Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee

[Reuters & LA Times]

After 12 years at Fox News Channel and four decades in the news business, Washington managing editor Brit Hume will leave “Special Report” and daily journalism for a quieter life, spending time with his grandchildren and following his Christian faith (the anchor still will contribute to the network as a political analyst).

As he prepares to anchor his last presidential campaign, Hume said he’s eager to immerse himself in a more spiritual life after dwelling for so long in the secular. The anchor described himself as a “nominal Christian” until 10 years ago, when his son Sandy committed suicide at age 28.

“I feel like I was really kind of saved when my son died by faith and by the grace of God, and that’s very much on my consciousness,” said Hume, who plans to get more involved in his wife’s Bible study group.

Read more here and here.

[From me]

I hate that he is leaving for the very reason he is a believer.  Now I realize why I always liked watching him. It is sad that it took the tragedy of his son to shake up his faith but that happens a lot. It is interesting how God invites people to Himself after they have gone through horrible things like what Brit and his wife went through. It is great to hear that his faith caused him to leave. I wish more people took their faith that seriously.  I hate that we are losing an objective voice in the media.

What do you think?

[Yahoo News]

Here is a foolproof way for politicians to score points with evangelical voters: Attack the media, an institution widely seen as lacking conservative Christian voices. Republican presidential hopeful John McCain and his evangelical running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, have done just that at times during the campaign, with repeated jabs at the “liberal media.”

One way to change this perception, some church leaders, social commentators and journalists say, is for mainstream news organizations to employ — and keep — more evangelicals in their newsrooms.

“Journalism has become more of a white-collar field that draws from elite colleges,” said Terry Mattingly, director of the Washington Journalism Center for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and a religion columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. “While there’s been heavy gender and racial diversity … there’s a lack of cultural diversity in journalism,” including religion.

Since the 1980s, when the Christian right emerged as a powerful force in American culture and politics, evangelicals have made significant inroads in law and government by training believers to work inside secular institutions. But while the same universities that helped students launch careers in those fields are offering similar programs in journalism, they haven’t been as successful at changing the nation’s newsrooms.

“The media — journalism — remain one of the hardest fields for them to realize their power,” said D. Michael Lindsay, a sociologist at Rice University and author of “Faith in the Halls of Power.”

Case’s primary concern is that evangelicals are frequently portrayed in the media as a monolithic bloc, when in fact they are diverse politically, intellectually and theologically.

“It bothers me that when mainstream outlets want an evangelical voice, they’ve turned to Jerry Falwell orJames Dobson or Pat Robertson,” he said. “They are men of high regard and standing, but there are others who have a different take on things.”

Read more here.

[From me]

That last quote sums it up for me. I respect those men for what they have done but they don’t speak for all evangelicals.  It would be nice to hear from some different evangelicals. It would be nice to have some evangelicals who were in the mainstream media to give a balanced view.

What do you think?

[AP]

Gov. Sarah Palin’s church is promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer.

“You’ll be encouraged by the power of God’s love and His desire to transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality,” according to the insert in the bulletin of the Wasilla Bible Church, where Palin has prayed for about six years.

Palin’s conservative Christian views have energized that part of the GOP electorate, which was lukewarm to John McCain’s candidacy before he named her as his vice presidential choice. She is staunchly anti-abortion, opposing exceptions for rape and incest, and opposes gay marriage and spousal rights for gay couples.

Focus on the Family, a national Christian fundamentalist organization, is conducting the “Love Won Out” Conference in Anchorage, about 30 miles from Wasilla.

Read more here.

[From me]

So what! I agree with her church.  God can change anyone through the power of prayer. I make no apologies for telling people about Jesus and what He can do for their life.  It is who I am.  I think it is who Palin is too. The media just doesn’t like Palin.  They are looking for anything to trash her.  If Sen. Obama’s former pastor’s views didn’t matter then neither should Palin’s church.  Give me a break!

What do you think?

Ever since the Mitchell Report came out a few months ago we have seen numerous ways of responding to the charges made in the report.  The report claims that many baseball players have used illegal performance enhancing drugs improve their playing and make their career last longer.  

Most of those named in the report acknowledged that they did use the drugs.  Some apologized. Others have kept quiet.  But Roger Clemens has gone on the attack to clear his good name.  I want to believe Roger.  I was never a Red Sox, Blue Jay or Yankee fan but I admired the way he played the game.

When Roger was named in the Mitchell Report there were many people who said he should come out swinging.  And swinging he has.  He has gone on 60 Minutes, made a You Tube video, held press conferences and testified before Congress that he did not use performance enhancing drugs.  He came across to me as believable.  But here is the problem.  His best buddy Andy Pettitte who was named in the Mitchell report and was trained by Brian McNamee.  Pettitte admitted that he used HGH.  But Roger flatly denies that he has taken drugs or any performance enhancements.  So what is it?

Then Roger files an anti-defamation suit against Brian McNamee.  Now team McNamee are pulling out all of the stops.  They are saying that Roger Clemens had a long time affair with Mindy McCready, a country music singer who has had her own illegal drug problems.  Truth is stranger than fiction.  You couldn’t write a more juicy story in Hollywood.

Here is the problem for me.  If Roger had admitted he took the performance enhancements would this have just blown over?  What if he had just kept his mouth shut?  Instead he makes a big deal and I think it is making him look worse.

What does this mean for us?  I usually can tell when my kids get defensive about something, they probably are guilty. When they calmly deny something, they usually are telling the truth, but when they get vocal, they are “usually” guilty.  It is probably the same for me.  How many times to we angrily argue with the police when we get pulled over for speeding (hypothetically, of course)?  I’ve found myself getting defensive with my wife and my kids and usually it is when I’m wrong.  I’m ashamed to admit that but it is true.

So what do we do?  I think the Bible gives us the best advice.  We should share our sins with one another.

James 5:16

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Had Roger just said, yes I took the HGH and steroids this story would have probably passed.

Sometimes it is best to keep our mouths shut.

Proverbs 18:2

A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.

Proverbs 10:10

He who winks maliciously causes grief,  and a chattering fool comes to ruin.

Proverbs 17:28

Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.

Had Roger just kept quiet the rest of the junk about his personal life would probably stayed out of the news.  This whole incident is sad because he is married and has children who are probably hurting.  

What do you think?