Getting Serious About Christmas

Check out Lipscomb Bohemian, a new blog by a visitor to Bessemer Opinions that will feature art and relevant topics.

Speaking of Lipscomb, their Christmas parade was Saturday. Here are a couple of pics...

Fairfield was generous enough to allow Santa to ride on their truck.

Christmas and war just don't go together, although, as it seems, there is always a war going on at Christmastime. I was listening to Reg's Coffee House in the car Sunday and heard a song.

I’ve missed Reg for a year or two, and was happy to rediscover him on Live100.5, the best (only) "adult alternative" (whatever that means) station in the area. Listen here (after a couple of clicks and advertisements).

Anyway, Brett Dennen, wrote this song a few years ago, and Reg said he wishes a holiday season would pass without him being able to play this song, but…not this year.

The Holidays Are Here (and We're Still At War)

Or, the "Shot live by YouTube" version (lyrics are easier to understand):

Why does it seem that a song written a few years ago is still so relevant today? The problems are all still here.

My favorite Southern Baptist preacher, James Evans, wrote this prayer several years ago. Like the song, the themes of this prayer are just as meaningful today as when it was written. It hangs in my house, and has appeared in at least one state newspaper already this year.

Yuletide Prayer

Lord, first of all, thank you for the careful and creative way in which you have designed this world. You have made this planet a marvelous place, filled with life and beauty. It is a privilege to recognize that we humans are a part of your amazing invention.

Having said that, it is necessary to also say we are sorry. We are sorry for our poor stewardship of the Earth. We have not been very careful with the air and the water. We have also not been very careful with certain forms of life. We have acted as if ours was the only existence that matters. Apparently we forgot what Jesus said about you and the sparrows.

We have also not been very good stewards of the resources which sustain life. Many of us living in the developed nations have become a highly acquisitive people. It's almost as if we believe that the purpose of our humanity is to get our hands on as much stuff as possible. There are many who look to their earthly treasures as the true source of their security and meaning. You used the word idolatry to describe that kind of thinking.

Sadly, our pursuit of things has also created a dismal state of affairs in our relations with each other. We've got it all backwards from what you intended. Instead of loving people, as you taught, we use people to get what we want. Instead using things to make life better, we love things and cling to them as if they were life itself.

This tragic reversal has had dire consequences. Our greedy consumption has created a world of poverty for millions -- as our wealth grows, so does their poverty. And we keep fighting one bloody war after another, taking the lives of your children, trying to protect our stuff.

In fact, that touches on one of our most difficult problems -- our love of violence. We treat violence in our culture as if it were a sacred rite. We believe in violence. We cherish it, we celebrate it. We teach it to our children as if we were passing along a spiritual heritage. We have endowed violence with a trust and a hope that should be reserved for you.

We believe violence can conquer evil. We believe violence can make peace. We believe violence can end violence. You would think that 50,000 years of human experience would convince us otherwise, but not yet.

That is why Christmas is so important. The birth of Jesus represents the supreme effort on your part to reshape our flawed humanity back into your own image. If we would only accept as true the things Jesus had to say to us, what a different world this might be.

Somewhere along the way this Christmas we will hear the words of the prophet Isaiah: "A child shall lead them." We are drawn to the innocence of the nativity with a sense of wonder and longing. We believe that Jesus is that child.

But he cannot lead us if we do not follow. And he cannot change us so long as we insist on having things our own way.

Help us this year to finally admit that our way is not working and for once, just for once, try doing things his way.

Amen

Science and Sexuality

I have a few thoughts about sexuality and science. A person who comments on this blog keeps trying to say that there is no scientific evidence that homosexuality is anything but a choice.

Let’s start with some visual evidence:

Here are Roy and Silo, the most famous gay penguins.

Homosexuality is well documented in penguins and other animals.

Do oysters make a choice?

While not saying that an oyster is gay, they do change gender once or more times during their lifetime. (And, as an aside, as the article asks, how hungry did someone have to be to eat the first oyster?)

Back to the subject. The oysters aren't gay, but they are an example of the sexual diversity that exists among the animal kingdom.


Reproductive diversity in the animal kingdom is present in seahorses as well. Again while not addressing sexuality, the fact that the male gives birth reminds us that among animals, fish in this case, things are not so simple. Watch the male having babies.



Let's see. Same sex behaviour is observed in over 1500 animal species. I won't post a video of every species, but this video contains images from a documentary, "Out In Nature: Homosexual Behaviour in the Animal Kingdom".

Now lets move to human research. Here is the first sentence and the last sentence of an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, by Dick Swaab (PNAS July 29, 2008 vol. 105 no. 30 10273-10274).

Current evidence indicates that sexual differentiation of the human brain occurs during fetal and neonatal development and programs our gender identity—our feeling of being male or female and our sexual orientation as hetero-, homo-, or bisexual.
...

...

Neurobiological research related to sexual orientation in humans is only just gathering momentum, but the evidence already shows that humans have a vast array of brain differences, not only in relation to gender, but also in relation to sexual orientation.

This is but one paper from recent research that explores human sexuality from a scientific standpoint. The paper (as most scientific papers do) asserts that more research is needed, and of course, this is happening.

I only wanted to give an example showing there is evidence, contrary to what the commenter said, that sexual orientation is not a choice.

Non-human animals don't really have the option of choosing. Or do they? If you say yes, then that gives them a quality that once was reserved for humans. It makes us just a little more close to the rest of the animal kingdom than some Christian conservatives would like. But if they don't have a choice, then it must be science that is making them behave in the ways they do.

I could go on and on about science, but that is enough for now.

Research is in our favor. Science is in our favor.

It's Getting Close

And I will start my shopping today.

Here are some Santa's from around the house. All done by local (or local at the time) artists.

I drew the design for this one.
This Santa has that classic, "gotcha covered" look.


This is Santa with a rocking horse, by my friend Phyllis.

I'm Pleased About the Inauguration

It really doesn't bother me that Rick Warren will be giving the invocation at Obama's inauguration because Alabama native Joseph Lowery will get the last word, giving the benediction. Rev. Joseph Lowery is a gay rights and a gay marriage advocate.



His remarks at Coretta Scott King's funeral (remember, Coretta was a strong, strong supporter of gay equality, and assured us that Martin would have been as well), show us that he does not mince words. He might fire some of those remarks at the bigotry that we still see in America, bigotry that is against the newest target, the gays.

Dmac says it well at Oxdown Gazette.

Rick Warren would be running with his tail between his legs if Joe Lowery and he got in a debate.

Oh, and in spite of what I said, I respect Rick Warren. I agree with him on a lot of things. He has inspired a lot of people, including my daughter who read his book (and somehow ended up with two copies). He's just a little mis-guided sometimes.

Marriage as Defined in the Bible

Since when does creating a "Team of Rivals" include asking the pastor who purposely tried to make you look foolish, to pray at your inauguration?

Rick Warren is either a smart slimeball or senseless moron, and that's just based on his responses in this YouTube video.





First, he is right, divorce is a greater threat to the American family than same-sex marriage. But he spins statistics to say that most marriages are successful. He says in reality most marriages are successful, even though people say more than half the marriages end in divorce. And they do, he just doesn't count the second and third marriages which end in divorce 61% and 75% of the time, respectively.

Anyway, after comparing same sex marriage to brother-sister marriage, old guy-young girl marriage and polygamy, he talks about the re-definition of marriage, which has been defined for 5000 years, he says.

Ok, go back 5000 years, Rick. Around that time, Abraham included in his marriage having sex with and impregnating his wife's Egyptian maid, Hagar. As it says in the New American Standard Version of the Bible, "Abram's wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife." Gen 16:3. Great example of traditional marriage.

Who's Your Daddy?

Not long after, Lot's wife became a pillar of salt (think about that next time you season your green beans). Lot returned to his cave man roots (Gen 19: 30) and his daughters got him drunk and partied with him, and each had a baby boy.

Yeah Rick, marriage 5000 years ago is really something to hold on to.

Then there's that whole "sister, half sister, wife" thing Abraham goes into with Abimelech (Gen 20), and men fathering children by their concubines as part of their traditional marriage (Gen 22).

Next up is Esau, the hairy guy, who must have been a real stud. First he married Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, and also Basemath (his cousin). (Gen 36)

So these are examples of marriage when the relationship was being defined. Polygamy, incest and concubines. And that is just Genesis. Marriage has be re-defined so many times it's ridiculous.

Oh, and many conservatives are upset with Rick Warren also because they see him as an opportunist and don't like his broadening of the evangelical agenda. (Re-defining the evangelical agenda).

Western Tribune Column December 17 2008

(Read more about and see pictures of Masdar here.)

Tribune column

When will America begin to take the energy crisis seriously? It looked like we were beginning when gas was hovering around $4.00 a gallon. People began to drive less, to run multiple errands at a time and to carpool. Average miles driven decreased significantly, and the consumption of energy in the form of gasoline dropped.

Now that gasoline prices have fallen our old habits are beginning to return.

In other countries energy conservation is ahead of us. Way ahead. For instance, in Abu Dhabi the leaders believe that petroleum is a thing of the past. They are building a city named Masdar, which is Arabic for “source.”

Masdar, will be a zero-waste, zero-carbon city, powered mostly by sunlight, which is plentiful in the desert.

The city will house 50,000 residents and 40,000 commuters. There will be 65 million square feet of office space.

Cars will be banned within the city limits. Garages are available outside of the city for parking, and electric transportation pods will transport people throughout the city.

Wastewater will be used to irrigate fields that grow biofuels.

In many aspects it is easier to build a city like this from scratch rather than convert and existing city. But American planners should look closely at the innovations in Masdar as new developments are proposed.

Green building technology is on the rise on our country. While individuals may be slow to adapt new habits regarding energy usage, architects are realizing more and more the advantages of designing from a conservation and renewable standpoint.

Construction costs may be a few percentage points higher with green technology, but we must realize that the dollars spent on construction are not the only costs associated with building. In fact, even future savings in energy costs (which can offset construction costs) are not all that should be considered.

The simple fact that we are using less of the earth’s precious resources should make small increases in price more acceptable. Some resources really are limited, in spite of what some politicians may want you to believe.

The leaders of oil rich Abu Dhabi are convinced that the world will wean itself from oil and we should join them. We can either face the end of the petroleum era on our terms, or allow it to force us into a crisis much worse than what we just went through. The choice is ours.

Langford Crowding the Dockets

Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford is asking for more time to prepare for his conspiracy trial, because his lawyers need to do some reading. I'm sure the judge will grant more time, as Langford's attorneys claim they have more than a million pages to read.

That's good because Langford's other case in Federal court is moving ahead. Judge Karen Bowdre denied Langford's request that the case filed by Central Alabama Pride be dismissed. Central Alabama Pride will be able to amend its complaints to address the deficiencies alleged by Langford.

Langford is being represented by Liberty Counsel, out of Orlando, Florida (but with offices in Virginia and ties to Liberty University and the Thomas Road Baptist Church crowd).

Why would Langford not use his local attorneys?

Two thoughts.

1. His local attorneys want nothing to do with the case because they understand that Langford was bullheaded in denying the same rights to Central Alabama Pride that he allows other groups, and that Birmingham is an inclusive city as evidenced by the resolution the council passed last year and that Langford was not being "inclusive."

2. Liberty counsel provides pro bono legal assistance in the areas of religious liberty, the sanctity of human life and the traditional family according to their website. Somehow this case falls under that. But "pro bono?" Maybe Langford couldn't get Bill Blount to pony up for these expenses. I don't know.

Liberty Counsel is endorsed, on their website, at the bottom of the page I linked to, by dead people. James Kennedy, Bill Bright and Jerry Falwell are all dead, but give glowing endorsements. This is indicative of their dead ideas and backward thinking, I guess.

Hey watch the London Gay Men's Chorus "Coming Out at Christmas."