floor?”

            I said, “One.”

            The fat man’s stubby finger pressed the button.

            “Six.”

            I turned around; the voice had come from behind me.

            The well-groomed black man was tall and handsome. I hadn’t noticed him as I entered the cabin ... perhaps because of the fat man.

            “Six.”

            The fat man didn’t move.

            “Six.”

            Nothing.

            “Six.”

            I realized what was going on and, in a flash of anger, my hand flitted over to the button panel and pressed number six.  I thought about confronting the fat man, but I hesitated.  I knew he wouldn’t care what I said and I wondered if the black man would be embarrassed.

            When we got off the elevator, the fat man waddled off to work on his heart attack.  The black man never said anything.  He quietly got off the elevator and vanished into anonymity.  I went to my car, unhappy with myself.

Southern Baptists Elect First Black President

On 19 June 2012 the Southern Baptist Convention unanimously elected the extremely popular Pastor Fred Luter (b. 1956, Louisiana, USA) as its president.  This had national significance because Pastor Luter is black. 

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is the world’s largest Baptist group and is the largest Protestant body in the United States. The SBC is evangelical, congregational, and  insists on only believer’s baptism (they are anti-pedobaptists). The Convention was founded in 1845 in Augusta, Georgia (USA) during a dispute with Northern Baptists over slave ownership.  The Northerners refused to allow the appointment of slaveholders to positions of authority.

After the United States Civil War , most of the black Baptists in the American South withdrew to form their own organizations, culminating in 1895 with the National Baptist Convention.

Though the majority of Southern Baptists have long since left behind their embarrassing origins, it was not until 1995 that the group officially renounced and apologized for its racist origins.  By 2008, the SBC had over one million black members.

Eternal Security of the Believer

The funeral of Whitney Elizabeth Houston (1963-2012) was held today and was broadcast online and on numerous television, cable, and satellite channels in the United States.  Whitney Houston was an internationally known singer, actress, music producer, and model who sold more than 170,000,000 musical albums, singles, and videos during her lifetime.  On 11 February 2012, she was found dead in her room at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California (USA).

Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of noted Gospel music singer, Cissy Houston.   She was of African-American, Native American, and Dutch descent and was raised in a Baptist/Pentecostal background.  In her early and teenage years she was a singer in her local Baptist Church.

Her death, at least at first glance, appears to possibly have been the culmination of years of substance abuse.  It also appears that only legal prescription drugs were found in her hotel room.  The official toxicology reports are still pending.   Regardless of the cause of her death, Houston’s life seems to have gone into a downward spiral from which she could not recover.

Whitney Houston’s death brings up troubling questions for those who are members of the ἐκκλησία, the Body of Christ.  Was she, as some claim, truly a Christian?  If she was a Christian, how could she so obviously go into so precipitous a freefall?  Was Whitney ultimately saved despite her questionable final few years?  What does the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer really mean?  Paul was quite adamant that eternal security does not mean that Christians can live in whatever way they wish (Romans 6:1-2).

Dr. Harry Ironside, on 24 April 1934, in Chicago, Illinois, said, 

“When we speak of the eternal security of the believer, what do we mean? We mean that once a poor sinner has been regenerated by the Word and the Spirit of God, once he has received a new life and a new nature and has been made partaker of the divine nature, once he has been justified from every charge before the throne of God, it is absolutely impossible that that man should ever again be a lost soul. Having said that, let me say what we do not mean when we speak of the eternal security of the believer. We do not mean that it necessarily follows that if one professes to be saved, if he comes out to the front in a meeting, shakes the preacher’s hand, and says he accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior, that that person is eternally safe. It does not mean that if one joins a church or makes a profession of faith, is baptized, becomes a communicant, and takes an interest in Christian work, that that person is forever secure. It does not mean that because one manifests certain gifts and exercises these gifts in Christian testimony, that that person is necessarily eternally secure.

“Our Lord Jesus Christ said to the people of His day, as recorded in Matthew 7:21-23: “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? And in Thy name have cast out devils? And in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” Such people then may have been very active in what is called Christian work--they have preached, they have cast out demons, that is, their influence has been such that men and women have found deliverance from satanic power through their ministrations in the name of Jesus, they have professed with their lips, they have accomplished many wonderful works, but they are found in that day among the lost, and when they plead their great activity and their earnestness in Christian testimony, the Lord says to them, “I never knew you.” Notice, He does not say to them, “I used to know you, but you have forfeited My favor and I do not know you any longer.” He says, “I never knew you.” “

Read Dr. Ironside’s full statement here. 

I cannot even pretend to know the answer to the question of Whitney Houston’s eternal fate.  Only she and the Lord know that.  None of us actually know for sure about anyone else, but we have the assurance that we, as Holy Spirit indwelled partakers of the divine nature, can never be separated from the protection and grace of the Lord.

Another discussion of the eternal security of the believer is here . 

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

George Washington Carver: (b. 1864, Missouri, USA – d. 1943) Scientist, botanist, educator, inventor.  Carver was born as a slave, after the slaves were freed, he was raised as a son by his former owner. He created numerous products from peanuts, soybeans, pecans, and sweet potatoes; the products included recipes, cosmetics, axle grease, adhesives, stains, ink, shoe polish, synthetic rubber, bleach, linoleum, paper, and paints.  In 1941 Time Magazine called him a “Black Leonardo.”

Charles Hodge: (b. 1797, Pennsylvania, USA – d. 1878) Presbyterian Calvinist theologian, seminary president.  He insisted that the authority of the Bible had to be understood literally.

Sarah Bache: Great-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin and wife of Charles Hodge above.  She was named for Sarah Franklin Bache (1743/4 – 1808), Benjamin Franklin’s only daughter.

John Johns: (b. 1796, Delaware, USA – d. 1876) College president, Episcopal bishop of Virginia, lifelong friend of Charles Hodge above.  He was a grandson of Governor Nicholas Van Dyke of Delaware.

Charles Pettit McIlvaine: (b. 1799, New Jersey, USA – d. 1873) College president, Episcopal bishop of Ohio, lifelong friend of Charles Hodge above.

Christian Poetry: "Spoken Word"

This video is of SHALOM reciting her poem, "Spoken Word." This video appears to be blocked as of 12 September 2025.

Book Comment: The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts

The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts. Heavenly Recipes and Sweet Recollections (2001) is a cookbook compiled by Brenda Rhodes Miller. The recipes are for cakes, pies, cookies, candy, custards, puddings, frozen delights, sauces, frostings, fillings, glazes, and beverages. Sweet delight.

Along with the recipes are numerous biographical sketches of gracious Black Church Ladies (and one male pastor) who faithfully serve their churches, and have done so for years. The compiler, Brenda Miller, is the executive director of the DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and is the wife of a Baptist pastor.

The foreword was written by Dr. Dorothy Irene Height (b. 1912, Virginia - d. 2010), an educator and social activist who, for forty years, was the president of the National Council of Negro Women. In 1994, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and, in 2004, the Congressional Gold Medal. At her death, US President Barack Obama had the capitol's flags flown at half-mast to honor her.

Gone!

     I just spent the last week in Mundelein and Vernon Hills in Illinois and came away with an odd feeling.  I saw maybe eight black people the entire time I was there and several of them were employees of restaurants and stores I visited.  I saw plenty of Asians and Hispanics but almost no blacks.  It felt creepy, a whole group of people suddenly just gone.  I live in the Deep South where African Americans have a heavy and very visible presence.

     During my alone time during the week I read Cracking the Bible Code by Jeffrey Satinover.  One of the prime movers in the Torah Bible Code movement was Rabbi Michael Dov Ber Weissmandl,  who spent the last years of his life pursuing the codes.

     The more obvious historical significance of Rabbi Weissmandl is his role in at least being able to delay the extermination of the Jews of Slovakia by bribing and deceiving numerous Nazi officials.  It haunted him the rest of his life, but, ultimately the rabbi was not able to save even his own immediate family.  In total, over six million Jews were murdered.  It was as if the entire Jewish population (about 5.2 million in 2009) of the United States were missing.

     The near absence of black people reminded me of the sudden disappearance of the Jews from Europe.  There and then suddenly just gone.