…Christmas is over, back to work.

Boo hiss!!

I promise I’ll be pithy tomorrow!

UPon entering the blogosphere over two years ago, I was rather naive about who would read my blog posts, and what they would send me as comments, email, etc.

Boy have I learned a lot!

I get spammed early and often.

All I have to do is mention Saudi Arabia, Burka, and Sarah Palin, and the proverbial shinola hits the fan!

I really don’t get that many comments from folks, there are a lot of lurkers out there, and I appreciate every one I get.  But, the spammers are totally pissing me off.

The ugg boot people, make me go UGG!  In the last three days, I’ve received over 150 spam comments from people trying to link my readers to UGG providers.

They are UGGLY, no, they are FUGGLY!

And honestly, if I bought as much viagra as they try to sell me, no one would be safe!

And I really don’t need make UP, vitamins, or fitness equipment.

I don’t have a pay-pal account, so I’m quite sure the ones from the ACH folks telling me my pay-pal has been rejected are spam, and probably virus city, so they get deleted pronto.

But recently, one really caught my eye.

It said:  ”Dear Sirs, The Better Business Bureau has received the above mentioned complaint from one of your associates concerning their business relations with you.

The details of the consumer’s concern are contained in enclosed document.
Please examine this issue and advise us of your point of view.
Please “here” to answer this complaint.

We look forward to your urgent attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
Roland Dani
Better Business Bureau”

I did not click “here”.

Immediately following that one, came this one:  ”Dear Sirs, The Better Business Bureau has got the above mentioned complaint from one of your clients on the subject of their dealings with you.

The detailed information about the consumer’s concern is explained in enclosed document.
Please examine this question and inform us about your standpoint.
We kindly ask you to click here to answer this complaint.

We look forward to your prompt attention to this matter.

Faithfully yours,
Stacie Nieves
Better Business Bureau”

And these people have the nerve to use the real address for the BBB in their emails!

First of all, I don’t know Stacie nor do I know Roland.  And, frankly, I don’t think I want to.

Secondly, there is only one SIR at Redneck Latte Ravings, ME!  I am an army staff of one.

Thirdly, if there are no other employees here at the Ravings, who is this ‘associate’ that’s doing the complaining.  Just a note, associate in today’s business lingo is really “employee”.

As to clients, Stacie, I don’t have any.  I have no services to offer, nothing to sell, and I for darn tootin’ don’t get anything free, so just exactly of whom do you speak?  And, another thing, “has got”?  Really, Stacie, Emily would just crap over that one!

I think I said it best on twitter when I simply said, “Death to spammers!”

Recently, Jennifer Aniston was name the Hottest Woman of All Time by MensHealth.com.

Ok, I’m a Faniston, I love Jen, think Brad’s a fool for dumping her, and want to smack John Mayer for all the nasty things he said about her in Esquire,

But, the hottest woman of all time?

Sorry, I just don’t think so.

The poll voted on by Men’s Health readers, contributors, and writers included the 100 Sexiest/Hottest Women of all time.

All time.

Really, did they meet, or even see a real likeness of the great beauties of yesteryear.

The list of 100 started at the bottom with Catherine Bach, a.k.a. Daisy Duke!  And ended of course, at #1 with Aniston.

Frankly, after looking at the poll, all the voters are either seriously mentally deficient or drunk!

Maybe both.

Paris Hilton was higher on the list than either Sophia Loren or Elizabeth Taylor.

Granted, Sophia is old and Liz is dead, but both – in their present states – are still hotter than Paris!

Tina Turner was 99 – drunk, I say, all of them!

Here’s the list, Bottom to Top:  Catherine Bach, Tina Turner, June Wilkerson, Cybill Shepherd, Mila Kunis, Julia Roberts, Kathleen Turner, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Susan George, Barbara Eden, Phoebe Cates, Dorothy Dandridge, Christina Hendricks, Grace Kelly (@ # 87!!!!), Sasha Grey, Loni Anderson, Lili St. Cyr, Audrey Hepburn, Clara Bow, Elle MacPherson, Kim Novak, Jane Seymour, Kelly LeBrock, Anita Ekberg, Brigette Bardot!!!, we’re only UP to 75, Demi Moore, Jane Russell, Suzanne Somers, Cheryl Tiegs, Natassja Kinski, Elizabeth Taylor (# 69), Tawney Kitaen, Jean Harlow, Alicia are you kidding me Silverstone, Nicole Scherzinger, Kylie Minogue, Tyra – kiss my fat ass – Banks, Veronica Lake, Denise Richards, Jennifer Lopez, Diane Lane, Rita Hayworth, Pam Grier, Bo Derek, Mae West, Jessica Alba, Lauren Bacall, Carrie Fisher!!!!, Kim Basinger, Brooklyn Decker, Jenna Jameson, Kathy Ireland, Sophia Loren at # 47, Paris Hilton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Aishwarya Rai, Erin Andrews, Brooke Sheilds, Miranda Kerr, Mariah Carey, Cindy Crawford, Teri Hatcher, Claudia Schiffer, Betty Grable, Halle Berry, Claudia Cardinale, Beyonce, Penelope Cruz, Farrah Fawcett, Jayne Mansfield, Anna Kournikova, Ann-Margaret, Natalie Portman, Kim – I’m hurling now – Kardashian, Gisele Bundchen, Cameron Diaz, Carmen Electra, Salma Hayek, Monica Bellucci, Heidi Klum, Heather Locklear, Shakira, Anna  Nicole Smith, Christie Brinkley, Jenny McCarthy, Megan Fox, Catherine Deneuve, Scarlett Johansson, Sharon Stone, Angelina Jolie, Jane Fonda, Pamela Anderson, Bettie Page, Ursula Andress, Madonna, Britney Spears, Marilyn Monroe, Raquel Welch, and Jennifer.

Seriously, drunk!

Where’s Jessica Lange?  Anouk Amiee?  Lana Turner?

And what about the great beauties of the past?

Lily Langtry, The Divine Sarah, Cleopatra, Jenny Churchill?

And everyone in Germantown is asking, “Why isn’t Connie Diver on that list?”

Now, I know you’re all thinking, I’d put Liz at # 1, but I wouldn’t.  I am a fan, I think she was a great beauty, but the sexiest, hottest woman of all time?  Not really.

Mine’s not even on the list!

Anne Hathaway!

Gotta run now, I have a subscription to cancel!

…will smell the same.

Sorry Mr. Shakespeare.

Seems the Southern Baptists are a tad worried about enrollment these days, and they are blaming it on the name of the outfit.

“Southern” is passe.

Out of style.

So 19th Century.

Well, guess what, I’m Southern.  Yes, I know I spent 20 years in Ohio, had all my schooling there, and am a total Buckeye fan, but my roots are Southern, and I’ve lived in the South most of my life.

My Virginia roots go way back.  Mom’s family showed UP around 1680, and Daddy’s slipped in from Germany via Pennsylvania around 1702.

And, I was born in the only home General Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson ever owned.  It’s in Lexington, Virginia and is a museum.  Sadly, there’s no plaque that says “UP was born here.”, but there should be.

And I’m working on it.

There were thousands of babies born there as it was used as a maternity hospital from 1902 until 1956.  Now, it’s a museum re-set to the late 1850s when the Jackson family resided there.  Jackson wasn’t Stonewall then, and he taught at Virginia Military Institute.  His tactical and strategic plans are still taught today.

But, once again, I digress.

Back to the Baptists.

I attend a Southern Baptist Church.  I was reared in a Southern Baptist Church until 1969, when the Southern Baptist Convention became…wait for it…TOO liberal for my Dad, who was at that time a Southern Baptist preacher.  We became Independent Baptists then, but little else really changed.  We still sang “The Doxology” every Sunday.

There are over 16 million Southern Baptists in the United States, making it the 2nd largest Christian Denomination after the Roman Catholics.  Real Baptists, BTW, don’t consider themselves Protestants, only the media, the Roman Catholics, and the real Protestants do.

Most Baptists (all types) came from England where they were persecuted by the Church of England.  The oldest Baptist Church in the South is in Charleston, SC, and was organized in 1682.  Virginia got its first Baptist Church in 1715, when non Anglican (Church of England) practitioners  were barred from holding political office.  There was no religious liberty in the Colonies, that came with the Bill of Rights.

In Virginia and most southern colonies before the Revolution, the Church of England was the state-established church and was supported by general taxes, just like it was back home in Britain. It opposed the rapid spread of Baptists in the South. particularly in Virginia.  Many Baptist preachers were prosecuted for “disturbing the peace” by preaching without licenses from the Anglican Church. Both Patrick Henry and James Madison defended Baptist preachers prior to the American Revolution in cases considered the gateways of religious freedom.  Google it.

Baptists were ‘unified’ in 1814.  They formed the Triennial Convention.  The fancy Latin name comes from the fact that they met every three years.

In the 19th Century, slavery became the firebrand issue of the Baptist Church.  Before the American Revolution, both Baptists and Methodists (who were also persecuted by the Anglicans) encouraged Baptists in the South to abolish slavery and accept blacks into the church.

As Baptists tried to grow in the South, they accommodated the slave holders and interpreted the Bible to support slavery.  Taking Ephesians 6:5, which says, “Servants, be obedient to them that are you masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ.” as the standard.  They put the stamp of approval on slavery.

Personally, I think the Apostle Paul was talking to the servants of Rome who had become Christians, and although that verse could be taken to tell slaves to “behave”, it doesn’t say anything about it being OK to own slaves.  And neither does the rest of the Bible.

In 1844, Basil Manly, Sr, president of the University of Alabama, who owned 40 slaves, and was a prominent Baptist preacher, drafted the “Alabama Resolutions”, which included the demand that slaveholders be eligible for denominational offices, jobs, positions and the like, since the Southern associations were sending them money.  Just a side note:  Manly Memorial Baptist Church in Lexington, VA was named for him, and there are dozens of Manly Memorial Baptist Churches throughout the South.

Surprise, surprise, surprise, the resolutions failed to be adopted.  Georgia Baptists then decided to test the avowed neutrality of the national convention by recommending a slaveholder to the Home Mission Society as a missionary.

Sort of a “Let me tell you about Jesus since I own you.” thing.  The Home Mission Society rejected him since missionaries couldn’t take servants, which would include – duh – slaves.  Plus, it would look like an endorsement of slavery, and that would tick off all the Baptists in Yankeeland who were dropping boatloads of cash into the coffers of the convention.

So, the Baptists in the South formed their own co-operative program or convention in 1845, in May, in August, GA, where the Masters is held.  Blacks couldn’t play golf there, and they couldn’t pray either!*

And, by the way, my Dad’s church was the only integrated Baptist Church in Montgomery County Ohio back in 1958. It was a big deal: segregation, integration, all that.

The majority of Southern Baptists live in the “South”, but there are Southern Baptists Churches in every state and territory of the good old USA.

And all Southern Baptist Churches aren’t alike.  One of the basic practices of the Baptist Church is the autonomy of the local church.  Nashville (the HQ are there) may say what they think, but the local congregation has the last vote.  Over the last 34 years, I’ve been a member of seven Baptist Churches.  Some Southern Baptist, some not, none of them were the same.  The basic beliefs were there, but the churches were run differently, and had different foci.

The Southern Baptist Convention gets more press for what it is against than what it is for.  The bad news sells newspapers.  The SBC is often identified with right-wing politics, when in reality, there are plenty of Liberal Democrats in the pews every Sunday.

The good is often ignored.  There are over 60 Universities and Colleges funded in part by the Convention, hospitals in the US and worldwide, food-banks, mission programs, homeless shelters, and other things that Jesus ’suggested’ we do. But, unless Billy Graham goes into one of them, they are usually ignored.

Some believe the “study group” will come back with a suggestion to remove Baptist from the name as well.  Which would be…well, that’s just crazy talk!

It’s not the name of the Church, it’s the beliefs of the Church that make it what it is. You can call it what you want, but it will always be “Baptist” and it will always be decidedly Southern.

So, to the folks in Nashville who are spending money, which was donated to them, to study a change, save your cash. It’s not the name.

And like I said, a rose by any other name …

*In June 1995 at the 150th Anniversary of the Southern Baptist Convention, the SBC adopted a resolution officially denouncing racism and expressing remorse over the role that Southern Baptists have played in the acceptance of racism in the past. This resolution clearly calls racism a “deplorable sin” and apologizes to African Americans for “condoning and/or perpetuating individual and systematic racism.”