Memorial Day

28 - 05/18 /10:26

To honor Memorial Day this past Sunday we introduced our open prayer time with the video Mansions of the Lord. It’s lyrics mourn the loss and brokenness of war, while honoring soldiers with the hope of “divine embrace, eternal light in the mansions of the Lord.” I was surprised to learn this is a recent hymn, composed in 2002 for the movie We Were Soldiers. Read More…

making your kids suicide bombers

15 - 05/18 /18:54

Dita & Puji Kuswanti and their four children went to church last Sunday in Surabaya, Indonesia. Actually, they went to three churches. But they didn’t go to worship. The Jakarta Post reports they went as suicide bombers.

At 6:30am teenage sons Yusuf and Alif, age 18 and 16, rode their motorcycle into the Santa Maria Catholic church, detonating their suicide bomb as early mass concluded. Five people in the church were killed. Read More…

two queens

09 - 05/18 /08:01

This is not about trans-sexuals. It’s about Queen Esther—more particularly her immediate, deposed predecessor Queen Vashti. The Old Testament book of Esther is rather strange. God is not mentioned. The author is familiar with Persia; Israel not so much. It records events among Jews who chose to remain in exile rather than return to Israel. Its hero, Esther, becomes Queen of Persia via sexual favors to the king. Read More…

greatest royal rumble

01 - 05/18 /17:42

May Omar, a 27-year-old Saudi female, arrived at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Saudi Arabia wearing a double-extra large T-shirt emblazoned with a picture of professional wrestler Triple H. She wore it in place of her abaya—the traditional robe Saudi women wear over their clothes. “It’s flowy and black, so really, what’s the difference?” explained Ms Omar. Until recently her wardrobe choice would have earned unwanted attention from the religious police. But now, “It’s fun to wear the T-shirt of the wrestler you support.” Read More…