Flush the Koran, and That's Bigotry. Flush a Christian Sacrament, It's Comedy.

Here's an interesting editorial by Brent Bozell:

The riots caused by Newsweek's story claiming American interrogators were flushing the Koran caused many Americans to be amazed by the extreme reaction in the Islamic world. Ken Woodward, the long-time religion writer of Newsweek, tried to explain to Christians just how offensive Koran-flushing is to Muslims: "Recitation of the Koran is for Muslims much like what receiving the Eucharist is for Catholics -- a very intimate ingestion of the divine itself."

There's a certain irony here. If you wanted to see the Eucharist in the toilet, you needed only to watch the NBC sitcom "Committed" in February, when NBC played for laughs the idea that two main characters thought they accidentally dropped a communion wafer in a bar toilet.

Hollywood makes lame jokes and harsh satires of Christianity all the time, figuratively and literally tossing Jesus, the Bible and church figures into the toilet. Those alleged American interrogators are pikers compared to Tinseltown. They could learn at the feet of the masters of mockery.

...

So why doesn't Hollywood produce storylines about the Koran being flushed down the john? That, they would tell you firmly, with conviction, would be religious bigotry.


Christianity Today Book Awards 2005

The Christianity Today Book Awards 2005 heap even more praise upon Marilynne Robinson's Gilead.

And they also honor Unveiling, a novel by a new friend of mine, Suzanne Wolfe, who I met at the recent Over the Rhine concert at Seattle's Tractor Tavern. Congratulations, Suzanne!


Anne M. Doe Overstreet Rocks the Seattle Art Museum

There's only one person in this world whose work I love so much that I actually chased her down and married her.

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Revenge of the Sith: Post-Viewing Questions

Okay, when you've finally seen Revenge of the Sith, I'd love to hear your thoughts on some of these questions, a few of which I alluded to in my review.

CAUTION: A small degree of spoilage is involved, so read on at your own risk.Read more


Darren Hughes on Beau Travail

Darren's elaborating on an exquistely filmed Claire Denis film, its provocative soundtrack, and one of my all-time favorite closing scenes.

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"Kingdom of Portland"

I'm just asking for trouble.

This afternoon I was interviewed live on the Christian radio station KPDQ in Portland, Oregon, today regarding the controversies over Kingdom of Heaven. The Georgene Rice show is at 4:30 p.m.Read more