msnbc.com video: Biden on religion, abortion:
(Via MSNBC.com.)
Good answer. I wonder if the bishop would deny leadership to those pro-death penalty Republicans? The Church teaches against that too. I have no love for that hypocrisy.
Category: Religion
Palin: Iraq war ‘a task that is from God’ – Yahoo! News
Palin: Iraq war ‘a task that is from God’ – Yahoo! News:
“ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told ministry students at her former church that the United States sent troops to fight in the Iraq war on a ‘task that is from God.’
In an address last June, the Republican vice presidential candidate also urged ministry students to pray for a plan to build a $30 billion natural gas pipeline in the state, calling it ‘God’s will.'”
(Via Yahoo! News.)
I love God too, but last I checked, pipelines and war weren’t among his top priorities.
I Guess He’s Proud of His Country Now…
“So the facts are: Gov. Palin was not a member of this third-party (‘Alaska First — Alaska Always’) that wants Alaskans to get a vote on whether or not the state can secede from the U.S. But her husband was a long-time member, and at least two AIP officials recall her attending the 1994 convention, though she says she did not attend.”
(Via Political Punch.)
ROFLMAO. I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried.
Sexual abuse victims describe frank meeting with pope – CNN.com
Sexual abuse victims describe frank meeting with pope – CNN.com:
“But McDaid said he came away from the meeting feeling that there was real hope that this time the problem would be addressed, with action to follow.”
(Via CNN.)
I pray to God it does.
Abuse Victims Not Placated by Pope – New York Times
Abuse Victims Not Placated by Pope – New York Times:
“At a news conference in Boston organized by a victims’ group, Mr. Costello, who said he was abused by a priest in West Roxbury, Mass., starting when he was 10, said he was shocked that the pope would talk about his own suffering and that of the church while making no mention of the harm done to victims.”
(Via NY Times.)
This is what started the problem in the first place. The concern for the institution of the church, consisting of the clergy mostly, is the top concern. I’m sure that there are legal and fiscal reasons as well for his lack of empathy, but it also reveals how screwed up the priorities are in “the Church.” It’s shocking that still they violate Jesus’ edicts so glibly and frankly, so arrogantly. But my Church has not spared any effort in trying to shake my faith. This but the latest example. How they can demand faith in them is beyond me.
Faith based Politics
Today, I learned an important lesson: faith is a great ally and great threat in politics. When discussing a recent article on the Internet titled, “How to Disagree,” with some friends, I took the opportunity to correct past mistakes at being ineffective, intemperate, or just plain disagreeable when discussing contentious topics. I decided to revisit a particular discussion on homosexuality and examine the mechanics of the back and forth. I wanted to highlight my reasoning, how I was trying to make a point, and so on, to show that I was refuting (and this is important) logical claims by providing evidence that supported my refutation.
I received a couple of responses that greatly frustrated me at first. Technically speaking, my friends had simply restated a contradiction to a point I had painstakingly proven with biblical evidence, evidence that I found incontrovertible. It was right there in black and white, after all. Yet, here they were simply restating the opposite! My ego was stung and information not conforming to my worldview was imposed on me and like most human beings, anger was the predictable first and thankfully internal response. Aren’t they listening?!? Don’t they respect me?!? Are they boneheaded??! And so on. To be clear and concise consider this conversation:
What is the wavelength of blue light?
550 nanometers.
What is the wavelength of light scattered from the sky on a sunny day?
550 nanometers.
What is the color of the sky?
Green.
It hadn’t yet occurred to me that they were simply confessing faith. Confessing one’s faith comes in many different forms and is often disguised, as it was in this situation. Faith is also emotional and deeply multivalent in one’s life. It doesn’t fit in a nice neat box. It is often ineffable and a reflection of the person who has it rather than a reflection of some abstract or objective reality.
Recursive Holiday
Everybody is celebrating in a once in a millennium convergence.
Good Friday! Happy Purim, Eid, etc… – TIME:
“But unlike some holy days — say, Christmas, which some non-Christians in the U.S. observe informally by going to a movie and ordering Chinese food — on this particular Friday, March 21, it seems almost no believer of any sort will be left without his or her own holiday.”
Everybody is celebrating in a once in a millennium convergence.
(Via Time.)
Bishop expounds on the new ‘deadly sins’ – CNN.com
Bishop expounds on the new ‘deadly sins’ – CNN.com:
“In an interview with L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s official newspaper, Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti said priests must take into account ‘new sins which have appeared on the horizon of humanity as corollary to the unstoppable process of globalization.’
In the 21st century, he said, ‘You offend God not only by stealing, blaspheming or coveting your neighbor’s wife, but also by ruining the environment, carrying out morally debatable scientific experiments, or allowing genetic manipulations which alter DNA or compromise embryos.’ “
A welcome update for the modern man and woman.
(Via CNN.)
The Truth about Santa Claus
Today I was inspired by remembering a personal story that I think does justice to explaining where I’m coming from. It shows how I can disagree with my fellow Christians about the Bible’s ontological nature vis-á-vis the Word of God, yet agree to its Truth.
Over the years, I’ve been given to expressing an increasingly strong conviction of mine about the Bible as it relates to the Word of God. I’ve often expressed it as simply that the two are not one and the same, specifically that the former is a reflection of the latter. Simply said (perhaps overly so), “The Bible is not the Word of God,” any more than I am Jesus Christ. The Bible being faulted, limited, human while the Word of God is Truth transcendant and divine. This has gotten me in no little trouble with my fellow Christian brothers and sisters, esp. of those given to more fundamentalist leanings.
In trying to explain my point of view, I’ve noticed that I’ve had trouble conveying my thoughts, beliefs, and convictions because when I speak with my brothers and sisters in Christ we often use the same words to name very different perspectives on things. Today I was inspired by remembering a personal story that I think does justice to explaining where I’m coming from. It shows how I can disagree with my fellow Christians about the Bible’s ontological nature vis-á-vis the Word of God, yet agree to its Truth.
Why I’m not a Conservative
Facts. They are a show stopper! Ignorance mixed with a touch of condescension and a complete lack of self-knowledge make for a very strong common pattern among these so-called conservatives: they come off like sophomoric fools. The recent interview by Jon Stewart of John Bolton on a recent episode of The Daily Show is a grand example of this common pattern. Bolton’s comment, “[Officials in the administration] should be judged on their performance,” is particularly poignant. By that standard alone, Bush’s presidency is a near-complete failure. (To those who think that the lack of a major terrorist attack in the US is proof of competence, I have one word: Katrina.)
Bolton interview (about 9 minutes):
And the recap setting the record straight (about 5 minutes):
“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.