Cheers and Jeers: Monday
by Bill in Portland Maine
Mon Jan 05, 2009 at 04:42:59 AM PDT
From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...
Pastor in da hizzouse
Long-time Kossack and Street Prophets caretaker pastordan---aka Pastor Daniel Schultz---is "a third-generation minister in the United Church of Christ, and [I've] served congregations in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. I grew up in my dad's church across the street from Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin." In our humble opinion he's the guy Barack Obama should've tapped to give the inaugural invocation instead of Rick Whatsizname. In our first 2009 edition of Yes, We're All Staring At YOU!, let’s see if Pastor Dan can go for two sentences without swearing:
Cheers and Jeers: How long have you been blogging and what originally brought you to Daily Kos?
Pastor Dan: I started lurking here in early 2004, just at the tail end of the Dean-Nader wars. Armando was in his prime as an asshole, and Tom Schaller, Meteor Blades and Trapper John were teaching a generation of bloggers on the front page.Two events brought me here on a roundabout route. When the Iraq war began, my then-congregation went apeshit. There was this quasi-idolatrous belief that George W. Bush was God's agent, that people should in no way question the war. And I thought "something's wrong here." Just a month or so later, Rick Santorum made his infamous man-on-dog comments. A columnist in the local paper double-dog-dared me to write a response, which I did. The readers went apeshit. And I thought, "this is fun." So began my long descent into madness.
Where were you when the networks called the race for Barack Obama and how did you react?
Same place I'm at whenever something big happens these days: sitting on my couch with a warm laptop and a cool drink. Or a warm drink. It depends on the time. I didn't go nuts because I'd known for a month or more that Obama had made it over the top. But I was very moved when I saw Andrew Young at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta almost in tears when he realized America would have its first black president. Moments later, I saw Jesse Jackson and he was weeping.Are you an Old Testament or New Testament kind of guy?
Both. You can't understand the New Testament without the Old. But longtime readers here know that I have a fondness for Paul, who I think is much misunderstood. In all, though, I'd have to say that my favorite piece of scripture is the book of II Opinions.What kind of music makes you feel invincible to the GOP horde?
What shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of the MC5, Merle Haggard, Iggy and the Stooges, the Clash, X, Husker Du, the Ethiopians, Israel Vibration, any old dread reggae and roots rock riddim. Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, received promises, shut the mouths of lions, put out raging fires, escaped death by the sword, found strength in weakness, became powerful in battle, and routed foreign armies. Or burned out some amps. It's all good.But above all else, little children, remember this: Marvin Gaye was a prophet and an apostle. Listen to him, and all will be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things will be well.
As a pastor, you're on the front lines in terms of hearing about the problems people are facing in these tough times. What are you hearing most from your congregants and what's their most pressing need in terms of government support?
I hear a lot of anxiety about whether jobs are still going to be there, whether people are going to be able to make the mortgage, and particularly about whether health care is going to be affordable.One guy in our congregation was recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Do you know what he's worried about? Making sure his kids can get health insurance. Not his mortgage, not his health, making sure his kids get coverage. What kind of effed-up society tolerates such anxiety?
What's the one book every Kossack must read?
Reinhold Niebuhr's Moral Man and Immoral Society and The Nature and Destiny of Man are invaluable works of political philosophy. So are Will Cuppy's How To Tell Your Friends From The Apes and The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody.But really the book I think every Kossack should read hasn't even been written yet, and that would be Meteor Blades' autobiography.
Your online baby is your Street Prophets blog, which is now, I believe, in its fourth year. Why did you start it and who is the main audience for it?
I have Gary Bauer to thank. Back in 2004, there wasn't really a central place for religious lefties to gather online. I'd been kicking around the idea of starting such a community, but hadn't gotten very far with the idea. But I happened to see Bauer trashing Kos on his listserv, so I forwarded it to him. Markos wrote back to say that he'd been thinking about expanding the reach of the Great Orange Satan with a couple of "suburban" sites. One of the first he wanted to get going was a religious-oriented site, and would I be interested in partnering with him on it? Heck, yeah. So off we went.I think about half or a little better of the active readers are more-or-less Christians. Pagans and atheists together make up about the next quarter, and then we've got a few Jews, Buddhists, New Agers, and quite a few people who have no idea how to describe themselves. We also have a substantial community of lycanthropes. (You have to be there to understand.)
Last---and this never fails to surprise me---we have many lurkers from various inside-the-beltway organizations and journalists. We're apparently more influential than people let on, and I say that in all humility.
Are the fundamentals of writing a rip-roarin' sermon and a rip-roarin' blog post the same?
Pretty much. The major difference is that my mother scolds me for the language in my blog posts. She seems to like the sermons, though.Finish this sentence: In the kitchen I make a mean...
Pizza. Thin crust, deep dish, you name it. My signature is a deep-dish white pizza, but I'm working up the courage to try a pizza rustica with ham, ricotta, eggs and mozzarella. I'm afraid of what my children will say. Also, aebleskiver and honey-oatmeal wheat bread.What is the greatest church hymn ever written?
I usually measure greatness by suitability to the occasion, so there's not really one. One of my favorites, however, is A Song Of Peace, often known by its tune name, Finlandia. We sang it at the first Netroots Nation worship service in Austin. My daughter says it's the only time she's ever seen me cry.Right-wing pastor Rick Warren believes that Jews are going to hell, that evolution is crap, that Proposition 8 would've taken away his religious freedom, that abortion is akin to the holocaust, and that gay people aren't good enough to join his Brokeba...er, Saddleback Church. My question is: why are left-wingers so shrill about this lovely man?
I think it's the goatee, honestly. It's got to be, because why else would you not like his shallow, reactionary and thoroughly illiberal faith? Also, Barack Obama is a secret atheist Muslim black separatist sending mind control rays through his powerful abdominal muscles. That's the only explanation for his inaugural invitation to Warren.No waffling here: dogs or cats?
Hello, everyone. G. Watson Beagle here to answer for that idiot pastordan. He likes beagles. That's all.What's one position or belief conservative Christians hold that you just wish they'd get over already?
The idea that they don't interpret the Bible. Everybody interprets! Some of us just admit it, is all. Also, contemporary worship sucks.Have you ever seen the Virgin Mary in a piece of toast?
Waffle. Denver. In a bar. That's all my lawyers have authorized me to say.I have one question left, but the Mormons are at the door and I need to go give 'em an earful. Please ask and answer the final question yourself...
Are you and Mrs Pastor like that in real life?
Mrs Pastor is the light of my life without whom I'd be utterly lost. We're worse in real life.
Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
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