Easter weekend is just about upon us. My family lives out of town and I'll be staying home (that means missing my sister's birthday ... er, I meant tenth anniversary of her 29th birthday. But it can't be helped; I can't exactly afford to fly to the Bahamas right now.) And not being the church-going type, what exactly can I do?
One possibility is the Philadelphia Film Festival. Okay, more than just a possibility; I plan on watching some of these films. I don't have my whole itinerary planned yet, but I have settled on my film for Friday night: The Curse of William Penn.
The premise of the film is that the reason that no Philadelphia team has won a championship since 1983 is because they started building skyscrapers taller than the hat on the head of the statue of William Penn atop City Hall.
For years, nobody could erect a building taller than Billy Penn, but in 1985/1986 that taboo was finally broken ... and the city hasn't won a championship since. Could it be a curse? An atheist like myself isn't supposed to believe in curses, but as a Philadelphia sports' fan ...
Tony Dungy really made today's post easy. After pondering yesterday over who Jesus would favor in the Superbowl, I now have my answer: Jesus likes the Colts. The Colt's head coach said so much.
In the awards ceremony in Dolphin Stadium, CBS announcer Jim Nantz asked Dungy to comment on the significance of being the first African American head coach to lead a team to a Super Bowl victory. "I’m proud to be representing African American coaches," Dungy said. "... It means an awful lot to our country."
But Dungy continued: “More than anything – and I’ve said it before -- [Chicago coach] Lovie Smith and I [are] not only the first two African-Americans, but Christian coaches, showing that you can win doing it the Lord’s way,” Dungy told Nantz while holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy given to each year’s NFL champion.
“And we’re more proud of that.”
I guess he missed Mr. Deity's press conference. The important point is that you can win doing it the Lord's way. What a relief! But wait a minute, isn't Lovie Smith a Christian too? Why did Jesus slight him? And besides, Nantz asked him about being the first African American coach to win. What's with the Jesus, then? Does he think he's the first Christian coach to win the Superbowl?
I swear that the Jesus juice must kill at least half the brain. Amen!
It's Superbowl time! The big question now is "Who will God give the game to?" Back in 2000, God made the Rams win, as evidenced in the testimony of winning quarterback Kurt Warner.
Immediately after the Rams' victory at the Super Bowl, an interviewer began, "Kurt, first things first--tell me about the final touchdown pass to Isaac." Kurt responded, "Well, first things first, I've got to thank my Lord and Savior up above--thank You, Jesus!"
Obviously Jesus didn't like the Titans, but can you blame him? After all, Titans are pagan gods--false gods. In my exhaustive search, I was unable to find a video of that fabulous interview. I did, however happen upon this Real Time clip of Bill Maher and Andrew Sullivan talking about Mr. Warner's opposition to stem cell research.
I am compelled to say a few words on that clip--not for anything Kurt Warner said (he's clearly an idiot) but Andrew Sullivan is actually pretty smart. He says:
"I live with a disease that ten years ago they told me I'd be dead by now ... HIV. And they worked really hard and they managed to create a set of pills that keep me alive. And I thank God for those pharmaceutical companies that did that, by the way."
Hey, at least he acknowledged the middleman. So let's see. God (who delivered Kurt Warner's victory) first gave us AIDS (to punish our society per Jerry Falwell), then gave us the pharmaceutical companies to develop treatments. What a wacky guy--mysterious ways indeed.
But none of this answers the important question about tonight's game. I think the only solution is to ask Mr. Deity himself.
You should check out the other Mr. Deity episodes. You might find Lucifer tempting; I know I felt the heat--Hell Hath No Fury!
