Between Jest and Earnest

I never understood the so-called " War on Christmas ." I mean, I get the concept--one more reason for one set of people to dismiss, mischaracterize, and demonize another side. Fun stuff. Festive. Pass the eggnog. I guess I just don't understand the need to become so invested in it. It's to the point now where part of "making America great again" means that saying "Merry Christmas." So there you have it. With this in mind, I am sharing an infamous column from a former FSU professor of mine, Leo Sandon. 'Tis the season, indeed.... ----- 'Merry Christmas' and political correctness Leo Sandon December 23, 2003 "Merry Christmas, by damn!" That seems to be the sentiment expressed in several letters to the editor lamenting "Happy holidays" as a "politically correct" greeting that compromises the reality of Christmas. One letter writer stated: "It'll still be Christmas Day on Dec. 25, w

Billy Graham and Christian Athletes, from Gil Dodds to Louis Zamperini

I just learned that Billy Graham has died. In the coming days and weeks, there will be no shortage of tributes and commentaries on his significance, influence, and legacy. Many of these will be written by Very Qualified People. I am not, by any measure, one of those people. And yet, here I go... When I talk about Graham in the context of religion and sports, I like to point to his relationships with famous Christian athletes. Bill Baker's Playing With God tells the story of Graham inviting world-class miler Gil Dodds—aka, "the Flying Parson"—to a 1947 Crusade crusade in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dodds dazzled the crowed as he ran an exhibition race and gave his testimony. A high-profile Christian athlete, Dodds’s presence at the event no doubt drew spectators. At a symbolic level, he also solidified a marriage between sports and evangelical Christianity in the South—a marriage that would go on to produce such notable offspring such as "Tebowing." A

Mike Pasquier on White Catholics and the Perduring Sin of Racism

Time Spent on book: Don't ask What I did: Blarg Grade for the day: I hate grades Over at America, my friend Mike Pasquier has written a powerful piece on race and Catholicism . He lives and teaches in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, so his proximity to recent events there gives him a unique perspective, to say the least. This article is refreshingly insightful and honest, while at the same time well-informed and historically nuanced. Read it. Share it. And bring it in to your conversations. The article begins.... Two years ago, at the age of 7, my daughter developed an interest in the biographies of famous people. We started with a children’s book about Amelia Earhart, followed by Walt Disney and Anne Frank. Next up was Rosa Parks. The book opened with Parks as a girl growing up in rural Alabama, watching white kids ride buses to white schools while she and her black friends walked to black schools. The moral of the story was clear: Racism is bad. When we finished the book

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