My God Is Bigger Than O’Reilly’s God

Last night Bill O’Reilly spoke with Robert Jeffress, Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas.

I got the impression O’Reilly was looking for some sort of validation after receiving criticism for the comments he made last week about the bible contradicting itself.

O’Reilly and Jeffress talked about Adam and Eve, how old the earth is, and whether it makes sense to not believe that Jonah was swallowed by an actual whale if you can believe in a virgin birth.

Jeffress fought the good fight, and I was impressed with his apologetics skills. He challenged O’Reilly’s statements that believing in the bible literally is incompatible with science and that we can decide what to believe in the bible by virtue of our reasoning ability alone.

Then came the question I believe O’Reilly had really been wanting to ask all along, “Can I be a good Christian and believe the bible is allegorical?”

Jeffress said yes, stating that belief in Jesus makes one a Christian, and O’Reilly seemed happy with that answer.

Well, I hope he doesn’t stay happy for too long, and here’s why.

O’Reilly is really missing out here.

What do I mean? Let’s talk about Job.

The bible says Job was “blameless” and “upright,” and apparently that bothered Satan, so God allows Satan to test Job, and he suffers greatly as a result. Even so, Job is faithful, but when the hits keep coming, he does break a little, wondering aloud why a good man like him deserves this.

Oh boy.

Perhaps he was expecting God to say “My bad! Job forgive me! I don’t know what I was thinking in letting Satan get under my skin like that.”

Yeah, that didn’t happen.

Instead, God says (38: 4-11):

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Tell Me, if you have understanding,

Who set its measurements? Since you know.

Or who stretched the line on it?

On what were its bases sunk?

Or who laid its cornerstone,

When the morning stars sang together

And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Or who enclosed the sea with doors

When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;

When I made a cloud its garment

And thick darkness its swaddling band,

And I placed boundaries on it

And set a bolt and doors,

And I said, “Thus far you shall

Come, but no farther;
And here shall your proud waves

Stop"?

And God was just getting warmed up.

He then takes the next sixty verses to show Job who’s who. He asks Job—

Can you lift up your voice to the clouds/So that an abundance of water will cover you? (v. 34)

And

Who has put wisdom in the innermost being/Or given understanding to the mind? (v. 36)

And

Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars/Stretching his wings toward the south?/Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up/And makes his nest on high? (39:26-27)

Miraculously, Job hadn’t actually passed out by then (or peed his loin cloth). He is humbled and says—

  

Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You?/I lay my hand on my mouth. (40:4)

What’s my point? God is AWESOME, that’s my point. He’s all that and a big old bag of chips. Nature moves at his command and … wait for it … HE created science, not the other way around. He created everything, and he can control a fish, for crying out loud.

And if O’Reilly, as a believer, doesn’t know THAT God, then I say again, he’s missing out.

Are you missing out? How big is YOUR God?

The 'New' Corporate Conformity

The other day, a distressed woman told me about her job situation. Specifically, she works for a difficult boss who “likes to keep [her] under his thumb.”

She told me that she has more than twenty years of experience in her field and more than eight years working for her current employer and that she’s never had a problem with any boss before. But this guy is different. She can’t quite figure out how to please him. If she offers an opinion, he doesn’t like it. If she withdraws and keeps to herself, he doesn’t like it. She needs her job, and she can’t quit. But while she enjoys the work, she hates working with her manager. She told me that “It’s almost like I’m never supposed to disagree with him.”

A few days later I was speaking with another woman, and she told me that she sees an almost “pathologic conformity” at play in the workplace. Which reminded me of yet another woman who told me that one of the reasons she left her last job was because she felt “muzzled.”

What’s going on here?

By now you’ve read the news reports about the elderly woman who died after collapsing on the floor of her retirement home and the facility staffer who refused to attempt CPR, despite repeated urging by the 911 operator. The staffer instead insisted that they’d have to wait for the ambulance, because it was against policy for her to administer medical treatment to residents, and her manager wouldn’t allow it.

Pathological conformity can have deadly consequences.

Today I asked a friend, "When did doing exactly as you’re told, no questions asked, become a condition of employment for so many positions, regardless of the experience or knowledge of the person holding the position?"

She told me that she doesn’t see this as a new circumstance. It’s just that in times past, more people had more options and would quit rather than work with a tyrant. Now, times are tough, and people are sticking it out—even if they’re literally getting sick doing it.

I said, okay, but that doesn’t really answer the question of why there are so many tyrants in the first place. This really is an awful way to manage, I said. Generally, it only works for a time, and it’s just wrong. (Sorry to sound naïve. It’s just that I really do still believe in right and wrong.)

My friend had no answer for that.

Maybe I’m talking to all the wrong people, but it seems to me that this is a very disturbing and unproductive trend. And it reminds me again of why, when Seth Godin writes that it's better for employees to speak up than keep silent, I just want to scratch my head. It makes sense to me and Seth but apparently not for any of the managers managing any of the people I’ve been speaking with lately, and I wonder about that.

In 10 Reasons Why 2013 Will Be the Year You Quit Your Job, author and entrepreneur James Altucher gives as Reason #3, “Corporations Don’t Like You.”

Relaying a conversation he’d had with the executive editor of a “major news publication” he writes,  “ … his main job was to destroy the career aspirations of his most talented people, the people who swore their loyalty to him, the people who worked 90 hours a week for him. If they only worked 30 hours a week and were slightly more mediocre he would’ve been happy. But he doesn’t like you. He wants you to stay in the hole and he will throw you a meal every once in awhile… If anyone is a reporter out there and wants to message me privately I will tell you who it was. But basically, it’s all of your bosses. Every single one of them.”

So, okay, Altucher might be laying it on a little thick, but does he have a point?

When I listen to the stories of employees like the ones I mentioned earlier, I think he might. And while I believe in the usefulness of rules and the importance of learning how to be a good follower, a slavish conformity to authority has historically proven to not be such a great thing. 

What do you think? Is “pathologic conformity” the hallmark of the modern American workplace?

Everything That’s Wrong with the Medical Insurance Industry and Then Some

Today I’m in a grumpy mood.

Earlier this morning, I got off the phone with a nationally-recognized insurance carrier about my medical insurance application, and although I’d already given them quite a bit of information about myself AND they’d spoken with my doctor’s office (I was on the line so I heard the entire conversation) they want more. Not content with hearing what my doctor had to say about my health, now they want to SEE my latest lab reports before moving forward with my application.

Well.

I just wasn’t feeling it, okay? I’d had enough, so I told them to CANCEL MY APPLICATION, because now they’re bothering me. I was then infuriated to learn that my checking account may still be debited because even though my policy is still in progress, my son's application is complete, and they’re ready to roll! Joy!

Let me tell you a few things about myself. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I’m not on any prescription medications. I don’t have high-blood pressure or diabetes. I’ve never been hospitalized except to give birth. I’ve never had any type of surgery. I’ve never even broken so much as my left toe. I have allergies that I control with the Neti Pot (yeah, it’s gross, but it works) and the occasional decongestant. In other words, I am healthy.

However, I am overweight. Not Chris Christie overweight, but more overweight than the carrier is comfortable with. So, they’re going to dig and dig, presumably for the purpose of doing everything possible to ensure that they never have to pay so much as a penny toward my healthcare, even though I’d elected a HIGH-DEDUCTIBLE policy. No, I don’t think so.

And here’s the thing. This carrier may debit my account today, but I guarantee you I’m going to get my money back tomorrow, so you know what that comes down to? Let me break it down:

                   WASTED LABOR (theirs) = WASTE OF MONEY (ours).

When I directed an HR department and was responsible for designing and managing the benefit plans, I saw up close and personal how wasteful certain insurance company practices were. Employee changes her address? Send a new card to everyone in the family. It’ll totally confuse them AND waste money. A twofer! Employee has a problem about a claim? Have him talk to two completely incompetent representatives who don’t know the difference between “coinsurance” and “out-of-pocket maximum” before he gets to someone who can actually help. Frustrated employees love that!  Need to retroactively cancel an enrollment? Do it online. No wait! Fill out this form! No, not that form, this form! 

But at least I am healthy. And while fuming earlier today, it truly pained me to think about someone who isn’t quite as healthy or who has a sick child and what indignities he must have to endure to secure insurance, all for the privilege of paying through the nose for a policy that should at least protect his income in the event of a tragedy but probably won’t. And I thought about individuals being mandated to secure health insurance without benefit of access to an affordable employer-sponsored group plan, and no joke, I got a little sick.

Because understand. I freelance, but my husband works full-time in a large, established organization. Even so, purchasing a family policy through his organization would cost us either $1018 or $2352 per month, depending on the plan elected. I kid you not. Setting aside for the moment the fact that his company is not contributing very much at all toward the premium, what the hell kind of plan costs $2700 plus a month? Remember, you’re talking to an HR pro here, and this is a large organization. Something is seriously wrong here. Seriously wrong. And my experience tells me that there is plenty of blame to go around, but I surely hope someone figures it all out before 2014 comes a calling.

And in the meantime, that unnamed insurance carrier Aetna can go pound sand. 

Why Do Women Do Dumb Things? Don’t Ask Fantasia Barrino

Fantasia Barrino has a new album coming out next month, and her people seem to be ramping up the press.

Today the Lifetime channel aired Life Is Not a Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story, which was originally released in 2006. I’d never been tempted to view this movie before today, because I’m not really a Fantasia fan. While I can appreciate that she has talent, her voice and singing style don’t appeal to me, especially.

But Barrino has gotten some heat recently, first about posting this instagram message, in response to public criticism about having an out-of wedlock child with a married man:

I Rise ABOVE IT ALL!!! THE WORLD IS GONE MAD. KIDS, THE GOVERNMENT THE church House... Everybody Trying!!!!!!! Its a lot that going on that the Bible speaks about we should Not be doing. Weed legal in some places, Gay Marriage Legal BUT YET IM JUDGED!!! I'm not doing Nothing for you... My Life!!!!

And then again for this instagram message about a recent cover photo on Jet Magazine:

This saddens Me!!! It is clear that this picture is 10 Years Old and JET Magazine puts it on the Cover!! After I send them the NEW LOOK AND DIRECTION. . SAD!!! I WANT A PUBLIC APOLOGY FROM JET. Now im not sure if the interview is correct. SEE!! America they and use me as they crash Dummy BUT NO MORE. IF I DONT STAND FOR SOMETHING ILL FALL FOR ANYTHING.

So, I don’t know, for some reason I decided to check out the movie and form my own opinion of this woman.

Well, I’m going to be honest. Watching this movie depressed the hell out of me.

Self-hate. Illiteracy. Rape. Domestic violence. Teen pregnancy. Poverty. No-good men. Flat-out ignorance and some really dumb-ass choices. It might make for good drama, but it gave me a headache.

Viola Davis played Barinno’s mother, and Loretta Devine played her grandmother. These are fine actresses and gave fine performances in their portrayal of wise, gentle, supportive women. Unfortunately most of that wisdom seemed lost on Barrino, who just did dumb shit over and over again and then walked around looking all befuddled about it, like she didn’t even recognize how jacked up it was. Bottom line, as a character she got on my damn nerves.

Of course, the movie ends with a bang, documenting Barrino’s American Idol fame, but heck, by that point I so cranky and irritated it hardly mattered.

I think my problem with the movie is that it lacked depth. It lacked self-insight. It lacked any real answers.

Was Barrino looking for love in all the wrong places because she thought she was ugly? Maybe. Truth is, after watching this movie I have no idea what motivated her, and it’s frustrating, because clearly we’re supposed to cheer her whole “victory over adversary” thing, but there’s nothing to grab on to here.

What did I expect from a Lifetime movie, you ask? Well, not a whole lot but a bit more than I got.

On the plus side, Barrino is not a bad actress. In fact, I forgot she was acting, and that has to count for something.

The movie still kind of sucked, though.

I’m Not Your Angry Black Chick

My husband, Edward, caught up on my blog today, and he told me that it’s not angry enough. It doesn’t have enough “bite.” 

I said, “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. It just doesn’t have enough bite,” he repeated. “It’s all … I love my kids, I like to write … blah blah, not enough spark.”

I said, “Let me get this straight. For once you want me to be more angry?”

He said, “You need to rant. Give people something to sink their teeth into.”

I responded, “I’ve ranted when I’ve felt the need, but that persona is not sustainable. At least not by me. And, it’s already taken. Go to angyblackb****.com, if you don’t believe me.”

Ed tells me he’s going to visit that site, and I say, “Of course you will.” And I think to myself “Only a white guy would actually seek out an angry black you-know-what for kicks.”

Meanwhile, I’m finding Ed’s comment to be highly ironic, because I am not one who is naturally slow to anger. In fact, I can get mad about a lot of things, real quick.

I get angry about men who abuse their partners, bosses who abuse their subordinates, parents who hurt their children, crappy customer service, anyone who tries to subjugate my will, anyone who disturbs my peace, anyone who moves my stuff, too much rain, bullies, liars, crap that breaks as soon as you use it, racist white people, and ugly mugs mixed in with my pretty dishware and not placed in the Ugly Mug Cabinet in my kitchen. That’s right. If it were up to me, the manufacture of ugly novelty mugs would be outlawed, as I believe that if there is one thing the world does not need it’s yet another ugly-ass novelty mug made with cheap ceramic. But people give me these things, and what am I supposed to do? Quarantine them, that’s what.

But honestly, who here wants to listen to that every day? I don’t. A rant is fun every once in a while, but not all the time. Surely there’s another way for me to provoke thought without resorting to a parody of that angry black chick? At least I think so. What do you think?

This posting was part of a link party at makealivingwiting.com! 

Jonah’s 'Imaginary' Whale and Other Things That Bother Bill O’Reilly

Tomorrow the History Channel will air Part 1 of a ten-hour series called The Bible, which is a joint effort of actress Roma Downey and producer Mark Burnett, who are husband and wife.

I first learned of the series on The O’Reilly Factor, when Downey and Burnett were guests on the show.

I was initially surprised to learn that a series about the bible was going to be airing on the History Channel, although in hindsight perhaps I shouldn’t have been. It’s just that so many people dispute the events depicted in the bible as historical, and I wouldn’t expect the History Channel to disagree. But then again, Clash of the Gods is a History Channel show, too, and nobody believes that Hercules actually existed, right?

Nevertheless, my first thought was, “Well, I guess they’ll stick to those things that most scholars agree are based in fact,” and then I caught a piece of the trailer where Moses parts the Red Sea, and I said to myself “Or maybe not.”

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m a Christian and more conservative than not. I believe that the miracles documented in the bible occurred. I was just taken aback to see that a secular television channel is on my side. (Or should I say God’s side?)

Bill O’Reilly, however, is not on my side. After Downey said that she’d been a believer her whole life, O’Reilly said, “Alright, when you say you’re a believer… do you believe in the bible literally? I mean, do you believe that Adam and Eve were out there … and uh … the snake and the apple and all of that business?”

Downey responded that she did believe in the bible literally, and O’Reilly seemed put out by that. Next, he directed a question at Burnett, “Look, a lot of the bible, Mr. Burnett, is allegorical, and we know that in creationism and things like that. So what you’re doing here, I assume, is just telling the story the way that the prophets put forth without any commentary added to it, is that correct?”

Burnett responded in the affirmative, confirming that he and Downey were portraying the bible as written, just the facts. And again, O’Reilly seemed dissatisfied with the answer. He said, “Now are you telling people that they should believe in Adam and Eve? That they should believe in Noah’s ark … Jonah and the whale… Are you telling people that this is the way to go?”

I mean, just what is this man’s problem? How many times and in how many ways do Downey and Burnett have to tell him that they believe in the literal Word of God? Plenty of Christians do. Obviously he doesn’t. Bully for him. (And by the way, I’m not making any assumptions here. The next evening he responded to a viewer criticism by saying something along the lines of “If you want to believe that Jonah was swallowed by an actual whale, that’s your prerogative.”)

Then came the piece de resistance. O’Reilly plugged his upcoming book, Killing Jesus, and he tells Downey that it’s a history book. Then he goes on to say, “But obviously the Gospels that discuss this are … were involved with that…. but there are some contradictions among Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John …” Geez. O’Reilly is stuttering all over himself, seemingly unable to believe that Downey and Burnett have fallen prey to this foolishness.

Downey and Burnett handled themselves beautifully, and I’m proud to call them my brother and sister in Christ. But O’Reilly’s position really puzzled me. I’ve watched his show for a while, and he’s always talking about being a Christian and God and morals and ethics and all that stuff, and then when two Christians tell him they believe in the miracles of the bible he gets thrown off.  I’d be the first to admit that not all Christians agree about everything written in the bible, but I’m hard pressed to understand what, as Christians, we have other than the Word on which to base our faith. So if O’Reilly doesn’t believe that Jonah was swallowed by an actual whale, what does he believe? And how does he know he can believe it? Just asking. 

Home Shopping—No Longer Just For the Gauche

Sometimes when I don’t want to watch television but I want to hear some “white noise,” I turn on a home shopping channel.

Home shopping channels are hilarious. The hosts are unabashed in their merciless, over-the-top promotion and you can’t be mad at them—it’s the job. Even if your cohost faints during the presentation, the show must go on.

I’m old enough to remember (man, I hate that I can say that) when shopping on television was considered hopelessly tacky. This was before widespread use of home computers and the explosion of the internet. Shopping by television was mostly for old ladies with bad taste and a penchant for collecting lots and lots of junk, or at least that was the stereotype.

I confess that I went through a period in my twenties when packages regularly showed up on my doorstep from the Home Shopping Network (HSN). As I entered my thirties, however, eBay was becoming more and more popular, and unlike television shopping eBay was considered cool. It’s also highly addictive, and as a result I began buying through the web instead. So now, I mostly watch the home shopping networks for amusement value.

However, that’s just me. In 2012, HSN reported a 14% increase in revenue, and QVC also saw increases last year. (ShopNBC posted losses for the year, but a lot of their stuff really is crap, in my opinion.)

Being the jewelry hound that I am, I always try and check out Carol Brodie when she’s on HSN, because her jewelry designs are cool, even if I wouldn’t purchase them. I’m a purist and I don’t do vermeil, I'm no fan of 10K (less alloy than gold for crying out loud!), and I’m not into sterling. (I always like it on other women, though.) But the other reason I watch Brodie is that she’s entertaining. The other day while hawking her “evil eye” bracelet, she told the story of walking into a room with her new svelte figure and feeling the hate from the other women gritting on her. While she said the hater look is “painful” she coped by rubbing the eye on her bracelet. Okay, Carol.

Well, I gotta go. HSN is doing a big Oz the Great and Powerful special, and they’re selling all kinds of things inspired by the movie. (You really do have to admire the network’s hustle.) I’m sure I’ll be smiling before too long.