Minnesota Lutherans are a forgiving lot

But in 2006, his campaign repeatedly told the press that he had not been drinking that night, claiming that his failed field sobriety test was due to a misunderstanding related to hearing loss from his time in the National Guard. The campaign also claimed that Walz was allowed to drive himself to jail that night. 

-- https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/15/politics/tim-walz-2006-campaign-falsely-described-dwi-kfile/index.html

Walz repeatedly saying that he retired with a rank he achieved but did not retire with ...

Walz nodded in agreement at that statement -- despite the fact that, according to military records and his own admission, he had never served in Afghanistan. ...

Walz appears to have been aware prior to his retirement that his unit was under consideration for deployment. ...

However Walz did not remain in the role long enough to keep the title in retirement. Still, Walz repeatedly referred to himself as a "retired command sergeant major" for years.

 

-- https://abcnews.go.com/US/walz-previously-faced-criticism-characterized-military-service-records/story?id=112833386 

WaPo wants to remind us in 2015 that Hillary Clinton carried around a Bible in her purse in 2007

Seriously.

Here:

'In 2008, Clinton told CNN that she had “tried to take my beliefs, my faith, and put it to work my entire life” to help others. In 2007, she told the network about how she prays regularly and carries a Bible in her purse.'

The story writer, Daniel Silliman, in fact offers a complete shorthand history of Hillary Clinton's liberal Methodist Christianity.

At one point he even writes that her faith was recently "on display" because she had an informed religious conversation with a Reverend in a bakery, documented conveniently by CNN, in which she demonstrated to him surprising and impressive knowledge of the "living word" of God. Silliman even links to that story for your convenience.

How nice.

No mention, however, of all those flying ashtrays and flying expletives in the White House years, or how the Secret Service to this day considers assignment to the Clinton detail a form of punishment. The Clintons are said to refer to them as "pigs" and routinely tell them to "f^$k off".

Faith was never so easy as it is in the hands of The Washington Post.

CNN features a pretty good story on "The Sunday Morning Stickup"

mite box of the Lutheran Women's Missionary League

Worth reading, here, except the Lutheran pastor featured in the story trims the force of the vignette about the poor widow in Mark 12:

"The message is clear right? Even if you can't pay your electric bill, God says give all you have. But Albertson, the Lutheran pastor, says that pastors often miss the story's meaning. Jesus wasn't telling people to give all they have to the church: He was condemning the financial corruption of the religious system of his day for exploiting the poor widow's generosity."

That is totally wrong. The conditions of discipleship are the same for everyone.

The poor widow demonstrates what is the quintessential Jesus follower, who doesn't worry about what she shall eat, or what she shall drink; nor yet for her body, what she shall put on. She is a contemporary who believes what Jesus believes: that she will be taken care of by God, not by mammon. And no doubt she was! Her offering was one of gratitude . . . and continued confidence! There is no suggestion in the pericope of the critique contained in the pericope before it. There is a connection in Mark's mind, the gospel author, but not in the story per se, not even in the way he presents it.

Yes, the critique of the rapacious expectations of the religious authorities is constitutive of the message of Jesus, but that does not absolve the disciple of Jesus from his duty:

"No one can be my disciple who does not say goodbye to everything that he owns." -- Luke 14:33

That poor widow was a Jesus follower, unlike the rest of them, unlike the rest of us.

I Doubt Rachel Held Evans Would Follow The Real Jesus Even If She Met Him

No one else has.

In "Why Millennials Are Leaving The Church" here:

"You can’t hand us a latte and then go about business as usual and expect us to stick around. We’re not leaving the church because we don’t find the cool factor there; we’re leaving the church because we don’t find Jesus there. Like every generation before ours and every generation after, deep down, we long for Jesus."

------------------------------------------

You mean this one?

Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

-- Matthew 19:21f.

The authenticity sought by the young is ever disappointed, but not until they are older and take a good long look in the mirror and meet all the hypocrites they've ever known.

Tithing: 58 Percent of Evangelical Leaders Say It's Not Required

"42% of evangelical leaders believe the Bible requires tithing, while 58% do not."


Find the complete story here.

Crystal Cathedral Declares Bankruptcy

But the true believers forge ahead positively nonetheless from their pile of (clear) rocks:

"Our announcement today to file for the protection of Chapter 11 is just one more chapter in the book that he is continuing to write -- and we know that God's plans are good -- we have no doubt his chapter will be good!"

CNN.com has the full story here.

It Turns Out Glenn Beck is a Mormon

Which explains a lot.

According to CNN.com:

Beck's emerging role as a national leader for Christian conservatives is surprising not only because he has until recently stressed a libertarian ideology that is sometimes at odds with so-called family values conservatism, but also because Beck is a Mormon.

Many of the evangelicals who Beck is speaking to and organizing, including [Rev. Richard] Land [of the Southern Baptist Convention], don't believe he is a Christian. Mormons, who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, call themselves Christian.

"There's a long history of tensions between Mormons and evangelicals and some of that is flat-out theology," says John C. Green, an expert on religion and politics at the University of Akron. "Mormons have additional sacred texts (to the Bible) and a different conception of God."

"It's also competitive," Green said, "because evangelicals and Mormons are both proselytizing in the U.S. and around the world."

Don't miss the complete story, here, for which you will not need 3-d glasses.