In Pennsylvania a seventy five year old grandmother is arrested for witnessing of her faith in God to someone on the street. A supposedly well trained and disciplined astronaut is arrested for attempted kidnapping and murder. In Ontario Canada a man is forced to read a Muslim book as punishment for a perceived hate crime, speaking out against Muslim extremism. In February national news agencies have announced that teen suicides have risen sharply and there are internet websites that discuss the business of taking your own life available for teens who know how to find them.

Not that long ago the items listed above would not have been part of our daily news. They would most likely have appeared in the Sunday section of the newspaper under Ripley's Believe it or Not. I once considered starting a website called ?American Absurdities? but have since found there are a few sites that have gotten ahead of me already. All that is changing now and we have only to turn on the local or national news to get the most outlandish absurdities from near and far.

One of the latest offerings from The Barna Report Update February 5, 2007 leaves the mind reeling in disbelief. Barna is probably the most down to earth site in existence for getting the picture of the ebb and flow of Christianity and the American way of life in general.

In a revealing piece the report shows how Americans mix their deeds of compassion with strictly self oriented behavior. In that report is a simple paragraph that falls well into the Ripley's Believe it or Not category.

The report says??Compared with political conservatives, liberals are more likely to recycle. But they are also more likely to use sexually explicit material, to have a non-marital sexual encounter, to steal music, to use profanity, to gamble or buy a lottery ticket, to use an illegal drug, to say mean things about others, and to get payback.?

Keep in mind that these reports are not based on anyone's assumptions but are gathered from very accurate and closely monitored polls and information gathering. This one little factoid may be somewhat lost in the report and totally invisible stacked into a billion internet websites but if noticed by anyone in particular it may illicit responses from shock to laughter. But a laughing matter it is not.

If we were forced to listen to the confession of a liberal at the end of the day what would it be like? Lord, I did vote for the candidate who wants to keep abortion intact and I don't think kids should be allowed to pray in school. And yes, I did check out a few porn sites on the internet and I downloaded some of my favorite rock sounds without paying. I went to bed with that girl next door and my wife doesn't know about it. Oh yes I also bought just a little bit of crack cocaine for the party on Saturday night but just a little. And before I forget Lord, I did say a lot of nasty things about Joe to the boss at the plant. But God I can say in my own defense that I did take out those cans, the glass and the paper and carefully separated them into their respective bins for the recycling pickup!

The confession is contrived but the Barna Report is not, so what does that say about America today. I won't even try to answer that but let the facts speak for themselves. But being faithful to my calling I am compelled to add at least this one small admonition from the scriptures. I think it says it better than anything I might come up with.

For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Mt 5:20