Magic Statistics

Brian Maloney, guest blogging at Michelle Malkin's site, suggests that two "evil regimes" may be about to fall from power soon. One is Cuba. The other is — Canada?

"Canada and Cuba, two countries with rogue, corrupt and repressive regimes that don't know when to cut their losses and leave town". Wow: The Canadian government is on a par with Cuba's. That's gotta hurt!

Here's my Liberal lawn sign, courtesy of small dead animals.

So, to entice more tourists to the Garden State, the state tourism office decided they needed a catchy new slogan. Then, in a questionable move, they decided to solicit suggestions from the public. A few are listed here. I think this is the best one:

New Jersey: You Got A Problem With That?

That would look great on a billboard with a picture of the Sopranos in the background.

Yukon wants tourists, too. No mobsters in our part of the world (as far as I know).

via On The Other Foot.

Stained glass windows in medieval churches, it has long been claimed, served as a teaching aid to those who could not read the Bible for themselves. According to Roger Homan, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Brighton, that is by no means the whole story.

This is seriously to understate the degree of literacy required to view medieval stained glass in an intelligent way. The great transept window at Canterbury known as the Biblia Pauperium (poor person's bible), for example, depends upon an extensive visual vocabulary of symbols and an awareness of the supposed theological links between the biblical scenes featured in adjacent panels. The notion that during a sermon vagrant minds might be captivated and cathechized by a window is optimistic . . .

While agreeing that stained glass had a didactic function, Prof Homan argues that there is an even more fundamental purpose.

However, content is not all that matters. Stained glass has also the function of lending to the church a distinctive and appropriate ambience. While it is not confined to Christian use, it is distinctive of it. There were "storied windows richly dight" that in Milton's observation cast a "dim religious light" upon the church interior and they may be witnessed in places like Farford in Gloucestershire, the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris and in the nearby shrine of Ste-Chapelle which has 6650 square feet of stained glass from the thirteenth century. Non-figurative designs may lend such a light: they are seen to do so in York Minster where the sober "Five Sisters" take their name from the austere Cistercians and in the lights by John Piper that replace those destroyed by enemy action in St Margaret Westminster.

As with these examples, the original purpose of stained glass was not the desire to illustrate but the need to sedate light. A stained glass window slows us down; it inclines us to proceed reverently and lower our voices. It is atmospheric. In churches and cathedrals it speaks as the voice in the burning bush "the place whereon thou standest is holy ground".

Read the whole thing.

then why are people deserting their churches in droves?

Maybe because they will tolerate no dissent?

Jim Njegovan could use one of these.

From a cringe-inducing site serving all your oh-so-liberal Christian needs.

via Burkean Canuck.

At the opening of the meeting of the Church of England's eighth General Synod, the Queen said:

When so much is in flux, when limitless amounts of information, much of it ephemeral, are instantly accessible on demand, there is a renewed hunger for that which endures and gives meaning. The Christian Church can speak uniquely to that need, for at the heart of our faith stands the conviction that all people, irrespective of race, background or circumstances, can find lasting significance and purpose in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The [UK] Times saw her words as a "defiant response to a vitriolic attack on the Queen from al-Qaeda". (Background here.)

One wonders what Prince Charles thinks of his mother's brave stand: "The Prince of Wales caused controversy in a 1994 television interview when he said that when he became king he would like to be known as Defender of Faith rather than Defender of the Faith to reflect the spectrum of belief in Britain."  There would appear to be some tension between the prince's view and the queen's statement that the Christian church has a message of unique significance.

At the same time, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams takes on the 476 Synod members, telling them to "start behaving as if they believed in God".

On the whole Synods don’t renew churches – neither do archbishops, for that matter. God does, and he does so by the most extraordinarily unpredictable means and people, and our ingenuity and skill is sometimes best exercised by seeing how we can get out of God’s way when he is moving. That depends a great deal on our working as a Synod in a way that suggests we really do believe that God exists.

The complete text of Abp Rowan's speech is posted here.

Sounds like an interesting synod meeting all around.

Well, not the real Jeremy Paxman. Michael Gove of the [UK] Times made it up.

JP: When you said recently, and I quote, “the meek shall inherit the earth”, was that a firm promise?
JC: It was a prophecy.
JP: A prophecy? But what’s your timetable for that? In your first term? As conditions allow? What if there’s a war? Or a flu pandemic? Or a plague of locusts? Won’t that wreck your plan to hand over the earth to the meek — a pledge many might say was reckless in itself given how untested the meek are.
JC: Truly, I say unto you, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
JP: Oh, puh-leese.

Read the whole thing.

By the by, for those who haven't had the pleasure, Jeremy Paxman is a BBC television reporter.