Feel the need to identify with a Bible character like some sort of Facebook quiz?  It's not necessarily a good idea:

There is a long history of just such usage. The pilgrim fathers who came to America read their situation into the Bible (or the Bible into their situation) with the result that white pilgrims were seen as fulfilling the role of the Israelites in this, the Promised Land, while native Americans were cast in the role of Canaanites. Thus generations of Joshuas arose feeling Biblically justified in the genocide of America’s native population. Some of that Biblical reading continues to echo in the popular imagination to this day. It was Bad theology in the 17th century and it is bad theology today. Stated in a fundamental way: you are not a Bible character.

This past week saw a sitting governor confessing his infidelity, choosing to stay in office, and reflecting out loud to his cabinet members about the story of King David. King David was, of course, guilty of adultery (and in the Biblical account it cost him the life of his child). It is a story of great repentance and internal suffering as well as the mercy of God.

But it is not a pattern story to which individuals are invited for their own comparisons.

Read the whole article here.

HT: Rod Dreher

Kids, music, bouncy houses and learning about Jesus!  What a great way to spend a week!

An Iranian student protester in Ohio State gear:


Unfortunately this means that the Protesters will enjoy an early advantage only to finally succumb to the faster and deeper Iranian Special Forces.

HT: Deadspin

Despite some's claims of shallowness and time wasting, Twitter is having a huge impact in the spread of information regarding the protests and civil unrest in Iran.  So much so that Twitter has rescheduled a maintenance window:

A critical network upgrade must be performed to ensure continued operation of Twitter. In coordination with Twitter, our network host had planned this upgrade for tonight. However, our network partners at NTT America recognize the role Twitter is currently playing as an important communication tool in Iran.

For some incredible pictures of what's going on in Iran you can go here.

HT: Andrew Sullivan

Shark seen near surfer via Google Earth.  This is both cool and scary and not just because of the shark.  Big Brother is watching!

Whoever murdered George Tiller has done a gravely wicked thing.  The evil of this action is in no way diminished by the blood George Tiller had on his own hands.  No private individual had the right to execute judgment against him.  We are a nation of laws.  Lawless violence breeds only more lawless violence.  Rightly or wrongly, George Tilller was acquitted by a jury of his peers.  "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord." For the sake of justice and right, the perpetrator of this evil deed must be prosecuted, convicted, and punished.  By word and deed, let us teach that violence against abortionists is not the answer to the violence of abortion.  Every human life is precious.  George Tiller's life was precious.  We do not teach the wrongness of taking human life by wrongfully taking a human life.  Let our "weapons" in the fight to defend the lives of abortion's tiny victims, be chaste weapons of the spirit. 

 — Robert P. George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University.

HT: Andrew Sullivan

How come Hank Hill is never mentioned with the great TV dads?  King of the Hill was often lumped in with The Simpsons and Family Guy, but in reality it was a quiet show that was suprisely true to life.  It also didn't help that Hank Hill, was a spin-off from Beavis and Butthead.

On the Mt. Rusmore of TV dads you'd have to put Hank up there with Cliff Huxtable, Ward Cleaver and Howard Cunningham.

Rod Dreher reminds us why:

My all-time favorite "King of the Hill" episode was "Reborn to Be Wild," when Bobby Hill gets involved with some hipster Christians, upsetting his father. Hank remonstrates with the cool dude pastor: "Can't you see you're not making Christianity better, you're just making rock 'n roll worse?!" And then there's this final scene:

BOBBY: When I turn 18, I'm going to do whatever I want for the Lord. Tattoos, piercings, you name it.

HANK: Well, I'll take that chance. Come here, there's something I want you to see. (Hank takes down a box from the shelf and opens it up) Remember this?

BOBBY: My beanbag buddy? Oh, man, I can't believe I collected those things. They're so lame.

HANK: You didn't think so five years ago. And how about your virtual pet? You used to carry this thing everywhere. Then you got tired of it, forgot to feed it, and it died.

BOBBY (looks at a photo of himself in a Ninja Turtles costume): I look like such a dork.

HANK: I know how you feel. I never thought that "Members Only" jacket would go out of style, but it did. I know you think stuff you're doing now is cool, but in a few years you're going to think it's lame. And I don't want the Lord to end up in this box.

What other tv show reminds us, that at the end of the day, our goal as parents is to make sure our kid's love for Christ endures and does not end up in the box with their blankies, webkinz and matchbox cars as something they've out grown?

Then be a Christian or at least act like one, one writer has an idea that the Christian vote is what seals the deal for idol winners.  He may have a point:

Season One featured wholesome Kelly Clarkson vs the worldly, media savvy Justin Guarini. Clarkson won big time and set the standard for Idols to come.

Season Two: Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard both held forth on their faith. Ruben had an edge perhaps from the tight-knit black churches that came out strong for him. But this was a Christian vs Christian finale so you can't draw any conclusions from this one.

Season Three: trailer park gal Diana Degarmo vs Fantasia, who had all those years of experience singing in church to draw upon. Fantasia wins it.

Season Four: Good ole country boy Bo Bice (who looks like he might have been smuggling moonshine before getting tapped for the show) vs Carrie Underwood. Her signature tune? "Jesus Take The Wheel. The winner? Duh.

Season Five: Katharine McPhee vs Taylor Hicks. This felt like a secular showdown to me: McPhee was a Broadway baby with a dad in the TV industry and Hicks loved the blues/rock circuit. But is it any coincidence he won thanks to constant shout-outs to the Soul Patrol?

Season Six: Blake Lewis vs Jordin Sparks. Blake Lewis likes to beatbox and is down the with the latest sounds. You can easily picture him partying down to all hours of the morning. Sparks is an evangelical Christian sporting a purity ring. The winner? Sparks.

Season Seven: David Cook vs David Archuleta. Cook got his start in a Christmas pageant in the second grade. David Archuleta is a Mormon and that actually might have hurt him since there is little sense of community and indeed a lot of antagonism for Mormonism from other Christian sects. Just ask Mitt Romney. The winner: David Cook.

Season Eight: Adam Lambert vs. Kris Allen. Lambert has performed in road show productions of secular Broadway musicals like Wicked. Kris Allen has done missionary work in Burma, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Spain and Thailand. The winner? Missionary man Kris.

I'm not so sure it's the Christian vote, but I am starting to think that Boomers vote more than Teeny Boppers.  Was that an Oldies concert last night or an American Idol Finale?

Thinking of seeing "Angels and Demons" this weekend?  At least go in with your eyes open to the mission of the Dan Brown, the author of the book the movie is based on.

In the Brownian worldview, all religions — even Roman Catholicism — have the potential to be wonderful, so long as we can get over the idea that any one of them might be particularly true. It’s a message perfectly tailored for 21st-century America, where the most important religious trend is neither swelling unbelief nor rising fundamentalism, but the emergence of a generalized “religiousness” detached from the claims of any specific faith tradition.

Brown is not alone in this mission and that is why reports of the demise of protestant evangelicalism are not exaggerated.  However Brown's message is a lie:

But the success of this message — which also shows up in the work of Brown’s many thriller-writing imitators — can’t be separated from its dishonesty. The “secret” history of Christendom that unspools in “The Da Vinci Code” is false from start to finish. The lost gospels are real enough, but they neither confirm the portrait of Christ that Brown is peddling — they’re far, far weirder than that — nor provide a persuasive alternative to the New Testament account. The Jesus of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John — jealous, demanding, apocalyptic — may not be congenial to contemporary sensibilities, but he’s the only historically-plausible Jesus there is.

My kids aren't allowed to date within the conference either.