E-Jesus

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A few months ago, I was telling John (Where is John, anyway?) about the electric light-up “Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary” picture frames and wall clocks that you could buy off any corner sidewalk vendor back in Manila.

I never did get to buy one, but Daniel of ansiblenetwork.com was able to get one on a honeymoon in Rome. He calls it E-Jesus, and he has even included a javascript-enabled E-Jesus so you can see for yourself. Click here to try.

Link via Rylanddotnet. As with the old Sacred Heart Light-up Wall Clocks and the framed 3D picture of the Virgin Mary that I got for Christmas two years ago (the kind that looks at you no matter what angle you hold it at), I don’t know whether to be horrified or titillated.

De Quiros on Doreen Fernandez

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In Good Taste: Conrado de Quiros mourns the loss of Ma’am Doreen. They were classmates!

The title of Doreen’s column said everything there was to say about it: “In good taste.” That wasn’t just the spirit in which she wrote, it was the spirit in which she lived. She made the ultimate fusion, combining seemingly incongruous elements to cook up one very tasty stew. She was a class act because she was unmindful of class. She did not confine her inquires into the heart, or stomach, of the Pinoy to the preparations made by chefs in five-star hotels, she roved the streets looking for the Filipino soul in tuba and turo-turo food. It was from her I learned of the existence of small and obscure but tasteful and tasty dives in this wild and scrambling city.

She was out of this world because she was right smack in this world. Or she was spiritual because she loved the things of this world. That was something, quite incidentally, we learned from the formidable poet and art critic, Eric Torres, who taught the poetry class. The sensual is not opposed to the spiritual, Torres used to say, while grooving on Bach. It is the commercial-the desire merely to possess or acquire-that is opposed to the spiritual. But seeing and hearing and smelling and tasting and touching the world, reveling in the curves and textures and scents of this world, it was to glimpse the divine. Doreen did just that, at the gut level: She reveled in the subtlety and magnificence of food. And we have been ennobled by it.

The Sarcastic Word of God

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“If you’re being rude to be interesting, start again. If you’re being rude to boost your ego, start again. But above all, don’t cause divisions that haven’t already been caused by heresy.”

Ben writes a biting Razormouth essay on being as rude as Jesus.

This is of special interest to me because of a prior controversy regarding cultist Eli Soriano’s use of combative and profane language on his TV show. His supporters claim that he has authority to do so based on 1 Cor 11:1 — “Follow my example even as I follow the example of Christ.” — but his idea of “the example of Christ” seems rather selective vis-a-vis attitudes of gentleness versus “righteous” indignance.

(And yes, I played the “Jesus-is-God” card. ;)

Pledge of Allegiance Under God

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By now, most everyone has had something to say on the “Under God” Pledge Ruling, so anything I say from either conservative or liberal lobe of my brain will probably be a redundancy.

I’m a Baptist, and one of our foundational statements of faith is the separation of church and state: government should not dictate the religious affairs of the private citizen, nor should a religious entity use its institutional influence to coerce the governance of the state. (I need to read up on this bit of Baptist tradition, however, because I’m wondering about its biblical precedence.) Given that, if a judicial branch of established government rules that the “Under God” line of the Pledge is unconstitutional, I suppose I accept that. But government may not interfere with my right to continue openly professing my belief in God — even while others are intent on vehemently denying Him.

A few more observations:

  • A lot of conservatives like to point out that the Founding Fathers were building a Christian nation. That’s not entirely true. Deist, Masonic, and Humanist influences were also present, though Christian thought was the primary paradigm.
  • I worry a bit about blurring the lines between patriotism and faith. With this hazy non-thematic “God” concept ingrained in many institutions of our country, it’s too easy for nationalism to become an idol on its own: the flag beside the cross where only the cross should stand.
  • It’s worth noting that the Panatang Makabayan, the equivalent Pledge of Allegiance from a largely Catholic nation, makes no mention of God at all. That doesn’t seem to affect in any way the Filipino faith — or the Filipino Church hierarchy’s propensity for occasional political meddling. ;)
  • So why have government force citizens to say an “Under God” they don’t even believe in, when we can instead show forth the love of God and inspire people to say “Under God” of their own free will? Let’s not make embarassing quantities of noise over a secular government’s choices for the allegiances of a fallen world. Rather, let us go out and be salt and light.

IE5/Mac CSS fixed (?)

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Okay, Mac users, how does it look now? If I’ve done this right, all random blog layouts should display properly in IE5/Mac, including Brownpau of the Apes. Thanks also to Daniel for the tip on Index 15’s stretched title graphic; I’d been using the wrong IMG width for almost a year!

Lots of new links added, including Josh Claybourn, Joyful Christian, Mark Byron, Sharon Perry (welcome back, Sharon!), Eye Level, Jonathon (note the “o”!) and Joanne, and Ian’s Messy Desk.