Thoughts from the Margins

Rooted in Peace: A Documentary

2009-10-04T16:52:00.000-07:00

A documentary based on the principle that all truths lead to peace:

The Global Future...What is at stake

2009-09-26T08:04:00.000-07:00

The U.S. State Department and Matt Damon team up to raise awareness about global hunger at this year's closing session of the Clinton Global Initiative:

10 Questions for Muhammad Yunus

2009-09-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

TIME Magazine lets Nobel Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus answer questions from readers about the state of microfinance around the world:

Do you think it is ethical to charge the poor interest and make a profit out of it? —Hasan Iqbal, Sundsvall, Sweden
In Bangladesh, Grameen Bank charges the lowest rate among all microcredit programs, and yes, we make a profit. But Grameen Bank is owned by the borrowers, so when we make a profit it goes back to the borrowers as dividends.

Are microloans taking a hit due to the recession? Katie Malone, Point Marion, Pa.
We use very local money that is going to the local poor, so there is no way the hit taken by the financial centers of the world could be transmitted to us. We don't see fluctuations in repayment rates or anything like that. We are O.K.
(Read "People Who Mattered: Muhammad Yunus.")

How would you help the world out of recession? Azmath Shamrad, Newcastle, England
The system failed us. There's no reason why we should resuscitate it. We have to make absolutely sure that we don't go back to the same old normalcy. We should be creating a new normalcy. That opportunity has to be taken.

Microfinancing empowers Bangladeshi women. Is it driving cultural change? Lucas Torrin, Ottawa
The most dramatic thing that has happened in Bangladesh in the last 25 years is the total change in the status of women. Microcredit has played a very important role in that, particularly with poor women.

Has technology like cell-phone payment changed the microlending environment? Daniel Weldon, Portland, Ore.
Not yet, but it opens up the door for all kinds of cell-phone-based banking facilities, health-care facilities, marketing facilities. Now you can think of lots of possibilities. The cell-phone [network in Bangladesh] has been laid out, so now it's a question of bringing the programs and content to those things.

Have you ever found an incident of corruption involving a Grameen Bank loan? Rudi Toruan, Samarinda, Indonesia
We have cases of corruption, but Grameen Bank now has 28,000 staff, 8 million borrowers and 2,600 branches. We lend out over $100 million each month and have a similar amount coming back each month, handling this physically in the villages. It's very easy to put money in your pocket. But the amazing thing is that cases of corruption are so rare.

Do you think the same model of microlending so successful in Bangladesh can be applied elsewhere? Sadruddin Salman, Dhaka
Today, Grameen programs are everywhere. We even have a program in New York City, and it works beautifully. We brought the same system as we do in the villages of Bangladesh. We do it in Latin American countries — in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica — in exactly the same way.

Why has it been difficult to implement microcredit schemes in Africa? Obi Iwuagwu, Lagos, Nigeria
We have a program in Zambia and we have absolutely no problem. If somebody says microcredit doesn't work in Africa, I will not agree because I see it working.

Population growth contributes greatly to global poverty. What are your thoughts about the problem? Bob O'Connor, Oslo
Thirty years back, Bangladeshi mothers had an average of 6.2 children. Today the average is 3.1. The population growth rate has drastically come down and among many explanations is the empowerment of women. They became aware of their ability to handle their lives and make decisions about how many children they will have. Microcredit is not a population program, but it has helped women to see how they can live their own lives.

As individuals what's the best thing we can do to consign poverty to museums? Louise Holly, London
Make people believe that we can send poverty to museums. When I talk about it, people laugh and say, "It's impossible." But when you don't believe something, you can't achieve it. You have to imagine, and make that imagination achievable.

Click Here to read the article: 10 Questions for Muhammad Yunus

Poem from Rooftop in Iran

2009-07-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

As Iran transitions into a new uneasy phase between peace and revolution, the heartbreaking poem in this video reminds us that justice is something that dies hard in the hearts of the faithful.

A montage of Iran's protest photos along with Michael Jackson's "Beat It".

2009-06-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

As the world remembers Michael Jackson, one Iranian pays his homage to him by reminding us of the ongoing struggle for Iranian democracy via "Beat It"

The Loyal Opposition

2009-04-29T09:14:00.000-07:00

Well, you have to give FOX credit for trying their best (from Day 1) to make people believe that Obama is as evil as they think he is. With a approval rating near 70% for Obama, thankfully most Americans aren't listening.

Now only 21% of Americans identify themselves as Republican. Keep firing up that conservative base FOX! At this rate, your rhetoric will inspire the Republican party to implode by 2010.

100 Days

2009-04-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

Congratulations President Obama on a great 100 days in office!

The ideologues behind so-called populist tea parties

2009-04-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

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With God on Our Side

2009-03-01T08:55:00.001-08:00

I recently watched the documentary "Constantine's Sword", which looks at the history of anti-Semitism in the Catholic Church (as exposed in James Carroll's controversial book Constantine's Sword) and the link between the U.S. military and the Christian right. From Constantine's reign in the fourth century to today's evangelical base at Colorado Springs' Air Force Academy, the film offers a provocative look at the roots of holy wars past and present.

It closes with a Bob Dylan song. The lyrics are below with links to YouTube where you can listen to the song:

"With God On Our Side"

Oh my name it means nothing, and my age it means less.
For the country I come from, is called the Midwest.
I was taught and brought up, to the laws to abide.
That the land that I live in,has God on its side.

Oh the history books tell it,they tell it so well.
The Calvaries charged,and the Indians fell.
The calvaries charged,and the Indians died.
Oh The Country was young then, with God on its side.

The Spanish-American, War had its day.
And the civil war to us, was soon laid away.
And the names of the heroes, I was made to memorize.
With guns in their hands, and God on their side.

The First World War,it came and it went.
And the reason for fighting,I never did get.
But I learned to accept it, accept it with pride.
For you don't count the dead, when God's on your side.

In the nineteen-sixties,came the Vietnam war.
Can someone tell me, what we were fighting for?
So many young men died, so many mothers cried.
No I ask the question, was God on our side?

I learned to hate the Russians, all through my whole life.
If another war comes, it's them must fight.
And to hate them and fear, to run and to hide.
And accept it all bravely, with God on my side.

Through many dark hours, I've been thinkin' bout' this.
That Jesus Christ was betrayed by a kiss.
But I can't think for you, you'll have to decide.
Whether Judas Iscariot had God on his side.

Now that I'm leaving, I'm weary as hell.
The confusion I'm feeling, ain't no tongue can tell.
The words fill my head, and they fall to the floor.
That if God's on our side, he'll stop the next war.
Jesus loves me, this I know.

Listen to the song by selecting the title or clicking here.

Thanks for 16 Years Conan! See you in L.A.!

2009-02-21T13:18:00.000-08:00

President Obama's First Official Act

2009-01-20T20:21:00.000-08:00

NATIONAL DAY OF RENEWAL AND RECONCILIATION, 2009

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

As I take the sacred oath of the highest office in the land, I am humbled by the responsibility placed upon my shoulders, renewed by the courage and decency of the American people, and fortified by my faith in an awesome God.

We are in the midst of a season of trial. Our Nation is being tested, and our people know great uncertainty. Yet the story of America is one of renewal in the face of adversity, reconciliation in a time of discord, and we know that there is a purpose for everything under heaven.

On this Inauguration Day, we are reminded that we are heirs to over two centuries of American democracy, and that this legacy is not simply a birthright -- it is a glorious burden. Now it falls to us to come together as a people to carry it forward once more.

So in the words of President Abraham Lincoln, let us remember that: "The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 20, 2009, a National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation, and call upon all of our citizens to serve one another and the common purpose of remaking this Nation for our new century.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

Hope and History Rhyme

2009-01-20T20:01:00.000-08:00

On Inauguration night, Joe Biden, reflecting on the millions he saw gathered that afternoon watching Barack Obama becoming the 44th U.S. President, quoted from the poem The Cure at Troy by Nobel Prize winner Irishman, Seamus Heaney:History says, Don't hope
on this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime
the longed for tidal wave
of justice can rise up,
and hope and history rhyme.

Aren't we glad Native Americans didn't treat us like we treat immigrants today?

2008-12-08T14:31:00.000-08:00

Inspiration from our Next President

2008-11-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

"Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential."

- Barack Obama

Before Obama, before MLK, there was Langston

2008-11-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

Before "Yes, we can!" before "I have a dream" there was "Let America be America Again".

Langston Hughes, the renowned African-America poet, was a man who dreamed of hope in a country that treated him as a second-class citizen. The powerful poem below remind us of the America's struggle to become "a more perfect union" and a hope that is now embodied in our president-elect.

Let America be America Again

Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed-- Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There's never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark? And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek-- And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope, Tangled in that ancient endless chain Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one's own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil. I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean-- Hungry yet today despite the dream. Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers! I am the man who never got ahead, The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream In the Old World while still a serf of kings, Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true, That even yet its mighty daring sings In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned That's made America the land it has become. O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas In search of what I meant to be my home-- For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore, And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea, And torn from Black Africa's strand I came To build a "homeland of the free."

The free?

Who said the free? Not me? Surely not me? The millions on relief today? The millions shot down when we strike? The millions who have nothing for our pay? For all the dreams we've dreamed And all the songs we've sung And all the hopes we've held And all the flags we've hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay-- Except the dream that's almost dead today.

O, let America be America again-- The land that never has been yet-- And yet must be--the land where every man is free. The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME-- Who made America, Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose-- The steel of freedom does not stain. From those who live like leeches on the people's lives, We must take back our land again, America!

O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath-- America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, We, the people, must redeem The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain-- All, all the stretch of these great green states-- And make America again!

The Matthew 25 Network

2008-10-31T10:45:00.000-07:00

I was recently left baffled by a Christian friend who wrote and e-mailed to his friends a rebuke of Obama (based on reviews of anti-Obama books). In my search for a response, I came across the Matthew 25 Network, a genuine group of Christians trying to spread the word about the real faith and religious beliefs of Barack. If you have friends or families who don't trust the faith of Obama, have them check out the Matthew 25 Network.

Opie, Richie and Ron Howard Makes a Great Call for Obama

2008-10-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

YES, WE CAN...YES, WE WILL

2008-10-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

The Cost of Iraq

2008-10-27T06:19:00.000-07:00

Many used to make fun of those people who used to argue that we should shift money away from our military budget and instead invest it in things like our educational system . Now, as America buckles under an economic crisis and the Iraq war drags on, most American's have seen that the cost of war does not outweigh the price we have to pay at home. Take two minutes to view this video and see what Iraq has cost us, just in dollars:

The Universal Rule

2008-10-26T16:35:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, Christians don't have the market on the Golden Rule.
In fact Jesus wasn't even the first world religious leader to use it.

The Madman of Africa

2008-06-25T21:48:00.000-07:00

"We are not going to give up our country for a mere X on a ballot. How can a ballpoint pen fight with a gun?"

ROBERT MUGABE, President of Zimbabwe, refusing to cede power to opponent Morgan Tsvangirai regardless of the results of the June 27, 2008 runoff election.

Meanwhile, America stand by silently as this paranoid madman holds hostage the lives of millions of people in Zimbabwe. Maybe things would be different if Zimbabwe had oil. Congo, Darfur, Somalia, and now Zimbabwe, when will American foreign policy care about black Africans? Hopefully policy will change January 2009.

Dalai Lama’s 18 rules for living

2008-06-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
Follow the three Rs:
1. Respect for self
2. Respect for others
3. Responsibility for all your actions.
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Spend some time alone every day.
Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
Be gentle with the earth.
Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

"A Death in the Family"

2008-06-13T14:37:00.000-07:00

For those of us who consider ourselves newsbuffs, we lost a family member today, with the passing of NBC Washington Bureau Chief, Tim Russert.

Russert was a man who came across as both hard-nosed and fair. He taught us how to be prepared for any debate and how to be a good listener. He taught us how to remain committed to your faith and your family amidst the pressures of the cutthroat lifestyle within Washington.

He was always passionate about politics and he exuded every time he was on air. We all knew how respected a newsman he was, but as we learn about his work and personal relationships behind the scenes, he apparently was a beloved friend, boss and mentor.

He was one of a kind in today's media and he will be missed.

What America Lost 40 Years Ago

2008-06-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

"What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black." Indianapolis, Indiana, April 4, 1968 Announcing to the crowd that Martin Luther King had been assassinated.

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."

"Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital, quality for those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change."

"The sharpest criticism often goes hand in hand with the deepest idealism and love of country."

"Men without hope, resigned to despair and oppression, do not make revolutions. It is when expectation replaces submission, when despair is touched with the awareness of possibility, that the forces of human desire and the passion for justice are unloosed."

"There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were and ask why not."

"Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation ... It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

"At the University of Natal in Durban, I was told the church to which most of the white population belongs teaches apartheid as a moral necessity. A questioner declared that few churches allow black Africans to pray with the white because the Bible says that is the way it should be, because God created Negroes to serve. "But suppose God is black", I replied. "What if we go to Heaven and we, all our lives, have treated the Negro as an inferior, and God is there, and we look up and He is not white? What then is our response?" There was no answer. Only silence." South Africa, June 1966

"What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black." Indianapolis, Indiana, April 4, 1968 Announcing to the crowd that Martin Luther King had been assassinated.

"Fear not the path of truth for the lack of people walking on it." From his last speech, June 5, 1968
"Laws can embody standards; governments can enforce laws — but the final task is not a task for government. It is a task for each and every one of us. Every time we turn our heads the other way when we see the law flouted — when we tolerate what we know to be wrong — when we close our eyes and ears to the corrupt because we are too busy, or too frightened — when we fail to speak up and speak out — we strike a blow against freedom and decency and justice." June 21, 1961

Two Questions

2008-06-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

Ancient Egyptians believed that upon death they would be asked two questions and their answers would determine whether they could continue their journey in the afterlife. The first question was,

‘Did you bring joy?’

The second was,

‘Did you find joy?’

An interesting thought about hapiness...

2007-12-01T08:55:00.000-08:00

Here is an interesting thought about happiness that I StumbledUpon from Henry David Thoreau. This thought would seem to be contrary to Will Smith's movie, "The Pursuit of Happiness" where happiness is obtained through a process of intense ambition toward that goal. I tend to think maybe the right emphasis is somewhere in the middle. What do you think? Talk amongst yourselves...

The Phoenix Affirmations

2007-10-09T16:16:00.000-07:00

Ponder these affirmations about what the church can and should be from the book The Phoenix Affirmations. Click on the this link to see a more detailed version:

==================================

The public face of Christianity in America today bears little connection to the historic faith of our ancestors. It represents even less our own faith as Christians who continue to celebrate the gifts of our Creator, revealed and embodied in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Heartened by our experience of the transforming presence of Christ’s Holy Spirit in our world, we find ourselves in a time and place where we will be no longer silent. We hereby mark an end to our silence by making the following affirmations:

As people who are joyfully and unapologetically Christian, we pledge ourselves completely to the way of Love. We work to express our love, as Jesus teaches us, in three ways: by loving God, neighbor, and self.

Matt 22:34-40 // Mk 12:28-31 // Lk 10:25-28; Cf. Deut 6:5; Lev. 19:18

Loving God Includes:

Affirmation 1: Walking fully in the path of Jesus, without denying the legitimacy of other paths God may provide humanity;
Matthew 11:28-29; John 8:12; John 10:16; Mark 9:40

Affirmation 2: Listening for God’s Word which comes through daily prayer and meditation, through studying the ancient testimonies which we call Scripture, and through attending to God’s present activity in the world;
2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 13:12

Affirmation 3: Celebrating the God whose Spirit pervades and whose glory is reflected in all of God’s Creation, including the earth and its ecosystems, the sacred and secular, the Christian and non-Christian, the human and non-human;
Genesis 1:31a; Psalm 96:1,11-12; Acts 17:23

Affirmation 4: Expressing our love in worship that is as sincere, vibrant, and artful as it is scriptural.
Genesis 2:7; Exodus 31:2-5l; Revelation 18:22

Loving Our Neighbor Includes:

Affirmation 5: Engaging people authentically, as Jesus did, treating all as creations made in God’s very image, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental ability, nationality, or economic class;
Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-5; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7

Affirmation 6: Standing, as Jesus does, with the outcast and oppressed, the denigrated and afflicted, seeking peace and justice with or without the support of others;
Micah 6:8; Luke 12:48

Affirmation 7: Preserving religious freedom and the Church’s ability to speak prophetically to government by resisting the commingling of Church and State;
Luke 20:25; 1 Peter 2:17

Affirmation 8: Walking humbly with God, acknowledging our own shortcomings while honestly seeking to understand and call forth the best in others, including those who consider us their enemies;
Luke 18:9-14; Luke 6:27-29; Galatians 5:22-23; John 15:18-19

Loving Ourselves Includes:

Affirmation 9: Basing our lives on the faith that, in Christ, all things are made new, and that we, and all people, are loved beyond our wildest imagination – for eternity;
Psalm 22:27-29; Psalm 23:4-6; Psalm 139:7-12; John 3:16-17; Romans 14:7-11; Philippians 1:20-26

Affirmation 10: Claiming the sacredness of both our minds and our hearts, recognizing that faith and science, doubt and belief serve the pursuit of truth;
Proverbs 1:20-22; 1 Corinthians 3:18-19; 1 Corinthians 14:15

Affirmation 11: Caring for our bodies, and insisting on taking time to enjoy the benefits of prayer, reflection, worship and recreation in addition to work;
Exodus 5:4-8; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

Affirmation 12: Acting on the faith that we are born with a meaning and purpose; a vocation and ministry that serves to strengthen and extend God’s realm of love.
Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 5:15-16; Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-31

Seven Principles for Community

2007-08-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

Here are seven compelling principles that form the guidelines for a particular American denomination. Read them and ponder this question, "What would your faith community look like if these seven guiding principles guided your congregation?":

The inherent worth and dignity of every person
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations
A free and responsible search for truth and meaning
The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large
The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part

Unfortunately, these principles are not likely to be embraced by many evangelical congregations because they come from the "liberal", "heretical" Unitarian Universalist denomination. It's too bad because these principles represent a great set of guidleines for an evangelical congregation that is may be trying to model true Christian community.

A song with an Emergent message

2007-08-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

Here is a cool song from the CD, "Songs for a Revolution of Hope" by The Restoration Project and produced by Brian McLaren of "A New Kind of Christian" fame.

Rome: "Orthodox defective, Protestants wasting their time"

2007-07-16T14:12:00.000-07:00

In another wonderfully astute move my the new Pope, the Vatican has again stated stated that Catholics are the only true Christians (see article here). Rome seems to feel the need to reiterate this every few years.

The statement stoke the smoldering flame of disagreement with the Orthodox church stating, "It follows that these separated (Orthodox) churches and communities, though we believe they suffer from defects, are deprived neither of significance nor importance in the mystery of salvation." Boy, don't you think all the millions of Orthodox Christians around the world are really going to appreciate their Catholic brothers and sisters calling them 'defects.' Wait, it gets even better for the Protestants...

The statement doesn't even give Protestants the privledge of being called 'defects'. Instead all the Protestant Christians are just fooling themselves thinking they are going to Church each Sunday, when in reality, they are merely attending social groups on Sundays. It states, "These ecclesial (Protestant) communities which, specifically because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood … cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called 'churches' in the proper sense." So all you high church Protestant out there who want think they are taking the sacraments every Sunday...too bad...its just grape juice and a ritz cracker.

Another good job Pappa Benedict! Keep up the great work of unifying and reconciling the worldwide Church to itself. At this rate, a new Inquistion might be right around the corner. I can't wait!

Sacred Texts Website

2007-05-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

From the British Library, below are two very interesting interactive sites about world religions.

Click here to choose and listen to selected stories from sacred religious texts.

Click here to select and listen to answers from a diverse panel about various religious questions.

Amazing Sacred Places to Visit Before I Die #2

2007-05-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

Las Lajas Cathedral
Colombia, South America

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Las Lajas, or the Las Lajas Cathedral [wiki] in Colombia, was built in 1916 on a site where, according to local legend, the Virgin Mary appeared. The story goes like this: an Indian woman named María Mueses de Quiñones was carrying her deaf-mute daughter Rosa on her back near Las Lajas ("The Rocks"). Weary of the climb, the María sat down on a rock when Rosa spoke (for the first time) about an apparition in a cave.

Later on, a mysterious painting of the Virgin Mary carrying a baby was discovered on the wall of the cave. Supposedly, studies of the painting showed no proof of paint or pigments on the rock - instead, when a core sample was taken, it was found that the colors were impregnated in the rock itself to a depth of several feet.

Whether true or not, the legend spurred the building of a gothic church worthy of a fairy tale.

Pope Leaves Native Brasilians with Bad Taste in their Mouth

2007-05-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

For all of those out there (including many people I know) who yearn evangelicals to bring back closer ties to the church in Rome, here is the latest 'gaffe' by the new Pope on his visit to Rome:

From BBC news:
"Indigenous leaders in Brazil have reacted angrily to Pope Benedict's comments that their predecessors had willingly converted to Christianity.

One Amazon Indian leader, Jecinaldo Satere Mawe, said the Pope's remarks had been arrogant and disrespectful.

Pope Benedict XVI told Latin American bishops in Brazil that American Indians had been "silently longing" to become Christians 500 years ago."

The Pope had said the Christianisation of the region had not involved an alienation of the pre-Colombian cultures. Pope Benedict also made no mention of the violent history that followed or the documented decimation of native cultures in favour of the Christian model Conquistadores and other Europeans colonisers."

This revision of history has to go right along side fundamentalists in America who paint rosy pictures of America's founding fathers, while neglecting the social injustices that occurred under their watch. Pope Benedict is supposed to be a learned scholar, so how can he actual believe what he is saying? And this begs the question, 'If he is soooo wrong about this view of history, what else is wrong about?'

Celebrate Mother's Day as a Day Against War

2007-05-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Mother's Day began as a attempt to form a movement of mother's to be against war? Watch below and speak up for the the anti-war roots of Mother's Day on May 13th.

http://mothersdayforpeace.com/

Clare Short quote from Sojourners

2007-05-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

I subscribe to the free weekly email from the Sojourners Community in Washington DC - this week's quote is from Clare Short, a British MP who resigned as Secretary of State for International Development over the U.K.'s involvement in the Iraq War... here it is:

"You can’t take the evil of slavery out of the world and abolish it without making the world more just. You will never prevent people living in bonded labor or from getting caught up in sex trafficking while they are so desperate that they have no other choice but to sell themselves. As long as we in the West crave ever more excess, we conspire in their desperation, exploiting it and make ourselves sick in the process."

A past interview with Clare Short can be found at http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&mode=printer_friendly&issue=soj0401&article=040121

From: http://marttherev.blogspot.com/

Anti-Malaria Give-A-Net Program

2007-04-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the biggest preventable tragedy in the world today is the thousands of deaths every year of the world's poor because of malaria. I have experienced first-hand in Africa the importance of bed nets. Watch the video today and take action in your community.

Anne Lamott, Politics and the Future of Democracy

2007-04-23T11:41:00.000-07:00

I was listening to liberal Christian author Anne Lamott give a speech on NPR this weekend. One of her many fine points was saying that the two greatest ideas that America gave the world was modern democracy and the separation of church and state. This insightful commentary came led me to some further thoughts on American democracy and the future...

America gave these two things to the world, and now, many places in the world have advanced those ideas to new levels. America has responded by trying to hold onto their old styles of these two ideas instead of embracing their advances. Why? I think largely because in the American narrative, we've convinced ourselves that our way is the always the best.

So we hold onto outdated American democratic ideas like "pork" amendments on legislation or gerrymandering of congressional districts, because that's "the way we've always done it." And I can't even begin to complain about all the glitches in an outdated campaign system, from financing to disenfranchisement to the electoral college. Our system is hardly a fair democratic system, instead it is a system balanced heavily in favor of the rich, white, and powerful men in America.

Is there no shame that third-world countries in Africa and Asia have fairer elections than we do? Do we realize that experts are estimating that $1 billion dollars will be given to presidential candidates for 2008 election? Only a handful of states have open primaries where you can vote for anybody and besides, primaries amount to a party-style electoral college system.

Aside from the stupidity of the electoral college, most countries have this little thing called a run-off election. Why can't our elections be held over two or three days, or be a national holiday like other countries make it? I was just mulling over these ideas in light of France's election. They had 4 canidates... far right 10%, right 30%, center 18%, left 25%. so the top two get to have their run-off election and try to build a consensus with those who didn't vote for them.

To sum up, America is stuck in our traditional ways. Democracy and freedom have advanced in other countries, but we are the arrogant ones who think that because we created it, our current system is still the right way to do it.

This little rant didn't even touch on Lamott's second point about the serparation of Church and state. There are many in America who hold onto the idea of a "return" to a nation legislated by Christians for Christians in what has become the most diverse country in the world. They will have to wait for a rant from me until next time.

Political Debate in America Today

2007-04-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

This is a funny cartoon lampooning internet arguments, but it also rightly nails political discourse by pundits on television and radio shows. I enjoy listening to honest political discussions, but whenever it is a discussion by two opposing pundits whose job is to defend their position at all costs, I change the channel faster than you can say "Cross-Fire".

The Legacy of Vonnegut

2007-04-12T16:49:00.000-07:00

Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) died this week. I have read a few of his books and admired his anti-war stance for many years. His last book attached the Bush presidency and the Iraq War. For me, he will be the person who enlightened me about the Dresden bombings by Allied Forces toward the end of WWII. The Allies planes obliterated this beautiful city which was a symbol of baroque humanism and all that was best in Germany.

With 25,000–35,000 German civilians killed in the Dresden fire-bombings, the casualties suffered in the Dresden bombings were similar to those suffered in other German cities which were subject to firebombing attacks during area bombardment. Overall, British-American bombing of German cities claimed between 305,000 and 600,000 civilian lives. Whether these attacks hastened the end of the war is a controversial question.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresden_bombing

Heard of the Peace Tax Fund Bill?...You Need To!

2007-04-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.peacetaxfund.org/
http://www.fcnl.org/action/2007/lam0412.htm

For more than 50 years, conscientious objectors to war have been permitted to perform alternative service rather than violate their religious beliefs by serving in combat. But to this day, they are still required to support the military through taxation.

As military spending increases each year, the ability of the U.S. government to wage war relies less on conscripted soldiers and more on drafted dollars to pay for advanced equipment, technology, and other costs of military activities. Conscientious objectors to the payment of taxes for war need an "alternative service" for their tax dollars. The Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund bill would provide such an alternative.

The Peace Tax Fund bill creates a special fund within the U.S. Treasury to receive the full tax payments of designated conscientious objectors. The tax payments received in that fund would be available to support all government services, except the military. The Peace Tax Fund would enable conscientious objectors to pay 100% of their taxes without violating their beliefs about not participating in war.

I urge you to cosponsor the Peace Tax Fund bill as a matter of religious freedom. Representative John Lewis expects to introduce the bill soon - please contact his office to become an original cosponsor.

Read more about this important piece of legislation at:
http://www.peacetaxfund.org/
http://www.fcnl.org/action/2007/lam0412.htm

War and Taxes

2007-04-12T14:49:00.000-07:00

The Friends Committee on National Legislation calculates that 41 cents out of every dollar that you pay in 2006 federal income taxes before April 17 goes to the military – to pay for both current and past military activities. That figure is the clearest reflection of how the federal government spends your tax dollars. Of every dollar you pay in taxes:

1 cent goes to diplomacy and development
5 cents goes to education, job training, and social services
12 cents goes to respond to poverty in the United States
41 cents goes to war

Simply amazing stats. We have been like the frog in the pot of water as we gradually boil alive. The Cold War is over. The Terror War is cold. The Fear War is raging. We must wake up and call on the government to stop wasting our money while the poor get poorer.

Political Honesty About Iraq

2007-03-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

Thoughts from an Activist

2007-03-22T22:12:00.000-07:00

Here are some thought from the famous Christian activist and intellectual William Sloan Coffin, who died last year:
_________________________________________

God is not to hard to believe in, he is too good to believe in, we being such strangers to such goodness.

Almost every square inch of the earth's surface is soaked with the tears and blood of the innocent. It's not God's doing, its our doing. That's human malpractice. Don't chalk it up to God.

If you back off from every little controversy in your life, you're not alive, and once more, your boring.

You can be more alive in pain then in complacency.

Only God has the right to destroy all life on the planet. All we have is the power. We haven't the authority. Therefore to make, to threaten to use nuclear weapons must be an abomination in the sight of God.

To say 'grant us peace' in a time of war, God must say 'Come off it!" What are you going to do for peace for heaven sake? Its not enough to pray for it, you have to think for it, you have to suffer for it and you have endure a lot for it. So don't just pray about it.

The Sad State of Christian Protest

2007-03-16T22:50:00.000-07:00

This week marks the 4th Anniversary of America's invasion of Iraq. 4 years with
an evangelical Christian president, backed by his faithful who believe in the apocalyptic dimensions of this battle of civilizations.

But where are the followers of the Prince of Peace? Where are the adherents of nonviolent civil disobedience against the injustice of this war? The solitary prophets that are taking a stand must feel like Jeremiah standing alone against the imperial powers.

Tonight I went to the ONLY city-wide Christian prayer vigil this week in one of the largest cities in California. There were no more than 30 people that showed up, and only 3 of them, including myself were under 40.

Where are the nonviolent Christian youth? Are they all on college campuses? Are they busy playing Grand Theft Auto? Are they busy sitting around the local Starbucks with their friends talking about how cool the Emergent Church is?

An Evangelical on Evangelicals

2007-03-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

‘The cries of suffering humanity today are many. No evangelicalism which ignores the totality of man's condition dares respond in the name of Christianity.’
Evangelical Theologian Carl F.H. Henry (1913-2003)

Parable on Greed and Servanthood

2007-03-09T11:19:00.000-08:00

"You can tell the true character of a man by the way he treats someone who can do absolutely nothing for him"

________________________________________________

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like." The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said,

"I don't understand."

It is simple" said the Lord, "it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.

Lent and Lockheed Martin

2007-03-08T16:47:00.000-08:00

Each Friday during Lent, the SF Bay Area's Pacific Life Community is sponsoring a silent prayer vigil outside the gates of Lockheed Martin, the country's leading weapons manufacturer and the world's most prolific arms exporter. The intent is to bring the community's attention to the activities of a firm that hasn't produced a civilian aircraft since the early 1980's.

This seems to be a beautiful act of solidarity against an American WMD manufacturer. Why isn't there more of this type of social action from among the Church? Why are these types of nonviolent activism only seen as acts for the fringe (of society and of the Church)?

How are communities of faith formed in a way where there are large and genuine acts of nonviolence action against instruments of war? I think there are numerous reasons. But central to all of the reasons I believe is that the Church is the State's prostitute. The State provides the Church national security, freedom of speech and assembly, and tax-exemption. What more could a religious movement ask for? All the state requires are taxes and an unspoken promise not to question its war machine.

Unfortunately, we are not just talking about the institutional Church organizations. We are also talking about the members of those churches. How can you boycott the war businesses when you work there? For many years I lived in San Diego, and on any freeway you drove on during rush hour, 1 out of every 3 cars had military parking stickers in their windshields. These are the people that sit besides us on Sunday mornings. How can we expect these Christians to join us at candlelight vigils outside the offices where they just spent the day working on a tracking microchip for a new missile system?

A beautiful act of solidarity against the military industrial complex. I guess its too complicated for the Church to get involved in. We might hurt the feelings of so many in the pews. And that might cause our offering plates to get a little lighter. We wouldn't want that. Let's just leave these kind of act of social activism to those people on the fringe.

Buddhist Thought to Ponder

2007-03-07T10:39:00.000-08:00

Victory breeds hatred, for the defeated live in pain.

Happily live the peaceful, giving up victory and defeat.

Do you have a funny feeling?

2007-03-07T09:09:00.000-08:00

This week Iranian President and Saudi Crown Prince met and agreed to work toward stemming the end of Shia-Sunni tension in the Muslim world. Also this week, the King of Jordon renewed his efforts to get the U.S. involved in a Middle-East peace settlement. What do these have in common? What would make someone feel so uncomfortable about these steps toward peace?

If a two-state solution can be agreed upon in Israel, and the Sunnis & Shias lay aside their differences, the continued economic rise of the Middle East could create the onset of a new Golden Age for Islam. With their differences behind them, and a Palestinian state, the Arab League could turn its attention toward creating first world economies in their countries, and expanding their financial and cultural influence around the world.

This would be tantamount to the changes that would have taken place in The Middle Ages if Kings of England and France agreed to become allies and the Pope and the Bishop of Constantanople agreed to put aside their historical differences. In that situation, a gigantic superpower united by a common faith would have arose with the idea to expand their sphere of influence around the world.

I'm not afraid of what may be coming. But it gives me a funny feeling in my stomach when I think that the Saudi's may be at the center of this new superpower. Their fascist ologarchy, founded on oppressive piety, and built on the wheels of a gas-guzzling west, is primed to expand its dangerous interpretation of Islam. This will result in more free speech silenced, women abused, religious minorities persecuted and killed, and countless other brainwashed by a fundamentalist theology filled with spite and disdain for outsiders.

Can you guess where I stand on the Iraq war?

2007-03-07T00:39:00.000-08:00

Amazing Sacred Places to Visit Before I Die #1

2007-03-06T23:56:00.000-08:00

Tiger's Nest Buddist Monastary

Taktshang Goemba is the most famous of Bhutan's monasteries, perched on the side of a cliff about 3000ft above Paro. The name means 'tiger's nest'; Guru Rinpoche is said to have flown to the site of the monastery on the back of a tigress.

For Your Consideration...An Emergent Order

2007-03-06T23:23:00.000-08:00

Members of Emergent Village hold in common four values and several practices that flow from them. In the language of a religious order, we call these four values our “order and rule”:

1. Commitment to God in the Way of Jesus:

We are committed to doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God. In the words of Jesus, we seek to live by the Great Commandment: loving God and loving our neighbors – including those who might be considered “the least of these” or enemies. We understand the gospel to be centered in Jesus and his message of the Kingdom of God, a message offering reconciliation with God, humanity, creation, and self.

We are committed to a “generous orthodoxy” in faith and practice – affirming the historic Christian faith and the biblical injunction to love one another even when we disagree. We embrace many historic spiritual practices, including prayer, meditation, contemplation, study, solitude, silence, service, and fellowship, believing that healthy theology cannot be separated from healthy spirituality.

PRACTICES:

As Christ-centered people, to understand the gospel in terms of Jesus’ radical, profound, and expansive message of the kingdom of God.
As people seeking to be formed spiritually in the way of Christ, to learn historic Christian spiritual practices (disciplines), and to use them for the development of character, integrity, and virtue which flow from true communion with God.
As participants in the historic Christian faith, to be humble learners, to stimulate learning in others, and to give priority to love over knowledge, while still valuing knowledge.
As lovers of God and God’s truth, to seek wisdom and understanding, which are the true goal of theology, and to engage in respectful, thoughtful, sacred conversation about God, world, and church.

2. Commitment to the Church in all its Forms:

We are committed to honor and serve the church in all its forms – Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Pentecostal, Anabaptist. We practice “deep ecclesiology” – rather than favoring some forms of the church and critiquing or rejecting others, we see that every form of the church has both weaknesses and strengths, both liabilities and potential.

We believe the rampant injustice and sin in our world requires the sincere, collaborative, and whole-hearted response of all Christians in all denominations, from the most historic and hierarchical, through the mid-range of local and congregational churches, to the most spontaneous and informal expressions. We affirm both the value of strengthening, renewing, and transitioning existing churches and organizations, and the need for planting, resourcing, and coaching new ones of many kinds.

We seek to be irenic and inclusive of all our Christian sisters and brothers, rather than elitist and critical. We own the many failures of the church as our failures, which humbles us and calls us to repentance, and we also celebrate the many heroes and virtues of the church, which inspires us and gives us hope.

PRACTICES:

To be actively and positively involved in a local congregation, while maintaining open definitions of “church” and “congregation.” We work in and with churches, seeking to live out authentic Christian faith in authentic Christian community.
To seek peace among followers of Christ, and to offer critique only prayerfully and when necessary, with grace, and without judgment, avoiding rash statements, and repenting when harsh statements are made. To speak positively of fellow Christians whenever possible, especially those with whom we may disagree.
To build sincere friendship with Christians from other traditions.

3. Commitment to God’s World:

We practice our faith missionally – that is, we do not isolate ourselves from this world, but rather, we follow Christ into the world.

We seek to fulfill the mission of God in our generations, and then to pass the baton faithfully to the next generations as well.

We believe the church exists for the benefit and blessing of the world at large; we seek therefore not to be blessed to the exclusion of everyone else, but rather for the benefit of everyone else.

We see the earth and all it contains as God’s beloved creation, and so we join God in seeking its good, its healing, and its blessing.

PRACTICES:

To build relationships with neighbors and to seek the good of our neighborhoods and cities.
To seek reconciliation with enemies and make peace.
To encourage and cherish younger people and to honor and learn from older people.
To honor creation and to cherish and heal it.
To build friendships across gender, racial, ethnic, economic and other boundaries.
To be involved at all times in at least one issue or cause of peace and justice.

4. Commitment to One Another

In order to strengthen our shared faith and resolve, and in order to encourage and learn from one another in our diversity through respectful, sacred conversation, we value time and interaction with other friends who share this rule and its practices.

We identify ourselves as members of this growing, global, generative, and non-exclusive friendship.

We welcome others into this friendship as well.

We bring whatever resources we can to enrich this shared faith and resolve.

PRACTICES:

To make an annual pilgrimage to an Emergent Village gathering; to give one another the gift of our presence at annual gatherings whenever possible.
To publicly self-identify with Emergent Village where appropriate and to represent Emergent Village well whenever we can; to exemplify the best of what Emergent Village strives to be and do.
To invite others to participate and welcome new participants.
To seek to be positive and constructive in caring for the Emergent Village friendship. To find some specific ways we can help the circle of friends in Emergent Village.
To stay reconciled to one another. To give one another the gift of commitment not to give up on, betray, or reject one another, but instead, to encourage, honor, and care for one another.
To stay informed about emergent locally and globally via the website and email updates.

ACTION

We live out the four values of our rule through four lines of action:

We explore and develop ideas, theology, practices, and connections … through conversations, conferences, think-tanks, gatherings, retreats, publications, learning cohorts, online resources, and other means.
We resource individuals, leaders, and organizations – funding their imagination, stimulating their thinking, providing examples, events, literature and other resources to assist them in their lives and mission.
We communicate our calling, vision, learning, and activities to the growing Emergent Village community, and to other interested people around the world.
We provide ways for people to belong, identify with, and participate in this community, conversation, and mission at varying levels. We encourage the development of generative friendships, collaborations, and partnerships.

http://www.emergentvillage.com/about-information/values-and-practices