So I dial up the Boston Globe website and find this story about a guy who built a shrine 'cause he was told to by Jesus' Mom. Okay look, I was a devout Catholic for many years, and even though, for my own reasons, I've left the Church behind, I do recognize that, as many bad things as they have done, they still provide some people with a sense of well-being and spiritual peace. That's fine, and those people deserve it. Probably. But where do you draw the line between religious freedom and having a chip on your shoulder? Stuff like this strikes me more as a way for people to get attention than show their devotion, no matter who they say came to them in a dream. And while we're on the subject, why would the Virgin Mary tell someone to put up a mural? Why not tell them to work at a food bank, or spend some time with an invalid, or give your old coats to a shelter? It just doesn't jibe with me that any religious icon worth his or her billing would ask someone to put up a big, obnoxious, lighted cross in their back yard. Does Jesus really want your neighbors pissed at you? Most of the world's dieties (and their subordinates) strike me as the type that don't like to get too showy here in the modern age.
This, by the way, is the same reaction I have to people who decide to create their own personal singing Iwo Jima in the driveway, or a 24/7 Winter Wonderland three inches from their neighbor's bedroom window. It's not tribute, it's obnoxious. It's "Look at me, I care more about Jesus/America/Christmas than you!"
So congrats on the victory, sir. I guess. But if you were really that devoteld to the Bible, you would have rendered unto Caesar and applied for the permit.
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