Or at least it should not be. This is an observation I made during a recent Bible study that, sadly, has just concluded. In one session we discussed methods for studying God's Word more in depth, and noted that there are now some great technology tools out there. We can now have the Bible read aloud to us while we read along, look up background information, instantly check cross references and even investigate the nuances of the original language. Like many Christians today when I do my Bible reading it is usually off of a screen: computer, ereader or smart phone. My own church even tells visitors how they can follow along with the Scripture being discussed in the sermon using their mobile devices. While the symbolism of the well-worn Bible is still appealing and good, as a practice that is becoming obsolete.

However we then discussed the need for quiet time, to cultivate intimacy with God. And that's where technology gets in the way. We have so much media now that seems to demand our attention. It's not just the television and radio any more; we also have phones that we take with us wherever we go, the world wide web, email, Facebook and Twitter. We now have social media, services that have "timelines" and seem to require constant vigilance and attention lest we miss something. In this environment of constant distraction it becomes harder to cultivate our relationship with the Almighty, to listen to His voice and hear what He has to say.

But is it really? Or do we simply have more excuses for not listening? Technology may have saturated our world with media and created more demands on our time, but it has also given us more options to put all of that on hold. We now have digital recording so that we can watch our TV shows on our own schedule, not the one set by some executive in New York. Phones can be turned off for a while, with calls being redirected to voice mail. Email will still be sitting in our inbox is we leave it for a few hours. We can look back over our social media timelines to check on anything we missed.

We have so many demands for our attention, but also so many methods for making the rest of the world wait until we're set and ready for it. Do we let media dictate our schedules to us, or do we choose to dictate our schedule to it? We can choose to set aside time to read God's Word, to pray, to sit in quietness and solitude and listen to His voice, to spend time with a small group discussing Him and His Word. We most certainly have a choice, it's just up to us whether technology is our master or if we make it our servant as we serve our true Master.

And yes, I do appreciate the irony that this message is on a blog.

Unless you've been living far away from radio, television and the internet for the past week and the first thing you've seen, heard or read from any electronic media source is this very blog (in which case all I have to say is, "HI, GRANDMA!"*) you have know doubt heard that President Obama has come out of the closet...as someone who personally believes that gays should be allowed to marry.

He also stated that if he were in a position where he could affect policy he might actually take some steps to make that a reality, but alas he is in no such position so tough luck, guys! OK, I made that last part up, but it is rather silly to announce his personal views in such a dramatic fashion unless he's actually making a policy move that will actually affect lives. Instead we get a statement that, while interesting to many people, is really no more significant than my announcement, right here, right now in this blog post, that Cadbury Creme Eggs are the most marvelous candy ever to have existed and I personally believe that they should be available year round. But no. Instead we get no actual policy position, but media of all varieties would have us believe is the most significant thing ever until we are all distracted by the next shiny objec--Ooh! Would you look at that! It was so significant that Newsweek put this on its cover:

And really, speaking seriously here, that cover is stomach-churning. The offensiveness really has nothing to do with gay marriage or the rainbow colors or homosexuality at all. It's about the blatant idolatry on display. Even though this is a nominally "Christian" nation, ours is one of the most idolatrous, and that the idolatry has so intertwined with politics in recent years is especially troubling. But that's a discussion for another time.

The trouble with Obama's announcement of his personal preferences isn't that he's come out in favor of gay marriage. There are secular arguments as to why it might be preferable to allow gays to marry someone of the same gender. But Obama didn't make a secular argument. He made a religious one, speaking from his Christian "faith". I put faith in quotes because while he obviously believes himself to be a Christian and he may very well be sincere, the argument he makes here, as well as others, have left me with the impression that he doesn't actually understand his professed faith very well. To quote the President:

And that is that, in the end the values that I care most deeply about and she cares most deeply about is how we treat other people and, you know, I, you know, we are both practicing Christians and obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others but, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule, you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated.

This is a more benign justification than some. It is a misapplication of the Golden Rule, a dopey idea that doing good to others means encouraging behavior that is so clearly against the teachings of Scripture. But again, it does fit the neofundamentalist style of this President,l deciding what he thinks is right, and then reaching back into Scripture to find justification for it. One should instead allow oneself to be taught by Scripture, deciding what is right in wrong based on how the Word informs.

I should clarify that the issue I have with the President is not that he supports legalizing gay marriage. Not every vice can or should be proscribed by law. And there may be something to the argument that legalized gay marriage encourages those who are determined to engage in such relationships to choose more responsible, stable relationships. These secular reasonings don't offend, but trying to twist the words of Scripture to justify what it clearly prohibited do.

But like I said, this justification is more benign than some, more of a dopey misapplication than a deliberate twisting of its meaning. There are some who go farther than the President has, to try to say that the most obvious interpretation is wrong and somehow the Bible actually condones and commends homosexual relationships. This is obviously false. It is true that the Levitical laws do not apply to Christians** but there are plenty of prohibitions in the New Testament against homosexual behavior.

There are some that try to argue that what Paul and other writers of the epistles doesn't matter and that the words of Jesus overrules them. This is an odd argument because Jesus never addressed homosexuality directly (that we are aware), but supposedly that he never addressed the the issue directly means that he fully supported same sex relationships. But an understanding of history and the cultures of the First Century indicates a more plausible reason why Jesus didn't address it directly: Jesus preached in Judea, Samaria and Galilee, so when he spoke he was addressing an almost exclusively Jewish audience. And in those days Jewish culture had a very strong taboo toward homosexuality. Therefore while that culture had plenty of issues that needed to be addressed, especially the legalism of the Pharisees, homosexuality was not one of them. As the gospel spread into cultures that were more accepting of gay behavior, writers of the epistles found need to address the issue.

There is one place where Jesus does indicate what position he holds. When some Pharisees thought to test his knowledge of the Mosaic Law on divorce, he gave them much more of an answer than they bargained for. In Matthew 19:3-6, he answers,

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” [Emphasis added]

Unfortunately for the revisionists, this flies in the face of the notion that Jesus held anything other than a heteronormative, complimentarian view on marriage. In other words, Jesus believes that marriage was between one man and one woman. Again, this is not an argument to enforce that view through the rule of law. But that argument must be made on secular terms because, contrary to our what our neofundamentalist President might say, there is no support for it in Scripture.

* I really shouldn't make fun of either one of my grandmothers, both of whom are lovely, remarkable and wonderful women.

** An argument for another time, but for now suffice it to say that this is actually a major theme of the New Testament. One would have to throw out much of the Bible to arrive at the conclusion that the Levitical laws do apply.

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

-- John 20:1-10 [NIV]

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

“Where, O death, is your victory?
   Where, O death, is your sting?”

 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

-- I Corinthians 15:22-26, 55-57 [NIV]

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

-- Colossians 2:13-15 [NIV]

"He is risen!"

"He is risen indeed!"

-- Traditional Christian greeting

This is a public service announcement. There is no point to posting anything today. This guy has already won the internet. So don't waste your time, and please go out and do something with your life.

EDIT: I guess the Game of Thrones/My Little Pony mashup was so obviously awesome that another had the same idea. Here is the April First Foxtrot:

For lunch today I visited a place with a bold red and white sign and a name certain to draw attention: Smashburger. It's a national chain, not local to the Atlanta area, but I hadn't heard of it until I moved here. I have to admit that the sign drew my eye and the name ensured the place would stick in my mind.

I finally checked out the place today. One item on their menu caught my attention: the "Atlanta". The franchise does allow for franchises to come up with regional favorites, and this burger is the regional favorite for metro Atlanta. It's a burger with a peach barbeque sauce, Wicked Pimina Cheese (a Georgia product), grilled jalapenos and Vidalia cole slaw.

Photo taken from here.

I have to admit that neither peach barbeque sauce or "Wicked Pimina Cheese" held special appeal to me. However the fact that this was a regional specialty won me over. Come to think of it, I'm not big into burgers, but with a name like "Smashburger" I just had to try the place. I chose both the restaurant and the entrée based on the way they were marketed to me and not based on any description of what they actually had to offer.

I do have to admit, however, that the burger turned out to be very delicious.

Have you ever tried a product solely because of the way it was marketed to you?

The BBC has released the teaser trailer for the upcoming Series 7 of Doctor Who.

Also available are 10 wallpapers featuring scenes from the new season, which will begin this coming fall.

A new Bloomberg Poll out today has 53% of Americans saying that Rush Limbaugh should be fired for comments he made earlier this month when he referred to Georgetown law student and political activist Sandra Fluke a "slut".

I'm not sure how to react to this poll. On the one hand I'm glad to see we've advanced as a society enough that we agree that calling a woman a "slut" or "whore" for simply having a different opinion is wrong. Or at least it's wrong if that woman is politically liberal. If she's conservative she's totally fair game for reasons that I'm sure I will eventually understand. Anyway, we all know that women-hating is bad, and we all know that Rush is a women-hater.

On the other hand, I find it quite dispiriting to see that ignorance is so widespread that a majority of Americans actually believe that the self-employed Limbaugh can actually be fired.

What do you think? Is it really punishment to give so much negative attention to a man who thrives on it monetarily? Why exactly do men like Bill Maher, Keith Olbermann and Ed Schultz get a free pass when they make similar comments? And are boycotts and calls for people to be fired the actions of tolerant people?

I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if one washing machine suddenly cried out in terror and was suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened. The following video may be disturbing to those of you who loves major appliances.

Yes, folks, it's that time of year again. It's time for pointless year end top ten lists!

These are what I believe were the ten best Christian rock songs of 2011. The criteria again is very simple. It's not based on radio plays or sales or YouTube views. It's only based on one simple factor: how much I like it. Naturally that makes the ranking based upon my personal tastes and whether or not I've actually heard it. Your mileage may vary, and if you don't like this list you are free to go make your own. It's also Christian rock, not "contemporary Christian music"; not that there's anything wrong with CCM, but this is a harder style of music than what your parents' Christian music station may be playing.

So without further ado (and who really needs more ado these days) here is the Top Ten for 2011:

#10 "On Fire", P.O.D. The venerable rap metal band from San Diego showed that they still have it.

#9. "The Ticking Clock", Submission Red. They've turned heads because as the bio on the band's website says, "Word got around because of a black chick singing legit hard rock…," but people have been sticking around because their music is pretty good.

#8. "Dark Horses", Switchfoot. The latest great song from one of the best alternative rock bands of the 21st Century.

#7. "Anthem of the Lonely", Nine Lashes. A great first single from another promising up-and-coming band. Their debut label album comes out next year.

#6. "Beautiful Ashes", Eowyn. I've said before that this lady had an incredible voice and just needed better accompaniment. Sounds like she's got that, and I really like the results.

#5. "Faceless", RED. The first of two entries by possibly the best Christian hard rock group going right now.

#4. "Make A Move", Icon for Hire. Beautiful high energy rock song by another band making an impressive debut in 2011.

#3. "Blood in the Tears", Demon Hunter. For a hard rock band, they've been producing some beautiful melodic rock lately.

#2. "Trailers vs. Tornadoes", Sent By Ravens. If I were ranking song titles, this one would be #1 by a landslide.

#1. "Feed the Machine", RED. Incredible song, probably the best song they've ever done. And coming from RED, that is saying quite a lot.

This video has been going semi-viral in the last day or so, especially around the Star Trek sites.

Yes, it's a really cheesy commercial for a furniture and mattress store in Victoria, British Columbia. But you know, it's so cheesy that it's actually fun. It's so bad that it comes all the way back around and becomes good.

If you check out their website or their YouTube channel, you'll find that they have a whole bunch of similarly cheesy parody commercials. All they all work, in no small part to the incomparable charisma of this man.

Like his commercials, there's a sophisticated humorist underneath the cheesy square exterior. He may appear to be a nerdy store owner. But he is, without a doubt, the most suave, sophisticated and butt-kickin' man to ever walk the Earth. Just check out his resume. That guy that hawks Dos Equis? A total poser! Just check out Dodd's resume:

He's a butt-kickin' archeologist adventurer!

He's a defender of the innocent at night!

And you know you don't ever want to get him angry!

But more than anything else, he's a total ladies' man! Admit it, guys. You totally wish you could be this guy. I know I do.