June 22, 2005
Rendering
Caesar probably never enjoys the Christians any more than when they come to town for one of their conventions. For one thing, they are tourists just like any other sight-seekers, and the welcoming tax on the hotel rooms and all the other take-home reminders is preciously high. All that makes for lots of rendering in his direction.
During most of the year, we tout ourselves as “Music City USA” and the “Athens of the South” (we’ve a Parthenon, too, and in far better condition). But the Southern Baptists are here this week to remind us that we’re also called the Buckle on the Bible Belt and not for naught. When these 40,000 “missionaries” hit town, they start ringing door bells for Jesus, and we get out our Bibles for their annual dusting.
Of course, there’s always the jaundiced among us who wonder whether all these Christians pick up on the irony that we call the place where our big pro football team plays not a stadium, but a coliseum.