Along with tracks from the new record Eternal Teenage Angst, the show will feature songs from Veil of Ashes’ other releases along with quotes from band members and reminisces by the show’s host, who covered the band as a music journalist during its active days playing clubs throughout the San Francisco Bay Area in the time period of the late 1980s through early to mid-1990s. While the band made no effort to disguise its members beliefs, its observational lyrics format analyzing social and relationship issues along with its edgy, hard-driving music won it a wide following as it shared the stage with artists and bands such as Chris Isaak, the Call, Psychedelic Furs, Social Distortion and 4 Non-Blondes.
BlackLight Radio, on which Cephas Hour exclusively airs, is an Internet station presently celebrating its eighth year online. Since 2010 it has featured an all-80s music format. About the format station owner Gene Savage notes, “It’s the music I grew up with, a format I know well, and it’s also an excellent advertising demo (35-44 year olds).”
Savage, whose reasons for starting the station include “hopefully showing the mega-corporations who currently control radio how it’s done,” waxes enthusiastic about Cephas Hour in general and the upcoming special in particular. He comments, “It’s a fantastic addition to our programming which really helps complete the story of the music of the 80s and helps us fulfill our commitment to play ‘all of the 80s, all of the time.’ Not only does it introduce ‘new’ 80s music to many listeners, it also provides religious programming on Sunday mornings – a common practice for many top 40 stations in the 80s. Additionally, Cephas Hour is completely unique programming, unduplicated on any other station. It is a programming element that sets us apart from the other 80s stations.”
Savage adds the show has personal meaning for him as well as professional ties. “It is a great feeling for me personally. My roots are in Christian rock, and I’ve been disappointed to leave behind the music that was there for me when my faith was new. (Show host) Jerry (Wilson)’s programming is a great mix of forgotten favorites along with new-to-me songs that challenge my faith and move me forward spiritually. It’s rare to find a program that makes me tap my feet and make me think, but Jerry’s does!”
NOTE: The author of this article is the host of Cephas Hour.
Also, while a complete overhaul of the show’s website is in the works I’ve made a few modifications to the present one. A couple of banners, one for the new Veil of Ashes record and one for Frontline Records have been added, and I’ve tidied up the archive listing so it’s more compact.
The elements creation and methodical assembly continue.
I hadn’t planned on an extended blogging break, but these things happen. Sometimes life gets in the way. That, and far more often than not my being out like a light pretty much the moment I get home from the office. Not the office’s fault; I’m just old that way. Ah well.
Speaking of “ah well,” into said category goes any thoughts of making it to CPAC in any fashion this year, let alone as a blogger. Not in the budget; I’m obviously not into political blogging these days and the thought of running into the “look at me – I went to BlogBash – I’m IMPORTANT NOW!!!” crowd is far more than I care to contemplate. For some reason Jeremiah 12:1-2 comes to mind when contemplating these people. I’ll pursue the road less traveled, thanks. Namely, Cephas Hour, airing every Sunday at 11 AM and 11 PM Eastern on BlackLight Radio.
Speaking of such, thought a discussion of what goes into a show might be of interest to at least a few. So here goes.
More often than not I record the show the day before it airs; i.e. Saturday night. If I record the show during the week, usually I’ll put the music together one night and do the voice-overs the next. This is because from the time I open GarageBand, on which I record the show, until I finish it’s usually about three hours if I do everything in one sitting. Add in the time uploading the show to BlackLight Radio and updating the Cephas Hour page here, and it’s closer to five. Easier to do it in bits rather than be up all night, especially on a weeknight as for some strange reason my employer prefers me awake at my desk. Go figure.
While sometimes I make up the playlist as I’m recording the show, letting the first song chosen to a degree determine the remainder of the song selection so there’s a flow, my preferred method is writing out a playlist as this results in a much swifter recording session. In either case, the goal is the same: feature artists and songs I’ve loved over the years. Stylistically, while once in a while I’ll do a show heavily slanted toward a particular musical genre I prefer to mix it up a bit. Not in a jarring fashion, but a logical one. At least logical to me. I grew up listening to albums where the artist(s) would skip from style to style on each successive track, so I take a bit more liberty with the song progression than might make sense. But it makes sense to me. Lyrically, while I’ll occasionally match themes in successive songs it’s anything but a primary thought. Not that the lyrics aren’t important, but they’re either strong enough to stand by themselves without leaning on one another or they’re on a song that is not going to be played.
Another factor going into the playlist is whether I’ve played a particular artist recently, and if so how often. I don’t mind playing a favorite two or more weeks in a row, but I aim for playing as many different artists as possible from show to show. There was a good number of great artists and bands during the show’s time frame, which runs from the mid-1970s until the mid-1990s. They all deserve an audience. It’s my purpose to provide a platform on which they can have one.
Once every two or three months I’ll devote an entire show to a single artist, such as is the case with today’s (February 10) show which is all music by the Choir. These shows are admittedly easier to assemble, but in many cases force difficult decisions about what to include and what to leave out.
On shows where the selected songs finish before the hour is up, I play “Alma Mater (A Cappella)” by Crumbächer from Escape From the Fallen Planet (25th Anniversary Edition)!. I try to cram as many songs into each show as possible, so I usually have time for but a portion of this track.
I have no idea what artist and/or song I’ve played the most often; I don’t keep a record of what’s been played. I usually list the most recent show’s playlist during the week on its page here, although I have no set pattern as to when I update things. I should probably correct that. I do have all past shows available for either listening to online or downloading at the show’s page.
The music comes primarily from my existing collection. I do occasionally buy used CDs or, when available, digital downloads to fill in gaps. I prefer having the CD for sound quality purposes. There is a regrettably large number of albums yet to see the light of day on CD or digital, so I have a growing collection of rips from vinyl. That USB turntable has proved to be a sound investment.
Having said all that, time to outline why I do the show.
I freely admit I am a sentimentalist, but at the same time do not wish to live in the past or attempt to recreate the past. It’s fun listening to music from back when I was the young lion determined to set the Christian music world on its ear, steering it away from over-produced shlock and toward vital music of the street and clubs where the message of Jesus desperately needed to be proclaimed. As you will quickly notice should you peruse the music department of your nearest Christian bookstore, the final score in this battle reads Christian music industry 1, me zero. Certainly there is a far greater acceptance of rock as a legitimate vessel for ministry than back in the day. But in terms of what music is being released and promoted by what’s left of the record labels, things are as they ever were: a few nuggets buried amid the morass of Christianese ear candy.
I don’t do the show strictly as a reminder of how much good music there was once upon a time. I do hope people’s memory will be jogged, or perhaps they will be introduced to music of which they were previously unaware. From this, where the music is again available I hope they will buy it, thus creating a phenomenon seldom seen back in the day: artists getting paid what they are owed. However, this is but a portion of the whys behind the show.
There are two main reasons why I do Cephas Hour. The primary one is a call to those who knew this music back in the days of their youth. It is reaching out through it to them should they have, since it was part of their lives, weakened or abandoned the faith while dealing with the death, divorce and disillusionment that so often followed the days when they were on fire for Jesus and the answer was John 3:16 without needing to hear the question. It is a call saying that times change and lives change. But the same Christ they so loved back then is indeed the same Christ today, and will be the same Christ tomorrow and every tomorrow after that. You can’t be young again, but you can come Home again.
The second purpose follows this, with the addition that it speaks primarily to conservatives. If we believe what we say we believe about God and popular culture, namely the need to bring the former into the latter, we need to abandon the notion that politics alone will bring about change. Today’s political punditry is preaching to the choir while accepting a generous love donation from the congregation at its worst. Handwringing over the decadence of pop culture and entertainment accomplishes nothing. We need to break out of the echo chamber and begin making genuine impact in people’s lives by speaking to matters of importance. If in addition to believing what we say about God and popular culture we also believe what we say we believe about the redemptive, transformational power of Christ, it becomes apparent that addressing solely the political mind is woefully insufficient in terms of effecting change. Speaking to the heart and soul is infinitely more important. We must address the entire person. The Prince of Peace, and the people He died for, must trump politics if we are to truly address the need to influence popular culture.
There are thousands if not tens of thousands of conservative talk shows, blogs and whatnot. They have their place. However, even a cursory glance around shows their impact is at best limited. Meanwhile, there is only one Cephas Hour, playing music that fits in perfectly with its host: a regular station and its format of 1980s pop music. This is bringing the message to the people. This is great music about the Good News. This is standing unashamed for Christ in a forum that embraces, not hides from, the world. This matters.
Thanksgiving is this Thursday. It’ll be a somewhat melancholy one for me; first holidays without are brutal and this will be the first one without my oldest brother. Nevertheless, I will give thanks for what I have been given. Which is quite a bit, actually.
I was thinking about giving thanks while preparing next week’s Cephas Hour. It occurred to me that the debt I and so many owe these artists for not only taking the road less traveled, but building it even as those who should have supported them either ignored or jeered their efforts, is indeed great. While the book and the show are in no small part my way of saying thank you, it should be said more often.
Below is a list of all the artists on this past Sunday’s show and, where available (or at least known by me), some social media information for them. This Thanksgiving, if their music and ministry ever meant anything to you please take a moment and thank them personally, directly. Let them know their efforts were not in vain and are still bearing fruit even today. I have no doubt they will appreciate it.
I was raised a good Catholic boy (yeah, yeah, I know – where did I go wrong; something my mother often wondered). Part of this upbringing including being severely taught to show the utmost respect for priests, nuns and all other Church members in authority positions. Note that this was show respect, not never question. My parents, especially my father, seldom hesitated to enthusiastically engage assorted parish priests and other officials in even more enthusiastic discourse over various matters of theology and/or local church policy. This duly noted, there was never any disrespect for the position someone held, regardless of whether the individual holding said position was equally well regarded.
Said all that to say this. One of Patheos’ Catholic blogs is Standing on My Head by Father Dwight Longenecker. In a recent post he ripped and ridiculed not only Christian rock itself, but the very notion of it being suitable for ministerial, let alone liturgical use.
Shall we examine his foolishness… er, rationale?
A friend of mine used to quip, “When you’re talking about Christian music it’s pretty safe to substitute ‘bad’ for ‘Christian’.
A friend of mine used to say the moon is a gigantic dusty grapefruit. I didn’t believe him either. But at least he wasn’t a smug, sanctimonious ass.
Who hasn’t had to endure a Christian rock band or sit through a worship with some aging trendy strumming a guitar and inflicting folk music or light rock on everyone?
Gee. I’ve endured many a Christian rock band. I recall many of them giving altar calls at the end. I recall many, many people coming forward to give or recommit their lives to Christ as a result of those altar calls. One of those people was… me. As to worship, I also recall many a moment of folk or light rock bringing many people into a deeper relationship with Jesus, encouraging them to follow Him more closely and be better servants to one another and the world. One of those people was… me. Somehow I doubt Fr. Longenecker has ever been to an actual Christian rock concert or heard quality contemporary worship/praise music. Which, despite his upcoming assertions to the contrary, does exist. In droves.
Why is it that so often Christian music is so awful?
Because the modern church, with few exceptions, has done such an abominable job of finding, nurturing, supporting, and promoting artists? Naah, couldn’t possibly be that.
I think there are a couple of reasons. The first is that the musicians and their audience mistake a worthy message for talent.
Uh, no. If that was the case, every everything every Christian record label releases would sell. It doesn’t. People do both care and have the wisdom to discern what’s worth a listen.
Then they get a martyr complex if they’re criticized. “You’re obviously not very spiritual if you can’t enjoy my music!
Wrong again. I don’t mind if people don’t enjoy my music or that of the artists I like. Where I do call into question someone’s spiritual discernment is when they apply their cultural bias and personal preference to their alleged discernment. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s not good and therefore cannot possibly be used by God. I know people who think Pink Floyd is the worst garbage on the planet. Does that make it so? No. So don’t waste my time bringing your petty preferences, inflated with pseudo-spiritual tripe, into any discussion of art’s value or quality. Like what you like; dislike what you dislike. But don’t drag God into it.
The second problem is that the audience are often either totally uncritical or they haven’t the ability to criticize intelligently. Too often the audience actually like the crap that is being dished up.
We’ve addressed this already. Telling people they’re mindless drones for their musical tastes isn’t exactly what I’d consider a strong opening to winning over hearts and minds. Or winning souls for Christ. Or drawing those who already know Him closer.
The third factor is that market forces are usually not in play. Market forces often have a surprisingly sharp and salutary critical effect. Market forces weed out the junk, but in the Christian market they’re doing it for love, not money, so no one is telling them to get off the stage ’cause it won’t sell.
Already addressed this as well. But hey, keep flailing away at that deceased equine if it makes you happy.
These are all the practical problems. There is, however, a deeper problem. Christian popular music is almost always pretty bad,
Feldercarb. (Look it up.)
but the problem with most “Christian” music is that it is secular music with Christian words.
And what, pray tell, makes music secular or sacred? The style? The sound? Are you telling me God’s such an impotent wuss He can’t use whatever variation of His language — for music is God’s language — He pleases for His purpose? What emasculated God are you following? Not the one I know and in my stumbling, bumbling way serve.
In any decent art style and substance are supposed to match up. The meaning and the media are supposed to harmonize.
Which far more often than not they do. Except to those with open mouths and closed minds.
Most “Christian” music is taken from the secular world. Whether it is the music of Broadway musicals, Country Western, Las Vegas ballad crooners or light rock or heavy rock and roll it’s secular not sacred.
Again… it’s music. Music in and of itself is neither sacred nor secular. Did Paul Simon’s “American Tune,” which is an adaptation of an excerpt we know as “O Sacred Head Now Wounded” from J.S. Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion,” which is itself an adaptation of Hans Leo Hassler’s love song “Mein G’müt Ist Mir Verwirret” turn what started life as a secular tune, turned into a sacred one by Bach, back into a secular song? Really?
When you then add sacred words to the secular music there is a natural disconnect.
To people who serve a whipped puppy masquerading as God Almighty, yes. Or if you prefer, to those who are so petrified of themselves they can’t handle life, thus run and hide and cry out for the bad people and/or things to go away. I’m hardly the strongest person you’ll ever meet when it’s sin-resisting time, but I don’t need musical burqas to protect me from the beat menace.
That’s why so much Christian music (even when it is well written and well performed)
You said there wasn’t any. Make up your mind, will you?
doesn’t really work.
Feldercarb on a stick.
Oh sure, people might like it.
How dare they!
They might even have nice feelings about Jesus by listening to it,
What? People enjoying the notion of there being a loving Savior? Obviously a Satanic trap.
but the secular music was designed to produce certain types of feelings,
So? God can’t use it? Do we really need to repeat how small your God is?
and why should those warm sentimental feelings or hard emotional feelings be linked with worship?
Uh… because we’re human.
We might like listening to Christian country Western or a sweet Broadway type ballad about Jeezus or we might get all hyped up listening to Christian rock, but is it worship? Is it really inspiring us to draw closer to God? Is it really deepening our spiritual life or is it just music we like which makes us feel good and it makes us feel even better because it talks about Jeezus too?
Let’s think back a bit about something mentioned above that takes place during so many of those “awful” Christian rock concerts. Altar calls. Exhortation toward Bible study, fellowship and discipleship. Obviously thin disguises for warm fuzzies. But back to reality. You see, Fr. Longenecker, maybe — just maybe — in spite of your sarcasm in regard to and loathing of contemporary Christian music, God uses it anyway. The evidence is all around you. Too bad you’ve chosen to close your eyes to His work.
Forgive me for being cynical,
Don’t push your luck.
but think about it.
I have. Which apparently puts me one up on you.
The worst example is Christian Rock music.
And here we go…
At the risk of sounding too puritanical,
Reality isn’t really a risk, sir.
rock and roll music was, from the beginning highly sexualized, laden with rebellious, heavy and nasty rhythms
Nasty? What is this, a Janet Jackson revue?
linked with the drug culture–designed to alter consciousness and demolish self restraint. The acid rock and heavy rock was also obviously
Obviously.
linked with an occult and demonic sub culture.
And because a few losers played the devil game, stealing God’s language, we’re supposed to concede? Uh-uh. We’re stealing it back.
So you want to put cozy Christian words to all that?
Try listening to the Rez Band song again, then get back to me on that “cozy” thing.
To my mind that’s like putting a gospel tract inside a porn magazine.
Why not? We’re supposed to be reaching sinners, aren’t we?
The same criticism applies when the musical style is not quite so bad as acid rock. You name the popular secular style–the music wasn’t written to deepen prayer, lead to worship or open the soul to the sacred. It was designed to produce shallow emotions about love and romance at best, and lust and sex at worst.
Because we as Christians have been so shallow we’ve let the world run wild. We haven’t promoted our artists. We’ve held them back at best, actively ridiculed and opposed them at worst. We have made ourselves culturally irrelevant. We have paralyzed ourselves into being afraid of our own shadow. We have abandoned the things of God and settled for perpetual self-appointed second class status. That’s why we’re losing.
Pope Benedict XVI comments on this in his book The Spirit of the Liturgy. He acknowledges that down through the ages this has been a recurring problem in the church. Sometimes the hymn writers put Christian words to beer drinking songs. At other times they adopted the popular operatic style. Now they adopt light rock, hard rock, and virtually every other secular style.
Yeah, it was really rude of our forefathers to try and use God’s language for its intended purpose.
The antidote is to be more aware and appreciative of sacred music.
We are. You’re not.
There is a kind of music that on its own–even without words–is designed to open the mind and heart to the sacred.
Yes. It’s called “whatever God wants to use.”
Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony which evolved from it–is the music of worship.
I happen to love Gregorian chant. But it is not the only arrow in God’s musical quiver:
Especially in the liturgy this is the music which we are supposed to use because the music lends itself to worship.
As does most everything else when you let God be God and stop trying to squeeze Him into your box of what He can and cannot do.
It opens the heart and mind to a new dimension and reveals the spiritual aspect to our lives in a way that secular music with Christian words does not.
I’m sure this would be true… if there was such a thing as secular music.
That’s what sacred music is. What is required is catechesis about this music and an effort to appreciate it. Truly sacred music is an acquired taste. It takes some effort. It also takes some effort to produce it at a good and worthy level.
So when are you going to put in the effort, Father?
The problem in most mainstream Catholic parishes is that they’ve had nothing but crap music in church for as long as anyone can remember. The people actually think its okay because they have never heard anything else. They take on board the blend of muzak, Broadway tunes, folk music and light rock thinking that this is all there is. Then if they ever do hear Gregorian chant or sacred polyphony they hold their ears and say, “Geesh, why does Father want to bring in all that gloomy music? We’re outta here.” Alas. Its true.
Yeah, sucks when people want to live in the twenty-first century. Again, I love Gregorian chant and traditional hymns. They’re wonderful. But they don’t always work. Our God is a mighty God. Why, then, attempt to tie Him down as to what He can use? Let God be God. He’s much better at it than anyone else.
Does this mean that Christians should listen to nothing but Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony? Is that all we should ever use in the liturgy? The purists would say so.
I’m very happy for them having discovered backwards time travel and all.
But I’m of the opinion that we have to work with what we’ve got. We have to meet people where they are and move on from there.
Which you are doing in this article exactly how, reverend?
Chant and polyphony are the foundations of the music we should use. In addition to this we have the library of sacred hymns (and there’s enough there to warrant another blog post completely) the worthy ones of which will serve to complement the words and actions of the sacred liturgy.
Fr. Longenecker… please go away. And don’t come back until you’ve gained some wisdom.
Again you announce while you whirl and bounce Intentions to pounce on the beat menace No woman or man could ever withstand The devious plans of the beat menace
Come to lay you low, we’ve come to vex your soul
Feeling the heat, hell at your feet Don’t even speak of the beat menace Something to take away your innocence Someone to blame it on
Helps you to defeat Dancing in the street
Come to lay you low, we’ve come to vex you
Resolved in your mind- the nature of crime Is to swallow the line of the beat menace Imagination’s on the rise again So hide your heart away Dust off the fears and guilts and lies again The beat is here to stay Your satellite can reach that Eskimo He buys a suit and tie Re-styles his hair like girls in Tupelo And sings “Sweet Bye And Bye” He’s meeting all your strange requirements He thinks you can’t be fooled He’ll get the rules and laws and sacraments By sending checks to you
Pete Da Tech Guy has posted a copy of his radio show yesterday on WCRN in Worcester, Massachusetts — he’s there every Saturday from 10 AM to noon Eastern — on which he was gracious enough to have yours truly make an appearance talking about the book. Go to Da Radio Archive and select Show 67. I come in at the one hour and twenty-five minute mark, but you should listen to the show from the beginning.
Pete Da Tech Guy was kind enough to have me as one of the guests on his weekly radio show this morning, talking about the book. It was fun. Hope to do it again!
If you missed the show, Pete makes them available as podcasts. I’ll post a link as soon as it’s up.
P.S. The station is actually in Massachusetts, but I couldn’t resist:
Tom Gulotta, who’s worked with different Christian rockers for many years, has posted this on Facebook concerning Terry Taylor of Daniel Amos and Lost Dogs fame:
To any and all who been blessed by the life and gifts of Terry Taylor,
It is with much regret that I come to you with a desperate prayer. Our dear friend and brother, Terry Taylor, is experiencing one of the direst personal struggles of his life. Since the cancellation of Catscratch, his financial situation has been dismal to say the least. His wife and daughter both teach at a pre-school to help make ends meet week to week but it hasn’t been enough and two years ago they lost their home in foreclosure. As many of you know, Terry, who is uninsured, has had ongoing medical problems for the past five years, with last year being particularly troublesome and expensive. The bills have mounted steadily and the late fees continue to add more misery. Last month their little apartment was burglarized and items of great sentiment were stolen. As an unwanted culmination to one of the toughest years in the life of his family, this past weekend his daughter Noelle was rushed to the hospital and had to have emergency surgery to remove her gall bladder. He hasn’t wanted us to share his story and burden his fans and we’ve been trying some creative new ideas to raise Terry’s income but this last blow has broken the camel’s back and nearly broken Terry’s spirit. I know many of you would want to help our brother in this time of personal crisis. If we all gave $10 or $20 it would go a long toward relieving this burden for their family. Some of you may be able to give more; some less. Anything would help right now.
We’ve set up a relief fund that can be donated to through Paypal. Please visit www.DanielAmos.com and click the donate link in the upper left corner. Be sure and click on “Update Total” after you enter the amount. If you’d like to donate in some other way, please email tom at eveselis dot com.
Thank you for hearing and for being the support you’ve been to Terry and his family for these many years.
Sincerely and with much love and gratitude,
Tom G., the Townsends, the Lost Dogs, and Terry’s family
Please help if you can.
A couple of Lost Dogs songs (Terry’s the lead vocalist on each):
In the “things I should have done six weeks ago but didn’t” department, I’ve finally put together the revised version of God’s Not Dead (And Neither Are We). It’s identical to First and Forgottenother than the title and cover. Don’t know when it’ll be up on Amazon; I have to wait on them to pull the old version and allow me to upload the new one. I’ll get the Kindle version updated as well… one of these days.
Anyway, here’s the new cover. A little different than First and Forgotten:
I hadn’t planned on taking an extended blogging break. Life gets in the way of our best plans every now and then. It’s taken me several days to sort out what I want to say. I’m not altogether certain this covers everything, but it’s the best I have at the moment.
A week ago yesterday, I was in Corona attending a concert that featured Undercover, Crumbächer, the Lifters, Mike Roe of the 77s and Lost Dogs, and the Choir Acoustic. I was positioned in the lobby with my book, of which I sold a few copies. Not many, but a few.
The day’s news was dominated by the horror that had taken place in Tucson. A madman, one about whom one cannot easily dismiss the thought of demonic possession, had shot a Congresswoman, subsequently fatally shooting and wounding others before being subdued. It was a dark day. The concert was a welcome relief.
I preface this next statement by noting I’ve never been a believer who sees demons in every ill-timed sneeze and Beelzebub lurking behind every corner waiting to strike. That said, I sensed during Crumbächer’s set an oppressive spirit, the kind that drives people into isolation from each other. Others there that evening sensed it as well.
Still, the spirit did not prevail despite its best efforts. During Undercover’s set, the closing song “Devotion” moved me into a rare state, one of being overwhelmingly aware of the Spirit and God’s love in my life. As noted above I’ve never been a holy roller, but the depth of what swept through me during the song is inexpressible with mere words. Those of you who have tasted God’s presence in your life know. Everyone else? I pray one day you also will have the kind of moment that transcends mental and physical boundaries. You can’t live there, nor should you waste your and God’s time in perpetual pursuit of such moments. Rather, let them come to you. And then get back to the daily, flush with knowledge that the daily is never all there is to life.
The political daily has been obscenely hideous since the Tucson madman’s bloody rampage. There was an immediate cry that the gunman must have — must have — been fueled by the right. Even as evidence quickly mounted that his actions stemmed from nothing of the sort, but rather a madman’s jumble of Christ- and Christian-hatred, bizarre cult-like teachings and utter failure to grasp reality, pundits both amateur and professional became borderline madmen themselves as they hurled baseless accusations against Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and others. The public rejected their rants. Palin masterfully answered the charges:
Yet they raged on, never once apologizing when the weight of evidence became so great it was too much to continue with the lies.
Now, despite the overwhelming evidence that political discussion had nothing to do with Tucson, the left is chanting the mantra of civility and bipartisanship. Strange, since those words never once crossed their lips when they held the full reins of power. Now that the House has a Republican majority, all should be lovey-dovey.
But of course.
The left spent a week attempting to implement the same oppressive, isolationist spirit that sought to drag down the concert in Corona. They failed, even as the spirit at the concert failed. Instead, what took place was a unification of the right, one where silly squabbles over RINOs versus purists were set aside in favor of a unified front against the lies and venom. The subsequent calls for civility have been mocked as the facetious, disingenuous tripe they are. They are the bleating of pathetic sheep who attempted to mount a baseless attack, were soundly thrashed, and responded by calling for an illusionary truce.
No, there will be no truce. No compromise of the truth. No retreat from important positions strongly held and defended.
Even as there will be no failure to embrace the love and fellowship of the concert, or the moment it brought of sweet communion with God Himself.
No madman, no pundit and politician wolf pack seeking to cast others into hell can triumph against those whose eyes are set on heaven.
Anyway, sorry about the lengthy silence. Been busy; stressed. Busy being stressed. Or is it stressed being busy? Hard to tell.
Anyway (again), this evening unless I either crash or the power goes out — and with the weather we’re having today it might — due to miracles and blessings beyond my control I’ll complete the revised version of God’s Not Dead (And Neither Are We). Which is also First and Forgotten. Same book, different titles. Long story short: the original title has been around long enough to where it’s developed some brand value, so I’m not discontinuing it even though the emphasis will be on the book as titled First and Forgotten.
So, what are the differences between the original and revised versions? Let us review:
New chapter with Chris Brigandi of the Lifters and Wild Blue Yonder.
Some much-needed proofreading by third parties, which while not necessarily catching all the oopsies in the original version eliminate the vast majority of them.
Larger print and more generous line spacing, making the book much easier to read. And a lot thicker.
New cover, incorporating key elements of the original but with a sharper design. Both titles will have the same cover.
Where called for, notations about events that have taken place subsequent to the original interviews.
I’m hoping to keep the price the same, but that’s not entirely under my control. I won’t know for certain until I upload the files.
As to when the revised version will be available for purchase, I don’t know. Next week, hopefully. I’ll keep you posted here, on Twitter and Facebook. It’ll still be through Amazon.
