James Watkins on Britney, Kramer, World Toilet Day and more

previous date | next date

11.12.06

blog archives

email comments

favorite sites

homepage

topic du jour

'kramer' a racist? 11.20

ordaining women 11.19

world toilet day 11.18

islamic armageddon 11.17

britney's reputation 11.15

newborn euthanasia 11.14

britney's video 11.14

'haggard' truth 11.13

thanksgiving 11.13

persecution 11.12

about moi

click here

Friday, November 24, 2006
avast, me hearties, man the barf buckets . . .

Just me luck, maties. I'll be speaking at the American Christian Writers conference aboard Carnival's Liberty November 25-December 3. That's the very same ship on which 700 passengers and crew members recently spent their voyage leaning over the railing with some kind of virus. Arrr, gives "poop deck" a whole new meaning! And if the scurvy dogs at the onboard Internet Cafe charge as much as the wenches in the galley for Diet Cokes, this may be my last posting until this lubber is back on land. Until then . . .
• Holiday travel tips
• Top ten signs you spent too much money on "Black Friday"
• The Twelve Sites of Christmas (fruitcake for the soul)

Thursday, November 23, 2006
thanks for nothing!

I love this passage from the Bible's Habakkuk 3:17-18:

   Though the fig tree does not bud
      and there are no grapes on the vines,
      though the olive crop fails
      and the fields produce no food,
      though there are no sheep in the pen
      and no cattle in the stalls,
   yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
       I will be joyful in God my Savior

My thoughts and prayers are with those, this Thanksgiving Day in the States, who seem to have no circumstances for which to give thanks: those with an empty chair at the table this year, those suffering in Iraq, those being persecuted in North Korea, those being abused in Sudan.

First Thessalonians 5:18 is similar to Habakkuk's praise: “Give thanks in all circumstances, which is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” The prophet Habakkuk and the apostle Paul are not saying to give thanks for all circumstances. They are saying, to give thanks while you're in those situations. Thanks that, no matter how out of control life looks, God is in control. That no matter how rejected or abandoned we may feel, God is right there with us. And that no matter how hellish life looks from this side of heaven, God is worthy of praise .

• Why? Some thoughts on life's tough questions
• Coping with death and loss
• Top ten reasons to give thanks right now

Monday, November 20, 2006
michael 'kramer' richards latest in racial rants

According to TMZ, Michael Richards who played Cosmo Kramer of Seinfeld, is the lastest celebrity to go on a racial rant. When he was heckled by two two black men at West Hollywood's Laugh Factory, Richards exploded with expletives and racial slurs. When Mel Gibson verbally attacked Jews, he blamed it on alcohol saying that the racial hatred was not in his heart. Jesus would disagree:

"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45).

• Some thoughts on Gibson's tirade (7.29.06)

Sunday, November 19, 2006
denominations ordaining women will ordain homosexuals?!

World Magazine, in its November 25 issue, devoted three full pages to an interview with Wayne Grudem. Grudem is the author of Evangelical Feminism which argues that any denomination ordaining women has abandoned biblical inerrancy and is headed down the “slippery slop” to ordaining homosexuals.

This is not only unfair, but historically inaccurate. The Assembly of God, Church of God Anderson, Free Methodists, Nazarenes, Salvation Army, Wesleyan, and other denominations have been ordaining women, some for over 150 years, without becoming “theologically liberal” or denying or undermining “the authority of Scripture.”

I trust, in the spirit of journalistic fairness and Christian charity, that the editors of World will also devote three pages to the evangelicals who believe the Bible is inerrant, but also believe that women have a biblical call to serve at all levels of ministry. Until then, here's some balance . . .
• Should women be ordained ministers? Dr. Lee Haines
• Women in ministry: a biblical perspective, Dr. David Thompson
• Why do I favor women in ministry? Dr. Ken Schenk
• What does the Bible really say?

Saturday, November 18, 2006
celebrate 'world toilet day'

Proving, once again, that there is a holiday for just about everything, Sunday is "World Toilet Day." Yep, I'm flushed with excitment! And the ultimate video game for your PlayStation 3: World Toilet's "Urgent"!

Other days in November: Saxophone Day (6), National Bittersweet Chocolate With Almonds Day (7), National Pizza With The Works Except Anchovies Day (12), Operation Room Nurse Day (14), I Love to Write Day (15), Use Even If Seal Is Broken Day (24), and Square Dance Day (29). And don't forget Veteran's Day (11), Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday) and my wife's birthday (24).

• "Jim Shorts" ode to the commode
• World Toilet Day official site [off site]
• WorldToilet.org introduces video game: Urgent! [off site]

Friday, November 17, 2006
october 11, 2007: islamic armageddon day?

What motivates Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to shun world criticism of his nuclear program and call for the complete annihilation of Israel? He's been reading "last days" books, but not the kind written by Jenkins and LaHaye. Shiite Islam has its own apocalyptic literature that promises the arrival of its own messiah: the "twelfth Imam" named Mahdi, "the guided one." During Mahdi's lifetime , Hadhrat Isa (Jesus) will return to kill Dajjal, the "anti-Christ". (Can you guess who Ahmadinejab believes is Dajjal?)

Ahmadinejad referred to this messiah's arrival when, in September, he announced at the United Nations, "I emphatically declare that today's world, more than ever before, longs for . . . the perfect righteous human being and real savior who has been promised to all peoples and who will establish justice, peace and brotherhood on the planet. Almighty God . . . make us among his followers and among those who strive for his return and his cause. "

Just yesterday, an Iranian newspaper editorial called "Preparations for the Great War" prophesied, ""The great war is ahead of us, [and will break out] perhaps tomorrow, or in another few days, or in a few months, or even in a few years. . . . Israel must collapse."

On the last day of Ramadan, Iranian's celebrate a holiday introduced by Ayatollah Khomeini: Quds Day. With celebrations and parades, Iranians call for this destruction of Israel. The next Quds Day is scheduled for October 11, 2007.

• YnetNews.com's report of Iranian threats
• Islam.tc's description of Mahdi and the Great War

Wednesday, November 15, 2006
britney worried sex video could tarnish reputation

Yep, tabloids are reporting that Britney Spears is worried that the x-rated video tape of her and ex-hubby could tarnish her reputation. I may be completely wrong, but after you've appeared naked on several magazine covers, French-kissed Madonna on national TV, driven with your baby sitting on your lap, and recorded mindless song lyrics, isn't your reputation already just a bit "tarnished"?
• Top ten ways Britney can be redeem her reputation

Tuesday, November 14, 2006
church of england bishop promotes newborn euthansia

England's Daily Mail is reporting:

A bishop representing the national church has now sparked controversy by arguing that there are occasions when it is compassionate to leave a severely disabled child to die.

The Bishop of Southwark, Tom Butler, who is the vice chair of the Church of England's Mission and Public Affairs Council, has also argued that the high financial cost of keeping desperately ill babies alive should be a factor in life or death decisions.

Butler has obviously overlooked an important warning from Jesus himself. "Whatever you do to the least of these, you have done it to me" (Matthew 25:40).
• Some thoughts on euthanasia
• Some thoughts on the treatment of the disabled
• What are your thoughts?
• Story from DailyMail.com [off site]

Tuesday, November 14, 2006
what were mark, ted and britney thinking?!

U.S. representative Mark Foley leaves a paper trail of sexually explicit emails to young pages. Mega-pastor Ted Haggard buys meth while hiring a gay prostitute for a massage. And Monday, the Internet was buzzing with an alleged clip from Britney Spears' sex video. Hello? Don't these high profile people know that their secrets will eventually be outed?! And don't they know not to produce hard evidence that can be used against them?! Surely Foley remembers the Richard Nixon's convicting audio tapes. Haggard must recall the TV evangelists' hotel receipts and crooked books. And Britney must know that celebrity sex tapes eventually end up on the Internet. They all must be operating under the complete delusion that they will be the world's only exception to the rule "your sins will find you out." No exceptions!

Monday, November 13, 2006
the 'haggard' truth

Gordan McDonald fell from grace twenty years ago while on the evangelical A list. Today, he provides a compassionate and yet convicting analysis of the recent fall of Ted Haggard. Every Christian pastor, author, speaker, and leader needs to read this important article if he or she wants to avoid a similar fate.
• When leaders implode [off site]
• Your comments

Monday, November 13, 2006
getting into thanksgiving day spirit

• Top ten reasons to give thanks right now
• Too-true Thanksgiving video [off site]
• Test your turkey trivia

Sunday, November 12, 2006
international day of prayer for persecuted church

According to the Geneva Report 2004, from the World Evangelical Alliance, there are more than 200 million Christians who do not have full human rights, as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These rights are denied to them for the simple reason that they choose to live as Christians.

Documented evidence demonstrates that in recent years Christians have suffered:

• Imprisonment without trial
• Torture
• Home raids
• Confiscation of Bibles and Christian literature
• Physical abuse at the hands of police
• Physical abuse at the hands of non-Christian members of their communities
• Death threats
• Discrimination in employment
• Discrimination in a court of law
• Intimidation, so that they will close down churches
• Forced conversions to other religions
• Burning and destruction of churches
• Execution without trial, or "disappearances"
• Abductions and forced marriages to members of other religions
• Systematic rape of Christian populations, and
• Enslavement

(From Open Doors)

Thanks for praying!
• Open Doors Web site
• IDOP Web site

November 1, 2006
last issue's hot topics

Wow! What a couple of weeks! Ted Haggard resigned from National Association of Evangelicals in a gay sex and drugs scandal, Britney Spears filed for divorce, and John Kerry "botched" a joke that was interpreted as an insult to U.S. troops. And on election day, Republicans, pro-life advocates, and same-sex marriage proponents took a "thumpin'."
• Click here to go back in time to November 1, 2006

October 2006
last month's top ten sites

I have in my right hand, direct from my home office, last month's top ten sites . . .

• 1 Home page

• 2 "Jim Shorts" on sex

• 3 "The Platypus Players"' billabong page

• 4 Top ten reasons I'm not divorcing my wife

• 5 Quips and quotes of encouragement

• 6 "Adult site" for adults

• 7 "Jim Shorts" on issues

• 8 "Jim Shorts" on health issues

• 9 Is it a life or a choice?

• 10 "Jim Shorts" on spirituality

Thanks for stopping by. If you enjoyed your visit, please save it as a bookmark or favorites and come back regularly for new material. And be sure to tell all your family, friends and email pals about it by using the form below.

© James Watkins. All text and graphics on my sites, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted © in my name, James N. Watkins, and are protected by United States copyright law and international copyright law under the Berne Convention. Please visit the press room for information on reprinting any text or graphics. Thanks!

This site is hosted by . . .