Hey ya'll. I told you I'd be back. On a personal note before I start, let me just say this: I've heard of "Let's just be friends" talks, but I didn't even know you could have a "Let's just be acquaintances" talk. Ex-girlfriends . . . go figure.

Anyhow. I must say, I am really disappointed with popular entertainment right now, in a variety of ways. Let's start with movies. This summer's picks have been, well, less than satisfactory. We've had your standard fare of action movies with zero value in terms of writing or acting. Except for League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It was bad, but Sean Connery is a good actor, even in awful movies. We've also been given the "Romantic Comedy" selection, which always turn out to be funny in no way, but emphasize a kind of romance that makes me wonder what sewer the writers crawled out of. Heck, even for kids movies, it wasn't a blockbuster summer. Finding Nemo was good, but certainly not of the same caliber as some of Pixar's previous films (at least in terms of writing). As for the next SpyKid's movie, even I would have found this bad when I was 12. And do we really need another version of Freaky Friday? Yeesh.

Television isn't getting much better. I'll admit that I like watching some of the cartoons on WB, like Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, and X-Men Evolution. Yeah, they're sappy and silly, but that's what makes them fun. But Fox cartoons? Do they think kids have the IQs of balsa wood? Seriously, the shows they have are just plain bad. And what's with all of the cartoons that try to emulate the success of Pokemon or any other anime cartoon, yet come from American artists and writers? Monster Rancher was pretty dumb. Fighting Foodons? Jeez, that show scrapes the bottom of the barrel in terms of quality. This is why I love Cartoon Network. They have the best cartoons, especially the anime. I really love the shows that can successfully combine character development and breathtaking action, while keeping their priorities straight, and yet using both to strengthen one another. Action is fun, but watching characters grow and change is what makes most anime so very satisfying. This is why most of the crappy American cartoons that the networks put out fail; because their characters remain static and never change from episode to episode. Eventually, all of the possibilities are played out and it's just time to put them to rest.

But it doesn't just stop at cartoons. What's up with this "Queer Eye" show? Jeez, I don't know what's more offensive, the in-your-face way they're promoting homosexuality, the stereotypical gay male they're throwing out there, or the way they portray straight men as being unable to face such "earth-shattering" issues as fashion, gourmet cousine, or basic hygiene. Yeesh. Myself and plenty of other straight, single men out there can cook just fine, have very acceptable wardrobes, and can certainly clean up after ourselves. We don't need overly effeminate weirdos watching us shower (seriously, they did this on an episode my sister was watching . . . gross!!!) in order to impress the opposite sex and feel good about ourselves.

I'll stop now before I start going on again about homosexuality. I already did that recently enough, eh? Hope you enjoyed the ranting, and I'll bring you something else to chew on soon enough.

Hal

Oy. I know it's been about 2 weeks since the last entry, but life has been pretty darn full lately. Hopefully, your unsatiable thirst for mindless ranting will be somehow appeased by this.

Quite honestly, I'm having major issues at church. I've spent most of the summer trying to become a part of the college/young adult "ministry", but it's just been a mess. The thing is, the core little group of people there have been friends since high school, all live in the area, and so the line between "social event" and "ministry event" tends to be lost on them. I tried to be patient and to just be a part of things, but . . . there is a distinct difference between being along for the ride and being included. Being included means people appreciating your presence, and wanting to interact with you. But those folk . . . not so much. I feel like I'm intruding on a gathering of friends, which I arguably am, the way the "ministry" is set up. I say "ministry" because, well, there's not much ministering going on. It's mostly just a social group for 20-somethings. Whatever happened to the church being all about changing the world around it, rather than just being a support group for whiny people who have trouble fitting into society? ('Course, I say this as an American. God knows the Church is vibrant and alive in other parts of the world)

My problem just is, what do I do? I've always believed that the purpose of being part of a local body of believers (e.g. church) was for Christian fellowship, corporate worship, and organized ministry. When I barely get one out of the three, why bother? I know I can't change it over night by myself. So, what do I do in the meantime? Does God call me to be an agent of change in a church that just doesn't seem to get it? Finding another church doesn't seem to be a choice for the time being. Not that that's a suitable option, but it's not an option all the same.

Heh, well, that was a little more personal than most of my rants so far. I'll probably be back in a few days with something less "Me" oriented. In the meantime, go to www.carm.org for whatever other rants you'd like to see. Trust me, it'll be good fun.

Hal

Howdy folks. I'm a little late this week, but we've got lots to talk about.

*Sigh*. I'm sure everyone's heard about the "incident" in the Episcopalian church. They've elected their first gay bishop. This is such a tragedy. It really wasn't enough that so many "Homosexual churches" were popping up everywhere. It wasn't even enough that many mainline denominations were marrying homosexual couples. Now a mainline denomination is electing a gay man to a very high level of leadership. What is it with Christians who take this "Me too!" kind of attitude with the world. They want so badly to look good in the eyes of the world, to look "enlightened" and "tolerant" and "accepting" that they'll accept everything the world says is appropriate (which is everything), and the Bible be damned. Jeez. A few biblical phrases seem to come to mind. "Wise in their own minds," "having a form of Godliness without any power," and so on.

People just don't get it. The Bible explicitly condemns homosexuality. Anyone who says otherwise is either ignoring the text or simply making it say what they want it to say. Paul made it clear that leaders in the church should be beyond reproach. Perfect? Sinless? No, but openly embracing and celebrating sin? That's a big problem.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying homosexuality is any worse than any other sin. But when one openly embraces a sin, that is a huge problem for a professing "Christian." When a sin so defines an entire persona that it is an inextricable part of who they are, that is a big problem.

I don't know what's going to happen in the Episcopal church. The Archbishop sounds like he's trying to smooth things over, telling everyone not to act rashly. But since he's approved of gay ordinations and marriages in the Episcopal church in the past, I doubt he's going to squelch the election of this guy. Ideally, that's what would happen. Plan B would simply be the leadership threatening to excommunicate (or however it works in the Anglican church) the diocese that elected this guy (Is diocese the proper word? I don't know how they district things). But more likely, the Archbishop is going to totter back and forth on this, trying to keep things together, followed by the conservative Anglicans of the world schisming out of frustration with their leadership and their denomination as a whole. I'll fully support them when they do it, but it'd be a terrible thing if it does happen.

Well, my sister is dying for the internet. Stupid dial-up. I guess you'll just have to wait for more angry ranting another time.

Hal