December 31, 2006 - Issue #26
Local News | Opinion/Editorials | Letters to the Editor
Local News
Film critics urge people to develop critical eye
Buttery popcorn aroma and packed movie theaters are typical of the Christmas season as thousands of vacationing kids and parents head for the silver screen.
Hollywood producers enable the annual film frenzy with a deluge of December flicks, all aiming for the next blockbuster.
According to local cultural critic and educator Catherine Neumayr, people shouldn’t mindlessly pony up to the box office, however, when deciding which movies they or their children watch.
"As an audience, we ought to make ourselves aware of the level of sin and the types of sin depicted in fiction and film before we indulge," Neumayr told more than 50 people gathered earlier this month for a Theology on Tap presentation at the Snow Goose Restaurant in Anchorage.
Neumayr doesn’t advocate censorship or reducing movies to evangelistic tools but said it’s worth checking out a review or two before opening your imagination to hours of intense stimulation.
"That is the power of the cinema," she said. "It seduces our senses, indulges our emotions and influences our thought."
Lest anyone peg her as puritanical, Neumayr admitted to enjoying movies as much as the next person. The problem is that oftentimes the message imbedded in a movie includes false interpretations of the world — interpretations that fail to acknowledge humanity’s truest nature and deepest struggles. After a while, perceptions of a world without God or real sin can begin to take hold in us, she said.
Unlike reading great literature, which requires an active mind, movies require far less critical thinking or imagination from viewers, Neumayr said. Like literature, movies can still inspire and challenge, but viewers must beware of being lulled into passively agreeing with a movie’s premise.
"In a movie, the seductiveness of the picture and the music can move our senses before our mind can safeguard what we are seeing," she said.
A 15-year educator, Neumayr teaches literature and writing at Holy Rosary Academy in Anchorage. Over the years, she’s noticed a disturbing trend in many of her students.
"In movies today, we don’t have many heroes — they are just characters who are kind of bad and some that are a little less bad," she said. "Consequently, their aspirations for themselves and their grasp of the virtuous life is absent."
These characters’ traits eventually rub off, Neumayr said.
"Many of my students will say they would rather be normal than good and normal is what the movies show," she said. "The reality that they need to fight profoundly against sin in their lives is not there."
Neumayr isn’t alone in her concern about contemporary films. Over the past dozen years, Christian groups across the nation have stepped up efforts to encourage film companies to produce movies that faithfully portray human nature and its ultimate happiness.
Groups such as the Hollywood, Calif.-based organization Act One trains Christians to work in the entertainment industry, offering classes and workshops on screenwriting, producing, directing and other skills. Founded in 1999, Act One now boasts more than 60 alumni working in the industry.
A Catholic group, Pauline Center for Media Studies, takes a slightly different approach. Also based in California, the organization provides seminars and workshops on contemporary media and film. According to its Web site, it aims to equip people to "become co-creators of a culture of communication centered on the dignity of the human person."
The group accomplishes this by promoting "media mindfulness" and "media literacy education," which helps people develop a critical eye.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is one of many Catholic groups that review and rate films for the general public.
The monetary success of movies like "The Passion of the Christ" and Walt Disney Co.’s "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" have served notice to film studiosthat movie viewers are eager for films that don’t undermine basic Christian beliefs.
A Dec. 11 press release from Christian Newswire reported that most top Hollywood studios have lined up to consider the winning entries of an upcoming competition for spiritually uplifting screenplays.
"We have seen the tide turn in Hollywood these past two years, and these industry leaders now recognize that moral and spiritual films have the broadest appeal," said Dr. Ted Baehr, chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission, which helped coordinate the screenwriting competition.
Neumayr concluded her presentation by pointing out that great films are not merely opportunities to escape from real life and indulge illicit desires.
"Like great works of fiction, films can be transformative," she said. "It can enrich our faith by bringing to life our understanding of the human condition and of the human potential."
Theology on Tap organizer Arthor Roraff pointed out that many films aim to be "important," but lack a Christian worldview that would allow them to address humanity’s greatest longings and highest aspirations.
He cited the award-winning movie, "Brokeback Mountain" as a prime example of a film that tried to appeal to more than mindless entertainment and yet failed to rise above humanity’s base desires to something more eternal.
"I think the person who wrote "Brokeback Mountain" wanted to make a point but their only problem is that they did not share our same theological or philosophical outlook," Roraff said.
Church holds high expectations for sacrament of marriage
"Why do you want to get married?"
When meeting for the first time with engaged couples, this is the first question I ask them. They almost always fumble the answer, and it is likely no one had ever asked them this question before. And that is OK.
There is no perfect answer for why a man and a woman would choose to tie their fortunes together in marriage. The best things in life are by nature mysterious and inherently hard to articulate.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks of marriage in these terms: "Sacred Scripture begins with the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God and concludes with a vision of ‘the wedding feast of the Lamb.’ Scripture speaks throughout of marriage and its ‘mystery,’ its institution and the meaning God has given it, its origin and its end…."
The Catholic Church traces the origin of marriage back to the very act of creation itself. Marriage, by its very nature, elevates the human being and helps us to mirror the love of God. Christ’s first recorded miracle occurred in the context of a wedding feast (Gospel of John 2:1-12).
The church’s teaching on the sacrament of marriage is lofty. Who would want it any other way?
January will see some changes in the procedures in which the Archdiocese of Anchorage approaches marriages. While the church elevates the sanctity of marriage, the fact is that not all weddings are converted into marriages.
The basic teaching of the church is that natural law dictates that everyone is born with a natural right to marry once well. When a marriage ends in divorce, all people have a right to ask the church if they had exercised that right in the marriage in question.
The term often associated with church tribunals are "annulments." That term carries a lot of baggage and in fact often complicates a reasoned discussion of what a church does when a tribunal examines a marriage.
The simple fact is that the Catholic Church recognizes a marriage of sort in all human attempts at marriage. Most often there is a civil bond that can be proved through a marriage license. However, the bar set for a valid marriage in the Catholic sense is very high. Vatican II, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the 1983 Code of Canon Law refer to marriage in lofty terms, such a "partnership of the whole of life and love" and "God himself is the author of marriage."
The definition of marriage is given in Canon 1055 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law: "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring, has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament between the baptized."
The sad reality is that not every marriage works. Some marriages limp from the beginning, as if born with some sort of defect that prevents it from being the healthy body that Christ intends.
In future editions of the Anchor, I will specify more thoroughly the changes occurring in the procedures commonly known as annulments. But first, let us acknowledge and celebrate the fact that for most people, marriage is a holy and divine reality, helping people on their journey through life and strengthening the very fabric of our society.
No trivial pursuit
Young Catholics prepare for showdown at annual competition
It may not be the Heisman Trophy or the Stanley Cup, but for Catholic kids in the Anchorage archdiocese, the Truth Pursuit Trophy is a coveted prize.
This year, the team to beat is the defending champs, a group comprised mostly of young Catholics from the Kenai Peninsula.
Truth Pursuit, played each year on the Saturday before Super Bowl Sunday, is a contest invented by Anchorage youth minister Bob McMorrow and his youth ministry team at St. Benedict Church.
Defending champs aim for repeat
Unlike its major league sports counterparts, Truth Pursuit is intellectual rather than physical, testing knowledge in 20 categories of Catholic faith and fact.
Still, the final rounds, held in the gymnasium of Lumen Christi High School in Anchorage, can get noisy and the rivalry intense.
Kathy Johnson from Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Soldotna sponsors the Peninsula team, which this year was large enough to split into two separate squads.
While not an official youth minister, Johnson describes herself simply as "the parent of some boys who wanted to do the competition."
When asked about last year’s victory, she paused.
"Humility is a virtue, right?" But then Johnson added, "It was a decisive victory. And we’re hoping that it inspired everyone to study harder."
The Peninsula squad included team members from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Soldotna, two from St. John the Baptist Parish in Homer, one from our Lady of the Angels Parish in Kenai, and a substitute from Sacred Heart Parish in Wasilla.
The 20 categories in Truth Pursuit cover a wide range of Catholic knowledge. Five biblical categories this year range from the Gospel of Mark to a group of Hebrew Scriptures —Judith, Tobit, Esther and Baruch.
There’s also a Catholic social justice category and others on Mary, sacraments, saints, consecrated life, Catholic pilgrimages, World Youth Day and the female doctors of the church, including St. Teresa of Avila, St. Catherine of Siena and St. Therese of Lisieux.
Contestants also study a book, "Salt of the Earth," that was written by Pope Benedict XVI before he became pope.
But how do kids cram for such a broad range of categories?
Specific readings are given in each area or, for example, each tournament features specific saints or sacraments. Materials are then provided or available on the Internet.
When the big day arrives, teams are divided randomly into brackets with everyone competing through at least three rounds in classrooms at Lumen Christi.
Excitement builds as the top teams eventually head to the gym for the final rounds.
McMorrow and Johnson both stressed that with about four teams registered so far, there’s still plenty of time to compile a team for the Feb. 3 competition. The final list of teams usually isn’t settled until a week before the event begins.
Johnson said parishes shouldn’t fear that it’s too much work.
"The kids do the work. We get together about once a month and make sure the kids have the resources they need. It involves a lot of independent reading for the students."
Contestants, predominantly high school students, divide up the categories according to what most interests them. (A special junior high "general knowledge" contest is set for April 20.)
Usually, a couple of "scrimmages" pave the way for the big event. On Dec. 17, St. Michael Church in Palmer hosted a group of teens who played with general knowledge questions just for fun and to get a feel for the rules of the game.
If the kids work hard, so do McMorrow and his team, which put the contest together each year. General categories remain the same, but the specifics within several categories change, and McMorrow’s group is responsible for coming up with 200 new questions per tournament, for a total of 800 questions.
"My youth ministry team at St. Benedict’s helps," McMorrow said, "and some of the crowd from Theology on Tap. Then we’ll have Truth-Pursuit-and-junk-food nights and go through the questions."
Each question and answer is also vetted in several ways — an English teacher checks for grammar, for example, and a group of seminarians looked over the last few year’s questions for doctrinal soundness. This year, that task falls to McMorrow’s brother, who is a priest, and some of his priest friends.
Doug Berry, a parent whose son Josh was on St. Benedict’s team before graduating from high school, has put the entire program on computer this year.
"It’s more of a ‘Jeopardy’ format now," said Berry, referring to the popular TV game show. The questions are all on slides, enabling participants both to see the questions on a PowerPoint presentation as well as hear them.
Christopher Waetjen, 16, of St. Benedict Parish was on last year’s second-place team.
Waetjen, who is home-schooled, said Truth Pursuit is "something fun to do and you learn stuff about your faith."
Plus, the prizes are good. For second place last year, Waetjen received a $20 gift certificate to Ignatius Press, and his team was treated to pizza at Archbishop Roger Schwietz’s house.
McMorrow said the first-place winners each receive a gift basket with approximately $75 worth of rewards, plus dinner with Archbishop Schweitz.
"The archbishop came in and liked what he saw," McMorrow said. And he’s been very supportive ever since.
Johnson, whose three children, Edward, 16, Robert, 14, and Annamarie, 12, will compete, said "all the kids who were in it last year are so excited about doing it again.""The Catholic faith is one of the most exciting things in the world," she said. "You learn a lot just by listening."
This year will be the sixth Truth Pursuit. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School in Anchorage won the first contest. Since then, St. Benedict won three before Kenai took last year’s title.
News & Notes
Three meetings for new Mat-Su school planned
In an effort to update Mat-Su residents on plans to bring a Catholic school to the area, three town-hall-style meeting are scheduled for January. The meetings, hosted by members of the Mat-Su Catholic School Committee, aim to give parishioners and Mat-Su residents an opportunity to hear an overview of plans and to ask questions. Meetings will be at 3 p.m. Jan. 14 at Sacred Heart Church, 7 p.m. Jan. 15 at Our Lady of the Lake and 7 p.m. Jan. 16 at St. Michael Parish. For more information, e-mail Sister Ann Fallon at ann.fallon@caa-ak.org.
St. Francis of Assisi Award nomination deadline nears
The annual St. Francis of Assisi Awards honor individuals who have exemplified the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi and publicly recognize individuals and groups whose actions have demonstrated a spirit of love, humility and service. Award categories include priest, deacon, individual sister or brother, individual layperson, and youth or youth group (individual or group). To submit a nomination, call Julie Alfred at 297-7700 or Carin at 345-3584. Nomination deadline is 5 p.m. Jan. 18.
Emergency shelters seek winter clothing donations
Catholic Social Services’ Anchorage-based emergency shelters Brother Francis Shelter and Clare House need warm winter clothing for their clients. Items can be dropped off at 1021 E. Third Ave. for Brother Francis Shelter or at 225 Cordova St. for Clare House. Socks, hats, gloves, boots and coats of all sizes are needed. For more information, contact Ellen Krsnak at 297-7753 or ellen.krsnak@cssalaska.org.
Masculinity is the focus of Theology on Tap
Have you ever wondered what makes a man masculine? Drew Nelson, a recent graduate from the John Paul II Institute, plans to take up the subject at the next Theology on Tap meeting, 7 p.m. Jan. 18 at the Snow Goose Restaurant. Nelson will look at Catholic teaching about the masculine nature of men and how it relates to the feminine and discuss how modern society has attempted to dissolve these differences and obscure the fundamental relationship between men and women, and ultimately God. Nelson has a master’s degree in theological studies in marriage and the family. For more information about upcoming Theology on Tap speakers, contact Arthur Roraff at (907) 360-2323 or roraff@alaska.net.
Parish nurse ministry classes start in January
Parish Nursing and Parish Ministries of Health integrate faith and the practice of healing by focusing on the spiritual, physical and emotional needs of parishioners. Parish Nurses of Alaska and the Northwest Parish Nurse Ministries in collaboration with Providence Health System Alaska are sponsoring a Parish Nurse Health Ministry preparation course Jan. 11-March 3. For more information, contact Sister Jackie Stoll, OP, ANP, at 297-7736 or jsckie.stoll@caa-ak.org.
Editorials
Natural law grants dignity but makes demands
Why do some social justice issues unite so many people while others seem to cause so much division?
Diverse groups agree it’s good to fight global poverty, cure devastating diseases and assist orphans and the homeless. Yet many of these same people part ways at the mere mention of embryonic stem cell research, abortion, euthanasia, birth control or gay marriage.
Even among self-professed Catholics, widespread disagreement exists on these issues.
What makes these two social justice categories so different?
A clue might be found in how different groups view human nature.
Historic Christianity, as revealed in Scripture and church tradition, teaches that people should clothe the naked, feed the hungry and care for the weak.
Why? Because Scripture teaches that human beings are created in the "image" and "likeness" of God. When the least person is neglected, Christ says he too is neglected.
This teaching about the inherent dignity of all humans is the basis for social equality, freedom and justice in most Western societies. These are not arbitrary or optional social constructs, rather they are extensions of a belief about the very essence of human nature.
According to this view, people cannot justifiably stand by as others are tortured, enslaved or slaughtered. From the belief in human dignity comes the idea of "human rights violations" and "crimes against humanity."
While many countries do not acknowledge the Christian basis for these beliefs, they often appeal to notions of natural law to support their claims.
The world over, nations recognize that human beings are instilled with inherent dignity by virtue of being human and nations still cry out for justice when this dignity is disregarded.
Many of these same people, however, are increasingly supportive of abortion, assisted euthanasia and experimentation with embryos.
Support for these practices is hard to justify without radically redefining human nature. Abortion and scientific experiments on unborn humans is more easily justified, however, once a society abandons the idea of universal human nature.
This radical redefinition has gained considerable support in Western societies. It is a view wherein people are free to define their individual lives without concern for universal truths about human nature.
Under this view people may use their own bodies however they wish. They can determine their private sexual practices, end their own existence whenever they choose and lead lives unfettered by universal natural law.
After abandoning belief in universal human nature, the consequence is that it is easier to create laws that fail to recognize the inherent dignity of society’s weaker members — the unborn, handicapped and elderly. These people no longer possess inherent dignity simply by virtue of their humanity.
This stance is radically opposed to orthodox Christianity and yet it has colored the thinking of many Western societies, including some Christian believers.
To return to the original question, it might be easier now to see why people might support certain social justice issues and oppose others.
Issues that have widespread support generally do not demand that people conform their personal practices to universal natural laws. Fighting hunger and poverty, for instance, does not demand that a person change their sexual or moral paradigms. A ban on abortion or gay marriage, however, imposes limits on sexual practices and social life.
The problem for those who want to "live and let live" is that they ultimately lose all justification for the social justice issues that they do support. Why fight hunger, AIDS in Africa, genocide in Darfur or any other human problem when human life is without inherent dignity?
Then again, if inherent dignity is grounded in the natural laws of creation, we cannot pick and choose when to acknowledge them.
A pilgrimage means more than just walking from here to there
I have two good friends, husband and wife, who for many years have been a great inspiration for me. The reason: They have made at least four pilgrimages to the famous shrine of St. James in Compostela, Spain. This is no casual summer outing, mind you. It takes the better part of several months, demands strong legs and at least two pairs of hiking shoes.
I spoke about this with them on one occasion and asked them why they continued to do this, even as many as four times over the years. After all, if you’ve seen the country once, isn’t that enough?
They simply said, "Well, for us it’s an act of worship!"
"Couldn’t you have done the same thing walking to your parish church?" I asked.
"You don’t understand," they said. "Walking can be a holy journey if you know where you are going and why you are going there."
I’m still puzzling over that, but I think I’m beginning to understand.
Pilgrimages have been taken for centuries: Chaucer’s "Canterbury Tales," for instance, tells the hilarious stories of the folks who walked from London to Canterbury to pray at the tomb of the martyr Thomas and seek a blessing, even a miracle perchance. Every year at Pentecost, young people from all over the world walk from Paris to Chartres, singing and praying to our Lady all the while discussing their hopes for an end to all wars. Many people around the world today go on pilgrimage by plane and automobile to Lourdes, France, to seek the intercession of the Virgin Mary in their illnesses. In Mexico, thousands journey, many on their knees, each December to the shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe to worship and demonstrate their homage to God’s Mother, who loves the poor.
There is also another kind of pilgrimage that takes place in our time in which people do not so much go to a holy place, but make the journey itself a holy venture. Think of the numbers of people, for instance, who marched (some to their death) to Selma, Ala., or Washington, D.C., to demonstrate for civil rights, freedom and equality for all.
When we search the Scriptures, we can obviously find many examples of journeys of freedom: the journey of Abraham and his family from Ur to a land they could call their own, and the great Exodus of the Jews out of Egypt, once again to find a home. Jesus and his family went on pilgrimage each year to the temple in Jerusalem to worship and make their simple offerings.
The classic example of a pilgrimage, of course, is the journey of the Magi from somewhere in the East to the birthplace of the eternal King, the Messiah. They were willing to put up with much inconvenience to achieve their goal. It was not enough simply to read about this spectacular event from a distance. They needed to come personally and worship at the home of the Savior.
So, what is the meaning of pilgrimage, this important part of our Catholic heritage? People journey for various reasons. It’s something like a retreat, but it always involves a physical action, sometimes difficult. It is an action that takes us out of our usual way of life and opens us to the experience of God. In other words, it’s more than proving that we can walk from one place to another. This is worship, a search for the sacred. As a recent author put it: "We never know what we will find until we get there, and maybe not even then ... maybe years later." In some sense, our entire Christian life is like the story of the Magi. We go out each day seeking Mystery. We offer our gifts and then we go home, but always by another way because now we are changed and life will never look quite the same way to us again. Journeys of any sort will do that to you.
Feast of Holy Innocents reminds us to pray for youngest victims
Once again, we celebrated the Feast of the Holy Innocents on Dec. 28 at Holy Family Cathedral with a Mass and an evening vigil of prayer. This feast has been celebrated since the sixth century on Dec. 28. It commemorates the memory of those children killed because of Herod’s rage against Christ as told in the Gospel of Matthew (Matt 2:16-17).
According to the author of Matthew, when the Magi were inspired to go on a journey to seek out the birth of Jesus, they first visited Herod the Great to ask if he knew the location of the birth. When asked by the Magi for the location of "He that is born King of the Jews," Herod, the Roman ruler of Judea, felt that his power was threatened. He asked the Magi to find this child king for him and then to return to tell him so that he might also worship him. Of course, his hidden intention was to kill the new child king immediately.
When the Magi, warned in dreams of the king’s true intentions, returned home by a different route to avoid being forced to betray the child, Herod ordered the slaughter of all children who were 2 years old and younger. As the story is related in the Gospel of Matthew, Mary, Joseph and Jesus fled to Egypt after they too had been warned by an angel.
While the slaughter of the innocents is not mentioned in any of the other Gospels, the passage in Matthew specifically describes this event as happening to the rural areas around the village of Bethlehem, and Bethlehem itself, which would likely have been a small village. The Byzantine liturgy speaks of 14,000 holy innocents and an early Syrian list of saints states that there were 64,000. However, most scholars agree that these numbers were probably inflated, and that for a town of that size only six to 20 children would have likely been killed. The number makes no difference since violence to even one child is heinous.
Our liturgical tradition regards them as martyrs and refers to them as the "holy innocents." As we reflect upon the history of this day down through the ages, popular piety and art have referred to the innocents as a "tender flock of lambs" which exhibit feelings of compassion and tenderness. These sentiments are also accompanied by a sense of righteous anger against the violent aggression with which these infants were taken from their mothers’ arms and killed. The Lutheran and Episcopal churches celebrate with us on this day, while our Orthodox sisters and brothers celebrate the memorial on Dec. 29.
What meaning does the celebration of this day have for us? Today, children all over the world are victims of violence by innumerable forces and in untold ways. The innocence of their youth is threatened by poverty, abuse, social injustice and institutional neglect, even in our own country. On this day is it also appropriate to recall the deeds of past generations and institutions that have abused our children and denied their dignity. We also pray for those who are yet to be born and those who have not been born because of abortion. In addition to worship and prayer, we are called to seek ways to create a more just world where the innocent are not only protected but also valued and cherished.
The author is director of evangelization for the Archdiocese of Anchorage.
Letters to the Editor
New rules sound like bad idea
I hear the Vatican is going to authenticate church music. Beware! One pope wouldn’t allow music later than Palestrina (17th century). Two of the most devotional hymns to the Virgin Mary, Shubert’s and Bach’s "Ave Maria" are not allowed in the Catholic Church. God gives talent directly to the individual, yet church authority reserves the right to reject talent.In our parish, we have no musical instruments. Someone tries to lead singing, pitching it too high or too low and turning it into a funeral dirge. Does church authority believe authenticating the music will help? In the old church, a 10-string lyre led singing. In one church, a woman playing guitar with three other young guitar players made excellent music. In the new Wrigley exclusive club church, the previous music would be prohibited. Everyone from the pope to the parish council should take a music aptitude test before judging music.
Kasilof
Many women helped church
In response to my recent letter on denying women full participation as church leaders, a writer replied "Jesus chose only men as his apostles" and cited comments by two past popes (Readers Respond, Dec. 15).A review of early church history shows how the men-only model of church leadership is not a biblical reality but a later cultural construct. Women accompanied Jesus and supported him materially (including Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna — see Luke 8:1-3). Many fledgling church groups were led by women, specifically Prisca (I Corinthians 16:19), Lydia of Thyatira (Acts 16:15) and Nympha of Laodicea (Colossians 4:15). The list of early Christian women prophets and martyrs is extensive — and impressive. Analysis of newly discovered texts illuminates the role of women in the early church. Also, careful review of existing texts provides evidence that women’s originally prominent role was later modified to fit the men-only model. For instance, Paul in Romans 16:7 greeted a woman church leader named Junia — whose name was later "changed" by scribes to the man’s name "Junias."We ignore at our church’s peril the historical fact that women fully participated in early church leadership.
Anchorage
‘War on Christmas’ is inane
The Anchor’s buying into the "war on Christmas" nonsense saddens me (Catholic Comment, Dec. 15).
In more than two-thirds of a century on this planet, I found only one person offended by being wished a merry Christmas, a pastor who insisted the first four weeks of the church year are Advent, not Christmas.
No one I know objects to nonstop Christmas music on the radio, Christmas ads stuffing secular newspapers, Christmas concerts on public television and the recent Nativity movie. But wish Jews, Muslims or atheists happy holidays to show that Jesus’ love is inclusive, not exclusive, and the political correctness police yelp like crazy.
Jesus clearly calls us to love our neighbors, not emulate the Pharisees with phony outward shows of religion in public places.Let’s be more like him and less like dead men’s bones.
Anchorage