Slam Dunk-an

After departing the blogosphere for vacation I read Bryan Duncan's blog-type thing.

He hit so many great points on so many levels I just had to leave it with you:

4/19/08 Corona, CA
I met with Skip Williams a few days before Friday’s experiment. Skip is the Recovery leader at Crossroads Church in Corona. “my hope is to bring my new songs of redemption to the main congregation at church… to present why we all need recovery on a daily basis” I told him.

I handed him a rough draft of a new layout of songs with scriptures and definitions of why these songs resonate with recovery. Everyone is struggling with something always! And here’s a chance to present new insights to those who feel that recovery is only for mainlining drug users and alcoholics. We all have a “drug of choice” I believe. The thing we run to before running to God. Even preachers and teachers are broken somewhere.. be it pride or arrogance.. or control.. or personal validation. That’s where dependencies meet denial. And the behaviors are sure to follow!

The simple draft opens with the song Chains come in every shape and size…and a scripture from Psalms… “the suffering you sent was good for me… they caused me to consider your principles. But then it includes dialog between myself and the local leader of recovery or ministry.

It’s followed by a song I did for the first time yesterday “Only For Good”… which is tied to the scripture in Jeremiah 29:11 .. with commentary about where God’s Children were when he spoke of his plans… captivity!. And God determined that it was in their best interest to stay there for over 70 years!.... hence… God lets you experience the consequences of your own free will to show you why you should follow his principles.

The set continues with dialog and scripture for an hour presentation… it also included “You Keep Me Coming Back”… “I love you with my life”…” I love you so” and “I’m still dancing”… and last night it went over very well. The Lyrics were on the screens on stage too with some nice imagery. Everyone seemed drawn in, in a new way to what was actually being presented. Yea it still needs some work and there are so many other songs I’d love to present as well… but this was an acknowledgement that I need to change the way I present my songs… away from just being “as good as heathen music”… or “ showing how ‘professional we can bring things”…

I’m learning still that the scripture lasts forever and songs mostly fade away replaced by new songs from new people. I’ve made a choice away from entertaining people only and letting them pick up the subtlety of my spirituality on their own. I’ve made a choice to acknowledging that people are hungry for a little more than a good jam session and a couple of smiles about broader truth. That’s all great but it is mostly the case with those who are simply looking to “escape”… The club scene will never get who I am perhaps because I cannot be about “escaping”…I know now that is why Christian music is rarely received no matter how good it is… if there is an embracing of the truth its gonna come with a little pain in the realization that there is something not quite right with any of us separate from a true relationship to God.

O.k. so there’s that… Bryan D

Be Back Soon

Driscoll on Doctrine

Interesting article on an important topic. I would like to hear Mark Driscoll's series:

Read all about it.

Titus 2:1

You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.

Looking For Stones to Cast

I have access to statistics related to this blog of what people are searching for when they find it. Sometimes it is very interesting.

Some of the more popular searches lately are The Clark Brothers, American Idol, DC Talk Reunion, Marcy Priest and Voyage Radio.

What is more interesting though are the more random searches. There were two recently that caught my attention. One was " jd sumner sinful living" and the other "bryan duncan divorce."

JD Sumner was the bass singer for much of Elvis Presley's career. Far right on the picture above. I have commented about him on this blog because he was a big fan of my brothers when we sang as The McLaughlin Brothers and he did all he could to support us. His friendship meant the world to me.

I will never forget sitting alone with him on his bus in Louisville, Kentucky one day when he put his hand on mine across the table and with a tear in his eye said, "David, I love you." I was stunned. I grew up idolizing this guy. He was a legend in music and I was so honored that he actually valued the friendship of this snot-nosed kid.

Whoever was searching for some details of JD's "sinful living" would have to look no further than to JD himself were he still alive. JD was the first to tell you that for most of his life he was a scoundrel. But he realized, probably too late for his own preference, that he wished he had lived better. But as he sang in one of his songs with his legendary Stamps Quartet, "After all these years the Lord still lives in this old house."

Bryan Duncan is probably my favorite overall Christian artist. Amazing voice and lyrics that always seem to have come straight from my mind were I more articulate. A few years ago he went through a divorce and I guess somebody felt the need to learn more about the details. I don't know why because it is none of their business. Duncan has been very candid about his struggles and recovery.

What bothers me about these posts are what appears to be people looking to dig up info on someone so they can cast stones.

So if for some reason anyone ever wants to find dirt on me I'd like to make it easy on google:

David McLaughlin sinner

David McLaughlin glutton

David McLaughlin liar

David McLaughlin cusser

David McLaughlin luster (is that a word?)

David McLaughlin selfish

David McLaughlin prideful

David McLaughlin envious

David McLaughlin greedy

David McLaughlin bad

and oh yeah....

David McLaughlin forgiven.

PS-Others in picture are James Blackwood left, then Hovie Lister. I also had the good pleasure of knowing both of these Gospel music legends and good men who were also known sinners.

Pray for the Chapmans

This is a heart breaking story. It really grips me because were it not for my older son Chase, I would have run over my younger son Reagan a couple years ago. Chase literally saved his life.
--------------------
From the AP:

Daughter of Christian music star killed by car
By JOE EDWARDS – 7 hours ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The 5-year-old daughter of Grammy-winning Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman was struck and killed Wednesday by a sport utility vehicle driven by her brother, authorities said.

The girl, Maria Sue, was hit in the driveway of the family's home Wednesday afternoon by a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by her teenage brother, said Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The brother, whose name and exact age weren't available, apparently did not see the girl, McPherson said. No charges are expected.

"It looks like a tragic accident," she said.

Several family members witnessed the accident, which happened in Williamson County just south of Nashville. The girl died later at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, hospital spokeswoman Laurie Holloway said.

Rest of the story.

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!

GOD EXISTS!

(No, not this guy. But he won, so yeah, God exists!)

Although that song at the end was horrible.

Other thoughts on the finale.

Carrie Underwood and George Michael were awesome. I could have done without everything else.

Thou Shalt Not Worship False Idols

If there is a God, He will perform a miracle and David Cook will win American Idol. Of course, we all know Archuletta will win, especially after the judges fawned over him all night.

But still...we can dream.

We Love You...Pass It On

I dont know what a meme is, but this was passed on to me from Sarah:

The rules are:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.

2. Each player answers the questions about himself or herself.

3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Okay, here we go…

Ten years ago, I was…

Fifty pounds lighter.

5 Things on Today’s “To Do” List:

(This was at the beginning of the day)

1. Attend the AMP Orientation at work (Mentoring program-all day)
2. Set up for my class tomorrow morning
3. Walk 30 minutes
4. Burn a few copies of my One Hour VTB dvd
5. Watch American Idol with the family.

3 Bad Habits:

1. Glutton
2. Hate exercise
3. Over-commit to projects

5 Places I’ve Lived:

Oklahoma City, OK
Moore, OK
Tulsa, OK
Austin, TX (actually Round Rock)
Euless, TX
Bethany, OK

5 Jobs I’ve Held:

Shoe salesman (Kinneys)
Appliance Salesman (OTASCO)
Musician (Various bands)
Minister (Calvary Church, Newchurch)
Accountant
Trainer

TAG You're it:
Craig
Robert
Matt
Alan
Aaron

Movie Review: Prince Caspian

Took off work early so the family and I could go see Prince Caspian at the early show. We bought tickets a month ago.

Here is a great summary of the movie from the Christian Post:

In “Prince Caspian,” the Pevensie children – Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy – are magically and mysteriously transported from England back to Narnia to help Caspian regain his throne from his power-hungry uncle, Lord Miraz.

But when the youths return to Narnia, they find that the land and people have greatly changed. While the siblings have only aged a year, 1,300 years have passed in the magical land. The Pevensie’s find that only a small number of Narnians still believe in the story of Aslan – who has not been seen in centuries – the Stone Table, and a time when animals talked.

“We enter a world of skepticism that is very much like our own,” commented Mark Earley, president and CEO of Prison Fellowship Ministry, in a column this week. “Let’s just say that the best-selling books of Miraz’s kingdom could easily have been titled ‘The Aslan Delusion and Aslan is Not Great.’”

The conflict changes this time from a direct good versus evil fight – where Aslan is pitted against the White Witch in the first Narnia story – to a war between followers of the opposing powers. But on a personal level, the characters struggle individually with their faith in the stories about Aslan, including Prince Caspian himself who has never seen the lion.

“Here is something with which Christians today can certainly relate,” Earley observed. “It is one thing to be among the first witnesses who exult in the risen Christ. It is quite another to act out of faith when the stories of His witnesses are so many centuries removed from our world.”

When the movie was over my youngest son (almost 9) said, "That was better than the first one!" (Lion Witch and the Wardrobe) My oldest son (almost 12) agreed. My wife was hesitant but agreed. I wholeheartedly agreed.

Awesome flick! Go see it!

8 thumbs up! (That's the whole family)

One Hour Voyage Through The Bible

This Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 6 pm, David McLaughlin will be presenting his multimedia presentation of a One Hour Voyage Through The Bible at Newchurch in Oklahoma City.

He will go through the entire Bible in 60 minutes and touch every book. It is a unique way of looking at the Bible and gives a great context for all of your other Bible studies.

Don't miss this unique presentation.

The Proof is in the Puddin'

Craig is a doubter.

He made a rude comment after my last post praising DeGarmo and Key's No Turning Back Live as the best album in Christian rock.

So, until Eddie DeGarmo contacts me and makes me take it down, here is one big (32 mb) mp3 that contains 17:24 of the album (full of tape hiss and record crackle), so it will take a few minutes to download. Please download it to your computer before playing so you don't lock up my server.

It contains three songs in one file; Over and Over, Let Him Help You Today and Love One Another.

Listen to it...then shut your pie hole.

Download here. Right click and choose "Save Target As" and save to your computer. Then play from your favorite mp3 media player.

Also, here is another article about the reunion that gives a little more info about what Dana Key (descendant of Francis Scott Key) and Eddie are up to today.

Album Review: DeGarmo & Key, No Turning Back Live

Yeah, I know. This album was released in 1982. But I am declaring it the greatest Christian rock album of all time.

Why am I reviewing it today? Because I have just been reunited with my long lost love. For years I said this was one of the best albums ever, Christian or secular. I haven't actually heard it in probably ten years or more because my only copy is on vinyl. I have been wondering if it was really as good as I remembered.

A few weeks ago I was digging through some stuff in my spare room from when we last moved and guess what I found? When I was a teenager I had recorded the album (a two album set) on to a cassette. It looked old and brittle. Would it still play?

Last night I hooked a tape deck up to my computer and dumped it in. Sure, it has tape hiss and record crackle, but that just adds to the nostalgia. The bottom line is the music.

DeGarmo and Key are one of the pioneers of Christian rock and this album shows them in their earlier years (long before Six, Six, Six, and Boycott Hell) as a band that relied heavily on their Memphis blues origins and sound two parts ZZ Top and one part Allman Brothers on this amazing live disc.

D&K always had a huge following in Oklahoma and this album was recorded over two nights, one in Tulsa at the Mabee Center and one in OKC at the Putnam City High School auditorium just down the road from where I currently live. (I pointed that out to my kids and they didn't care.)

There is no reason to go over the set list song by song although I'll post it at the end. The magic is not in the individual songs, although there are some great ones. The magic is in Dana Key's amazing Claptonesque blues guitar riffs, Eddie DeGarmo's organ and keyboard chops, Tommy Cathey's great bass (legendary solo on this album includes the Pink Panther, Barney Miller solo, etc.), Greg Morrow's solid drumming and Greg Pilcher's great rhythm guitar (he even gets a few nice solos in as well).

The band jams out like nobodies business. This is seriously some of the best jamming you will hear on anybodies album, Christian or secular. It is terrific rock and roll delivered Memphis style.

You can't buy it in stores. So it stinks to be you.

Light of the World
Go Tell Them
Stella, This Ain't Hollywood
When He Comes Back
Jericho
Alleyways of Strife
Mary
Wayfaring Stranger
Bass Solo
Enchiridion
Long Distance Runner
Matter of Time
Emmanuel
Oklahoma Blues
Preacher (I'll Need a Friend)
Over and Over
Let Him Help You Today
Love One Another
I Have Decided

CREDITS:
Dan Brock: Producer, Mixed
Tommy Cathey: Bass, Vocals
Eddie DeGarmo: Producer, Engineer, Mixed, Songwriter, Keyboards, Vocals
Malcolm Harper: Engineer
Dana Key: Producer, Engineer, Mixed, Songwriter, Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Lead Vocals
Ken Love: Mastered
Greg Morrow: Drums
Tony Pilcher: Guitar, Vocals
Max Richardson: Songwriter
Chris Taylor: Engineer

Postscript:

D&K is a band that is sorely underrepresented on the internet. There are no good tribute sites to them and hardly any pictures, especially from the early years. If I didn't already have too much to do I would devote a site to them. Who knows, I might anyway. Time will tell.

Anyway-D&K actually got together for a few reunion shows recently. I think there is some info here and here.

Happy Mothers Day!

First, HMD to my awesome Mom, Reta McLaughlin. She is an amazing woman who worked her rear off to take care of three boys and a husband. She worked during the day and then came home at night to take care of us ungrateful, unhelpful brats.

I love you and thank you mom!

And now this word from the Christian Post:

GRAFTON, W.Va. (AP) - On this 100th anniversary of Mother's Day, the woman credited with creating one of the world's most celebrated holidays probably wouldn't be pleased with all the flowers, candy or gifts.

Jarvis, who never married and never had children, got the Mother's Day idea after her mother said it would be nice if someone created a memorial to mothers.

Three years after her mother died in 1905, she organized the first official mother's day service at a church where her mother had spent more than 20 years teaching Sunday school.

Today, the former Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church is the official shrine to mothers around the world. On Sunday, the shrine will celebrate the 100th anniversary, giving each mother attending a special service a white carnation.

The shrine also serves as a "reminder to the accomplishments of these women and to the issues mothers still deal with today, trying to do the balancing act of being everything to everyone," said Cindi Mason, the shrine's director.

Yet, Jarvis became increasingly disturbed as the celebration turned into an excuse to sell greeting cards, candy, flowers and other items.

Jarvis became known for scathing letters in which she would berate people who purchased greeting cards, saying they were too lazy to write personal letters "to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world."

Before she died in 1948, she protested at a Mother's Day celebration in New York, and was arrested for disturbing the peace.

In the end, Mason said Jarvis was bitter about what the observance had become and "wished she would have never started the day because it became so out of control ..."

The rest of the story.

Album Review: Marcy Priest, Awake

I got Marcy Priest's debut cd a few days after my first post about it and have been listening to it frequently ever since. I promised a review so here it is.

First, the expected. Marcy has an incredible voice and is one of my favorite singers. She is one of those people who I could listen to them if they just sang names out of the phone book.

True story. When my wife and I were looking for a new church we visited several. At one church there was a female worship leader. Her voice was screachy and drove me nuts. I leaned over and told my wife, "If I ever start a church, don't let me get a female worship leader." Later when we started attending Newchurch and I heard Marcy sing I leaned over and told me wife to ignore my previous instructions.

Now the cd and the expected. Marcy has a great voice and I have heard her perform several songs that she has written before. They are usually slow temp and very powerful vocally. That's what I expected on this cd and there are a few songs like that: Grace, House of Mourning and New Name. Fantastic songs and completely expected from Marcy.

Now the unexpected. The first two tracks completely blew me away musically and lyrically. Never Ending opens the cd and rocks your head off. Not at all what I expected from Marcy. She also brings great lyrics to the song and I am so happy that this is not a "praise and worship" cd. Never Ending talks about the power of our words:

I am a weapon or an instrument
to build up or to destroy
Here the fork in the road
On my lips, life or death

And all while rocking your fool head off. It's my favorite cut.

She then follows that with Runaway Train. Not as rocking as the first but still more than I expected, fantastic, great hook, and just amazing lyrics. There are a million songs about love, but how many about marriage?

And when my feelings wanna ride that runaway train,
They get all caught up in the lie
better times are in some better place
I listen to the voice inside
It does not change, It does not change
Says love is a choice
Love is a choice we make

My third favorite is Enough which is a great pop song that tells us that our very best is not enough. We still need God. Great message set to great music.

The last song I'll comment specifically on is a ballad called Finding You. Very sparse musically. Almost nothing but whole notes on the keyboard and Marcy's terrific voice. She sings of all the places she finds God and how it is not so hard to find Him if you just look around.

I have played this cd for several friends who are not particularly into Christian music and they have all been very impressed. Great voice. Great songs. Great music. Great production. Great cd.

Get it now.

Village of 100

From Village of 100, 3rd Edition:

If we shrunk the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing ratios remaining the same, what would the world look like?

60 Asians

12 Europeans

13 From Western Hemisphere

14 Africans

1 South Pacific

49 Female

51 Male

82 Non-white

18 White

67 Non-Christian

33 Christian

89 Heterosexual

11 Homosexual

80 live in substandard housing

67 unable to read

50 suffer from malnutrition

33 have unsafe water supply

24 have no electricity

1 has HIV

1 near death

2 near birth

1 with a college education

7 have internet access

33 living on 3% of world's income

5 own 32% of all the wealth

All 5 of those people live in the US.

But in good fashion, Snopes cleans up some of the numbers.

Immortal Pharisees and Rhoblogy's

Have you ever looked around and thought, "Hey! Why dont I have a sofa?"

Well, this isn't quite that bad, but I recently noticed that I did not have links to two blogs that I read on a regular basis. I read them so much I just assumed I had them linked to on my site.

I also just learned that a friend of mine has a blog so I am adding it.

So, please meet:

Immortal

Rhoblogy

Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee

Baptist BS

Over at Wade's Blog I made a comment about denominational BS that seemed to offend a reader there. You know, I probably could have used a more sensitive term, but I'm sick and tired of religious politics so I don't really mind calling it what it is.

The discussion is response to an assertion that younger M's (missionaries) are leaving the Southern Baptist Convention because they are sick of some of the SBC's tactics. (I have no idea whether it is true or not.)

Thought I would post the back-and-forth here for your review:

ME: While no one may tell any church "what to do," they clearly influence those who wish to minister within the SBC by approving or not approving various projects and people for various projects. And how do they do so? By who tows the "company" line.

Anybody who doesn't see this has their head firmly planted in the sand.

Let me say this however, the SBC is no different in this respect from any other denomination. (yeah, yeah, yeah, try to convince yourselves we are not a denomination all you want, if it walks like a duck...).

Not only are younger M's leaving the missions field (anectdotal) but younger people are leaving denoms in droves as well. For all these reasons we have discussed.

People are sick of the kind of political bs they see here and elsewhere in the name of religion.

While we are holding meetings about our Committee on Committees young people just go buy food and feed hungry people. While we scream and holler about whether someone should be dunked or sprinkled, young people just go tell people about Jesus.

The Committee on Committees can indeed leverage a great deal of time and money that eventually outpaces the shotgun efforts of those disenfranchised young people. Whether someone should be dunked or sprinkled is fairly important.

But when we argue about this stuff to the extent that we call each others liars and lunatics (myself guilty as charged) we are running off the next generation of baptists, methodists, lutherans, and christians.

Mon May 05, 04:57:00 PM 2008

JOE W: David,

Also you wrote..."People are sick of the kind of political bs they see here and elsewhere in the name of religion."

I was wondering... does the the "bs" in the sentence you wrote stand for "Back Slid" or something else? Surely a man with your education can find words in the English language to articulate his opinion without cussing.

Mon May 05, 05:27:00 PM 2008

ME: Joe W.,

Thanks for pointing out my vulgarity. BS stands for exactly what you think it stands for.

However, in doing so, you may have unwittingly (or wittingly) made my point for me.

It reminds me of my favorite Tony Campolo quote. I will edit it so as no to offend you:

"I have three things I'd like to say to you tonight. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don't give a s***. What's worse is that you're more upset with the fact that I said s*** than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night."

Mon May 05, 10:38:00 PM 2008

Joe W doesn't let up easily so I'm sure there will be more to follow. You can follow the comments here.

Confessions

Over at Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee blog, the question was asked if you believe in spiritual attacks. Here is my response:
-----------

i am the person least likely to be sucked into some weird supernatural “i had a vision” or dream kind of thing. i know there is a supernatural reality but I dont find myself thinking much about a “screwtape” “this present darkness” kind of existence much.

that said…

about 20 years ago i was touring with a band and we were in florida. long story short, it was halloween night and i was staying in a host home with a family from a church. i did not know them. turns out one of the sons was a satanist. he got up and went to work about the time i got there. i just felt mildly creeped out and went to sleep. he had dark hair, a gotee (before they were popular) and a german shepherd.

a month later i was in tulsa and my parents came to visit. i was telling them about this weird family i stayed with on halloween night. without telling them anything else, my mom described the guy and his dog down to the letter. she dreamed about him that night and said God woke her up and told her I was in danger. She prayed for several hours until she felt a release. When she told me all that I got major goosebumps.

True story. So yeah, I believe.

FINALLY! The DC Talk Reunion :)

From Lark News (so you either get it or you don't):

NASHVILLE — The Christian rap-rock trio DC Talk is re-uniting, much to each member’s chagrin.

"We’re not looking forward to it," says frontman Toby McKeehan. "We fully expect it to be unpleasant."

The band split up in 2000 amid disagreements and lifestyle differences. Toby McKeehan, who has gone by the stage name TobyMac since signing a secret promotional deal with Kraft Foods in 2001, went on to have a successful solo career. He says the reunion tour is "a Sting thing" for him, referring to the singer who flourished as a solo artist before touring again with his former band, The Police.

"If Sting could tolerate Stewart [Copeland] for one more tour, I guess I can get along with these guys," says Mac.

The "other blond guy" in the band, Kevin Max, says he has been "ultra busy, super-super busy, way busy all the time" since DC Talk’s demise. Though his solo music career sputtered he is "totally excited, unbelievably excited" about his latest Christian poetry book, which he is promoting with a poetry-reading tour of Bangladesh, the one place where his writing has found a sizable following.

"Kevin Max will always be there for his bandmates and is willing to lay down his career goals if his band truly needs him," says his publicist, who also indicated she had not been paid in nine months. Max is working hard to reschedule his Bangladesh poetry-reading dates.

The one band-member who appears remotely optimistic about reuniting is Michael Tait who hopes to gain more publicity for his band, Tait, which is currently touring youth camps in southern Kansas.

"This is a great opportunity to energize our solo projects, if we can stand being on stage together for a little while," he said by phone from a rest stop near Wichita. "It also wouldn’t hurt to goose back-catalog sales, ’cause I bought into this whole real estate boom thang." •

Kill Jesus

From the Christian Post:

FLORENCE, S.C. (AP) - A teen accused of plotting to blow up his high school told police that he wanted to die, go to heaven and kill Jesus, federal authorities said Tuesday.

Prosecutors argued in a federal courtroom that the statements are an indication that 18-year-old Ryan Schallenberger needs a psychological evaluation. The straight-A Chesterfield High School senior was arrested April 19 and faces several state and federal charges, including attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. That charge carries a possible life sentence if he is convicted.

The rest of the story.

Uh....ok.

Marcy Priest is Awake

Uhhh.....why did nobody tell me this was out?

Seriously.

I knew Marcy Priest , daughter of my pastor and one of my favorite singers, was working on an album but I didnt know it was finished. I even saw her a week ago and she didnt even bother to tell me. THANKS ALOT! I guess it's all that humility.

For some reason I checked her MySpace page and it says it is finished. You can play a few clips. THEY SOUND KILLER!!!!!!!!!

So yeah-I am trying to decide whether to download it tonight on iTunes or buy a cd from Monty.

Her voice is so fantastic.

Album review coming soon.

Congrats Marcy!!!!!!!!

In the meantime, check her daddy out for free at Voyage Radio this week!

Sickos!

I get a report that tells me what people were searching for when they found this blog. Boy my site got popular when I talked about "kiddie porn!"

You people make me sick!

I'm Sick of Kiddie Porn

What the heck is wrong with this world?

There is a news story out today about how Miley Cyrus, star of teen show Hannah Montana and daughter of country music star, Billy Ray Cyrus, regrets a photo session she did for Vanity Fair magazine in which she posed with just a sheet covering her front and her bare back is showing.

Problem? She's what? 14 or 15?

I consider that kiddie porn. Why would Vanity Fair want pictures like that in the first place?

And why would she consent to taking those pictures?

And why would her dad, who was there when the pictures were taken, consent to them being taken?

Why?

Because we are a sick, freaking country that is why. We are sexualizing children and marketing girls who are barely teenagers as sex symbols and then wondering why there are child molesters and rapists.

It makes sick, disgusted, nauseated and angry.

And no, there are no links in this post because I'm not going to send you to it.

And what sick, hypocrisy that the news shows keep showing the picture while discussing the topic with questions like, "Is this exploitive? Is it going too far? Why would Vanity Fair do this?"

HEY! Stop showing the picture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You make me sick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

I Suck (Yeah, I Said It)

Atheist friend posts blog practically giving up on trying to understand us Christians. I reply with the following and thought I should post it here because I really like what I said. (I like to hear myself talk, remember?)

-------------------

I really feel for you. I think much of the blame for the confusion lies with those of us who call ourselves Christians. That's because there is no unanimous agreement on what it means.

It's kinda like asking what a democrat believes. Or a republican. Or a libertarian. When one democrat (for example) tells you what "real" democrats believe, another will come along and say, "Well, that's not what i believe and I'm a democrat."

While I can't speak for all Christians, I think I can articulate what the majority of Christian theologians espouse on one important point within your post.

There is no, nor will there ever be any "being good." I can try to follow every rule in "the book" and I cannot, will not succeed. I am not good. I suck.

I don't get to compare myself to anybody else. I have to compare myself to God's perfection. And by that standard, I suck.

I was raised in church and tried for a long long time to be good enough. Finally realized that was a losing game. So I gave up and accepted that Christ was perfect for me. That's what it means to "place my faith in Christ." I am trusting His perfection to reconcile me to God instead of my own perfection (which sucks).

Here is where things start to get muddy again. While most Christians realize what I just said (though they are better than me and wouldn't use the word "suck" so many times) they still try to follow the rules in order to please God and feel better about themselves.

I do the same thing. I truly believe that God wants me to love my fellow man, tell the truth, not steal, etc. So I try to do the things I'm supposed to and try not to do the things I'm not supposed to do.

But I still suck, so I don't worry too much when I fall short. I just say, "Thank ya Jesus."

Where it gets ugly is when I try to make everybody else live up to the rules that I think are most important instead of letting God deal with their hearts in his own sweet time and in His own sweet way.