It features Christopher Hitchens, author of God is Not Great, and evangelical theologian Doug Wilson.

The event is being sponsored by me and The Painted Door, a Chicago church. Following the screening will be a discussion about the movie featuring myself and Chad Meister, editor of of the forthcoming God is Great, God is Good, a refutation of Hitchens’ book.

It’s not a debate. Just a discussion of ideas discussed in the movie.

Tickets cost $5 (you pay when you get there), but you must RSVP here so we can add you to the list.

Here’s the pertinent info:

What: Screening of Collision followed by a panel discussion.

Where: Merit School of Music’s Gottlieb Hall Street, 38 S Peoria St., Chicago, IL 60607

When: Tonight! 7:00 – 9:30 p.m.

Hope you can make it!

The Gap is mentioned among the “Naughty” places.

Gap – Web site: No mention of “Christmas.” Search revealed six non-Gap manufacturers? items that included “Christmas.” “Go Ho Ho” TV Commercial: Lighthearted but mentions several unrelated holidays. National boycott because the company repeatedly seeks to profit from “CHRISTmas” yet continues to offend Christians.

The emphasis is mine.

That commercial is below.

Please note the anti-Christian bigotry.

The lyrics:

Two, Four, Six, Eight, now’s the time to liberate
Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah, Go Kwanza, Go Solstice.
Go classic tree, go plastic tree, go plant a tree, go add a tree,
You 86 the rules, you do what feels just right.
Happy do whatever you wanukkah, and to all a cheery night.

Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah, go whatever holiday you wanukkah.

The American Family Association is thrilled that Christmas is now mentioned in the ads and they’re now asking their followers to stop boycotting the store.

I’m just kidding.

Now, they’re even more pissed off.

AFA believes this ad to be completely dismissive and disrespectful to those who celebrate the meaning and spirit of Christmas. AFA asked Gap for a meeting to discuss the ad, but Gap has not responded.

If this is Gap’s answer to recognizing Christmas, we are deeply disappointed.

What. The. Hell.

They won’t settle for anything less than a commercial that says, “Fuck the Jews,” will they?

Dan Neil of the Los Angeles Times has the same reaction as so many of us:

It would be easy to get sidetracked into debating the merits of the War on Christmas. Why, for example, is the phrase “Happy holidays” so insufferable to Christian fundamentalists, but not the vulgar, surfeiting exploitation of Christ’s name to sell smokeless ashtrays, dessert toppings, Droid phones and trampolines? I’m not a theologian but I think the Gospels are pretty clear that Jesus was no fan of merchants.

…

But here’s the real question: Why attack Gap for not using the word “Christmas” in its advertising when in fact it does, and in a big way too?

When will Christian pastors tell their congregations not to support groups like AFA? Saving them the wasted money seems like a perfect holiday gift this season.

(Thanks to Jessica for the link!)

…

***Update***: muggle left a comment that deserves some attention:

… [The Gap's] customer service number (I didn’t find an e-mail) is 1-800-427-7895. Select more options then feedback to get a live person.

You have to pick on-line or in-store so I just picked on-line and talked to a very polite woman who I think was delightfully surprised to hear my praise for an all inclusive commercial. You could hear the fatigue in her voice when I said I was calling about the commercial and you could hear it disappear when I went on to praise them for having such a great commercial and that I appreciated their being all-inclusive of everyone. I even told her I don’t normally shop at Gap but I got my daughter and grandson matching t-shirts and will now go to Gap to get them jeans. I even told her to pass my comments along and be sure to tell them to stick by their guns and not give into AFA pressure. She was very pleasant and thanked me for the call.

Call and give support for this ad and if you’re going to make a purchase because of it, let them know. Best way we can counter this war on Christmas nonsense.

The autotuned song was created by John Boswell.

Now, Third Man Records is putting out a limited edition 7″ vinyl record release of the song:

Third Man Records, in conjunction with United Record Pressing, fabricated a special “Cosmos Colored Vinyl” of which 150 copies will be available…50 randomly inserted into mail orders for “A Glorious Dawn” and the remainder to be made available at the Third Man Records Nashville store front at noon on November 9th.

The one-sided single features a very special etching on the flipside. Reproduced from the original artwork, the etching copies the etching included with the Voyager Golden Record, set off into space in 1977 as the most elaborate message-in-a-bottle idea ever imagined. With its inclusion of Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was The Night” it goes without saying that the Voyager Golden Record is one of Third Man’s favorite releases of all-time.

You can purchase it here. It’s $6, including shipping, for Americans — a little more for the rest of you.

On a side note, is a Vinyl Sagan like a Velvet Elvis?

(Thanks to Roy for the link!)

Shake up your phone and a new Bible verse appears.

An amusing, possibly-graphic, potentially-obscene, and/or violent Bible verse.

Good times.

The designer of the app, Francis Dierick, took this project personally. In an email, he writes:

Selecting those quotes was actually a very interesting personal experience that renewed my atheist ardour. The app was developed with tongue firmly planted in cheek: e.g. it has a 17+ rating to protect the children from the obscenities described in the bible.

The app costs $0.99, but Francis has been nice enough to offer free promo codes for a few readers.

If you want them, all you have to do is leave a comment with the most mis-interpret-able Bible verse you can find

If you use your real email address, I’ll pick my favorite three and those people will get an email from me with their promo code tomorrow. (To use them, go to the iTunes store and click on “Redeem.”)

The subject: Bait and Switch.

This week the theme is Bait and Switch and of course they thought about Christians.

So they found Off The Map because we are in the business of helping Christians learn how to not be jerks which means we hear a lot of jerky stories (some of which are bait and switch).

So last weekend I found myself sitting in the studios of KUOW / NPR Seattle (94.9 FM), headphones firmly situated, with Ira Glass in the middle of my head talking with me. The conversation continued for an hour and fifteen minutes…

I suppose Jim still technically owns my soul… which means I can safely say I have now met Ira Glass.

My life is complete.

I can’t wait to hear the episode.

It features Christopher Hitchens, author of God is Not Great, and evangelical theologian Doug Wilson.

On Thursday, November 19^th, I will be co-sponsoring a screening of that movie along with The Painted Door, a Chicago church. Following the screening will be a discussion about the movie featuring myself and Chad Meister, editor of of the forthcoming God is Great, God is Good, a refutation of Hitchens’ book.

It’s not a debate. Just a discussion of ideas discussed in the movie.

Tickets cost $5 (you pay when you get there), but you must RSVP here so we can add you to the list.

Here’s the pertinent info:

What: Screening of Collision followed by a panel discussion.

Where: Merit School of Music’s Gottlieb Hall Street, 38 S Peoria St., Chicago, IL 60607

When: Thursday, November 19^th, 7:00 – 9:30 p.m.

There better be some atheist support at this event, that’s all I’m saying But invite your religious friends, too. It’ll be an interesting discussion for everybody. I’m looking forward to it.

Hope you can make it!

His character is described as someone “who voluntarily falls to Earth to save the savior of mankind.”

So much for typecasting

One of the shorts was “Don’t Have a Cow, Mankind,” and it deals with a zombie-creating burger that infects all who eat it. Bart eats a burger and manages to stay safe, though, so he is referred to as the “Chosen One.” They have to take him to the Safe Zone in order to create an antidote.

When Marge gets him there, we hear this exchange:

Guard: “Welcome, son. To survive, all we must do is eat your flesh.”

Marge: “Hold it right there, Bub! What kind of civilized people eat the body and blood of their savior?”

Rev. Lovejoy: [Groans nervously]

As you can guess, Bill Donohue and the Catholic League are throwing a shit fit over this:

What kind of uncivilized people work at Fox? Last year, when they poked some gentle fun at the Apostle’s Creed on the Halloween episode, we said nothing. That’s because it didn’t cross the line. This year is different: mocking the heart of any religion always crosses the line, and mocking the Eucharist does it for Catholics. They know this at Fox, which is precisely why they did it.

Actually, there’s nothing wrong with mocking the “heart of any religion,” and Holy Communion is perfectly fair game. Let Catholics defend the practice of eating Jesus. The rest of us can call it what it is: absurd.

If you’d like to see the episode, it’s on Hulu:

The short begins at the 7:50 mark and the excerpt in question begins at the 14:08 mark.

(Thanks to Erick for the link!)

But if you’re trying to sell the Jesus kitsch, you might as well go where your customers are:

Walmart.

More specifically, Walmarts in Texas.

That’s where Left Behind Games Inc. is now going to be selling their goods.

Christian products have gained popular acceptance in the music and book sections of retailers over recent years. The newest Left Behind and Charlie Church Mouse PC video games are among three titles being piloted in approximately 100 Texas Walmart stores for determining customer interest.

…

The demographics in Texas make it an ideal testing ground for Left Behind PC Games where there are over 23,000 churches… Texas ranks first in the nation in the number of Evangelical Protestants (over 5 million), second in number of Mainline Protestants (over 1.7 million) and third in number of Catholics… Troy Lyndon, CEO of Inspired Media says, “The US market for Christian video games could reach $648 Million within the next five years based upon just 3% of video game sales being in the Christian segment.” This projection is based upon the prediction by PricewaterhouseCoopers that the sale of video game software will reach $21.6 Billion by 2013 in the US alone.

I don’t know whether to cry for all of Texas or for the children who will end up playing this garbage.

For some reason, I just don’t think kids are going to line up for miles for games like this one:

The purpose of that game, by the way?

You are in control of the gospel singers and missionaries, and you must defeat the secularists, devils, and rock stars. By defeat, they mean you must convert them by “raising their spirit level.”

Personally, I’d prefer the Christian version of Mario Kart. That would be awesome.

I’d totally take Judas out with a red turtle shell.

(Thanks to CarolAnn for the link!)

In January, a study conducted by the Parents Television Council (PTC) found 94 advertisers for the CBS show Two and a Half Men. According to the PTC, the show features countless jokes involving adult themes, and many include dialogue with a child actor.

Glen Erickson with the PTC says sponsors were contacted about the show’s content. “So often we find the advertisers are not aware of the content issues the show has,” he points out. “We are continuing to bang our drum, and we have seen some terrific success.”

…

So far, 31 advertisers have dropped the show.

Really, PTC? “Two and a Half Men” is too edgy for you? You would think they’d go after the show immediately after it, “The Big Bang Theory”…

Come to think of it, what does the Parents Television Council deem worthy and unworthy for children to watch?

There’s a color-coded chart on their own website that tells parents what they should allow their children to watch or not watch:

Green = Ok
Red = Not Ok
Yellow = Somewhere in the middle (perhaps similar to a PG-13 movie)
Gray = Not yet rated

For example:

So let’s see…

PTC green-lighted two game shows that encourage risk-taking with money (and, frankly, the idea that you can win money without having any real knowledge or education). In fact, they green-light most game shows.

They think “Survivor” and just about every drama on television are unsuitable for children.

Meanwhile, they still haven’t gotten around to rating “Cougar Town.”

I guess one upside is that “The Simpsons” is no longer considered absolutely unsuitable. When that show premiered twenty years ago, groups like PTC were denouncing it left and right.

It just seems so useless to rate shows this way. It’s up to every parent to decide what they want their children to see, and it’s fine that PTC has their recommendations. But there is a lot to be gained from watching shows that discuss controversial topics. Based on their lists, the PTC seems to want to discourage children from seeing them. I find that unhealthy. Parents ought to watch those programs with their children and discuss them afterwards.

I wonder how many parents who try to follow the PTC’s recommendations have kids who find ways to watch these “red-light” shows, anyway. I suspect many of them do…

Is there anyone reading this who was not allowed to watch certain shows as a child?

How did you subvert the system?