Fairwell Ms. Hepburn
The best written tribute to the late great Katherine Hepburn I have seen is at the Hollywood Reporter.
Entries for June 29th, 2003
Creative Dialogue
There’s a wonderful editorial today in the Mobile Register on the opposition of some Christians to the Harry Potter series.
Why are the faithful today afraid to engage culture in creative and transforming dialogue?
The impulse to ban, condemn and silence the competition certainly comes from a position of power the church holds today, but it seems to reflect an inherent insecurity. It’s almost as if church leaders are afraid the Gospel can’t compete in the marketplace of ideas.
BINGO!!! Give this editorial writer a prize. The fear that the Gospel can’t compete is an overshadowing presence in the church today. With all the problems we face in the world today, what possible reason is there to attack something which has brought millions of children (and adults) back to the joy of reading.
It certainly raises an interesting point. Our world is marked by greed, violence and hatred. Our country is wracked by fear and divided by racism. The poor in our midst are despised and neglected while the rich get tax cuts.
In the face of such obvious evil, why spend our time and energy trying to discredit and silence Harry Potter? Instead of condemning Harry, maybe we should learn courage from him to name as evil what apparently we are afraid to speak.
Fear should not be the basis for religious belief, nor should the spreading of fear be a focus of our daily spiritual lives.
Counter-arguments on Iraq
Steve at The Daily Kos gives a handy reference to crafting counter-arguments when you get pinned into a conversation with a Bush supporter.