the Gently Mad

I’m ordering mine right now…..

I accidentally left my iPod at home when I left for work the other day. My commute is about 45 minutes and my iPod has been a trusty and faithful companion.

So, on this particular drive home I turned on the radio and hit the scan button which scans through each station, staying on each one for about 10 seconds or so.

I came across at least half a dozen different stations that were broadcasting sermons or christian music and stopped to listen for a few minutes at each. It was appalling.

I won’t even get into the music stations, other than to say it’s been so long since I listened to popular CCM that I couldn’t believe the ridiculousness of what I was hearing.

The sermons, I found, were no better.

I have no idea who was preaching these sermons, but I didn’t hear a solid gospel-centered exposition in any of them. Texts were being completely pulled out of context for the speaker’s own shallow applications.

The only example I remember was one preacher “expositing” John 9 where Jesus heals a man blind from birth.  If you’re not familiar with the story, read the chapter. The speaker’s main point from this entire passage was that we should help people… like Jesus did.

Are you serious?

He also used Luke 6:1-5 where the pharisees accused Jesus of not keeping the sabbath to say that obviously Jesus was keeping the sabbath and the pharisees just got it wrong. His application? Sometimes people will accuse you of not doing things the right way, but, just like Jesus, you have to stand your ground and do it your way anyway.

I guess I have been spoiled by great preaching and podcasts for so long that I forgot what was being propagated out there as truth. And what saddend me the most, was that if someone really searching for help were to turn on the radio to find it… well, they’re pretty much screwed.

Being an editor at a newspaper, I am frequently astounded at some of the things that come across my desk.

Tomorrow we’re running a story that, quite possibly, is one of the most ludicrous I’ve ever read.

It goes like this:

Boy meets girl. Boy proposes to girl. Boy backs out after getting cold feet. Girl sues Boy. Jury finds in favor of girl, saying boy entered into a legally binding contract when he proposed and should now be forced to pay girl $150,000 in damages.

I… am speechless. I literally have no words… Are you English or retarded? (to quote Will Ferrell)

Does this mean anytime you make a verbal commitment to someone, whether it’s setting a time for a meeting or agreeing to a purchase, and then back out, they have the right to sue you?

In case you’re not sure, the answer is OF COURSE NOT!

This is just another example of the depths to which our legal system has sunk. I really am astounded. Although, I don’t know why. Our political and legal system is a farce at best.

Moral of the story? Everyone who has ever dumped me better watch out. I’m coming for you. And it’s time to get rich.

Read the story here.

If you’ve been following the trial of these two women, you know it’s a pretty bizarre case.  Who else thinks this is a movie waiting to happen? Preferably written and directed by the Cohen bros…

Helen Golay, 77, (above) and Olga Rutterschmidt, 75, were convicted of luring men off the streets of Los Angeles whom they took care of for two years before running them over to collect claims.

A Los Angeles judge today sentenced the two women to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing homeless men in a coldblooded years-long scheme for $2.8 million in life insurance money.

Read the whole story here.

From the AJC

Political correctness rules the road in Atlanta — which is replacing all its “Men at Work” signs with gender-neutral ones after a women’s magazine editor complained of bias.

The project, which involves painting over the existing 50 “Men at Work” and “Men Working” signs with those that say simply “Workers Ahead” or “Workers,” will cost a total of $1,000, Atlanta Public Works Commissioner Joe Basista said.

Continue reading here.