Eyes Right

No Girly Men Need Apply

New Man, the Promise Keepers magazine for Men on a Mission, is looking for men. Not just any men, but real men. Men who take risks and want to live the "unsafe" life.

In a recent story, New Man suggests that evangelical churches are turning adventureseeking, risk-taking souls of men away from God with their namby pamby messages. This is a problem for the Promise Keepers, since it seeks to encourage men to reclaim their rightful role as head of the family through a renewed relationship with God.

"Men are about risk and adventure, but today's church culture is all about comfort and relationships," the article quotes Mark Galli, author of Jesus Mean and Wild, as saying. "One of the things men are reacting to in the Christian Church is that the church emphasizes the gentle compassionate virtues of the faith."

Instead, men should be encouraged to take risks to glorify God and thereby discover their true purpose in life. Otherwise, they will never be the best husband, father or churchgoer that they could possibly be. Said Kenny Luck, founder of Every Man Ministries, "The unsafe life is where...you don't know if all your needs will be met. You don't know if it will all work out. That's an unsafe life, but it's the best life."

New Man doesn't presume to tell men how to figure out what risks God wants them to take, saying simply that, "God wired us for risk, but it's the kind of risk that is for His kingdom." This leaves just a little room for interpretation. Has anyone seen Ralph Reed?

Source: "The Unsafe Life" by Kirk Noonan and Chad Bonham, New Man (July/August 2006), pp. 20-24.

What's the Matter With Shoes?

Responding to the many issues facing our country, avowed conservative and Opus Dei member Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) introduced as many as 17 bills regarding duties on shoes in the final days of the Senate session. To please his conservative base, Brownback made sure to ease the pain on stay-at-home mothers by including an amendment to "reduce temporarily the duty on certain house slippers." Does this have anything to do with the fact that Payless Shoe Source is headquartered in Topeka? Or is the tradition-minded senator giving in to his inner-Imelda Marcos or his inner-Carrie Bradshaw? The Witchita Eagle's Alan Bjerga has his doubts, reasoning, "Besides, it's doubtful that Carrie or Imelda would buy their shoes at Payless. Now, if Manolo Blahnik gets a tax break..."

Source: Bjerga, Alan. "Immigration bill still thorny, Brownback fan of feet?" Kansas.com, The Witchita Eagle Online. May 28, 2006. http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/columnists/alan_ bjerga/14685151.htm.

Return of the Coulter-geist

Bestselling conservative author and actively blond pundit Ann Coulter, promoting her new book on TV's "The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch," said that Bill Clinton's "rampant promiscuity" is an indication of his "latent homosexuality."

When questioned on this logic, Coulter dug herself deeper: "Well, there is something narcissistic about homosexuality. Right? Because you're in love with someone who looks like you. I'm not breaking any new territory here, why are you looking at me like that?"

During the line of questioning related to those comments, Coulter combined outrageous leaps of logic with blatant homophobia, backing up her theory of Clinton's homosexuality by referring to his "self-obsession" and that his activities were "reminiscent of a bathhouse."

When asked about her comments later on "Hardball with Chris Matthews," Coulter said that while she may not completely believe Clinton is gay, Al Gore is a "total fag." She immediately followed with "No, no, that's a joke."

Source: Weigel, David. "Coulter Comes Out Against Gay Clinton Marriage." Wonkette! Online. July 25, 2006. http://www.wonkette.com/politics/movies/coulter-comesout- against-gay-clinton-marriage-189845.php

Video Clip found at http://www.crooksandliars.com/posts/2006/07/28/coulteron- clinton-and-gore-gay-and-fag/

"Tote 'em and quote 'em!"

Is it unconstitutional for teachers to evangelize with their Bibles in the classroom, not just teach it as part of a nonsectarian curriculum? The week of September 24th is the Ninth Annual Scriptures in School week. Founded by teacher Bob Pawson, Scriptures in School seeks to bring the Bible back to America's youth by encouraging students and teachers to bring up the Bible whenever they can.

"Dare to bring your Bibles. Let's return the Bible to our public schools and restore basic Biblical literacy to America's children," says Pawson, a teacher in the Trenton, New Jersey, public school system since 1980 who founded the campaign nine years ago. It's now a grassroots effort with churches encouraging teachers and students to read the Bible in class, at recess, or at lunch. "Ironically, the only people keeping Bibles out of America's public schools are us Christians," says Pawson. "All we have to do is bring them in. Let's do so. It's a real confidence booster to participating students knowing that millions of other people all across America are also bringing their Bibles to public schools that week."

"Tote 'em and quote 'em!" is his battle cry. Creating a total atmosphere of Bible quoting in every public school is the goal, creating a really inviting environment for non-Christians. Thanks, Bob!

Source: Christian News Wire, July 20, 2006; http://www.bringyourbible.com/.