Rom 16:7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.
If a woman can be a prominent apostle before Paul and, by Catholic tradition, was made one in a church founded by Peter himself, then women can be priests. The hierarchy hiding behind Jesus’ choice of 12 male apostles, one of whom saw fit for women in the apostalate, to justify patriarchy in our Church is sophistry at best. Full stop.
“That’s a conundrum, isn’t it?” asked Jodine White, 62, of Rocklin, Calif. “I don’t know what to say. Maybe I don’t want smaller government. I guess I want smaller government and my Social Security.” She added, “I didn’t look at it from the perspective of losing things I need. I think I’ve changed my mind.”
via Poll Finds Tea Party Backers Wealthier and More Educated – NYTimes.com.
Perhaps you should, lady. Wow.
Perhaps the most chilling aspect of the immigration legislation is the requirement that citizens report anyone suspected of illegal status. Such a requirement is eerily reminiscent of Nazi Germany, Cold War Russia, and Fascist Italy, when snitching mandates were central to sustaining a regime of fear and central control. Sadly, these demands are not exclusive to the immigration bill, as everything from drug enforcement policy to the Obama Administration’s counter-terrorism strategies are undergirded by the expectation that everyday people will be forced to report the alleged misdeeds of others. Like many dimensions of fascist politics, the notion of the citizen-informant seems relatively harmless. Unfortunately, evidence shows that such a practice is unreliable and ineffective, not to mention devastating for the moral and cultural fabric of a community.
Although it would be hyperbolic to say that America is destined to become a truly fascist nation, the Arizona immigration bill reflects the nation’s continued shift away from its expressed principles. Unless we quickly begin to organize and challenge what currently counts as “common sense,” we may lose the opportunity to save what’s left of our democracy.
via A new breed of racial profiling invades Arizona | TheLoop21.com.
For once, I’m in complete agreement with Dr. Hill.
Jon Meachem in the NY Times breaks it down:
Then, significantly, MacCulloch adds, “I live with the puzzle of wondering how something so apparently crazy can be so captivating to millions of other members of my species.” That puzzle confronts anyone who approaches Christianity with a measure of detachment. The faith, MacCulloch notes, is “a perpetual argument about meaning and reality.”
This is not a widely popular view, for it transforms the “Jesus loves me! This I know / For the Bible tells me so” ethos of Sunday schools and vacation Bible camps into something more complicated and challenging: what was magical is now mysterious. Magic means there is a spell, a formula, to work wonders. Mystery means there is no spell, no formula — only shadow and impenetrability and hope that one day, to borrow a phrase T. S. Eliot borrowed from Julian of Norwich, all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.
And that’s why fundamentalism, which tries to put God in a box, is problematic from the get go for me.
Krugman quotes Kudlow:
I have long believed that stock markets are the best barometer of the health, wealth and security of a nation. And today’s stock market message is an unmistakable vote of confidence for the president.
Paging Larry Kudlow – Paul Krugman Blog – NYTimes.com.
His response is a caricature of the worst stereotypes of white liberalism. Note the invocation of a “Marxist View Of Race.” Note the sense that blackness is strictly the work of “Southern Whites.” Note the arrogance of assuming that “blackness” is defined by 17th century racists, and that the people being defined have no agency. In one fell column, Judis anoints himself High Arbiter of Blackness, and then dismisses Obama’s complicated and arduous process as the president simply doing “what was expected of him.”
The only appropriate response to this sentiment is to regrettably resort to the language of my folks and ask the following–Who the fuck is John Judis?
via We’ll Tell You If You’re Black Or Not – National – The Atlantic.
But seriously, who the f— is he?
When we think about redistribution of wealth, it is important to remember that the redistribution in this country is from the young to the old. It reflects our societal values and obligations.
Personally, I am happy to have a president who seeks advice from people of faith. Our religious traditions help to lay the moral foundation upon which our laws ought to rest. A logic of love that Jesus lived and taught is the day star that ought to guide our personal, societal, economic, and political decision-making.
via Glenn Beck’s Faulty Logic – Valerie Elverton Dixon – God’s Politics Blog.
Amen.
We urge this not primarily as journalists seeking a story, but as Catholics who appreciate that extraordinary circumstances require an extraordinary response. Nothing less than a full, personal and public accounting will begin to address the crisis that is engulfing the worldwide church. It is that serious.
via Credibility gap: Pope needs to answer questions | National Catholic Reporter.
This is why I am still a Catholic. Our Church is more than the Magesterium and hierarchy.