'Job vs. the Volcano': Faith vs. science in IMAX

BY ROGER EBERT / March 28, 2005

IMAX theaters in several Southern cities have decided not to show a film on volcanoes out of concern that its references to evolution might offend those with fundamental religious beliefs. -- Associated Press

I suppose the AP meant to say "fundamentalist," since most people with fundamental religious beliefs, including the pope, believe in the theory of evolution. But what is more disturbing is that the theaters have made this decision simply because they are afraid someone might be offended. Not even a single protester needed to appear before the chilling effect of faith-based intolerance was felt.

Surely moviegoers deserve the right to decide for themselves what movies to see? "Volcanoes of the Deep Sea," according to the AP, "makes a connection between human DNA and microbes inside undersea volcanoes." It says that if life could evolve under such extreme circumstances, it might help us understand evolution all over the planet.

This is not a controversial opinion. The overwhelming majority of all scientists everywhere in the world who have studied the subject would agree with it. Although discussion continues about the mechanics of evolution, there is no reputable doubt about the existence of DNA and the way in which it functions.

Yes, there is “creationist science,” an attempt to provide a scientific
footing for beliefs which should be a matter of faith. Creationists say
evolution is “only a theory,” and want equal time for their theories,
one of which is that God created the earth from scratch in six days,
and rested on the seventh.

Evolution is indeed a theory. Creationism is a belief, not a theory. In science, a theory is a hypothesis that has withstood the test of time and the challenge of opposing views. It is not simply somebody's notion about something. The creationist belief cannot withstand such tests and challenges; it exists outside the world of science altogether.

There is no conflict between a belief in Darwinism and a belief in God as the creator of the universe. Many scientists have no trouble with the idea that God was the creator of all that is. In evolution, they think they see the elegant way by which he caused suns and planets to form, matter to interact, and life to come into being; that over some 4 billion years, the Earth and the creatures on it gradually evolved into the world we occupy today.

Fundamentalism denies this majestic idea and substitutes God as a magician who created everything more or less as it is now, all at once or very quickly. Dinosaur bones, geologic strata and carbon dating, by providing evidence that seems to contradict their beliefs, are a test of faith.

Now we have theaters, school systems and the media asked to give equal footing to a theory based on science and a belief based on faith. Creationists want it both ways. They want their ideas introduced into schools, but (if IMAX is right) they do not want evolution included in movies about volcanoes. If they are right and can prove it, what do they have to fear?

An industry has grown up around the "science" supporting the "argument for intelligent design." It refuses the possibility that evolution itself is the most elegant and plausible argument for those who wish to believe in intelligent design. If you are interested, you might want to go to www.talkorigins.org, where the errors of creationist science are patiently explained. And you might want to ask at your local IMAX theater why they allow a few of their customers to make decisions for all of the rest.

Prayer Labyrinths?

Does anyone know anything about Prayer Labyrinths? I came across this phenomenon in January at a Methodist church in Colorado. Since then I have seen prayer labyrinths popping up all across the country and in Europe. I do not yet know what to make of it but I am intrigued. Anybody have any knowledge or experience about Prayer Labyrinths?

Here is an online pray labyrinth:

http://www.yfc.co.uk/labyrinth/online.html


Here is some information on prayer labyrinths:

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/paradigm/discoverframe.html

http://www.sanpedrocenter.org/prayer_labyrinth.htm

http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=6641

http://nationalcatholicreporter.org/update/nt021605.htm

http://www.challies.com/archives/000368.php

THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST

Going to fly to Ohio for Easter weekend. I have finished the Divine Comedy and will now begin reading The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis. I have been wanting to read the book for some time now. I almost bought a copy of the book while I was in St. Andrew's, Scotland this summer. Instead, I purchased a book of Circero's speeches. Heck, I was gettign enough flack reading Kierkegaard and Tillich; imagine what I would have gotten for reading that book! Anyway, I purchased a copy here in Fort Worth at Half Price books for a cheaper price than I found overseas so no problem. I'll let you know what I think of the book when I return. No, I won't give the ending away.

I Wonder What Stephen Hawking Thinks Of All This?

I'd like to take a few moments an offer my humble opinion on the Terri Schiavo case.





Now I have been frequently criticized by my conservative Christian peers for frequently criticizing the public behavior of my fellow Christian conservatives. I have also been criticized for not criticizing liberal Christians enough. First, I do criticize liberal Christians when I see fit. But, two, since I am a conservative I'd rather critique believers of my own ilk than those believers from a different tradition.

But in the case of Terri Schiavo I think that it is time to both celebrate the public actions of conservative Christians and criticize the behavior of my liberal brothers and sisters in Christ.

It seems to me that while conservative believers have acted honorably and forthrightly in the name of a weak and poor woman, in a rather ackward turn of events, liberal believers have either remained silent or, even worse, have sided against this poor and weak woman.

Too often conservative Christians stick their nose into issues that have no bearing on their call to serve the kingdom. Here, in the Terri Schiavo case, is a prime example where Christians should become involved. The health and wealthfare of poor individuals such as Terri Schiavo is the quintessential area of public life that Christians should inject their influence and efforts. I do often criticize evangelicals for investing time and resources in what Cal Thomas calls "trickle-down morality" but here is a case where evangelicals have stood rightly for the gospel and its proclamation of jubilee for the poor. The apostle Luke would be proud. I am very proud to call myself an evangelical.

But to my liberal brothers and sisters ... where are you? Here is a great situation for the social gospel to be made manifest to the world and, instead, you have either shrunk back into silence or, worse still, advocated the slow starvation of this poor paralytic woman. Does the fact that a husband who has cheated on his paralytic wife and who now wants her death not anger you feminist Christians? Does not the fact that this poor, unhealthy woman will meet an end of starvation frustrate you social welfare believers? Why aren't you the first ones out and ready to defend the life of this woman? What would St. Francis think? What would Rauschenbusch think? What would Dr. King think? This is a shameful moment in liberal Christianity.

Remember: “What you do to the least of these …”

The Emergent Church

Lately I am continually running into references to the Emergent Church.

Christianity Today: The Emergent Mystique

Introduction to the Emergent Church and Post-Modern Phenomena Part 1

FIRST-PERSON: When piety is not enough

Does anyone have any opinions on this topic?

Definition: (Encyclopedia): "a label that has been used to refer to a particular subset of Christians who are rethinking Christianity against the backdrop of Postmodernism.... Emerging Church groups have typically contained some or all of the following elements:

Highly creative approaches to worship and spiritual reflection. This can involve everything from the use of contemporary music and films through to liturgy or other more ancient customs. ...

A flexible approach to theology whereby individual differences in belief and morality are accepted within reason.

A more holistic approach to the role of the church in society. This can mean anything from greater emphasis on fellowship in the structure of the group to a higher degree of emphasis on social action, community building or Christian outreach.

A desire to reanalyse the Bible against the context into which it was written...." Psalm 119:11

It appears that many conservatives are using the Emergent Church as a catch-all strawman to explain all that is wrong with modern (post-?) evangelical Christianity. Regardless, I think many evangelical leaders are scared of this movement. I want to find out why.

Eminent Baptist theologian Stanley Grenz dead at 55

By Robert Marus
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (ABP) -- One of the world's best-known Baptist theologians died suddenly and unexpectedly March 12.

Stanley Grenz, a professor at the evangelical Carey Theological College in Vancouver, died shortly after experiencing a "massive brain hemorrhage," according to a release on the school's website. He was 55. He had previously served as a professor at neighboring Regent College and a brief stint as a visiting professor at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, Texas.

Many scholars considered Grenz one of the preeminent theologians of the modern Baptist world, and he was a particular favorite among the postmodern "emerging church" movement.

One of that movement's leaders, Maryland pastor Brian McLaren, posted a tribute to Grenz on his web log. In it, he noted that Grenz had sometimes faced criticism for his work.

"Stan's theological work has always been bold and creative, and sometimes, he boldly broke with convention; for example, he was one of the very first to see in the postmodern turn in philosophy and culture great opportunities for the gospel," McLaren wrote. "Many other theologians only saw dangers, and their critiques of his work struck me as harsh, reactionary, uncharitable, and often grossly unfair."

Grenz was an active member at Vancouver's First Baptist Church, where his wife, Edna, is an associate pastor. He is survived by her, two children, a grandchild and his mother.

The church will host a memorial service for Grenz March 20.

Library, now completed, will serve as North American ‘Tyndale House’

E. Earle Ellis, who conceived the idea for the International Reference Library for Biblical Research, introduces Oxford scholar David Wenham (left) at the dedication of the library in Fort Worth, Texas, March 12. Wenham brought greetings from the Tyndale Fellowship in England. SWBTS photo/Margie Dolch

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) – Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson joined members of the Fort Worth community and Texas State Representative Anna Mowery in dedicating the International Reference Library for Biblical Research in Fort Worth March 12.

The library, conceived by E. Earle Ellis, research professor of theology at Southwestern Seminary and past president of the Institute for Biblical Research (IBR), is located adjacent the seminary’s campus on property leased to the group in 2002. Under the lease agreement with the seminary, the library will hold the property for 30 years at the rate of $1 per year.

Organizers of the library call it a North American “Tyndale House,” a place where scholars can study and live at the same time as they do in Cambridge, England. The library is complete with an upstairs apartment and guest scholar’s room. The library will also host lecture series annually.

“We have worked to establish this library for the past 10 years,” Ellis said. “We have raised about $1 million, half in cash and the other half in gifts in kind. The other gift of great substance was the gift of a 7,000-volume library by a retired professor.”

Several foundations in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex contributed to the funding of the library. IBR members, who founded the library as a separate non-profit organization, also contributed $100,000 to see their vision become reality, Ellis said.

Paul Wolfe, associate professor of New Testament and assistant dean for biblical studies at Southwestern, is superintendent of the library. A former homebuilder, Wolfe oversaw the renovation of the building where the library is now housed. He said the importance of the facility should not be overlooked.

“There was a day when the evangelical voice was rather muted within the academy, seminaries and universities alike. Today, evangelical scholarship is making a significant contribution to the biblical and theological disciplines. But there is much more to be done,” Wolfe said.

“This reference library exists to continue to nurture faithful biblical scholarship in service to the church and her institutions of learning. The importance of a project like this should not be underestimated lest we again find ourselves sliding into obscurity in contemporary culture’s world of ideas. Ideas have a history and consequences. This library exists to contribute positively to that history and to the articulation of ideas and understandings that will shape future generations in harmony with a biblical worldview,” Wolfe said.

David Wenham, dean of Wycliffe Hall at Oxford University, was on hand for the dedication ceremony and brought greetings from Britain’s Tyndale Fellowship. Wenham lectured at the seminary in the week prior to the event.

Richard Taylor, IBR treasurer and a faculty member at Dallas Theological Seminary, brought greetings from the Institute for Biblical Research. Fellow DTS faculty member Buist Fanning, and Simon Kistemaker, a faculty member at Reformed Seminary in Orlando, Fla., also attended. Fanning and Kistemaker are IBR library directors.

The International Reference Library for Biblical Research is presently open from 1-5 p.m., Monday through Friday, but organizers hope to extend operating hours soon. For membership information, contact the library at P.O. Box 22238, Fort Worth, Texas, 76122.

Guero

New Beck Album due March 29th

Amazon.com
Now that Beck has effectively exorcised his personal demons with 2002's hyper-confessional Sea Change, he can get back to the business of being a total fruit loop. We all know what that involves: video game sound effects, random shouting in Spanish, and rhymes about popsicles and vegetable vans. And that's just the second track. Guero is like every Beck album condensed into one, a no-holds-barred collision of two-turntables and a microphone with the added bonus of guitars, bossa nova beats, Jack White, lyrics about spaceships and dump truck full of ideas all fighting to get heard about the ruckus. It's an exhausting and exhilarating listen with lots of peaks, such as the digitized power ballad "Broken Drum" and handclap drench folk freak-out "Farewell Ride," and more than enough to restore anyone's faith in Beck as one of the most chaotically inspired songwriters of our time. -- Aidin Vaziri

Album Description
Three years after the critically acclaimed and heartwrenching opus "Sea Change," THREE-TIME GRAMMY WINNER and FIVE-TIME MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARD WINNER BECK returns with his most diverse, accomplished and compelling work to date: "GUERO."
With the raucous first single "E-Pro" triumphantly "na-na-na"-ing Beck's return with a must-be-seen-to-be believed video by Shynola (Queens of the Stone Age, Radiohead), "GUERO" both reunites Beck with classic co-conspirators the Dust Brothers and explores territories uncharted by even this most innovative artist of his generation.

The Revolution Will Be Blogged

On this day of all days, here is a little bit of encouragment for all you "suicide bloggers" out there. It might be slanted to the right but the author makes a good point.

The Bloggers’ Triumph

by Jonah Goldberg

The moment of "blog triumphalism" is upon us. This may sound like odd news to you, since it's entirely possible that you still don't know what a blog is. If you're in the dark, hie thee to the nearest Internet search engine and type in the word.

The phrase blog triumphalism speaks to the growing sense of optimism, self-confidence and power — and, perhaps, depending on one's perspective, arrogance and even hubris — that characterizes the bloggerati's mood these days. Virtual taxidermists are taking orders to stuff the carcasses of all sorts of Mainstream Media ("MSM") mastodons bagged by the bloggers. New York Times editor Howell Raines and CNN news chief Eason Jordan top the list of felled beasts. Dan Rather, meanwhile (like Sen. Trent Lott), was merely tranquilized and de-fanged.
Oddly enough, the establishment media can't stop writing about blogs. The P.R. and marketing industries kowtow to them. And politicians are getting on the bandwagon. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas boasts of being the first senator to mention the word "blog" on the Senate floor — a nice thing, I suppose, but an accomplishment that does not endanger the current headcount on Mount Rushmore either.

So it's no wonder that a group of people who were dismissed during the Rathergate scandal as so many amateurs sitting around in their pajamas are feeling good about themselves. And they should.

I'm pro-blog — a reader of many and admirer of quite a few. But the steady drumbeat about the "revolutionary" nature of blogging is getting out of hand. Glenn Reynolds, aka Instapundit, may be right that "the revolution will be blogged," but the revolution isn't about blogging.

First, some perspective. The typical blogger is not some hyper-smart, tenacious lawyer — like the guys at Powerline — poring over the minutiae of a faulty CBS story. Nor is he a crusading consultant/activist/left-winger like the guy who runs the Daily Kos. The average blogger, according to a 2003 survey, is a teenage girl who updates her site a couple times a month with the latest 411 about her prom dress or which Olsen Twin she, like, really likes.

According to the blog search-engine firm Technorati, 23,000 new blogs are created every day — or roughly one every three seconds. Let's imagine, for argument's sake, that amid this staggering new daily output, ten excellent, must-read blogs are created — a wildly generous estimate. That means every single day there are 22,990 new blogs on the Internet that almost nobody, save a small group of friends and co-workers, will ever read or care about. That's fine, but it's not exactly a sweeping endorsement for the power of the medium as whole.

In many ways, the real story of the bloggers' triumph is the story of a right-wing (though not always conservative) populist uprising that started half a century ago. The story begins with National Review's founding in 1955 and extends through five decades of steady, heavy, and difficult work. In the 1970s it was Spiro Agnew's denunciation of liberal media bias that ultimately resulted in William Safire getting a job at the New York Times. In the Wall Street Journal, the late Robert Bartley's op-ed page opened a new front in the heart of elite daily journalism.

Don't let the word "conservative" fool you. Rebels on the right were pioneers in the political exploitation of new and alternative technologies long before anyone knew what blogs were. Led by Rush Limbaugh, conservatives even revived AM radio, making it a major source of a populist backlash against liberal-controlled institutions. Cable profoundly transformed politics. C-Span alone did more to demystify government than a generation of muckrakers — or bloggers — ever could. CNN pioneered the steady erosion of the Big Three Networks' stranglehold on information. Later, Fox News soon destroyed CNN's stranglehold on 24-hour news.

And, remember, the Internet was a big deal before the onset of the of the blogs as well. For good or for ill, Matt Drudge refused to treat the MSM as a sacred monastery, and in many respects he remains the ur-blogger. National Review Online, if I may say, was no slouch either in the story of the political Internet's rise, before the blogs. (Now we have many blogs of our own.)

Left-wing bloggers believe they are part of the same "revolution" as right-wing bloggers are. They're not. The conservative blogs are the shock troops of a decades-long battle to seize back the culture. Conservatives have always had to rely on "alternative media" — magazines, AM radio, blogs — because the Mainstream Media closed the door to conservatives. And even when they let a few token ones in, they had to be labeled "conservative" first and journalists a distant second. The lefty blogs are something else entirely. They represent — much like the still-lame liberal talk radio and the new liberal think tanks — an attempt to copycat conservative successes. Their fight is not with the monolithic mainstream media (or academia) but with the usurpers. Politics is not a battle of technology. It is a battle of ideas, and therein lies all the difference.

Happy Dilday Day

Russell Dilday (b. 1930) - former president of XXXXXXXX Seminary and the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Today is the day in which we remember the time when President Russell Dilday was fired from his esteemed position because he did not support the political movement of the Southern Baptist Convention.

You can read all about this in his latest book, Columns: Glimpses of a Seminary Under Assault.

But today let us take time to remember all those believers who have been fired by their brothers and sisters in Christ because they didn't tow the line.

Matthew 13:24-30

Making Sense Of The Revelation - A Clear Message Of Hope

Here is a book review by on of my mentors.

Book Review by Jack Glaze, ret.
Missionary and Professor in Argentina, Mississippi College, NOBTS

Making Sense Of The Revelation - A Clear Message Of Hope
By William L. Turner, Macon: Smyth & Helwys, 2000.

Another book on Revelation? Another "dooms day" spectacular targeting a sincere but gullible religious market? Is there a need for another book on Revelation? Author William Turner thinks so, and after reading his book, many others will agree. He recognizes that some today consider eschatology to be irrelevant, and in his preface indicates that new study on the theme "may appear to be an elitist refuge in a world of breakneck change, constant transition, and continuing human struggle.”

“However," he continues, "I beg to differ." The "recovery of hope" perhaps will be "one of the major human quests of the new millennium." Consequently, the book of Revelation is of vital importance, for it is "preeminently a treatise on Christian hope" addressed "to churches under attack."

Turner indicates that the book is not intended to be a scholarly commentary, nor does he treat every detail and verse; however, he recommends its reading "with a copy of the biblical text in hand." It is evident that he, as a competent biblical scholar and pastor, has a comprehensive understanding of Revelation, including its geographical, historical, cultural, and literary components. Additionally, he is familiar with the varied interpretive approaches to this "mysterious book" (pp. 120-123); he is clear, consistent, and honest in his approach and interpretation.

He suggests two ways for understanding the book: 1) as a blueprint of the world to come; a prewritten history, "like a novel, each chapter building with an unfolding plot," or 2) as an apocalyptic writing whose purpose was to encourage first century Christians under attack. He chose the latter approach: the key to the interpretation of the book is not the millennium (20:2-7), for "no single symbol does justice to the whole message. The many symbols here are like the facets of a single diamond, each one highlighting the main idea—the triumph of God and the defeat of evil."

Since "all the previous numbers have been symbolic up to now," he continues, "why change with this one?" Turner is consistent in his interpretation of the symbols, codes, and numbers. Consequently, he writes, "So, if I have to pick a millennial camp, I choose to be amillennialist . . . no literal, historical, thousand-year period."

However, it is evident to this reviewer, he has not been limited by the assertion: his exegetical skills, historical research, and cultural understanding of the period have enabled him to identify eternal biblical principles and to apply them effectively for contemporary society (future contributions, not future predictions). For example, for today he sees the "cruel reality of the intensification of the diabolical; the dishonest overselling of 'fair-weather religion', and the judgment on Babylon (Rome), past and future." Adherents from all millennial camps could profit from his insights. The book, 136 pages, contains sixteen well organized and illustrated sermons (some pastors may be tempted to "share" these with their congregations, especially the illustrations). Included are: an Introduction (1:1-9); an analysis of the central message to each of seven churches in Asia Minor (2-3); overviews of chapters 4-5, 6-8, 11-12; and treatments of 13:1-10, 14:1-13/19:1-10, 19:11-12, 20:1-10, and 21:1-8/22:1-7. As for the internal relationship of the chapters, Turner does not believe they are rigidly interconnected; rather, they are "like an anthology, or a collection of different stories and visions on the same theme;" however, he does assert that "some chapters are connected" (not specified other than those evidenced in the chapter divisions).

There is consistency in his interpretive methodology. Turner contends that an understanding of the book is found in "the text itself;” he continues, "Any message for our new century and beyond must be rooted in this context. Without it, plunging into such a strange and elusive text would be like a high-wire act without a safety net." (Chapter 1, "Unlocking The Mystery")

Turner indicates that the young churches were facing a time of cruel and bloody persecution. The Roman political requirement of emperor worship had been in effect for some 100 years; however, under Domitian (AD 81-96) it became more serious and developed religious overtones. Roman citizens were required once a year to go to one of Caesar's temples, burn incense, and say "Caesar is Lord." Refusal resulted in punishment and even death. Additionally, Domitian wanted to be called "our Lord and god." Because Christians would not worship the Emperor, they were considered to be "unpatriotic and subversive" and suffered severely between 90-96. During this period, John, in prison, probably wrote to the churches employing symbolic language, much of which is also found in various Old Testament writings. The writing "is dramatic, larger than life, and exaggerated. It is full of vivid symbols, code name, numbers, and animals . . . However," Turner writes, "I believe apocalyptic writing would have been very clear to the people of the seven churches of Asia who had it read to them."

The book is well written and easy to read. The literary references and illustrations include the broad spectrum of literary classics from the Church Fathers to modern authors, and include historical, social, and ethical implications. It can be understood by nontechnical readers and also can be beneficial to those active in scholarly circles.

From his perspective, Turner, in the estimation of the reviewer, made "sense" from Revelation in general, and in particular from the texts chosen for exposition. He presents a clear message of hope: "hurting people want relief, and if not now, when? Pastor John's response was, 'Soon! So hang on (and) be faithful!’”

The only suggestion, and minor at that, would have been the inclusion of the internal threat of Gnosticism faced by the young churches as well as the external political threat of Rome. However, Turner understood well the nature of the cosmic battle of evil vs. good depicted in Revelation, both politically and religiously; the nature of the apocalyptic, both Jewish and Christian; the use of Jewish historical typology, and he was not bound by a rigid amillennial preterist interpretation of the book ["preterist" from Latin praeteritum, "referring to the past," or an interpretation totally in the context of John's age—first proposed by a Roman Catholic theologian Luis de Alcazar (1554-1613) to counter the Reformation attack on the Papacy as the Antichrist]. The book is highly recommended and helpful for all seeking to understand Revelation regardless of their theological persuasion.

True Church Typos

This kept us laughing for an hour.

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The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
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The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon
tonight:
"Searching for Jesus."
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Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the
recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.
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Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of
those
things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands.
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The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a
conflict.
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Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at
someone
who is hard to love. Say "Hell" to someone who doesn't care much about
you.
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Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.
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Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again," giving
obvious
pleasure to the congregation.
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For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery
downstairs.
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Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the
help
they can get.
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Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more
transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of
Pastor Jack's sermons.
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The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will
sing:
"Break Forth Into Joy."
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Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the
church. So
ends a friendship that began in their school days.
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A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music
will
follow.
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At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is
Hell?"
Come early and listen to our choir practice.
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Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of
several
new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
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Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be
recycled.
Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
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Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased
person
you want remembered.
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The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and
gracious hostility.
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Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
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The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may
be
seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
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This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across
from
the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
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Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies
are
invited to lunch in the e Fellowship Hall after the B. S. is done.
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The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would
lend
him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
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Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use
the
back door.
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The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the
Church
basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this
tragedy.
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Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church.
Please
use large double door at the side entrance.
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The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign
slogan
last Sunday: "I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours "

Death of a Comic

Hunter Thompson, R.I.P.

"Hunter Thompson elicited the same kind of admiration one would feel for a streaker at Queen Victoria’s funeral."

by William F. Buckley Jr.

If what was before the house was just the formal news bulletin, a famous person who had left Earth for other bournes, then OK, let him go with conventional solemnities. I once attended funeral services at which the rabbi didn't remember the name of the deceased, so that he mourned the passage of Priscilla, remarking the good she had left behind in her lifetime — never mind that the lady who lay in the coffin was called Jane; never mind, the incantations were generic.

But Hunter Thompson would never be confused with anyone else, and when his wife was led through the police cordon to his room, she reported to the press that “he did it (fired the .45-caliber pistol) in his mouth,” leaving “his face beautiful. It was not grisly or gruesome by any means. He lived a beautiful life.”

He didn’t. What he did do was inspire devotional encomiums from people who included blood relatives (my son), and superstar mentors (Tom Wolfe). Wolfe spoke first of his stylistic achievements. He wrote “in a style and a voice no one had ever heard before.” And Wolfe found in Hunter’s life an originality perversely appealing. It was “one long barbaric yawp, to use Whitman’s term, of the drug-fueled freedom from and mockery of all conventional proprieties.” What he wrote was “‘gonzo.’ He was sui generis.” “In the l9th century Mark Twain was king of all the gonzo-writers. In the 20th century it was Hunter Thompson, whom I would nominate as the century’s greatest comic writer in the English language.”

Writing in the New York Sun, John Avlon spoke of Thompson’s determination “to puncture the pretenses of the powerful with ruthless humor, a loyalty to deeper truth, and a hatred of hypocrisy. Beneath what could be called amoral behavior there was in fact an inflexible moral code. The intensity of his writing unsentimentally highlighted the real stakes of this life.” What deeper truths?

Henry Allen of the Washington Post wrote that “People will forgive almost anything of writers who can astonish them and make them laugh.” What was it, in Thompson, that we were forgiving? Is that question answered in Allen’s sentence that “despite his rants about the onanistic squalor of journalism, (Thompson) had the bearing of an adventurer striding out to the very edges of madness and menace”? Laughable stuff?

Thompson had a gift for vitriol. All — everything — was subsumed in his exercise of that art. Consider one entire paragraph on Richard Nixon. “For years I’ve regarded (Nixon’s) very existence as a monument to all the rancid genes and broken chromosomes that corrupt the possibilities of the American Dream; he was a foul caricature of himself, a man with no soul, no inner convictions, with the integrity of a hyena and the style of a poison toad. I couldn’t imagine him laughing at anything except maybe a paraplegic who wanted to vote Democratic but couldn’t quite reach the lever on the voting machine.”

We were asked to believe (by the San Francisco Chronicle) that in reading Thompson we are reading the work of a hero of an entire generation of American students. Concerning that claim a little skepticism is surely in order. After all, an exhibitionist can be spectacular, and even lionized, in the Animal Houses. Hunter Thompson elicited the same kind of admiration one would feel for a streaker at Queen Victoria’s funeral. Here is a passage from Thompson, in which he seeks amusement by recounting the end of a long day with a visiting British friend, identifying himself as “the journalist”:

“The journalist is driving, ignoring his passenger (the visiting Brit), who is now nearly naked after taking off most of his clothing, which he holds out the window, trying to wind-wash the Mace out of it. His eyes are bright red and his face and chest are soaked with the beer he’s been using to rinse the awful chemical off his flesh. The front of his woolen trousers is soaked with vomit; his body is racked with fits of coughing and wild choking sobs. The journalist rams the big car through traffic and into a spot in front of the terminal, then he reaches over to open the door on the passenger’s side and shoves the Englishman out, snarling: ‘Bug off, you worthless faggot! You twisted pig-(expletive deleted), all the way to Bowling Green, you scum-sucking foreign geek.’”

One can be sorry that Hunter Thompson died as he did, but not sorry, surely, that he stopped writing.