Churches have these huge expensive meetings in big expensive cities. Of course, huge expensive meetings require similarly huge advertising too. The only way to get advertising is buy it, and it's broadly more effective to go with the eager sponsors in the corporate setting. How much do we sacrifice spiritually? To what degree do we prostitute ourselves when we use the ways of the world because they are “smart” in the business sense? If, as Barna says, church and the gospel are merely a matter of marketing, then it's all good.
Down at the Marathon the other day I saw a man buying a lottery ticket.
A nondescript fellow he was, middle-aged, appearing neither particularly well-to-do nor poor. He got me to thinking, which is sometimes a dangerous thing to do (as those who gazed upon the contraption I invented for fixing my gutters can attest).
For centuries, the holy grail of a certain segment of the elite has been to boil down religion into something common to all faiths, thereby eliminating what is seen as one of the “major negatives” of religious belief – sectarianism and fighting between religious groups. Now, members of the TED Conference, at the behest of author Karen Armstrong, want to give it another go with the “Charter for Compassion.” Inevitably, it will fail.
This week, OFB is pleased to welcome Dennis E. Powell as a regular contributor with his column, “the View from Mudsock Heights.” Everything must start somewhere. For Dennis, it starts with a woodstove.
Even to the present day, I remain woefully ignorant of the catalog of an American acting legend – Katharine Hepburn. Despite that, based upon two films, 1967's Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? and 1981's On Golden Pond, I had decided that she was the best actress I've seen.
The full text of Sen. McCain's concessions speech can be found below. “I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.”
DEVELOPING: With California reporting its results, it appears that Sen. Obama is now President-elect Obama. Votes are still coming in, but OFB believes that the senator from Illinois has already clinched the presidency.
We as a country have messed up priorities. For weeks, there have been discussions of massive voter registration fraud and fears of actual voter fraud on Election Day. The board of elections in the state of Washington finally kicked into gear – against Starbucks.
Last week, OFB endorsed Sen. John McCain for President of the United States. In the closing hours of the race, contributing editor Jason Kettinger offers a voice of dissent in support for Sen. Barack Obama. Read on to find out why he supports the Democratic nominee.
Can you believe it has been two years? For two years we have listened to candidates build platforms, argue their cases and tear down their opponents. Now we look at the final two candidates and the question that should be on everyone’s mind is this: who offers the best solutions for this country? My answer is John McCain.