Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee

[SF Gate]

Bay Area Outreach Ministries’ preachers are using a public address system to yell their message. The free newspaper, the Berkeley Daily Planet, recently published an article about how these fire-and-brimstone-spewing clowns are force-feeding their version of redemption to whoever crosses their sidewalk-blocking paths.

Local florist is Gwynn Coffee. And she is fed up with it all; it’s hurting business, Coffee said, and chewing up her work day.

“It’s not only putting a damper on things,” she said, “it’s also taking up my time. Nobody really wants to walk on that side of the street when they’re there.”

Larry Rosenbaum of the ministries group doesn’t see it that way. He said they’re just there “to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.”Rosenbaum said he doesn’t mean to drive away business, just preach Biblical teachings.

And he said it’s in the way of Jesus. “

I think Jesus, when he was on Earth, he did preach the gospel. He was very loud, because thousands of people could hear him at one time. So he must’ve been loud with his voice.”

Read about it here.

[From me]

Jesus may have spoken loudly but he wouldn’t ruin people’s businesses in the process.  If they really want people to listen to them why are they yelling?  If something is “good news” do you really need to scream?

What do you think?

[Sun-Sentinel]

The day of rest is causing some unrest at Century Village East in Deerfield Beach. Most of the 56 owners in Berkshire E are Orthodox Jews barred for religious reasons from pushing the buttons on their elevator during the Sabbath, which runs from Friday evening to Saturday evening.

They persuaded their board to spend $11,000 to convert the elevator so it automatically stops on each of the four floors during the Sabbath.

Read about it here.

[From me]

The Pharisees are alive and well!

[CBS News]

Scout leaders are being ousted at a rate of 1 every two days because of molestation.  

Tim Kosnoff, an attorney analyzed the numbers of child molestation in Scouts and came to this shocking conclusion: Before 1991, “a Scout leader was being tossed out for child molestation at the rate of one every three days,” he said. “Post-1991, the rate was one every two days.” That includes people suspected of abuse.

Read about it here.

[Houston Chronicle]

1 in 3 females online daters report first date sex.

Women who date online are likely to take precautions to protect their personal safety when first meeting a man face-to-face, but often are much less careful about protecting their sexual health once that encounter moves to the next level, a Houston-based study has found.

While the women who were surveyed went to great lengths to screen online acquaintances before meeting them, nearly a third reported having sex on the first date and three-quarters of those said they did not use condoms, according to the study by The University of Texas School of Public Health.

Read about it here.

[From me]

I admit I have a spiritual bias here.  Take that out I think even those without Jesus can see the dangers here.  I was in the Boy Scouts and I can’t believe that there are not more precautions taken to make sure that they have to kick out a leader every other day.  Wow! That is scary.  This is scary for Church leaders too.  If the Boy Scouts have those kind of sickos in their midst, I’ll bet churches have more than we would like to admit.

The second story is unbelievable.  How can people give away such an emotional part of themselves on a first date?  I admit I have a spiritual bias and think sex should be saved for marriage only.  But I would think even un-spiritual persons can see that sex is more than physical.

What do you think?

[NBC 5]

Aggravated assault charges have been filed against a church deacon and a University of Oklahoma Sooners fan after officials say he grabbed a University of Texas fan between the legs during a scuffle in an Oklahoma bar. A couple of months before the annual Red River Shootout between the Sooners and Longhorns, words were exchanged at Henry Hudson’s Pub between a Sooner fan/deacon and a Longhorn fan. Witnesses said it was because Longhorn fan was wearing a UT T-shirt.

The church deacon makes his living as a government auditor and had gone to the bar that night for one reason — to play darts.

Read about it here.

[From me]

Darts? They don’t have a dart board in the Family Life Center?
This sounds like a great joke. I’m just glad it didn’t happen between Bama and Auburn. Truth is better than fiction.

[HT] Monk in Training

[From NWI.com]

A man claiming to be God wanted his slippers — right now. Instead, he was arrested at a  Payless Shoes store. The man moved closer to the employees and told them he was God.

“He said ‘When God speaks to you you’re supposed to give him everything,’”

Read about it here.

[From me]

I didn’t know God wore slippers.  I thought He was sandals being.