Where's that Gotcha ClipArt?

Need a job?

More to Bill's question to me:

For years we were members of a smallish mainstream Protestant congregation next door to a prominent seminary, and keep in touch with some of those people. We came to know pastors and pastors-to-be there, as well as theologians. And I have worked on numerous pastors' published books -- self- and otherwise.

One time we returned to our old area to find that a married couple -- co-associate pastors at our old church -- had just had a love child five-plus years older than their two acknowledged sons come back into their lives. Completely unexpected to them. She'd had the child, whom they gave up for adoption.

Then again, this nice young couple were all about sex, drugs, and rock and roll (and God) before entering seminary. He went into church-building back when that was a good industry in the 2000s. For-profit ministry. Church consulting.

My DR seniority doesn't show it, but I've been around awhile. One of my earlier memories is of Danforth, when someone called him a liar for saying he was part of three different entertainment unions for 20 years, or something close to that. He explained calmly that his work or his other pursuits gave him the opportunity to join each, and he never gave up the membership. I think the questioner presumed all the terms were served consecutively. Or that some things just seem impossible or too distant to their experience.

FTA: The Navy charged Rodriguez on July 29, according to the charge sheet. In addition to the two charges from Braswell's death, the Navy charged Rodriguez with simple assault and reckless endangerment for three separate instances. Rodriguez pointed a loaded service pistol at three different sailors -- once in February and twice in May -- while on board Kennedy, according to the charge sheet.

According to his releaseable service record obtained by USNI News, Rodriguez enlisted in the Navy last year and joined the crew of JFK in October shortly after a stint at the Naval Air Technical Training Center at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. His home of record is in Massachusetts, according to the record.

What's in unreleaseable service records? Psychological testing, maybe?

Bill: Don't forget to set out those Sabbath candles for tonight, like the Marys and Jesus would have done. Check the sundown time. Or are those practices offensive to you, like a Muslim call to prayer?

Do you feel put upon at Hanukkah if some of your neighbors place a menorah in the window facing the street? Are they proselytizing?

By the way, the same goes for the very few rabbis I've met in my adult life. [I'm not counting messianic; whole different version of dissembling.]

I'd hope most (non-Orthodox) rabbis are now horrified at what's happening to the Palestinians in the name of Israel. But no way could they tell that to the people in shul. Half the congregation would walk.

How did you come to meet and know so many Pastors and their personal feelings?
#21 | Posted by BillJohnson

I've lived different places and attended different churches, and since I'm a member of none of their congregations and since I seem to know a lot about Christian theology because of being immersed in it because of my work for 25 years, and since they seem to find that all fascinating because I'm Jewish, and because in person I can be likeable, they tend to open up to me. I also find pastors really interesting to listen to, so if I meet one in a gathering, I'll chat them up and listen to them.

My wife, who when we were raising children was the primary religious influence in the family, had us leave one church because in the context of my going to the pastor for some counseling, the relationship flipped. I'd go to the church for his weekly meetings with me. When my wife needed some pastoral counseling, he wasn't really Johnny on the Spot. She was resentful, and I didn't blame her at all.

That pastor has retired now to be the on-premises chaplain for a wealthy gated beach enclave. Take that for what it's worth.

They got scared by the Greys.

I was really thinking that was the distraction.

11. Goes back aways. Asking for Clownshack about Zoroastrianism.

Thanks, AI:

No, there is no historical or textual evidence to suggest that Zoroaster (Zarathustra) was a pedophile.

The accusation does not appear in academic scholarship or traditional religious texts. The rumor occasionally surfaces on internet forums due to people misidentifying historical figures or confusing the marriage customs of various ancient Middle Eastern religions.

Zoroaster's Marriages and Family
According to primary Zoroastrian texts like the Gathas (the holy hymns attributed directly to him) and later historical accounts, Zoroaster led a conventional domestic life for his era:

Adult Consensual Marriage: He married three times. His third wife, Hvvi, was the daughter of Frashaoshtra, a vizier and close adult political ally of Zoroaster.
Adult Children: He fathered six children (three sons and three daughters).
Family Alliances: His youngest daughter, Pouruchista, is explicitly mentioned in the Gathas as marrying Jamaspa, another prominent adult adviser to the king. The text describes her choice and marriage in terms that imply maturity and conscious choice rather than child marriage.

Legal and Historical Context
Zoroaster lived in Bronze or Iron Age Central Asia (estimates range from 1500 BCE to 1000 BCE). While centuries-later Sasanian Zoroastrian legal codes (from the 3rd to 7th centuries CE) allowed for young marriage ages based on ancient Persian societal norms, there is absolutely no record indicating Zoroaster himself engaged in relationships with children.

The characterization of Zoroaster in his own writings and by historians is that of a religious philosopher, reformer, and family man whose life focused strictly on the theological struggle between good (Asha) and evil (Druj).
+++
Go you wacky Zarathustrans!

Eve was just one day old when Adam banged her.
#12 | Posted by pumpkinhead

And what language was she using when she said, "Later"?

"Makes me a good Christian."
No...it just makes me a Christian.
#18 | Posted by BillJohnson

You're right. I shouldn't have added the modifier. Apologies.

People sometimes self-identify as something that seems the complete opposite of who they are.

It's been said for years that far more US politicians are atheists than would ever admit it. Which as far as I know has always been zero.

Same way all of the pastors I've known would never let their real feelings be known from the pulpit. They like their jobs too much.

And please save me your pity if I've known the wrong kind of pastors. Honest theologians have 100 questions for every good answer, too.

I am aware this will be difficult for some atheists and far-left individuals as soon as they hear any sort of defense of Christians. I will repost something I wrote earlier on this subject.
#1 | Posted by BillJohnson

Bill: My beliefs would qualify me as an atheist to you. Certainly far left. I'll defend Christianity and most other religions all day long. Just don't buy into them.

I'll especially defend religion's mystical branches; I won't abide religion's top-down cults, nor scriptural interpretations that allow only one view -- or that look down on others for not adhering to the same interpretation.

From your own posting, it seems to me that you're of the stripe that says, "I've said the sinner's prayer. I'm going to heaven. Makes me a good Christian."

Good luck with that.