Welcome back to the regularly scheduled Weekly Pull List, where I give you the run down of what I'm reading every week. Because clearly you should be taking your cues on what comics to read from me, right? I've already covered Amazing Spider-Man #550 and New Avengers #38 yesterday, and today I'll be reviewing Green Lantern Corps #21, Marvel Comics Presents #6, Nova Annual #1, Wolverine #62, and X-Force #1. Excluded are Black Panther #34, Fantastic Four #554, and X-Factor #28, none of which Marvel Direct could get to me on time.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #21
This issue is part one of a two issue fill-in, starring the (formerly hot and now unfortunately) Alpha Lantern Boodikka. The formerly hot-headed warrior is now emotionless and exacting in her duty to police the GLC, as is evidenced by her reprimanding of even her fellow Lost Lanterns, with whom she shares a rather painful bond. A special mission given to her by the Guardians, though, take her back to her home planet to reign in a delinquent GL trainee that turns out to be her sister, and we get the promise of a real cat-fight between them next issue.
I really liked this one. This is the type of storytelling that keeps me coming back every month to GL and GLC. We get expanded history on a prominent Lantern and see the effect becoming an Alpha Lantern has on a woman that was known for her fire and passion. Sterling Gates really delivers in what could easily be a shoddy throw-away fill-in, and Nelson's art more than keeps up with this fun story. This kind of quality, even on fill-in, is why the GL corner of the DCU is the best thing DC has going. If you're not reading this book, correct this mistake right now.
MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #6
The New Guardian is still crazy and still a glorified labrat up in Canuckistan, while USAgent enlists help to find out what's really going on. Ka-Zar makes like Obama (uniter!) for the inhabitants of the Savage Land, but their hope seems to run out (HAH!) in the face of Roxxon's well thought out assault. Vanguard reveals stuff, but there's little sign of the actual Vanguard and a whole lot of "yeah, buh?" And finally, a flashback to the heady days of WWII shows how Cap inspired even those who have the desire to serve but are never called.
Reviewing MCP is always hard because it's an anthology of three serials and a one shot story. The chances of the book standing out when taken as a whole are pretty low. The Guardian story moves forward a bit and is helped by a brief Iron Man cameo. The Cap story was a bit of (well written) fluff. The Ka-Zar and Shanna story is actually the most interesting thing in the book, though the art is weird in some places. I call this a draw, if for nothing else than the fact that Vanguard is suffering from Guggenheim's tendency to drag in the first half of his stories.
NOVA ANNUAL #1
For not having a lot of actual progression (in terms of the overall series storyline), this Annual really delivers. This is actually saying a lot, since it's essentially a jumping on point/refresher course on who Richard Rider is. More importantly, it's a study in why he is Nova Prime, the vanguard and torch-bearer for the (again) near extinct Nova Corps. He's a normal guy, average in every way, but he's managed to become probably the biggest hero in the galaxy. The entire issue is a struggle for his soul, literally, as his transmode virus infection tries to take him over and, failing that, take him out. In the end we see him emerge victorious, if only for a moment, and we're reminded why he's a hero, and why he's going to matter and make a difference in the end of the Conquest that's raging back in the closed off Kree galaxy.
DnA redeem themselves a bit from last week's ho-hum issue of Conquest and prove they get Richard Rider, probably better than even the people who created him ever did. This understanding translates as well into the main title as it does here. The art of Klebs, Asrar, and Alves is great here, and even with their distinct styles, it manages to feel cohesive. All cylinders were hitting, and it just barely lets the Annual edge out GLC as my book of the week.
WOLVERINE #62
Wolverine has one mission: kill Mystique, whose crime (this time) is betraying the X-Men and almost getting them killed. No problem for the man who is the best at what he does (shanking people with those claws). Except that Mystique isn't going quietly, and she's got that fun little shapeshifting power going for her, and she's hiding out in Iran and Iraq. Cue a long (days long) chase, during which a mosque gets blown to hell and "Wolverine" stabs an innocent girl to death, all the while Wolverine reflects on first meetinng the slippery mutant some 80 years prior.
This was a really good issue. The setup, the chase, the fake-out, it was all good. Jason Aaron builds the story well, and he mines the long past of Logan to flesh this story out well. Ron Garney delivers some solid pencils as well. Jason Aaron continues to impress me, and I'm confident this four part story will be just as good as I've come to expect of him.
X-FORCE #1
X-Force is back, but it's not that X-Force, it's the one from Messiah Complex that Cyclops sent after Cable. This time, he's got another mission for them: eliminate the Purifiers before they can attack mutants again. Only problem is that Wolverine isn't okay with other people becoming him, especially not his wayward clone, X-23. What follows is a look at what should've happened long ago: mutants getting pro-active with people who want to attack them. It all comes to a head in an intense and almost gruesome fight sequence where the heroes aren't pulling any punches (or blades, in this case).
This is good, and I expected no less from Kyle and Yost, who did a great job on New X-Men, post House of M. They choreograph and coordinate the issue well enough, but the actual strength here is in how they position Wolverine as a moral compass, a voice of reason even, trying to prevent others from turning into him. What does it say about him that he argues and warns, but in the end lets X-23, Warpath, and Wolfsbane on the team anyway? There's a lot that's going to be said about Wolverine's leadership and judgment as a result of this series, I think. Clayton Crain does a fantastic job on art, and his dark style really complements what will be a very dark book.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
BunQ Watch, Day 107
Welcome back to BunQ Watch, back after nearly a month's absence. You'll be happy to know that not much happened in the interim. There was a somewhat stressing day spent in the ER, as the mom-to-be was having some worrying symptoms that we couldn't ignore. Beyond that, though, things have been humming along without interruption. Which leads us to today's appointment with the OB/GYN. Today, we heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time! Yes, it was awesome. Unfortunately we didn't get any new pics of BunQ. It seems we'll be waiting a few weeks for our "official" ultrasound, at which point we'll be able to learn if BunQ will be named Maurice or Lily. I intend to record the sound and take some pictures, in addition to the ultrasound pics. Check back in three weeks for what will surely be a grand coming out party (of sorts).
The Weekly Pull List, Early Edition
Welcome back to the Weekly Pull list, a couple days early this week in honor of Marvel Direct getting two books to me ahead of time. Also, last week I dropped the ball by forgetting to review Annihilation Conquest #4, so I'm going to remedy that today. Let's get to it, shall we?
Annihilation Conquest #4
This issue was a microcosm of the way this series has been going since the prologue and the four miniseries leading in. It gets half the things right and half wrong ( or at least boring). The fate of Peter Quill (who's currently getting the kind of personal attention from Ultron that the Bush administration would insist is perfectly legal) and the remnants of his ragtag band is as good as the Starlord mini. The antics of Ronan and the Super Skrull, who were a dynamic duo of sorts in Annihilation, were terrific. The other half of the story, involving Adam Warlock, the new Quasar, and the High Evolutionary, just falls flat. Too much talking and whining and not so much action, and a thinly disguised fake out at the end are draining my interest in whatever these guys are getting up to. Worse, there's no Nova to make up for it, at least not until the very last issue. Weakest issue so far; DnA need to step it up something fierce next month.
Amazing Spider-Man #550
I called it last week and am happy to say that I was right. This issue was far, far better than the previous issue. Spidey's banter was on point, there was just the right amount of action mixed with character drama, and the new baddie, Menace, really is living up to his name. Guggenheim's got a good handle on this story and all the elements he's using to spin the tale. Larrocca is solid throughout for the most part, though I had a problem with some of his female faces here. There was also a particularly manish looking shot of Betty Brant in one panel, which doesn't match up with the way I usually see her. Still, overall a great issue, and it promises an outstanding final issue of Guggenheim's first arc.
New Avengers #38
This is it, the Secret Invasion is underway, so we're about to see mad Skrulls running around, right? Well, not quite. What we do get here is the fallout of Jessica Jones' decision at the end of January's New Avengers Annual #2, where she fled with Danielle (damn, why'd I just have to look the baby's name up?) to Stark Tower and became a registered superhuman. This issue is called "The Break Up", ant that's exactly what it is. Sure, we get some more posturing from the Mighty Avengers (they've been doing that a lot lately), and we even see the New Avengers get cozy in their new pad, but it's mostly about what's going on between Cage and Jessica. So how does this tie into Secret Invasion? It's hard to tell, except for the fact that we know for sure that at least one person in the Avengers is a Skrull, and that all of this strife is partly the fault of whoever that is. Good issue, but it gets a slight bump down for not really having any Skrull action.
That's it for now, check back on Thursday for the rest of this week's stack.
Annihilation Conquest #4
This issue was a microcosm of the way this series has been going since the prologue and the four miniseries leading in. It gets half the things right and half wrong ( or at least boring). The fate of Peter Quill (who's currently getting the kind of personal attention from Ultron that the Bush administration would insist is perfectly legal) and the remnants of his ragtag band is as good as the Starlord mini. The antics of Ronan and the Super Skrull, who were a dynamic duo of sorts in Annihilation, were terrific. The other half of the story, involving Adam Warlock, the new Quasar, and the High Evolutionary, just falls flat. Too much talking and whining and not so much action, and a thinly disguised fake out at the end are draining my interest in whatever these guys are getting up to. Worse, there's no Nova to make up for it, at least not until the very last issue. Weakest issue so far; DnA need to step it up something fierce next month.
Amazing Spider-Man #550
I called it last week and am happy to say that I was right. This issue was far, far better than the previous issue. Spidey's banter was on point, there was just the right amount of action mixed with character drama, and the new baddie, Menace, really is living up to his name. Guggenheim's got a good handle on this story and all the elements he's using to spin the tale. Larrocca is solid throughout for the most part, though I had a problem with some of his female faces here. There was also a particularly manish looking shot of Betty Brant in one panel, which doesn't match up with the way I usually see her. Still, overall a great issue, and it promises an outstanding final issue of Guggenheim's first arc.
New Avengers #38
This is it, the Secret Invasion is underway, so we're about to see mad Skrulls running around, right? Well, not quite. What we do get here is the fallout of Jessica Jones' decision at the end of January's New Avengers Annual #2, where she fled with Danielle (damn, why'd I just have to look the baby's name up?) to Stark Tower and became a registered superhuman. This issue is called "The Break Up", ant that's exactly what it is. Sure, we get some more posturing from the Mighty Avengers (they've been doing that a lot lately), and we even see the New Avengers get cozy in their new pad, but it's mostly about what's going on between Cage and Jessica. So how does this tie into Secret Invasion? It's hard to tell, except for the fact that we know for sure that at least one person in the Avengers is a Skrull, and that all of this strife is partly the fault of whoever that is. Good issue, but it gets a slight bump down for not really having any Skrull action.
That's it for now, check back on Thursday for the rest of this week's stack.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
The Weekly Pull List
Welcome back to The Weekley Pull List, where I give you the rundown on what I'm reading this week. This week is a mercifully short one after last week's ridiculous glut comicry, just six books and a couple of trades. The trades, INCOGNEGRO and SCALPED VOL 02, I'll cover later, so onto the singles.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #549
Month two of almost weekly Spidey kicks off with Marc Guggenheim's opening shot in the Brand New Day era. He gets the ball moving quickly: Pete's broke (stop the presses, I know), there's a new sheriff in town at the Daily Bugle, and an eerily familiar looking new super villain is making noise about town. All this, a suspiciously familiar looking red-haired and registered female hero is trying to claim the new villain as her arch-enemy, police finding Spider Tracers on dead victims, and SHRA registration enforcement to boot.
With all this action, you'd think it was a rip roaring time, but it was a clear setup issue, even when it did have some fun moments. I'm used to this with Guggenheim, but he's really got to hit it just a bit harder, especially in these opening salvos. Larocca's art was solid, even pretty good most of the time, but he had some weird panels here and there, and I didn't really feel the "oomph" that I normally do from his work. Probably because there weren't a million celebrity look alikes. Still, it's a good issue, with promises of much better ones down the line.
ANITA BLAKE VAMPIRE HUNTER: GUILTY PLEASURES #8 (OF 12)
This book has me torn. On one hand, the plodding story has been killing my enjoyment of the book. On the other hand, new series artist Ron Lim pretty much makes up for the story. The story itself is pretty "meh": Anita does a lot of internal monologue, waxing long about how scared she is of vamps and how powerful they are and how screwed she is, while there is generally a lot of standing around and talking interspersed with a little action. The difference here is clearly the art. I was about to drop the book, but then I learned that Brett Booth was being replaced. Booth's pencils have been mostly decent but trended towards terrible when he had to draw action scenes, and his layouts are uninspired at best and boneheaded at worst. So when I say the art saved this one, I mean it.
Lim, in this one issue, has made a case for being the penciller for every Anita Blake book that comes out from now on. Unlike some fill-in or replacement artists, he doesn't throw out the original style. Instead, he apes Booth's style, and indeed goes further by drawing the way Booth should've been all along. His lines are consistent and strong, and he shows a complete grasp of the way Booth envisioned the characters. His facial renderings are more sophisticated and show Lim's range as an artist. More importantly, Lim knows what the hell he is doing with the layout of the panels and placing them on the page. He is well versed with visual storytelling and it shows; the difference between this issue and last are pretty much night and day. If you are still inclined towards this book, the art is the reason to keep getting it, because Lim seems to have the skill to salvage this book.
ANNIHILATION CONQUEST #4 (OF 6)
MS MARVEL #24
Oh Marvel Direct, if only you'd deliver this the week it comes out, that'd be awesome.
TWELVE #2 (OF 12)
I'm liking what's going on here, let me just come right out and say that. JMS is telling a story that we never saw when Cap was revived, that of the real reactions of people from the WWII era coming to our world. We see grief from a father that comes back to realize that his family is dead, excitement from a man who sees opportunity, dread from a woman whose made a deal with...something to which time is irrelevant. More interestingly, we see what the so-called "Man of Tomorrow" really is, when he sees that the bygone era swept away the intolerance that he accepted as normal in his day. Adjustment is the word of the day for the Twelve, but more apt words for this issue are loss and loneliness. All of the men and women have lost something; their identity, their family, their freedom, their concept of the way the world works. The loneliness they feel is what drives Rockman to signal to his people who may never come. JMS is doing great things here, even with a setup issue that leaves a big mystery. I'm loving every page.
UNCANNY X-MEN #495
Messiah Complex is over, and now we enter the "Divided We Stand" era of the X universe. The X-Men are no more in light of the "death" of Professor X, and Cyclops is taking a break after all of the recent chaos. This is an issue for the reader to take a breather, or if they're new, get a handle on what's happened before in order to prepare for the new storyline. So yeah, a setup issue, but well done overall. Scott and Emma's relationship is explored as they vacation in the Savage land, and we get a glimpse inside Scott's mind. Scott gives Tony Stark a piece of his mind that he should've given him way back in Civil War: X-Men. Meanwhile, Colossus, Night Crawler, and Wolverine are headed to Russia for god knows what, and Angel visits San Francisco searching for something, only to be distracted by a literal outbreak of the 60s. Brubaker's got a crazy mind, and with Choi's art, it makes what is essentially a filler issue not so boring. Next month, though, it needs to pick it up.
That's it for this week. I still have the remainder of last week's to do, as well as the two trades. Check back soon, I might even have them done.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #549
Month two of almost weekly Spidey kicks off with Marc Guggenheim's opening shot in the Brand New Day era. He gets the ball moving quickly: Pete's broke (stop the presses, I know), there's a new sheriff in town at the Daily Bugle, and an eerily familiar looking new super villain is making noise about town. All this, a suspiciously familiar looking red-haired and registered female hero is trying to claim the new villain as her arch-enemy, police finding Spider Tracers on dead victims, and SHRA registration enforcement to boot.
With all this action, you'd think it was a rip roaring time, but it was a clear setup issue, even when it did have some fun moments. I'm used to this with Guggenheim, but he's really got to hit it just a bit harder, especially in these opening salvos. Larocca's art was solid, even pretty good most of the time, but he had some weird panels here and there, and I didn't really feel the "oomph" that I normally do from his work. Probably because there weren't a million celebrity look alikes. Still, it's a good issue, with promises of much better ones down the line.
ANITA BLAKE VAMPIRE HUNTER: GUILTY PLEASURES #8 (OF 12)
This book has me torn. On one hand, the plodding story has been killing my enjoyment of the book. On the other hand, new series artist Ron Lim pretty much makes up for the story. The story itself is pretty "meh": Anita does a lot of internal monologue, waxing long about how scared she is of vamps and how powerful they are and how screwed she is, while there is generally a lot of standing around and talking interspersed with a little action. The difference here is clearly the art. I was about to drop the book, but then I learned that Brett Booth was being replaced. Booth's pencils have been mostly decent but trended towards terrible when he had to draw action scenes, and his layouts are uninspired at best and boneheaded at worst. So when I say the art saved this one, I mean it.
Lim, in this one issue, has made a case for being the penciller for every Anita Blake book that comes out from now on. Unlike some fill-in or replacement artists, he doesn't throw out the original style. Instead, he apes Booth's style, and indeed goes further by drawing the way Booth should've been all along. His lines are consistent and strong, and he shows a complete grasp of the way Booth envisioned the characters. His facial renderings are more sophisticated and show Lim's range as an artist. More importantly, Lim knows what the hell he is doing with the layout of the panels and placing them on the page. He is well versed with visual storytelling and it shows; the difference between this issue and last are pretty much night and day. If you are still inclined towards this book, the art is the reason to keep getting it, because Lim seems to have the skill to salvage this book.
ANNIHILATION CONQUEST #4 (OF 6)
MS MARVEL #24
Oh Marvel Direct, if only you'd deliver this the week it comes out, that'd be awesome.
TWELVE #2 (OF 12)
I'm liking what's going on here, let me just come right out and say that. JMS is telling a story that we never saw when Cap was revived, that of the real reactions of people from the WWII era coming to our world. We see grief from a father that comes back to realize that his family is dead, excitement from a man who sees opportunity, dread from a woman whose made a deal with...something to which time is irrelevant. More interestingly, we see what the so-called "Man of Tomorrow" really is, when he sees that the bygone era swept away the intolerance that he accepted as normal in his day. Adjustment is the word of the day for the Twelve, but more apt words for this issue are loss and loneliness. All of the men and women have lost something; their identity, their family, their freedom, their concept of the way the world works. The loneliness they feel is what drives Rockman to signal to his people who may never come. JMS is doing great things here, even with a setup issue that leaves a big mystery. I'm loving every page.
UNCANNY X-MEN #495
Messiah Complex is over, and now we enter the "Divided We Stand" era of the X universe. The X-Men are no more in light of the "death" of Professor X, and Cyclops is taking a break after all of the recent chaos. This is an issue for the reader to take a breather, or if they're new, get a handle on what's happened before in order to prepare for the new storyline. So yeah, a setup issue, but well done overall. Scott and Emma's relationship is explored as they vacation in the Savage land, and we get a glimpse inside Scott's mind. Scott gives Tony Stark a piece of his mind that he should've given him way back in Civil War: X-Men. Meanwhile, Colossus, Night Crawler, and Wolverine are headed to Russia for god knows what, and Angel visits San Francisco searching for something, only to be distracted by a literal outbreak of the 60s. Brubaker's got a crazy mind, and with Choi's art, it makes what is essentially a filler issue not so boring. Next month, though, it needs to pick it up.
That's it for this week. I still have the remainder of last week's to do, as well as the two trades. Check back soon, I might even have them done.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Ain't No Such Thing As Half-way Christians
Just a warning for anyone too sensitive/insecure about their religion: you're in for offense. If you're still with me, let's get going on a screed I call "Ain't No Such Thing As Half-way Christians".
A Diatribe I've Been Waiting to Give
The question of Obama's religion came up today, and I had an argument with a co-worker about it. Evangelical and conservative as any I've ever met, he pointed to Obama's church and said that he wasn't a real Christian because, in his words, to be so is to attempt to be Christ-like. I wanted to laugh in his face, but I was so amped up because he was spouting one of the many viral lies about Obama, and I'm well beyond goddamned sick of hearing them. But he made a good point, one that I myself have belaboured at one time or another, despite my lack of adherance to the Christian faith. There are many problems in our world today surrounding religion and its role in society, and almost all of them can be attributed to the untrue believers and their inability (or lack of desire) to follow their own damn religion.
I'm going to pick on Christianity because it's the biggest religion where I live and I know the most about it, but this can apply to any religion.
When I was in high school, the "WWJD" fad was in full swing. It's not as hot as it used to be, but you still see bumper stickers and t-shirts and boondoggles about if you pay attention. Annoying though it was, the message was short and stunningly relevant: What Would Jesus Do? Anything that required a decision or choice in a Christians life, and those four words would be able to guide you, assuming you had a reasonable understanding of the man's philosophy and teachings. Which brings us back to my co-worker's definition of a Christian: a person attempting to be Christ-like. I won't even argue against that, because it's more or less what the bible breaks everything down to anyway. Knowing this, think of any one Christian you know, and ask yourself whether they've lived up to that standard. Have they come close? If they haven't, how hard are they trying to? I'll put money on "not hard at all". And that, right there, is the problem I have with the religious in this country, and the religious right in particular.
Half-Way Christians are the ones I've known all my life. These are the ones who go to church on Sunday and pay their tithes and talk about God and Jesus and the church, and then slough off the pious skin for the rest of the week. They talk about the sanctity of life when talking about abortion, then turn around and raise hell if you try to consider banning executions. They cry for their religious rights to be respected, but they have no intention whatsoever of respecting those who don't agree with them. They are weak-willed enough to give a big hooray for waterboarding, and for making gays second-class citizens, and cutting off welfare for the poor. They seriously ask if God wants you to be rich. What don't they ask, though?
What Would Jesus Do?
Look at the platform for the religious right, for conservatives, and ask yourself that question with all honesty. Jesus wouldn't have tortured anyone. He wouldn't have allowed anyone to go hungry while he had the means to feed them, or naked if he could clothe them. Jesus famously told a rich man that, if he wanted to go to heaven, he would have to sell everything he owned and give the money to the poor, because it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. Jesus wouldn't make decisions based on whether they were hard or if he wanted to do them, he'd make decisions based on whether they were morally right or wrong.
Would he support abortion? No. Gays? Probably not. Babies out of wedlock, divorce, our current prison system, our culture of extravagance, war and genocide in his name? But he would love us as God loves him. He would not do things to hurt us or to punish us, out of spite or because we didn't agree with him. He wouldn't set his own needs over ours. He would patiently and lovingly try to teach us why we should do as he does. That's what Jesus would do.
So I'll agree with my co-worker about what constitutes a Christian, and I'll go further to say that the number of them in this country are few indeed. Oh, sure, there are plenty of half-way Christians, going through the motions and pantomiming their religion, loudly getting up in arms about a few pet issues but ignoring the real issues that Jesus historically would have cared about. But there ain't no such thing as half-way Christians, at least not in heaven.
I leave you with this oh so relevant passage from Matthew, Chapter 25, verses 34-45:
34 Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' 37 Then the righteous 16 will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' 40 And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41 Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.' 44 Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?' 45 He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.'
A Diatribe I've Been Waiting to Give
The question of Obama's religion came up today, and I had an argument with a co-worker about it. Evangelical and conservative as any I've ever met, he pointed to Obama's church and said that he wasn't a real Christian because, in his words, to be so is to attempt to be Christ-like. I wanted to laugh in his face, but I was so amped up because he was spouting one of the many viral lies about Obama, and I'm well beyond goddamned sick of hearing them. But he made a good point, one that I myself have belaboured at one time or another, despite my lack of adherance to the Christian faith. There are many problems in our world today surrounding religion and its role in society, and almost all of them can be attributed to the untrue believers and their inability (or lack of desire) to follow their own damn religion.
I'm going to pick on Christianity because it's the biggest religion where I live and I know the most about it, but this can apply to any religion.
When I was in high school, the "WWJD" fad was in full swing. It's not as hot as it used to be, but you still see bumper stickers and t-shirts and boondoggles about if you pay attention. Annoying though it was, the message was short and stunningly relevant: What Would Jesus Do? Anything that required a decision or choice in a Christians life, and those four words would be able to guide you, assuming you had a reasonable understanding of the man's philosophy and teachings. Which brings us back to my co-worker's definition of a Christian: a person attempting to be Christ-like. I won't even argue against that, because it's more or less what the bible breaks everything down to anyway. Knowing this, think of any one Christian you know, and ask yourself whether they've lived up to that standard. Have they come close? If they haven't, how hard are they trying to? I'll put money on "not hard at all". And that, right there, is the problem I have with the religious in this country, and the religious right in particular.
Half-Way Christians are the ones I've known all my life. These are the ones who go to church on Sunday and pay their tithes and talk about God and Jesus and the church, and then slough off the pious skin for the rest of the week. They talk about the sanctity of life when talking about abortion, then turn around and raise hell if you try to consider banning executions. They cry for their religious rights to be respected, but they have no intention whatsoever of respecting those who don't agree with them. They are weak-willed enough to give a big hooray for waterboarding, and for making gays second-class citizens, and cutting off welfare for the poor. They seriously ask if God wants you to be rich. What don't they ask, though?
What Would Jesus Do?
Look at the platform for the religious right, for conservatives, and ask yourself that question with all honesty. Jesus wouldn't have tortured anyone. He wouldn't have allowed anyone to go hungry while he had the means to feed them, or naked if he could clothe them. Jesus famously told a rich man that, if he wanted to go to heaven, he would have to sell everything he owned and give the money to the poor, because it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. Jesus wouldn't make decisions based on whether they were hard or if he wanted to do them, he'd make decisions based on whether they were morally right or wrong.
Would he support abortion? No. Gays? Probably not. Babies out of wedlock, divorce, our current prison system, our culture of extravagance, war and genocide in his name? But he would love us as God loves him. He would not do things to hurt us or to punish us, out of spite or because we didn't agree with him. He wouldn't set his own needs over ours. He would patiently and lovingly try to teach us why we should do as he does. That's what Jesus would do.
So I'll agree with my co-worker about what constitutes a Christian, and I'll go further to say that the number of them in this country are few indeed. Oh, sure, there are plenty of half-way Christians, going through the motions and pantomiming their religion, loudly getting up in arms about a few pet issues but ignoring the real issues that Jesus historically would have cared about. But there ain't no such thing as half-way Christians, at least not in heaven.
I leave you with this oh so relevant passage from Matthew, Chapter 25, verses 34-45:
34 Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' 37 Then the righteous 16 will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' 40 And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41 Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.' 44 Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?' 45 He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.'
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