I have to admit I had very uncharitable thoughts about Billy Graham when I read he had come to the defense of Chick fil A’s anti-gay remarks. I remembered his anti-Semitic remarks captured in the Nixon tapes and thought that he still had not learned that all of us are God’s family. I remembered an ancient irritation I have toward preachers who say they love the Bible, but studiously avoid learning the biblical languages so as to get beyond the cultural ghetto of literalism. We only love the Bible if we understand its cultural setting, otherwise we are loving our own American culture that we project onto the text. If we do not remember that our Bible is a translation from a radically different time and place, the Bible becomes an idol we use to defend the prejudices of our own culture.
It turns out I may have been the one being judgmental. A former manager within the Billy Graham organization claims in this article that Graham is unaware of a lot of what is being said in his name. Steve Knight, a former employee for BGEA believes that Franklin (Billy’s son) is now in charge of the ministry and is speaking in his father’s name. Because I jumped to conclusions, I thought I should post this article maintaining that Graham did not make the bigotted remarks attributed to him.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-knight/billy-graham-is-not-an-anti-gay-bigot_b_1716448.html
When I was born, Mars was thought to have canals. Science fiction movies had aliens attacking the earth from each of the planets including Pluto which has been demoted from the rank of planet.. Within one lifetime humans have collected moon rocks, sent robots to Mars and send probes beyond our own solar system. Today NASA’s newest telescope will begin to search the sky for black holes and other space oddities. What a lucky generation we have been to observe such marvelous revelations.
http://www.alternet.org/media/why-online-comments-are-so-toxic?akid=9147.164641.oxj12_&rd=1&src=newsletter683851&t=4
They are called “trolls.” They are the ones who leave vicious bitter comments on websites of all sorts. The following article seeks to understand who they are and what makes them say such ugly things.
To read article, click here: (Thanks to Eliza Gilkyson for the link)
http://www.alternet.org/media/why-online-comments-are-so-toxic?akid=9147.164641.oxj12_&rd=1&src=newsletter683851&t=4
Mitt Romney raised many eyebrows on his trip to Israel. Besides saying povby erty in occupied territories is caused by cultural differences (instead of the occupation itself), Romney made another very interesting slip. After seeing the Israeli health care system, he praised it as a model. The problem? The reason it does such a good job is that it is a single payer government monitored system. “Socialism” does not have to supplant democracy, or even markets, but it does mean that we remember that human lives are more important than profits, and that we are responsible for how we treat one another, not some mythic “invisible hand” of the market.
To read NY Times article, click here:
http://nyti.ms/OEVsd1
I just received an email from the staff of our governing body known as the Presbytery. Our national church decided not to recognize same gender marriages but, instead, invited us once again to study the issue for two years. Our Executive Presbyter put it this way:
“I am convinced the body of Christ, gathered in that place, exhibited the wisdom only known in being led by the Spirit that was in Jesus Christ. Just one illustration of this truth was in 220th GA’s action not to change the definition of marriage but rather to have the Office of Theology and Worship prepare and distribute materials to churches and presbyteries for engaged study during the next two years.”
I assume she meant she was glad that our decision would have a theological basis. But those words made me grateful that Jesus didn’t come to the Presbyterians and say “follow me” because, if he had, I fear we’d still be studying the issue. I wonder if civil rights had been in the hands of of the Presbyterian denomination if we would have found our courage by now? I am sick to the death of people who see themselves as moderate and fair, but do not realize that our GLBT brothers and sisters are locked out the whole time we are studying whether they are worthy to be who they truly are in our midst. When we do not stand up for the oppressed, we are not neutral, we have sided with the oppressor. To claim we are withholding justice to our brothers and sisters under the guidance of the Holy Spirit seems particularly egregious.
Esther J. Hamori is an Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible at Union Theological Seminary. She has written a very nice piece on the diversity of voices in scripture. An honest reader of the Bible will find arguments for all kinds of positions on all kinds of topics. This diversity of voices is exactly what you would want in a book teaching you how to think, not what to think. The Bible is not very good at teaching human beings how to all think the same thing, but it is very good at evoking conversations that can put our disagreements together for the common good, that is, if we are willing to stop using it as a conversation stopper.
“Some readers will find the acknowledgement of a multiplicity of voices in the Bible objectionable. But these are texts written by human beings with human viewpoints. Attributing perfection to them is idolatry, and God-as-ventriloquist is bad theology. So given that the writers were human, wouldn’t we expect a better reflection of reality to come from the collection of a spectrum of voices than from any one person purporting to speak for everyone? ” -Ester Hamori
Hamori points out that Genesis begins with two contradictory versions of creation. From the very beginning we lose any honest hope of one correct viewpoint. Her point in a nutshell? “Religious diversity is an inherent part of the biblical tradition.” If God wanted zombie followers it would have been good to make the Bible consistent, but if God wanted a community of great minds, the Bible should be exactly what it is, a wild frenzied stockpile of varied, irreconcilable parables that trigger rich conversation in a community of meaning.
To read article, click here.
“There has never been a black wedding at the First Baptist Church in Crystal Springs, Miss., since its founding in 1883. According to Pastor Stan Weatherford, some church members objected so strongly to breaking that precedent, they threatened to oust him from his pastorship.Rather than risk his job, Weatherford, who is white, said he decided to marry the pair at a black church down the road.”
This story needs to be told because of those who believe the struggle for civil rights is over. Instead, people of color are born standing on a trap door no one wants to talk about. The laws may be the same for people of different races, but as long as the culture is racist people will be treated very differenly by banks, police, judges and clergy. As an ancient philosopher said, “nothing is more unjust than equal laws among unequals.”
To read story, click here.
This article for the UK Guardian looks at how the US is hyperactive to external threats while ignoring the obvious- our infrastructure is imploding. In the years from 2000 to 2006 the US emptied uncountable amounts of money in the war against terrorism. At the same time, 137,000 Americans died prematurely for lack of health insurance.
“The vast majority of Americans die from one of four ailments: cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease. Each of these is primarily caused by risk factors that are quite preventable: smoking, diet, lack of physical activity and alcohol. This isn’t even to mention the creeping reality of global warming, which has the potential to threaten the homes and livelihoods of millions. And then of course, there is America’s high rate of gun-related deaths.”
The idea that we can maintian a civilized nation without spending as much on peace as we do on war is an illusion every dying empire seems to fall into. If terrorists hope to destroy America, they may have to hurry before we do it ourselves.
To read article, click here.
There is a battle for the planet raging behind the scenes. Environmentalists and corporations are waging a war of words that will frame future law suits. The planet received some very good news when a Texas judge ruled that the atmosphere is a “public trust” thus planting the seed that the public has an obligation to care for that trust. Proponents have called the ruling a “shot heard round the world” in the struggle to curb pollution. The ruling is probably much more limited than that, but every little bit of sanity helps.
“The “public trust” doctrine is a legal principle derived from English Common Law. Traditionally it has applied to water resources. The waters of the state are deemed a public resource owned by and available to all citizens equally for the purposes of navigation, fishing, recreation, and other uses. The owner cannot use that resource in a way that interferes with the public’s use and interest. The public trustee, usually the state, must act to maintain and enhance the trust’s resources for the benefit of future generations.”
To read story, click here.
One problematic aspect of theocracy is that it forces those in power to pretend to have god-like knowledge. For example, theocratic, pro-life judges and legislators are forced into pretending they know exactly when life begins. However one feels about abortion, should pro-life judges with no medical training be telling doctors what advice to give their patients? In a 7-4 decision a South Dakota court has ruled that doctors must now tell women that getting an abortion puts them at risk of suicide even though there is no accepted scientific study that proves it.
It seems some will not question the truth of their religious beliefs even if have to use dishonest methods to defend them.
To read article, click here.