Not True

"Baptists are only funny under water." Neil Simon.

We do, in some quarters have a reputation for being dour. When I was a child many Baptists I knew didn't watch television or movies, didn't smoke or drink, didn't dance, didn't play cards, didn't gamble. It was a long list. Some of these proscriptions are gone, some need to come back. It's not true that we're only funny under water. See below.

Why don't Baptists have sex standing up?
Someone might think we were dancing.

Sermons

"The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible. " George Burns

At Least Enjoy It

Leo Rosten (b. 1908, Poland - d. 1997, NY) said, "If you are going to do something wrong, at least enjoy it."

Now, Leo's dead, so we can't ask him, but I suspect that he was talking about taking ownership of your actions, ie: personal responsibility. Too many people today want to always blame someone or something else for everything that happens to them. I'm this way because he did or didn't do that. I couldn't do that because of racism. My life is ruined because they wouldn't let me do what I wanted. I had to shoot him because he disrespected me.

There are, sadly, some situations (war, disasters, dysfunctional families where others don't wish to change, etc) which truly are out of our control, but some situations and activities (ie: gambling, smoking, egoism, recreational drug use, pornography, alcohol consumption, excessive flirting, compulsive behaviors, alcohol consumption, overeating, obsessive volunteerism, obsession with a hobby or one's career to the point of neglecting family, etc) must be avoided because of their ability to ensnare us in unexpected ways which can escalate out of our control and from which it is difficult to extricate ourselves.

He is Risen

The embalmed, unchanged, undecaying body of Vladimir Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, b. 1870, Russia -d. 1924) has lain on display in the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow since his death in 1924. He has achieved a sort of immortality, but he's been dead since 1924 and he's still dead.

Anti-Anglican Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) wrote, in Auto-Icon: or, Farther uses of the dead to the living, a set of detailed instructions for the care and upkeep of his corpse and how it should be presented (seated in a chair). His presentation is a protest against the use of icons in religious ceremonies; an irreligious use of an icon ( a dead body) usually treated with respect and deference. His head did not respond well to the preservation process and was replaced with a wax one. His real, decaying head was placed on the floor between his feet. Jeremy's irreverence was rewarded when his head was frequently stolen, sometimes held for ransom, and once, was used at a soccer practice. His body is on display at University College London, the first college in England not affiliated with the Anglican Church.

Doubters to the contrary, it's a very old lie, Jesus does not lie in a grave. He rose from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion. The Resurrection is the pivotal event in history. Old Vlad is just a footnote and old headless Jeremy sits in his chair..

Something to Think About: Render Unto Caesar

As tempers flare in the escalating confrontation between the Tea Party Movement and the Obama Administration, here is something to think about. "The Christian's Responsibility to Government."
http:www.biblebb.com/files/mac/sg45-97.htm

Film Comment: Kike Like Me

"Kike" is an ethnic slur word directed against Jews. Most dictionaries say it's origin is unknown but Leo Rosten (1908-1997) in The Joys of Yiddish (1968) says that it arose on Ellis Island among the Jewish immigrants who who were registered there. Since many of the immigrants were illiterate, when they were asked to "make their mark" during the registration process they chose to draw a circle (Yiddish "kikel") rather than an "X" because they thought the "X" looked like a cross. The term became an affectionate word among the Yiddish immigrants and only later became a slur. (Much like the evolution of "guapo" into "wop.")

The title of Kike Like Me (2007) is a play on the title of the 1964 film, Black Like Me. Director Jamie Kastner sets out to examine the question, "What does it mean to be perceived as Jewish?"

Kastner travels to a Lubavitcher seminary in Brooklyn, conducts a failed interview with Pat Buchanan, visits an ethnically "tolerant" mixed suburb of Paris, and goes to see Auschwitz. Along the way he talks to Jews and non-Jews about being Jewish.

The documentary is at the same time humorous and uncomfortable, itchy even. Kastner becomes progressively more shocked and sarcastic. He is unable to complete his tour of Auschwitz, stopping before he sees the ovens. He is sickened that it has become a tacky tourist destination. It even has a gift shop.

Kastner becomes prickly about being asked if he is Jewish. He insinuates that to ask "Are you Jewish?" is anti-Semitic. He thinks it influences how people react to and treat others. The events in the film seem to show that it does.

There have been times when being asked if you were a Christian has been a dangerous question to answer. We should all consider what our answer would be if those times were to return for us.

The First Three Words of the Bible

בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ
Bereishit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve'et ha'aretz. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Bereishit (בראשית)in Hebrew means "at the head of." Since the first letter bet (ב) is closed on three sides, and since Hebrew is read right to left, the midrash Bereishit Rabbah 1:10 says that interpretation can only go in the open direction, ie. don't worry about what came before. The three middle letters are the same word as in Rosh Hahanah ("the head the year"), the beginning of the year. Bara (ברא) means "filled" or "fattened." Elohim (אלהים) is a name of God.

Some Christians see even more in these first three words of the Bible. The first letter of the sentence, bet ב, is the first letter of ben (son). The second letter of the sentence, resh ר, is the first letter of ruach (spirit, breath). The third letter of the sentence, alef א, is the first letter of abba (father) and of the third word, Elohim (אלהים). Father, Son, and Spirit, with the third word of the sentence being "God." Also, the name. Elohim אלהים, is a plural form and the first letter, א, in its simplest form consists of three strokes.