"The cowardice of a luxury-loving mind must be checked."

Three guesses as to who said that. John Piper? Wrong. Tony Campolo? Think again. Matt Nobles? Give him time.

No, this insightful title comes from none other than Cyprian himself, bishop of Carthage in the 3rd century. I really enjoy that phrase: "the cowardice of a luxury-loving mind." It's said in the context of Christians being afraid of death.

Lyrics of the day are from "Wake Up" by The Arcade Fire:
"Somethin'
Filled up
My heart
With nothin'
Someone
Told me not to cry.
But now that
I'm older
My heart's
Colder
And i can
See that it's a lie."

So today's movie recommendation comes from none other than Charlie himself. The film was With God On Our Side: George W. Bush and the Rise of the Religious Right in America. It was a very informative documentary detailing how the evangelical movement has gradually become more heavily involved in politics (mainly right-wing politics). As I have gotten very interested in this phenomenon, this was a good supplement to films like The Times of Harvey Milk.

The thing that consistently gave me the old "Simpsons shudder" was the endorsement of various religious leaders of political candidates over the years. Statements of endorsements of Nixon (Watergate, Vietnam), Carter (East Timor), Reagan (Iran-Contra), Bush (uh, Central America), and Bush Jr. (Iraq, massive deception) now look quite foolish in hindsight.

Anyway, I think it just proves my point that the Christian community needs to be a bit more cautious in how it approaches politics, a bit more thoughtful. We can't just go towing the party line - no matter what party it may be.

I felt like I had something more profound to say than that. I usually blog right after a movie to get my freshest thoughts, but I didn't do that today.

Research and French are still going fairly well. I have also gotten into a band called Sunset Rubdown (recommended, of course, by JT). They're enjoyable.

And for those who are interested, CSN is still going strong. We're regrouping and working a lot on site design, content for the site, and the constitution. We're also figuring out how to become a non-profit.

Peace,
Sam