Christians have given up their squeaky wheel

Back in March 1966, this quote of John's was printed in an interview by reporter Maureen Cleave in the London Evening Standard:

"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first - rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."

Then, almost five months later, on July 29, a teen magazine in the US, Datebook, reprinted the quote out of context, not submerged in an article, but as a part of a front cover story entitled "The Ten Adults You Dig/Hate The Most".

All hell broke loose. Radio stations in the south banned Beatles music. There were rallies of boys and girls stomping on their records and bonfires of Beatles material. 1

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Today, if an entertainer were to say something a hundred times more derogatory about Christianity than what Lennon said, I believe there would be little to no protest in the Christian community. Yes pastors may mention it during their sermons and talkradio hosts would mention the double standard but there would be no bonfires or marches in the street.

Does this mean that Christians are not as passionate about Jesus? Perhaps. Does this mean that bonfires are not en vougue? Doubtful. Does this mean that Christians have been properly neutered by the media and the court of public opinion? I think so.

1966 was only three years after prayer was removed from our public schools so a Judeo/Christian morale was still very much in the fabric of our society. In 2008 there have been several generations in which Jesus has been weened out of public lives. Would a group of Christians feel embolden to burn CDs today after someone badmouthed Jesus? Doubtful. There is such a negative connotation associated with *-burning, such as book burning that today's Christians would not be caught dead at a burning.



1. http://www.beatlesagain.com/bapology.html

Refs couldn't save 'em THIS year

Below in RED is a blog I wrote after the playoff debacle in INDY last January when the Pats lost to the Colts.

Well last night the Colts choked again and AGAIN the refs tried to give it to the Colts. Phantom interference calls are the norm because they hurt the most. But then a phantom holding call now just added to the theory that the refs are corrupt and are afraid of Bill Polian.

I am glad that Fred Smerlas on WEEI is on the radio voicing our suspicions.

Anyway here is my blog from January 2007 (from a now defunct blog site):

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Golden Boy - Colts Rant

Let's face it folks. There are some unwritten yet obvious biases and desires by the those who run the NFL. There are some unspoken facts as well:

1. The NFL loves Peyton Manning and the Colts.
2. The NFL does not like the Patriots and especially the tight-lipped Bill Belichick.
3. The NFL loves parity and they want two different teams in the Super Bowl every year.
4. The NFL is not happy that the Patriots have figured out how to have a Super Bowl caliber team every year.

• A couple of years back the Colts were kept from the continuing in the playoffs because Peyton's recievers were manhandled by the Patriots DBs. At the end of the season a new rule was imposed on the league to keep DBs from roughing up receivers.
• Last year Golden Boy, Peyton set all kinds of records in passing and we thought the beloved Colts would go undefeated. The Colts met the Steelers in the playoffs at home. Anyone who watched that game could see it was obvious that the refs were doing their best to make sure the Colts won. However Vanderjerk missed a field goal and off went the Steelers. The refs also used a phantom interference call in the endzone during the Broncos-Patriots game to make sure the Patriots did not win - you know, the parity thing.
• This year the Colts looked invicible again as they were given another sissy schedule to make sure they had home field advantage in the playoffs. Well they did have home field advantage when they met the Patriots again. Once again the Pats were making Peyton look foolish and the impossible was happening - the Pats were tossing out Peyton again. Then the NFL stepped in again. In the 4th quarter they used the phantom interference call in the endzone against the Patriots AND (for good measure) they ignored a blatent interference call against the Colts in the endzone in order to make sure their boy Peyton made it to the Super Bowl.

Well congratulations NFL!!!! Peyton won!!!! Now can we stop creating new rules to help the Colts and stop with the bias refereeing to favor the Colts in Playoff games?????

Anyone in the know will tell you that the Pats are so good that they really could have won 4 in a row. However the NFL's goal of parity tends to win the day.

Go Pats!

P.S. Was it me or does it sound like Jim Nantz has a man-crush on Peyton????

Wise vs Highly Intelligent

It is better to be wise than smart. Wisdom breeds humility while high intelligence breeds arrogance.

Very smart people eventually learn that they inherently know and understand more than their peers and eventually more than most adults. This can breed a sense of arrogance and a belief that they are “all knowing” and subsequently they begin not to listen when people (who are not as smart as they are) give them wise advice or the same people provide them with information based on life experience – something that a very intelligent person may not have yet.

Wise people listen with an open mind. Intelligent people don’t think the other person is as smart as them and they don’t even consider what is being told to them.

However, wisdom and Intelligence are not mutually exclusive. The greatest advantage in life is someone who is very intelligent but will listen to others and not be arrogant. In life, very smart people will need to interact with people less intelligent as them. This cannot be avoided. They can be arrogant and eventually turn others off and this will not fare them well in life because they can’t live in a bubble where they argue/debate other smart people all day. Or they stop and listen to others - even people who are obviously not as smart as them - because they may be wiser.

Wisdom is learned. Those who have experienced life and learned from it are wise. Those who can pass on their wisdom are a gift and should be listened to. The wise will listen to wisdom being passed to them. The fool will determine that the wise person is not as smart as them and subsequently brushes off their advice.