Disqus - Latest Comments for Lord_Voldemort

Re: Deconstructing Harry: Is Jim Wallis’ Ideology Really “the Doctrine of Devils”?

Lord_Voldemort — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:48:45 -0000

Let me tell you where I think Bishop Jackson gets it wrong:

“I’ve got to watch it...I could get into some big teaching on greed, but the reality is that a lot of that teaching may wind up creating anti-economic-growth and anti-capitalism concepts...I always talk about personal responsibility so we don’t get into the blame game.”

Greed is very much a vice, whether you're a capitalist or a socialist. If Jackson sees selfishness as a major problem in his congregation he shouldn't hesitate to call it out. He might need to choose his words carefully to avoid getting into political fights, but that's certainly doable.

Re: Deconstructing Harry: Is Jim Wallis’ Ideology Really “the Doctrine of Devils”?

Lord_Voldemort — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:24:09 -0000

Who is this Bishop Jackson? What church is he a bishop in? Why do I get the feeling that this reporter chose to quote him in order to stir up trouble?

For the record, much as I disagree with Jim Wallis, I'm not quite ready to attribute his political outlook to the devil.

Re: Statement from Jim Wallis on Friday’s “Cleaning” of NYC’s Zucotti Park

Lord_Voldemort — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 10:59:22 -0000

Squeaky,

So you mean to tell me that the protestors in Zucotti Park are the only ones with a First Amendment right to free speech?

Re: Statement from Jim Wallis on Friday’s “Cleaning” of NYC’s Zucotti Park

Lord_Voldemort — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:30:55 -0000

Squeaky,

What if someone else would like to say something in Zucotti Park?

Re: Statement from Jim Wallis on Friday’s “Cleaning” of NYC’s Zucotti Park

Lord_Voldemort — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:28:34 -0000

Reasonable people change what needs to be changed when they have the opportunity, and adapt when they need to. Unreasonable people tear things down out of frustration or spite, and are prone to submit passively to situations that they should not and do not have to tolerate. Therefore reasonable people bring about positive changes, while unreasonable people bring about negative changes.

Re: Statement from Jim Wallis on Friday’s “Cleaning” of NYC’s Zucotti Park

Lord_Voldemort — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:04:34 -0000

Zucotti Park is also a park. Even if it were public, OWS has had more than ample time to make their statement, such as it is. It's time New Yorkers got to enjoy their park again. Reasonable place, time and manner rules apply, and OWS has had a more than reasonable time.

Re: Jim Wallis on #OccupyWallStreet: “This Could Really Change Things” (Video)

Lord_Voldemort — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:26:47 -0000

Wow, I'm surprised to see how Sojo has embraced this example of political brownian motion. OWS has so many moving parts, and none of them really seem to fit together. The sixties protestors had a recognizable agenda for action. These guys just don't like corporations, but after that what's their plan?

Re: Video Commentary:”New Hashtag…#Didn’tYouEverLearnToShare?”

Lord_Voldemort — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:16:28 -0000

I think Pooch got it right. I would also add that there's more to being prophetic than just quoting some scary Old Testament passage like you're Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction.

Re: Naked Before the Lord: Unitarians Have More Fun

Lord_Voldemort — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:11:53 -0000

So... is this evangelicalism?

Re: Video Commentary:”New Hashtag…#Didn’tYouEverLearnToShare?”

Lord_Voldemort — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 23:25:39 -0000

Oh, wow. Someone's angry. About something. Still don't know who or why.

Re: Christian Pastor Faces Execution in Iran: Updates

Lord_Voldemort — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:08:15 -0000

Thanks.

Re: True Story.

Lord_Voldemort — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 19:58:36 -0000

Carter,

As a conservative commenting at a liberal website, I realize I'm going to be one of the heavies around here. I am embracing the role.

I appreciate your telling us about Voice of the Martyrs and International Christian Concern. But since Sojo has never hesitated to comment on foreign policy and oppression beyond Americas borders, I don't see how Mr. Nadarkhani's situation is beyond their area of concern.

Re: True Story.

Lord_Voldemort — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 19:18:11 -0000

While Sojo wastes its time on this tripe (this sign is stupid on so many levels...) Yousef Nadarkhani, an Iranian Christian minister, waits to find out if he will be put to death for apostasy. Sojo says...?

Re: Heckler FAIL: To Obama, “You’re the antichrist.”

Lord_Voldemort — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:59:03 -0000

Knuckleheads like this crave one thing: attention. You're giving it to him. Way to go.

Re: The Mercy Seat

Lord_Voldemort — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:01:33 -0000

That's an incredibly powerful song, really drives home what's at stake here.

I have mixed feelings about the death penalty in general. If it were up to me I'd reserve it for those guilty of more than one murder. At that point you'd be dealing with the most violent of criminals, and also have the least question about guilt.

I wish I could be more confident that justice was done here. I'll just leave it at that.

Re: Afternoon Philosofail

Lord_Voldemort — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:48:58 -0000

The awkward truth is, once a person has been convicted beyond a reasonable doubt, the burden falls on the defendant to prove himself innocent for a court to act, barring some violation of due process in the trial itself.

Once a trial court reaches a verdict that verdict must be respected. Appellate Courts, including even the Supreme Court, must defer to trial courts on findings of fact. Recanting witnesses are presumed to have told the truth the first time. This is because the trial court -- not the Supreme Court -- had the best opportunity to see the evidence and hear the witnesses.

The Governor of Georgia could stay the execution and has primary responsibility in this case. He's the one you should be working on.

Re: Study: U.S. Congregations Have Seen Better Days

Lord_Voldemort — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:59:36 -0000

During that time, theological progressives have expanded their control over churches. The notion that the bible should be taken literally, or even seriously as a guide to morals and spirituality, has fallen out of favor among many seminaries and congregations. In its place is a combination of syrupy self-help philosophy and vaguely left-of-center politics.

But that has nothing to do with any of this.

I'm not saying that fundamentalism or what you might call "Tea Party Christianity" is the answer. Evangelical churches are struggling themselves and I think it's fair to say that they are prone to be simplistic -- they strive to be faithful but can be impatient with the nuances.

The answer is to rediscover the vitality of the scriptures, and the spiritual message contained therein, with politics being secondary.

Re: Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself…

Lord_Voldemort — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:25:53 -0000

I always knew this whole thing was the work of the devil, and now I have proof!

(Relax people, I'm joking.)

Re: Preach it, Father Pfleger!

Lord_Voldemort — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:34:47 -0000

Father Pfleger is, to be as kind as possible, cracked. The "poverty" staistic is one of the most confusing numbers out there: the number tells us nothing about lack of food, housing, or other basic necessities (what most of us think of as poverty) but instead measures income -- without adjusting for local cost of living or -- pay attention because this is important -- government assistance. In our current retrograde economy, "poverty" is just another way of saying "unemployment". Poverty rates don't tell us all that much more than jobless rates do at this point.

Surveys of our "poor" indicate that no more than 1 percent are failing to get the food they need or lack housing, and law requires hospitals to provide emergency care, so Pfleger is either ignorant or dishonest when he tries to tell us that folks are dying at alarming rates.

At any rate, even if skyrocketing poverty rates meant people were dropping like flies, that doesn't give us the slightest idea why, or what we should do about it.

I am alarmed by the suffering that Barack Obama has failed to address and has actually managed to make worse.

Re: Red State Wins: Take a Bow, Silent Bob

Lord_Voldemort — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:36:25 -0000

Squeaky,

If you ask me, the Phelpses and anti-religious bigots feed off each other. Anti-Christian bigotry in entertainment leaves religious conservatives feeling alienated toward mainstream American society, making the Phelpses of the world seem less crazy than they really are. The Phelpses, for their part, provide anti-religious bigots with material, making the gory scenarios in films like "Red State" semi-plausible. If you really want to put the loonies out of business, start with pressuring Hollywood to make movies that portray evangelicals realistically, without focusing on sensationalism and gore.

Re: Red State Wins: Take a Bow, Silent Bob

Lord_Voldemort — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:27:56 -0000

I can sum up my response to this in two words: "Spoilers please."

We've seen all the negative stereotypes played up so much it isn't funny anymore. Now maybe "Red State" isn't as bad as it looks. Maybe there's a thoughtful evangelical character who serves as a counterpoint and really does highlight the difference between evangelicalism and the kooks. But given the subject matter, if you want to convince us this isn't another hack job you'll need to give us specifics. And if that means giving the plot away, so be it. Otherwise we'll just have to stay away and hope the thing is a total flop.

Re: Turning Mourning into Voyeurism

Lord_Voldemort — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:49:33 -0000

Duhsciple,

How much should we watch 9/11 replays? Not that often. Once a year is probably about right.

How much focus does Jesus want us to give to them? Enough to understand the threat posed by Muslim radicalism, which IMHO opinion is still a serious one.

How might we remember in order to bring "Kingdom Healing" to the world? I really don't know, but I think part of it will be to acknowledge that this was all a result of intentional and thoroughly evil acts. Whether 9/11 justified everything the the US has done in the War on Terror is open to debate, but there is no justification or mitigation for the attacks themselves.

Re: Turning Mourning into Voyeurism

Lord_Voldemort — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:23:25 -0000

Ms. Murphy forgets what voyeurism is -- it's when you intrude on another person's privacy.

The 9-11 attacks were not a private affair.

Re: More than 1,000 Arrested Protesting Keystone XL Pipeline

Lord_Voldemort — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 10:39:29 -0000

Were these people really arrested or were they "arrested" under a protestor "catch and release" arrangement?

MLK actually spent enough time in the Birmingham jail to write a long letter, and with the hostility of the authorities in Alabama he took a real risk. So wake me up when one of you guys spends more than a night in jail. Then I can at least give you credit for commitment. Until then, this is just a silly stunt.

Re: 595 Arrested at the White House

Lord_Voldemort — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:01:51 -0000

I have to ask a couple of questions

1. I'm struck by the compliment you paid the police -- the van was hot but once you got to the station they processed you all quickly. You make it all sound routine, as if the police did exactly what they were supposed to do. Was there ever any serious risk that you were going to spend any significant time in jail? If not, why should we be at all impressed by the little charade you played with the Park Police?

2. Whether you spent any time in jail or not, how exactly does your being "arrested" prove that global warming is real?