Friday, March 31, 2006

NCC President urges communicators, take on 'false religion'

Cleveland, March 28, 2006 – The president of the National Council of Churches, the Rev. Michael Livingston, strongly urged church communicators to, “Tell our story. By any means necessary.”

“Mainline Protestant and Orthodox churches have been pounded into irrelevancy by the media machine of a false religion,” Livingston said. He described what passes as religion to be, “a political philosophy masquerading as gospel; an economic principle wrapped in religious rhetoric and painted red, white and blue.”

Livingston made his remarks this week (March 27) in Cleveland at the semi-annual meeting of the National Council’s Communications Commission. He spoke to about 30 communicators from many of the NCC’s 35 member denominations.

“Get it [our story] out there,” he said, “this truth about the human condition and the work of the church, these churches, this one effort of millions of Christians alongside and through NCC/CWS [Church World Service] to live in obedience to the word of the one who sends us into the world: When you did it to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it unto me. It all comes down to this, love God and your neighbor.”

Livingston, who is also executive director of the International Council of Community Churches, lamented the media attraction to Pat Robertson and how the work seems to go unnoticed by Christians in agencies like CWS, Lutheran World Relief and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.

The communicators were challenged not to mimic or imitate others.

“We need fresh approaches to telling our story, reaching and touching our nation with what we know to be a faithful response to the gospel,” Livingston said. He singled out FaithfulAmerica.org as one way to share the good news of faithful Christians responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

People are off base on Brokeback Mountain

Most people who haven't seen Brokeback Mountain are completely off base about it.

It's not about cowboys.

Its about sheepherders.

No benefit of prayer after surgery found

Many newspapers, including The Boston Globe, have an article describing a study recently published in the American Heart Journal.
Praying for other people to recover from an illness is ineffective, according to the largest, best-designed study to try to examine the power of prayer to heal strangers at a distance.

The study of more than 1,800 heart bypass surgery patients found that those who had other people praying for them had as many complications as those who did not. In fact, one group of patients who knew they were the subject of prayers fared worse.

This study won't change anyone's mind on the power of prayer. People who believe prayer helps will think this study is flawed. People who don't believe prayer helps will say "See? Told ya so".

Here's what I say: this isn't a subject for scientific study.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

WSJ: Sex-Ed Class Becomes Latest School Battleground

The Wall Street Journal Online reports ...
A push to promote sexual abstinence in teens -- backed by a steady increase in federal funding -- is starting to affect the way sex ed is taught in the U.S.

In middle schools and high schools across the country, sex-ed classes that discuss birth control as a way to prevent pregnancy and sexual diseases are increasingly being replaced or supplemented by curricula that promote abstinence until marriage

Though parents and health professionals generally embrace the idea of encouraging teens to abstain from sex, some are starting to question whether kids are getting the adequate and accurate information that they will need to make responsible decisions as they grow older. Educators, parents and politicians are starting to lobby for sex education that goes beyond abstinence teachings. Bills that support this approach, known as comprehensive sex education, are under review in the legislatures of several states, including Illinois and Massachusetts. One bill in New York state, dubbed the Healthy Teens Act, calls for funding for programs that emphasize contraception as well as abstinence. ...

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Rejection Hurts

The United Church of Christ has started a website called Rejection Hurts which, among other things, highlights their new "Ejector Pew" TV ad which has been rejected by all the major networks.

Friday, March 24, 2006

Should an Afghan Christian be executed?

Stories like this confuse me.
KABUL -- Senior Muslim clerics demanded yesterday that an Afghan man on trial for converting from Islam to Christianity be executed, warning that if the government caves in to Western pressure and frees him, they will incite people to ''pull him into pieces."
How am I to interpret this in terms of "what Muslims believe"? Or is there no one thing that relates to this story that Muslims believe?

Do all Muslims everywhere believe that anyone who converts from Islam to Christianity should be executed? No. Do all Muslims in Afghanistan believe that? Probably not all of them. Do the majority of Muslims around the world believe that? I have no idea.

Ellen Goodman takes the issue of gay adoption personally

Ellen Goodman in The Boston Globe writes ...
IN MY business, it's only fair to acknowledge a bias. My bias is named Ruthie.

Ruthie is the youngest cousin in a bumper crop of babies that have extended our family over the last few years. When she was adopted, we didn't pass out cigars, we passed out Baby Ruth bars. So maybe it's our fault that she's now in the sugar-rush stage of toddlerhood, leaving her parents joyously breathless and regularly transforming her grandmother's house into Early Childproof Decor.

Did I mention that Ruthie has two daddies, something her toddler cousins take for granted? Did I mention that Ruthie's birth mother chose this couple to raise her, picking these two men from all the dossiers at the adoption agency? ...

I expect people's perceptions change a lot when the issue comes close to home.

Bellotti thinks he's funny

The Quincy [MA] Sun reports on a recent St. Patrick's Day Celebration sponsored by the Quincy Partnership.
Some of the best shots were from Mayor Bill Phelan and state Treasurer Tim Cahill who have been feuding over the site of the new Quincy High School ...

[Norfolk County Sheriff Michael] Bellotti took on the role of "peacemaker" in the Phelan-Cahill feud.

"We have to get them together", he stressed. "We need them. They have got to work together. They have got to go out together ... They have got to get close".

He then tossed a couple of girlish looking cowboy hats, one pink to Phelan and the other red to Cahill, mentioning something about "Brokeback Mountain".

Bellotti brought up the same sex marriage banner [United] First Parish Church wants to display. The bad news for the church, he said, is "the Concourse route [a new planned cross-town road] has been changed ... it will now go straight through the church."

Humor obviously isn't your strong suit, Mike, so keep your day job. Until the next election, anyway.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Washington Post: Grants Flow To Bush Allies On Social Issues

The Washington Post reports ...
For years, conservatives have complained about what they saw as the liberal tilt of federal grant money. Taxpayer funds went to abortion rights groups such as Planned Parenthood to promote birth control, and groups closely aligned with the AFL-CIO got Labor Department grants to run worker-training programs.

In the Bush administration, conservatives are discovering that turnabout is fair play: Millions of dollars in taxpayer funds have flowed to groups that support President Bush's agenda on abortion and other social issues.

Under the auspices of its religion-based initiatives and other federal programs, the administration has funneled at least $157 million in grants to organizations run by political and ideological allies, according to federal grant documents and interviews. ...

Who woulda thunk.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Where are the government's priorities?

CNN says ...
NEW YORK (AP) -- Budget constraints are forcing some FBI agents to operate without e-mail accounts, according to the agency's top official in New York.

"As ridiculous as this might sound, we have real money issues right now, and the government is reluctant to give all agents and analysts dot-gov accounts," Mark Mershon said when asked about the gap at a New York Daily News editorial board meeting. ...

Let me get this straight. We're more than willing to go into debt up to our eyeballs to pay for a war in Iraq that we started and has no foreseeable way of ending, yet we can't afford email for the FBI????

That is so messed up.

Ye Will Say I Am No Christian

A new book on one of our church's favorite resident dead presidents: Ye Will Say I Am No Christian": The Thomas Jefferson/John Adams Correspondence on Religion, Morals, and Values.

Amazon says ...

The "Culture Wars" have produced a lot of talk about religion, morals, and values, with both sides often hearkening back to our Founding Fathers. Here is your chance to learn firsthand what two of the most influential pillars of the American Republic thought about these perennial topics. From 1812 to July 4, 1826—when ironically death claimed both men—Thomas Jefferson and John Adams exchanged letters touching on these still controversial issues.

These little-known letters contain many surprising revelations. In the 1800 presidential election, in which the Republican Jefferson opposed the Federalist Adams, religion was a topic of hot debate, as reflected in this correspondence written many years after. What was it about Jefferson’s religious beliefs that provoked such vitriol against him in the campaign? And what was there in Adam’s theology that prompted certain Calvinists to label him "no Christian"? Though they expressed different opinions, Jefferson and Adams agreed on what they called the "corruptions of Christianity." Despite their criticisms and their critics, both men considered themselves Christians, in different senses of the term.

Hearing these champions of liberty and freedom of religion speak out frankly on church and state, the Bible, Jesus, Christianity, morality, and virtue, modern readers may well ask themselves whether either of these Founding Fathers could today be elected president. Editor Bruce Braden has done us all a service by collecting this revealing and intimate historical correspondence on topics that continue to stir emotions and debate in the 21st century.

Monday, March 20, 2006

Preparing for our Banner

On April 2nd, after the 10:30 AM Service (to which all are welcome!) at the United First Parish Church in Quincy Center (MA), there will be an 11:45 AM dedication of our "People of Faith For Marriage Equality" banner (see artist's rendition of how it will look). Social Hour immediately follows.

Please come and celebrate with us!

Little did I know: the war on Christians

A press release announces ...
On March 27 - 28, Vision America's The War On Christians Conference will convene at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The conference is not only the first to address growing attacks on Christians, but will include discussions of every aspect of the War on Christians, including -- Hollywood, the news media, the courts and groups like the ACLU and Anti-Defamation League.

Besides celebrated conservative leaders like Alan Keyes, Gary Bauer, Sen. John Cornyn, Phyllis Schlafly, Sen. Sam Brownback and Rep. Tom DeLay, the conference will feature timely and informative panel discussions.

My first thought was that this is a war as much as the war on terror is a war. But then I realized there are actually those who think the war on terror is a war :(

Just in case you're waivering on whether or not you want to attend ...

The War on Christians conference will also present the following panels:
  • The Gay Agenda: America Won't Be Happy
  • The ACLU And Radical Secularism: Driving God From Our Public Life
  • Christian Persecution: Reports From The Frontlines
  • Hollywood: Christians Through A Distorted Lens
  • The News Media: Megaphone For Anti-Faith Values
  • The Judiciary: Overruling God
  • Taking Our Faith To The Ballot Box
Yep, I've made my decision.

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Rockridge Institute: The Value of Values

The Rockridge Institute has posted The Value of Values - an excerpt from the Rockridge Manual for Progressives. It discusses:
  • Why are values important in political discourse?
  • What are values?
  • Values and their connection to worldview
  • Values as contested ideas
  • Talking about your values

Friday, March 17, 2006

UUA President: On the Anniversary of War

Bill Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association writes On the Anniversary of War: A Call for Public Debate ...
March 16, 2006

Dear Friends,

Sunday, March 19, marks the third anniversary of the war in Iraq. Sadly, even though our government's poor planning and countless mistakes (in which we have again and again chosen to rely on military might rather than diplomacy and true international cooperation) has left Iraq mired in sectarian violence, there has not yet been an honest and open debate in Congress about the war. ...

Thursday, March 16, 2006

The most amazing video

Check out this video. Make sure you have your speakers on.

Absolutely incredible.

ACLU says FBI does spying of anti-war groups (still)

The American Civil Liberties Union says ...
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Pennsylvania today released new evidence that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting investigations into a political organizations based solely on its anti-war views.

Two documents released today (3/16/2006) reveal that the FBI investigated gatherings of the Thomas Merton Center for Peace & Justice just because the organization opposed the war in Iraq. Although previously disclosed documents show that the FBI is retaining files on anti-war groups, these documents are the first to show conclusively that the rationale for FBI targeting is the group's opposition to the war. ...

Some things never change. A tip of the hat to Street Prophets.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Incorporating religion into the progressive movement

Pastor Dan over at Street Prophets talks about a current difference of opinion amongst bloggers ...
The latest religious tempest in blogtopia started with Steve Waldman, subbing for Kevin Drum. Waldman discerns that "many liberals" bear an "elitist attitude toward evangelicals." Atrios - rightly, I thought - shot back:
Is there a Republican talking point that our notional allies won't perpetuate without evidence?
(Others, notably Chris Bowers and Steve Gilliard had their own takes.) Atrios' jibe prompted a response from Faithful Progressive, which caused another, angrier post from Atrios, and some great thoughts from Tristero and Digby.

Everybody had at least some good points, I thought. Except Waldman, who I think is dead wrong, for pretty much the reasons Chris and Steve cite. But this is really a meta conversation: how should we incorporate (or not) religion into the progressive movement? It's undeniable that there some people out there - at least online - who will say the most hateful, offensive things under the banner of "reason." It's also undeniable that sometimes faithful people need to grow a thicker skin. Politics is no place for people who take things too personally. ...

The post itself has links to all the discussions noted.

Robertsons' comments scrubbed on CBN

Media Matters for America reports that
After 700 Club host Pat Robertson declared that Muslims who protested controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad were "satanic" and "crazed fanatics" who were "motivated by demonic power," adding that "the goal of Islam ... is world domination," the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) program removed Robertson's comments from its website "out of concerns they could be misinterpreted if taken out of context," according to a Robertson spokeswoman who was cited in a March 14 Associated Press report.
Yep, wouldn't want to chance anyone misinterpreting "crazed fanatics". In context, it must have been a perfectly reasonable thing to say.

And what was that context, again?

UU Faith Survey

Rev. Daniel Chesney Kanter, Minister of First Unitarian Church in Dallas and Chair of the Board of Trustees of Starr King School for the Ministry, has a UU Faith Survey he'd like you to fill out.

A tip of the hat to Scott Wells for pointing this out.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

George Clooney's a liberal

Dang ... I was glad I was sitting down when I read this. Coulda almost fell off my chair with surprise.

But now Clooney says he didn't actually write the post.

Friday, March 10, 2006

Ellen Goodman: the pretense is finally over

Ellen Goodman comments in the Boston Globe on South Dakota legislation restricting abortions.
TWO MONTHS AGO, when all eyes were on Samuel Alito's confirmation hearings, I traveled 1,300 miles west to Sioux Falls, S.D. I went to see the state where the right to abortion had already come down to this: one clinic, one day a week, one doctor. The women in the waiting room had come from all over the state. The doctor had flown in from Minneapolis.

South Dakota had become a legislative laboratory for abortion restrictions. It had followed the blueprint that Alito himself had laid out in the 1980s. This was a strategy to add so many restrictions -- one law at a time -- that Roe v. Wade would collapse without ever being overturned. ...

Status of our church's proposed banner

Bay Windows reports the latest news on the effort of our Quincy, MA church to raise a banner saying "People of Faith for Marriage Equality" ...
Visitors to Quincy's bustling downtown will soon be greeted with a message of support for marriage equality, courtesy of the United First Parish Church.

The Unitarian Universalist congregation prevailed in its effort to hang a 34-foot-by-4-foot banner that reads "People of Faith for Marriage Equality" on the facade of the historic church, reaching an agreement with city officials just about three hours before the Rev. Sheldon Bennett, United First's minister, was to request a variance from the city's Zoning Board of Appeals to hang the banner.

Speaking after he appeared before the zoning board on March 7 to withdraw his request, Bennett said that after several days of discussions with Quincy officials, the city's Department of Inspectional Services would immediately issue a permit allowing the church to hang the banner on the church's front exterior for 60 days. The church had wanted the banner to hang for 90 days but Bennett said he's satisfied with the agreement. "It's satisfactory to both parties and we're very glad that we were able to reach a satisfactory solution," said Bennett. "We're glad we can put up the banner." The minister expects it will be up within the next three weeks. ...

And here's a link to a Boston Globe article.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Things aren't quite over in Dover, PA

The town where Intelligent Design was recently shot down is being targeted again. The York Dispatch reports ...
A group of evangelists is planning to go door to door to preach to the Dover area community March 8-10, priming residents for an anti-evolution presentation it will hold the next week.

Michael Marcavage, director of the Philadelphia-based evangelistic group Repent America, said he and about a dozen other members of his group are also planning to distribute Gospel literature to Dover Area High School students before and after school "and engag(e) in maybe some discussions outside the high school with students."

Marcavage said his group's outreach was spurred by school officials' decision not to allow Repent America, a religious group, to hang advertisements in the high school, where creationist speaker Kent Hovind will present a seminar March 17 and 18. ...

A tip of the hat to Street Prophets.

Forrest Church : Incendiary speech

Forrest Church, minister of Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York City, writes about the "cartoon controversy" and more at UUWorld.
... For me to denounce the violence triggered by the most extreme of today’s fundamentalists is, in this publication anyway, to flatter the converted. My damning an absolute that you abhor is no more likely to produce an added ounce of virtue to the world than my extolling the glories of sobriety to a group of friends who despise the taste or effect of alcohol. In fact, the contrary may prove true. Even as prohibition encouraged criminality without diminishing the urge to drink, damning suicide bombers without examining our own absolutes and the ways in which they may unintentionally provoke the very actions we rightfully disdain is like bathing in a light whose very brightness leads us to forget that an unclouded sun casts the longest shadows. ...

Clyde Grubbs: Dealing with classism

Clyde Grubbs provides a resource called classism.org for those who wish to learn more about issues of class.

To my mind, classism is at least as important an issue as racism.

Friday, March 03, 2006

Doug Muder: The Born-Again Experience: a secular account

Doug reflects on how liberal religion should deal with the born-again experience of conservative Christians other than rejecting it out of hand as just a myth or illusion.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Boston Globe: Bill to ban most abortions in Miss. advances

The Associated Press via the Boston Globe reports ...
JACKSON, Miss. -- A House committee has voted to ban most abortions in Mississippi, which already has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country.

The bill, passed by the House Public Health Committee on Tuesday, would allow abortion only to save the pregnant woman's life. It would make no exception in cases of rape or incest. The bill now goes to the full House, which could vote next week, and then to the Senate. ...

British church calls Unitarians "heretics"

The Times Online says ...
CHESTER CATHEDRAL has denounced the Unitarian Church for heretical views and banned its ministers and members from holding their annual service there.

The service, the high point of the Unitarian Church’s General Assembly, has been held three times at Chester since 2001. It has also taken place at Guildford Cathedral.

But Chester Cathedral has rescinded its booking after a “review” of the cathedral statutes and the doctrines of the Church of England and the Unitarian Church. The decision by the Dean and Chapter, which consists of laity as well as clergy, has caused dismay among Unitarians. One said: “In the entrance to Chester Cathedral there are signs saying ‘welcome’ in 26 languages. A Unitarian could be forgiven for doubting their sincerity.” ...

The article goes on to say that it's a matter of definition: "What I mean by Christian is those who hold a Trinitarian faith which, by definition, Unitarians do not.”"

The Unitarian congregational organization in Britain is called the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches.

Fast Company announces 2006 Social Capitalist Awards

Fast Company Magazine published a list of their 2006 Social Capitalist Awards given to 25 companies who, they say, use the disciplines of the corporate world to tackle daunting social problems.

One of them is ACCION International which also won in 2004 and 2005.

What it does: ACCION International has developed a network of microlending institutions that provide the poor with loans as small as $100 in order to start their own businesses. ACCION not only shares best practices to help partners reach a wider pool of clients, but it also helps them grow by diversifying into home-improvement loans, education loans, and insurance, among other services.

Results: ACCION's network, operating in 23 countries, boasts a repayment rate of 97% on some $7.6 billion of loans to 4.7 million people.

Presbyterian Minister Faces Reprimand for Marrying Gays

The Associated Press via iWon reports ...
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A Presbyterian minister accused of marrying two lesbian couples in violation of the faith's position that marriage is between a man and a woman could face a reprimand or be forced to leave the ministry after more than 30 years.

The Rev. Jane Spahr of San Rafael was scheduled to be tried by a church judicial commission on Thursday for the ceremonies, conducted in 2004 and 2005.

Spahr, 63, argues she was honoring her personal conscience and relationship with God when she officiated at the ceremonies. If found guilty by the regional governing body of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Presbytery of the Redwoods, she could face anything from a rebuke to being removed from the ministry, said one of her lawyers, Timothy Cahn.

Faith communities have enormous responsibility to fight oppressive systems," said Spahr, a lesbian activist who directs a group lobbying for greater inclusion of gay Presbyterians in the church. "Certainly the founder of the Christian faith was someone who challenged all oppressive systems that kept people from being whole." ...

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