One Last Thing about Sookie

I read the fourth Sookie Stackhouse book today and, while I did not find the shower scene as hot as most people, I was constantly delighted by the book. I really appreciated that Eric just lost his memory and didn’t revert to some weird childlike state. I’m glad Jason wasn’t raped. And I’m glad we didn’t have to spend that much time with the witches.

I think the show did a great casting job (except for Sookie) and I’m glad they kept Lafayette around.

But the books have a sweetness to them and Sookie a sweetness to her that is completely missing from the show.

It’s a pretty big loss.

But I get the feeling, repeatedly, that Harris understands Sookie far better than Ball.

Isn’t This Both Point-Missing and Kind of Lying?

I’ve been thinking about this story from The Tennessean about how the Southern Baptists have been thinking of changing their name, now fueled in part by the fact that the very people they’re trying to reach out to have such a negative opinion of Southern Baptists.

It seems pretty obvious why Southern Baptists are unpopular among the groups they’re unpopular among–Southern Baptist leaders having secret meetings with state legislators in order to make sure that not only are our laws and social policies shaped by a specific religion–in this case Christianity–that they are shaped by a specific Protestant denomination’s understanding of that religion–in this case Southern Baptist; smugly telling people who disagree with you that you’re going to Hell; and regressive social policies clearly designed to let human mortal men keep power under the guise of being what God wants.

So, here’s the thing. If the Southern Baptist leadership has looked in its heart and decided “Wow, the way we carry on is, well, maybe not right and we need to act to bring ourselves into a better relationship with our congregations and the people we’d like to reach out to,” then all they have to do is change. There’s no need to stop calling yourself Southern Baptist.

But if they want to continue to do exactly what they’re doing right now, but just not have people think poorly of them? Then changing their name is a lie. They would still be exactly the same as they are now, just looking to deceive people into thinking they were different.

How is that okay?

But I actually think that the Southern Baptists need to focus on this problem and not try to hide it behind new veneer. If they believe what they’re doing is right, they should, in fact, continue to do it with their same old name and be content that these are just some lean years and have faith that there will be fat years again. If they think there’s some validity in the criticisms people have of them, then again, there’s no need to hide it with a name change. Open and prayerful change of action is the way in this scenario.

Otherwise, it seems like you’re conceding that there is a problem, but think the solution is to just hide from it more effectively.