I got back from Ethiopia yesterday, and I crashed. Sorry for not posting. I’m working on writing up a 4-part (four!) series that I’ll post over the next couple of days, for tonight, let me tell you why churches should not be allowed to have those silly little signs with the plastic letters that spell out what are intended to be messages, only they usually turn out to be the incoherent mutterings of whatever country bumpkin happened to become the pastor of that church. Not that I have anything against the church, only the silly signs they use.

The sign read, “Don’t worry, Moses was a basketcase too!” (the basketcase was in red) Sorry I didn’t get a picture, but I was already late to where I was heading, and I couldn’t take the time to stop.

As if the words don’t say enough, I’ll spell it out for you (pun fully intended). You see, churches often put what they find to be witty, funny, or otherwise desirable slogans or quotations of their own invention on these signs, which the expect will gather attention from the passersby. Generally, they are right: they gather attention from the passersby, but, you know what? That attention is generally negative, at least from the likes of me (a Christian). I get the pun, of course: basket, case, Moses being floated down the river in a basket. Ha ha, giggles are had all around. I even went as far to extend the pun of case to boat, or more precisely, Moses being “encased” in his basket. Giggle.

According to my friend, Wiktionary, the term basket case has an internesting etymology. Apparently, the term originally referred to soldiers in WWI who lost their appendages and, thus, had to be carried around in, well, baskets. That’s pretty disturbing (and new information to me, and because it comes from a wiki, I take it with a grain of salt, but the OED seems to agree. I would link that, but it’s a subscription thing.), but today, “basket case” means someone who is emotionally disturbed or even mentally disturbed. In any of the three cases, it implies a disability: physically, emotionally, or mentally.

Even if this Southern Baptist preacher would have thought this far into it, he would have argued that it still fits, because Moses was old, or he was doubtful, needing to be “carried” by God, or whatever, but that’s pretty typical Southern Baptist thinking: a sermon under every rock. I see it a different way.

Moses, the man chosen to lead the Israelite people out of slavery in Egypt was anything but a “basket case.” As a whole, he was one of the most capable men, well, ever. Funny, eh?

Maybe those signs should be outlawed, but then we wouldn’t have quite so many humorous things to look at while I’m driving around Longview. Mostly, I just think that they should think a little bit before they make their signs. Ah well. Who has time for that these days, anyhow?

I’ll post about Ethiopia tomorrow and the next few days, so worry not. G’night for now, because jetlag sucks.