Brutally Honest

What it means to follow Christ...

... at least as I'm learning from the Godly on the Religious Left. 

I recently made the mistake of stopping by Fearfully Human.  You regular readers remember King David?  He's the self described Christ follower (and comic... seriously) who, with the help of some of his commenters, has strung together, over the course of a couple of weeks, quite the collection of adjectives, nouns and cute phrases to describe yours truly. 

Here's the list thus far, probably less than complete:

Hate-mongerer, bar-fighter, black knight, petty a**hole, war-mongerer (in Jesus' name), filled with sound and fury signifying nothing, born to fight, crusader, filled with misaligned acrimony, stuck in a hurtful mind, one of the stupid people in blog-dom, someone who hides behind computers and picks fights with people, cruel, harsh and crude, spineless coward who sits in the safety of his own dimly-lit basement suite and spews cyber sh*t at others with no real danger of being hurt in battle (one of my favorites), and yappy dog.

I feel the love from the Christ followers... how about you?

Never mind that all of that was the by-product of this post over at Mike's.  Never mind that I'm far from anonymous on this blog and that Brutally Honest is a diary of sorts that I think proves that these Christ followers are filled with... well... hate-induced excrement, as to my person and what I'm about. 

As one who's been at the forefront, for nearly a decade now (and especially since my ordination exploration in the ECUSA in '98 and '99), of convincing people that there's not a dime's worth of difference between the rabid religious right and the looney religious left, I enjoy adding to my collection of anecdotal evidence that tends to prove the point.

David, for example, has recently spouted, with appropriate piety, on the plight of America's abandoned poor (joining the others who were slinging mud at the USA for not doing enough) while later complaining, after splitting his pants during a comedic performance, that he couldn't find a local tailor and will have to wait for a new pair he ordered from Hong Kong. I'm unable to decide whether there's sweet irony or blatant hypocrisy there.  I mean how many poor people might be helped if David sewed his own pants and gave the money destined for Hong Kong to one of the locals abandoned by mean rich people?  All this while looking for benevolent rich people (who I suppose would not be mean) to fund a junket to Ethiopia.  Sigh.  But hey, at least he's not a  hate-mongering, bar-fighting,  black knight war-mongering, crusadingly cruel, harsh and crude yappy dog like... well... me. 

No... he's a Christ follower.

Setting all that aside (which frankly is very difficult for me to do), I continue to believe that there are aspects to liberal Christianity that must be heard and heeded.  Just as I believe (probably more so admittedly) that conservative Christianity contains nuggets of digestible truth.

To underscore that point, I recently had an e-mail exchange with Mike where I tried to convince him that people like me pull people like him (and vice versa) toward the truth.  This after he wanted me to read the red letters of Scripture (Christ's words) so that I could better understand what the kingdom of God was about (social justice for the poor).  Although neither of us had the time to pursue this further in e-mail, I tend to think that those same red letters tend to stress Christ's divinity and the salvific work of redemption He alone offers.  The truth is probably somewhere in between (although I think closer to my position... naturally).

The bottom line to this post is probably merely the echoing of something PresbyPoet wrote in an earlier comment.  We need to listen to what those we disagree with have to say. And I'm a willing listener... usually.  But not if what you have to say gets lost in the  cacophony of the kind of spittle I began this post with.

And to bring this post to what by now might be a merciful close, allow me to state that the largest reason for bringing this rant to my readers is that David has done what seems common to most on the religious left.  He's not allowed me to comment on his blog.  You know, where I might be allowed to defend myself to his loyal minions and where we might then better be able to undestand, tolerate and learn from each other.

That is the goal...  right?

UPDATE:  Rick from NewLifeEmerging, a bonafide member of the Religious Left, participated in the smearing of yours truly, contributing twice to the tar and feather party.  Today, he advanced his audience by writing about grace:

Repentance, not proper behavior or even holiness, is the doorway to grace. And the opposite of sin is grace, not virtue... the proof of spiritual maturity is not how pure you are but an awareness of your impurity."

I, of course, am grateful to Rick that he is doing his part in helping me, along with Dave's readers, become aware of my impurities.  I look forward to Rick providing us all with the proof of his own maturity since it's more than obvious that he is full of... grace...

MORE:  I would be remiss in not acknowledging that there are some on the religious left who have been most graceful, most caring, most seriously... Christ-followers.  Thanks to each of them.

J.D.

In a comment to another post, Mac writes:

You and your family continue to be in my daily prayers...which, frankly is a bit odd as I am not that good at that sort of thing. But every day you and your dad do come to mind and I stop and pray for you. Keep us posted.

First let me say that the Brutally Honest household and extended family are grateful for those of you who are praying.  It is indeed a comforting thing to know that prayer flares are being shot off on dad's behalf from literally all over the world.  Each and all are much appreciated.  I'm especially moved by those like Mac who don't normally pray and yet find themselves doing so now.  That's simply... awesome... and evidence for God's tangible spirit amongst us.

Dad is doing well under the circumstances. 

Tuesday's consult with the surgeon in charge resulted in the scheduling of a mastectomy on Monday the 3rd of October.  The tumor has been diagnosed as a grade 2 infiltrating (invasive) ductal carcinoma.  The surgeon on Monday will also conduct what's called a Sentinel Node Biopsy, a procedure involving the injection of radio-isotope and/or blue dye that is tracked into the sentinel node, the first lymph node in the body that might come in contact with cancer cells travelling from the primary tumor. The sentinel node is removed, tested for cancer, and here we're hoping to receive the good news that the cancer is localized to the tumor.  If that primary lymph node is cancerous however, something they'll be able to determine during Monday's surgery, then more lymph nodes are removed, tested and then the appropriate treatment is determined based on results and follow up appointments with an oncologist.

All that is enough to cause anxiety in any human being and so you can imagine the turmoil roiling around inside my dad's head, my mother's head, and all of us who love them both dearly.

I've seen flashes of the old J.D. and those moments have been refreshing.  Whether it be the mildly bawdy joke shared with the nurse and doctor this past Tuesday during the initial consult or the confession this morning over the phone with me that though this will be tough, he's ready to fight, these are the glimpses of the J.D. we know we all need to see, glimpses that counter the more morose times when he's obviously grappling with the seriousness of the disease and with the sobering reality that life is short, sometimes too short.

I believe he's buoyed by your prayers and especially by his decision some weeks ago, before knowing what we know today, to return to church, a place he's been each week ever since.  And so we continue to ask you to pray.

I actually snuck off to church early Sunday morning myself, for the first time in a a number of months, leaving Mrs. BH sleeping comfortably in bed.  And I  went to a Catholic church, the denomination of my roots (Mom, don't get excited, I'm not quite ready to return to the fold and don't know at this point if I'll ever be ready).  There I joined the wider body of Christ, the Church with a capital "C", including you folks and so many others in praying for my dad, my mom, and for his healing and a tangible manifestation of His presence.

Notwithstanding my own drifting churchlessness and my own flawed faith, I can't help but wonder how atheists are able to cope when faced with the more earnest stressors of life.  My dad's battle with cancer is cause for many of us who know and love him to ponder seriously, some perhaps for the first time, what Malcolm Muggeridge called the 20th century's dirty little secret.  And to attempt to deal with that "secret" on one's own, absent the hope and longing that faith in Christ gives birth to, is personally unfathomable.

Medical miracles, stories of survival, cancer success stories, each and all are welcome and needed.  And yet what is most comforting to me, and hopefully to mom and especially dad, is that the God we believe in, Who suffered on our behalf, Who heals the sick and comforts the afflicted, Who is the source of Ultimate Healing, is a God Who loves the sinner, Who loves the broken, Who loves the flawed and Who manifests His love when we need it the most.

Lord, help us trust in and experience Your love.

Ashley Smith Redux

Timed for the release of her new book, reports are surfacing that detail Ashley Smith's confession of methamphetamine use prior to her ordeal as a hostage some 6 months ago in Atlanta:

After revealing in a book she had been a methamphetamine addict, the woman hailed for arranging the peaceful surrender of a suspected courthouse gunman said being held hostage was the "miracle" that made her kick her habit.

"I don't really wish that it didn't happen because it has changed my life so much," Ashley Smith told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. "If it didn't happen, I don't know if I ever would have waken up."

Smith's life has certainly changed since shooting suspect Brian Nichols forced her at gunpoint into her suburban Atlanta apartment. He held her captive for seven hours on the night following the courthouse shooting rampage that left four dead. A struggling widowed mother, Smith said she could hold a job only long enough to support her drug habit, but is now planning to use her fame to become a model for people looking to change their ways.

And since her book "Unlikely Angel" was released Tuesday, Smith said, she is also hoping for a television or movie deal so she can reach more people like her.

Police said Nichols took Smith hostage in her apartment March 11, and she says she talked about her faith to persuade him to release her. In her book, she discloses that she also gave Nichols some methamphetamine, a detail she did not share with authorities at the time.

But investigators said she came clean about the drugs when they interviewed her months later. They said they have no plans to charge her with drug possession.

I was certainly disappointed to hear of Ms. Smith's drug use but I don't think it in anyway minimizes the redemptive nature of her story.  She's clearly been changed by the event and she continues to faithfully credit God for it. 

Six months ago I predicted that some would attempt to discredit this story and minimize the impact of her faith. It's never rocket science to anticipate what media secularists and their ideological twins in the religious left will have to say about a story with evangelical appeal but they now have the fodder by which they can make their points, and some already have.  What follows comes from the mind of a PCUSA pastor and chaplain:

...there are times when certain situations cause righteous indignation, and I think this is one of them. She lied on national tv, and made it look like she was giving such strong testimony of faith, when in reality she was giving the guy drugs. I find that pretty horrid! She pretty well brought judgement upon herself.

Do I feel sorry for her? A little. We have all done stupid things along the way. But I would say she will have some consequences for her actions. Possession and use of illegal drugs,to start with. But her testimony of faith is badly marred, for which I feel very sad.

After giving this story more thought and dealing with my initial disappointment at the news, I'm concluding that her testimony has not been marred at all.  In fact, my reading of the New Testament would suggest that Ashley Smith epitomizes the people Jesus hung out with and ministered to.  And this PCUSA pastor and chaplain epitomizes the religious leaders of the day He vociferously opposed.

Not much has changed in 2000+ years.

200,000

Brutally Honest tonight has had it's 200,000th visit.

Pretty cool.  I've been playing out here in the 'sphere since October of 2003.  I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd have that many visitors. 

It's been fun.

Here's to hoping I get my next 200,000 in half the time.

Oh.  And thanks to all who come by, if even but once.

You're appreciated.

Jim Wallis - More right than wrong...

... this time:

There are two obstacles to making real progress against poverty – the lack of priority and the lack of agreement on strategy. The poor have been near the bottom of our priority list, if on the list at all. It will take a moral and even religious imperative to change our priorities but the time has come to do so. But we have also been paralyzed by the debate between liberals and conservatives on solutions, with the right favoring cultural changes and the left endorsing policy changes.

First, the critical needs of poor families must become the top priority of our government. The blatant inequalities of race in America, especially in critical areas of education, jobs, health care, and housing that have come to the surface must now be addressed. How we help families build assets and take responsibility for their futures must be central to the discussion. All this requires a change in political logic. Indeed, a new moral logic must reshape our political habits.

Second, each "side" of our political landscape ignores too many valid concerns of the other side. Poor families don't need us to take sides – they need us to stand in the gap with them. Much could be accomplished with a merging of personal and social responsibility, a commitment to reverse family breakdown, a more honest assessment of both the personal decisions and social systems that trap people in poverty. That involves being more creative than looking solely to charity or only to government for hope. We need to acknowledge that budgets are moral documents and budget priorities can help or hurt the poor – and acknowledge that negative family and cultural values deeply impact low-income people. We must all confront realities of our national, community, and personal priorities, recognizing that there are multiple breakdowns of culture, family, community, and government that are undermining poor families and the very fabric of our nation. Doing so requires that leaders who care about results start to look at the current situation and the future differently.

Indeed we must be disciplined by results when it comes to poverty reduction. It's time to move from the politics of blame to a politics of solutions. Liberals must start talking about the problems of out-of-wedlock births and strengthening both marriage and parenting. Conservatives must start talking about strategic public investments in education, health care, affordable housing, and living family incomes. We must focus on making work really work for low-income families. Those who work hard and full time in America should not have to raise their children in poverty – but many still do. Together, we must end the debate between large and small government and forge a common commitment to good and effective government. I hope you agree that now is the time to do so.

I have been unmercifully critical of Jim Wallis.  And probably will again.  But I should also give him credit when credit is due.  I'll do so today as I excerpt portions of his letter he sent to each senator and representative in Congress recently.  Although I'm not sure that the poor should top the government's priority list (I tend to think national defense ought to top that list), I do believe there's room for improvement.  And his letter tends to speak to how both sides of the ideological spectrum may begin making inroads. 

But there's a long way to go.  And Wallis' rhetoric below, also in the letter, will lengthen, rather than shorten, the way:

Both opportunity and dignity are threatened when we provide short-term charity while cutting funding and support for vital programs that help the nation's most vulnerable to survive. In a time of war, deficits, and disasters, many of us in the religious community will oppose further tax cuts for the wealthiest among us, as well as further cuts in services to our poorest families. I urge you to join us in a commitment to oppose these measures.

Bill O'Reilly will not be seen by many as an arbiter of objectivity, but if what he has to say holds water (and I think it holds at least as much as anyone else in the media), then Wallis and what O'Reilly calls the "poverty propagandists" have some explaining to do:

We'll begin by comparing the halfway point of President Clinton's tenure to the 50-yard line of the Bush administration. In 1996, the poverty level in the USA stood at 13.7 percent. In 2004, the poverty level was 12.7 percent, so Bush beats Clinton here by a full percentage point. To be fair, Clinton did bring the poverty rate down during his administration, while it has been rising slightly since 9/11. But at the halfway point, Bush wins.

As far as entitlement spending on poverty programs is concerned, it isn't even close. In 1996, President Clinton signed a budget that directed 12.2 percent of spending be directed toward the poor. In 2004, Bush's budget kicked 2 percent more than Clinton to poverty programs, an astronomical $329 billion. In fact, President Bush is spending more on poverty entitlement programs and education than any president in history.

Wallis starts out pretty well, hits a rough spot or two, goes back to scoring on some points I can agree with, and then slips again.  If the tune Wallis is singing were on American Bandstand's rate-a-record, I'd give him about a 77.  If he could leave behind some of the Democrat talking points about tax cuts for the wealthy or budget cuts affecting the poor, he'd score higher.

Until then, he continues to merit my suspicions.

"This is a ham sandwich without the ham..."

Tom Delay has been indicted on a count of criminal conspiracy by a Travis County grand jury:

A Texas grand jury on Wednesday charged Rep. Tom DeLay and two political associates with conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme, forcing the House majority leader to temporarily relinquish his post. A defiant DeLay insisted he was innocent and called the prosecutor a “partisan fanatic.”

“I have done nothing wrong.... I am innocent,” DeLay told a Capitol Hill news conference in which he criticized the Texas prosecutor, Ronnie Earle, repeatedly. DeLay called Earle an “unabashed partisan zealot,” and “fanatic,” and described the charges as “one of the weakest and most baseless indictments in American history.”

Michelle Malkin is all over this like stink on poop:

235pm EDT. Earle press conference airing now on Fox News.

Someone asks about the vagueness of the DeLay indictment. Q: What role did DeLay actually play? Earle has no concrete answer. Q: What is the proof DeLay conspired? Again, no concrete answer.

Q: Did you seek money-laundering charges against DeLay? Grand jury returned indictments it thought were appropriate.

Q: It's said that conspiracy is a last-resort charge? Our job is to enforce the law as written.

246pm EDT. Fla. GOP Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: "You know what they say. You can indict a ham sandwich....This is a ham sandwich without the ham..."

Michelle also links to this Mark Levin piece where he indicts the indictment:

Here's my first take on this indictment (I've only read the indictment and nothing more for now): The indictment is three pages in length. Other than a statement that "one or more" of 3 individuals, including Tom DeLay, entered into an illegal conspiracy, I can't find a single sentence tying Tom DeLay to a crime. That is, there's not a single sentence tying DeLay to the contribution. The indictment describes the alleged conduct of two other individuals, but nothing about DeLay. You would think if Ronnie Earle had even a thin reed of testimony linking DeLay to the contribution, it would have been noted in the indictment to justify the grand jury's action. Moreover, not only is there no information about DeLay committing acts in furtherance of a conspiracy, there's no information about DeLay entering into a conspiracy. I honestly believe that unless there's more, this is an egregious abuse of prosecutorial power. It's a disgrace. I understand that not everything has to be contained in an indictment, but how about something!

Political Teen has Delay reacting to reporters on Capitol Hill here.

If Delay is guilty, then he should pay the price and the price ought to be steep.  But if this is merely more political chicanery, and there seems to be some evidence to support that, then Delay ought to seek vindication and the perpetrators ought to pay their own price.

Either way, Americans yet again have more reason to distrust, despise and denounce politics and politicians.

Sad.

Briefs (not boxers)

Great news out of New Orleans today as Police Superintendent Eddie Compass resigned.  It would be nice, and more than appropriate, for Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco to do the same.  We won't hold our breath.

Next.

No.2 leader of al-Qaida in Iraq has assumed room temperature thanks to a joint U.S. and Iraqi forces operation.  Here's to hoping those 72 virgins are Michael Moore look alikes with zoo breath.

Next.

Christopher Hitchens gives us the straight poop on the so called anti-war demonstrators in D.C. over the weekend.  It's a must read.  Trust me.

Next.

Dr. Bob is "speaking truth to power".  Well, sort of.  You'll have to simply go see.  He waxes philosophical and I simply love where he ends up. 

Next.

Michael Brown, the much maligned former head of FEMA, said some things today before Congress that were right on.  And I mean right on.  My favorite quote? "My biggest mistake was not recognizing by Saturday that Louisiana was dysfunctional".  I just wish he had been this... in your face... during the crisis. 

And finally.

During Katrina, we were all inundated with repeated MSM reports of killings, rapes, muggings, and many, many dead bodies.  Much of this turns out to be exaggerated.  Yet another reason to distrust the media.

Does this look like a grieving mother to you?

 

Cindy Sheehan looks more like a party animal here than a woman whose lost a son in combat. This staged arrest in front of the White House today and her screeching speech over the weekend at a moonbat rally in our nation's capital should be enough to convey to anyone with ears that this woman is not only being exploited but is apparently enjoying it.

This is beyond sad now.   It's approaching sick.  And quick.

The Political Teen has video of the arrest here and of the speech here.

Solving the New Orleans leaky levee problem

Why not use Michael Moore as a human cork?

Ought to work... his search for significance would finally end as would the quest to shut him up.

A win-win if there ever was one.

Heh.

My son's first encounter...

... with an apparent groupie took place today.

He's up at JMU where, as a freshman, he's made the drum line and is a member of the Marching Royal Dukes.  Mom and Dad are very proud and we've been up to see him march twice this year already (and plan to do so a number of more times this fall). 

This weekend he decided to visit some friends at Va. Tech. in Blacksburg.  While there, he rode a public transit bus to get from some apartments to his buddy's dorm.  I'll let him pick it up from there:

...so we got on the bus and this girl is sitting there by herself.. and she offers me a seat.. she tricked me into sitting next to her... so the whole time she wont shut the heck up like.. what do you do blah blah blah. "im a music major... im a drummer".. so shes like OOOHHHH I LOOOOVE MUSICIAANS... and im just like oh jesus help me.. so as shes saying that she starts rubbing my leg.. and i look up at david who declined the seat and i say "save me please".. and he just laughs at me... so im like praying to god we can get off the bus soon.. and as the bus is stopping i look over out the window to see if we're there.. and i turn back and shes right in my face and she grabs me and puts a move on... so i hear the doors open and i get up and run off the bus...

I would've paid a lot of money for the video of this.  Thanks son for providing some much needed comic relief.

Heh.