I took a nap today and now I kinda wish I hadn't.
Unbeknownst to me, Dad was watching Fox News in the same room while I was asleep. Guess what I dreamed about!

I had a nightmare that the whole Unites States lost electricity while I was stuck at a small, crappy zoo with flying monkeys and really strong flying...cows or deer, not sure which. It was scary and one of my former Education professors worked there. So, even though apparently we were being attacked by our own government and falling into chaos, we still had internet access...weird.

Anyway, the whole time I'm running around trying to gather food and encouraging everyone to eat the cole slaw before it goes bad but no one can hear me because Bill O'Reilly is yelling about how he TOLD us the government was corrupt and he TOLD us the government was going to take all our money but NOOO BODY listened and he TOLD US SO!!!

I woke up exhausted.

And when I finally came to, who did I see on TV but Glenn Beck drawing stick figures on a chalk board talking about how church and state never should have been separated because the Ten Commandments are so freakin awesome. So awesome in fact, that Thomas Jefferson thought that our country's symbol should have been a pillar of fire, a chariot, and Moses with the Ten Commandments. Umm, first of all, that's way too busy! A simple eagle was a much better choice, I think. I'll get to Moses in a minute, but first Jefferson.

To be fair, I don't remember hearing Glenn use the word "Christian", so even though he annoys me, I'll let him off the hook this time. However, I sure as hell hear a lot of other people talk about how our founding fathers wanted a Christian nation and to them, I say this:

Thomas Jefferson was not a Christian. He had a lot of problems with the Bible and he actually went through the New Testament, analyzing it and taking out all the parts that he thought the early church fathers made up. The result was "The Jefferson Bible". Guess what's in the Jefferson Bible? Not much. The following is a quote from pbs.org:

"Who was the Jesus that Jefferson found? He was not the familiar figure of the New Testament. In Jefferson's Bible, there is no account of the beginning and the end of the Gospel story. There is no story of the annunciation, the virgin birth or the appearance of the angels to the shepherds. The resurrection is not even mentioned.

Jefferson discovered a Jesus who was a great Teacher of Common Sense. His message was the morality of absolute love and service. Its authenticity was not dependent upon the dogma of the Trinity or even the claim that Jesus was uniquely inspired by God." If you don't believe me, you can read the "Jefferson bible" for yourself. It's called The Life and Works of Jesus of Nazareth and you can read the whole thing for free on line.

Based on that alone, I seriously doubt that Jefferson was trying to turn the US into the Christian Nation© that the extreme religious right stays up at night masturbating to. Denying Jesus' virgin birth and resurrection doesn't exactly make you a Christian by today's definition of the term.

And the really obvious part of all this is: Why would anyone equate Moses with Christianity? Moses was not a Christian, because, newsflash, NOBODY WAS A CHRISTIAN BACK THEN! If this is new information, then let me further burst your bubble: neither were Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, King David, King Solomon, Queen Esther, Adam or Eve. You may equate Moses with Judaism if you'd like, because that would be more accurate, but to say the ten commandments are exclusively Christian is very, very off the mark.

To recap:
1. Thomas Jefferson was not a Christian.
2. Moses was not a Christian.
3. The Ten Commandments are not exclusively Christian. The Jews had them first.
4. If the Ten Commandments and Moses are what our country was supposedly founded upon, then I nominate Adam Sandler for president because he's the coolest Jew I can think of off the top of my head!

Note: If, in my still-sleepy state, I listed incorrect information, feel free to send me corrections and I'll post them. I like learning. :)

References:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/jesus/jefferson.html
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/JefJesu.html

I believe that seasons have an effect on how people act and feel. For example, Seasonal Affective Disorder is depression experienced during the winter season as the days get shorter and people spend more time inside to escape the cold. And this is when we celebrate Valentine's Day: during the school year when, in most US states, it is cold outside.

What if Valentine's Day was switched to a summer holiday, say, in June or July? Would we celebrate it differently? Maybe fewer couples would break up over the summer. Maybe we would celebrate the holiday outside in nature instead of inside a restaurant.

Would there be Valentine's Day fireworks shows? Outdoor concerts? Would lovers go on picnics together? At the very least, it wouldn't be as bad for single students. The last thing you want to see is other students walking down the hallway with flowers and stuffed animals reminding you that you are single yet another year.

Valentine's Day in the summer. What do you think?

I had a pastor once who told me that other people are not the key to happiness. He said it's up to us to make ourselves happy, like through findng a hobby that makes us happy (his was golf) but that other people ultimately could not make us happy or unhappy.

At the time, of course, I just nodded. Now I think that's bullshit.

Other people can't make you happy, but golf can? Are you serious??

Maybe if you emotionally distance yourself from everyone who tries to get close to you and close yourself up in a world of objects that you can control, well then I guess you would be right. People can't make you happy or unhappy if you never give them the chance. Now that I'm sitting here at my keyboard mulling this over, remembering the conversation and recreating it for you to read, I realize why my pastor said that:

because that was how he lived his life.

He kept almost everyone at arms length. He wasn't a bad person, but life was not good to him early on and he found it easier to keep people out than to risk getting hurt again. Can't say I blame him, but it seems an aweful way to live your life.

This is the end of this realization. You can stop reading here if you want. I'm going to keep typing and making connections.

When I was coming of age in Christian culture, the "authentic community" movement hadn't started. We were still in the "Jesus Freak" movement. the Jesus Freak movement emphasized conforming to a set of behavioral rules (no drinking, smoking, promiscuity) and a certain keeping up of appearances:

1. be the happiest person at your school
2. be positive,
3. pray a lot
4. carry your Bible around with you
5. insert Jesus into everything you do
6. wear shirts and bracelets with bible verses on them

90's icons included: Josh McDowell, DC Talk, The Power Team (god help us), Ken Freeman (in my area), Ron Luce, True Love Waits and the WWJD bracelets. Oh, and the Left Behind book series.

It's a complete coincidence that I made my exit from the culture while it was in the midst of changing. Christian Culture has a different emphasis now with different icons. It doesn't seem to be so perfection-based and flashy. The 90's-early 2000's was an era of Christian culture jumping around, waving its arms shouting "Look at me! Look at me!! I'm cool!!"

We're now in 2009, and from my perspective (which is outside looking in), Christian culture (or at least a strong movement within) has changed its clothes from bright and flashy to earth tones and is now sitting in the back of a dimly-let coffee house alone, just looking around, absorbing the atmosphere and taking in the soul-stirring music that wafts in from a performer on stage playing acoustic guitar.

The biggest icon, in my opinion, is Rob Bell who is about as average and unassuming as it gets. He has these videos where he's just sitting and talking to the camera and people are fascinated by him. He pastors a huge church and writes books and unlike the 90's when you had to yell and announce your presence to get attention, Rob just sits and talks to his audience.

Maybe you haven't heard of Jay Bakker, but to me, he respresents the shift that has taken place in the last 20 years. His dad was/is a fundamentalist preacher in my former denimination. Very famous. Jay is a preacher now too, but he so fully believes in being authentic that he curses while he preaches. He is very open about the fact that he drinks and he supports gay marriage. I love Jay Bakker, in case you're wondering. To me, he's the link between the culture I grew up in and the new movement of authenticity within Christian culture.

Don Miller is another one. He's the author of the uber-famous "Blue Like Jazz" book. I read it, and I'm telling you this guy is not like Josh McDowell at all. Don Miller asks a bunch of questions and ponders the mysteries of God and life.And the honesty is shocking, like being woken up with cold water splashed in your face! The days of pedestals and keeping people at a distance seem to be waning.  There's this movement toward authenticity, and since I'm not in the middle of it, I'm not sure how genuine it is, but it looks like a good sign from where I'm sitting.

Maybe, just maybe, Christians are warming up and beginning to not be afraid of getting close.