February 2006 Archives

At this point in Season Five of “24,” The president of the United States has been brought to a place of asking his chief of staff to pray with him. The chief of staff balks, saying “This is a personal matter.”

“Please, just... please,” says the president, as they then both take a knee.

But while President Logan was praying, I couldn’t help but wonder why it is that our culture is so accepting of prayers in times of last resort, but not prayers as a first offense and primary resource toward whichever challenges we’re facing personally, professionally, or nationally? And if we'll pray after a crisis hits, why not pray as a regular practice, applying the biblical principles upon which our nation was founded?

It’s as if “crisis” makes prayer authentic, but “peace time” makes prayer a violation of church and state. This week’s script on “24” was either art imitating life or life imitating, well, something less than art.

Two years ago this Ash Wednesday, Mel Gibson released his much-hyped "The Passion of the Christ" to adoring, and some not-so-adoring, audiences everywhere.

This Ash Wednesday brings a new "Passion" of sorts--"The McPassion." This time, it's a four minute long movie short. Co-produced by Benjamin Hershleder and Rik Swartzwelder, "The McPassion" is a comedy spoof inspired in honor of dear old Mel. And it's already creating controversy and division (of course) among Christians.

On its official website, the only synopsis available says of "The McPassion": "The greatest story ever told and a fast food giant unite to deliver the tie-in of tie-ins. While supplies last." Viewers are greeted by a giant "McDonald's" golden arches with a cross emerging from part of the M. And you can find a countdown until the movie short becomes available.

Tune in to a computer near you this Ash Wednesday. It's only available for 40 days and 40 nights. (And I'm not kidding about that!)

"Pancakes make people happy," goes the slogan of the Royal Canadian Pancake House. But those delectable breakfast treats do much more than that on Shrove Tuesday--they provide the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Traditionally, Christian households were supposed to use up the lard and dairy in their homes in preparation for the austere Lenten fasting period; hence the name "Fat Tuesday" ("Mardi Gras" in French). On Shrove Tuesday 1445, a curious thing happened in the town of Olney, England: The first pancake race was run.

There are several stories explaining the emergence of the race, but the most popular one holds that a local housewife, upon hearing the church bells ring, ran off to the service with frying pan and pancake still in hand.

However it got started, the contestants in Olney's pancake race (and other such contests) must flip their pancakes in their frying pans before running the 415-yard course, then give them another toss at the finish line to prove the pancake is still present. Only women 18 or over may enter and they must wear “traditional” housewife’s garb--a skirt, an apron, and some form of head covering.

In 1950, it became a transatlantic event, when the town of Liberal, Kansas, challenged the flapjack flippers across the pond to see which country rules the sport of pancake racing. Times are compared via a long-distance phone call and ambassadors from the opposing country are often present.

Andrea Rawlings, a 32-year-old Olney saddler who came in second in 2005, brought the bacon, so to speak, back to Britain this year with a time of 63.76 seconds.

After reading about "The Colbert Report" and its penchant for luring distinguished public figures into making complete fools of themselves, I tuned in last night, and who was the guest? None other than a Beliefnet favorite, Tony Campolo, a nationally known Christian author and speaker.

What a delight to watch a seasoned pro (Colbert) try to stump and trap an evangelical (Campolo)--and instead be left speechless himself. And, in the process, I think he opened the door for a whole new audience to discover the radical words of Jesus. Here were Colbert’s best attempts at leading Dr. Campolo toward putting a foot in his mouth:

COLBERT: “You claim to be a member of the ‘Evangelical Left.’ Isn’t that a contradiction in terms?”

CAMPOLO: “There are people who care about the poor, who take the words of Jesus literally, and if one would do both, then I think the two words belong together.”

COLBERT: “But you’re saying that Jesus hates America. Sean Hannity’s book said ‘deliver us from evil.’ Do you watch Hannity & Colmes?”

CAMPOLO. “Jesus loves the United States. Jesus loves Iraq. Jesus loves Afghanistan. He calls all people to love each other, get along with each other. He loved Afghanistan before the U.S. went there... before it was even Afghanistan.”

COLBERT: “You make Jesus sound like the U.N.”

CAMPOLO: “If the U.N. would listen to Jesus, the whole world would be in good shape.”

COLBERT: (speechless)

CAMPOLO: “Jesus transcends partisan politics.”

COLBERT: “So you’re saying Jesus doesn’t care who is President?”

CAMPOLO: “I’ve got a feeling that if Jesus went into the voting box, he’d be very confused, because there’s stuff on both sides to like and not to like. They’ve made Jesus into a Republican, and he’s not.”

COLBERT: “Do you get a frosty reception from the evangelical pancake breakfast?”

CAMPOLO: “I don’t get invited anymore.”

And finally…

COLBERT: “Has religion changed politics, or has politics changed religion?”

CAMPOLO: “It’s like mixing ice cream and horse manure. It doesn’t hurt the horse manure, but it hurts the ice cream. Politics has hurt religion, more than the opposite.”

COLBERT: (pause)

COLBERT: “Would you come back another time to sift the turds from the cream?!”

And then they shook hands, laughed, and shared a moment that—to this viewer—looked like an authentic connection. Campolo won this round, in my opinion, but the real winner was the audience. This frank and funny dialogue was one of the more civil, humorous, honest and challenging discussions two people could have about authentic spiritual searching and its connection to real-life decision-making--all while keeping us laughing. All in all, time well spent.

Karma visited the ER last night on “Grey’s Anatomy.” Or at least television’s version of karma – the idea that what comes around, goes around. Outside of Hollywood Hinduism*, karma can best be defined as action or duty. But as usual, Hollywood's got its own definition of this ancient concept.

Sweet, beleaguered surgical resident George O’Malley narrated last night’s episode, which contained several storylines using the oft misappropriated concept as the connective tissue between them. And, just in case the theme didn't jump out at you, George's languid voice-over was there to repeat the word every few minutes: "What I'm saying is, we reap what we sow. What goes around comes around. It's karma and anyway you slice it, karma sucks."

Storyline #1 involved George finally getting his crush, Meredith, into bed, only to have her start crying--because, as it turns out, she realized she didn’t really want to be sleeping with him. Dang! Poor George thought that always being the nice guy, always helping the helpless, always being there for his Meredith when she needed him was finally paying off. But he was wrong.

The second storyline centered around Denny, a good-as-gold guy in need of a heart transplant. He wins the romantic attention of resident Izzie, not only because he is so gosh darn good, but also because Izzie’s current beau created some bad karma for himself, sleeping with another nurse. A double whammy!

Meanwhile, Addison is feeling the rash of God, as it were. After being smitten with a nasty case of poison oak below the beltline, she is convinced the affliction happened because she slept with Mark, the best friend of her husband, Derek Shepherd, a.k.a. Dr. McDreamy. Calamine stat!

So while karma may have more to do with carnality than courage at Seattle Grace Hospital, things do work out for the best in the end for nice-guy George. Trying to escape the other residents' probing questions about his liason with Meredith, he falls down the stairs and dislocates his shoulder, only to have it popped back in by a very attractive doctor who later slips him her digits. That's good karma by any definition.

* Yes, yes. We know it’s a Buddhist concept too, but this is a blog entry, not a thesis.

As the Olympics drew to a close last night, I found that the most disappointing--and annoying--aspect of NBC’s Olympic coverage was the huge amount of airtime given to U.S. skier and 2002 silver medalist Bode Miller. With a daredevil, nonconformist...

Whether its prime time or not, weekday or weekend, holidays, sweeps period, or any other time of the year, it doesn’t take long to see that cop shows and court shows are very popular these days. "CSI," "Cold Case," "Law...

Ellen Leventry’s blog entry regarding Sasha Cohen’s Kabbalah bracelet was an interesting piece that brings up an interesting issue that should be seriously debated—or at least reflected on—in our culture: the difference between religion, spirituality, superstition, karma, luck, faith, and...

That red string around U.S. figure skater Sasha Cohen’s left wrist wasn’t part of her colorful costume--it was a Kabbalah bracelet. Ubiquitous among celebrities, including Madonna, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher and even Paris Hilton, the trendy talisman of Jewish mystical...

He may be a rude, bitter man who likes to pretend he is God, but I am still crazy about Gregory House. Fox’s critically acclaimed series "House"--which centers around a brilliant infectious disease specialist who solves life-or-death medical mysteries--features one...

Mindboggling, jaw-dropping, thrilling, engrossing. All these adjectives apply--and then some--when describing "What the Bleep!? Down the Rabbit Hole: Extended Director's Cut," playing in select cities now. (It's basically a long version of last year's very popular "What the Bleep Do...

I'd never heard of Sophie Scholl until last week, a fact I am embarrassed to admit, especially now that I've seen "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days," an Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. Scholl is today a national...

HBO has given its latest series "Big Love"--about a polygamous family from a Mormon offshoot group--the coveted post-Sopranos time slot, 10pm on Sundays, beginning March 12th. In other words, executives are planning to make a "Desperate Housewives"-sized splash in an...

Is Sony Studios trying to buy the Christian community’s support by hiring a publicity firm to promote its upcoming church conspiracy thriller ,“The Da Vinci Code,” to the religiously-inclined masses? That’s the question being heatedly debated by those in and...

American Idol contestant Mandisa Hundley threw the book at brash Brit judge Simon Cowell Wednesday night--a bit of the Good Book, that is. After the full-figured Hundley’s initial audition in Chicago, Cowell raised eyebrows and ire by asking if the...

Because I spent my formative teen years avidly listening to Christian music artist Michael W. Smith and Christian rocker/satirist Steve Taylor, I watched "The Second Chance," a movie which stars Smith and was directed by Taylor, hoping it would not...

I had the fortune to attend the stage debut in Burlington, VT, last weekend of "A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl" (Wendy Lamb/Random House), based on Tanya Lee Stone's novel of the same name. The story--about three...

For fantasy fans who have yet to discover newcomer Jonathan Stroud's "The Bartimaeus Trilogy," get ready to indulge. Stroud's writing is superb, his characters--and his demons--are funny and variant, and now the final installment in this three-book saga about the...

Sure we watch the Olympics for the fantastic athletic competitions, but what we really love is the human drama behind those achievements. And while the past few days have been full of drama--Michelle Kwan relinquishing her spot, Bode Miller not...

Sophie Scholl, executed in 1943 at age 21 for resisting the Nazi regime, has long been a heroine of conscience in Germany, even though the full details of her interrogation and demise weren’t known until recently. A new feature film,...

I understand the evangelical Christian t-shirt industry’s impulse to turn every catchphrase and mass-culture motto to Jesus’ purposes. A good “Got Jesus?” surfer tee reminds the faithful to keep their eyes on the prize and telegraphs to nonbelievers that serious...

"You think you know who you are, but you have no idea." That line is both an ominous warning and a promise of hope, and it exemplifies the moral complexity of the Oscar-nominated film “Crash.” Forget the gay cowboys, unconscionable...

My wife and I viewed two movies this weekend, and we saw a lot of killing. "Firewall" is the new Harrison Ford release. In it, he's the "good guy" and kills a lot of the "bad guys" who are holding...

What was that I just heard? Was that the collective voice of America sighing in sympathy when it heard that ice skating darling Michelle Kwan--winner of silver and bronze Olympic medals and numerous national and world championships--decided to drop out...

It’s an idea that’s been done to death--what would you do if you knew this was your last day?--but still last night’s Part 2 of the “Code Black” episode on “Grey’s Anatomy” triumphed despite being laden with clichés.The show had...

What was the best spiritual film of 2005? I'm not talking about the latest "Left Behind" flick, or even "The Gospel," but rather: What big, mainstream film offered both the highest-quality filmmaking and a meaningful, thoughtful spiritual message? That's the...

Why is it that James Legend thanks God for his Grammy and it fits him like his Valentino tuxedo, while Kelly Clarkson awkwardly sputters something about “Jesus, God and everybody who has supported me” and it sounds like a parody...

When Hollywood goes looking for someone to helm a new feature film on the Virgin Mary and her life with Joseph prior to the birth of Christ , who do you think is considered to be the most qualfied? Mel...

Although there was an all-star lineup of performers at last night's Grammy Awards, there was little surprise—for me, anyway—when the winners were announced. For those who read my blog entry yesterday, you'll allow me a moment to gloat that that...

Trivia time: Guess where these words about current events came from:• “We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty.”• “You can’t convict people by rumor, hearsay, and innuendo.”• “We can not defeat terror abroad without confronting it here at home.”• “We...

I blogged recently about rediscovering NBC’s long-running sitcom Scrubs. I have enjoyed connecting once again with goofy resident J.D. and the caustic Dr. Cox as they face each day’s ups and downs with a great deal of wit and, occasionally,...

Can movies change how we behave as a society? An opinion piece by Maria Dibattista in Sunday’s L.A. Times argues that they can--except for the movies that set out to do that. She adds the Oscar-nominated “Brokeback Mountain” to...

I love Grammy time. Although, I usually care less about the winners than I do about the performances, I decided this year to make some predictions for selected categories that are relevant to Beliefnet (or that I just wanted to...

“Death by Suburb,” a new book by David Goetz, is written as a wake-up call to Christians who have become defined by the size of their house, dress, car and megachurch. It’s a bell worth tolling, even if his vision...

The worldwide conservative Catholic group, Opus Dei--famous for its supposed secrecy and the practice by some of its members of self-flagellation--has been incensed ever since the publication of Dan Brown's bestselling novel "The Da Vinci Code," which features Silas, an...

Last night's "The Bachelor: Paris" had a truly jaw-dropping moment. For those of you who haven't watched one of the last seven seasons, when the eponymous bachelor gets down to four ladies, he goes to spend some time with their...

A Slate article chronicles how intelligent design advocates have come to identify with Galileo, the 17th-century scientist who was rebuffed by the Church for saying the Earth went around the sun. The analogy hinges on a recent statement by a...

This week's new episode of Veronica Mars, called "Rashard and Wallace Go to White Castle," finally gave me the opportunity I've been looking for: an excuse to introduce the UPN series, which airs Wednesdays at 9, to Idol Chatter readers....

The pioneer of Second Wave Feminism, Betty Friedan, author most famously of "The Feminine Mystique" (first published in 1963), died Saturday, February 4th, on her birthday. Her book, which has sold several million copies over the last four decades, is...

Kristin Chenoweth has what's called crossover appeal. Already, she's a Broadway diva ("Wicked"), television actress ("The West Wing"), and celebrity spokeswoman (Old Navy commericals), and has a burgeoning film career (the upcoming "Pink Panther"). She's also a good Christian girl...

In his book "Season to Season," Joseph L. Price declares, that for Americans, "sports constitute a form of popular religion." And while it can be argued that sporting spirituality is just as strong across the pond, there is perhaps no...

It’s not only the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks who have a lot riding on Sunday’s Super Bowl. The entire city of Detroit, a city that has been trying for years to recover from economic recession and urban flight,...

Things been slow for you lately? Try picking up the pace with “The World’s Fastest Indian,” a new Anthony Hopkins film.The movie explores the journey of a New Zealand man, Burt Munro, who dreams of making his classic Indian motorcycle...

I often write about chocolate in relation to, well, anything spiritual, religious, or divine--anything that I can find to justify my oh-so-out-of-control addiction to this confectionary delight. In my most recent book, "Becoming a Goddess of Inner Poise: Spirituality for...

On an upcoming episode of “Will and Grace,” Jack’s “OutTV” network is bought by a Christian TV network... great idea. Casting Britney Spears as a conservative Christian who hosts a cooking segment on the new network... another great idea. Calling...

I certainly agree with my fellow Idol Chatterer Paul’s observation that we haven’t exactly seen a post-“Passion” wave of successful, thought-provoking, overtly religious films coming out of Hollywood, much less being nominated for this year’s Academy Awards. But before those...