Weirdest Church Sign Sayings

Don't give up... Moses was a basket case too.

Huh?

We're home!

We just got back this evening and the apartment is a flurry of laundry, shopping lists, pictures and souvenirs. I'm happy to be home (nothing beats my own bed and normal temperatures), but I'm also sad to be back. I've anticipated this vacation for so long now, and this month with Wes has been great. I'm sad to have to go back to work and to have him go back to Kansas and to school.

I have so much to share about the trip, photos to post to Flickr and people to say hello to! More to come. For now I will leave you with a little sick humor:

Overheard on the plane from Kansas City

Kid #1: Mommy, I want to watch Hevolution!

Kid #2: Yeah mommy, we want to watch Hevolution!

Mommy: It's Evolution baby, and we don't believe in that.

...

And a picture:

TV really is educational!

Also known as "Biblical References I Don't Understand."

From House tonight:

"I'm going to need thirty pieces of silver."

A big resounding huh?

From Bartleby's New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy:

The money Judas Iscariot received for betraying Jesus to the authorities. He later threw the money into the Temple of Jerusalem, and the chief priests bought the “potter’s field” with it, to be used as a cemetery for foreigners.

‡ This money is referred to as “blood money”—money received for the life of another human being.

‡ “Thirty pieces of silver” is also used proverbially to refer to anything paid or given for a treacherous act.

Am I the only one who didn't recognize this one?

Say WHAT?!?!

State bill proposes Christianity be Missouri’s official religion

Missouri legislators in Jefferson City considered a bill that would name Christianity the state's official "majority" religion.

House Concurrent Resolution 13 has is pending in the state legislature.

Many Missouri residents had not heard about the bill until Thursday.

Karen Aroesty of the Anti-defamation league, along with other watch-groups, began a letter writing and email campaign to stop the resolution.

The resolution would recognize "a Christian god," and it would not protect minority religions, but "protect the majority's right to express their religious beliefs.

The resolution also recognizes that, "a greater power exists," and only Christianity receives what the resolution calls, "justified recognition."

State representative David Sater of Cassville in southwestern Missouri, sponsored the resolution, but he has refused to talk about it on camera or over the phone.

KMOV also contacted Gov. Matt Blunt's office to see where he stands on the resolution, but he has yet to respond.

Oh Missouri... you should change your name to Misery. I attended college in St. Louis and though I have some affinity for the state, I can't believe that you're promoting religious persecution. The great thing about America is that we aren't pressured by an "official religion;" we were founded by people who wanted to ESCAPE religious persecution. What in the H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks are you doing taking us back over 200 years? You're just as bad as those Kansas-support-creationism-ban-evolution guys.

Edited to add: Well this article is actually from March 2006, so I'm sheepishly apologizing for my tardiness in catching this one. However I can't seem to find out what happened to it. Hopefully the bill went the way of the dodo. That is...extinction beyond all resurrection. No pun intended.

ETA: The current status of this bill - "03/30/2006 - Dropped from calendar - Rule 43 (H)," found here thanks to Shari.

Atheism is the new Black.

This excerpt courtesy of Scott Adams, Creator of Dilbert, Genius Extraordinaire.

Atheists: The New Gays

Is it my imagination or have the atheists come out of the closet (in the United States) since 9/11?

Prior to 9/11, it would have been career suicide for a public figure to come right out and say God is a fairy tale. Now it’s a feature of popular culture. You can see it on cable of course, in shows such as BullSh*t, Real Time, The Daily Show, and Southpark. But it’s also a feature of network TV. The main character on House is written as the most brilliant human on the planet, and he’s an atheist. The new show 3lbs has a similar character. I can’t remember anything like that ten years ago.

Famous atheist Richard Dawkins’ book The God Delusion is #5 on Amazon.com. Sam Harris is right up there with his books The End of Faith and Letters to a Christian Nation. They aren’t selling in numbers anywhere approaching the top religious books, but they are best sellers. When was the last time two books promoting atheism were best sellers at about the same time?

I think the hidden benefit of Islamic extremism is that it freed the atheists from their closets. The old mindset in the United States was that almost any religion was good, and atheism was bad. But since 9/11, atheism has moved above Islam in the rankings, at least in the minds of Christians and Jews in the United States.

Ask a deeply religious Christian if he’d rather live next to a bearded Muslim that may or may not be plotting a terror attack, or an atheist that may or may not show him how to set up a wireless network in his house. On the scale of prejudice, atheists don’t seem so bad lately.

I think that in an election cycle or two you will see an atheist business leader emerge as a legitimate candidate for president. And his name will be Bill Gates.

By then, Bill Gates will have done so much good for the world through his charitable works that combined with his business success he’ll appear more qualified than any other candidate. His early bachelor life and some of his business practices will come back to haunt him if he runs, but he can still win with this simple slogan: “Who would you rather have on your side?” He’ll confess to all of his past imperfections and say that presidents are poor choices for role models. He’ll advise you to look to your parents for role models while you let him run the country.

I doubt Bill Gates is considering a run for president right now, largely because it’s so hard to make a difference from that job. His charities will have more impact. But I think he’ll someday realize that the world needs a rational thinker in the top spot and no one else can win.

At least you’d know he wouldn’t be in it for the money or to speed up the Rapture. He has my vote.

What in the KNIT is THAT?

This my friends is a Pastafarian Flying Spaghetti Monster hat. I'm not sure I would wear it, but I can definitely espouse the religion!

Religion

Not much to report for this Friday, so I'm going to steal this goodie and give credit where it's due.

The little sis offered this one up: finally a religion I can believe in.

Popeline 2005

Not really going to comment on Popefest 2005, but just thought it was an appropriate title since it's STILL stealing all the headlines. Nevermind world hunger, AIDS epidemics or the war on terror. We want to know who's going to wear the funny looking hat in Rome.

Still Buddy-sitting and making it through the week, though I'm ready for my long winter's nap. Actually it's beautiful out today and I would love to just lay out on the quad and nap peacefully. (Of course in college this translated to one of my friends trying to do something funny to me while I slept.) Actually I just think I'm ready for some home time - I realized today that I haven't slept at home but one night in the last week. I want my tiny little messy studio life back. :)

I think tonight is finally going to be Netflix movie night - I'm heading home after work to pick things up and spent another night snuggling with Buddy. Wish it were a boy though!

The Easter Bunny...

On a day which some celebrate the resurrection of Christ, and others eat chocolate eggs laid by bunnies rather than chickens, one Easter Bunny was very unlucky.

Those of us who don't believe enjoy a great Cadbury Creme Egg and a free day off when you don't have to run errands because everything is closed. We blog surf, knit, watch tv & movies, do some homework and housework and prepare for another manic Monday. This promises to be a busy week, ending with a bridal shower, and maybe more Buddy-sitting.

I also watched 3 movies this weekend, Facing Windows, a beautiful Italian film about who we are and what we want in life, and Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. Guess it was a weekend to watch romantic movies and wish my guy could be here with me.

I don't think they canonize atheists...

But here's what I came up with for if I had been alive in the 1400's.

The Prioress You scored 13% Cardinal, 56% Monk, 55% Lady, and 45% Knight!

You are a moral person and are also highly intellectual. You like your solitude but are also kind and helpful to those around you. Guided by a belief in the goodness of mankind you will likely be christened a saint after your life is over. You scored high as both the Lady and the Monk. You can try again to get a more precise description of either the Monk or the lady, or you can be happy that you're an individual.

The Pope

Now those of you who know me, know that I am neither a religious fan nor a religion expert. However, there are questions that arise when the Pope ends up in the hospital for a tracheotomy (never a good sign), and folks thirsty for knowledge, like me, might wonder what will happen at the point at which we need a new Pope. (Mind you I'm not wishing the Pope ill, the poor man has suffered for years with Parkinson's and other ailments, but it does appear that we may be in need of a new Pope soon.)

So for those of you who are curious what the Catholic world will do, and how it happens, this is an excellent article on what might happen next.