What would Jesus do... today of all days?

If what is posted below intrigues you go to http://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/archives/005296.html to see what Bishop AlanWilson has to say. Thought provoking.

"What would Jesus do… today of all days?

Lo within a manger lies
he who built the starry skies…

Doing what? Sleeping? Staring at the ceiling? Filling the first century equivalent of nappies? an occasional infantile gurgle or puke?

What did Jesus do? Not much, I'd say — certainly nothing out of the ordinary. The manger scene reveals the Son of God in a state of almost complete passivity. …

The 16 percent: Poverty in the United States | The Christian Century

The 16 percent: Poverty in the United States The Christian Century:


In November, the Census Bureau released its new Supplemental Poverty Measure, according to which there are 49.1 million poor people in the U.S.—2.9 million more than were counted using the official formula. The official poverty rate is 15.1 percent for 2010, whereas the SPM puts it at 16 percent. Some criticized the SPM as an ideological stunt, while others praised it as more accurate than the standard measure. Whatever gauge is used, however, poverty is on the rise—it's been going up since 2007 and is at its highest rate since 1993.

To read the balance of this article from The Christian Century click on the underlined link.

Backlash to Occupy Wall Street from the Right

This story about a memo obtained by the MSNBC's Up With Chris Hayes is informative and shows how far Wall Street and those that circle around it will go to discredit OWS.

Click on the link below to access the story about the memo.

Lobbying firm’s memo spells out plan to undermine Occupy Wall Street

Paying Taxes a Christian Question

PAYING TAXES
Matthew 17:22-27

This post is taken from a meditation on Episcopal Cafe under Speaking to the Soul. You can view the complete meditation by going to http://www.episcopalcafe.com/thesoul under today's date of November 16, 2011.

There have been Christians who have protested the payment of taxes on religious and ethical grounds. Some were jailed during the Vietnam War era when they withheld a percentage of their tax that represented their share for the financing of what they believed was an immoral war. Acts of civil disobedience have generally included a willingness to suffer the consequences of such disobedience.

The early church walked a fine line between its declaration of challenge to the Roman Empire -- the fundamental creed "Jesus is Lord" defies the claim that "Caesar is Lord" -- and the church's wish to avoid active persecution. From Matthew's perspective, paying the hated tax to the Jupiter temple was not a place to draw a line.

Where is that line? For the most part, I am glad to pay taxes because our taxes support so many of the services that are basic to a healthy society. I am blessed to be in a high tax bracket because my wife and I both have jobs that pay us well. We certainly could afford to pay more taxes, and would happily do so if it would relieve the suffering for those who do not enjoy the security that we do. I prayerfully hope our nation is on the way toward providing a public way of insuring health care for all people as most other industrialized countries already do, and I would gladly raise taxes on people like me to underwrite such a benefit.

On the other hand, I opposed the unnecessary war and occupation that the Bush administration launched against Iraq, and the subsequent $800 Billion cost to taxpayers which helped reverse the budget surplus President Bush inherited, sending us into a deep deficit. (The human suffering from that decision to go to war is incalculable.) It would have been much more honest for Mr. Bush and Congress to raise taxes on people like me who can afford it in order to pay for the war rather than to continue to pass the costs to future generations. But it seems raising taxes is even more unpopular than war, so we borrow.

So, like nearly everyone else, I pay my taxes, and I argue about what the best use of our resources might be. I hope for a more progressive tax policy that relieves the poor and lets those of us to whom much has been given be expected to give more. Is there a line for me when the policies of a government might be so abhorrent that I would refuse to pay taxes? I don't know. Maybe there is. I know that I do respect many who have risked their freedom to raise into public awareness policies that are immoral.

Your Views: Letters to the editor - Utica, NY - The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York

The letter to the editor of The Observer-Dispatch in Utica, NY that is reproduced here articulates the demands of the demonstrations on Wall St. and at other cities around the country even though the author of the letter does not mention those demonstrations.
Your Views: Letters to the editor - Utica, NY - The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York: Class warfare defined differently
Why is it that Republicans and the corporate news media always play the “class warfare” card whenever someone stands up for the middle class and those in need? President Obama proposes a tax increase for those making more than $1 million and let the rhetoric begin.
You want to know what I think class warfare is?
Class warfare is crushing collective bargaining, like Republicans have done in Wisconsin and Ohio.
Class warfare is privatizing Medicare so the private health insurance industry can make more money while crippling benefits for middle class Americans, like Congressman Paul Ryan has proposed.
Class warfare is voter suppression by requiring photo IDs, closing DMV offices and shortening the time for early voting, like they have done in many Republican controlled states.
Class warfare is taking over local community government with state appointed managers, like the Republican Governor of Michigan has done.
Class warfare is letting those responsible for the economic disaster in 2008 get away scot free to make more money, while the people their actions put out of work are still struggling to find work. Class warfare is opposing consumer protection from predator lending.
Trickledown economics does not work. We’ve had the Bush tax cuts primarily benefitting the wealthy for 10 years. Where are the jobs? You have seen the statistics. During the Bush years, we had virtually no job growth, where we had some 20 million jobs during the Clinton years, when taxes were increased for the wealthy.
WILLIAM GAZITANO
Utica

We're winning the war on war

An article from Salon.com. Casualties are decreasing in recent wars according to the author. Are we on the road to eliminating war itself? An interesting possibility. See what the author has to say by clicking on the link below. It is worth reading to get to the last paragraph.
We're winning the war on war

Former Bush Official Promises to Testify if Someone Will ‘Pinochet’ Cheney | Common Dreams

Former Bush Official Promises to Testify if Someone Will ‘Pinochet’ Cheney Common Dreams

A Christian Plot for Domination?

This quote comes from an article by Michelle Goldberg blogging on "The Daily Beast":
"Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry aren't just devout—both have deep ties to a fringe fundamentalist movement known as Dominionism, which says Christians should rule the world."

If you are a Christian (or not) this article should get your attention, give you pause, and perhaps frighten you with the possibility, no matter how small, that a canidate with this belief system could sit in the White house.

To read all of this article go to:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/14/dominionism-michele-bachmann-and-rick-perry-s-dangerous-religious-bond.html

Lessons and Questions

This post was originally published on "The Progressive Christian" in 2010.

Jesus and 9/11

blog September 11, 2010 By Stephen Rockwell

On a day like today, September 11, it sure is tough to do as Jesus said and did. In the nine years since that fateful, tragic day, it seems like as a nation we fall further and further from the ideal that Jesus laid out for us. In the days following 9/11, there was a beautiful sense of national unity and resolve that killing our people and destroying our buildings would not undermine who we are as our nation, our values, and our way of life.

In this intervening period we have seen a tragically unnecessary war conducted in Iraq and what is amounting to an endless military conflict in Afghanistan, a land where empires have entered paying enormous tolls in human life and treasure, seeking to tame what forever has been ungovernable region. We have seen torture performed in our name and endless incarceration without any process for determining guilt, let alone due process.

At home, we are now in the midst of a rising tide of anti-Islam rhetoric and behavior. The threatening of Koran burning and the hostility of which an Islamic center a few blocks from the World Trade Center has been met, is largely propogated by a strain in our body politic that is intolerant at best and hateful at worst.

The balance of this article can be read by going to:http://tpcmagazine.org/blog/jesus-and-911

What has changed? Have we learned anything in ten years?

Trading Freedom for Safety

The following comes from NPR:
Senate Approves Extension Of Patriot Act Anti-Terror Provisions

by Eyder Peralta

With a 73-23 vote, the Senate voted to approve a four-year extension of three controversial provisions of the Patriot Act.

The AP reports:

It extends two provisions of the 2001 USA Patriot Act, one allowing roving wiretaps, the other allowing searches of business records in the pursuit of terror threats. A third provision gives the government power to watch non-American "lone wolf" suspects with no certain ties to terrorist groups.

All three provisions are viewed as valuable tools by law enforcement officials but are opposed by some who say they can lead to privacy rights abuses.

One staunch opponent of the extension was Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Bloomberg reports Paul tried to delay the vote and tried to amend the bill.

Read the balance of the article at: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/05/26/136693690/senate-approves-extension-of-patriot-act-anti-terror-provisions

This reminds me of a quote from someone that goes something like this: Those who give up their freedom for safety will have neither.

Cost of War to the United States | COSTOFWAR.COM

Want to know what our wars are costing us? Click on this link.
Cost of War to the United States | COSTOFWAR.COM

Christianity, Hockey, and Good Advice

This is re-posted from The Anchorhold @ St.Laika's ( http://jh002a0382.typepad.com/the_anchorhold/# )I especially like the last paragraph.
___________________________________________________________________________________


The great hockey player Wayne Gretsky said, 'I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.'

I believe this skating for the puck is about searching for where God is at work dismantling barriers and transforming lives, not where we have already been. I believe it is about discovering fresh ways to embody God's love among the people, in surrounding neighborhoods, across every barrier, trusting the Spirit of Christ to transform lives. This is what it means to be a missional church whose primary purpose is lives being transformed by the Spirit.

The Church did not begin as an institution whose survival its members were enlisted to ensure. It began as a movement of believers, whose lives were being transformed by the Holy Spirit and summoned by God's love into the streets to announce the Good News.

-- Roy Howard

The Daily Show - Poetry

Did you see The Daily Show last night (May 11, 2011)or did you hear about the poetry slam that was at the White House on one of the news programs? I missed The Daily Show but I did hear a portion of one of the poems by a gentleman known as Common. In the poem he was talking about equality and he ended the poem with three lines that simply blew me away. The line was, "One King's dreams was able to Barack us." The line was repeated three times. Now an individual that might have something positive to say AND was invited to the White House by the Obamas is an instant target for Fixed News(aka Fox News). They immediately did what they do best and took one portion of one line from one of Common's poems and quoted it completely out of context. This gave The Daily Show the opportunity to put together a really easy segment. (John Stewart should really send a thank you note to Fox News for making his job so easy.) Listen on this link to what John Stewart had to say about Fox News' commentary. (Be patient the clip starts out by talking about other subjects.)
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-may-11-2011/tone-def-poetry-jam?xrs=share_copy

It is really sad that a show that is designed as comedy is able to broadcast more accurately about the news of the day than a 24 hour news network. But then if we are really honest with ourselves we have to understand that Fox News is not news. The kindest way to characterize it is to call it commentary. The more accurate discription is propaganda.

As Christians Should We Celebrate a Death?

On May 2nd, the morning after we received the news that Bin Laden was killed I realized that what I was thinking would not be accepted by many people. To celebrate the death of any individual is somehow wrong. Was / had he turned into a monster? Yes! But as Christians we are told and are suppose to believe that everyone is a child of God. We would be well served to reflect on how anyone can become what Ben Laden had become. A possible answer to that may be that when anyone or any religion or any faction of a religion decides to hate it is the start down a road that leads to even greater hate and destruction. This is probably what Ben Laden allowed to happen. He took one of the world's great Abrahamic - monotheistic religions and twisted it toward hate. This was embraced by a small faction and we saw the result of this on9/11/01 and since. As Christians, if we are not careful, we too can allow hate to motivate us. Indeed some have. Examples of this can be seen in history as Nazi Shinheads, the KKK,and during the 1930s as isolationists. Caution is called for in our reactions. Caution is called for in our jubilation. We need not go down the same road as Bin Laden.

Having written my thoughts in a notebook, that you see above, I was pleased to see on an NPR post on Facebook the following story. Perhaps my thoughts are not so lonely after all.

Is It Wrong To Celebrate Bin Laden's Death?

by Linton Weeks

A crowd gathers outside the White House early Monday to celebrate President Obama's announcement that U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden.

May 2, 2011

Impromptu celebrations erupted near the White House in Washington and ground zero in New York when news of Osama bin Laden's death was reported and tweeted.

Laura Cunningham, a 22-year-old Manhattan reveler — gripping a Budweiser in her hand and sitting atop the shoulders of a friend — was part of the crowd at ground zero in the wee hours Monday. As people around her chanted "U-S-A," Cunningham was struck by the emotional response. She told New York Observer: "It's weird to celebrate someone's death. It's not exactly what we're here to celebrate, but it's wonderful that people are happy." …To read the balance of this article go to: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/02/135927693/is-it-wrong-to-celebrate-bin-ladens-death

Paul Ryan’s Elitist Budget

Woe to You, Legislators!

by Jim Wallis 04-14-2011

It is reported that Congressman Paul Ryan makes every member of his staff read philosopher Ayn Rand, the shameless promoter of the gospel of aggressive self-interest. This makes sense to me as I read Congressman Ryan's new budget proposal. I wish he had his staff reading the Bible instead.

While widely lauded by conservatives, Congressman Ryan's budget …To read the balance of this article by Jim Wallis and So Jo magazine go to:http//:blog.sojo.net/2011/04/14/woe-to-you-legislators/

Jim Wallis has, in the past, written about budgets being moral documents; the theme is continued here.

Atheists, I believe in God because I do - Leonard Pitts Jr. - MiamiHerald.com

This article is by Leonard Pitts Jr. a syndicated columnist who writes for the Miami Herald. To read the complete article go to the website listed below.

That which is without quality cannot be measured, the invisible cannot be examined, theincorporeal cannot be weighed, the limitless cannot be compared, the incomprehensible doesnot admit of more or less.’’ Gregory of Nyssa (fourth century Christian philosopher)

“I am that I am" Exodus 3:14

Occasionally, I manage to tick off an atheist.

It is not something I set out to do. Usually it results from some passing comment reflecting my belief that God is. As in a recent column on Lara Logan, the CBS reporter sexually assaulted in Egypt. I wrote that she is “deserving of our compassion, our empathy and our prayers.” This drove a reader named Patricia to her keyboard.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/01/2092334/i-believe-because-i-do.html#ixzz1GEzfcLtW

Triangles and Sin in a Local Church Setting

Portions of this post comes from the blog, Living the Gospel by Bill Carroll an "Episcopal priest and member of the third order of the Society of Saint Francis". His web site is at http//:evangeliumobservare.blogspot.com/

Triangles and Sin

Blessed is the servant who would love and respect his brother as much when he is far from him as he would when he is with him; and who would not say anything behind his back which in charity he could not say to his face.

--Francis of Assisi, Admonition 25

It is a commonplace in writings about leadership influenced by family systems ... that one should attempt to reposition oneself when one finds oneself in a triangle between two or more other persons. Often we say to one person what we should be saying to another. ... Reestablishing direct communication promotes self-differentiation throughout the system. It also puts the anxiety back where it belongs and removes the leader from the position of bearing responsibilities that are not his or hers. [H]anding people back the anxiety that belongs to them. This is the first step in getting others to take responsibility for managing themselves.

Francis reminds us of a particularly pernicious form of triangle: the one that develops when we malign our brother or sister behind his or her back. All triangulation may be a consequence of the fall. And in fact, through the presence of the serpent, triangles develop in the course of the fall itself. Look at some of the triangles in the Genesis story (Adam-Eve-serpent; Adam-God-Eve; Serpent-Eve-God; Cain-Abel-God; God-Cain-Abel) etc. Francis identifies this tendency with both vice and sin, through the use of the word "charity." The problem with what we say behind other's backs is that we cannot say it "in charity" to their face.

Francis stands here on firm New Testament ground. Jesus himself urged direct confrontation when differences arose within his Church. See Matthew 18:15ff. He also modeled it in his conversations with others. Think about his confrontation with Simon the Pharisee or the woman at the well. Jesus urges his followers to direct, simple, and honest speech. ...
It is no accident that Thomas Aquinas cites many of these works of the flesh when he deals with acts contrary to charity, the precise virtue that Francis calls to mind. The works of the flesh may be human and to some extent they may be unavoidable in a post fall world, but that doesn't make them right or normative.

In Christ, we are called to a better way. The Apostle describes this way in moving words appointed recently in our lectionary, which may have gotten lost in some of our congregations among the many fine sermons about the Bread of Life. In the fourth chapter of Ephesians, we find the following exhortation:

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ultimately, in this very brief passage from Francis, I think he is laying the groundwork for the same sort of life, one characterized by brotherhood and sisterhood in the Church, and ultimately in a far wider Kingdom.

U2 Praise & Worship: 40/Streets Prayer Breakfast

More Civilian Casualties Not Reported in Iraq

The following post comes from the New York Times web site and Schott's Vocab column by Ben Schott. To see more of his columns go to:htt://schott.blogs.nytimes.com.

February 2, 2011, 10:38 am

The Car Crashes of War

Julian Assange's term for the, largely unreported, low-death-toll killings that, it is claimed, constitute the bulk of civilian casualties in conflicts such as Iraq.

Interviewing Julian Assange in The Observer, Ed Vulliamy reflected on his first meeting with the WikiLeaks head, shortly before the October 2010 release of "what was then the biggest single leak of official material in history, pertaining to the war in Iraq":

In partnership with Iraq Body Count – considered to be (and criticised by the left for being) the more exacting and forensic of groups seeking to quantify the toll of Tony Blair's and George W Bush's war – WikiLeaks revealed, via the Guardian and other outlets of its choosing, 16,000 previously unrecorded civilian deaths between January 2004 and the end of 2009, recorded in thousands of leaked US army reports.

Assange had, among many other interesting things to say, a cogent observation about warfare: "What these documents show is that the bulk of civilian deaths are the 'car crashes' of war, not the 'bus crashes' of war that are picked up by the media. It is the vast number slain in incremental events killing one, two or three people which go unreported, as opposed to the deaths of 20 or more, which are reported. The number of 'small kills' is huge – a family here, a kid there, someone in a house, someone caught in a crossfire. It is the everyday squalor of war that takes the life of most."

Guns and the church's moral duty

By Vicki Gray, January 28, 2011

[Episcopal News Service] Once I was a Foreign Service officer, a political officer trained to look at a host society and try to understand what makes it tick.

After many years spent living abroad, I've become accustomed to looking at my own country in much the same way: as an outside observer, seeking to make sense of an often-jumbled mosaic. And one thing I've always stumbled over -- that makes no sense to me -- is America's obsession with guns and our inability reasonably to regulate their possession.

How can one make sense of such inaction in a country where there are 90 guns for every 100 people -- man, woman, or child -- our nearest competitors being Yemen, a country afflicted by tribal strife and occupied in part by al Qaeda (61 guns per 100), and Switzerland, where every adult male is required by law to own a rifle as part of a well-regulated national militia (46 per 100)? Why do we tolerate more gun deaths every week on our city streets than on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq combined? How do we explain an annual rate of gun deaths 20 times higher than in any other industrialized democracy?

To read the balance of this article go to: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_126774_ENG_HTM.htm

Guns and responsibility

Since the 60s I have wondered about the insane lack of gun control in this country. The killing goes on, the NRA keeps buying legislators and the killing goes on. Public figures are shot the question is asked about lax gun laws and the killing goes on. Ordinary citizens continue to be slaughtered including children many people wonder about lax gun laws, and the killing goes on. Even the Supreme Court, men and women whose very profession should make them familiar with the English language and US history, are unable to read the Constitution in context of both language and history; they arrive at decisions that increase the possibility that laws will become even more lax, and the killing goes on.

Eugene Robinson makes valid points about this issue in his editorial that follows. Consider clicking on the link about "lax gun laws" embedded in his writing. Perhaps you would like to also go to the Brady web site to hear some ideas that counter the propaganda of the NRA. The web address is: http://www.bradycampaign.org/

Guns and responsibility

By Eugene Robinson

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

We may not be sure that the bloodbath in Tucson had anything to do with politics, but we know it had everything to do with our nation's insane refusal to impose reasonable controls on guns.

Specifically, the rampage had everything to do with a 9mm semiautomatic Glock pistol - a sleek, efficient killing machine that our lax gun laws allowed an unstable young man to purchase, carry anywhere and ultimately use to shoot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the head. The weapon also was used to shoot 19 bystanders, killing six of them, including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl.

Read the balance of Eugene Robinson's opinion piece by going to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/10/AR2011011004763.html?nav=hcmoduletmv

If you clicked on the "lax gun laws" link in the article you may have been as incredulous as I was to read the line that quoted the NRA as saying, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this senseless tragedy," it said. "We join the rest of the country in praying for the quick recovery of those injured."

“Guns aren’t fun”

This appeared in an E-mail from the Episcopal Peace Fellowship. (The title of this post came from a quote by an enlisted Specialist who was drafted into the Army in the '60s and worked as a Social Work Specialist. He was a large sized individual and had worked as a Santa Clause during Christmas in a department store. The story he related was that when ever a child would ask for a toy gun for Christmas he would soon have him and other children chanting, "Guns aren't fun." This is an example of a creative way of being a peace maker.)

About the GUNS

This week there has been very little mention of GUNS: the role of guns in the numerous mass killings in the past decade. Newspapers around the country reflect an assumption that nothing will be done to curb gun violence...gun control advocates are mocked. It is true in the past decade the NRA has succeeded in derailing legislation to reduce gun violence. However, as Rachel Maddow pointed out this week, in 1986 and 1988, while Ronald Reagan, was president three very important bills were passed reducing the threat of gun violence (no plastic guns, no cop killer bullets and no machine guns for personal use).

Action we can take now:
Representative Carolyn McCarthy
has promised to introduce a bill that targets the high-capacity ammunition clip used in the Jan. 8 shooting. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) said that he is preparing a similar bill for the Senate. In a written statement, Lautenberg said that the high-ammunition clips should "not be on the market" because the only reason people purchase them is "to kill a lot of people very quickly."

(politico.com). Please Contact your Congressional Representatives and let them know what you think.