A Guy in the Pew

What if Jesus ran for President? Here is the attack ad we would face. Hat tip to Zack at Revolution in Jesus .

Father Bosco Peters has a great website on liturgy. He also has a great sense of humor, which is is putting to use as the "Naked Liturgist." This video on the "Liturgy of the Notices" is an excellent start:

Sometimes no comment is need. The following is for real--but borders on self-parody: Christians who believe they might one day be physically swept up to heaven in the Rapture will be able to send e-mails to loved ones left behind on Earth nearly one week after the apocalyptic event takes place, thanks to a new website. YouveBeenLeftBehind.com lets subscribers send an e-mail message to up to 62 people exactly six days after they've disappeared from the face of the Earth, Wired Magazine's Threat Level reports. The website, run by Mark Heard along with four other Christians, dispatches the e-mails when at least three staff members fail to log in for six consecutive days. Its main purpose is to give Christians one final shot at evangelism. "You've Been Left Behind gives you one last opportunity to reach your lost family and friends for Christ," states the website. The site is predicated on one interpretation of Christian theology that puts the day of Rapture as the b...

McSweeney's is a fun diversion. Perhaps due to the release of the movie Prince Caspian they recently posted this "Letter to Aslan." For those familiar with the Narnia series, it is worth reading in full, but here are some highlights: To His Imperial Majesty, Aslan, the Great Lion, he who rises from uncomfortable and broken stone tables, son of the Emperor-Over-Sea, with extreme respect: In the course of talking-animal events, it may become necessary for one animal—or human—or divine being—to come and rescue Narnia from its deepest, darkest hours. We're cool with that. We're just saying ... Why does it have to be kids? No offense to your wisdom and such, but, frankly, things don't go so well when they show up. Consider the results so far: . . . Visit 2 1. The sudden and terrible arrests of multiple Narnia residents, stemming entirely from the unauthorized visits of a small child to the forest area. 2. The sudden release of multiple dangerous creatures, who, ...

Mad Priest is always--and I mean always--quite funny (while also making a serious point). And he has attracted a large community of Anglicans with the same irreverent humor. I laughed out loud when I saw this post and the initial comments. So what is our response to the Creation Museum? I found it here .

Today, April 1, the Lead announces some exciting news about a new partnership between Major League Baseball and the Episcopal Church: As a part of opening week festivities, Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori announced today that the Episcopal Church has been designated the Official Denomination of Major League Baseball. The move was announced today in a teleconference with reporters. "Faith oriented promotions have increasingly become a part of many minor league team," Selig said. "We felt that it was time to tap into this important demographic." "We also want to reinforce our family friendly image while at the same time reaching out to a wide cross section of life-styles, incomes and tastes," Selig said. "We are pleased that the Episcopal Church will join us in this first partnership between a major sport and a church." Many denominations were considered for the endorsement. Some traditions did not ...

The comedian Robin Williams is an Episcopalian, and he has created a funny "Top Ten" List of reasons to be an Episcopalian. I realize that this is old to many of you, but I just saw this today (on a T-shirt in the Cathedral Shoppe), and had to share. Here is the list: 10. No snake handling. 9. You can believe in dinosaurs. 8. Male and female, God created them; male and female, we ordain them. 7. You don't have to check your brains at the door. 6. Pew aerobics. 5. Church year is color coded! 4. Free wine on Sunday. 3. All of the pageantry, none of the guilt. 2. You don't have to know how to swim to get baptized. And the number one reason for being an Episcopalian: 1. No matter what you believe, there's bound to be at least one other Episcopalian who agrees with you.

RMJ at Adventus has a fun post on War on Christmas through graphic art. Here are some of his posters: Find them all here .

The post by Ben Myers at the Faith and Theology Blog is priceless: In his delightfully pessimistic song, “Everything Goes To Hell” (2002), Tom Waits sings: There’s a few things that I never could believe: A woman when she weeps A merchant when he swears A thief who says he’ll pay A lawyer when he cares A snake when he is sleeping A drunkard when he prays… So that got me thinking. And here are a few things that I never can believe: A telemarketer who wants “just a few moments.” A politician who talks about “our way of life.” A church which describes itself as “Bible-based.” A record company which produces “Christian music.” A theologian who uses the word “tolerance.” A TV preacher who says “glory to God!” Read it here .

Have you checked out the Ship of Fools " 12 Days of Kitschmas?" It offers some real gems of Christian kitsch such as the Virgin Mary Memory Stick , and has been making the rounds in the faith blogosphere. Perhaps the most interesting commentary about all this, however, has been by Andrew Brown, an who argues in the Guardian blog that the willigness of Christians to make fun of their faith is one reason why it has so much staying power: Which is the more disgusting, a bear called Muhammad , or a bear with a zip up the back, which opens to reveal a cavity for storing your loved one's ashes? The huggable urn bear won third prize in the Ship of Fools Christmas kitsch contest this year, which means that there were two contestants judged even more disgusting. For the record, they were a St Sebastian pincushion , and a transparent plastic Virgin Mary with a red LED that blinks like a throbbing sacred heart when the memory stick inside is working. I would buy one of these, ex...

We now have Motivational Posters for the Emerging Church. This is just one example, for more, go here .

Okay. We all need a diversion from the shock of the Lambeth 2008 invitations. (Or at least the Episcopal blogosphere needs something else to talk about). Fortunately, the Faith and Theology blog offers Ken Fabricius' Ten Reasons Why BaseBall is God's G ame. Kim is an expat American serving as minister at Bethel United Reformed Church in Swansea, Wales, and he’s United Reformed chaplain to Swansea University. Here is Ken's theological argument : The story is told of the aristocratic English cricket supporter who dies and appears at the Pearly Gates. St Peter checks his list, but, alas, the old gentleman is not on it. “There must be some mistake,” the man protests, “I have a permanent seat in the Lord’s enclosure!” Well, Lord’s may be the home of cricket, but if cricket is heaven – and I write as an American expat who has lovingly lived in the UK for over thirty years – then heaven is as the cartoonist Larson depicts it: a bored bespectacled soul sitting on a cloud, thinking ...