True Confessions of an Originaljoesnake

Here is a paper I wrote to fufill an assignment for a class covering the book “The Scarlet Thread” by Keith McCallum.

Before Mel Gibson made The Passion of the Christ [and Apocalypto], he made another much cooler film called Braveheart. In one of the most memorable scenes from the movie, William Wallace, the character Gibson is portraying, gives a motivational speech to his soldiers. He ends the speech rallying them with the cry, “They may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!”

It is a stretch to compare the wisdom of the bible to the wisdom of Hollywood’s William Wallace. In one sense, William Wallace is wrong about freedom because the world’s counterfeit system, which lies in the control of Satan, is a harsh and unforgiving place that does take your freedom away from you. Satan’s kingdom enslaves man to the power of sin. Looking at it another way, however, no one can take away an individual’s freedom and power to make a free will choice. God would have it no other way.

In the gray box on page 66, titled “The Heart”, we find that the essential element in our relationship with God is the heart. In addition to the heart, which makes us individual, God also gives us the power to choose. The power of free will is so strong in fact that it can even resist and choose against God. After Cain killed Able, he chose not to listen to God. He made such a choice against God and his heart grew dark. But for us, the combination of these two things- the heart and free will are enough to make William Wallace smirk. Even if the world does manage to beat you down, stomp on you, and take everything you have including your freedom, the heart and your ability to choose are your ticket out.

In Stephen Covey’s book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, the first and most important habit according to Covey is being proactive. To illustrate the point that humans can choose their own behavior, regardless of circumstance or how they feel, Covey uses the story of Victor Frankl. Even as he was imprisoned in a Nazi death camp, Frankl realized that he was the only one who could choose how his horrible ordeal would affect him. Unlike Cain who ignored God’s advice in Genesis 4:7 to act against his feelings, Frankl refused to let the adverse conditions of the world dictate how he made his decisions. He envisioned himself lecturing students years after his ordeal and had a perspective similar to that of Paul in Philippians 3:14 who pressed on towards “the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”. This is the power of the will that God has given us. Amazingly, when align our will with God’s will, as in the case of Paul, God’s kingdom spreads even in the harshest conditions that man knows.

It is amazing to realize for yourself that God created you as an individual and no one, not even God himself can make decisions for you. God cares so much for us that he is willing to give us the ultimate say in our own lives. He is willing to risk us making choice against him because he refuses to force us to choose for him. Deep down inside of a man’s gut he knows that he is created to do something special, something unique, and to be fulfilled. Satan’s bogus and counterfeit system can’t offer what man- God’s creation yearns for. Isn’t it so sweet then to know that the way out of the phony system doesn’t require blood and sweat, but it is a path that starts with your heart? Always the genius, the heart- the one thing you as an individual have complete control over, is the one thing that God is interested in. If we are willing to have faith in God and accept his provision for our sins, we can begin walking with him once the chains of sin are removed from us. The heart is again vital to both our salvation and our spiritual growth.

In 1 Samuel 16:7, the Lord explains to Samuel that, “God sees not as a man sees, for a man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” We can choose for God no matter how bleak or dismal our situation is and how little we know about God. God uses the world’s most unlikely and downtrodden people to build his kingdom because the only condition he has is we be willing to open up our hearts to him. 2 Chronicles 16:9 reads, “the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that he may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” This is true power. We can be sure that if we make heart choices for God, he will be there to support us. Our only way to escape the bleak and pointless existence offered by Satan’s counterfeit kingdom is to offer our hearts to God and to let him “come in” and show us how we were truly meant to live.

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In Cold Blood

 About a year ago I read “In Cold Blood”. I remember picking the book up because the title sounded sinister and dark and the author’s recognizable name sounded hip and cool. You have to admit, “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote sounds like one hell of a book.

The book tells the tale of the brutal killing of the Clutter family in small town in Holcomb, Kansas. The murders on November 14, 1959 send shockwaves through the conservative, old fashioned community, gripping it with fear. As law enforcement officials launch an investigation into the killings, Capote starts to intertwine the story with two misfits making their way across the country.

It becomes apparent to the reader early on that these two men, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, are the ones responsible for the murders. We learn more about them, gain insight into their upbringings and their nature, and begin to feel like we know them. All the while, the town of Holcomb is ablaze with speculation about the murders.

What set “In Cold Blood” apart were the intense thoughts, assumptions, and theories that stewed both in the town of Holcomb and in my mind as I read. I was not satisfied with knowing who killed the Clutter family, but like Holcomb, Kansas, I immediately wanted to know what their motives were for such a horrific killing and specifically how the infamous events transpired.

Capote makes sure we know every detail of the crime scene- the grizzly details of all four victims shot to death. Even the way the boy’s head was placed on a pillow before he was shot. As we gain knowledge of the law enforcement investigating the case and the way the murders consumer their lives, we hear every theory and scenario imaginable that could have achieved the vicious outcome. We learn how as the book slowly grinds through the pursuit and capture of the killers, it was just a matter of time before the details of the killing were revealed.

The climatic moment they are revealed is one of the most intense experiences I’ve ever had as a reader. Finally, we know the details of the murder, how the killers moved from room to room and extinguished the Clutter family. My heart was racing as a read.

Capote

At first it was hard to handle Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote. I didn’t think I could shake the image of his character Sandy from Along Came Polly. After a few minutes, however, it started to become apparent why Hoffman won the Oscar for best actor and Capote was so well praised. Seemingly in deliberate fashion, the filmmakers unwound the story of Truman Capote writing his book about the killings in the same grippingly methodical way Capote himself wrote “In Cold Blood”. Like the reader, Truman struggles to get Perry Smith to disclose what actually happened the night of the killing.

The tragic life loser Perry Smith makes the fatal mistake of killing the Clutters with no real motive. In the end, the truth is confusing and unsensational. The plan was to rob, but there was no big score to be found. There was no real reason the family had to die. Yet at the moment Perry Smith violently kills the entire family, it seems like his motivation is just to prove to his accomplice Dick Hickock that he can do it.

In Capote, Truman befriends Perry Smith and helps to get him an appeal in jail, but it is unclear whether it is to find the ending to his story or because he sympathizes with the cold-blooded killer. He lies about the incriminating title of the book he’s writing. He struggles to finish his work, “desperate to be done” after he pours four years of his life into it. When at first it seemed Truman Capote had struck a gold mine for his book- at one point he’s so ecstatic about its possibility he says, “When I think how good my book can be, I can hardly believe”, it becomes a millstone around his neck. Capote becomes tragically entangled in the emotions and feelings surrounding the inevitable execution of the convicted.

I thought that “Capote” was excellent. The jail where Perry Smith was held when Truman first meets him is almost as I pictured when I read the book. As was the scene where the killers are apprehended and brought into the jailhouse in front of the whole town.

When I read “In Cold Blood”, everything after the culmination of the book felt tedious and unimportant. The movie “Capote” echoes those feelings, as if Truman Capote himself didn’t know how to handle the implications of the conclusion he searched so hard for in his own life.

Where “In Cold Blood” was the book telling the story of the murders, Capote was the story of how “In Cold Blood” was written. If the film accurately depicts the characters and events surrounding the book, Perry Smith was disturbed, naïve, criminal that never understood the depth of what he did. Truman Capote was a great writer whose excitement, ignorance, and devotion to his work ultimately lead to his demise. He was able to pull off an amazing book, but at tremendous personal expense. After he witnesses the hanging of Perry Smith he says, “It was a terrible experience and I will never get over it”.

Apparently, Capote never did. The films’ ending credits tells us he never finished another book, collapsed into alcoholism, and the epigraph of his unfinished, last work read, “More tears are shed over answered prayers then over unanswered ones”.

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OUR CHRISTMAS MOVIE BEGINS WHEN…

There is not enough money for Christmas presents

AND OR

The only desired Christmas present seems unavailable

THEN

An eccentric relative shows up unexpectedly

AND OR

An eccentric relative’s arrival is dreaded

THEN

Someone isn’t in the Christmas spirit

AND OR

Someone is filthy rich, but doesn’t have a heart

AND OR

Someone who is different or an outcast is ostracized

THEN

There is a snowstorm and it looks like the Christmas destination won’t be reached

OR

There is no snow on Christmas

AND

The existence of Santa Claus is in serious question

AND

The dog(s) ate the Christmas dinner

THEN

Just before Christmas the snow clears up enough to travel

OR

Starts snowing enough to have a “White Christmas” after all.

THEN

A small child demonstrates the true meaning of Christmas to the “Scrooge”

OR

An Angel teaches them a lesson and they stop taking things for granted

THEN

Generosity from an unexpected place ensures there will be Christmas presents after all

AND OR

We learn Christmas isn’t all about the presents after all

BUT THEN

We get the present we really wanted anyway

AND OR

Christmas is saved by an unlikely hero

AND OR

We learn that Santa Claus is real

THE END

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In my mind, movies don’t get much better than Rocky, the 1977 Oscar winner for Best Picture. The film is an underdog story of grit and determination, memorable quotes, and training montages. The Ultimate “guy” movie, Rocky has it all. To this day, every time I see it, I’m throwing jabs at the bathroom mirror for the next couple of days.

When news came that the sixth installment of the Rocky Series, Rocky Balboa, would finally move from mere speculation to actually hit theaters, I had already made up my mind. I don’t care if the premise that Rocky’s competitive juices get flowing again at 60 after he sees a video game simulation of a fight between himself and the current champ sounds absurd. This is a franchise of movies that made it cool to run up a flight of stairs and throw your fists up in the air, “Yo, Adrian” a catch phrase, brought “Eye of the Tiger” and “Gonna Fly Now” to arenas everywhere, made Mr. T a household name, and the one-armed push-up the definitive measure of strength. I’m there!

Then, the surprising news comes that Sly Stallone is banking on God to help him promote the most recent Rocky installment. Seemingly the star of such other classics as “Tango and Cash” and “Over the Top” has turned from a past of “temptations that Hollywood has to offer” and rediscovered Jesus. Rocky’s character was even “meant to reflect the characteristic nature of Jesus”. When Rocky gets pummeled and refuses to quit, metaphorically “coming back to life”, it’s a ressurection. “We know that moment that he’s being chosen by Jesus for a special mission.” Stallone says that, “with help, if you look to God, you can overcome your past and be reborn.” He has even promised to “evangelize while promoting Rocky Balboa on the talk show circuit”.

“We need the God-fearing script…that really deals with compassion and…the word of Jesus and God, and believe me, people will rally behind it…”, said Stallone. Apparently, Rocky Balboa is just the movie to accomplish the task. After all, as publicist Larry Ross put it, “The gospel message is something that is open to everyone, no matter how many people they have killed on screen”.

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(right click and “save link as” )

- “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee

- “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms

- “Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer” by Gene Autry

- “Little St. Nick” by Beach Boys

- “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano

- “Mele Kalikimaka” by Bing Crosby

- “Blue Christmas” by Elvis Presley

- “Please Come Home for Christmas” by The Eagles

- “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby

- “Happy Christmas (War is Over)” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono

- “Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer” by Elmo and Patsy

- “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Burl Ives

- “Donde Esta Santa Claus” by Augie Rios

- “The Chipmunk Song” by The Chipmunks

- “Run Rudolph Run” by Chuck Berry

- “Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow” by Dean Martin

- “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by Bruce Springsteen

- “Christmas Waltz” by Frank Sinatra

(click to download)

- “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney

(no link yet)

- “Christmas Dragnet” by Stan Freberg

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Entourage

When he was playing with the Cavs, DeSagana Diop wasn’t considered one of the best players on the team. Aside from his name, nothing about him was good- in fact, he was considered one of the worst players on the team. Cleveland teams have a remarkable ability to draft, pick, and sign “busts” on a consistent basis. Although he was considered a project because he never went to college, the Cavs made DeSagana the 8th pick in the 2001 draft and signed him to a lucrative contract. He’s since left town to play for the Dallas Mavericks and signed another big money deal there.

What’s so intriguing about a guy like DeSagana is that even though he barely got onto the court for the Cavs, he still had his very own posse of guys he rolled with. I saw it with my very own eyes- after the Cavs played the Lakers one night, a game Diop didn’t even play in, he met up with about 5 of his boys afterwards. You’d think he was Puff Daddy! An entourage, apparently is a requirement if you’re going to play ball on the highest level. In a likely, but still aggravating turn of events, Diop has become a pretty decent player with Dallas.

While we were at the Corner Alley last night, another Cavs benchwarmer, Ira Newble, strolled in flanked by two of his boys. I’m wondering is do the Cavs give guys like Ira and Desagana big contracts not because they’re good at basketball but because they’re fun to hang around? Maybe this is a team morale thing. Obviously, people who have tons of disposable income are always going to have friends to hang out with. But, it seems to be part of the NBA culture and celebrity culture in general to be seen with your entourage.

LeBron James has one of the most documented entourages- “The Four Horsemen”

The Allie’s Alleys

Situated in Cleveland’s trendy 4th Street area, right by the House of Blues Restaurant, the Corner Alley is a bowling alley, nightclub, bar, restaurant. While he was in town, we went to check this place out with my cousin Mike who was in town on business. Lauren and I ended up having a really fun time catching up with Mike and delving deeper into what is was like to grow up in the Allie family.

That Smell

How strange it was to be inside of a bar the whole evening and not come home smelling like a human ash-tray! With the new smoking ban in effect, I left the house smelling like a rose and returned later that evening smelling fresh and clean. Say what you will about Smoker’s Rights and freedoms in America, but you can’t argue with freshness. It was so nice to finally go out somewhere and not come home smelling like an ashtray! Usually, I’d have to bury the clothes deep in the laundry basket. But, as the votes showed, people wanted this smoking ban and it happened. I never enjoyed paying the price because others wanted to light up around me and it’s totally refreshing to eat and hang out without a cloud of smoke hanging overhead. Although I almost feel sorry for the people cluddered around the doorway outside, huddled together for warmth as they smoke.

Michigan Sucks

It’s a shame that Michigan won’t get a re-do against Ohio State in this year’s Championship Game. Although I could care less about Michigan football, I do think the Wolverines are clearly the best team after OSU in the country. That said, I don’t care to see a rematch of the two teams in the Championship Game, but if it’s supposed to be a real deal best versus second best game, that’s what it should be.

I had to endure my cousin, who’s from Michigan talk my ear off about this, but I agree with him. He conceded that OSU is the better team, but he’s also right when he claims Michigan is far superior to Florida or USC.

The thing that bothers me about the state of Ohio is the constant hatred it’s sports fans harbor towards rivalries. It’s one thing to hope for a big victory and think the other guy sucks, but when you’re on top like OSU is on top, there’s no need to be nasty. The best team shouldn’t have to verbally degrade a lesser team to prove their dominance, the play on field has already spoken.

You never see Microsoft insulting other operating systems, however, you see the opposite. Microsoft is “it” and the others are jealous. Attacks in which a company mentions another product’s faults are only used in Marketing by companies that have a lesser market share than the company leading the way.

Maybe it’s because of the years of putting up with losers that Clevelanders and Ohioians don’t know how to handle themselves like winners. Come on, there’s no need to insult someone with a Michigan License Plate because there’s a chance they may not even care about college football- GASP! Under John Cooper we needed to assure ourselves that Michigan sucks, but under Jim Tressel we just need to look at the record books.

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“…Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”

The Trap is set

At first glance, it seems like the religious leaders are on an honest pursuit of justice. The woman had committed a serious crime and needed to be punished. They’ve come to consult Jesus on it, after all he’s been teaching so authoritatively. Surely, he has an answer for them. Jesus, however, knew their real intentions.

“They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him.”

On one hand if Jesus advised they the law requiring capital punishment for adultery was outdated and that they should just let the woman go, he would be committing a crime. The Sanhedrin could have him arrested, lock him up, and throw away the key for blasphemy against the Old Testament.

On the other hand, if Jesus suggested they follow the Old Testament law and go ahead with the killing of the woman, it would seriously fly in the face of the grace message he had been preaching just minutes earlier to the people. He risked undermining his whole message and ministry. In addition, he’d be going up against Rome. Only Rome had the power to make the decision to kill a criminal and this was a power they didn’t take lightly. Going up against Rome at the very least meant prison, or more likely death.

“But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.”

What in the world was Jesus up to now? Was he writing secret dirt messages? Admittedly, Christ has done some unconventional things in his ministry so far, but never before or since has he gone to drawing up plays in the dirt. What did the man who claimed he was the Son of God write in the dirt? We don’t know. What we do know is when the religious leaders persisted in asking him to make a decision on the woman’s fate

He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

How true, Jesus. You’re absolutely right. We all make mistakes. We still hear this verse quoted today as it’s wisdom still rings true with us. We shouldn’t judge others because we’re not perfect either.

What a freakin’ misconception!

If this were what Jesus was trying to say, what basis would we ever have to ever correct anyone? No, Jesus was speaking specifically to the religious leaders who hoped to take part in a the bloody stoning of a woman that day. He smelled rat from the beginning for many reasons. First, the law they were using to call for the stoning of the woman also required that the man participating in the adultery also be brought forward. Where was the man?

The truth was this was a set up from the beginning. The religious leaders had probably grabbed a prostitute off the street, dragging her by the hair to use against Christ. If they had found her “in the act” as they claimed and the law required, they failed to produce her male partner in crime. They may have even set the woman up with a someone in cahoots with them- realistically, how else would they know how to catch her at just the right moment? In fact, the co-conspirator could have even been right there and part of the group of religious leaders! This made them all accessories to the same crime the woman committed that day- Adultery. When they persisted to ask him a second time,

Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

Whatever he wrote this time got through to them.

When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.

What did Jesus write in the ground that cleared the area of the woman’s accusers? Maybe Jesus wrote another law from the Old Testament, one from Deuteronomy 19, requiring those who bring malicious witness against someone to be punished in the very same way that they had intended to punish the original party. Whatever it was, the religious leaders knew to get lost quickly. As accessories in the crime, they had conspired to set the woman up in an attempt to rid themselves of Jesus. Instead of trapping Jesus, they were the ones who got backed into a corner. Wisely, the religious leaders escaped with their tails between their legs.

Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”

Just for a moment, think of what that woman might have felt at that moment in time. It’s a grave understatement to say she’s had a bad day- she’s probably spent the majority of her life working as a prostitute in a society that viewed her as no better than a dog. She was framed, caught in the act of a crime, and dragged through the streets in a harsh, public spectacle. The woman probably thought she would die that day, painfully being stoned to death by the men who set her up.

Then, she’s rescued from death by a man who can clearly discern the hearts and intentions of men. Surely, if Jesus knew her accusers were evil men, he would also know that she was nothing more than a dirty whore. What relief this woman might have had as the religious leaders left the scene might have been easily replaced by a new fear of this mysterious man and what he might do.

She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either, Go From now on sin no more.”

Just as Jesus surprised the religious leaders who tried to paint him into a corner, he surprised the prostitute they left behind. This Christ claimed he had the authority to forgive sins, which is what enraged the religious leaders in the first place. This claim wasn’t something to be taken lightly, only God had the power to forgive sins. Jesus was the unique Son of God , solely authorized to judge the human race. In fact, this claim still enrages people today. By claiming he was God, Jesus was claiming that he was the exclusive way to heaven.

That day, he forgive the woman of all her sins. It didn’t matter to him that she was a prostitute. The fact that this woman had committed adultery was never in dispute, she was probably guilty as charged. Yet, Jesus chose not to condemn her.

His forgiveness was not based the woman giving up her lifestyle of prostitution. Notice the order of the statement Jesus made to the woman, it’s extremely crucial. First, Jesus says,

“I do not condemn you…”

then he says,

“…Go From now on sin no more.”

This was so different from everything the woman knew. She was used to people judging her by her sinful actions. We’re used to the same thing- the way of the world says, if you want something you have to earn it. If you work hard enough, you can accomplish anything. But, God’s grace is different than anything we’ve ever experienced.

There’s nothing we can do to earn God’s grace, there’s no way to earn our way into heaven. The only requirement to be forgiven, according to the bible is to want to be forgiven. This is only possible through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Once we enter into this relationship, God views us just as he views Jesus Christ, like we are perfect.

If We’re Forgiven, What’s the Point?

If God’s grace is a free gift like the bible says, after we have accepted Jesus’ what’s the point of not sinning? The moment Jesus forgave the woman that day, she was in the clear for all the sins she had ever or would ever commit. Even if she continued on working as a prostitute, she would be in no danger of losing God’s forgiveness and acceptance.

So, for what reason would Jesus call on her to leave her life of sin behind after he had already forgiven her?

Law, Sin, and Freedom

The answer is simple. Even though we may be forgiven of our sins through Christ, that doesn’t mean we’ll never sin again. It’s human nature to sin, it comes as easily to us as breathing air. As we grow older, we realize how detrimental sin really is in our life. We see a trail of broken and dysfunctional relationships and patterns of addiction and destructive habits in our lives. Every time we sin, we literally tear the fabric of who we are.

From God’s vantage point, we look the same as this woman Jesus encountered 2000 years ago. God is omniscient and is able to know our deepest thoughts and intentions. At the core, we’re sinners. The good news, however, is just as Jesus forgave the woman by saying,

“I do not condemn you…”

is the same way God is prepared to deal with us if we’re willing to receive his grace.

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It’s as simple as this- The Browns can’t beat the Steelers. The Browns “got owned”- again by the Steelers last night at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Loyal Browns fans like myself were forced to watch as Bill Cowher displayed his trademark “shit eatin’ grin” for the second time this season against Cleveland. Cowher seems to save his best, most spit covered chin jutting out, ear to ear smile for Browns fans. This time, Cowher had the smirk going for almost the entire second half of football, as he watched his Steelers win 27-7. As a Browns fan, it pains me to admit it, but it’s impossible not to. Any momentum or good feelings they had about the 2006 season was stomped on and crushed by a Steelers team that routinely humiliates them year after year.

Last year, on Christmas Eve, Pittsburgh delivered Cleveland a 41-0 beating. That disgusting loss remained in the minds of Browns players and fans until earlier this season when they played the Steelers on November 19th. Cleveland was looking to avenge the loss. But, in typical Browns fashion, they narrowly lost to Pittsburgh, squandering a 10-0 halftime lead.

Demonstrating the mentality that’s a huge part of the reason why the Browns suck again this year, Browns Linebacker Andre Davis said after that game, “We’ve been waiting on this game. We were ready to play. They won the game, but they respect us.” Speaking for the football team I struggle to root for and has had one winning season since it’s return in 1999, relishing moral victories is for losers.

Here is what Joey Porter, Steelers Linebacker, had to say after Thursday night’s game. “They keep trying to make this a rivalry, but it’s not a rivalry. It’s one-sided now. It can’t be a rivalry if we keep whuppin’ ‘em like that. They talk junk but they don’t back it up.”

The mental toughness of a football team is crucial. In important situations in last night’s game, the Steelers battered and beat the lowly Browns, literally pushing them around. Television Commentator Chris Collinsworth remarked that rarely does a defensive line get pushed back like the Browns were last night. The Browns couldn’t seem to touch Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Carving up the Cleveland defense, Pittsburgh Running Back Willie Parker looked like a senior playing against the freshman team, racking up a franchise record 223 rushing yards.

Browns Coach Romeo Crennel can usually be seen on the sidelines at a Browns game smiling and happy. On occasion, the good natured Coach, who likes to pretend he’s a tough, no nonsense guy, can be seen laughing with opposing players during the game. Early in the season, as the Browns were preparing to lose another game they had been winning to the Ravens, Baltimore wide-out Derrick Mason made an incredible catch at the sideline near Crennel. Romeo’s response? Laugh with Mason as Cleveland’s victory slipped away. At least Coach Crennel and his team would come away with another moral victory, after all they weren’t supposed to beat the Ravens that day. They could be happy that they gave it their best shot.

This happy-go-lucky, doesn’t matter if we win or lose attitude has infected the team. How can the Browns go from beating a 7-5 Chiefs team to getting destroyed by a 5-7 Steelers team? Despite the outcome of Thursday’s game, the Steelers are not significantly better than the Browns this year. The only difference between the teams is their mental toughness. There is no acceptable excuse for a beating like the one Pittsburg laid on Cleveland Thursday night. The Steelers come into a game with the Browns and expect to win. They play like winners. Win or lose, Pittsburgh plays hard and tough. The Browns, on the other hand, play like a team who is scared and doesn’t know what it takes to win. They’d like to remind you, however, if this or that would’ve, should’ve, or could’ve they might have won.

Cleveland Quarterback Derek Anderson played surprisingly well for a player making his first ever NFL start. With the exception of Joe Jurevicius, Anderson recieved almost no help from his teammates, who dropped seven passes and mustered a laughable 18 yards rushing. Receiver Dennis Northcutt tallied three drops on his own. Northcutt’s last, late in the game on an easy catch, clearly showed the reason for the mistake- was he was scared to get hit by the incoming tackler. No hands Northcutt is nothing new- his drop late in a 2002 playoff game against Pittsburg was instrumental in ensuring the Steelers another come from behind victory.

If getting embarrassed by a supposed rival wasn’t enough, Browns Tight End Kellen Winslow added insult to injury when he laid Steelers Linebacker James Farrior out on a cheap shot block after a play was over. Winslow, who committed the cowardly penalty as his team was losing 27-0, was hit by Farrior two plays later and fumbled the ball away.

Even Wide Receiver Braylon Edwards, who has criticized the play of his teammates over the last couple of games and questioned the team’s toughness, dropped a pass. Edwards did score the lone touchdown for the Browns in garbage time. However, any momentary flickers of brightness were extinguished by the Steelers. Pittsburgh refused to take it’s collective foot off of Cleveland’s wind pipe late in the game. Instead of letting the Browns get the ball back and attempt to make the score a little more respectable, they ran out the remaining time on the clock gaining two first downs gained on more power running. Meanwhile, Cowher grinned on the sidelines.

As long as the Browns shy away from hits, remain content with moral victories, and are scared to play the Steelers, Clevelanders will have to put up with even more futility. Coach Crennel should be gone soon and if his successor doesn’t inject a fighting attitude back into the Browns, loyal fans will be in for many more seasons of Bill Cowher’s smirk.

Update:

When asked why his team lost so badly to the Steelers, Browns Head Coach Romeo Crennel said, “I can’t explain it. I don’t know why it happened, but it did.” Never a good sign. If I’m Randy Lerner, the owner of the Browns, I have to wonder why I’m paying someone who’s so clueless to be in charge of my football team. If you were in charge of a department or project at work for a couple of years and it went horribly wrong and you had no explanation, you’d better believe you’d be fired.

Kellen Winslow talked about why the Browns suck. He said, “The thing with this team is we hope to win games.”

Winslow said the intimidation factor is part of the game.

“I don’t know if we’re intimidated or not [by the Steelers],” he said. “I’m not intimidated. That’s why I talked to Porter, because you have to face the bully. That’s why I go up to him and give him his respect, try to get him out of his game somehow, some way possible.”

He said when he was at the University of Miami, they had the games won before kickoff.

“Intimidation was a factor, work ethic was a factor. That’s the point the Cleveland Browns have to get to. That’s what the Steelers do. They try to intimidate you, and they do a great job of it. That’s why they’re the defending champions.”

P.S.S -

I was beginning to think it was a case of wishful thinking, but going into the season I felt that the Browns finally had the players to compete with and beat some of the better teams in the NFL. It turns out I wasn’t the only one.

In his Monday morning column, CNNSI’s Peter King “Thought of this while watching the Steelers’ rout of the Browns: You know what worries me about Crennel’s teams? Even with injuries, there’s enough talent there not only to be better, but also to compete against the best teams in the league. They were absolutely non-competitive for most of that game the other night. How does a Crennel team allow a running game to steamroll it like that?”

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Knute Larson, the head pastor of The Chapel in Akron, hosts a lunch and discussion at Greystone Hall in Akron called “TableTalk”. Claiming to be “a luncheon for men and women in the marketplace”, some of the guys I work with like to attend this monthly event. In fact, my workplace has more than it’s fair share of religious conversation and debate. I’ve got managers who claim to read the Koran and supervisors who hope to peak down from heaven on “hot chicks”.

I thought today’s topic “Does God Look Like Santa Claus” would at the very least be an amusing background to my day’s lunch, so along with Travis and Alex, I decided to go to TableTalk. Greystone Hall is an old and distinguished looking building. Inside, the room where TableTalk was held had large ceilings and it’s walls were painted to give the appearance of Ancient Greek architecture. The food served was excellent and well-dressed and well-mannered businesspeople exchanged polite smiles and courteous pleasantries.

I’ll admit, I was a little skeptical of what kind of talk Knute Larson would give. I half hoped he would do something really horrible instead of just give the run of the mill “the reason for the season is Jesus” teaching. The title seemed to imply he’d be speaking about the God’s physical appearance versus St. Nick’s, but instead he began with a comparison of the two. The whole discussion seemed to be a vehicle for Larson to share his random thoughts and observations related to Christmas. It felt sporadic and jumbled it times. Both God and Santa are Judgers/Rewarders, they know if we’ve been good or bad, and they have an uncanny ability to be everywhere. We constantly ask them for gifts. Throughout scripture and throughout Christmas songs we are constantly reminded to be on the alert, be ready, prepare, and take action like both these figures will be coming back soon- Jesus in his second coming and Santa down the chimney.

Larson claimed just as it’s incredibly hard to believe in Santa Claus, it’s difficult for a rational mind to believe the story God wants us to have faith in. As absurd as it sounds that a jolly fat man is able to deliver presents to children around the world all in one night aided only by flying reindeer, it’s just as incredible that 2,000 years ago a child was born that was both fully man and fully God. God asks us to put all our trust into this child, that his death on the cross is the exclusive path for us to heaven. If we can swallow this, we have to wash it down with the fact that we need this salvation because at the heart something is fundamentally wrong with us. We’re sinners.

Of course, next Knute talked about how Jesus and Santa aren’t so similar after all. Their motives for judgement differ. They give gifts differently. Although it remains a mystery as to how St. Nick pays for the gifts he distributes, God gave his son to pay for our sins. Larson showed the audience Exodus 34:6-7 in order to demonstrate that although God would love to forgive us, he is also required to punish our sins. For this reason, God’s grace is “the most delightful message”. Like in the cases of Noah and Abraham, our faith is a personal response to God’s revelation. Abraham was told he’d have a child, he believed God’s promise and acted on it, and he became the father of Israel. In the same way, we find forgiveness when we believe the Gospel.

What was Larson’s message? Obviously, he advocated recieving Christ and beginning a personal relationship with him. Although intriguing, the comparisions to Santa were confusing. The issue that wasn’t addressed was how God distinguishes himself and his promises from meaningless legends and myths. As humans, we know there’s something more to life and someone bigger than us exists. That someone isn’t Santa Claus. Romans 1:19-20 says,”because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

As children we set out milk and cookies for Santa. As we grew up, we realized that our parents were the ones really eating them while we slept. It was no coincidence that we found a long trail of evidence leading to Mom and Dad, not the North Pole. They were the ones wrapping the presents and feeding us propaganda. No one was buying that they were assisting Santa- there was no Santa. However, God is different. He knows we desire proof and gives it to us in the form of prophecy. Hundreds of predictions God foretold about the future have come true and hundreds more will come true. Isaiah 44-

7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay out before me
what has happened since I established my ancient people,
and what is yet to come—
yes, let him foretell what will come.

8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

Ironically, on “Grey’s Anatomy”, a show Lauren and I have gotten into on DVD, one of the most recent episodes we’ve watched featured an exchange between Dr. Burke and Dr. Yang as they performed a heart transplant on a small boy. Here’s an excerpt from the conversation:

Dr. Preston Burke: I believe there’s a mind-body-spirit connection. And if Justin really doesn’t want this heart, his body will reject it.
Dr. Cristina Yang: Okay, let me get this straight. You don’t just celebrate Christmas… you actually believe in Santa Claus?

Dr. Yang, a self-proclaimed rational and scientific thinker, was blown away by her boss/love-interests’ view that there is more to life than just the explainable. She quickly equated his belief in a higher power with a child’s belief in Santa Claus.

Is it possible that things that can’t be explained happen? As I was typing this, a woman from my office interrupted me to talk. Without any knowledge of what I was doing, we began to talk about what she heard about TableTalk. She expressed that although the bible features miracles orchestrated by God, she had seen numerous History Channel shows proving that the miracles were nothing more that natural events like hurricanes and earthquakes. They could be easily explained. An earthquake brought down Jericho’s walls. A hurricane caused the Red Sea to part. According to her, God could use these natural events in history. She felt this supported the bible.

I didn’t want to argue. But, if a miracle is explainable in natural terms, is it a miracle anymore? Often times faith in God and belief in the supernatural isn’t just something we can choose to do, it’s something that makes sense. It’s absurd to think science can explain away everything when scientifically we know it can’t. As humans, we long to believe in something bigger than ourselves and something that has real meaning.

It just doesn’t make sense to lump all things that require faith into one category. Unlike Santa, a make believe character who doesn’t exist, God gives us substantial evidence that he exists. He also gives us proof his son is for real and able to pay for our sins. At the same time, however, he’s a supernatural being able to do amazing things we cannot comprehend. The choice to believe and have faith in him is ours. At very least it is worth further investigation. However, like Santa, it can’t just be dismissed.

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At the risk of sounding juvenile, misogynistic, perverse, or just plain stupid, one of the debates the guys at the old Ministry House would get into once in a blue moon was over “the Princesses”. This never got out too debauched or dirty, mostly it was just guys having fun. It all started when someone, I don’t really know who, found one of those framed posters you usually win at a carnival of the Disney Princesses. Since this is a pretty funny thing to hang in a house full of college aged guys, it got hung up. Not only that, but it became a classic, treasured piece of artwork that still remains in the Ministry House to this day.

I hadn’t thought of the Disney Princesses in quite sometime. Then today I saw this list and it brought back some hilarious memories. You probably think we were a bunch of desperate guys. But, it used to be in the Ministry House, every now and then a late-night debate would get going over which Princess was the most desirable. There were some guys saying Jasmine from Aladdin was the most beautiful because she was exotic and could belly-dance. Others thought the Little Mermaid was the hottest because of her singing abilities and her long flowing red hair. Some thought Pocahontas was- it must have been that she had the whole “forbidden” love thing going for her- she was like a “mysterious new world” to be conquered. I never had a Princess to call “my own” but the guys from the original house on Lake Street apparently had chosen which princess was “theirs”. Still, I wasn’t exempt from getting into these debates. I’ll admit there even was a couple of times I’d wish I would have moved into the house sooner so I could have had a “Disney Princess” to call my own.

For my money, it’s Cinderella. She’s a classic beauty with long, blonde hair. Cinderella looks amazing when she’s scrubbing floors or at the ball. She knows the value of hard work and for this reason she’s humble. Although she grew up in a less than desirable family situation, she never let it get her down and still did her best. In fact, the situation is to her Prince’s benefit because his bitchy step-mother to be is most likely out of the picture now that he’s rescued her. On top of it all, she can cook and clean.

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