Chicago Sun Times December 23, 2005 Friday, Final Edition Copyright 2005 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc. All Rights Reserved Section: NEWS; Pg. 42; Religion Length: 1012 words Byline: Cathleen Falsani, The Chicago Sun-Times And so this is Christmas For weak and for strong For rich and the poor ones The road is so long And so happy Christmas For black and for white For yellow and red ones Let’s stop all the fight — “Happy Christmas [War is Over]” by John Lennon... Read more
Yo Cheasters, relax: ‘Twice a year is better than zero’ Shout out to all the cheasters in the audience! You know who you are. Twice a year, you find yourself in unfamiliar and discomforting surroundings in a church pew, on Christmas and Easter. You try to blend in, try to remember the words to the hymn, when to stand, when to sit, when to pray, how much cash to toss into the collection basket, and which way the sign of... Read more
Chicago Sun Times December 12, 2005 Monday, Final Edition Copyright 2005 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc. All Rights Reserved Section: NEWS; Pg. 18 Length: 861 words Byline: Cathleen Falsani, The Chicago Sun-Times Alone in her bedroom in Detroit about 16 years ago, Erin Tanana underwent a spiritual transformation and became “born-again.” “I remember praying when I was about 4 years old — and I really do believe I knew what I was praying — [I] told the Lord that I knew I... Read more
Parents smooching in public? It’s a miraculous thing You think you know people. Take my parents, for instance. Recently I discovered that they had a secret. A long-kept secret, apparently known to almost everyone except my brother and me. A secret so shocking I’m still pretty verklempt about it. They kiss. In public. All. The. Time. At restaurants. At parties. In church, for the love of Pete. In fact, it was at their church that their cover was blown. It... Read more
November 18, 2005 Friday, Final Edition Copyright 2005 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc. All Rights Reserved Section: NEWS; Pg. 52; Cathleen Falsani Length: 993 words Byline: Cathleen Falsani, The Chicago Sun-Times In her 2000 HBO stand-up comedy special, “The Beginning,” Ellen DeGeneres describes an imaginary (one presumes) meeting with God at God’s house. The Creator and the comedienne drink Chablis, eat fondue and have a chat. “There were pictures of Jesus everywhere,” DeGeneres says of God’s decorating, before revealing that God is,... Read more
The Gospel According to Oprah, America’s favorite pastor? In her 2000 HBO stand-up comedy special, “The Beginning,” Ellen DeGeneres describes an imaginary (one presumes) meeting with God at God’s house. The Creator and the comedienne drink Chablis, eat fondue and have a chat. “There were pictures of Jesus everywhere,” DeGeneres says of God’s decorating, before revealing that God is, in fact, a gorgeous middle-aged African-American woman. I always picture Her as Oprah Winfrey in a purple pantsuit. Which might explain... Read more
Bush administration’s moral compass is lost The morning after George W. Bush won his second term in office and many of his Republican colleagues also claimed victory last year, I received an e-mail from one of my dearest friends, Amanda. It’s a note that has haunted me since, a niggling at the back of my mind like an overdue library book or an insult hurled in anger that can’t ever be taken back properly. Amanda is one of the most... Read more
Chicago Sun Times October 30, 2005 Sunday, Final Edition Copyright 2005 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc. All Rights Reserved Section: NEWS; Pg. A10 Length: 1275 words Byline: Cathleen Falsani, The Chicago Sun-Times Tucked away in a cul de sac on the western edge of Chicago’s Austin neighborhood sits the Episcopal parish of St. Martin, an unlikely urban oasis that has become a thriving refuge for African-American gay and lesbian Christians and their soul mates — an eclectic mix of believers dedicated to... Read more
Chicago Sun Times October 28, 2005 Friday, Final Edition Copyright 2005 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc. All Rights Reserved Section: RELIGION; Pg. 52; Religion Length: 1015 words Byline: Cathleen Falsani, The Chicago Sun-Times Fundamentalists are scary. They’re the new Russians. For a while, every villain in an action movie sounded like Boris Badenov. Over time, the Borises were replaced by menacing South American druglords, and then, a few years later, by generic pan-Arabian “terrorists.” Glinty-eyed, scheming fundamentalists (of whatever religious persuasion) are... Read more
New Israeli film puts the fun in fundamentalism Fundamentalists are scary. They’re the new Russians. For a while, every villain in an action movie sounded like Boris Badenov. Over time, the Borises were replaced by menacing South American druglords, and then, a few years later, by generic pan-Arabian “terrorists.” Glinty-eyed, scheming fundamentalists (of whatever religious persuasion) are the latest incarnation of celluloid villainy, oppressing liberals, spreading small-mindedness like the avian flu and generally frightening the masses with their vengeful, jealous... Read more
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